Perigee Bookmarks

A Test of Compassion

Posted by John Duff

 

Last week I attended services at a local synagogue to celebrate the baby-naming ceremony for a friend’s daughter. As part of the service the rabbi gave a sermon on the hot topic of the day: the proposal to build a Muslim community center two blocks from the World Trade Center site. This struck home to me in more than one way: I was an eye witness to the destruction of the Twin Towers in 2001 (my office is just north of the site from where I had full view of the towers), and I now live four blocks north of the site (or two blocks away from the proposed community center).

 

The rabbi decried the fact that this issue had become such a political one—with everyone from the mayor to the governor to the President weighing in—and said he felt strongly that this was a religious issue that should be decided by the coming together of representatives of the major religious groups in the city to find the best course of action. (Such a meeting is, I am told, being planned.)

 

The rabbi’s position is that two very important aspects need to be considered. First, and perhaps most obvious, is the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion that allows any religious group to practice its faith wherever and whenever it chooses. Second, but equally important, is the notion that virtually all religious doctrines espouse the virtue of compassion. And by compassion, the rabbi pointed out, one is obligated to consider the sensitivities of others, be it individuals or ethnic or religious groups. In pointing out these two considerations, he distinguished between what is “correct” (that any group can exercise its freedom of religion according to the law of the land) and what is “right” (that any one group should be sensitive to feelings and beliefs of others in the exercise of its constitutional freedoms).

 

Since the proposed Muslim center is a two-minute walk from my apartment, I was reminded of the message in Peter Lovenheim’s In the Neighborhood, in which he explored the true meaning of community. His story revolved around a domestic tragedy that very clearly demonstrated how people living in close proximity (even in a well-to-do suburb) can be so unaware of the lives of their neighbors that this disconnect can have dramatic and lamentable consequences. So Peter took it upon himself to get to know his neighbors better and, as a result, came to a deeper understanding of the people around him—and of himself. He developed a much greater appreciation for their circumstances, dispelled some of his own long-held prejudices (and, I dare say, theirs), and developed a compassion for even the most unapproachable of these people.

 

So how does this relate to the question of the day: should an Islamic community center be built within two blocks the World Trade Center site? Of course, it is correct that the members of the Islamic community be able to worship wherever they wish. And it is correct that the community at large not condemn one religious group for the acts of extremists. However, is the choice to build this center so close to a place that has taken on a sacred meaning for so many a test of the compassion of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his followers? In truth, it is a test of compassion for us all.

 

In the Neighborhood by Peter Lovenheim

Beyond Curry: Taking the Mystery Out of Indian Cuisine

Posted by author Madhu Gadia

 

Indian food is often equated with the word curry. But what is curry?  Is it a dish with a yellow sauce, or is it anything prepared with curry powder? Over the years I have been asked numerous times from cooks questions like, “Did you forget to add curry powder to the Chicken Curry?” or “Where’s curry in the Curried Onions?” (which is a dish that doesn’t have any sauce). I can understand the confusion—let me attempt to clarify it here.

Curry powder is a spice blend that includes turmeric, which is an ingredient that makes dishes yellow. Curry powder has one flavor and it will make dishes have a similar color and taste. Most Indians do not use curry powder, but if they do it is for seasoning a particular dish. I do not use curry powder at all. For each dish, I use individual spices to create a different flavor and taste. For authentic flavors you, too, should use individual spices. Also, all Indian dishes are not in a sauce.  For example, Curried Onions in The Indian Vegan Kitchen (page 101) is spiced onions without any sauce. I call it Curried Onions because it has spices such as turmeric, ground coriander, and cumin—typical spices in a curry powder.

 

If Indian food is still new to you and you feel it is mysterious and difficult, you’re not alone. In actuality, making Indian food is very easy; all you need is a good, easy recipe, spices, and a willingness to create. I have the recipes; you have the willingness, just go buy some spices and give it a try. To start your Indian spice pantry, first purchase the six most often used spices: cumin seeds, turmeric, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and brown mustard seeds. Then add other spices as you expand your culinary skills. Always remember, if you don’t have a spice, skip it rather than substituting it for another a spice, for substituting can totally change the flavor of a dish. 

 

And for all you Indian cooking experts, you too will find amazing, yet simple and authentic recipes in The Indian Vegan Kitchen. This book is for anyone looking for vegetarian and vegan recipes.

 

For sample recipes go to www.cuisineofindia.com.

 

 

The Indian Vegan Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Indian Home Cooking

A Simple Thank You

Posted by author Susan Brackney

To the stranger named Gary who called recently to ask whether I'd like to come out and remove a colony of bees which had taken up residence in his wood shop: thank you. I wish everyone were like you.

 

I'm still not sure just how he got my phone number, but I do know he had called a few other beekeepers before he got to me. One or two of them had come out to assess the situation -- turns out a sizable colony of bees had holed up in one of his walls -- but, for whatever reason, none of the beekeepers had come back to relocate the bees.

 

Collecting a feral bee colony is rarely easy. I've trekked miles out to dilapidated barns, gingerly loosening their boards, only to discover pitifully small colonies or, worse, diseased or dying bees. Just as often, though, I've seen enormous bee colonies high in someone's tree or behind the brick siding of the second or third story. Sadly, these colonies are well out of my reach.

 

As you might expect, most homeowners aren't keen on my prying off their siding or knocking down a wall, but Gary is not most homeowners. The first day my husband and I visited him he took us around the outside of his wood shop. I could hear his bees buzzing away. Cupping my hand to shield my eyes from the afternoon sun, I could see clusters of the busy ladies streaming in and out from a knothole just under the roofline.

 

Now maybe I am projecting here, but I think Gary -- simply beaming under his mustache -- looked downright proud. He showed us inside his shop where a large cabinet hung just on the other side of those coming-and-going honey bees. He would have to empty the cabinet and remove it from the wall before we could even begin to assess the situation. On top of that, the bees were behind drywall and a plastic vapor barrier, but, again, he had no qualms with our cutting through both to get to the bees. (In fact, I think I detected a gleam of something in his eyes -- had it been excitement, mischief, wonder, perhaps? -- at the prospect of our breaking out the utility knives.)

 

 

The space where we would be working was narrow, dark, and cramped. When it was time for us to start cutting, Gary handed us a flashlight and headed for safety. We removed a large section of drywall to reveal several rows of creamy-white honeycomb filled with nectar, pollen, and brood in various stages of development. The queen was healthy and laying, and there were many thousands of bees. We managed to get most of them into a hive and out of Gary's hair for good.

 

 

Under similar circumstances, plenty of people would've simply called an exterminator or destroyed the colony on their own, but, because of people like Gary, this is finally changing. Again, thank you.

 

 

 

  Susan Brackney is the author of Plan Bee.

 

A Book Signing Makeover

The publishing process is full of nervewracking experiences for authors, even for those who have published before. Book signings are one. Taylor Chang-Babaian, author of the Perigee titles Asian Faces and the just-released Style Eyes, had her first bookstore signing last week, and is thrilled to share her experience...

As a makeup artist I have made dozens of appearances in the past and have spoken at several venues. When Borders asked to host a discussion and signing of Style Eyes at their store in Century City (my first book store signing), I was beyond thrilled, excited, and, for the first time in a long while, kinda nervous! As I rode the escalators up to the store with my support group of assistant and best friend beside me I became increasingly nervous that no one would show up and I would hear birds chirping. Flashes of movies with the author sitting behind a table with no one in line kept showing up in my mind. I came to realize that one of my biggest fears just might happen in the next few moments.

Then I passed by several displays of my books with blown up posters of the cover and my headshot in the window. It was a pleasant surprise to see that so much work was put into the event. I was greeted by one of the nicest women I've ever met who instantly made me feel comforted with the words, "Thank you for coming. We are thrilled to have you" and the big one, "Your book has been flying off the shelves." I felt an instant sigh of relief that their efforts weren't in vain.

I brought makeup (of course!) to give eye makeovers during the discussion. Strangely, I feel more comfortable having dozens of people staring at me applying makeup, than just staring at me talking! Educating is my passion and the questions started to roll in. It was fun to be able to answer women's eye concerns. The crowd was a mix of young and old, from 13 to 80. My favorite was an elderly couple---throughout my talk the husband would explain to his wife what I had just said. Another was a woman who was taking notes furiously. (I didn't have the heart to tell her that it's all in the book, no need to take notes.) The audience started to build beyond the seats they set up and passers by would stop to listen.

We did four eye makeovers from the audience in all. The first wanted a natural, soft look, the second, a winged eyeliner. The third was a 13 year old who just started wearing makeup. The fourth was one of my favorites. At first glance she looked quiet and kinda serious with large glasses and her hair pulled back. She had the most beautiful eyes. They reminded me of the ocean in Cancun. We gave her a smoky eye using grey shadows and black liner and she looked amazing. But mostly she felt amazing and proceeded to take down her hair. I looked out into the crowd and after the clapping saw a line form for books to get signed. It was a surreal moment. The event ended with me signing the author's table. My signature amongst the other dozens of authors that had sat in the same seat in the past was a moment that will stay with me forever.

Style Eyes is available now. 

Amazing Discoveries

Posted by author Harry Oliver

 

Stuff. It’s everywhere. We wear it, buy it, desire it, and use it everyday. But where does it come from and, more to the point, who invented it? Such questions drove me to research Bubble Gum and Hula Hoops, The Origins Of Objects In Our Everyday Lives. Doing so, I learned that necessity is often the mother of invention, but not always. So many of the things we take for granted were the result of accidents, chance encounters, the need for money, and pot luck. Who would have thought that the Frisbee has direct links to the world of pie making, or that Monopoly was originally intended as anti-capitalist propaganda? Or that, when he wasn’t defining the laws of gravity, Sir Isaac Newton took the time to devise the first ever kitty door (or cat flap, as it is called in Britain, where I write).

 

I learned an awful lot writing this book, and set myself straight on a number of points: Napoleon didn’t invent the baguette, after all, but he was responsible for the development of canned food. The Chocolate Chip cookie was a happy accident, and the jury is still out on whether the French Fry hails from France or Belgium. When it came to the Sandwich, I picked up some new American English along the way – heroes, poagies, and po’boys were all strangers to my ears, as was the story of how M&Ms relate to the Spanish Civil War.

 

It was hard to pinpoint who once thought urine and insects would work as toothpaste, yet reassuring to discover it was long before Mr. Colgate’s time. Amusing to discover how Louis XV of France devised the elevator in order to conduct affairs with his numerous mistresses, and elevating to find out once and for all if Thomas Crapper really did invent the flushing toilet…

 

 

Bubble Gum and Hula Hoops is available now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Cats & Four-Leaf Clovers will be published in September.

 

Bring Your Creativity to the Workplace—brought to you by SavageChickens.com

Posted by author Doug Savage

Savage Chickens will publish in March 2011.

 

Strange Laws for Strange Folks

Posted by author Nathan Belofsky

 

Sure, many of our laws seem silly and pointless, even perverse. I’m something of an expert on the subject, having spent over a year finding and poking fun at them. But, strange as it seems, I’ve discovered that we generally get the laws we need, and the laws we deserve.

 

Things do get a little out of hand. We can probably live without a federal law regulating the flow of ketchup from the bottle or European Union statutes that ban the sale of curvy cucumbers. Why New Hampshire feels the need to license rope dancers and lightning rod salesman, I’m not exactly sure. And while I’m all for the acquisition of knowledge and such, giving a Canadian citizen life in prison for “rendering data meaningless” does seem a bit harsh.  

 

But strange and illicit activities are popping up all over the place, and we need equally strange laws to deal with the consequences. That Minnesota statute that bans pig-greasing? Well, someone’s doing it somewhere, or at least thinking about doing it. The same with tongue-splitting, and I bet some guy in South Carolina has his basement fully stocked with illegal electric eels and walking catfish.

 

Where would we be if federal officials didn’t crack the whip on the balling of the wort, or if Utah legislators stood mute in the face of cloud-seeding and fog-suppression? As for England’s Anti-Social Behavior Act, criticized for violating people’s rights, or whatever, we might have joined the jeering mob as Leopold Wrobel was carted off to serve his five months in the slammer for whistling the Addams Family song (the finger-snapping part is very annoying). Something had to be done, and fast, when Stuart Hunt began clapping his hands slowly and offended his sensitive neighbors.  

 

That our society today needs such odd laws to keep us in line may seem cause for despair, but we shouldn’t take things too personally—it’s just business as usual. Long before we came along, the Egyptians banned eating sacred birds and stealing food from the dead. Medieval officials fined William Warde for having diverse men within his dwelling playing tennis, and the ancient Irish prosecuted stumbling bishops and fraudulent poets, and those who stole toys from children.

 

Some day we may learn to walk the straight and narrow and won’t need all these strange and silly laws, but until then I’m guessing I’ll have plenty more to write about.

 

 

The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities is on sale now.

Creating Beasties

Posted by author Diana Schoenbrun

Many people have asked me how my Beasties book project evolved. I have always been interested in how monsters are portrayed in art, film, and books. In 2007 I was excited to attend an exhibit at the Museum of Natural History called Mythic Creatures. The exhibit explored past and present day influences of animals, art, and nature on mythicological creatures. It spurred my interest in the pseudo science of Cryptozoology. Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals, or “cryptids,” considered non-existent by mainstream biology. Although there have been a few cryptids that were eventually proven real, many lack any scientific proof, and exist solely through storytelling, song, and art. I wanted to explore these cryptids in my own work.

 

In February 2009 I began working on what would later be called Beasties: How to Make 22 Mischievous Monsters That Go Bump in the Night. Perigee editor Meg Leder and I discussed a particular softie I made called Yeti. This stuffed creature was funny, curious, and loveable. He had a personality all his own. The Yeti project came from a series I had actually made the year before for a toy gallery show. I was inspired by a white and brown mixed faux fur and light blue fleece. With just a rough sketch and a quick pattern I transformed the raggedy fur and soft fleece into a Yeti. This mysterious soft sculpture had spurred an idea in a whirl of crafting excitement. I wondered what other monsters could be hiding within my boxes of fabric.

Until then I had been focusing on making softie animals such as pigs, cats, giraffes, and armadillos. I began to brainstorm characters I wanted to include for a do-it-yourself craft book. Although, I had immediately thought of the common monsters such as witches and werewolves, I wanted to take it a step further and delve into the unfamiliar. I investigated monsters that appear in other cultures. Many ideas came from researching illustration books on mythology and folklore. There were two books particularly useful in researching the array of mythological creatures: The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borgesand Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose. Learning about new monsters pushed me to further expand my Beasties project. I encountered a vast number of interesting creatures that could be made into softies. Initially my list included over 40 characters that I eventually narrowed down to 22 projects.

 

My craft process began with reading and brainstorming. I sketched ideas from my head and researched preexisting image sources. Once I had my character design I made my pattern. I then enjoyed deciding the different fabrics to use. I have to admit I am a pack rat with fabric and many of the projects used fabrics I already owned. However, this did not stop me from collecting a little bit more. I went on a fabric hunt in New York City, realizing how lucky I was to have so much material at my fingertips. I was particular with each detail and considered just what the right lace for Bloody Mary should be, the perfect green iridescent fabric for the dragon, and the furry ear hair for the Chonchon. After fabric selection I cut and sewed, creating my Beastie brigade.

 

While creating each Beastie I felt the characters needed to thrive in their own environments. Deciding on what context would best suit each Beastie involved further sketching and research. I wanted to keep a consistent craft aesthetic and made my sets with paper, paint, and clay. Finally with the magic touch of a camera by Tory Williams, the Beasties came to life.

 

Each of the creations spawned from desires to capture diverse cultural mythos and develop them into my own style and personality while maintaining the mythological essence. They became my Beasties.

 

Beasties

It’s Not About You!

Posted by author Gayle Rosenwald Smith

 

Mel Gibson—Britney Spears and Kevin Federline—Sandra Bullock and Jesse James…

 

The only difference between celebrity divorce and us regular folk is generally the public nature of the battle and the dollar amounts involved in the property settlement. The expletives used when arguing, the hatred, the desire to get rid of the other parent are sadly the norm when it comes to splitting.

 

Unfortunately, there are few custody battles where parents actually focus on the children and their needs. One thing people need to realize:

 

It’s not about you!

 

For those of you who choose to split, remember:

 

1. Focus on the child’s needs.

Kids don’t ask to be put in this position. Every child wants to have a loving relationship with his or her father and mother. You may have chosen to dissolve the marriage. Short of proven child abuse, every child deserves to have a relationship with each parent without interference from the other.

 

2. Get help.

Get whatever psychological help you may need to ease you into the transition and future life for yourself and the child.

 

3. Don’t use your child as a pawn.

You may want more child or spousal support. However, using a child as a weapon in this battle is a losing proposition. Don’t look at your child as a means to get money. Your child will resent you in the end.

 

4. Learn something from celebrities.

Everyone looks to the rich and famous as “the good life.” Maybe we need to learn from their behavior. Since everything they do is public, look at their behavior as the role model of how not to act. Or in those cases where the rich and famous set a good example, take note.

 

5. Never treat your child as your best friend to confide in and party with.

You are the adult.

 

6. Never say bad things about the other parent to your child.

Judges do not like it when one parent speaks ill of the other or brainwashes a child. Children don’t like to hear negative things about the other parent. Mudslinging can cause problems later in life with adult relationships. Remember: Even if you are thinking derogatory things, don’t say them.

 

7. If you start dating again, keep your social life separate.

If the relationship becomes serious, make introductions at that time. Children do not need to meet every person with whom you have a date.

 

Use common sense and everyone will be happier.

 

 

What Every Woman Should Know About Divorce and Custody by Gayle Rosenwald Smith and Sally Abrahms