Its been some time since I last posted, but an interesting fact has dawned on me over the course of the past few months. I have enjoyed the taste of various types of beers since the latter end of my teens. But for something that I enjoy quite a bit, I am(becoming less so every so slowly) stunningly ignorant about the many different varieties of beer and the brewing process. However I am starting to bone up and learn more about the social and regional history or this drink that goes back a number of millenniums and just started to dip my foot into the world home brewing ever so slightly with my buddy Jim. As part of the learning process, I decided to share with you all a short video dealing with the making of a home-brewed dark lager from home. Dark Lagers are a new favorite of mine(San Miguel makes a really good one). I am going to post periodically tidbits that delve into the history of brewing as they relate to my real-life encounters with the lovely suds.
Dear Reader(myself and that's probably it),
Who is Sir John Robert Kerr?
Australian Labour Party heavyweight? Prominent New South Wales Judge and labour law expert and long-time trade union ally? Or is he a reminder to all of us to give pause when we merely think about the British Crown as playing a purely ceremonial role in the public life of Great Britain and her commonwealth dominions?
I would argue the latter. On November 11th, 1975, Sir John Kerr, appointed the Governour General of Australia in 1974 by Queen Elizabeth, waded into what had become the biggest political crisis since the British colonies of the Australian continent became a united Australian Commonwealth. Gough Whitlam had become prime minister in 1972 and had introduced a number of left leaning policy reforms including the introduction of universal health insurance, the end of capital punishment and the streamlining of family laws that made no-fault divorce a legal reality. Disputes between the Liberal Party opposition over public spending levels led to a standoff between the opposition leader of the Liberal Party, Malcolm Fraser and Whitlam. Fraser demanded Whitlam call a national election in return for passing the 1976 fiscal year budget. Whitlam refused and a standoff ensued with the reality that the government would run out of money within weeks and thus not be able to meet is essential obligations. What ensued would shatter almost a century worth of political convention and custom which had largely left London out of Australia's domestic affairs for more then a century. On that fateful November day, Kerr dismissed Whitlam's government and sent the country to elections where the Liberal opposition party won a large victory in parliamentary elections and sent Whitlam and the Labour party out of power. Queen Elizabeth herself took no part in the matter but stood by the decision of her Governour General, as it was within his purview as the Governor General and as head of state of Australia.
The episode reminds us as we celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that Her Majesty remains head of state of the United Kingdom and her dominion commonwealths abroad..and that her power at times is not only ceremonial..... but real! Her power can have real bite.... just ask Gough Whitlam!Footage of Whitlam Crisis Here!
It has been a while since I have wrote anything here on the blog. But the orchard, flattened by a storm made up of equal parts lack of dicipline and inspiration, is back in business! Pies, sugary apple pie like products that you find in the gas station are all on supply here as well as some natural healthy goodness on occasion.
In any event, I have been back in Minnesota for the past two months. One of the nice things that I have enjoyed during the beginning of my second extended stay in Minnesota is The Current, which is at 89.3 FM here in the Twin Cities. The station was originally a classical radio station based out of St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. However in 2004, the station was acquired in 2004 by Minnesota Public Radio and changed it format from classical to a wide assortment of stuff ranging from old school favorites to newly formed indie bandsThis is most likely not news for anyone reading this. But it has been a very pleasant surprise for me and for my ears. I like an eclectic bit of everything when it comes to music, and the station does a very good job of exposing me to stuff I may never otherwise have gotten a chance to hear. Sometimes, the material is stuff that I end up not particularly caring for, but other times, songs will come up that I really do dig. It has made for a more pleasing solo driving experience!
Dear Reader,
I found myself sitting on Newcastle beach next to my beautiful wife, with the sky appearing to be a darkened shade of turquoise and blue as the tides rolled in about one hundred and fifty feet from where wewere sitting. Sho is reading and I am just mesmerized by the beauty of the New South Wales coastline. The rocky hills that the Awabakal people would use as gathering points for meetings and hunting expeditions can be seen off to the far right. Women, men and children lounging, talking, playing with rugby league balls. Hot, maybe 35C or so. But utterly sublime. And then I am starring at the ceiling of my bedroom in Minneapolis(very happy to be here, to be sure). And I think to myself: I was dreaming about a real place and time in my life, and not a made up fantasy. I know how lucky I am. So today Oz is on my mind. I miss the cockatoos, people walking barefoot on the sidewalks and the friendly "how ya goin's?" from strangers and acquaintances alike. But what wonderful fodder for those times when I like to go off to my own planet and daydream! This track by Miami Horror(Aussies themselves) captures a bit of that happy-go-lucky, life is great vibe that one gets from a perfect day by the ocean.
Happy New Year!
On this peaceful New Year's Day morning I read an interesting article about the trip taken by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia more than 50,000 years ago away from Africa and across the Asian continent and to Australia. Prior to 1788, the indigenous people of the continent inhabited the Australian somewhere between 30,000 to 40,000 years by themselves. I thought it was an interesting and worthwhile read. Hopefully you might think so too. Hopefully my trips into the orchard of knowledge will be more frequent then they were during the past year. Here's hoping.
Dear Reader(Myself):
Sometimes knowledge, like Apples, whether encountered in a supermarket that appears as one is walking merrily along or as low hanging fruit on a nearby tree, falls into our grasp effortlessly. Today was one of those infrequent occasions when enlightenment occurs without vigorous pursuit of any sought after nugget of information. When having a look at the Commonwealth's website in search of information about Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory, I came upon this interesting section of the site which had a trove of information about some of the truly epic and harrowing expeditions undertaken by different generations of European(and their Aussie descendant) explorers. Very worthwhile reading. Often times knowledge is obtained through the path of diligent and determined study. But not always. Sometimes that delicious apple of knowledge is accessible via the easy extension of one's figurative arms and the grasp of one's figurative hand. I savor these easy moments!
Here's the link
Cheers!
Dear Reader,
My last brief post was about the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 undertaken by the Australia New Zealand Army Corps(ANZAC) task/expeditionary force. Although the valor that Australia's soldiers displayed during this campaign was an important moment in the commonwealth's conception of itself as a nation, it was only the first chapter in the history of Australia's involvement in World War One. The ANZAC's would participate in important battles on the war's western front at Bullecourt, Messines and Amiens(which was a decisive blow to the Central Powers and led to the end of the War in November 1918). Between the years of 1915-1918, Australia would offer over 300,000 service members up to the Crown for service in the Middle East and Europe. Considering that Australia's population at the time was slightly over 4,800,000, the contribution to the British war effort was quite considerable. 60,000 Australians were killed and over 150,000 were wounded in more than three years of fighting. More than 1 out of every 25 Australians alive at the time was a casualty of the war. When looking at the toll amongst young Australian men alone the casualty ratio is closer to 1 in 10. Staggering numbers. With Armistice Day around the corner, I thought this tragic bit yet important chapter in Australian history was worth another post. I found the human tragedy of the war and the suffering endured well encapsulated in a song written by Peter Bogle called, "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", in this instance performed by the Pogues.
Death and suffering are part of the stuffing that makes up the tragic nature of human existance. The idea of Australia and Australians as being a place and people seperate from Great Britain was forged in such death and suffering. The First World War and specifically the Dardanelles(Gallipoli) campaign of 1915-1916, were essential components in forging this national consciousness. Soldiers primarily from New Zealand and Australia were sent by Winston Churchill to invade Turkey, capture Istanbul and knock Turkey out of the war, thus braking a stalemate on the Western front of the war. The landing in April of 1915 quickly turned into a quagmire and ended in defeat with many casualties on both sides, Turkey still in the war and the Australians and New Zealnd Army Corps Task Foce(ANZAC) forced to withdraw. Australians felt there soldiers whom by all accounts fought bravely were abandoned without much support against the Turks, who were fighting from a geographically adventageous position defending their homeland. This sense of disregard and abandonment led to a greater questioning of the relationship between the U.K and the Australian Commonwealth and a sense of sharing a seperate national destiny than that of Britain. Thus ANZAC resonates deeply here in Australia.
Dear Reader,
When I started this blog to compile facts that were interesting to me(and basically to no one else), I assured myself that I would not veer too far off of the straight and narrow. However, today I digress. I admit to you, dear reader, that at times my mind becomes preoccupied with questions of an existential nature. I often end up, sometimes confusingly, trying to figure out, what is the purpose of this life that I have been given. How do I live in a way that makes my life truly worth while. I suppose I will wrestle with this question to the end. So today, their is a driving rain in the orchard and most people have stayed away and decided to come back another day. No Apple Chip Tidbits on the ground for Sho and I to grouse over. However, rain, even in great amounts, is necessary in order to make the trees that make up the orchard of life to grow fruitful and strong. In this vein, Roger Ebert(of Siskel and Ebert film review fame) has recently provided a much needed downpour of knowledge upon these fields. He recently wrote his book of memoirs, entitled "Life Itself". Ebert has been dealing with thyroid cancer which caused much him much physical pain and also took away his ability to speak. He is terminally ill. In the last chapter of the book(re-published in his blog for the Chicago Sun-Times, he holds forth with this piece of wisdom,
"To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out".
I write these entries because I find a certain degree of joy in learning about new facts and considering fresh perspectives, ideas and thoughts which I have never before entertained. I do think Ebert is on to something. Whether it is in our personal or professional lives, giving joyfully and freely of ones time, talents and energy to give uplift, help, renewal or whatever grace one can give is one way to live the good life. I need to remember this myself and do better in my own life. Sorry for pontificating. Thanks for putting up with my ramblings and back to Tidbits next week.
Cheers...
I promise my entry this week will be short. When one thinks of Australia's demographic makeup, it is natural to think of the commonwealth's Aboriginal(50,000 years old) and Anglo-Celtic(223 years old) heritage. However many people might not know that close to 5 percent of Australia's population is made up of......immigrants from Italy and (mainly) their descendants? Starting with the Australian Gold Rush in the middle of the 19th century, London encouraged limited amounts of immigration to fill labor shortages in agriculture caused by men leaving their jobs to attempt to find fortune in Victoria and South Australia. Amongst immigrants brought in mainly from northern Europe, these Italians were mainly middle class and wealthier folks who could afford passage to Australia. After the rush subsided,many of these folks stayed on in the country and assimilated into the fabric of Australian society. Many of them were skilled professionals and merchants who were quick to find success, and made a major impact upon the cultural and economic life of Victoria and the city of Melbourne especially. Fast forward some 70 odd years down the road and we land in 1945. At the end of the Second World War, Australia's political leadership, most notably amongst them, Prime Minister Ben Chiffley, realizing both how close the commonwealth had come to being invaded by the Japanese and the implicit necessity for more people to grow both the economy and thus its ability to defend itself properly, launched a massive immigration program. During the thirty years following 1945, more than a half million Italians, this time a much more economically diverse group, along with millions of other displaced persons from around Europe, were welcomed to come work and live in the country. As a result, 1 out of every 20 Australians today were either born in Italy or descended from someone born in Italy. I am stretching it a bit here, but if there is such a thing as Apple Gelato, I hope that this could be considered a mildly satisfying spoonful of such a concoction.
Cheers!
If one were to walk down the streets of either Queens, New York or Minneapolis, Minnesota and ask a random person on the street,
" Who is the most famous person, group or other cultural entity that comes to mind when mentioning Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia?"
I would be willing to bet almost six figures worth of American dollars that no one would say," Ah, but of course, those devilish lairikins of alternative rock Silverchair!!!"
Up until a month ago, I would not have been able to answer this question either, but I when I saw a copy of the Newcastle Herald with an adverstisement for an upcoming Silverchair reading something like," Silverchair Playing Hometown Gig", your favorite aimless investigator decided to look into this important matter. And what did I find out: That all three members of the band were brought up in the inner-city suburb(read urban residential neighborhood) of Merewether Beach, which is only a few kilometers( a mile or so) from where we live in The Hill section of Newcastle. Why I find this obscure fact interesting is because Silverchair was a medium sized speck on the alt-rock landscape of the 1990's that reminds me of the great years of Nirvana, Soundgarden and the Smashing Pumpkins, amongst many others. The band was(and still is) a three piece band with lead singer and guitarist Daniel Johns, Bassist Chris Joannou and Drummer, Ben Gilles. They were discovered in a talent contest sponsored by the national radio station, Triple J(a subsidiary of the Australian Broadcasting Channel), and went on to record three records that I knew of in the mid to late 1990's, "Frogstomp"(1995), "Neon Ballroom(1999)" and "Freak Show(1997)" When" Frogstomp" was released in the United States it became the first time since the 1980's that an Australian band reached the Billboard Top Ten Album's list(along with fellow Aussies INXS and Men At Work).
So, friend(s), now you know, when someone asks you about Newcastle's contributions to pop culture, you can knowingly chime in about these blokes:
Dear Reader(myself and I),
I have got a sour apple gummy bear for ya( yay says dave..I like anything with sugar and an artificial sour apple flavor)! No chips of knowledge today. This is blood and guts and calories and intellectual fat up the wazoo!!! Today, I will talk about briefly about Ned Kelly. Who is Ned Kellly, you might ask? Well, dear reader, he is only the greatest bushranger(read: wild west outlaw in the United States) who was a complete an utter thug, robbing, torturing and killing scores of people in the bush(read:country or rural) regions of northeastern Victoria, Australia throughout the early to late 1870's However is legend is more popular then that of any lawman or "good guy" that existed at the same time. Some say that this is due to his supposed representation of the defiant and individualist ethic that many of the early pioneers that settled the then western stretches of Australia had. Some say his legend is due to the resonance of the great resentment that many Irish convicts, who were sent to Australia to serve time as prisoners or periods of indentured servitude held towards the colonial British authorities(today almost one third of all Australian citizens claim some Irish heritage on one or both sides of their family). His legend was mostly forged in blood as he seeminlgly murdered with impunity for a period of five years, while successfully evading capture with the help of the large Kelly clan that would often shelter him after commiting one of his many crimes. One night, in late October of 1880, four regional policemen who were searching for Kelly were ambushed by Ned and his gang. Three of the officers were captured and one was able to escape. The escaped officer, realizing that he had been captured by Kelly, told the officers of his gneral wareabouts. A posse of officers was dispatched to the area around Glenrowan, Victoria and found the three officers dead having had their scrotums and testicles shot off by the Kelly gang. The regional police received a lucky break from a local informant that Kelly and his gang were holed up in a safety house in town. A few days later, a large contingent of police brought in from Melbourne to raid Kelly compound. The police arrived late in the afternoon on a freight train and promptly surrounded the compound and began firing live rounds at it. A ferocious gun battle raged into the night between the two camps. The next day during a lull in the fighting, Kelly, clad in a homemade suit made of steel that covered his head and upper body tried to make a run for it into the bush in back of the house. However, one of the policemen spotted him and shot him in the leg, which was not protected. He was quickly apprehended and brought to Melbourne where he was quickly tried and convicted of murder. He was sentenced to death by hanging. A few days later, he was executed by British authorities at a prison within the city limits. He was only twenty five years of age at the time of his death. But his legend lives on in Australian folklore. Villain, symbol of defiance and the wild early years of the European settlement of the Australian bush country and the untamed appetites, dreams and dangers that were realized there, Ned Kelly has come to symbolize an antihero whose chararcter has deep resonance in the Australian psyche. That was like eating a bag of just sour apple gummy bears! Thanks for indulging me, dear reader!!!
But "THE ROCKS" of Sydney tell a story that has more to do with vice then geology!
Dear Reader(Myself),
This past Thursday, I had the distinct pleasure of being able to travel two hours south of Newcastle on the New South Wales "Country-Link" commuter rail service in order to visit the state capital(and one of the true gems of the Pacific Rim), Sydney. This is where the story of modern Australia starts. As I may have mentioned in a previous post, Captain Arthur Phillip, who oversaw the first European(read: British) settlement of Australia, set up camp at Port Jackson(the formal name given to what most people call Sydney Harbor) in January of 1788, in the what is now known as the Circular Quay area of Sydney, in the shadow of where the Sydney harbor bridge crosses the water seperating the city center from suburban north Sydney. The very first neighborhood of what would become the city of Sydney was quickly erected and in short order would become a crime and disease ridden slum filled with brothels, taverns, boarding houses and trenchant poverty. It was the embodiment of all of the social ills that manifested themselves in the British policy of "transportation" or simply the shipping of criminals to serve their sentences far away from the motherland's shores(in the case of Australia, to what might as well have been the end of the earth) and out of sight and mind. The area's buildings were constructed largely with the use of local sandstone and the new locals started referring to the collection of sandstone structures as "the Rocks", and the name stuck. As I mentioned earlier, the natural sciences and math never were the subjects in school that truly animated me. However, the study of the human past does, and I found it to be rather neat to be amongst the sandstone rocks that would eventually spawn with it a major center of commerse and would thus establish the foundation of what would become the Commonwealth of Australia. You will have to forgive me as I poured an overflowing handful of chips into your hands. The chips that fell on the floor and that are still plenty good to eat will boost your immunity to all sorts of illness. Sometimes, my pedantic ways gets the best of me. But in the end, they are good for you!
Take Care!
Then I could have been a member of the First Fleet! The First Fleet was the group of eleven British Naval supply ships which set sail from England in May of 1787 and arrived at Port Jackson in present day Sydney harbour on January 26th, 1788. The flotilla, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, was sent to establish a colony on land claimed for Great Britain on the east coast of the Australian continent by Captain James Cook eighteen year earlier. Cook called this land, New South Wales. The First Fleet consisted of almost eight hundred convicts and more then six hundred members of the British military sent to establish the claimed lands' territorial integrity. Although numerous European explorers had set foot on the Australian continent prior to the late 18th century(Potuguese and Dutch), none had taken the time to establish an actualy community on the island(of course, the indigeneous peoples, known here in Australia as "first peoples", had been living here for almost 50,000 years prior to European settlement). This day is known as "Australia Day". I was born on January, 24th 1981. If I had been born 192 years and 363 days earlier in Britain and had been convicted of a crime, I could have been one of the first of His Majesty's subjects establishing the United Kingdom's largest(physically) colony! Crisp crunching sounds can be simulated by the reader at this point.
Yestereday, while sitting shivering on our very uneven couch on a chilly winter morning here in the southern hemisphere, I was reading a few pages of Bill Bryson's rather witty and clever travel book about Australia, " In a Sunburned Country" and was drawn to a statistic I found rather shocking. In Australia the average population density is 6 people per square mile! In a country the size of the United States! In the U.S there are over one hundred people per square mile on average. However, Bryson mentions that 6 is skewed wildly due to the fact that over 85 percent of the populations lives in metropolitan areas along the Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts. The reality is that in most of Australia, the density of the population is less than one person per square mile. Taste that salty yet fortified apple chip goodness!
When I was much younger, my parents on occasion would pack my lunch before I went to school. My lunch pack would typically consist of four items: A sandwich, a bag of fruit, a drink and then some variety of chip or cheese doodle. I rememberthat one of those types of chips/doodles were apple chips. Apple chips were baige,thin and crisp dried out slices of granny and fuji apples which were a touch salty and a bit sweet at the same time. I remember them being quite good. They were in that gray area between health and junk food. They did not have too many calories and did not significantly add to ones waist line, however if one were looking for food that would not exacerbate hypertension, this would not be it. However they were fortified with artificially enriched vitamins which gave them redeeming value. They were quick snacks that you could convince yourself were heallthy and you would be mostly right! Except that things that are truly good for you shouldn't taste quite as salty. Thus I introduce to you dear reader(TRUMPETS SOUNDING...DRUMS ROLLING...HERE IT IS.....): THE APPLE CHIP TIDBIT!!!!!
My APPLE CHIP TIDBIT series is perfectly suited for Australia: Small to Medium sized facts that are interesting yet do not require heavy reading or research on my part. Tidbits that are educational yet have a little of that seductive "pop salt" on them to make them easily digestable! I figure that the rhetorical big bag of apple chips that is Australia will be constantly tilting into the rhetorical open hands that are my silly and dream filled head. Hopefully I can share with you, dear reader, a few of these chips that Australia has handed to me. I will label such tidbits accordingly!
Cheers Mates!
Dave
Granny Smith's have an outter skin that are a light to moderate shade of green. I think of valley's in New Zealand, verdant and lush, sporouting abundant life from the earth when seeing this apple. The water's of Lake Minnetonka, in Hennepin(mostly) County, Minnesota do not neccesarily reflect this type of green when sun's uv rays shine upon them, yet they reflect a shade of green that is fierce in its darkness. This past Wednesday, I had the distinct pleasure of touring the lake with out friends Lindsay and Jeff and Lindsay's super nice and kind parents, Bob and Linda. I found the amoeba like shape of the lake, full of tiny channels to be quite intriguing and unlike other lakes that I had personally been on. I found out an interesting fact about Lake Minnetonka which is situated in (mostly) Hennepin County, Minnesota. I know this might not sound particularly spectacular but I think of Minnetonka as a medium sized suburban lake that has a few towns lakefront's with maybe ten miles of shore line. How many does it have, you may ask?!! Answer: over 125 miles!!!? I could not believe this at first but upon some reflection, I can see it. There are so many inlets, coves and channels, that when adding it all together, I could see it getting close to that total. 125 miles of water that could have the color of a granny smith if some young shenanigan pulling devil had the temerity to spray paint a granny smith dark green! Alright Mr 305..young chico...dale dale till next time
Hi there. Visiting my sister-in-law Jess's and her husband Val's house! I learned something very interesting today! You may not be able to eat an apple a day. But if you look closely the orchard of life gives you some equally good nutrition. Jess and Val and their kids have a PUGGLE! I have never heard of this type of dog but evidently they are becoming popular amongst dog lovers/owners. They are a mix of a Beagle and a Pug. Very cute, a bit rambunctious but very cute for sure! But that is what life's orchard has given me today: A Puggle a very nice gift! Thank you Orchard of Life!!!! And Jess, Val, Emma and Raef
Cheers!
Dave
Mother of The Right Honorable Winston Churchill was born and raised in.....BROOKLYN, NEW YORK? Yes, it is true! This Apple Jack of a fact may surprise some! Winston Churchill's mother, Jeannette Jerome was born in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York about one city block from where I used to live with my dad! Crazy huh? She met Winston's father in Paris, Sir Randolph Churchill in Parus later on in life! She was born on Amity street! Pretty nuts huh?
