Month: December 2004

Scottish Cuisine

Quick! What’s something you can get eat in Scotland and (probably) nowhere else?

Haggis, right?

Well, that’s not all!

You can also get something that is probably even worse for you than the Monster Thickburger at your local Hardees.

Actually, there are several deep-fried somethings that you can buy in Scotland but nowhere else.

These are so uncommon that even many Scottish officials thought they were mythic, but they did a survey and discovered they were not. (Unlike the Loch Ness Monster, apparently.)

In fact, they found that 22% of "chip shops" (whatever a "chip shop" is) sell them and another 17% used to.

What are they?

Well, for a start . . .

HOW ABOUT DEEP-FRIED MILKY WAY BARS?

Only in Scotland they call them "Mars Bars."

Why Don't We Have To Go To Mass Tomorrow?

Down yonder, a reader asks:

"…the precept to attend Mass is abrogated."

Why ?

Because people would resist and resent it if they were forced to go to church two days in a row. (And it is more of a hassle on holy days since most parishes try to get away with a smaller number of Masses than on Sundays, meaning that the parking lots are more crowded and the people are often unsure when those Masses will be since the usual schedule isn’t being kept.)

People will put up with that for Christmas (like this year), but they’ll either resent it or won’t come other holy days.

That’s awful un-pious, of course, but then this is a fallen world, and that’s just where American society is right now.

Still, we have about 28% regular Mass attendance among Catholics here, which is not only better than a large number of developed countries but (contrary to popular impression) better than church attendance by Protestants here (they typically show up at church about 25% of the time).

Note that I’m not endorsing the abrogation of the need to go to Mass tomorrow, I’m merely explaining it.

A counterargument could be made that if the Church expected more out of people by way of piety that they’d rise to the occasion and act more pious. That’s certainly true in some ways, and one well might argue that this would be the case here.

Why Don’t We Have To Go To Mass Tomorrow?

Down yonder, a reader asks:

"…the precept to attend Mass is abrogated."

Why ?

Because people would resist and resent it if they were forced to go to church two days in a row. (And it is more of a hassle on holy days since most parishes try to get away with a smaller number of Masses than on Sundays, meaning that the parking lots are more crowded and the people are often unsure when those Masses will be since the usual schedule isn’t being kept.)

People will put up with that for Christmas (like this year), but they’ll either resent it or won’t come other holy days.

That’s awful un-pious, of course, but then this is a fallen world, and that’s just where American society is right now.

Still, we have about 28% regular Mass attendance among Catholics here, which is not only better than a large number of developed countries but (contrary to popular impression) better than church attendance by Protestants here (they typically show up at church about 25% of the time).

Note that I’m not endorsing the abrogation of the need to go to Mass tomorrow, I’m merely explaining it.

A counterargument could be made that if the Church expected more out of people by way of piety that they’d rise to the occasion and act more pious. That’s certainly true in some ways, and one well might argue that this would be the case here.

Tomorrow IS NOT A Holy Day Of Obligation

If you live in the U.S., that is.

According to the complimentary norms for the United States:

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15,
the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All
Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass
is abrogated.

PROOF.

So, unlike last weekend, you don’t gotta make it to two Masses. (Though you are of course welcome to!)

Black-Eyed Pea Time!

Okay, New Years is a-comin’, and that means it’s black-eyed pea time.

Y’see, growing up, every year my family would eat black-eyed peas on New Years’ Day for good luck.

Old tradition. I try to keep it up even though I’m out on my own now. (Though I can’t eat much as the peas aren’t low-carb enough, so you can’t go hog wild.)

Apparently, some folk also eat collard greens on New Years.

Don’t know about that.

We ate a lot of collard greens (as well as mustard greens and turnip greens), just don’t remember us eating them on New Years.

Might have to try that this year, though, as greens probably are low-carb.

HERE’S AN ARTICLE ON THE SUBJECT, ALONG WITH COOKING SUGGESTIONS.

(Cowboy hat tip: Southern Appeal.)

Maybe I’ll pull out a bottle of pickled okra out of my cupboard and start a new New Years tradition. As Crow T. Robot says, "There’s no tradition like a new tradition!"

MORE ON BLACK-EYED PEAS.

MORE ON COLLARD GREENS.

What Diet Should Viktor Yushchenko Go On?

The possible answer may surprise you!

Perhaps Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko should try an "Olestra diet" to rid his body of dioxin.

It wouldn’t be the first time that
the "fake fat" product was used as an emergency agent to flush out
dioxin, one of a group of chlorinated hydrocarbons that are toxic,
lipophilic (attracted to fat) – and persistent in the environment and
animal tissues. About five years ago, two Austrian women suffering from
dioxin poisoning were given olestra snacks, which resulted in removal
of dioxin at 10 times the normal rate, according to some reports.

In
an as-yet-unpublished study, researchers at the University of
Cincinnati School of Medicine, along with Trevor Redgrave at the
University of Western Australia, treated a patient with PCB toxicity
over a two-year period with olestra in the form of fat-free Pringles.
The patient’s chloracne disappeared and the PCB level in fat tissue
dropped dramatically.

GET THE STORY.

(Cowboy hat tip: Southern Appeal.

Yellow Dog Democrats . . . Extinct?

Back in the old days (meaning, before Ronald Reagan), the South was populated with many, many yellow dog Democrats–so named because they would vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for a Republican. For decades, they kept the South realibly (if not infallibly) voting for the Democratic Party.

BUT THE L.A. TIMES HAS DISCOVERED (LIKE EVERYONE ELSE) THAT THE YELLOW DOG DEMOCRAT SEEMS TO BE AN EXTINCT SPECIES IN THE REGION.

(Backup link in case that one goes bad.)

If the Dems do hope to ever rebuild themselves as a national party, their hopes in the South may lie in a new breed: the blue dog Democrats.