BOOKS
Food Fray
By Lisa H. Weasel, Ph.D.
(AMACOM)
Food, they say, is an emotional topic — and nowhere is this fact of life more evident than in the constant controversy surrounding genetically modified foods. Heralded by some as a cure-all for hunger in the developing world and derided by others as a pollutant to the food supply and a product of corporate greed, GM foods have inspired an impassioned and confusing debate along social, cultural and political lines for nearly four decades. Tracing their life from the late-Cold War labs of Harvard and MIT, into Monsanto’s product line, into the soybean and corn fields of American farmers and ultimately onto our dinner plates, Dr. Weasel masterfully navigates the complicated and multi-faceted history of the storied GM debate, giving equal treatment to the various sides and ultimately entrusting the readers to come to their own conclusions. The end result is required reading for anyone curious about GM technologies, past, present and future.
— ERIC LARSON
The Soulmate Secret: Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction
By Arielle Ford
(HarperOne)
When The Secret was released in 2006, a modernized interpretation of the law of attraction spread across the country: your thoughts attract reality, whether positive or negative. The movie became a best selling book, winning praise from Oprah Winfrey and Larry King. And now, in The Soulmate Secret, Arielle Ford, former publicist for many of the world-renowned teachers featured in The Secret, shares how these techniques helped her meet her spouse. Ford, who says she’s been experimenting with the law of attraction for 12 years before The Secret, hit big, used tools ranging from feng shui-ing her bedroom and writing letters to past loves, to imagery exercises to bring her soulmate into her life at age forty-four. Three weeks later, they were engaged.
This book’s key message centers around the importance of preparing your heart for sharing romance: Work on your issues, heal past hurts and articulate exactly what you’re looking for in a partner. It’s probably no secret that doing so is the best way to find lasting love — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The Soulmate Secret provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide for realizing the love of your life, and sustaining that love into an enduring relationship. Now, that’s a secret worth sharing.
— JENNY ROUGH
The Gort Cloud
By Richard Seireeni, with Scott Fields
(Chelsea Green)
Make no mistake; in a world finally coming to grips with even its most inconvenient truths, green is the new gold. Nowhere can one turn without hearing of a new company, organization or product preaching the gospel of green and sustainable consumption; likewise, old companies are revamping old products to fit the new paradigm. In The Gort Cloud (a somewhat perplexing and, we think, unfortunate term) a brand/marketing guru profiles more than thirty companies representative of this vast new do-good business community. Some of the well-worn stories of green business are here — Ben and Jerry’s, Seventh Generation, Dr. Bronner’s — as well as some newcomers in industries from clothing to real estate to finance and the home-moving industry. Each company and organization is, in and of itself, an inspiring story and an invaluable case study in how intangible values are sold as tangible goods. By mapping out (really, there’s a map in the book) the interconnectedness of our newer, greener sensibilities, The Gort Cloud serves as both reification for those who’ve been envisioning this future for a long time, and instruction for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.
— E.L.
The Secret History of Dreaming
By Robert Moss
(New World Library)
History has a heavy bias toward what happens in waking life. Scientific discovery, artistic creation, war, natural disasters — historians concern themselves primarily with what happened, out there, and how it shaped what happened next, out there. It is perhaps a bit odd to consider at first, but it’s nonetheless true. In this dense, fascinating volume, Robert Moss — pioneer of Active Dreaming, a tried and true method of deepening folks’ everyday relationship to their dream life and intuition — examines history from the inside out. He makes a thorough and compelling case for the role that dreams have played in historical characters as varied as Joan of Arc, Mark Twain and Harriet Tubman; and he introduces us to the rich dreaming traditions of cultures, both ancient and modern.
While Secret History is not an interpretation manual, a close read will doubtless inspire even the most pragmatic among us to begin paying closer attention to the rich and varied experiences available to us in our dream lives.
— E.L.
The Devil’s Food Dictionary
By Barry Foy
(Frogchart Press)
Time to sink the soufflé. As the Food Network elevates so-so chefs to celebrities and wannabe grub-wranglers to on-air “experts,” perhaps we ought remember that our nourishment, while delightfully sustaining, needn’t be taken so seriously. Barry Foy is a foodie — though he despises the term — with a sense of humor more biting than a school of piranhas in Paul Prudhomme’s pool. In Foy’s tome, gourmands are roasted and meaning toasted; with every entry the author serves up a morsel of truth, battered with wit and basted with whimsy. You’re unlikely to learn anything, but are bound to laugh aloud a lot. In addition to his defining defamations of staples such as chicken (“today’s bird has the brain of a krill, the breast of a porn star and the health of a crack baby, with the flavor and texture of genetically engineered granola”), Foy pokes political correctness (see “collard greens”) and skewers scientific advances in taste (see “umami,” repeatedly). There’s no need to devour the book in one sitting; The Devil’s Food Dictionary is best savored in small bites.
— WARREN ETHEREDGE
FILM
Of All the Things
Directed by Jody Lambert
ofallthethingsmovie.com
The French go goofy for Jerry Lewis. Germans set their clocks while David Hasselhoff rocks. Filipinos flip over… Dennis Lambert? Lambert may be not be known by name in the States, but the hit singles he’s written for others have certainly crossed your lips — whether you’re proud of it or not — including “Nightshift,” “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “One Tin Soldier,” and… “We Built This City.” And while Blender Magazine concluded “We Built This City” is the “#1 Worst Song Ever,” in the Philippines, Lambert’s 1972 solo album, Of All the Things, particularly its title track, is celebrated as the (unofficial) #1 Wedding Song Ever. This is precisely why an enterprising promoter lures Lambert out of semi-retirement — he now hawks houses in Boca Raton — to tour the Philippines (with Paul Williams of Three Dog Night and Carpenters fame), playing multiple concerts, culminating in a packed arena love-fest in the capital city. While Don King might have dubbed the show “Vanilla in Manila,” the sincere affection of the audience is palpable, an impressive accomplishment for filmmaker Jody Lambert, the legend’s son. Even though the production stays in the family, Of All the Things still allows glimpses of fading celebrity’s tells and tolls. The documentary rings true whether you’re already a fan or an unexpected convert.
— W.E.
MUSIC
Kasbah Rockers
Kasbah Rockers
(Barbarity)
One of the pleasures of editing the former world music magazine Global Rhythm was receiving numerous albums from international labels that you’ll never find on American record shelves (whatever remains of them). One of the best was the Switzerland/Morocco-based Barbarity Records, which has released a variety of electronic- and hip-hop-laced music from the streets of North African medinas. My favorite to date was by a project called Maghrebika, which featured American bass player Bill Laswell. The label must have taken a cue from that project, as Kasbah Rockers features both a player from Maghrebika, as well as Laswell adding the low end to eleven tracks. This is a collective album featuring dozens of musicians, superb in production quality and artistic intention. The beats are massive and tight, the vocals exceptional. An impromptu session with Berber singers B’Net Marrakech was turned into the outstanding “Hashouma.” While three languages are spoken throughout — French, Arabic, and Turkish — messages are universal. “Falludjah Car” is an anti-Iraq war song, while on “Shta” (one of two picked for the soundtrack to Body of Lies), the lyrics include “I couldn’t stand all the suffering, but thanks to Allah I learned to be patient/The thunder in the sky brought pleasant rain.” If only our national media would report on the hopeful side of that occupation in such a manner.
— DEREK BERES
Koçani Orkestar
The Ravished Bride
(Crammed)
I was first turned onto Koçani Orkestar via the 2003 Electric Gypsyland compilation, whose producers took tracks by Balkan bands and introduced them to top-notch global-minded remixers. Señor Coconut, Mercan Dede and Gaëtano Fabri all got their hands on this Macedonian outfit. Ironically, they made the tracks less danceable (though no less tasteful) — it’s hard to imagine a greater music made for dancing than Balkan brass. When the band blares into the tuba-led “La llorana” — “the weeping women” as it’s known in the Spanish Americas — a sonic connection across continents is solidified that might not have been guessed: Balkan mariachi anyone? That is the extent of their international experimentation, however; this is a full-steam-ahead Balkan dance album. A big part of its success is due to singer Ajnur Azizov, who has mastered the Eastern European vocal inflections, adding a romantic, dream-like quality to the brass-led undertow. “Gelum Ko Bijav” is a perfect example of the dynamic interplay between his voice and the ensuing saxophone, which equally admits a particular lightness under the hectic, trance-inducing rhythms. Another fine example of the musically rich and versatile world of the Balkans.
—D.B.