IDEAS ABOUT THE PRESENT

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
By Alex Ness
September 25, 2023

HOT COMICS IS MY HERO

My son and I tabled at Crypticon Minneapolis under the umbrella of Hot Comics booth. They were there to sell, so giving me and my son or Joe Monks had he not passed away, table space was giving up some of their space so we could sell our own works. It was an act of generosity and kindness that I'll never forget. And more than that, Hot Comics from the start was my first corporate sponsor. They had a banner ad on my earliest web presence, and throughout my time having a website and wherever I went.  It is of enormous value for a creative artist or a journalist about the comics world to have connections with retailers, and Hot Comics in Mn is the best.

I am not worthy of such kindness, and I wish to pay it forward by sharing my gratitude towards Hot.  Thank so much.

IS FOOD A CULTURAL EVENT OR A BIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENT

I used to write food reviews and restaurant specific reviews for a site back in the very early days of 2000 AD and an a bit over 500 reviews. That all ended badly, so let's not dwell upon that. But, I did want to consider is it possible to review food shows, chefs as a means of discussing the importance that food has taken in modern culture. Ancient Romans and Egyptians at the heights of their greatness sought out unusual foods, they wanted to taste whatever the world had in store for the adventurous, those who seek perfect combinations of tastes and variety of and quality of foods. The gourmands, elite food critics and eaters of all that is offered is sometimes seen as gluttony. That desire to eat everything is seen by some as a celebration of wealth and excess. But is it? The concept of celebrating food adventures as decadence along with blood sports and dangerous sport comes from Roman poet Juvenal who used the concept to show how our wavering from reality, can be had with temptations of food "pleasure" and exciting and dangerous sports "a blood lust".

"Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses."

I am uncertain. I used to consider becoming a chef, as my 1990s saw me experimenting with and learning different food preparation style. One wealthy contact I had from years in Grad school, was going to create a restaurant, like a speak easy, and said he wanted to use some of my recipes. He said he'd pay me a royalty for use, rather than buying them outright.  I'd fed him twice in Fargo during Grad school and he was blown away. Using royalties rather than buying the recipes technically could work but practically it was a nightmare as I was certain, along the line, my trust in the numbers of sales just seemed unlikely to be continually upgraded and fairly counted. But, going into that, I spent a couple months alone choosing what 10 dishes to write the recipes for, since I never followed other people's recipes and writing them out. It would be my means of creation of new and different product to be shared with the public. When I wrote out the recipes and the restaurant never came to be, it turns out, wealthy people have so many options, they lose interest at some point if the effort doesn't seem to reward enough financially. I was not altogether destroyed by it not happening. I saw it, actually as a change in my future.

I would be a writer, a stay at home father, and who knows what else.  Along with my cooking, my art and writing. I went to operas and classical music performances, I drank top shelf vodka martinis, and enjoyed, rarely, smoking cigars. I thought it was all part of what being a creative genius was about. But that was hollow. No, it wasn't bad, it was enjoyable, but, it was the trappings of higher dreams or being of exalted taste, not reality.  Now I drink beer when I drink, which isn't often, and I smoke nothing.

Being a father taught me about life, what is truly important. I learned that partaking of the trappings of excellence do not make you excellent. They make you a poser. Or a fool. But I did write many reviews, of restaurants, food items newly released, and more. I received a box of food items from a seller after I wrote a positive piece about his establishment, which was great.  But, I knew, I was not a foodie, and not trained in being a chef.  I could cook, but, ultimately, it was meaningless to me, as it had no real reward.  I had to move in a different creative direction, and with the arrival of blogs and websites focused on comics, books, stuff I liked culturally, I knew I could make an inroad and see where it took me.

So that doesn't answer whether I should focus at all upon food as a product of culture, rather than viewing foodie culture as being decadence. I think there are cooking shows of excellence. I think there are food trends to consider. But I wonder if I am the person worthy of doing this undertaking. Anyone out there want to write about the food industry, restaurants, and tv shows about food?

FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD OUT THERE

I have books and tpbs for sale on my facebook.  They are inexpensive as I can make them, but available to US residents, since postage elsewhere is mind blowing. But if you are not in the USA and want to read my poetry books, I can send you ebooks, and if you send me an inquiry about it, I can do 5 ebooks for 10 bucks. AlexanderNess63@gmail.com is my address.

SOME WORKS I'VE CREATED

I get scolded by folks who write for not telling my readers what books I have out.  Everything I have done is found at my published works link below. But here are some images of works and suggestions of what they offer.

Horror

Comics & Pulp Fiction

History

Reflection

Upon Contact with Me, buying my work and/or getting reviews

FINALLY...  I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address.If you send hard copies for review I will try to always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.

My Creative Blogs:

5k poem blog         AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com

Published works   AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html

All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.