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Show WEDNESDAY, OPINION FEBRUARY 25, 2004 DIXIE SUN philosophy - who J needs it? by Brock Bybee cea Dixie Sun Web Editor 3le: weeks from tab I'm ?ni2 ing my associates degree from Dixie blig, about 10 gett- State College. enc jU Yeah, slse I've jumped all through the hoops, R ser. over made the devil, and majority of my general education requirements so far deals with taken the of my general courses weren't too bad. I enjoyed history, biology and an introduction to art. There's one that I just can't seem to figMost ure out. Philosophy. cheap cough syrup withthe glass of water afterwards. It has got to be the most dull subject ever taught by an individual. My room-mat- e of out and buddy Kurt Badger gets out of class and discusses things that would be more interesting. Example: Chewing cud. cannot figure this subject save my life. From day one I've been about as lost as Moses and the Hebrew slaves in the wilderness. All this talk in Latin about existing and European dorks with funky last names that have way too many consonants in them is making my head spin. I out to For example; the other day had a discussion on the famous philosopher Rene Descartes. Apparently one of his most profound was about "thoughts" whether man is a candle. Hold on for a minute and I'll confuse you more. Then we went about arguing whether the character of a man is best exemplified by the molded wax before, or the melted puddle of wax afterward. we immediately checked ouf and said I didn't realize that philosophy was a class about which type of candle contained my spiritual I 26 Gardner Center Ballroom 1 0 a.m. - 3 p.m. Feb. don't think she appreciated my insights into the fantastic world of wax ... er ... I mean philosophy. I Maybe I'm not mentally deep enough to understand it. Maybe all of these analogies and aphorisms are over my head. I don't fancy myself to be the smartest guy on campus, but after a conversation on atheistic existentialism I feel about as smart as a bottle of ketchup. (A cheap one. Not that Heinz 57 stuff.) Check out the Employment Fair while youfe there! Or another possibility is the fact that I don't ask, why?" after every answer is given to me. Philosophy is two spoonfuls 5 Fizza Frgg My teacher asked me who I thought I was, and I replied that I certainly didn't believe I was a blue light special item from aisle three at Pier 1. -- I've kind of guessed that's what philosophy is all about. Continually asking why? to the most miniscule questions on the face of the planet. Possible lecture from any given philosophy class: "Now class, I want you to think of a spoon. Now ask yourself why does the spoon exist? Why is it metal? Why isn't it wooden? Why would a wooden spoon be available? Why do we eat with spoons? And now finally, how can this possibly existing spoon be related to your own lives and the progression therefore." Who cares!! It's about as interesting as a deaf goat eating grass. Yet why does the goat exist? Is he really eating the grass for nourishment, or perhaps he is caught up in his own routine not knowing the grass is there? Is the grass there? And if it is, why is it? I can't take AAAH-HH!!- it any- more. guess I'll just smile, nod, and I mean take my medicine. it can't be that bad. In the end it's just a bunch of Latin quotes and European guys with funky last names with Yet too many consonants. consonants the are why there in the first place? Do the consonants really exist? Why are they European? I Beyond beef with broccoli important. It greases - as by Lenore Skenazy Knight Ridde ' Let's hear it papers fcr Chinese food! After all, that's what Mulberry Street's Museum of the Chinese in the Americas is doing all this year - celebrating the most popular cuisine in the Skenazy household. it also hap- Coincidentally, pens to be the most popular cuisine in the world, consumed by 30 percent of humanity, according to Jacqueline Newman, editor of the Chinese food magazine, Flavor and Fortune. The most popular Chinese-America- n dish, she adds, is beef with broccoli. Yum. Sesame chicken is No. 2. Excuse me while quick call. I "... and No. 17, make a right? With the soup.' Sorry. Back to the story. Right now the museum is chock-ful- l of artifacts from General Lee's, a Chinese restaurant that had a hundred-year run in Los Angeles, catering to the likes and of Frank Sinatra Barbara Streisand. But as important as Chinese food is to Californians, to Nei?iA'ker.sl't is beybnd is the fuel it were - Now his collection includes one menu from an 1879 banquet and a 1916 Chinatown menu that looks, he says, "the same as today, except for the prices.' These go on exhibit this summer. that our whole lifestyle. Would we really be a world power if we couldn't leave all the shopping, cooking and to the local Chinese restaurant? And still get change from our bike-careeni- Salivating - er, celebrating the humble Chinese eatery may seem rather lowbrow for a highbrow institution. But not when you start to -- $20? No way. Which is why soon the museum will pay homage think about what those eateries meant to Chinese to Chinese food closer to home, by featuring one New Yorker's collection of 10,000 Chinese menus. immigrants. "Because the Chinese restaurant is ubiquitous," says museum spokesman William Chinese-American- s most Dao, are only one or two degrees away from the restaurant biz. And it was this business, along with laundering, that allowed to Chinese immigrants The only difference between archivist Harley Spiller and the rest of us is that he keeps his stack of menus under his bed, while we generally keep them closer to the phone Still, Spiller came upon his passion the same way most of us did: thrive here, despite moved to New York in 1981, and I was alone in my apartment," he says. "I heard a noise at the door, and I was scared." Tiptoeing over, he found a Chinese menu. "I had squid on it, and thought squid was only for science experiments!" recalls the Buffalo native. Equally intrigued by typos like "shrimp cooked in special chef and "stuffed stuff," he started scouting out more. "It the same time, the Chinese restaurant also At became the first place many Westerners encountered and came to love anything I . ; y" lan- guage barriers and rampant discrimination. - Chinese. - So while a bowl of wonton soup may not entirely bridge the culture gap, it's a start And, this being New' York, it's probably on the way. t . cun' ' ' ' |