On Death and the Weather

I came up with an amazingly articulate, inspiring and witty blogpost on my walk this afternoon. Yeah, I was thinking about blogging while wandering in the mid-afternoon sun. Sad. Anyway, let’s see how much of it I remember.

Well, first of all, the title of this post is far more dramatic than the actual content of what I was going to write about. Last night a terrible windstorm raged from at least 2am to sunrise; I was awake for most of it. I opened my blinds so I could watch the trees being flung about like …umm…ok, metaphors fail me. But at any rate, their branches were being flung about quite wildly, and I was too afraid to try going back to sleep (as if I could. It was loud) in case a branch broke off the tree near my window and crashed through the roof, squashing me beneath its gargantuan weight*. So I thought about some things, althought not oo terribly in-depth, since I was feeling a weird combination of groggy and jumpy. First, God’s power. Second, …ok, there was a second thing, but I’ve completely forgotten it for the moment. Third, boy, was I glad I had no job to get up early for because I knew I was going to get no sleep that night.

Ok, so that was a useless paragraph, but what I’m trying to get to is to say that last night’s weather reminded me of the nature of life and death. We haven’t figured out a way to control the weather (one of the few natural forces that remains beyond our greedy grasping for control), and so it rains on the rich as well as the poor.

I’m listening to “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” on cd, and now I’m curious (re: paranoid) about processed foods**. So I thought I’d poke around the FDA’s website, and ended up learning something new about ketchup.

[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2007]
[CITE: 21CFR155.194]

TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS

CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

SUBCHAPTER B--FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

PART 155 -- CANNED VEGETABLES
Subpart B--Requirements for Specific Standardized Canned Vegetables
Sec. 155.194 Catsup.
The standard of quality for catsup is as follows: The consistency of the finished food is such that its flow is not more than 14 centimeters in 30 seconds at 20 deg. C when tested in a Bostwick Consistometer.
==
I never knew! Ah, the subtle qualities of ketchup (which may also be spelled catsup and catchup, apparently).

In food-related news, I bought a bar of chocolate the other day (on sale at Target! Woohoo!) – Frey Supreme Hot Chilli Pepper (“extra fine dark chocolate with chilli”, and yes, “dry chilli” is listed fourth in the ingredients). Now, I’ve had chocolate with chili pepper in them before, once or twice***, and I, a white girl with zero tolerance for spicy food, was actually disappointed with how wimpy and thoroughly unspicy it was. This bar, however, is so painfully peppery it is nearly inedible. This has not kept me from choking down most of the bar, but I think I’ve finally had my fill and will share the rest with those of you who enjoy submitting your taste buds to extreme discomfort. This will be difficult for me, because one of my favorite kinds of chocolate is the kind that on sale. And seriously, it’s chocolate.

Last but not least- A NEW ITEM has been listed in my Etsy shop! It’s made from some beautiful papers from Neenah and bound in covers of the same stock as my senior project, with a cool Celtic-like drawing on the front. Ta-da!

Well…not much of a post. I’m pretty tired from only getting four or five hours of sleep last night, and having a hard time being coherent. Too bad you weren’t there to hear my head narrate that brilliant post earlier.

Hold it- last, last of all, I would like to say "Happy Birthday" to my ma :) Yay!


*I looked at that tree this morning- there aren’t any branches on it capable of crashing through the roof. Darn you, imagination run wild!
**I am already paranoid about meat.
*** Chuao Spicy Maya is the only one I remember at the moment. It's not that spicy...but it does taste good, still.