tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87007933146580859092024-03-13T10:07:24.428-07:00The Uncarved BlockFrom knowledge to naivete and back againAndrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-72104395279648846362024-01-15T08:46:00.000-08:002024-02-18T08:28:14.881-08:00Ragnar Kjartansson's The Visitors at SFMoMA<xmeta2 p="0" text="I was blown away by “The Visitors” video installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA)"></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixqaQ5_RFHShAUnUoI3ZA4rO6UjeXDqcTYPFZwoZFa8YOOPE27Hj0Vh39gdmZXvRIkaQVVb36L3Yy1MlYVnVyRBEsO-Uw4asrRxQxgTOsSV5SpIo4lpKqx4DSkh6xjgNK2cTyb7s2LvH3lUdDTvpwvE9mWzSr2FTsqyjrBTrOGyouQnQbUJ52r88Yaloeb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="Ragnar Kjartansson - the visitors" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixqaQ5_RFHShAUnUoI3ZA4rO6UjeXDqcTYPFZwoZFa8YOOPE27Hj0Vh39gdmZXvRIkaQVVb36L3Yy1MlYVnVyRBEsO-Uw4asrRxQxgTOsSV5SpIo4lpKqx4DSkh6xjgNK2cTyb7s2LvH3lUdDTvpwvE9mWzSr2FTsqyjrBTrOGyouQnQbUJ52r88Yaloeb=w400-h266" title="Ragnar Kjartansson - the visitors" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<div>
<br />Some weeks ago, I was at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (<a href="https://www.sfmoma.org/" target="_blank">SFMoMA</a>)
with friends. Among other things we stumbled into a video installation by Icelandic artist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Kjartansson_(performance_artist)" target="_blank">Ragnar Kjartansson</a>
entitled "<i><a href="https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/ragnar-kjartansson-the-visitors/" target="_blank">The Visitors</a></i>". I was blown away. It is a large space with nine screens, showing views into eight different
rooms in a house, plus the front porch. There is a musician in each room. They are playing a song together, but also apart, in their separate rooms.
Each display has its own speaker. Walking around the space you hear the music changing as though you were moving through the house. From the center
you hear all of the performers in balance.
<br /><br />Viewing it in its entirety is problematic. It is 64 minutes long, so unless you have planned
this into your day, it is a challenge. When we first went in, we only caught the last few minutes. Later we came back and saw another portion (the video runs continuously in a loop.)
I felt that I <i>had</i> to return another time to see it all the way through. <br /><br />
Last week I got my chance. I was in San Francisco for an appointment,
so afterwards I went to SFMoMA. I asked at the ticket counter what the schedule was for <i>The Visitors</i>. It turned out that there was about 45 minutes before the
loop was scheduled to restart. I wandered through exhibits until the next start-time, then returned to the installation.
<br /><br />I experienced <i>The Visitors</i> from the beginning, with all the screens blank, through to the end when they each return to darkness. It was spectacular. I am sure it is not for
everyone, but for me it was magic. I felt an indescribable sense of peace after I left the room. I was just happy in a remarkably simple, inexplicable,
unadorned way. </div><div><br />
The song that they are playing has a short lyric that is repeated in various ways throughout the "performance",
mostly repeating the line, "Once again I fall into my feminine ways." Over time, the music is played on different instruments, usually rather softly but
sometimes with a loud intensity. <a href="https://www.teresaescobar.com/blog/tag/poem" target="_blank">The lyrics</a> are somewhat somber, but it
isn't saddening - it is mesmerizing and compelling. I would say that none of the musicians are great singers, but their song and music feel heartfelt
and genuine, made all the more so by our being invited into a seemingly intimate performance. There are also touching moments when one musician leaves
their room, walking to another space to join another performer, expressing a connection physically that hints at the musical interaction, then returns
to their own room and their own instruments.</div><div>
<br />Unfortunately, try as I might, it is one of those things that really can’t be described in
words. Even if one were to view it online - there are versions on YouTube - you still wouldn’t be able to really get it. I took a brief video to try to capture at
least a vague sense of being in the space:
<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wWPxvDCzwRw" width="320" youtube-src-id="wWPxvDCzwRw"></iframe>
</div></div><div><br /></div><div>
It is probably not everyone's cup of tea. But, if you want to see it, it is at SFMoMA through 11/13/24. They start the loop 15 minutes after
the museum opens, repeating every 64 minutes throughout the day. The installation can be found on the sixth floor. Paid admission to the museum
is required, but there is no additional ticket needed for <i>The Visitors</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is also possible that you might
see it elsewhere; apparently it has been shown in various museums on and off for over a decade. However, I have not been able to find any kind of
calendar indicating where the installation might be going in the future.<br /><br />If you've seen it, or you go to see it, I'd love to hear what you thought.
<br /><br />[FYI, the man playing acoustic guitar in the bathtub is Ragnar Kjartansson.] <br />[FYI2, caution: the song that is performed can become
quite an earworm.] <br />[FYI3, after <i>The Visitors</i>, I went down to the front lobby of the museum on the first floor, lay in a huge
memory-foam bean-bag chair, and watched the giant display showing slowly moving graphics of oceanic things floating around. A lovely re-entry into
the world before leaving the building.]</div></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0151 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA37.7857182 -122.40105089.4754843638211526 -157.5573008 66.095952036178844 -87.2448008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-31925262431913749962024-01-11T08:32:00.000-08:002024-01-14T08:41:58.882-08:00All the World's an Audience<xmeta2 p="2" text="What does my audience know that I don't know? "></xmeta2>
<xmeta2 p="0" text="What would they tell me if they could?"></xmeta2>
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgasrqUy4VoPoKhSeLlxq3u5v_JY_OOYIykGWz2TAveSn6VpfBvGUYu8WLX20o6_reBCjiRLyB81ivnmUE3jBc8FMqTMG-AYSbo32TczcvMZGhABveBLWh2koXm8-aUmqaGvL0Q4n3qND6k9hLIhD39Rt3HOow88AOyQWChoZnDwkf6mMBfenqAoIZ0ZRTp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="734" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgasrqUy4VoPoKhSeLlxq3u5v_JY_OOYIykGWz2TAveSn6VpfBvGUYu8WLX20o6_reBCjiRLyB81ivnmUE3jBc8FMqTMG-AYSbo32TczcvMZGhABveBLWh2koXm8-aUmqaGvL0Q4n3qND6k9hLIhD39Rt3HOow88AOyQWChoZnDwkf6mMBfenqAoIZ0ZRTp=w400-h306" width="400" /></a></div><br />Shakespeare famously wrote in <i>As You Like It</i>, "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players..." So famously, in fact, that to quote it can often seem trite. All the world may well be a stage, but in <i>As You Like It</i>, Shakespeare makes no mention of the viewers of our performance.</div><div><br /></div><div>I often wonder about an imaginary audience for my life. I wonder what my audience knows that I don't know. When watching a movie or play, we might see the protagonist about to make a blunder, or after making a mistake that they don't even realize, or looking under the bed when they really should have walked away. We, the audience, often know things that Shakespeare's players don't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes we wince as we watch, because the awful scene that is unfolding wouldn't have happened if only the characters were aware of some hidden fact that the author has clued us into. Oh, if only she knew that he secretly loves her; if only the platoon knew that the seemingly peaceful field is a trap; if only the ensign wearing the red shirt knew that it is always the red shirt crewperson that dies a horrible death right after transporting down to the planet from the Starship Enterprise.</div><div><br /></div><div>What does my audience know? If I could ask them, what would they tell me? What blunders am I making? What should I realize that I don't. What am I missing? What am I forgetting? What do I think is important, but is actually irrelevant? What critical detail did I miss?</div><div><br /></div><div>Is my audience wincing as they watch me go through my life? Do they wish that they could reach through the screen, grab my collar and yell... something. Something vital. Something that would make my life right now so much better; something that could save me, or a friend, or a loved-one from a terrible future. Or, if not a terrible future, possibly just a disappointing one. When the play is over will my audience leave the theater thinking, "that Andrew character made some pretty bonehead mistakes", or perhaps, "what a pity, I expected so much more."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-12966621138183327862024-01-10T08:26:00.000-08:002024-01-11T21:05:38.415-08:00Lessons at the Crosswalk<xmeta2 p="1" text="Learning lessons in loving kindness while crossing the street."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6GVISlUItF6HpGKF3bwn7NMz1-yA6R2RDrdF_rpPSvL5fqx-mCDdjO1Hediepwu_uMK_ECcopQMnrsYQMrh3cxtykdn3FiYhS6ESNIIKYjMuiEP3Dx2gkcUGmz8OeNHFA9qFIASsKBL9kNgZIZKoEwVRFiizcm7xMvr1fuLBQvNT1UFeylng5b1Oh0se-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6GVISlUItF6HpGKF3bwn7NMz1-yA6R2RDrdF_rpPSvL5fqx-mCDdjO1Hediepwu_uMK_ECcopQMnrsYQMrh3cxtykdn3FiYhS6ESNIIKYjMuiEP3Dx2gkcUGmz8OeNHFA9qFIASsKBL9kNgZIZKoEwVRFiizcm7xMvr1fuLBQvNT1UFeylng5b1Oh0se-=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>I often find lessons in the <i>Dhamma </i>(better known to Americans as the Sanskrit word pronounced “<i>Dharma</i>”) while driving. The other day I found <i>Dhamma </i>as a pedestrian crossing the street. <br /><br />Last week <a href="http://www.richardshankman.org/" target="_blank">Richard Shankman</a>, the leader of my meditation group, gave a talk on the Buddhist ideal of <i>metta</i>, usually translated as “Loving Kindness”. He said that it is his goal to always have an open heart; to never close off his heart to anyone. <br /><br />The next day I was walking in downtown Oakland, CA, when I came to an intersection. The light was against me so I had to wait to cross. Just as the light changed and I stepped off the curb, a large van at the far side of the street attempted to make a right turn on red, but was stopped by oncoming traffic. This left the unusually long van blocking the crosswalk. <br /><br />I felt annoyed that I was going to have to go around this obstacle. My first thought was “what a jerk.” But almost immediately I stopped myself. I thought, “I’ve done that.” I never <i>try </i>to end up blocking a crosswalk while driving, but sometimes it happens anyway, through error or misjudging the traffic conditions. As I was walking around the van, a trivial extra effort, I thought, "I don’t know anything about this driver." Perhaps they strive to always be as courteous as possible. Perhaps blocking the crosswalk this afternoon was something they virtually never do. Maybe they were sitting in the van feeling incredibly embarrassed at having screwed up and blocked my way. <br /><br />I realized I had no way of knowing if the driver even owned that vehicle. Maybe they had just gotten it, or rented it, or had been directed to drive it by an employer. Maybe unfamiliarity with the van caused them to drive it poorly. <div><br />Maybe they tried to make that right turn on red because they were in a genuine hurry for some reason. I was near the hospital district, so possibly the van was full of medicines or medical equipment needed quickly at a doctor’s office. Perhaps they had learned that a friend had been hurt and so they were rushing to get to the hospital to be with someone that needed them. <br /><br />Or maybe the driver was a jerk. Maybe they did this all the time. Maybe they really didn’t care about pedestrians or other drivers. </div><div><br /></div><div>Either way, I didn’t know. I couldn’t know. So instead of feeling anger or annoyance, instead of judging this person, I opened my heart to them. <br /><br />I am no saint and I'm certainly not a Buddha. I am a work in progress. I can only hope to be as I was that afternoon, opening my heart more often in more situations, and finding the <i>Dhamma </i>everywhere.<br /> </div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com1Oakland, CA, USA37.8043514 -122.27116399.4941175638211561 -157.4274139 66.11458523617884 -87.1149139tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-58405975299003132822024-01-06T12:24:00.000-08:002024-01-07T08:35:30.741-08:00Thoughts on the Current Debate About the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution<xmeta2 p="0" text="My thoughts on the debate as to whether or not the President is an Officer of the United States, and if the 14th Amendment applies to them."></xmeta2>
<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGodCUkEt7yV-RiFypioWNsvOhuerWUG1nVYswZ3Fq6l4Ty__JL-J-TRpiKcqJgm8qjC-bvQdvQTdcrsRdUIcD3iH2FYWSB2_GDzHgqOfVg7Jss6bJ_u3MszwMl2Tn_3P8yBlBcbxNBpi_plklZADF_WsCs_mwpyzqlph4NHylGbWnvpkAqT0RSaDJiSpK" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1160" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGodCUkEt7yV-RiFypioWNsvOhuerWUG1nVYswZ3Fq6l4Ty__JL-J-TRpiKcqJgm8qjC-bvQdvQTdcrsRdUIcD3iH2FYWSB2_GDzHgqOfVg7Jss6bJ_u3MszwMl2Tn_3P8yBlBcbxNBpi_plklZADF_WsCs_mwpyzqlph4NHylGbWnvpkAqT0RSaDJiSpK=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>These are not novel thoughts. I mention them now because at this moment my head happens to be spinning around as though I were Linda Blair (and today is the 3rd anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.)</div><div><br /><b><a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/clause-8/?fbclid=IwAR2Obt2HA0IX3jfYTY4vSZPBeAnfHlkiPVyhZbLsk3VX-OSGO6wMBZPf0LI#:~:text=Before%20he%20enter%20on%20the,Constitution%20of%20the%20United%20States" target="_blank">Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8 of the US Constitution</a>, "Presidential Oath of Office": </b><br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:– I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. </blockquote><br />Given that, how could anyone for even a moment suggest that the Presidency is not an "office" of the US Government, and the President is not an <i>officer</i>? The President elect must take an "<i>Oath of Office</i>" before he enters on the execution of his <i><b>OFFICE</b></i>. <br /><br />Note: I use the pronouns “he” and “his” to match the usage in the text of the clause. But claiming that the President is not an officer of the United States would be as ludicrous as claiming that people of genders not using the pronouns "he" and "him" cannot be President. <br /><br />Indeed, let us recall that President Obama had to take the "<i>Oath of Office</i>" a second time in 2009 because Justice Roberts prompted him to say it incorrectly the first time. The "<i>Oath of Office</i>" is so important that they had Obama sworn in a second time due to the transposition of a couple of words. How could anyone claim, other than in jest, that President Obama did not take the "<i>Oath of Office"</i> in order to assume an "office"???!!!??? It makes as much sense to suggest that "Marriage Vows" are not vows related to an impending marriage. <br /><br /><b>Now, on to the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/#:~:text=No%20person%20shall%20be%20a,a%20member%20of%20any%20State" target="_blank">14th Amendment of the US Constitution, Section 3</a>: </b><br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. </blockquote><br />There are those who make the fatuous claim that by not specifically enumerating President and Vice President in the Amendment, the authors were intentionally excluding them. <br /><br />But consider this: <br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">During the debate on Section Three, one Senator asked why ex-Confederates “may be elected President or Vice President of the United States, and why did you all omit to exclude them? I do not understand them to be excluded from the privilege of holding the two highest offices in the gift of the nation.” Another Senator replied that the lack of specific language on the Presidency and Vice Presidency was irrelevant: “Let me call the Senator’s attention to the words ‘or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.’” <i><a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10569" target="_blank">The Congressional Research Service</a></i> </blockquote><br />Not only was it clear to the Senators drafting the Amendment that “officer” covered the President and Vice President, but one could also argue that including them in the text would diminish rather than expand the impact of the clause. Had the President and Vice President been called out for special treatment, there are those who might have then attempted to argue that the clause would not apply to other officers that were not specifically enumerated. <br /><br />One of the Constitution’s greatest strengths is its adaptability. By saying only “officer” and not enumerating any particular office, the authors were able, in one stroke, to include all offices extant at the time as well as any offices that might come into existence in the future! Questioning whether or not they meant to cover the President and Vice President is impugning their wisdom. <br /><br />I do not know how the current Supreme Court of the United States will rule on the case now before it related to the barring of the former President from the Republican party primary ballot in Colorado on the grounds that he participated in an insurrection. But regardless of how they rule, and on whatever grounds, I hope that they will take the opportunity to make it abundantly clear that the President is an officer of the United States and that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment most certainly applies to them. <br /><br />Note: If you are a Justice on the Supreme Court, I hope that you will take my arguments into consideration. 😊 <br /> </div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-49254831638068626992023-11-21T07:43:00.000-08:002023-11-21T07:43:19.914-08:00Gratitude for the shower<xmeta2 p="0" text="I am grateful for my shower. The water, the peace, and the opportunity."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOZKYKiFm9l25tC-vsegRfypjPBQRyTZJi79EfsdCbJm9XmTqNzNr1kEYW2v2o_xpOqzl9tXxZ5nDFKe4ukVvZvak9csjNtGeMK-ZJPMl3X2lfZVBIvGGtfNNSf8gqCPZAOIqUM494d4ILtQK7U8UC6eWn5x7QVw1zJMAxzR5CAgaea9vKoVdAqSKBpKgf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1690" data-original-width="1756" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOZKYKiFm9l25tC-vsegRfypjPBQRyTZJi79EfsdCbJm9XmTqNzNr1kEYW2v2o_xpOqzl9tXxZ5nDFKe4ukVvZvak9csjNtGeMK-ZJPMl3X2lfZVBIvGGtfNNSf8gqCPZAOIqUM494d4ILtQK7U8UC6eWn5x7QVw1zJMAxzR5CAgaea9vKoVdAqSKBpKgf=w400-h386" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">"Shower" by Kevin Dooley is <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">licensed under CC BY 2.0</a>.</span></div>
<br />When I am in my shower, I try to be aware of gratitude. I love showering. I love the sound of the water and the way it blocks out other sounds, the feeling as it hits my skin, the temperature, the humidity, the feeling of being cocooned in this space. When I was fortunate enough to be able to design and build my house, I created a beautiful bathroom with a great shower. I am grateful for my shower. <br /><br />I try to remember that what I have is extraordinary. I am able to shower every day. I can take a nice, long, hot shower. I can shower simply because I want to even if I don’t really “need” to. These facts are incredible. This is an amazing gift I give to myself. This is an astonishing opportunity that I have. And this is something that I always remember is rare indeed. <br /><br />I live in a time and place where the municipality provides clean, safe water directly to my house, and utility companies deliver the energy needed to warm that water to whatever temperature I desire. A thousand years ago only a few hundred people in the world would have been able to access an effectively unlimited supply of hot, fresh water, and fewer still would have been able to indulge themselves in this way with any frequency. But even today, in most parts of the world, it is only the wealthiest individuals that can indulge such pleasures. For most people in most places around the world and across all of time, enjoying a shower would be unimaginable decadence. <br /><br />Indeed, the access to clean, safe, reliable water in any form for most of humanity is something to be prayed for – I flush such water down the toilet. It is not lost on me that someday the drought in the western United States, exacerbated by climate change, will cause the water will run out, or my health will run out, or this space will be gone… someday this will be just a memory of a sweet, long-lost time. This is something that I appreciate when I am in the shower. <br /><br />It is not lost on me that I have such wealth that I was able to create this space, and to purchase water and fuel. It is not lost on me that I have the freedom to choose to live in a place where clean water is delivered to my home. It is not lost on me that California is in a drought and that should the water stop, I can choose to move. It is not lost on me that I have the time to enjoy this. <br /><br />I also do not take for granted the fact that I am able to shower without assistance. In her later days, my mother loved Thursday, because that was the day that her caregiver helped her to take a shower. She couldn’t undress herself alone, nor safely get into or out of the shower. She certainly couldn’t control her body sufficiently to wash her hair. I think of Senator John McCain, who, due to torture in Viet Nam, could not lift his arms over his head. Did he have to rely on others to wash his hair for him? I am aware of those in wheelchairs, paraplegics, and quadriplegics, for whom showering is likely a lengthy and involved process and may be impossible without assistance. <br /><br />For myself, there was a time, not long ago, when due to medical devices attached to my body, I had to prepare myself for a shower. I had to wrap my arm in plastic wrap and tape it in place to keep my arm dry, and I had to keep my showering brief to reduce the risk of water getting under the wrapping. For a while I needed someone to help me wrap my arm, and then to unwrap it afterwards. Washing my hair alone was challenging because of limited mobility. If I could wash my hair at all, it was only with one arm. What a gift that taking a shower no longer requires any preparation beyond disrobing, and I need to do nothing more than dry off and dress afterwards. <br /><br />I indulge myself in these moments of peace and beauty, knowing that just a few miles from my shower there are people living in tent camps. I don’t know how they bathe themselves. I don’t know how far they must travel, nor what they have to do to get to any kind of washing facilities at all. I indulge myself, well aware of the fact that there are uncounted millions around the world without access to safe drinking water, let alone a shower. <br /><br />Sometimes these thoughts make me sad, so I cut my showering short. But more often I just try to appreciate this amazing experience, this incredible experience, this rare, unique, gift of an experience. <br /><br />Forgive me for waxing poetical about the joys of showering. But I encourage all to find something in your life that you are taking for granted, and to instead give it the attention that it deserves. <br /><br /><i><b>Afterword: <br /></b></i><br /><div>When I was a child, Thanksgiving meant a day off from school, and a big, delicious meal prepared by my mother. Later on, living on my own, invited to friends’ houses for Thanksgiving, I was introduced to the ritual of each person at the table saying what they were thankful for. We had never done that in my family, and I thought it was silly, but being a good guest, I went along with it, coming up with some statement of thankfulness. Now that I am older, with the perspective provided by time, and experience, and loss, and pain, I try to be thankful every day for all the great gifts that I have received. I am so very grateful for friends, and health, and food, and freedom, and among the many, many fortunes that I have, I am grateful for my shower.</div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-86908590496991009252023-11-16T07:31:00.000-08:002023-11-16T07:37:29.203-08:00Are we larvae?<xmeta2 p="2" text="I wonder if caterpillars know that they will become butterflies."></xmeta2><xmeta2 p="0" text="I wonder if we are the larval state of something else."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixtu7TkHpPtnhijija6GbOWw-V2sxe3CuJxt4gshC0UfnW6-TNLGWxEQy6qDmQZmhGXfpSIGeLWt7k2rDU9doxNYhjIysXco29MaeWz4oikSsYKnhHDKlPeli0Jv4kxNeQKHzX3sUmw96z12e-rtl1Cb5EwjauNT6s_hKIzIJUvbubmyLbzSjQiW63bgII" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixtu7TkHpPtnhijija6GbOWw-V2sxe3CuJxt4gshC0UfnW6-TNLGWxEQy6qDmQZmhGXfpSIGeLWt7k2rDU9doxNYhjIysXco29MaeWz4oikSsYKnhHDKlPeli0Jv4kxNeQKHzX3sUmw96z12e-rtl1Cb5EwjauNT6s_hKIzIJUvbubmyLbzSjQiW63bgII=w300-h400" title=""Caterpillar to Chrysalis #2" by SidPix is licensed under CC BY 2.0." width="300" /></a></div><br />
I wonder if caterpillars know that they will become butterflies. When a caterpillar on a leaf sees a butterfly flying around, does it think, “that will be me some day”? Or perhaps, “I hope I become a butterfly like that one.” Or does it just see butterflies as another of the many things in its universe? Can a caterpillar, in its limited capacity, even conceive of a relationship between itself and a butterfly?<br />
<br />I wonder if butterflies know that they were caterpillars. When they are drinking nectar from a flower and notice a caterpillar on a leaf, do they reminisce about those bygone days? Do they think caterpillars are cute? Do they look forward to laying eggs, or fertilizing eggs, that will become caterpillars? <br /><br />I wonder if we are the larval form of something else… some next existence of which we cannot conceive. Butterflies aren’t just caterpillars with wings glued on. So, rather than floating around on clouds in heaven in humanesque bodies with wings, perhaps we become something inconceivable. In our extraordinary capacities, we can imagine quite a lot. But I wonder if there might be an afterlife after all – merely one that even we cannot conceive. <br /><br />What do caterpillars think of their lives? I doubt that caterpillars have existential crises in which they wonder about the meaning of their existence. But if they did, would knowing that they are larval butterflies make them feel any better? Would that give them a sense of purpose? Meanwhile, who is to say that being a butterfly is any better than being a caterpillar. From our human aesthetic, butterflies are pretty, and airborne, and visit flowers, while caterpillars are usually more drab, climb on plants, and eat leaves. But perhaps being a caterpillar is an idyllic carefree childhood, while being a butterfly is an anxiety-filled adulthood, desperately trying to reproduce. <br /><br />This human life seems rather pointless, but maybe we are larval stages of something else. Would knowing that make this life feel more purposeful? Do metamorphosized “people” look at humans with any recognition of a connection? And if there is some next existence, who’s to say if this life is idyllic childhood, or if that next life is beatific flitting from flower to flower.Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-9018392925894255482023-11-14T08:07:00.000-08:002023-11-14T08:07:14.254-08:00Spoiler Alert<xmeta2 p="2" text="Knowing how it works takes away the magic.">
<xmeta2 p="0" text="It is up to us to get it back.">
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgO6xEafFFy5h5WKrkFzXRdcDCRfbYNkELwATpxZBQRa41hGMZ30lVHSG1O8iOn5P5OtVRh5R0JJT_89vQNTX6FvzKja5TERJRmS9LEJbmXv2UXjLtmTPZ33QLSG7LyzghpT9l-djUpMfyKgV3TMK5JrK-CVe6RrZzizQSrdHDM6ONNCGSzofuHYBOiidwf"><img data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgO6xEafFFy5h5WKrkFzXRdcDCRfbYNkELwATpxZBQRa41hGMZ30lVHSG1O8iOn5P5OtVRh5R0JJT_89vQNTX6FvzKja5TERJRmS9LEJbmXv2UXjLtmTPZ33QLSG7LyzghpT9l-djUpMfyKgV3TMK5JrK-CVe6RrZzizQSrdHDM6ONNCGSzofuHYBOiidwf=w400-h266" title=""Rainbow over Shorncliffe-01+" by Sheba_Also 17.5 Mil + views is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0." width="400" /></a></div><br />I have heard it said that to name something is to destroy it. Once it is named, the thing that is right in front of you is then just an example of “one of those”, and you no longer see the thing itself. <br /><br />I was reminded of this idea this morning. There was a rainbow over Oakland. I counted off the colors: ROYGBIV - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Then I looked to see where the sun was. I noted that it was in the east and the rainbow was to the west, just the way the science of physics tells us it will be. <br /><br />In looking at the rainbow, I realized that I wasn’t seeing it as a beautiful phenomenon. I was seeing it as an artifact of atmospheric conditions and the mechanics of light. Like knowing how a trick is done, or the answer to a riddle, or that in the end the universe is saved but the hero dies, knowing how a rainbow works takes away the magic. <br /><br />Perhaps physics classes should come with a warning: “Spoiler alert.” Now it is up to me to put knowledge aside and see the rainbow as beautiful again.</xmeta2></xmeta2><div><br /></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0Piedmont, CA 94611, USA37.8336281 -122.20298329.5233942638211531 -157.3592332 66.143861936178837 -87.0467332tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-72468336615196216202023-08-20T20:23:00.002-07:002024-01-09T13:25:06.003-08:00Loneliness on BART<xmeta2 p="2" text="Loneliness on the Bay Area Rapid Transit."></xmeta2>
<xmeta2 p="0" text="A meditation on social isolation."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJHlXcTytqy1diqsUSB7JwXansXj6RRkSddrTAEPClG9U0Y5I1gmRvSkkTRef-HcD3R1q-elOG1UqjdL7wxxY0IL8uH6TbbzjclF4hVYFY-cdshqz427-emuL0ibUTGpgVrrjDPRaOh-uEDAfsrW8NYX4MolK8SJT-Bu7d-T-L9nffbzAw_wWoa07xC_e/s1200/Sony%20Walkman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJHlXcTytqy1diqsUSB7JwXansXj6RRkSddrTAEPClG9U0Y5I1gmRvSkkTRef-HcD3R1q-elOG1UqjdL7wxxY0IL8uH6TbbzjclF4hVYFY-cdshqz427-emuL0ibUTGpgVrrjDPRaOh-uEDAfsrW8NYX4MolK8SJT-Bu7d-T-L9nffbzAw_wWoa07xC_e/w504-h335/Sony%20Walkman.jpg" width="504" /></a></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><br />Riding home on BART last night I felt so lonely. Everyone on the train was somewhere else. Most people had some kind of earbuds or headphones on, and almost everyone was looking at their cell phones.<br /><br /><div>I was listening to music on my phone with my earbuds and really rather enjoying it. But then a person sat down next to me, and I realized that they weren't really there. It wasn't just, "sitting next to someone I don't know"; it was sitting next to someone that wasn't sitting next to me at all.<br /><br /></div><div>So, I took out my earbuds and put away my phone. I wanted to connect in even the most trivial of ways.</div><div><br /></div><div>I noticed another man, of about my age, on the train. He didn't have anything on his ears, nor was he holding a phone. He was behind me, so I had to turn pretty obviously to look at him. He didn't look back. I wanted to signal to him in some way that we were kind of kindred spirits, but, of course, we were strangers on a train, and I was a stranger craning around to look at him.</div><div><br /></div><div>I thought about when the Sony Walkman came out. The "older generation" decried it as the end to sociability. Perhaps it was the first drop in the bucket, the first chip in the glass, the first step on the journey to isolation. <br /><br /></div><div>The difference is that now many of the people on the train probably <i>are</i> being social - it is likely that they are on their phones using social media or doing email. They're just not being social with those humans around them. They aren't isolated from those nearby by music on a Walkman, they are somewhere else, with someone else, as I sat alone on the train.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-31340670444481945572023-07-04T08:34:00.005-07:002023-07-05T08:00:24.376-07:00Independence Day should be a Monday holiday<xmeta2 p="x" text="We should call Independence Day by its proper name (not The 4th of July) and make it a Monday holiday."></xmeta2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvtwWdZvv-m6l_ENJuumKlp3BaZRlVVge5ZzPbPqzJ9CuYAiknz1LI6yt4xt5DDlkRicbZ-HfLZiibgxb1N338earEM5iTPMFB0dxB2ceLFe6Z_pcvGszj8z4RZdvPSEyM4xNH_OH_F7OAWTjyW8G_A_egvuiT6i9OppEgJX8hluKsMctsV-PjZt64Qjv/s815/Calendar%204th%20of%20July%20v4.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="815" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvtwWdZvv-m6l_ENJuumKlp3BaZRlVVge5ZzPbPqzJ9CuYAiknz1LI6yt4xt5DDlkRicbZ-HfLZiibgxb1N338earEM5iTPMFB0dxB2ceLFe6Z_pcvGszj8z4RZdvPSEyM4xNH_OH_F7OAWTjyW8G_A_egvuiT6i9OppEgJX8hluKsMctsV-PjZt64Qjv/w400-h259/Calendar%204th%20of%20July%20v4.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div>The 4th of July occurred (inconveniently) on a Tuesday this year (2023). This got me thinking about US holidays which are fixed to a certain date in the year, vs. those that are (currently) always celebrated on a Monday.</div><br /><div>We have New Years Day, which is always January 1; "The 4th of July", always celebrated on July 4; Christmas is December 25th; and most recently Juneteenth, which is June 19. [Note that for the Federal Government, and many businesses, if one of these dates falls on a weekend it is then "observed" on either the preceding Friday or the following Monday.]<br /><br /></div><div>Then we have the so called "Monday holidays", which occur on different dates each year, corresponding to a Monday (though some of them used to be holidays fixed to a date): Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.<br /><br /></div><div>Lastly, we have the oddity of Thanksgiving, which is observed on the 4th Thursday in November - so the date floats, but it is always a Thursday.<br /><br /></div><div>I can't help thinking that if we just called this holiday by its proper name, "Independence Day", it could be turned into a Monday holiday. It is only fixed to a specific date because it is commonly referred to as "The 4th of July".<br /><br /></div><div>Independence Day is particularly ripe for becoming a floating holiday because it isn't even clear that July 4, 1776, is the most significant date in relation to the Independence of the United States from Great Britain. After all, the declaration was ratified by Congress on July 2, 1776, and the "official" copy on display at the National Archives was signed (primarily) on August 2. Meanwhile, the war with Britain began in April 1775, more than a year before the declaration was ratified let alone signed. The war wasn't officially over until the signing of the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783. Arguably, independence wasn't assured until that happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moreover, "The 4th of July" tells us nothing about what we are celebrating. The holiday is intended to commemorate the anniversary of the colonies making up the "United States" declaring independence from Great Britain. Calling the holiday by its true name makes it much more meaningful than simply referring to the date in July on which we have chosen to commemorate it. Celebrating July 4, by that name, makes no more sense than celebrating any other date on the calendar.<br /><br /></div><div>So, we really ought to refer to this holiday as "Independence Day" and celebrate it on the first Monday in July, regardless of the calendar date on which that Monday happens to fall.<br /><br /></div><div>Just my 2 cents.</div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-63417485221954654992023-04-27T14:17:00.003-07:002023-05-16T07:25:21.440-07:00The Elise C. Sigal Research and Education Fund<xmeta2 p="x" text="The establishment of the Elise C. Sigal Research and Education Fund at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in memory of our mother."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLphNom-1eAzSxrV64QcGMThtnkaVLVpubl47ikHQmrT8I115fO88MNrM3zZXyDCouRJR0m5w8ZH0G_hbZL7F5hzgbT-C5P1oyRDVPBQrNXVJRXwODqZbgaUjgsfKsLQDLDcSvOQrcyfkvlkehoLr9RfVylqXHTjhlmjKVFwblBJCe2-ypapnOferLSQ/s900/Arnold%20Arboretum%20Tree%20Logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLphNom-1eAzSxrV64QcGMThtnkaVLVpubl47ikHQmrT8I115fO88MNrM3zZXyDCouRJR0m5w8ZH0G_hbZL7F5hzgbT-C5P1oyRDVPBQrNXVJRXwODqZbgaUjgsfKsLQDLDcSvOQrcyfkvlkehoLr9RfVylqXHTjhlmjKVFwblBJCe2-ypapnOferLSQ/s320/Arnold%20Arboretum%20Tree%20Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>My sister Erica Sigal and I are proud to announce the creation of an endowment at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in memory of our mother. This endowment, the <i>Elise C. Sigal Research and Education Fund</i>, will be used by the Arboretum to promote research and education about the plant kingdom, particularly in the fields of horticulture, arboriculture, and botany.</div><br />We are creating this fund today, on what would have been our mother’s 90th birthday, to honor her love of horticulture and of the Arnold Arboretum, where she was a volunteer for over 40 years. <br /><br />We hope that this fund will help students and researchers to learn about and advance our knowledge of the plant kingdom and that it will do so for generations to come. <br /> Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0Boston, MA, USA42.3600825 -71.058880114.049848663821152 -106.2151301 70.670316336178843 -35.902630099999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-24647789538543748292023-03-12T09:35:00.007-07:002023-03-13T08:41:13.955-07:00Thoughts on Daylight Savings Time<xmeta2 p="x" text="Why daylight savings time bothers me and why I find it so much worse than jetlag."></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizh1mC_GluLYCoyW_s1nVH657s1CvPOECWMOXEP3aNBmUigfF4OcNx0_kTSeK3Ec7dI2tUomP7wVGo8bYPnYK1eegChTTF-baS8vXDVYIIxfsCSPpR0dOGWom57mlMXyUsDLP5-Svt0Il7RjH1VWK22iK5p85czM1sRM4YWUAxuuBGNbWpwj_pe2zo2g/s1920/sundial-g233d8c548_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizh1mC_GluLYCoyW_s1nVH657s1CvPOECWMOXEP3aNBmUigfF4OcNx0_kTSeK3Ec7dI2tUomP7wVGo8bYPnYK1eegChTTF-baS8vXDVYIIxfsCSPpR0dOGWom57mlMXyUsDLP5-Svt0Il7RjH1VWK22iK5p85czM1sRM4YWUAxuuBGNbWpwj_pe2zo2g/w400-h266/sundial-g233d8c548_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Here in my part of the United States we experienced the switch to Daylight Savings Time last night. That is to say, we transitioned from “Standard Time” to “Daylight Time”. I live in California, so that means going from Pacific Standard Time (PST) to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). I hate the daylight savings time switch. I have always hated daylight savings time whether we were moving our clocks forward in the spring, or back in the fall. I used to say that it was like getting jetlag without the benefit of going anywhere. This morning, as I lay in bed, I realized that that little joke obscured the true reason why I find this time change so unpleasant.</div><br />I was thinking about what it would be like if we hadn’t gone to daylight time last night, but instead, I had taken a red-eye flight to somewhere one time zone to the east. For me that could mean flying from San Francisco to Denver. When I landed in Denver I would have reset my watch to one hour later – ugh. But the transition to DST is worse than that. Why? Is it just because I am now in Denver and able to visit friends and see and do things that I cant do back home? That is what I used to think, but that is not the real reason. <br /><br />I realized that at any given moment there are three kinds of time going on that are relevant to my normal life. There is what I call “clock time”, the time displayed on a clock, there is “solar time”, the place where the sun is in the sky (which is the time that would be displayed on a sundial), and there is “circadian time”, the time that it subjectively feels like to my body. <br /><br />If I flew from San Francisco to Denver I would experience jetlag because my circadian time would be out of sync with clock time. But it wouldn’t be that bad because the local clock time and solar time <i><b>would be</b></i> in sync. For me the sun would rise and set 23 hours after the last time I had seen it rise and set. My body would adapt relatively quickly, taking its cue from the sun, causing my circadian time to come into alignment with both the local solar time and clock time. <br /><br />The transition from PST to PDT is much worse than that. This is because the morning after the switch both my circadian time <i><b>and</b></i> solar time would be out of sync with clock time. The clock would tell me that the sun rose 23 hours after the prior sunrise. But that wouldn’t be true. I would experience (approximately) 24 hours between sunrise on the morning before the switchover and the morning after the time change. <br /><br />At this time of year in California, the sun rises 1 or 2 minutes earlier each day (because of elliptical orbits and the tilt of the earth’s axis, the change in time of sunrise from one day to the next is not constant.) That means that it will be April 24th before the solar time and the new DST clock time are back in sync again. My body is able to adjust to the daily 1 or 2 minute change in solar time that occurs throughout the year without my even noticing it. My body is able to adjust to travel between time zones because the solar time in the new time zone corresponds to the local clock time, helping me correct my circadian clock. But I have a terrible time with the daylight savings time change because only the clock time has changed – my circadian time and the solar time are both out of sync with what the government tells me the time is now.Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-45035893018389008052022-11-08T08:45:00.005-08:002022-11-08T08:51:41.769-08:00A letter to my mother as she lay dying<xmeta2 p="2" text="I wanted to tell my mother things before she died, but, I couldn't make it through more than a few words before breaking down. So,
I wrote a letter to her and asked a caregiver to read it to her."></xmeta2>
<xmeta2 p="x" text="I then used this letter as her eulogy."></xmeta2>
<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf9ITG24q6fQEVYS2HzS3-wHeFxIT1HS7WDqQEX1eaAtby1sJizuh9EDpI1IcUdFzuxViPs3K4siynY53Ex2lWeJEudlcYEfq4q2Ucqtmx9zRFCsgnjho0xxT1kh4Fn5g40Z3c3WO3cAgOBh2O3KqRATV8Iydkb_oNi-6ypZTYZJIOteLnK4UOmfnjA/s2070/Harry%20and%20Mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2070" data-original-width="1984" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf9ITG24q6fQEVYS2HzS3-wHeFxIT1HS7WDqQEX1eaAtby1sJizuh9EDpI1IcUdFzuxViPs3K4siynY53Ex2lWeJEudlcYEfq4q2Ucqtmx9zRFCsgnjho0xxT1kh4Fn5g40Z3c3WO3cAgOBh2O3KqRATV8Iydkb_oNi-6ypZTYZJIOteLnK4UOmfnjA/w384-h400/Harry%20and%20Mom.jpg" width="384" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mother with a friend's dog, Harry</td></tr></tbody></table></p><br /><br />Dear Mom, <br /><br />There are so many things that I want to tell you, but I can’t make it through telling you these things in person. So, I have written them down and asked your caregiver to read this to you. <br /><br />I wanted to tell you how much I love you. How terribly important you have been to me throughout my life. How much of you is in me. How much you have made me who I am. I am the child of both you and dad, but I wanted to make sure that you know how much I cherish those aspects of myself which came from you. More than anything the kindness and caring, but also your love of knowledge, your breadth of interests, and your sense of humor, subtle and ironic. <br /><br />Did you know that for me, every dinner was a conversation about nurturing and love? That I had watched the hours of effort you put in and the stress you endured when dad was on his way home amid the rush to get dinner ready on time. His entrance demanding, “when’s dinner!” was made all the more painful because I had been watching you working. I was sitting in the kitchen, watching TV, but you were at the stove just beyond the TV, so I was watching you too. This was a conversation in which dad did not participate, spoken in a language which he did not appear to understand. He sat down at the dinner table, ate, and then left. The love and nurturing were between us. Of course, I didn’t understand this ‘till many years later. It was only in my late 20’s that I began to figure this out, and later still that I felt I understood how food represented to me love, caring, and compassion. <br /><br />For my whole life I have never understood the word “milquetoast” (a timid or feeble person), because to me, “milk toast” was one of the things that you gave to someone you cared about when they were sick. Milk toast, bananas, apple sauce, and love. So too I find the term “mamas’ boy” absurd, defined as “a boy or man who is excessively influenced by or attached to his mother.” How could being attached to or influenced by one’s mother ever be excessive. <br /><br />I remember tiny little things from growing up. I remember you at the kitchen sink, doing dishes, and then hitting Spot on the back with a fork when he bit Seymour for stealing his food. I remember you closing the window at the bottom of the stairs at the house on North Street, telling me that if cold air blew over your chest you would get a cold. I remember that you could never get a blueberry pie to set up, so you called it “blueberry pie soup.” I remember lying on the couch in the living room at North Street after coming home from school with what turned out to be a fractured arm, and the concerned look on your face when I slept through that whole day. <br /><br />I remember losing my shoe in mud on a beach in Canada, and you trying to wash me off in water that turned out to be electric due to a downed power cable. I remember stepping into an elevator, thinking that you were behind me, only to discover when the doors had closed that I was alone. <br /><br />I remember gerbils in terrariums in the room between the kitchen and the garage. I remember hatching chickens in an incubator in the kitchen. I remember taking your wristwatch apart, but not being able to put it back together. You didn’t scold me. I remember you driving me and some other kids to day-camp. I remember making paintings by blowing paint over sheets of paper with straws. <br /><br />I remember you letting me stay home from school when I was “sick”, even though I was clearly faking it. I remember going with you to the Cambridge Center for Adult Education – you took classes in paper sculpture, and flower arranging, and stained glass, and jewelry making, and mosaics. I remember talking you into buying things for me: a block of balsa wood at Ken-Kay-Krafts, and endless bottles of Testor’s paints for model cars and planes; cactus and other plants that ultimately you had to take care of; raspberry-lime rickeys from Brigham’s. I remember you buying me marbles and maple syrup candy somewhere – maybe it was the Salem Witch House? <br /><br />I remember watching the first moon landing from your and dad’s bed. And Thalassa Cruso’s Making Things Grow, and The Galloping Gourmet too. I remember watching endless hours of cartoons in the kitchen while you made dinner at night, or breakfast on Sunday morning. <br /><br />I remember a piece of cardboard with coins taped onto it which you used to teach us about money. I remember you typing my school papers for me because I had left my assignment till the last minute and didn’t have time to type it myself. I remember dad complaining that you walked too slowly and having to choose between keeping up with him or hanging back to walk with you. <br /><br />I remember calling you from the bed in my hospital room after my heart-attack - asking you to come out to be with me, even though I knew you hated travel. <br /><br />I remember shopping trips to the kitchen supply store on Newbury Street, and Mass Hardware, and I remember hiding in the middle of the round racks of clothing at Jordan Marsh while you shopped. I remember your driving what seemed at the time to be a ridiculous distance to Waltham to buy bread, or to get pizza at the really good place that was worth the long drive. <br /><br />I remember the vegetable garden on the far side of the garage at North Street. I remember somewhere getting the plant growth hormone called gibberellic acid. I wanted to see what would happen if I injected it into plants instead of putting it on the leaves as you were supposed to do. For some reason you let me try it. I remember making Halloween costumes from sheets, and carving pumpkins – wondering if some day my pumpkins would come out as well as yours (they never have.) <br /><br />I remember you bathing me in the bathtub in the new bathroom at North Street after the renovation, and I remember the old, long bathroom from before the renovation. I feel like I remember the changing table in that old bathroom, but I am sure that must be a false memory. Was the room light yellow? Was there a window at the end of the room? Were there sheer curtains with embroidered flowers on them? That is how I remember it, but it is likely to be something part remembered, and part imagined. <br /><br />I have travelled an unorthodox path through my life; taking years to get through college, not marrying nor having children, leaving my career at its peak to go off and have fun. But I hope that I have made you proud. I hope that I didn’t cause you too much grief along the way. <br /><br />You said to me recently that you don’t want to be an “inconvenience” or a “bother”. You took care of me my entire life. That is something that I can never repay, nor do I want to repay it. This is not about reciprocity. This is about love. There is no inconvenience. There is no bother. My only wish is that you be as comfortable as possible. <br /><br />I want you to live forever, but no one does, and “death comes to us all.” I want you to know that I understand. That you did everything you were supposed to do, and you did it so well. I understand that you have to leave. <br /><br />I want you to know that you should feel completely free stay as long as you want, but also to leave whenever you need to, whenever you want to. I will cry for a long time, but that too is inevitable – that is the inevitable consequence of your being such a great mother, such a great person, and such a deeply caring caregiver to me all of my life. You have done everything necessary to make me the man that I am today, able to stand on my own, able to care for you now, and able to survive after you are gone. Please stay, if you want to stay, but don’t stay because of me. Go when you are ready. There is nothing you need to worry about. Erica and I will take care of everything. <br /><br />And I will always love you.<br /><div><br /></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com1Boston, MA, USA42.3600825 -71.058880114.049848663821152 -106.2151301 70.670316336178843 -35.902630099999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-30889007897677324582022-10-30T19:50:00.012-07:002022-11-01T05:54:48.855-07:00Elise C. Sigal 1933-2022<xmeta2 p="1" text="Elise C. Sigal"></xmeta2>
<xmeta2 p="1" text="My beloved mother"></xmeta2>
<xmeta2 p="1" text="1933-2022"></xmeta2>
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQw8L1SuEEQQmoYbq20wY1EOoaGLYwjLv9Ej5dMOM6xxs8k9nzpSKUwfzYNV-9-l5uGTtHV8DTFhjwRH-cXadsZ0imCx9qEtQ2klAaeJ20buUNQ5UlFqGj4In9xeR7gCccGgv4ylpDMZDJo3CuDrVtn9zrWun9pqBki3RLAk86PtlUf0PPx0kf_6_bA/s1251/Mom_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="955" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQw8L1SuEEQQmoYbq20wY1EOoaGLYwjLv9Ej5dMOM6xxs8k9nzpSKUwfzYNV-9-l5uGTtHV8DTFhjwRH-cXadsZ0imCx9qEtQ2klAaeJ20buUNQ5UlFqGj4In9xeR7gCccGgv4ylpDMZDJo3CuDrVtn9zrWun9pqBki3RLAk86PtlUf0PPx0kf_6_bA/w305-h400/Mom_sm.jpg" width="305" /></a>
</div>
<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> Elise Cunin Sigal, my beloved mother</p><p style="text-align: center;">1933-2022</p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">Elise C. Sigal, 89, of Oakland, CA and formerly of Newton, MA, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 30, 2022, surrounded by her children. For 63 years the beloved wife of the late Marlowe A. Sigal. Devoted mother of Erica Sigal and Andrew Sigal.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">Born in Bath, PA, and raised in Allentown, PA, Elise spent most of her adult life in Boston and Newton, MA, before moving to Oakland, CA, to be close to her children. She graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in music history.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">Elise was an avid gardener; she turned her especial love of trees into a volunteer position at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, assisting in a variety of roles for over two decades, ultimately running their plant information phone line. She was an active participant in the Newton community. She worked with the Newton Creative Arts Committee where she served for a time as Chairperson. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">She shared her late husband’s passion for early music, antiques, and historic homes, frequently attending performances and museums. Elise also hosted visits to her home by musicians and early music organizations. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">She is missed by all those whose lives she touched.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p>
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances be made to the <a href="https://arboretum.harvard.edu/research/programs-and-opportunities/cunin-sigal-research-award/" target="_blank">Cunin/Sigal Research Award Endowment</a> at the <a href="https://arboretum.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">Arnold Arboretum</a>, Boston, MA or the <a href="https://sigalmusicmuseum.org/elise-c-sigal/" target="_blank">Elise C. Sigal Musical Education Fund</a> at the <a href="https://sigalmusicmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Sigal Music Museum</a>, Greenville, SC.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0Oakland, CA 94610, USA37.8104485 -122.23986369.5002146638211542 -157.3961136 66.120682336178845 -87.0836136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-19546497738461910572022-08-08T13:51:00.020-07:002022-11-08T08:43:08.379-08:00The Art of Bewildered Sadness<xmeta2 p="x" text="A video recording a message of bewildered sadness, painted along a path in a park in Albany, California"></xmeta2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHicpAQZ-SYES5CnvxqZ4fQQ-FX5qQnsXLQpsmH8aCDH7hq3VhtmvFI7gKR90qSlaGVrnFmBVqsEY6y817ZCVKF0yJpAXOpxGxsLbWbbq_Jb6ZkZKQesWKTMyRWIsxrcR6Tji3Jzh9tIBcaY6WXEdNrjp48QWLL-y2xGe_mH22mJ4jbplibYWdPujkQ/s821/The%20Art%20of%20Bewildered%20Sadness.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="821" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHicpAQZ-SYES5CnvxqZ4fQQ-FX5qQnsXLQpsmH8aCDH7hq3VhtmvFI7gKR90qSlaGVrnFmBVqsEY6y817ZCVKF0yJpAXOpxGxsLbWbbq_Jb6ZkZKQesWKTMyRWIsxrcR6Tji3Jzh9tIBcaY6WXEdNrjp48QWLL-y2xGe_mH22mJ4jbplibYWdPujkQ/w400-h279/The%20Art%20of%20Bewildered%20Sadness.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>In the nearby city of Albany, California, there is an old landfill which is now generally known as the “Albany Bulb”, or just "The Bulb." Over the years it has been a landfill, a dump, an encampment for homeless residents, and a park, as well as being a canvas for some extraordinary art (more at <a href="https://www.albanybulb.org/" target="_blank">AlbanyBulb.org</a>) <br /><br />In October 2019 I was walking one of my favorite loops at the Bulb. On the return leg, I saw writing spray painted along the edge of the paved path. I read it as I walked. I was stunned. I was touched. In fact, I was so gobsmacked that I had gone on at least another hundred feet before I realized that I had to go back to the beginning to record this message before it disappeared, as is the fate of so much of the ephemeral art created at there.<br /><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="398" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Of8LPRS2Gpw" width="479" youtube-src-id="Of8LPRS2Gpw"></iframe></div>
<br /><p></p>I have transcribed the text here, primarily so that search engines will index it, should anyone be looking for it. I have attempted to retain case, punctuation, and spelling, even when it is technically incorrect. This is, after all, a cry in the wilderness, not an essay for a picky college English teacher, and I feel that hand of the author reveals something of what they are trying to express to the world.
<blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">OK, so, one time you, yes you and I got high here. You told me that every thing was going to be OK. For the most PART it has been. But you died 3 weeks AGO AND I MISS YOU. Hope youre doing well. Call me if you need anything, though you left, im still here… Anyways. i have to go now. Don’t forget about me Please… good night, sweet dreams</span></blockquote>
<div>I have no idea who the author was. I don’t know if this was created by a writer, or a poet, or an artist who regularly paints messages in public places, or, as I suspect, if they are the words of someone who truly had recently lost an important person in their life. <br /><br />In any case, for me it evokes sadness, but also either bewilderment, or naivete, or extraordinary faith. The author is speaking to their lost companion as though they were right there, as though their friend can hear them and can even respond. Either this person is naïve (in a very touching way) as to what death really is, or has such deep faith in an afterlife that they truly believe their friend is right there, listening, and might even need something from them, or, as I believe is most likely, they are so lost that they cannot accept the fact that their friend is gone. I wonder about their fear that their friend might forget them – perhaps it is a reflection of their own fear that they may forget the one that is gone. <br /><br />This video still makes me sad when I watch it, even years later. I hope that for this anonymous writer, everything has been OK.<br /></div><br />Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0Albany, CA, USA37.886704 -122.29775579.5764701638211562 -157.45400569999998 66.196937836178847 -87.1415057tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-25729520276234558212022-07-08T08:51:00.000-07:002022-07-08T08:51:02.692-07:00<xmeta2 p="x" text="Meow, meow, no more meow rights, meow?">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAYs8jyTZloNYG_geTQFdcxEG136rdYZ3tQVU9quCM4IWBVvqkKGxvx3ol_5JTsh-U7nRaVA7R0Ie0N1UMPE5t9hMigoHTSvjbdQzYRhUvVq3fIAxFp4JsdDp-gMds8xY_sewyCiCZSWkzT4E1QMHS_KBZzm0PC3LXfUBF07yGqZac6Gfb3kkdoMuNA/s991/Henrietta%20Pussycat%20Civil%20Rights.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="988" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAYs8jyTZloNYG_geTQFdcxEG136rdYZ3tQVU9quCM4IWBVvqkKGxvx3ol_5JTsh-U7nRaVA7R0Ie0N1UMPE5t9hMigoHTSvjbdQzYRhUvVq3fIAxFp4JsdDp-gMds8xY_sewyCiCZSWkzT4E1QMHS_KBZzm0PC3LXfUBF07yGqZac6Gfb3kkdoMuNA/s600/Henrietta%20Pussycat%20Civil%20Rights.png" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meow, meow, no more meow rights, meow?</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's right, Henrietta, no more meow rights, meow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(with apologies to Fred Rogers)</i></span></div></xmeta2>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-58148720004975307902022-05-09T07:40:00.004-07:002022-05-10T07:50:31.174-07:00Renaming Ceremony for the Sigal Music Museum<xmeta2 text="My speech from the renaming ceremony for the Sigal Music Museum." p="x">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41atXdnCTPicSqKnQEmA0zanCA6RZ5vP9bbOEmly9gyPf8U78-iHyLvAAx1sa-oLZgKRQC89yF1OCEU1Ptezhyjwe_y0DE7vS8kHIdNQkT-eQ-T0F89_9rUfRMALyFz9ATSO745uTMJVzSZ598FmOS9sEbw0y7aQprte4P_G7MXYHb9CzSdf3Y5RUzw/s4032/Ribbon%20Cutting.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ribbon Cutting" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41atXdnCTPicSqKnQEmA0zanCA6RZ5vP9bbOEmly9gyPf8U78-iHyLvAAx1sa-oLZgKRQC89yF1OCEU1Ptezhyjwe_y0DE7vS8kHIdNQkT-eQ-T0F89_9rUfRMALyFz9ATSO745uTMJVzSZ598FmOS9sEbw0y7aQprte4P_G7MXYHb9CzSdf3Y5RUzw/w300-h400/Ribbon%20Cutting.JPG" title="Ribbon Cutting" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>In mid-2019 the Carolina Music Museum was renamed as the <a href="https://sigalmusicmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Sigal Music Museum</a> in honor of my father, and in recognition of the gift of his collection to the museum. We have been trying to have a renaming ceremony ever since, but COVID has forced it to be delayed several times. Finally, on April 22, 2022, we were able to have the event, at which I was honored to speak and cut the ribbon for the opening. <i>[For more on the Sigal Music Museum, see my prior post about it <a href="https://andrewsigal.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-sigal-music-museum.html">The Uncarved Block: the Sigal Music Museum</a>]</i></div><br />I have been asked for a copy of my remarks, which I present here.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div>Good evening. <br /><br />Thank you all for coming. I can’t tell you how excited, happy, and proud I am to be here today. <br /><br />I suspect that only a few of you know the story of how my father’s collection made its way from Boston to its beautiful new home here in Greenville. <br /><br />My father had been collecting musical instruments for decades. From time to time he would consider the question of what he wanted to have happen to them after he died – and then he wouldn’t do anything about it. Occasionally someone from one institution or another would approach him about the collection, but for a variety of reasons it never worked out. <br /><br />And then he had his heart attack. When I heard the news, I called his hospital room from my home in Oakland, California. True to form, he said it was no big deal and he would be back at work by Wednesday – this was on a Monday. Well, I was glad to hear that!!! But… I decided to call his doctor just to be sure. His doctor said, “Ohhhh, no. No indeed. Your father is an 88-year-old man who just had a massive heart attack. You want to get out here right now.” So, I got on the next flight to Boston. <br /><br />I spent a lot of time with dad at the hospital, talking about a lot of things – including, of course, what he wanted done with the collection. He said he would want it to stay together as much as possible, though he acknowledged that with a collection of its size, that could be a tall order. He recited a list of institutions where he might like to see the instruments go. He even talked about possibly starting his own museum - apparently, he told me, there was a crazy guy in South Carolina who had done just that! <br /><br />Unfortunately, believing you are superman can only take you so far, and within about a week he was in a coma, and then died. Perhaps that is a lesson for all of us that think we are immortal. <br /><br />In his will he left the collection to my mother, with a note asking her to dispose of it in accordance with his wishes. That became one of the main tasks that my mother, my sister Erica, and I, had on our plates. We spoke with most of the institutions he had previously named. Some of them wanted certain parts of the collection but not others. Some wanted the collection but with unacceptable provisos. And so on. The search for where the collection should go stretched out to months upon months. <br /><br />Along the way, our good friend Darcy Kuronen connected me with Tom Strange, that crazy guy in South Carolina, and his museum. The Carolina Music Museum was very new; with no track record, but with the flexibility to make the decision to take the collection. <i>And they wanted all of it!</i> Every instrument, every book, every email my dad had sent or received, every everything. And in recognition, they wanted to rename the museum in his honor. <br /><br />It sounded perfect, but it was still a difficult decision that we agonized over. Could they pull it off? Did it make sense for the collection to go somewhere with which my father had had no affiliation? How crazy was this [Tom] Strange guy? There were a couple of other good options, but in the end, <i>this museum</i>, <i>this city</i>, and <i>these people</i> won us over. And it was a great decision. <br /><br />It is wonderful to see these pieces as they deserve to be seen. Not tucked into every corner of our former home. Now they will be cared for in perpetuity in an appropriate setting. <br /><br />Finally, these instruments will be available for scholars, novices, or those that are simply curious to examine, study, or just to enjoy. Students can now come to see and to learn how these instruments contributed to the origins of Western musical traditions. And perhaps they may inspire young people to develop the kind of passion that my father, my mother, Tom, and everyone else here today all share. <br /><br />My mother has since said that the gift to this museum has worked out better than she could possibly have imagined. I couldn’t agree more. My only regret is that my father didn’t make this move himself, so that he could see the care and appreciation that everyone at the Carolina Music Museum – now the Sigal Music Museum - has lavished on The Marlowe A. Sigal Collection. <br /><br />Thank you.</div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com2Greenville, SC, USA34.852617599999988 -82.39401046.5423837638211424 -117.5502604 63.162851436178833 -47.2377604tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-41780914602505594062021-02-13T17:49:00.011-08:002022-05-10T07:52:24.029-07:00Did Mitch McConnell and other Senators act outside the law? <xmeta2 text="Did Mitch McConnell and other Senators act outside the law - a law which they themselves had just decided?" p="2">
<xmeta2 text="Jurers dont get to decide the law." p="0">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t8ZMk2wRgReg9I6UIcWEuxOObxsF29FyvDMCSicpZIIZoIq64SGQ9USSDxDGZTdIVzXaZwD7adv6syv6PcAUUdjILj_Q06HLNFwg_riGM89yM8dlE4Xs3iST8nIHpyf2Ls398o37ad2R/s1024/Gavel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t8ZMk2wRgReg9I6UIcWEuxOObxsF29FyvDMCSicpZIIZoIq64SGQ9USSDxDGZTdIVzXaZwD7adv6syv6PcAUUdjILj_Q06HLNFwg_riGM89yM8dlE4Xs3iST8nIHpyf2Ls398o37ad2R/w400-h266/Gavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>OK, I am confused. </div><br />I am not a lawyer, but I <i>thought</i> I understood the law in this case. <br /><br />As of February 9, 2021 (last Tuesday), there was there was an undecided question about an ambiguity in impeachment law. The Senate was asked to decide if the Constitution allows for a former President, who has been impeached by the House, to be tried in the Senate after leaving office. By a vote of 56 to 44, the Senate voted that yes, the Constitution grants it the jurisdiction to try a President after they have left office. Decision made; law decided. This was then the law of the land, and the Senate proceeded with the trial. <br /><br />This afternoon, on February 13, 2021 (Saturday), Mitch McConnell spoke before the Senate saying that: (A) He was certain that former President t**** had incited the mob to insurrection. But (B) he did not believe that the Constitution allows for trying a former President. Thus, he said, he voted to acquit t**** because the trial should not have occurred. <br /><br />But wait. Hang on here. The US legislature decided a point of law, thus setting the law unless and until new law overrode it, or the courts struck it down. Then a jury (who also happened to be the Senate), heard the case presented by prosecutors and defense. That jury was supposed to hand down a verdict based on whether or not they believed that the defendant was innocent or guilty as charged. The jury was not being asked whether or not the law was valid. <br /><br />McConnell, and other Senators, decided to acquit t****, even though they felt he was guilty, on the basis that they didn’t agree with the law. Isn't that the same as if a jury, hearing a case against a doctor that performed an abortion, found the doctor guilty of murder because they didn’t agree with how Roe v. Wade was decided? Or wouldn't it be the same as if a judge handed down a sentence on a person found guilty of a hate crime, using the criteria for a non-hate crime, because that particular judge didn’t agree with hate crime legislation?<br /><br />Juries don’t get to decide the law. They only get to decide if the law was broken. Judges only get to decide the law if it is ambiguous. Otherwise they only get to decide what the sentence should be. It doesn’t matter what they think of the law. Right? <br /><br />So, am I wrong? If McConnell believed that t**** incited the insurrection, then he should have been compelled to find him guilty. Other Senators announced ahead of time that they would be acquitting t**** because they didn’t agree that he could be tried. But as jurors, it was not within their purview to make such a decision. Didn’t they invalidate themselves as jurors by refusing to give their honest opinion on the facts of the charges, and vote based solely on those facts? <br /><br />I’m confused.Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-34001174927945762542021-02-12T07:57:00.008-08:002021-02-23T09:24:52.152-08:00God was a geek<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pmyUtyZ7iiMiy3W1gTGEEYOUw9MsLqGcCIBRhjHBjTTCnhmODNW0R5qpBQwIFLoCt0wDJtWCQFDvFO7vtLO4hLJel4lpytY4zlYE9c6QxCzgexvd39N6xngIrRLwkrcpxEZ3kFy-KO2J/s240/God.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="142" data-original-width="240" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pmyUtyZ7iiMiy3W1gTGEEYOUw9MsLqGcCIBRhjHBjTTCnhmODNW0R5qpBQwIFLoCt0wDJtWCQFDvFO7vtLO4hLJel4lpytY4zlYE9c6QxCzgexvd39N6xngIrRLwkrcpxEZ3kFy-KO2J/w400-h237/God.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><xmeta name="description" text="God was clearly a total geek."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>He did all the cool techie stuff spot on, but when he got to the yucky stuff he pretty much punted.</p>"></xmeta>
God was clearly such a geek. <br /><br />He got all the nerdy stuff working great – atoms, molecules, sub-atomic particles, photons, etc. He perfectly balanced all the different forces – gravitation, weak force, strong force, electromagnetism… really, really, tough problems in universe creation! And we know that was what really interested him, because he did all that stuff first and spent nearly 2/3’s of his time on it.<div><br /></div><div>Then he finally got around to the yucky, squishy stuff – animals. Even there he took the techie approach, setting up a bunch of single celled animals with this really cool DNA stuff and a set of rules for reproducing and mutating. Then he let the <i>machine</i> do all the real work. When that was done he took credit for fashioning all the beasts that walketh, swimmeth, or flyeth, which I suppose <i>technically</i> he did do, but, not in so many words. <br /><br />Finally he gets around to making man and creates him in his own image. What a self-important dweeb. But it turns out that he completely forgot that one guy all alone in the Garden of Eden is going to get really bored, which can only lead to trouble. So what does he do? A total hack. He takes a rib from man and creates woman. That is a kludge if ever I saw one. <br /><br />Then, like any nerd that has spent the past 6 days head down working on a project, living on Mountain Dew and Doritos with hardly any sleep, on the 7th day he totally crashes. Like out cold for 24 hours. Not even a shower first, just boom, into bed still covered with Cheetos dust. <br /><br />To top it all off, he didn’t get around to writing any documentation for eons, but when he did finally get it done it sucked. It needed all kinds of updates by end users (most of whom were really just guessing). Stupid books like <i>Humans Made Easy</i>, and <i>Humans for Dummies</i>, ended up being best-sellers because the original document set was borderline useless. In the end all the tech support had to be done by users groups. <br /><br />Geesh! What a geek!</div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-15026402720998627422021-02-08T11:37:00.013-08:002021-04-19T08:39:26.363-07:00A (not so) brief primer on the recent GameStop stock movements
<xmeta name="description" text="A (not so) brief primer on the recent GameStop stock movements."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>Understanding hedging, hedge funds, short selling, margin, fiduciary duty, etc.</p>"></xmeta>
<h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IDV4s0rIEpObwRIT6UFOGYhSYjpmylBQWXwjghvAZQqayjNHpLMw2JFMaoOWUxEfy5BPtFNFya9w5VBA697RnYKBgeEptcMqplB_3YV_kSE3xAKJB6bNHAsTEfLGB3dbVh0O7PBBTsrb/s634/gamestop-logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="634" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IDV4s0rIEpObwRIT6UFOGYhSYjpmylBQWXwjghvAZQqayjNHpLMw2JFMaoOWUxEfy5BPtFNFya9w5VBA697RnYKBgeEptcMqplB_3YV_kSE3xAKJB6bNHAsTEfLGB3dbVh0O7PBBTsrb/w359-h261/gamestop-logo.png" width="359" /></a></div><i>Introduction</i></h1><p>Recently there has been a swirl of news related to the
sudden, meteoric rise in the price of GameStop stock (as well as that of AMC
and others). I have heard a lot of misunderstandings related to what occurred.
Friends, family members, strangers, and people in the media, seem to harbor a
variety of errors in their understanding of stock markets, “short selling”,
hedge funds, and the like.</p><br />
<p>I intended to write a brief primer on some of these things in
the hopes of making it clearer. However, this appears to have turned into a
rather lengthy discourse on variety of subjects that the GameStop trading issue
touches on. Nonetheless, I hope some will find this useful.</p><br />
<p>Note: I am not securities lawyer, nor a lawyer of any kind.
I am not a broker, advisor, nor investment manager. I have no role in any
investment business of any kind, other than as an individual investor who has
been managing his own portfolio for 40 years. None of the information presented
below is intended to be construed as investment advice. When making investment
decisions, always seek advice from a qualified professional. None of the
examples I provide below are intended to reflect any real-world event. I have
used Apple Computer as an example to explain various transactions. This should
not be construed as an endorsement of Apple, its products, or its stock. Nor
was Apple Computer involved in the GameStop events in any way.</p><br />
<h1><i>Liquidity</i></h1>
<p>We refer to some assets as “liquid” and others as being “illiquid”.</p><br />
<p>For example, as of this writing, the stock of Apple
Corporation is considered to be “highly liquid”. Thousands of people buy and
sell millions of shares of Apple Corporation (AAPL) each day. As of this
writing, the average daily volume of AAPL is almost 109 million shares! At
today’s closing price of about $140/share, almost $15 billion (with a “b”) worth
of Apple stock changes hands on an average day. If you wish to either by or
sell shares in Apple, it will be very easy for you to do and will take just fractions
of a second. There will always be someone out there that is happy to buy AAPL shares
from you or sell them to you. The stock might not be trading at a price that
you like, but whether you can acquire or dispose of it is not in question.</p><br />
<p>Other assets are “illiquid”. This includes all sorts of
collectibles, for example “Beany Babies.” If you want to buy or sell a particular
Beanie Baby, you could go on eBay and either buy or sell it there. However, it
could take an unknown amount of time to either find someone selling the Beanie Baby
you want or find someone willing to buy your Beanie Baby. The price to either
buy or sell could vary widely depending on who the other party is, what the
condition of this particular beanie baby is (which is never an issue with corporate
shares), how badly you want to buy/sell the Beanie Baby, and how much the other party feels it is worth. Unlike Apple stock, there are not millions of Beanie Babies
changing hands every day in a well-organized market.</p><br />
<p>Another common example is an asset like a house, which is
generally considered to be “highly illiquid”. Selling a house (in the US) normally involves
finding and hiring a realtor, advertising the house, making it available for
inspection by interested parties, and potentially waiting while a prospective
buyer arranges for a loan from a bank, has the house inspected, and so forth.
Depending upon the house, the location, and the price, in the US this could
take as little as a month, but it could take years or even decades. Buying a
house is similarly complex and time consuming.</p><br />
<h1><i>Why do we care about liquidity?</i></h1>
<p>Well, the more liquid market is, the easier it is for
individuals to buy and sell in that market. If you’re an investor, you probably
like securities and commodities markets due to the liquidity. If you have money
to invest, you “go to the market” and purchase whatever investments you like.
If you no longer want a given investment, you go back
to the market and sell it. Buying and selling are normally almost instantaneous
for commonly traded stocks. [Side note: there are “thinly traded” stocks in
which there are relatively few trades per day, but even in this case, there
will usually be thousands of shares changing hands on an ordinary day.]</p><br />
<p>You might like investing in art, or collectibles, or real estate;
but in doing so you must understand that you may or may not be able to get into
or out of an investment when you want to, or you may have to take a significant
loss in order to get out of such an investment in a hurry. Because of
illiquidity, you’re probably not going to be willing to invest unless you’re quite
sure that there are significant gains to be made.</p><br />
<h1><i>Buying “on margin”</i></h1>
<p>Stated simply, buying stock on margin is purchasing stock
using money that a broker lends to you for that purpose.</p><br />
<p>Imagine that you think Apple stock is going to do very well
in the future. So, you use the money that you have for investing to buy shares
in Apple. This is a very normal transaction that happens every day. If the
stock goes up in value, great, you make money. If it goes down, you lose money.
Very straight forward.</p><br />
<p>Now let’s say that you really, really think that Apple is
going to do super well in the future. You might wish that you could buy even
more shares than you can afford. You might be able to borrow money from
friends, relatives, or a bank, and use that to buy the stock. Alternatively,
you could borrow the money from a broker to buy more shares, “on margin”. If
you’re right and Apple goes up, then you will have made even more money than had
you simply purchasing the stock outright, because you own more shares than you
were otherwise able to afford. On the other hand, if you’re wrong and Apple
goes down, you will own more shares that have lost value. You will have lost more
money than if you hadn’t borrowed to buy those extra shares. Also, no
matter what happens, you still owe the broker the money that you borrowed. Sooner
or later you’re going to have to pay up. Buying shares on margin multiplies the
amount you could gain, and the amount you could lose. This is a form of
“leveraged investing.”</p><br />
<p>If you ask friends or family to lend you money, they might
just give it to you (sweet), but if you ask the broker to buy you Apple on
margin, they are going to want collateral on the deal. In this case, the
collateral is simply the stock itself. But stocks go up and they go down, and
if your investment goes down, then you might no longer have sufficient
collateral to cover the loan.</p><br />
<p>Let say you bought $10,000 of AAPL on margin. If your stock
were to lose $1000, then there would be only $9000 worth of Apple in the
account. Now your $10,000 loan is collateralized by just $9000 worth of stock.
To make sure that there is always enough collateral in the account to cover
your loan, brokers have what’s called an “margin requirement”. This is an
amount of money that they insist you have in your account so that there is
enough collateral to cover the loan even if the stock goes down in value. For
example, let’s say the margin requirement is 20%. To buy that $10,000 worth of
Apple, the broker is going to insist that there is at least $2000 in your
account (in addition to the $10,000 worth stock.) If Apple stock goes up, good
for you. Everything is just peachy. However, if Apple were to decline, the
total value of the account will go down. If you then skip town, the broker
could be left holding the bag, but, because of the margin requirement, they can
still make themselves whole by selling the stock and making up any loss from
the cash you provided as collateral.</p><br />
<p>Under normal circumstances that is not the conclusion anyone
wants. You want to keep the investment, and the broker does too. But there is
no longer enough value in the account to cover the 20% margin requirement. The
broker wants to maintain the account with total assets worth at least the value
of original investment plus a 20% buffer. With the stock worth less than its
original cost, you are going to have to kitty up some more dough.</p><br />
<p>The broker is going to make what is called an “margin call”.
Basically, they’re going to call you up and say, “hey, you gotta put more money
in the account.” If you don’t, they will sell enough of your shares of Apple to
bring up the amount of cash in the account, and lower the number of shares,
thus covering the exposure. This is part of the margin loan deal. The broker
can sell your shares if they feel they need to. [Note that the margin amount in
your account does not need to be in cash, it could be shares of some other
stock. However, if that is the case, should that other stock go down, that too
might trigger a margin call if there is then not enough total value in the
account to cover the margin requirement.]</p><br />
<p>Finally, the broker didn’t just lend you that money out of
the goodness of their heart; they are going to charge you interest on the
amount loaned for the entire period that you borrowed it. So, your chosen stock
needs to go up by at least enough to cover the interest on the loan, and you want it to do so pronto.</p><br />
<h1><i>Going “long”</i></h1>
<p>When someone owns shares of a stock (or some other
investments) we will often say that they are “long” that stock, for example, “I
am long Apple.” Similarly, if someone owns a lot of shares in different
high-tech stocks, we might say that they are, “long high-tech”.</p><br />
<p>For the purposes of this discussion, “long” is really only
interesting in that it is the opposite of “short”.</p><br />
<h1><i>“Short” Selling</i></h1>
<p>Short selling (or “selling short”, “going short”, or
“shorting”) is the crux of what was going on with GameStop recently.</p><br />
<p>Simply stated, a “short” is selling something that you don’t
own – in this case, shares of a stock. A broker will lend you the stock so that
you can sell it. You might want to do this if you believe that the stock is
going to go down in value over time, just as you would go long if you thought
the stock was going up. You borrow the stock today at its current market value
and sell it at the going price. Later you buy that stock back at the then
current market price and return it to the broker. Assuming the stock did go
down over that period, you keep the difference between what the stock was worth
when you borrowed and sold it, and what it was worth when you repurchased and returned
it. Of course, if the stock went up instead, you’re going to have to rebuy it
at a higher price than when you borrowed it, so you lose the difference.</p><br />
<p>Note, that this is effectively borrowing from the broker,
and so it is a transaction on margin. You will have to pay interest on the
transaction, there will be a margin requirement, and you may be subject to
margin calls. The only difference is that in this case you would face a margin
call if the stock went up (making your short position worth less) rather than
getting a margin call when the value of the security goes down, as is the case
in a normal purchase on margin.</p><br />
<h1><i>Limited gains but unlimited losses are possible</i></h1>
<p>One important thing to be aware of with short selling is
that there is a limit to how much profit you can make, but your potential loss
is theoretically limitless.</p><br />
<p>For example, let’s say you buy (long) a stock at $20 a share.
The most you can lose is $20 a share if it were to go to zero. On the other
hand, it could be the next Google and just rise and rise and rise making you
more and more profit. However, if you sell that same stock short at $20 a
share, the most you can possibly <i>make</i> is $20 - if the business goes bust.
However, if you were dead wrong, and the stock shoots up, you are losing money
all the way up. In practice, stocks don’t go from $20-$1 million over night, so
practically speaking, you can’t actually lose an infinite amount of money, but
depending upon how many shares you have shorted, you can lose a hell of a lot more
than you can gain, and theoretically your potential loss is unlimited.
Sophisticated investors are supposed to understand this risk.</p><br />
<h1><i>Is short selling legal, and why does it exist?</i></h1>
<p>Short selling is entirely legal. It is a common practice. I
have done it myself.</p><br />
<p>Why is there this thing called short selling, and why is it
legal? Basically, it helps increase liquidity in the market overall. The more
buying and selling of stocks, the greater the market liquidity. By allowing
people to borrow stock that they don’t own and then sell it, you have increased
the number of transactions, and the number of people buying and selling stock.
Since liquidity is good, the availability of short transactions is good for the
market.</p><br />
<p>Also, prohibiting short selling would be almost impossible.
The SEC could prohibit brokers from lending shares to investors, but it would
be very difficult to prohibit individuals (or firms that aren’t brokers) from
lending stock to each other and then selling it.</p><br />
<p>We should also note that it is usually wealthy individuals
who do things like this. Not because poor people are actively excluded from
these markets, but because poor people don’t normally have the money available make
such risky investments - if they can afford to invest at all. They might also
have poor credit, in which case the broker would not be willing to lend to them
for any margin activity, be it long or short.</p><br />
<h1><i>Hedging</i></h1>
<p>Hedging is basically “hedging your bets”. Hedges are simply
ways of insuring your portfolio. You buy a stock or other investment that you
expect to go up, and then you also by something else that will go up if that
first thing goes down – i.e., you buy two investments that move opposite to
each other. Most of this requires sophisticated analyses. Hedging in a
portfolio is a way to reduce risk at the cost of purchasing the hedge. Though
it reduces the possible total gain of the portfolio, it reduces the amount of money that can be lost.</p><br />
<p>Effectively, hedging, it is a fancy kind of insurance. People
buy insurance all the time to hedge various risks. You use your life savings to
buy a house. That is a major “investment” for you. But all kinds of things
could go wrong that would wipe you out: fire, flood, Godzilla, etc. So, you buy
insurance to cover your loss if something happens to your house. This is the
same thing as buying a hedge on your portfolio. If your investment goes down,
your hedge goes up, reducing or eliminating the loss. Hedges cost money (and
hence lower your return in the case where things go well), but they reduce
risk. Making money with as little risk as possible is the name of the game.</p><br />
<h1><i>Hedge funds</i></h1>
<p>Originally hedge funds were basically managed portfolios in
which the hedge fund manager and his or her team used all kinds of fancy
esoteric methods to make money regardless of whether the economy went up or
down, the stock market went up or down, etc. They promised to use hedging to
make money with as little risk as possible. Some hedges sound crazy (to me),
but apparently the math works out (usually.)</p><br />
<p>Over time, the hedge fund world changed. A lot of funds gave
up on the idea of low risk, and instead used their sophisticated investing
techniques to take big risks in the hopes of extraordinary gains. Bernie Madoff’s
fund (which turned out to be a hoax) was pretending to be just that. It was
actually a Ponzi scheme, but it seemed to investors at the time as though Madoff
was successfully taking big risks and returning outstanding results. There are
still hedge funds whose business is making money with as little risk as
possible. But there are also now funds which call themselves "hedge funds", courting investors by chasing extraordinary
gains.</p><br />
<p>Most hedge funds specialize in some particular strategy. One
of the original types of hedge funds is referred to as “long-short equity”.
Such a fund buys one investment (“going long”), and shorts some other
investment, so that no matter what happens they make at least a little bit of
money on the deal, and if they did it right, the risk was negligible.</p><br />
<p>However, nothing is ever certain. You can never eliminate <i>all</i> risk and still make any returns. During the great recession of 2007-2008,
markets were roiled by a “once in a century” shakeup and a tremendous (temporary) loss of
liquidity. Facing margin calls, hedge funds (and others) were forced to get out of positions at a
time when no one was buying, and so had to sell at “pennies on the dollar.”
During that period, long/short hedge funds lost prodigious amounts of money, in
spite of having their positions carefully hedged. They hedged against a normal
market environment. They did not hedge against markets collapsing as they did
in 2007. In a similar way, funds that were recently shorting GameStop were not
hedged against the possibility of the stock shooting up with no one willing to
sell them the stock they needed to close out their short positions.</p><br />
<p>Another type of hedge fund is a “distressed” fund. These
funds look for opportunities in businesses, real estate, or other investments which
are in trouble - investments which are “distressed.” They then attempt to make
money either by short selling the investment or buying the investment and
attempting to increase its value (possibly by breaking it up and selling the
parts ala “corporate raiders”), or by bringing in new management for the
business, or by putting together a group of investors that will buy the business
and attempt to turn it around, or other things. [Side note: the 2007-2008
recession created lots of opportunities for distressed investing. However,
there was so little liquidity in the market that many funds weren’t able to
take advantage of these opportunities.]</p><br />
<p>There are lots of other kinds of hedge funds, but these are
the two types that are interesting for our story. </p><br />
<h1><i>Are hedge funds only for the rich?</i></h1>
<p>A complaint that people tend to have about hedge funds is
that they are only for the rich. That the game is rigged for the wealthy, and
the little guy can never get ahead. It is true that small investors generally
cannot invest in a hedge fund, but not for the reasons most people think. It’s
not some rich guy club that is out to screw the poor and won’t let less
affluent people in.</p><br />
<p>There are two main reasons why only wealthy individuals can
invest in hedge funds.</p><br />
<p>First, these are odd, esoteric, investments with specialized
risks. So, hedge funds will only accept investments from experienced investors.
This is to keep novices from investing in products where they might not
understand the risks that they are taking. “Shares” in a hedge fund are private
sales to sophisticated investors and are largely unregulated. People who cannot
afford to lose large amounts of money should not be in this arena, even if it
can offer great rewards. So, hedge funds will not accept investments from inexperienced investors who cannot afford big losses if things go wrong.</p><br />
<p>Second, these sophisticated mechanisms often require long
timelines to execute. If you’re going to buy real estate in Tokyo and hedge it
against Argentinian cattle (hyperbolic example), that’s a very illiquid set of
trades. For this reason, hedge funds often limit the timing or frequency with
which you can extract your money. They may allow investors to withdraw money
only once per year, or only on one particular day in the year, or even less
often than that. So, they want to make sure that the partners (their investors)
have sufficient personal funds to put in huge amounts of money, and not take it
out for a very long time. Having lots of small investments from people with
limited net worth, that might want to remove their money at any time, would
make it impossible for a hedge fund to successfully execute its strategies.</p><br />
<h1><i>Fiduciary duty</i></h1>
<p>Another thing that’s important to understand is fiduciary
duty. “A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of another
party.” (<a href="https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/breach-of-fiduciary-duty/#" target="_blank">definitions.uslegal.com</a>) Hedge fund managers, as well as other
investment advisors, are required to act in their clients' interest. It is
illegal for them to do things which are not expected to benefit the client. So,
when people point at hedge fund managers and accuse them of being greedy, their
actions aren’t entirely driven by greed. If they see a market opportunity that
fits their mission, they are obligated to invest if such an investment is in
the best interest of the hedge fund and therefore its clients. If they see an
investment which is outside their stated mission, or is not in the fund’s best
interests, then they are legally prohibited from making that investment. It is
said that they have a “fiduciary duty” to their clients (which doesn’t mean
that they aren’t greedy, just that in this case they are not acting on behalf
of their own greed.)</p><br />
<h1><i>Holding stock in street name</i></h1>
<p>Investors virtually never take possession of the stock
certificates for the shares that they own. Actually having the physical pieces
of paper is kind of a pain in the ass. You’ve got to get them from your broker, store them safely, and then get them back to your broker when
you want to sell. At the end of the day, you want to participate in the profits
of Apple Corporation, you don’t care about that piece of paper.</p><br />
<p>So, under normal circumstances brokerages hold their
client’s stocks for them “in street name”. This means that if you put in order
for AAPL, the brokerage buys the shares on your behalf and just makes a note
that they are yours. It’s pretty much all electronic anyway these days. You will
get such privileges as receiving dividends (if any) and voting those shares at
a shareholders meeting, but underneath the covers it’s all done with smoke and
mirrors.</p><br />
<p>One aspect of the GameStop fiasco is that many of the people
involved didn’t understand how it was that brokers could just lend somebody’s
stock to someone else. Basically, the stock was held in “street name”, not owned
by the individual investor. So, the broker could lend it to someone else
without so much as a by-your-leave from the investor.</p><br />
<p>Just as with the EULA’s (End User License Agreements) that
people sign all the time without reading them, this information is spelled out in the
contracts people sign with their brokers (and probably don't read). Most people
never need to know this stuff - it hardly ever matters. But these facts managed
to ruffle a lot of feathers of people who didn’t realize them during
this GameStop business.</p><br />
<h1><i>So, what the hell happened with GameStop?</i></h1>
<p>Well, some managers at hedge funds, as well as sophisticated
individual investors, saw GameStop as a distressed business, and therefore an
opportunity. These investors saw in GameStop what they had seen in Blockbuster Video
years before. People used to go to Blockbuster to rent videotapes or DVDs. But
along came Netflix, first allowing customers to rent and return movies through
the mail, and then online. Then Walmart jumped into the act, and Amazon, and
others. Blockbuster was late to the online game so didn’t survive.</p><br />
<p>GameStop is a bricks and mortar store that sells video
games. But nowadays most gamers play online or buy and download games over the
Internet. GameStop’s business is drying up. When COVID-19 came along, people stopped
leaving their homes at all, let alone going to a store to get something that
they could get more easily, safely, and conveniently online.</p><br />
<p>GameStop’s business is a bad business to be in right now.
They are selling buggy whips in the age of the automobile. Investors observed
this, predicted its stock would go down (eventually to zero), and so sold the
stock short. But, surprise, surprise, a group of young people figured out a way
to outsmart the short sellers. They realize that there were so many short-sellers
that if they bought enough stock to drive the price up just a little bit, margin
calls would force covering of shorts making the stock price go up further,
which would force more margin calls, causing it to spiral upwards, costing the
short-sellers vast amounts of money. It is uncommon that a stock is so highly
oversold, with so much leverage, that a small amount of buying would generate
such a large and rapid reaction in the market. Well, now we know. Ooops.</p><br />
<h1><i>Were laws broken?</i></h1>
<p>As noted, I am not a securities lawyer. Indeed, I’m not a
lawyer of any kind. But I am certain that the hedge funds and brokers (including
Robin Hood), are run amok with lawyers. These entities might very well
get as close to the line of legality as they possibly can, but their lawyers should
make damn sure that they don’t step over it, especially once the eyes of the
world were focused on them, as they were once GameStop blew up in the news.
Thus, I would be surprised if any of these entities broke any laws or
regulations.</p><br />
<p>On the other hand, the individual investors trading in GameStop,
not having the benefit of staffs of lawyers, may have broken laws,
intentionally, by accident, or due to a lack of understanding of how the laws
are applied. Of that I cannot say.</p><br />
<h1><i>Should any laws or regulations be changed because of these events?</i></h1>
<p>Honestly, I don’t know. But I suspect not. The hedge funds
that lost money knew what they were doing. They are highly sophisticated investors.
They knew the risks they were taking, even though in this case it turns out
that they underestimated those risks. It’s hard to blame them though, because
nothing quite like this ever happened before, so these events weren’t in their
models.</p><br />
<p>The investors in the hedge funds, and other investors that
got hurt in the short selling, should have been sophisticated investors. Brokerage
houses should have been making sure that novice investors weren’t buying shorts.
</p><br />
<p>Those investors from the Reddit board observed a market opportunity
and took it. They were not working based on secret insider information. They
did not break into systems, or hack something, or steal money. Everything they
did, they did out loud, in the open, on public bulletin boards, using publicly
available information. Clever. Not illegal.</p><br />
<p>Should laws and regulations be changed to better protect
innocent investors, or protect the proper operations of the markets as a whole?
Again, I don’t know, but I suspect that no changes are required. Sophisticated
investors who practice these strategies are now warned that there are really
clever people out there that might very well exploit any error they make. These
sophisticated investors should carefully review their investment practices to
make sure that there are no other such errors in their portfolios. But that
doesn’t mean we need to create a new law requiring them to do so.</p><br />
<h1><i>Conclusion</i></h1>
<p>Hopefully, this post will help people understand what
happened, what these investment mechanisms are, why they exist, and how a group
of individual investors on Reddit managed to shoot gaping holes in the
portfolios of a group of hedge funds. I hope this will help people understand
that, though we do have terrible wealth disparity in this country, this particular
event does not expose a world of nefarious wealthy investors taking advantage
of their wealth to collude with other greedy, rich, old men (and women.)</p><br />
<p>Wealth disparity is a crushing problem which is destroying
the fabric of our society and our economy. But it should be cured by increasing
taxes on people like me, and breaking down systemic racism and the barriers
that limit what people of lesser means can achieve in their lives.
Opportunities should be increased. School systems should be improved. College
should be made affordable. And so on. Ending a handful of investment mechanisms
such as short selling and hedging won’t solve any of these problems.</p><br />Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-1929033582777254272021-01-23T11:19:00.016-08:002022-08-08T14:35:48.583-07:00Australian Finger Lime Marmalade<xmeta name="description" text="Australian Finger Lime marmalade, v1.0 (beta)"></xmeta>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVmDAgaTGbqDiFLf-KLYS4PNVqbNMepd3F2KOZXp77qjNth9gMXg6PqjdAiZQZHHLu5yQlwkYZo01SmjlOaxtQTi1-ReDLaMiA8WBgFvaYPUk1MHDtxdoYdbE1i1_EMkLyVtwX-suFh0o/s1200/Limes+and+jars.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1200" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVmDAgaTGbqDiFLf-KLYS4PNVqbNMepd3F2KOZXp77qjNth9gMXg6PqjdAiZQZHHLu5yQlwkYZo01SmjlOaxtQTi1-ReDLaMiA8WBgFvaYPUk1MHDtxdoYdbE1i1_EMkLyVtwX-suFh0o/w354-h325/Limes+and+jars.jpg" width="354" /></a></div><br /><div>Several years ago I planted an Australian finger lime bush (Citrus australasica). It took a few years to get established, during which time I got just a couple fruits, then a handful of fruits, then more, and more, until now I harvest a couple of pounds per season (they are quite small, so that is a lot.) Though they are great on sushi, salmon, and a few other things, it’s not clear what else to do with them. </div><br />The thing that is cool about finger limes is that when you cut them open, little balls of lime juice spill out. They are about the size of flying fish row (aka <i>tobiko</i>) and are sometimes referred to as “lime caviar”, which is an excellent description. Unfortunately, you can’t really taste them unless they get burst by your teeth when you chew them. So, they easily get lost in a lot of applications. I have read that bartenders have gone crazy for them, but when I use them in drinks they are a flop, because most people don’t chew their beverages.<div> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XfhfeGBSGq3L9poTdmmevrjW7_bG3PgRK1hDu-5EvXvEY52FBfTwDgx0EFUN-v6_t6aaUJIC6PFME1tfZB7s8tQFxih2C9Br8hv-DViSAGsz1qeN5Xt4IjZHS0S5buKCtVDNvQ9mDmXZ/s960/Bowl+of+finger+limes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XfhfeGBSGq3L9poTdmmevrjW7_bG3PgRK1hDu-5EvXvEY52FBfTwDgx0EFUN-v6_t6aaUJIC6PFME1tfZB7s8tQFxih2C9Br8hv-DViSAGsz1qeN5Xt4IjZHS0S5buKCtVDNvQ9mDmXZ/s320/Bowl+of+finger+limes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bowl of finger limes</td></tr></tbody></table>Since I now harvest a lot of finger limes, I have been looking for things to do with them other than give them to my favorite sushi chefs and bartenders. The skin of the finger line is delicious, but sharp and (pleasantly) bitter. The fruit inside tastes much like standard limes – not identical, but similar. Taken together they have a unique lime flavor, but if you use the skin, the bitterness can easily become overwhelming. So how, I wondered, can I take advantage of so many fruits, and their skins, and manage the fact that the juice is locked up in tiny capsules. I concluded that marmalade could show off the special characteristics of finger limes. <br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSJgfjZnpDULDZv7JBLy7wT6jNErMTiKxiUXmhtIddP4aEzXmtI_kIHq3hUNtr2foIosaTrNejSmh02bA1QsAQ2eIgDgXwGEkYN39o2s0lI_NHCjtQAStB1cdWrh7tNdg1rEPjHQnXPkv/s960/Crackers+and+Brie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="960" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSJgfjZnpDULDZv7JBLy7wT6jNErMTiKxiUXmhtIddP4aEzXmtI_kIHq3hUNtr2foIosaTrNejSmh02bA1QsAQ2eIgDgXwGEkYN39o2s0lI_NHCjtQAStB1cdWrh7tNdg1rEPjHQnXPkv/w279-h205/Crackers+and+Brie.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
I am working on a finger lime marmalade recipe. Note that this is a recipe in progress. I have made it
just once, and it was only semi-successful. The result of my first batch is sourer and a lot more bitter than what I had in mind. It is nice as a garnish - a dollop on salmon is great, and it is a delicious accompaniment to brie on crackers, but it is not something you are going to want to spread on toast. The next time I make it, I intend to try to reduce the bitterness and increase its sweetness. <br /><br />Even though the recipe isn’t ready for "publication", I present it here for your interest. Hopefully, I can get some comments and suggestions for the next batch (to be made after the next harvest.) Perhaps people in Australia, or elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, will make some marmalade now, and let me know how it went. <br /><br />It is also worth mentioning that for the purpose of incorporation into a cooked product like marmalade, these limes freeze well. In fact, they freeze surprisingly well to store for almost any application. This first batch included frozen fruit collected over a couple of seasons, in addition to fresh. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlYacz0Kx2HhjeHH6SPVtcmgj62jb4x9V3IAZutuPmF197oKa568rITDWO3ORJOAxrjQK8a0AjNbWaP__XxHUKAQ8Y5bvn7rQpSfXaGuRUUQAIqkjZinfpz76gDriImO-AkmizgLWvLYI/s960/Fresh+vs+Frozen+limes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlYacz0Kx2HhjeHH6SPVtcmgj62jb4x9V3IAZutuPmF197oKa568rITDWO3ORJOAxrjQK8a0AjNbWaP__XxHUKAQ8Y5bvn7rQpSfXaGuRUUQAIqkjZinfpz76gDriImO-AkmizgLWvLYI/s320/Fresh+vs+Frozen+limes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left, fresh. Right, previously frozen.</td></tr></tbody></table>My recipe is loosely based on a lime marmalade recipe from <i>Blue Ribbon Preserves</i> by Linda J. Amendt. Mine is a new recipe due to the unique characteristics of finger limes, but I did use her recipe for the general structure. It is also assisted by ideas from the two web sites that claim a finger lime marmalade (which are almost identical to each other). <br /><br />Also note that currently finger limes in the USA run about $30-$50 per pound. So, you pretty much must have your own tree to consider making this marmalade. The recipe below yielded 10 cups of marmalade. Thus, the cost would be between $10 and $17 per cup if one needed to purchase the limes. <br /><br />And so, for your enjoyment, I present the “beta test” of my Finger Lime Marmalade, v1.0. <div><br /><h1><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Finger Lime Marmalade Recipe v1.0 </span></i></h1>Yield: 10 cups <br /><br />INGREDIENTS: <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>3.5lbs Finger limes.</li><li>3.5lbs Sugar for macerating limes.</li><li>Additional 8oz sugar added during cooking.</li><li>¼ C dextrose to reduce sugaring off (can sub Karo, or other non-sucrose sugar.)</li><li>1 pkg liquid pectin (3oz).</li><li>Baking soda (optional).</li></ul>METHOD:
<p>Processing the limes took a fair bit of time and effort, so I did it in two batches over two days, then cooked them on the third day. I don’t think this is necessary, though macerating fruit for marmalade is generally a good idea to get it to release liquid and pre-absorb sugar. On the first day I processed about 1.5 pounds, macerating them in the refrigerator with an equal amount of sugar. On the second day I processed the rest, adding them to the same container, again with an equal amount of sugar. On the third day I cooked the marmalade.</p><p><br /></p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyfYYTzGbKHsHVxjrebtFBkqbPfIYjgcPnB5XQsqblat8PQ1JvsrpE7x1yf3PEfgQPEp873AHyQetUqw2fjpaac9_d0JFfxxrQuoWWmkZXmVr8q_Qln9YB-O3LTQwd0IeCjoC1XS6PVJF/s960/Useful+tools.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyfYYTzGbKHsHVxjrebtFBkqbPfIYjgcPnB5XQsqblat8PQ1JvsrpE7x1yf3PEfgQPEp873AHyQetUqw2fjpaac9_d0JFfxxrQuoWWmkZXmVr8q_Qln9YB-O3LTQwd0IeCjoC1XS6PVJF/s320/Useful+tools.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Useful tools for processing the limes: knife, mini-rolling pin, and bench scraper.</td></tr></tbody></table><div>PROCESSING THE LIMES: </div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Blanch the whole finger limes in boiling water for a couple minutes, then plunge them into cold water. This will help to remove some of the bitterness and make them easier to “squeeze” (see below.) <i>Unfortunately, for v1.0 I decided that I wanted to retain some fresh lime oil, so I left about 1 cup of fruit unblanched. As noted, the marmalade was too bitter, so next time I will blanch the whole batch.</i></li>
<li>Next, slice the stem end from each lime. Squeeze the fruit from the skins with a small rolling pin.
<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoULmGoPASAcSiaNNA0lJVu2ptAkoLibu0UHPn8sbEfYKhLImUcnCQPD-VobT9HDIHj5A62H0E-MNdZcY83gnkG3TGNmgT1sjHSMumkxGcJ3IiwlWAbYOUBZ5S2beNgY935qcCoF6zgJva/s960/Rolling+pin+on+lime.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="960" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoULmGoPASAcSiaNNA0lJVu2ptAkoLibu0UHPn8sbEfYKhLImUcnCQPD-VobT9HDIHj5A62H0E-MNdZcY83gnkG3TGNmgT1sjHSMumkxGcJ3IiwlWAbYOUBZ5S2beNgY935qcCoF6zgJva/w283-h230/Rolling+pin+on+lime.jpg" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxNrbDbp4Ag2kAhWNhyphenhyphenkTGSWcjgO8te1wFJQr4g2Bkcg5NQoRU0Sd4xv-JU0FZnFcjrhKkPex6kJ_M7XhYA2habU5QTekUa5FbYceSmsKy3EIk8Lyo-UCjk3aZ4DPD2fdTS0Fe_hc2EGk/s960/Limes+and+guts.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="960" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxNrbDbp4Ag2kAhWNhyphenhyphenkTGSWcjgO8te1wFJQr4g2Bkcg5NQoRU0Sd4xv-JU0FZnFcjrhKkPex6kJ_M7XhYA2habU5QTekUa5FbYceSmsKy3EIk8Lyo-UCjk3aZ4DPD2fdTS0Fe_hc2EGk/s320/Limes+and+guts.jpg" /></a></div>
</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbWUSs03zRF469JUVId2fVSyGYLcLnYfBLtLqMKK3gla4AvdV6B7bfmTwXE0lES3yxk9YCb02y-Me_Gz1tWKqaOESflBTDDTBgI60GkqC6MnZ03xUtbq4EhP3G306gOicDklUyjOpdMRJ/s960/Picking+out+seeds.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="960" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbWUSs03zRF469JUVId2fVSyGYLcLnYfBLtLqMKK3gla4AvdV6B7bfmTwXE0lES3yxk9YCb02y-Me_Gz1tWKqaOESflBTDDTBgI60GkqC6MnZ03xUtbq4EhP3G306gOicDklUyjOpdMRJ/w247-h178/Picking+out+seeds.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
Spread the pulp out on a cutting board to pick out all the seeds you can. This is a long, tedious process. <i>Hey! Guess what! When I cooked the fruit, I found that any seeds I had missed floated to the top! Next time I will skip picking out the seeds and simply skim them off during cooking. Assuming that works, it will be a big time saver. If it doesn’t work, I guess I’ll have a batch of seedy marmalade.<br /><br /></i></li><li><i>I did not do this, but next time I will re-blanch the emptied skins to try to remove some of the bitterness of the pith which is now exposed. Hopefully that won’t remove too much flavor from the end product.<br /><br /></i></li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphw6LFMR1FAGnBGBYDebjH2YdtKA0py-dpbWR50i-HeVy7fBu_DDmyI0mOwt794OMmYBnmLWRItIrB14hTR_HJGXlFMQylhVzSrFTT0I14LZuwDzf9kVzX5WF513x5MhFgHzSFz06cv1f/s1200/Chopped+lime+skins.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 2em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphw6LFMR1FAGnBGBYDebjH2YdtKA0py-dpbWR50i-HeVy7fBu_DDmyI0mOwt794OMmYBnmLWRItIrB14hTR_HJGXlFMQylhVzSrFTT0I14LZuwDzf9kVzX5WF513x5MhFgHzSFz06cv1f/s320/Chopped+lime+skins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<li>Chop the skins into pieces of a size that is pleasing to you.<i> I started out trying to make neat, uniform disks, but quickly realized that I would go mad before I finished, so I resorted to just chopping. The result was fine. Disks would have been prettier, but not if they dragged me away in a straight jacket before I got done.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></i></li>
<p></p><li style="text-align: left;">Put the fruit and chopped skins in a container with an equal amount of sugar (by weight). Allow them to macerate in the refrigerator at least overnight. Note that it can be held this way for an indefinite number of days until you are ready to cook.</li><p></p>
</ol>
COOKING THE MARMALADE:</div><div><br /><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoaio_ICb6uDbR08x1E6X74sSXG5TBl1_Ct7sy2mmcsuIH5Bu5u54KX0gJkuivru8MclEC-eALlerTtDdiREDc4dYtmj447LbBFOBLXdbZxyvT3FNtW7w8lE3iyOvTcrqSW80fzqqMWIM/s960/Jam+pot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoaio_ICb6uDbR08x1E6X74sSXG5TBl1_Ct7sy2mmcsuIH5Bu5u54KX0gJkuivru8MclEC-eALlerTtDdiREDc4dYtmj447LbBFOBLXdbZxyvT3FNtW7w8lE3iyOvTcrqSW80fzqqMWIM/s320/Jam+pot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I strongly recommend investing in a copper jam pot if you do a lot of preserving. They are quite expensive (generally US$200 and up), however, using one makes preserving easier and produces a better product. Really. If you don’t have one and can afford it, you’ll thank me. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Before starting, put a plate in the freezer with several spoons to use in testing for setting. </div><div><br />Put the macerated limes into the pot along with 8 oz additional sugar (next time I intend to use more.) <br /><br />Add the baking soda. <i>Note that since the skins are very thin, this is probably unnecessary. Baking soda in marmalade helps to break down the peels, shortening the time it takes to cook and soften them.</i> <br /><br />Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add the liquid pectin. Stir constantly while bringing the mixture back to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57X4zDPCVpvQCMacm7j1jdvM8JCbyLF4po6SqUxQRWLTY6Quc_wf5K4HwMcHsRUgUSe4_QCH0tx2eqtsdma5xKm3t5TbSE389cKqTfKXXfYaOpNBJzm_nk_l7812qNneyKUw-G9O4T6BP/s960/Marmalade+low+boil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57X4zDPCVpvQCMacm7j1jdvM8JCbyLF4po6SqUxQRWLTY6Quc_wf5K4HwMcHsRUgUSe4_QCH0tx2eqtsdma5xKm3t5TbSE389cKqTfKXXfYaOpNBJzm_nk_l7812qNneyKUw-G9O4T6BP/s320/Marmalade+low+boil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Test for set and consistency using a spoon from the freezer (or any other method you prefer.) When the marmalade has set to your satisfaction, remove it from the heat.
Allow it to cool for a few minutes to minimize separation of the fruit, skins, and juice in the jar.</div><div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM99E01-Awr-eIEElihcacJ2_wdXLVd_uvsc_SkIJMyqtBOhW9g5R0uVJbkrT6o-mtUhf6po8vlhoF7E5PGqoZDNaBoklZLfy5irFSkl3n8XeMfGW-YjLx51gYR1jzwfF5nFjUl58lQAT/s1130/Blue+Gloves.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM99E01-Awr-eIEElihcacJ2_wdXLVd_uvsc_SkIJMyqtBOhW9g5R0uVJbkrT6o-mtUhf6po8vlhoF7E5PGqoZDNaBoklZLfy5irFSkl3n8XeMfGW-YjLx51gYR1jzwfF5nFjUl58lQAT/s320/Blue+Gloves.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For working with hot jam or marmalade, silicon gloves are a must-have.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ladle into sterilized jars and process by whichever safe method you prefer.</div></div></div></div>
<br /></div><br /></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com6Piedmont, CA 94611, USA37.8336281 -122.20298329.5233942638211531 -157.3592332 66.143861936178837 -87.0467332tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-82726876220727145652021-01-08T16:51:00.083-08:002023-12-27T09:58:43.907-08:00Pumpion Pie<xmeta name="description" text="Historical background and an easier recipe for a 17th C. Pumpion (aka Pumpkin) Pie."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>Based on the recipe from Max Miller's Tasting History YouTube video.</p>"></xmeta>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EUWWeqgzON1zAm9LlmcerVx8-rBviDtpLzhWEQ1jNnHVvRv8wliHh_k8WRMCpiPdUw9zS3jFJuvPw_HCz82Ntrbl9e6Xf_hnQdRJFZLlK1vrkkYnQGsPGdOJHXHEhwOw2HpPlvLoeWAI/s1200/Slice+of+winning+pie_ed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1200" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EUWWeqgzON1zAm9LlmcerVx8-rBviDtpLzhWEQ1jNnHVvRv8wliHh_k8WRMCpiPdUw9zS3jFJuvPw_HCz82Ntrbl9e6Xf_hnQdRJFZLlK1vrkkYnQGsPGdOJHXHEhwOw2HpPlvLoeWAI/w400-h318/Slice+of+winning+pie_ed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h1 style="text-align: left;">Introduction</h1>For several months I have been watching the YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsaGKqPZnGp_7N80hcHySGQ" target="_blank">Tasting History with Max Miller</a>. It's great. His mix of humor and ingredients strikes just the right tone, and he manages to make both a recipe and a history lesson entertaining without being overly long (a fault of which I am clearly guilty.) <br /><br />Just before Thanksgiving he did an <a href="https://youtu.be/FF0HnhuzGak" target="_blank">episode on 17th C. “<i>Pumpion </i>Pie”</a>, aka pumpkin pie. I made one, and it was delicious. Everyone that tasted it wanted more. But, making it was something of a pain. At the very least, it was much more work than a modern custard-based pie. I wanted to come up with a recipe that produced a result that was the same, or comparable, with less effort. I’ve been cooking pies and experimenting with this ever since. I think I finally have a delicious, easier to make, <i>pumpion </i>pie, which I share at the end of this post. <br /><br />Miller also skipped a few factoids that I think are worth mentioning. He obviously can’t discuss every last thing about a recipe or else the segments would be too long for anyone but the most diehard to sit through. I have no such problem here. If you don’t care about these extra notes, <a href="#Recipe">jump ahead to the recipe</a>😊<br /><br /><i>Note: though I am including a set of historical notes, the recipe I present is intended to be easier to make than Miller’s recipe, but it is <b>not</b> intended to be historically accurate. If you want to make the most authentic redaction of the recipe, stick with <a href="https://youtu.be/FF0HnhuzGak" target="_blank">Miller’s excellent video</a>. </i><div><i><br /></i><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUeirGrxTFxWanI5MUddyVrhaCvWNx3sPdv7NyrhctUSvPid-WiHnBUMW1TtcAxvPB1IddwRuoyslHTJBhxrEQ5p3UHbHwq8Zl0ocp-KesccdD0DOUhezAPybLTp3BRfFxB2Wo02p-6CO/s1024/Jarrahdale+pumpkins.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUeirGrxTFxWanI5MUddyVrhaCvWNx3sPdv7NyrhctUSvPid-WiHnBUMW1TtcAxvPB1IddwRuoyslHTJBhxrEQ5p3UHbHwq8Zl0ocp-KesccdD0DOUhezAPybLTp3BRfFxB2Wo02p-6CO/s320/Jarrahdale+pumpkins.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not all pumpkins are smooth, spherical, or orange.</td></tr></tbody></table><h1 style="text-align: left;">Words for pumpkins and squashes </h1>I am going to make several references to “pumpkins”, and also to what are more broadly called “winter squashes” (though “pumpkins” are, in fact, winter squashes.) Note that, “the term pumpkin has no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning, and is used interchangeably with ‘squash’ and ‘winter squash’.” (source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>). Pumpkins are like obscenity – I can’t define them, but I know one when I see it. <br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">The Annotated FRENCH GARDINER, Part One, The Kitchen Garden, 1658 by Nicholas de Bonnefons, translated by John Evelyn, edited and annotated by William Rubel<br /> <br />Pumpeons are raised also upon the hot-bed, and are removed like the former, but for the most part upon plain ground: being placed in some spacious part of your Garden because their shoots and tendrells straggle a great way before they knot into fruit.<br /> <br />The pumpeon of this work refers to winter squashes in general, including our pumpkin. It could have been a Cucurbita pepo, C. moschata, or C. maxima. [Annotation by William Rubel.] </blockquote><br />For clarity, I will use “pumpkin” to refer to the spherical orange winter squashes that modern Americans (and many others) would call a “pumpkin”, as well as pumpkins like jarrahdale, porcelain doll pink, tiger, and dozens of other squashes called "pumpkins" which aren’t necessarily orange, nor particularly spherical. I will use the phrase “winter squash” to refer to hard-skinned, late season squashes such as butternut, kabocha, buttercup, etc., but not including squashes previously defined as “pumpkins.” Finally, I will refer to specific varieties of winter squash or pumpkin by name. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLeztu_t4ewHSE_ZZGk9jk0thwHzOMrDSZvB9DwWc3MdGTeSjYIzYWxV4cZipM36bq8B1zE2vmMS7FBib4S6Rsv25qBNpuwRYsXR6nvgbqouPz0KFa7kxleoTq39doMBV3t1wQZBvzVXn/s1167/Book+cover.PNG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1167" data-original-width="607" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLeztu_t4ewHSE_ZZGk9jk0thwHzOMrDSZvB9DwWc3MdGTeSjYIzYWxV4cZipM36bq8B1zE2vmMS7FBib4S6Rsv25qBNpuwRYsXR6nvgbqouPz0KFa7kxleoTq39doMBV3t1wQZBvzVXn/s320/Book+cover.PNG" /></a></div><h1>The original recipe </h1>Miller provides us with a recipe by Hannah Wooley from <i>The Queen-like Closet</i>, 1670. Page 256 (recipe CXXXII) <br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">To make a Pumpion-Pie.<br /> <br />Take a Pumpion, pare it, and cut it in thin slices, dip it in beaten Eggs and Herbs shred small, and fry it till it be enough, then lay it into a Pie with Butter, Raisins, Currans, Sugar and Sack, and in the bottom some sharp Apples; when it is baked, butter it and serve it in. </blockquote><br />However, the same book has another, rather different, recipe (XCIII), presented on page 235, some 20 pages earlier. <br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">To make a Pompion-Pie.<br /> <br />Having your Paste ready in your Pan, put in your Pompion pared and cut in thin slices, then fill up your Pie with sharp Apples, and a little Pepper, and a little Salt, then close it, and bake it, then butter it, and serve it in hot to the Table. </blockquote><br />You may find it odd that the book contains two recipes with the same name which are not presented together as two versions of the same thing. There is a surprising reason why this might be the case. For much of the history of publishing, copyright laws were non-existent or ignored. <i>[Copyright law came into existence in England in 1710.]</i> It was common for authors, or publishers, to fill out short books with sections lifted from other books. In fact, there are books that are nothing more than a combination of sections from different pre-existing books with no original content whatsoever, and without any credit to the originals. Indeed, plagiarizing entire books was not uncommon. So, while Wooley may have included two different “<i>pumpion</i>-pie” recipes of her own, it is equally likely that one of the two (or both?) came from some other source and was added to give the book heft. <br /><br />In any case, the other version (XCIII) is interesting to consider - the differences in ingredients and method are significant. It is vastly simpler, consisting of nothing other than pumpkin and apples, plus salt, pepper, and butter. This version of the recipe is practically just sliced pumpkin baked with apples; it hardly matters that they are baked within a pie shell – they could easily have gone into the oven in a baking dish. This may harken back to a time when crusts were used to contain filling, but were not intended to be eaten.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Another contemporaneous “<i>pumpion pye</i>”</h1><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yet another recipe, published two years before <i>The Queen-like Closet</i>, presents some additional clues about <i>pumpion</i> pies. I assume this is the other recipe to which Miller alludes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">The Compleat Cook, Expertly Prescribing The Most Ready Wayes, Whether Italian, Spanish Or French, For Dressing Of Flesh And Fish, Ordering Of Sauces Or Making Of Pastry, written anonymously and published in 1658:<br /> <br />To make a Pumpion Pye.<br /> <br />Take about halfe a pound of Pumpion and slice it, a handfull of Tyme, a little Rosemary, Parsley and sweet Marjoram slipped off the stalks, and chop them smal, then take Cinamon, Nutmeg, Pepper, and six Cloves, and beat them; take ten Eggs and beat them; then mix them, and beat them altogether, and put in as much Sugar as you think fit, then fry them like a froiz*; after it is fryed, let it stand till it be cold, then fill your Pye, take sliced Apples thinne round wayes, and lay a row of the Froiz, and a layer of Apples with Currans betwixt the layer while your Pye is fitted, and put in a good deal of sweet butter before you close it; when the Pye is baked, take six yolks of Eggs, some white−wine or Verjuyce, & make a Caudle of this, but not too thick; cut up the Lid and put it in, stir them well together whilst the Eggs and Pumpions be not perceived, and so serve it up.<br /> <br />* BritishFoodHistory.com tells us “A <i>froiz</i> is something that has been fried, usually with beaten eggs like a Spanish omelet”. Photos of <i>froiz</i> look very much like a frittata.<br /></blockquote><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJE6r7XsTQr_hV6JUwwW-xr6m36nUaBFEvGyH-vUjnGV65t_gCcWZlqgKnENeSGEUU8WkZAZpEMXrtTVu_AI5yvkLgeS23EzMZam1jZaKp-Yd7bzQ2yOgLK-dacNFU0ff8w-vmiV1KHUDy/s2048/Autumn+sketches+1865_ed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1688" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJE6r7XsTQr_hV6JUwwW-xr6m36nUaBFEvGyH-vUjnGV65t_gCcWZlqgKnENeSGEUU8WkZAZpEMXrtTVu_AI5yvkLgeS23EzMZam1jZaKp-Yd7bzQ2yOgLK-dacNFU0ff8w-vmiV1KHUDy/s320/Autumn+sketches+1865_ed.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The king of the pumpkins receiving homages from his subjects<br />Autumn Sketches, 1865</td></tr></tbody></table><h1 style="text-align: left;">Pumpkins or “<i>pumpion</i>”</h1>Winter squashes were brought to Spain in 1492, but it appears that they did not arrive in England until sometime later – possibly a lot later. In William Rubel’s annotations to <i>The French Gardiner</i>, he notes that the use of the word “<i>pumpeon</i>” could have referred to winter squash or pumpkin, so presumably pumpkin was being grown in English gardens by that date, but so were other winter squashes. So, while Wooley certainly had access to pumpkins, she could have been referring to other winter squashes. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Currans or Currants</h1><div style="text-align: left;">In modern English, the word “currant” refers to either the fruit of the currant bush (<i>Ribes</i>) (red, black, or white), or to completely unrelated small raisins (often referred to as “Zante currants”). <br /><br />Currant bushes (<i>Ribes</i>) have grown in northern Europe since time immemorial and have probably been eaten by humans since homo sapiens arrived in the area. The little raisin, “Zante currant”, dates to at least Rome of the first century CE. So, both would have been known and available in England in the 17th C. As a result, we can’t definitively say which one Wooley meant, however, based on other similar recipes it is virtually certain that she is calling for Zante currants. There are some additional clues. “Zante currants” at the time were generally referred to as “currans” without the “t”, as she does. Also, she is using dried fruit (raisins) in the recipe, so another dried fruit is reasonable. <br /><br /><i>Side note: Other than those used for Zante currants, seedless grapes did not exist at this time (there may have been some seedless mutations here or there in the world, but they weren’t commonly available.) The Thompson’s seedless grape, now used for most raisins consumed in the US, was introduced in the mid-19th C. Thus, if you wanted seedless raisins (and who doesn’t), you would have needed to pick out the seeds before drying the fruit. The exception was the grape used for Zante currants, making them a much easier ingredient to produce. So, one might ask why she didn’t skip the raisins and use only currants - they are similar and would have been easier to make. <br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Side note 2: One runs into a lot of recipes that call for both raisins and currants. I have never understood why. To my tongue they are very similar, and, once cooked, they are almost indistinguishable. I wonder whether period currants were notably different than raisins of that time period.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h1 style="text-align: left;">Herbs </h1>Wooley refers simply to “herbs shred small”. Miller imagines this as “2 handfuls” of rosemary, parsley, and thyme. This is a reasonable guess. <i>The Compleat Cook</i> uses this trio (plus marjoram and spices.) But Wooley’s <i>pumpion </i>pie could have included any set of herbs, any number of different herbs, and in any quantity. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h1 style="text-align: left;">Apples </h1>Granny Smith apples did not exist in the 17th C. They are a relatively new cultivar. So, both Miller and I are stepping away from authenticity by using this apple (though it does work brilliantly in this pie.) <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h1>About my recipe </h1>My recipe differs from Millers in several respects: intention, ingredients, and method. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Intention </i></h2>This pie is so delicious that I think it should be resurrected as common fare – at Thanksgiving or any time of the year. Thus, my intention is to make it as easy as possible for modern cooks to enjoy it, regardless of historical accuracy. If my result is comparable to the original, but easier to make, then I have succeeded. If I may be so bold, in addition to ease, I believe my creation is more delicious than the original on which it is based. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Ingredients:</i></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Pumpkin/squash </i></h3>In most parts of the United States (and, indeed, the world), pumpkins seasonal availability is brief. Butternut squash is available almost year-round and is generally cheaper than pumpkin, making it an ideal substitute. <br /><br />To add injury to unavailability, pumpkins aren’t the easiest winter squash to work with. Their skin is tough, and the seed cavity is large. [Kabocha squash, while delicious, can be even more of a pain.] In his video, Miller shows a smooth skinned pumpkin which he peels with a vegetable peeler. All the pumpkins I have found for sale have had ridges, as well as defects, making such treatment impossible and requiring a good knife and good technique. <i>[Note: if you are cutting away the skin of a pumpkin with ridges, the easiest tool is a serrated knife, not a chef’s or paring knife.]</i> Even Miller admits almost cutting himself while working with pumpkin.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfkBjvLfT7AU7MCmh9XJmPGGWvep4dApqteykSWPznzX0Kf8xsYRjz9iPon5BUBe1qWsMYVY-pPaAskec0OPjUGIOYGvEmZKGtELjRqeDhRHOKCdF6pnYQUrFoOv2_ujK70mJwOq2sy72/s1243/Ugly+pumpkin_ed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1243" data-original-width="1200" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfkBjvLfT7AU7MCmh9XJmPGGWvep4dApqteykSWPznzX0Kf8xsYRjz9iPon5BUBe1qWsMYVY-pPaAskec0OPjUGIOYGvEmZKGtELjRqeDhRHOKCdF6pnYQUrFoOv2_ujK70mJwOq2sy72/w230-h238/Ugly+pumpkin_ed.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kind of pumpkins available in my area. Rough and ridged.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Conversely, butternut squash has softer skin and never has ridges. It is easily peeled with an ordinary vegetable peeler. Also, it has a smaller seed cavity that is easier to scoop out. Lastly, to my palate, butternut has a finer texture than pumpkin, and a more pleasing taste. Not only that, but when cooked, butternut squash has a deeper, redder color than pumpkin.<br /><br /><i>[Side note: Many canned “pumpkin” products are made from other winter squashes, especially butternut. Thus, if you are used to canned “pumpkin”, you may have been eating butternut squash all along, and, to you, it may taste more like pumpkin than pumpkin!] </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>[Update: According to the site <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86706/canned-pumpkin-isnt-actually-pumpkin" target="_blank">MentalFloss.com</a>, "Libby’s, the largest pumpkin puree brand, has developed its own unique brand of squash called the Dickinson, which is more closely related to a butternut squash than a pumpkin."]</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Currants </i></h3>As noted, Wooley is probably specifying Zante currants, which are just tiny raisins. Zante currants tend to be a little bit sweeter than many other raisins, and they have a somewhat different texture, but, after baking in a pie, the difference is minor. So, while it is not terribly difficult to find Zante currants in grocery stores, raisins are more available, cheaper, and people are likely to already have them in their pantry. After making several recipes with both, I dropped the currants and doubled the quantity of raisins. If you have Zante currents on hand, use them. Otherwise, standard raisins work out fine. <br /><br /><i>[On one occasion I made a pie replacing the currants with dried cranberries. That was a delicious edit, which I suggest as an option.]</i> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Eggs </i></h3><i>The Queen-like Closet</i> has us dip the squash in an egg-herb mix, and then pan fry. The “<i>pumpion pye</i>” from <i>The Compleat Cook</i>, has similar instructions, but directing that it should be made like a “<i>froiz</i>” - comparable to a Spanish omelet. I cannot figure out why either method is called for. First and foremost, cooking the squash like this in a pan takes a long time and requires active attention. Wooley wastes a lot of egg and herbs that drip off the slices as they are dipped. Finally, dipping the slices in egg precludes other cooking techniques for the squash. <br /><br />Cooking the squash uncoated while adding eggs and herbs directly to the pie (along with sugar, butter, sack, etc.) produces a result which <i><b>is</b> </i>different than the original version, but, no less delicious. This allows us to cook the squash by any method we desire. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Herbs </i></h3>Personally, I like rosemary and thyme with the squash, but not parsley. Though I like parsley in general, in this context I found it unpleasant. Thus, I substituted sage. This is 100% personal taste. Also, I am not certain what Miller means by “2 handfuls”. I provide specific quantities that I feel balance well with the other flavors. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Butter </i></h3>The 6 tbs of butter makes this dish rich and yummy, but I found it excessive. Not cooking the squash in a pan (see Method below) removes 2 tbs, and I don’t see much value in adding butter on top after cooking,. This leaves just 2 tbs in the pie - healthy pie!<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Pie crust </i></h3>I love a great pie crust. A well-made <i>pâte brisée</i> is a wonderful thing. However, the standout feature of this pie is the filling. The crust isn’t terribly important. Once they taste the pie, even your most finnicky friends will forgive a store-bought pie crust. <br /><br /><i>[Warning: Standard commercial pie crusts are very shallow, and smaller than 9” in diameter. Commercial “deep dish” crusts are about the height of a standard pie dish, though still often smaller in diameter. Take this into account when determining quantities for your pie’s filling.] </i></div><div><i><br /></i><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Method </i></h2>The big effort and time killers are peeling, seeding, and slicing the pumpkin, and then pan cooking the egg-dipped pieces. As noted, I took care of the first issue by substituting butternut squash. The pan cooking is an even greater hassle, requiring monitoring, moving, and flipping the squash slices. I found it to be a very troublesome process. To make matters worse, one either needs a very large pan, multiple layers of squash which demand even more active sautéing, or cooking them in multiple batches, which expands the time considerably. <br /><br />Ultimately, the goal of pan cooking the squash is simply to par-cook it before finishing cooking in the oven, and to set the egg. Since these ingredients are all going into a pie which will be baked in the oven for close to an hour, a lot of sins can be hidden. The squash could be par cooked by any method you prefer – boiling, baking, sautéing, or microwaving. Yes, microwaving. I have found that this is the quickest and easiest way to par cook a bowl of squash. Its vastly faster and does not require much attention. Even knowing that this dastardly deed has been perpetrated on innocent ingredients, I challenge you to detect it in the result. You would be surprised how lewd and crude you can be with ingredients that end up baked in a pie. <br /><br />I am also slicing the squash thicker than Miller calls for. I found that gave a toothier texture and even more attention to the squash, being in pieces rather than pureed. <br /><br />In his video, Miller appears to be adding a whole 2Tbs pat of butter to the filling. I cut up the butter for better distribution. </div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfaNMgjNjjxpIFW69IajI_ih2_tFTLpMJ7Q1d6f4igJvjUCewkOF_fo60XRa_7Z3r5WJumEp7FJOO5L7sGnX0CKzIb2oMNn6LCuRSPrIRDAC748n2LBt3_kG52wJetPWgfCyADaFJfA37/s1200/Burned+raisins_ed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1200" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfaNMgjNjjxpIFW69IajI_ih2_tFTLpMJ7Q1d6f4igJvjUCewkOF_fo60XRa_7Z3r5WJumEp7FJOO5L7sGnX0CKzIb2oMNn6LCuRSPrIRDAC748n2LBt3_kG52wJetPWgfCyADaFJfA37/w264-h175/Burned+raisins_ed.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unattractive burned raisins<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Lastly, Wooley's recipe calls for adding the raisins to the mixture. However, I have found that they don’t get very well distributed, and many end up on top. The ones on top tend to burn, which is unattractive. So, I layer the raisins with layers of squash mixture, (as in <i>The Compleat Cook</i>) attempting to have squash on top with few raisins exposed directly to the heat of the oven. </div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<h1 id="Recipe"><span><a name='more'></a></span><br /></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwQ9nNEYh8l1izdy1f3KrXT7wkXn9SzvWAXi0BL2dzOqt507S_L8gut4XO9bS56CS-6PurE5oVpS_4LVgURD6yw7OUM-S749wKgl593e8tLVq2FfiqnlTSIfFgAOKoWiYcwHV3g8iRN-c/s600/Slice_Of_Pie_clip_art_hight.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwQ9nNEYh8l1izdy1f3KrXT7wkXn9SzvWAXi0BL2dzOqt507S_L8gut4XO9bS56CS-6PurE5oVpS_4LVgURD6yw7OUM-S749wKgl593e8tLVq2FfiqnlTSIfFgAOKoWiYcwHV3g8iRN-c/s320/Slice_Of_Pie_clip_art_hight.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><h1 id="Recipe">Andrew’s Easier Recipe</h1></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLncQM3LsRpJ2MRNU2niqUBWx5NYjvVDTACaj76Rg170XS_lRGM_RK0Li4VoopJA5baoH4HlAZ-aGIq-xfgqLHk9tKGmd22CB4j0nDtj5STzEGos0Q5ikYXpz85-E5BkwaaC4r6YQbLyH/s1200/Winning+pie_ed.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1200" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLncQM3LsRpJ2MRNU2niqUBWx5NYjvVDTACaj76Rg170XS_lRGM_RK0Li4VoopJA5baoH4HlAZ-aGIq-xfgqLHk9tKGmd22CB4j0nDtj5STzEGos0Q5ikYXpz85-E5BkwaaC4r6YQbLyH/w274-h234/Winning+pie_ed.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><i>[Note: In his YouTube video, Miller appears to be making a deep-dish pie. The recipe below is for a standard pie. It is even better as a deep dish, because, hey, more pie is more pie. Nonetheless, the quantities and times below are for a standard pie. If you want deep-dish, adjust the recipe accordingly. This is left as an exercise for the reader.]</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h4>TIMING</h4><div>Approximately 30-45 minutes prep time, 60-80 minutes cook time, 2 hours cooling.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h4 style="text-align: left;">INGREDIENTS</h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>1 Nine-inch (23cm) pie crust (homemade dough, store bough dough, or store-bought crust) </li><li>At least 2 lbs. (.9kg) Butternut squash (about 1.5lbs (.7kg) after peeling, seeding, etc.) </li><li>½ Granny Smith, or other sharp baking apple.</li><li>1 Egg beaten </li><li>1 rounded tsp each, finely minced fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage </li><li>2 Tablespoons (30g) salted butter, cut up </li><li>1/2 Cup (100g) sugar </li><li>1/4 Cup (60ml) sherry or sack </li><li>1 tsp Kosher salt (or to taste, with extra if you are using unsalted butter) </li><li>1/2 Cup (75g) raisins, or 1/4 cup (35g) raisins and 1/4 cup (35g) currants </li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;">METHOD</h4></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) </li><li>Peel and seed the squash. I find a ceramic bladed peeler works great for this. I use one made by Kyocera.<br />Note: Peel deeply enough to remove all of the shell. Otherwise, the slices will have tough edges.</li><li>Quarter lengthwise and cut into ¼”- ½” slices (6mm – 17mm)<br />Suggestion: I find it easier to begin cutting from the seed-end, working back to the stem-end. In this way, the squash pieces are stable on the cutting board from start to finish.</li><li>Put the squash in microwave safe bowl with about an inch (2cm) of water, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is soft, but not mushy. The time will vary widely depending on the age of the squash and your microwave’s strength. You may want to stir the slices halfway through the cooking. My apologies for not being able to provide a more precise time.<br />4a. Alternatively, if you can’t stand the idea of using a microwave oven for this, you could cook them in a pan with water, or bake them with water (the water keeps them moist and speeds cooking.)</li><li>Chop herbs fine, beat egg lightly in a large bowl. </li><li>Add herbs, butter (cut up), sugar, salt, and sherry or sack to the egg. Mix. </li><li>Peel apples, slice into 1/8” (3mm) slices. Line the bottom of the crust with the apples. Preferably do this <i>ala minute</i> to avoid oxidation. </li><li>When the squash is ready, drain any water or use a slotted spoon to add to egg/herb/etc. mixture. Stir.<br />Note: If the squash is still hot, do not add it to the mixture until right before use, otherwise the butter will be melted by the heat of the squash.</li><li>Add a layer of raisins on top of the apples, then squash mixture, followed by more raisins and the rest of the pumpkin. <br />Note: As mentioned, raisins that end up on top tend to burn, so attempt to top off as much as possible with pumpkin. </li><li>Pour the remaining egg mixture over the pie.</li><li>Put the pie on baking sheet, as it is likely spill over. </li><li>Bake for 20 minutes at 425°F (220°C), then reduce heat to 375°F (190°C) and continue to cook an additional 40-60 minutes, or until the top of the pie is bubbling and the crust is brown. </li><li>Remove from the oven and set a on a wire rack. Cool completely before serving. Note that this can take a couple of hours, so make the pie well ahead of your intended serving time.</li></ol><h4 style="text-align: left;">VARIATIONS: </h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Choose other herbs, potentially adding “pumpkin spice”, e.g., nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, etc. </li><li>Substitute cranberries, or other dried fruit, for some or all of the raisins. </li><li>Try using sweet potato instead of squash. </li><li>Mix chopped apples into the filling, rather than lining the shell with slices.</li></ul></div></div></div></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-56426077887432761022020-12-25T09:08:00.004-08:002020-12-25T09:14:12.934-08:00Molly wants to wish you all a happy holiday<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mollysez.blogspot.com/2020/12/happy-holidays-molly-wanted-to-send-out.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaZXYJBHVQqluTgi_mCisWQ8se4b3GUli-ASBOqtvCWiY5Y8oFYOiZt8rt1kmkvvXqo7Er5qoxn0e5rsZ3kxs6KjZmCmLMHJlnU2UgdN2P3wLkfM_R7YDd_nByYTIehknIIl4bw9TSmmK/w300-h400/Molly+Christmas.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mollysez.blogspot.com/2020/12/happy-holidays-molly-wanted-to-send-out.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>My dog Molly wants to wish you all a happy holiday!</b></i></span></a></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-78576522618692311612020-12-16T08:11:00.007-08:002020-12-19T08:39:07.054-08:00Photo: Elise Sigal with infant Erica Sigal<xmeta name="description" text="Elise Sigal holds her daughter Erica."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>My father was a hell of a photographer!</p>"></xmeta>
<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWNy08txHSp3phMu0CVdPdMHCjqx4G5GKPpGCF8zBpJ9MgC-o5VX579yRfcXGSGVWOKYImcxz72lDZRWiuygNZ75iWB7B6eMgLxttIm2k9DkYCtHBmhGl14N6J3GJlTkt_X3AjcNd6TbV/s2048/Elise+Sigal+holds+Erica+Sigal+1959_light-sepia.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1628" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWNy08txHSp3phMu0CVdPdMHCjqx4G5GKPpGCF8zBpJ9MgC-o5VX579yRfcXGSGVWOKYImcxz72lDZRWiuygNZ75iWB7B6eMgLxttIm2k9DkYCtHBmhGl14N6J3GJlTkt_X3AjcNd6TbV/w508-h640/Elise+Sigal+holds+Erica+Sigal+1959_light-sepia.png" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Lato, Arial, Verdana, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">Elise Sigal holds Erica Sigal 1959</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, Arial, Verdana, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span face="Lato, Arial, Verdana, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">Photo by Marlowe Sigal</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, Arial, Verdana, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span face="Lato, Arial, Verdana, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">(c) The Estate of Marlowe A. Sigal</span></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p>My father was a hell of a photographer.<br /><br /><div>I found this photo among my father's things yesterday. Ever since I rescued it from a pile of papers, I have not been able to stop staring at it.<br /><br />For one thing, I personally think it is a great photograph. The lighting, the depth of field that puts the main subject in focus with the rest of the image fading away. The pose of my mother looking away while my sister stares at the viewer. The texture of the image. I think it is a beautiful photo, and it gives me a certain pride that my father created it.<br /><br />It also blows my mind that it has lain hidden for 61 years. I had never seen it before. My sister says she's never seen it. My mother vaguely recalls seeing it a long time ago.<br /><br />And then there are the personal aspects. The woman in the photo is my mother too. That is approximately what she looked like when I was born 3 years later. And, of course, I never knew the infant in the picture. She was a toddler by the time I came along.<br /><br />I am also deeply struck by the passage of time. Sixty years is forever. The photo might as well be from the 16th century, or 10,000 years ago on the Anatolian plain, or from a period before the evolution of homo-sapiens. I wasn't even born when my father took this photo. Who are these people? My mother and sister are still alive, but the people in this image are long, long gone.<br /><br />And then there is my sister's face. I don't mean any insult, but you can see the chimpanzee in her face. And those eyes - huge black pupils. The way her tiny hand grabs my mothers sleeve, and the look on her face, make me think that she knows that this is not going to be easy. I see an uncertainty as to whether or not she wants to face what's coming; whether or not she believes that she will make it through it all.<p></p></div><br />Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-70148472585826205152020-12-15T11:15:00.002-08:002020-12-16T08:08:44.903-08:00Do we seriously need to spend $250 million to promote the COVID vaccine?<xmeta name="description" text="The US federal government's department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is planning to spend $250 million on an advertising campaign to convince people that the COVID vaccine is safe, and they should take it when it becomes available."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>Really? Must we?</p>"></xmeta>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzzCQjkeRhyphenhyphen7Zpb2BwdJBKvLdiqL0TLXbBQOPD0Tqiim9v3DGTtN_gAoZUOIlaEvIl5L4HR-9SF1zVp3YdtMf93qtkLzwTMGwvFk_of9BoBJW_lJ-kSN9hXXuz3Bqb1qkDi0b_kBl_Fio/s700/HHS.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzzCQjkeRhyphenhyphen7Zpb2BwdJBKvLdiqL0TLXbBQOPD0Tqiim9v3DGTtN_gAoZUOIlaEvIl5L4HR-9SF1zVp3YdtMf93qtkLzwTMGwvFk_of9BoBJW_lJ-kSN9hXXuz3Bqb1qkDi0b_kBl_Fio/s320/HHS.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>The US federal government's department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is planning to spend $250 million on an advertising campaign to convince people that the COVID vaccine is safe, and they should take it when it becomes available.</div><br /><div>What a fucking waste! Due to conspiracy theories, t**** administration lies and rhetoric, and general stupidity, our government feels that it must blow a quarter of a billion dollars advertising a crucial lifesaving vaccine.<br /><br /></div><div>If only we could give that money to states to help them pay for the vaccination effort, or to try to speed up vaccine manufacture and distribution. If only we could use that kind of money to give scholarships to young people to go to medical school, or provide vaccination in 3rd world countries that cant afford it, or to feed people. Instead we have to waste it educating credulous idiots.<br /><br /></div><div>Just to put a $250M advertising budget in a little bit of perspective, that is more than half of McDonalds' annual <i><b>worldwide</b></i> ad budget. Just stop for a moment and consider how much advertising you see from McDonalds in your country during one year on TV and radio, in newspapers and magazines, on billboards, and on every form of online media. Now scale that up to the whole world. HHS is going to spend more than 1/2 of that amount in the US to convince people to take the vaccine!</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Congress has spent months fighting over a million here and a million there in a stimulus package now valued at about $750M. Let me reiterate: HHS is going to spend an amount equal to 1/3 of the proposed stimulus package to convince idiots to take the vaccine that the rest of us have been breathlessly awaiting all year.<br /><br /></div><div>HHS - Holy Horse Shit!</div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700793314658085909.post-71721695334467976722020-12-14T08:48:00.001-08:002020-12-14T08:51:20.924-08:00Fig Jam with Anise and Vanilla<xmeta name="description" text="My recipe for fig jam with anise and vanilla."></xmeta>
<xmeta name="description" text="<p>It's a home run!</p>"></xmeta>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxTc4JE2LwLc0w1O2QpGLM9-jRrtJ4xFn9k8C8EDbFUS9iK9cQx6xW_p_UgTkS3PlRlaI1i5XUoBHd0JqEj5yuJ5UQIaXixheQBl8b4-s3F_OQxBnwUkGpcabjR3nQhF3PT2wxh1SuP4M/s1800/Kadota+Figs_ed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxTc4JE2LwLc0w1O2QpGLM9-jRrtJ4xFn9k8C8EDbFUS9iK9cQx6xW_p_UgTkS3PlRlaI1i5XUoBHd0JqEj5yuJ5UQIaXixheQBl8b4-s3F_OQxBnwUkGpcabjR3nQhF3PT2wxh1SuP4M/w400-h300/Kadota+Figs_ed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><h2><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Preamble:</span></h2></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div>I have a rather productive fig tree that I planted about 10 years ago. It is a ‘Janice Seedless White Kadota’, a fig that is green outside and green to red-brown inside when ripe. The seeds are very small, so, in comparison to other figs, when you eat them you don’t really get that popping-seed sensation. The flavor is delicious but mild and very sweet. They are not very “figgy” compared to most other figs, particularly those one finds in products like fig-newtons, or commercial fig jam. They almost taste more like light brown sugar than figs. </div><br /><div>This year, as many times in the past, I made fig jam with candied ginger. Always yummy, always a crowd pleaser. But the tree was being super productive and I didn’t want more fig with ginger, so I tried a recipe for fig jam sweetened with honey. That was good, but not as great as it sounded. </div><br />The season stayed surprisingly warm, causing figs to continue to ripen for a long time. I went to my spice drawer to see if there was anything that grabbed me to go along with figs besides ginger. I’d take a bite of fig, then a bite of herb or spice, to see what worked. Anise was a winner. <br /><br />Looking through my library (including <i>Fig Heaven</i> by Marie Simmons, which contains surprisingly few jam recipes), and searching online, I found no recipes for fig with anise, though I did find one for fig with fennel and vanilla. I went back to the spice drawer to taste my figs combined with fennel seeds again. I felt (as I had on my first trial) that the fennel overpowered the fig. I suspect that this might have a lot to do with the fact that my figs are very mild. I am guessing that a more strongly flavored ‘mission’, ‘blackjack’, ‘turkey’ or other such fig might stand up to fennel where 'kadota' does not. Or it might be that I simply like anise more than fennel. In addition to the fennel flavor, the recipe had some oddities, for example, the author likes her jam with a consistency closer to sauce. Who knows why. <br /><br />So, I used that recipe as just a broad guideline, combining it with my prior jam making experience to create my own recipe for fig jam with anise and vanilla. Wow! It was an out-of-the-park home run. I’ve taken to just eating it straight from the jar. Yuuuuuhhhhm! The only person that I have given a jar to is my mother. I’m keeping the rest for myself. <br /><br />Here then is my recipe, with a variety of notes. <br /><br /><i><span style="color: #38761d;">[PLEASE NOTE: I consider this to be a recipe in progress. I only had a chance to make it twice before the fig season ended. Though each time it was outstanding, I would not call it “tested.” Next year when fig season rolls around again, I will definitely make more. In the meantime, I present it here because it was so damned good, and to hopefully get feedback and suggestions from you. Regardless, as with any (non-pastry) recipe, it should be considered a framework or a guideline, not a strict set of ingredients and steps. Adjust for yourself depending on your own tastes and conditions.] </span></i><div><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><br /></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><h1><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9DEvas8u0JQ_klaTPH9aKwjHLF8Dp7a95OBHWbKTkJI8zBDrcnBezRehe-gpUbYhKm9yPaELs5UV3YaEAjYKZeHQKompMUSMVAGIvdXARtq_6PCgWjNuEZrlBgbnUGQZxQgna-wibfOZ/s1200/Fig+Jam+with+Anise+and+Vanilla+-+jars_ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9DEvas8u0JQ_klaTPH9aKwjHLF8Dp7a95OBHWbKTkJI8zBDrcnBezRehe-gpUbYhKm9yPaELs5UV3YaEAjYKZeHQKompMUSMVAGIvdXARtq_6PCgWjNuEZrlBgbnUGQZxQgna-wibfOZ/s320/Fig+Jam+with+Anise+and+Vanilla+-+jars_ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #2b00fe; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #38761d;">The Recipe: Fig Jam with Anise and Vanilla </span></span></h1>Yield 6 cups<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ingredients: </span></h2></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">3 pounds of kadota figs (macerated in 1lb sugar – see below *) </div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 additional lbs sugar (May still be a bit too sweet for some tastes *) </div><div style="text-align: left;">2 pinches salt </div><div style="text-align: left;">2 Tbs lemon juice </div><div style="text-align: left;">1 rounded teaspoon anise seeds </div><div style="text-align: left;">1-2 tsp lemon zest </div><div style="text-align: left;">2.5 tsp vanilla extract (see note **)</div></blockquote><p> </p><div style="text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Notes: </span></h2></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">* I harvest my figs as they ripen, which can take several days for 3lbs. As I harvest, each day, I cut the stem end off & any bruised parts, cut the figs into quarters, and add them to a large container (I use a 4qt “Cambro”) covered in sugar with a bit of lemon. This then goes in the fridge to wait until I have enough figs and time. I keep note of the quantity of fig and sugar as I add more and more. The sugar and lemon help preserve the fig, and the maceration makes it release liquid (which you use), making it cook more quickly and thus producing a better taste. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When adding sugar before cooking, only add enough to bring the weight of sugar up to ½ the weight of fruit (after cleaning). Even this might be a bit too sweet for some people, or, if using a less sweet fig, you might want more. Adjust to taste.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">** The original recipe called for using 1 to 2 vanilla pods, which is what I did for the first batch. Unfortunately, the vanilla seeds made the jam unattractive – full of black specks. For the second batch I used vanilla extract instead. The result was more attractive, less expensive, slightly easier to make, and no less delicious.</div></blockquote><p> </p><div style="text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Method: </span></h2>Stem and cut up figs. Macerate with sugar & lemon juice in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. <br /><br />Put several spoons on a plate in the freezer for testing setting of the jam. I have found the thermometer method unreliable. <br /><br />Prepare jars for sterile canning using whichever method you prefer, or for freezer jam, etc. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23i65yP5YFdVJjFKvXYzD244BDH9zHdqkQcwonGtIEdmy9jlKhW0O5a6bQZp7QwGp-nsRkUqkQJWzx9LdpXj2PgwBeKxhGnnAJXWXMcBx5UnKAddKzm42YYqqWHlJqBHkj_bxR11xr7MI/s1200/Cooking+Jam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23i65yP5YFdVJjFKvXYzD244BDH9zHdqkQcwonGtIEdmy9jlKhW0O5a6bQZp7QwGp-nsRkUqkQJWzx9LdpXj2PgwBeKxhGnnAJXWXMcBx5UnKAddKzm42YYqqWHlJqBHkj_bxR11xr7MI/s320/Cooking+Jam.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Cook the ingredients (except the vanilla extract), preferably in a jam pot, testing for set using spoons from freezer. <br /><br />When almost set, stir in vanilla extract. <br /><br />When set, ladle into hot jars and process. </div></div>Andrew Sigalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497546378492997366noreply@blogger.com0Oakland, CA, USA37.8043514 -122.27116399.4941175638211561 -157.4274139 66.11458523617884 -87.1149139