Quasiculinarium

One of the only worthwhile blurbs I've ever heard come out of the taxi television screen that nags incessantly with ads behind my head 12 hours a day is the moment they announce three 'super foods' one should eat. I quickly jot these down and stop by at my local produce stand to seek them out after my shift. The last six mentioned were kale, butternut squash, greek yogurt, quinoa, spinach, and cherries. I've ended, once-and-for-all, my deathly fear of cooking. I've always chopped, peeled, and washed dishes on behalf of whoever decided to cook, but I nearly never ventured beyond that. The past few weeks I've been steaming and sauteing dinner for myself quite often. I'm still afraid of offering to share it with others, since I doubt it entices taste buds. I 'eat to live' much more so than I 'live to eat', and I have a new habit of grinding flax and dumping it on my food, along with generous amounts of cayenne powder. By the way, I think beets are my current, hard-to-beat favorite. I steam them with the skin and stems still on. I've heard beet greens are packed with even more nutrients than the beets themselves. That makes the common practice of tossing them out quite preposterous.

Sounds and Sights

Thanks to my friend Adi Gold for serendipitously digging up the link below. What a fascinating audio burbuja floating across the sky over my dear apple at http://youarelistening.to/newyork and for the visual aspect, plug into my flickr account. I've got new pictures of Frolic Farm in Upstate NY, where I volunteered recently, as well as a few shots from recent shifts in the cab. Soon I'll post a life update via gmail, blog, and flickr. And if you drive a taxi in NYC, don't forget to check in at tipsforcabdrivers.blogspot.com for the latest relevant information. The old photograph above is of Second Avenue in 1861.

In Vex

Gaddafi made this 'his' nation's flag back in '77. It has since been the world's only national flag composed of only one color and no insignia.

A transitional council was formed earlier this year, in wake of civil war, adopting this flag, which was previously used in Libyan history. It might not be widely accepted as the official current flag, but that's the downside of vexillology, no? Sadly it is the study of how everyone is divided.

Malawi's on nearly the opposite side of the African continent from Libya, with seemingly nothing in common, except that now their flags have identical colors, though distributed differently, and each flag boasts one of two heavenly bodies most influential upon our planet.

Holly Morris, the best presenter on adventure travel show 'Globe Trekker', was exploring neighboring Zambia on public television today. I love her 'pro-woman' approach to everything, the fact that she's down with hitch-hiking, and that one of her guests on that episode (or hosts rather) was a female mining truck operator. This on the same day many Saudi women call for nationwide action against it being illegal for non-males to obtain a driver license.

This drunk Texan motorist, who drove his Ford Grand Marquis into a batch of cyclists during a race in Mexico back in '08, was indeed a man. Though I guess this is not relevant, since the reason Saudi officials refuse to allow women to drive is mostly to keep them from leading independent lives. Then again, what do I know? At least intoxication was behind this guy's horrible act. The guy in the next picture did a similar thing, but with a lot more damage. His move was intentional and entirely sober.

Ricardo Neis got tired of waiting in his car while a monthly critical mass ride of bicyclists made their way through the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre a couple of months ago. Watch what he did about it. There's a lot of hate directed at bikes everywhere, every day, but this one tops them all. Be safe out there people. And may Libyans get a rest from the bloodshed and destruction around them. And may Saudi women be granted the right to drive. And may bicycles gain the respect they've always deserved.