Author Archives: Elizabeth Riley

A Bang for Your Buck: The Unexpected Affordability of Farmer’s Markets

Posted on by

As a college student, my life consists of studying, sleeping, and eating. In the few moments I have to spare, I choose to relax and rewind with a TV show, a movie, or even just a nap. Because of my busy schedule, in the nearly nine whole months I have been at Cornell, I have very rarely ventured off campus to experience the local lifestyle and culture of Ithaca. This on-campus isolation has been a regret of mine that I have been wanting to change for a while. This past Saturday, the Ithaca Farmer’s Market finally offered me the opportunity to connect with and explore my surrounding community.

From fragrant flowers and raw honey to handcrafted scones and freshly squeezed juices, the Farmer’s Market showcased the talents, hard work, and passions of local merchants, artisans, and farmers. It is undeniable that locally-produced, fresh food is of a higher quality than supermarket goods. Therefore, you’d expect that farmer’s market goods are more expensive than grocery store merchandise, right? I did, and, in fact, I panicked because I arrived at the Farmer’s Market with only $15 in my pocket…

However, interestingly enough, I left the Farmer’s Market with a full $7 remaining in my wallet. My purchases, consisting of a raspberry almond scone, a cup of natural strawberry lemonade, freshly-fried apple cider donuts, and a burrito, cost me just $8. Shocked at this low cost, I did some researching upon returning to my dorm and discovered that, according to a study, farmer’s market produce is about the same price as supermarket produce. Additionally, organic items actually cost less at local markets than they do at grocery stores (Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/forrest-pritchard/first-time-shopping-at-farmers-market_b_5519524.html).

These unexpected results need to be more heavily advertised to encourage more folks to support their local farmers, get involved in the community, and partake in higher quality, fresher food.

Dr. Strangelove: An Inaccurate Representation of MAD

Posted on by

This past Friday, I attended Rose’s screening of the dark political satire, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Although labeled as one of the best comedies of all time, the film actually did more to scare me than it did to make me laugh. I think this was the movie’s underlying purpose, honestly. It was released in 1964, right in the midst of the Cold War, during which the strategy of MAD (mutual assured destruction) was in full thrust. If you don’t know what MAD is, it is a military theory supposing that the threat of nuclear attack against the enemy deters the enemy from using nuclear weapons. Critics have labeled the film as a satirization of MAD, persuading us of the shortcomings of the strategy. In the movie (spoiler alert!), the USSR has built a doomsday device, which threatens to destroy all human and animal life if activated by a detonation on USSR soil. The US, not having been alerted of this device’s existence, drops a bomb on the USSR, and the movie ends with explosions all across the globe, signaling the apocalypse and showing us the worst outcome of MAD.

Although I do generally agree that the presence of nuclear arsenals globally is terrifying, undesirable, and not ideal, I don’t think that the movie provides a fair and accurate representation of MAD. First of all, in reality, the former USSR would have announced the existence of their doomsday device to the world immediately. They would have wanted the US to know of this device so that the country would be deterred from attacking and ending mankind. The fact that the USSR delayed in doing so was unrealistic and did not represent proper MAD strategizing. Additionally, in the movie, the US has a network of underground shelters to protect against nuclear attack. In reality, these means of protection against nuclear attack do not follow MAD strategizing, as they make nuclear retaliation by the enemy less of a deterrent for nuclear aggression. Therefore, although this movie may seek to show why the Cold War policy of MAD is ineffective, it does not accurately represent how MAD works. Therefore, its hypothesized outcomes of such a theory are null. Nonetheless, the movie fairly encapsulates the worst fears of citizens living through the Cold War. Maybe it’s satirization of nuclear warfare allowed citizens to quell their anxieties and laugh a little. Comedy is the best cure, in the end.

 

Brazil & Football: National Unity in a Heterogeneous Country

Posted on by

This past Wednesday, Andre Rozemberg Prixoto Simores, a professor at Mato Grosso do Sul State University, spoke to us students about his native country of Brazil. Simores touched on his nation’s culture, agricultural practices, geographical regions, and socioeconomic situation. In this amalgam of topics, I found Brazil’s obsession with soccer, or, football as it is called there, to be the most interesting. Simores explained to us that football is a HUGE deal in Brazil. I actually knew this beforehand, as I have read that soccer game days are considered national holidays there, whilst sometimes the deceased get a soccer team flag draped over their coffins.

I can’t speak to why Brazil cares so much more about football than America does. But I can understand why football is so important to Brazil as a country. Simores mentioned that that the gap between rich and poor in Brazil is of great magnitude. In addition to socioeconomic disparities, Brazil contains geographically dissimilar regions. It comprises rainforests, wetlands, savannahs, and plains, and intersperses booming cities with sparse rural areas. Therefore, overall, Brazil contains a variety of diverse peoples having different geographic and socioeconomic experiences. Football is the shared experience that strings together this population of disparate folks. It is how national unity is achieved.

Therefore, football is more than just a sport in Brazil. It is the common language, breaking through geographical and social class boundaries. What fills this role in America? Sports? Politics? This is an important question to ponder if we want to improve cohesiveness and unity across the US.

 

Mad Max: A Symbol of Cold War Fears and the Flaws of Civilization

Posted on by

Last Friday, I attended Rose’s screening of the post-apocalyptic film, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie, I could see why it was an important film for its time. It was released in 1985, one of the final years of the Cold War. Through this lens, we can view the movie as an encapsulation of the fears of the American people, who foresaw nuclear devastation and destruction by the USSR. These anxieties towards the Soviet Union are manifested in two important scenes. The first is Bartertown’s (the town to which protagonist Max travels to take back his stolen belongings) punishment of Max, as they send him to the “Gulag.” Gulags were, in reality, Stalinist labor camps, where high mortality rates and difficult working conditions befell people sent there. The second scene referencing the USSR is that in which a Bartertown resident is thrown into a pig pen to be eaten by the animals. I saw the use of pigs as a clear reference to Animal Farm, an allegory in which author George Orwell uses farm animals to portray the Russian Revolution and Stalinist era of the USSR. In the book, pigs represent historical Russian figures, including Stalin and Lenin. Therefore, in this scene,  the pigs could be construed as a symbol of the USSR, and their near consumption of a Bartertown citizen as a representation of the fears of the American people.

In addition to manifesting Cold War fears, Mad Max also makes interesting points about what it means to be a civilization. The movie portrays civilization and savagery, two normally dichotomous concepts, as synonymous. Bartertown is a symbol of both the civilized world and barbaric tendencies. With infrastructure, livestock (pigs), a source of electrical energy (porcine feces), merchants, blacksmiths, and a bar, the town can be viewed as a civilization in the post-apocalyptic world. On the other hand, the level of savagery is profound: residents challenge other residents to fight in Bartertown’s Thunderdome, where “two men enter and one man leaves.” When Max enters the Thunderdome for a fight to the death, the citizens of Bartertown are sadistically thrilled and energized that they will get to see someone killed. This movie thus makes the important point that savagery and civilization are not mutually exclusive. It reminds us that we must pay attention to our own civilization because even though we have infrastructure, a Constitution, roads, and settled homes, we are not immune to the possibility of savagery and barbarism.

Gattaca: Interesting Concept, Poor Execution

Posted on by

This past Friday I attended Flora’s showing of the movie Gattaca. This film showcases a futuristic world in which the use of eugenics has resulted in a society of unequal treatment and opportunity. This is a wildly interesting concept, and thus I expected to be wowed by the film. Instead, I was left underwhelmed by sub-par acting, despite the presence of various well-acclaimed stars including Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. Unfortunately, these actors delivered emotionless, static, and scripted characters in whom I was not invested. In fact, even the love story between Thurman and Hawke’s characters was implausible and forced. There was absolutely no chemistry between them, as they barely conversed with each other. Therefore, why should I have to care about their so-called romance? It didn’t even advance the film’s plot.

Furthermore, I was disappointed by the film because there was no great villain to root against and despise. The people of the futuristic society who hired mainly genetically superior people were the antagonists, and I certainly did not agree with their practices. However, they were not outwardly evil enough to be despicable. Once they solved the murder in the movie and justly indicted one of their own genetically superior workers for the crime, that was it! Problem solved! No great battle ensued between the hero (Ethan Hawke) and the villains. Hawke simply went to space and accomplished his dream without serious issue. This movie simply did not sufficiently advance a conflict, furthering my lack of investment in the film.

The other big problem with the movie was that I did not feel sympathetic towards the hero, Ethan Hawke’s character. He had a heart condition and thus faked his identity, disguising himself with good genes, so he could accomplish his dream and travel to space. Although I am certainly not an advocate for eugenics, I still don’t believe that people like Hawke with serious cardiovascular conditions should be allowed to travel to space, as they would be endangering their comrades and themselves. Hawke’s character couldn’t even handle running on a treadmill without nearly dying. Therefore, it’s hard to feel sympathetic and root for Hawke’s character.

Thus, overall, the film left me uninvested, as I didn’t care about the supposed hero, was too apathetic towards the villain, and was underwhelmed by bad acting.

The Benefits of Cooking with Mom

Posted on by

Today, I attended a cooking workshop with an empty stomach, but left feeling filled to the brim from all the succulent recipes my peers and I had composed. I signed up for this workshop not only because I am a major foodie and Food Network fan, but also because I realized that, as a college student who might be living off campus at some point in the next few years of school, I would need to know how to cook meals for myself.

At this workshop, my friend and I paired up to make an Asian salmon dish with quinoa stuffing. It turned out very well, if I do say so myself. There are definitely some skills I need to improve on: chopping vegetables is one, as I nicked my finger with a knife whilst dicing an onion. Nonetheless, I realized during this workshop that I actually already do possess some cooking skills that I’ve absorbed from watching and helping my mom cook over the past 19 years of my life. For example, I knew that, even though the written recipe didn’t call for it, it was necessary to add salt to my quinoa to infuse it with adequate flavor. I also didn’t need to use instruments to measure all of the ingredients, because, over the years, I have gained a basic understanding and feel for what a cup, a tablespoon, and a teaspoon look like. It is relieving to know that, if need be, I will be able to cook myself a satisfying meal. Thank you, mom. I hope that when I have children, I can cook just as well as you do and teach these important skills just as effectively as you have to me.

 

 

The Matrix Through an Older Eye: The Presence of Sexism and Acceptability of Blissful Ignorance

Posted on by

This past Friday, my friends and I attended Rose’s showing of the classic sci-fi film The Matrix. I last saw this movie when I was in middle school. Therefore, this time around, I viewed it through the lens of a more mature, critically-thinking, experienced young adult. My new perspective resulted in different opinions on the characters and situations within the film.

First of all, my position on the “blue/red pill dilemma” has changed. For those of you who don’t know what I’m referring to: in the movie, our main character Neo has to choose between taking a red or blue pill. The red pill would allow him to escape the Matrix, which is a happy, but false and simulated reality created by robots for humans. On the other hand, the blue pill would return Neo to the Matrix. As a child, I thought the red pill was the clear choice, as I reasoned that I wouldn’t want to live a lie, no matter how much more blissful life would be in ignorance. But now, I see the blue pill as my obvious selection. I’d rather be happy in a simulated world than unhappy in the real world. Outside of the Matrix, what kind of quality of life would I be getting? I would be confined to a little hovercraft with only a few other “roommates” not of my choice, constantly in fear of attack by the ruling robots. This is not a happy existence. Who cares if it’s the reality? I’d rather live in the Matrix, where I’d be more content, with a greater variety of friends, career options, travel destinations, and so on and so forth. Furthermore, reality is such a relative term. What makes something real? The Matrix was real to the people living in it and would be real to me. Therefore, in this specific case, I’d prefer the blissful ignorance over the harsh reality. This choice is situational though, and were I given a different set of options not having to do with the Matrix, my choice between ignorance and reality may be different.

In addition to my transition from the red pill to the blue pill, as an older viewer, I found the female character Trinity to be frustrating. As a young kid I thought she was awesome: she’s a talented, aggressive, agile, and strong warrior, and thus breaks gender roles left and right. However, I now recognize that Trinity is quiet and reserved with barely any lines, and is only in the movie to serve as Neo’s love interest. She falls for Neo for no clear reason, as they barely exchange any words throughout the course of the movie. In this way, she’s seen as kind of a mindless/thoughtless/superficial being, as we are left to wonder, does she only love Neo for his strength? His masculinity? Therefore, as hard as she tries, Trinity is not the ideal role model for young girls, as she is quiet, not outspoken, mindless, and only present in the movie to offer the main male character love.

 

Cliche but True: The Value of Family

Posted on by

At his powerful and heartfelt Rose Cafe last Wednesday, Dr. Hill implored us, the attendees, to determine what we value. I’ve been thinking about this for the past week, not because it has been difficult to ascertain what matters to me, but because I am afraid my answer is too cliche. Despite being obvious, my answer is completely genuine, as I can’t think of anything in my life that holds more value to me than my family. Nothing would be possible without the support and love I receive from these people every day.

When you go to college, you recognize more and more the significance of your family within your life. I think many of us take family for granted until we are plopped into a sea of people we don’t know at a big new place we only took an hour-long tour of months ago. Far away from our families, we lose the security of our homes. We realize that — wow — our parents did a lot. They did the laundry. They cooked us food. They kept the house clean, organized, and neat. They took out the trash. They made our beds. They reminded us of due dates and our responsibilities. And although we eventually make friends, become familiar with the campus, and learn to perform these duties on our own, the first person we call when we are elated over good news, in tears, stressed out beyond belief, or making an important, difficult decision, is a family member (in my case, my mom). No one knows us, loves us, and is there for us like our families. Therefore, we must strive to always show appreciation for them, and never take them for granted.

Should Home Economics Courses Be Required for College Students?

Posted on by

Last Wednesday, the archivist for Cornell’s College of Human Ecology, Eileen Keating, spoke with us students about the history of the College of Human Ecology and its connection with our house’s namesake, Flora Rose. The College of Human Ecology began in 1907 as the Department of Home Economics within CALS. It was an important educational pathway for farmer’s wives in the rural areas of central NY.

Hearing that there was a whole department devoted to Home Economics made me think back to middle school, during which I took one required Home Economics class. In the course, we baked chocolate oat cookies, made pizza, and learned to do the laundry and use a sewing machine. I wish that this class would have been made mandatory in late high school or early college, when we would be closer to independence, adulthood, and self-reliance, rather than in middle school. As college students, we need to know how to do laundry, cook our own meals, organize, and balance our budgets. In middle school, we are so reliant on our parents that I don’t think that we retain many lessons about how to live and thrive on our own, because these skills seem irrelevant and unnecessary to our dependent younger selves.

Therefore, I am inspired by Martha Van Rensselaer and Flora Rose, who established the School of Home Economics. I think that we should be required to take at least one Home Economics class in high school or college, when the skills and lessons taught would be more relevant to us.