Pan Dulce

Pan dulce is definitely one of my favorite foods. In fact, my Instagram name is inspired it. Those cold nights spent eating bread and drinking hot chocolate with my family are the best. Even just waiting and figuring out which ones I wanted was, and still is, an adventure. Each one has its own texture, smell, and taste

Pan dulce translates to sweet bread in English. Even though it is considered to be a Mexican cuisine, pan dulce originated from the Spaniards and the French bringing the tradition of wheat-flour pastries. Some of the most commonly known bread are conchas (shells), marranitos (pigglets), and orejas (ears). Some pan dulce are even associated with holidays and traditions. Pan de muerto (bread of the dead) is associated with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Rosca de Reys is associated with Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day).

Week 9

 “Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will--tomorrow”

― Gloria Pitzer

This was a rough week for me personally. I've been kind of sluggish lately. Luckily I was able to catch a break this weekend. My family, some friends, and I took my little brother to an indoor playground. Later we watched the rest of the world series game between the LA Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. So far the Dodgers are in the lead with today's win. I'm planning on getting back into the swing of things next week. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and don't forget to take a day off once in a while.

The Brain

 

I was watching a show that introduced brain trauma into the story line. The character suffers an injury and pretty much forgets who he is. This led me to start thinking about the brain. The brain is an extremely complex and fragile organ. There are billions and billions of nerve cells and nerve fibers with trillions of connections. The slightest injury can change a person's thinking. Injuries can  even change the emotions and memory of a person. I remember learning about a man named Phineas Gage in high school. A metal rod had gone through his head. After recovery, there were reports of his personality changing completely like becoming impulsive and using extensive amounts of profanity. Later observations say he reverted to his normal behaviors.

Made

This week I want to write about one of my favorite song artists, Eddie Zuko. His real name is Heriberto Xavier Culebro. Like me, Eddie was born in SoCal. My friend had recently introduced me to his songs. 

My favorite song from him is "Made." The lyrics shown below are a part of that song and remind of when I was younger. It talks about how when he would visit his grandma she would make food. Since his grandmother is religious, she taught him to pray before eating. Saturday mornings was when he woke up early to watch cartoons. Since it gets hot during the summer he cooled down using the hose.

"Chillin at my Nanas eatin a lil sopita,

'Andale come come caliento mas tortillas,

Ay ay ch ch mijo no te olvides,

Siempre dale gracias a diosito pa este dia', yeah yeah

Saturday morning used to watch caricaturas,

Get wet outside with la manguera,

You know it's too hot."

Eddie Zuko - "MADE" Music Video

Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis

 

Nature can be both frightening and astonishing. This can even be said about fungi. I remember a video I saw about Cordyeceps on social media. It can turn ants into "zombies." According to National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com), the fungus infects an ant and slowly gains control of its body. After a while, the ant's insides are slowly eaten. Once the host is dead a column of fungus is sprouted out  of the body. Scientists believe that Ophiocordyceps doesn't want to infect every ant. Instead, the reason is for population control.