Sports, Friday, Period 1, The Park

[brainfreediet.livejournal.com]

Welcome back to the park. It was a beautiful day for baseball, why keep it indoors? If you were unfamiliar with the idea of a batting cage, the 12 foot long fiberglass and nylon netting structures probably looked bizarre, especially with the pitching machines just outside of them. But at least there were bats to use in case things got weird.

"Today we're going to be taking a look at one of the classic American sports, baseball," Flash said. "Before any of you were born, it was considered America's pastime for about a century. Then the players went on strike one year, didn't play their championship series, and football took over."

"It's a very simple game that gets really complicated really quickly. If you guys want, I can get into everything from ground rule doubles to the infield fly rule, but for today, I thought we'd keep it simple," Flash said. "There are four bases in the shape of a diamond. Nine defensive players on the field, including one at each base. One of the players is the pitcher, and they throw the ball to the catcher at home plate. And there's an offensive player there with a bat, trying to hit the ball into the field."

"If a fielder catches the ball before it hits anything like the ground or a wall, the batter is out. If they get the ball and throw it to first base before the batter gets there, the batter is out. If the batter gets there first, or can make it to any other base in order without being tagged, the batter is safe. Either way, the next batter comes up."

"There are three outs to an inning. If the batter swings and misses, or the ball goes through a specific area above home plate, or the batter hits the ball into foul territory, that's a strike. Three strikes and you're out. If the batter doesn't swing at a pitch outside the strike zone, that's a ball. Four balls and the batter gets to take a free base."

Flash explained things a little more before pointing at the batting cages. "We don't have enough people for a team, so we have a couple options. You can either go into the batting cage and see what you can do at the plate, or you can grab some gloves and play catch, throwing the ball up and back with a partner."

Seven Habits of Blah Bloo Blee [Friday]

[notmysupervisor.livejournal.com]

Today, the students might notice a couple of things about their teachers that had changed from last week:

(a) Everyone seemed to be in a way better mood!

(b) No one was a dinosaur.

( I've never had to clarify that before, wow )

Philosophy of Food, Friday period 3

[sharp_as_knives]

There was no food on the table today.

"Before we begin," Hannibal started, "as we are now halfway through this session, I encourage you to discuss your class project with me now or during office hours, so that we can schedule time." He nodded to them.

"So." He sat on the edge of the desk. "To this point, we've mostly discussed how we approach food due to other influences, such as culture. Now, we turn that around. How is food itself an influence on other parts of life?" he asked.

"The types and amounts of food available to a culture, the sorts of foods that are valued as delicacies and the sorts that are discarded - these all can help to dictate the development of society, not to mention arts and leisure activities. We still evaluate earlier cultures on the basis of whether they were hunter-gatherers or agricultural," he pointed out.

"In each of your cultures, what foods are common or valued, and what expectations or industries or cultures have grown up around them? Beyond that, how much a part of your routine revolves around food? Do you cook, eat in the cafeteria, order food - and how does that change your day? The picnic to welcome us here - what would you have thought if it didn't include food? What about the fact that I've set out no food today - have you come to expect it? How has that expectation altered your behavior and thinking?"

He sat back and waited.