A lot on her plate: Understanding the Fundamentals

Since a young age, cooking was introduced as a huge influence on me and my family's culture. Specifically, my mom's side. Her side of the family is Philippino, while my dad's side was made up of a mix of cultures with little focus on cuisine. Growing up, I was taught the basics of cooking from my parents and aunts, which gave me a perspective of how and why they cook, but I think I was too young to really understand. It took me long time to become individually interested myself but when I did, the way I perceived cooking and baking was different from the way that the rest of my family saw it.

   I bought the book "A lot on her plate" by Rosie Birkett not just because of the aesthetic appeal,  but for the colorful and interesting recipes. It's different from a normal cookbook because of the useful tips the author includes from personal experiences and opinions, which sparked my interest. With the authors advice, I intend to sharpen up my cooking skills and be able to produce great dishes!

 

What seemed most logical to me was to first read the book, wrap my head around some of the ideas I read, and then later apply them to some recipes. The book is set up perfectly for this, with the first couple pages or so including information on the right produce to buy, where to buy it, when to buy it, and how to use it properly in a dish.

The first couple pages of the book introduce the main concept. "The recipes in this book will help you to think a little bit more like a chef about the ingredients you're cooking with. They will, I hope, encourage you to explore your local markets and shops, butchers, delis and fishmongers, and investigate producer-direct box schemes for fresh well-sourced produce, and transform it into exciting, flavorsome, globally-infused dishes for yourself and your loved ones." (Birkett, pg. 12) This quote encompasses the motivation of the author and what outcome she strives for. In great detail, it gives tips on how to shop. She puts an emphasis on being aware of how more often than not, the way we currently shop makes us complacent about how we consume cheaper, lower quality food in greater volume than we need.

The next pages are about how getting to know your local suppliers can benefit your food and your wallet. "Fishmongers, greengrocers, markets and butchers-places where you can chat, shop, gossip, brainstorm recipes, learn about ingredients and generally get looked after-once formed the backbone of the food supply chain, but now they're a dying breed." (Birkett, pg. 14) Getting to know local suppliers not only gives you a good idea of where you food is being sourced, but also are wonderlands of interesting ingredients and flavors, that conjure new ideas.

The last few information pages show that you don't need to necessarily make ends meet to be able to produce good quality food. She also explains how to make that possible, giving some handy shopping tips such as:

- making lists, and shop as you go. Unnecessary spending is often due to overstuffing out fridges with stuff we don't need. 

- when buying meat or poultry, look for information on the way the cut has been reared, when buying fish and seafood, look for fish and seafood that has been caught sustainably.

The last couple pages before the recipes start give a good guide of appliances and equipment that are helpful to have, and basic ingredients that can open the window to a variety of dishes. She also gives insight on what she prefers such as owning a pasta machine, and growing her own herbs.

 

Putting all this information in the book definitely helps the reader find some sort of ground before taking off and starting to cook. What I've learned form this section is why breaking from the comfort-zone of how you usually shop and cook can give you new ideas, even if its not what you're used to. How important knowing where you food is sourced, and how to use ingredients in the most effective way. I look forward to putting her advice into action when I start to make some of these recipes.

Q: Does the food you eat and cook often revolve around your culture? If so, what are some of your favorite family dishes?

App Photo Editing- Day 1: Black and White Mask

Hello Everyone!

My name is Angelina. Before I get into this post, I'd like to give you a little bit of background on myself. I've always been interested in photography. My mom has done photography for some of my old school events which has shaped my interest for as long as I can remember. In 8th grade, I was also Editor-In-Chief for the yearbook. I took many of the pictures that were used that year using my mom's Nikon D3100 camera so I would consider myself experienced. Like any teenager in our generation, I take pictures on my phone a lot. Whether it be at a concert, family event, at home, or taking a selfie, I use my phone to capture important moments in my life. Personally, I rarely use filters (unlike my dad who is a middle aged man who uses them to feel younger) because I like seeing the natural beauty in things. Because of this, I decided to get a book this quarter that will help me improve my skills in editing pictures because I can only crop and maybe fix some red eyes. "iPhone Obsessed: Photo Editing Experiments with Apps" by Dan Marcolina explains how to edit pictures using apps and I love my phone so it's perfect.

The first chapter of this book discusses the basics of picture taking. This includes angles, lighting, the shape of the picture, dimensions, and so on. Within this, the author states, "If the shot is at eye level, it gives the viewer a feeling of first person, as though it is something he is experiencing from his perspective" (Marcolina 4). Using this quote, I laid down next to my dog and took a picture of him while he was sleeping:

Isn't he cute? Hehe. Ahem. Back to the editing. I currently have an Apple iPhone 5C which is what I used for the editing. For this first experiment, the author, "converted the image to black and white to bring emphasis to the light pattern... I layered a blurred darker version with a brighter sharp one..." (Marcolina 17). He used a picture of a crystal doorknob but I'm using a picture of my dog. I wanted to recreate what he had done using the same technique. The apps the author recommended for this were Photoshop Express and Iris Studio. I downloaded both of these but I had some trouble with Iris Studio because it required some sort of login. With this minor setback, I decided to go with a different app also recommended for this called DXP. (FYI: all of these apps are free). DXP has the same editing tools as Iris Studio so it's okay as a replacement.

The first step is to use Photoshop Express to "Create a dark, sharp black-and-white version" (Marcolina 17). Within the app, I used the "Silvered" filter. From there, I increased the clarity to 43 to sharpen the image.

Secondly, using Photoshop Express create a darker, soft-focus version (Marcolina 17). Within the app, I reduced the clarity to -70 then I reduced the contrast to -40 to blur it and give it the soft-focus effect.

Finally, using Iris Studio (DXP in my case), "Overlay blurred image on top of sharp version using soft light mode" (Marcolina 17). Once you're in the app, you must load the sharp image from your camera roll then load the blurred version using the "load for mask" button to get the final product.

Through this experiment, I have expanded my knowledge in several ways. First of all, I am now aware of how to use two new apps which can benefit me if I need to edit pictures in the future. I've also learned how to get the right clarity and blurred effect using these apps so that a picture isn't too hard to see but still is noticeably blurry. Finally, using the author's method of overlaying the two pictures created with one editing app to get one amazing new picture that is an enhancement of the original has fascinated me. 

Here's the final process:

In our world filled with selfies, social media, filters, and more, how do you enhance the moments captured in your life? 

Side Note: The collage was made and the numbers in the corner were added using the app PicsArt which is not mentioned in the book. I discovered this app on my own and it is free on the app store :).

MLA Citation: Marcolina, Dan. IPhone Obsessed: Photo Editing Experiments with Apps. Berkley, CA: Peachpit, 2011. Print.

Basketball: Fast Break

Basketball has always been something that I have enjoyed and playing it brings me happiness. However, There is an area where I can improve in, like offense. I have been basketball for 5 years and I know that creating or perfecting drills is pretty difficult. However, with practice and determination the hardest things can become a breeze.

Now, I have the chance to slowly improve my offense by using the "Zone Offense for men and women basketball" to become a better player and understand everything that has to do with offense.

Fast Breaks

When it comes to playing on offense, creating a fast break can lead to lots of great results. The first option shows the player running down the court to make a "point to post" pass. A fast break occurs when a player steals the ball and is speed fast towards the hoop usually with no defense players near.



This shows Option 1 "point to post" pass

In the book it says "Zone defenses are vulnerable to fast break attacks" and "the emphasis of the primary fast break is to get possession of the ball through defenses plays (deflection, steals, traps, etc.) and push the ball up the floor to gain outnumbered situation (1-on-0, 2-on-1, 3-on-2, 4-on-3, or 5-on-4 scenarios)" (Krause, Harkins 12). While the second option you can pass the ball for 3 pt. shot

Lay Ups



When lay ups come to mind, everyone would probably say its the easiest thing to do in basketball, but if you don't have the proper form or footing you will always miss your layups.

To achieve the right form, one must follow three easy steps.

1. Dribble towards the hoop

(same with left)
Before I go I just want to ask, what is your favorite sport? and if you don't play any sports, what is your favorite sport team?

2. Stop your dribble and take a step with your right leg

3. Lastly take one more step with the opposite leg and push of with that leg to finish your lay up

Classical Ballet: Physical Limitations

In the art of Classical Ballet, there are needs that need to be met. There are physical attributes that are highly coveted in the world of Ballet, many of them natural things that you cannot change like height and the length of a limb. There are also technical skills which can be natural to a point, but people work on years to develop. Though physical attributes may decide a lot for a ballerina's career, there are however exceptions. In my past experiences with Ballet, I have never been the top of my class, but I have never been at the bottom of my class, I manage to scrape by with my physical limitations, still trying to develop of course. Many of these said physical traits are needed solely for the purpose of partnering, which is a huge part of Ballet, but I have never needed to do anything with a partner (Pas de Deux, Pas de Trois, etc.) I've always known I don't have ideal body for a male ballerina, but I never knew exactly why or what qualities I did or didn't possess. However, after taking a look at the wonderful and detailed book, Classical Ballet Technique, it gave me a lot of insight, as well as help executing certain movements, and ways to improve.

In the third chapter of part one, it begins on the ideal body of a dancer for both male and female. For male dancers the ideal height range is anywhere between "5 feet 9 inches - 6 feet 2 inches" (Warren 68) and the ideal weight of a male dancer is within the range "135 - 165 pounds" (Warren 68) my own body being 5'8" and 108 pounds, just below the height minimum and well under the desired weight. But, if we backpedal just a couple pages we look at the ideal female dancer's body with the height range of "5 feet 2 inches - 5 feet 8 inches" (Warren 66) and the weight span being "85 - 115 pounds" (Warren 66) which oddly enough, my body meets on the larger end. Of course these body types are mainly due to the large part that male dancers whenever dancing with a female are there to make the female appear beautiful and her movements effortless as he lifts her over his head with one hand.



Moving forward a bit, we begin to look at the variations in feet. A good foot has a medium arch and is demonstrated in the book, and I had never really looked at my point that in depth to see such a lack of an arch in my foot. The book also shows an overly arched foot calling it "beautiful, but can be weak en pointe and prone to rolling." (Warren 70) I have a straight foot which it says "lacks desired arch, but is acceptable if used well." (Warren 70) and that last part really got me thinking, how it says if used well it is acceptable. This relates not only to Ballet but to everyday life, where if you use whatever you have well it is acceptable. It also was a bit of encouragement for my lack of the ideal physique, but if I use my body well enough and with enough precision it is acceptable, not phenomenal and coveted, but acceptable. At the very least I don't have what the book calls an "Unacceptable foot; ankle is unable to stretch fully." (Warren 70)

I am very pleased with what I have gotten out of Classical Ballet Technique as it has helped me understand my body in the art, as well as helping me understand that I can overcome these limitations. Have you ever overcame a physical limitation in a sport/art? Have you ever given up due to a physical limitation? Please let me know! I would love to hear about your experiences, and I am of course certainly open to tips and pointers! Please let me know in the comments.

Baking Cookies- Choclate Wows

Hey everybody, my name is Justine and this is my first Q2 IRP book blog post. I chose the book "Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes: Cookies!" I chose this book because I wanted to become a better baker and I love cookies, so why not bake cookies. For this blog post I chose to make cookies called "Chocolate Wows".

I've always loved to bake. From when I was little using the easy bake oven to now making things with my mom in the kitchen. My childhood consisted of always having fresh cookies made for me to eat, cakes you could only dream of having for my birthday, and always having little treats to munch on. I grew up with my whole family baking, so now I want to become a better baker myself.

The recipe for the cookies "Chocolate Wows" is the picture to the left. I made the mistake of going to get all the ingredients the night before thanksgiving, worst mistake of my life .

Off Season Training - Leg Day

I have been a competitive swimmer for 11 years now. 5 years on a select swim club, 2 years swimming varsity for my high school (Go Chargers!), and 11 going on 12 years of summer swim. Even with this magnitude of training, I still am finding things I can improve on.

My favorite stroke to swim is breaststroke, and this season I had the fasted 50 breaststroke split on the team. I want to improve this time even further. To do this I am doing a series of vigorous off season training workouts, instructed by “Swimming Anatomy” by Ian Mcleod. Oddly enough while looking through the book for the first time I realized something right away. In the leg workout section of the book every single exercise was designed to increase muscle that breaststroke's could use. I mainly use my arms and back while swimming and not much of my legs. Obviously, I was excited about this because it told me I had room to grow.   

The Workout:

2 rounds

·        15 single leg squats on each leg

·        20 standing hip internal rotations (each leg)

·        20 leg curls

·        15 burpees

·        15 box jumps

·        20 Lat pull-downs

·        5 chin ups

               My favorite workout would probably have to be the Single Leg Squats. Although this is the workout that I felt for the next three days. All you need is a table and some weights of your choosing, I chose 12 lbs. The foot on the ground needs to be 2 feet from the table. Then simply lower and raise your hips. According to the text “Targeting all the major muscle groups of the lower extremity improves kicking strength and endurance as well as strength with starts and turns.” (Mcleod, 149). In any race, you can get a head by being faster and more efficient at the little things like turns or starts. Those two aspects of my race weren’t the best this year and that is why I will be continuing this exercise throughout the next three months. Every second counts and this exercise will lead to a quicker push off from my turns and farther underwaters.

Standing Hip Rotations: This a workout is specifically designed to help with breaststroke. It works your gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fasciae latae (a muscle in your hip). Its helpful to breaststrokers because these are the muscles we use to snap are legs together when kicking. (154, Mcleod)  

Leg Curl: This is also another great workout that is specific to breaststroke. There is a machine for leg curls and how it works is: pick the amount of weight you want to lift, lie down, put your feet under the roller pad, then pull your feet into your butt and then extend fully. The exercise works your hamstrings and calf’s. It is helpful for breaststrokers by allowing them to have a faster rotation in their kick. (162, Mcleod)

Burpee: Most people know what burpees are but maybe not why their helpful, cause let’s face it, we all hate burpees. For swimming purposes, it helps with open turns. “The primary focus of the exercise is the transition from a push up position to a streamline position. Emphasizing quickness when drawing the feet up under the hips will improve your speed with open turns ...during butterfly and breaststroke.” (179. Mcleod)

Box Jump: The name says it all. All you do is take a box and jump up on it and then jump (backwards) down. Doing box jumps helps with your reaction time off of a start. Which is one of my personal workon’s and will help lower my current breaststroke time because I was gaining a second or two on my time because my reaction time is poor.

Lat Pull-Down: The Lat pull down is one of my favorite work outs of all time, on the days I was at the gym I had the weight on 65. For the best workout on this machine you will want to pick something that you can pull down multiple times but will still give you some sort of a challenge. How it works is: you pick your weight, then grab the bar (knuckles towards you) that will be stationed above your head, then pull the bar down to your upper chest, and return to the extended position. The Lat pull down obviously focuses on your latissimus dorsi which is helpful for a strong and swift pull, in any stroke. (121, Mcleod)

Chin ups: For this you will want to grab the bar with your hands facing inwards, cross your ankles and begin pulling yourself from a hanging position. My advice is to breath because this isn’t everyone’s favorite workout. Although, it’s a great back and shoulder workout because you’re really working your Latissimus dorsi. “Benefits all swimmers… works on strengthening your pull” (117, Mcleod)

   Some people think that after 10 years of a sport you’ve perfected it. I disagree completely, there is always something to improve on in every aspect of your life. So my question to you is, what is your next step towards improvement?

MLA CITATION: Mcleod, Ian. SWIMMING Anatomy. N.p.: Human Kinetics, 2010. Print.

Artwork with meaningful interpretations

What is artwork with meaning behind it? In other words, what type of art is counted as meaningful instead of just copying a simple animated cartoon character from a show?


This last summer I was really interested in painting with acrylics but I'm not exactly the most artistic student you'll ever find. I painted very simple paintings that you could probably find online or I copied sea animals and scenery that I thought were pleasing to the eye. Over the summer I used painting as a stress reliever, I would paint all evening until the sun went down. Now as I look back, there were no true feelings or meanings I could pull from the artwork, all of them were straightforward with no depth or details included.


What's the point of art if there is no emotion behind it?
Every good artist should have a meaning or interpretation of some sort that can help others understand the painter's life or to connect within society. This question motivated me into becoming a better artist, I want to build a better foundation on how to use certain colors, symbols, and canvases to bring art to life by connecting it with society. That's why I decided to read The Painter's Eye Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.

Summer Artwork

For my first blog post I decided to connect my painting with the most recent novel we just finished, "The Bean Trees" By Barbara Kingsolver.

I want my paintings to connect with the social justice issue presented through the book in a creative way. For the first painting I created to connect with the book was a painting of different types of cooked eggs.

EGGs-planation of Family 

Now why eggs? How does food have anything to do with social justice issues?












Think of it this way:
Eggs can be cooked in multiple ways, soft boiled, over boiled, over easy, hard boiled, sunny side up, over hard, over easy and much more. All eggs can be cooked in either way the person prefers. How i saw this was everyone in society is different but accepts all as one group or family. I connected this with all the characters of The Bean Trees. Taylor, Turtle, Esperanza, Mattie, Lou Ann, and Estevan. Six different characters with all different backgrounds are picked out of the same tree and all of them come together as a family (one whole egg).

As I flipped through the book, I came across a picture of hot dogs. There are five hot dogs lined up in a row painted on a canvas showing immense detail on small differences of each individual. Such as, the slight difference in sizes, the dollops of mustard, the markings and shading of the bun.

Wayne Thiebaud, Five Hot Dogs, 1961 Oil Canvas 

Now this picture may seem silly, one may ponder about how hot dogs are so significant. Thiebaud intended to make a twist in pictures of food, traditionally we would see pictures of a bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers, maybe even a baguette if one wished to paint such beauty. Simply these hot dogs reminded him of how he saw America. "Picnic, baseball, beach, campfire, circus, cheap, easy-to-eat, easy-to-cook, American. So hot dogs are cheap and mass-produced; you can afford one even when you're broke. But you usually eat them when you're having a good time." (Greenberg and Jordan, 40). Something so simple and accessible in an American's daily life style can bring happiness and good memories. When I first glanced at the photo I thought it was quite pointless without reading the text. After reading the interpretation, it helped me get a decent foundation on what I see and think of symbolically.

Fishing for acceptance 

 Throughout the whole novel there was only one reference to fishing mentioned...how is that even important?

Fish always get baited by a simple worm and get caught up with the tricks of us sly human beings. But what about humans? What do we fall for? Who baits us? 

Well society does, especially the embodiment of women. This social justice issue was a big role in The Bean Trees. Lou Ann was a big part of wanting to be the perfect house wife, with a great body, cleaning the house, caring for Dwayne Ray and Angel. But what does she get back? Negativity and shame from her ex-husband. She worries and feeds into trying to fit the perfect role of women in the 1980s. The hooks I painted to symbolize society and role models made for commercializing while the fish represent the women who try to loose weight (the hotel owner who is hoping to be a future mother) or fit in the role of what everyone expects. I did my best to use as little colors as I can to show that 'the fish' are all looking to be the same thing, no diversity, all baited into the hook and it makes them so called 'normal' when there should be women of all sizes being accepted, and recognized for all their efforts put in to the family. 

In this painting, I made sure that only two colors (aqua green and dusty blue) would dominate over the whole canvas. I did this because I wanted to emphasize the true meaning of how women are all similar if they followed society's rules. I wanted to mimic the outlined idea of using less colors and similar continuous patterns because, "By limiting his color and repeating the red shapes, Francis manipulates the way we look at the parts of this painting, as well as the way we read it as a whole." (Greenberg and Jordan, 64). After seeing the picture of Sam Francis's Big Red, I got my idea of connecting animals to humans as to how Barbara Kingsolver connected vegetables to people in Turtle's perspective. 

Sam Francis's Big Red 1953 Oil Canvas

Overall, I feel the most difficult part of painting on canvases was using different types of paints. I used oil paint on my egg piece and I found that it was much harder to work with because the drying  process was much longer than acrylic paints. I was inspired by some of the artwork inside the book and found a way to make the interpretation fit with my beliefs. Using the book The Painter's Eye Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art, I was able to understand the use of detail for color choice, symbolism, shapes, and connect them to how I see and interpret the environment around me. I was also able to comprehend the meanings behind the painting. By reading some of the background information of the examples given above, I decided to challenge myself in thinking more critically by trying to connect paintings to what we learned in class, how I see society, my beliefs, and other symbols that I can connect with nature.

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. The Painter's Eye: Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art. New York: Delacorte, 1991. Print.

What other social justice issues did you find important from the Novel "The Bean Trees" that I should express through my future paintings?

If the only clue I gave about my paintings were "The Bean Trees", how would you have interpreted the artwork? 

What did you envision? Leave a comment down below! (: