low or high culture

I'm still figuring out what I should write about here. Should I flood the world with more writing from a left-leaning student? It seems we've had enough of that. My narcissism would permit it, but I'm not sure my readership would.

I could follow the memes, I suppose. Celebrity worship is pretty big these days. Too low brow, I know - even for a blog. Can someone DDOS Perez Hilton (If only we had better science education in this country, B.S. could lead the way in doing just that)? I suppose the high-brow memes are worthwhile, at least for self-improvement. 50 book challenge, cooking-and-taking-photos-of-what-you-made (is this a meme, or a theme, or some sort of zeitgeist-ian internet reflection of our obsession with food?), or spite towards everyone - well, the name at least suggests the last two. I rely on Mallory to be the cooking brain and...

Well, my pretentiousness can get the better of me at times, but I'm not angry enough to make a spite blog.

Well, on most days.

I could rely on the "good, bad, neutral" method ("Cheers & Jeers", "Thorns and Roses") to categorize this blog, but who knows if that will last. Let's try it:

+ Coffee time. I recently finished Garrison Keillor's "Homegrown Democrat". The man is intoxicatingly midwestern. The majority of his rambling, as the book suggests, is homegrown - not rather theoretical, but placed in his literal growing up. That is to say, he had an education in the midwest - a stellar one, at that. Back on subject - I finished Mr. Keillor's book in a coffee shop, and the center of his egalitarian Minnisot-ian vision was the coffee shop, where intellectuals and workers both meet. I think of all the times I've spent in coffee shops. What wonderful places with such wonderful memories. Judith Warner really captures this with her article in Domestic Disturbances. A wonderful, albeit sentimental, piece.

+ Barack's Bounce. I love primary season. Things can change so rapidly. I thought Barack would lose; the Bradley effect too strong, Hillary's national support insurmountable, and Bill's presence intoxicating for committed D voters. No more. Bill's presence in Hillary's campaign is being scorned. Huzzah! Now we know who Barack is running against! He's locked up a big win in S.C., an endorsement by both big Kennedys, and a fundraising and national polling boost.

+ Dirty Rice. Potatoes - red, cubed. Chicken, cooked in the bottom of a kettle with olive oil. Black beans and corn. Wild rice. Peppers. Just cook ingredients separately and throw them in together, then simmer for heat. It lasted until yesterday - I didn't want to eat it too quickly. It's quite thick, but goes great with a sandwich - especially a cheese sandwich.

- Recession. It will be interesting to study, but it is a period on America's declining economic sentence. It's times like these that I am glad to be a public servant - even for the pay, however meager it can be compared to the private sector.

take me down to the cities of the future