Antique Tools

I found this near-century-old English fork and spade at an antique dealer. Sheffield steel (I was told), smooth, well-worn ash handles (T-handle on the fork, D-handle on the spade). Well used -- nice to think of all the dirt and potatoes they turned in their time. Notice how short they are -- witness to generally shorter people in the 1920's? Or perhaps because they were made for small, kitchen gardens, a step up from hand tools? I won't use them, but will clean them (probably leave the crumbs of English soil lodged in the top of the spade blade around the handle), oil the wood, and hang them on the wall as a silent testament to man's first pleasurable occupation: keeping the Garden. And the wounds on the wood and metal as a grievous testament to man's second, harder challenge: coaxing "plants of the field" by "painful toil" in competition with the "thorns and thistles," out of a cursed landscape. I will pretend my maternal English Blackburn/Draper ancestors used them for fun and profit.

Stamp on the fork: "Brades Skelton, Made in England"

Stamped on the spade: "Made in England, Parkes Diamond Steel"

November Tomatoes and Peppers

A pleasure to still be getting tomatoes and peppers from the yard in mid-November:

Definition of "Shin"

A shin is a device for finding furniture in the dark.

New Web Browser

A totally new web browser for social networking has been in development the last couple of years and is beginning to be released in Beta. (It's interesting that the web/social networking has changed a lot in recent years, but browsers really haven't.) It's called RockMelt -- you have to sign up for it on Facebook on their page. (Note: for Macs, works only on Intel-based machines.) Here's a look:

Feeling Better About Bittman

I have been less than enthusiastic (critical) about food writers like Michael Pollan and the New York Times' Mark Bittman for several reasons, not the least of which has been their unwillingness (in my opinion) to speak more honestly about what they know to be true: that consuming plant foods is a key ingredient in solutions to world-level issues like the healthcare crisis, world hunger, and ecology. I'm feeling better about Mark Bittman (not yet so much about Michael Pollan). In a recent (Oct 18) culinate.com interview here is what Bittman said:

Now I have some kind of philosophy: We should all be eating more like vegans — less meat, more plants. It’s the simplest thing in the world. You don’t need to know anything about health, phytonutrients, selenium, fat, salt — it’s all bullshit. The important thing is, you eat more plants and eat less of everything else. That’s what it all boils down to. . . . The key to survival is a plant-based diet. I don’t mean we have to be vegan, but we’re 90 percent nonvegan now. Begin by being semi-vegan.

Nice job, Mr. Bittman. Thanks for speaking up.

Another interesting article recently (Nov 7) in New York Magazine explains why "Vegetables Are the New Meat" in New York City. That makes it sound trendy, but some trends are good and result in permanent change.

Shopping in the New Jerusalem

On Saturday, October 30, shoppers at the Macy's department store in Philadelphia were surprised when more than 600 professional choristers, who were mingling among the shoppers, began singing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus accompanied by the world's largest pipe organ which happens to be in the historic Wanamaker Building where Macy's is located. The event was part of the Knight Foundation's "1000 Random Acts of Culture" which will take place over three years. Maybe what shopping in the New Jerusalem will be like.

A lot of the folks seeming to sing with authority are wearing round, brownish badges -- maybe they're the choristers (?). A shame that Handel's Messiah is now firmly ensconced in "Christmas Culture" rather than "Christian Culture" where it began. But having Christ presented at the counters of commercialism is a good thing regardless. (Tip 'o the hat to my grade- and high-school buddy Lile for passing this on.)

Airline Vegetarian Meals

Because I rarely fly, and never fly internationally, I was unaware that so many vegan/vegetarian meal options are available on international flights. This is a sample from a Flickr collection of beautiful photos of such meals which can be requested.

And on a less healthy note: Want to see your tax dollars at work? This New York Times investigative piece highlights the inconsistency of the US government promoting less fat, then spending millions through the USDA's program to promote the marketing and sale of dairy and cheese products -- saving Domino's Pizza business in the process. The closer we look at how Washington works (with our money) the more pathetic it gets.

Men and Dogs

A friend recently sent me one of those things that circles the globe on the Internet every day: "Why Some Men Have Dogs and Not Wives." I'm sometimes misunderstood when I forward things like that piece—it's obviously gender-biased, stereotypical, and probably distinctly Southern and therefore likely to offend. But I liked if for two reasons: First, it's creative. I would love to have the writing chops to think and write so creatively. And second, it made me laugh—because, as they say, the reason we laugh at some kinds of humor is because we know there's a kernel of truth lurking within. This piece qualified in both ways.

But I still didn't post it.

I decided to today because of a news video I saw about a beautiful dog whose owner was killed five and one-half months before—and how the dog waits every day on a country road for his owner to return. That kind of loyalty belongs on the list below except it's too serious. Most men probably long to share life with someone who will be excited when they return home—and wait loyally for them should they not appear. I know I do—which is why someday I'll have a dog (for starters) when I can give it the life it deserves. (Whatever happened to loyalty anyway? The most important theological concept in the Old Testament—loyalty—Hebrew hesed—is rarely mentioned these days and maybe even less practiced. Maybe because loyalty is so hard, which is why it's so valued when found; why news videos are made about it. And why we bipeds ought to take a lesson from our quadruped pals.)

The original list is below (less appealing than the original which had pictures) and the news video I mentioned can be seen here.

Why Some Men Have Dogs and Not Wives

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.

2. Dogs don’t notice if you call them by another dog’s name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.

4. A dog’s parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.

6. You never have to wait for a dog; they’re ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you’re drunk.

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”

10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.

11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.

13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

And last, but not least:

14. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.