31. Fanaticism: The Hunger Games

Let me begin by saying that I read The Hunger Games in a matter of hours. Yes, I caved into pressure from my friends, siblings, and the media, who have been promoting the book and the upcoming movie with a raging hysteria. And I admit, I read it for the sole purpose of expressing my opinion about it, because I want to seem relevant. Hence, I had to be informed.

The book itself is about a middle school reading level, with about as much eloquence as Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. However, it was a sensational quick read, so I found it difficult to pry myself away from it. In total, it took about 3.5-4 hours to read spread over the course of the evening. Overall: decent story, a little cliché, basic writing. Not bad.

What I don’t understand is the fanaticism associated with it. With the final movie installment of the Twilight Series set for release this year, people need a new obsession to latch onto. But unlike a hobby, books and movies provide a finite amount of enjoyment. Once the series is finished, it’s done. No amount of fan fiction or action figures or t-shirts can reignite an extinguished flame. So is fanaticism worth it? Whether one is a fan of a pop star, television series, or athlete, everything must come to an end at one point or another. Has fanaticism always existed? Or is it a product of our times? Or since the birth of a national popular culture? Why does our culture encourage fanaticism? Do we need fanaticism?

What do you think? Leave a response in the comment section below.

Firsts This Week:

• Read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

30. Creambombing and Other Adventures

Happy Presidents Day!

This weekend marked the invention of creambombing, a long drive, and an excursion to a vintage store.  Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were filled with newness, as follows:

Saturday

In the morning, I taught three children’s ballet classes and assisted in a fourth before taking my class. All together, I was at ballet for 6.5 hours. This added to my tiredness, and may explain my strange behavior that evening. I was at the point where adrenaline makes up for sleep deprivation, but I went to my friend’s house anyway. Once I got there, both of us wanted to get out of her basement, and thus creambombing was born.

Creambombing (n.) The act of ding-dong ditching someone’s house and leaving a carton of ice cream on their front doorstep. Related forms: to creambomb (v.)

We made a nighttime supermarket run to get ice cream, and then drove off to our friend’s house. Even though I was (mostly) the mastermind of the plan, my friend was the one who  ended up doing the creambombing, because she has longer legs and could run faster to the “getaway car” that I was driving. As soon as she hopped into the car, I drove away and the two of us burst out laughing. Needless to say, our friend enjoyed the ice cream.

Sunday

Sunday’s adventure consisted of driving around (and getting lost in) the Greater Boston area. I was driving around with no real destination, which was extremely liberating. The drive took me to Barnes and Noble, a pond, and Harvard Square, where I had Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt for the first time. Naturally, I got the blood orange flavor, which tasted like happiness.

Monday

Today I went with a friend and her sister to the Garment District in Cambridge. It was my first time at the store, and the three of us spent three tiring but successful hours scouring the racks. I ended up finding a burnt orange corduroy jacket, a navy blue and white striped dress, and two flowy shirts. Toward the end, we were getting a little silly, and I tried on a Marilyn Monroe-esque dress à la Seven Year Itch.

Also, today I surpassed 1,000 blog views! Thank you to everyone who’s reading!

Firsts This Week:

• Creambombing
• Mini road trip with no set destination
• Vintage shopping
• 1000 views (!)

29. Oreo Nutella Brownies

My father always tells me that there are only a few basic recipes in the world, and everything else is an alteration. In that vein, I made these Oreo Nutella Brownies for my friend’s eighteenth birthday by modifying a recipe I’ve used before. While searching for ingredients, I saw that we had Oreo cookies and Nutella, so on an impulse I decided to throw them in.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1-2 cups sugar (see note)
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 very heaping tablespoon of Nutella
• 13 Oreos (one sleeve)

Note: I used two cups of sugar, plus a big tablespoon of Nutella. My parents thought it was too sweet, but my friends liked how sweet the brownies were. I think anywhere between 1-2 cups of sugar is fine, depending on how much Nutella you add (if at all). Next time I’m going to try reducing the amount of sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 12 x 9’’ pan. In a bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar. Add the flour and baking powder. Next, mix in the eggs, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and Nutella. You can mix with an electric mixer or a good old-fashioned whisk, whatever floats your boat. Crush about 13 Oreos, and fold about 2/3 of the crushed Oreos into the brownie batter. Spread into the pan, and sprinkle the rest of the Oreos on top of the brownie batter. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. I’m not actually sure how long the brownies were in the oven, but check up on your baked goods to make sure they’re not burning. Let cool and enjoy!

Firsts This Week:

• Baked three days in a row. Wednesday: Oreo Nutella Brownies. Thursday: Two Minute Microwave Carrot Cake (which I don’t recommend). Friday: Red Velvet Cupcakes.
• Watched “Black Swan”. Reaffirmed that I am not a horror/ thriller movie person.

28. Citrus Fruit

My friends always love to visit me on grocery day. To them, my house is a treasure trove of new produce to be discovered. Most notably, my house boasts strange fruit unbeknownst to those accustomed to apples, bananas, and oranges. So far, I’ve introduced my friends to persimmon, pomelo, and monstera. This week, I had an intellectual discussion about different types of citrus fruit.

A few days ago at lunch, my friends and I had a discussion about citrus fruit varieties. I had a blood orange on that day, and upon peeling it I looked up to see my friends’ widened eyes:

Friend A: “What is that?”

Me: “It’s a blood orange.”

Friend B: “Really? I thought blood oranges were more reddish-pink. That’s almost black.”

Me: “Those are Cara Cara oranges.”

Friend B: “Wait. I thought I’ve been eating blood oranges this whole time! My life has been a lie.”

via http://www.healthypalatecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/blood-orange-fruit.jpg

Fruit scholar that I am, I explained the distinctions between the pink Cara Cara Oranges and blood oranges (shown above), which are more purple. We continued our little fruit lesson, discussing blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, tangerines, and clementines.

Today, my friend came up to me excitedly and recounted that at physical therapy last Thursday, she overheard two physical therapists wondering what the difference is between Cara Cara navels and blood oranges. To my delight, she had answered their question perfectly.

Firsts this Week:

• Taught my friends about various types of citrus fruit.
• Ate dried pomelo dipped in chocolate. My father was experimenting and came up with the recipe on the fly, to huge success. The dried pomelo was gone that very day.