627 posts from 2007

I must be the only person in the world who did not realise that monkeys swim.  But now that the veil has been lifted from my eyes...
I'M GONNA BLOG ABOUT THEM AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!!!

I got this cool lil scuba monkey on ebay this weekend.  (It's actually a dog toy, but don't tell my pack.)

Miami has a park called Monkey Jungle where you can see 30 primate species and, if you are there at feeding time, you can see Java monkeys "dive into a pool to receive fruit from the guides" at the Wild Monkey Swimming Pool. 

Did you know that the proboscis monkey is the swimming star with the big nose?  Don't feel bad, I didn't either.

Top Artists this Week (see more)

23 Dec 2007 – 30 Dec 2007

	1		The Go-Betweens	31
29	2		Ben Vaughn	21
1	3		Solomon Burke	9
27	4		Michelle Shocked	8
	5		Patti Smith	7
3	6		Robyn Hitchcock	4
25	6		Aimee Mann	4
	6		The Come Ons	4
	9		Neko Case	3
	9		Amy Winehouse	3

From out of nowhere... The Go-Betweens take the coveted #1 position.  My Go-Betweens collection isn't very deep, but here is one song each from three records from the 80s that I still adore:  Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair, and Tallulah.  Please enjoy the late Grant McLennon and The Go-Betweens.

In the tradition of Nazis-on-dinosaurs and sharks-with-frickin'-laser-beams, I present:
Underwater Monkeys!

What's that giant lump in the toe of your Christmas stocking?   An orange.  Maybe an apple and a few pecans.  

I've talked to a lot of people:  many of whom had the orange tradition and some who have not.  It's a family tradition that I had to have explained to me, as I grew up in a period of relatively high orange-accessibility.  We had year-round access to concentrated orange juice (yech) and chewable Flinstones vitamins (yech yech).  There was always the space-age promise of Tang-- drink of the astronauts!  (triple-yech)

But the orange was always there.  And when I asked why, I was informed that you always have fresh fruit in your stocking-- in winter it is a "treat."  "When WE were kids, we were glad to get an oran..."  OK.  As a kid I was underwhelmed by this concept.  (see above)  Yet to me the crisp smell of orange peel is evocative of Christmas morning itself.

The orange is a traditional Christmas gift.  They are harvested and are at their peak of availability in December.  From Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, for centuries oranges (especially Clementines) have made their trek throughout Europe to fill Christmas stockings and stomachs.  

An orange is a small, portable, edible, traditional, somewhat-durable, pre-wrapped, imported gift:  THE PERFECT STOCKING-STUFFER!  

And, it helps prevent scurvy! So... that's always good.
 
The Christmas stocking tradition originates with a legend of a wealthy patron (St. Nikolaus) who dropped gold coins down the chimneys of the poor.  The orange in the toe of the stocking is the symbol of the coins that fell into socks hanging in the chimney to dry.  Or that's what "they" say...

In America, the tradition continued, with oranges available from the West Indies, then Florida, then California. Mid-winter victuals were rich in meats, roots, dry beans, and pickles but deficient in colorful vegetables.  What a treat to have an orange, bursting with vitamins and packed with the brisk taste of summer. 

My parents have heart-breaking stories about Christmas as children during the Depression.  In these stories incalculable happiness results from a hand-made toy-chest or a sought-after pair of store-bought shoes.  I took my parents a crate of oranges today.  I wonder if it meant anything to them?  Merry Christmas, parents.

Growing up, our Christmas gifts were skewed toward the utilitariatian.  Even when we weren't poor, we didn't have a lot of money.  A stocking probably yielded fruit, nuts, candy, socks, and a few other small personal items.  We could ask Santa for what we wanted, but nice people don't ever want too much.  And there were no guarantees.  If your wish was not reasonable, it was discarded and you got what was deemed appropriate.  And, besides, Christmas is not about getting what you want.  It is about... uhhhhm, a lot of other stuff.

Some of that other stuff I don't care for so much.  I'm not a religious person, so I'll skip mass and morning service and the Christmas pageant.  Santa Claus is for people with kids.  I'm not one for perpetuating traditions for the sake of it:  creches, caroling, secret santa/dirty santa, cards, shopping, tree-chopping, tree-decorating, etc.  There are other people out there to do that stuff and make it meaningful. 

But I do like to think about the orange in the toe of the stocking. 

Enjoy an orange.  Roll it between your palms and feel the weight of it.  Brush your fingers over the peel; look for braille messages.  Smell the orange oil on your fingers.  Dig in your thumbnail and peel it.  Lean in close and feel the orange sparkles on your nose.  Pull it apart and eat it. Slowly. Section by section.  Reflect on the idea of the orange: 

• A simple yet exotic holiday visitor.  
• An anchor against the tidal wave of materialism that sweeps us up at Christmas-time. 
• A symbol of the sacrifice and perseverance of our ancestors through war time and poverty.
• My gift to you for Christmas.

"Oranges developed in Southeast Asia, and they spread through the world with a timing closely parallel to the spread of civilization."  ~John McPhee.

"Columbus brought the orange to the West Indies, and it is known that orange trees were well established in Florida before 1565 and were growing in California by 1800. Oranges are grown in the warm parts of all continents." ~Bartleby's

"The Clementine is a hybrid variety, first grown in Algeria. This variety was introduced into California in 1914.... The Clementine separates easily into eight to twelve juicy segments filled with a taste of apricot nectar. Clementine Mandarins are available from mid November through January." ~Sunkist

"Golden apples" appear in at least three Greek myths:  the orange-grabbing huntress Atalanta, Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides, and Helen and the Judgement of Paris. 

The Christingle, or "Christ-Light," is a tradition started in 1749 in a church in Germany.  The Christingle is made from an orange and a candle decorated with dried fruit and is part of the Christingle service. 

"Oranges, in addition to containing vitamin C, also provides substantial amounts of vitamin B1, dietary fiber, potassium and folic acid. Pectin, a fiber found in citrus, is known to significantly lower blood cholesterol levels. Potassium protects against sodium-induced elevation of blood pressure." ~Vegetarian Nutrition Info

Take the Orange Nutrition Quiz here.

Drinksmixer has 274 libation recipes containing orange. =D

 

Yes. 

Now I'm just being silly...

Top Artists this Week (see more)

16 Dec 2007 – 23 Dec 2007

16	1		The Sugarman Three & Co.	19
22	2		Interpol	12
46	2		Solomon Burke	12
	4		Malicorne	11
	4		The Soft Boys	11
13	6		Bruce Springsteen	7
4	7		Son Volt	6
2	8		The Decemberists	4
39	9		David Bowie	3
	9		The Flaming Lips	3

For your listening pleasure, here are a few selections from Solomon Burke. 

A beautiful spiritual number:

A couple of doleful love songs:

One that you just need to get up and shake your rump to:

And a special gift for the year-end, spiritual or secular holiday of your choice, from King Solomon and me:

In the Ghetto is not a Christmas song in the strictest sense, but I've always thought of it as one.  Maybe it's the young mother and child in straightened circumstances.  Or maybe I heard or saw it around Christmas-time.  Whatever, it's a poignant song written by Mac Davis, immortalized by Elvis Presley, and covered by a whole slew of people.  Here are a few of them. 

Have a nice holiday libation and enjoy.

I accidentally had about 2 hours of holiday spirit yesterday. 

That's over now, so it's back to the Christmas death march.

  

Thanks to Seth Godin for bringing this to my attention.  It made my day.