Saori made me some curry to take to work today. I was poking around in the kitchen looking for the microwave, and no luck. After I asked where the microwave was, I was informed that there wasn't one. The boss doesn't like the smell of people heating up food.
People here actually seem to be either ambivilant or opposed to microwaves- there's definately not the ubiquity or reliance on microwaves that you see in the US. It made me wonder about the general German preoccupation with healthier food and if that had anything to do with it, since more often than not, you're microwaving that frozen pizza rather than yeserday's butternut squash and kale casserole.
Another strange German thing- there's a lot of political ads going up around town since it looks like the run up to a local election, and all of the head shots of the candidates are awful. Maybe I'm just too used to the US where we sex up everything or don't even attempt to do a full face shot without perfect teeth. But these photos are bad, like the candidates aren't even that well put together, and most of them are squinting, like the photographer surprised them one afternoon and made them have their photo taken staring into the sun.
I was going to make cup ramen soup tonight for dinner, but ducking into the kitchen for some hot water, I was caught once again by Shiva and Chandra who had prepared some Indian dishes. Shiva actually had a pressure cooker going with a special regional dish from southern India. It's such a win-win situation, they enjoy the company, and I love Indian cooking.
WARNING: RANT TO FOLLOW
SECOND WARNING: RANT INCLUDES APPLE, INC.
I saw in the news that Apple, Inc. was getting a bit of criticism and praise for their Earth Day ad. The ad was ostensibly about other companies wanting to copy Apple, Inc.'s praiseworthy sustainability practices, but pointedly between the lines criticizing Samsung for it's "copying" of other practices and products. Not even subtly done.
Yes, it's crappy that Apple is using Earth Day to take a cheap shot at another multinational corporation, but my bigger problem is Apple's general lie of sustainability.
Sustainability, by consensus definition, is the idea that you work in a way which does not impinge on the future's ability to work in a similar way. If the forest matures at 10 acres a year, and you harvest and replant at 10 acres a year, you are logging sustainably (generally speaking).
Computers use a lot of rare and toxic materials. There is an unbelievable waste stream generated by the production of electronics. It's nearly an obscenity. And don't get me started on the kids who spend their young, short lives scavaging the bits of copper and gold with mercury from the electronics dumps in the Global South.
Apple, Inc. took computers and made them disposable wearable fashion items. Trinkets which are either passe or broken within a year. Apple wins high praise for filling a need that nobody knew they had. I am nauseous as how this could be considered praiseworthy.
A problem does not exist. A product is developed along with an advertising campaign to develop the problem. The product is incredibly harmful to the environment. The product and the company reshape society to have an in implicit need for its product type.
I could go on an on, but you hopefully stopped reading at the second warning.
People here actually seem to be either ambivilant or opposed to microwaves- there's definately not the ubiquity or reliance on microwaves that you see in the US. It made me wonder about the general German preoccupation with healthier food and if that had anything to do with it, since more often than not, you're microwaving that frozen pizza rather than yeserday's butternut squash and kale casserole.
Another strange German thing- there's a lot of political ads going up around town since it looks like the run up to a local election, and all of the head shots of the candidates are awful. Maybe I'm just too used to the US where we sex up everything or don't even attempt to do a full face shot without perfect teeth. But these photos are bad, like the candidates aren't even that well put together, and most of them are squinting, like the photographer surprised them one afternoon and made them have their photo taken staring into the sun.
I was going to make cup ramen soup tonight for dinner, but ducking into the kitchen for some hot water, I was caught once again by Shiva and Chandra who had prepared some Indian dishes. Shiva actually had a pressure cooker going with a special regional dish from southern India. It's such a win-win situation, they enjoy the company, and I love Indian cooking.
WARNING: RANT TO FOLLOW
SECOND WARNING: RANT INCLUDES APPLE, INC.
I saw in the news that Apple, Inc. was getting a bit of criticism and praise for their Earth Day ad. The ad was ostensibly about other companies wanting to copy Apple, Inc.'s praiseworthy sustainability practices, but pointedly between the lines criticizing Samsung for it's "copying" of other practices and products. Not even subtly done.
Yes, it's crappy that Apple is using Earth Day to take a cheap shot at another multinational corporation, but my bigger problem is Apple's general lie of sustainability.
Sustainability, by consensus definition, is the idea that you work in a way which does not impinge on the future's ability to work in a similar way. If the forest matures at 10 acres a year, and you harvest and replant at 10 acres a year, you are logging sustainably (generally speaking).
Computers use a lot of rare and toxic materials. There is an unbelievable waste stream generated by the production of electronics. It's nearly an obscenity. And don't get me started on the kids who spend their young, short lives scavaging the bits of copper and gold with mercury from the electronics dumps in the Global South.
Apple, Inc. took computers and made them disposable wearable fashion items. Trinkets which are either passe or broken within a year. Apple wins high praise for filling a need that nobody knew they had. I am nauseous as how this could be considered praiseworthy.
A problem does not exist. A product is developed along with an advertising campaign to develop the problem. The product is incredibly harmful to the environment. The product and the company reshape society to have an in implicit need for its product type.
I could go on an on, but you hopefully stopped reading at the second warning.
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