I have watched almost every minute of the so far 10 day trial of police officer Derek Chauvin, taking place right now in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some people might call me a masochist, but I somehow feel a duty to bear witness and understand the case inside out. Dr. Martin Tobin, a well respected pulmonologist and critical care physician was a truly expert witness and knocked it out of the park on Thursday for the prosecution in my opinion. He disputed definitively, in a very systematic and clear manner, every single argument the defense is making. In the process, he also set a new benchmark for witness testimony, questioned many aspects of the use of lethal force, and raised important questions regarding certain crime laboratory practices that he considers misleading. On the latter point, he cited one lab in San Diego that seems to be the go to place for many police departments across the country when they are trying to make a case for justification of their use of lethal force. Not sure this particular California lab has anything to do with this case (to be determined this coming week), but I hope an investigative journalist will look further into these practices more deeply.
three things we love
Chef Jose Andres started off making paellas with is dad in his native Spain.
Who said one person can't change the world? Listen to the story of Spanish American chef Jose Andres, who started his illustrious career as a teenager in Barcelona, Spain when he enrolled in culinary school at the age of fifteen. He went on to work for three years at what was known as one of the most celebrated innovative restaurants in the world, El Bulli in Roses, Spain before ending up in the Big Apple New York City, at the age of 21. From cook, to chef, to head chef to restauranteur himself, Andres is now the head of Think Big Group, owner of multiple notable restaurants across the country and whose mission is, in their own words, to "change the world through the power of food." But Andres has a major philanthropic side, inspired at first by DC Central Kitchen (whose mission is to train ex-cons in the culinary arts at the same time recycling food in the DC area and providing it to service organizations where it is most needed). Spurred into action after the Haitian earthquake of 2010, Andres then founded his own organization to combat hunger throughout the world: World Central Kitchen. Through this nonprofit, he and his team have provided sustenance to hungry people in the wake of disasters all over the globe, serving countless meals to needy citizens in such countries as Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, Zambia, Cambodia, and the United States to name a few. If you are interested in learning more about this fantastic humanitarian and how he sees the role and future of restaurants, here is a recent interview with him and Trevor Noah. And as a little aside, all the more power to Jose Andres for standing up to one of my least favorite people: right wing Ann Coulter who recently conducted a diatribe against him quoted by Joseph Choi in the Hill of Dec.17,2020.
Art by Brenda Barrios @bbbarrios—check out her instagram to see more of her amazing artwork.
Do you know the song by Alicia Keyes, "This Girl is on Fire? I think these words were written to describe Amanda Gorman, the young woman who has literally taken the world by a storm after reading her poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2021. (It was Jill Biden who suggested her)....She started off as a bookworm with a speech impediment, daughter of a single mom with an equally talented twin sister. If you have any doubt that I am overstating her power, intelligence and determination, listen to Amanda on Moth Radio in 2017 speak her truth, recounting her story of trying out for the Broadway's Lion King in New York City. Gorman has racked up so many accolades by now that I won't even venture to list them but suffice it to say that because of her, we now have a U.S. Youth Poet Laureate and she is it. She has her own organization as founder and executive director of One Pen, One Page, which promotes literacy through creative writing programming for underserved youth, is a published author and has a children's book coming out in September 2021 which is already ahead of time on the bestseller list (not sure how that works). I don't think this 15 minutes of fame rule will apply to her--she is going places and I'm willing to bet that she will not stop at anything short of the White House...
Is there anything this woman can’t do?—Look for Amanda Gorman and illustrator Loren Long ‘s new children’s book, Change Sings, to be released in September of 2021.
In honor of Holocasut Remembrance Day, I decided to look for a documentary that so moved me a number of years ago entitled Paper Clips. In order to teach the Holocaust and what happens when prejudice goes unchecked, three teachers in one school in an unlikely town in rural Tennessee got together and decided on a novel and creative approach. They realized that the kids could not imagine what 6 million looked like--when it gets to such big numbers, it is very hard to picture. So to signify the death of six million Jews during the Holocaust, the teachers and students of Whitwell Middle School decided to write letters and appeal to anyone and everyone to help them gather 6 million paper clips, inspired by the Norwegians who wore paper clips to defy Nazi occupation during World War II. They ended up getting much much more than actual paper clips--their letters led to incredible experiences that changed the kids and transformed the town. Don't want to spoil the story but I guarantee you it is a good one...which ended up in a Children's Holocaust Memorial Museum on school property that stands to this day. The woman behind the whole story is a woman named Linda Hooper, interviewed here by Rabbi Mark A. Golub for Jewish Broadcasting Service. And if you want to hear a wild and quirky story that touches on the Paper Clip Memorial story, check out this documentary about a bunch of British bikers touring the south of the United States: Jews on Bikes-Visiting The Paper Clips Project
painting of the week
Vegetable Garden, mixed media on canvas, 50” x 80” Painting I donated to the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California—the school that hosts Alice Water’s pioneer program The Edible Schoolyard.
I originally painted this canvas in the dead of winter in New York City, figuring the closest I would get to spring at that time would be to paint it myself. In 2010, enamored with the incredible Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, I decided to donate it to the school that hosts her community garden project The Edible Schoolyard. To date, this progam has changed the life and eating habits of so many middle school students at the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California and her philosophy has grown into a nationwide movement of teaching healthy eating, vegetable gardening and community spirit in many of our children's schools across the country. To learn more about its creator, Alice Waters, and how she got into cooking in the first place, PBS American Masters series has a wonderful documentary about this amazing woman and the simplicity of her cooking-- where fresh and local food and the farmers are the stars. If you ever get a chance to eat at her restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, what a treat you will have.
Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…
About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.