From Coast to Coast - 16 November 2023

Today is the anniversary of the 1885 execution of Louis Riel, the Métis "father of Canadian confederation."

It's not unusual in many towns across the country to find "a piece of the rope" used to hang Riel. In fact, these rope pieces are so common that it's said that if they were laid end to end, they would reach from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia.

A fitting, if somewhat grisly remembrance of one who has come to be seen as a patriot, despite having been convicted of and executed for treason.

Democrats Surrender Michigan - 07 June 2023

It's becoming more and more obvious that the Democrat Party are no fans of the US Constitution, nor of federalism in general.

As the latest case in point, Michigan Democrats are trying to surrender the votes of Michiganders to the whims of those living in other states.
Bills currently under consideration in the Michigan State legislature would turn voting on its head. Rather than awarding our Electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote in Michigan, they want to award them to the national popular vote winner. In essence, they are disenfranchising Michiganders in favor of the other forty nine States.
 

We've long known that they are desperate to dismantle the Electoral College - the only remaining protector of federalism, really - because "it's not fair" or other such inanity. Now we see how they plan to do just that, one State at a time.

Frankly, there is no justification for this, other than the fear that a Republican (as did Trump) might win in Michigan, but not overall, and they can't stomach the idea of allowing the citizens of Michigan to express their will, should it not be to elect a Democrat.

Good grief. This State is being run by Idiots and Traitors.

18 April 2023 - Hardly a Man

 Looking at the two "today in history" kinds of sites I frequent, I'm struck that it seems hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year. 

On the 18th of April in 1775, Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn that the British were coming; and yet, neither of my sites mention this event. The one goes from the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 directly back to the starting of construction on St. Peter's Basilica in 1506. Those 400 years apparently had nothing of historical note that happened on 18 April.

Ah, but we know better, do we not?

Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere!

Nintendo Made Me Do It! 07 April 2023

A new Super Mario Brothers movie is out this weekend. Sadly, it's not live action. Back in the day we had Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi, but now it's all pixels - as if these guys don't really exist or something!

Well, for those who crave something more rooted in reality than this computer-generated animation, here's a link to some wonderfully creative, live-action Mario-ing!

You're welcome. Now, Enjoy!

In a World Gone Mad - 31 March 2023

 Yes, in a world gone mad, it must be time for an uplifting, jolly distraction.

Thus, submitted for your enjoyment, Spike Jones and His City Slickers in a fabulous performance from 1964. Really, there's no need for any explanation beyond this paraphrase of Spike, "Music is noise, so anything that makes noise can be used to make music in my band."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/AY8kvQ074P0

 Enjoy!

Carnage du Jour - 11 March 2023

Pork loin - not tenderloin this time, but the loin was definitely tender!

My flavour consultant reminded me yesterday that I hadn't posted this. Not directly, mind you, but rather by asking for some details of the cooking for his effort at replication. 

Thus:
I had a 3.77 lb pork loin (1.7kg for the metrically-minded) and we were hosting some family.
Heidi had bought a few bunches of golden beets (If you've not tried them, you should know they're a wonderful vegetable. If you have tried them, then you already know they're a wonderful vegetable.), and had par-cooked the greens and stems.

Well, how about a stuffed pork loin, then? I sautéed some diced onion, sliced mushrooms, and then added the greens. These were seasoned with some nutmeg, salt, and pepper. The final touch was the addition of a bit of cream cheese: that was the stuffing.

Having sliced down the middle of the loin nearly all the way, I then covered it with plastic wrap and applied my meat mallet to flatten it out a bit. The pork was seasoned with salt and pepper, then the stuffing was spooned in and the loin closed around it. Three bits of twine and a few wooden skewers held everything in place.

Into its roasting pan I added about 1/4C of dry vermouth and a splash of Amontillado from the cask (just kidding about the cask), tented it with some aluminum foil, and into a 325F oven (~165C) it went for just about two hours.
I had thought it would take longer, but I checked the meat with my instant read thermometer (a kitchen necessity!) to find the roast was done.

While it rested, I put the golden beets back in the oven (I had cleverly roasted them at 400F to nearly done before cooking the pork) just to reheat. I also made a quick slurry of cold water and cornstarch and turned the liquid in the pan into a delicious gravy.
I know we had something else with these two things, but I can't recall right now - when I do I'll come back and update the post.

At any rate, this was one of the most successful roasts chez nous in recent memory.
Highly recommended!

 

PS - On this date in history, 22 March 1903, Niagara Falls ran dry due to a drought. Pretty amazing to imagine that, eh?

R.I.P. Shame and Humility

Yes, shame and humility seem officially dead (at the very least they're on extended life support).

As regular readers of this blog likely know, I'm not a big sports follower. I have a few teams or sides whom I follow, mostly in non-mainstream sports, at least for these United States. (The EPL is getting so popular I may have to find a different sport or league to follow {sorry Spurs and Wolves}, but the CFL is still mostly unknown here, so my support for the Ti-Cats is safe for now.)

Still, when there talk of Pistol Pete Maravich's scoring record being broken with scarcely any talk of the vast number of asterisks that would be needed, well, let's just say my blood will soon pass 99C, shall we?

Pete played in the era where all field goals were worth two points (no three pointers at any distance - the only three-point play was to score while being fouled and make your free throw), and where there were only four years of college - but freshmen didn't play varsity sports. So ... in three seasons (with fewer games per season than now) with no three-pointers, and with no shot clock (that abomination!) meaning teams could stall, Pete put up an amazing number of points. He also was one of the greatest passers of all time.

Now, along comes a player who managed in five years (that's 144 games as opposed to the 83 games Pete played) with three point shots to nearly equal Pete's three-year total, and the talk is of his school's buying its way into a tournament (with a losing record, for goodness's sake!) to let him set the new scoring record. Have they no sense of history? of shame? of humility? or at least some respect for the sport? Apparently not. 

Were I in that player's position, I like to think I would tell the school not to embarrass itself by buying its way in; and that, if they did, I would sit on the bench or at least miss any shot I was forced to take. (As I said, I hope I would do that - I know the temptation would be great. That's why there are supposed to be adults in charge of the school and the team - to do what's best for the students. Oh, I forgot; we don't really have student athletes competing for their schools anymore - it's all about the sport and going pro as soon as economically advantageous, all while trying to score some big NIL bucks. Good grief, no wonder I don't follow any college sports anymore.)

Here's a excerpt from an excellent article over at FanBuzz: (link to full article)

Pete Maravich's college career was nothing short of incredible. Perhaps the most astounding factor of his time at LSU is the 3-point shot had yet to be introduced in college basketball. Pistol's game was unique for his time because he loved shooting from outside and a lot of his shots would've been worth more had the arc been in play.

It's estimated Maravich would've averaged 57 points per game with the 3-point line. Absurd.

Since freshmen were forbidden to play at the varsity level during Pete's time, his freshmen year scoring totals didn't count towards his career numbers. Had they counted the 741 points he scored on the freshmen team, he would've scored 4,408 points in his four-year career. Additionally, the shot clock had yet to be invented, allowing teams to stall and restrict opposing possessions.

Pete Maravich is the greatest scorer college basketball has seen. His ball-handling wizardry, shooting ability and baggy socks are cemented in the sport's lore. Pistol was always locked, loaded and ready to fire from anywhere on the court.

Exactly. Asterisks for three v. five seasons, 83 v. 145+ games, three point shots, shot clocks, etc.

Grr.