This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004).
This blog is one of the transitions for the new year. I've started it This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004).
This blog is one This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004
Barbecue was invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1935 by Gilbert Hockenberry, a haberdasher and amateur chef. Prior to then, all meat was either eaten raw, boiled, or buried with hot rocks. I'm kidding, right? Yes, I am kidding indeed. The necessary components of barbecue invention are a stick, a fire, some kind of dead animal, and a hominid species with a sufficiently large brain to figure out how to put them together and how good it would taste. Neanderthal Man had large braincases and noses, and there is evidence that he controlled fire, says Wikipedia, so it's possible that barbecue was invented by another hominid species than ourselves.
But the name, barbecue, or its abbreviation, BBQ, or OMGWTFBBQ among its hungriest and most enthusiastic fans, where did that come from? The usual attribution for the word origin is the language of the indigenous Taino of the Bahamas, who also reportedly gave us the words tobacco, hurricane, and hammock.
Since barbecued meat has probably been consumed by all non-vegetarian peoples of the world from time immemorial, it would be presumptuous to attribute to it a particular American character, given its connection with the July 4 Independence Day holiday. While it is said that there are certain jobs that Americans are unwilling to do, being presumptious is not one of them, so allow me, please. American barbecue's strongest traditions are centered on the southern and western heartlands, away from the coast. In hog country (Dixie), pork is barbecued, and in cattle country (the West, of course), beef is the specialty. That set me to wondering if barbecued frog is on the menu in France. I'm kidding again, right? Well, click on this link and tell me if I'm kidding. (It helps if you read French: cuisses de grenouilles means frog thighs.) The recipe sounds pretty good, actually: lots of garlic. BTW, those heartland American barbecue chefs distinguish barbecue, which is slow-cooked off the fire, from mere grilling with more direct heat.
So what is the July 4 holiday all about, besides its barbecues, its association with fires and fireworks, and its proximity to Midsummer's Day? On July 4, 1776, delegations from twelve Royal British colonies voted to support Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, which was signed by John Hancock on their behalf, and sent to the printers. The bonfires didn't start until July 8 in Philadelphia, and New York State abstained from the July 4 vote. (The ornery cuss tradition goes back far in New York, my birthplace.) And what did Jefferson say in the Declaration? Well, in Canada, the motto is "peace, order, and good government." But Jefferson, needing votes from ornery cusses from Maine to Georgia, had to come up with something more stirring. So he wrote, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Even a Neanderthal can dig that.
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