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Saturday, November 08, 2003

By the book   Do you get the feeling that the recent Pentagon announcement to lower troop levels in Iraq came about because that’s the way this war was planned from the beginning?   Invade on day 1, regardless of any intervening circumstances; have Junior preside over the ceremonial victory party 6 weeks or so later, because that’s how long we believe it will take; form the puppet government about six months later, never noticing the increasing casualties; then start pulling out the troops in time for the 2004 election.   Never mind that reality has deviated from the game plan, execute each play when the timetable dictates. In football, there’s a word for coaches that work this way from the sidelines (have you noticed the remarkable absence of football analogies in this war?), they call them “Losers.” A winning coach, like a good driver, keeps his eye on the road, not the roadmap. 10:04:41 PM    comment []

This little piggy…   My favorite part of any recipe is “correct the seasonings.” It’s like being a jazz man, you’re sitting in with some real pros and work through the head of Goodbye, Porkpie Hat and then the keyboard dude leans over your direction, nods his head, and says, “Take it.”   I don’t think it’s supposed to mean carte blanche, so you start out subdued and see how far you can “take it” before they cut you off. This salsa began yesterday with tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and Serrano peppers. It didn’t make it. Tonight, I roasted some anaheims, added the flesh after skinning, and simmered it with some more tomatoes. Some more cilantro, more garlic (when is there enough?), and cumin seed prepped the molcajete, then in with the value-added salsa, a little mushing, and finally some lime juice to dress it up. My salsa, take it… 9:42:14 PM    comment []

I’ve also been misinformed about butter. It appears, according to an article in Cuisine at Home, that the garden variety is sweet cream butter. After reading the two page article in this month’s issue, I went to A Southern Season and found some cultured butter. The article promises a “tangy, nutty-flavored” butter.   We’ll find out tomorrow. After giving up at all the local grocery stores, I found frozen lobster tail at BJ’s Warehouse this morning. They were expensive, about $18 a pound, but the pictures in Cuisine at Home have been making me hungry all week. We’ll have ‘em straight up and simple, the meat broiled piggyback on the shell and served with melted butter in those tacky little candle warmers at the table. 7:53:02 PM    comment []

Here, at long last, is the photo referenced by the NYT…   11:02:24 AM    comment []

After initially posting the photo of Japanese surrender on the Missouri, I found this color picture here. I’d originally erred in identifying Mamoru Shigemitsu as Toshikazu Kase using the top hat and cane as identifiers. But Kase was only holding the cane Shigemitsu was obviously using in the photograph. Fortunately, the color photo identified all the member of the surrender party, so I didn’t have to guess which of the two remaining guys in top hats held the cane in the photo referenced by the NYT (which I have been unable to locate so far). Kase was also quoted "I had to borrow a top hat, but it was too small. It didn't matter because I had to hold it. There was a lot of wind on the deck." It doesn’t look too small here, but Kase is obviously a man of high standards. He has some advice for Americans today: It is judgment rendered from a long view. Indeed, he has already seen the rise and fall in the Pacific of major empires: British, Japanese and Soviet. Watching the rise of American power today, he chided Americans for not enjoying themselves enough. "American society is too tense," he said. "It has no cultural relaxation, like Victorian England." The key to long life, he said: "Don't work too hard." 10:35:48 AM    comment []

1945: Japanese surrender signatories arrive aboard the USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay to participate in surrender ceremonies. (Original photo available here)   Incredibly, this man is still alive – now 100 years old. He graduated from Amherst and met a young Adolf Hitler while serving at the Japanese embassy in Berlin, had Winston Churchill over for dinner in London, and manned the North America desk in Tokyo at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked. Do not miss his story in the New York Times today, even if you have to break down and register… In his living room here, Mr. Kase was reminded of those words when he was shown a copy of the United States Navy photograph of Japan's surrender ceremony. Holding the cane of then-Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, Mr. Kase stands by attentively, his formal morning coat contrasting with the line of Japanese officers in field uniforms. 9:30:58 AM    comment []

Day 250 of Torture: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed warns of al Qaeda plot to hijack UFOs and put reality show The Reagans, modeled after The Osbournes, on al Jazeera.   Plot pilot features Mel Blanc, Jr. as ventriloquist seated bedside with former President, using voice of Speedy Gonzales and ordering Nancy to “tear down this wall!” Ron Jr. and Maureen move back home and open lemonade stand. Tom Ridge declares Code Orange, but Nancy complains that it clashes with the drapes.   2:48:34 AM    comment []