Bacterial update: the batch of Kefir I was so giddy about yesterday was indeed the best so far but after 'ripening' the milk kefir at room temperature for another 24 hours, it turned sour. I threw it out. In hindsight, given the amount of separation of curd and whey after being strained, it had fermented slightly too long. The batch I just strained this evening is again the best so far (better than yesterday's). This time I'm ripening it in the refrigerator for a day. So far the separation is minimal. Ripening is said to increase Vitamins B (folic acid in particular). It also changes the flavour. We'll see. The Kombucha scoby seems to be starting the creation of a daughter on its back. For some reason I thought it would be on the belly. When I get back from San Jose on Friday next week I'll have the pH testing strips to see how things are going. By that time the brewing should be almost done.
Steve and I have been watching the Lord of the Ring trilogy. We're almost done the third one now. It's quite an epic. Just like the first time, I can't help but feel sadness for the suffering of the animals in a battle that is not their own. While I know that these particular animals were not harmed, it does remind me that animals were and are harmed in battles. Horses seem to me such gentle animals. To use them in battle must have been tremendously traumatic. In the film they kill elephant-like animals as well as horses, dog-like creatures, and so on, merely for their supposed allegiance with evil. Indeed the animals are depicted as having a will to kill beyond their human riders.
I recently had a conversation with someone about the next big injustice to be noticed and righted. At the time we bandied lots of things about including, in partial jest, the injustice of a world made for early-risers. Since that time, because of various sources and acquaintances, I've come to realize that it may be animal rights that become a focus. Our inability to consider non-humans as having consciousness, worthy of freedom and respect no doubt stands in the way of us feeling compassion on much deeper level for the earth in general. Julie Andreyev, Carol Gigliotti, and Karolle Wall are all faculty members at Emily Carr working with animals and ethics as subject matter. Julie is currently building an interactive art piece (called *glisten) HIVE) for the Cultural Olympiad (Code Live exhibition) where text emphasizing evidence of animal consciousness will be rendered in real-time, responding to human actions in the space. She is actively seeking textual input for the piece using Twitter (@glisten_HIVE). You can tweet examples of how your animal companion shows their conscious relationship with the world. Example questions she asks are: "how do you know when your animal companion is sad/happy?", and "Is your animal companion ever conflicted?"
A song for this post.
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I've been brewing kefir for over a year now and it is quite sour, but as for many things, it is an acquired taste. I drink it at room temperature, and if I am drinking it straight, I just sip it while reading or whatever. Otherwise, I put in some rapadura and that makes it a very pleasant drink.
ReplyDeleteAnimals dying in wars sucks, but I'd have to say people dying in wars is worse. If you consider all the wars in history probably a majority of the soldiers who were killed were forcibly enlisted. Then of course there's the civilians.
ReplyDeleteWe may never know whether or not animals (or people) are conscious or have souls (whatever those are), and are therefore deserving of rights. The upside of remaining ignorant on this topic is hamburgers.
Yolanda, thanks for your comment. I had to look up rapadura :) I like to add maple syrup or agave. Or drink it straight up. I'm finding out that I can control a lot of the taste and texture by timing of fermentation and amount of milk (which are also correlated). Seems that Kefir making is an art. I'm enjoying all the experiements.
ReplyDeleteHow did you get into it?
Hi Garth! Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteYou're right war sucks no matter way you slice it. Very few, knowing what they were in for, would sign up. Adventure, financial help, family and social pressures all figure into these decisions. There is a comparison with the animal situation when manipulation and exploitation (especially in the context of hierarchy) are involved.
I'm very conflicted when it comes to fighting. In my every day life it is rarely necessary and never productive. I can see some situations where it might be a kill or be killed dilemma. At the scale of whole countries it would seem that several communication channels would have to fail repeatedly before war happens. And along the way, it seems improbable that no one would say "woah, stop". This is partially why I'm enjoying the Lords of Finance book. The speed and the delusions. Fascinating.
And yes, humans have put themselves in a particularly dependent relationship with livestock. We see what we want to see. I'm not dogmatic on these issues. Ethics are an interesting cross between the personal and the social.
Don't forget to send me that blog ;)