05 July 2019
Strange Food Stories in New England
This particular trip to New England was not intended to be about finding strange food stories, but it ended up that way. Starting in New Haven, CT, we discovered four things: Louis' Lunch, established 1895, claims to be the first restaurant to serve hamburgers, and the oldest hamburger restaurant in the US. People in New Haven like to have their hamburgers steamed, rather than grilled. There's a lot of pizza restaurants in New Haven. People in New Haven like weird things on their pizzas, like Mashed Potato (see above picture if you don't believe me). In Simsbury, CT, we…
05 July 2019
No Durians Allowed
Seems a bit harsh on Durians, not being allowed in shops (and, it turns out, public transport). Why, you may ask, is there such hatred against Durians? Here we are in Singapore to find out: Singapore is a city state with a population of just over 5.6 million, so 1 million more than Harris County, Texas. It was colonised by the British in 1819. The first Governor was Stamford Raffles. Raffles is remembered by many place names in Singapore, the most famous of which is probably the Raffles Hotel, which has been around since 1887. Although closed for renovations during…
31 December 2018
Round Out Your College Education Expenses With a Class Ring
Just when you think that $25-$50k per year for 4 years (or more!) to get a degree is quite an outlay, someone suggests you get a class ring. Presumably the considerable expense of the ring is a constant reminder of the considerable expense of the education. The idea of a class ring originated from US military graduates at West Point, starting back in 1835. Their tradition was (and still is) to wear the ring with the Class Crest closest to the heart prior to graduation (signifying a given cadet's bond to their class) and with the Academy Crest closest to…
30 December 2018
McSorley's Old Ale House
If you're in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan and fancy a beer, I recommend McSorley's Old Ale House. McSorley's claims to have been established back in 1854 and the interior doesn't seem to have changed much since then. Some words of warning: 1. There are only two types of beer - light and dark (a pale ale of sorts and a porter, both brewed on premise). Don't be asking for fancy stuff, and definitely don't ask for Bud! 2. It's cash-only 3. If you aren't drinking, you're leaving! 4. Make sure you leave a decent tip, otherwise be prepared…
30 December 2018
The World Will Take Care of Houston's Fame
"The World Will Take Care of Houston's Fame" is the inscription on Sam Houston's tombstone. He was such a pivotal character in American (and Texas) history that it's hard to imagine him being forgotten. Among his achievements were: Defeating Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at San Jacinto to secure Texan independence (1836) Serving as the 1st and 3rd president of the Republic of Texas (1836-38 and 1841-44) One of the first two individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate (1845) Served as seventh governor of Texas (1859) He was removed as governer in 1861 after Texas…
01 April 2018
Beignets, Booze and Boobs
The first recorded instance of celebrating Mardi Gras in Louisiana (March 2, 1699) was as part of an observance of Catholic practice. The people celebrating then might be a little surprised at how the annual Mardi Gras celebration goes in New Orleans. Having said that a 1730 account of the festitivities notes music and dance, masking and costuming, including cross-dressing. So not too far from the 2018 version. For two weeks, leading up to Shrove Tuesday, New Orleans steps up its game from crazy party town to even-crazier party town. While folk in the UK celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes…
26 September 2017
Powdermilk Biscuits and Red Shoes
Having regretted missing the chance to see Garrison Keillor's final Prairie Home Companion show in Galveston in 2016, it was great to find that the man himself would be doing a solo spot in Houston. The effects of Hurricane Harvey were still being felt, and the show was moved from Jones Hall (damaged in the flooding) to Cullen Performance Hall at University of Housotn. Garrison Keillor (real name Gary Edward Keillor) is a unique individual, down to his trademark red shoes: Keillor made his name hosting Prairie Home Companion from 1974 to 2016 (with a small hiatus from 1987-89). Prairie…
27 August 2017
Hurricane Harvey
Way back in 2008, we experienced our first hurricane, which was pretty devastating: over 100 dead in the US and $37.5 billion in damages, making it the sixth costliest in US history, at the time Katrina was the costliest, at $108 billion. Little did we know that when Hurricane Harvey was identified on August 13 (at that point, a tropical storm), we would have a new record holder. Hurricane Harvey ended up costing $125 billion and 90 lives were lost in the US alone. Hurricane Harvey's impact was quite different from Hurricane Ike's. Ike made landfall in Galveston as a…
24 June 2017
El Batallon
The Houston Dynamon has won the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup twice and and been runners-up on two other occasions. Not a bad performance. Despite this, their 2017 salary bill was just over $5M. The University of Alabama's Football coach, Nick Sabin, makes more than an entire team of professionals. The Dynamo was founded in 2005 and moved to their current ground, BBVA Compass Stadium, in 2012. The capacity of this stadium is just over 22,000. Bryant-Denny Stadium, home ground for the University of Alabama Football, holds just under 102,000. Perhaps its not fair to compare college football with professional…
30 March 2017
The Mistake On The Lake
Back in the '70s Cleveland still had a bad reputation (amongst popular names for the City was "Mistake on the Lake"), as demonstrated by this splash page from Howard The Duck Volume 1, Number 1 (January 1976). Howard stands on the banks of the Cuyahoga River contemplating suicide (not because he is in Cleveland), and it doesn't look very nice. If Howard had been on the banks in June 1969 he would have seen the river on fire. It was so polluted that it was regularly burned to remove the pollutants, but on this occasion it was not deliberate. The…