Shanghai’s Jin Long She Restaurant
China is known for having some of the more unusual foods in the world. Depending on what region you end up in, you can have the opportunity to try anything from insects to toads to monkey brains. And while most of these exotic foods end up staying in the regions they came from, there’s a restaurant in one of China’s biggest cities that specializes in bringing one particular specialty to its customers. The restaurant is called Jin Long She and the preferred dish is snake.
The snake hot pot is the food of choice when eating at Jin Long She, but there are several other snake-themed recipes available. You can have braised snake, snake-head liquor to drink, cups of snake blood (upon request) and even cocktails made with snake bile. To cater even further to their snake-loving crowd, Jin Long She offers a variety of snakes to choose from. From poisonous snakes like the king cobra to “safer” ones, they’re all available, though some may require that you call ahead to make sure the restaurant has time to procure and prepare them.
Snake isn’t the most popular food in the world, but it’s certainly more common than many things people eat. Russia and Germany are two other countries where the slithery reptile is on the menu. In China, this particular creature is believed to increase male virility, so it’s a little more popular among the man-crowd. Due to this belief, women that go to Jin Long She and order snake from the menu might find themselves the victims of some good-natured cultural teasing, though that shouldn’t stop anyone from trying the dish if they really want to.
For those that don’t want to eat the snake, there are plenty of other things on the menu that follow a more Western ideal. Still, if you’re going to go, you might as well try the house specialty. And while people aren’t likely to see snake pop up on the menu of a popular restaurant in the United States, a trip to Shanghai can give one an opportunity to try this type of meat in a variety of interesting ways. Definitely worth a visit for those looking to expand their food-eating experience.
Space history being auctioned off for charity
Ever wanted to own a piece of space exploration history but just don’t know where to go to buy it? Well, as it turns out, a group called Heritage is holding an auction to sell off some of the most important pieces of the United State’s space past in the name of charity. Most of these items should probably be in a museum and, in fact, most things like this are, but these few pieces are available for the public to buy.
The list of what’s going to be on the auction block is pretty impressive. Several important space missions are represented in one way or another at the auction, as are many of the astronauts that put their lives on the line to make it happen. The Apollo 11, 14, 15 and 16 are just a few of the missions that have things to contribute.
There’s an original Apollo 14 mix tape up for sale - this is the actual tape that the astronauts were listening to while making their voyage. There’s also a few flags, one American and one Mexican, both of which made journeys to the moon. Some other items consist of freeze-dried food packets that were taken along (and managed to not get eaten), as well as several signed photos and manuscripts. The prize of the collection is by far a lunar surface checklist that was worn by astronaut Dave Scott while he wandered around the moon. Being that this item actually made it out of the ship and onto the moon’s surface, it is one of the rarest and most collectible of any space memorabilia.
These things are truly one-of-a-kind, however, so if you’re interested in bidding make sure you bring plenty of cash. Many items are expected to go for at least $10,000 and the checklist is predicted to reach $250,000 or more. Yeah, space collecting isn’t cheap by a long shot. But if you happen to have the money, the auction is taking place on November 21st. It’s a chance to own a piece of history and, given the rise in the space industry as of late, a huge potential to invest in something that will be priceless in the near future.
Wales’s Charity Santa Run
Every year, in December of course, the normally unremarkable town of Newtown, Wales plays host to one of the largest gatherings of Santas in the world. Thousands of people come together, both locals and travelers, dress up in Santa suits and make a 4.5k run in the name of charity. Over the course of its life, the Santa Run has been widely successful and raised hundreds-of-thousands of dollars.
Half of the raised money goes to a local organization, the Newtown and District Dial A Ride, while the other half goes to whatever charity each individual Santa decides to run for. In addition to the raising of money, the group has some other goals, however - they are trying to break the record for the largest gathering of Santas in the world. And given the popularity of the event, they may not be far off.
The basic course consists of running down the main street of the small town, out into the surrounding countryside and then back again. For those that need a bit of a break between the outgoing and incoming runs, there’s a pub stop along the way that has become a tradition.
Part of the fun of attending the Santa Run comes from the atmosphere of the town. The population of Newtown doubles and it is more common to see people, either local or tourist, sporting a big white beard or a red hat than otherwise. This celebratory feeling creates a festival ambiance that adds to the fun of the event.
It costs a few bucks to register for the Santa Run, but a free Santa suit is part of the deal. Also, people that join as groups get a small discount, so you’re encouraged to bring your friends along. Running a charity marathon may not be a typical vacation activity, but for a traveler in the UK during December, it can be a great way to do something good and enjoy interacting with the local Welsh people.
Norway’s Extreme Sports Festival
In Norway it’s called Ekstremsportveko, or just “Veko” for short, but those outside the country might know it better as the Extreme Sports Festival. Each year, during the end of June, the week-long festival takes place in the town of Voss. Over the years, it has grown and is now the largest festival of its kind in the world.
Veko was started up in 1998 by a group of extreme sports enthusiasts who wanted to create something dedicated to their passions. Today, the event has become so popular that more than 1000 people show up to compete and some 40,000 spectators arrive to celebrate. It has also become a huge media event in the country, attracting hundreds of media outlets. It became so big that the organizers eventually created a second festival, called Vinterveko (“Winter Week”) that takes place over a single weekend in March.
All sorts of exciting activities are taking place during this week of extreme sports. BASE jumping, kayaking, climbing, parachuting, hang gliding, kite surfing and various biking events are just a sampling of what can be expected at Veko. In addition to the sports, there are several bands, both regional and international, that show up and play all throughout the week.
For those that have an interest in extreme sports, Veko is a great place to learn more. There are many exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops, as well as people giving talks about the sports that matter to them. There are even safer activities for kids to take part in while at the festival.
Ekstremsportveko is an amazing chance for extreme sports fans to come out and see some of the best in the world strutting their stuff among the beautiful scenery of the Norwegian wilderness. If you happen to be in the country at the time, stop by and check out this great event.
Whale protection in Australia being ignored?
Testing for natural resources in the ocean has become quite the controversial subject with regards to the impact that is has on whale populations and their survival. Recently, an energy company by the name of Woodside decided to use a testing technique that implements air guns to find deposits of natural gas beneath the ocean’s surface. This technique shoots compressed air at high velocity and creates a seismic blast, which anyone with a bit of scientific knowledge knows can be very harmful to whales in a number of ways.
Their target was a seamount in Australian waters. It also happens to be the only known seamount in the region where whales have been seen feeding on a regular basis. A population of blue pygmy whales shows up there seasonally and takes advantage of the high concentration of food.
Despite regulations stating that testing in the area should not be done during periods when the whales were present, Woodside managed to get their plan for testing approved by Australia’s environmental department. They have publically stated that they knew the whales were going to be there, adding that they waited until the group had gone to begin their testing.
While one can appreciate them at least making an effort, there arises a question of how they even managed to get approval in the first place. In theory, the permit should have been denied or at least postponed until the whales had moved on. It’s yet another case of a government organization being set up to protect whales and simply ignoring their duties in the name of profit. Access to oil and gas is all-important in today’s energy-driven world, but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere. If the government agencies responsible for the overseeing of whales isn’t going to do it, then who is?
Court of h=Human Rights slaps the hands of Polish doctors
Every once in a while I read something online that makes me thankful that I live in the United States. While we are still grossly behind in promoting a progressive and logical abortion policy, there are other places that are so backwards and laden with outdated religious beliefs that women suffer greatly from seeking an abortion, even when they follow the letter of the law. The latest case involved a young girl in Poland and the event became so controversial that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had to step in to help remedy the situation.
Poland is known for being a highly religious country and has some of the strictest laws in the “first-world” when it comes to abortion. But apparently their beliefs run so deep that they’re willing to break their own laws. The case-in-point revolves around a 14-year-old girl who was the victim of a rape and sought an abortion. In addition to being repeatedly denied her right to the procedure, she suffered harassment at the hands of doctors, religious organizations and even the police.
Because her mother was helping her get the abortion, the girl was taken and put into a shelter. They also tried to prosecute the young girl for “illicit sexual relations” - i.e.: her being raped. Doctors attempted to talk her out of it and forcibly sent her to a priest. Even after all this, they still refused to do the abortion, some of them saying they were being pressured from outside sources. To make matters worse, they alerted the media and started a social attack on her via anti-abortion groups. She and her mother were at one point seized and questioned by the police.
Though she finally managed to get the abortion by traveling some 500 miles away from her home, the laws of Poland state that it shouldn’t have been thus. The ECHR agrees, condemning the Polish government for their lack of action in the matter. The end result is that the girl and her mother were awarded money for damages.
Some are saying that the ECHR’s involvement in the matter will set a precedent that forces doctors to perform the procedure regardless of whether their moral or religious convictions say otherwise. But that’s sort of how the law works, correct? If a hospital doesn’t want to do abortions, they need to plainly state that it is a service not offered. They certainly shouldn’t harass their patients, drag religious crap into the mix and actively work against the person seeking their help.
I’m only grateful that the U.S. doesn’t have to deal with the abortion controversy on quite the same level. With any luck, we won’t regress to a point where these sorts of concerns affect us and, hopefully, Poland will be able to get their own laws straight and stop relying on the opinions of their religion to make decisions for everyone.
Accepting religious architecture
Ever since I was condemned for wearing shorts into the house of God around the age of eight—or perhaps since the time someone tried to “save” me when I was seven and not only did I not understand what the hell was going on, but I also felt like I was about to be kidnapped—I haven’t been on friendly terms with churches. I’m not religious—spiritual, but not religious, as I like to say—and I don’t enjoy them. Even seeing the churches in Europe was a bittersweet experience, knowing how many people had died because of these institutions, with or without their beauty.
But lately I have realized how much time we spend in churches, and I have to say that I appreciate the space. Oh, we pay for it; it’s not free. Our music class is in a church, and part of our fee covers the rental space for our teacher. Our co-op yearly dues help rent out church space. But it’s pretty damn cheap, especially compared with alternatives that run $200 or more for a day’s rental!
Still, as much as I appreciate this, I can’t help but wonder at how ludicrous this is—how ingrained these religious buildings are into our culture. I guess meetings were often held in churches over time, but what about cheap halls, community centers? We do have a rec center, but renting a meeting room is expensive. Even renting a city pavilion is $25 every single time, which is more than a year’s dues at the co-op for a whole family!
You have to admit that this is insanely stupid. The only place we can affordably meet is a church? Does anyone not see the irony of our supposed separation of church and state here, or perhaps nearly being forced to meet in churches for ulterior motives? We need places to gather as people to discuss ideas, make crafts and run around in groups, and organize. Perhaps that’s the whole idea; the government is scared that we will start organizing if given free space. You have to laugh at that one.
As we seek a space for our 4-H meetings, I am leaning toward meeting at my home—which isn’t perfect, but it’s free, at least, and I won’t worry about administrators or other Powers That Be freaking out over our noise. I just think that we really need common local, secular ground to use to meet at for free.
Oz: The Great and Powerful
Seeing this poster, you have to know how excited I was. Could this be some kind of Wicked adaptation? Would we get a Disney version of the Wicked Witch of the West? I didn’t care; I was just so excited. Oz was my very first fantasy experience, and it launched a lifetime love of paranormal interests, fantasy books, comics, even horror. Anything about it gets me excited.
But then, I realized that the title didn’t mean Oz as in the land of Oz, but the wizard himself. If you doubt this, just watch the horrid trailer above. Sure, there are some fun looking creatures, a couple of witches, and other interesting tidbits—but the majority of the trailer focuses on the fake wizard who lands himself in Oz and his stupid back story. Huzzah.
We don’t need another telling of a male-centric movie. Guess what? We have plenty of them! And The Wizard of Oz is one of the very few widespread much-loved films that actually passes the Bechdel Test. If you’re going to make a whole movie about this minor character, how about we make a whole movie about Galadriel from Lord of the Rings while we’re at it? How about a whole movie based on Bo Peep or Jessie from Toy Story? It sounds funny, doesn’t it? That’s because it is—not because they’re females, but because they’re pretty much minor roles, just as the fake wizard of Oz is in the original film.
And James Franco as the wizard just seems ludicrous, too. I guess it’s actually an okay casting, since one of my least favorite actors is playing one of my least favorite minor characters. It won’t be hard to do justice here. I know I sound absolutely melancholy over this, and it’s a silly thing to be so bummed about, but here I am, still moping.
Will we see it? I sigh as I say yes, because it’s Oz, and I almost feel like I must—I love the series, the books, the adaptations, the Gregory Maguire books that much. I really can’t get enough of it. But I can’t stop wishing that the film would be about one of the powerful witches of oz instead—or anyone else, really, other than the fake wizard. Hell, I would rather see a movie about Toto going to the groomer and biting Miss Gulch seventeen times than see James Franco commandeer an air balloon.
Growing up without a culture
The more my daughter and I learn about different cultures around the world, the more I am reminded of how saddened I have always been when thinking about my culture—or, rather, lack of culture. Growing up in a white, lower-middle class family in America, I had a vague notion that my great-grandparents on my dad’s side were German and that he liked sauerkraut. My racist uncle—well, one of them; I have a few—even called him “kraut.” Fun, right?
But I never really had a sense of culture growing up. We had Christmas at one grandma’s house, Christmas Eve at another’s, which involved eating and presents. That’s it. We never did anything religious aside from bedtime prayers, nothing relating to any specific culture—my mom’s side was made up of “mutts” from all over the world—and when I started to really learn about culture in college, it made me feel like we’d been left out of something amazing.
Then I started to realize we were part of the American culture—the culture of spending, buying, working until your heart gives out. We are the culture that prioritizes multitasking and doing too much, not caring about anyone but ourselves, and feeling as if we are better than the rest of the world—so much better, in fact, that god only blesses this country; that this country only polices all others.
Don’t get me wrong; my parents did not raise me this way. But society sure as hell did. Every textbook, every news report, every television channel ran on this theme. They still do, for sure—probably much more strongly than they did when I was a kid. You almost have to not have a television, not attend school, to grow up without a nationalist mentality. Somehow many of us still escape it, bitterly cursing the years spent in indoctrination.
I want a culture to raise my daughter in. I suppose the culture we cultivate in our home could be called compassion or kindness, but I want something else, too. It’s fun to celebrate everything from Diwali to Samhain in our home, but I’d love to have something that I could say, “Your great-great-grandmother used to do this,” about, or “This recipe has been in our family for hundreds of years.” I guess the beauty of it, the beauty that I must learn, is that we get to create our own.
Oreos vs. worldly problems
People get outraged over the dumbest crap. I used to have a bumper sticker that read, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention!” I really meant that, too, but I meant it about violence against women, about how anyone other than a straight, white man is treated in this country; about human trafficking, our environmental destruction, and so many other issues that plague us every day.
I did not mean it about Oreo cookies.
But apparently, that is what the everyday person gets angry about. The other day, I saw an old woman ask for Halloween themed Oreos at the store, and when she was told they were out, she threw her package of lunch meat at the store employee. I am serious—she totally threw it at him! Then she spat, “You’re always out of everything!”
Well, sorry, ma’am. I know how freaking important cookies are. They are totally worth flipping out over. All of that chocolate and inner gooey goodness; how could you not flip out?
I don’t mean to judge her, but really—throwing meat at someone? Old age doesn’t earn you the right to hurl pig flesh at store clerks. It really doesn’t.
Why can’t people get riled up about something important and storm the government with demands like other countries? Had we done that like Iceland had done, we would see bankers behind bars and people getting bailouts instead! That’s what they did when their subjects—oops, I mean citizens—spoke out. Nope, peasants—again, citizens!—here get mad about cookies, but not about anything of importance.
Seriously, Oreo is more concerned about social issues than the average human seems to be—they even made rainbow cookies to prove it! Why can’t the average person give a damn like that? I don’t mean to make rainbow cookies, of course, but to get angry enough to throw meat—without actually throwing it, mind you—about what’s happening to our world, to our kids and our food and our brothers and sisters and selves, instead.
Some of them have proved that they are racist enough to care about some things, which isn’t the kind of care I mean, either. We need to care out of actual compassion, not deep-seated prejudices from our great-grandparents—and until we do that, I think we’re going to keep having problems bad enough to lose sleep over.
Of course, we’ll lose sleep about cookies instead.