False dichotomies

One of my classes this semester is History of the US West. It's actually an undergrad class, but I'm allowed to take it because it's deeply connected to my research interests. I have a few different assignments than the undergrads do.

One of my required readings for this class is a new book called Pioneers in the Attic: Place and Memory along the Mormon Trail by Sara M. Patterson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020). It's interesting to me, because each chapter (except for one) begins with a statue or other feature at This Is the Place Heritage Park—you know, the place where I worked until the pandemic hit. In the book she mentions visiting the park in the summer of 2019. I worked there in the summer of 2019. Might she have come into one of the sites where I was working, and I talked to her, not knowing she was writing a book about the park? I do feel like This Is the Place isn't a very scholarly place. I'm one of the most scholarly people there, and yet I'm not a full-blown scholar.

Anyway, in the last chapter of the book is this quote: “Perhaps Mormons can start to acknowledge the tensions in their own collective memory. Perhaps this can also open the way for Mormons to celebrate their pioneer heritage while also acknowledging the imperial impulses of Manifest Destiny in which they participated” (235–36). 

YES. Exactly this. I get frustrated when people say we shouldn't celebrate Pioneer Day because of what it meant for Native Americans. Alternatively, it is frustrating when people pass on whitewashed, embellished stories about pioneers. We can honor the pioneers and still be aware of what their arrival meant for other groups. It's not an either-or. 

I really get frustrated with false dichotomies, where people present exactly two options and you have to pick one. Life is rarely so black and white; there are many shades of gray.

This got me thinking about other false dichotomies in life that are frustrating. Some of them are trivial, some of them are more important. But here are some other examples.

When I see people wearing University of Utah masks, I'm like, "Oh yeeaahhh, that's my school." It's easy for me to forget that I am literally a student there, since I haven't been on campus since I took the GRE more than a year ago. I grew up in a BYU family and a moronic rivalry culture. So part of me gets my hackles up when I see a red U. Which is totally ridiculous. You can like both schools at the same time!

This week I finally received the Biden/Harris t-shirt that I ordered several weeks ago. Unfortunately, we have a false-dichotomy political culture. When I hear Trump supporters' reasons, 95 percent of the time it's because they oppose abortion. But guess what? You can be anti-abortion and still vote for Democrats! When the choice is between a Christian who attends church and a bully who brags about groping women, the choice could not be any more obvious for a Christian, yet so many Christians are making the wrong choice. (Now, you might say this is a false dichotomy, because you can vote for a third party. In theory you are right, and I voted third party in 2012 and 2016. Unfortunately, the false-dichotomy culture has made third-party voting a waste. We cannot afford to waste any votes this year.)

I often see people who like older music complaining about music "these days." Whether they grew up in the 60s, the 80s, or the 90s, they tend to make disparaging remarks about Taylor Swift or other modern singers. Guess what? You can like what you like without disparaging other things. I once read an article that said since it is impossible to watch every movie, read every book, or hear all the music, we tend to dismiss certain genres or time periods as inherently inferior so that we don't have to invest time in them. But we can like what we like and still acknowledge that other genres have merit, even if we don't care to invest our time in them.

(Since I mentioned Taylor Swift, maybe this is a good place to update my ranking of her albums, now that folklore has been out for two months:

1. Speak Now (2010)
2. Red (2012)
3. folklore [clean version] (2020)
4. 1989 (2014)
5. Lover (2019)
6. reputation (2017)
7. Fearless (2008)
8. Taylor Swift (2006))

And some deeply religious people like to dismiss or criticize science (climate change, evolution) because they think it's incompatible with their beliefs. And some scientifically minded people similarly become hostile towards religion. But you don't have to choose! You can have both!

Finally, to end on a frivolous note, now that it's late September, more and more people have their Halloween stuff out, including figures from The Nightmare before Christmas, my favorite movie. And we frequently see debates about whether it's a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie. Pssh. The obvious answer is it's both. Most of the action takes place in Halloweentown, and most of the characters are Halloween characters, but most of the movie takes place after Halloween and it literally has Christmas in the title. 

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Sometimes I feel silly doing pumpkinundation roundup after less frivolous posts, but I did talk about Taylor Swift and The Nightmare before Christmas, so it's not like this is an ultraserious blog.

My sister didn't like the Jelly Belly Harvest Selection that she bought, so she gave it to me. It features maple-flavored walnut candies, chocolate balls, lemon-flavored corn candies, orange-flavored pumpkin candies, cinnamon candy corn, chocolate candy corn, and regular candy corn. The chocolate balls don't belong here. They are a different candy entirely from the rest, and they aren't even very good chocolate (probably because they were sitting in the same package as all the candy corn). But I do enjoy all the others. It's a bit strange to have orange-flavored pumpkins, since those pumpkins usually have the same flavor as candy corn, but I'm not complaining. The cinnamon candy corn is the best, though; it works perfectly. Jelly Belly candy corn is smoother than most candy corns. 7/10.

belVita Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Biscuits have been around for years. They are enjoyable cookie-like snacks. I wouldn't eat them for breakfast (I have too active of a lifestyle for such a low-calorie meal), but they have a nice flavor, even if it's not extremely pumpkiny. (But I can't help but wonder why they thought it was a good idea to give it a name that was so close to Velveeta!) 7/10.

I'm trying to support local, so I went to North Salt Lake's food trucks this week. (It infuriates me how many people bring their dogs, when dogs are not allowed at that park because of the splash pad. Entitled jerks!) I got Renee's Cheesecake Pumpkin Cheesecake, which is a strange thing to sell from a truck. It was as fine as any pumpkin cheesecake; not bad but not exceptional. 7/10.

I remembered that I haven't always been impressed with Bear Naked Pumpkin Spice Granola, but it was worse than I remembered. It's not very flavorful and it's very dense. It's almost like Grape Nuts. 5/10.

It's been a few years since I had a Bahama Buck's Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, but again, I'm supporting local. This is not like a Jamba Juice smoothie. I don't think a real pumpkin got anywhere near this drink. I think the "pumpkin" element is just pumpkin-flavored syrup. Lazy! It's a nice drink, but it would have been so easy to use real pumpkin puree. 6/10.

I gained more respect for the Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice Kind Bar when I read the ingredients and saw that it is actually made with pumpkin. It seems like pumpkin is an afterthought, but these are relatively healthy (for the fiber-and-protein-to-sugar ratio) and satisfying. 7/10.

The Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar is enjoyable, but I also like to get the gingerbread and carrot cake  varieties at other times of the year, so it's a little hard to distinguish from those other varieties. I often buy a big box of these in the fall, but then trail season ends at the same time pumpkin season ends, and I have leftovers, which I start eating again on the trails in the spring. So Clif Bars taste like summer to me rather than fall. 7/10.

Pumpkin Pie Kit Kats came out in 2017, and I'm glad they keep returning. They have a nice pumpkin spice flavor and scent to the coating. 7/10.

Special K Pumpkin Spice has yogurt-coated clusters mixed with Special K flakes. I love the clusters, and they settle in the box, so the later bowls are better than the early ones. (This morning I filled a bowl with cereal, then accidentally dropped the milk gallon on the bowl, flipping it exactly upside down and spreading dry cereal everywhere!) 7/10.

I got the Crumbl Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie when it was fresh out of the oven and all the chocolate was gooey. 8/10.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios is the best of all the pumpkin cereals; it has a nice, comforting pumpkin flavor. 9/10.

Of all the cookie places, Chip is my favorite, but Goodly is a close second (maybe even tied for first place). I'm sad it only has one location. Now, I consider apple pie a Thanksgiving dessert, not a Halloween dessert, so it's too early for apple pie. But I consider apple cider a Halloween treat, so I was able to get this Apple of My Pie Goodly Cookie, because it has an apple cider drizzle (and it won't be around at Thanksgiving!). It has apple pie filling in the center, and it tastes like it has oats as well. Now, as an apple cookie, I didn't think it was exceptional—but all of Goodly's cookies are amazing, including this one. 9/10.

Autumn

During my first semester of college a decade ago, I was a very good student. I was very dedicated to my studies. I didn't even watch the Vancouver Olympics at all. 

My first semester of grad school has been more of a challenge, though. After goofing off all spring and summer, it's been hard to get into the groove of devoting my time to studying.

Also, my grad-level classes are basically expensive, academic book clubs. We read books and articles and then discuss them. So it's not like I have to study for tests or submit homework. I'm not expected to read every word of the books, so it's been hard to stay motivated. 

But this week I've spent more time doing homework, and I do feel more satisfied that way. But I feel like I still don't have time to do all the things I want to do.

This truly is the best time of year. This week I had to return to the trails to see if the trees had been cleared away. 

On Monday, I went to Mueller Park, because I thought it would be more likely to have been cleared. It had been cleared, but it was still busy as usual.

The fall colors have returned!

Tuesday through Friday, I went up North Canyon, where the trees had also been cleared. On Friday, I went eight miles instead of the usual seven. I need to prepare for more long runs up there as the temperatures cool down. But the leaves keep getting better and better!

These autumn trail runs are better in the evening, but they're more convenient in the morning, so that's when I do them.

I have to tell you, as an aside, how relieved I am with Blogger. Over the last few months, they've been rolling out a new Blogger, but adding pictures was worse on the new interface. I would have to add the pictures individually if I wanted them in chronological order. I was using the old interface just because of that reason. The old interface is no longer available, but they fixed the photo issue! Phew! But I still think the new interface is not any better, and in some ways it's worse.

Last week, I was able to return to church for the first time in six months. We had to be spaced out, and there was no singing. But I didn't entirely feel comfortable with the arrangement. Now we will be meeting more often, but sacrament meeting is also broadcast via Zoom. I think I'll stick with the at-home arrangement, especially since Utah's experiencing a tremendous spike in cases. And yet Davis County wants to go back to school four days a week. I hope they make the only smart decision: NOT do that!

My family also went to the state fair yesterday to see what it was like in a pandemic. Nearly everyone was wearing masks, thankfully, in part because they're required. There were fewer entries and retail. But I still felt a bit uncomfortable with it. There was a huge line as we were leaving. Also, they encouraged people to buy tickets online, but when we got there, they seemed poorly prepared for online purchases, as though in-person tickets were the default. Why?? 

I really have a hard time having charity for the anti-mask crowd. The nicest thing I can say about them is they are dumb.

A lot of the new cases are from Utah County. I don't know all the reasons for that, and it is disappointing.

But I see this perception where people think BYU is this ultraconservative, far-right school. I went there, and that was not my experience. My Davis County friends tend to be more conservative than my BYU friends were. Most of the geology faculty at BYU are Democrats. In fact, my perception (I don't have hard data, just anecdotal evidence) is that Latter-day Saints who go to the University of Utah are more conservative than Latter-day Saints who go to BYU. (This does not apply to grad students or non–Latter-day Saints). BYU has come out with some very pro-mask studies. So quit badmouthing BYU!

Another thing that happened this week was September 15, which has been my arbitrary day to begin the Halloween season ever since I was seven years old. Sometimes I wonder, "Should I wait until, say, the autumnal equinox?" But no. I just can't wait any longer! I have started decorating for the holiday, but I still have a lot to do. It's hard when you have to do homework! But I have brought out my collection of Halloween Squishmallows.

Top row: purple and black cat, bat.
Middle row: pumpkin, mummy, ghost, witch, zombie, pumpkin, green and black cat, candy corn, monster, witch, new vampire, Frankenstein, werewolf, spider.
Bottom row: Frankenstein, old vampire, pirate pumpkin, spider, orange and black cat that flips into a pumpkin, green bat, candy corn, purple and black cat.
Not pictured: devil, bride of Frankenstein (they are both tiny and would get lost among the bigger ones)

I have also been enjoying Food Network's seasonal programming: Halloween Wars, Halloween Baking Championship, and Haunted Gingerbread Showdown. These make me want to get creative with cooking. Today I made zucchini pancakes (using homegrown zucchini), but I just followed the recipe.

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And since the Halloween season has begun, so has pumpkinundation roundup! This has been a surprisingly popular seasonal feature of this blog. I document the fall-flavored foods I have; the three biggest flavors are pumpkin, caramel apple, and candy corn.

While I document the fall flavors on the blog, I pursue seasonal flavors all year long. Earlier this year, I thought, "I keep getting these foods that I have had before, but I should instead prioritize new things." But then the pandemic hit, and my new priority is supporting local businesses. (That applies to fast food/bakeries, not to things you buy in stores.)

My first pumpkin item was the Dairy Queen Pumpkin Cookie Butter Shake on September 1. I was allowed to have it early because it was for a review. It was amazing! It had little speculoos cookie crumbs in it. 9/10.

I got Caramel Apple Jacks back in June. It should tell you something that we still had them. I think Apple Jacks are, like, the blandest of all sugary cereals. The caramel version is better than the original, but that's not saying much. It's like regular Apple Jacks with a bit of caramel flavor. 6/10.

My niece got me this Swig Pumpkin Cookie before I officially began the season, but it was close enough that I still ate it. Most pumpkin chocolate chip cookies do not have frosting. Most do not need frosting. I thought this cookie used frosting to hide the fact that the cookie itself had little flavor. 6/10.

I love getting seasonal granola bars, like these Sunbelt Bakery Pumpkin Spice Chewy Granola Bars. I like them, but the pumpkin flavor isn't very strong. 6/10.

This Candy Corn Pez is leftover from last year. I like it better than I remembered; it has kind of a butterscotch flavor. But it's still Pez. 6/10.

Thomas' makes the best grocery store bagels, so I love Thomas' Pumpkin Spice Bagels, the best pumpkin bagels I've had. They have a lovely spicy flavor and scent, with little bits of pumpkin. Since I eat so much sweet stuff this time of year, I like to mix them with savory things (this week, it was cheddar cheese and fried eggs). 9/10.

Archer Farms Candy Corn Crunch Trail Mix has been around for years. It has candy corn, honey-roasted peanuts, white-chocolate-covered pretzels, and raisins. Candy corn and peanuts are a classic combo. I think the pretzels and raisins are distracting. 7/10. 

There's a reason I have had Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts every fall since 2013. They are like the brown sugar ones, but better! They have actual pumpkin! 9/10.

The Archer Farms Rustic Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix has pumpkin seeds, various spice-covered items, and yogurt raisins. The yogurt gives the mix a tang. The spiciness can be a bit overwhelming, and the tang is a bit off-putting, but it's still fine. 6/10.

Brach's Skulls and Bones are new. They have banana-flavored skulls, regular candy corn, caramel-flavored bones, and sea-salt-chocolate-flavored candy corn. The skulls taste and feel just like circus peanuts. The bones have kind of an off-putting flavor, but I don't know why, because I have liked caramel candy corn in the past. The chocolate candy corn isn't very good. I like the classic Indian/harvest corn with the chocolate ends, but this one just tastes weird. But Brach's regular candy corn is the best candy corn. 5/10.

When I first taste the Good & Gather Pumpkin Spice Granola, it tastes like bland granola. But then the spice kicks in, and it's quite nice. 7/10.

I got the Crumbl Pumpkin Oreo Cookie last year and loved it, but it just wasn't as good this year. It's not very pumpkiny. 6/10.

Kettle Brand Apple Cider Vinegar Potato Chips are made with apple cider vinegar—which means it tastes like vinegar, but not like apple. I like Lay's Salt and Vinegar better. 6/10. 

Entenmann's Little Bites Pumpkin Muffins are enjoyable, even though they have wasteful packaging. 8/10. 

Taco Time Pumpkin Empanadas are something I like to get every year. There's pumpkin pie filling in a fried tortilla, dusted with cinnamon sugar. So simple but effective! 8/10.

I'm telling you, Caramel Apple Sugar Babies are the best Halloween candy, and I don't even like regular Sugar Babies. 10/10.

Pumpkin Pie Jelly Bellys have been around for years, but I think this is the first time they've been sold on their own. Previously they were part of a Holiday Favorites mix that included eggnog, candy cane, hot cocoa, and cranberry sauce. Unfortunately, the pumpkin pie is the worst part of that mix. It doesn't taste like pumpkin pie, even though Jelly Belly usually does a good job with authentic flavors. There's some vague spiciness, but it's more like a candle, including the wax. Spiced jelly beans are literally my favorite Easter candy, but these don't work. They at least should have mixed them with other fall flavors they have made in the past (caramel apple, candy corn). I like the softness, though, because in the summer I keep buying expired red, white, and blue Jelly Bellys, so it's nice to have them fresh. Fun fact: when I go running, I often imagine seasonal Jelly Belly flavors. Pumpkin pie is one of those flavors, but I wish they made it better. 4/10.

I got this Valued Naturals Caramel Apple Crunch from Miller's gas station. It really isn't very good. It has dried apples with a spongy texture. The mixture tastes like walnuts, even though it doesn't have walnuts, and I don't like walnuts! Even the butterscotch and vanilla chips can't save it. 3/10.

At the fair, I got this chocolate coconut caramel apple. It's certainly cute. It was very decadent, almost too much so. 7/10.