history, links, medical, nudism, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

OK, guys and gals, it’s time for our monthly round up of links to items you may have missed the first time round. So here goes …

Science, Technology, Natural World

There’s this giant star-shaped sand dune in Morocco whose mysteries are now beginning to be understood.

There are some mathematical techniques which can not only tell use where we’re going, but where we’ve been.

teenage brains graphic

Most parents would agree that teenagers are odd. Here are two reasons why.
First it seems there may be evolutionary advantages to the affliction of “teenage brain“. [£££]
Secondly apparently puberty triggers “teenage armpit odour” of cheese, goat and urine.

Now to something more wholesome … Every cat has a strange pouch under its belly and scientists still don’t know why.

Health, Medicine

Girls are entering puberty ever earlier, and for some it is proving a significant mental health risk. [LONG READ]

Along with this we must stop trying to normalise and ignore women’s menstrual pain and bleeding. [LONG READ]

coloured woman's hands over her pubic area

Mind you, it doesn’t help matters when menstrual health literacy is so alarmingly low.

Progressing through the reproductive cycle, here’s a piece of pregnancy and childbirth in 17th-century England.

Now for something different. Unusually some people are totally unable to picture things in their mind, they have no mind’s eye. [LONG READ]

Sexuality

This one’s not for the squeamish … Why do some people find it pleasurable to insert objects into their urethra? [LONG READ]

On safer ground, here’s a look at some new insights into people’s motivation for polyamory.

four people grpahic

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

It is much believed that girls avoid studying physics because the maths is too hard, but that is not the case.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

The world’s oldest known fossilized forest has been discovered in England.

A Copper Age necropolis, containing skeletons and still sharp weapons, has been found in Italy.

Burginda was an early medieval English woman who was not just educated but well-versed in African poetry.

A guy fishing with a magnet from an Oxfordshire bridge has pulled up an 1100-year-old Viking sword.

Viking sword

So how do historians sensibly divide the 1100-ish years of the Middle Ages into manageable chunks of time.

Just as today, medieval women had informal social networks to share health problems and medical advice.

In which 17th-century ladies go dildo shopping.

Don’t like a seven day week? How does a 10 day week sound? The French Revolutionary Calendar tried it for 13 years until Napoleon abandoned it in favour of keeping step with the rest of Europe.

French Republican timepiece

Food, Drink

There’s an impending risotto crisis as it seems the key Italian rice crops are dying due to drought. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Here’s one neurologist who makes a good case against daylight saving time. [LONG READ]

Meanwhile one sex researcher has vowed to never share her bed with anyone anymore. [££££]

There’s a growing belief that many of our ills, and especially those of younger generations, are all down to our dependence on smartphones.

You’ve doubtless heard of incels, now we need to start understanding the psychology of femcels.

And finally I’ll leave you with one (naturist) writer’s take on understanding the difference between naturism and primitive living. [LONG READ]

girls nude cricket
It’s very unlikely that “primitives” played cricket. ☺
food+drink

Culinary Adventure #109: 40 Ingredients

I picked up the idea for this from Ali Slagle’s Substack, 40 Ingredients Forever.

Using fewer ingredients, rather than buying some oddity that you might use once and then forget in the back of the cupboard/fridge, is economical common sense. In my mind it will also avoid a lot of the faff around cooking and recipes; I can’t be doing with 27 obscure ingredients, 39 steps, and two dishwasher loads, of buggering around just to make dinner. (Except possibly very, very occasionally.)

You see, if you have your 40 go to ingredients always available, you have at your fingertips both the means to make a good meal, or cook almost anything, and make it interestingly tasty.

My list differs substantially from that of Sohla El-Waylly, which is the list Ali Slagle originally posted. And your list will not be the same either, although there are likely to be some commonalities.

In creating my list I’ve assumed that in the cupboard there are already six very basic basics:

  • Salt (although I rarely use any)
  • Black pepper
  • Plain flour
  • Milk
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder

So here’s my list. (Frozen, where appropriate, is fine.)

40 Essential Ingredients

  1. Hot lemon chilli flakes
  2. Tandoori spice mix
  3. Creamed coconut
  4. Worcs sauce
  5. Mixed spice
  6. Almond essence
  7. Dark chocolate
  8. Extra virgin olive oil
  9. White wine vinegar
  10. White wine
  11. Dry sherry
  12. Cashew nuts
  13. Kalamata olives
  14. Fresh ginger
  15. Fresh coriander
  16. Hot lemon chillies
  17. Basmati rice
  18. Linguine
  19. Tinned plum tomatoes
  20. Tinned cannellini beans
  1. Charlotte potatoes
  2. Button mushrooms
  3. San Marzano tomatoes
  4. Bell peppers
  5. Banana shallots
  6. Garlic
  7. Lemons (& limes)
  8. Smitten apples
  9. Blackcurrants
  10. Chicken thighs
  11. Lamb neck fillet
  12. Bacon
  13. Chorizo
  14. Prawns
  15. Eggs
  16. Butter
  17. Double cream
  18. Parmesan cheese
  19. Cheddar
  20. Brie

Having said all that, this starts getting difficult when you have to take dietary restrictions into account. That’s where we are now with a medical need to reduce phosphate and potassium levels, sugar and salt – which cuts out a huge range of foods from avocados to crab by way of nuts and seeds. Because of the potassium alone almost all vegetables have to be boiled (yeuch!) and many fruits are off limits. This of course hits the 40 ingredients – but here are some possible substitutions.

Removed Ingredient Replace with
Baking Powder Yeast
Creamed coconut  
Worcs sauce  
Dark chocolate  
Dry sherry Gin
Cashew nuts  
Kalamata olives  
Tinned plum tomatoes  
Tinned cannellini beans Tinned chickpeas
Button mushrooms Shiitake mushrooms
Blackcurrants Cherries or blueberries
Bacon  
Chorizo  
Parmesan cheese  
Cheddar Mozzarella
  Salmon
  Fresh thyme
  Asparagus (in season)

It’s going to get interesting.

history, memes

What Happened in 824?

Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..24 years of yore.

Notable Events in 824

11 November. The Constitutio Romana establishes the authority of the Holy Roman Emperors over the papacy of Rome.

Unknown Date. Zenpuku-ji, one of the oldest Tokyo temples, is founded by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai.

personal, ramblings

Meta Dreams

Now that was weird. In my waking dream this morning I dreamt that I was dreaming.

It started off all about dressmaking/tailoring shears! In my inner dream I was thinking about, and I think seeing, some (female) colleagues buying older-style, heavy dressmaking shears, and how the trim on the handles and blades was in various different colours; and why would they be different colours, was there some underlying reason apart from personal choice. The colours involved were gold and a turquoise-green. They were a bit like the ones below, only black enamelled with coloured decoration, much like an old Singer sewing machine.

a pair of large tailors shears

On coming up a level I met some of the same colleagues using said shears, and was telling them about the dream I’d had about them, and the colours of the shears. They didn’t know any reason for the different colours. They seemed to be using their shears to remove pills from woollen fabric.

The dream then went on to me leaving work – finally leaving after having retired and returned as a contractor – and clearing out my desk/cupboards. There were several colleagues involved – some identifiable, some not – and a variety of locations including my childhood home and an office I worked in 30+ years ago. Plus some convoluted nonsense with Payroll/HR.

Like all dreams it was highly convoluted, and many of the details have now escaped.

But I don’t recall ever having had a dream within a dream before. It wasn’t lucid in that I couldn’t control it and didn’t know I was dreaming. Just weird.

quotes

Monthly Quotes

Herewith my latest collection of recently encountered quotes which interested or amused. And a good long list it is this month …

Naturism … is much more than simply shedding one’s clothes. It is a philosophy deeply ingrained in the principles of freedom, equality, and respect. At its core, naturism advocates for the acceptance of the human body in its natural, unadorned state. This acceptance goes beyond mere tolerance, striving to cultivate a sense of self-respect and a respectful acknowledgment of others, regardless of their physical attributes. The movement encourages individuals to view the body as normal and natural, rather than an object of sexualization or shame.
[Nancy M; https://justnaturism.com/understanding-the-difference-between-naturism-and-primitive-living/]

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.
[Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian and actor]

Education is not memorizing that Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Education is understanding how millions of ordinary Germans were convinced that it was required. Education is learning how to spot the signs of history repeating itself.
[Noam Chomsky]

Pay heed to the tales of old wives. It may well be that they alone keep in memory what it was once needful for the wise to know.
[JRR Tolkien]

I don’t think people realise how the establishment became established. It simply stole the land and property off the poor, surrounded themselves with weak minded sycophants for protection, gave themselves titles and have been wielding power ever since.
[Tony Benn]

I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.
[Alan Watts]

Speak to people in a way that if they died the next day you’d be satisfied with the last thing you said to them.
[unknown]

The deep critical thinker has become the misfit of the world, this is not a coincidence. To maintain order and control you must isolate the intellectual, the sage, the philosopher, the savant before their ideas awaken people.
[Carl Jung]

When we recognize our place in an immensity of light years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual.
[Carl Sagan]

Atheism is what happens when you read the bible. Christianity is what happens when somebody else reads it for you.
[Bertrand Russell]

Your call is in a queue. We are experiencing a completely normal volume of calls at the moment, but we don’t see a business benefit in hiring more staff.
[unknown]

The current obsession with nostalgia and remake culture is easy to understand when you realize that it’s a symptom of a culture that isn’t allowed to imagine a future.
[unknown]

I prefer working with women. No one has to win or lose, they just get the job done.
[unknown]

The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. The less you know, the more you think you know everything. Knowledge is humbling. Ignorance is arrogant.
[Richard Feynman]

The only labour-saving invention that reliably works is a general strike.
[Thomas Fuchs, @thomasfuchs.at]

You have to accept the fact that sometimes you’re the pigeon and sometimes you’re the statue.
[Claude Chabrol, French film director]

Collective anger is a form of wisdom in a society plagued by numbness. Stoicism won’t save us. Sometimes the most credible response to the terrors of the world is rage.
[Cole Arthur Riley]

Since it is obviously inconceivable that all religions can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong.
[Christoper Hitchens]

Christianity did not become a major religion by the quality of its truth, but by the quantity of its violence.
[Michael Sherlock]

The King of England lies dying and one of his sons has been exiled. A princess has vanished. Plague stalks the land and the Treasury has been plundered.
NOW is the time for strange women lying in ponds to distribute swords to form the basis of government.
[Paul Tichonczuk, @paultk@mastodon.social]

food+drink

Culinary Adventure #108: Asparagus Tips

We’ve recently had the joy of the first English asparagus of the year. So I thought it might be worth a few tips which I find useful in getting the best from asparagus. This is my experience; as always YMMV.

Buying asparagus. Do not be tempted to buy those thick tree trunks as they’ll be woodier and not good value. Buy sprue – that’s the very thin spears – if you have the choice. They tend to be younger, softer, and more succulent.

Cut off ends & stand in water. If you aren’t going to use the asparagus within about 24 hours, you need to keep it fresh. While the fridge will help, it will tend to dry out the spears unless they’re wrapped in damp kitchen paper. I find the best way is to cut a small slice (no more than 5mm) off the bottom of each spear and then stand them in a small amount of water in a glass or jar. This will rejuvenate them, but don’t try keeping them more than 2-3 days as the tips they will start growing again.

Bundle of asparagus

Snap off the ends. When you’re preparing asparagus you will want to remove the woodier part at the bottom of the spear. But how much do you need to remove? Let the asparagus show you. Lightly hold the spear at the bottom (in one hand) and about two-thirds the way up (in the other hand). Now bend it towards you and it will snap at the point where the woodiness is less. Voila! Job done.

Forget peeling. Just don’t bother peeling asparagus. Why would you remove much of the goodness?

Not always spears. Don’t be afraid of asparagus. It doesn’t have to be kept as long spears. If what you’re cooking needs smaller pieces (eg. stir-fry or salad) don’t be afraid to cut the spears into shorter lengths, and cook as shorter lengths.

Steam, don’t boil. Forget specialised asparagus cookers. And forget saucepans of boiling water. Asparagus is best steamed, preferably as full spears. Just don’t steam for more than a handful of minutes; you don’t want it soft and mushy but very slightly crunchy.

Cook with your pasta or noodles. This is the one time it is excusable to boil asparagus. If you’re doing a pasta dish to include asparagus (and you should), you want the asparagus to be added late on so it doesn’t get over cooked, but it may not cook best in the ragu. As you’re boiling your pasta add the prepared spears about 2-3 minutes before the pasta is done. If the pasta is being added to the ragu, just drain it and tip in the pasta and asparagus together. If you want to serve the pasta separately, then remove the asparagus with a perforated spoon before draining the pasta.
Asparagus goes will in stir-fry too, so you can do the same with noodles: if you’re cooking dried noodles in hot water (usually for 5-6 minutes), add the asparagus at the same time as the noodles. Drain as before.

Now two recipe tips …

Asparagus with butter & parmesan starter. You will want 4-6 spears per person. Lightly cook the whole asparagus spears and serve hot on individual plates with a nob of butter and plenty of shaved parmesan. The first time I did this was for a dinner party; I knew it would work but one of the guests wasn’t so sure until he tried it and said it was excellent.

Cold in salad. Asparagus goes well in a mixed salad with tomato and herbs (of your choice); but for my money it doesn’t want to be raw. You’ll want the spears cut into 2-3cm lengths (match the size to the rest of the salad); you can cut before or after being cooked. Steam the asparagus and remove from the heat just before it’s done; leave it aside to cool (it’ll continue to cook a bit). When cool add to the salad and toss with an oil and lemon dressing.

There’s so much more you can do with asparagus; it’s incredibly versatile. Just Google “asparagus recipes”.

Enjoy your asparagus while you can. The season is all too short, and I don’t like having it shipped across the globe.

amusements, memes, words

March Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to this month’s five quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

Language

  1. Sea urchins got their name from what non-aquatic animal, which was known as an “urchin” until the 15th century?  The hedgehog
  2. What is a group of crows called?  A murder
  3. How many letter tiles are there in a game of Scrabble?  100
  4. What is the origin of the expression “cobblers”, meaning something isn’t true or rubbish?  It derives from “cobbler’s awls”, Cockney rhyming slang for “balls”.
  5. What in pidgin is “Magimiks bilong Yesus”?  Helicopter

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2023.