Andrew Rockman
Bio
I don't know that there is much I could say that wouldn't sound self-aggrandizing in a bio meant to steer you towards reading my work. I suppose, I should just thank you for offering your time and attention.
Stories (28/0)
Daily Reflections
08/30/2022 Tears for Fears Might Just Have Been Right “Everybody wants to rule the world” I remember, vaguely, when that video premiered on MTV. In the dining room at my grandparents’ house. The stale and sweet odor of a very polish dinner (from the night before) wafting past the Formica countertops and over the firm, food speckled flat carpeting. There was a point in our mass media culture when there were only a few channels, and everyone had the same sense of what was on. Parents and their children had MTV, for example, on for background noise. Like a picture filled novelty radio.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Journal
Daily Reflections
Out of the Trying Sham and into the Fryer There are five enemies to fryer oil: Oxygen, Water, Heat, Salt and Soap. Each one can rapidly deteriorate oil quality and hence, the taste and quality of the food fried in that oil. It is an odd irony that each of these five is essential for the human body. Okay, soap is not essential, but certainly useful for maintenance. Perhaps we should avoid ingesting something that these essential things attack as a biochemical imperative.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Journal
Daily Reflections
01/29/2022 Power in Words I like words. That tracks, as I am reasonably good at putting one word after another. As Odysseus told Achilles, “We play with the toys the gods give us”. But more than any of my paltry attempts to make magic with ink, I love that words can change things.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Humans
Daily Reflections
01/31/2022 Taking on the Ego As much as I may exalt those who work in the service industry, and rightly so, I am equally aware of some of the traps and cautionary tales. And there are many. Substance abuse, burnout, depression, and any of a number of physical maladies from stress and repetitive labor. Most of these, I have found can be mitigated with attention to one’s diet and rest schedule. Yet there is a more hidden concern I have been contemplating as of late. The Ego.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Humans
Daily Reflections
07/13/2022 The Post Amble We, the humans of this material plane, in order to reform with perfect Union, establish Oneness, insure spiritual tranquility, provide for the common connection, promote the general well-being of our fellow incarnations, and secure the blessings of Spirit to ourselves and our future manifestations, do ordain and establish this Constitution for a united states of consciousness.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Humans
Daily Reflections
06/26/2022 Brahman Noodles Some time ago, I found myself in the middle of that most stereotypical of impoverished collegiate stereotypes, making Ramen for dinner. Again. It strikes me as only mildly funny that my generation has recently become enamored with the richer and more storied actual origins and process of making real ramen. Much in the way that our obsession with charcuterie has been to justify our nostalgia for Lunchables.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Humans
Daily Reflections
01/09/2022 Everything Happens… It is fact that requires little more than anecdotal evidence to make its case, that we often do not end up where we intended. So ubiquitous is this experience, in fact, that any proper study of it would necessarily be tainted by the observer. Is it our fault that we cannot accurately and at all times predict how things will turn out for us?
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Journal
A Song From my Father
The Lesson is more reliable than the memory My father is not a proud man. Not in the traditional sense. He appears reserved, even stoic in the way people abuse the term these days. It was not until much later in life that I began to see how deep that man’s feelings ran. Still waters and all that. As anyone whose primary love language is acts of service, his affection could always be found in the doing. The effort. The meaning of which can truly be felt and measured in direct proportion to the often obscene demands on such people’s time.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Confessions
Daily Reflections
01/07/2022 Of The Straws that Didn’t Break the Camel’s Back There are days when things go wrong. No doubt. There are days when things go wrong tragically. There are also days when only little bits go wrong. Any one of these little bits might constitute a minor annoyance in and of itself. A blip. Yet, when a few or a lot of these little blips seem to pile up, it can make for a kind of slow building crescendo of frustration.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Journal
Daily Reflections
01/04/2022 Food for Thought I was never much of a scientist. In much the same manner as I am still not much of a baker. Often these two things find themselves conflated by simile in kitchens: and rightly so. While there is most definitely artistry in baking, its first principles are far more immutable than those found in other culinary disciplines. After over 30 years as a cook, I have acquired a passable knowledge of baking and a deep appreciation for its exactitude.
By Andrew Rockman2 years ago in Confessions