Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Clanders


Sig: So, there is this tiny nation on an oil rig called Sealand.
Me: Cland?
Sig: ?
Me: You know, C-land, Cland? Get it?
Sig: Oh yeah, I guess that is funny.

But the more germane bit of the story is the following - 'Sealand' is a base off the coast of England built during WWII to deter Nazi attack. It consists of two towers that stand on a sand bar and a platform on top. At one point, 150-300 British soldiers were stationed there.

Things went wonky when one of Britains famous 'pirate radio' DJs, Major Paddy Roy Bates, took up residence there in 1967 to broadcast his station. He named the base Sealand and began ejecting intruders to his 'territorial waters' by threatening them with gun shot. A case was brought against him in British court, and was rejected because Sealand lies in international waters where British law doesn't hold. Bates subsequently printed up passports, made a flag, and invented a currency for Sealand.

According to its constitution (written by Bates) Sealand is a constitutional monarchy. He is 'Prince Roy', his wife 'Princess Joan', and their son is the 'Prince Regent'. In 2008 an athlete represented Sealand in the egg throwing world championship and won.

Here is my favorite part, though. There exists a Sealandic Rebel Government, a self styled government in exile led by the self styled prime minister of Sealand. This all began when some fellow named Achenbach stormed the base with helicopters and motorboats in the 70's and took Bates' son hostage. Bates, though, retook the base and kept Achenbach hostage for ransom money. He eventually released Achenbach, who set up the rebel government, which, to this day, claims to be the rightful government of Sealand.

Home sweet Sealand.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Blind Snake




A friend just posted that her boyfriend found a worm-sized blind snake today. I went quickly to the 'tubes' to investigate these 'blind snakes', and look!
Look at this teeny little guy! There are many species of them, some breathtakingly small and perfect. I like animals that look like they're made of plastic. For this reason I've always had a passion for amphibians - mini frogs and salamanders in particular (caecilians are weird). They inspire such a feeling of awe at the seeming impossibility of life. How do these little guys work?



Thursday, September 16, 2010

Wegman's Weimaraners


I love that William Wegman has made an entire career out of photographing weimaraners. To me, this is a testament to doing what moves you.


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Asafowhata?

I've recently become increasingly obsessed with the flavor and smell of asafoetida (or devil's dung) - a cooking powder derived from a species of Ferula (the same plant that Prometheus used to smuggle fire to humanity).

I have a jar of delicious mango pickle that I often offer to dinner guests with the warning that it's a very acquired taste. The main point of oddity is the asafoetida, which is quite strong in the pickles. It's incredibly hard to describe. Acrid? Sour? Pungent? These are all correct but, of course, don't capture the essence of the thing. I recommend heading right down to your local Indian food store for a smell.

One last note - asafoetida may have some of the same medicinal properties as its now extinct cousin Silphium, which the Greeks and Romans used so extensively that it was said to be 'worth it's weight in denari'. Chief among Silphium's medicinal uses? Contraceptive.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Strange Little Beer Owl


Since moving to the west coast, Sig and I haven't been able to brew beer. (All our equipment is in a basement in Hoboken.) Last week, though, we caved and decided to buy new stuff - our dreams of somehow shipping or driving a bunch of 5 gallon buckets/enormous pots cross country were, we decided, impractical.

We went to a local beer store called O'Sheas where a very helpful, and very manic salesman put a kit together for us. Meanwhile we perused their beer selection. I was immediately drawn to a bottle with a strange, little owl on it, and a mountain, and the words 'Hitachino Nest Beer'. (It's the Celebration Ale.)

I love this owl. It's just totally awesome looking. And the taste list for the Celebration Ale is - coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Lovely sweetness. Further updates when I actually taste it. Meanwhile, here is our star:

Monday, September 13, 2010

Kitten Personalities

Where do they come from? Why does Catsius Clay want to lay down on any paper you're reading? Why does he love to eat tomatoes (especially large, soft heirlooms)? Or to put his head under the faucet?

Why is Caterine the Great obsessed with my shawl from India? From whence her passion for pastries? (So far cherry scone is her favorite.)

Why does Chairman Meow want to chew off any exposed strings, ropes, or bunches of hair he can (including bathing suit strings, shoe laces, carpet fringe, my post-shower hair, and the kitten's whiskers)? Why is it that every morning around 10 he wanders the house yowling like he's going to die?

Why does Margaret Catcher like to get in the tub with me?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Synchronicity


Each person has a window of time during which events seem simultaneous. This window, incidentally, is not the same for all senses. Click-fusion, or experience of simultaneity in audible clicks, will happen for any two stimuli less than .005 seconds apart (for normal people.) Two flashes of light, on the other hand, will appear simultaneous as far as .03 seconds apart. These windows grow larger with age.

More bizarre still is that our brain will alter our experience of simultaneity to match a visual cue with it's accompanying sound only up to a certain distance, and then, suddenly, the two will seem out of sync.

And, here is the real kicker, the brain unconsciously compensates for imposed time lags on simultaneity between the senses until they are perceptually invisible. In studies where subjects move a computer mouse, but the clicker on the screen moves only after a delay, subjects report that after a short period they stop experiencing a delay between their movement and that of the clicker. When the mouse and clicker are synced up again, these subjects, for a brief while, will have the bizarre experience of seeing the clicker move before their hand does. Obviously it isn't, but they feel as if it is.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Heirloom Seeds


I just bought a ludicrously large cache of seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a company recently profiled in the NY Times for their seed bank and selection of fantastic and strange heirlooms. (Also, it's run by a ridiculously cute young couple.)

Sig and I were thinking of getting some arugula, and maybe a nice kale or two. But the names of the plants and their descriptions were so fantastic that we couldn't stop. We bought Giant of Naples cauliflowers and Black from Tula tomatoes, Crane Melons and Emerald Gems, Alabama Red Okra and Crystal Apple Cucumber (white and the shape of a large egg).

Here is a sample description for the Cherokee Purple Tomato -

80 days. An old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre-1890 variety; beautiful deep dusky purple-pink color, superb sweet flavor, and very large sized fruit. Try this one for real old-time tomato flavor. My favorite dark tomato!

They should arrive in 4-7 days. We can. not. wait.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Bobkittens


Sig and I just witnessed the late-night stroll of a bobcat and her two kittens!

We were coming back from In-N-Out Burger when he shushed me and pointed ahead at slinking momma going down the path by our apartment. I'd seen her once before and thought, "That is one wild looking cat. Oh, no, that's a bobcat." About five seconds after Sig saw mom, the following string of words issued uncontrollably from my mouth, "Kitten! Kitten, kitten! Look it's a kitten!"

We stalked them around the side of the building, and sure enough along came the cat with not one, but two, kits. The first kitten spotted us and came slinking curiously over. (At which point we retreated, not wanting to incite the ire of a wild 20-pounds of muscle and claw.)

They headed on quietly, mom with somewhere to go, babies rather intent on exploring, wandering, eating grass - occasionally jumping in surprise just like our kitten does.

I love these tenuous threads. I feel like I just brushed another world.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Julia Margaret Cameron



An early female photographer, Ms. Cameron was fond of posing romantic scenes of cherubic children and renaissancian young women.

I've always loved the ephermeral, elegiac quality of her images. In part, this is a direct result of the era she photographed in - silver nitrate on glass etc. But strangely the subjects of her images are perfectly matched to the emotions they evoke now.

And the Blind Can See


Here is a bit of trivia that is blowing my mind...

These things called Tactile Visual Substitution Systems (or TVSSes) were invented (in, like, the 60s) that essentially allow blind users to have visual experiences completely mediated by touch. Here is a quote from Andy Clark's Supersizing the Mind (a thumping good read, by the way, but rather technical) -

"...the earliest such systems were grids of blunt "nails" fitted to the backs of blind subjects and taking input from a head-mounted camera. In response to camera input, specific regions of the grid became active, gently stimulating the skin under the grid. At first, subjects report only a vague tingling sensation. But after wearing the grid while engaged in various kinds of goal-driven activity (walking, eating etc), the reports change dramatically. Subjects stop feeling the tingling on the back and start to report rough, quasi-visual experiences of looming objects and so forth. After awhile, a ball thrown at the head causes instinctive and appropriate ducking." (35)

!!!

!!!

Ugh, the brain is so awesome.