At a recent staff meeting, it was revealed that our university would soon be using iTunesU. For those of you still in the dark ages, iTunes offers free programs called podcasts, which are similar to radio stations but allow you to listen to content commercial-free over the Internet. iTunes has also launched iTunesU, where universities from across the country post content online for free download and use. Places such as Stanford, Texas A&M, and Duke offer free seminars on a wide range of subjects, all available for download. My university is not public (yet), but others have been sharing content with the world since 2002.

Along with colleges and universities, organizations such as NPR, PBS, and American Public Media are posting content online through iTunesU. One category from American Public Media that caught my interest was “Environment,” which features topics such as The Ethics of Eating, Consumed: Sustainability Coverage, and Global Warming: Eco-Politics. 

Each topic area contains several downloads. The Ethics of Eating, for example, has two offerings:

Ethics of Eating by Barabara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.
Where Does Food Come From? by Michael Pollen, author of In Defense of Food.

There are also several Podcasts in the “Food” category, such as Wine for Newbies, Epicurious: Food and Drink, and Free Culinary School.

Free Content? On food, sustainability, and the environment? Very Sweet.

It’s official, economists say, the U.S. is in a recession. So now what?

While those on both sides of congress point fingers and offer opinions, those of us stuck in the middle(class) are wondering what to do next. Gas prices have been on the decline, but we have yet to see a corresponding dip in food prices and other related goods and services whose prices skyrocketed during the summer heyday of high gas prices. Now reports are surfacing that gas prices may be “on the rise” again.

“Bailout” has become a four letter word, often associated with corporate greed and dirty dealings. It seems that all business is now bad business. While some CEO’s dare to ask for multi-million dollar year-end bonuses, everyone else from office staff to laborers are facing layoffs at alarming rates. Unemployment is up, wages are down, and the rest of us are stuck in the middle.  

The verdict is painfully obvious: the economy is definitely Bitter.

Normally, I try not post unrelated items on the website, but recently a few have snuck in here and there. Rather than bog down the recipe categories, I decided to create a new outlet for these thoughts.  

Introducing Bitter/Sweet: The Blog, where I shall rant and rave about all things bitter and sweet. After each rambling, I will deliver a verdict of Bitter or Sweet, but if you disagree please feel free to comment otherwise. You can leave comments by clicking on the subject heading.

Why Bitter/Sweet? The idea actually came from James, who was throwing various names out as ideas. Bitter will include that which angers, annoys or frustrates, while Sweet will encompass the cool, awesome, or just plain neat items I find while roaming the Internet.

The posts for Bitter/Sweet will not appear on the main page, to view please click the link above in the menu bar. Bitter/Sweet is also listed as a category to the right.