PINEAPPLE
Chris B.: “In India, folks like their pineapples partially rotting (i.e. light orange on the outside). The guy trying to sell me pineapples was like, “Pick one of these two,” and I thought, “Ha! Try to sell a rotting pineapple to the stupid gora, eh?” So I picked the one that was perfect by American standards (yellow on half, nice smell), and when we brought it home to Aparna’s parents’ house, I thought it was great, but all the Indians thought it was not ripe, and though I ate half of it, there was still some left. Back here in the states, Aparna made us get a somewhat orange pineapple at Kroger a month ago (the “ripest” i.e. rottenest one in the store), and I have to admit, it was delicious. Now I am hooked on orange pineapple. The texture is a little less hard, and it doesn’t have that acid sting quite as much. There are certainly many foods that are better with a little fermentation – for example, bread and idli. Pineapple, at least to some people’s tastes, may be one of those foods as well. PS – It would be great if some botanist or myxologist reads your blog and writes in to tell us what that white/gray fungus is that grows on the bottoms of pineapple. It almost seems commensal to some extent, like it makes them yummier.”
☞ I love it when I have to look up not one but two words in a me-mail. I have the smartest, most interesting readers ever.
WOW
Jim Reed: “British film director Sir Ridley Scott launched a global film making contest for aspiring directors. There were over 600 entries. The film could be no longer than 3 minutes, contain only 6 lines of narrative, and had to be a compelling story. The winner was ‘Porcelain Unicorn’ from American director Keegan Wilcox. You’ll see why it won.”
WHY WE’LL NEED TO RAISE TAXES
The short form: because, with rates at historic lows, we’re not raising enough revenue. Here’s an overview (thanks, John Leeds). See if you agree.
