Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Martian

Book: The Martian
Basic Information : Synopsis : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : New Words : Good Quotes : References

Basic Information: 
Author: Andy Weir
Edition: eReader Nook Book
Read:March 20, 2016
          October 14, 2016 (Book Group)
304 pages
Genre:  Science Fiction
Rated: 4  out of 5

Synopsis:
Astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars when a forceful evacuation takes place and the rest of the crew thinks that Mark is dead. But he survives an antenna through his suit and into his chest. Mark has to figure out how to survive without communications, limited vital resources, and damaged shelter.

His crew mates and Houston are unaware that he is still alive until a tech notices changes happening at the project site from satellite photo's. Things are moving around the site which needed to be evacuated. Watney is smarter than the average cookie and has figured out how to adapt and survive the hostile environment of Mars. Even more so, he has a knack for working things out. He figures out that if he can get to an old probe he would have communication with the earth-which is what he does.

At least communications enough to get a plan together  on his rescue. Of course, then disaster strikes again and he loses communications  and Watney has to travel across Mars about 2000 miles to a lift off point. With heroics on Watney's part and the crew which abandoned him, he is rescued.


Thoughts:
I enjoyed the book, but I did not find this a particularly deep book. I think it can be broken down into these parts:


  • Accidents do happen, be prepared
  • Through intelligence, attitude and work, you can overcome obstacles
  • People will try real hard to help others, even at the sacrifice of themselves.
There is little religion in the book. To me this is more of a symptom than a statement. Weir is more interested in weaving a good story with scientific information than looking into the mysteries of life.

There is one exchange between Commander Lewis who avows she is an atheist and Martinez, a Catholic. But all which it  was said is that Lewis lacked faith, maybe faith of any kind or in anything. There is one more scene where Watney finds Martinez' wooden crucifix and needs something to start a fire with. Watney burns the cross. I had more of a feeling it was not a metaphor for burning away religion to make way for survival and science, but only because it would be appropriate for Martinez to have a crucifix stowed away.

Weir notes that the sandstorm he describes would not happen--the atmosphere on Mars is not very much so the dust would not be enough cause that kind of damage nor push over a lander.

I like how the phrase in Slate.com says it, not science fiction but fictional science.

Weir published this in installments on his web site. That way he made corrections as he published.


Evaluation:
The first line in The Martian is very indicative of the book. It goes I'm pretty much [f'ed]. Well maybe a bit more forward than my slight modification. The line contains Mark Watney's circumstances, the feeling of frustration throughout the book, along with an undercurrent of what am I going to do about it. It also has the language which the author Weir will  liberally use.  The tension in the statement is resident in the book, which makes it work.

Andy Weir blends the technical with a good story line. As what others have pointed out, it is like Apollo 13 meets Tom Hanks in Castaway.  While much of the book deals with the technical issues of survival on Mars, Weir does a good job of not bogging down the story with too much science. Science is more of a method to move the story along. Being someone who enjoys understanding, I liked how he brought in science into the story.

Being along, the resourcefulness, the knowledge, optimism and the drive all make for this to be a read you will want to sit down and read in a night. Oh yeah, did I mention that Weir brings in enough irony into the story that you will be snickering through your read? Enjoy.

 
Notes from my book group:

BookGroup:
Most of my questions was based upon, but modified from, the LitLover's questions:


  • What would you have done if you were on Mars and something like the storm happens and a crew member was presumed dead?
  • A journal or diary can be a tool to reflect or serve as a companion. Do you keep one? How does it help you in dealing with your issues?
  • Did you find Weir's book plausible? Was it readable? Many times an author cannot combine the two.
  • How does The Martian compare to other science-fiction books? Do you think it will be something which people will be reading in ten years? This book group is not much on science fiction.



From LitLovers
1. How did The Martian challenge your expectations of what the novel would be? What did you find most surprising about it?

2. What makes us root for a character to live in a survival story? In what ways do you identify with Mark? How does the author get you to care about him?

3. Do you believe the crew did the right thing in abandoning the search for Mark? Was there an alternative choice?

4. Did you find the science and technology behind Mark's problem-solving accessible? How did that information add to the realism of the story?

5. What are some of the ways the author established his credibility with scientific detail? Which of Mark's solutions did you find most amazing and yet believable?

5. What is your visual picture of the surface of Mars, based on the descriptions in the book? Have you seen photographs of the planet?

7. Who knew potatoes, duct tape, and seventies reruns were the key to space survival? How does each of these items represent aspects of Mark's character that help him survive?

8. How is Mark's sense of humor as much a survival skill as his knowledge of botany? Do you have a favorite funny line of his?

9. To what extent does Mark's log serve as his companion? Do you think it's implicit in the narrative that maintaining a log keeps him sane?

10. The author provides almost no back story regarding Mark's life on Earth. Why do you think he made this choice? What do you imagine Mark's past life was like?

11. There's no mention of Mark having a romantic relationship on Earth. Do you think that makes it easier or harder to endure his isolation? How would the story be different if he was in love with someone back home?

12. Were there points in the novel when you became convinced Mark couldn't survive? What were they, and what made those situations seem so dire?

13. The first time the narrative switched from Mark's log entries to third-person authorial narrative back on Earth, were you surprised? How does alternating between Mark's point of view and the situation on Earth enhance the story?

14. Did you believe the commitment of those on Earth to rescuing one astronaut? What convinced you most?

15. To what extent do you think guilt played a part in the crew's choice to go back to Mark? To what extent loyalty? How would you explain the difference?

16. How does the author handle the passage of time in the book? Did he transition smoothly from a day-to-day account to a span of one and a half years? How does he use the passage of time to build suspense?

17. Unlike other castaways, Mark can approximately predict the timing of his potential rescue. How does that knowledge help him? How could it work against him?

18. When Mark leaves the Hab and ventures out in the rover, did you feel a loss of security for him? In addition to time, the author uses distance to build suspense. Discuss how.

19. Where would you place The Martian in the canon of classic space exploration films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo 13, and Gravity? What does it have in common with these stories? How is it different?

20. A survival story has to resonate on a universal level to be effective, whether it's set on a desert island or another planet. How important are challenges in keeping life vital? To what extent are our everyday lives about problem-solving and maintaining hope?

New Words:



 Good Quotes:
  • First Line:  I'm pretty much f'ed.
  • Last Line: This is the happiest day of my life.
  •  No plan survives first contact with the enemy. pg 233
  • every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out. pg 304

 References:
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Monday, February 8, 2016

The Pope Who Quit

Book: The Pope Who Quit
Author:Jon M Sweeney
Edition:Softbound from the Mountain View Public Library
Read:February 8, 2016
249 (288 including end notes and index) pages
Genre:  History, Biography
Rated: 3 out of 5

Synopsis:
The author follows the life of Peter Morrone of becoming a contemplative of some renown. In his 80's he is selected as a compromise person for becoming pope. But whether because of age, desire, or ability, he fails as being pope and quits. Even after quitting, he is viewed as a threat and is taken into prison and dies there.

Note: This book was written before the resignation of Pope Benidict XVI's.

Thoughts:
Introduction
Hermits did not live in homes. They didn't aspire to anything permanent. Is Sweeney right on this? Didn't he get this backward that hermits aspire for the permanency of eternity, not the temporal of the material we see around us?

Notes that many Christians have boring lives. But then something awakens them (Spirit of God). Around the time of St Francis there was an outbreak of mystical experiences among the common folks.   The lesson I take from this is that we are called not to seek after the extraordinary, but to be true to our Lord. He will send his Spirit to us as needed.

 The Bizarre Papal Election of 1292–94
Methods of reasoning was taking over. Knowledge came from the Muslims/Arabians on how things were. Emphasis from authority to hypothesis, research and evidence.  Which is better? In my mind, it is better to have both-inspiration backed by reasoning.


A Most Unlikely Decision
there was an understanding that time was connected to destiny. This was the statement introducing that a letter which Peter Morrone sent to the Cardinals arrived at a divinely appointed time.  As I am reading the book, I think that the Cardinals were almost all oriented around power. But this letter seemed to them a divine entry. Were these men all about power? Or were they people who thought the power was the way to achieve God's goals on this earth?



They Came to Take Him Away
 Hypothesis: the more a man was able to live every moment of earthly existence as a gift from the Creator, the higher the spiritual state he would achieve. Is this true? What does Sweeney mean by live? If he means activity, I think the statement is false. If he means that each moment is moving the person a step closer to God, then yes. But what does that look like? Feeding the poor or the contemplation effort of Peter Morrone?


The Hundred-Meter Fast
Morrone sought the mountains to both be alone but to also be close to God. Sweeney  indicates that at least the thought in those days was that the higher you got, the closer you are to God. I will admit, when I go to the mountains, I feel closer to Him. But having said that, I think it is there I can contemplate the beauty God has put in there for us. For others it might be the beach, or a sunset or the flight of a bird.

I do not know what Sweeney means by saying that a hermit takes his own suffering into his own hands. Does he mean that the hermit seeks out suffering, or that he has the capacity to understand that his suffering draws him closer to God.




Riding on an Ass
Best line in the book: Every pope before him had died in office. That's what popes do.

The World is Falling Apart
 Sweeney notes that Celestine V was the latest and for many the last hope of those who believed that a man could wield both political and spiritual power, ... Isn't this the hope of most evangelical America? To find a righteous person who can weld the power of the political process? But from what we learned in this book, that may not be possible. To be spiritual says we will not indulge in the shenanigans of the muck of politics. We will love, not despise our enemies. Politics does not allow for that which appears to be weak. Sort of makes politics hopeless for us. Maybe on a local level where a persons reflective goodness can show.

It is noted that until the 14th century the rulers felt a burden to rule under the Church's moral authority. This did involve, to some extent, being involved in the welfare of the people. Isn't this one measure of a good ruler? After that the era of cynicism began. Maybe that is how come we cannot have a united spiritual and political ruler.

Is Saint Enough?
This was the work of Peter Morrone's entire life: to keep praying despite whatever happened... to abdicate as evidence that he understood his most important calling of all--to be a contemplative. Is this really his entire calling? Sort of reminds of the modern phrase of being so holy that you are of no earthly good. Also it sort of makes you wonder if this statement is true, what good is a pope who thinks that he is the primary attraction of the Church, not Christ.

A. N. Wilson is quoted in the New Yorker magazine as saying:  I bend my knee to the unwilling holy man who knew there was no meeting place between the pursuit of power and the worship of God. At least to know the limits of each one of these.


Evaluation:
As a history, Sweeney does a good job of laying things out about who Peter Morrone was. As a story, he lacks a necessary rhythm to keep the reader excited about the biography. There are places which Sweeney throws in some points which I do not think he supports particularly well.

But the conclusions he draws should be well taken. You have a contemplative person selected to be pope, who tries to infuse his spirituality into the politics of the 13th century Roman Catholic Church and gets chewed up and spit out.  As such, you wonder, can you really join together the spiritual with the political? Isn't this where American politics and religion have can astray?  Just for this insight, it is a book worth reading.

 
Notes from my book group:

What pictures does the book evoke on who Peter Morrone was before becoming Pope Celestine V? Where does Sweeney draw his facts from?

Do you see any reasons to trust a hagiographical account of a life? What do you think of the Italian saying quoted by Sweeney on page 72 that translates as: “A lie well told is worth more than a stupid fact”?

Sweeney has in his first chapter that Hermits did not live in homes. They didn't aspire to anything permanent. Is he right? Is that what it means to be spiritual?

The outbreak of new ways of knowledge was just starting at this time. How did the starting of emphasis on reason with hypothesis, research and evidence as the basis cause a change in how power is obtained? If you were the leaders of that day, what effect would that have on you?

Starting chapter five, it is stated, the more a man was able to live every moment of earthly existence as a gift from the Creator, the higher the spiritual state he would achieve.Is this true in what ways? How does this get worked out? Did this show up in the book?

Peter Damian's disciplines served as an inspiration to Peter Morrone. Much of this seems foreign to us in our day and age, unless you remember the Albino in the Dan Brown novel. How does discipline contribute ti spirituality? Are there limits? Did Peter Morrone exceed those limits?

Also in THE HUNDRED-METER FAST, Sweeney talks about how a hermit will take(s) his suffering into his own hands. How do you parse this statement? Does causing your own suffering bring you closer to God?  How does this fit into fasting? Or Nietzsche suggestion that saints and martyrs attempt to dominate the rest of us with these ways of being “holy.”

Contrast how Sweeney describes how popes were in Peter Morrone's day with our current day popes?  How much politics do you think goes into making a pope today? To make him successful? Is this true of other spiritual leaders? What part does cynicism play in today's leaders or at least in how we view the?

Sweeney in his summary chapter notes that Peter Morrone was a great spiritual man who did not operate in the political and power structures of his day. How do you think a spiritual man would operate as President today? (I am thinking of Jimmy Carter, Harold Hughes, and Ben Carson)

What do you think of Sweeney’s concluding thought, that Peter Morrone/Celestine V was a quitter, yes, but that by quitting he also showed himself to be enlightened?


Penguin-Random House Reader Guide
1. Part I — When the Unexpected Happened

A LETTER THAT CHANGED JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
The opening paragraphs of this chapter begin to tell you something about who Peter Morrone was. Can you picture him? Have you known a strong, religious person in your life? Do you have positive or negative associations with such people?

2. THE BIZARRE PAPAL ELECTION OF 1292­–94

How would you describe the typical medieval pope? Is he someone that you would want as your priest or spiritual leader? Was it a sign of his virtue, rather than his weakness, that Peter Morrone was ill-fit for the late medieval papacy? This is a theme that we will return to many times in The Pope Who Quit.

3. A MOST UNLIKELY DECISION

How do you imagine the room in which a papal conclave is held? Who are the characters in that room? Can you imagine the various motivations that the cardinals held in that room in July of 1294 – some good, some not?

4. SPREADING THE NEWS
Much of the power of the medieval papacy came as a result of one of the most famous (and successful) forgeries in history known as the Donation of Constantine. See page 56. This forgery claimed that the fourth century emperor Constantine donated a great swath of imperial land to the office of the papacy, then held by Pope Sylvester I. The early humanist scholar, Lorenzo Valla, began to expose this forgery in the 1440s. A popular twelfth century legal textbook (known as Gratian’s Decretum) explained what was believed up until that time: “The Emperor Constantine yielded his crown and all his royal prerogatives in the city of Rome, and in Italy, and in western parts to the Apostolic See…. On the fourth day after his baptism Constantine conferred this privilege on the pontiff of the Roman Church, so that in the whole Roman world priests would regard him as their head, as judges do their king.” [See Lorenzo Valla, Discourse on the Forgery of the Alleged Donation of Constantine, for the text of his exposure of the forgery, in both Latin and an old English translation, at http://history.hanover.edu/texts/vallapart2.html]

5. THEY CAME TO TAKE HIM AWAY

Where was Peter when the news of the election was brought to his doorstep? See page 66. The Roman poet Petrarch says that Peter actually turned and ran, attempting to flee. Should he have?


6. Part II — Peter of Morrone, 1209–93

NOW I WILL TELL YOU OF MY LIFE

Sweeney begins Part II of his book by briefly explaining the use of hagiography in telling a story such as that of Peter Morrone. Do you see any reasons to trust a hagiographical account of a life? Have you read any such accounts of religious figures in the past? What do you think of the Italian saying quoted by Sweeney on page 72 that translates as: “A lie well told is worth more than a stupid fact”?

7. I BECAME A MAN WHEN I BECAME A MONK

What do you think of Peter’s family background and how it may have affected his professional course in life? How do you see him as compared to other prominent religious figures, including previous popes, of his own century? How has your own family “determined” your future – for good or ill?

8. A HERMIT LOVES HIS CAVE

Peter Damian’s writings and reputation had a profound influence on Peter Morrone’s life and thought. Sweeney describes Damian as a zealot, a pessimist, and a reformer. By this point in The Pope Who Quit, do you see Peter Morrone that way, too? Or not?

9. THE HUNDRED-METER FAST
We return to the theme of asceticism. Ascetic acts were ever-present in Peter’s life. It was the nineteenth century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, son of a Lutheran minister, who first called asceticism a religious person’s way of gaining power over. Nietzsche suggested that saints and martyrs attempt to dominate the rest of us with these ways of being “holy.” He saw an insidious “will to power” in fastings and other physical denials. He called it a “striving for distinction,” nothing other than a way of trying to dominate. What do you think?

10. WALKING TO LYON

This chapter sees Peter Morrone living among the men of power of his era. How do you think those men regarded the hermit? How might Peter have regarded them?


11. Part III — Turbulent Times

OBSESSED WITH SALVATION

Do you see more or less “obsession” with salvation today, as compared to Peter’s era?

12. RIDING ON AN ASS

See pages 141-146. How did the image of Saint Francis of Assisi impact the world of the thirteenth century? Prophecies of Joachim of Fiore foretold a century before Francis were believed to have been fulfilled by him. Poets writing in the century after Francis wrote about how he was a “new Christ.” There were more followers of Francis in the first half century of his movement than had joined any other monastic movement previously. How was Francis different from other religious figures who’d come before him? Was Peter Morrone at all like Francis?

13. THE COLORFUL KINGS OF NAPLES AND SICILY

Fathers and sons. The history of the world could probably be told through the lens of sons sometimes modeling and sometimes rebelling against, their fathers. How would you describe Charles I? And how about his son?

14. FIFTEEN DISASTROUS WEEKS

Do you see any similarities between Pope Celestine V and any of the popes who have lived and ruled during your lifetime? Is it conceivable that a pope would make some of the same mistakes that Celestine made, today?

15. AWKWARDNESS IN ROBES

In Sweeney’s telling, the papal curia, Castle Nuovo, and the College of Cardinals all become like “characters” in the story, each influencing the “angelic” Pope Celestine. How did they each impact him – for good or ill?


16. Part IV — The Passion and the Pity, 1294–96

I, PETER CELESTINE, AM GOING AWAY

One of the enduring questions from the life of Peter Morrone/Celestine V is this: Was he guileless and saintly, or was he something else? In the final chapter, Sweeney concludes by weighing in on this topic. But at this point, what do you think?

17. THE NEW ADVENT OF FRIAR PETER

There have been many stories in history of a religious figure running for his life. One thinks, for example, of the 14th Dalia Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, fleeing the Chinese communists across the Himalayan mountains from Tibet to India in 1959. A more ancient example might be Celestine’s spiritual model, Jesus Christ, who of course lost his life and never tried to flee. What do you think of Celestine’s running from Naples?

18. MURDERED BY A POPE

Did Cardinal Gaetani have Celestine V murdered? What do you think? What evidence is missing that would allow a legal case to be made?

19. THE WORLD IS FALLING APART

The undercurrent of this chapter is also an undercurrent that marks different religions and spiritual teachers from one another. That is, is this the only world or is there another to come? And then, are there ways to be faithful to God that have nothing to do with living in this world? How would you describe Peter Morrone’s beliefs on these topics – based on his actions?

20. IS SAINT ENOUGH?

What do you think of Sweeney’s concluding thought, that Peter Morrone/Celestine V was a quitter, yes, but that by quitting he also showed himself to be enlightened?


New Words:
  • hagiography: the writing of the lives of saints.
  •  eremitic: A recluse or hermit, especially a religious recluse.
Book References:
  • Many of them-see the notes at the end of the book

Good Quotes:
  • First Line:Toward the close of the Middle Ages, in 1285, there lived three men whose lives would intersect and forever change history.
  • Last Line: And for that single act, he showed himself to be enlightened, not naive.
Table of Contents:
  • Time Line of Events
  • Prologue
  • Introduction
  • Part I: When the Unexpected Happened
    • A Letter that Changed Just About Everything
    • The Bizarre Papal Election of 1292–94
    • A Most Unlikely Decision
    • Spreading the News
    • They Came to Take Him Away
  • Part II: Peter of Morrone, 1209–93
    • Now I Will Tell You of My Life
    • I Became a Man When I Became a Monk
    • A Hermit Loves His Cave
    • The Hundred-Meter Fast
    • Walking to Lyon
  • Part III: Turbulent Times
    • Obsessed with Salvation
    • Riding on an Ass
    • The Colorful Kings of Naples and Sicily
    • Fifteen Disastrous Weeks
    • Awkwardness in Robes
  • Part IV: The Passion and the Pity, 1294–96
    • I, Peter Celestine, Am Going Away
    • The New Advent of Friar Peter
    • Murdered by a Pope
    • The World is Falling Apart
    • Is Saint Enough?
  • Notes
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index

References:
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Wednesday, February 3, 2016

A Prayer Journal

Book: A Prayer Journal
Author:Flannery O'Connor
Edition:Hardback from the Mountain View Public Library
Read:February 3, 2016
40 (96 including photo's of journal) pages
Genre:   Biography, Christianity
Rated: 4 1/2  out of 5

Synopsis:
This is Flannery O'Connor's prayer journal from her early 20's.  Most of the time when you read something like this, the words written is only a prelude of what is to come. But here, O'Connor shows the depth of her thinking combined with the budding eloquence of her style and the yearning to be a better Christian for her God.

Thoughts:
Undated Entries:
You are the slim crescent of a moon that I see and my self is the earth's shadow that keeps me from seeing all the moon.

 I do not know You God because I am in the way. So true, so wise. I do get in the way of your glory. Fortunately your glory is larger and brighter than I am dark.

My attention is always very fugitive. So many distractions, so much to have my mind wander. O'Connor describes me well here, I just wish my soul at 62 could be as deep as hers was at 20. Of course,  that does mean I would have to want and yearn for that instead of the weak wish.

You say, dear God, to ask for grace and it will be given. I ask for it. I realize that there is more to it than that--that I have to behave like I want it. O'Connor calls into question, do I really want to have grace cover me? Do I seek it? Or do I give it lipservice. Too often it is the later.

Please let Christian principles permeate my writings and please let there be enough of my writing (published) for Christian principles to permeate. This gets to the heart of being a Christian in our world. Am I enough of a Christian so that Christ is in me and throughout me? Do I show enough of Christ to have people see how God acts in this world?

Hell seems a great deal more feasible to my weak mind than heaven. No doubt because hell is a more earthly seeming thing.  Or because we see more signs of hell in our world than heaven.

Contrition in me is largely imperfect. I don't know if I've ever been sorry for a sin because it hurt you. I understand this because it is me. How can I love but repeat sin so much?

She says that she is reading Kafka and feels his problem with grace. What is this problem. Note to Gary-need to read about this. Sounds interesting. Apparently Kafka makes  grace sounds hard to obtain. It is O'Connor's pray that this not be so.

O'Connor, who is in grad school at this time, notes that it is easy to fall for the educated version of religion as being ridiculous.  But she does not. She builds a wall and tries to fathom what the reasons are for misery, for her lack of hope, not the easy answer of just let religion go away and then you do not have this problem.

I would like to be intelligently holy. So much better than being butt-stupid right. O'Connor looks  to sanctify her mind to be His, but not to do it via a lobotomy. That is how Christianity has done it traditionally until the last century. May we recover the intelligence to figure out what is good and holy and truthful from that which is passing and false.

One of the falsities of intelligence is the need to prove how intelligent you are. O'Connor understands this when she notes that she says things to put others down to show how clever she is. She also understands this cheapens herself. This is a note for me, do not raise myself by lowering others.

Who is Bernanos? Catholic author. O'Connor's comment is that his works are so wonderful.

The term mediocrity gets brought up several times. She is concerned that she will be content with only doing an OK job on her books. But she resolves to be old and beaten down before accepting it. But she also recognizes that she will not be a fine writer, but it is a gift from God. Like O'Connor uses a typewriter, God is using her. Mediocrity is what short changes that gift.

Denting submission denies God.  There is hope in Hell. You take it away, you take away sin, there is nothing to turn us to God. [Gary's words]: Sin leads us to despair and misery which in turn are the scourges driving us to Him. This is where the psychology of her day takes away hope by saying this is all we have is what we are. We are a mass of our own twisted vices

About half of the thoughts and quotes I had are gone from this blog. I will need to re-enter them again..


Evaluation:
How could a young 20 something be so wise, so elegant in her writings? And these are not her polished writings she would later bring to the world, but a personal journal she was writing for herself. Not only that, but this is just a short book, about 40 pages of sparse writing,  but packed with personal searching. All which I can say is Read, Reflect, Reveal. Act..

 


New Words:
  • puerile: childishly silly and trivial
Good Quotes:
  • First Line: ...effort at artistry in this rather than thinking of You and feeling inspired with the love I wish I had.
  • Last Line: There is nothing left to say of me.
  •  I do not know You God because I am in the way. Undated Entries
  • My attention is always very fugitive.  Undated Entries
  •  You say, dear God, to ask for grace and it will be given. I ask for it. I realize that there is more to it than that--that I have to behave like I want it.   Undated Entries
  • I don't want to fear to be out, I want to love to be in.    Undated Entries
  • Give me the grace to be impatient for the time when I shall see You face to face and need no stimulus than that to adore You.     Undated Entries
  • Give me the grace, dear God, to see the bareness and the misery of the places where You are not adored but desecrated.    Undated Entries
  •  Every virtue must be vigorous. Virtue must be the only vigorous thing in our lives.  11/6/??
  • Sin is large and stale. You can never finish eating it nor ever digest it. It has to be vomiteed. 11/6/??


References:
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Saturday, January 16, 2016

A Book of Walks

Book: A Book of Walks
Author:Bruce Bochy
Edition:paperback, WellSpring Center in the Redwoods
Read:January 13, 2016
102 pages
Genre:  Outdoor,  Essay
Rated: 3  out of 5


Thoughts:
In the forward, Steve Kittman notes that Bochy's approach to situations is:
  • Be yourself
  • Don't overthink (the situation)
  • Trust your people and trust your gut
  • Lose yourself in a long walk.

Taking My Dog For A Walk

Bochy talks about taking his dog out and the relationship he has with him. Just a plain old fun chapter. The walk he takes us on is in San Diego where he managed before San Francisco.


Back to the Pfister in Milwaukee After A Tough Road Loss
What was Bochy thinking when he walked through a bad part of Milwaukee with $600 in his pocket? Well mostly just trying to relax and put a hard loss out of his mind. Sort of differentiates between mindless wandering and not walking with your mind.



Climbing Camelback to Look Down on the Arizona Desert
Old age and lots of wounds with a bit of youthfulness causes Bochy some problems.


'Walking From Ohio to Kentucky and Back, Over a Historic Suspension Bridge
He goes into some of the history behind the building of this suspension bridge. When I walk, I like to understand what goes on behind a trail. Who has traveled it before, why was it build. In this case the bridge was the forerunner to the Brooklyn Bridge. Intersting stuff.


In New York My Wife and I Spend Hours in Central Park
In some ways, this walk shows it is more interesting do a walk than describing it. But he does make a point that it can be good to go into someplace and just enjoy the location than be someone which everybody knows.


On My Way to the Ivy-Covered Walls: Walking Chicago's Lakefront Trail
His description of walking without headphones is one of the better passages in the book. He describes the sounds you hear while walking



My Everest: To the Golden Gate Bridge
Not sure what he means by his Everest.  I have done this walk before, while long, it is not physically hard. Is this the pinnacle of his walks? It is a pretty nice walk.

But there is an element of humility in this chapter. When he describes how when he is out walking and tourists recognize him, nodding and waving, just like he is part of the San Francisco scene like the sea lions barking. A good understanding of his place, not a big head-even for a guy who wears a size 8+ cap.

He also notes we are all like tourists sometime. Isn't that the truth. What is a tourist but someone who is seeing things without living there? If we are not living in a moment, we are only a tourist in life, not truly living. That is the problem with irony, it removes ourselves from living, makes us aloof.


Evaluation:
Usually with a baseball manager, you associate walks with going to the pitcher's mound to bring in relief. But Bruce Bochy, the manager of the San Francisco Giants has written a book about the walks he has had outside of the park, in the cities where his teams have played. It is a small book with nine chapters. The writing is not good, but it is interesting to read Bochy's thoughts on what he enjoys in his walks and why he takes a stroll.

There are several things which would make this book better. First, the maps he provides leave you scratching your head on where locations are. Before trying to trace his steps, get a better map. Second, this is definitely not a trail guide. Third, the writings is almost like his words were transcribed from some musings he did. This is not a tour book, so those things are excusable. It is a tour of Bochy's mind.

I do not know that you will learn great management strategy. But not everything needs to be utilitarian, somethings are to be enjoyed. So if you are looking for new places to walk, this little book is probably not it. But if you are a Giants fan and want to enjoy the manager a bit more,  you could do a lot worse.

 

Good Quotes:
  • First Line: For millions of San Francisco Giants fans, it feels like Bruce Bochy is a member of the family.
  • Last Line: It was very, very cool.
  •  Most of our important thinking comes ahead of time. (Publisher's Note)
  • Remain seated as little as possible, put no trust in any thought that is not born in the open, to the accompaniment of free bodily motion—nor in one in which even the muscles do not celebrate a feast. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecco Homo, Why Am I So Clever
  • Dogs are just beautiful. They don't care if you win or lose. They don't care what's happening when you're not with them. They're always glad to see you. It's a great way to go through life.  chp: Taking My Dog For A Walk
  • ...we all have our aches and pains, especially as we get up there a little in years, and yet you can't let that slow you down. You've got to get out there and walk anyway. Sometimes the walking the walking will loosen you up and make you feel better. chp: Climbing Camelback to Look Down on the Arizona Desert 
  • That's part of the joy of walking for me, being focused on whatever I see along the way, alert to everything from a couple of song birds making a bird bath out of a fountain to some friendly faces smiling at me... chp  On My Way to the Ivy-Covered Walls: Walking Chicago's Lakefront Trail
Table of Contents:
  • Publisher's Note: A Walk Will Do You Good
  • Taking My Dog For A Walk
  • Back to the Pfister in Milwaukee After A Tough Road Loss
  • My Wife and I, Walking Up the Steps to Coit Tower
  • Climbing Camelback to Look Down on the Arizona Desert
  • 'Walking From Ohio to Kentucky and Back, Over a Historic Suspension Bridge
  • In New York My Wife and I Spend Hours in central Park
  • On My Way to the Ivy-Covered Walls: Walking Chicago's Lakefront Trail
  • My Everest: To the Golden Gate Bridge

References:
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Thursday, December 17, 2015

Delicious!


Book: Delicious!
Author: Ruth Reichl
Edition:ebook on Overdrive from the Mountain View Public Library
Read:December 17, 2015
549 pages
Genre:   Fiction, Cooking
Rated: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
Billie Breslin is newly hired administrative assistant at Delicious!. She dropped out of UC Berkley and into her dream job. Delicious! is a fictional foodie magazine going back a century. Here she meets many foodies and becomes friends with many of them. One of her duties is responding to Delicious! Guarentee-that is if the published recipe does not work, the magazine will refund the money for the ingredients.

One of the people she meets on the Guarantee phone is a cantankerous women named Mrs. Cloverly, who repeatedly calls and almost always substitutes inferior or even unlike ingredients. Billie having given in the first time continues to give in both with the fascination of stories Mrs. Cloverly comes up with and being caught having yielded before. But after awhile, Billie misses these calls if Mrs. Cloverly does not call. But Mrs. Coverly is not some old crotchety lady, but holds a key to the puzzle about who Lulu is.

Another mainstay in the book is Sal Fontanari's cheese shop. From Reichl, this is the heaven of cheese. It is also one of the sources of stability in the story as Billie is accepted into this family owned and operated shop. Here she sees food used by real people and understands what it means that food is more about the relationships than taste.

After a year, Delicious! closes, but Billie is retained to keep the Guarantee. Mrs. Coverly continues to call, but thus is not enough to keep her time occupied. Sammy, an older man from Delicious! comes by to collect his things when they make a discovery: a letter by Lulu to James Beard. This starts off a chase to discover all of this correspondences letters to James Beard. They are aided by the card catalog from a long past librarian who is leading them on a chase for these letters.

But they are under a time constraint: Timbers Mansion where Delicious! has been housed for a hundred years is going on the market. So they need to find the last letter before the house and the library is sold. This chase leads one to naturally want to know about the writer of the letters. That is the last part: to meet Mrs. Coverly and to track down this mystery writer of letters.



Thoughts:
As a note: there is a web site called delicious.com which is not associated with the book. There is also a movie by that name which is not about the book.

This book is full of people who are not what they seem to be. At the risk of giving away some of the magic-if you do not want to know, skip to the next paragraph. There is a character at Sal's cheese shop called Mr. Complainer. Mr. Complainer has an air about him, but is always making suggestions to Sal to improve, particularly in speeding up the line. Mr. Complainer profession it turns out to be is a high end architectural historian, who later becomes intertwined in the books plot. Many of the book's characters have backgrounds which Reichl slowly reveals. This is done well, while some of the contrivances seem a bit made up, they are part of the fun of this story.

I wanted her to look at me that way again. This is an important statement at the start of the book. It lays out the self-consciousness of the main character. While there is a lot more to the book, this is the main undercurrent-Billie, the protagonist, being talented, but not recognizing the talent she has. As you move through the book, she avoids cooking because of the association she has with her sister. This all points to the pain and insecurity Reichl wants to portray on Billie.

Did the picture from Annie Leibovitz called "Midnight at The Pig" really exist? I did not see a reference to it. But Leibovitz did live across from a restaurant called The Spotted Pig. Should be noted that the chief chef is April Bloomfield who has another restaurant called The Breslin, which happens to be Billie's name. Coincidence?

 most people can't follow instructions. (Guarenteed). This is in reference to the Delicious! guarantee-each recipe is guaranteed to work or they refund you the cost of the ingredients. The statement is true for the most part. But do you really want a world full of people who can do nothing else but follow instructions? Isn't that what a computer is? Shouldn't we be more than just a bot, following instructions? The trick is to know when it is best to follow instructions and when it is good to experiment and create.

Where is Alphabet City? Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It appears to be a place where many ethnics resides.

What's the point of making piles of money to enjoy when you are not working? I'd much rather enjoy  my work. (Nowhere) Life is too short and money will not buy you happiness. So find something which you can channel yourself into and enjoy it. After all, you were created by God for more than being a cog in the works.

...how lucky I was to be aware of happiness. Most people don't recognize their own good fortune until it has departed, (Seize Opportunities). How do I look at myself? Usually not as someone who thinks how bad everything is. But there is a tendency for me to think in terms that things will continue as they are without looking for the goodness in my life. It is the same with beauty. I take Yosemite for granted, but when I bring someone there for the first time, you gain the wonder of first sight. That is how my life should be, not taking anything for granted, but to be grateful to God for the goodness he has put in my path.

Billie's letters to Genie are interesting and you know there is more to it than meets the eye. But at times you think that Reichl is purposely leading you down a road which is a false trail. And so they are. I will not spoil the surprise. But compared to the rest of Reichl's writing in Delicious!, this just does not match up.

Also the discovery of James Beard's letters seems a bit too contrived. Reichl has Sammy finding a secret door and then out of the thousands of correspondences he reads an interesting letter to Beard. Seems so out of sorts with reality. But in actuality these things do happen. But not usually at the start. It is a rare player who hits a home run on his first big league at bat. But it does happen, you can make allowances for the unusual.

There is a whole story of the card catalog. Both the librarians who created it and the one who leads Billie down a trail of James Beard's letters. The big question in my mind is why did the original librarian, Bertie, make this trail leading to Beard? The story says that it was due to Beard being a homosexual and Delicious!  trying to hide the connection. That would be hard to do since his by-line was in the magazine. I do admire Reichl for creating such a trail, it was fun going with her through these clues. But believable? Probably not, at least Bertie probably would have had too much time on his hands without the knowledge that there was a probable payoff.

After looking at what a Verifax machine would do, I am suspicious that any magazine would go to that great of lengths to make copies of all of its correspondence. It looks like making a copy of a single page would be at least a minute and probably more like 3 minutes.   But I am happy to learn something new-I did not know about Verifax machines before.

Reichl makes a passing reference to Blum's of San Francisco. We ate there once. So good. It no longer is there.

There is a chapter called In The Nightmare Kitchen which describes what happens to food left out, unattended in a large kitchen over a long period of time. It is wonderfully descriptive, sort of a cross between Ghostbusters and The Blob. You can just feel the ooze.


During the past year, I have had several books talk about the internment of the Japanese-American. But one thing which has been curious to me was why weren't the Germans or the Italians interned? Delicious! does talk about this. Not so much internment, but about the hostilities faced by Italian-Americans. She talks about Rossi in San Francisco, hostility towards eating spaghetti and how the west coast had more prejudice than the east.

Something I am finding interesting is the amount of substitution being made during war time for various foods. Honey for sugar-this was something I thought. But milkweed for cheese, ....

I suspect that Reichl has a large vocabulary-which is useful for a writer, or a very good editor. In Sammy's mouth she puts little used words there and which seem appropriate-he accounts for many of the words in my "New Words" from this book. There are times authors like to place these words in a character's mouth just to show they know these words. With Reichl, or at least the character, they flow well, highlighting the sophistication of the character.

In one of the Beard letters, there is a reference to a Edward R Murrow broadcast from accompanying a bombing mission over Berlin. You can listen to it on YouTube.

In the past, Italians have come by the millions into (to) the United States. They have been welcomed, they have prospered, they have become good citizens, community and governmental leaders. They are not Italian-Americans. They are Americans -- Americans of Italian descent.  Reichl in one of the Beard letters quotes a speech by Franklin Roosevelt.  This sort of puts to shame all of our hyphenating-Americans. By this hyphenating, it makes us more separate than equal.

At times Reichl has Sammy being someone of great insight, such as the death of one of the people in one of the letters brings him to ask about Billie's sister. This seems like too much of a stretch.

I'd like to bottle the scent of old libraries. (Vintage Cookbooks)  There is some of these smells which I would not mind having around. Not the mustiness, but the smell of knowledge which books have.

People are scared. Said in reference to she sees things as a front and people have their own shtick to cover that fear.

Refrigerated drawers under bed. What a great concept. In the story, Mitch stores ice cream for that midnight snack. Sounds great for those warm Central Valley Summer nights

You have a lot to learn about decadence,  (Appetites) Doesn't decadence come naturally? Isn't learning to live simply really the question? I suppose learning to be decadent in style may take some doing. So why do I need to be taught?

Family love is something you take for granted until you are confronted with a situation where it is in diminished quantities. This is something which Billie learns. She has a family which cares for her as she is. While her boyfriend, Mitch, did not meet family expectations. So he became the black sheep of the family. That love without condition. Sometimes you need to be apart from your family to realize how good they are. Other times you see how different someone else's family is before you see how wonderful your own is. Either way, the goal is to appreciate and love your family.

...longevity's not all it's cracked up to be, even when you have your health. Life's not much fun when you're the last one standing. (Akron) We forget about the pains and sufferings. My parents outlived many of their generation, including my Dad's brothers and sister and their spouses. At one point he said, "I guess I am the last one". So much loneliness which even a son who was present a lot could not change.

...young people have such contempt for the old that you'll believe any foolish thing we do. (Akron) This explains the strangeness of Mrs. Coverly's substitutions. As she got older, she got more lonely. So she started calling the customer service lines. After awhile, it became a game to see how far she could go. It turns out, if you become cankerous enough, miserable sounding enough, you might be able to get away with anything.

 Along with the old age theme, Reichl points out through Sammy that Any soul who has survived to age of eighty-two with nary a secret would be extremely dull. ... We all have something to hide.  (Strudel) This goes along with the everyone has something to hide theme. It is just as we age, we have more to coverup-sometimes with less and less success.

James Beard:

  • Like much of the references in the book, The Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland is a real place with James Beard connections.
  • Who is Marion Cunningham? The book is in memory to her. According to Wikipedia, she is an assistant to James Beard and also a renowned chef in her own right.



Evaluation:
On January 22, 1964 there was an episode of the Patty Duke Show called Author! Author!. In it Patty Duke tries to become an author and thinks the road to success is to include a recipe in it. As I was reading Delicious! I kept thinking, when will Reichl include a recipe in this book about taste, cooking, and a young woman finding herself.

The books starts with the line,  I wanted her to look at me that way again. That is the main part of the book, Billie trying to find her own image. If you read the book from this perspective, it is a rather common book. But you include the descriptions Reichl has and it at times is like reading through a small Italian restaurant, complete with pleasing scents.

Reichl writes with a great deal of humor. You can just imagine what goes through this young woman's mind when she is on the line with an incorrigible women who is trying to get a refund and is going through all of her substitutions for a recipe. I was snickering and sputtering though out the book. The richness of her humor is second to her ability to describe  food and people. On the food, she has your mouth watering for dishes which I would normally reject. On the people, the main people in the book you have a pretty good idea-they are not two dimensional. Even Jake, the editor, who turns into a minor character has enough dimension to make you want more.

The first two parts were interesting and kept me reading. But by the time the third part, where she solves the mystery of the James Beard letters, the story, or maybe it was me, ran out of steam. All in all, it is pleasant read with some good reminders for a person to understand themselves, what there gifts are, and try to explore life. Oh, by the way, yes, there is a recipe.


 
Notes from my book group:

I wanted her to look at me that way again This book is about identity. How was Billie's identity formed? What effect does formation  have on us? How does comparison's between people help or harm our ability to form?

How does fear work its way throughout the book? Souffle, cooking,

When Billie writes her article, she talks about Sal's place as a "way of life". Explain what makes something a "way of life". Have you gone into establishments like that? What was your experience?

What foods from this book would you most want to sample? Along that same lines, which of the restaurants or food places described would you want to visit? Avoid?

Reichl describes the foods and visuals of Billie's world. Were you able to enter into that world? Would you have enjoyed it? Where does decadence start and enjoyment end?

Billie has a phobia about cooking. How did it develop? How realistic is this phobia? Does Riechl describe it well?

Do you get any food magazines? What stories would you have wanted to write for Delicious!?

What wild food have you eaten?

What has been your worst meal or dish you cooked?  Do you adapt recipes? Before trying the original?

How many Beard references did you find? (Not the overt ones by names, but things like restaurants, ...) Did you consider this part of the fun of the book? Also the card catalog was a central part of the book. How realistic was this indexing? Was this part of the fun of the chase?

Sammy has a voracious vocabulary.  Did this distract from your reading? Was this natural to Sammy's character or did you feel it was forced?

Comments about Roosevelt's speech on Italian-Americans. Are we hyphenating our nationalities too much? What is the impact of this hyphenation?

Both Lulu and Mrs. Cloverly felt like because they were old, they were not looked as having ability. Do you agree with some of the old age references like  ...young people have such contempt for the old that you'll believe any foolish thing we do.


The New York Times called this book "verbal chloroform". Do you agree?




Questions from the publisher:
1. Billie eventually writes about Sal's as if it's "a way of life." Do you have a favorite establishment that you would describe similarly? What is it like, and how does it make you feel?

2. Mrs. Cloverly’s disastrous concoctions are even funnier because she’s unfazed by failure. She seems to keep trudging forward, turning ever-less-palatable dishes out of her kitchen. Have you encountered such a cook? What is the most astonishingly—and hilariously—unappetizing dish you’ve ever been served?

3. Diana and Sammy's friendships help the formerly-contained Billie become more confident. Has a friend ever given you the courage to be more fully yourself? What did you reveal?

4. Try to imagine a story that Sammy might have written for Delicious! Where in the world is he, and what is he writing about?

5. Lulu’s letters teach Billie about the relentless uncertainty endured by the people on the homefront during World War II. She learns that Lulu finds solace in cooking with Mrs. Cappuzzelli and for her mother. Can you remember a meal that helped get you through a particularly painful moment? Where were you? Who were you with? And what was the meal?

6. Rationing changed the way Americans ate. Lulu throws herself into this new food landscape, experimenting with unfamiliar vegetables like milkweed and pumpkin leaves. What would you make if you had no butter, meat, or dairy? What would you forage for?

7. If you had a victory garden, what would you grow?

8. Do you have friends or family who remember what it was like to eat during World War II? What stories have they shared with you?

9. Lulu writes: “When Mother, Mr. Jones and I were walking through those strange, crowded downtown streets, where people were sticking their hands into pickle barrels, pointing to smoked fish, and eating sliced herring, I saw the scene in a whole new way. They weren’t buying food: They were finding their way home.” What foods feel like home to you?

10. As the book closes, what does Billie discover she owes Genie?



New Words:
  • Fenugreek (Guaranteed): Fenugreek is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop, and its seeds are a common ingredient in dishes from the Indian subcontinent.
  • Osmanthus (Seizing Opportunities): flowers  are used throughout East Asia for their scent and flavour, which is likened to apricot and peach.
  • choleric (Seizing Opportunities): bad-tempered or irritable
  • dilatory (Seizing Opportunities): slow to act.
  • celerity (Magic Moments): swiftness of movement
  • perambulate (Magic Moments): walk or travel through or around a place or area, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way
  • nugatory (Dripping Pudding): of no value or importance
  • salubrious (Dripping Pudding): health-giving; healthy
  • Orecchiette (Anzio): a variety of home-made pasta typical of Apulia, a region of southern Italy. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a small ear.
  • Pazzesca (Cake Sisters): crazy, insane
  • denouement (Mad Bee Jars): the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved
  • Verifax (Mad Bee Jars):  The original sheet to be copied is placed face-down against the shiny side of a sheet of translucent sensitized "negative matrix" paper, then placed with the matte side of the matrix paper against the glass. The papers are exposed to light for about 15 seconds, where shorter exposure darkens the copy, and longer exposure lightens it. The original sheet is removed, and the matrix paper is immersed into the developing solution for 30 seconds, then extracted by pulling it out through pressure rollers, finishing the negative. This wet negative is pressed against a sheet of copy paper, and fed back through the rollers, giving gentle pressure. Finally, the two sheets are peeled apart, obtaining a slightly damp copy of the original, that has to dry-out
  • abstemios (Mad Bee Jars): abstaining from wine, abstemious; sober
  •  approbation (Member of the Club): approval or praise.
  • Alacrity  (Member of the Club): brisk and cheerful readiness.
  • Butterscotch Wood (Appetites): 
  • Quotidian  (A Trick of the Mind): of or occurring every day; daily.

Good Quotes:
  • First Line: You should have used fresh ginger!
  • Last Line: whenever I miss her, I think about time being a trick of the mind, and I know that she's here somewhere, walking down the street. And when I think that, I know you're there with her.
  •  Having flavors in my head meant I could re-imagine them, put them together in entirely new ways. (Gingerbread)
  • Giving people presents is such  an intimate act; you're basically telling them who you think they are... (Nowhere)
  • ...age had not significance unless you have frittered your life away. (Seizing Opportunities)
  •  In bad times it's the people we love who can help us. (Cake Sisters)
  • when people don't know what they're looking for, they usually destroy them [details]. (Vintage Cookbooks)
  • there is nothing more attractive than competence in action. (Vintage Cookbooks)
  •  You have no idea what a relief it is to come home and do nothing.  (Appetites)
  • ...working is the only thing which keeps you young. (A Trick of the Mind)
  • ...time is only a trick of the mind. (A Trick of the Mind)
  • ...one of the best things about writing letters...: You get to be the person you wish you were. (Truth or Consequences)
  • The truth is often uncomfortable, but that doesn't give us the right to hide it.
    (Truth or Consequences)
  •  There are many kinds of crimes...the most unforgivable is to have a gift and turn your back on it. (Gingerbread Girl)


References:



Foods:
  • Gingerbread Cake
  • Kitakata ramen (Japanese): Kitakata noodles derive their name from a place in Honshu province in Japan. These noodles are flat, thick, curly and prepared from buckwheat. These noodles are traditionally known as soba in Japanese.
    • http://allramenrecipes.com/tag/kitakata-noodles
    • http://www.oksfood.com/noodle/kitakata_ramen.html
  • Gnocchi
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/gnocchi-recipe2.html
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/18465/gnocchi-i/
  • fountain's famous french nut cake
    • http://bangers-and-mash.com/2013/10/30/a-vintage-tea-party-a-royal-wedding-and-a-coffee-cardamom-and-walnut-cake/
    • http://www.arthurschwartz.com/diary/00000080.html
  • Red salad-roasted beets, red onions, sour cream
    • http://www.copykat.com/2015/04/25/sour-cream-beet-salad-recipe/
    • http://www.thekitchn.com/what-can-i-make-with-roasted-beets-good-questions-218307
  • Scallop mousse
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/scallop-mousse-recipe.html
    • http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/scallop-mousse-scallop-recipe
    • http://food52.com/recipes/5669-scallop-mousse-with-fresh-basil
  • Fried pig's ears
    • http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/eddie-russell/fried-pig-ears-with-hot-sauce.html
    • http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/crisp-fried-pigs-ears-salad-recipe.html
    • http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/crispy-pigs-ears-recipe
  • Braised duck hearts with snails
  • Pork-snout terrine with pickles and toast
    • https://books.google.com/books?id=19ziBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT466&lpg=PT466&dq=Pork-snout+terrine+with+pickles+and+toast&source=bl&ots=j87xyOnB7n&sig=ZxY2DkoyeawMap1JpLQ49C9pJlU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjel67WuIrKAhUBRmMKHZDoB6wQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q=Pork-snout%20terrine%20with%20pickles%20and%20toast&f=false
    • http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2010/11/02/from-nose-to-tail-trotter-pigs-feet-terrine-recipe#.Vodmj1JvC24
  • Grilled rabbit livers with bacon
    • https://www.pinterest.com/recipes/rabbit-liver/
    • http://starbrightskitchen.com/2012/04/23/going-paleo-this-is-the-best-liver-recipe-ever/
    • http://raisingmeatrabbits.com.s3.amazonaws.com/WhatsForDinnerDoc_v2.pdf
  • Rabbit liver terrine 
    • http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Rabbit-and-Herb-Terrine
    • http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/rabbit-terrine
  • Whole grilled mackerel
    • http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-whole-mackerel-with-lemon-oregano-and-olives-109523
    • http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4465/barbecued-mackerel-with-ginger-chilli-and-lime-dri
    • http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-to-cook/how-to-barbecue-whole-mackerel
  • Lamb burgers
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/lamb-burgers-recipe.html
    • http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/greek-style-lamb-burgers-with-yogurt-cucumber-sauce
    • http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Lamb-Burger
  • Breaded pig's tails
    • http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/05/how-to-cook-pig-tails.html
    • http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/09/crisp-fried-pigs-tails-recipe.html
    • http://nosetotailathome.com/2010/09/06/crispy-pigs-tails/
  • Gorgonzola soufflé 
    • http://www.manusmenu.com/gorgonzola-souffle
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blue-cheese-souffle-recipe.html
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/blue-cheese-souffle-recipe.html
  • Calamari in aioli
    • http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fried-calamari-with-roasted-garlic-lime-aoli
    • http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/fried-calamari-lemon-aioli-mario-batali
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/fried-calamari-italian-hot-green-peppers-with-lemon-aioli-recipe.html
  • Nutty Apricot Lace Cake
    • https://thissweetwife.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/apricot-lace-cookies/
  • Yorkshire Pudding
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/yorkshire-pudding-recipe.html
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/95339/sky-high-yorkshire-pudding/
    • http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017129-yorkshire-pudding
  • Blums coffee crunch cake 
    • http://www.marthastewart.com/338326/blums-coffee-crunch-cake
    • http://www.sfgate.com/recipes/thebaker/article/THE-BAKER-Blum-s-Is-Gone-But-Not-Forgotten-2802477.php
    • http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/09/blums-coffee-crunch-cake.html
    • http://www.valerieconfections.com/blum-s-coffee-crunch-cake.html
  • Crybaby Cookies
    • http://www.marthastewart.com/335363/crybaby-cookies
    • http://www.food.com/recipe/cry-baby-cookies-114727
    • http://www.food.com/recipe/cry-baby-molasses-cookies-316450
  • Anzac biscuits
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_biscuit
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9816/anzac-biscuits-i/
    • http://www.marthastewart.com/345469/anzac-biscuits
    • http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3803/anzac-biscuits
  • Chicken liver toasts
    • http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-liver-toasts-with-shallot-jam
    • http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/chopped-chicken-liver-toasts-michael-symon
    •  http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014408-chicken-liver-on-toast
  • Milkweed floss
    • http://ruthreichl.com/2014/08/notes-on-milkweed.html/
    • http://foragersharvest.com/milkweed-a-truly-remarkable-wild-vegetable/
    • http://www.ediblewildfood.com/blog/2013/08/milkweed-pods-buffalo-style/
  • Feast of the seven fishes
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes
    • http://www.epicurious.com/archive/holidays/christmas/batalisevenfishes
    • http://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/holidays/article/feast-of-the-seven-fishes
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/feast-of-the-seven-fishes/food-network-stars-feast-of-the-seven-fishes.html
  • Scungilli salad
    • http://www.food.com/recipe/best-scungilli-salad-265431
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9oMtpWrmLs
    • http://www.mangiabenepasta.com/scungilli.html
  • Sugar-dusted sfinge 
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/11083/sfinge-di-ricotta/
    • https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070614132333AAIM0m7
    • http://www.food.com/recipe/sfinge-de-san-giuseppe-173494
  • Pumpkin leaves
    • http://www.thekitchn.com/did-you-know-you-can-eat-pumpkin-leaves-tips-from-the-kitchn-207383
    • http://www.livestrong.com/article/468239-how-to-cook-pumpkin-leaves/
  • Perfect War Cookie
    • https://www.pinterest.com/1930sgirl/world-war-2-rationing-recipes/
  • cheese souffle
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cheese-souffle-recipe.html
    • http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/classic-cheese-souffle-242119
  • orecchiette
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orecchiette
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/239047/one-pan-orecchiette-pasta/
    • http://www.marthastewart.com/1065206/eat-italian-10-amazing-orecchiette-recipes
  • panettone
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panettone
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/panettone-recipe.html
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/6811/panettone-i/
    • http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/panettone-236704
  • madeleine
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_%28cake%29
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9954/french-butter-cakes-madeleines/
    • http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/madeleines-102893
    • http://www.marthastewart.com/872193/madeleines
  • strudel
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strudel
    • http://www.npr.org/2014/10/30/359837277/a-traditional-strudel-recipe-pulled-from-the-past
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/apple-strudel-recipe.html
    • http://allrecipes.com/recipe/47821/easy-apple-strudel/

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