Restaurant video review

I went to a chinese restaurant inside soshigaya-ookura station called "Taiyoutou"
here is the link to the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qnD8uMxQxw&feature=youtu.be

Poem analysis, Potatoes by Linda Hogan

About the Author
 Linda Hogan is a native american of Chikasaw decent. She was raised in the Native American reservations of Oklahoma and Denver, but also traveled a lot as a child. She is a Novelist and an Environmentalist. She has written many poems many of which connect with her concerns about the environment and the history of the native americans.
In this poem Linda talks about a potato as if it is her daughter. the potato stays in the dark, for a long time just as her daughter would before she is born. They live in two different worlds and do not meet, until she digs up the potato and they finally meet. As the potato is eaten she is receiving a gift from the earth.
 I am not sure if i interpreted this poem properly, but i did a little bit of research and did my best to understand it.

Blood, Bones and Butter

 By Gabrielle Hamilton

Book Review Douglas Notestine

This is a non-fiction book about the author Gabrielle Hamilton’s life story as a chef and a mother. She is now the owner of acclaimed New York restaurant “Prune”.The book starts from her childhood and goes into detail of the various events in her life mostly involving cooking. It goes into fine detail describing food and she also uses cooking and food as metaphors for thing occurring in her life. She grew up in a large family and she always found herself in the kitchen from when she was very little. Her family used to have feasts with over 100 people and would cook massive amounts of great food. Gabrielle knew that cooking would be something that she would want to pursue for the rest of her life. Her parents getting divorced would shatter the dreams of these large parties but her new Italian family would help change her and grow as a cook too. Her mother taught her almost everything about cooking. And after many years of hard work and travelling all over the world she would open her own restaurant which eventually became a major success and she got much acclaim for it. This was quite an interesting book although I doubt that it is completely non-fiction, a story-teller must always be creative or it will become a sort of a documentary. I was particularly impressed by the detailed and passionate ways she would describe each dish and the food. Reading this book made me hungry more than once. This is a fairly good book and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys cooking or a good life story of a strong woman.

Here are some questions for discussion

What kind of food do your parents cook at home?

If so do you help your parents when they cook?

Do you like the food at home?

What would you think if your parents got a divorce?

Food Movie Review

Super Size Me
 I picked up this movie because it focuses on a major problem in America right now, obesity. This movie is a documentary of a man who eats nothing but McDonalds for an entire month. He also constantly check with doctors to see how fast food is effecting his health. Aditionally the movie goes into how serious obesity has become in the United States.
 It turns out that in America 1 out of 4 people are considered obese and is quickly overcoming cigarettes for the number one preventable cause of death. I was particularly surprised by just how bad soft drink like coka cola were to the human body, since i drink these types of beverages every day. Most soft drinks that are not sugar free contain as much as 18 packs of coffee sugar, and these drinks are thought to be one of the major reasons why so many Americans have become obese. Not only that, the sizes of fast food meals have become bigger over the years and people are encouraged to buy bigger sizes because it gives more bang for the buck. In the movie a woman showed how the small fries at McDonalds right now used to be the only size of fries back when they just started. And super-size soft drink did not exist until a few decades ago. Another reason is that Americans don't cook anymore, and eat out for most of their meals.
  By the time 30 days had past, the man had gained 25 pounds and had irreversible damage done to his liver. It took him a 14 months to lose the 25 pounds that he gained in a mere month. This movie changed the way that i think about food a lot. I don't feel like eating at McDonalds anymore and i also think that i will hold back on the coke. Fast food may be a lot worse than many people think.

Seijinshiki, coming of age party

  I had my highschool's seijinshiki the other day. "Seijinshiki" is a ceremony and party for japanese people when they reach the age of 20. I got dressed up in traditional japanese clothes called "Hakama" and brought a big botte of rice wine. Over a hundred people were at the party. I met all of my old freinds and had a lot of fun catching up with them and taking pictures and talking about our lives. After the initial party the 2nd party was held at a bar and about 70 people came. After that we went to another bar. And after that when we got to another 30 people were gone. I remember playing darts. I had a lot of fun and hope that I'll have a chance to meet my highschool freinds again.

Christmas

 I went out with my freinds on christmas and got really drunk. I don't remember really well but a lot of people were dressed up as santa claus and i had a lot of fun.  I also had raw horse meat and stinger ray fins and other rare foods at a bar, they tasted really nice. But the next day i couldn't do anything because of a massive hangover. Drink in moderation!

Origin of the Sandwich

Lord Montegue, the 4th earl of sandwich was a very busy man and he would call for a slice of beef in between two slices of bread because he didn't want to spend time eating. He needed something he could eat holding in one hand, so that he could go through his work while eating. Eventually word spread about this new food and it became popular very fast. And people called it a sandwich after the man who invented it. It is also said that He gambled a lot and would eat a sandwich while gambling, and that this is how it spread.
    I'm actually surprised that nobody thought of sandwiches before him. It's so simple and good. And i didn't know that it was named after a person. Sandwiches are one of my favorite foods. They come in many different types and can be good for your health. Know who invented the sandwich might not be such a useful piece of information but i think that it was a nice little fact to find out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnONfPdGQhk