Running and Passing.

In keeping with my 20lb harvesting plan, I went blackberry picking on Friday and Sunday. I picked between 2-3lbs each day. If I venture out twice a week for the next 2-3 weeks, I should have no problem meeting my goal.

The goal is more than a number.

In June, I joined members of my family on two week visit to Poland. We toured the parts of Warsaw, Lubin, Krakow, Zakopane, and my grandfather’s hometown of Borzechow. Eating and basking in the glory of your return to the “old country” can be quite tiring. My grandfather is a master of the nap.

In parts of the Pacific Northwest, blackberries are seen as a nuisance. Despite an exceptional antioxidant rating and a high nutritional value, their thorny vines and persistent growth seem to rub some landowners/city dwellers the wrong way. In 2008,  The NY Times published a piece entitled Deliciously Invasive: Himalayan Blackberries in the Pacific Northwest, in which contributor Deborah Gardner extols this berry plague. Although the article focuses on the Seattle area, much it also holds true for the Willamette Valley.

Last summer, I was looking for new digs around Portland and an apartment located near the Springwater Corridor (pdf map) was high on my list. My search was intense, but the market was willing and I have been living it up in the greater Sellwood/Brooklyn area since September ’09.

Apart from easy access to the river and downtown, the corridor is simply is dotted with blackberries. There are a host of berries along the river, but the further West one follows the Springwater’s path, the more the frequent the brambles. This past Sunday, I threw a couple 32oz  containers in my pack and biked out for a recon run of the current berry situation. I picked a couple lbs of berries and succeeded mapping out some excellent picking locations.  Berry season peaks in early August, so I have a solid 30 day window in which to glean.

Last year, I hauled in roughly 14lbs of wild blackberries and 25lbs of asian pears. I’m upping the ante this year and hope to pull in about 25lbs 20lbs of berries. With all the fresh produce available at my local farmers markets it would be a pity to only consume local foods during harvest time. So instead of spending August days noshing on berries, the whole of my efforts are going directly into the freezer. Come Winter, I will still be able to eat local (and free to boot). I’m talking oatmeal and blackberries every morning.

I am currently intrigued by resource distribution/optimization, barter economies, gross national happiness, transparency, and meta data.

Much has been made of the effects of Internet use and how our brains are seemingly being reprogrammed to deal with this new wave of information. Nicholas Carr’s July/August 2008 Atlantic Magazine article, Is Google Making Us Stupid?, advanced a growing dialogue about our current to cognitive state and his new book, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, expands his criticism of our Internet overlord. While studies have yet to acquiesce the true effects of Internet usage on mental prowess,  but it’s important to recognize that new methods of mental processing have been introduced and we are indeed changing. Are we exercising the mental muscles that will make us smarter or rendering ourselves mere signal processing units?

Throughout history, detractors have lamented the advancement of everything from books and the telegraph, to  television and smart phones.  While we can underestimate the power of tools to reshape our minds, the fact that we possess re-mappable circuity is a feature that we should hold most dear.

I have noticed changes in my own thinking, but find simple procedures like consistent off-line reading, list making, pacing, and the achievement of pre-conceived goals to be as important as anything in maintaining awareness and focus. Oddly enough, this now brings us to running.

I recently read Haruki Murakami‘s memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and found his journeying approach to running similar to the brain stretching exercises of long form reading/study. In the past few years have become a runner of sorts. I maintain a weekly schedule that has steadily increased as my stamina has grown. I continue to find new appreciation for the physical process and expanded mental state I receive from physical activity.

There is something about the mix of physical stimulation and mental solitude that allows for a quite concentration.  As I run (bike, kenpo-x) the way in which I remember, reason or even empathize seems to be drawn out into longer strings of thought. It is as if the run provides the ability for a deeper processing of information but the in-ability to immediately act on that processing. My whims are quelled as the physical process forces me to focus on the task at hand. I am free to think about everything or nothing allowing time and and pace to guide my journey. I’m not always pondering deep thoughts while I run, but I do believe the unwinding of my mental state, regardless of intentional direct processing, allows for a different form of thought.

Maybe this is a side effect of stress release? Could me imagination be playing a greater role? How are abstract thoughts related to physical sensation and exertion?

The Internet allows us to access information with hummingbird-like quickness, but our methods for processing that information are still tied to human memory and brain power.  Our mental facilities, regardless of Internet usage,  are constantly being reprogrammed. We must acknowledge that changes are taking place and maintain a purposeful (and personal) method of processing information and making thoughtful decisions.

On Black Friday, 200+ animal right supporters rallied in Portland, OR calling for an end to animal cruelty in the fashion industry. Organized by the Portland branch of In Defense of Animals, supporters followed a police escort through the downtown streets making brief stops Nordstroms, Unger Furs, Macy’s and Sac’s Fifth Avenue. At each stop, Matt Rossell, of In Defense of Animals, spoke briefly on the plight of animals and the businesses involved in furthering their suffering.

60 dead minks, one fur coat.
20 dead beavers, one fur coat.
30 dead raccoons, one fur coat.
10 dead foxes, one fur coat.

I am proud to support the efforts of In Defense of Animals, Mercy for Animals and other organizations promoting a vegetarian/vegan diet and bent on ending the mistreatment of animals.

This past Thursday, I participated in a free vegan Thanksgiving dinner aimed at feeding those in needs as well as supporting the local veggie community. The event was hosted at the Trinity United Methodist Church in SE Portland. We had a great volunteer turnout and the community was very receptive. The main course consisted of Seitan “Turkey”, a killer sweet potato casserole with pecan topping , and the usual array of holiday fixings. The event was hosted in conjunction with Northwest Veg and received sponsorship/donations from Bob’s Red Mill, People’s Co-Op, Limbo Market, Stash Tea, VegFund, WayFare Foods, and Herbivore Clothing.  Some leftovers went home with volunteers and diners, but the majority of the remaining food was donated to the Portland chapter of Food Not Bombs.