"We Saved You a Piece"

They look — friendly?

More from the Lemming, or less:

• "With the Lemming at Aunt Ida's"
  (January 23, 2015)
• "Christmas with the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2014)
• "It's Morning — Somewhere — Or Maybe Near Sunset"
  (September 12, 2014)
• "From the Mind of the Lemming: Xanadu Springs"
  (June 20, 2014)
• " 'Anchovies and Peanut Butter?!' "
  (October 30, 2013)

Christmas with the Lemming

Perry Como did a Christmas album, Dean Martin did his "Christmas at Sea World," and everybody's done their version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

Then there's what the Lemming's been doing this year.

Allegedly-related posts:

• "Pip: Not Your Usual Fluffy Christmas Rhyme"
  (December 5, 2014)
• "Two Turkeys: the Gift Store Gambit"
  (November 27, 2014)
• "Channel Surfing With the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2013)
• "Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #2"
  (December 23, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Christmas Cookies, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #1"
  (December 24, 2010)

Revenge of the Turkey

(Memorial Hermann, via LiveScience, used w/o permission.)
"Thanksgiving Trauma: The 7 Strangest Holiday ER Visits"
Tanya Lewis, LiveScience (November 27, 2013)

"The holidays are a time of joy and giving thanks. But like any occasion that involves families gathering to enjoy good food and each other's company, accidents can happen.

"LiveScience asked emergency room doctors about the weirdest, funniest or most unfortunate reasons for a visit to the ER over Thanksgiving and other holidays. From deep-fryer burns to in-law anxiety, here are some of the most notable:

"1. Turkey troubles

" Nothing says Thanksgiving like cooking an obscenely large farm bird. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that emergency rooms see a lot of fowl-related injuries on Turkey Day.

"Deep-frying turkeys poses a major hazard. If the turkey is wet or partially frozen when it hits the oil, the bird can catch fire, or even explode. 'We've had fires that singed hair and eyebrows, and splash burns to the face,'" said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician...."

"...People also drop their turkeys, causing second-degree burns to the tops of their feet, contusions and the occasional toe fracture...

"...3. Overindulging

"One of the most common problems around Thanksgiving, as one might guess, involves eating and drinking too much, Glatter said. The combination, he explained, can cause a surge in epinephrine or norepinephrine, which triggers atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) in a structurally normal heart. Doctors call it 'holiday heart.'...

"...And when people eat too quickly, food can get lodged in their throats — especially turkey, because it's so dry...."

There's more: carving under the influence; the potato salad that time forgot; energetic in-laws; and  — the Lemming's favorite — a raw turkey used as a football helmet.

There's a wonderfully redolent tale of revenge from beyond the grave here, or maybe "from beyond the gravy:" a turkey, vowing with its last breath to wreak terrible vengeance, lodging in the throat of a holiday guest.

On that cheerful note, the Lemming bids you bon appétit, which is the name of a magazine, and another topic.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Taiyaki and Wagashi: Genuine Imitation Food Substitutes"
  (October 25, 2013)
• "Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming"
  (August 6, 2013)
• "Filberts, Fardels, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (July 19, 2013)
• "EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not"
  (June 2, 2011)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Artificial Life Forms - Like Macaroni Wheat

"Anchovies and Peanut Butter?!"

Or: you want it, you pay for it.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Taiyaki and Wagashi: Genuine Imitation Food Substitutes"
  (October 25, 2013)
• "Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming"
  (August 6, 2013)
• "July 19, 2013 Filberts, Fardels, and a Rambling Lemming "
  (July 19, 2013)
• "December 23, 2011 Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #2 "
  (October 31, 2012)
• "Happy Halloween!"
  (October 31, 2011)

Taiyaki and Wagashi: Genuine Imitation Food Substitutes

(Toto-tarou, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
"Taiyaki"
Wikipedia

"Taiyaki (鯛焼き , literally "baked sea bream"?) is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato. Some shops even sell taiyaki with okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or a sausage inside...."


(MC MasterChef, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
"Wagashi"
Wikipedia

"Wagashi (和菓子 wa-gashi?) is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits. Wagashi is typically made from plant ingredients...."

There are those who don't like unfamiliar food because it's "foreign," others who praise unfamiliar food because it is. The Lemming likes good old American foods like pizza, sauerkraut, zucchini, chow mein, and lefse.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for folks who can bake bean paste, call it "baked sea bream:" and get others to pay for the privilege of eating it.

Then there's bean paste that's shaped like a variety of fruits.

Which brings up an interesting point: does anyone eat fish-shaped baked bean paste stuffed with chocolate and cheese? If so: why?

Allegedly-related posts:

• "The Maastricht Hamburger"
  (August 9, 2013)
• "Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming"
  (August 6, 2013)
• "Filberts, Fardels, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (July 19, 2013)
• "Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #2"
  (December 23, 2011)
• "Brunost, Ekte Gjetost, and Gamalost - the Cheese with Personality"
  (July 24, 2011)

The Maastricht Hamburger

A hundred and one years ago a French scientist named Lewis Carrel started growing a chicken heart. Nothing unusual about that, except this bit of chicken meat wasn't inside a chicken.

It was in a laboratory in New York City, run by the Rockefeller Institute. The lab, that is. As far as the Lemming knows the Rockefeller Institute doesn't run New York City.

The Real 'Immortal' Chicken Heart

Ten years later, chickens hatched when Lewis Carrel started his experiment had died of old age: those that hadn't wound up as chicken soup or obscure ingredients in canned food. Carrel's chicken heart kept beating.

Actually, it wasn't a complete chicken heart: but the bit of undying poultry was beating, just as if it was inside a bird. Lewis Carrel wasn't the chap who wrote the Alice books, by the way. That was Lewis Carroll, he was English, his name wasn't Carroll, and that's another topic. Topics.

In 1946, 34 years after it began, folks at the Rockefeller Institute threw the still-living experiment away. Excitement over the prospects of immortality, at least for chicken hearts, faded:

• "Alexis Carrel's Immortal Chick Heart Tissue Cultures (1912-1946)"
  Lijing Jiang, Arizona State University
• "Dr. Carrel's Immortal Cells"
  J. A. Witowski, Medical History, 1M91U, 24:129-142. (1980)
  (from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1082700/pdf/medhist00095-0007.pdf (August 8, 2013))

That's the official story, anyway. Now, in the spirit of 100-proof conspiracy theories, is what the Lemming thinks might have happened.

Good Enough for a Story

Lewis Carrel really is Lewis Carroll. He's a space alien secret agent currently masquerading as an "America's Next Top Model" judge. The immortal chicken heart is still alive, working as a CIA spy but really conspiring to disrupt America's economy by organizing fruit flies in California.

- Or -

The CIA/FBI/Big Oil/Big Peanut/whatever assassinated Lewis Carrel and stole the secret formula that was keeping the chicken heart alive. The Rockefeller Institute threw the immortal chicken heart away because they're part of the conspiracy.

No, the Lemming doesn't believe that. At all. Either of those whoppers might make a good story: maybe along the lines of "Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein" or "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"

More of the Lemming's take on conspiracy theories and getting a grip:

• "Planet X, NASA, and the Lizard People From Outer Space"
  (January 2, 2012)
• "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
  (June 12, 2011)

Return of the Immortal Chicken Heart: Sort Of

Some of their laboratory (pronounced 'lah-bore-ah-tor-ee) equipment might look like props from " 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' Meets 'Earth vs. the Flying Saucers,' " but Mark Post's hamburger special is very real.


(from www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/file?uuid=a5668f05-839f-4007-ae18-29f40d3608a1&owner=c485ea3c-7a41-4eed-b905-19507dc8ee84 (August 8, 2013))
"Electrical stimulation of muscle cells (left panel) matures early muscle cells (middle panel) into mature skeletal muscle which shows typical transverse striations (right panel, arrows) based on abundance of contractile protein units."

Post and two technicians used a few cells, a lot of science and about 250,000 euros - $325,000 - to grow enough "cultured beef" for a hamburger. Food critics said it was a bit lean, but otherwise quite passable.

Don't look for this at the corner grocery any time soon. The $325,000 burger was a prototype, and there's a lot of work left before cultured beef is available commercially.

When, or if, that happens, folks can buy beef that's grown on a tiny fraction of the land, and with fewer resources, than 'real' beef from something with hooves that goes "moo."

Aside from all-too-predictable fussing about technology, science, and "The Island of Lost Souls," the Lemming doesn't see a problem with cultured beef.

Allegedly-related posts:

• " 'A Boy and His Mutant Wolf' "
  A Catholic Citizen in America (August 8, 2013)
• "Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming"
  (August 6, 2013)
• "7,000,000,000 People, More or Less: Why I'm Not Alarmed"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (October 31, 2011)
• "Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide Now! Or, Not"
  (January 3, 2011)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Artificial Life Forms - Like Macaroni Wheat

Background:

• "World's first lab-grown burger is eaten in London"
  BBC News (August 5, 2013)
• "First-ever public tasting of lab-grown Cultured Beef burger"
  Research at UM, Maastricht University (August 5, 2013)
  • "Description of 'in vitro meat' project," Project fact sheet Maastricht University
    (from www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/file?uuid=a5668f05-839f-4007-ae18-29f40d3608a1&owner=c485ea3c-7a41-4eed-b905-19507dc8ee84 (August 8, 2013))

Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming

As anyone who viewed "The Satan Bug" or "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" knows, humanity is ever in peril from the deadly dangers of science and new ideas.

There are days when the Lemming feels like cheering on the tomatoes' side of the stadium.

This, however, is not one of those days.

Instead, the Lemming offers some helpful advice to the more timorous specimens of Homo sapiens sapiens.

Beware! Beware!

Humans have been developing 'genetically modified' plants and animals for a long time. What's different now is that some call the old ones "domesticated," and the new ones "GMO." And, inevitably, are afraid of the new ones.

For the benefit of those who wish to avoid all genetically modified plants, here's a short list of plants that humans have modified:

• Alfalfa
• Almond
• Apple
• Apricot
• Asian Pear
• Azuki Bean
• Banana
• Barley
• Beet
• Blackberry
• Blueberry
• Breadfruit
• Carrot
• Cashew
• Cassava
  • (aka manioc, yuca)
  • (requires special processing to be edible)
• Cherry
• Chestnut
• Chickpea
• Citron
• Clover
• Coconut
• Common Bean
  • (including pinto bean, kidney bean and others)
• Common Medlar
• Cranberry
• Currant
• Durian
• Eggplant (aubergine)
• Ensete
• Fig
• Finger Millet
• Fonio
• Foxtail Millet
• Gourds
• Grape
• Grapefruit
• Hazelnut
• Huckleberry
• Jackfruit
• Lemon
• Lentil
• Lima Bean
• Lime
• Little barley
  • (Hordeum pusillum, central US pre-Columbian)
• Loquat (Japanese medlar)
• Macadamia
• Maize
  • (called corn in the U.S.)
  • Old domesticated plant
    • Found in countless variations throughout the Americas
• Mango
• Maygrass
  • (Phalaris caroliniana, central US pre-Columbian)
• Melon (several species)
• Mung Bean
• Oats
• Olive
• Orange
• Papaya
• Parsnip
• Passionfruit
• Pea
• Peanut
• Pear
• Pearl Millet
  • (predominantly in African cultures, also for beer brewing)
• Pecan
• Peppers
• Pistachio
• Plum
• Pomelo
• Potato
• Proso Millet
• Pumpkin
• Quince
• Radish
• Raspberry
• Rice
• Runner Bean
• Rye
  • (used in Eastern Europe Countries, and for alcoholic beverages)
• Sorghum
• Spelt
• Squash
  • (e.g., Cucurbita pepo, multiple varieties)
• Strawberry
• Summer Squash
• Sweet Potato
• Tangerine
• Taro
  • (requires special processing to be edible)
• Teff -- Ethiopia (also tef)
• Tomato
• Triticale
  • (Secalotriticum spp.)
  • Hybrids between wheat and rye.
• Turnip
• Velvet Bean
• Walnut
• Wheat
• Winter Squash
• Yam
• Zucchini

(Source: "Domesticated Plants," Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• "Mutant Bananas: A Pretty Good Idea, Actually"
  (August 24, 2010)
• "Attack of the Mutant Eucalyptus Trees!"
  (June 13, 2010)
• " 'Artificial' Bacteria, Genetics, the Vatican, and 'Courage With Caution' "
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 22, 2010)
• "Tofu Turkeys, Genetically Altered Foods, and the Evil Eye"
  (November 14, 2009)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)

Filberts, Fardels, and a Rambling Lemming

"Then & Now: From Filberts to Hazelnuts"
The Agriculture Quarterly, Oregon Department of Agriculture

"Did you know that the entire U.S. hazelnut crop is grown in the Pacific Northwest? Most U.S. grown hazelnuts are produced in Oregon's Willamette Valley with a small portion coming from Whatcom County, Washington. Hazelnut trees experience an alternate year bearing cycle which accounts for much of the fluctuation in yield from year to year, but the market is generally considered strong and the Oregon hazelnut industry is healthy and growing....

"...The Oregon Filbert Commission was established in 1951. Oregon Filberts were mostly sold in the shell to local consumers. In 1950, Oregon harvested 5,350 tons of filberts for a value of $1,872,000...."

Don't bother looking for the Oregon Filbert Commission. It's not there any more. Or, rather, it's operating under an alias.

They changed the name to the Oregon Hazelnut Commission in 1994. Folks in Europe like filberts, but they call them hazelnuts. Tomayto, tomahto, not that filberts have anything to do with Fred Astair. Apart from starting with the letter "f," that is, and the Lemming has more to say about filberts and fardles.

Filberts, French, and "Ph"

We call hazelnuts filberts because nois de Filbert means "nut of Philibert" in Old French. Saint Philibert's feast day is in late August, which is when hazelnuts ripen. Philibert's name got a "Ph" somewhere along the line, but the hazlenut didn't. (the Free Online Dictionary)

Or maybe we call those things filberts because filu means many and beraht means bright in Old High German. Then again, maybe not.

The Lemming ran into something about Old High German, red currants, and St. John, too: so maybe there is an Old High German connection, although red currants aren't hazelnuts and St. John's feast day is in June.

None of that has much do do with Fred Astair, filberts, or what the Lemming was looking for, which is a picture of filberts.

Life is Just a Bowl of - Filberts?!

(Bowl of hazelnuts, Vicki Nunn, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission)

"Hazelnut"
Wikipedia

"...In 1995, evidence of large-scale Mesolithic nut processing, some 9,000 years old, was found in a midden pit on the island of Colonsay in Scotland. The evidence consists of a large, shallow pit full of the remains of hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnut shells. Hazelnuts have been found on other Mesolithic sites, but rarely in such quantities or concentrated in one pit..."

The Lemming finds Mesolithic nut processing fascinating. Your experience may vary.

A Fardel by Any Other Name

"Fardel"
Wiktionary

"A corruption of Middle English ferthe del (literally 'fourth part'), equivalent to fourth +‎ deal. Cognate with Dutch vierendeel ('a fourth part, quarter'), German Viertel ('a quarter, fourth'), Danish fjerdedel ('a quarter'), Swedish fjärdedel ('a fourth, quarter')...."

"...From Middle English fardel, from Old French fardel ('pack, bundle'), from Spanish fardel, diminutive of fardo ('pack, bundle'), from Arabic (fardah, 'a package')...."

A bag of filberts could be a fardel, but that's probably not what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote this Brobdingnagian sentence for Hamlet:

"To die,-to sleep,-
To sleep! perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause:11 There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To groan and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?"
("Hamlet," Act III Scene 1, Shakespeare, via Gutenberg.com)

That heading, "A Fardle by Any Other Name" would be funnier, if "a [blank] by any other name" came from Hamlet. Hamlet isn't particularly funny, by the way. By the time it's over King Hamlet, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Gertrude, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius are dead: variously poisoned, stabbed, or drowned.

That phrase is from another Shakespeare play: one with a slightly lower body count. Only Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet get poisoned or stabbed. Lady Montague dies of grief.

Juliet says "a rose ... by any other name" in "Romeo and Juliet." It's part of this rather nice soliloquy:

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."


Toward the end of that play Juliet impersonates a corpse, Romeo says "Here's to my love" and drinks poison, Juliet wakes up and stabs herself - and this is romantic?!

Not-totally-unrelated posts:

• "The Grand Panjandrum"
  (April 26, 2013)
• "Flabbergasted: What's a Flabber, and How Does One Gast It?"
  (October 21, 2011)
• "Oil Painting: Brushes from Flat and Fan to Filbert and Rigger"
  (September 3, 2010)
• "A Filbert: by Any Other Name - - -"
  (August 6, 2010)
• "Shakespeare, Butterflies, the Gilded Age and an Actress's Shoulder Blade"
  (September 17, 2009)

Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #2

Christmas is just around the corner. This is the time of year when

• Stores are awash in a sea of red and green decorations and seasonal merchandise
• Otherwise-sensible folks
  • Max out their credit cards
  • Get to all the family gatherings
    • Or go nuts, trying
  • Forget their dessicated-tofu-and-lichee-nuts diet
    • And scarf down good old fashioned
      • Christmas cookies
      • Apple cider
      • Pecan pie
      • Hot chocolate
      • Chicken and dumplings
      • Eggnog
      • More Christmas cookies
      • Fruitcake
      • Lutefisk
      • More eggnog

There's nothing wrong, in the Lemming's opinion, with colorful store decorations, special holiday food, or seeing relatives. Holidays are supposed to be special.

On the other hand, shoveling high-octane food on top of an already-quivering pile of stress: that may not be quite such a good idea. Which brings the Lemming to this year's holiday picture. You met them last year: now Wayne and Wanda are back, with another vision from the wonderful world of holiday excess:



Allegedly-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Christmas With the Lemming"
  (December 16, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Christmas Cookies, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #1"
  (December 24, 2010)
• " '...Darling Son and That Person You Married....' "
  (December 8, 2010)
• "Santa's Workshop, Pip, and a Disturbing - or Disturbed - Image"
  (December 28, 2009)
• "The Christmas Letter"
  (December 1, 2007)

Brunost, Ekte Gjetost, and Gamalost - the Cheese with Personality

"Brown Cheese And Birch: Nordic Foods' Appeal Grows"
J. S. MARCUS, Food & Drink, The Wall Street Journal (July 21, 2011)

"The bright-orange sea-buckthorn berry may sound like something from Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. In fact, it's one of Scandinavian cuisine's star ingredients, which are driving adventurous foodies to forage in cutting-edge restaurants, Pacific-Northwest wine bars, local health-food stores and IKEA outlets.

" 'I love the boom,' says Marcus Samuelsson, the Swedish-raised New York chef who helped pioneer awareness of Scandinavian cuisine in the U.S. when he was executive chef at Aquavit, which he co-owns.

"Mr. Samuelsson uses aromatic cloudberries-'the king of berries,' he calls them—in sorbet and serves the sour sea-buckthorn berries with game meats. He sometimes spikes a sauce with Norwegian brunost, a sweet brown cheese traditionally made from caramelized goat's milk whey. "It's like goat-cheese butter," Mr. Samuelsson says...."

Brunost is okay - more than just okay - but the Lemming wonder's if what's sold in the Pacific Northwest is, quite, Brunost. At least one sort of Norwegian goat cheese, packaged for export to the United States, turned out to be diluted - 50% goat cheese, 50% the sort of bovine cheese most Americans are used to.

Sure, it tasted sort of like a half-strength gjetost, which it was - but it wasn't gjetost. Somewhat of an anticlimax for the Lemming, who remembers real gjetost. And Primost.

This, perhaps, really is ekte gjetost - real gjetost:

"Ekte Gjetost 100% Goat Cheese"
CheeseSupply.com

"Ekte Gjetost means pure goat cheese in Norwegian. Ekte Gjetost is a unique Norwegian whey cheese made from 100% goat's whey, its colour is darker than Ski Queen's and the flavour richer. Its texture is firm and it is served in thin slices on bread or biscuits...."

"Ekte Gjetost means pure goat cheese in Norwegian"?? Oh-kay. Sort of. The Lemming would have thought it was more like "real goat cheese" - but what the hey: "Pure" is sort of like "real." And the Lemming would expect ekte gjetost to be 'real' gjetost - not half-and-half.

So, there's brunost, and gjetost - ekte and otherwise. But why is there such a thundering silence on the subject of gamalost? Sure, it's got an aroma you'll never forget: and Wikipedia says it's "a brownish-yellow cheese with irregular blue veins."

But what's a little body odor and a complexion issue to someone who's into cheesy food?

The Lemming could have phrased that differently. Probably should have.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Fourth of July Weekend, 2011"
  (July 1, 2011)
  • Check out the cheesy sculpture
• "At Last! A History of the Limburger Cheese Sandwich!"
  (January 27, 2011)
• "A Thought for the Day: About Cheese"
  (January 8, 2011)
• "Pumpkin. Spice. Cream Cheese. What's Not to Like?"
  (January 11, 2010)
• "The Moon, Cheese, Aristotle, and What We've Known"
  (October 5, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Somalia Famine - Just Somalia?!

It's all over the news. Somalia is in bad shape. Particularly parts of southern Somalia, where Somalis face famine. In Somalia. Here's a sample of today's news about - Somalia.

"UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle"
(July 20, 2011)

"The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as the region suffers the worst drought in more than half a century.

"The UN said the humanitarian situation in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had deteriorated rapidly.

"It is the first time that the country has seen famine in 19 years.

"Meanwhile, the UN and US have said aid agencies need further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia to allow staff to reach those in need...."

The Lemming is about as certain as it's possible to be, that the situation in Somalia is bad. Very bad. Definitely not-good. Pretty much the opposite of 'okay.' Somalis are dying of starvation, and diseases that might not have been so bad, if the folks hadn't been starving.

The Lemming is also glad to see that the United Nations decided to make a formal declaration of famine in two parts of Somalia. That's not, in the Lemming's opinion, as silly as it may sound: that sort of formal declaration probably makes it easier for the United States and other interested nations to start the process of getting help to those two spots in Somalia.

Eventually, the United Nations declaration, and government programs, may make a practical difference in the lives of some of the survivors.

In another blog, the Lemming mentioned one of the other outfits that's already in that part of the world: "Drought, Starvation, Death, Request for Help - But No Pressure," A Catholic Citizen in America (July 18, 2011).

Somalia's Got Trouble - And They've Got Company

Again, the Lemming is convinced that folks in Somalia - many of them - are starving, dying of diseases that should be non-lethal, and generally having a very bad time.

That's not right, and the Lemming thinks folks should do something to help. But, hey: no pressure.

Thanks to a long wait in a clinic, the Lemming heard over an hour of CNN news today. In which the tragedy of suffering in Somalia was discussed. Also starvation in Somalia, disease in Somalia, disease exacerbated by starvation in Somalia - where folks are suffering. Tragically. In Somalia.

This is not a criticism of CNN and nobody else - they're not the only ones obsessing on Somalia today. And, again: really, the Lemming thinks folks in Somalia are facing very real, very deadly, problems.

But - and it's hard to tell, given the coverage of Somalia - where Somalis are dying - in Somalia: Somalia isn't alone. It's one of several countries in the eastern part of Africa where folks are dealing with a catastrophic drought:

"...Some aid workers say this year's drought conditions in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan are the worst in living memory...."
(CNA)

Here's that list of countries:

• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Somalia
• South Sudan

Putting Things in Perspective?

Quite often, the Lemming's all for journalists not taking a local or regional problem and implying that it's a continent-wide catastrophe. But the Lemming also thinks it's a good idea to at least mention when a problem in one country is shared by folks in several neighboring countries, too.

Sure, the United Nations probably didn't make a declaration about Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan today. But would it kill the news anchor to mention that Somalia wasn't the only place where folks are facing drought, starvation, and associated unpleasantness?

The Lemming really needs to give ranting a rest - and that's another topic.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Drought, Starvation, Death, Request for Help - But No Pressure"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (July 18, 2011)
• "This Post is Not About Mutant Bananas"
  (June 18, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Sudan, Africa, Independence, Unity, and Getting a Grip"
  (January 6, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Good Intentions Paved the Way to Africa's Nations?
  • What if Space Aliens had Conquered Europe?
  • That was Fiction: Africa's History, Alas! Isn't
  • The "International Community" Doesn't Want More African Nations?!
• "Fetching Water With a Q Drum: Looks Simple"
  (November 20, 2010)
• "Mutant Bananas: A Pretty Good Idea, Actually"
  (August 24, 2010)

Lemming Tracks: Fourth of July Weekend, 2011

Some aspects of America's Fourth of July are - there's no other word for it - cheesy.

Literally. That's Troy Landwehr's edible sculpture: a one-ton block of Wisconsin Cheddar, commissioned by Cheez-It, for the 2008 celebration of Independence day. The cheese didn't go to waste - after being displayed in Philadelphia and New York, it went back to Wisconsin: where it was carved up and sent to food pantries.

What's the secret to keeping 2,000 pounds of Wisconsin cheddar edible for so long? Mr. Landwehr coated it in cooking oil.

Red-White-and-Blue Soda Pop Cans

Nothing quite says 'Independence Day' like a red-white-and-blue soda pop can. Some things may say it better - but none quite like that bit of colorful marketing from 2008.

On the whole, the Lemming likes living in America: and has opined on the topic in other blogs:

• "Independence Day, 2010: Food For Thought"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (July 4, 2010)
• "Fireworks, Families, Flags, and the Fourth of July"
  Sauk Centre Journal Blog (July 4, 2010)
• "Cultural Chaos, Divisiveness, and CNN"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (April 1, 2010)
  • "Chaos" and "divisiveness" don't always mean chaos and divisiveness
  • See "What is an Information Gatekeeper?"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 14, 2009)
    Particularly
    • Cultural Chaos! Divisiveness! I Like It!
• "United States of America: 232 Years in the Freedom Business"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 3, 2008)
  Particularly
  • America Isn't Perfect

That crack about "chaos" and "divisiveness" may need a little explaining in this post, so here goes.

Sometimes "freedom" means being free to agree with the majority of your neighbors - or with whoever runs the area you live in. Here in America, the problem has been avoiding a "tyranny of the majority."¹

Sometimes there's an oppressed majority, a situation which often doesn't end well:

• "Bahrain, Foreign Troops, and - Maybe - the Last Stand of Kings"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (March 18, 2011)

Mom, Home, Apple Pie, and Monks with Prayer Flags

America's gone through quite a lot of change since the Lemming got interested in this country.

The national government's judicial branch finally got around to sorting out an appalling series of treaty violations, dating from the 19th century. Aside from the injustice of it all, the Lemming's related by marriage to the Oglala Sioux - so there's a personal angle here.

America finally got an Irish president - and survived. Some folks seem shocked that the current administration isn't at all WASPish. Which is a little odd, considering how long it's been since this was even close to being the Anglo-Saxon states of America.

Moving on.

Folks get used to new customs and ideas pretty quickly - which may be why the Lemming hasn't heard how un-American it is to have a tannenbaum in the living room in mid-winter. Queen Victoria was indirectly involved: and that's another topic.

Last year, Fourth of July festivities in Washington, D.C., included monks with prayer flags. They're a little pastel for the Lemming's taste - but hey, they look good.


(from Around the Mall, used w/o permission)

Besides, there's that pesky idea of "freedom" again. Just because most folks in America aren't Bhutanese monks, that doesn't mean that folks who aren't in the majority can't worship - or not worship - as they please. Or criticize the government: and live. That's far from a universally-accepted notion:

• "Freedom, Burma / Myanmar / Myanma, and Getting a Grip"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (June 29, 2011)
• "Religious Freedom, Niemöller, and Muslims in America"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (April 7, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Why the Rights of Muslims Matter to This Catholic
• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Dealing With Criticism, and Getting a Grip"
  (February 4, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Criticizing Government Policy Isn't Necessarily Treason

As part of a religious minority in America, the Lemming's got a very personal stake in supporting religious freedom. For everybody. This is one of the many cases where 'my end of the boat isn't sinking' simply won't float. (A Catholic Citizen in America (April 27, 2011)

Snap, Crackle, Boom, and Whoosh

Then there's fireworks. That's not an exclusively American thing, of course - China, gunpowder, and all that.

Still, America's Independence Day and fireworks are pretty much inseparable for many folks.

Then there's the Minnesota legislature, that banned fireworks quite a while ago. Something about the Masses not being smart enough to use them, the Lemming gathers. There are (real) safety concerns too, of course.

Then, recently, Minnesota's leaders decided to see if civilization as we know it would survive some of the tamer fireworks. (July 1, 2008) The center held, mere anarchy was not loosed upon the world, and Minnesota didn't burn to the ground.

From the snaps, pops, whizzing, and occasional BANG I hear outside, quite a few folks paid about as much attention to fireworks laws this year as they have in the past. And yet, we survive.

Related posts:

• "New Abraham Lincoln Statue Cheesy: Literally"
  (July 5, 2009)
• "New Citizens at an American Spaceport"
  (July 4, 2010)
• "Fourth of July Recipes: Nine of Them"
  (July 4, 2009)
• "Now, That's American!"
  (July 4, 2008)
• "Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Sculpted in Wisconsin Cheddar"
  (July 3, 2008)

---

¹ Concerns about a "tyranny of the majority" aren't new. See:

• "Unlimited Power of the Majority in the United States, and its consequences
  Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Chapter XV, Volume 1
  from the Henry Reeve Translation, revised and corrected (1899)
  American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia

Amerikansk dressing, Skåne Tourist Board, Volvo, Lots of Color - but No Swedish Chef

"Snapshots from Sweden: Roaming Around a Swedish Supermarket"
Robyn Lee, Serious Eats (June 30, 2011)

"From June 5 to June 11, I visited Western and Southern Sweden on a trip sponsored by Visit Sweden, West Sweden Tourist Board, Skåne Tourist Board, and Volvo as part of their CAR + VACATION contest. Here's a look at something I saw during my trip.

"It was supposed to be a quick stop, but by pulling into the parking lot of ICA, one of Sweden's largest supermarket chains ... when I'm in a supermarket outside my home territory, I look at everything and take bright-eyed joy in everyday items like cereal and mayonnaise. Kids love candy stores; I love supermarkets...."

A tip of the Lemming's hat to anyone who, as an adult, still knows how to "...look at everything and take bright-eyed joy in everyday items...." And, even better, can share that experience with others.

Speaking of "bright" - quite a few displays in the Swedish supermarket were most sincerely not drab.

Besides the colors, the Lemming enjoyed looking at a familiar setting - a supermarket - which featured somewhat exotic foreign items like Amerikansk dressing (hampurilais kastike). Which might have been labeled "American dressing (hamburguesa salsa)" if it were on the shelf of the supermarket down the street from the Lemming's house. Although the Lemming is pretty sure that, whatever 'hamburger sauce' is, that's not what we call it here in America.

It's a fun post - the Lemming liked it, anyway: your experience may vary - with 17 photos from a Swedish supermarket. Including a full-size version of the one you see here.

Swedish supermarket, by the way, doesn't have all that much to do with Swedish Chef, which is another topic.

Related (sort of) posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Silence of the Poets"
  (April 10, 2011)
• "A Cause for Our Time: Campaign for Real Gravy"
  (March 7, 2011)
• "Now You, Too, Can Grow Mushrooms: In the Office?!"
  (February 25, 2011)
• "Cheeseburger Bill: Minnesota's Shocking Attack on Contemporary Values"
  (February 22, 2011)
• "At Last! A History of the Limburger Cheese Sandwich!"
  (January 27, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Big Cheese is Victimizing You!
    • BEWARE BIG OIL AND BIG CHEESE!!!
  • Which reminded the Lemming of -
    • "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
      (June 12, 2011)

---

A tip of the hat to williamcooks, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this 'Swedish Supermarket' post.

E. Coli, Sprouts, Caution, and Business

The E. coli outbreak - still almost entirely in Germany - is bad. Around 2,500 people may have caught the bug. Numbers vary from one report to another, but it looks like 19 have died so far. Apparently it's "one of largest in history." (Healthy Living blog, KABC)

There's a new educated guess about where the infection came from: bean sprouts from a particular farm.

"Bean sprouts now suspected in E. coli crisis"
The Local (Germany's news in English) (June 5, 2011)

"...Lower Saxony Agriculture Minister Gert Lindemann told reporters on Sunday that health authorities in the state had identified bean sprouts as the likely cause of the bacterial health crisis, which has killed 21 people.

"While a conclusive laboratory analysis was still pending, with results not expected until Monday morning, the Lower Saxony Health Ministry felt the indications were strong enough to issue a public warning against eating such sprouts which are typically used in salads and consumed raw.

"The restaurants and food outlets to which the cases of E. coli had been traced all had received shipments of the particular beansprouts, he said.

"The supplier of the sprouts is based in the Lower Saxony town of Uelzen. Two company employees reportedly were suffering diarrhoea.[!] The firm supplies various types of sprouts including mung bean sprouts, radish sprouts, pea sprouts and lentil seeds.

"The fresh revelation came as German Health Minister Daniel Bahr said the scale of the E. coli outbreak in the country had overwhelmed hospitals in northern Germany. Meanwhile, experts speculated that the pathogen might be linked to biogas facilities...."

Again, it's bad. People have died. Many more are sick.

And a whole lot more are hurting: consumers and suppliers who paid for food they have to toss; and folks who produce sprouts. Or any other sort of vegetable. In Europe.

Because, apparently, one farm didn't pay attention to hygiene.

Unfair? Maybe: but the Lemming realizes that with a potentially-lethal disease, caution makes sense.

Here's some of the economic fallout from the E. coli outbreak:

---

"Qatar suspends vegetables import from Spain, Germany amid E. coli outbreak"
Habib Toumi, gulfnews.com (June 5, 2011)

"Qatar has banned the import of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce from Spain and Germany amid an E. coli outbreak that has killed 19 people.

"The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) said it decided to impose a temporary ban on the three products, but would not 'hesitate to ban all vegetables from all European countries if necessary', an official said, Qatari media reported...."

The Lemming hopes that the Supreme Council of Health pays attention - and lifts the ban when the rest of us find out where the tainted food came from.

Related posts:

• "EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not"
  (June 2, 2011)
• "Rat Poo Peanut President is Back: As a Consultant"
  (September 9, 2010)
• "Salmonella in Eggs: Let the Blames Begin"
  (September 2, 2010)
• "And the Moral of This Story is: Don't Eat Raw Meat"
  (March 25, 2010)
• "New Wonder Anti-Bacterial Element: Copper"
  (June 15, 2009)

In the news:

• "Bean sprouts now suspected in E. coli crisis"
  The Local (Germany's news in English) (June 5, 2011)
• "Qatar suspends vegetables import from Spain, Germany amid E. coli outbreak"
  Habib Toumi, gulfnews.com (June 5, 2011)

Background:

• "E. Coli"
  CDC.gov

EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not

"E. coli outbreak is a new strain"
James Gallagher, BBC News (June 2, 2011)

"The World Health Organization says the E. coli outbreak in Germany is a completely new strain of the bacteria.

"The infection can cause the deadly complication - haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) - affecting the blood and kidneys.

"More than 1,500 people have been infected and 17 have died: 16 in Germany and one in Sweden.

"In the UK, three British nationals have been infected - all had visited Germany.

"Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a WHO spokesperson, is reported as saying: 'This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before.'

"Scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute, in China, are also reported as saying: 'This E.coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic.'

"Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

First, and very important: People died, 17 in all that we know of; around 1,500 others are or have been sick. This E. coli outbreak is a serious health hazard.

It's also doing no favors to farmers, folks who make their living in the EU food processing and distribution system, and consumers. That's arguably not as important as the loss of life - but a whole lot of folks who haven't been directly affected by this bug have either lost income, or have to destroy food they bought. My guess is that it'll drive food prices up, too.

Back to E. Coli, the WHO, and scientists who say it's new.

They could be right. Or, not.

Those last to paragraphs in the BBC News excerpt, again, with the Lemming's emphasis:

"...Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

"Preliminary" and "suggests" are not "definitive" and "demonstrates."

WHO, CDC, and Editorial Style

The WHO says new killer bacteria! China scientists declare mutant peril! CDC Indecisive! Will America's Arrogant Indifference Doom Us All?!

No, the Lemming has not run into any headlines quite like those.

However, the Lemming also wasn't too surprised - or shocked - that the CDC isn't as certain as news editors may be, about this being a new strain of E. Coli.

My guess is that folks at the World Health Organization aren't quite as sure as news reports imply they are:

"Cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) continue to rise in Germany. Ten countries have now reported cases to WHO/Europe.

"As of 31 May 2011, nine patients in Germany have died of HUS, and six of EHEC. One person in Sweden has also died. There are many hospitalized patients, several of them requiring intensive care, including dialysis....

"...Numerous investigations are continuing into the cause of the outbreak, which is still unclear.

"In accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is keeping Member States informed about the latest developments and providing technical guidance on further investigation of the ongoing outbreak. WHO does not recommend any trade restrictions related to this outbreak."
(WHO news (June 2, 2011))

That "the cause of the outbreak ... still unclear" thing might refer to the E. coli strain, how the bacteria got into Europe's food supply, or both, as far as the Lemming knows.

If you're waiting for a rant about journalistic irresponsibility, that's not gonna happen in this post. News media, what the Lemming's read, has done a pretty good job of reporting this outbreak - all things considered.

About the CDC and WHO apparently not being on the same page? Presenting that as if it were a conflict is factually accurate, in the Lemming's opinion, but probably misleading. News media, in America at least, tends to show everything as conflict - as the Lemming learned during journalism courses, decades back.

Quite a few folks who wouldn't be interested in what two guys at the next table are saying might get interested if the strangers were arguing about something. Conflict often sparks interest.

In the same way, perceived conflict in a headline tends to spark interest. The function of news is to sell newspapers, magazines, and advertising. Also inform and persuade. Which is, in the Lemming's opinion, okay.

Provided that folks who read and listen to the news know what's going on.

Back to E. Coli.

Rare, Yes: New? Maybe Not So Much

"...'We have very little experience with this particular strain, but it has been seen before,' said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's division of foodborne diseases.

"The CDC said the strain is very rare and added that, while it is not aware of any cases ever having been reported in the United States, it is aware of a few previous reports of the strain in other countries. Britain's Health Protection Agency has said that the strain suspected in the outbreak is 'rare' and 'seldom seen in the UK.'..."
(CNN June 2, 2011)

Maybe Robert Tauxe, the CDC database, and the British HPA are all wrong. Or maybe the New! Unknown! strain just didn't ring any bells in the labs where the samples were studied.

'Wash Your Hands Before Eating' - Mom (or Dad) was Right

The Lemming's read the usual 'cook meat, wash hands, wash produce' advice on the WHO website and elsewhere. You've read it all before, anyway. The Lemming thinks it's a good idea, by the way.

Meanwhile, in Texas

The Amarillo Globe-News reports that folks got sick there. E. coli. Seriously enough, in the case of four children, for them to be hospitalized.

'And the moral of this is:' quite a few things, actually.

The usual thing about common-sense hygiene, of course.

Also, that children are quite often the folks who wind up with really serious E. coli infections. Which makes the European outbreak odd.

European E. Coli Outbreak: Kids, No; Women, Yes

"...Previous E. coli outbreaks have mainly hit children and the elderly, but the European outbreak is disproportionately affecting adults, especially women...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com June 2, 2011)

That is odd - maybe this strain of E. coli is new, after all.

Or maybe there's something different about the way it's being spread.

If the outbreak was in America, with that particular demographic getting sick, the Lemming might suspect some sort of 'Fat-B-Gone All-Natural Organic Vegetarian Salad' product.

It's early days: and this outbreak will probably stay in the news for a while. It's massive. And that's another topic.

Remember Ebola?

A not-so-high-profile news item. Not internationally, anyway, as far as the Lemming knows:

"Ebola in Uganda"
WHO news (May 18, 2011)

"On 13 May 2011, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda notified WHO of a case of Ebola Haemorrhagic fever in a 12 year old girl from Luwero district, central Uganda. On 6 May she presented to a private clinic in Zirobwe town, Luwero district, with a 5-day history of an acute febrile illness with haemorrhagic manifestations. She was later referred to Bombo General Military Hospital where she died few hours after admission.

"Laboratory investigations at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda confirmed Ebola virus (Sudan species). A sample is on route to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA for additional analysis and sequencing.

"A National Task Force has been convened by the MoH Uganda, which is working with several partners including WHO, CDC, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and USAID. A joint MoH, WHO and CDC team was deployed to the district on 13 May to carry out a detailed epidemiological investigation. WHO will be supporting the MoH in the areas of epidemiology and infection control...."

The ebola case is just that - one case. From the sounds of it, folks in Uganda want to keep it that way. Quite understandably.

And that is yet another topic.¹

Related posts:

• "Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug With NDM-1 Enzyme"
  (September 15, 2010)
• "Rat Poo Peanut President is Back: As a Consultant"
  (September 9, 2010)
• "Salmonella in Eggs: Let the Blames Begin"
  (September 2, 2010)
• "And the Moral of This Story is: Don't Eat Raw Meat"
  (March 25, 2010)
• "New Wonder Anti-Bacterial Element: Copper"
  (June 15, 2009)

In the news:

• "Russia bans EU vegetables over E.coli, EU protests"
  Edition: U.S., Reuters (June 2, 2011)
• "World health officials scramble to stem deadly E. coli outbreak"
  CNN (June 2, 2011)
• "WHO says Europe E. coli is new, but CDC not sure"
  newsday.com (June 2, 2011)
• "EHEC outbreak: Increase in cases in Germany"
  WHO news (June 2, 2011)
• "WHO: E. Coli Outbreak Caused by New Strain"
  Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (June 2, 2011)
• "E. coli cases reported in city"
  Amarillo Globe-News, via amarillo.com (Texas) (June 2, 2011)

---

¹ The Lemming's posted about Africa, health care, and related issues, in another blog:

• "Sudan, Darfur: My Take"
  (January 8, 2011)
• "Partners in Education and Mr. Grimes: A Melodrama For Today"
  (November 26, 2010)
• " 'Conflict Minerals,' Politics, and Making Sense"
  (July 22, 2010)
• "Sustainable African Development: And Swift's Modest Proposal"
  (May 6, 2010)
• "Zambia: Corruption, Hospitals, and Bishops"
  (July 22, 2009)
• "Good News from Africa: But Some People Won't Like It"
  (March 17, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Silence of the Poets

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of kumquats.

The poets taught in literature courses, anyway.

In the Lemming's experience.

A tip of the hat to G. K. Chesterton, whose observation the Lemming paraphrased. (May 31, 2009)

Not-entirely-unrelated posts:

• "Faces in the Street - a Chesterton Quote"
  (May 22, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: Chesterton Quotes on Bigotry and Lunatic Asylums"
  (January 16, 2010)
• "Kumquats Revealed!"
  (September 20, 2009)
• "No Such Thing as an Uninteresting Subject: a Thought for the Day"
  (August 22, 2009)
• "A Thought for the Day"
  (May 31, 2009)

Fukushima, Japan: (Somewhat) Good News, Bad News

First, the good news:

"Tokyo Electric Power Laid 1 Kilometer of New Power Line"
Natalie Obiko Pearson, Jim Polson, Bloomberg (March 19, 2011)

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. engineers have laid a new power line to the stricken No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

"The new line, measuring about one kilometer (0.6 miles), aims to restore power to the plant's cooling systems, which were knocked out by the earthquake and tsunami March 11, a company official earlier told a press conference on NHK...."

Someone described the emergency power line that Tokyo Electric strung to the Fukushima plant as "the world's longest extension cord." Which, in a way, it is.

More detail about what's been happening at the Fukushima power plant:

"Latest Reactor Status at Japan's Stricken Fukushima Nuclear Plant: Table"
Naoko Fujimura, Bloomberg (March 19, 2011)

"The following is the latest status of each nuclear reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant.

"No. 1: Workers are ready to restore power to the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said on NHK Television today. The reactor was damaged on March 12 by a hydrogen explosion that destroyed the building walls. The reactor is rated level five in terms of threat on an international scale of 1-7.

"No. 2: Engineers hope to use the power cable attached to the No. 2 reactor as a hub to restore electricity to the other five reactors, Tokyo Electric said. A March 15 explosion may have damaged the containment chamber. The reactor is rated a level five threat.

"No. 3: Firefighters sprayed to control the reactor between 2 p.m. yesterday and 3:40 a.m. today, NHK reported. Similar actions March 18 managed to replenish water in the spent-fuel pool...."

That, considering what's been happening in the Fukushima area lately, actually is good news. In the Lemming's opinion.

A slightly more chatty take on the same news:

"Electric power partially restored at Japan nuclear plant"
Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times (March 19, 2011)

"Engineers restore power to cooling pumps at two of the buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, but not to the most troublesome reactors yet. Meanwhile, manual spraying of seawater seems to be reducing radiation levels.

"Working overnight into Sunday, engineers have successfully restored power to cooling pumps in two reactors at the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the first genuinely hopeful sign in the week-long battle to prevent a full-scale meltdown at any of the six reactors at the site.

"Although power has so far been restored only at reactor buildings 5 and 6, which were not considered a particular threat, that success suggests that workers are finally beginning to make some headway in their effort to prevent more radiation from escaping the plant...."

So, that's the good news: there's a better chance now, that there won't be more catastrophic failures at the Fukushima facility. Getting the place running again - or at least cleaned up so that folks can move back into the area - - - well, that's another story.

Now, the bad news:

"Radiation found in food as workers scramble to curb nuclear crisis"
CNN (March 19, 2011)

"As workers scrambled to curb a nuclear crisis Sunday, the Japanese government considered halting the sale of food from farms near the Fukushima plant after abnormally high levels of radiation were found in milk and spinach.

"Very small amounts -- far below the level of concern -- of radioactive iodine were also detected in tap water in Tokyo and most prefectures near the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by last week's monster earthquake and tsunami.

"Six members of the emergency crew at the plant have been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation per hour, the equivalent of getting 10 chest X-rays per hour, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Company said...."

"...People are naturally exposed to about 3 millisieverts of radiation a year. The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends no more than 50 millisieverts exposure in a given year for nuclear rescue and recovery workers. It offers no restriction in a crisis when 'the benefit to others clearly outweighs the rescuer's risk.'

"Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said levels of radiation exceeding safety limits stipulated by Japanese law were found in some samples of spinach and milk from the Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures but authorities said the radioactive iodine-contaminated food posed little risk.

"Tainted milk was found 30 kilometers (18 1/2 miles) from the plant and spinach was collected as far as 100 kilometers (65 miles) to the south, almost halfway to Tokyo.

" 'Though radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about eight days and decays naturally within a matter of weeks, there is a short-term risk to human health if radioactive iodine in food is absorbed into the human body,' warned the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"A person who consumed the tainted food continuously for a year would take in the same amount of radiation as a single CT scan, Edano said. That's about 7 millisieverts or double what an average person in an industrialized country is exposed to in a year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...."

The first part of that last paragraph bears repeating, in the Lemming's opinion.

"...A person who consumed the tainted food continuously for a year would take in the same amount of radiation as a single CT scan ... That's about 7 millisieverts or double what an average person in an industrialized country is exposed to in a year..." (CNN) [emphasis mine]

That detail about just how big a risk the "tainted food" was - appears rather deep in the article. Which is standard 'inverted pyramid' reporting: an old journalistic standard, and another topic.

The point is that the "Radiation found in food" is - not much more than we're exposed to, just by living on this planet. It makes sense for Japan to have stringent standards for food - and to check what's being grown around the Fukushima power plant. In the Lemming's opinion.

But the Lemming hopes that folks won't take the "Radiation found in food" part of the news, remember that, and be scared of eating anything that's grown in northern Japan. Or in Japan.

Folks who survived having their towns destroyed and lives disrupted have, in the Lemming's opinion, enough trouble as it is - without having folks elsewhere shunning their exports.

Still - focusing on the (somewhat) good news: there's now a better chance that folks working at the Fukushima power plant will be able to get the situation under control. Before the radiation kills them.

Under the circumstances, that is (somewhat) good news. In the Lemming's opinion.

Related posts:

• "Too Much Radiation is Dangerous: Numbers and Background"
  (March 18, 2011)
• "Salt as a Radiation Sickness Cure: SALT?!"
  (March 17, 2011)
• "Seven-Point International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale: and a Ranting Lemming"
  (March 16, 2011)
• "Streaming News Video: NHK World, Japan"
  (March 16, 2011)
• "Refinery Fire, Disease Threats, and Maybe-Melting Reactors in Japan"
  (March 14, 2011)

More:

• "Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011: Posts"

More:

• "Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011: Posts"

A Cause for Our Time: Campaign for Real Gravy

Campaign for Real Gravy
realgravy.co.uk

"Join Brian and Elaine Rey, and Gordon Ramsay in their national campaign for people to dump the granules and get back to making their own real gravy.

"Together Brian and celebrated chef Gordon Ramsay have been marching around Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria in a quest to persuade members of the public to go back to making real meaty gravy...."

It is with a sense of guarded optimism that the Lemming contemplates this effort to restore meat, vegetables, and taste to British dining. In a world which seems to have lost its way in a maze of frozen dinners and instant pudding, these brave souls stand as champions for good, old-fashioned gravy. British style.

Seriously? The Lemming thinks they've got a good idea. And, although the Campaign for Real Gravy folks would love to have you purchase their products: homemade gravy is something that really can be made at home. Not from a kit.

Or what appears to be some sort of feed bag.

No, wait: on closer examination, that's an apron.

In the words of Gilda Radner, "never mind."

It's the Lemming's opinion that "real" gravy, made in parallel with meat and vegetable dishes, tastes better than what comes out of a box: even after the latter's mixed with water and heated in the microwave.

It's probably even better for you, although the Lemming's not all that inclined to join the natural food faddists. There's been too much save-a-tree-shoot-a-beaver thinking - make that association - about the innate superiority of "natural ingredients." "Natural" is fine: but let's remember that arsenic and hemlock are "natural ingredients." And that's a rant. Or, rather, a wrap on that topic.

On a not-entirely-unrelated topic:

• "post hoc ergo propter hoc"
  • "The logical fallacy of believing that temporal succession implies a causal relation"
    (Princeton's WordNet)

Now, in a spirit of transparency and disclosure, the Lemming states categorically that Campaign for Real Gravy was found as a direct result of watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America. Which doesn't have all that much to do with gravy or home cooking - not directly, anyway.

The Campaign for Real Gravy started, according to the website's About page, at an establishment with the improbably British name "The Fenwick Arms, situated in Claughton near Lancaster."

Which reminds the Lemming of the Grand Duchy of Fenwick and Dry Gulch. It's the Lemming's opinion that the names of places in the American west, like Deadwood, South Dakota, or Tombstone, Arizona, 'sound funny' in part because they mean something in contemporary English. We're used to names whose sounds didn't change all that much as languages evolved: like Londinium, although that frontier town's name did change a bit.

Oddly enough, there really is a Dry Gulch. In Antarctica. That's one of the the relatively few places on Earth where winters are rougher than Minnesota's. And there's a Dry Gulch (townofdrygulch.com), a tourist trap in Findley Lake, NY - with one of the more memorable - and annoying - collections of distracting Web effects the Lemming has seen in recent years.

Maybe the "Dry Gulch" website was designed by a relative of one of their competitors. The one in New York State, not the Antarctic one. The Dry Gulch, Antarctica, page was put together by someone who realized that somebody else might want to actually read the thing. Not be impressed by a bouncing image and "call us" text flowing from the cursor.

And that's yet another topic.

Related (?) posts:

• "Chef's Table: Not a Workbench; Not in McDonald's"
  (March 3, 2011)
• "Lychee Nuts, Litchi Nuts: Either Way, They're Edible"
  (February 18, 2011)
• "Parsnips are Not Carrots"
  (January 9, 2011)
• "Crumbs!"
  (October 23, 2010)
• "The History of Sausage - By a British Barbecue Company"
  (September 28, 2010)

Chef's Table: Not a Workbench; Not in McDonald's

"The Hottest Table in the Restaurant is in the Kitchen "
Sarah Spigelman, NS Newsdesk, NearSay (February 22, 2011)

"The best seat in the house just may be in the kitchen. The New York Post reports on two Gramercy restaurants where the chef's table, located in the kitchen, make for an unforgettable dining experience.

"SD26's kitchen chef's table has eight seats and is located between the desserts and main passageway, so you will see every dish before it leaves the kitchen. The six-course tasting menu offered here costs $125, and makes for 'an unforgettable experience.' The table must be reserved 48 hours in advance...."

Having a "chef's table" sounds like a good idea for upscale restaurants. Provided, of course, that the inside of the kitchen is something the restaurateur wants patrons to see.

Here's another "chef's table:"

"Chef's table at Claridge's"
Gordon Ramsay, gordonramsay.com

The Claridge's table seats seven - and is in a place with a sommelier. The Lemming suspects that if you're among the many folks who don't know what a sommelier is: 'you can't afford it.'

It's not a what, but a who, by the way. A sommelier is "a waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant." (Princeton's WordNet)

Claridge's is in Londinium: the locals have taken to calling it "London" lately. And that's another topic:

• "Well, That's Interesting: Brooklyn and the Names of Things"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (March 9, 2010)

Posts about food and restaurants:

• "Cheeseburger Bill: Minnesota's Shocking Attack on Contemporary Values"
  (February 22, 2011)
• "Five-Star Hotel Press Release - That's Readable!"
  (February 6, 2011)
• "Parsnips are Not Carrots"
  (January 9, 2011)
• "Did You Know There's an Authentic German Restaurant Near Lake George?"
  (November 27, 2010)
• "The Naming of Restaurants: Beyond 'EAT' "
  (August 21, 2010)

Now You, Too, Can Grow Mushrooms: In the Office?!

"Most Dangerous Object in the Office: Mushroom Box Mini Growing System"
Aaron Rowe, Wired Magazine (February 2011)

"Man, the gradual decriminalization of marijuana is really taking all the fun out of indoor agriculture. So we’re shelving our hydroponic systems in favor of an earthier new future: mushrooms. The housing, grow light, and clay pellets in this DIY kit are designed for foodie fungi - enokis, shiitakes, and so on...."

There's a video, too:


Turns out, it takes four to six weeks to grow mushrooms: from "spore inoculation to fruiting."

The Lemming isn't sure just how dangerous this mushroom growing kit would be: providing that one was sure to get safe, edible fungus. And didn't work in an office with a health nut, neat freak, or lawsuit-averse supervisor.

Not that the Lemming thinks that the little fungi would necessarily be a health hazard: or a beachhead for the mushroom people.

Quite a variety of mushroom growing kits are available:

• Gifts for Cooks & Gourmets
  gardeners.com
• mushbox
  mushbox.com
  • Not the best product name the Lemming's encountered
    • From a marketing viewpoint
• EDIBLE MUSHROOM GROWING KITS - CERTIFIED ORGANIC MUSHROOM LOGS
  gmushrooms.com
• Fungi Perfecti
  fungi.com

Related (?) posts:

• "Cleaning the Employee Lounge: A 'Nuclear Option' "
  (December 22, 2010)
• "Geeky Christmas Gifts: Starting With a Stapler"
  (December 21, 2010)
• "Mr. Basler's Worst Women's Fashions of the Year"
  (December 9, 2010)
• "Radioactive Pigs Attack Germany - No, Really"
  (August 4, 2010)
• "Just How Kosher is Lox?"
  (March 10, 2010)