Local Grower and Baker Lisa Rayner and the Art of Bread and Canning
November/December 2015
Growing up, one of my fondest holiday memories is storming through our front door after school, ripping off snowy clothes and pounding up the stairs to help my mother bake cookies. She was serene in her element, rolling out spicy creations, like zimtsterne or cinnamon stars, reminiscent of her native Black Forest home. Rounds of baking produced myriad treats, which Mom plattered, festooned with ribbons and presented as gifts. Continue reading “The Art of Preservation”
October 21, 2015
Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins
At the beginning of the 19th century, Jatinegara became a busy transportation hub. Pausing on a pedestrian bridge over car-choked Jl. Raya Bekasi Barat, it has only grown busier—from markets, burgeoning onto the roadway, to buses and trains. The railway station began as the main connection east to Bandung, and its Dutch Colonial heritage building, designed by S. Snuyff, was constructed in 1910. Continue reading “Jatinegara, The Might of the State”
A mix of cultural influences and media on Java’s North Coast
October 6, 2015
Story & Photographs by Gail G. Collins
When one looks to Mount Ciremai, with scudding clouds against a sapphire sky, it is impossible to miss the trademark design of Cirebon’s batik. Its bright, spare ground with clean, curling lines and graduated hues on fine cotton is unmistakable. The seaport town of 350,000 people on the north coast of Java has long been a trading and cultural hub. Only a three-hour train ride from Jakarta, it siphons off the overflow of Bandung tourists and has become a pleasant diversion in its own right with four- and five-star hotels. Continue reading “Discovering Cirebon: A Haven of Handicrafts”
September 7, 2015
Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins
Indonesia’s traditional healing through plants is called jamu. Myth and closely-guarded recipes cloud what has been standard, holistic care since prehistory. The theory is based in the idea that if disease comes from nature, then the cure must come from there as well. Today’s pharmaceuticals are synthetic compounds based in medicinal plants, and slowly, research is confirming what generations have long believed: jamu heals the body. A U.S. 2011 study by Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology confirmed the soursop tree’s preventative properties, related to breast cancer. Continue reading “Jamu—Herbal Healing”
September/October 2015
Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins
Latin American cuisine—it transcends national borders, yet finds its personality regionally. From South American countries like Argentina, Peru and Chile, north to Mexico, plus the Caribbean countries of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Latin food is more about cooking style and native crops than nationalities. Climate, altitude and history shaped the recipes. This means dishes evolve as one travels from the seashore to inland areas and the mountains. Maize, peppers, beans, ancient grains and Spanish-influenced rice mix with beef, chicken and pork as well as seafood in coastal locales.
Science Curriculum Brings Science in Real Time to Cy-Fair Classrooms
Fall 2015
When Paul Gignac was a student, science came into his classroom via satellite broadcasts and JASON Learning. An enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) was fostered through role models in those fields, who reached out to kids in real time. It was interactive learning at its motivating best. In fact, Gignac applied and was selected in 1997 as a JASON Project Student Argonaut in a science immersion camp. He credits those life-changing experiences as the impetus to earn advanced degrees and become a crocodile and dinosaur paleontologist. Gignac teaches the next generation of doctors at the University of Oklahoma, performs research in the lab and field, and acts as a STEM role model with JASON. Other former JASON learners, geochemist Katie Inderbitzen and oceanographer and archeologist Mike Brennan, also reach out to future STEM career-minded students as JASON role models. Continue reading “JASON Learning—Education through Exploration”
Beck Junior High principal combines fun, high standards, and enthusiasm to help her students discover the joy of learning
Fall 2015
Some days when Principal Carra Fleming steps into the halls of Beck Junior High School, she had pink hair—and it suits her. Executive educators from another era sat tucked away in offices where kids visited only when they had misbehaved. Today’s principals greet kids as they enter schools, to build relationships focused on positive outcomes. Like Fleming, they join fundraising activities, whose high earners receive a blast of hair color spray. Continue reading “Passionate Principal Carra Fleming”
August 11, 2015
Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins
When poking into stalls on Jalan Surabaya, an old saying comes to mind: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Regardless of how you feel about Chinese porcelain or Led Zeppelin vinyl, the antique market, or Pasar Antik, is a shady, half-kilometer browse in Menteng. As the previous seat of government, the area boasts upscale, tree-lined, residential streets. The traditional market was born in the mid-70s through entrepreneurial spirit and a good idea. It grew from a weekend event to daily standard shopping hours. Officially opened by Ali Sadikin, then-governor of Jakarta, the antique shops took the place of Kota Tua’s traveling traders. Many of the stalls are run by the next generation of owners. Continue reading “Jalan Surabaya—Treasures and Trinkets”
Kicks on Route 66 Breaks Conventions and Elevates Dining in Williams
July/August 2015
Regulars who travel Interstate 40 through Williams might have noticed that the highway sign for the decades-long mainstay of Denny’s on the west side of town is no longer there. As it turns out, the chain eatery had transformed into Kicks on Route 66, with such an abundance of fresh, inviting fare as to make it a dining destination. That is the secret ingredient independent restaurants can offer—choice. Often, local sourcing, scratch cooking or seasonal menus can offer customers an adventurous culinary reason to return. Continue reading “Dining Gets Unchained”
After losing her son in a tragic car crash in 2006, Katy mom Carol Levin is on a mission to end drunk driving
Summer 2015
“It’s as bad you think it is,” Carol Levin says, describing the loss of her son to a drunk driver, “but he was an amazing person, and we’ll live his life in the best way we can—we need that.” It’s why Levin got involved with Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD).
Todd Levin was 28 years old and was planning on proposing to his girlfriend Ralynne Healey soon. The couple was returning from a sports activity and dinner out. Todd never drove under the influence, and Healey was training for the Olympics as a figure skater and didn’t drink at all. On September 25, 2006 at 10 p.m., a drunk driver shot through a red light at 85 mph in a 35 mph zone. The impact was severe. Suffering two skull fractures and a crushed chest, Todd was killed instantly. Healey died on the way to Ben Taub Hospital. The driver was nearly twice the legal limit and didn’t stop to render aid. Continue reading “Mothers Against Drunk Driving”
