Tuesday: Hili dialogue

November 8, 2016 • 6:30 am

by Grania

Welcome to the penultimate episode of Election2016 With a Vengeance. Tomorrow should be more of an epilogue than an action sequence. Scratch that. It had better be more of an epilogue than an action sequence.

The deep and bitter divisions in society right now seem to have reached simmering point, and have in no small way been helped along over the years by talking heads on both sides of the spectrum some of whom now seem to regret ratcheting up animosity and resentment in their audiences. For more on this, check out the two articles linked in Sean Carroll’s tweet.

If I wish anything from my place on the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean, I hope that next week, and more importantly next year, the USA has a government that strives to function as best it can to serve its people effectively, rather than return to the Cold War style of blockading everything they possibly can to stymie the efforts of their ideological opponents to govern.

If you’ve had enough of this sort of stuff – and who can blame you – here are some soothing kittens:

https://twitter.com/EmrgencyKittens/status/795124830496559104

And here’s a dog who truly understands the meaning of the word Priorities.

Over in Dobrzyn, Hili has a Cunning Plan.

Hili: These hazelnuts must be put on the window sill.
A: Why?
Hili: There was a red squirrel there in the morning. It might come back.

p1050053

In Polish:

Hili: Te laskowe orzechy trzeba wystawić za okno.
Ja: Dlaczego?
Hili: Była tam dziś ruda wiewiórka, może wróci.

We have two bonus appearances this morning from felid friends of Jerry.

Leon: Do you have something for me?

leon0000

Carol sends this in on Gus.

We’ve emptied the water out of the pond for the winter but somebody still wants to drink from it…

gus0000

Snakes on a plane!

November 8, 2016 • 5:00 am

by Grania

Perhaps it lacks the gravitas of Matthew’s post, and it wasn’t narrated by David Attenborough, but it is in its own class of terror.

According to KTLA yesterday Aeromexico made this unwelcome discovery on a Sunday flight to Mexico. No-one was hurt and animal control took the snake into care once they reached their destination.

I think we can all agree that henceforth movies with suggestive names like Sharknado should be vehemently protested and banned if possible, because Mother Nature is clearly just taking these sorts of things as a suggestion.

Snakes on a plain!

November 8, 2016 • 3:29 am

by Matthew Cobb

By common agreement, the most terrifying footage of Sunday night’s BBC Life on Earth II – narrated by David Attenborough – was the scene where the newly-hatched marine iguanas on the Galapagos had to run the gauntlet of the racer snakes (the clue is in the name). The iguana eggs are laid in soft ground away from the water’s edge, and have to get to the safety of the rocky shore where they can take up their bizarre marine herbivorous lifestyle, which includes diving down as deep as 30 metres (roughly 100 feet) to graze on marine plants. Between the hatchling and the future lie the racer snakes.

This video is not an official one, and has no Attenborough commentary nor the stress-inducing pounding musical soundtrack (instead the poster has chosen to put some bizarrely soothing guitar music over it; I’d turn the sound off  if I were you). Those are only available to viewers in the UK, who are advised to seek them out on YouTube or iPlayer. For the rest of you, you’ll have to make do with this – but quick, before it is taken down! [JAC: It was already taken down, but I’ve found another one, which itself will be taken down. Damn you, BBC!  If you’re in the US, try the Twitter link below, which may work if the video doesn’t—or disappears.]

 

https://twitter.com/phil500/status/795704147706146816

 

Monday: Hili dialogue

November 7, 2016 • 6:30 am

by Grania

Good morning and happy Monday!

Today marked the founding of the USA’s oldest musical organisation, Stoughton Musical Society in 1786. More than a century before that in 1665 The London Gazette was first published, and it is still in daily publication. In 1944 today also marked the return of FDR for his fourth term.

It is Sharleen Spiteri’s birthday today, Scottish singer / songwriter and lead singer in the band Texas (that had absolutely nothing to do with actual Texas). I’m not sure how many of you in the USA have heard of them, but they were pretty big this side of the pond. This is their song In Demand, and yes, that is the late Alan Rickman in the video.

Over in Poland Cyrus is asking leading questions again.

Cyrus: What do you think about co-habitation?
Hili: Much depends on the habitat.

p1040934

In Polish:

Cyrus: Co myślisz o kohabitacji?
Hili: Wiele zależy od habitatu.

I have landed—in China

November 6, 2016 • 5:01 pm

I’m in Dongguan, China, a very large industrial city (8 million, larger than all the areas of Hong Kong put together), which, like most Chinese cities, is growing rapidly, has construction everywhere, and is beset by smog. On the good side, I’ve learned a lot about modern China in only one day from expats who live here, I have lovely hosts taking good care of me, and have had two awesome meals (photos later).

Today I tour the rural areas, where I’m told I’ll get to see a slice of the slow-paced rural China that is, by government policy, rapidly disappearing. This afternoon I’ll lecture to the students at the local international school on religion and “ways of knowing” (the first time I’ve ever talked on the latter subject).

Here’s where I am, a short distance from Hong Kong:

dongguan-guangdong

After that it’s back to Hong Kong (about 2 hours from here) to begin my formal duties there, with another school talk (the Chinese International School), a radio interview, and a meeting with the local Skeptics in the Pub. I believe the latter is open to everyone, so if you want to come, chat, and imbibe, here’s the information:

8 November, Tuesday: 19:00-21:00 or as you wish. Skeptics in the Pub at Taboo in Wanchai.

Sunday: Hili dialogue

November 6, 2016 • 6:30 am

by Grania

Good morning!

Today in 1528 Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European to set foot in what is now Texas, thanks to a shipwreck.

In 1944 Plutonium was first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility and was then used in the Fat Man bomb, one of which was detonated over Nagasaki.

It is also the birthday of Cuban-born Arturo Sandoval (1949) later defecting to the USA. Here he is playing “There Will Never Be Another You”.

My Twitter feed this last night was full of #BonfireNight bits of news and wisdom, mostly about fireworks, fire safety and food. It was heartening to see a lot of cautions about keeping wildlife safe, especially hedgehogs, but even insects were included.

There were educational posters:

cwhc1luwiaaji9i

And then there was this.

cwrwyy_umaazgbi

What could possibly go wrong? Anyway, people had fun.

In Dobrzyn the four-footed cousins are having a plaintive moment. It’s hard to judge what is the cause of their dismay. It may be something serious like a lack of an extra slice of ham at Second Breakfast.

Hili: It’s not going well, Cyrus.
Cyrus: I know, Hili.

p1050062

In Polish:

Hili: Nie jest dobrze, Cyrusie.
Cyrus: Ja wiem, Hili.

Heather Hastie defends Ayaan Hirsi Ali against the SPLC’s distortions

November 5, 2016 • 2:00 pm

UPDATE:  Heather adds this:

When I did the post in support of Maajid Nawaz, I also wrote to SPLC. I got a response from them, the contents of which I found pretty appalling.

I’ve done a post which includes my email, their response, and what I think of their response:

http://www.heatherhastie.com/splc-responds-to-my-complaint-re-field-guide-to-anti-muslim-extremists/

*********

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has disgraced itself by putting out a “blacklist” of supposed anti-Muslim extremists, including on it the “extremists” Maajid Nawaz and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  Both of them are Muslim reformers, and I’ve written before about the injustice of including these two on a list along with real bigots. (I now feel that the SPLC has no business issuing any such blacklists.)

Most of the criticisms of that list have defended Maajid Nawaz, a believing Muslim rather than an apostate Muslim like Hirsi Ali. But I call your attention to a good defense of Hirsi Ali in a post on Heather Hastie’s website, “Why Ayann Hirsi Ali Shouldn’t Be on SPLC’s ‘Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists‘”. “Ayann” is misspelled, but that’s clearly a typo because the spelling is correct throughout the post itself. (I’ve called it to Heather’s attention and am sure it’ll be corrected.)

It’s a particularly incisive post, with Heather demolishing every point that the SPLC leveled against Hirsi Ali when damning her as an inciter of hatred against Muslims. I won’t summarize it here, but I urge readers who want to skinny on Hirsi Ali to go read it.

As for the SPLC, I have no use for them. They are nothing to me now, just as Freddo became nothing to Michael Corleone.

Two Singapore meals: casual and fancy

November 5, 2016 • 12:45 pm

Here are two of the last meals I had in Singapore. The first was at a local roti joint near the Chin’s house. While Melissa’s parents were visiting relatives, she and I repaired to the joint for a casual meal of breadlike substances, which were excellent.

This is roti prata, a grilled bread (with cheese) served with a spicy chili sauce:

p1110351

 Along with that we had a more substantial bread, murtabak, filled with egg and meat. It’s the Singaporean version of a Chicago deep-dish pizza, and it, like the roti, was excellent.
 p1110352

We also had mee goreng, a spicy dish of fried noodles and vegetables topped with an egg:

p1110353

I washed it all down with a glass of bandung, an iced mixture of evaporated milk and rose syrup, which gives the drink a lovely pink color and unique (and appealing) taste.

p1110349

For dessert we had tissue prata, a sweetened flatbread drizzled with condensed milk and sugar, and served standing upright. I didn’t take a photo, but this is what it looked like:

5c2023864aef13928127961_original

For my Last Supper in Singapore, Michael Chin treated us all to a wonderful seafood dinner at a very famous local chain: Long Beach, where the seafood is kept live in tanks and prepared on the spot:

p1110475

There are tanks overcrowded with lobster from the U.S. (sad), and less crowded tanks with crabs and molluscs:

p1110457

p1110459

Three Pacific geoduck (pronounced “gooey-duck”), Panopea generosa—the largest burrowing mollusc in the world. The siphon, which can be up to a meter long, is used in various Asian dishes. Though we didn’t have it at Long Beach, I did eat it once in Vancouver at a gala Chinese dinner, served with black bean sauce. It was splendid, with a firm, clean taste like an abalone, only clammier.

p1110458

Our table was set with various chili sauces. These often look similar but taste different, and each restaurant makes its own:

p1110460

We started with meat: a delicious roast duck with shrimp chips and stir-fried greens.

p1110461

Then fried rice with crab:

p1110462

Crunchy fried baby squid:

p1110463

And on to the evening’s highlight: crab. We had two. This is steamed crab. I’m not sure of the species, but it was great, with huge, meaty claws and substantial meat at the base of the legs:

p1110466

And the highlight of highlights: the classic Singapore dish chili crab, a huge crustacean cooked in a fantastic sauce of tomato, garlic, chili, and eggs. Fried buns were served on the side to sop up the sauce, which is a treat in itself, but even more so when slopped atop a big hunk of crab or the soft innards of a bun. This was truly one of the best dishes I’ve eaten in my life. It is not cheap, but life is short!
 p1110471

Four sated diners: Michael, Annie, Melissa, and I.

p1110468

And so endeth my culinary adventures in Singapore. They were fantastic, and I don’t think I missed a single one of the country’s signature dishes.

But a new adventure has begun: Hong Kong. I’ve already spent two days here, and this morning went to one of the city’s renowned dim sum parlors, to be described (with photos) in a later post.

Many thanks again to Michael, Annie, and Melissa for their ultra-warm hospitality and kindness.