01 October 2024 - CFL, Say It Ain't So!

Well, the mighty leaders of the Canadian Football League have foolishly decided that their game is inferior to that played on the NFL gridiron. Accordingly, they plan to change the field size, to restrict the scoring of the rouge, and a host of other rule changes aimed at making the CFL an NFL-Lite, as it were.

Don't they realise that there already is an NFL-Lite league in the US? After all, what is the UFL - what remains of the two other recent failed attempts at adding a league, the USFL (redux) and the XFL - if not just a minor league version of the NFL?

Surely there's room for an actually Canadian game in Canada, eh? Perhaps I'm taking this too personally, but when the powers that be attack my own favourite flavour of football my hackles can't help but raise themselves.

Good grief: they didn't even consult the owners, players, or fans - they just assumed they knew best and went ahead and announced the demise of the Canadian game.

Join me and thousands of other fans by signing this online petition to postpone (at least!) these rule changes:

https://chng.it/g576CbZ5qB

 Here's hoping there will be enough of a groundswell to convince these folks to leave our game alone!

Oskee Wee Wee!

 

21 August 2025 - A Plea for Capitalization

 When, Dear Reader, when did the world stop capitalizing 'Earth' when it's a proper noun?

Earth is the place - the planet - while earth is the soil - dirt.

It's not difficult to understand. I don't see articles on trips to mars, but rather to Mars - as is only proper (pardon the pun). Even plaster of Paris gets its capital P.

What has the Earth done to English speakers to relegate it to a second-class status?

Please, I implore you, stop this madness!

 

grr 

04 January 2025 - Quantum Disentaglement

 This is the anniversary of a very important event in the history of quantum physics. 

On 04 January 1961, Erwin Schrödinger's cat, Lagerung, burst out of his box and observed his master's state, thus determining that Schrödinger was dead.
 

A New Song for the "Season" - 30 December 2024

 This song was "composed" while walking my dog, Billie, through the non-stop rain yesterday; just one day after taking two walks in the gorgeous sunshine and near-60F (15C) temps the previous day.

It's Refusing to Look at All Like Christmas (apologies to Meredith Wilson)

It's refusing to look at all like Christmas,
Anywhere I go;
There are puddles of rain all 'round
Deep enough mice have drowned.
For safety's sake we skirt them all, you know.

It's refusing to look at all like Christmas,
soon we'll need a torch.
But the saddest thing, you know,
is the sodden box they throw
on your own front porch.

A pair of hip-wader boots
or a big bumbershoot,
is the outfit now holding sway
If rain turned to snow, then the puddles we know
could be white and cushion a sleigh,
And Mom and Dad keep telling us
it snowed more in their day.

It's refusing to look at all like Christmas -
Rain and gloom all day.
All the water that's in the street,
Soaking our freezing feet,
It gives us chills that just won't go away.

It's refusing to look at all like Christmas,
soon we'll need a torch.
But the saddest thing, you know,
is the sodden box they throw
on your own front porch.

© 2024 Charles van Becelaere

Looking Forward to Spring - 11 December 2024

I'm already hard at work on enhancing our harvest with some new hybrid crops for our 2025 garden.

This should go well, as I have the help of my Garden G(e)nome!

Heirloom hybrids, here we come!

Coinage du Jour - 03 December 2024

mal de merde (n.)

Illness due to consumption of food or beverage containing e. coli bacteria.

Example:

After eating the contaminated lettuce at the ship's salad bar, John felt quite ill, suffering from mal de merde.

Life Imitates Art ... Again - 26 Jul 2024

 It's amazing how well films used to predict their futures (back before they all became vehicles for berating their audiences, anyway) - especially comedies.

I've been thinking of the 1996 film, "My Fellow Americans" recently, especially this scene with the sitting Vice President addressing two former Presidents. Uncanny.

The Results Are In! - 03 January 2024

 As you can imagine (just look at these pictures if you have trouble), I get a lot of comments and questions about our dog, Billie, when we're walking around town. "What a beautiful dog!" "What a strange looking dog!" "What kind of dog is that?" "Is that a dog or a goat?" and on and on they go.

Well, after telling folks (pretty much at random) that she's a mutt, or a rescue, or a Canardly (as in you canaradly tell what kind of dog she is), or a Flemish Pointing Griffon, we decided it was time to get her DNA checked. 

We were really hoping there was no fainting goat in her background, and we were overjoyed to find out she came back 100% pure canis familiaris. That should put the questions to rest, I think.

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.

A la Recherche d'une Livre Perdu - 18 November 2022

 My title today is only partially appropriate. I've actually just come across a tale I'd read in my youth (I know it was more than 50 years ago based on where I had read it) and realised why I was enjoying this collection of the stories of The Thinking Machine so thoroughly.

My maternal grandparents had a cottage on Rifle Lake in the southernmost part of what we'd call Up North here in Michigan. When the weather was less than encouraging of watery activities, I would take to the front room and read from the various books that lived there. Most were Reader's Digest condensed books, along with some actual Reader's Digest magazines, but Grandpa did have a remarkably thick book of great detective stories which was often my choice in these situations.

As I'm nearing the end of the aforementioned collection of Thinking Machine stories, I've come to "The Problem of Cell 13" - it's the one I remember as my first exposure to Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen, aka the Thinking Machine. What great fun.

Oh, and the reason for today's title? Today is the centenary of the passing of Marcel Proust, author of "À la recherche du temps perdu," among other light writings.

09 November 2022 - May God Have Mercy

 Well, Michigan, the State which has never had capital punishment for convicted murderers, nor for anyone, has now enshrined death in its State Constitution with the passage of Proposal 3.

Well done, folks. May God have mercy on us all.

05 October 2022 - Now for Something Completely Different

 What a momentous week in history we're currently astride!

Yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of the launch of the first (known) artificial satellite around the Earth - Sputnik I. That was quite a kick in the pants for America's German scientists to get to work and beat the Soviets' German scientists in the great Space Race. "Nazi Schmazti," said Werner von Braun.

Ah, but today marks the 53rd anniversary of the premiere of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on BBC1. No doubt all those watching realised that it truly was something completely different.

Further, today would have been the 193rd birthday of the 21st President of these United States, Chester Alan Arthur. He's probably best-known among those of us in the know for his famed climb to the top of the bedroom wall where he thrust his defiance at the Javanese and shouted, "Give me them, or I'm going over there!"

Let the celebrations roll!

RIP HRH Elizabeth II - 16 September 2022

I'm late in posting this, but I did want to post a thought or two here on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

It will seem very odd the next time we're in London. We've gotten quite used to strolling past Buckingham Palace and seeing the warm glow of the Queen's telly in the window, wondering just what she was watching. Might it have been The Great British Baking Show? Perhaps The Repair Shop? (that would have my vote) One assumes that even the royals have to pay their TV license fee in order to watch, so it's good to know they were there with the hoi polloi (I know that has a double definite article, it's simply standard usage.)

The other oddity will be seeing something like CR III on the gates rather than ER II. As we have a friend whose initials are E.E.R-R. we always construed this as having the 2 distribute over the E and R, making E2R2 or EERR. Now all we'll have is a Star Wars reference: C3PO (Charles III, Palace Occupant).

Seriously, Elizabeth had been queen for the entirety of my life, and she really seemed to be the ideal monarch: one who cared about her Nation and her People; one who actively engaged with her subjects as well as the important matters of the day, and with loyalty, grace, and honour. She will be missed. One can only hope the king will be better than I fear he will.

The Queen is dead, long live the King.

Do They Realize? - 08 September 2022

 

 

 

 

I have my doubts that our ruling class realize what they're telling us. Frankly, I'm not sure they realize much of anything - for them it's all a game with us as the pieces on the board.

Anyway, the endless drive to forgive student loans because those who took them out cannot afford to pay them is nothing but a statement that a college education is a bad investment. Today's "leaders" see college/university education as merely a more advanced job training. Given that view, if the jobs that result are not lucrative enough to pay for the required training, only a fool would make that choice.

Even setting aside the obvious unfairness of forcing payment of these loans by folks who have either paid their own debts or who didn't take out any loans in the first place, we're faced with the conclusion that a college/university degree is a very bad investment indeed. It seems that only those who didn't bother with it are capable of paying for it - and that for the purported benefit of others.

Clearly the whole scheme is insane and immoral. Whether it's illegal or unconstitutional remains to be seen.

I hate living in a kleptocracy.