The first two following recipes are traditional Ecuadorian dishes, and the last one is inspired by my love for gnocchis, and an ambitious desire to make them from scratch. It wasn’t easy, but the results were one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever made.

And a quick note: I generally prefer to go for the riper (yellow & covered with brown patches) ones than the green plantains, as green plantains are much harder to peel. But if you do decide to use green plantains, cut the plantains into 1 inch thick slices, and use a small paring knife to slowly carve the skin off of each slice.

“Platanos Asados con Queso” (Baked Plantains with Cheese)

When baked, ripened plantains caramelize beautifully in the oven. These are great to have on the side with a steak or simply on their own. Peel a yellow, ripened plantain and dab with a little bit of butter all over. Bake the plantains at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown at the top. Flip them over and bake for another 25 minutes. Take the plantains out of the oven, and while still hot make a slit in the plantains and tuck in a few slices of mozzarella or a white Spanish cheese (either asadero, cojita or oaxaca) and wait until the cheese is melted to serve.

I tried this recipe from the site of an Ecuadorian food blogger named Laylita, and took her recommendation to dip the plaintains in aji criollo -a very spicy hot sauce that is a blend of: one bunch of cilantro, two hot peppers, four cloves of garlic, and two spoonfuls of white onion. In this case, I added some avocados into the hot sauce to get a nice creamy consistency.

I love this no fuss recipe. You don’t have to worry about spices or measurements at all, but be mindful that the plantains don’t burn.

“Bolon de Verde” (Fried Green Plantain Dumplings)

These fried plantain dumplings are stuffed with mozzarella cheese and chorizo, and is even better when contrasted with ripened plantains instead of green ones. Even though the steps can seem a little laborious, this is one popular appetizer that will indulge everyone.

Ingredients:

4 plantains, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
4 tbsp butter 2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin & coriander
1 tsp chili powder Salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup chorizo

Directions:
1. In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the the plantains.
2. Cook the plantains for 10 minutes, turn, and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until you can smash the plantain with a fork.
3. Transfer to a bowl and and smash all of the plantains with a potato masher, adding the spices and a little bit of salt.
4. Form 2 by 2 inch balls with the plantain dough and make a hole in each ball, filling with a 1 tbsp of the cheese and chorizo filling. Now press the dough over to cover the holes, getting your ball shape back.
5. Over med-high heat, pour in the oil and add the stuffed plantains when hot. Shallow fry the plantains until they are crisp and golden all over.
6. Place the fried plantains over a few paper towels so they absorb the excess oil, and serve as soon as possible with some fresh lime and avocado slices.

As you can tell, I love plantains. It was after making the previous “Bolon de Verde,” that I searched for similar recipes, that involved stuffed plantains. I found the most interesting one on Cake Batter and Bowl. Her recipes are innovative and creative, I really recommend checking her site out.

This recipe was easy to follow but the task of making gnocchis from scratch is arduous, to the say the least, -and extremely messy. But it was delicious. The juxtaposition of the sweet plantain with the spicy kick of the creamy tomato sauce was right on the money. This is perfect to make for someone you truly care about, as it took almost 2 hours to make the gnocchis and sauce. But then again it was only my first time so hopefully it will get easier.

Gnocchis (this yields roughly 30-40, depending on how large you roll them)

Ingredients:
2 ripening plantains
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 ½ – 2 ½ + cups of flour
½ ball fresh mozzarella, chopped

Sauce:
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 small chili pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1 clove of garlic, crushed, finely chopped
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
a pinch basil
a pinch of oregano
1 tbs of crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Cut the plantains into 1 inch chunks and place into a pot of boiling water.
2. Boil until tender (10 mins), and mash, set aside.
3. Let the mashed plantains cool for 10 minutes or so, and add the egg, salt, and flour -in 1/2 cup increments.
4. According to CB&B you should mix this until a dough forms that is not sticky. I found it impossible to not let the dough stick to everything, and I felt like I had to use 3 cups of flour overall.
5. With a rolling pin and a surface that is dusted with flour, roll the dough out and cut it into 2 by 2 inch squares. Then place a little cube of cheese inside and roll again to ensure the cheese is sealed inside.
6. Boil the gnocchis in a pot of boiling water (add salt so the gnocchis don’t stick). Once the gnocchis float to the top quickly scoop them out and set aside in a bowl.
7. Stir in with sauce, and enjoy! I garnished it with some fresh parsley grown from the garden.

Note: You can make any type of sauce you want, or use store brought. I had 2 lbs of gorgonzola cheese in my fridge so I made simple sauce by sautéing the onions, chili pepper, garlic, and tomatoes. After the onions softened and the tomato essentially melted, I added canned tomato sauce and let it simmer. Then I added the cheese, let it melt, and mixed in the basil, oregano, crushed pepper.

Of course, this game’s not as much fun to play without a companion, so I went in search of one. Being a commuter-student at the time, however, the traditional means of finding a partner seemed out of reach, so I hit the web. I posted an ad on Craigslist. “Alienated Intellectual, Philosophy English Major, Comedy/Music Nerd.” A number of interested and interesting females got in touch, as did a 45-year-old man who offered to blow me. For free! He had the gall to offer, but not to charge. He said, “At least you got a positive reply to your post.” That’s not a positive reply. That’s like if I ran a failing coffee shop and a guy hurled a brick through my window. It also wasn’t a personalized message on account of he sent it more than once, and that was, ultimately, my only issue with it. He just wasn’t very thoughtful, and that’s a real turn off for me.

At the same time, I’d also made an account on Okcupid.com. I’d had success there in the past and had no qualms about returning. I find Internet dating to be very appealing because it allows you to weed out those parties who are less likely to match well with you. Doing so doesn’t imply that one won’t have many different experiences either. There’s plenty of room for dating around and bad encounters too. Some might argue that online dating is indicative of some sort of inability to meet people in real life, perhaps due to shyness or poor social skills. This, however, is untrue, as every person imaginable can be found looking for love, sex, friendship, etc on the web. And, yes, by the way, I did check out the “Casual Encounters” section on Craigslist. It was mostly spam and women who resemble the cashiers and deli workers at my local Shoprite. And while the never-big-enough white shirts that constitute their uniform leave little to the imagination, after seeing what I’ve seen through Casual Encounters one might regret having an imagination at all.

I can’t say the same, however, for OKcupid. The way the site works, you fill out a profile and answer a series of questions that are analogous to more straightforward questions about your personality. So, one question might be, “Your significant other is doing boring but necessary work. You can stay with them or you can go to a sweet fucking party. What do you do?” or, “Your friend prepared a meal that looks unappealing and doesn’t smell particularly good either. Do you try it? Keep in mind, this question is also about sex.”

Some people posit a separation or differentiation regarding one’s self and one’s self when using the web. Countless memes about the Internet being serious business suggest, “Hey, it’s just the web, lighten up.” And while that may be useful advice about life in general, the sort of person you are on the web is the sort of person you are in real life because, hey, the Internet is a part of real life! Of course, as W. I. Thomas pointed out, something doesn’t have to be real to be real in its consequences. The idea that it might not be the real you on there in some way, whether it be because it’s not face to face or because it can be anonymous, allows people to act out in ways that they otherwise might not. The shy can become confident, the quiet can become outgoing, and the reserved can let their inner asshole run free.

For example, sometimes when I go to Youtube and read comments, I feel like I’ve entered into a live action satire where professional writers are posting as characters:

[A Video Detailing a Brief History of Dole’s Involvement in Hawaii]

Swinglowsweetballs: Wow, I never knew about this. I’m never gonna buy Dole pineapples again!

Itshotinjewlie: Oh, what do you want us to do? Give them back their land? Then maybe we should give the Indians back their land too and we’ll all just live under the sea. Oh, I’m sorry, then we’d drown! Real good idea, moron.

Phillyboyroy: I don’t think the Indians or the native Hawaiians would want us all to die. They probably just want equal treatment and some help so that they don’t have to live in poverty.

Hardforthemoney: Yeah, I’m sure you’d love that. If they don’t want to work hard, then they don’t deserve any help. It’s because liberals like you want to hand feed everyone that we’re getting so weak. They didn’t have welfare when the frontiersmen were here, and I’m sure they would have loved to just lie around all day while someone else settled the country for them. LIKE THE SOVIETS

Davesnothereman: Hard, you’d never survive in the frontier because you’re a big fat idiot who’s so stupid you can’t even tell the West from the South and you’d probably spend all your time digging holes hoping to get to California. I hope someone rapes your face so we can abort your stupid ass brain.

They’re usually people, not characters, and their racism, sexism, anti-intelectualism, etc. is real. And those people have profiles on OKcupid too, but I didn’t think about that until the girls I was messaging started complimenting me on actually talking about the interests they described on their profiles. I found this odd and as more and more girls mentioned it, I remembered that I am a man and as a man I do not receive the same treatment in the world that women do. Too many people and too much of our culture continues to treat women as second-class citizens.

Of course, these were not necessarily sexist individuals so much as individuals who went about approaching women in ways that were deemed undesirable by the women they approached. I honestly can’t do an impersonation of a shitty pickup line because I don’t use pickup lines. And while “Hey, beautiful, how you doin’?” might seem too forced or clichéd, it’s used countless times on the Internet. As is every other behavior one might find off the web. I decided to expose myself to behavior I might miss out on as a man by making a profile as a woman, under the alias “LeftoftheDiel”. Here’s a copy of that profile.

LeftoftheDiel

My Self-Summary:

I’m a person who happens to be a woman. What does it mean to be a woman? LET ME TELL YOU (insert thesis paper).

Actually, no, I am doing an honors thesis for my Women’s Studies major on Married With Children. I’m going to interview the creators of the show for the paper in the spring (I’m a journalist when I want to be.)

I’m going to be a super senior next year because I want to do an honors thesis in philosophy as well. Not sure on what yet. I think I’ll just write out all of my philosophical positions, hand them in to the advisor, and ask, “Where do we go from here?”

See, I want to go into an MFA program but I think I’d benefit from more schooling in general (I got through this whole thing in three years thanks to summer classes. It seems like a bit of a rush to me!) Plus, I can do a one on one independent study in fiction in the fall to put together a really great packet. ALTHOUGH MAYBE I SHOULD JUST SEND THEM MY PHOTOS AND BE ALL “COME ON HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT I LOOK LIKE???”

Actually, I think talking to someone based solely on what they look like is shortsighted. I’d say the same with musical taste too, but at the very least that’s something to talk about. I’m not going to go up to someone and be like, “Hey, nice pecks. You spend a lot of time at the gym? Do you run or just weight train? Sometimes when I’m at the gym, they play bands on the radio I’ve interviewed, like System of a Down, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Hurt.”

That’s why sometimes I just wear a shirt that I wrote all of my interests on with a Sharpie: Philosophy, Nine Inch Nails, Bjork, Maria Bamford, Stand Up, Psychoactive Substances (I think it’s funny for me to call them that. Also, it says all this on my shirt. Including this parenthetical statement. It’s even funnier if you’re high. ISN’T IT?), Wandering Around Unfamiliar Towns, Sleater-Kinney, Sartre, Marc Maron, Critically Examining Married With Children, Talking Heads”

See, I think you don’t really know what someone is like before you hang out with them, regardless of how long you talk with them online. The most intellectually stimulating or emotionally intimate conversations fall short of real time interaction in which time is passed and the moment is commented upon.

This is an approximation of what it’s like to hang out with me. Let me show you around the profile now.

What I’m doing with my life

Life is a nonstop adventure for me because I don’t take any of it for granted. When people think of adventure, they usually think of the unknown. The future is unknown and we are always moving towards it! Your family, your debts, your job, they could all disappear at any moment, AND THEN YOU’D BE FREE.

That was a mash up of my thoughts on adventure and the duldrums that seem to be life for most adults I encounter. Plenty of people might be having fun with their families, jobs, and debts, but I WANT MORE.

I’m really good at

being myself. Really, I am. People compliment me on being myself in the sense that I am honest and do not pretend to be anything other than that which I am. I guess being a writer/journalist is indicative of that since people are, ostensibly, paying me (or more often at the moment just asking me) to be myself. So I think what they mean is, “The self you are is a truthful representation of your self.” Which opens up a whole philosophical can of worms that we can open together later if you wish.

The first things people usually notice about me

“You’re weird”

My favorite books, movies, music, and food

I don’t read as much as I’d like. Reading takes a long time and I’m impatient. Plus, there are so many words in those books! I’m somehow well read nonetheless. Also, as a philosophy major, I’ve noticed people take a lot longer to say things than they need to. At least that’s how I feel. SAY IT FASTER.

I like Hemmingway, George Saunders, and Kurt Vonnegut.

I don’t play favorites, btw. The last few movies I liked were A Serious Man, Jamie Kennedy’s Heckler (I’m serious, watch it!), and a documentary about sex surrogates that was also called Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate.

I like listening to music and am always trying to listen to stuff that’s new to me. Right now I’m listening to the latest Sonic Youth Album, Jeff: The Brotherhood, and Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox.

The six things I could never do without

I mean, you can choose so few questions for a profile and this is the one they went with? This is like a question that would have been crossed off a list of possible questions for a dating site. Also, what if I’m a Buddhist? Then I can do without everything, including my desire to do without anything.

I spend a lot of time thinking about

mew

On a typical Friday night I am

mew

The most private thing I’m willing to admit here

mew

You should message me if

(I like cats is what I’m trying to say)

I wish I had a bunch of cats that I could roll around in and could then return to their respective cat homes. Also, if all the cats were friends that would be nice too. I know that cats aren’t like people and do not have friends in the same way we do, but it’s a nice thought nonetheless. Sometimes I think cats are just people in cat costumes.

Anyway, this is what I’m like. The more time you spend with me, the more you’ll get to know me.

I look forward to getting to know you. And even if we don’t hit it off, I think the conversation will be enjoyable and that I’ll gain something somehow from it. I try to make the best of every situation. Not because I’m an optimist but because, hey, why would I look for the worst in a situation? Oh, in case the bad things happen I can protect myself from them! But that’s for the future, not the past. Why would I look for the worst in a past situation is what I’m trying to say.

Firstly, no one got my Replacements reference. I did, however, get people messaging me before I even had any text up on account of the photos I used. What photos? The photos that were found for me by Googling the phrase “Am I Pretty?” Awww, she’s insecure. She was a pretty girl, but no matter how many people tell her she’s pretty she might not believe them because she doesn’t accept herself. Countless thinkers have written about this, my personal favorite being the explanation given by Charles Taylor. He calls it the “Dialogical Process.” He details the process by which a self comes to be in reference to others, learning of one’s self from others and coming to see one’s self as others do. If, then, one is taught from an early age that one is physically unattractive and, as a result, undesirable, one will come to see one’s self as undesirable and act accordingly. Of course, “accordingly” is contingent upon a lot of different factors. One may be aggressively charming in order to win validation from others or one may think, “I’m a bother,” and avoid people altogether.

I had no qualms about using the photos and I think that the girl may have been pleased with the amount of messages that she got. And she got quite a lot! As expected, there were countless messages complimenting her appearance and men significantly older getting in touch, but I experienced the same with my own profile. There were plenty of nice guys who got in touch, and a number of pushy guys as well. Unfortunately, no one offered to be her sugar daddy, just as no one offered to be my sugar mommy.  I did get plenty of mews and meows though…

Whenever I contacted someone on my own profile, I discussed whatever the person I was messaging had on their page. If they had an interest I shared, I talked to them about it, asking their opinion on relevant topics. Similarly, with my personal profile, the women who messaged me were most often women who had much in common with me and indicated an appreciation for the sentiments I espoused. The same, however, could not be said of those who messaged my lady profile. It seemed like most guys didn’t even read my profile. The closest indication that they did was that they said I seemed interesting. “You seem cool. We should chat!” An odd thing to say given that by virtue of initiating an exchange we were chatting.

The amount of visitors my lady profile got was significantly higher than that of my personal one, but the message to visitor ratio was significantly less. It seemed as though countless men of all ages were taking a peak but not writing. And many of those who did write did so to only say, “Hey cutie,” or, “Hey baby.” At first I replied to such messages, but eventually there were too many and I simply lost interest. Of course, I got brief messages on my personal profile as well. Really, every sort of personality that can be a man’s can also be a woman’s and vice versa, so the latter is not surprising. Cultural forces might indicate what behaviors, desires, products, etc are appropriate to men or women, but, ultimately, the nature/nurture debate has been settled long ago. It’s not nature or nurture, but both at once. The self is biology filtered through experience and because anyone can have any experience, our population is very heterogeneous. That being said, the amount of forces and people that treat women with disrespect is significantly greater than the amount of forces and people that treat men with disrespect.

None of the guys I talked to suspected that the lady they talked to was actually a fella. One person, however, did express later upon seeing the profile that it seemed manish. “It’s too forward,” she said. At first I was puzzled. I thought she meant that the woman I created was confident in her own ideas and that our culture indicates to women that they ought not be so confident about their own ideas. I’ve had plenty of classes, for example, where women hardly speak and have been told that men often interrupt women in conversation. What she meant, however, was that the woman I created was too open with her opinions and that her opinions might make her unappealing to men. Of course, men use a similar tactic, hiding those facets of the self that they suspect might be off-putting.  I didn’t speak to anyone long enough to discover such facets, however, which included, as others told me, being subjected to everything from unwanted sexual advances to being explicitly objectified. I might not have, of course, discovered such things in the few men I briefly spoke to.

Eventually, the guys I was chatting with wanted to speak via instant messenger. This was odd given that the lengths of the messages that they sent me were often very short. I found this behavior pushy because I hadn’t clicked with any of the guys and I don’t consider replying to a message at all an indication that I should be instant messaged. Now, it might be argued that these guys simply knew what they wanted and went for it whereas I am too afraid to speak explicitly about sex or about my own desires or that I fear rejection. That’s not the case. There’s a difference between the attitude of, “I stand to gain more from trying and failing than I do from not trying at all,” and asking a girl, “So, you said that you’re thin, does that mean you don’t have an ass?” or, “So, it says your Catholic, does that mean you don’t fuck?” or, “Yo, I’ll eat your pussy real nice. Let’s meet up and you can sit on my face.” Of course, this sentiment can be expressed in other ways. “It behooves you to sit on my face on account of how well I eat pussy.” I also I could have said something about feet or asked, “What sort of underwear do you have on right now?” Did reading an explicit question about pussy being eaten make you a little uncomfortable? That was hypothetical pussy being commented upon by a hypothetical guy talking to a lady who doesn’t exist, but these are all the types of messages that girls on OKCupid get.

And, yes, a girl can send such a message just as easily as a guy can, but I get the feeling that the amount of girls who leave OKcupid because they think guys are too creepy or only want sex is higher than the amount of guys who leave Okcupid for these reasons. I’d advise, however, that this not discourage people from joining the site because I and countless others have had positive experiences. Of course, I eventually deleted both my pages. Why? Too many guys were falling in love with my lady profile. And I deleted my own profile after it’d done its job and I’d fallen in love myself.

Quinoa is the healthiest and easiest food to prepare; it’s great when you’re in a rush or want to create a beautiful dish for guests that no one could resist trying. The George Street Coop, located at 89 New Street in New Brunswick, carries both the yellow and red quinoa for less than five dollars a pound. Anna’s Health Food, at 401 Raritan Ave. (Route 27) in Highland Park, carries both colors prepackaged for less than six dollars for close to a pound.

When first looking at quinoa it looks bland, tasteless, dry, and “too healthy” but after giving it a taste all previous judgments will vanish as quickly as the dish. Quinoa may be cooked and eaten like a grain, but it belongs to the spinach, chard, and beet family. It is high in minerals and one of the best sources of protein: it’s a complete protein which means it contains all nine essential amino acids. Because quinoa contains moderate to high levels of iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and copper it is a popular food for those with migraine headaches and diabetes and not just vegans and vegetarians.

The hardest part of cooking quinoa is the cleaning process since you must wash it until the water is clear while somehow managing to not lose the countless miniscule seeds. Washing the quinoa rids it of saponins which give it a bitter taste. Taste a few seeds to know whether or not you are finished cleaning the quinoa.

To get the best flavor out of quinoa, dry toast it to bring out the nuttiness. For every one cup of quinoa use two cups of water and bring it to a boil in a saucepan with the quinoa. After the water has boiled reduce the heat and simmer covered for fifteen to seventeen minutes maximum. By the time the quinoa is ready it should have absorbed all the water. The grain will look translucent and the white germs partially detached from the grain.

Personally, I love quinoa best with a nice scoopful of fresh Ricotta and freshly grated Parmesan. Another great way to make quinoa is to add a vinaigrette dressing and eat it as a salad (cold or room temperature). Vegetables are not mandatory but creating an Israeli salad to put the quinoa into is a delicious option. Israeli salad consists of diced cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and a touch of red onions.

Vinaigrette Recipe:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ tablespoon fresh zest of lemon

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence*

*Fresh herbs like parsley and basil are preffered when fresh herbs are available

Photo Courtesy of Max Zandstein. Check out more of his work at www.flickr.com/psychmax.

The global warming debate has become infantile in practice as both sides stick to their approved platitudes and mantras and each side accuses the other of lies, manipulation, and conspiracy.  The truth, as usual, is more complicated than either side makes it out to be, but not so complicated that the average individual cannot get a good understanding of it.

The first thing that needs to be addressed, in my opinion, is the choice of words.  The catchphrase “global warming” is now used to frame the totality of the environmental debate.  The truth is, global warming is just one effect of human and natural activity.  I believe, and will argue, that the debate should be defined in terms of “environmental change” which is much more broad and encompassing and does more justice to what humans and nature are actually doing to the ecosystem in which we live.

Let us begin with the basics and work our way up from there.  There are two major forces that act upon global climate.  The first is natural forces, which include solar activity, the rotation of the Earth, etc.  These forces have been the cause of Ice Ages in the past, and many people have attempted to explain current climate change as a result of purely natural forces.

The second force that impacts global climate is human activity.  Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has become associated with pollution of many sorts.  This includes, but is not limited to, air pollution, water pollution, and the acidification of the environment.  Much of this stems from our heavy dependence upon fossil fuels for energy, but some of it simply arises because of our high standards of living which require the harvesting of natural resources and the production of manufactured goods.

Global warming is one result of both natural and human activity.  However, the natural activity is periodic and, in the past, has resulted in both periods of global warming and periods of global cooling.  The human activity is more straight-forward and here is the basic science behind it.  The vast majority of activity in developed countries uses electricity which is created by burning some form of fossil fuel.  The exhaust from this combustion is emitted into the atmosphere where the gases accumulate.

Sunlight is absorbed by the Earth, and then re-emitted in the form of infrared radiation.  The so-called “greenhouse gases” are gases that are highly absorbent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and less-so in the visible light part of the spectrum.  In other words, they let most of the sunlight through to the Earth but then block the escape of the infrared radiation, resulting in increasing temperatures.  However, this is not to suggest that all contamination of the atmosphere will result in global warming; historically many large volcanic eruptions have cast so much ash and smoke into the atmosphere that they blocked incoming sunlight causing global temperatures to fall.

The global warming issue has become contentious for a number of reasons.  The first is that the ongoing debate over whether the widely-observed rise in global temperatures is anthropogenic or natural in origin.  Some claim that there have been variations in global temperatures in the past and that such changes as we are experiencing now can fall under that category.  Others stress that the currently observed changes are not large in scale and can thus be ignored.  I believe that both of these lines of argument are incorrect.  While there are certainly natural variations that are occurring, there is indisputable evidence of anthropogenic global warming via emissions of methane, carbon dioixde, and water vapor.  Even though there may be short-term up-and-down fluctuations, the long-term view shows an upward trend in temperatures.

Furthermore, just because the current increases in temperature are not drastic does not imply that future increases will not be.  Global warming appears to be a self-reinforcing cycle.  As global temperatures rise, more liquid water will evaporate and find itself in the atmosphere as water vapor, which is a potent greenhouse gas.  More ice and tundra will melt.  The melting ice will lower the albedo, or reflectivity, of the Earth as a whole which means more sunlight hitting the Earth will be absorbed and converted to heat.  The melting tundra and permafrost will exhume large volumes of methane, another greenhouse gas, which will cause the impact of global warming to grow over time.

Another point of contention in the global warming, or environmental change, debate has been the emergence of various emails from climatology researchers at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in England.  The emails, made public by an anonymous hacker, are claimed by some to show indisputable proof that global warming is a hoax and a conspiracy.  The truth seems less clear.  The researchers in question did indeed cross some lines regarding their duties as scientists.  Data, which should always be preserved, was deleted.  In addition, some questionable methodology was used to frame their results.  However, their actions do not refute the independent works of thousands of other scientists of different fields and nationalities on the issue.

The CRU used dendrochronology to measure global warming; that is, they used data from trees and their rings to measure global temperatures over a hundred year period.  This was done because one hundred years ago there were not sophisticated instruments available for use in measuring average surface temperatures or average water temperatures.  Data from approximately 1900-1960 shows an increasing trend-line in global temperatures.  However, from 1960 to the present, the data does not seem to show such a trend.  Again, this does not imply that the trend does not exist, as a slew of other measurements using a variety of different instruments do indeed observe this trend.  The researchers at CRU wished to have their data conform to the widely-observed data and appear to have manipulated the data as a result.  This is unethical and should not be condoned by anyone.  However, all that the CRU emails and study shows is that dendrochronology is neither an effective nor precise method to measure global temperature over a period of time and that these scientists were human beings.

The impact of global warming is uncertain, which brings me to the point I am intending to make.  There is much uncertainty surrounding global warming and climate change in general.  Let us suppose that the global temperature increased by 10 degrees Kelvin.  Would we be better or worse off?  I believe that the answer is both; certain areas of the world would be winners and certain areas would be losers.  The tropics would tend to be worse off while parts of the global North and global South would be made better off.  Certain habitable areas may become inhabitable, while the opposite may occur in different regions of the world.  We currently do not possess complex enough models or enough computing power to quickly and accurately predict the future evolution of a system as complicated as the global climate.

But the threat we are facing comes from more than just rising or falling temperatures.  One of the biggest threats we face is the degradation of the global water supply.  Industrial pollution and farm runoff inject impurities, poisons, and excrement into our water.  Such actions greatly increase the safety and health risks associated with drinking water that has not been properly treated with chemicals.  Imagine the economic costs associated with filtering heavy metals and toxins out of our domestic water supply.  Further, such pollution and acidification of the water supply will spell disaster for marine life and the wildlife that feeds upon it.  We are already beginning to more frequently encounter “dead zones” in our oceans – areas of hundreds of square miles where marine life does not exist due to low levels of oxygen.  Although dead zones can occur naturally, it is believed that the extensive use of agricultural fertilizer promotes their formation.

Given the uncertainty surrounding climate change, it would seem prudent to err on the side of caution.  Given the possibility of catastrophic consequences, this is an urgent matter that requires the concerted attention of the United States in particular and developing and industrial nations more generally.  If we continue to dither and avoid decisive action, future generations may curse our memory for not tackling problems when they were manageable.

I also can’t really tell you what I think of Rutgers because I transferred in the spring of ‘09 and I’ve been a commuter until recently. Being a commuter is like going to an all you can eat buffet and then eating more than your fill to get your money’s worth. You leave with a stomachache and realize that you haven’t gotten your money’s worth at all and that you should have just lived on campus. So, I put down my knife and fork and moved into a place half a mile from College Ave.

I knew I’d missed a lot and had plenty of catching up to do, but where to start was unknown to me. Then, at my first JVP meeting, the topic of Operation Robin Hood came up and I heard the name Charlie Kratovil. I wondered if it was the same Charlie I’d seen doing standup a few years earlier. “I’ve seen him do standup,” someone said, and my suspicion was confirmed. New Brunswick politics is very important in the lives of Rutgers students even if many of them don’t necessarily pay attention to it. I know I didn’t as a commuter. I remember fliers about wards being stuck in my face but having no time to check them out because I had to hurry to catch the train. Charlie seemed like the perfect person to ask about what was going on in Hub City.

I got on the phone with Charlie as soon as I could. He told me about how Democrats have been in control for decades, with a single Mayor serving since 1991. Charlie frequently referred to it as a political machine. It made me think of Streetfight, the documentary that followed Cory Booker during his first mayoral run in Newark. Thoughts of corruption filled my mind. I’d learn soon enough that New Brunswick has had its fair share of scandal.

To challenge the political machine and to provide what he thought would be better representation, Charlie campaigned for a wards-style of government. At the moment, elections in New Brunswick are held at-large, which means that candidates run for office in the whole of New Brunswick. It takes a lot of money to run a campaign and those with limited resources are, as a result, unable to compete. One alternative was to divide New Brunswick into wards, which are like neighborhoods. One would only have to appeal to the constituents of one’s own ward as opposed to the whole of the city. This would allow council members to directly represent their neighborhood’s needs and makes running for political office easier given that someone from ward five likely doesn’t know about the reputation of someone in ward two in the same way someone from ward two does. I also doubt that they’d care as much. From what I heard, wards sounded like a great idea to me. A big chunk of New Brunswick seemed to agree since the initiative only lost by eighty-two votes. [1]

I told Charlie I was mulling over doing my first Johnsonville article on the crime reports Rutgers students have sent to their inboxes. Suspects are often described vaguely. “Black male, 18 to 24 years old.” To me, it seems like the local news. Local news focuses on crime in particular but not on the mechanisms that lead people to criminality. I imagine many people turn to crime because they’re disenfranchised and boxed out of supposedly more legitimate means of commerce, as opposed to getting involved in crime because they just feel stabby. “I just love making people suffer. Sometimes I can’t even fall asleep on account of I’m thinking of all these different ways to stab and rob strangers. I love it when they cry! Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about how really we’re all related. So it’s like I’m robbing my own family. And that just makes me want to do it more! It’s a vicious cycle, really, because stabbing is violent, which is what I like about it. Did I mention I like making people suffer?”

With this in mind, I was curious about what New Brunswick had to offer in terms of keeping people from getting involved in crime. Schools, teen centers, Big Brother/Sister programs, adult education, etc. Somehow, through all this, I was told that the students of the Red Shaw Middle School attended school in a warehouse on Jersey Ave. “A warehouse? When can I see this?” I asked.

“Any time,” Charlie said.

I picked Charlie up the next day and we drove to Jersey Ave. When we arrived at the site it was simultaneously exactly and not exactly what I expected. I imagined brown warehouses in an industrial setting painted in litter, rust, and graffiti; what I found was gray warehouses in an industrial setting, free of litter, rust, and graffiti. It was difficult, however, to distinguish the school from the warehouses. I even made a game of it: school or warehouse?

1. Warehouse

2. The school

3. Both; school on the left, warehouse right

4. I forget which…

As Charlie and I pulled out of the parking lot, I asked him how he had come to know so much about New Brunswick politics. “The main reason I got involved in the stuff I got involved in,” Charlie explained, “was because there was a young woman who I think was interested in me and it was a mutual interest and she recommended that I take an Urban Development course with her. So, I took the class. Of course, at that time, it was awkward to be in the class with her, but at the end I really enjoyed it. I liked learning about the changes in the urban world and how fast the rest of the world was urbanizing. And there were three days in the class focused specifically on New Brunswick. There was some really in depth information on the history of redevelopment in the city. I was fascinated by it. I always take pride in where I live, but learning about it showed me how much I was overlooking or how much was going unseen. So, on my own, over the next few years, I did some researching, took more classes on the subject, and one thing led to another and here we are where we are today.”

Charlie had graduated Rutgers as a journalism major and a poli-sci minor. I later asked if he’d ever written for the Targum. Turns out, he did. The mayor’s office had taken issue with some of Charlie’s writing and Bill Bray, the intelligence officer, had written a letter to the editor pointing out what he perceived to be factual inaccuracies in Charlie’s column. The piece that led to the complaint was eventually taken down from the Targum’s site, but Charlie explained to me what had happened. “Basically in 2007 the federal government came into town as part of a scandal where they arrested, charged, and convicted four city employees involving housing inspections.[2] The primary one was a program that the city took a lot of pride in as a means of giving back to the community through redevelopment. The Neighborhood preservation program is what it’s called. A part of that program was nothing more than a way of funneling the money to specific contractors by giving them the work on the houses. So if you’re a low or moderate income person or family and you have a house, if you need a new paint job, kitchen, whatever, they wouldn’t just write you a check but you’d get a contractor to do the work for you. In that specific program, they were funneling all the work to two or three companies.”

“One of the companies eventually fessed up and said they were basically paying bribes to certain people in order to get the work and that they’d also done free or discounted work for some of these corrupt people on their own homes using federal money from the department of housing and urban development that was given for the purpose of fixing up the homes of low to moderate income people. They were falsifying information, putting things in friends’ and family names so they could do work on their own places, and in the end they pocketed a lot of money. One of the guys admitted to taking seventy-five thousand dollars, another took over one hundred thousand.”

“They both got locked up, one was put under house arrest for six months or something, and another person, unfortunately, shot himself in the head. [3] He was a big person in the city machine. He was the head of the water department, was on the planning board, managed political campaigns…The feds came to his office, took some papers, and he came home from lunch and was told, ‘Hey, the feds were just here and took some information about this thing.’ He said, ‘Okay,’ and shot himself in the head by the water tower in the field actually near where I live.”

“All that aside, I was a new journalist, I was writing this column every week, and, sure enough, it hit the front page of the Home News that Richard Kaplan, the guy who took seventy-five thousand dollars, had, as soon as he got into jail, asked his cellmate if he knew anyone who could murder his wife and make it look like a car accident.[4] He went so far as paying someone who was, of course, an FBI agent wearing a wire to murder his wife and now he’s going to be in jail for an even longer time.”

“So when that happened in the news, I wanted to make that the focus of my column, but I also wanted to bring a personal touch to it. Someone I had met on city council informed me of someone who got a raw deal from the city in terms of their housing situation. Those who were convicted for doing corrupt things were also allegedly doing other things, like forcing people out of their homes to get the property for re-development or if someone just wanted a house to rent or own. I spoke with Robert Lloyd Taylor. He was an old man in senior housing and he told me a story about his house on Howard Street and how he applied for money through this program, that they never did the work they promised to do on the house and that, as a result, he ended up losing the house because they put liens on it.”

“I went ahead with the piece, it was published, and the next day Bill Bray was furious saying that this guy was mentally ill and that whatever he said was irrelevant and shouldn’t matter. He obviously differed greatly from the story Robert Lloyd Taylor gave me. He said that his house was a blight on the neighborhood, that they did all they could to work with him, to make sure that he was getting a fair deal, but I can only speak to what I feel in my heart and that’s that he got a raw deal.[5] Given the way this machine works, the way that they intimidate, and especially the housing people, many of whom are now locked up, I’m sure that Mr. Lord Taylor did provide some useful insight into the story.”

“The real issue at hand, however, was the timely happenings of the ongoing corruption saga and I just wanted to bring the personal side of someone who was negatively affected by these programs. I don’t think I’ll ever really know the full truth about who did what.”

There was even more that Charlie told me about as we drove around New Brunswick, but throughout it all I kept wondering about how someone from the mayor’s office would offer as a counterpoint. When Charlie mentioned, however, that one thing that came out of his particular column was that he went on a tour of New Brunswick with Bill Bray, I saw the perfect opportunity to get a more fleshed out account.

[2] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/construction_execs_sentenced_i.html

[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/nyregion/11water.html?_r=2

[4] http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6059352

[5] http://www.dailytargum.com/2.4988/you-can-t-fight-city-hall-1.493349

With over 1 billion people in India, it’s not surprising how abundant and varying Indian cuisine is. After my visit there this summer it’s apparent that every district of India has invented their own type of samosa, their own chicken tikka masala, all with varying degrees of spice.

I won’t lie to you, Indian cookery is arduous, painstaking, and complicated at times. The typical dishes you frequent at Indian restaurants in the tristate area tend to be from Northern India, those succulent kebabs and rich biryanis originating from the Mughal empire. Dhosas and crispy fried vegetarian snacks are popular in South Indian restaurants, and if you’re a fan of really spicy food, South Indian is really the way to go. Eastern Indian cuisine revolves around seafood, and I have many fond memories of my grandfather going to the fish market every morning at 6 am to stock up for the day. The pictures you see below were taken in Kolkata this past summer.

As I’ve learned from my Grandmother and Mother, more so than precision, Indian cooking techniques rely on instinct and energy to create a coordinated, well balanced dish that tends to be composed of 10 to 20 ingredients. It’s hard jotting down measurements and recipes when I see everyone use spices in pinches or sprinkles. But if you’re interested in exploring this rich cooking style, I recommend seeking out any cookbooks or video tutorials by Madhur Jaffrey or Sanjeev Kapoor, who is India’s resident celebrity TV chef.

Kashmiri Pilau

I love rice. Whether it’s paella, arroz con pollo, thai basil fried rice, or chicken biryani, I am all over it, savoring every last morsel. I love this pilau because it’s hearty, spicy, and sweet at the same time. Above you can see all of the spices involved in this dish. The color is from turmeric and saffron, making this quite the decadent dish (the cashews help). While the aroma of cumin and coriander seeds make you think this is going to be heavy, the rice is light, and upon your first bite you should taste the golden raisins, and see how beautifully they pair up with all the spices. The cilantro/red onion garnish isn’t necessary, but I always like the kick it gives. The recipe is modified from the BBC segment “Indian Food Made Easy”:

Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds & 1/4 tsp coriander
3in piece cinnamon
3 cloves
3 green cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced -not crushed
several tbsps of chopped cashews
several tbs of golden (not dark!) raisins
7oz basmati rice, washed until the water runs clear, drained
14fl oz water ?Pinch saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over a low heat. Add the cumin & coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf and fry for 20-30 seconds, or until the spices are fragrant.

2. Add the onion, garlic and 1 tsp of turmeric, and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown.

3. Add the cashews and raisins and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the rice and stir well to coat it in the spiced oil.

5. Add the water, saffron milk, plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes.

6. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the rice is tender but still has a slight bite.

7. Add any more nuts or raisins and stir well, fluffing the rice with a fork as you stir.

Set aside for 4-5 minutes to allow any excess water to evaporate, then serve.
The pilau is great on its own, or with a fried egg, and this is an especially wonderful juxtaposition with a spicy curry.

Another easy way to venture into Indian cooking is checking out already prepared spice mixes at your local Indian grocery store. If you live anywhere close to Edison, South Brunswick, or Oak Tree, a Patels Cash and Carry or a Subzi Mandi should be just around the corner. I don’t know what I would do if it weren’t for Shan masalas, which I buy in bulk and bring back with me to Boulder. The ones featured above contain my favorite recipes and spice flavorings. The Tandoori chicken is always a hit, and with the addition of some drumsticks, yogurt, garlic, ginger paste, you have an easy marinade that is no fail.

The chicken kebabs you see above were made using Shan masalas, and they were exquisite when dipped into Cilantro Buttered Mashed Potatoes.

To make the potatoes I boiled a few red skinned potatoes until they were tender. In a small pan I warmed up 1-2 tablespoons of butter until it was frothy, and added a handful of very finely chopped cilantro and 2 cloves of garlic on low heat. After a few minutes I turned the heat off added the boiled, peeled potatoes, some salt and pepper to taste, and mashed thoroughly.

This week I sat down with a very laid back couple, Bonnie and Clyde, I’ll call them.  Although they’ve been together for only about four months, they’ve had some very exciting sexual adventures.  Bonnie is a 19 year old Rutgers College sophomore and Clyde is a 21 year old Rutgers College senior.  Both are Honors Program students.  During the school year they have sex about every other day on average.  Here’s how our chat went:

Anthony: Okay, so we’ll start with a tough one:  What does sex mean to you?

Bonnie: Well, before I had sex, I thought sex would be a more spiritual way of connecting with another person.  Now that I have sex, I still feel that way, but more primarily I think of it as a pleasurable experience.

Anthony: And when did you first have sex?

Bonnie: Only last August.

Anthony: And you Clyde?

Clyde: The summer before my freshman year of college.

Anthony: And what does sex mean to you?

Clyde: Well I see it as a natural pleasure, and one that we shouldn’t deprive ourselves of.  I think it can be even more enjoyable and special with someone that you really care about, but regardless of who it’s with it will still be pretty good, at least for guys–we’re easy.

Anthony: How many people have you guys each had sex with?

Bonnie:  Three.  The first two were pretty random and lackluster one night stand type things.

Clyde:  Probably five or six.  That number would be in the double digits, but a lot of times I was just unable to perform because I was too drunk or maybe too nervous, or both, I don’t know.  I spent a lot of my freshman year of college drunk.

Anthony: How important is sex in relationships?

Clyde:  To me it’s very important.  You need to have a good sex life.  Speaking as a man, I pretty much always think about sex.  If I wasn’t able to satisfy those urges with my significant other, I would constantly be looking to do so elsewhere.  I don’t think that love and sex necessarily have to be tied together, but they are, so you have to fulfill each other’s needs.

Bonnie: I’d say it’s pretty important.  I mean, I guess it’s not the most important thing but it’s important.  I was talking to a friend today who hasn’t had sex yet, about how if a guy lasts long [during sex] it’ll be very convenient.  And I was saying how it doesn’t really make a difference as long as the person is devoted to making you feel good.  And I think that it’s shown through sex but it translates to all other aspects of the relationship.

Anthony: Bonnie, have you ever faked an orgasm?

Bonnie: Nope.

Anthony: How often do you orgasm when you are intimate with Clyde?

Bonnie:  I feel like, I don’t know, a quarter of the time or a third of the time maybe.

Clyde: Jeez I’ve gotta do a better job.

Bonnie: Well you try.  And also when you don’t try–sometimes you don’t try and it’s still fine.

Clyde: Alright of the times that I try, how often do you have an orgasm?

Anthony: Hey who’s doing the interview here?

Bonnie:  I’d say maybe two thirds.

Clyde:  I guess I can live with that.  There are definitely times when we’re too drunk or exhausted to really put forth a tremendous effort.  In times like those I guess I’m really mostly interested in taking care of myself and then going to sleep.  Plus there are times when we only have time for a quickie.  The readers should understand that those all count in Bonnie’s original estimate.

Anthony: Getting a little defensive are we, Clyde?

Clyde:  Well the readers want the facts Anthony. (Laughs)

Anthony: Okay, well let’s talk about masturbation habits.  When did you start, and how often do you do it?

Clyde:  Well during the semester, I was always at class or work, and when I wasn’t I was with Bonnie.  I can’t remember a time when I wanted to have sex and she didn’t, so I really didn’t have to masturbate.  This break I’ve probably averaged at least once a day and there were several days where I was in a situation where I couldn’t at all, so you do the math.  Oh and I started when I was in like seventh or eighth grade or something.

Anthony: How about you Bonnie?

Bonnie:  Actually, I just successfully masturbated for the first time last night.  Clyde and I video chatted, had what I guess you call cybersex.  I’d never really been able to get into masturbating before.

Clyde:  I’ve been encouraging her to try it because I think it will improve sex.  If she gets a better feeling for how to make herself orgasm, she’ll have an easier time telling me how to do it for her.  Plus, she pretty much always wants her clit stimulated, and if I have to focus on that it…sort of messes up my stroke, you know?  Now hopefully she’ll be more willing to do it herself.  Then maybe I can get my numbers up!

(All Laugh)

Anthony: How would you guys rate your sex life overall?

Bonnie:  I’d give it an A.  I’d say that even when I don’t orgasm it’s still satisfying because of the emotional connection, and it’s still exciting.

Clyde:  Yeah we have a pretty awesome sex life.  We’re both pretty open with each other, and we’re open to new things, and to experimentation.  Although I keep trying to get her to have a threesome.

Anthony: Bonnie’s reluctant?

Clyde:  Well she says she’d get jealous if she saw me with another girl.  I’d be willing to have another guy in on the action, but I’m not sure that I’d really be comfortable seeing another guy with her.  I kinda feel like it’s worse for a guy to see that sort of thing.  I can’t even say that I’d be jealous, it would be something else.  That hasn’t stopped me from trying though.  We’ve invited a few guys and girls to have sex with us, mostly on drunken nights, and no one’s gone through with it.  But I’m hoping that the new semester will hold lots of opportunity.

Anthony: Okay, so what kinds of things have you guys done, other than traditional sex?  I want stories!

Bonnie:  Umm, well one thing that none of my friends would ever do is have [anal] sex, and we’ve done that.  It was pretty normal the way it happened.  I was pretty drunk so I don’t remember that it hurt but apparently it did.

We’ve also had sex in front of a few different people at different times.  The first time was in the living room at Clyde’s friends’ house.  Everyone had gone to sleep and we were about to start doing it when his friend Barry came downstairs.  Clyde told him to go back upstairs but he said he had nowhere to sleep.

Clyde: Yeah, he’d been sexiled.  I was really horny at the time, so I told him he was either going to have to find somewhere else to sleep or watch us have sex.

Bonnie: So after some arguing, Barry and I were convinced that we should just do it with Barry watching from across the room with the lights off.

Anthony: What was that like for you guys?

Bonnie:  At first I was very uncomfortable, as was Barry, but then I got a little more comfortable.  He got comfortable enough that he came over really close, sat down right next to me while I was [having oral sex performed on me].  But then I made him go back to the other side of the room, and we continued, and I even [orgasmed] in front of this other kid, and it was no big deal at all!

Clyde: At first I had a little trouble getting [aroused]–he kept trying to make small talk with us–but once I got going it was pretty cool.  We did it doggy style which is always fun.

Anthony: And that was the beginning of your exhibitionism, huh?

Bonnie: Yes.  Although my friends have always joked that I was an exhibitionist.  I’ve gone streaking and stuff before, so I was always very comfortable with my body I suppose.  I have nothing to be ashamed of.

Clyde: Yeah she’s got great [breasts].

Anthony: I’ve noticed.

Clyde:  But that actually was not our first taste of exhibitionism.  We were fooling around one night, I think we were both in our underwear.  I had the video camera on my phone handy, and she was kinda rubbing her feet on my crotch.  So I decided to whip it out and before we knew it we’d made a few 30-second footjob  pornos.  We decided to send it to one of her friends, who then proceeded to show it to everyone at the party she was at.

Anthony: Ooh, how’d you guys feel about that?

Clyde:  She was pretty upset at first but she got over it.  I didn’t really care at all.  Plus when her roommate got back from the same party, she said that everyone was saying I had a big [penis] so I was actually pretty happy.

Anthony: Well congratulations Clyde, I’m happy for you.  And for you too Bonnie.  So you said there were other times..?

Bonnie: There was another time when one of my friends from High School had never given head before and she asked me if she could watch.  I knew he’d be okay with it so I said sure.  That one didn’t work out too well though.

Clyde: Yeah that was our first, like, scheduled thing you know, so it didn’t come about naturally.  We were just like ‘here we go’ and then I took of my pants, no foreplay or anything.  I couldn’t really get [aroused].  I guess it was too much pressure or something.  Our friends joke that we have a fetish for being watched, but I use that as proof that we don’t.  Or at least I don’t.  After she left we had good sex though.

Bonnie. We ended up sixty-nining in front of her and she enjoyed it.

Anthony: So speaking of fetishes, what are you’re ultimate fantasies?

Bonnie: I don’t have one, I don’t think.

Clyde: Yeah me either.  I’m just generally horny.  I like trying new things, and would like to try as many as possible.  I’ll try just about everything once.

Anthony: Okay, more stories?

Clyde: Well a couple weeks ago, we had sex while our friend’s girlfriend taped it, and our other friend was passed out on another bed.  He was supposed to be having a threesome with us, but like I said, nobody comes through.

Anthony: Is this video available to the public, or perhaps to members of the press?

Clyde: (Laughs) No she deleted it before I even got to watch.

Bonnie: I don’t like hearing myself moan.

Clyde: Yeah plus she was wasted when we made it.  She mostly just laid there.  But we’ll make a better one.

That concludes my chat with Bonnie and Clyde.  It was refreshing to hear the two of them be so open about their experiences and their relationship with each other.  I hope to speak with more people who laugh in the face of society’s norms.  In my opinion, sex is something we all do, so why should it be taboo?

As always, if you are interested in being interviewed (completely anonymously), email us at Johnsonvillepress@gmail.com.  All viewpoints, sexual orientations, and genders, are welcome.   Thanks for your support, and until next time, keep talking about sex!

In a mere 24 pages, Lewis applies his finely-tuned observational skills to all the information he has accumulated, as though looking at it on a table and putting the pieces together like the chronology of a time line. What he uncovers is a pattern of human behavior that deals with how we handle our natural instinct to survive. That is to say, humans, like any other species, are inherently inclined to survive. Lewis argues that the manner in which we chose to survive comes from the notion of “Man’s conquest of Nature,” which “is an expression often used to describe the progress of applied science”(67). The phrase “Man’s conquest of Nature,” itself has many implications. It suggests most simply that as a species we strive to control our environment, therefore making it more suitable for human inhabitants. It also suggests the sort of relationship between man and Nature to be one of struggle given that the relationship is characterized as a “conquest”. This struggle, as Darwin would suggest, is the struggle for existence against the raw elements of nature. However, for humans, nothing can really ever be that simple. This struggle seems to be more of a struggle for a better existence, meaning that survival is about more than maintaining the status quo, but striving to be better, to be more equipped to control the environment so that it suits our standard of living- our world apart from nature. And to go beyond the status quo, to reach the level where we can control Nature itself, requires more than just basic survival skills. The pattern of behavior that Lewis uncovers delivers the key to understanding how it is that humans go about their “conquest of Nature” and to what end it really serves.

But how is it that we aim to “conquer” Nature? Lewis suggests that our goal to control our environment, our conquest, is attained through advancements in applied science. What is considered applied science? In this essay, Lewis uses “three typical examples”(68) to explain the sort of applied science to which he is referring: “the aeroplane, the wireless and the contraceptive”(68). Each of these represents a way in which science has overcome natural obstacles to make human life more comfortable and more suitable to social norms. However, Lewis is not concerned with the fact that they exist–there is much good use for science–but rather how these little feats of nature function within the human community, how they are regulated and who controls them. One finds that access to items like the ones mentioned before, these tangible little powers over nature, is granted to “anyone who can pay for them”(68). And so, one finds that “what we call man’s power over nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument”(69). It is here that the pattern Lewis isolates emerges as the prevalent driving motivation for “Man’s conquest of Nature”. In his previous two essays Lewis discusses the process by which man regulates an acceptable standard of values through the teaching of English in upper level schools. The powers that be debunk certain “unacceptable” reactions, which tend to be emotional responses, and replace these with logical, rational reactions that are routed in reason instead of sentimentality. This is a process by which man chooses what is considered unacceptable and then opts to replace it with whatever standard is considered acceptable. This process, most simply explained, is a way to pick and chose how humans should behave. This then begs the question of who decides what is acceptable and how can it be implemented? Furthermore, how does this pattern of behavior relate to “Man’s conquest of Nature”?

Before diving into this question, it must be noted that big picture questions require big picture responses and big picture analysis. When I say big picture, I do not mean that lightly–Lewis contends that to fully understand the logistics of this power struggle between men, one must look at the species from its beginning all the way to the date of its extinction. That is to say, Lewis places great emphasis on the idea that the battle to conquer Nature is really a fight among men for the power to control Nature. And so to really understand how men relate to one another and how the conquest of Nature fits into this relation, it is necessary to look at all men to identify a pattern of behavior. Using such a wide lens to observe and analyze further suggests that the relation among men which is at stake in this battle is really the relationship between successive generations. Every generation exerts a certain amount of control over its succeeding generations. Every generation aims to create a world in which their successors can live better, more comfortable lives, and by creating its own version of the world, the generation in power creates a certain set of rules that govern what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in that world. Each generation of man, while exerting a sort of control over future generations is at the same time resisting the control that the previous generations have exerted upon it. That is to say, when each generation tries to create their own version of the world, they are by default trying to eradicate the rules of the world set forth by the previous generation. So every generation, by trying to create their own world, is in fact resisting the old one. When the conquest of Nature is added to this already contradictory and complicated relationship between men, one finds that the control over succeeding generations has the potential to become far more precise and lasting. The pattern of behavior that is found in this relationship among men becomes the manner in which man handles his control over Nature with regard to his own evolutionary process. Lewis argues that as mankind becomes more advanced in the area of applied sciences and furthers the kind of controls it has over Nature and itself, one finds that, “the final stage is come when Man by eugenics, by pre-natal conditioning, and by education and propaganda based on a perfect applied psychology, has obtained full control over himself”(72). That is to say, firstly that when enough advancements have been made in applied sciences, the pattern of exercising control over future generations to ensure a better existence turns its sights on mankind itself, so that each generation can actually put institutions in place that will actually determine what is acceptable to be as a human. To be more precise, “human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man. The battle will be won.”(72)

In 1947, when this book was first published, there is no way Lewis could have known what advancements in applied sciences would bring. His prediction that man will actually obtain the power to physically alter the make-up of future generations I find absolutely startling. Today one could look to the huge studies of human DNA codes, which scientists are continually trying to break so as to understand our genetic make-up. They also aim to find ways to identify the imperfections in the code, which present themselves as hereditary illnesses, and then to find ways of mending those imperfections so as to create stronger generations of human beings. It is important work indeed, but this essay makes me wonder whether we should be dabbling with our wiring at all. Once humans have achieved the capacity to essentially edit their wiring, then the conquest of Nature, “the battle will be won,” but “who, precisely, will have won it?”(72). Let us take pause here for a moment, while there is space, to ponder this: to what end does this victory serve? Lewis mentions earlier in his essay that in order to fully understand the way in which “Man’s conquest of Nature” is implemented among men, we must look at the species generational relationships from its beginning to its end, that is, its extinction. So let us consider this process which allows us to manipulate ourselves; we see that by following Lewis’ logic, this process is really the one we naturally follow, inevitably leading us to our own demise, almost as though it cannot be helped. The title of this essay alone suggests the true outcome of this battle with Nature: the abolition of man.

Though I am in almost no way opposed to scientific advancements and research, I am inclined to agree with Lewis. Firstly, the foresight he demonstrates in this essay leaves me feeling both appreciative and uneasy at the same time. I am grateful because he took the time to explore this issue in a very matter-of-fact sort of way that is not only well thought out, organized and carefully strung together, but also makes me think honestly about a greater question concerning my species--our species–to which we are all inevitably tied. What makes me uneasy concerns the relationship between Nature and man and this seemingly inherent inclination to separate ourselves from nature so as to conquer it, as though it was never a part of us at all. I think Lewis’s argument deserves merit and I also think that the examples he highlights, which exemplify the pattern of behavior that will ultimately lead to the abolition of man, are the best ones he could have chosen to justify his point of view. One of the reasons I found it so difficult to write about this essay was because I found myself agreeing with what he was saying and not knowing how to say it differently; he explains it so eloquently and so logically that to recount his argument almost seems unnecessary. I would urge anyone reading this article to read for themselves the full version of The Abolition of Man for two reasons specifically: firstly, and most importantly, reading the essays by Lewis would inspire the reader to ponder, as I did, whether or not humans should be dabbling with their own evolutionary process, that is to say, whether humans should take over that role from Nature so as to determine the best course of evolution for all mankind; secondly, anyone reading this article would benefit more from reading the actual text itself because, while I try to be as comprehensive as possible, Lewis’s words themselves should be read and should be known to people. The questions he is dealing with in this essay are important and should be dealt with by all humans, not just by one dead intellectual and one silly college girl. That is to say, “I’m not just talking about one person, I’m talking about everybody. I’m talking about form. I’m talking about content. I’m talking about interrelationships. I’m talking about God, the devil, Hell, Heaven. Do you understand… FINALLY?” (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975; quotation from character “Harding”).  This is an issue that EVERYONE should be talking about because it concerns the survival of our very species; it deals with our very existence itself. It should not be, it cannot be ignored or else perhaps we will prove Lewis right in the end and destroy ourselves by becoming our own gods, by taking the reigns over life away from Nature and controlling every aspect of our world so that it suits us alone–leaving Nature to fend for itself against the raw elements of mankind.

The main issue that most people have with this idea is that there is no problem if man tries to conquer Nature. In fact many people would argue that because of our superior intellect, that we should or ought to conquer it. Perhaps this is correct…but I find myself agreeing with Lewis on this one. Instead of trying to conquer Nature, we should find a way to co-exist with it. Now, I am not saying that we return to a life of “hunters and gatherers” because that simply wouldn’t work as a method of survival in today’s society. However, we can apply the same principles to modern society–that is to say, we can find a way to not be wasteful, to consume only what is necessary and to evolve with Nature and not against it. I am frightened by the idea that mankind feels it is not a part of Nature, but in fact something separate. This is wrong. Human beings are natural beings and we are therefore always going to be tied to Nature and to a greater natural order. I think it is wrong to try to force a separation between man and Nature, to try to become beings that are not natural, but instead entirely man-made. Ultimately, I do not think that man should have that kind of power. I do not think that men should be gods; they certainly ought not be their own gods. I think that the greater natural order exists for a reason–that like every cycle there is a beginning and an end and the sooner we accept that, the better off we will be and the longer we will survive.

However, when we do discuss this issue, and I say “when” because some part of me is still an idealist (because I am young after all), we must be able to look at the situation as Lewis did, as the big picture, as though it is spread out in front of us on a table so that we can see all the pieces fit together. At the conclusion of his essay, Lewis leaves the reader with advice as to how to go about addressing the issues he discusses in his essay. He does not explicitly say that his words are meant for that purpose, but I feel they are important enough to deliver to you here because these words ought to serve that function:

You cannot go on ’seeing through’ things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ’see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ’see through’ all this is the same as not to see. (1)

To say the least, this essay leaves me in a state of wandering contemplation and I enjoy it, ultimately, because it makes me think on a more profound level, not only about the content of this essay, but also the manner in which it was written. Looking at this piece as a writer I see a logically outlined argument that comes across as very honest. It seems to me that the manner in which Lewis presents these three essays, which are in fact actually lectures that he gave, functions as an offering to humanity, a mission statement of sorts, for future generations to regard as a reminder that we are humans, physical beings, and we are inevitably bound to our finite existences as mere parts of a greater natural order. That is to say, that in the battle between Man and Nature, Nature will win out every time, in spite of how advanced we may become. If we ought to do anything, then we ought to accept that first.

(1) C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man; Collier Books, 1962; p. 91;

RU Grill & Pizza, located at 142 Easton Avenue, did not offer any options for me besides plain pizza. For a quick plain slice it did not look worthwhile: the pizza looked like it had been left out for too long and was curling at the top because it was getting too cold. RU Grill & Pizza seems to cater more towards the “average student:” with lots of meat and a page of menu dedicated solely to fat sandwiches.

Giovanneli’s had two pizzas out that looked somewhat appealing: plain and mushroom. I was not able to consume the mushroom pizza because half of it, which was buffalo chicken, had spilled over onto the mushroom slices. Also, the mushrooms did not look too appetizing: they were canned, causing them to look too gray after being cooked, and didn’t seem worth an extra fifty cents. Giovanneli’s plain slice was thin, like most pizza in New Brunswick. It had a crunch to it, but only from being reheated and getting somewhat burnt on the bottom in the process. It tasted a bit like uncooked dough, though after a few bites it was easier to enjoy. The slice had barely any sauce but an overabundance of herbs. There was enough oil on top of it to fill my car up to get back home. The crust, thankfully, was not as thin as the rest of the pizza and had a great taste without too much flour or too much of a “yeast” taste. The plain slice certainly did not seem worth the two dollar asking price.

Gerlanda’s, located in the Student Centers on College Avenue and Busch campuses, had more than four vegetarian options available. For close to four dollars the best slice there is the roasted veggie stuffed pizza. It has no sauce and is bursting with mozzarella cheese and roasted vegetables- true to its name. The mozzarella tasted extremely fresh and the veggies were roasted to perfection. The crust on top and bottom was the perfect thinness for the pizza, holding all the components well. The only downside to this slice was that the roasted peppers tasted way too “canned.” For close to four dollars it was expensive but felt worthwhile especially since one slice was more than enough food.

Paulie’s, located at 34 Easton Ave., looks great from the outside and going inside is not as disappointing as the other pizza shops on Easton. Paulie’s seems to actually use some of its revenue for updates, which keeps it looking somewhat enticing to the students who eat there sober on late nights. After 8pm Paulie’s has a special: a slice of pizza is a dollar plus tax and it is definitely worth the buck and a few cents. There were three vegetarian options; I bought one plain slice and a slice with broccoli, tomatoes, mozzarella and ricotta cheese.

Paulie’s pizza was thin but the bottom was not burnt and does not taste under or overcooked. There was a nice crunch to the pizza. The plain slice had a mild and timid sauce- it was shy and gave the cheese a chance to stand out. The crust was bigger than Giovanneli’s and it had a tad more of a yeast flavor. The vegetable slice had perfectly cooked broccoli that still had its flavor intact. The tomatoes took a backseat- the sauce was drained along with its flavor. The ricotta took front stage and had an extremely dry texture. It was clumped in random mounds and dried out each bite. The crust on the veggie slice is stiff and goes everywhere when bit into.

Highland Pizza, located at 601 Raritan (Route 27), may be some distance away from New Brunswick, but it does have parking. They deliver, are fairly priced, and are extremely gracious and welcoming to each customer. They will put any veggies on top of their delicious plain slice as per request. I recommend their eggplant- it’s freshly fried- and onions and garlic though you migh end up sitting alone. Their plain slice had a stiff bottom that held up well, a nice crunch, and was also thin. The cheese stood out more than the sauce though the sauce had a great flavor without too many herbs. The sauce did not taste too thin or “meat-like.” The crust was golden in both looks and taste. As the slice cooled down I discovered new flavors being showcased. For under two dollars Highland Pizza offers one of the best plain slices in the New Brunswick area.

For my top two picks, Highland Pizza has the most colored plain slice of pizza- all the elements can be seen clearly. It did not feel disconnected and all of its components blended together effortlessly. Gerlanda’s offers the best veggie option because it tastes fresh and filled me up (with no guilt). As a vegetarian and health-conscious student, freshness and quality are always priority. Sometimes going the distance or paying an extra buck is rewarding.

Having lived in New Brunswick for a few years, you take those perfectly crispy thin crusts with just the right amount of marinara and aged mozzarella for granted. This is exacerbated by our terrible tendency to indulge in that two dollar slice in the late hours after some drunken revelry. Personally, I was always a huge fan of La Familia’s single plain slice, which I thought was far superior to a whole pie from there. I love to be greedy with the crushed red pepper, add in a shake of garlic powder and a little bit of oregano if they had it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Boulder has been able to offer us sophisticated pizzas with brie and figs and fresh basil (for sophisticated prices also). These delicious frou-frou touches aside, sometimes a girl just wants a greasy pie where the cheese is oozing and bubbling.

But this has given us a wonderful opportunity to venture into our own pizza making. Not only does making your own pizza lend you a chance to get creative, but once you try your own slice you will never, and I do mean never, bother with frozen pizzas.

Some grocers, such as Wholefoods, carry ready made pizza dough for you to play with. The dough is just a few dollars, and makes enough for 2-3 people to eat well. Our favorite sauces (besides the ones I make from scratch) include Rao’s Marinara, which is triple of Ragu, but made with plum Italian tomatoes from San Marzano’s region and rustic Italian goodness. Emeril’s marinara is good for the price, and doesn’t succumb to an unnatural sweetness I get from a lot of sauces at the store. The pizza you see below utilizes Wholefood’s whole wheat pizza dough, with mozarella, marinara, onions, garlic, sausage, and dry thai chilli peppers. All you have to do is shape the pizza, stick it in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees and then add the cooked toppings on top. Doing this ensures that your pizza isn’t soggy towards the center. After that we baked the pizza for 10-20 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted. And if you want to really perk up a simple pizza, I would highly recommend dipping the pizza into your favorite ranch dressing. I’ve done this once, adding chopped chives and scallions to the ranch–it felt immoral indulging in such a good treat.

Naan also makes a great pizza base that is quick and easy, and perfect if you like thin, crispy crusts. The one above has crimini mushrooms which I sauteed in butter, thin slices of drunken goat cheese, a few shavings of garlic, onions and thyme.

The Tandoori Chicken pizza you see above is proof that there are no limits to how many toppings you can place on a pizza. I cook a lot at home, and we often tend to have leftovers, so on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was staring at some spicy tandoori chicken breasts from the night before when we decided to turn it into a pizza. A thinly sliced Tandoori chicken also makes an amazing omelette filling by the way. Just throw in some red onions, cilantro and garlic, and you’re all set. This pizza has a thin layer of marinara, diced tandoori chicken, mozzarella, spinach cooked in butter and garlic, chopped red onions, garlic, crimini mushrooms, and some cilantro. Of course, often times in life the best pairings are the simplest ones and by all means this pizza would be delicious with just the chicken and some onions. But why be abstemious when your fridge is always full?

This pizza was made in a hurry, and turned out to be my favorite in the whole collection here. Barbecue added to a pizza really livens it up, along with the cilantro and red onions. All we did was take a chicken cutlet and pan sear it till fully cooked with a few tablespoons of Stubb’s Spicy Bar-B-Q-Sauce–my favorite aside from Jessica’s Fire Sauce by the Rib House, and the Bone Suckin’ Hiccuppin Hot Sauce. With some help from my most trusted ingredients, red onions and cilantro, this flavor combination was earnest and appetizing in a way that can only result from good home cooking.