Kenmore Undressed

The Omnivore’s Dilemma – What We Eat Matters…A Lot

You Will Never Experience Food the Same Way Again

Most Americans have no idea how food is produced in the U.S.. Would it surprise you to know that almost everything on the American menu today is based on corn and petroleum? Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, examines the various food chains that bring food to the American dinner table. What he reveals is both interesting and downright disturbing. A warning: If you read this book, you will never look at what you eat the same way.

Here’s a short video clip of Pollan discussing some of the ideas behind “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”:

Lest you think this book is all about “going vegetarian” and swearing off the modern world, I assure you that the point of the book is nothing of the sort. In fact, Pollan acknowledges that we are, indeed, omnivores which makes our food choices that much more important. It’s how our food is “manufactured” and manipulated by food scientists, large agribusiness and genetic engineering that so disturb him. We have become so far removed from our food sources that we no longer know how it is produced or how far it travelled to arrive on the dinner table.

I hope you can make some time to sit down and read this important book. It will enlighten you and it may even change your relationship to the food you eat.

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RIP Howard Zinn – The People’s Historian

If You Haven’t Read Howard Zinn, You’re Not Educated

It has often been said that History is told by the powerful. Well, when it comes to American History, Howard Zinn challenged and defeated that notion in 1980 with his powerfully influential work, “A People’s History of the United States.”

Required Reading for All Americans!

Howard Zinn, a professor of History at Boston University, generated a great deal of controversy among scholars and critics with “A People’s History” because he wrote about the American story from the perspective of slaves, the poor and working people. For those of you who haven’t yet read this book, I highly recommend you do. It very well may give you a different perspective of “populism” and class struggle in the U.S..

For those of you unfamiliar with Howard Zinn and want a quick insight into his thinking, take a look at this interview with him in 2008. Howard Zinn: one of the good guys!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wajahat-ali/the-late-great-howard-zin_b_439481.html

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Transform Your Thinking with “imagination first”

28 Practices to Open Your Mind!

Did you know that you can develop and cultivate imagination? Did you also know that  without imagination there is no creativity or innovation?

This is the subject of the fascinating book, “imagination first” written by Eric Liu, a local writer and lecturer on leadership at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs. In the book, he provides 28 “practices” to help us activate our imaginations and suggests that if we learn to approach problems and challenges by activating our imagination first, a whole new world of possibility is at our finger tips.

I highly recommend you read this wonderful book. For more information visit the “imagination first” website. You can also listen to an interview with the author which was broadcast on KUOW, our local NPR affiliate.

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When Positive Thinking Goes Bad: Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Bright- Sided”

Barbara Ehrenreich is a kindred spirit of mine. She’s one of those curmudegonly skeptics who tends to see the world as a place that has become a very difficult place for ordinary people to navigate.  Ehrenreich is the author of a huge number of fascinating, insightful books about American Culture and in her latest book, “Bright-Sided,” she turns her sharp intellect to the subject of the “positive thinking” movement. When I heard she had written this book, I was not-at-all surprised that she was taking this subject on. Here’s why:

1) I am a Realtor® here in Kenmore, WA. There isn’t a business in the world more saturated with “positive mental attitude” propaganda than Real Estate. In a very real sense, it was an uber-optimistic philosophy that deluded many of the smartest analysts and policy makers in America to believe that the real estate boom would go on forever. It’s also common for us real estate professionals to encounter homeowners who are incredibly unrealistic about the value of their homes these days. People simply can’t believe that the market would actually lose value. After all, for the last decade we’ve been bombarded with Wall Street’s version of reality: “You can have it all!”

Ehrenreich points out in the book that much of the “positive thinking” literature that we are all so familiar with, such as “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill was intended for the world of a “corporate” salesmen and organizational men. The notion that all of our wants can materialize through our thoughts is exactly the sort of thing management wants its sales force to believe.

2) As some of you may know, for the last year I have been consulting as a financial counselor for a local Credit Union. My job has been to work with members to help them through these difficult economic times. One of my main observations in doing this work is: American Optimism has become one of the biggest problems for a lot of families today. A huge number of the people with whom I consult have been operating on the (false) belief that the economic trajectory of the U.S. would always move upward. Many tell me, “I thought I’d have a job by now!” Many have been out-of-work for over a year. And these folks are generally educated, skilled and hard-working. Unfortunately, by the time they speak with me they’ve burned through all their liquid savings, their retirement and have charged up huge credit card debt.

I highly recommend you read “Bright-Sided.” I believe we Americans need to recalibrate our sense of reality in what has become an extremely complex world. Ehrenreich was inspired to write this book because of her intimate encounter with breast cancer in 2000. She quickly grew tired of the pressure to be “positive” about her cancer. She also found herself confronting the huge myth that thinking positive thoughts actually helps on fight cancer. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence proving this.

Here’s an interesting video clip of an interview with Barbara on John Stewart’s Comedy Central about “Bright-Sided”:

Click on this picture to watch the video!

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Talking Sense about Health Care – “The Healing of America”

Meeting T. R. Reid at KUOW

Author T. R. Reid (L) and Radio Host, Ross Reynolds (R)

Today I had the pleasure of being part of a (rare) studio audience at the studios of KUOW, the local National Public Radio affiliate. We gathered for a live interview with long-time foreign correspondent and author, T. R. Reid who for many years lived in Japan and England as a reporter for the Washington Post. Many know him for his insightful, funny and sometimes laser-accurate descriptions of life overseas. For me this was a real treat because I’ve been listening to his commentaries since the 1980’s and I’ve read his fascinating and provocative “The United States of Europe.”

The Healing of America

T. R. Reid's Newest Book

Over the last several years Mr. Reid has been on a quest to discover why it is that America, the wealthiest country on earth, is the only industrialized, modern nation that does not provide universal health care to it’s citizens. An even more difficult question is why America spends twice as much for the delivery of health care and is ranked as one of the least effective systems among the leading countries.

Well, today T. R. Reid dispelled some false ideas about foreign health care and basically said that the reason why Americans don’t believe in universal coverage is because, simply put, they’ve never been anywhere to see that other countries actually have systems that work…..not perfectly (no system is perfect) but systems that produce outcomes that we should be striving for rather than ignoring.

Oh, and one other extremely important fact:

“Contrary to conventional American wisdom, most developed countries manage health care without resorting to “socialized medicine.”

So, to provide you with an opportunity to hear someone who has studied a number of other health care systems, click on the picture below to listen to today’s interview with T. R. Reid:

Click on this picture and choose your media player!

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My Personal Problem – Being Interested In EVERYTHING!!!!

Not Enough Hours in the Day!

I’ve always hated going to bed. There’s too much going on in the world and, darn it, if I go to sleep I KNOW I’m going to miss something. I’m cursed with a disease I call hyper-curiosity. Usually, this disorder manifests itself in reading books, watching films, travel (when possible) and driving everyone crazy with questions. Just for fun I would like to share some things I viewed and read this last week that I believe you’ll find interesting:

FILM

District 9 is an excellent movie in many ways. It addresses the fundamental human issues of xenophobia, prejudice, cruelty and redemption. If you like science fiction and have a taste for Existentialism, then go see this movie. An alien ship parks itself mysteriously above Johannesburg, South Africa bringing with it an alien species known commonly as “Prawns” (because they look like big prawnish shellfish). Sequestered in a shabby, garbage-laden shanty-town called District 9, the aliens are despised, exploited and persecuted. Sound familiar? But, this film takes what might be a shallow cliche and draws us into a world that seems all-too-familiar. One of the best things about District 9 is the fact that it features NO mega-star actors or actresses.  Sharlto Copely, a virtual unknown actor to American audiences is spectacular as Wikus Van De Merwe the tragic hero of the tale.

It’s interesting that District 9’s tag-line “You Are Not Welcome Here” could just as easily been applied to the tragi-comedy “Bread and Chocolate”

A long-forgotten Italian masterpiece from 1974, Pane e cioccolata tells the tale of Nino Garofalo, an Italian “guest worker” in Switzerland who immortalizes the plight of immigrants trying to break into a foreign and, quite often, hostile culture. My wife and I first saw this film in Salt Lake City back in 1980. It was great then and even better today now that we can actually understand some of the Italian. This should be required viewing by anyone who suffers from the “anti-immigrant” disease. There are some truly powerful scenes in this movie that I remembered after almost 30 years.

And then there’s one of the finest films ever:

Do yourself a favor: Either purchase this film or order it from Netflix or check it out from your local video store, schedule a couple of evenings and watch this epic, 6-hour masterpiece. The Best of Youth is a family saga that follows the lives of the Caratis family. It chronicles the lives of the family from 1966-2003 and touches not only on the main historical events during those years but reveals Italy and Italians in a way most Americans know nothing about. This film will have you laughing, crying and planning your next vacation to Italy. A personal note: many scenes from the film take place in Torino, which is where my cousins live.

BOOKS

Here’s a snippet from the book’s official website:

Douglas Preston fulfilled a lifelong dream when he moved with his family to a villa in Florence. Upon meeting celebrated journalist Mario Spezi, Preston was stunned to learn that the olive grove next to his home had been the scene of a horrific double murder committed by one of the most infamous figures in Italian history. A serial killer who ritually murdered fourteen young lovers, he has never been caught. He is known as the Monster of Florence.

When I read that I was hooked and bought the book. Little did I know that the book is not only the complex and fascinating story of the serial killer who terrorized Florence, but Douglas Preston’s observations about Italian history, culture and language are incredibly perceptive and instructive. This is gripping story that will force you to confront some of your own demons and question who the real monsters are in life.

I sincerely hope you have an opportunity to enjoy some of these tales. It is not a coincidence that I’ve been watching and reading a lot about Italy. As you know, I have quite a few relatives in Italy and these books and films are extremely helpful in understanding Italians and their culture.

Now, guess what? It’s really late and I really must be off to bed……………but I don’t want to go to bed!!!!!!

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Thomas Friedman’s “Hot, Flat and Crowded” – Required Reading

“When the wind changes direction, there are those who build walls and those who build windmills.”  Chinese Proverb

Shortly after I wrote “Solar Power – The Perfect Remodeling Project of the Future” I was inspired to pick up Thomas Friedman’s newest book “Hot, Flat and Crowded.” I had been eyeing this book for some time and I thought it would help me better understand why residential solar energy’s time has come. Well, I haven’t even finished the book and I can tell you, every American who is committed to moving America into the 21st Century MUST read this book.

I’d like to share a snippet from the beginning of the book that illustrates why this is required reading:

“The other disturbing trend has been building slowly since the 1980’s. It is a “dumb as we wanna be” mood that has overtaken our political elite, a mood that says we can indulge in petty red state – blue state cat-fights for as long as we want and can postpone shoring up our health care system and our crumbling infrastructure, postpone addressing immigration reform, postpone fixing Social Security and Medicare, and postpone dealing comprehensively with our energy excesses and insecurity – indefinitely. This prevailing attitude on so many key issues in Washington today is “We’ll get to it when we feel like getting to it and it will never catch up with us, because we’re America”

Lately, I’ve been engaged in a number of, let’s call them “lively” conversations with some of my acquaintances who believe the U.S. simply can’t afford to reform health care or repair our roads and bridges or transform our schools into effective learning institutions. My question is always this: If not now, when? It’s time that we take Friedman’s advice and create a new “green revolution” that will create new jobs, improve the quality of our lives and build a sustainable future for America. This is truly an important book that each and every one of you should read.

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Kenmore, WA Ranked in Top 10 Cities for Families

FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE RECOGNIZES KENMORE!

Family Circle Magazine recently announced its top 10 towns and cities for families in the U.S.. Kenmore, WA, and our fair city was among them. We are ranked with:

Rockwall, Texas
Evans, Georgia
Sherwood, Oregon
Indian Trail, North Carolina
Edina, Minnesota
Noblesville, Indiana
Perrysburg, Ohio
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Here’s a snippet from a June 30th press release from the City of Kenmore regarding this honor:

June 30, 2009, NEW YORK—Family Circle today announced the results of its exclusive survey to identify the best TOWNS AND CITIES across the country FOR FAMILIES. The communities featured in the magazine’s annual roundup of perfect places to call home combine affordable housing, good neighbors, green spaces and A+ public school systems. The results of the comprehensive survey appear in Family Circle’s August 2009 issue, on newsstands July 7th.

If you’d like to read more about how Family Circle arrived at its choices I would encourage you to read these articles written by other local bloggers and journalists:

Bothell Reporter/Kenmore Reporter – Kenmore takes Family Circle Top – 10 honors

Kenmoreblog.net – Kenmore named by Family Circle Magazine as one of the 10 best towns for families

And in the interest of a different perspective, here’s an article questioning the premise and purpose of such rankings. I think it’s worth reading:

Strollerderby – Family Circle names 10 best towns for upper-middle-class white families

It’s obvious that the local media and city officials are more than a little excited about Kenmore’s recognition. As a resident and Realtor® I like living here. Kenmore has an excellent physical location at the north end of Lake Washington, easy access to several large highways, a growing business community and a local government committed to moving Kenmore into the 21st Century. Nothing like a pat on the back!

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Happy Birthday! Kenmore Undressed is One-Year-Old Today!

Kenmore Undressed – Born April 26, 2008

KenmoreUndressed.com started out as a way for me to market my real estate business. I had been a Realtor® and an Associate Broker for seven years and I felt as if traditional print media and websites no longer had the impact they once enjoyed. Then, as the economy deteriorated, it became obvious that the real estate industry was going through an immense sea change and that to remain relevant and sustainable, I had to find a new way to reach out to the public. Coincidentally, one of my colleagues introduced me to the Undressed Network of Community Blogs. He told me that I should try my hand at “blogging” about real estate using my town, Kenmore, WA as a springboard. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, so I jumped into it…………………………..

And then something interesting happened…..

I discovered that being the author of a blog allowed me not only to write about real estate, but to research and talk about EVERYTHING!!!!!! Blogging has turned out to be an amazing outlet for my insatiable curiosity about a myriad number of subjects. In the last year, I have written about:

My Family

Books I Read

My Alter Ego, Mr. Freeze, the Financial Curmudgeon

Italy….and who doesn’t like Italy?

Click on the picture to view an Italian Slideshow!!

Businesses in Kenmore

And a Wicked Biscotti Recipe!!!

Click on this picture to view a how-to biscotti slide show

Writing KenmoreUndressed has been one of the most interesting and thought-provoking things I’ve done in many years. It required me to become a photographer, a quasi-journalist, writer, researcher and interviewer. It also led me to become more involved in the local community and engage politicians, business owners and, of course the real estate industry.

I’m looking forward to another year of blogging about Kenmore. It has been a lot of fun.

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What Mountain Are You Climbing? Inspiration in Difficult Times!

Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson’s story of building schools in the remote villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan is one of the most compelling tales I’ve read in many years. This incredible man turned a failed climbing attempt of the legendary mountain, K2, into the defining moment of his life. And what a life he’s created. After having been rescued by the people of a small village, Korphe in the rugged mountains surrounding K2, Mortenson resolved to build a school for the local children. Several difficult years later he completed the first school and through the Central Asia Institute, he has since founded 78 schools for children, especially girls in some of the most remote parts of the mountains.

In his book, Three Cups of Tea, the author David Oliver Relin, not only tells Mortenson’s story but he paints a sobering picture of how difficult life is for the people who live in this rugged area of the world. Through Mortenson’s journey we learn how important it is to exercise patience and understanding with other cultures. The reference to three cups of tea essentially means that one cannot possibly understand another without spending time and developing a relationship with that person. The story also talks a great deal about the relationship between violent fundamentalism and a lack of education. Mortenson’s local allies, some of whom we might not consider civilized by our standards were his greatest advocates in bringing the cleansing spirit of education to their children.

One of my favorite passages in the book addresses our failure, in Western culture, to understand why we will be battling radical fundamentalism for many years to come. One of Mortenson’s Pakistani colleagues commented about the war in Iraq:

“Osama, baah!” Bashir roared. “Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of our enemy’s strength. In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.”

Make sure you put Three Cups of Tea on your reading list. Also, check out the foundation’s website. Just click on the picture below:

Click on this picture to view the website

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