Kayley Nguyen
Mrs. Harrison
ELA
January 31, 2017

Blog Post

1. In Act 1, we are introduced to the major characters in the play. Which one do you find most interesting and why?

In act 1 I really like the character Shylock. I really liked his personality and you could just tell what kind of person he was just by listening to what he says and by paying attention to his actions. I thought it was really funny how Shylock was giving money to people and he was just really generous about that kind of stuff. The part that was really funny was when Shylock stopped giving money to people even though he had like a past of giving money to people. 

I also really liked shylock had a daughter that was really dramatic and I could see where she got it from. I didn't really understand why Shylock was giving money then just stopped like I understand why he started giving money but why stop out of nowhere. 

Day 8 (week 2) Garden Design / Planeat documentary

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) Vegan Participant: 

Today was A pretty relaxing day. We found a place for our garden or possible places. We decided to use earthboxes and a gutter garden to grow our plants. We also want to grow a lot of asparagus plants because they are apparently very pretty. Then we did our blogs and journals. Kayley and I did grounding for a very long time because it was so nice outside.  Now we are doing more blogging. Today was very relaxing. It is nice because we have mainly been doing a lot of physical things and it is nice to have a break.

Day 7 (week 2) Finca Tres Robles / Preparing food for Food Not Bombs

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) Meditating in Nature Participant:


Today we went to Finca Tres Robles which is a farm in Houston and we were brought around by one of the farm owners. He gave us a tour of the farm and was very informative about his produce and the soil he has. The objective of the day was to have a farm class so we could create our own gardens at Post Oak. He went over everything from the types of beds we can build, how to build them, soil we can use, plants that work in Houston"s climate, and much more. After we finished there we went to Whole Foods to get ingredients for vegan cookies which we needed in order to distribute to homeless people with an organization called Food Not Bombs. 

Day 6 (week 2) Finca Tres Robles / Supplies for Food Not Bombs

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) Daily Physical Exertion Outside Participant:

Today we went back to Finca Tres Robles and helped them package food for the CSA. It was great to see how the food was packaged and how it was about to go to people in the community. 

Aftewards, we bought ingredients for the vegan cookies for Food Not Bombs. Then we went back to the Central City Coop and spent the rest of the day baking the cookies. We should have bought more coconut oil so we could make more, but at least the ones we made went to those who needed it that night at their meeting. 

Day 5 (week 2) Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution / Artist Claire Pentecost

Day 4 (week 1) Farm Dirt

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) Daily Physical Exertion Outside Participant: 


Today we went to Farm Dirt again, rather than the day before when we were given a tour we instead were allowed to see a cooperative deal between the people at Farm Dirt and a foreign composting company that is experimenting with a new system of decomposition. This was very exciting to see unfold. However because it was incredibly cold only one of us returned to Farm Dirt after we left for lunch. It was an increadible experience. 

Day 3 (week 1) Plant it Forward / Farm Dirt

  

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) Meditation in Nature Participant:

Today we started out at Plant it Forward which is an farm run by a nice man named Roy. When we first arrived Roy wasn't at the farm yet but his assistant was. He put us right to work picking weeds. After we did that he showed us around the farm and told us about all the winter plants. There were mostly leave plants that make up salads and some root plants. The coolest plants he showed us were the Cauliflowers. When Roy finally arrived at the farm we cleared garden beds so he could plant spring crops later in the year. He taught us how to properly use all of the tools in order to clear the beds. After we left the farm we went to Farm Dirt where they take the scraps of food from all over Houston and composed it to make soil for organic farmers. He showed us around all the mounds and told us about the process of the decomposition of the compost.

Farm Dirt...

Day 2 (week 1) Central City Co-op

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) non-processed food participant: 

Today we went to the Central City Co-Op. The Central City Co-Op rents a space in a small church and is run by a lady named Jessica. The Central City Co-Op is a foundation where every Wednesday farmers come by so the church can sell their organic produce. The first thing we did when we got to the church was help them get ready and set up for the selling of fruits and vegetables. Jessica introduced herself to us and gave us a little tour of the place, what they do, how they manage the space limit, how farms stop by to drop off stuff, and how people come by to get their shares of organic produce. 

After the tour Jessica had us put prices on the items that they were selling that day. After we completed our task she had us paint some signs and draw noticeable things so they can place outside on days that they are selling things. When we finished that it was time for lunch so we got to pick out our veggies to make our lunch. When we walked into the kitchen we saw that a lady had just made a fresh loaf of bread and was cutting it up for us to have a “piece” the piece ended up being a whole entire loaf. When we started picking out our veggies we were trying to think of different recipes we do with the food that we had to choose from, plus trying to keep it in everyone's diet. We couldn't really think of things to make so we kind of improvised and for doing it at the top of our minds, I think we did pretty well. The fact that it was even edible and good was excellent.

Day 1 (week 1) Last Organic Outpost / "Parts Unknown" in Houston with Anthony Bourdain

 

Outing to select the work gloves to which we are most attracted.

 

  

Pitching in at Last Organic Outpost...

 

...with our new friend and weeding colleague, Franklin. 

From our Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM) vegan participant: 

Today was the first day of the farming and social practices. We started off the day by getting some gloves from a supply store. Then we went to a farm in the 5th ward. It was called Last Organic Outpost. We first got a tour of the farm and the man who owns the farm gave us a sample of some of his products. David and James both ate a ghost pepper, and it was pretty funny. The man also gave us a sample of this wasabi flavored lettuce which surprisingly tasted like wasabi. After that we went to go pick weeds. 

Then we went to Ms. Sloan's art studio. We ate lunch and played with her dog. Next at her studio, we watched a documentary about food from different cultures around Houston which was quite entertaining. To end the day we went to an art store to get a journal for writing our journal entries in.

Durational Lifestyle Modification (DLM)

For the duration of this course, we have each selected a modification to our current lifestyle related to farming, food, nature, sharing, the earth or another area related to the course. We each have selected our own modifications that we feel will have a notable impact on us as individuals.

We are documenting and journaling about our selected modifications.

Selected Durational Lifestyle Modifications (DLM):

Participant 1: Meditating in nature
Participant 2: No processed foods and daily grounding / earthing 
Participant 3: Daily physical exertion outside
Participant 4: Vegan diet and daily grounding / earthing
Participant 5: Vegetarian diet

Welcome to Farming and Social Practices!

We are exploring locally produced food and the social practices surrounding its production and distribution. 
 

Description of the Course

We are meeting with a local composter utilizing local food waste, three urban farms, a food co-op distributing for the farms, a raw kitchen utilizing leftover organic produce and an activist group preparing donated food for the homeless. We will learn about urban farming and various methods for sharing and distributing food within communities. Direct attention will be focused on an area known as a “food desert.”

Additionally, we will start a small garden, investigate the logistics of setting up a food co-op in an area known as a food desert, explore various social practices including Relational Art and the artist as catalyst and plan an educational and/or artistic event related to food in the area.

The afternoon of January 17, we will be on the air with KPFT FM 90.1 discussing our urban farming experience with Pat Greer.

The Mystic Lyon will be our hub for the class due to its central location to Farm Dirt, Last Organic Outpost and Finca Tres Robles, it's available studio, garden and kitchen space, and it being located in a food desert.