Two old, two related, one unrelated

I'm a bit behind in my book reviews, so I'll give the abbreviated version for two of the most recent and one that was finished, I don't know, four months ago?
First up, the oldest (though not the oldest date of publication) Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. This book has made such the rounds that it is even poked fun at in the book Stuff White People Like (Well, perhaps the book is not being made fun of, rather the middle and upper class, left-leaning Whites are the target). In short, Pollan follows corn and beef, the two items that Americans seem to eat the most of, through two (three, actually) food systems: conventional (or if you prefer, industrial) agriculture, what Pollan labels "Big" organic (essentially commercialized and idustrialized organic processes) and sustainable ag. He goes into great detail about corn, it's history, it's sex (yes, truly!) and what it's found in. He also follows a cow in the industrial system from pasture to feedlot. Suffice to say, many, many people have written about and read this book. What makes it stand out for me is the description he gives of Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm in northern Virginia. There he shows how Salatin has partnered with nature to produce a healthy and (so they say) delicious product of beef, chicken, and turkey. That section (two or three chapters) is worth the price of the book alone.

Related and most recently finished is Matthew Dickerson's and Jonathan Evans' Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien. "Huh?" you shrug. Wasn't LOTR about good and evil, myth, and adventure. You are correct, sir (or ma'am), but within Tolkien's sprawling epic (the authors include The Hobbit and The Silmarillion and also some unrelated short stories) is an ethic for Creation. The authors focus specifically on three environments: the agriculture of the Hobbits, the horticulture of the elves, and the (neologism alert) feraculture of the ents. Dickerson and Evans assert that there are many lessons to be learned for us from this imaginary world. Think about the contrast of the Shire, before Frodo and Sam's departure with Sharkey's invasion of it after the fall of Isengard. Sharkey's vision is industrial and ugly, while the Hobbit's vision is one of preindustrial ag. with limited machinery. This could be seen as simplistic, but the author's show that even though Tolkien sided with the Hobbits (they were stand-ins for Englishmen, after all) they had their faults and shortcomings too.
This book is a fairly exhaustive exploration of how Tolkien's thoughts on creation stewardship--before any environmental movement--are strongly woven throughout his tale, and yet it never slips into propaganda--obviously, since so few have taken this tack with LOTR. I could say "You don't have to have read LOTR to enjoy this" but that would be false, but when you reread (and your should) LOTR you'll look at it with a different eye and perhaps wish to make some of the best of Middle-Earth occur on this earth.

Lastly, (the unrelated) is Wonderful Fool by one of my favorite authors Shusaku Endo.
This novel tells part of the story of Gaston Bonaparte (yes, he's a relative of Napoleon) who visits Japan (in the 1960s I believe) under mysterious circumstances. He's met by his pen pal Takamori and his proto-feminist sister Tomoe after he arrives in a freighter. Takamori and Tomoe aren't quite sure what to do with Gaston, he's big, tall, horse-faced and seems a bit simple. Gaston is also a bumbler and hasn't quite mastered Japanese. The brother and sister are annoyed with the foreigner's seemingly ignorant desires to visit non-touristy places, but after he leaves they find themselves caring for him, much to their chagrin. Gaston explores the underbelly of Japan--befriending prostitutes, fortune-tellers, and mangy dogs; Gas, as he comes to be called, involves himself in a murder plot of a vengeful brother.
Endo created a character who is both sympathetic and slightly maddening at times, not to the degree of Bjork in Dancer in the Dark, for the reader does not wish the death of gas, unlike Bjork character. No, Endo has endowed Gas as a believable Christ-figure. And that, dear reader, is the point of the tale. This book is obscure, but if you can obtain a copy, I'm sure you'll enjoy the subtle humor and pathos.

Up with Up

Yes, that was a lazy title, but if you don't like it, write your own. Pixar continues to create quality productions that reinforce the fact that if you don't have an engaging story and characters to care for then you ain't got nothing--hear that George Lucas? There are probably three million sites to check out a synopsis for the movie so I'll skip it. I will rather touch on a couple of thematic elements found in this "cartoon." 1) Dreams deferred and readjusted. Carl, the elderly main character, (Kudos to Pixar for showing that the elderly can carry a "children's" movie) has to come to grips with the fact that his dreams of adventure, with his wife Ellie, did occur, just not in the way he had expected. Perhaps this is better thought of as contentment, especially in such an age as ours. The other main character, Russell, a quasi-Boy Scout (he's a Wilderness Explorer) comments that the things he remembers most about spending time with his absent father are "the boring things." Quotidian details add up to a life well-spent. 2) The importance of friendship. After Carl's wife dies, he becomes a cantankerous crank, committed to his house (against the purchasing designs of some corporation) but nothing else. Having Russell, involuntarily, join him in his quest to visit Paradise Falls in South America. They both come to rely on each other, Russell becomes for Carl someone to care for (Kevin, the bird does too), and Carl becomes a patron (in the old sense) for Russell.
Not only can Pixar deliver a great story, but they continue to amaze with their visuals. It isn't the flashy stuff that attracts, it's the tiny details--the pattern and texture of fabric, the stubble on Carl's chin--that complete the viewing experience.
Lastly, I have to comment that when we first meet Alpha the dog and his thought translator is on the wrong setting, my wife and I couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. The scene proves that incongruity is a key to comedy. My children found the scene funny, but nowhere near the level of hilarity as the adults. Maybe for you too?

Bitter & Sweet

My son had his pre-school "graduation" this past Thursday. Normally I look on these things with a bit of disdain--do we really need to ritualize every progression we make in life? Honestly--if everybody is a winner then are there any winners at all? OK, so I attend the ceremony and enjoy it. What took me by surprise was the tiny corrugated shard of sadness I felt, knowing he would never be this age again. Knowing I would never drop him off at his school (my old building) nor pick him up there again.
When he was an infant I couldn't wait for him to mature--let's face it, on many levels babies are boring. They don't much of anything--sure, sure, they possess an ontological sweetness, but really...they eat, sleep, cry, and void waste. Slugs can be more fascinating at times. I derive much pleasure from his age right now (most days) and look forward to when we can discuss ideas--metaphysical and cultural--but I enjoy the journey too. He will never pass this way again and I'm glad he's moving on, but still. . .
Now, my students moving on. . . that's almost always sweet, never bitter, and sometimes a bit of a relief. Teach us to number our days, O LORD.

Hombre So-So

A little ball of cottony lightning tumbled in my stomach as I opened the package today. Hombre Lobo, the new Eels album was delivered to my mailbox this afternoon. I promptly tore off the plastic wrap and inserted the CD into my player. The little ball of cottony lightning soon fizzled out.


Most of the "12 songs of desire" are only moderately interesting. A 4/4 tempo, minimal sonic colors, and bland lyrics unfortunately dominate on this. Only "Fresh Blood", "All the Beautiful Things", and "Beginner's Luck", approach E's usual compositional talent. It's not that the album sucks, but E has set the bar much higher than this--hence the disappointment. Artists tend to fluctuate in their output, this just happens to be a lower point in the Eels arc. You could find better starting places in their discography if you haven't listened to Eels before. If you're already a fan, you may find more to like than I did, but I think E should spend less time growing a beard and more on the songwriting.

An amnesiatic book review

I finished Eric T. Freyfogle's Agrarianism and the Good Society: Land, Culture, Conflict, and Hope some time ago and I remember being very impressed with it. This is the trouble with writing reviews some time after the reading--cranial folds don't always release their wards too easily. I remember the crux of the book was how can we steward land in a way that is wise balancing both public and private needs in addition to considering the needs of the land (and supported ecosystems as well) itself. Interestingly, he looks not only at the example of an ecologist (Aldo Leopold), but also literature--Cold Mountain and the fiction of Wendell Berry to help make his case. I remember being impressed that Freyfogle didn't just diagnose the problem but had suggestions as well. Not policies, per se, but principles to apply to policies.
Since this is such a crappy review I'll just throw some quotes out that I had highlighted.
Something for "Environmentalists" to consider:

. . . defenders of natural areas would do better relying on community-based rhetoric. Ecological degradation afflicts us collectively, not as individuals: that is the core message. It degrades integrated communities of life (17).

On the place of religion and philosophy with regard to land use:

Good land use would avoid taking risks with nature that we cannot afford to lose, and it would recognize our vast ignorance about nature by interjecting elements of caution in our decision-making processes. Although good land use would certainly draw upon science, we cannot reasonably expect science alone to tell us to live. Science is a body of knowledge about nature and a tool for gaining more knowledge. It falls far short, though, of including all the elements we need to decide how we ought to live on land. To make such judgments, we need to bring in a variety of nonscience considerations. Integration is required, and it is tough work (19).

On the Public-Private divide: "The public has a legitimate interest in how all lands are used. No land use takes place in isolation"(97).
And:

We find ourselves today, I think, burdened with several lousy ideas that we would do well to alter or discard.
The most pressing of these lousy ideas is that private property includes the right to use the land any way an owner wants, without regard for public implications. This is not an accurate statement of law or history, nor is it remotely good public policy.
A second lousy idea in need of change is that the only way to promote healthy lands is to keep them in public hands. Neither is this true, however understandable the idea was when it arose about a century ago.
A third lousy idea is that we can sensibly define the property rights a landowner possesses without taking nature into account (98).

A worthwhile addition to the conversation on conservation in a capitalist and rights-oriented society. If only I could remember more of this book.