Esteemed thinkers: the Casket Girls

We are of a world of diversity, and as history has shown us this diversity comes with many claims. However, regardless of how one may view the world there is one need that unites all; that is of food. As far back as time and humans were recorded, food has been an essential need that initiated recipes which are in the coarse of constant flux according to acquisition and taste.

Not long after 1718, when the French founded New Orleans, ships carrying young women were sent as wives by the French government with dowry suitcases and casks to the new settlers. However, upon their arrival what these young ladies did not anticipate was the crude grains upon which they were supposed to bake with. Unlike their French flours which they were accustomed to use and bake their delicate breads, life in the New World was a culinary disappointment, where they grew quite discontent with the coarse cornmeal provided them.

Taking matters into their own hands, the young brides demanded the finer wheat be sent over. Not wanting to waste the precious wheat, the French women soaked the extra bread that had become stale in a mixture of sweet milk and eggs, fried in butter and served with preserves.

Alas, you may recognize this dish, it is the one we call French toast, but what in the early 1700s it was recognized as as ‘pain perdu’ or ‘lost bread’.
Bon appétit!

Homowack breakfast table, Mamakating, New York

Esteemed thinker: Clas Oldenburg

We have memories that are both positive and negative and they come and go throughout our day often without any warning. The method they use to interrupt our thoughts is often initiated by a random trigger; all fitting very neatly under the umbrella of our senses. A song may bring back romance or regrets while an aroma recreates a holiday.

Pizza is a food that that carries and omits memories; ordering through an open window where the smells waft into the street and greasy wax paper barely big enough to hold the triangular slice. The best way to eat a piece was to fold it lengthwise with the full advantage of biting off the end. Ultimately you had to stretch your arm out in front of you before reeling in a thin string of mozzarella cheese.

However, what was once the norm of pizza has now become almost extinct since its culinary metamorphosis. Its evolution through the years has been transformed into what I call “boutique pizza.” Not only has the size of the average pie been dramatically reduced, but the crust is not longer made with the soft dough that bubbled up on the edges like a dune on the beach. Presently it is more like a fancy cracker. The toppings range from artichoke hearts, to pineapple, to chicken and rosemary. Mozzarella is no longer the cheese of choice but rather feta and goat drizzled with olive oil. Served on small tapas dishes the order comes with knives and forks.

Alas, the evolution of the pizza has made quite a change; and though the “boutique pizza” is delicious, there was once something special about watching the pizza baker twirl the dough above his head while you waited… and just maybe this would be the time it would go splat!!

Today’s post brings to you the esteemed thinker: Clas Oldenburg (Stolkholm, 1929), a Swedish born artist who moved to the United States and eventually became a citizen of his adopted counntry. Educated at Yale, Oldenburg later attended the school of the Art Institute of Chicago, opened a studio and did freelance illustrating for magazines. Using commercial and ordinary objects as subject matter, he brought to the art world a new meaning of expression. He became known for public art and instilations of grand scales, utilizing materials that deemed his work “soft sculpture”. In the 1960s he participated in what was called the Pop Movement, also related to “happenings” a kind of performance art work.

I now bring you his 1964 lithograph titled Flying Pizza from New York Ten a work of art that clearly, from the title and subject, reminds many of us of the “good-old-days” of the plain cheese pizza!

Esteemed thinker: Johannes Vermeer

There are three times of the day that rally the attention of all people regardless of where or who they are; and though some enjoy one of these times more than the others, they are significant to both man and woman. These times are relegated to the sounding of a clock, watch, or grumble of one’s stomach…they are none other than breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There was a time where eating these meals was common place. Yes, true, some fanfare was made if it was a festive occasion however; the daily preparation was simply considered part of life’s chores. Bread was made from milled wheat, eggs were gathered or bought at markets, and meat was selected from butcher shops, produce squeezed and smelled to ensure it was ripe, and deserts rolled and filled. Meals were elaborate or simple, and those who prepared them went about their business in the same manner the accountant or mechanic would trundle off to work.

Fast forward to today and the preparation of a meal has become a spectator sport. It is marveled and ogled with the same degree of wonderment for the cook that one would think they were on a mission to space. Television shows are endless with audiences tuning in to watch. People travel around the world and viewers observe other people eating. One has to wonder what has happened. Has the 21st century become so conditioned to fast food and microwave heating that cooking a chicken is considered a heroic feat? The next thing you know, setting the table will become a national sport!

Self-portrait (1656)

Today’s post brings to you the esteemed thinker: Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675 b. Dutch Republic of Delft ) a Dutch artist who lived in the era we now call the Golden Age of Dutch painting. Virtually self-taught, he is considered one of the greatest Baroque painters. He began his career painting large scale biblical and mythological themes, his later work are the pieces we are most familiar with, interior daily life. Throughout his career as an artist he experimented with techniques, his work with light and purity of form are what he is best known for.

And so I bring to you one of the masterpieces of the 17th century, The Milkmaid (1668: also known as the Maidservant). Johannes Vermeer, the extraordinary artist has captured the very essence of a domestic world that was considered quite an ordinary way of life.

Esteemed thinker: Paul Cézanne

If there is one activity that seems to be enjoyed by both men and women, it is eating. Dining out has become a pastime that stirs everyone’s taste buds from the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed. From breakfast to mid-night snacks food is our minds. Much of one’s morning drudgery at work is survivable by much collaboration with colleagues on where to go to lunch. Dates consist of a dinner out, while a get-together with friends at a sporting event first involves a well-executed tailgate party. Our time at the grocery store is extended by squeezing and smelling…to find just the right colored vegetables and fruits; reading ingredients on labels (that always need glasses to see), and making sure the fish at the seafood counter is “wild”.

The multitude of television programs that host reality shows with restaurant chefs, culinary hopefuls, and celebrity cooks who concoct dishes under bizarre circumstances illustrates our fascination with food. Travel shows that take us to places we cannot pronounce with hosts who eat things that challenge the stomach and palate have become ever more popular with armchair chefs. It is clear that the world has become enamored with food.

So with all this eating and cooking, why is it that when we come home from the grocery store and put away our purchases we seem to always open the refrigerator and say, “There is nothing good to eat!” Hmmmm, perhaps that’s why we head directly to the television…because there is always something delicious to virtually eat!

Today’s blog brings you the esteemed thinker: Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) born in Aix-en-Provence, France, one of the most influential artist. Falling in the category of Post Impressionists, his painting inspired generations of artists having formed the bridge from late impressionist’s movement to the cubist movement. Much of his work seemed to ignore what was considered classical perspective, painting objects that allowed each item to be “independent within the space of a picture while the relationship of one object to another takes precedence over traditional single-point perspective.”

Having brought to you a great painter in today’s post we must look at his thoughts in a different way; for his ideas are to be interpreted not through words but rather transported by way of the medium he creates best, painting. And so I bring you an oil on canvas titled, Still Life with Jar, Cup, and Apples (1877) by the great Paul Cézanne. Take a virtual bite out of his work and enjoy!

First image: Chef in North Beach Italian restaurant. San Francisco, California, Photographer: Collier, John, Date Created: 1941 .

Esteemed thinker: Gelett Burgess

Manners are the simple etiquettes between humans that can dictate whether an interaction will be a pleasing or unpleasing experience. Manners are not instinctive; for example we will not find a pair of dogs discussing which one will have the bone but rather they will grab and grapple until the victor is munching happily away at the marrow.

Instead, manners are learned activities that can be passed down from generation to generation like grandmother’s linen tablecloth. But unlike that tablecloth which only dons the table on special occasions; we can only hope that manners are always showing. Alas, this is not always the case and what was once considered ill mannered are now simply part of the norm.

Let me present a few examples of manner interpretations having changed through time. In the earlier part of the 20th century, speaking on the telephone in public was conducted in a private “telephone booth” so as not only to maintain some modicum of privacy but also as consideration to others around. Today, speaking on a cell phone is as conducted everywhere and those around, whether they like it or not, are subjected to its intrusion.

Food today has been packaged in a fashion whereby children hardly need to use any utensils but rather finger their way through a meal; yogurt is squeezed through tubes, chicken is pre-cut as finger- food, and fruit is rolled into plastic-like material to be peeled and eaten. Even waffles are now designed to be neatly fit in the hand and dunked in syrup without the assistance of a fork. Often table manners have been modified for convenience.

And then there was the removing of a man’s hat when indoors, which was once considered good manners but is now regarded as quite archaic.

However, as times have changed our interpretations of manners the one conduct that has not gone out-of-style is the custom of please and thank you whereupon I say, I am pleased that you have stopped by and thank you for taking time from your busy day to read this post! And oh yes … have a most pleasant day!!

Today’s post acquaints you with the esteemed thinker: Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) American poet, artist, and humorist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, his career began after graduating from MIT with an engineer degree. Best known today as the creator of the Goops and the famous Purple Cow verse, he was also the author of many books and a brilliant, iconoclastic American humorist.

From his title, More Goops and How not to be Them, I bring you one of his poems, “At Table” which will indeed fit neatly into today’s post. Enjoy!

At Table

Why is it Goops must always wish
To touch each apple on the dish?
Why do they never neatly fold
Their napkins until they are told?
Why do they play with food, and bite
Such awful mouthfuls? Is it right?
Why do they tilt back in their chairs?
Because they’re Goops! So no one cares!

First image: 1900

Humor: a most personal taste

Where one gets their sense of humor is a question that can be deliberated; for some it may be inherited such as one inherits their blue eyes, or it might have been nurtured beginning with the way we may have reacted to situations and then how this reaction was perceived by others thus forming our ‘own’ sense of humor.

Humor can be something subtle or it can be found in a story that takes time to read. And then humor can take on different modes such as when we hear a joke, see a show, or find a situation that is ironic, not outwardly funny but rather it is understated. And then sometimes what we consider funny may not seem humorous to others.

But regardless of origin or style… humor is a human characteristic that can take us away from the most unpleasant day and send us happily into a different mood, even if it is for just a moment.
Today’s blog is my way of bringing perhaps a bit of humor to your day… by taking the liberty of sharing one of my pieces that I think is…well…kind of funny!

Esteemed thinker: Lewis Carroll

Look around any city or town and there is one business that has not lost its appeal, one particular enterprise that continues to lure revenue makers…that of the restaurant. Eating has become a form of entertainment for many…so much so that society has added this culinary quest into other types of leisure activities and amusements. Let us begin with the movie theater. While we complain how expensive it has become to purchase a ticket, seldom do we see the same individual turn down an overpriced tub (yes, not a bag but now a tub) of popcorn. Seats are equipped with drink holes to capsulate the jumbo sized beverage, while teetering on laps are gooey plates of nachos and cheese dip.

Feeding our bodies has also become synonymous with sporting events too, and as we engage in rooting for our home team, the before game spiriting is equally as robust where groups of fans convene behind their vehicles to consume vast amount of beer and bar-b-que for a tail-gate party right before their physically toned and well-fit team comes out to play. Then when inside, we have arenas stocked with as many types of vendors as one would find in a fast-food court at the mall. And speaking of malls…shopping for clothes and the lot is now banded together with eating…lots of eating.

The idea of eating however is not exclusively reserved for just hand –to- mouth, but is also a term that we can use to mean feeding our souls…as in a spiritual way through organized practice or less organized as with our personal interaction with nature. Yet still there is another, feeding our brains…as when we seek out to learn something new. By way of going to school or as simply as reading a book; both are considerably nourishing and their calorie consumption is virtually nil; an added benefit especially good for those looking to maintain or lose weight. (The former is not always as calorically deficient for after the spiritual soul has been fed there is often a gathering of coffee and cake, unless you take nature’s path and nibble on berries)

Least we not forget our animal friends when we think of feed; this word used as a noun is interpreted as the food we give bovine or equine…such as ‘cattle feed’. As for plants…its sustenance cannot be taken for granted, for they too desire to be fed.

And so… this blogger wishes her readers many good feedings, hoping that you continue to nourish and satiate whatever part of your hungry body you choose with generous amounts of goodness and harmony.

Today’s post brings you a most famous and entertaining esteemed thinker: Lewis Carroll (1832-1898). Readily remembered for his ever popular and imaginative Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (1865), this English born author’s given name, unbeknownst to many, was Charles Dodgson. His talent could also claim other vocations for he too was a photographer and mathematician.

And so, in his succinct and ever so clever work titled, Feeding the Mind (1884), I have clipped for you a morsel that should nourish your curiosity …Here is the celebrated Lewis Carroll….

“… Considering the amount of painful experience many of us have had in feeding and dosing the body, it would, I think, be quite worth our while to try and translate some of the rules into corresponding ones for the mind. First, then, we should set ourselves to provide for our mind its proper kind of food. We very soon learn what will, and what will not, agree with the body, and find little difficulty in refusing a piece of the tempting pudding or pie which is associated in our memory with that terrible attack of indigestion, and whose very name irresistibly recalls rhubarb and magnesia; but it takes a great many lessons to convince us how indigestible some of our favourite lines of reading are, and again and again we make a meal of the unwholesome novel, sure to be followed by its usual train of low spirits, unwillingness to work, weariness of existence—in fact, by mental nightmare.

Then we should be careful to provide this wholesome food in proper amount. Mental gluttony, or over-reading, is a dangerous propensity, tending to weakness of digestive power, and in some cases to loss of appetite: we know that bread is a good and wholesome food, but who would like to try the experiment of eating two or three loaves at a sitting? I have heard a physician telling his patient—whose complaint was merely gluttony and want of exercise—that ‘the earliest symptom of hyper-nutrition is a deposition of adipose tissue,’ and no doubt the fine long words greatly consoled the poor man under his increasing load of fat.
I wonder if there is such a thing in nature as a FAT MIND? I really think I have met with one or two: minds which could not keep up with the slowest trot in conversation; could not jump over a logical fence, to save their lives; always got stuck fast in a narrow argument; and, in short, were fit for nothing but to waddle helplessly through the world…”

First image: Full Moon Bar-b-que signs in Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1946, Carol Highsmith photographer