If I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe's: A Waltz With Mortality

I have mixed feelings when it comes to Trader Joe's. Actually, I take that back: my feelings aren't mixed at all. I love some things that they have and hate the rest. That's cheap alcohol and excessively packaged, dubiously ecological dry goods, respectively.

The creator of the viral video posted below seems to share some of my negativity towards the store, though for different reasons. Regardless, the film is an interesting new breed of commercial, one which the maker made of his own volition, though it clearly does the work of TJ's marketing board for them. And that's the idea. In his own words from an interview on NewTeeVee:

“I’m interested in the idea of creating a new genre of advertising, the heartfelt commercial, that really expresses how you feel about a product or store,” he said. “It’s a whole new area of advertising, where there’s much less client involvement — they can just say yes or no.”

Still, I have my doubts. It still reads like a fake in the way that the subjects comply with the narrative, from managers who aren't supposed to let the guy be filming to the accommodating yoga moms. Everyone knows that yoga moms are actually really mean.

But viewed as an artistic statement, I like it. Whether it's a new media ploy or not, you'll notice a dark, nostalgic undercurrent, a dance with temporality against a backdrop of life giving juices and bran muffins.

In other words, no matter where you shop, you're still going to die.

My Dog Makes Orange Juice

Oli, my adopted Puerto Rican mutt, sometimes gets excited when he sees tropical fruit. Perhaps it reminds him of his days rummaging through the streets of San Juan.

The first time he saw me peel a banana he begged as though it were steak. Yesterday I gave him a clementine that was past its prime, and this is what happened.



Eventually, he did eat it.

What My Dog Ate For Lunch Today

A raw goat kidney and kale.

But before you lump me together with people who buy clothes for their dogs, know this: the kidney was from a locally raised goat, it was cheap, I think it's healthy for dogs to eat raw organ meat, and I tried to eat one myself (cooked) but just didn't like it. Also, it was just the ends of the kale.

It seems to have given him the energy needed to chase the splash of light created by the sun reflecting off my laptop, which he is currently doing.

Slight Exaggeration

A new video from The Onion about the way we eat. If it were any more true, it would be true.


New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

Constant Comments

I've received some excellent comments recently and wanted to liberate them from the shadows of the individual posts they dwell in. But first, the official dog of T&F experiencing ice for the first time:



And now, some highlights:

"Refrigeration is for sissies!"

"You MUST make persimmon pudding. The flour makes it a fluffy, brownie-like thing, and it is way better when you use those found in Illinois or central Indiana."

"Aaaaaah! Fermentation!"

"Your dog is very cute, and i am going to eat him."

"The hunter's pride in bagging his moose should not stop after the kill, but continue through to the excellent steaks and roasts he or she can serve to guests as they listen spellbound to the tale of the hunt."

I also received a great recommendation for goat kidney (which is still in my freezer) and this dog food review site. Speaking of which, here are things that people said their dogs like to eat:

-kale, spaghetti squash with butter, roasted cauliflower, sliced cucumber

And here are things that people said they like to eat in their savory oats:

-soft French cheese, smoked provolone and salami, almond butter and tamari, schmaltz

And here is a video someone sent in of a pug eating a green pepper:

http://www.vimeo.com/1926031

Sustainable Catfish

I could eat seafood three meals a day, but concerns about sustainability now have me eating it only once every few months. Fortunately there are more and more guides to eating sustainable seafood, like the Seafood Watch Sushi Guide and Chefs Collabortive's Seafood Solutions. There are even responsible seafood CSAs in some parts of the country, like this one in Maine.

While farm raised fish has taken a recent nose dive in popular opinion, they're the way to go when managed correctly. Fortunately, US farm raised catfish generally meets the bill. In fact, it's even good enough for Canadians.

Since they aren't ocean catfish, I guess technically it isn't sustainable seafood, but "pondfood" doesn't have quite the same ring. But if for some reason farm raised isn't your cup of tea, there's always noodling:

Elderberries in Literature

A few posts back I dropped a reference to elderberries in literature and was then asked in a comment to elaborate. After doing a little more research I learned that the elder, the elderberry being its fruit, is much more common in mythology and religion. But if you don't believe in god, then you can still think of it all as literature.

In his poem "The Kitten and Falling Leaves" Wordsworth wrote the following:

See the Kitten on the wall,
Sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves--one--two--and three--
From the lofty elder-tree!

And again, this time in "The Prelude."

The elder-tree that grew
Beside the well-known charnel-house had then
A dismal look.

The morbid association with the elder recurs in "The Death-Child" by Scottish poet William Sharp, and some say that the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made of elder, as was the limb that Judas hung himself from.

On a lighter note, paghat.com notes that "In Celtic lore it was said that if one sat under an elderberry tree on Midsummer's Eve when its berries were ripe, it was possible to see the Fairy King pass by in a procession."

Continuing on the religious theme, who could forget John Cleese's infamous faux-French dis in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"