Optimism, Changing Times

Speaking of changes.

Been thinking about a range of issues of social changes fairly regularly for a while now.

Great Changes from Small Ideas

Valley Advocate: Thinking Small

An interesting concept and a fairly good article on the benefits of starting from very small ideas. It connects with a lot of different things, like innovation, maybe because it's so simple (in a useful way). A bit like “baby steps” on both cognitive and social levels. Reminds me of Chowhounds and the SBM (slightly better muffin) idea. And because it focuses on idea generation, it makes me think of Gotlib's  «homme à idées» (“Idea Man&rdquo in a volume of the famous Rubrique à brac series (volume 3?).

If more academics could think like this. Medici Effect, anyone?

And why is it so many big ideas find their ways into economics and business yet have limited practicality for the real world?

Nicholas Cook on Music

Haven't read his Music: A Very Short Introduction yet but Nicholas Cook's perspective on music in general sounds quite insightful. A broad definition of music in the context of recent history. Jacques Attali's Noise has some of the same impact on me.
Here's a reading of the French version of the first chapter to Cook's very short introduction. 

Anybody read the whole book?

Northampton Coffee: Espresso

Already mentioned them elsewhere but Northampton Coffee is a place where espresso is really taken as an art form. 

Belgian Artist and German Engineer

This one might already be somewhere in my beer entries. Still, it's worth repeating…

Much of craft beer culture in North America uses a continuum based on two important images from two important brewing traditions: Belgian Ales and German Lagers. Not that these are at all exclusive associations. Belgium produces many lager beers and Germany produces many ales. Other brewing traditions (especially from the Czech Republic or from the British Isles and former British colonies) also have their own ales and lager beers. But these two “national” traditions are quite important in craft beer culture's imagination and self-identification.

The German Lagers used as a prototype are usually clean, crisp, refreshing, balanced, and especially consistent. The Belgian Ales used as a prototype are usually complex, smooth, soothing, malty, and especially distinctive. Many beers are located along this continuum. And it's not unusual to see malty brews associated with complexity or crisp brews with clean-tasting. The values of consistency and distinctiveness are quite important in craft brewing as it influences brewing practise. Those of a more creative approach may tend to prefer brewing Belgian Ales, even when the results are disappointing while those with a more technical perspective may prefer brewing German Lagers, even if their taste is relatively unassertive. In such a context, the images/stereotypes of a German Engineer (GE: who wants his work to always be perfect and dependable) and the Belgian Artist (BA: who wants his work to make a statement) seem useful, if simplistic.

For one thing, those images don't necessarily correspond to beer styles. Many of the BA beers could in fact be based on German beers like the Hefeweizen and Berliner Weiss. Similarly, GE beers are likely to be ales, especially British ones. But the brewing traditions of Germany and Belgium are perceived through those models/prototypes.

And speaking of beer in Germany, see Ron Pattison's criticism of the so-called “purity” law, his take on German Beer, and especially Thomas Perera's description of the German beer spirit.

For Belgium, there's a wealth of resources (including on Ron Pattison's site) but its beer scene is characteristically described by disparate details as it's difficult to make sense of Belgian beer in general.

Of course, discussions of regional differences within these two countries in brewing patterns are extremely important. But these differences are rarely seen by North American craft beer people as implying much distinction in brewing philosophy.

Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, Germany, Belgium, art, science, technique

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Baptism By Warm Fudge

Last Thursday, June 8, was my first direct encounter with the academic study of food and culture, thanks to the joint conference of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS). Was presenting a paper on craft beer and cultural identity that day, before getting a real feel of the conference. Came back psyched, hyped, pleased, happy, energized.
These two academic societies form a very interesting crowd. Been trying to find descriptive terms for that crowd, none is ideal. Welcoming, charitable, nurturing, friendly, warm, thoughtful, insightful, thought-provoking, interested, passionate…

Not only was my positive feeling of the conference strong but it was apparently shared by many attendees. A few hypotheses about this.

• It's a very interdisciplinary context. As such, people can't assume that you have read so-and-so's work and will in fact help you to find relevant sources for your work.
• Surprisingly enough, it's a relatively new field, this study of food and society. In fact, many attendees hadn't attended that many conferences. Less bagage than older fields.
• People come to it from the sidelines. In fact, it's my case, coming as I do as a linguistic anthropologist and ethnomusicologist.
• Food is associated with passions and it's quite ok to be passionate about food when you work on food and society.
• Food has an intimate quality that goes well with a nurturing attitude.
• Perhaps because of prevailing (though semi-hidden) gender roles, a good proportion of conference participants were women, some of them coming with kids in tow or in womb (there were four fregnant women out of 350 participants).
• The selection of papers for presentation is quite democratic and students are certainly encouraged to present.
• The conference is happening at a time of year when faculty members and students aren't too caught up in their work.
• The location, Boston University, was relatively quiet during the conference.
• Food and society scholars are likely to eat together, which generates a lot of fascinating discussion.
• Food is a good ice-breaker.
• Food is universal and particular, like so many other things we study in anthropology.
• Work on food isn't necessarily part of the primary academic identity of those involved.
• Though small and growing, food and society has a rather cohesive body of literature.

These may all just be factors in making this food and society conference such a pleasant and powerful experience.

Acronyms

Was going through some of my blog entries and was thinking about some of my frequent acronyms. Most of them are known, but still worth mentioning here. Many are hedges.

• IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
• IMVHAWISHIMVVVHO: In My Very Humble (And When I Say “Humble,” I Mean “Very, Very, Very Humble”) Opinion
• BTW: By The Way
• OIC: Oh, I see!
• AFAIK: As Far As I Know
• YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary
• IANA: I am Not A…
• IANAL: I Am Not A Lawyer
• IIRC: If I remember correctly
• SWMBO: She Who Must Be Obeyed
• RSN: Real Soon Now
• RERO: Release Early, Release Often
• IWTBF: Information Wants to Be Free
• TBC: To Be Continued
• IANAC: I Am Not a Crook
• RTFA: Read The Fine Article (haven’t RTFA)
• ÀMHA: À Mon Humble Avis
• À+: À plus tard!
• ÀLP: À la prochaine!

[To be updated]

Beer and German Identity in Norway

My ASFS/AFHVS presentation is already susciting interesting comments.

Of course, there's a lot of things to say about the perception of German beer.