we are all made of corn

Last summer, a friend and I took two weeks to drive a 6,000-mile loop around the United States. We saw all sorts of terrain, from the rolling wooded hills of the Appalachians to the eroded badlands of the Dakotas to the majestic mountains of Montana and Wyoming. But there was one thing about the lay of the land that hit home above all else: corn is everywhere.

As I've mentioned in the past, I've been trying of late to educate myself about what I eat so that, when confronted with the many food options available to me, I can make healthier and environmentally friendlier choices. In the process, I've continued to learn quite a bit about the food industry and its role in our country's economic, medical, political, and environmental history. I regret to report that with every new article or book I read, and with every documentary film or television program I see on the subject, the picture only gets worse. Still, the fact that food production is even a topic of discussion at all these days gives me some semblance of hope. To that end, I wanted to give kudos to a film I recently saw that deftly gets to the root of one of the biggest problems with what we eat today: the fact that almost everything we consume comes in some way from industrial corn.

I first learned about this idea when reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, in which author Michael Pollan describes (among other things) just how ubiquitous the giant grass Zea mays has become in our food system. And it certainly hit home last summer when I experienced for the first time what thousands of miles of corn and more corn really looks and feels like. But the 2007 documentary King Corn breaks the story down even further, bringing viewers not only into the homes and offices of the people who produce all this grain and the livestock that feed on it, but into the lives of some of the people, far removed from the corn belt, who've been affected by our glut of the yellow stuff.

The film starts out with two recent college graduates, Ian and Curtis, undergoing a chemical analysis of their hair. The results indicate that the majority of the carbon in their bodies originates from corn; you are what you eat, indeed! So the duo decides to take a year out of their lives, move to a farming town in central Iowa, and try to find out how this came to be. To understand the process, they plant one acre of corn on a small patch of a willing farmer's land and interview everyone who'll talk about the life of their corn, from its planting to its harvest to the various channels it may go through after that.

One of the reasons I really liked this film is that it shows you the state of the corn industry without being preachy: This is where we're at, this is how we got here, and we'll let you draw your own conclusions. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of watching the grass grow during the making of the film, so aside from talking to the locals and playing a lot of wiffleball, Ian and Curtis also took some time to create fun stop-motion animations as a way to explain the basic economic and political trends behind the corn industry in the United States. The film definitely misses an opportunity to discuss some of the major environmental effects that farms have had on the country since World War II. But I'd say that's probably one of the reasons why the movie doesn't feel (as others I've seen have) as though you're being clubbed over the head by an insurmountable sensation of doom and gloom.

In any case, I highly recommend putting King Corn on your Netflix queue or going out and buying it on iTunes or DVD. There are no concrete solutions offered here other than being aware of what you're eating and of how the government plays a major role in keeping the status quo. But if understanding the problem is the first step in solving it, then this film should serve as an entertaining primer. ∞

earning her stripes

I'd like to send a hearty congratulations to Sarah Thomas, who yesterday afternoon became the first woman to referee in a college football bowl championship game. Thomas took the field as a line judge during the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl between Ohio and Marshall universities. I dare say, I couldn't have cared less about the game itself, but it was grand to see Thomas out there making her calls! And appropriately enough, one of the announcers for the national telecast was Pam Ward, who in 2000 became the first female sportscaster to call play-by-play for a college bowl game.

As I wrote back in March, the world of professional sports officiating has remained largely impervious to women. But in Thomas, who was the subject of a supportive New York Times profile earlier this fall, we might be witnessing the first legitimate female candidate for a refereeing position in the almighty National Football League. A mother to two young boys, Thomas, 36, became the first woman to ref in Division I in 2007. Today, she's the only woman officiating at the highest level of college football. Here she is in a recent interview:

Of course, the only frustrating thing about the news of Thomas's feat is that it highlights the fact that there's still a long way to go as far as allowing women officials to follow their dreams of making it to the pros. It's particularly disheartening for me, a serious baseball fan, to know that even in the über-macho NFL, a woman right now has a better chance of breaking the stained grass barrier to pro officiating than any current female umpire with her sights set on calling games in the MLB. Still, it's obviously a step in the right direction, and I wish Thomas nothing but the best! ∞

2009 cassini all-stars

2009 was a spectacular year for the Cassini spacecraft, which in July celebrated five years in orbit around Saturn. I've been following the mission pretty closely since then, and the results cease to amaze me. So to wrap up the year, I decided to join in on all the "best-of-09" blog action with my very own 2009 Cassini All-Star Team! The following are, in my mind, the 12 most captivating images to have hurdled a billion miles through space this year, from the eyes of Cassini's cameras to a few desktops in Colorado, and then out onto the World Wide Web for all to enjoy. Kudos to Carolyn Porco and the rest of her CICLOPS team for a job well done. Can't wait to see what's in store for 2010! &infin

12. View From Down Under
A lovely natural-color view taken from roughly 48 degrees below the plane of Saturn's rings. The dark stripe across Saturn is actually the shadow created by the sun shining on the rings edge-on.

11. Ring Around Titan
Not the most detailed image ever taken of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, but this eerie view won me over nevertheless. Look closely and you'll see a very thin ring around the moon's outer edge, demarcating the boundary of Titan's thick atmosphere. This shot is best viewed enlarged.

10. Slopes of Enceladus
In November, Cassini performed two flybys of Saturn's sixth-largest moon, Enceladus. One of the most intriguing moons in the entire solar system, Enceladus features rare geological activity at its southern pole. This close-up of the "tiger stripe" region, taken from only about 1,000 miles above the surface, highlights icy ridges that seem ripe for ripping up on skis or snowboard!

9. Shades of Gray
While I of course enjoy the color views that Cassini's cameras occasionally capture, there's something stark and haunting about a scene like this one, with the planet's rings shown in various shades of gray. Simply stunning.

8. Prometheus Streaming
This one really surprised me. On the lower left you'll notice the 53-mile-wide potato-shaped moon Prometheus making its way through Saturn's ribbony F ring. But also cool are the dark trails to the right, which Prometheus left previously on the ring!

7. Into the Darkness
Taken as the coming winter approached Saturn's southern pole and prepared to cloak it in darkness, this image bespoke to me the enormity of the jeweled planet; the stormy vortex seen here is roughly as large as the Earth! Looking closely at the whorls and eddys within, you can't help but be humbled by the scale of it all.

6. Spouting Plumes
Down is up in this shot of Enceladus, taken during one of the November flybys. Spouting from the moon's active southern pole are jets of water and other volatiles, which are believed to spew out like water geysers here on Earth. I love that the image is so off-center; though likely done to make sure Cassini captured the full extent of the plumes, to me it just makes the composition that much more compelling.

5. ...Now You Don't
I love, love, love this image...so much going on! For one thing, you have Saturn's shadow making the rings seem to disappear, which is spooky and awesome. The fact that Saturn's night side is visible at all here is a result of "ringshine," an effect in which the light bouncing off the lit part of the rings scatters and hits the planet's surface, faintly illuminating it. You'll also notice the long shadow of Saturn's moon Tethys on the rings at the upper right. And last but not least, the small moon Janus can be seen hovering above the top ring. Amazing!

4. Pock-marked Moon
Sure, Saturn has many small, cratered moons, and yes, a lot of them look alike. But in my mind, this shot of the 660-mile-wide Tethys belongs in an art gallery. Gouging the surface at right is the large crater Penelope.

3. Titanic Shadow
What a beautiful shot of Saturn, its thin ring plane, and that ginormous shadow cast by the Saturnian system's largest moon, Titan. Wow.

2. Akimbo
I don't even want to spoil this one with words. If it weren't for the next shot, this would be my winner for 2009. Don't miss the closeup.

1. The Rite of Spring
I have to say, it was pretty difficult to sort through Cassini's cache of images to pick my favorite dozen from this year. But there was never any doubt as to which one would top the list. My photographic Cassini All-Star of 2009 is this truly mesmerizing view of Saturn during the planet's equinox this past August. In the interest of keeping this post to a manageable length, I'll say no more, but I urge you to visit the image's description page to read about how the shot was taken and what, exactly, is going on. You can also check out this brief summary from Time Magazine, which named the photo to its 2009 Year In Pictures.

Honorable Mention: The Seven Sisters
Okay, I had to add one more to the list, for personal reasons! This photo of the Pleiades cluster was actually taken in 2008, but it was released to the public back in April. As you might have noticed, these familiar stars (especially one in particular) are near to my heart, so it was wonderful for me to find out that Cassini would take a moment give them a look-see :)

the sounds of xmas

With just a week to go before Christmas, I figured it was time I started thinking about doing another holiday mix. So, on the heels of my original Brooklyn Xmas mix—which won rave reviews from the people for whom I actually printed the playlist onto CD (remember those?)—I give you the second in the series, aptly titled "Brooklyn Holiday." As before, the flavor is mainly indie pop/rock with shades of blues, old-school country, and 80s hip-hop. This year I've also thrown in a Hanukkah song and a little lullaby for those of you who, like myself, celebrate Christmas in a secular way. Hope you enjoy it!

Brooklyn Holiday mix | Listen on Spotify
Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
Come On Santa - The Ravonettes
Christmas - Rogue Wave
Are You Coming Over For Christmas? - Belle & Sebastian
White Wine in the Sun - Tim Minchin
Silent Night - Priscilla Ahn
Christmas Is - Run-DMC
Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Elvis Presley
Little Christmas Tree - Michael Jackson
Don't Shoot Me Santa - The Killers
Back Door Santa - JET
Hanukkah Dance - Woodie Guthrie
Carol of the Bells - The Bird and the Bee
Maybe Next Year (X-mas Song) - Meiko
All I Want For Christmas - Matt Costa
The Heartache Can Wait - Brandi Carlile
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon

godless gaining ground

As an unapologetic atheist, I've been pleased to hear so much in the last several months about what appears to be a very real growth of public support for the godless life. Helped along by the likes of Twitter and a few good blogs, I've become convinced that despite what you may hear, there are actually quite a few ladies and germs out there who don't need some guy in the sky to make their world go 'round!

But don't just take my word for it; let's look at the evidence! A couple of weeks ago, the Atheist Alliance International held their annual meeting in California, and they reported record attendance. The term "no god" was the most tweeted term on Twitter for a short while this week, while this gem of a Twitter offshoot was created to replace the word "science" in any tweet that mentions the words "God" or "Jesus." And just two days ago, it was announced that the New York City subway system will soon carry a new advertisement proclaiming (apparently with statistics to back it) that more than 1 million New Yorkers—that's about 15 percent of the city's population—are "good without God."

By the way, don't forget that earlier this year, Barack Obama gave a shout-out to atheists during his inaugural speech, the first time any incoming president has done so. And on top of all this, I recently found out about a wonderful Internet show called Mr. Deity, which is beyond cool. The segments are short, they're all available online, and while some could use a little more direction, their overall impact is priceless. All I can say is: God FSM bless the nonbelievers. ∞

brandi carlile will rock your world

I have my bathroom to thank for Brandi Carlile being in my life. If I hadn't redone it from scratch last summer and been forced to relocate to my folks' house for two months, I never would have watched almost every second of prime-time coverage of the Summer Olympics. And I certainly wouldn't have heard and fallen in love with her song, "The Story," which was played repeatedly for a commercial. I also have my father to thank, who on his own went out and bought me her brilliant album of the same title.

So that's how I found out about this amazingly soulful rock-country-pop chanteuse from suburban Washington State. It's rare to find a singer who can as easily pull off moving folksy ballads as absolutely steamroll through Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." But Carlile does it all with a maturity that far exceeds her 28 years.

I was lucky enough to catch Brandi in concert recently when she played the Beacon in Manhattan. I scored third-row seats close to dead center, and this made the experience pretty magical. Carlile works closely with a set of twins, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, who play guitar and bass and who also contribute backing vocals. The set started off with the three of them plus their new drummer huddled around a single mike on the soft unplugged ballad, "Oh Dear," which actually concludes her new album, Give Up the Ghost. Carlile then proceeded to rattle off song after song from her three full-length albums, all the while giving the audience some amusing and, at times, poignant commentary (this play-by-play is from an earlier concert, but you definitely get the idea).

Highlights of the show included "Turpentine," in which Brandi divided the audience up into sections so that we could engage in a resounding three-part harmony at the appointed times. She also led her bandmates in a completely unplugged version of "Dying Day," which was absolutely incredible. This is the historic Beacon Theater, mind you, full to capacity as far as I can tell. A barefoot Brandi and friends shuffle up to the very front of the stage with no microphones, no amps—nada; they belt out this song; and heck if we didn't all get a chill down our spines. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster later on in the show. Brandi gushed like a 12-year-old with a crush about recording sessions with her idol, Elton John, who sang and played piano on one of her new tunes, "Caroline." Shortly thereafter, she broke into a devastating song, "That Year," about the suicide of one of her high school classmates.

One particularly amusing moment came when Brandi introduced a new song she'd written as a spoof of modern country tunes. She played us a few examples of horribly bad lyrics from actual songs she'd heard on the radio, and then broke out into this hilarious new piece, the name of which I didn't catch. She also took to the piano to do a lovely rendition of "Let It Be" before finally rocking out to her big hit, "The Story," which I had first heard during the Olympics just over a year prior. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention what was perhaps the most rewarding event of the whole concert for me: when Brandi threw one of her guitar picks into the crowd and it hit my leg. I've been using that pick ever since to practice my guitar again after having let it collect dust for a couple of years.

Suffice it to say, regardless of what kind of music you listen to, you pretty much can't be a human and not be entertained at a Brandi Carlile concert. So if she stops by a venue near you, do not walk, run to the box office and make sure you get a ticket. This young lady is going to be a huge star and will most likely be selling out arenas before long, so get a piece of the action now while the crowds are more intimate. I guarantee you won't regret it. ∞

climate genie: wish list for blog action day

Today (and every October 15th) is Blog Action Day. Now in its third year, the event aims to bring worldwide attention to one critical global issue through the power of blogging. This year, that issue is climate change.

As someone who blogs fairly regularly about the human impact on our environment, I originally considered whipping out yet another issue and hammering into your brains why it's so critically important to our one shot at keeping the world habitable. But then came all the pressure of choosing the perfect topic, and, well, I blanked. So I decided that it would instead be more fun to make a list of things I'd love to see come true in the name of quelling some our climate problems. Call it my little climate genie project! But instead of the traditional three wishes, I get 10. Okay, here we go!

Wish #1: Here's where I wish for an infinite number of other wishes. Obviously.

Wish #2: I wish people would teach their kids not to keep the water running while they brush their teeth. Personally, I've never understood this phenomenon—why one would keep the water on whilst brushing one's teeth. Call me crazy, but I've never in my life kept the water running, and my teeth and I have turned out just fine, thank you. And as I now know as a grown-up, it's just a needless waste of water! And we all know how I feel about that.

Wish #3: I wish people would just recycle already. It's really not that hard, and if everyone got on board, it would decrease pollution and use of fossil fuels like nobody's business. I visited an environmentally-friendly camp in New Hampshire this weekend, and I was amazed at (okay, and a little jealous of) their recycling shed. Everything was separated into its proper place, like with like, in dozens of plastic bins. My inner "J" was off the charts! And while I admit that most city dwellers like myself don't have room for such a tidy separation depot, lots of other Americans do; simply use a corner of your garage, ladies and germs. Even if that's too advanced for you, just separating your empty bottles and used newspapers and doing what you need to do to get these items to your municipal recycling collection area would be a huge step forward.

Wish #4: I wish people would carpool more. It just makes sense. Vehicle emissions are one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and while I'm not saying we should take all cars off the streets, it behooves us to use them more wisely. Plus, it would decrease traffic! A win-win for those of you who otherwise can't use public transportation.

Wish #5: I wish major supermarkets would start restricting what foods are available at certain times of the year. The amount of money spent and carbon dioxide belched into the air trucking out-of-season foods thousands of miles across the continent is just shameful. Not only that, all the time spent in transit means the foods you buy are far from fresh, even if you eat them the day you take them home!

Wish #6: I wish people would stop watching crappy doomsday movies like The Day After Tomorrow. These over-the-top films don't do any good for the dissemination of real science. Don't get me wrong, I am a science fiction fan. But I would bet that most people who go to these slick Hollywood apocalypse flicks come out thinking that whatever the hunky actor playing a government agent just said was real science, since it sure sounded plausible. No, friends, the Statue of Liberty isn't going to be underwater anytime soon. Don't believe the hype!

Wish #7: I wish we would finally get serious about solar energy. The Chinese are starting to make it a priority, and the U.S. is painfully behind in making solar cell technology cheap enough to compete with other fuel sources. We've got another several billion years of sunlight left; let's do this!

Wish #8: Back to food: I wish people would start thinking more critically about where their food comes from. Agriculture is another one of the biggest sources of pollution in the world, whether it's in the form of the chemicals used as fertilizers and pesticides, or in the form of methane burped and tooted out of cattle. I guarantee you if you follow the trail back far enough, it'll make you sick to know what that double Whopper just did to the people, animals, plants, and soil it touched along the way to your mouth.

Wish #9: I wish someone would build a car that could drive 300+ miles on one tank and look awesome in the process. What? It's already been done? Score!

Wish #10: And finally, I wish we would really start teaching our kids what climate change is all about. Let's stop treating this like some political hot-button issue that'll offend people to high heaven and blow up in everyone's face if we actually discuss it in any meaningful way. Climate change is not made up; it is happening, and we've known about it for at least half a century. The kids of today are going to be living with our messed up world for a long time to come. The least we owe them is a basic understanding of what's going on so that they'll be equipped with, at the minimum, an accurate vocabulary with which to continue the discussion with their kids. One idea: It would be great to start some version of the TED talks (which I love dearly) specifically aimed at grades 6-12. That would be sweet! ∞

lady laureates

It's only been a few hours since the Nobel Prize committee gave the world something to talk about with its rather surprising choice of Barack Obama as the recipient of 2009's Nobel Prize for peace. Lost in the commotion are some impressive historical facts: More Nobel Prizes were given to women this year than in any year before, and it was the first time a woman received a prize in the category of either chemistry or physics in 45 years. Congratulations to Elizabeth Blackburn (Physiology or Medicine); Carol Greider (Physiology or Medicine); Ada Yonath (Chemistry); and Herta Müller (Literature), who are pictured clockwise from top left.

Sadly, of course, women trail men by far as recipients of Nobel Prizes. As of today, the ratio of awards won by men to those won by women is a dismal 762 to 40. And there has yet to be a female recipient of the award for economics. But hopefully the 2009 showing is a harbinger of a sea change in that respect. For some perspective, I've put together this chart showing all prizes that have gone to women thus far (click to see full-size version). &infin

Update: Well, I guess I should have waited to post this until today's economics prize announcement, because ladies and gentlemen, we now have our first-ever female winner in the category of Economic Sciences! Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University (pictured at right) shares the 2009 prize with another American, Oliver Williamson for their "analysis of economic governance." That brings the total prize tally for women to five in 2009 and 41 overall. Way to go! I've updated the chart below.