A Weekend Bout of Mycophilia: Now, Forager & Inspiration from the Dark Side

Now, Forager: Update (#5)

Hubby got his Now, Forager tee shirt back in January. It arrived just before we had all sorts of medical testing, so I neglected to share the good news. He has been wearing it nearly every day since. This makes it simultaneously super cool & super smelly. I am thinking that right about now some of you wish you had given them your lunch money. We also got a Now, Forager postcard with a very nice hand-written (!) note from Jason Cortlund, thanking us for our support. This pushes these filmakers over the top into the category of extreme awesomeness. If I don't die holding my breath, we are going to have a Now, Forager party-extreme when we get our paws on that film. All four of us.

The film & crew have had a great reception over in Europe (go figure) -- sold out screenings & lotsa good press. I could rattle off all the review websites here, but it would be best to just have you visit their Facebook page for the updates:  Now, Forager Facebook. I will, however, share a very amusing tidbit -- Julia Halpern's favourite quote from an audience member during one of the Q&A sessions: "I would like to stay for the Q&A but we have to go home and eat some cheese." 

Speaking of websites, they revamped the film's website -- it's all new & you can check it out here: NowForager.com. Finally, speaking of new, they released a NEW TRAILER & I thought I died watching it, but I am still typing, so...



If you don't know the premise of this film, here's the trailer synopsis:

"Lucien and Regina are foragers - they gather wild mushrooms in the woodlands of New Jersey and sell them to restaurants in New York. Their lifestyle is simple, their income unstable. To improve the financial security and to follow a more fulfilling personal career path, Regina decides to take a job cooking at a high-end restaurant. Lucien disapproves and instead, he proposes to give up their apartment and live as full-time itinerant foragers. As individual desires take them down divergent paths over the course of a year, their marriage slowly comes apart."

You can still see the very moving, original trailer at their website. If you haven't yet read my previous posts about this film, perhaps you would like to catch up? You can find them here: 1, 2, 3 & 4.


Inspiration from the Dark Side

While we are watching videos, I think we should take a moment to listen to more words from the wise. (That would be Paul Stamets.) I would like to thank The Dark Side of the Shroom for posting this video.

"You should eat mushrooms several times a week... you should eat a variety of mushrooms." -- Stamets

Finally, because I have been missing the fungi of late, I would like to share with you a poem by Sylvia Plath, also with gratitude to The Dark Side of the Shroom for bringing it to my attention.

Mushrooms
Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly


Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.


Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.


Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,



Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,

Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. We


Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking


Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!


We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,


Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:


We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.


Sylvia Plath

I miss you, my mycelial muses.