Shamir//expectations//extraordinary

"It doesn't get darker unless you expect it to."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XoGrh9eL9Y

A few posts back, we discussed "the banality of evil," a term coined by Hannah Arendt. 

It refers to the simplicity of "evil" acts; sometimes people kill others for the sole purpose of making money.

Adolf Eichmann, who Hannah Arendt observed during his 1961 trial in Jerusalem, organized the Nazis' train schedules--he planned the shipment of prisoners to concentration and extermination camps. 

But what if he wasn't ideologically committed to Third Reich maxims? What if he didn't believe in the superiority of the Aryan race?

Does that make him any less evil than Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotektor or head of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (modern-day Czech Republic), who spoke outright of the inferiority of all other races?

Is Adolf Hitler "evil" for what he did?

He rationalized his ideologies in his head. They made sense, somehow.

What if these three men committed "evil" for everyday reasons, just like someone mugging another on the street, trying to make some cash to feed a family?

I don't condone these crimes; I just think it's important to look at them through more than one dimension, and not to hasten characterizing the wholes of individuals by their acts.

We are much more intricate than that.

And I put evil in "" because I don't know what to call it.

ANYWAY

Today on an elevator, thinking of Arendt, I thought,

banality of good.

Think about it. On streets we pass samaritans and CEOs, hear them talk on phones. These two archetypes have done "good" in two archetypal ways. They have:

1.) Saved lives/supported others through struggle, even in the smallest ways (I'll call this "humanitarian good")

2.) Become financially successful and/or societally esteemed (and this, "the capitalist's good"...lol)

Again, these people are everywhere. Maybe I'm preoccupied with anonymity because I'm back in New York City.

And I'm distancing myself from humanity (and hoping that you, the reader do so for the remainder of this post, too) because I dig writing like I'm not part of humanity; like I'm a wide-eyed observer. 

We all observe, and often respond with inflections of the tongue or compassionate countenances. I'm responding with a manifesto.

 So, these particularly exceptional people--we may overhear them complaining to their mother on the phone, gossiping to a friend on a park bench, whispering under the sandpapering of leaves--exceptional people don't have to be exceptional all the time, and that fascinates me.

Or we may see a billionaire drop his Mister-Softee-vanilla-sprinkly-cone on cement, get showered by the Washington Square Park fountain, be unable to conceal her sweaty pits.

How can someone who's succeeded in life, done something many college kids I know are anxious about (made money), be so...normal. It doesn't match my gleaming idea of 

(I love you stock)

Not that I value the title "CEO" above any other financial status/vocation. The extreme success of its reputation, however, fits to dispel my illusions with the greatest magnitude; the name makes the banality of good, or normalcy, pure humanity of the "good" individual, even more banal.

The tugs between society and the individual.

Is good banal, then? Is anything banal?

Recently I read a quote: "Their lives would have been an art of living" (Perec, 23).

How is any moment less than extraordinary?

The fact that I ask this question leads me to reason one of my greatest pet peeves.

when I hear life brushed off like it's nothing, I feel dehumanized, dirty, saggy, wrong.

But I brush it off, too.

"How was your day?"

"Eh, whatever."

Maybe I'm afraid that it really is whatever.

Always, though, I come back to the extraordinaries.

Those who have done "good," but act like anyone else.

The contrasts between reputation and person are extraordinary.

Maybe we brush off life because we're subconscious and self-conscious; we know how extraordinary it could be if we just went about seeing it differently.

IF we allowed ourselves to relish in the ordinary. Anything can become ordinary if we forget to call it extraordinary.

"oh, I work for the CIA, no biggie."

as a child that was your dream, and now you do it.

for hours you fantasize of lunch, and then you eat it.

you interview for 27 jobs, and score the one you most wanted.

then you go to work.

If we stood forever awestruck at the incarnation of illusion, I guess we wouldn't get much work done.

But I got this done.

We're all extraordinary, then. This is the only logical conclusion. Sorry.

how I remind myself to practice "the art of living":

it's rice and tomatoes. 

"it doesnt get darker unless you expect it to."

Works Cited

Perec, Georges. Things: A Story of the Sixties. (David R. Godine: Boston, 1990).

bye//I'm not sure, why?

Leaving Prague today~~~

The customs process is very interesting. to discern if you are a threat to security, personnel ask you about your trip.

how was it?

what'd you see?

did you enjoy the beer?

could anyone have tampered with your bag?

it was a nice conversation.

security is very thorough. 

I was pat down for the first time.

it was pleasant.

I thought I lost my phone through the x-ray machine wormhole!!!

then I found it in the abyss of my purse.

the smiliest of my travel companions was searched the most thoroughly.

she smiled.

the clouds look nice and cumulonimbus, waiting from the terminal.

I like clouds, generally.

bye, Prague 

i didn't know what glass was made of//eating half an egg

I'm watching How It's Made: Blown Glass right now, to refresh the memories from earlier today. Your patience is duly noted.

Glass: Made from silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO 2), which is derived from sand. According to How It's Made's intoxicatingly calm narrator, other materials--such as potassium and limestone--which function as "thinners and stabilizers," are added to the silica in the glass-making process.

(To help cultivate memorable identities for these beloved minerals~~~

potassium is your friend, the banana. rather, bananas have a lot of it. Of its many benefits for the human body, potassium facilitates muscle function and the synthesis of proteins.

limestone is a sedimentary rock (which forms when particles are transported by wind or water and eventually solidify) chiefly composed of calcium carbonate, and used in cement.)

As our narrator says, it's hard to believe that beautiful, sculpted glass pieces can come from this "lumpy stuff."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nheDVHSUoG0


After about 12 hours in a 2200 degree (F) furnace, the "lumpy stuff" turns to translucent liquid. The glass blower uses a blowpipe to gather some of the liquid and shape it.

(One of the materials used in shaping glass; seen today at a glass-making factory in the Czech Republic):

Why is a blowpipe called a "blowpipe"? Good question!

At the end of the handle is a little hole through which glassmakers blow in order to form a bulge in the molten hot material. They blow very gently~~

Blowpipe.
this is a cool graphic.
Thanks WikiHow.




I get my advice from a lot of things with "How" in the name.

(Oh my goodness--the video at 3:50---wow)

The end product is usually cooled in an electric kiln for 12 hours to prevent cracking.

There are only two vocational schools in the Czech Republic, despite the popularity and demand of the glass-making industry. There may be a deficit in Czech glass-makers in the immediate future, due to waning interest in the profession among younger populations.

Matriculation usually lasts 3 years; our tour guide, however, commented that in order to become or be considered a master glass-maker, 10+ years of experience is required.

(The decoration at the end--around 5:05--wow)

Until today, I didn't really know what glass was made of--

--even though glass is found in most environments I frequent.


Like the one I inhabit now, watching "How It's Made": in a cafe.

eating half an egg.

time-lapses, taken at 2 Czech glass-making factories. watch with this song playing in the background:

Shamir - I Know It's A Good Thing - YouTube

Prague Blague//where is the ground

Marking my last two weeks in Prague, this blog will now function as a travel journal.

"Prague Blog"

"Prague Blague" 

lo and behold, apparently "Blague" is a word: 

 seems fitting.

We visited the Astronomical Clock Tower today, which is part of the Klementinum, one of the largest building complexes in Europe (built on an area of approximately 2 hectares...imagine 2 football fields). 

A brochure acknowledges "generations of famous architects, sculptors, and painters" who "participated in the constructions of Klementinum."

In addition to the Astronomical Clock Tower--completed in 1722, largely used by Jesuit scholars for astronomical observations--the Klementium houses the Mirror Chapel and Baroque Library Hall.

Simply put, the Klementinum symbolizes classical and religious education, brought to Prague by founders of the Czech Jesuit province including Petr Canisius and the philosopher Arraga.

The Tower, according to the brochure, "was used for astronomical observations until the 1930s." In its more than two centuries of active use, scholars developed tools, such as sextants, or instruments used for measuring angular distances between objects. Our guide points to one of these sophisticated mechanisms:

A "visit to the historical Klementinum chambers," the brochure lauds, "is crowned by a magnificent view of Prague." Here's one:

aaand here's this, taken in the Klementinum, and added because I dig the decor:

"Prague Blague." hmmm. I have always wanted to be a travel journalist. Here I go. 

From an astronomical clock tower, I dug into some grounded thought: today, I decided I will learn Czech--mostly because I admire what I've experienced of the culture and people so much that I may someday try to seek a life here.

Rosetta Stone software? I've seen you in commercials.

(For more photos, Czech out my Flickr, Instagram, and Foap accounts:

www.flickr.com/seasphotography

ssimon8 on Instagram

sarah.simon on Foap: https://foap.com/users/sarah.simon )

you are//your own sky

because "art never expresses anything but itself." ~Oscar Wilde

www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5hnKz9rlna4&h=AAQF_OqsC

you lost,//but darling, don't lose it!

Ok, you didn't "win" a scholarship.

but really, you have lost nothing.

27.5.2015

What matters now is that you just not lose your hope, your love of life and trust in people! Chin up, my girl! Keep smiling.

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ENDEAVOR//and why

today. listen carefully:

oh no! the biscuits even injured my mother!

family was coming over. i wanted to share love through biscuits. and the recipe i referred to looked great! it called for only 3 ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

16 oz sour cream

1/2 cup whole milk

plus, it was found on a mom blog:

http://momonamission.me/worlds-easiest-sour-cream-biscuits/

plus, it provided evidence: 

PLUS, mom blog.

"Mom on a Mission." intoxicating.

where did the recipe go wrong?

ah, wrong question. where did i go wrong?

~~~~~time to reconsider my actions~~~~~

So, why is it that i can play knock-knock with my biscuits?

5 major reasons.

food threads offer a breadth of advice--and demonstrate individuals' amazing desire to help others.

(source of screenshots: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/442520)

1.) using whole wheat flour

this comment immediately resonated: whole wheat flour "can make biscuits heavier." 

Although the original recipe called for 4 cups of white flour, i substituted 1 for whole wheat.

i thought, wow, whole wheat flour. so healthy. but it can complicate the baking process.

whole wheat flour is less refined than all-purpose flour; it contains wheat germ and bran, both of which pack vitamin E, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. while vitamins and minerals are generally pluses, "Thing is," writes Smithsonian Magazine's Alastair Bland, whole wheat flour renders "life harder for bakers." Germ and bran (we'll call 'em G&B, for sentimental purposes) despite their nutritive potentials, propose their own pitfalls to baking:

1.) G&B soak up water more readily than refined flours (like all-purpose) do, creating drier products

2.) G&B make the dough heavier and less able to rise, "leading to loaves almost as dense as French cobblestone" (solid simile, Alastair Bland).

of course, baked goods made with whole wheat flour can still turn out airy and flaky; adding more water may help, again to compensate for G&B's drying effect:

"'You really need to hydrate the flour. Only then can you get really beautiful, soft bread.'" ~Dave Miller, whole wheat enthusiast

(source: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-makes-whole-grain-bread-so-hard-to-bake-63878/?no-ist)

2.) overworking the dough

(source: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/basic-cooking/overmixing-doughs-batters)

first off, gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains. when gluten is mixed with water, protein chains form. we'll call these protein chains gluten networks: they provide the elasticity that ultimately holds your ingredients together. stretchy dough illustrates this:

~~~~~though stretchy, my dough is not exemplary~~~~~

gluten networks provide structures in which carbon dioxide gas (CO2) can embed and expand, uplifting the dough. but where does the CO2 come from? 

fermentation. 

in baking, CO2 is produced as a byproduct of fermentation, or the chemical breakdown of sugars, typically by yeast or bacteria. yeast (a fungi), often used to make bread, chemically "eats" the flour sugars, producing CO2 and alcohol as waste. 

overall, fermentation influences texture and taste by producing:

CO2 bubbles. they allow the product to rise, giving it that nice airy quality

alcohol. in the heat, alcohol is baked off--but it leaves behind flavors that color our carbohydrate dreams~~

~~~~~HOWEVER~~~~~

"leavening agents would just be bubbling brews without something to contain them."

(source: https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/bread_science.html)

again, gluten networks provide structure. CO2, as a product of fermentation, is captured in the structure; little pockets of gas become suspended, expand, and some gas even escapes. overall, the dispersion of gas gives bread its airy quality and causes it to rise. 

~~~~ON THE OTHER HAND~~~~

overworking/overmixing dough or batter overdevelops the gluten. when this occurs, according to JoePastry.com, the gluten networks TRAP steam (in this case CO2). Although bakers use gluten networks for this very purpose--to trap and provide CO2 with structure--overdeveloped gluten networks trap the gas too tightly, impeding even distribution of CO2 bubbles. 

when overdeveloped, gluten networks have grips on CO2 that are just too strong. 

When CO2 is detained by gluten, baked goods increase in volume--resulting in dense, tough, rubbery, and tooth-chippin' products.

(source: http://www.joepastry.com/2008/what_is_overmixing/)

AND as The Foodie RD spares audiences of "the organic chemistry details," she highlights that BISCUITS are particularly susceptible to becoming hockey pucks. "Overworking biscuit dough," she writes, "causes not only too much gluten formation, but it also allows the carbon dioxide gas to escape" even BEFORE the biscuits are placed in the oven. here, CO2 potential has been doubly compromised; its ability to provide airiness is severely cut.

(source: http://thefoodierd.blogspot.com/2011/10/food-science-101-over-mixing.html)

watch it again!: do you think i overworked the dough? comment below!

3.) sealing the edges

as you can see, i did somethin' to those edges:

my first instinct was to separate the biscuits on the baking sheet, as i've learned to do with cookies. L.V. Anderson, an associate editor for Slate Magazine, recommends the contrary: "make sure they touch." 

"As they rise in the oven, their tops will brown and harden, but their abutting sides will remain soft, feathery, and white—just like the delicious insides."

4.) omitting buttermilk?

Anderson also contends that biscuits made without buttermilk "inevitably result in disks that are shorter, drier, and blander than buttermilk biscuits." She also warns against overworking the dough: "knead it just until it comes together."

(source: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/04/18/buttermilk_biscuit_recipe_infinitely_better_than_baking_powder_biscuits.html)

i think Anderson's argument is extreme; one person's biscuit-making preferences do not apply to everyone. still, i look to experiment with buttermilk in the future.

SO from this

and this

failure happens, flour spills. but sweep it up and create.

oh, major error #5

5.) failing to visit Maeve in Ireland 

and the major take-away of this blog post: visit Maeve in Ireland and learn to make scones.

understanding how bread rises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvD-8ZfxfOY