Monday OT: 01/25/21 is Burns Night

Today is day 25 of the Gregorian Calendar year,
Setting Orange, Chaos 20, 3187 YOLD
And let us not forget 13.0.8.3.17 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)

[Portrait of Robert Burns, Ayr, Scotland] (LOC)

Robert Burns

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It's Burns Night

Hie thee over to the Burns unit, get ye a pitcher of dry Rob Roys and recite:

“O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion.”

Until ye fall down.

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And, it's A Room of One's Own Day as well.

All I could do was to offer you an opinion upon one minor point--a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction; and that, as you will see, leaves the great problem of the true nature of woman and the true nature of fiction unsolved. I have shirked the duty of coming to a conclusion upon these two questions--women and fiction remain, so far as I am concerned,unsolved problems. But in order to make some amends I am going to do what I can to show you how I arrived at this opinion about the room and the money. I am going to develop in your presence as fully and freely as I can the train of thought which led me to think this. Perhaps if I lay bare the ideas, the prejudices, that lie behind this statement you will find that they have some bearing upon women and some upon fiction. At any rate, when a subject is highly controversial--and any question about sex is that--one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker.

~~ Virginia Woolf; A Room of One's Own 
 

 http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791.txt 

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On this day in history:

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1755 – Moscow University was established on Tatiana Day.

1791 – The British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act of 791 splitting Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.

1792 – The London Corresponding Society was founded.

1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell formed the Oriental Telephone Company.

1890 – Nellie Bly completed her round-the-world journey (in 72 days).

1909 – The first performance of Richard Strauss's opera Elektra

1915 – Alexander Graham Bell began U.S. transcontinental telephone service

1918 – The Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Soviet Russia.

1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoined the AFL

1947 – Thomas Goldsmith Jr. filed a patent for a "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device", the first ever electronic game.

1961 – JFK delivered the first televised live presidential news conference.

1971 – Idi Amin led a coup deposing Milton Obote and became Uganda's president.

1993 – Five people were shot outside the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. They, of course, had no idea that anything was up..

2003 – A group of people left London for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields  to protect certain locations from US bombers.  The US, naturally, called them war criminals

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P ∝ to 1/V, or, alternatively PV = K

~~ Robert Boyle
 

1627 – Robert Boyle, chemist and physicist
1736 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, mathematician and astronomer (d. 1813)
1759 – Robert Burns, poet and songwriter (d. 1796)
1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, chemist, physician, physiologist, attorney and socialist politician
1796 – William MacGillivray, ornithologist and biologist
1816 – Anna Gardner, abolitionist and teacher
1823 – José María Iglesias, politician and interim President, wrote the Iglesias law
1868 – Juventino Rosas, violinist and composer, wrote Vals sobre las Olas
 
1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, playwright, novelist, and short story writer
1882 – Virginia Woolf, novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic
1885 – Kitahara Hakushu, poet (tanka) and author
1895 – Florence Mills, singer, dancer, and actress
1899 – Sleepy John Estes, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1900 – Yojiro Ishizaka, author and educator
1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, geneticist and pioneer of evolutionary biology
1905 – Margery Sharp, author and educator
1913 – Luis Marden, photographer and journalist
1915 – Ewan MacColl, singer, songwriter, actor and producer
1917 – Ilya Prigogine, chemist and physicist,
1923 – Arvid Carlsson, pharmacologist and physician,
1924 – Speedy West, guitarist and producer
1927 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, singer, songwriter, and pianist
1929 – Benny Golson, saxophonist and composer
1938 – Etta James, singer
1945 – Dave Walker, singer and guitarist
1956 – Andy Cox, guitarist
1974 – Emily Haines, singer, songwriter, and keyboard player
1981 – Alicia Keys, singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress

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Died this day in:

Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.

~~ Al Capone

477 – Gaiseric, king of the Vandals , took the handle
1586 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, painter
1881 – Konstantin Thon, architect,
1891 – Theo van Gogh, Art dealer,
1947 – Al Capone, liquor distributor
1994 – Stephen Cole Kleene, mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
2009 – Eleanor F. Helin, astronomer
2014 – Arthur Doyle,  singer, songwriter, saxophonist, and flute player

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Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Burns Night (Scotland and Scottish community)
Tatiana Day Russia
A Room of One's Own Day

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Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies Wink

Juventino Rosas

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Sleepy John Estes

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Ewan MacColl,

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Speedy West

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Antônio Carlos Jobim

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Benny Golson

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Etta James

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Dave Walker

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Andy Cox

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WAR!

  There is one day each year, December 25th, on which many purport to celebrate "Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men".  Well, this ain't it McGee, this is one of the other 364 (or 5) during which we celebrate, perpetuate, commit and commit ourselves to WAR!, endless and exalted.  The foundation of our economy, the employer of ever so many and the source of our eternal pride, WAR!  So remember, though it may not be good for living things, it is what keeps this country running and keeps its ruling elites happy, so hooray for war!

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It's an open thread, so do your thing

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Comments

Lookout's picture

Let's recognize our puppet who wasn't even re-elected as a rep. The EU ditched him, but we stick by our puppet in hope he can claim the oil as ours.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBsS6hovWIU]

As Jimmy reminds us, "Don't worry, nothing will fundamentally change". Especially the forever wars.

Got 0.6" of rain last night. More due tonight. We needed it, so isn't a bad thing. Noticed CA is gonna get a big rain this week. Take care.

Robbie Burns in less than 3 min.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMxIBqpryG0]

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@Lookout

evil regimes that decided that the nation's people should, in effect, own and benefit from its resources, and must perforce be overthrown. Reminds me of how the forst thing we demanded of Iraq if they wanted a hand in their own government was that they privatize everything and put it up for sale to all comers.

Thanks for the video on Robbie Burns.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

lotlizard's picture

when I was in my mid-30s. Virginia Woolf’s essay was then already 53 years old; now it’s 93, which will become a century soon enough.

Preserved in prose on a page, many of Virginia Woolf’s observations still apply in not a few parts of the world. Words passed down can become timeless, unlike us, who are still flesh-robed, ageing, mortal…

Indeed, if woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance; very various; heroic and mean; splendid and sordid; infinitely beautiful and hideous in the extreme; as great as a man, some think even greater. But this is woman in fiction. In fact, as Professor Trevelyan points out, she was locked up, beaten and flung about the room.

A very queer, composite being thus emerges. Imaginatively she is of the highest importance; practically she is completely insignificant. She pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history. She dominates the lives of kings and conquerors in fiction; in fact she was the slave of any boy whose parents forced a ring upon her finger. Some of the most inspired words, some of the most profound thoughts in literature fall from her lips; in real life she could hardly read, could scarcely spell, and was the property of her husband.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@lotlizard

have read "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" than have read Woolf herself, unfortunately. She had a lot to say then and still has a lot to tell us today. Thanks for the excerpt.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Raggedy Ann's picture

Wish I had been more of a student of Al Capone. He was savvy to the con!

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

@Raggedy Ann

This is one of my favorite quotes because it lays out the US foreign policy MO. Your Capone remark reminded me of how valid his view is and why it isn't heeded. Take care and have a good one!

I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

― Smedley D. Butler, War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@Lookout

mix, it nicely jogs the memory.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@Raggedy Ann
it is simply a question of perspective. "Some will rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen. ..." (Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd)

Invariably those doing all of the work are on the bottom of the food chain, and above them sits a pyramid of thieves strip mining their lives.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Lost Leader
BY ROBERT BROWNING
Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a riband to stick in his coat—
Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others she lets us devote;
They, with the gold to give, doled him out silver,
So much was theirs who so little allowed:
How all our copper had gone for his service!
Rags—were they purple, his heart had been proud!
We that had loved him so, followed him, honoured him,
Lived in his mild and magnificent eye,
Learned his great language, caught his clear accents,
Made him our pattern to live and to die!
Shakespeare was of us, Milton was for us,
Burns, Shelley, were with us,—they watch from their graves!
He alone breaks from the van and the freemen,
—He alone sinks to the rear and the slaves!

We shall march prospering,—not thro' his presence;
Songs may inspirit us,—not from his lyre;
Deeds will be done,—while he boasts his quiescence,
Still bidding crouch whom the rest bade aspire:
Blot out his name, then, record one lost soul more,
One task more declined, one more footpath untrod,
One more devils'-triumph and sorrow for angels,
One wrong more to man, one more insult to God!
Life's night begins: let him never come back to us!
There would be doubt, hesitation and pain,
Forced praise on our part—the glimmer of twilight,
Never glad confident morning again!
Best fight on well, for we taught him—strike gallantly,
Menace our heart ere we master his own;
Then let him receive the new knowledge and wait us,
Pardoned in heaven, the first by the throne!

Political commentary by the great Robert Browning.

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NYCVG

enhydra lutris's picture

@NYCVG

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris Better drink some more coffee before posting.

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NYCVG

enhydra lutris's picture

@NYCVG

give a nod to "Rabbie" to boot.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Azazello's picture

War is good for diversity.
From the Arizona Daily Star: Longtime defense aerospace engineering firm opens Tucson office

Tucson has gained a new aerospace engineering firm — and a new female-owned small business — as an Alabama firm is setting up shop here to better serve Raytheon Missiles & Defense and other defense industry customers in the West.

Cummings Aerospace, a Native American- and female-owned small business based in Huntsville, Alabama, is preparing to move into a new office on Tucson’s northeast side where it will focus on its growing defense work, said Kelly Francis, director of strategic development at Cummings and a former Raytheon engineering leader in Tucson.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Azazello

from being a garrison state into being a full on warfare state. It will take decades to convert to a peacetime industry where perhaps a "a Native American- and female-owned small business" could set up shop in NE Tucson to better serve the hospital, medical care, educational, housing, green energy, or regenerative agriculture industry, but ojne has to start somewhere and, more importantly, somewhen. I continue to propose that the time is now.

I rigged some coins so they always cast I-Ching #63, broken line, solid line, repeat 3 times - New Beginnings. After all, the old beginnings didn't attain optimal results. Non?

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

smiley7's picture

Many thanks for the Rabbie Burns.

Memories of Edinburgh on New Year's always come to mind; now to fix the musical earwig.

Wandering thoughts this morning, the sea a little angry, air cool in slight mist making this an inside day. So, i'm baking and tottering around.

Cheers for you kind words of Saturday, a little change is good and as you pointed out, don't wish to hate an enterprise.

Already shared Dr. Rosenberg's philosophy class exam "Why" story with you, but as you ask: "Why are we here? can't resit saying why not?

Maugham, Woolf, Burns; quite an impressive list this day; we owe much to all those upon it.

One thought this morning looking for an analogy that fits; i'm choosing the 'hochie coochie' shows of old which mainly visited rural America during our youth and before with no offense to any sex meant in doing so; but this, being from recall, i think should ring true.

The story: The trick was to convince the barker one was old enough to purchase a ticket along the fair's broad-way to the hochie coochie show, when no adults were looking. It's afterwards back at school when the analogy may work as those who got in told different stories than those who did not. Those who did not get in lied, said they did and attempted to wow in their boastful experience, wallow sensationally. Those who actually did purchase a ticket told--if they shared at all--a very different story, many seeing it for the degrading experience it was.

Guess we should always ask to see a ticket stub.

Your morning wit and columns always bring a smile and contemplation and i am grateful for your being here.

Have a good one and be safe out there.

ed-sp

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enhydra lutris's picture

@smiley7

This, in particular for our political class:

Guess we should always ask to see a ticket stub.

And, indeed and of course, thanks for reminding me of those words of wisdom, learned early down on the border and guiding me throughout my life ¿Porque No?

So did you listen to Sobre las Olas?- dude started out as something of a street musician, violin, so probably mariachi. Heh Wonder if he got all the royalties he is due, or even any.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

smiley7's picture

@enhydra lutris

reading wiki now. All around me for more than seven decades this music and now i learn about its creator, cheers.

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the Sleepy John Estes piece. This is what he said about his nickname;

Estes himself explained that the nickname was born of his exhausting life as both musician and farmer. "'Every night I was going somewhere. I'd work all day, play all night and get back home about sunrise. I'd get the mule and get right on going. I went to sleep once in the shed. I used to go to sleep so much when we were playing, they called me Sleepy. But I never missed a note.'"[11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_John_Estes

Thanks for highlighting Virginia Woolf as well. More from her...

“What is meant by “reality”? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable—now to be found in a dusty road, now in a scrap of newspaper in the street, now a daffodil in the sun. It lights up a group in a room and stamps some casual saying. It overwhelms one walking home beneath the stars and makes the silent world more real than the world of speech—and then there it is again in an omnibus in the uproar of Piccadilly. Sometimes, too, it seems to dwell in shapes too far away for us to discern what their nature is. But whatever it touches, it fixes and makes permanent. That is what remains over when the skin of the day has been cast into the hedge; that is what is left of past time and of our loves and hates.”
― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Tanks for the OT el, have a good one.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@randtntx

clip on the "sleepy" part of Sleepy John.

Thanks for the additional Woolf too. I think she is underappreciated except as "part of that Paris thing back then".

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

et al

Thanks for the ot. Big rain coming. Busy shoring up the bioswale in preparation. They have evacuated Ben Lomond already. Could be up to 8” of rain and the are worried about mud flows bc of last summer’s fire. There are still people up in the mountains that have no power; not restored yet from last weeks big wind. Big snow in the sierras coming as well. Most needed that. Back ti the swale I go.

Take good care.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma

showers, but not the real thing. I saw the evac warning map for Sta. Cruz Cty and it looks like you're ok if I read it right, but there is this funny dotted line right along the coast that isn't explained. Maybe that's the suggested evacuation route, go jump in the Pacific and swim West, or something. No surprise about the folks in the mountains w/o power, that's been SOP for PG&E for decades now. Hope the swale works, and good luck. We've got trash cans and buckets out to grab some agua for gardening later.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris

went down to plant some native irises and the ground was dry after only an inch deep. No evac orders here. too far onto the eastside but now I need look at it just to see. probably people who are below the flood plane in case san lorenzo overflows which would be beach flats and some of downtown. they built the levee and now look.

big rain due tue eve - using dark sky app now that windy got bought and has adds

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travelerxxx's picture

@magiamma

using dark sky app now...

We've been using it for a couple of years or so. Like it quite a bit. Haven't seen any degradation since Apple acquired it.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@travelerxxx

going forward. Sokay, I never knew it existed anyway. I have Windy and Radar X which is the new name for something I used to rely on inland. I assume it's still very good.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

travelerxxx's picture

@enhydra lutris

Yes, you're right about that. It was announced simultaneously with the buy-out. I thought it was a mistake. All it did was turn a bunch of Android users away from anything Apple. I still can't see the point of doing it.

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magiamma's picture

@travelerxxx
Of windy before they added ads and hv not upgraded. Have dark sky and radar. Use all three. Windy is good for visualizing the movement. Like all three.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma

Davenport and the are where the big fire up near Pigeon Point to Pesdadero (and sourth too) on inland was. 2 Davenport locals, one looks to be right "downtown". We're surrounded by flash flood warnings except a tiny little patch running along 580 from Castro Valley to Livermore. Too hilly, I guess.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
Completely evacuated and maybe lower down. If they get 7” predicted rain the San Lorenzo could flood. Maybe. Did not know abt davenport and north. If you run the player at the bottom of windy you can see the intensity of the storm late tue eve.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma

Wish that rain would come and warm shit up.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
Frost everywhere on my 6:30a walk. Unexpected.

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thanatokephaloides's picture

Haggis

This is an authentic recipe from Scotland and the ingredients and methods of cooking may be unfamiliar but we hope you enjoy the results.

Preparation time: overnight

Cooking time: over 2 hours

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 sheep's stomach or ox secum, cleaned and thoroughly, scalded, turned inside out and soaked overnight in cold salted water
heart and lungs of one lamb
450g/1lb beef or lamb trimmings, fat and lean
2 onions, finely chopped
225g/8oz oatmeal
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground dried coriander
1 tsp mace
1 tsp nutmeg
water, enough to cook the haggis
stock from lungs and trimmings

Method

Wash the lungs, heart and liver (if using). Place in large pan of cold water with the meat trimmings and bring to the boil. Cook for about 2 hours.

When cooked, strain off the stock and set the stock aside.

Mince the lungs, heart and trimmings.

Put the minced mixture in a bowl and add the finely chopped onions, oatmeal and seasoning. Mix well and add enough stock to moisten the mixture. It should have a soft crumbly consistency.

Spoon the mixture into the sheep's stomach, so it's just over half full. Sew up the stomach with strong thread and prick a couple of times so it doesn't explode while cooking.

Put the haggis in a pan of boiling water (enough to cover it) and cook for 3 hours without a lid. Keep adding more water to keep it covered.

To serve, cut open the haggis and spoon out the filling. Serve with neeps (mashed swede or turnip) and tatties (mashed potatoes). [And plenty of good, strong SCOTCH!! -- tk]

Sourced here, complete with how-to videos.

Makers working from their Chevrolets in the USA will have to withhold the lungs, as you won't be able to get them. Selling lungs for human consumption is illegal in most States.

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

enhydra lutris's picture

@thanatokephaloides

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Robbie Burns from memory well into her 80's.
Worked well with her brogue. Never really got it,
but was fun to listen to in another language.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

Listened to Scotland's national anthem an a that yesterday, rough going.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --