the "hispanic" fallacy

so, while this doesn't make nate silver any less one of my imaginary boyfriends, i though it worthwhile to point out how even the smartest analysts are at the mercy of the problematic "hispanic" fallacy.

i was reading some fivethirtyeight posts about sotomayor's nomination, and i came across this post, where nate debunks the idea that "non-white hispanic" voters are more opposed to marriage equality than white voters.

so, although i really like the point silver's making, and wouldn't be able to question his actual math even if i wanted to, i (legitimately or not) decided to cherry pick this to bring up a major issue in the way we think about voting blocs and race as a whole. maybe this is just my inherent qualitative (anthropological) bent, but isn't a far more interesting and telling question the ways that opinions among "hispanics" differ? the category "non-white hispanic" is almost useless, really, for predictive purposes. there is such a world of difference among the experience and political calculus of, say, a first generation chicano voter in southern california, a second generation voter of cuban descent in miami, and a self-identified newyorican whose grandparents moved to the states 60 years ago, that it seems pretty inadequate to talk about some mythical category of "non-white hispanics" as a coherent voting bloc.

to be fair, it isn't like it's silver's fault. it's what he's got to work with. race in the united states is a deeply-ingrained, all-encompassing, and oversimplified category-creating discourse perpetuated by everything from talking heads on CNN to the way we apply for our driver's licenses. it just seems that in a nation where, for instance, the "non-white hispanic" population is increasing in size and diversity, that we can't rely on these overly broad categories to accurately tell us anything important about the way we and our fellow citizens actually behave. or perhaps more to the point, our continued reliance on these categories of understanding tells us a lot, and none of it comforting, about the way we continue to behave towards our fellow citizens.

k-k-k-k-k-k-kathmandu

i assume that no one reads this blog except for my friends...well, mostly my mother, actually. in any case, most people reading this will have been a party, to a greater or lesser degree, to my last several months of insanity as my plans for next year came together.

for those of you who haven't been filled in on every detail as it comes, i won't bore you with it now, but i wanted to tell everyone that, barring a couple of hoops i'm still jumping through, i am, in fact, moving to nepal next year.

i'll be moving to kathmandu for a year (maybe longer?) and doing sustainable development work in rural areas. my departure date isn't totally set yet, but it'll be sometime in july. 'til then, i'll be in new haven until mid-june, and then on the cape until i leave.

i've actually already had my first travel prep related adventure. i went to costco the other day to buy food for a huge dinner party and, after being told at orientation that condoms are hard to come by in nepal, i thought it would be advisable to stock up, right? well, it's not every day that the question "do you sell condoms in bulk?" meets with an unblinking "sure. they're on sale". i sort of boxed in the 3 boxes (yes, some might say that 120 condoms is excessively optimistic) with some produce, more out of instinct than active shame. however, i definitely set another gold standard for awkwardness when the scanner broke down right before the condoms, resulting in at least three costco employees thinking that i was planning a very health dinner party...and a very safe orgy.

anyway, i'm psyched to be able to report back to you all on my attempts to learn nepali, my first taste of yak, my new apartment in kathmandu, and all my other adventures. hope i get to see you all before i go!

my gazpacho brings all the boys to the yard.

that's right, it's better than yours.

it's true; i talk a HUGE game about my gazpacho (a cold veggie soup in a tomato-based broth, for the uninitiated), but i think it's warranted. it got a great response at a dinner party i just had, and a bunch of people asked for the recipe, so i figured i would post it (and simultaneously re-start keeping this blog up to date!).

gazpacho
so, first, my two part gazpacho manifesto:
first: thou shalt not blend.
blending gazpacho is for the weak. if you take care with your broth, there's no need to blend.
second: thou shalt let your gazpacho rest.
the great thing about gazpacho, like chili, is that it gets better with some time to rest. it's convenient, too, because you can make a huge amount of it, in advance, and eat it for days.

the broth is easy, but like so many other recipes i post, it's a matter of taste. i don't make it the same way every time, so i've just put down the basic ingredients, with approximate measurements for this last batch. it'll be up to you to find a balance you like. just whisk together V8 (2 bottles), veggie broth (1/2 carton), olive oil (a few tablespoons), lemon juice (4 medium sized lemons), hot sauce (i used 1/2 bottle of green tabasco), salt, pepper, and cumin. re: the cumin, i think it gives the spiciness a nice bottom note, but then again, i once put cumin in biscotti, so i'm pretty much an outlier when it comes to cumin use.

chop into medium bits: carrots, tomatoes (take out the seeds and goo with your thumbs), cucumber (unpeeled), green pepper. cook some onions and a few cloves of garlic, until the onion's a bit soft. let the gazpacho chill in the fridgee for up to 24 hours.

oven roast some corn on the cob (husked) at about 375 or 400 (depending on your oven); slice off the kernels and mix them in just before serving. don't skimp with the veggies, there should be tons.

garnish with avocado, cilantro, more hot sauce, toasted sunflower seeds, sour cream or greek yogurt, or anything else you like.