Beer Me! Links for a Monday

Brewdog, a Scottish brewery that’s fairly popular, just released a beer they’re calling “No Label.” The profits are going to go to a few British LBGTQI+ organizations. This is all well and good, in theory, but a number of trans people I know and know of have pointed out massive problems with the beer and campaign. Julia Astrid Davis, a brewer and transgender woman breaks down clearly and quickly the various ways in which this action, though it may seem good on the surface, is actually incredibly problematic.

Will Robertson and Julia Burke have another response, both to Brewdog and Davis over on Skepchick. I’m unsure of this one, myself, but it’s another set of interesting perspectives. Overall, though, I find myself agreeing strongly with Davis.… Continue reading →

Food Links for a Monday

Almost 10 years ago, the oldest known cookbook written (in 1866) by a free black woman was unearthed at University of Michigan. The next oldest Black cookbook that historians know of wasn’t published for another fifteen years, in 1881. That historical rareness, it turns out, isn’t merely an artifact of earlier times. It’s the norm; very few cookbooks written by black authors have been published over the years. Making the past two months (Sept and Oct) “anomalous” in having six cookbooks released by black women in that time. This link is an interesting one that discusses such history in greater depth, and touches on current reality, including mentioning my perennial favorite, Angela Davis of Kitchenista Diaries.

“Ecosystems all around the world are warming up due to global climate change, says Pershing, but the Gulf of Maine is ahead of the curve.… Continue reading →

Five (Unexpected!) Chicago Places I Miss

Chicago is too massive for me to wrap my brain around. I lived here nearly eight years and I barely scratched the surface of it. Like many residents of any town, I settled into my routines and barely got out of them. I thought maybe I had a lifetime to figure this city out. And now I only have the occasional visit…

As excited as I am to choose my own PDX adventure (or do I want to take the Rose City path!?!?!), I can’t deny I miss Chicago deeply. And as I’m visiting for the first time, I’ve been replaying so many things I miss, and I realized there’s an important category I’d like to share.

Places I Regret Not Visiting More

MANA Food Bar

MANA has fabulous food.… Continue reading →

Five Links to Start Your Week Off Thoughtfully

“Most farm technologies increase yields by a few percentage points. When you start talking about tripling yields over large expanses of land, then you are talking about a major improvement…” Triple. For small farms in Kenya. Triple the yields. All by planting a few plants to deal with some of your pests. Plants which, serendipitously, fix nitrogen as well.

Clean up your act, Chicago! This is actually a pretty upsetting reality in an industry a lot of us participate in, but is also a bit hidden from us. There’s a stark racial divide in who makes money in restaurants. There’s also a pretty impressive gender divide, though the racial divide is more dramatic. It definitely indicates white men make, by far, the bulk of the money in working in restaurants.… Continue reading →

MARS DAY!!!!

Guys, I am not even going to pretend here. I cannot focus on anything today except the fact that I should probably consume food at some point and THERE IS EVIDENCE OF LIQUID WATER ON MARS.

I know! I’m supposed to be studying like my life depends on it. And probably by the time Amanda gets here to study, I’ll have calmed the fuck down a bit. Probably.

But it’s really, really hard, honestly.

I’m, oddly enough, not much of a space nerd. I think space is neat and all, but it’s not usually something that captivates me the way it does so many others. However, the real and possible connections between space and Earth? Always fascinating to me. Extremophiles? YES.

Something very few people know about me (even Bill had forgotten until this morning) is that I was deeply interested in astrobiology1 in my undergraduate studies.… Continue reading →