Re: Eadible humans

Judy Diamondstone (diamonju who-is-at rci.rutgers.edu)
21 May 1998 16:03:26 -0000

I would very much like to meet this M. Lasagna., as you
have come to know & savor this one. If you ever travel down
this way, you are welcome to bring M. Lasagna (or
M. Fruit Salad, M. Ambrosia, M. Feijoada...) to dinner
any time. Everyone is welcome! - Judy

At 12:13 AM 5/21/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Dialoguing with a M. Lasagna: a personal tale
>by Luigi Zilli
>
>As a little boy, it took me many years until I could have a conversation
>with M. Lasagna. Blond, with a solid layered foundation, soft hart, but
>with a quite naughty mood after many hours in a high temperature, M.
>Lasagna had an exquisite character.
>
>My first contact with M. Lasagna was in my grandparents' place, during the
>usual Sunday lunch, at their backyard. Third generation Italians, their
>ancestors immigrated to Brazil in the mid nineteen century. My grandmother
>was called Nahyr, and her family use to have a pasta factory. My
>grandfather, Zizito, was a choir director and a violin player.
>
>This gatherings were social events. In between the multiple loud voices of
>these Italian lunchs (and quite silenced ones because of the dictatorship
>we were living) I've learned to appreciate my familly and M. Lasagna's
>company and also a taste for good cooking and drinking. No, children were
>not allowed to drink wine. A beverage made of water, ice, sugar, and a
>very small quantity of red wine, was specially prepaired to initiate them
>in the culture. It was fun. I miss that.
>
>During all my childhood, I never new that M. Lasagna could even speak,
>although I've always had the impression that M. Lasagna was constantly
>whispering with my gramma Nahyr. But she was the only one with whom M.
>Lasagna were close enough to talk. I could not understand why. With the
>others, including me, my brother and sister, five cousins, and many
>adults, not a single word was uttered. At least it was my impression at
>that time, because later I've learned that M. Lasagna played an important
>role in my education. In between burning fire, knife stabbings and fork
>piercings, M. Lasagna was saying a lot to me, even though I was not
>aware.
>
>I grew up, my grandparents moved to an apartment building, I graduated.
>During my undergrad, coming late at night after school, I finally started
>cooking more regularly. During that period, M. Lasagna, being a family
>friend, was finally my own guest. Only then, I've started to be aware that
>M. Lasagna could speak, and later, that a meaningful conversation could be
>established.
>
>The first dialogues were not easy. Sometimes the conversation became dry,
>very hard to continue, and even to cut and start another topic. Others
>have derivated to an extremely cheese theme, and very difficult to digest.
>But little by little M. Lasagna though me the right temperature to start a
>conversation, that the foundations of any conversation have to placed one
>by one, with juice words of agreement and with the write amount of spices
>to make that difference that makes a difference. I've listened and learned
>lessons about tomatos, wheat, and beef farming. About spoons, forks
>and knifes (in that order) , towels, dishes, glasses, water and soap and
>fire.
>
>The most important lesson was tricky, but I've learned that I could also
>speak and listen through M. Lasagna with and to my other guests. M.
>Lasagna is still with me, sometimes for lunch, sometimes for supper. It's
>a pleasure to have M. Lasagna at my place, not only because I miss my
>grandparents, all gone, but because M. Lasagna, when in a good mood, is
>very a nice company. There were other guests too I've learn to interact,
>M. Fruit Salad was friend with Zizito, my grampa, besides M. Barbecue, M.
>Ambrosia, M. Feijoada, and many others, with interesting stories to tell,
>and many things to say.
>
>But be aware, M. Lasagna has a cousin, who is also called M. Lasagna. This
>one though, is very fashionable, always come in a frozen package, and by
>the way, is dead. To make this one speak, only by ventriloquation. If you
>are trying to listen to this one, it will require a more effort, if you
>were patient enough.
>
> The end
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>What I want to address with this personal tale, is that objects, tools, or
>subjects, can also be studyed as discourse. As such, the stories we tell
>through them also have their heros and villains, secondary and main
>narratives.
>
>With technology, fantasia and reality, human and non-human, are also
>interwined, partially constructed partially discovered. Yes, computers and
>people are different, but they are part of the same narrative, our history
>as humans. To separate them is to kill the narrative. For some, people
>are alive and machines dead, for others computers are or can be alive. For
>me people are alive only within an sustainable environment which include
>artifacts. There is no life without mediation, without culture, without
>community. The pronblem is to introduce this machines thinking that they
>will not change this environment, or that they will only improve it.
>
>If we can study text as having different voices, why can't we study
>technology in the same way?
>
>Good night and sleep well,
>Luiz
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
> Luiz Ernesto Merkle merkle who-is-at csd.uwo.ca
> University of Western Ontario voice: +1 519 858 3375 (home)
> Department of Computer Science fax: +1 519 661 3515 (work)
> N6A 5B7 London Ontario Canada http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~merkle
>
>
>

Judith Diamondstone (732) 932-7496 Ext. 352
Graduate School of Education
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
10 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183