Angling for Guest Blogger of the Year, Katie made rice pudding today in honor of Tastee Pudding

My name is Katie, I’m a Fire Dragon, and I’ve been friends with Amanda since sometime along the way in our mutual flirtation with improvisation. We were briefly neighbors, and we’ve been drunk together on many nights. She gave me marvelous champagne flutes as a wedding gift. She writes, about her blog Tastee Pudding: “In the search for the creative life, the proof is in the pudding.”

I got to wondering how exactly how we came to say this phrase, “the proof is in the pudding” (maybe I only wondered because of fellow blogathon writer Joann Mason, who writes about the origins of English idioms). I sort of know what it means -  it means you know a thing is good if it holds up to it’s promise, or if the experience lives up to the expectation.

I thought there might be more than that. One does not have to be even slightly clever to Google half an hours worth of reading on origins of proverbs to learn that this particular gem is a truncation of the adage “The proof of the pudding’s in the eating.” This phrase was in use waaay back, showing up in writings as early as 1300 AD, and as a proverb attributable to Cervantes in Don Quixote (some think it’s more likely a misinterpretation of the Spanish ‘boudin’ – which is a meat sausage). Then I learned that pudding actually often did refer to something more like sausage than dessert. One site said,

“The OED describes the mediaeval pudding as ‘the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, or other animal, stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, suet, oatmeal, seasoning, etc., and boiled‘.”

GROSS. But I’m sure someone liked it – I mean, we still eat sausage!

This got me thinking. Often, our creative lives are a mishmash of odd parts. Few of us are gifted so completely in one area as are the Rembrandts, the Nerudas, the Coppolas of the world. Most of us are gifted, but it might be a mix of things we bring to the “pudding”. It might be a knack for improv, a love of photography, an obsession with cooking, and a bit of a way with words. When “finding” our creative life, the proof is in the experience – when you bite into it, chew it up and savor it, when you swallow it, are you satisfied? If not – go ahead and change the recipe!

Note from Amanda: As Katie noted, it’s ironic that she wrote about sausage for my blog, since I wrote about why I’m a vegetarian for hers…

Tada! Rice pudding - the finished product - by Katie Jett Walls. Looks pretty TASTEE...

Protesting "sleepy corporate media"

Of course, sometimes the line between art and activism isn’t so clear. One area where that’s particularly true is documentary film, which is sometimes primarily intended as an agent for social change. An example of such a film is Food, Inc., which I’m guessing many of you have already seen. I’ve been passionate about eating local, organic food for several years now, and I’m a vegetarian, plus I’m surrounded in my particular cultural niche with people and media focused on the politics of food; so I didn’t think I needed to see Food, Inc. – what could it tell me that I didn’t already know?

Movie poster for Food, Inc.

But when I saw how the film was moving so many of my friends to change their eating habits, I thought, Maybe this is worth watching. And while I didn’t necessarily learn new facts about the dangers and horrors of agribusiness, the film’s imagery affected me strongly — until then, I hadn’t encountered these issues in such a visual form. And that’s exactly what makes film a powerful agent for change: It affects people more viscerally, I believe, than many other forms of communication. And when you hit people in the gut, you’re more likely to change their behavior (I think) than when you approach them solely on an intellectual plane.

If, like me, you think Food, Inc. is an important film, there are a number of ways you can help spread the word. Obviously, you can recommend the film to your friends. In addition to being available via Netflix (for instant viewing, no less), it’s airing April 21 on PBS, as part of the POV independent film series. POV offers a range of ways to get involved, from putting the trailer on your website to printing and displaying the movie poster. Visit their website for additional ideas and all related images, links and video embed code. For additional ways to take action, check out the official Food, Inc. website.

My favorite idea? Host a Food, Inc. potluck.

Photo by the lovely Kristen Taylor, aka kthread

These ideas aren’t limited to Food, Inc., of course. Take any film you’re passionate about, and put up fliers, host a viewing party… same goes for social causes, art exhibits, books, you name it. Advocate your passions. You don’t need to march in a protest or join an established organization to be an activist.  Realize the power at your fingertips. <Steps off soapbox>

What film has affected your beliefs or behavior most strongly?

Related Links (this list is public media-centric because (a) that’s a world I know well; and (b) public media is very much about connecting what you see on-air, or online, with real-world activity):

• The POV Archives - Many POV films explore social issues and thus become powerful tools in social issue campaigns. For example, a film they aired called The Way We Get By anchored a campaign to support veterans and senior citizens.
• Independent Television Service (ITVS) – An archive of independent films with information on related community engagement campaigns
• Making Your Media Matter - A conference “for established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders and students looking to learn and share cutting-edge practices for making their media matte.” Coming up at American University in Washington, DC on May 12, 2010. Learn more.

Photo by Christi Nielsen on Flickr

“Deprivation” pretty much captures it for me (as much as I hate sounding like a spoiled Westerner). Documenting everything I eat – an activity that most diets require – robs eating of its sensuous pleasure; it’s hard to savor the taste of something when I’m calculating serving size, and savoring my food is a a source of tremendous satisfaction for me. But this blog post from Art21 made me realize that perhaps keeping a food diary has some creative potential, as evidenced by the work of artist Christina Mazzalupo:

“Never has a food diary possessed the charm of a children’s coloring book and the density of a Mark Lombardi diagram. In addition to food and nutritional supplements, Mazzalupo has charted her medications, ailments, feelings, and journeys to reveal an extremely and sometimes uncomfortably personal memoir.”

(I wish I could include an image of this work, but I don’t want to do so without the artist’s permission; you can see it here.)

I love the idea of turning mundane health details into something beautiful and interesting; and, using an artistic rendering of your health history as a window into a deeper story of your life.

The author of the Art21 blog post offers this personal reflection:

“When I stumbled upon one of my old (food) journals a few years ago, I made a startling discovery: in logging teaspoons, cups, ounces and calories I had sketched a picture of my subconscious self. Bits and pieces of my life that were before unclear were laid out in my diet and notes.”

I’m reminded of legendary yogi B.K.S. Iyengar’s visit a few years ago to Washington, DC, where I lived at the time; in an interview with the Washington Post, he said, “What could be more important than health?” It’s a deceptively simple question, and in the wake of Thursday’s healthcare summit, one that’s especially resonant. What would a visual interpretation of our nation’s health reveal about our country, on a spiritual level? Not a collection of statistics, or procedural accountings, but true, visual stories?

And what would a picture of your health look like?  What medium would you choose, and what style? I think mine would be a highly stylized indie film, alternating between highly saturated impressionistic shots and claustrophobic black and white…evocations of wellness and good feeling interspersed with my resistance to the “rules” about health imposed on me by others.

You?