While sitting at Starbucks located on campus, I observed a man that was sitting by himself.  He was around 40-50 years old and was drinking his coffee.  I assume that he was a teacher at the University because he was dressed in a nice blazer and dark jeans.  He also had his computer open with a large stack of papers on his table.  He had gray hair and wore glasses while he appeared to be grading papers or exams.  I felt that he looked very distinguished and dedicated to his work because he was very focused on his task.  Although I am not absolutely certain he was a teacher, I would say it is a very educated guess.  From his profession and attire I believe that he is smart, middle class, and in good health.  I believe that in my assumptions, I have stereotyped him as the average teacher that I have had in classes my entire life.  Teachers need to behave in a certain way on campus and in the classroom even if it does not directly correlate to their lives outside of teaching.

Over the weekend I went shopping at Costco.  Here, I observed a young couple who seemed to be shopping for game day.  They were in their mid to late 20s, possibly even newlyweds.  I came to the assumption that they were newlyweds because they were young, very affectionate, and communicated really well.  They were wearing duck gear and buying beer, chips, and other tailgating necessities.  I appreciated how well they were getting along and they appeared to have a healthy relationship thus far.  It is easy to assume that because they are a young couple, their lives are easy and they get along well a majority of the time.  My parents got married young and they always talk about how in love and how easy life was before having children, so I think that their experience has made me draw the conclusion that this couple is in their “honeymoon phase” as well.

Lastly, I observed a fellow student in my hip-hop lecture.  He was a Caucasian college student, around 20 years old.  He was wearing a Portland Trailblazer jersey and a dark grey beanie. I believe he even had his headphones in underneath his beanie.  He sat toward the back corner of the classroom and looked incredibly disinterested in what the teacher was saying.  I could appreciate his Blazers jersey considering that it is their opening game tonight.  I assume that he is a life-long fan and most likely from Portland, like many students at the University of Oregon.  I took his disinterest to mean he is most likely not the best student, he was tired, or he was bored.  He took no notes and didn’t talk to any of his neighbors.  I could never go to class in this fashion because I have always been dedicated to my studies.

The article I read was “Food as art: it looks almost too good to eat” by Jane Brocket.  In this piece, Brocket tells a story about her and her daughter reading children’s books and making some of the food that is written about.  The books often do not give specific recipes but they do give detailed descriptions of how the food looks and tastes.  Brocket’s argument is that food is an art.  She makes the point that a chef has tools just like an artist has paint and a canvas.  A chef has to use the right instruments at the right time and have a great understanding of the ingredients and functions.  She also discusses “…Dinah Fried, an American graphic designer and photographer who takes famous literary meals and turns them into artfully arranged pictures on her website” (Brocket).  This is combining the craftsmanship of cooking with the art of photography.  She writes about the creativity that takes place both in everyday cooking and the creativity that someone like Fried possess when using food as a tool for her photography.

Brocket believes that food is an art, indefinitely.  I, on the other hand, am not as convinced.  After reading “Food as art” by Telfer, I was more convinced that cooking is a craft.  It does take a great deal of experience and skill to be a good chef but I believe that it is a different skill than being an artist.  Brocket and her daughter experimented with creating recipes from the children’s books.  I think this is a very intriguing activity that takes talent, however, I think this is more of a craft than an art.  In my blog, I said that I do not consider food art because I do not think that all food is art.  Meals that are beautifully prepared and aesthetically pleasing are the closest I would call food to art.  But I do not think there is any artistic value in a fast food burger and fries, like the video “Fast Food Presentation” suggests.  There is little color, no creativity, and chemicals used to produce our food with no artistic components.  We were asked to consider, “If food is art, is all food art? What are your criteria for determining whether food is art? Where do you “draw the line”, if there is a line?” (Huette).  It is difficult to consider food to be art when not all food is art.  I believe that when a baker creates a cake that looks like the city of New York, for example, that is art.  It is not so much about how the cake tastes or the ingredients, but upon the talent and art that is made from edible tools.  However, using food to make a meal for dinner should not be considered an art in my opinion.  My family owns a restaurant in Los Angeles; the menu mainly consists of American foods like hamburgers and sandwiches.  Our cooks are extremely talented and have dedicated their careers to serving delicious food.  I consider these men to be masters of their trade, but I would not consider them artists and I am confident that they would agree.

After reading “Food as art: it looks almost too good to eat” and watching “Fast Food Presentation,” I have come to the conclusion that cooking is a craft that can have artistic qualities.  I believe this is a fair analysis because it gives credit to the chefs who dedicate themselves to quality presentation and creativity but does not generalize all food as art.   Even though it is my opinion that art is a craft, there is a lot of room for discussion and other opinions.  I do think there are arguments that can be made for both sides of this debate.  A well-rounded chef may be offended to know that I do not consider him or her to be an artist.  This can be compared to last week’s topic when I discussed the artistic value of graffiti.  Someone who does graffiti may think that he or she is an artist, while others think they are criminals.  Art is an abstract category that does not have just one definition.  If an individual sees the artistic value in a McDonald’s hamburger, that is his or her prerogative.  I used to not see the artistry in graffiti but I have since changed my mind after getting into a debate similar to this one.  This gray area in art has allowed for many debates to take place but that is why it is important to read these articles and make an informed decision.

Brocket, Jane. (guardian.co.uk) Food as art: it looks almost too good to eat. Retrieved    Friday 25 October 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/03/food-as-art-design-literature.

While reading the article, Food as Art, written by Tefler, I kept finding myself going back and forth on whether or not I thought food was an art or more of a craft. I could definitely see it both ways, which makes it hard to make a decision. But after thinking about both ways thoroughly, I think that food is more of a craft than an art. In Teflers article, it claims, “It is true that it is often thought of as a craft. One reason for this is that its products are useful” (16). The example he used that by mentioning that the products are useful is a great example of this. It brings out the more crafts side of it because it is being used for something important. Making food and/or meals are carried out by instruction. Chefs have to learn how to do many things before they are able to cook meals. They follow instructions and have to be able to figure out what goes best with what. To me, I think the chef is looked upon as a craftsman because of the wonderful creations that he/she makes. I picture a “work of art” as something that is being viewed. In the article, Tefler explains, “we can now expand this definition: if something is a work of art, then its maker or exhibitor intended it to be looked at or listened to with intensity, for its own sake” (12). If food is an art, it would just be used to look at, rather than to be tasted and figuring out what goes best with such a combination of different things. If food is an art, it would be more focused on designing dishes and meals which represent artwork within it. My father and grandfather are both chefs and would agree with me when I asked them if food was an art or a craft. They commented on how it would depend on whether your using food as show, or if it was the work that put into it. You have to build the skills of becoming an experienced chef and build meals with what you know and what you are able to mix different ingredients with.

1. Family

2. Friendship

3. Loyalty

4. Integrity

5. Enjoyment

6. Independence

7. Wisdom

8. Leadership

9. Health

10. Personal Development

11. Personal Accomplishment

12. Security

13. Community

14. Wealth

15. Service

16. Prestige

17. Expertness

18. Power

19. Creativity

20. Location

My activities today have been on the boring side considering I was on a road trip.  However, I always carry my values with me and I certainly did activities to show that.  I spent all weekend with my best friends and sorority sisters.  I spent a great deal of time with them and I always continue to build stronger relationships with them.  Unfortunately, I did not get to spend time with my family this weekend but I do always keep in constant contact with them.  They are the first on my list because even if I have nothing at all, I can always count on my parents and sister.  They mean the absolute world to me and my future kids and husband will also be my number one priority in life.  My third value is loyalty.  Loyalty is incredibly important to me because I have had too many experiences with people who are not loyal to me and continue to let me down.  My true friends are the ones that value the quality of loyalty as much as I do.  Integrity is my next value because if we are not happy with ourselves and our actions, then it does not really matter what else we do have. It is crucial that we hold ourselves to high standards.  I chose enjoyment as my fifth most important value because if we do not enjoy what we are doing, then it has little purpose.  Being content with our life-track is incredibly important.  This weekend, I had so much fun and would not change one thing about hanging out with my friends and watching Oregon beat The Huskies.

I have adopted many of these values from my parents.  They hold a lot of these values in importance as I have.  I am still working on a few values on this list.  Personal Development and wealth are values that I will continue to work towards as I am almost done with college and about to start a career.  I believe that a great amount of these values do not completely manifest until we are older and have experienced more in life.  However, they are all extremely important and none can be ignored.  I would like to get more involved in the community.  As a requirement at my sorority, I do participate in some community service, but definitely not as much as I would like.  When I get settled in a career, I hope that I am able to work more for the less fortunate and give back to the community in that way.

This article discusses the importance of our values, where they come from, and how we define them.  One topic that the author covers is how we construct a “framework” for our values.  Whether we are born with certain instincts or they develop as we grow has been a topic of debate to this day.  It cannot be proven or denied and may very well never have an answer.  Even though there is no definite answer, the author writes, “…there is a good deal of evidence that human beings are not primarily driven by genetically determined instincts but are rather free to make their own choices” (Personal Values 7).  I completely agree with this statement.  We are fortunate enough to live in a country where we have the freedom to make our own decisions.  In most cases, our parents lay out basic values that they hope we adopt and as we grow and experience new things, we alter our values to be specific to how we, as individuals, want to run our lives.  The author also posses the question, how do we really know anything?  I suppose the answer is “through observation,” however, it is an incredibly interesting question.  Our values may derive from things we think we know, when in reality, they are not factual. Many religious people live their lives knowing that Jesus is their savior and was resurrected.  If indeed these beliefs are not true, did these people live lies?  Religion as a whole is a controversial and complex topic.  There may not be a right or wrong answer but these beliefs do shape our value framework and impact the way in which we live our lives.  I believe that the author’s main point is to say that we have values but often do not evaluate how we arrive at them.  We accept many things at face-value when in reality, they need a great deal of examination.

The article I chose is about how men and women approach the beginning to relationships. There are all of these “rules” about what roles men and women should uphold when starting a new relationship.  Women are supposed to play hard to get and are supposed to seem uninterested.  Men are supposed to be charming and show that they have something to offer.  But why has society made these so-called rules that everyone is expected to understand?  It would make more sense for a woman to act interested in a man if that be the case instead of waiting for the man to chase her.  The author, Dennis Hong, makes an intriguing comparison to his car.  He recalls not having enough money to buy a new car, so he decided to put the little money he had into painting his old one.  His friend then proceeded to ask him “why would you want to gift wrap a turd?”  Not only is this comical, but completely true.  When getting to know someone, why would we not just be ourselves and act the way we really feel?  Behaving in ways that are not true to ourselves would not make for a happy, honest relationship anyway.  Yet, we continue to do it to ourselves.  Hong also talks about being attractive both in the physical and mental sense.  It is difficult to achieve both of these, but it is possible if we ignore the strategies that society has created.  I find these topics of relationships to be extremely interesting because everyone can relate to them.  We have all been in relationships where we wish we would have acted differently; or if we follow the rules or break the rules and how that affects our relationships.  It is often scary, yet brave, to be completely honest and open up front with the people we surround ourselves with.  Maybe once people are more comfortable in their own skin, this would be less of an issue and more people could have healthy dating relationships.

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