Welcome to Comfort Food

If there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I love food. Some of my fondest memories are tied to food and family meals. I've been writing a food blog for a little over a year (for shameless advertising click here). Heck I recently found my travel journal from Japan (I went when I was 11) and I wrote a lot about the food I had.

Our culture seems to be obsessed with food. Almost every social media platform has a food section and I've seen many people taking pictures of their entrees at restaurants. And why shouldn't we love food? After all it's something we need to survive.

Eating usually starts at home and with our families. My family would either eat at the dinner table or on TV trays while watching the latest episode of our favorite show. I learned to cook from watching my parents and extended family in the kitchen and at the side of the grill. I even managed to set myself on fire once, though I'll probably never live that one down (it was only once and it did get me out of helping out with Thanksgiving after that).

I have a few comfort dishes that I love having when I'm visiting my family. I love having my mom's chicken paprikash or goulash, but she has to be the one to make the dishes. Nabe is one of my all time favorite Japanese dishes that I have when visiting my family in North Carolina. I've tried to recreate some of these dishes (with varying degrees of success), but they always seem to taste better when I'm with my family.

Most people I know have a deep connection one way or another with food. For some, it's a connection to their culture and heritage. For others it's deeply tied to family events like Thanksgiving. Or you could be like my sibling and sit in front of the Julia Child's kitchen display at the American History museum, worshiping your idol.

This past weekend, I went to one of my old roommate's birthday parties. She decided that she wanted to theme the party around food she had as a little girl growing up in Brazil. I didn't grow up eating Brazilian food, so I got to try a bunch of new things. Everything was absolutely delicious and there was so much of it that I got to take some home. My friend was so excited to share the food with her friends and it made her so happy to explain what everything was to those of us not familiar with the food.

It can be a lot of fun to experiment with flavors and ingredients, but there's something a little extra special eating the food you grew up with. It's the recipes that are passed down from one generation to the next that are true treasures. It's not just food anymore, it's a memory or an experience. I've even heard it said that parents who cook with their children are able to build stronger bonds.

I am thankful and grateful that I was able to learn how to cook from my parents. But it's not an experience everyone gets to share. Hunger is still a major problem in America and food deserts* don't seem to be going away anytime soon. There are many people who don't know where their next meal is coming from or if there will be enough to keep their children full through the night.

Food is a part of our culture. It can be tied to found memories with our family and friends. We can pass our favorite dishes down to our children and hope they pass it on to there's. We can share recipes with friends and post pictures online. We can donate to our local food pantries to help families in need.

We all need food to survive, but comfort food is for us to share.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like to hear from me. Until next week.

*According to the USDA a food desert is: "parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and healthy food providers."

Welcome to Historical Precedence

I'm not going to lie, I totally picked this title because of how similar (and rarely confused for) the word is to president, especially since tomorrow is Presidents Day in the US. They have very different definitions and one can argue that the word precedent is even closer phonetically, but all three words are closely related.

Precedence means "the fact of being above or ahead of another or others in order, rank, or importance" (at least according to dailywritingtips.com). So what would be a historical precedence?

Well, since Google keeps autocorrecting my question (precedence to precedents), I'm going to assume it's not actually a "thing".

Alright, historical precedence is not an actual English phrase, why am I still making it the topic of this blog post?

Because someone(s) out there is deciding what is taught in our schools, picking out the content for the (used-to-be) History Channel, and organizing the algorithms that make it easier to search for things on the Internet. It's why niche book markets exist. Who is deciding what is important enough to be recorded and saved for future generations (or alien life after we go extinct).

The "winners" of course.

Now, there's only so much history one can learn in their life time. Most US school children get a very general pre-columbian Native American history lesson, an in depth lesson on the founding of the US up until today, and a few short segments on world history (including religion and changes in geography). The "winners" in this case are the school board members who get to determine what's in the curriculum.

That doesn't mean history can't "change". Alright past events don't change, but new evidence can be presented that highlights a new perspective on those events. In ancient times (and even still today, but I'm not about to comment on current events), history was often changed as a result of a new government coming in (conquest). The old gods and heroes were tossed out or absorbed to fit the new regime's narrative in the hopes of solidifying their claim to power.

So if the old civilization was forced to adopt into their new leader's history, did that completely erase what had been there previously?

No, not at all. It might have stopped being mainstream information, but it wouldn't just disappear overnight (unless they were scrolls being stored at the Great Library of Alexandria). Tombs and burial grounds hold many key artifacts that archeologists use to piece together "lost" history. People would be buried in clothes they wore, maybe a few pieces of jewelry or pottery, and possibly a weapon. Some people still do this today (you get buried in your favorite suit/dress with a cell phone).

This morning I was watching Mysteries At The Muesum which was featuring an episode of King Tut. For many years historians thought he might have been murdered because of how his skull looked, but new evidence has come to light that he might have just suddenly died of an illness and that the skull fracture happened postmortem. Does it change history? Kind of. It changes how we interpret a historical event.

These types of things happen all the time. If you were to open a history book from the 1920s it would look very different from a history book published today. It's not just because of how much has happened since then, it just shows how we prioritized our history and which events we feel take precedence now.

One of my favorite quotes about history comes from the movie/play 1776. Around the middle of the film John Adams is speaking with Ben Franklin and bemoaning about history will judge them for this moment and Franklin relies that "they will be long gone" and that they wouldn't be remembered as infallible demigods, but men, no more nor less.*

What I took away from that quote, was that no matter who you actually were and what you actually do with your life, someone else will be telling your story to future generations. It's up to the next story teller to portray you as a hero or villain, a revolutionary or a crackpot fool.

So what's historical precedence? It's whatever information deemed is important enough to remember and pass on to future generations. After all people are making history everyday.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

*As I haven't seen the movie 1776 in a while and can't find a solid transcript for the quote, I'm choosing to paraphrase it.

Welcome to the Evolution of the Princess Factor

Princesses, I can't seem to escape them in popular culture. In almost any high fantasy book or fairy tale I've picked up features at least one princess. Fantasy anime and RPGs love having a secret princess show up somewhere in the plot. YouTubers have analyzed why princesses are hated and Tumblers have argued which one is the best. Not to mention the Disney company has created an empire off of the princess narrative.

There's a lot of princesses out there. Lord of the Rings has Eowyn. The Princess Bride has Buttercup. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has, well, Nausicaä. Nintendo still capitalizes on Princess Peach and Princess Zelda, despite them possibly not being princesses. For Zelda it's at least implied that she's the daughter of someone else ruling the kingdom, so I'll give her a pass. As I have never seen a King or Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, I'm going to have to assume that it's a vanity thing with Peach. The same thing applies to the My Little Pony Princesses in Friendship is Magic.

I grew up in the United States, so I didn't really understand the fascination with princesses (or royalty in general). That's not to say I didn't enjoy stories that featured royalty, I just didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Then I took a few courses on popular culture and European history and I started to understand why they featured so heavily in American culture. 

Most American children, I assume, are introduced to princesses through Disney movies. I know I was. Snow White, Cinderella, and Princess Aurora make up the "Classic" Disney Princess line up. It has since expanded, mostly thanks to the Disney Renascence, to include Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, Queen Elsa (despite having a completely different title), and hopefully Moana. That's a lot of princesses in a short period of time and it's not even including the princesses who get ignored by the Disney company (sorry Eilonwy and Kida, but your movies didn't do well enough to include you).

I was at the right age for the Disney movies that came out in the 90s and I still watch a lot of them today. However, I can see where some people might not like the princess movies as much. Or at least think they are the best role models for little girls. After re-watching The Little Mermaid for the millionth time in college, my roommate and I came to the agreement that Ariel and Eric are the dumbest Disney protagonists out there. I've also found myself agreeing more and more with King Triton over the years. Seriously Ariel, you are sixteen, listen to your dad. He just wants what's best for you.

Heck I've started agreeing Zazu in the Lion King. He's really not the buzz kill I remember from when I was a kid. He is just trying to teach Simba and Nala that being an adult requires a level of maturity and responsibility they don't have as kids. It isn't all fun and games. I must be getting old if I'm agreeing with Zazu. 

Since the passing of Carrie Fisher, there's been a growing movement to get Princess Leia canonized as a Disney Princess. As I'm still not sure how monarchies work in the Star Wars universe (for example Queen Padmé Amidala is technically democratically elected, but still has the title queen), I'm not sure if she would actually count as a princess. However, she was the first princess that I was introduced to in popular culture who didn't act like a stereotypical princess. In the first movie she ends up saving Han and Luke while they are trying to save her. In the later movies she's one of the top rebel leaders. Damsel in distress, Leia is not.

Moana is the latest female heroine to be called a Disney Princess (though she hasn't been canonized yet) and I personally think she is the best one to date. Though Moana denies her status in the film, Maui points out that she "wears a dress and has an animal side kick" which, in his opinion, automatically makes her a princess. What makes Moana's story different from her predecessors is that she isn't interested in finding love or seeking adventure which leads to a boyfriend. Her movie is about balancing her responsibilities to her people and accepting who she is.

I could find dozens of other examples of princesses who challenge and defy the stereotypes that I've been exposed to. I can also name dozens of examples of characters who exemplify the princess stereotypes, but that fact doesn't stop me from loving the stories or characters. What's important is that the story is engaging and the characters are interesting. And if those two criteria aren't met, then they're probably not the best written stories to begin with.

The princess narrative has changed a lot since Snow White and it's not just Disney who are making these changes. People want new stories and characters that reflect the modern way of thinking. Women's roles in society have changed. Snow White was the scared young girl lost in the woods (yeah she was 14 in that movie, I'm still a little weirded out by that fact) and the victim of her jealous step mother. Moana is a responsible leader who saved her people. Both are interesting characters who have an engaging story to tell. I doubt the princess character is going to go away anytime soon, especially not in fantasy stories, but we're going to continue to see changes to them. 

You know, the live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out soon and I've heard they're making some small changes to Belle's character. It'll be interesting to see how she will be portrayed after 25 years.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to Discord

Discord is one of my favorite reformed villains. He's sort of a mismatch of many different magical creatures (the "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" wiki says his species is a draconequus) and is the spirit of chaos and disharmony. It takes him some serious soul searching (and becoming friends with Fluttershy) for him to realize that he sort of likes being good.

More episodes of My Little Pony on Netflix! I must binge watch!

Now, being good doesn't stop Discord from causing some chaos. In later episodes, he mostly does it out of boredom or when he wants to get Fluttershy's attention, but doesn't know any constructive ways to do so. It also makes him one of the most entertaining parts of the series (and probably the number 2 reason my adult self watches "Friendship is Magic").

As entertaining as Discord is, he is also very destructive. He has nearly ended their world on a few occasions. When he became "good", he was still causing trouble for main cast. Which makes sense, since one of the definitions of his name is a "disagreement between people" (or in this case ponies). Part of me is glad he doesn't exist in our world.

Then again, with what I've been observing lately, Discord might have actually jumped out of small screen and into real life. Social media might just might be the greatest playground for Discord to hide in.

Since the start of social media, people now have a way to express their opinions like never before. They can share as many cat videos as they want. People can connect with friends old and new. Dating has been revolutionized to where you just need to swipe to accept or reject someone. Trolls are no longer limited to living under bridges and terrorizing innocent billy goats.

Discord would, of course, be an Internet troll.

I can just see Discord having a ball in the comment section of YouTube, typing some kind of inflammatory statement that causes a huge fight that has nothing whatsoever to do with the video playing. He'd probably use the Twitter egg as his profile picture for everyone of his accounts (oh yes, Discord would have at least 10 for each platform he uses). He'd send celebrities annoying tweets telling them how much they suck with extremely poor spelling and share thousands of memes on Facebook that contradict each other.

With each obnoxious post, Discord would draw tens, maybe hundreds of comments telling him off. It wouldn't matter if the people are right or wrong because Discord doesn't care. He just wants attention and power. The people he's trolling are giving him everything he wants, but there is one side effect that he doesn't expect.

You see Discord might be really good at starting arguments and causing all sorts of chaos, but he's also really good at uniting the heroes (A.K.A. the Mane Six) to save the day. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are able to stand together and put an end to Discord's antics. The Discords and trolls of the Internet are doing just that. For every nasty thing they post online, they are attracting people who are standing up and united against them.

Uniting people can be difficult, but when common ground is found people will stand together to fight for what is right. Discord and his minions can be defeated. It takes time, effort, and lots of love.

Yeah, I probably should mention why Discord became a "good guy". Discord had never had a friend. When Fluttershy gets upset with him and says how she thinks of him as a friend, Discord begins to feel bad about hurting her. Friendship and love defeated Discord.

It's not quite that simple in the real world, but messages of hope, love, and friendship take power away from the Discords of our world. It's one of the reasons we were able to witness of the largest peaceful protests ever.

I have realized that"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" somehow applies to my actual life, despite me not being the demographic it is trying to appeal to.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.