Sweet Corn
Tonight's soundtrack:
Bootsy's Rubber Band, Stretchin' Out Live, 1976, Houston, TX
It is sweet corn season in Western Massachusetts. It is sweet corn season, but not yet SWEET CORN season, meaning we are not quite at peak sweetness. I don't know too much technical information about corn, but I do know that sweet corn is surprisingly delicate. There is a short window when sweet corn starts appearing in our farm stands, usually starting in August, though surprisingly we found a stand in late July with early corn.
This early corn is not peak sweet corn. It is fresh and juicy corn that tastes great, but it is not the corn of nostalgia and rapturous, decadent corn eating. It is the young early corn, picked almost too early, but burgeoning with the fresh brightness of almost ripe tomatoes, slightly green bananas, and too bright tambourines.
Even when you hit peak corn, there is a delicate window between when corn is great and when corn is a disappointment. It is a lesson I must relearn every summer because I love corn, and when I stop at a corn stand, I almost never have the exact change I need to get just a few ears, and so it is easier to get an entire dozen, which is too much for two people to eat in the short window of time between fresh from the field corn and corn that has succumbed to time and lost all its flavor.
I sometimes wonder if sweet corn, in all its wonderful greatness, also is that much more disappointing when it has sat too long on the kitchen counter, or too long in the bin at the grocery store resulting in starchy nubbins that are barely worth eating. So even at peak sweet corn, which we haven't reached yet, there is a 24 to maybe 36 hour window of possibility, beyond that it is a endeavor with quickly diminishing returns.
I often wonder about the people across the world that eat plain old yellow corn, the stuff that one needs to slather with butter and sprinkle with salt to make it palatable. I think of the cobs that used to come with the boxes of Kentucky Fried Chicken of my childhood. Why would any one choose that kind of corn if sweet corn exists on this Earth.
The other things sweet corn embodies is the beginning of the end of summer. In my childhood it is embodied in the evenings at Tanglewood getting cooler, needing to bring a sweatshirt to concerts, and curling up in a sleeping bag out on the lawn. It coincides with chilly mornings out on Goosepond fishing for trout. And when I got older, the arrival of sweet corn coincides with the sensation of running out of time, of getting kids ready for school again, for making lesson plans, for taking deep breaths and soaking in the moments of deep sunlight and relishing it as much as one can, as if the body could retain that sensation through our long winter.
It is exciting to think we are still at the beginning of sweet corn season because we all need the little things that give us pleasure. There is so much we are all struggling with on this planet in this moment. So, seek out your favorite farm stand and pick up a few ears. Don't wait until it is too late in the day when the pile has already been picked through. Buy one or two extra ears in case you get a funky one, and if you don't, then you just have another ear to eat. Try grilling it, steaming it, boiling it. Enjoy, it is one of the great things of living in Western Mass. Sweet corn.
Sending you all sweetness, and the beginning of late summer love.
Stay safe,
Leo
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| Franklin loves his sweet corn too! |
From Our Friends:
From the American Association of Geographers:
The Invisible and The Silent |
By Amy Lobben “I am the parent of an adult child with intellectual and developmental disabilities and have spent the past two decades watching how society (dis)engages with him. People avert their eyes. People pretend not to see him. People give him a wide berth in store aisles… Society trains us to have low tolerance of imperfections in our own and others’ bodies. It’s no wonder that in the race to perfection, those with physical imperfections are ultra marginalized by society.” Continue Reading |
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From Regina Curtis:
I just read this Ted Talk article about unconscious bias and thought the suggestion it makes on a way to help redirect our inner selves was interesting. It could make an interesting addition to the instructions when charging search committees on campus, perhaps?
From the Community Economies Resource Network:
From Bianca: This event below I'm co-organising on Friday, 7 August at 19:00 (CET) might be of interest to you: we will learn how Platform London organise their socially just waging system and how the artist Kate Rich (and fellow CERN member) approaches business as a space for subversive action.
From Inside Higher Ed:
Remembering George Floyd
Some colleges are reviewing their law enforcement and criminal justice curricula following national unrest around police brutality and racism. »
From Higher Ed Jobs:
The What of It All: Understanding Words and Meanings in Fighting the Nation's Pandemic of Racism
by Dr. Shai L. Butler 
In addition to a COVID-19 global pandemic, there's another public health crisis that we are facing -- the crisis of racism in the United States of America. Like COVID-19, it has its own language that is important to understand. Dr. Shai L. Butler offers a primer on the terms used in the language of racial and social justice, including "diversity," "inclusion," "equality," and "equity." "If we plan to eradicate a pandemic," Butler says, "we must accurately understand what we are fighting and appreciate its distinct definitions."
From Linda McCarthy:
Returning to the (Virtual) Campus: Activism, Anti-racism and Transforming Community, will be Tuesday, August 11th from 4-5:30 pm Eastern time. We are grateful to be presenting this panel discussion in partnership with Princeton University and Washington University in St. Louis. You can register for this free webinar here.
Featured panelist include:
- Angela Mosi Locks, PhD, Cal State Long Beach
- Reginald A. Wilburn, PhD, University of New Hampshire
- LaTanya N. Buck, PhD, Princeton University
- Shawn Maxam, Princeton University
Moderated by Brighid Dwyer, PhD, Princeton University, DDNRC Vice Chair
Introduction by Mark Kamimura-Jimรฉnez, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, DDNRC Board Member
A conversation about how to engage members of your campus community in the work of activism, anti-racism, and transforming community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
With live captioning
From Creative Ground:
Regional Grant Opportunities
NEFA
From Mass Poetry:
Save the date for a virtual protest reading in support of Black lives and presented by the members of the Poetry Coalition, which will be live broadcast on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT. Readers include Jericho Brown, Kwame Dawes, Monica Youn, Safia Elhillo, and more. Stay tuned on our social media channels for more information!
From UMass Amherst:
An exploration of Black-centered design and its benefits for all |
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New leadership academy launched for women and students of color |
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From the League for Innovation:
From ACLS:| Interested in Joining the Ranks of ACLS Peer Reviewers?«LEARN MORE» |
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Ballynahinch Lakeby Seamus Heaney Godi, fanciullo mio, stato soave,
Stagion lieta รจ cotesta.
Leopardi, ‘Il Sabato del Villaggio’
for Eamon Grennan
So we stopped and parked in the spring-cleaning light,
Of Connemara on a Sunday morning
As a captivating brightness held and opened
And the utter mountain mirrored in the lake
Entered us like a wedge knocked sweetly home
Into core timber.
Not too far away
But far enough for their rumpus not to carry,
A pair of waterbirds splashed up and down
And on and on. Next thing their strong white flex
That could have been excitement or the death-throes
Turned into lift-off, big sure sweeps and dips
Above the water — no rafter-skimming souls
Translating in and out of the house of life
But air-heavers, far heavier than the air.
Yet something in us had unhoused itself
At the sight of them, so that when she bent
To turn the key she only half-turned it
And spoke, as it were, directly to the windscreen,
In profile and in thought, the wheel at arm’s length,
Averring that this time, yes, it had indeed
Been useful to stop; then inclined her driver’s brow
Which shook a little as the ignition fired. |
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From the It Gets Better Project:
This week, a dreamy new addition to Canada's Drag Race, incredible progress for the intersex community, and a powerful stance from the world's first openly gay prince. From the Northampton Arts Council:Each year the Northampton Arts Council raises funds for arts enrichment in Northampton Public Schools. It’s time again for THE end-of-the-summer benefit music festival! On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Transperformance 30: LIVE AIDwill celebrate a global jukebox of solidarity while raising funds for arts enrichment programs in our schools. Your favorite local bands will transform into the same acts who graced the stages in London and Philadelphia at Live Aid 35 years ago such as Queen, Madonna, The Beach Boys, Pretenders, The Four Tops, Black Sabbath, Phil Collins, Judas Priest and more!
From the Community College Humanities Review:
This issue continues to include a wide array of powerful content, including research, non-fiction, poetry and more. Don't miss out; access your copy of the CCHR today through either of the links below. Oh, and consider submitting your own content for future publication!
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Today's Online Teaching Tips:
From Education Admin Web Advisor (really, what is in a name):
Tips for Preparing for and Teaching Your Live Online Video Class Lesson Tuesday, August 11 11:30 AM Eastern; 10:30 AM Central; 9:30 AM Mountain; 8:30 AM Pacific Veteran educator Dr. Robert Hill will show you how to prepare live online lessons infused with the best instructional practices. You will learn how to ensure that your students will get the most from your online synchronous instruction. Please join us! | | |
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From Inside Higher Ed:
From Magna Publications:
By applying the culturally responsive teaching practices detailed in this 60-minute online seminar, you’ll be able to build more effective learning experiences and increase student engagement in online environments. This will ultimately help promote social justice and a sense of community at your institution and beyond.
This early corn is not peak sweet corn. It is fresh and juicy corn that tastes great, but it is not the corn of nostalgia and rapturous, decadent corn eating. It is the young early corn, picked almost too early, but burgeoning with the fresh brightness of almost ripe tomatoes, slightly green bananas, and too bright tambourines. 
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