Farm dinners = Local food = YUMMY

I attended my first farm dinner last weekend. For those that might not know what that means, it means that I traveled out to a local farm and sat out under the trees and enjoyed a meal that was locally sourced... the veggies and chicken were all grown on the farm, the beef was from Erie, and the meal was straight up amazing. If you'd like to read more about it and check out the slide show of the meal, check out my article about it on Elephant Journal.

Jonny Copp in video and in his own words.

"Dirt Days" at NCAR from Alex King & Mito Media on Vimeo.

Here's a great interview with Jonny and Waylon Lewis of Elephant Journal. While I'm at it, here's a link to an article Jonny wrote for Elephant Journal as well.

Here's a link to Coppworks, Jonny's website showcasing his work. I hope you enjoy the interview and his words and are able to get a sense of how amazing my friend was.

A clip from Sharp End: a movie with Jonny and produced by Wade Johnson:

Huge Loss of Wade, Micah and Jonny in Sichuan Mountains China. from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Mindful travel article

As promised, here's the link to my article on mindful travel over at Elephant Journal. Read, enjoy, and leave your comments! :-)

Busy weekend!!

This was definitely one of the busiest weeks/weekends I've had in a while. The Colorado State Thespian Conference was fun, and I had the unique opportunity to get to meet some students I hadn't met before, and to spend some time with some students that I've wanted to get to know better. Apparently sleep at these things is optional since I didn't get much of it at all. I made up for it today though, by sleeping for 12 straight hours, which is pretty remarkable for me. I did manage to get a few book reviews and even a top 20 gift book suggestion list up on Elephant Journal as well, which earned me some (well deserved) harassment from Ms. Phillis over the fact that I never quite seem to stop working. I do... just not for very long and not very often.

Two more weeks until December vacation... wowzers. My goal is to actually go a few days without any sort of contact with the world, not including the time spent on the train. I'd like to take some time just for me... I've noticed that when I do that, the world spins just fine, thank you very much, and so I plan to give the world a break from me again.

But for now, I've got to get ready for another week. Blog topics to post, presentations to finish grading... a teacher's work is never done!

The more I know

If you've been following my "Currently Reading" sidebar, then you know that I've been reading The Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend. I'm not going to say much about the book since I'm going to post a review of it on Elephant Journal, but I will say that this book has definitely had an impact on me. I've been really changing my food choices, especially when it comes to where I go out to eat, and now this book has increased the challenge. At this point, my choices when I go out are to ask the waitstaff what they know about the source of the meat (unless I already know), or go vegetarian. I actually don't have a problem with the latter option, particularly since two out of my three meals each day is vegetarian, but it's getting so that my options to go out and enjoy a meal are getting increasingly, frustratingly limited. If I combine the "no factory-farmed meat" with the "no high fructose corn syrup or trans fats" decision, then my decision becomes even more difficult. It's interesting.

I had a talk with a recent alumnus about it over the weekend, and he asked me if I ever get overwhelmed by it all and want to just say "forget it." I can't say that I'm not tempted sometimes, but then I realize that my decisions aren't just for me and that I'm not the only one affected by the choices I make, and so my resolve to stick to my choices actually becomes easier for me.

On Saturday I spent time at the farmers' market making sure that my meat supply was going to remain steady over the winter, and with the exception of pork and lamb, I'm pretty much set. I have yet to hear back from the farm where I want to get my pork, so I may end up calling them this week. My lamb will come from a vendor at the farmers' market that wasn't there this past weekend. My beef and chicken are both all set, so that's a nice plus. Seems like a lot of work, I know, but I just can't go back to factory-farmed meat. The only exception would be if I was at someone's house for a meal. For example, this December I will be heading back East for the holidays, and while I am with my family, I am not and will not turn down the food that is being offered; that would just be rude, and to expect them to change for me would be just as inconsiderate, and so my decision will be put on hold. Besides, I'm there to enjoy being together with my family, not to proselytize my lifestyle... my choices may be right for me, but it is not mine to force those decisions on others.

Okay, now this is just cool

Found this over at the Elephant Journal website and had to pass it along... check it out:

Education in the 21st century, pt. 2

I just posted part two in my series on education in the 21st century to the Elephant Journal website. In case you missed it, here is part one, and there is more to come. Feel free to link to it and pass it along!

Link and new geekiness

I published an article about the digital classroom on Elephant Journal a couple of days ago that I'm rather proud of, and it's gotten some nice feedback. If you're interested in reading/commenting on it, you can find it here.

I've also found a new and cool way to get info to my students without paper. I found an excerpt from a book that I wanted to use with my students, and so I asked the publisher of the book if I could copy it to use. I got permission, scanned it, and saved it as a pdf to a flash drive... but then couldn't decide what to do with it. I wanted them to read it tomorrow in class, but then there was the whole digital vs paper thing that has become something of a block for me now. I ended up emailing them the excerpt. (Yeah, I know.... obvious solution. I really do need to apply Occam's Razor much more often than I do.) Nonetheless, I am still rather pleased with the idea that each of the students in the class already has the excerpt waiting for them in their inboxes. Tomorrow in class, I am going to have them log into their email accounts and read the excerpt. We have the laptop cart tomorrow, so each can use their own, but this still wouldn't be that much of an issue if I have them do this same task in their Learning Teams of three, one team per computer; the principle is the same.

I definitely want to use this as often as possible. Best part is that a student can't claim to have lost the handout or leave it in class... all they need to do is log in at home and there it is! I can and will still print it out for students without internet access, unless they have a flash drive and a computer at home, in which case they can simply load it onto their flash drive, again saving paper.

I so love this whole technology thing. :-)



Oh! Speaking of technology, it's possible to search the 'net and be eco-friendly at the same time! I recently came across Ecoogler, a search engine that uses Yahoo technology and for every 10,000 searches done, they will plant a tree in the Amazon rainforest. To date, they've planted 2,290 trees and counting. So.... bookmark 'em and use it frequently! (Click on their logo or the link to get to their site.)
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Goals for the year

I'm going to be giving my students weekly blog topics to write about, and I will be writing my own entries along with them... after all, that's only fair, really.

This week's question is: What are your goals for this year both as a student and in general? Well, since I'm not a student this year, I will instead address my goals from a professional point of view as well as a more personal one.

Professionally, I have several goals, really. First, I want to become much more adept at the use of technology in my classroom. I am working on a few lessons involving the Smart Board in my room, but I haven't actually used it yet, and I feel a little guilty about that. I haven't nailed the podcast thing yet, which is fairly disappointing, but I'm working on putting up a podcast/PowerPoint for my students on how to get their blogs set up, and my goal for that is to have it done by the end of the week. I'm thinking of recording tomorrow's lesson on the 11 sentence paragraph as well, so that should also be available soon. I would also like to attend an IB Extended Essay training this year, so that I can be fully up and running for everything I'm going to be teaching once we are an official IB World School.

On the coaching side, my goal is to continue to build and strengthen the program. We had a great veterans' meeting yesterday, and the students continue to push themselves even higher than previous students have. I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing, and I think this year promises to be an amazing year for the team.

Of course, there is also the book club for the students and faculty that I want to start up, and I need to get the cycling program moving again as well.

Personally... hmm. This one's always a little tougher in some ways. First, I want to become more adept at cooking Tibetan and Vietnamese foods. I've cooked a few things from the Tibetan cookbook I picked up, but I haven't hit up the Vietnamese one yet; I need to get moving on that.

It's also a goal of mine to be able to keep up not just with this blog, but also with the Elephant Journal blog entries and reviews that I've been doing. I really enjoy doing the reviews and working with the magazine, though I haven't published an article in a while... I would like to get at least one more article in print in addition to the online reviews and blogs.

In general, though, I want to continue to learn about as much as I can about as many different topics as I can. I really love to learn new things, and I see learning as a celebration of life and what it has to offer. I haven't picked out my next book yet, but as I certainly have plenty to choose from, I don't see that as a problem... except knowing which one to choose, of course!

Oh yeah... another personal goal: I really want to get more consistent with both my meditation and yoga practices. Both of these really help to keep me centered, and I can always feel it when I start to drift. I didn't do a great job of that this summer, and so I need to put more effort into that.

Wow... I have several goals, which isn't a bad thing, I don't think. Of course, these will continue to grow and change as some get met and new ones develop, but I think that's a good start.

Robert Thurman interview

At long last, here is the interview with Robert Thurman... this is the one that was at the Boulder Theater event I was involved in. Enjoy!





elevision - Robert Thurman: Why the Dalai Lama Matters from elevision on Vimeo.

Rested, relaxed... and even more reasons to eat local and organic

It's finally over. The Elevision: Free Tibet ended up being a lot of fun, and I think pretty successful as well. We had something like 400-500 people there, and the event seemed to flow pretty smoothly. I've previously mentioned how great Robert Thurman was; add both Robert Schmidt and James Gimian to the Great People To Meet and Know list. I didn't get a chance to have Bob Schmidt sign anything, but I definitely got James Gimian to sign my copy of The Rules of Victory.

I took yesterday to do nothing. Kyle went to a friend's house, so I had the place to myself. I did yoga, some meditation, read a few chapters of The Unfolding Now by A. H. Almaas, and watched The Simpsons (of course!). I considered either leftovers or going out for dinner, then decided to stay at home and make myself a nice meal, so I grilled a steak,and some onions (sweetened with sucanat, a more natural form of brown sugar), and also grilled some potatoes coated with olive oil and parmesan cheese, then washed it down with some raw milk. VERY tasty!

(The above pic is of Robert Schmidt and me at the Boulder Theater; the one below is of James Gimian and me outside the theater.)

After that, I watched King Corn. If you haven't seen this movie, it's basically about two men who decide to grow an acre of corn and follow it after discovering that they (and subsequently most of us) are primarily made of corn (since "we are what we eat" is quite literally true). I was shocked by several things, and am even more glad that I eat local and organic food, including the meat that I buy and feed my family.

I was quite surprised to find out that most of Europe does not import chicken from the United States since it is rinsed in chlorine in an effort to kill pathogens due to the way we raise and process our chicken.

Considering how often we've had food recalls over the past two years (tomatoes, beef, spinach, etc., etc.), I am more and more grateful to the farmers at the Boulder Farmers Market for what they do... every time there is a recall, I know I can continue eating, secure in knowing that my food is safe. The more I know, the more convinced I am that local and organic is the way to go when choosing food for my family and for me.

An amazing 24 hours and the countdown has begun!

I think I mentioned that I was going to be attending a teaching and talk by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. It was last night; I went and it was outstanding. I really enjoyed the talk, even though I did get incredibly nervous when actually talking with him afterwards.

Tonight I had a chance to meet and chat with Prof. Thurman at the Tattered Cover bookstore. He's amazing. VERY laid back and warm, and his talk was very entertaining: funny as well as full of great information. He talked about quite a few things, but focused on Tibet and his book, of course. I had him sign my copy after the talk, since I figured I'll be so busy tomorrow that I'll forget. (The goal will then be remembering to have James Gimian sign my copy of his book.) Fortunately, I was no where near as nervous meeting him, which was great. I am really glad that I committed to helping out with this event. It's been a HUGE amount of work, but after listening and talking with him tonight, it's been totally worth it. If you are at all on the fence about attending, then get the ticket- it'll be totally worth it.

It's hard to believe that come Thursday morning it will be over. It's going to be a little strange not having to wake up and head off to Boulder; to not have to check my Elephant Journal emails every five minutes... it's going to be odd to be able to kick back and BREATHE!!

The deep breath before the storm

Some time ago, I mentioned that my raw milk delivery had started. One of the niftiest bonuses of that is access to raw cream. I got my first order of raw cream this past weekend, and got inspired to make some creme brulee. I don't know why I don't make it more often... it's ridiculously easy to make, and hey, I get to play with a blow torch! At any rate, I made it, and it came out the most AMAZING sunlight golden color I've ever seen from a creme brulee. It was beautiful to look at, and the flavor was both delicate and rich at the same time... the perfect match of decadence. Next time, I'm making a double batch. :-)

Tonight is a night of (relative) quiet for me. Tomorrow I have to be sure to post my review of Why the Dalai Lama Matters by Robert Thurman, then I head to the Elephant office to get some work done for Wednesday's event. Waylon (publisher of Elephant) is taking me to sushi for dinner (ROCK!!!) since I'm going to stay for the Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche's teaching later that night. Tuesday, I'm off to the Tattered Cover to touch base with Prof. Thurman, who will be there doing a talk and book signing in Denver, then Wednesday is the Elevision event.

Read an article recently discussing how yoga, meditation, and the like affect a person on the genetic level, which is just really amazing and cool. It couples nicely with another article I read not too long ago discussing a study that was done indicating that a healthy diet and exercise also affects an individual on the genetic level. I KNEW this stuff was good for me... now I find out that it's good for me all the way down to my genes, too. Nifty. All the more reason for me to remain committed to my lifestyle, and to be sure to reinforce it with the kids on the climbing team.

July 20 already. I go back to work in less than a month. Ack!! Where has the time gone?! I still haven't finalized my thoughts on the book club, there's my Smart Board to play with yet, and I have only gone climbing ONCE this whole summer!!

Nifty video and book review link

Just finished reading The Rules of Victory: How to Transform Chaos and Conflict: Strategies from the Art of War by James Gimian and Barry Boyce. GREAT book. I posted a review of it here. The really cool thing is that James Gimian is one of the featured guests at the Elevision event I've been blathering on about for the past few weeks. I'm definitely going to get him to sign it. Today I started reading Light Comes Through by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche (and I'm also reading Why the Dalai Lama Matters by Prof. Robert Thurman). I'll have reviews of both of those up soon. On Monday, I'll be attending a book talk and signing with Rinpoche, and I'm looking forward to that a great deal. Then of course, there is Amazing Wednesday....

For those of you that have been wondering just what I mean by Elevision, check out this nifty video. Only a few days to go! Wow... has it been almost a month?

Elevision update!

The Elevision: Free Tibet event just keeps getting better and better. Not only is Robert Thurman the guest of honor, but now James Gimian, publisher of Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines and co-author of The Rules of Victory is also going to be there; and if that wasn't enough, Robert Schmidt from the band, Flogging Molly is going to be there too! In addition to the interview, Schmidt is going to treat us to some music as well, which is super cool. I really can't wait!

I've also decided to step it up on the eco front. I've taken to carrying a travel mug with me so I no longer have to use to-go mugs for my coffee, tea, etc. That's my new rule: no to-go mugs. I either use my travel mug, have it there, or don't have it at all. I already carry a water bottle with me everywhere, so this isn't that much of a step. I bought some To-Go Ware a while back, now I have to find it (so much of my life is still in boxes). Once I do, the rule expands to no using plastic forks, etc and when/if I get any food "to go" it has to go in the To-Go Ware containers. Like I've said before, living mindfully isn't convenient sometimes, but it is worth the effort every single time.

Working at the office

Spent the day at the Elephant office trying to get my email configured correctly (still hasn't happened... grrr....) and in general working on things for the Elevision event with Robert Thurman later next month. It was a decently productive day, but would have been much more so had I gotten that goofy email working.

One thing has become definite fact. The best way to get around Boulder is NOT by car. I've made the decision that whenever I go to Boulder, that I'm just going to park the car in one spot and spend the rest of the day on my bike. Blake and I were able to get around Boulder faster by bicycle, and we were having a LOT more fun doing it.

I even got a spiffy new shirt today (the one I'm wearing in the picture), a new yoga video to review and some NEW BOOKS to review as well! New books!!! WOOHOO!!!

Yeah... umm... so my summer reading list has broken the 100 book count, I think. And no... that's NOT a bad thing at all! Of course, the only real down side is that I might not get a whole lot of time to do a lot of reading until after the Elevision event, but then again, I always seem to find time to read, no matter what else is going on! ;-)

The other cool event of the day is that Blake got invited to blog for Elephant. He's super stoked, and I'm pretty proud of him as well. I missed hanging out with Kyle today since he stayed home and kicked back for the day, but tomorrow is Farmers' Market day, so we'll get to spend some time together then. (Yay!)

Elevision with Robert Thurman

Yesterday I found out that Robert Thurman is going to be in Boulder on July 23rd for a book signing and interview on Elevision, a talk show done by Elephant Journal, at the Boulder Theater. I've been familiar with who he is (aside from being Uma Thurman's dad) for about two years now, and while I often thought about how great it would be to meet and talk with him, I never really considered it in the realm of possibility... until today. As soon as I found out about the event, I emailed Waylon Lewis, the publisher of Elephant Journal, and volunteered my help with the event. Today, Waylon called me and asked me how soon I could make it to Boulder so he could sit down with me and talk about the event and how I could help. I had to help out a neighbor with getting a washer, dryer, and dining room table into her house, but once I did that, it was off to Boulder. Waylon, Blake, and I sat down, and by the end of the meeting, I was pretty much in charge of the event! I even get free yoga with Richard Freeman at the Yoga Workshop out of it, so that's SUPER cool. If you are interested in the event, by the way, here's the link to it.

Needless to say, I'm really excited about this opportunity. I've done promotions and marketing work when I lived back East, so I have a good bit of experience doing this type of thing, but this one is different. I'm really excited about the possibility of meeting and talking with Prof. Thurman; I really never thought it would happen, and I'm really glad it is. I'm definitely going to get a copy of his new book and ask him to sign it and see if he would also be willing to sign the copy of another book of his that I have. (Yeah, I know... totally geeky and fanboy, but hey, I'm pretty geeky and even I have my fanboy moments.)

While I was in Boulder, Blake and I stopped by Tee and Cakes, based on a blog entry Waylon posted on the Elephant Journal site. They have some MIGHTY tasty cupcakes, let me tell you!!! Not too sweet, and the frosting was nice and light... YUMMY!

This has been a pretty crazy summer... I'm still hoping to get out climbing SOON. Waylon has never been climbing outdoors, and he really wants to go, so I have one more reason to get my butt out there. At least my bike is getting put to good use!!