Grow Your Own Garden, Tuesday, Period 6

[sailor_meshi]

Class was once again meeting at their garden plots and the first thing Senshi did was hand out canteens of water and straw hats, much like the one he was wearing.

Still over his helmet, yes.

"In heat like this, it's important to stay well-hydrated," he told them, "and try to keep as cool as possible. Sunhats like this will shade your eyes and will also keep your face and neck out of the direct sunlight so you're less likely to burn. If you start feelin' dizzy or headachy, and weirdly cold and clammy, sit down and drink more water, real slow. If you start gettin' confused or you feel like you're gonna pass out, just call out and we'll get you to the healing mages as fast as we can."

Yeah, he was still a little confused about how things worked.

"Otherwise, we're gonna start talkin' about plantin' today," he continued. "I got a bunch of different, fast-growin' seeds for you here: radishes, salad greens, carrots, and spinach. So first, you're gonna feel your soil. Hopefully it's still cool, soft, and kinda damp from all that compost we added last week. If it is, that's great. Otherwise, water it just enough till it gets soft and a bit damp. We don't want it waterlogged. Now, for radishes, Sow the plump seeds very thinly, spacing 'em about two and a half centimeters apart. I guess that's called an inch here?" Weird. "Sowin' small batches every few weeks until the very end of summer will get you a continuous crop. For the mix of salad green seeds, sow 'em real thin into drills spaced around 15 to 25cm apart - 6 to 10 inches, I guess? Cover the seeds back over then gently pat the surface of the soil down around 'em. Gently. For the carrots, sow the seeds into drills spaced about 15cm err...6 inches? apart, cover back over with soil, and water. Again, a whole lot, don't wash the seeds away. And then for spinach, you're gonna wanna find the shadiest spot in your garden - or at least keep 'em out of direct sun, or they'll grow so fast they'll be bitter. Make rows about 30cm apart, which is something called a foot?, and then set the seeds an that inch amount apart. Once you've got the seeds all planted, water 'em carefully, and then come back and get yourselves your--" he gestured to a pile of what looked like black fabric.

Because it was, it could just be built into garden plot cover to keep your tiny plants from burning in the heat. So sow your seeds, set up the covers over your garden plot, and then feel free to head out of the sun and into somewhere cooler.

Nightmare Party Planning from the Mid-Century; Tuesday, Third Period [07/16].

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Last week," Summer said, smiling almost beatifically from her spot at the front of the classroom, with some very large cloches in front of her on the counter, which was always a good sign, right?, "we covered some of the basics of your standard mid-century party. And while a nice make-your-own-sundae social is very nice and relaxed, it's probably not going to have too many people eager to get home and start spreading the news about your little soiree. Now, if you had a nice, evocative centerpiece for your food spread, now that might get some people's attentions!

"There are loads of really interesting recipes where people tried to make something out of food to wow and impress their guests, and today, that's what we're going to be focusing on. I've got a few examples, and then we'll see what sort of uniquely artistic presentation of a thing as another thing you can come up with for yourself.

"We're going to start with this amazing suggestion from Hellman's mayonnaise, who else, of the French poodle hero sandwiches, a fetching display where you can see our beautiful parsley-poodle is overlook her adorable little sub-sandwich puppies like the true matriarch she is. Honestly, when you're inviting your guests to break up a litter by eating one of them after plucking them away from their siblings, you know you've got a good thing going on!

"Then, we have one of my personal favorites, another offering from our dear friend Hellman's, with the pineapple fruit salad treasure chest, which has the added fun of getting to make necklaces out of strawberries and grapes, or melon-ring bracelets, and other fruit-related accessories or treasure.

"And, my final example of making your food look like some other thing, although this is by no means an exhaustive sampling, is well-known to those who have taken my classes before: the infamous liver sausage pineapple, which involved liver sausage slathered in gelatin and mayonnaise and formed into the shape and suggestion of a pineapple, beause why the fuck not? Take a good slice of the 'pineapple' and slather it on a cracker, what more could you want to really get people talking about the presentation of your spread?

"And so, with these in mind and even a few more tha I've dredged up to show off, let's see what other unique presentations can we bring to our party? Like maybe a holiday meat trea or a meatloaf igloo? This one really leans into creativity, guys, so let's see what you can come up with!"

The Wonderful World of Pizza, Tuesday Second Period

[carbsliftthespirit]

"Today," Raiden told his students, "we're following pizza in its journey to the United States, which is where it really took off. You see, Italian immigrants brought their food with them to the US, but like many immigrant groups they not only had to adapt to the ingredients available here, they had access to a wider range of ingredients, so they could do all sorts of new and interesting things. So don't listen to anyone who ever starts snitting at you about 'authentic' food, because it's a scam. But I'm wandering off the point.

"One of the things these Italian immigrants brought with them was, you guessed it, pizza, and in New York is where it really started to take off. I'm not about to start an argument about which is the best kind of pizza--they're all winners to me--but New Yorkers get really heated about it. They favor a thin-crust pizza sold in large slices people like to fold. It's a thing. Today we're going to Harlem to try out Patsy's, opened in 1933 by Pasquale Lanceri and recently featured in a hit movie. A bunch of these old New York pizzerias have their own individual claims to fame, and Patsy's is that they claim to have been the first to sell pizza by the slice. The first in New York, maybe, but remember, that's how pizza was originally sold in those open-air stands in Naples. Ah, but that doesn't matter. C'mon, let's go try some pizza and explore Spanish Harlem.

Practical Philosophy, Tuesday

[endsthegame]

"'Anger is accompanied by pain, but hatred not; for he who is angry suffers pain, but he who hates does not. One who is angry might feel compassion in many cases, but one who hates, never; for the former wishes that the object of his anger should suffer in his turn, the latter, that he should perish.'"

Ender smiled as the class settled in, a copy of the Complete Works of Aristotle sitting in his lap. "Aristotle is one of this world's most famous philosophers. One of the ancient Greeks, who lived almost 2.500 years ago, taught by the legendary Plato. And a man with a lot of things to say about hatred."

He closed the book. "Aristotle sees a clear difference between anger and hate. Anger, he argues, is focused on the individual. In doing so, you must acknowledge the humanity - or sentience - of the being you feel such anger towards. You feel, and you want the object of your anger to feel as well. Hatred, on the other hand, is different. Hatred can also be about groups, says Aristotle, about a collection of things you wish only to be utterly destroyed. The object of your hatred need not feel something. It is only imperative that it be there to be mistreated, hurt, annihilated."

He set the book aside. "Hence, to feel hatred, you must have stripped the recipient of all that makes their feelings worth caring about," he said. "When I was young, I thought my brother hated me. I had something he didn't, and he wanted to destroy me for it. Only when I was older did I find the capacity to listen enough, and did he find the capacity to speak enough, for me to realize that he was simply fearful, and wanted my affection."

The annoyance of the weekend had passed, yes. Peter had called, and Ender had realized what all of that had been about. "In doing so, I denied his humanity, as much as I felt he denied mine," he said. "I was young. I didn't understand. Much like I was a few years later, when I felt a measure of hatred for the first time in my life, and paid the cost. It takes effort to put your feelings aside and listen. It takes more effort to understand that there's a reason to do so at all."

He reached for his bottle of water. "Don't get me wrong, anger can also be destructive," he said. "But personally I don't think it is as all encompassing." He took a sip. "So two questions, today. One, do you think Aristotle's division of anger and hatred is fair? And two, can you remember a time you felt hatred - and a time you felt someone hated you? What did you do about it? How did it feel? Do you regret it, or do you stand by it?"

More Earth Tourism, Tuesday

[unusual_sith]

Lana greeted them all today looking a little more serious than she had previously. "I've been trying to see that we get a variety of Earth experiences - nature, cities, and so forth. Today we'll be visiting a city. A very busy, very distracting city. Before we go, I want you all to group up - groups of two or more, whatever works for you, but you will keep track of each other and not wander off. I don't want to have to hunt down anyone after this is over. Some of you are welcome to group with me, if you like."

She made sure they were paying attention and grouping up, then nodded in satisfaction and led them through their portal to the Las Vegas strip. She squinted in the bright sun; it didn't look much like Nar Shaddaa at the moment; she'd take that as a good thing.

"Las Vegas is a well-known city in the United States, known largely for its gambling and entertainment options, a good number of which are located on this one street. Keep in your groups, please, and stay aware of your surroundings; it's supposed to be relatively safe, but with this many distractions, you can't rule out pickpockets or other problems. Most of the large buildings here are casinos, or hotels with casinos. If you're not interested in gambling, many of them also offer excellent restaurants, and some have other attractions." She passed out a brochure. "Many of which involve viewing it from heights," she added with a smile, since several of the students seemed to enjoy that sort of thing.

"Also, please be mindful of this heat!" She passed out bottles of water and sunscreen. "Stay hydrated. Stay safe. Meet me back here at the end of class."

Self-Defence For Shinies 2: Mind Games, Tuesday, 1st Period

[snipsnspecks]

Today, Ahsoka had informed the class to come to Serenity Cove, and to bring appropriate swimwear and sun-protection. Once they arrived, they would have found Ahsoka by the water's edge, along with an utterly, utterly betrayed Anakitty. There was both sand and water here, Snips!

"While meditation is a useful skill in dealing with the kind of weather we've been having recently," Ahsoka began after greeting them. "It admittedly uses more advanced skills to both accept and let go of your physical discomforts, while not ignoring them past the point where discomfort becomes potential harm.

"So instead of ignoring our bodies, instead we're going to use them to help us with meditating," She said. "I want you to all go as deep into the water was you feel comfortable with while still keeping your feet on the bottom, then I want you to close your eyes and repeat our breathing exercises from last class, only today I want you to focus on the physical sensations surrounding you. The water around you, the salt in the air. You are a part of this world, let yourself disappear into the ebb and flow of it."

She paused. "And if the heat gets to be too much for anyone, there's a shaded area set up on the shore with fresh water and more sunblock."

Anakitty would be spending all his time there, thank you very much.