Oak Barrels

I have a growing interest in wines, though I do not think I will ever venture into winemaking. However, I have known a lot of people who have made their own wines. If you are serious about the matter, you need the right equipment - like oak barrels. The best wines are always aged in barrels - at least as far as I know. Again, I do not know a lot about wines, but I am starting to become more interested, so let me know if you are a winemaker who reads The OddBlog!

Dutch Men Eat Each Other on TV

Two television presenters for the program Guinea Pigs underwent surgery so they could taste one another's prepared flesh. One had meat removed from his buttock, while the other had a piece of meat removed from his stomach. The meat was then cooked and served with a side of asparagus.

While some are calling the show a hoax, the broadcasting company and presenters disagree. However, both said they had their fill of human flesh and would not do the stunt again because it would involve more surgery.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Moms No Longer Needed

Chinese scientists have produced genetically-modified cattle capable of producing milk that is nearly identical to human breast milk, but sweeter. The experiment started in 2003 and there are now some 300 genetically-modified cattle delivering calves weekly. The company behind the project hopes to have product on the market within three years.

China recently suffered a rash of scandals involving tainted milk powder that affected over 300,000 young children and killed at least six. At least one person was executed.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Things What Done Fell from the Sky - Candy

On the nights of September 2^nd and 11^th, 1857, sections of Lake County, California complained of showers of sugar and candy. "The crystals were from ¹/₈ - ¹/₄" in length and the size of a goose quill." The good ladies of Lake County even made syrup from it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Lithuanian Clergy Puts Stop to Ad Campaign

Lithuanian-area monks and nuns effectively ended a regional advertising campaign that featured a Franciscan monk hoisting a mug of beer. The company behind the campaign said it was only trying to link monks' historical past as brewers to their product and meant no insult, but nuns and monks from the area wrote to tell the company that they found it offensive. The company has ended the campaign and apologized for the error.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

The Cryptozoological Curiosity of Wetzel Kangaroo Beer

For a solid decade -- 1957 - 1967 -- residents in and around Coon Rapids, Minneapolis repeatedly encountered at least two kangaroos. The wood behind the suburban Anoka County Fairgrounds is where they are believed to have lived, though they were spotted as far away as Nebraska, sometimes hundreds of miles apart from one another.

A local brewer, Charles Wetzel, bore witness to one of the kangaroos, inspiring him to brew the Wetzel Kangaroo Beer. In fact, it turns out that there is a thriving microbrewery scene involving cryptids and cryptozoological, which is covered quite well by Cryptobrewology dotCom.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Eighteen Die Hunting Mushrooms - None from Eating Poisonous Shrooms

Some 18 European deaths have been linked to mushroom-hunters. Experts have been vocal in warning amateurs on the dangers of identifying and ingesting poisonous mushrooms, the effects of which range from hallucinations and illness to death, but none of the 18 deaths were from ingestion of mushrooms; all were due to carelessness, unpreparedness, and general bad luck.

All 18 fell down rocky slopes, into gorges, or died under similar circumstances. Authorities say more people are coming to Italy and the France border to hunt mushrooms during season, and most are "unfit" for the outing.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Chew Chew, an Australian Restaurant for Dogs

Believe it or don't (I don't have the money to fight a lawsuit), a restaurant in Sydney, Australia is for dogs only. Chew Chew serves only organic, all-natural dishes and doggie treats -- and serves only dogs. (Cats are actually welcome for lunch anytime after 2pm, but must make reservations to ensure a dog-free atmosphere). Customers can also purchase Chew Chew's foods and treats from the restaurant or online. Chew Chew also serves "doggy-cinos," a coffee treat for pooches, which comes with sprinkles of liver.

Britons can rest easy, as their dogs are catered to by an ice cream truck serving doggy cones.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Toughest Baby EVAR Poops Nails

Doctors say a baby named Ting Ting may be suffering from pica, a disorder which makes her "hungry" for non-food items, such as.... nails. Though Ting Ting's mother swears she does not know where the child would have gotten them, Ting Ting has a tendency to shit nails.

In the past few weeks, Ting Ting has pooped 21 nails and one safety pin, and X-rays show she still has one nail and another safety pin to pass! Pica is often related to zinc deficiency. While sufferers will eat many non-food items, it is common or them to eat dirt, cigarette butts, and similar things. Doctors say swallowing nails is messed-up though, even for a pica sufferer.

No one knows where the baby got the nails. Her mother said the child's grandfather is the only one who has any and, to their knowledge, none are missing. When asked where she got the nails, doctors say Ting-Ting gave them The Thousand-Yard Stare and said, "Get off my plane."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

'The Grim Eater'

A New Zealand funeral home noticed a man who appeared to be in his 40s attending several funerals between March and April who didn't seem to know the deceased. Eventually, employees noticed the man was carrying Tupperware containers in his backpack, which he filled when mourners were not watching. When an employee pulled him aside and told him he was welcome to attend funerals (they are public events), he could no longer take food home with him, he quit coming.

Funeral home employees say he was always quiet and polite. The media nicknamed him "The Grim Eater."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Locust Pizza

In response to locust swarms which have clouded the region, one Australian pizza owner has made lemonade of... he's made a locust pizza! While the mayor of the region is credited for the idea, he admits he has not tried one of the locust pizzas, but says it's because he figures they taste "like anchovies," which he doesn't like, either. He reports that at least one of the locals has tried the pizza, though did not say what the local thought of it.

Australia's northern Victoria is facing the worst locust swarms it has seen in 30 years.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Did the CIA Dose Pont-Saint-Esprit?

A picturesque village in Southern France suddenly went "insane" one day in 1951. People insulted and fought one another; one man jumped from a hospital window, claiming to be a dragonfly; the mailman zigzagged on his bike and toppled. The bizarre behavior and "mass hallucinations" continued for several days.

Originally, a local baker was thought to have made bread with contaminated yeast, but this theory was later disproven. The mystery remained for nearly 60 years... until an American author, seeking to uncover what had lead to the 1953 murder of a US biochemist who worked on many of the CIA's secret programs during the Cold War came across information which lead him to conclude that the strange events in 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit were the result of the CIA.

Hank Albarelli's A Terrible Mistake, recently released in the US, tells how the author sifted through thousands of government documents and continually found references to the small, French village. According to Albarelli, his research uncovered that Pont-Saint-Esprit was targeted by the CIA for testing, and that they may have dosed the bread with LSD. Further, the event was tied to the 1953 murder of Frank Olson, an Army biochemost who worked on the CIA's mind-control experiments during the Cold War.

The Pont-Saint-Esprit "field test" was carried-out under the name "Operation Span." Albarelli points to various documents which openly discuss using LSD and other, "mind-altering chemicals," and even call for field tests. Several of these documents actually refer to Pont-Saint-Esprit by name.

Albarelli's coup-de-grace came in the form of documents detailing a discussion between a former CIA spy and Swedish chemist from the Sandoz Laboratory, in which the agent openly admitted the incident was an experiment. The Sandoz Lab is where the effects of LSD were first discovered. Sandoz Lab was providing the US Army and CIA with LSD in 1951.

Those who lived through the 1951 incident agree that it will never be fully explained and what actually happened may never be known, but said learning of the CIA's possible involvement is "disturbing."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Don't Mix Herbs with Meds

While skeptics are busy getting retarded to prove herbal supplements have no effect, doctors and researchers are warning patients not to mix herbal supplements with their regular medications, especially heart meds. Apparently, such seemingly innocuous herbs as garlic, St. John's Wort, and ginger can have devastating effects on patients who mix them with their regular statins, blood thinners, and blood pressure medications.

Doctors note even grapefruit juice can be harmful. This is true in the case of many medications, though the truncated literature pharmacists provide with said medications do not always indicate this. I was asked to abstain from my daily multi-vitamin for one week prior to my surgery, as well as two weeks afterward and would not have known this had the nurse not informed me -- it was not written anywhere in the literature I received! This paper discusses many of the dangerous combinations and their possible interactions.

Authorities strongly suggest discussing all of your dietary habits with your doctor, including any and all supplements you take, regularly or otherwise.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

British Youth Believe Oats Grow on Trees, Bacon Comes from Sheep

A study of 800 children and adults conducted by the Home Grown Cereals Authority and the National Farmers' Union found that over 25% of Britons under the age of 16 believe bacon comes from sheep, and nearly 30% believe oats grow on trees. 17% of both children and adults thought eggs were an essential ingredient in bread, though that seems like an error almost anyone could make, especially those who do not cook.

The president of the National Farmers' Union noted that more than half of Britain's groceries come from UK-based farms, yet a significant portion of the populace is "unable to make that connection."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

High-Fat Diet Cures Epilepsy in Children

The Ketogenic Diet, a diet high in fats and low in carbohydrates, was first described in the 1920s at the Mayo Clinic. It is used to treat the 25% or so of children who do not respond to medications meant to control their epilepsy. The Ketogenic Diet literally consists of such meals as a stick of butter, followed by several pieces of bacon, and maybe a piece of fruit, however doctors who have had patients on the Ketogenic Diet say few develop medical issues such as high cholesterol.

The diet mimics starvation and forces the brain to replace glucose as an energy source with ketone bodies produced by the liver. This results in a condition known as "ketosis," and for whatever reason, it completely cures about ¹/₃ of the children who are placed on the Ketogenic Diet. A full 50% of those who are placed on the diet show some signs of improvement.

The diet was widely prescribed shortly after its discovery, but abandoned a decade or so later when effective anticonvulsant drugs became available. It wasn't until the 1990s that interest in the Ketogenic Diet was renewed, thanks to a movie producer known as Jim Abrahams - the guy who brought us such slapstick comedy classics as Airplane! and Ruthless People. Abrahams' epileptic son was one of the unfortunate ¹/₄ of patients who did not respond to anticonvulsants.

The diet is also said to help some adult patients and is being prescribed to sufferers of other neurological disorders to see if it is beneficial in those cases. No conclusions can be drawn so far, due to insufficient data, but trials continue.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Christmas Menu

So I missed Thanksgiving.  I'm a bit conflicted on that holiday, anyway.  I mean, yes, white folk conquered the natives and that's an historical fact -- one that, contrary to what certain people would have you believe, white men did not invent... at least not any time recently; OTOH, it was completely unnecessary and continued well into the 20^th-Century, long after the genocide was complete.  Generally speaking, I celebrate it because it is what it is: A holiday centered on friends an family (which we desperately need), but it's more about eating these days than anything, so I don't mind if miss it.

Chrimmas, on quite the other, other hand, is a fun holiday.  Separate it from the cult of child molestation and there's a fat, jolly, and generous man with some flying deer and shit.  Toys, pretty lights, drunk folk, elves... it's a lot like some porn shoots, come to think of it.  But, just like Thanksgiving, Christmas is a lot about eating (a lot), too!  To a large extent, the menus from the two, disparate, holidays have become blurred -- the most common difference being turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas -- but some Christmas menus are downright "bizarre" by modern sensibilities.

I have to admit, I've always wanted to do an Italian Christmas menu.  Aside from the fact that I know little about traditional Italian Christmas celebrations, much less Italian cooking, the other problem is finding the ingredients.  Still, part of the allure is in learning these things, so I'm thinking that next year, I'll do a spaghetti and sausage dish, with plenty of cheeses and chickens and peppers and things.  And wine.  Lots of wine.  Still, this year, I went with the regular, old, traditional, American Christmas dinner.

I should note that my preferred Christmas includes of alcohol; an all-night Chrimmas Eve of boozing, decorating, and cooking; and a Champagne brunch (well, a "sparkling wine" brunch, at least). However, I've only been able to have such a festive occasion once since I was 21; life below the poverty line has precluded repeating it.  It almost happened this year, but schedules and finances once again conspired against it (though not my schedule, for once), so I'm having a very traditional Christmas with the 'rents.  And this is what we're having:

• Turkey (or Chicken) and Dressing with Giblet Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
  Mom is making the meat.  I make dressing using Southern cornbread as the base (made with spoiled milk).  Mom also makes the giblet gravy and I cut half the can of cranberry sauce and heat the other half.
• Sweet Corn, Mashed Potatoes, Black-Eyed Peas, Mac n Cheese, Dinner Rolls
  The corn comes straight from the can, but I add generous dollops of real butter.  Yes, "dollops."  You know how to make creamed potatoes.  The black-eyed peas are dried (from a bag) and I don't soak them; I rinse them and put them in the Crock-Pot with about five pork neckbones and black pepper.  Mac n Cheese is generic from a box, with Romano and Philly cream cheese added to it.  Sometimes, I grate sharp cheddar cheese over the top and bake it, but not this year.
• Green Bean Casserole, Deviled Eggs
  Mom makes these.  I don't even know the recipes (though I have several).
• Chocolate Chip Cookies, Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
  Cookies are from a bag - just add oil and water.  Spice cake from a box.  Cream Cheese Frosting = 1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.), 1 stick of butter, and 2 C. confectioner's sugar.  I have to warn you that while I have made this frosting before, this is my own recipe I have not tried (but am using), because I was not pleased with how the frosting turned-out previously; use at your own risk!
• Peanut Butter Cup Pie
  Mix 1 C. milk, 1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding, ¹/₂ jar of peanut butter, and ¹/₂ tub of whipped topping at medium speed until smooth.  Pour into 9" graham cracker pie crust (chocolate graham cracker pie crust is even better, and Oreo crust is nice, too).  Chill for about 2 hours, then top with the rest of the Cool Whip.  Garnish with chocolate syrup, if you like.
• Sweet Potato Pie
  There are thousands of variations, but this is a good recipe.  I add a pinch of allspice and use ¹/₂ C. white sugar and ¹/₂ C. brown.

That's pretty much it, but that's enough!  It's a whole, whole lot, but we'll be eating leftovers for weeks afterward.  Christmas is a fun holiday, though its true meaning often gets lost in a barrage of Christian nonsense and PC politics.  I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season and would love to hear your menus and recipes!

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Brazilians Fight Coffee Fraud

Brazil is the world's #1 coffee grower and #2 coffee consumer, and though the majority of its exported coffee is in bean form, its local grounds are known to contain any number of "filler" contaminants, including sugar, caramel, even wood!

The industry is known to sometimes mix these other, cheaper, ingredients into the coffee grounds in order to "bulk-up" the weight of the units. And though these contaminants are not known to cause health problems, they can make drinking the product uncomfortable.

The Brazilian Coffee Industry Association, or ABIC, tests products at random which it pulls from store shelves. If contaminants are found, the company is reported and given a fixed time period in which they can fix the problem. Repeat offenders face higher fines, loss of the Purity Seal, and can even be shutdown!

ABIC shutdown 10 such coffee producers in 2009.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Rus-ka-bob

Three homeless men with previous criminal records have been arrested in Russia on suspicion of having murdered a man, eaten him, and sold pieces of him to a local kebab house! Police say parts of a body were discovered which lead to the three men's capture. That is when police found out the men had apparently sold some of the body to the local restaurateur. The victim is thought to have been a 25-year old man.

The site does not mention whether or not anyone was actually served human flesh.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Coffee? Tea? Prophesy Your Future?

Customers at the Coffee House in Tel Aviv can get a little extra with their cup o' joe: The service staff will divine their future from the grounds in the bottom of their cup!  Marketing manager, Michael Steg, hired a Gypsy soothsayer to train the wait staff in reading the coffee grounds at the end of customers' coffee.

The service is free.  Israel's coffee market is highly competitive.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Death by Chocolate

A 29-year old factory worker has died after falling into a vat of melting chocolate. According to spokespersons, the man died instantly after he slipped into the 8' vat and was hit in the head by one of the mixing paddles. Co-workers tried desperately to turn off the mixer, but were too late. Vincent Smith, Jr. was a temporary worker at the chocolate factory in Camden, New Jersey.

Three of the men were standing on raised platforms, feeding the vat with chunks of chocolate which was being melted for shipping out to other companies, who use the melted chocolate in their recipes. Smith somehow lost his balance and fell into the vat. A co-worker tried to save him, but could not. He was pictured, covered in chocolate, standing outside the factory while waiting for emergency rescuers to arrive, obviously disturbed by the accident.

Investigators are looking into the accident but do not suspect foul play.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009