Friday: Hili dialogue

Good morning on May 19, 2017. The storms in Chicago never materialized yesterday, and it was warm and sunny with a high of 25° C.  It’s National Devil’s Food Cake Day, a lovely dessert, but I’m curious why such a toothsome comestible is named after Satan. In Vietnam, it’s Ho Chi Minh’s Birthday (see below), […]

Tuesday: Hili dialogue (and Leon monologue)

Hello on a lovely (so far) Tuesday, May 16, 2017.  It’s National Barbecue Day, celebrating one of America’s great contributions to world cuisine (yes, I know other lands have simulacra of BBQ, but I’ve never had better examples of the genre than a good BBQ Texas brisket or Chicago-style rib tips).  In Iraq, it’s Mass Graves Day, […]

Sunday: Hili dialogue

It is Sunday, May 14, 2017: Ceiling Cat’s Day of Rest. It’s also National Buttermilk Biscuit Day: a comestible largely unknown outside the U.S., but a perfect breakfast treat. And in Japan it’s the first day of the Imperial Festival of Izumo-taisha Shrine. On this day in 1607, the colony of Jamestown was founded in Virginia. Exactly […]

Friday: Hili dialogue

Good morning: it’s Friday, May 12, 2017. How did the week go by so fast? (I have a theory, which is mine, that time seems to pass faster when you’re older, as we may judge time relative to the span you’ve lived.Test: ask people of various ages to judge when a minute has gone by, without […]

Sunday: Hili dialogue

UPDATE: Okay, everything historical listed happened on May 8, so just reread this tomorrow! Blame it on my writing it at 4:30 am _________ Good morning on Ceiling Cat’s Day: Sunday, May 7, 2017. It’s a beautiful day in Chicago, though chilly, with a predicted high of only 50° F (10° C). Although Holi—the Indian spring […]

Friday: Hili dialogue

Well, we’ve nearly made it through another work week, and this was a tough one. It’s now Friday, May 5, 2017:  Cinco de Mayo, a day celebrated in Mexico from the day in 1862 when Mexican Army’s beat the French at the Battle of Puebla, a lovely town that I’ll revisit in November. Because of that, it’s also […]

Thursday: Hili dialogue (and Leon monologue)

Good morning; it’s May 4, and Spring is pretty much here in Chicago after a terribly rainy weekend. It’s another triple food holiday: National Candied Orange Peel Day, National Homebrew Day, and National Hoagie Day. I like all of those, and love candied orange peel, on which you can find good deals on Amazon. It’s also […]

Friday: Hili dialogue

It’s Friday, April 28, 2017, and it’s National Blueberry Pie day. The best specimen of that genre I ever had was a lowbush (wild) blueberry pie from Helen’s Restaurant in Machias, Maine: a mixture of cooked and uncooked berries in an open-top crust, piled high with real whipped cream.  If you’re in Maine and it’s blueberry […]

Thursday: Hili dialogue (and Leon monologue)

Happy Thursday, April 27, 2017: National Prime Rib Day (make mine rare!). In South Africa it’s Freedom Day, commemorating the first elections after apartheid ended, held on April 27, 1994. And reader Dom just informed me that it’s World Tapir Day, which it indeed is. There are four species! Here’s a question: why the odd […]

Friday: Hili dialogue

Congratulations! We’ve almost made it through another work week, as it’s Friday, April 21, 2017. It’s also an odd food holiday: National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day. An estimable comestible to be sure, but I’ve never had one. It’s also an important Rastafarian holiday in Jamaica: Grounation Day, honoring Haile Selassie’s 1966 visit to Jamaica. On this day in […]