More Than True

All hail the Blackberry, thorny fruit

April 27, 2015 Info Links Vegan food

Folklore in the United Kingdom is told that blackberries should not be picked after Old Michaelmas Day (11 October) as the devil (or a Púca) has made them unfit to eat, by stepping, spitting, or fouling on them. There is some value behind this legend as wetter and cooler weather often allows the fruit to become infected by various molds such as Botryotinia which give the fruit an unpleasant look and may be toxic.

Source: Blackberry – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Seattle Soup, Salad, and Ice Cream

April 24, 2015 Links Vegan food

The bathroom at the ice cream store features fine art on black velvet.

IMG_1084

I joined the Vegetarians of Washington and was handed a folder full of coupons. One was for Seattle Salads. Seattle Salads is a small place that serves Salad and Soup. Both the Salad and Soup were good. I had the Kale Lemon Tahini salad. It had carrots, avocado, and more in it. I also had the Curry Coconut Garbanzo soup with quinoa.

Kale Lemon TahiniCoconut Curry Garbanzo over Quinoa

Later in the day I used a coupon for Full Tilt Ice Cream, which has non-dairy  ice cream made from coconut milk.

Two Vegan Scoops: Chili Mango and Almond Joy.

emotional content

April 20, 2015 Links My books Personal Things my friends made Writing

Emoticon by Richard F. Yates
via his site image links to

I lost my emotions in a previous decade.

Coincided with a war, I think.

I simply put them somewhere and they disappeared. I can only assume someone took them. And somebody is out there right now, you see, playing with my emotions.

 

Sexism, Arbitrary Ethnic Humor, and Science.

April 9, 2015 Books My books Writing

Three men walk into a bar…
At this point a lady asks me, “Why men?” And I say, “It’s a sexist joke.”

This art stolen from Richard F. Yates, C'mon, click it.

This art stolen from Richard F. Yates, C’mon, click it.

Three Swedes walk into a bar. It is full of leprechauns. It is the wrong bar. They are lost. “Who is lost, the Swedes or the leprechauns?”

The Finnish man asks the Irish man how it’s going. “Oh, could be worse. I still have the one leg.” Arbitrary Ethnic Humor.

Science is the cruelest discipline. Followed by comedy.
When science and comedy meet they intersect. And then they are dissected. It is cruel. Doubly so. Cutting.
Three scientists walk into a bar. It is the start of a cruel social experiment. The result is a matter of interpretation. Based on evidence.
One scientist says to the other, “I thought you were in control.”
“No,” says another, “I said I was the control.” Misinterpretation=comedy.
The role of the third scientist is observational. The humor in this needs no explanation, as it is universal.

Three bears walk into a bar. They argue about the relative coldness of the porridge. Then they start to make trouble.

Three Magi walk into a bar. It’s a setup. They are robbed of precious metals and fragrant oils.
Two thousand years later, three mobsters walk into a bar, only to discover that it’s a setup. They sit there, feeling foolish, waiting for the inevitable punchline.
The joke goes right over their heads. They are not the intended audience. No, this joke is not for them.

Three men walk into three different bars, simultaneously. Joke averted.

A Priest, a Rabbi, and a Laughing Hyena walk into a bar. The bartender asks, “Is this a joke?” There are many hurt feelings this day.

Perils of Free Thought: a book of no small danger [amazon asin=B0080AGLNC&template=iframe image]

Old Mr. Block

April 3, 2015 Personal Writing

In the folklore of the IWW Mr. Block is a man who never does anything right. He stands up for all the wrong things and is disappointed with the outcomes.

When I was in the seventh grade Mr. Block was my woodshop teacher. Not only was he Mr. Block because he taught woodshop, he was Mr. Block because whenever something raised his ire he would throw a random wood block at students.

Wood blocks would whiz through the air, wobbly projectiles barely missing random student heads. Then, often, colliding or not colliding with their intended target. Mr. Block had terrible aim; which was just one of his many sins.

One day a random block whizzed within an inch or two of my ear. My left ear. One of my two favorites. The intended target/victim sitting behind me and to my left.

When the projectile hit him he shouted, “Hey, you can’t do that.”

Mr. Block was incensed. More incensed than he was when he decided to launch an attack.

He basically said that he could do anything he wanted to in his classroom. Wherein I said, “No, he’s right, you can’t throw things.”

This made him even angrier. Mr. Block was well known for throwing things at students in class. Everyone knew this. In retrospect I must wonder if anyone ever challenged him before.

He said, to me, “This is none of your business!”

I said, “You made it my business.”

He said, “How would you like to go explain yourself in the office?”

I said, “I’d love to.”

Later, in the administrative wing, and all schools have ever-expanding administration wings, the assistant vice principal tried to take the side of Mr. Block.

I pounded my fist on the table and demanded  justice.

The assistant vice principal said, “How would you like me to call your father?”

I told him I thought that was a terrific idea. The only good idea he had thus far that afternoon.

My father, a union representative, came into the office later that afternoon and chewed out the assistant vice principal. And told him that, in fact, teachers cannot throw projectiles at students in class. And that assistant vice principals could not attempt to punish third party students who voice opposition to the throwing of projectiles in class. This was expressed in a low voice but in no uncertain terms.

And I never again saw a piece of wood fly through the air at school. At least not in my presence.

I stole this image of an Easter Bunny from That Great Beast, Richard F. Yates.