On Losing the ability to Speak
A woman in Diafarabe, Mali, holds her brilliant yellow scarf against a deep blue African sky.
Category: Nonsense
Dad-isms: Dark and only spoken in the shadows
bought raison read. There’s a raison we like it.
Andrew’s arborist yesterday pruned his tree. I told him that was tree-rific.
Did you leave some bread in the toaster? What is your raisin for this?
What is the most friendly plant? Aloe
to daughter, allergic to cheese:
D: How was that
F: Gouda, Cheese up pease
Street Meat in China, Japan and Toronto
Yangrou chuanr, mutton kebobs, Chinese street meat
It takes very little for me to have flashbacks of eating street meat in places I’ve lived or visited, namely China, HK and Japan. The mere whiff of an exotic spice can easily send me off to places past, transforming me from here to where I’ve been. I literally lose track of what I am doing and will walk off to chase a scent down. Now that I live in Toronto, Canada, where multiculturalism has evolved to mind expanding lengths, I become easily impatient with our city politicians as they dither about what is acceptable street food offerings to Torontonians. Here’s a novel idea: Let anyone offer food on the street and let the general public decide what they want to eat. Make it easy to get a licenses, enforce strict health rules, and punish those that are unclean. That, however, would be too easy.
Seattle PI Ceases Production. It’s a Pity.
Seattle PI Globe, AP Photo/ Elaine Thompson
It is with deep regret that today, March 17 2009, the Seattle Post-Intellingencer has written its own obituary and ceased production of its paper version. In business from 1863-2009, the 146-year old Seattle newspaper served more than 117,600 weekday readers. While the online version will continue, the PI has layed off 90% of its reporters, whittling its staff down to 20 reporters, a shadow if its former self. The PI will certainly be missed.
Female Cochineal Beetle and your Food
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Interesting. Here’s an organic additive that creates deep and rich reds for your food or cosmetics. Ground up female cochineal beetles. I’ll be looking for these 5mm critters the next time I go shopping and begin reading packaging ingredients. ___Yes, the ingredient is called cochineal, carmine (carminic acid), or E120. Because beetles are insects it is not considered kosher, halal, or vegetarian. Some people can have allergic reactions to it, as was televised by “60 Minutes”. Yes, this kid almost died of anaphylactic shock. I’m always amazed at what is put into our food that we don’t know about. As usual, Canadian labeling laws do not give you any indication of its origins. While I do not have an aversion to eating bugs (they make a great supplemental protein source), I know most other people do. Cochineal can also be used as organic ant repellent. ___It is interesting that “60 Minutes” omitted to tell us of the long history of this dye and its stellar safety record. There was much sensationalism in the story, as if this was a new additive used by evil food manufacturers to poison us all. So much for unbiased reporting. |
 Female cochineal are flat, wingless, 5mm long, oval shaped scale insects. Dried and crushed they make an all natural, deep red dye for food and cosmetics |
The Death of a Chinese Ox
It is with no great fanfare that one marks the passing of an ox or water buffalo. No, there is no sentimentality for a beast of burden. Straining under a lifetime of heavy lifting, cut up and scarred by a heavy wooden collar, common scrapes of life as well as the constant bites by mosquitoes. Who takes a second look at a beast of burden?
___However old and ugly, the beast still pulls, pulling until it drops out of sheer exhaustion. One final look of serenity overcomes him as he rests after a full life of labour, never to pull again. If you ask him he would not complain, for he pulls for us, forever devoted to a higher cause that I cannot understand. Stupid ox, he cares not for himself.
Polish Immigrant Killed by RCMP
A picture is worth a thousand words. This everyday saying was proven true when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s national police force, shot and killed a newly arrived Polish immigrant at the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.
Robert Dziekanski did not deserve to die a violent death by the RCMP
___Here is the intro from today’s Globe and Mail:
A bulletproof vest, handgun, baton and pepper spray were not enough to quell the fear RCMP Constable Kwesi Millington says he felt when confronted by Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski during a fatal October 2007 incident at Vancouver airport.
Some of Life’s Simple Pleasures
Some of life’s simple pleasures need not cost much money, but can put the heart at ease. One may always reach and strive for more worldly possessions, but is this a true measure of success?
Simple pleasures:
- Hearing laughter that follows tears
- Baking cookies in the afternoon
- Riding bikes in the winter
- Dodging water drops as it starts to rain
- Warm wind on your face
- Climbing to the top
- Hearing snow crunch beneath your feet
- The trickle of water flowing through the downspout
- Working the system to get better food for your family
- Talking to friends