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May 2008 Archive 30 May - Gasping at Straws; More Generosity  Mildred Stiles and Viola Barth on Straw Hat Day, Tacoma, Washington, 1925. Tacoma Public Library, via Irish Elk Bummer. I can't believe that I'm two weeks late in mentioning Straw Hat Day. I'm overcome with shame. Once again, I'd like to thank an unknown Friend of the Museum for making a generous contribution via our Amazon tip jar - most encouraging, very flattering! If the generous contributor would like a commemorative Janus Museum fridge magnet as a token of our thanks, please contact us at refdesk at janusmuseum dot org. link home 29 May - Cat Herding Cat  Natasha (left) and Leroy Here's one that'll astound you - there we were the other evening, loafing in the Sacred Circle in front of the Historic Cottage, enjoying one of our last mosquito-free nights. Cat Natasha saunters up to us, and I say to her - "Natasha, where's your brother? Where's Leroy? Go Find Leroy!" And she saunters off. We continue our conversation - talking about brussels sprouts, I recall - when suddenly, I hear the drumming of tiny hoofs. I turn around, just in time to see Leroy flying down the path to the Cottage porch, closely pursued by Natasha, who was nipping at his heels. What she said to him to fetch him so promptly, I can only imagine. It was terribly impressive; though when I asked her to fetch me a beer, she just sat down, gave me a look, and cleaned her whiskers. link home 29 May - The Other Day, in the Morning (Frustrations of Knighthood) The other day, in the morning, I heard a fine song that begins, "the other day, in the morning...". It was on that excellent online Dutch radio station, Concertzender, on their early music channel. The jauntiness of the tune caught my ear, and on checking the playlist, it proved to be a pastourelle by the 13th century king of Navarre, Thibaut de Champagne, le Chansonnier (1201-1253; more on Thibaut here). The song is L'autrier par la Matinee ("The other day, in the morning). The narrator is a gallant knight who sees a pretty shepherdess, and he pitches her a line of woo. She resists, saying she loves Perrin, a shepherd. The knight persists, and eventually attempts to embrace her, the cad. The shepherdess calls out for Perrin to come rescue her, and the knight legs it in a most ungallant way. Says the shepherdess, "Chevalier sont trop hardi!" - "Knights are too bold!" Lyrics and translation are posted here, from The Lyrics of Thibaut de Champagne by Kathleen J. Brahney. Here's the song itself (streaming MP3), performed by the Ensemble für Frühe Musik Augsburg, from the album The Ancient Miracles. And it put me in mind of another, later song about a frustrated knight, Yonder Comes a Courteous Knight, AKA The Baffled Knight (also Child Ballad 112A, Blow Away the Morning Dew), from Thomas Ravenscroft's 1609 collection Dueteromelia. Ravenscroft was featured here in April during the town's Fox Invasion. In the song, the courteous baffled knight comes across a bonny lass and suggests some hanky-panky right there in the roses. The bonny lass, presumably thinking about the thorns, says that if he takes her home untouched, she'll let him have his knightly way with her in the comfort of bed. Agreable, the courteous knight takes the bonny lass home, and she promptly slams the door in his face, saying: You had me, quoth she, abroad in the field,The knight is a bit peeved at this, and: He pulled out his nut-browne sword,And the song concludes with this useful advice: When you haue you owne true-loueOh! Here's a recording of the song (streaming MP3), performed by the fabulous Lucie Skeaping and the City Waites from their jolly album Lusty Songs and Country Dances. And check out another City Waites album, also jolly, Penny Merriments. link home 29 May - Recipe Corner  Casting about last evening for something to serve with the grilled chicken, I found a bag of frozen brussels sprouts. So, as shown above, I tossed them - still frozen - in a bowl with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper - and put them in a grill basket over a hot fire:  I stirred them often, 'til the outer leaves began to brown, then closed the grill cover, turned down the heat, and let them do their thing for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When I put the chicken in, I moved the sprouts to the top shelf.  They were very nice - roasty toasty on the outside, tender and sweet on the inside with a good taste of the fire. I'll try fresh sprouts next time. Of course I googled "grilled brussels sprouts" later on to see if I had hit on something new; of course I hadn't - plenty of recipes, though most involve threading the sprouts on skewers, kebab style, which would be a hellish bore, if you ask me. Sprouts are very healthy, you know. Happy Fall of Constantinople Day! link home 26 May - Lust for Loaders; the Last Doughboy  For the last couple of weeks, I've been admiring this superb line-up of about thirty New Holland skid steer loaders down at nearby Gaithersburg Equipment Company. They're all sand-colored, as if they're destined for a military career. As I've passed them almost daily, my desire for one has increased tremendously, though I have to confess that I really don't need a skid steer loader - not entirely sure what I'd do with one - probably would be irresponsible to drive one around the Museum grounds. But cold reason pales beside my now ardent lust for a sand-colored skid steer loader. I do have a birthday coming up, soon, by the way. I usually don't have a huge interest in George Will's opinions, but he writes movingly today about Frank Buckles of nearby Charlestown, West Virginia - at age 107, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, mentioned here last Armistice Day. Update - Frank Buckles was interviewed this evening on NPR's All Things Considered. One can listen to the interview here. link home 24 May - For Decoration Day  Federal troops at Gettysburg, Janus Museum Collection Here's a tune for Decoration Day, also known as Memorial Day - Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground (streaming MP3), performed by the Haydn Quartet, 1900. Oh, all right, one more - the Cavalry Quickstep - Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble, from The Civil War: Its Music and Its Sounds. link home 18 May - Chicken with a View  Every once in a while, something occurs that reassures me that America has not yet lost its greatness. The latest evidence, from the Great Melting Pot Department, is that very soon, I'll be able to walk from the Janus Museum and enjoy genuine Peruvian style spit-roasted chicken, pollo a la brasa. The DC area is blessed with excellent Peruvian restaurants (including our favorite restaurant of any sort, Flor de la Canela), but Pollo a la Vista, pictured above, just across the railroad tracks from Washington Grove, is the first to open within walking distance. It's still being renovated and no opening date was posted, but I peeked in and saw that the menu's already on the wall - in addition to the fabulous roast chicken, there will be another favorite, loma saltado, Salvadorean pupusas, and cheese steaks. Soon, I'll be able to chow down on Peruvian chicken while watching the Trash Train go by. Is this a great country, or what? link home 16 May - Generous Donations  Many thanks to old friend Barbara Weitbrecht who made this lovely crochet hat for the Museum cats. Barbara made another beautiful cat-related object for us a couple of years ago. Above, Natasha happily models the new hat - how she loved it!  Nutmeg looks a bit more resigned. And I'd also like to thank the anonymous Friend of the Museum who made a generous donation via our Amazon tip jar last week - I just got the notification from Amazon. Drop me a line (refdesk at janusmuseum dot org) so I can send you a commemorative Janus Museum fridge magnet. link home 14 May - Folk Song Day Comes Around Again; More Edgy Stuff Folk Song Day, first celebrated here last year, commemorates the odd fact that three British folk songs happen to take place on the 14th of May - The Bonny Black Hare, the evocatively titled Cod Banging, and When I was on Horseback (all streaming MP3s; artists and albums listed in last year's commentary.). Sadly, I haven't found any other May 14 songs since last year's Folk Song Day. I did find a couple of songs that demonstrate the mixed results of attempted avian bribery; will post them later.  Here's a recent shot by that stimulating young photographer, Max Gray. It's a southern view of a northbound Cat Natasha. Edgy stuff, this. link home 3 May - Feline Augmented Literacy  Here's the latest cat-related ex voto - a commemoration of a miraculous intervention - currently on offer through May 9th on eBay. And the translation of the inscription, as supplied by the seller: I readed stories to my daughter since she was a very little girl but when she learned to read she didn't wanted to do it by herself, I had the good idea of tell her that she have to read to the cats because they couldn't do it, and she began to read stories to them and the cats looked facinated with the sound of her voice, she began to read them each day and they heared attentive as if they were understanding. I thanks to the Virgen de Guadalupe for the miracle.Very fine, and even if you're already pretty literate, reading to your cats would be a pleasant way to spend an evening. What should you read to your cats? Jenny and the Cat Club is always popular, but I recommend Katherine Rogers The Cat and the Human Imagination - Max and Maxine found it absolutely facinating. Both are available through the Janus Museum Museum Shop, of course. Previous cat-related ex votos featured here: Pretty Hairy Kittens Miracle Demonic Fear of Kitties Cat Scratch Fever Miracle Miracle of the Cat Husband The Miracle of the Embarrassed Cats Tragic Love Canción de los Gatos San Pascual's Cat Aunt Honorata's Cats The Perfect Cat Storm Cat Pi Milagro Greedy-guts Miracle Cat link home 2 May - Our Summer Blockbuster  Natasha menaced in Giant Squid vs. Cat II Very pleased to premiere the Janus Museum Video Unit's own summer blockbuster, Giant Squid vs. Cat II, the long-awaited sequel to our rapturously reviewed, incredibly successful 2006 feature, Giant Squid vs. Cat - viewed over 170,000 times on Youtube. And now, Giant Squid vs. Cat II: I would like to emphasize that no cats were harmed during the making of Giant Squid vs. Cat II. link home 2 May - The Lameness of the Season  The famous Janus Museum azaleas are now in bloom, and the bus tours are upon us to view them. I ran into that edgy young photographer Max Gray while I was manning the espresso cart, waiting for the next tour group to arrive. He seemed to be grooving on the blooms, so I asked why he didn't have his camera with him. Such a look he gave me - "I don't do pretty, man", he said, which really put me in my place. Here's coverage of azalea season last year, and in '05. Sorry if it's too pretty... link home |
