Silent screen star, Theda Bara. Born Theodosia Burr Goodman in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 29, 1885. She grew up in that city and attended the University of Cincinnati for two years before traveling west. She was one of Hollywood’s first sex symbols. Here is a lovely tribute to this star that shows some of her exotic costumes, which contributed to her reputation as a femme fatale. I wish I has the chutzpah to wear snakes like that.
video credit: Basil Nelson
Bermuda’s, of course – commemorating the settling of this island territory on this day in 1609 (more or less.)
Bermuda is located in the Atlantic Ocean; it’s capitol, Hamilton, is 32°18′N 64°47′W. It’s closest neighbor is Cape Hatteras, NC.
Bermuda remains a British territory and has an affluent economy based principally on tourism. Bermuda is best known for its shorts and its triangle.
It seems that every day there is news about something else that is bad for us. The internet is littered with news about what foods we should NEVER eat. And it runs the gamut of things such as bananas, movie theater popcorn, and Chinese food (really?)
Here is Anne Bonney’s list of 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER EAT
1. Right at the top is hemlock – natural, organic, deadly.
2. Lima beans
3. Fugu – that’s just silly
4. Lentils – there’s no reason for lentils
5. Polonium-laced sushi
6. Celery – it’s like eating wet wood
7. A cheeseburger between 2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Love you, Paula, but you can see where eating this got you
8. Snails
9. Duxelles aux Amanita phalloides
10. Liver
Pop-Tarts – introduced on this day in 1964. I think it is interesting that Pop-Tarts are sold in the US, Canada, England and Ireland, but have been discontinued in Australia. These cardboard-like toaster items (I think “pastries” is too strong a word to use in this instance) have been the focus of news and lawsuits over the years from their fat content, leading to low-fat Pop-Tarts, to allergy recalls, and toaster fire warnings.
As with creme brulee, I think Pop-Tarts are best plain – no frosting, no sprinkles. I prefer brown sugar cinnamon or strawberry, but I am willing to give the s’mores flavor a chance sometime.
Paula Poundstone on Pop-Tarts:
Here’s a list of flavors available from the Kellogg’s website via Wiki:
Pop-Tarts come in 29 flavors.
Frosted flavors
Unfrosted
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Mini Crisps
Pop-Tarts Splitz
Limited edition
Printed Fun
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Flavors in the UKDiscontinued
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CATS IN SPACE – A Little Whimsey for Friday
Notice that they are all wearing red shirts – too bad about that. Thanks to Katie for this reference.
It is hot. This is the time of year that the sycamore trees (Platanus occidentalis) throw off their clothes with abandon, flinging their garments here and there, and revealing their most beautiful, sensuous, smooth new bark. At least that is what I think they are doing.
Doughnuts again – and they were so photogenic, I just had to take their picture. They are all gone now because I took them to work.
Where did Superman get his start?
Where did Rock ‘n Roll get its name?
Where did Chef Boyardee begin cooking?
All of these things occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where Moses Cleaveland landed on July 22, 1796. Here is a recreation of Settlers’ Landing on the banks of the Cuyahoga.
For more history and information about famous Clevelanders, go here and here.
National Creme Brulee Day – July 21. How terrific is that – a dessert with its own holiday. . . and one of my favorite desserts to boot! This is one of the dishes that I try whenever I find it on the menu. And I have rules – just give me straight creme brulee. It does not need mango, or key lime, or chocolate, or anything else.
One of the best creme brulee I have had was in a little bistro in Paris off the Place d’Etoile. (Enough showing off.)
The absolute best creme brulee is made by my friend, Betty, who has the little white ramekins and the long-handled iron that she heats up on the stove in order to brulee each creme individually. She does not make these often enough.
There are a lot of different stories about the origin of this dish. Here is one of them.
And here is a recipe from Alton Brown:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 