Since the responses on the Random thread seemed positive, I decided to reboot these threads.
Shiny new rule: No nesties! The conversation will meander from topic to topic anyhow. Also, it adds to the retro vibe.
The last October Incredible Morphing Chameleon thread I found was from 2008. So I purloined the image and the first topic from that month’s random thread. Incidentally, this was also the month I first stumbled upon MuseBlog.
Unlike the random thread, this discussion thread stays on topic until the topic changes or the month ends.
Newcomers should read The Rules and The Guide before plunging in.
Current topic:
Online media: Post-truth cesspit or literal hellhole?
The election and its aftermath
Halloween
Suggested topics:Â
Have fun!
First post! (I think)
I’m pretty excited to hear about other MBers’ Halloween plans. While this month has been full of pumpkin food, I don’t have any plans for the evening itself yet. I guess I might go to a party? But I’d like to have some muserly me-plans was well, since “college party for a holiday not celebrated in this country” often means “people just getting drunk with vaguely spooky trappings”. Hmm…
Is anyone doing the pumpkin drop this year?
No Pumpkin Drop for me this year, but last-minute registration might still be possible. The Drop I know about is this Friday (October 28) at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Details at http :// mae.statler.wvu. edu/student-life/annual-pumpkin-drop .
I don’t know if we have a pumpkin drop at NYU, but I will try to go to some events on campus and dress up to help at the children’s event at one of the dorms. I helped last year and gave out candy at the Children’s Halloween Parade.
Rainbow*Storm’s List of Movies To Watch Before/On Halloween
1. The Mummy – Really fun adventure movie in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean. Like Pirates it has a few jumpscares and gross monsters but nothing really horror-ish, physics-defying action sequences, and lots of quotable moments.
2. Little Shop of Horrors – Cannot recommend this one highly enough. Campy Alan Menken sci-fi musical with a fantastic 50s doo-wop style soundtrack and giant plants eating people.
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas – Everyone says this is a good movie for November in between Halloween and Christmas, but that will just make you disappointed Halloween is already over. Way better to watch it before Halloween to start the hype for both holiday seasons that make up the rest of the year. Stop-motion Tim Burton movie musical with really cool character and set designs and songs by Danny Elfman, starring the best skeleton in a Santa hat since Discworld Death.
4. Ghostbusters – 80s comedy about paranormal investigators saving New York from Lovecraftian abominations via SCIENCE! If you saw this when you were little I highly recommend rewatching it now, the script and deadpan deliveries are legitimately hilarious.
5. Hotel Transylvania – Yes, it’s a non-Disney or Pixar animation. Yes, Adam Sandler is one of the voices and there’s a cheesy tacked-on dance party at the end. It’s still a really fun comedy with great animation.
6. Cabin in the Woods – Joss Whedon’s take on horror movie tropes, with a fantastic concept and really cool monsters. If you like the SCP Foundation wiki, this is pretty close to being a movie adaptation of it.
7. Addams Family Values – Comedy about a family of odd macabre goths and the outside world’s reactions to them. Snap snap.
8. Paranorman – Stop-motion Laika Entertainment movie about a young boy who can talk to the dead saving his town from a zombie invasion. Very throwback-ish to 80s “team of quirky kids vs. monster” movies with a good twist on the villain.
I don’t have any real plans for Halloween (I might go to a NaNo kickoff party if I can sort out the transportation), but I might wear my trench coat and glare at everyone all day and tell myself I’m being John Constantine.
Parties, costumes, and the like have sort of faded away for me in the past years, regrettably. As my sister is generally the source of decoration and spirit around here (and she’s off at college), I’ve been filling in with movies. Halloween films are sort of a weird territory – it’s not that I’m squeamish, but I’m not really interested in watching things fueled by jump scares (I’ve been impressed with the Donnie Darko and Rosemary’s baby as films on their own merits in the past, for example). Haven’t really gone near the true staples of Halloween horror. I’ve decided that Halloween itself will be the lighter topping off of Young Frankenstein.
R*S certainly makes a compelling case for some more, though (especially little shop of horrors, which I hadn’t thought of before!)
The other side of things is that a bunch of young families with kids have recently moved into the neighborhood, so I might be handing out candy for the first time in years! Perhaps I’ll add in a bit of spirit with a last minute pumpkin carving.
4- Good suggestions! I really want to rewatch a few Scooby-Doo episodes before Halloween comes.
Here at the seminary, we have a big bonfire and cookout on Halloween. Burgers, hot dogs, beer, high-powered potato cannons, priests dressed like Sith, the usual stuff, y’know. I just hope the fire department gives us the burn permit in time–last year we only got it on the afternoon of.
Pumpkin acquired! Now it’s a matter of deciding on on a subject.
I signed up to volunteer at the Children’s Halloween Parade on Monday. I even moved my optometrist’s appointment earlier so that I can work for longer.
By the way, happy Diwali, everybody! I’m sure some of you are celebrating.
So, shall we morph?
What topic would you suggest, Kai?
Hmmm, given that it’s raining here, how about weather?
We might as well, I suppose. If the most momentous election of any of our lifetimes doesn’t get people talking, then it’s clear that MuseBlog is really a guestbook instead of a forum nowadays. I just hope that you’re talking about it somewhere.
So, weather. Clear and cool down here, with colorful leaves still clinging to many trees. It feels more like October — or the way October used to be when I was your age.
Robert, I think reluctance to discuss the election is shock and upset rather than apathy.
That’s probably true. I think most of us will be feeling stunned for a while. Please be aware that I do value your perspectives, as always, and hope to hear them in the fullness of time.
Yes, it’s just cool enough and aside from today it’s been very sunny and pleasant. The leaves in all of the parks are turning bright colors and they look lovely against the sky. I’ve finally discovered the time of year that my bomber vest (like a leather bomber jacket with a fake fur collar but without sleeves), was made for.
Very well, I’m willing to move conversation to the topic of the election if it is desired, especially if a challenge is offered that labels Museblog a guestbook. (I know there’s good intention in that, though. Don’t fret!) My approach of late to most topics, however, has been to stay silent unless prompted or in situations where I can only contribute with what I know to be true (at least, so have the Confucians taught me). The opportunities to offer my knowledge to a discussion are rare, though, as I find many of the people with whom I have discourse on this particular subject are exposed to the same sources as I. It seems that all is left in those situations is an airing of frustrations often similar down to the same phrases, whether through social media or in person – evidence of the echo chamber I have heard social media sites called. It’s a tricky line to walk; I’m all for finding the words to express their thoughts, regardless of the source, but I’m also wary to maintain my own intellectual independence. I wonder a little bit if such a thing exists.
I’m not actually sure I’m ready to call this election the most momentous of my lifetime. In historical terms, I think the first black president’s election was far more significant than that of another racist (even if his rhetoric is the most appallingly blatant of candidates I’ve been alive for). Violence, explicit or implicit, toward minorities is far from anything new from our presidents, even in the frighteningly recent history of Reagan’s ignoring the AIDS epidemic, as some of my friends have been keen to remind me. Going back, we have Eisenhower’s Operation Wetback, our own internment camps, the trail of tears, and of course those are just the first things that come to mind. Obviously, the worst of the immediate impact is the spike in racially driven violence – and to be totally clear: I find all that Trump’s campaign has incited to be utterly abhorrent.
I’m removed from the clearest of the effects here in California, but I’ve still been thinking about what can be done to counteract. At this point, it seems to me a matter of damage control. As with so many others, I’m hoping to see a rolling back of the proposals. Repeal of healthcare can’t be a good thing, but I at least have the hope that if more of it is left around (and I still think action will be needed to help those who will find themselves excluded), the easier it will at least be to put back together. Deportation is also probably the most prominent of the fascistic moves – not to mention the move that may be the most permanently affecting – suggested (as per Trump’s recent estimate, 2-3 million) and I’m honestly not sure what to do about that. Should I find some way to protest and obstruct? Find a way to help people into the states? Find ways to hide people (if I even can)? Find ways to help people through citizenship? That one really scares me, as does any sort of Muslim specific action. The only solace I can take on that matter is that the president-elect has been quiet about it of late. The most we can do is offer support, comfort, and opposition to racist groups. Lamentably, I’m not sure what effect can be had on international immigration policy from my level.
I’ve read that our own sort of radicalization has taken place in the states – young men encouraged to fuel their misogyny and racism but keep it quiet in what they imagine are ‘PC (Hostile)’ environments. This sort of attitude is clear in some online areas, and in some gatherings of only men (especially, I’m seeing, men who are thoroughly tied to the internet). Marcus Aurelius tells us that the unique gift of humankind is reason and the ability to show an opponent why they are wrong. I sincerely hope that some sort of rationalism will have ground among people who are prepared to reject arguments just because of their source. Otherwise, I don’t know how to appeal to those people (including those I probably don’t realize I personally know). In the recent past, we were already putting in a strong effort to stigmatize hateful speech and it’s brought us this political result. Posters suggesting that my former university was ‘anti-white’ have already been pasted about the campus anonymously. I’m not sure I have the tools to combat that. Friends of mine have traveled to protest heavy cities nearby to march. I think it’s the right move, but I suspect more direct action will soon be necessary.
As for weather, we’ve had a nice dose of fog making it inland here. Some heavy mists have kept it quite pleasant – just what I like to see! And perfect for a sweater and book by the fire.
I mean, I don’t really know what to say about the election – I seriously thought we as a country were better than this. I’m so angry and I’m scared. I live in a red state, and I’m worried about my continuing access to birth control and abortion (plus I’m turning 26 next year, but fortunately my employer offers health care), I’m worried about the environmental impacts of the coming administration, I’m worried about legal protections for LBGT and POC being removed. I’m devastated at the amount of sexism and bigotry the campaign exhibited, and how that wasn’t even a dealbreaker for so many voters. I feel completely powerless to do anything about it, too, so I’m just sitting here stress-donating and hoping for a huge midterm turnout in two years
20 (gimanator) –
My Chicanos/Latinas and Education class discussed some concrete ideas to help undocument people, who are definitely one of the most immediately vulnerable groups after the election.
-Educate yourself about undocumented people, citizenship statuses, the immigration system, reasons for migrating, challenges they face, current state and federal policies, potential policy changes, etc. Lives in Limbo is a book recommended by my professor, as an ethnography of the experiences of undocumented youth. There’s also a ton on the Internet. Learn about ways that undocumented status intersects with other identities such as race, nationality, and gender.
-Lobby your former university to issue a statement supporting undocumented students and adopt policies protecting them (see www. insidehighered. com/news /2016/11/15/ growing-movement-calls-universities-limit-their-cooperation-federal-immigration for information about some petitions which are already being circulated). Consider reaching out to undocumented, immigrant, and/or Latinx student groups asking how you could help organizing that they’re doing. Try to link together faculty, staff, students, and alumni to lobby together.
-Support efforts for your city to adopt policies supportive of undocumented people (so-called “sanctuary cities”).
-Lots is going on at the state level as California tries to protect its way of life counter a Trump administration. Call your representatives and tell them this is an issue that matters to you.
-Donate money to an organization that is providing support and legal help to undocumented people. In my area, people have been recommending the “Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Coalition.”
-Share articles, posts, and your own thoughts on social media to show people in your network that this matters to you. Bust myths about undocumented immigrants and highlight their humanity.
-If you are open to more extreme action, consider engaging in civil disobedience (organized by groups that work with undocumented people, of course), because it is far too dangerous for undocumented people themselves to get arrested.
-Follow good sources of information to stay up-to-date about anything that changes and future actions, petitions, etc.
I’m sure there’s more, but hopefully that helps you get started. I think it’s great that you want to find some way to help. There’s lots that can be done.
I am heartbroken about the election. I am sad and scared and anxious.
My partner and I had a series of discussions about whether I should look for a job so we can move to Canada now, after her current semester ends and before the inauguration, or try to stay for another semester after this, in hopes that she’ll get her degree after that and we’ll be in a better place to judge our safety. We decided to stay, for now. There is privilege in leaving, but there’s privilege in being able to stay and fight safely, too, and I have to take care of my family first. We’ll likely be much safer in New York City than almost anywhere else in America. We’ll reevaluate in a few months.
I asked work about taking some vacation days on very short notice in December instead of in January like I was planning to – my partner has family in the southwest, and the new Texas legislature has already declared bathroom bills are one of their top priorities for the session starting in early January. Her family in Texas is older, and they don’t travel by plane anymore – so this may be her last chance to see them, at least for a while.
I’m considering asking my neighbors to have coffee with me. I know that most of the people in my building speak Spanish as well as English – I hear them using it on the phone in the elevator and to each other – and I want them to feel like we can look out for each other. I’ve started up my Duolingo Spanish again, as of this morning – we’ll see if it sticks.
Yeah, I mean, there aren’t really any words. Feeling sad and scared and angry and powerless. I rang my representative and my senators this afternoon and urged them to condemn Bannon. Everyone ought to do that if they can & their reps haven’t already taken action. There’s lots of solid scripts floating around right now, and one of the staffers I talked to actually told me I should get as many people to call as possible.
I called my Representative and Senators yesterday. It just took a few minutes, and I recommend it. Faced with an urgent issue, they’re more likely to act if they know they have (and can cite) constituents’ support. Mine are all Democrats; your mileage may vary, but I’m sure any independent-minded Republicans still out there could use some encouragement, too.
There’s no need to be shy. Congressional offices like to get calls and are set up to receive them. With my Representative, I spoke with a pleasant staff member; with the Senators, I left messages on voicemail. I’m told that phone calls are much more effective than emails. You can find the numbers at www. senate. gov/senators/contact and www. house. gov/representatives .
Gary Johnson voter here. I would probably have voted for Clinton to help stop Trump if I lived in a swing state like Florida, but my state (California) was pretty much going blue no matter what, so I felt better about using my vote to help a third party I agree with more get the required 5% of the popular vote to get federal funding in 2020. Didn’t happen, though.
Johnson had the experience after eight years as governor, but hopefully the next Libertarian candidate is a better speaker and less single-issue about marijuana.
I will say, I feel a nonzero amount of guilt for my vote seeing all my friends share social media posts about how third-party voters ruined Clinton’s chances and they would absolutely end friendships over finding out someone had the wrong politics, even though I know me voting for Clinton instead wouldn’t have made any difference. I am pretty worried about Trump’s aggressive foreign policy, racist and sexist comments, and complete lack of political experience. I hope this election inspires an overhaul of the voting system, with such a controversial candidate winning the electoral college but not the actual majority of voters? I think the electoral college system is pretty pointless and unfair now that we live in a time when the popular vote can be calculated just as quickly, and many people seem to share the same sentiment.
Electoral College reform is highly unlikely as long as Republicans control Congress. They have no incentive to change a system that helps them win elections.
Redistricting might offer more opportunities. It’s going to take place after the 2020 census. I’ve read that President Obama is planning to make that his focus after he leaves office, although the outcome of the election might cause him to broaden his agenda.
Ha, like a quarter to a half of the Recent Comments column is from today, guestbook my foot!
Re weather: It’s cold here. Slightly above zero most of the time, but one’s breath still mists in the mornings. The leaves are gone too, but the sky still has a blue-ish tinge instead of the winter grey which tells you that it isn’t quite December yet. Christmas decorations are starting to come up in most stores; the markets have been put up but still stay closed, waiting. Some Maroni vendors are already selling though- I bought my first on All Souls as usual, on my way back from the graveyard. It’s a rather bland time of year, honestly. Right now, I’m mostly trying to find some kind of rhythm between grad school and everything else, so I’m mostly indoors in artificial lighting and various degrees of heating.
Re election: I don’t know what to say. I never thought he stood a chance of winning. The most shocking thing to me is that everyone is concerned- it was the running debate in the rec room on campus after the election, the first time this semester the topic wasn’t M or F (Math or Food, or math-y food like Mate tea or Pi pie). They were trying to argue that checks and balances would stop Trump. I do think there’s a lot that can be done on the home front- I’m mainly terrified of Trump starting a war by throwing former military alliances to the wolves or entering in some kind of Middle Eastern conflict. Because if there’s one president I’d trust to escalate a conflict by sheer idiocy, it’s Trump.
[Partially in response to gimanator’s comment about helping immigrants.] A friend of mine who teaches French and Spanish recently retired early for personal reasons, then decided to offer his services as an interpreter for immigrants. He helps them get settled and deal with assorted challenges of living in a new country. He’s paid for his work, but I think most positions are volunteer. I mention it because many MuseBloggers have skills in other languages, even those they might not immediately consider as useful.
I’d like to call my representatives about some of the latest staff appointments. I’m currently registered to vote at my college address. Should I call the representatives of this district or of my home district? (They’re in the same state.)
No harm in calling them both. But if you feel you have to choose, I’d say the one in whose district you’re registered has precedence.
AL—The advice I’m seeing from people who’ve worked in Congress is to only make calls for the district where you’re registered to vote.
That makes sense. Thanks, ZNZ!
Robert/KaiYves: It was definitely shock, fear, and immense sadness on my part. I really wish I were home right now. Mostly because I think I could do more there, and also because I am so tired of hearing British people talk about American politics.
I can second the calling-your-congressperson-isn’t-scary thing! The people I spoke to were patient (read: waited politely while I tried not to cry), and it was clear they were fielding a lot of angry constituents.
Robert – What specifically did you say to your representative and senators? I’d like to help any way I can.
Choklit — yeah, seconded on the listening to British people talk about our politics. Some Brits have good things to say, but I keep seeing others being smug about it, as though they didn’t vote catastrophically against their own interests literally five months ago.
R*S — Not to jump in over Robert, but I already had my script typed out: “Hello. I’m [name], one of [name’s] constituents, and I was wondering when the [congressman/congresswoman/senator] was planning on releasing a statement condemning Steve Bannon, the white nationalist who Donald Trump has appointed as his chief strategist.” (Swap out words as needed for any other vile people you want them to condemn.) Polite, firm, concise. Be ready to give them your street address, also.
Should I call the Congressional office I worked in even if I’m not a constituent?
Kai, just call the offices of your own state’s and district’s Congresspeople. You need to be able to say “I’m a constituent” immediately after introducing yourself.
On Election Night I was trying to ignore the polls so I could concentrate on my homework. When I logged in to Gmail, my friend messaged me to let me know that Ohio and Florida had both gone red. We spent the next several minutes exchanging words I cannot reproduce here. I did not get any more homework done that night.
I don’t think I can afford to ignore politics as much as I used to. Progress is not inevitable and it never has been.
“I don’t think I can afford to ignore politics as much as I used to. Progress is not inevitable and it never has been.”
POSOC nails it. Complacence and ignorance are not options in a society that has just taken a very ominous turn. My prescription for feeling stunned and helpless: Learn. It will make you feel better and help you come to grips with whatever lies ahead.
P.S. Anyone who doesn’t already know about the GAPAs’ Twitter timeline @Kokonspiracy and my own personal one @rcoontz is welcome to check them out. The first used to be mostly whimsical and the second mostly scientific, but both have added more political content in the past few months. A lot of interesting ideas are coming downstream, only a few of which get retweeted. Maybe some will be of use to you.
39- Nonesense, you were simply too focused on our own long-term plans for world domination to notice some wannabe upstart making his own play.
I was surprised to visit MB last week and see no (or very little) discussion of the election. Similarly, surprised at my professors for barely even acknowledging it, just diving right into class material as if nothing had happened (couldn’t they see it in our faces? isn’t it worth discussing?). I guess it is hard to process/talk about/understand for everyone.
This is my first time living (and voting, RIP PA) in a state (California) where I’m seemingly surrounded by like-minded people, so of course the election results were shocking. I read an article that explained the psychology of this — essentially, that we can’t believe that so many others don’t share our views. I also think that I fundamentally didn’t consider the divide between my priorities/world view and the working class.
I do worry about ways the new administration will affect me directly (healthcare, funding for science research, discrimination, general stress from having to listen to DT all the time), but that is trivial in comparison to how this election will affect POC and LGBTQ people, working and lower classes, and honestly everyone eventually because of climate change policy.
I feel powerless but also privileged in that feeling. I donate time and money but feel like it isn’t enough, that every day I fail to do what is important when I sit paralyzed at my computer, reading article after article, overwhelming myself with speculative information. That what I am doing is not Important Enough.
Did Schumer’s office, Gilibrand’s was busy, did Congressman Zeldin.
Robert, what do you suggest when learning turns into a black hole, and no information seems enough to predict what is ahead of us? I think I know the typical good things to do and know how to be a generally informed politically engaged citizen, but also feel like I’m not able to dedicate enough time or money to the efforts I know will help.
Most people your age don’t have much spare time or money, so don’t be too hard on yourself about that. Nor will any knowledge, however vast and detailed, enable you to predict the future. (This election certainly demonstrated that.) Staying informed in as much detail as you can afford is enough to expect of yourself. It’s especially important at times like now, when many things are happening very quickly. The next couple of months will give a good idea of what lies ahead and how worried we should be.
(If you’re wondering how worried people in Washington are right now, the short answer is: very.)
Ten days on, it’s clear that people are going to be thinking and talking about this for a long time. For various reasons, I suggest moving those discussions to a new private thread that I’ve created for current events. Logged-in users shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.
Here, I’d like to shift the topic slightly. In the aftermath of the election, there’s a lot of talk about social media and the internet — specifically, how people’s ability to communicate has outstripped their ability to judge the reliability of news sources, while making it much easier to spread misinformation and disrupt productive discussion. How do you decide who is worth listening to? How do you deal with trolls? Is it possible to help people develop better news judgment, and if so, how would you go about it? (Do people even want to?)
As a GAPA, I naturally have more than a theoretical interest in questions like this. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
To be honest, I’ve all but given up on getting reliable news out of social media*. If I want to know something, I look it up in specific news sources I trust. To me, it’s a progressive disillusionment that started with the absolute rubbish people in my social circle would unthinkingly re-post as “science” “”facts””.
I think the grand, ultimate dealbreaker for me was seeing a publication I previously respected (the New York Times) run a ground-breakingly idiotic article “Why Women Can’t Do Pull-Ups”. Aside from the whole premise being obviously false, the scientific reasoning in the article was so terrible that I can’t imagine an editor (or literally anyone) reading that andnot thinking “what an idiot”.
I’ve given up arguing with people on social media, except for groups related directly to my university where the climate is different. Though to be fair, I wasn’t the person who took one for the team and (gently) explained to some newcomer in the physics group that his exciting new article about how we can totally just get free energy from nowhere was bogus.
I have the strong impression that people cherry-pick their news and don’t want to disbelieve articles they like. People get emotionally attached to their opinions, and don’t necessarily care to change them. So to improve people’s news judgement, I think a more roundabout approach is necessary. If people could somehow to learn critical thinking skills in a different, not emotionally charged context, they’d adopt them more easily and be able to apply them later on. I attribute most of my *logic skillz* to pure Math, and from there they bled over into everyday life. I’m not sure how to translate that into something more universally applicable though.
*Not counting MuseBlog.
I wouldn’t give up on the New York Times because of articles like the one about pull-ups. Like most media outlets, the Times runs a certain amount of fluffy clickbait just to stay in business. But it also provides invaluable investigative reporting that needs to be supported nowadays. (By the way, some of the hardest-hitting recent political reporting has come from Teen Vogue, of all places. Good for them!)
Has anyone here changed your own mind, or someone else’s mind, as a result of an online exchange? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it happen outside our beloved blog.
Robert- I still read some of their articles from time to time. It’s not necessarily the clickbait, but more the egregious logical flaws in argument (i.e. a single study of 200 people suffices to represent half the population) that scared me off. I know a bit about personal fitness and statistics, so I caught it. But I’m rather ignorant about many topics- economics and political analysis for example- and so I have trust the journalists and editors of my news source. If they made similar errors in an article about the Iraq War, I wouldn’t stand a chance to catch it. So perhaps I would end up believing that Hillary ordered elventy billion death drones to kill Pakistani goat farmers, which certainly would make me like her less as a political candidate.
Since we probably need a new topic and this feels like a good place to get people to share opinions, what is your favorite bagel combination (dough, seeds, filling, etc.)? The bagel shop I went to for brunch today has a lot of choices, but my favorite is a sunflower seed bagel with avocado cream cheese and smoked salmon.
Plain or egg, toasted, with butter or cream cheese.
Kai: I like chocolate chip or cinnamon sugar bagels… I have a sweet tooth. When there aren’t any sweet bagels available I like sesame seed the best. I don’t really put anything on it, just butter if it’s sweet and cream cheese if it’s not. I guess maybe I should try branching out?
What is a “bagel”?
To a first approximation, a bagel is a boiled scone. Only not really.
I hope there’s more to it. That doesn’t sound very appetising.
They’re very tasty.
to be clear, the boiling is only part of the cooking process, when you eat them they are dry. it’s just a very dense bread (like if you took 5 or 6 slices of bread and squished them together so there weren’t many air pockets anymore), shaped like a larger donut. you can slice them lengthwise and eat them with toppings of your choosing (cream cheese is traditional).
oh, and cinnamon (NO raisins*) eaten standalone, or plain toasted with cream cheese. For a while I had plain with sliced cheddar toasted/melted on top, but switched to bread for that instead of bagels because it just had me eating Too Much Food per day.
*I have never met a food that included raisins that would not be drastically improved with replacing them all with dried cranberries. if anyone ever finds a cinnamon cranberry bagel, let me know.
It’s a ring of baked bread with a hole in the center, the outer skin is usually a bit firm or chewy and the inside is soft.
I’ll always go for an everything bagel, warm but untoasted, with butter.
Cinnamon raisin bagel, toasted, with butter. But I have to be careful not to bite down directly on whole raisins because I hate how they feel being squished.
If I’m at home, with homemade bagels, plain with a very sharp cheese. If I’m at school, blueberry or cinnamon raisin (whichever they have–there’s usually one or the other available but not both), toasted, with cream cheese. Or whole wheat, toasted and used for a BLT.
64- A cinnamon cranberry bagel sounds like a great idea.
55, 57- Are bagels not common in the U.K.? I know that when I did my report about the food culture of Boston’s Eastern European Jewish neighborhood for Food Anthropology I learned that until the 70s it was uncommon for non-Jewish Americans to eat bagels.
There’s a coffee and bagels cafe near where I live that serves a smoked salmon/cream cheese/onions/capers bagel sandwich and I love to get it with either a challah bagel or sea salt bagel and spicy cucumber cream cheese. Aside from that, I really like cinnamon sugar bagels.
65- I have no idea, but my mom grew up in rural Indiana and said she never encountered a bagel til she went to college.
67- When did your mom go to college?
My mom told me that when she was a kid yogurt was considered “for Greeks” and not many other people in Queens ate it.
In the 1960s, yogurt was associated with hippies and health foodists. As I recall, Dannon took it mainstream in the mid-1970s.
Well. I must investigate bagels. I suspect they’re available in the UK – possibly even in Kingswinford – but if I’ve seen them, I probably logged them as incomprehensible foreign food, like star fruit and yams.
Actually, they might make a nice change from crumpets and muffins.
onion bagels. With cream cheese and lox.
Most bagels aren’t proper bagels though, they’re too large and doughy. It shouldn’t have the same texture as bread at all.
68 – Greek yogurt?
72- Yes, it was Greek-style yogurt imported to Queens or made by Greek-American companies for the Greek-American community in Astoria.
It looks as if I’ll have to find the right SORT of bagel, then.
Good grief! This is Britain! We’ve just got used to the telephone, and now you want us to eat bagels.
73- I thought that was just frozen yogurt? Yogurt itself is super popular here (no duh, we’re swimming in cows) but frozen yogurt is a hipster-college student type thing.
76 – No, it was flavored yogurt, with jam that you stirred in. Frozen yogurt came slightly later, as I recall. That’s how it happened in the U.S., at least.
I visited Sweden a few years ago (hurdy-gurdy bearings – long story). They have yoghurt deliverd in eco-friendly cartons byt the milkman.
78- That sounds like a great idea.
They do eat a lot of yoghurt. Usually with musesli, made to a delicious family recipe which I haven’t come close to reverse engineering.
Americans don’t really eat muesli so for the longest time I thought it was the same thing as granola. I’ve still never eaten it.
I eat muesli! I make my own. Want the recipe?
Here you go. I came up with this recipe in graduate school and ate it a lot — more than twice a day sometimes.
5 cups of quick-cook oatmeal (porridge oats to you Brits)
1 cup crumbled shredded wheat
a sprinkle of cinnamon, to taste
and 2/3 to 1 cup of each of the following:
raisins or currants (I prefer currants)
dried fruit, chopped
ground almonds
wheat germ
Eat with milk, sliced bananas, berries, or anything that strikes your fancy.
I’ll try that. It sounds plausible.
Oh, my muesli is better than merely plausible. It’s convincing, nay, compelling!
Nah, I think it lacks verisimilitude.