nature boy, nature man...

...take me along, we've got a life that's undiscovered.

SO, I accidentally reversed this week's and last week's topic. As a result, you get my nature post this week (Heather, I'm sorry I can't read a syllabus).

I think the topic of nature in Edmonton is mildly ironic, because despite it being the first day of spring, most of the city remains buried under a blanket of snow. I feel like Edmontonians lose track of the nature in our city because our winters are eternal. I remember as a child being so excited when I would be walking home from school in my shirtsleeves, puddles slopping into my rubber boots. I craved the moment when enough snow melted to reveal a patch of grass, however dead and dirty it was.

I feel like a lot of Edmontonians don't appreciate the nature we have in our city. I find this troubling because we have so much usable green-space in our city. When I say usable, I don't mean land to be developed (I don't want South Edmonton Common popping up in the River Valley), I mean land to be stood on with your bare feet, land to ride your bicycle through, land to use for something other than furthering our industry...something beyond urban sprawl.

Think about Churchill Square. Remember when it was actually a grassy area? I don't care what anyone says about bringing business into the Downtown core and I don't care how architectural stunning it's supposed to be; pouring concrete onto that green-space was a colossal mistake. It needed to be maintained and groomed, yes, but it was a great downtown park. I can't call the bleak, grey pit that's replaced it a park.

Gluten-free tourism: A celiac guide to Edmonton

When I travel, the most nerve-wracking thing to plan is where I’m going to eat. This is because I have celiac disease. For anyone who’s not familiar with it, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the upper intestine that makes it impossible to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and sadly, because of cross-contamination, oats. If someone with celiac disease ingests gluten, the villi of the small intestine atrophy and stop absorbing nutrients into your body. So in addition to awful bowel problems that last about a week, your body begins to starve itself.

Eating out when you are celiac can really suck. Lots of waiters are still unfamiliar with it and the procedures it entails. There’s a very long list of dos and don’ts for preparing gluten-free food to ensure that the diner doesn’t accidentally ingest gluten. Having been diagnosed almost three years ago, I’ve made my way around to the city’s gluten-free restaurants/shops and these are some of my favorites:

 CULINA (Mill Creek Location): They have a really awesome NEW gluten-free menu, in part because their new chef has celiac disease. So that means in-house, fresh-baked GF bread (so good) and dishes like calamari in coconut curry sauce, pork tenderloin with chimmichurri on quinoa and flourless chocolate cake that’s so dense it will put you in a sugar coma.

TONY ROMA’S (everywhere): Yup, this is my favorite old GF stand-by. Many of their sauces are gluten-free, and you can make a really good meal out of ribs, coleslaw and rice. So tasty, and it’s good value, especially if you’re dining with a large group.

THE DISH (Stony Plain Road and 124 st): This is the only place in the city that I know of that makes gluten-free sandwiches (DO YOU KNOW HOW *#%@ING HARD IT IS TO FIND A GOOD GLUTEN-FREE SANDWICH IN THIS CITY?). Their fare also includes delicious lamb stew and sweet potato Shepherd’s Pie. Any sane gourmande will also spring for the white chocolate raspberry crème brulee.

THE GREENHOUSE (87 ave and 112 st): This is right on campus. My only complaint is that it’s a bit over-priced, but the guys who work there are very knowledgeable about the gluten-free diet and I have always felt safe eating there. If you’re nervous, go for the make-your-own-salad option, which gives you more control over what you put in the salad.

KINNIKINNICK (120 st and 109 ave): If being celiac were a religion, Kinnikinnick would be it’s church. We are so lucky to have the HQ for the company in our city, because they are the most comprehensive gluten-free food retailer in Edmonton. You can find almost anything there, including wedding cakes (say whaaaat?!) This place is kind of a big deal for celiac people.

For more info on celiac-friendly restaurants in Edmonton check out the Edmonton Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association: http://www.celiac.edmonton.ab.ca/restaurants.html

On the trail we blaze....

PeakValleyPeak: Soundtrack to a Bike Ride

IT'S FINISHED!

I would love to get people's comments on the map. When the grades come back in for this project, I would like to (with everyone's permission) turn this into an ongoing project, where I can publish your commentaries and memories on the map.

This cartography project has given me a new outlook on the city. I am terrible about giving Edmonton flack for being boring/redneck/not as hip as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, New York, etc. But in spite of the bleak weather and shoddy public transit, it does have a charm unlike any of the places I've listed. I am still trying to give it a definition, pin-point it, so to speak.

One of things I have discovered about Edmonton is that the best way to not hate it is to make it your own. You need to decide what places you haunt, what places you wander through, and what places you never go. If you have places you love, go there often; it will take the edge off.

Edmonton is a thrift store; you have to take what you love and leave what you hate, and chances are someone will snap up what you've ignored.

you can take it with you

As much as I would like to use this blog to rail and rage against the frigid weather that we've been plagued with, I don't need to make my already bad mood any worse. Besides, spring is on it's way, right? RIGHT?

I received a notice on my Facebook page earlier today about the Handmade Mafia starting up again, mid-March. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Handmade Mafia is a collective of Edmonton craftsters and designers who get together down at Orange Hall to sell their wares. They fall into the same category as Royal Bison and Make It!, but luckily, hold events more frequently.

It had never occured to me how this city seems to sleep during the winter months. Every activity literally goes into hibernation mode: handmade mafia, bike trails, patios...everything. Snow is the great equalizer, the great tranquilizer. I can't bring myself to look outside anymore at the rooftops covered in snow, and yet, it give me comfort to know that under the packed powder lies thousands of little cocoons of action, waiting to be opened up after the thaw.

you must take the derive

I don't spend all that much time thinking about how I move through a city-scape, because ninety percent of the time I am moving, it's with a specific location in mind. It's in my nature; I am always thinking about the destination, rather than the journey. The more I think about it, the derive is actually the total antithesis of how I move throught the city. Nothing I do is random, and lately, I feel it's because I haven't allowed myself the time to be random. A few weeks ago, a derive would have seemed like a great idea, but now with this new cold snap, it just seems like a deathwish.

My hope for reading week is that it warms up, even just so the chill is tolerable. If this happens, I will absolutely attempt a derive. Perhaps I'll invite someone along (spontaneous and uncharted field trip, anyone?)

For the performer/creator part of my brain, the derive is literally improvised performance; you must allow yourself to be influenced by the other actors in the scenario and the scenario itself. A good rule of thumb in improv is to constantly be making offers and saying yes. I think that rule can be applied to the derive as well. If you start saying 'no', it's because you desire too much control.

Another thing we often say in theatre is to "follow your impluse". Again, I think this is true of the derive as well. Some of the best work I've seen my peers present has been informed by a single impulsive gesture. The derive, as well, can yield amazing things if you let your feet do the thinking, as well as the walking.

RESIST NOT. There is so much to be found in the drift.

treading the (key)boards

I have an intense love-hate relationship with essay writing.
  
   Essays are just about the worst on-again/off-again boyfriends ever, and this class is like singles therapy (if such a thing exists?) It's refreshing to walk into a class where there's no essay writign involved, because as I plow deeper and deeper into Undergradlandia, it's something I've just learned to expect:

"This essay is worth 25% of your final grade!"
"Your final paper is waited at 40%."
"For your final project you will submit a 15 page research essay on a topic of your choice. The paper will be worth 60% of your final grade and all your remaining sanity."

When I was first telling people about this course, they couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact that an English class had no essay writing component. But why should it? When Malcolm was in talking to our class yesterday, he said something that I think a lot of professors know but don't like to admit: essays are (often) boring, required reading in the land of academia. There are others, like our fearless leader H.Z., who actually understands that, and is trying to help us out of the rut we've been stuck in when it comes to REAL writing.

What point am I trying to make?....English classes help make you a better theorist, a better essayist and a better critical thinker, but many of the most accomplished writers of our times are novelists, not essayists. Sure, they must have written some essays on their way to becoming published authors, but I think we can all agree that A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a far better novel than it would be an essay on autism.

I don't want to dump on essay writing. I get a lot of satisfaction from finishing an intense essay, especially when I feel it's well-written. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's nice to have a break, and to find new ways of spurring on my ideas.

fast-paced world

I know the prompt this week is about minorities and their locations within the city, but I want to put a different spin on this post.

  After reading Darren Hagen’s “The Edmonton Queen”, it made me remember the gay bars that have closed down in the city. First it was Flashback, and then the Roost, and most recently, Play has been closed down.  This got me thinking about the closure of local businesses in general, most recently (and most disappointing for me and my wardrobe) Nokomis Clothing on Whyte Avenue.

   My one totally irrational fear is that Edmonton will, over time, become one giant box-mall. Remember Southside Sound? Remember Megatunes?  They were great music stores that could not compete with HMV. I assume it’s the same for Nokomis – they could not compete with the chain clothing stores. I don’t want to bash chain stores, because I think at a certain point, based on financial needs and proximity, we all have to shop at those places. However, I do think that as city dwellers, we should try to discover and frequent our local gems, and thus, help to sustain them in an increasingly homogenous city.

Tidbit: The title of this post was stolen from brought to you by The Dukhs' song "Fast Paced World"...Winnipegers! Check them out!

And check out http://www.live-local.ca/ for info about eating and shopping locally.