yesterday in santa cruz, siena turned one

we love you siena - very, very much.

front yard tomatoes (and siena!)

(click pic for larger size)

summer reading list

each year, roy christopher collects summer reading lists from a few friends and publishes them on his blog. this year's a dandy. here's my contribution.

***

for as long as i can remember, nixon-related books have occupied the highest shelf on my parents' book collection - books like john dean's blind ambition and woodward and bernstein's all the president's men and the final days. a few weeks, while visiting my mom, i reached up to the top shelf and plucked down the final days (simon & schuster, 1976). it's the story of a criminal, crooked, crazed, paranoid, and totally incompetent president and the final months, weeks, and days of his reign. great summer reading!


a few months ago, at moe's books in berkeley, i traded three brand new academic books about digital media for one used copy of edward espe brown's the complete tassajara cookbook: recipes, techniques, and reflections from the famed zen kitchen (shambhala, 2009). what a great deal! i started reading and cooking from this book in late spring and will continue through summer and beyond.


as its title suggests, pam peirce's golden gate gardening: the complete guide to year-round food gardening in the san francisco bay area and coastal california (sasquatch books, 2010) tells northern californians what to plant, why, how, and when. it's my bible - especially in summer. i'm also reading gayla trail's grow great grub: organic food from small spaces (clarkson potter, 2010) for some wonderful and creative tricks and techniques.


this summer, i'm working on a new freshmen seminar called "golden gate park" which, if approved, will run next spring. to generate ideas and stimulate the old noggin, i'm reading, skimming, and scanning all kinds of wonderful books like raymond h. clary’s making of golden gate park: the early years: 1865-1906 (don’t call it frisco press, 1984); chris pollock and erica katz’s san francisco's golden gate park: a thousand and seventeen acres of stories (westwinds press, 2001); sally b. woodbridge, john m. woodbridge, and chuck byrne’s san francisco architecture: an illustrated guide to the outstanding buildings, public art works, and parks in the bay area of california (ten speed press, 2005); christopher pollock’s golden gate park: san francisco's urban oasis in vintage postcards (arcadia publishing, 2003); and hosea and nellie a. blair’s monuments and memories of san francisco: golden gate park (calmar printing company, 1955).


most of my summer reading, i suspect, will be read out loud, to siena, our 11-month old daughter, and revolve around stories about clever animals, being kind and curious, and going to sleep.

why i teach what i teach

(video made by Madhouse Muse)

social media research assistantships (2)

Are you a USF student? Are you social media savvy? Do you want to use your social media skills to reach a wide audience?

We are looking for 2 paid summer undergraduate research assistants to broaden participation in The September Project, a grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom at all libraries in all countries throughout the month of September. Students will be expected to work about 5 hours a week from May 24 - August 24. Pay is based on USF student worker pay scale.


Responsibilities include:

* brainstorming and writing blog posts about participating libraries and librarians (blog);
* maintaining and extending our twitter stream (@septproject);
* maintaining and extending our google map of participants (map); and
* performing general research about local, national, and international libraries and librarians.

Successful candidates will not only have skills and experience with the kinds of social media the September Project currently uses, but also will have creative ideas for and curiosity about new ways to help the project grow and succeed.

To apply:

Submit a resume and cover letter outlining your skills and motivations for applying for this position. Please also include a URL that points to a blog post or other use of social media that you crafted and of which you are particularly proud. Send your application - no later than Monday, May 3rd - to Professor David Silver at the email found on this page. Decisions will be made by May 10.

These social media research assistantships are made possible by USF's Faculty Development Funds (FDF).

getting students' bodies and ideas into libraries: a talk for minnesotan librarians

tomorrow, i'm giving the opening talk at ARLD Day, sponsored by the academic & research libraries division of the minnesota library association. the title of my talk is "getting students' bodies and ideas into libraries." i plan to limit my talk to a particular nook of gleeson library and what university of san francisco students and librarians do with and within it.


exhibit 1: good food (designed by USF librarian sherise kimura)





exhibit 2: get graphic (designed by USF librarians debbie benrubi and kathy woo)






exhibit 3: election exhibit (designed by students enrolled in two sections of david silver's introduction to media studies in fall 2008)







exhibit 4: the reading fort (designed by students enrolled in david silver's digital literacy class in spring 2008)


exhibit 5: our dinner table (currently being designed by students enrolled in david silver's green media in spring 2010)

two summer paid research assistantships with the garden project

The USF Garden Project is currently seeking two garden research assistants for Summer 2010 (May 24- August 24)


Garden research assistants will be responsible for caring for all Garden Project gardens, including the campus garden and Booker T. Washington garden. Care includes: watering, mulching, weeding, seed saving, harvesting and distributing vegetables; tending to the orchard and fruit vines; managing compost; and hosting any visitors to the garden, which includes scheduling and overseeing a once a week garden workday. 10 hours a week will be split between the two assistants based on their schedules. Pay is based on USF student worker pay scale.


If interested please email David Silver (dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu) and/or Melinda Stone (stone [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu) stating your interest by April 26. Please provide either a narrative and/or resume that reflects your experience related to this position. Decisions will be made by April 30.

lunch project assignment

lunch project assignment for green media


1. research and prepare a delicious meal for lunch for this friday's class.

2. your meal must include at least one ingredient from USF's organic garden. as we discussed last friday in the garden, seasonal veggies ready for picking include arugula, lettuce greens on the south side of the garden, chard and green onions in the middle of the garden, and beets and beet greens towards the north side of the garden. you are also welcome to use the herbs located in the herb spiral. because the veggies "sold" at thursday's campus farmstand come directly from USF's garden, you are welcome to get your veggies and ingredients there.

3. prepare your delicious meal individually or as a group. pack as much soul as possible into your delicious meal.

4. bring your delicious meal to class on friday (april 16). also bring some kind of serving utensil. share your meal with others. also bring to class your favorite bowl (or plate) and fork (or spoon) so that you can sample other people's meals.

5. make a recipe for your delicious meal and share it online via the platform of your choice. regardless of your platform, your recipe must: a) use multimedia; b) be publicly accessible; and c) allow user comments. your recipes are due no later than sunday at midnight.

6. once finished, tweet your recipe.

stir it up - a talk @ sfpl

later this evening, melinda stone and i will be giving a presentation at the main branch of san francisco public library. our talk is called stir it up - in the pot and on the web: making media about making food. it's free and open to the public and yer invited!

with luck, i hope to share ideas via a single flickr set:


if time permits, i also hope to share:

Daniele Dominguez's Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze
Kate Greenspan & Sophia Lorenzi's Soph's Loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread
Christina Hammill's No-Knead Bread
Samuel Hernandez & Peter Thoene's rosemary rock salt focaccia
Joel Weston's Blueberry-Lime Poundcake

hope to see you at the library!

google maps assignment

google maps assignment for digital media production

1. learn google maps.

2. create a google map with at least three pins. the content attached to those pins is entirely up to you. experiment heavily with the design and layout of the pins.

3. when your map is ready, tweet about it.

4. in class on thursday, be ready to demo your map.

5. finally, find a USF student who currently has an internship or service project in san francisco. be ready to discuss the internship/project in class on thursday.


keep in mind:

a. the main thing i am testing is your ability to learn google maps with zero instruction from me.

b. i am also testing your ability to design and deliver digital content in strategic and creative ways. don't settle on your first or second idea.

c. if you have no new content to demo on thursday, do not come to class.

food person research project assignment

food person research project for green media

1. select a person - local or global; living or non-living - who makes media about making food. your food person can be a celebrity or not.

2. research your food person's history. use at least 3 different sources.

3. analyze your food person's techniques. analyze her/his approach, content, methods, tone, style, experience, and preferred mode/s of media. analyze at least 3 pieces of media made by your food person.

4. consider your food person in relation to your own experience with making media about making food. are there elements of your food person's technique that you wish to emulate? avoid? go beyond?

5. your research can be presented in any media necessary - paper, blog post, video, you name it.

6. edit compulsively. make your project technically and technologically flawless.

7. at least 2 of your sources must be from gleeson library - either from the collection or via link plus. put another way, at least 2 of your sources need to be texts you can hold in your hands that you physically gathered from gleeson library.

8. your project must have a works cited section. you can use any bibliographic style you wish but you must use one.

notes:

a. if this were a traditional paper, double-spaced in word, it would be around 8-10 pages.

b. your research project should interest you and people who are not you.

c. if you are taking green media as a senior seminar, you must do 2 food person research projects. your second project must be turned in no later than the last day of class (may 7). plan wisely.

due: friday, april 2, by sunset.

novella carpenter visits USF

last friday, urban homesteader and author novella carpenter visited USF. she met with green media and garden project students who are two-thirds finished reading novella's book, farm city: the education of an urban farmer.

novella began the day with my green media class. she asked my students question and they gave answers, and then my students asked novella questions and she gave answers. we talked about farm city, about urban homesteading, about raising, killing, and eating rabbits, about pop up farming, about interacting with the media, and about the role of the internet in today's urban ag.


around noon, we walked out of the education building, across the parking lot, and into USF's organic garden. while green media students showed novella the veggie plot we planted last week, i rounded up a few garden project students to give novella a tour of our campus garden.

after the tour, we surrounded a table full of food that students cooked, baked, and prepared for lunch - two loaves of homemade bread, a delicious soup, a garden quiche, a fresh garden salad, and a tasty rhubarb pie baked with rhubarb from the garden. it was a delicious feast.



with loaded bowls and plates, we took a seat in a circle, ate our food, and talked about farm city, about making homemade cheese and salami, about raising ducks, and about today and tomorrow's directions in urban ag. as novella writes on her own blog, "it made my heart sing to see these good citizens fired up about growing food." indeed.




as a teacher, the best part of the day was when garden project students took novella and green media students on a tour of the garden (captured so well by kate greenspan). it was cool to watch the mostly freshmen garden project students teach novella about our garden, but it was even cooler to watch them teach the mostly seniors in green media. students teaching students.

bake yer own bread - 9 delicious bread recipes from the students in green media

last week in green media, the students and professor baked bread. although the assignment included some readings on bread-making, it included no hands-on instructions. "bake bread," i told my students, "and if you don't know how, learn."

in class on friday, we broke bread. we sampled each other's creations and shared tips and suggestions.

(2nd pic: erin venables)

as usual, students were required to make and share their recipes. together, the students created an online cookbook. enjoy.

Marco Abellera's Making Bread: Focaccia
Daniele Dominguez's How to Make Sourdough Bread
Kate Greenspan & Sophia Lorenzi's Soph's Loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread
Christina Hammill's No-Knead Bread
Samuel Hernandez & Peter Thoene's rosemary rock salt focaccia
Michael Kao's Bread Noobie
Kelli McCloskey & Joseph Montana's Bread Making
Erin Venables' Rosemary Garlic Bread
Joel Weston's Mama D's Italian Bread

urban ag panel at USF - this tuesday!

yer invited!


URBAN AGRICULTURE in the 21st CENTURY
Where art, commerce, education, politics and generosity meet to promote city-grown food

Please join USF's Environmental Studies 450 capstone students and their professor Melinda Stone, as they host what promises to be an engaging panel on the state of urban agriculture on Tuesday, March 2 from 2 – 4 PM in McClaren Hall 252.

Panelist include:

Mei Ling Hui, urban agriculture contact for San Francisco’s Department of the Environment. (sfenvironment.org)

Amy Franceschini, USF art/architecture professor and main instigator behind SF Victory Gardens 2009+ and founder of Future Farmers. (futurefarmers.com)

Brooke Budner and Caitlyn Galloway, co-owners/farmers of Little City Gardens in the San Francisco Mission District. (littlecitygarden.com)

Blair Randall, executive director of Garden for the Environment, San Francisco’s premiere education garden. (gardenfortheenvironment.org)

Tree, founder of the Free Farm Stand on 23rd and Treat Ave. in San Francisco. (freefarmstand.org)

bake a loaf of bread assignment

bake a loaf of bread assignment for students in green media

1. in addition to our other readings for this friday, read "Basic White Bread – Ten Steps to Fresh-baked Goodness," from Sunset Cook Book of Breads; Molly Katzen, "An Illustrated Guide to the Baking of Yeast Bread," from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest; and Brother Rick Curry, S.J., "Making Bread," from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking.

2. either individually or collaboratively, bake a loaf of bread. document the process.

3. bring your loaf of bread to class on friday, february 26. also bring a plate to class so that you can sample other people's loaves.

4. along with your loaf, bring a little something to accompany it (a bread accessory!) - honey, jam, herb butter, lilikoi flavored butter, cheese, lunch meat, an avocado, hummus, aioli, olives, you name it. to avoid duplication and to give us a sense of the feast that stands before us, tweet your bread accessory once you've decided on it. also bring a serving utensil for your bread accessory.

5. on friday, after we plant our garden plot, we will break bread together.

6. using multimedia and an online platform that allows readers the opportunity to leave comments, make a recipe and share it online. once finished, and certainly before sunset on sunday, tweet about it. be sure to include a link so that others can read your recipe.


rules:

1. do not be intimidated by this assignment. have fun with it.

2. no late work accepted.

friday's foraging fieldtrip

garden project and green media students - this friday we'll be field-tripping to the inner sunset to forage for wild greens. we'll meet at the garden for the environment at 10:30 am sharp. don't be late. here are walking/biking directions and muni bus directions from USF to the GFE.

justin valone, of USF's garden project, will lead and teach us about foraging.


what should you bring?

1. comfortable shoes;

2. a bowl and fork for salad;

3. some kind of salad amendments - nuts, seeds, homemade dressing;

4. your thoughts and ideas about chapter one of novella carpenter's farm city; and

5. if it's raining, bring rain gear.

rules and recipes from green media's breakfast project

the ground rules for green media's first project, breakfast project, were fairly straight-forward:

1. cook a delicious meal for breakfast.

2. bring the meal to class on friday, february 12. also bring some kind of serving utensil. share your meal with others.

3. also bring to class your favorite bowl (or plate) and fork (or spoon) so that you can sample other people's meals.

4. have a delicious (and collective) breakfast in class.

5. using multimedia, make a recipe for your meal and share it online via the platform of your choice.

6. once finished, and certainly before sunset on sunday, tweet about it. be sure to include a link to your recipe.


here's our breakfast recipes:

Marco Abellera's Pancakes
Daniele Dominguez's Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze
Christina Hammill's Mixed Fruit Salad with Feta and Mint
Sam Hernandez's Grapefruit In The Morning
Michael Kao's Corn Beef Hash
Sophia Lorenzi's Cinnamon Rollz
Kelli McCloskey's Bagels
Joe Montana's egg & cheese souffle
David Silver's fresh salad with a mustard vinaigrette
Peter Thoene's A Light Breakfast
Joel Weston's Blueberry-Lime Poundcake


our next project, lunch project, will require us to research and cook seasonal, regional meals from ingredients harvested from our garden plot. stay tuned.

breakfast project - fresh salad with a mustard vinaigrette

for class on friday, green media students and professor were required to make a breakfast meal, bring it to class, and share it with others. we were also required to post online our recipes. here's mine.

fresh salad with a mustard vinaigrette

1. put a few cups of water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. place 2 eggs in boiling water and let cook for 15 minutes. take eggs out of water to cool.

2. get 1 large bunch or 1 big bowl full of lettuce. instead of using one kind of lettuce, consider using multiple varieties. for this salad, i used arugula, spinach, green leaf, romaine, and mustard greens.


3. wash salad greens in a bowl. use a salad spinner to dry the greens. if you don't have one, use a clean cloth towel to hand-dry the greens. you want your greens to be dry.

4. with your hands, tear the greens in half or in thirds and place in a large bowl.

5. for the mustard vinaigrette, you'll need the following:


6. pour the red wine vinegar in a small bowl. add a pinch or two of salt and pepper and stir until dissolved. add minced garlic (and, optionally, minced shallot). add dijon mustard. now add olive oil. whisk! taste it - does it need more salt? a bit more vinegar? experiment until the dressing is nothing less than delicious.

7. peel the hard-boiled eggs, cut them in small chunks, and add to the salad.

8. add the vinaigrette dressing to the salad and mix it all up. serve immediately.