I love pepper because of my mom. I love salt because of my dad. She always used to say that pepper makes it better and "You just have to add pepper!" He always added the salt silently, practically sneaking it underneath her nose so as to avoid confrontation, another trait I've inherited, incidentally. He did too many shakes until the plate looked snowed upon at times. Still, the taste popped then and I'm always seeking that effect to this day. She had Mrs. Dash, but that was a relatively poor substitute for the Earth's most abundant flavor enhancer, not to mention, as my dad was fond of pointing out, salt is a necessay mineral for the functioning of the human system. The spicy justifications abound!
Accounting for taste is near impossible, however some of mine do seem to have distinct origins. I'm very fond of the calming wave following a good bout of chile-induced fervor. Somehow the endorphin release after a deep burn is something I've grown accustomed to and something I crave, even in the wrong culinary contexts. No, there's no habanero dice going on the lemon-merengue pie, although the peaceful resolution tailing after the heat would still be welcome.
More to the point, this need for fire surely originated in the very vivid childhood memories I have of my Grandpa Tank downing entire jalapeno peppers in one gulp at the table of a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. He seemed to be wholly unaffected, essentially immune to the capsacin in the pepper, that chemical that yields the pseudo-pain and subsequent endorphin response in the brain. The trick had to be in the method of swallowing the peppers whole; without chewing them up, the tongue never actually came in contact with characteristically volatile checmical compound in the wonder fruit itself. All in all, it was a dandy of a stunt that stuck with me along with my love of hot peppers!
I wonder if this would be condsidered a MEEM? Is this the right context for such inheritance of culturally and socially influenced traits? Maybe an expert will weigh in and help out here.
21.5.09
The New Name ...Same Game
After a recent thawing of this individual forum, I've decided to throw in another new title for the blog. Representing the temporal-emotional landscape has been my trend with these Latin phrases and so I continue that pattern with this next installation:
'esse quam videri' - to be, rather than to seem
Writing these blog posts before seemed a cathartic process for venting and observing and I assume that direction will remain. However, I'm going to commit to writing from a perspective of a writer, not simply a thinker or observer, so as to grow in some way. Too long I've discounted my own unique talents as inconsequential in my self-deprecating attempts to convey my thoughts.
Into the future, I'll endeavor to express myself more freely, to disregard the nagging doubt inside, and to ignore the self-judgement that comes so naturally. The results, at least, will be a true representation of my thinking rather than a watered-down, softened version of what are sometimes my more revealing, impassioned cogitations on this life.
'esse quam videri' - to be, rather than to seem
Writing these blog posts before seemed a cathartic process for venting and observing and I assume that direction will remain. However, I'm going to commit to writing from a perspective of a writer, not simply a thinker or observer, so as to grow in some way. Too long I've discounted my own unique talents as inconsequential in my self-deprecating attempts to convey my thoughts.
Into the future, I'll endeavor to express myself more freely, to disregard the nagging doubt inside, and to ignore the self-judgement that comes so naturally. The results, at least, will be a true representation of my thinking rather than a watered-down, softened version of what are sometimes my more revealing, impassioned cogitations on this life.
20.5.09
Unthawing with a Rant!
It seems there's hardly a better way to break the silence here than with a true tirade on the state of the state, be it justified or not. Today, my main beef is with those folks who insist on pulling onto the road without considering those behind them who they might be forcing into evasive maneuvers.
The worst of this kind of irresponsible piloting has to be the four lane divided highway. The unobservant fools in question seem oblivious to traffic upstream and simply wheel a multi-ton vehicle out into the masses with little or no regard for how that action might affect the traffic flow at large. Driving along in the right lane, I and other drivers are forced, sometimes rather abruptly, to adjust our routes to these absent-minded people. Often times, when no egress is available due to heavy volume, a driver must decrease speed severely to accomodate this oblivious behavior of pulling out into traffic without regard to surroundings.
I don't mind slowing down a little, but the worst instances are when the driver depends on the attentiveness of approaching vehicles and expects those drivers to react appropriately. The whole "Drive Defensively" campaign was meant to increase awareness and eradicate this kind of assumptive positioning, the type of taking for granted that gets people killed.
To aggravate responsible travelers further, these people who bank on the good judgement of others many times neglect to sense the urgency of the action they've just commited. If the person is driving a Mercedes SUV or a BMW or every a decent American made sedan, the logical expectation is that the driver would want to show the world how much power is under the hood by accelerating in a way that is proportionate to the traffic situation.
SPEED UP! And do it fast or you will be rear-ended!
Maybe that would be the best thing for these people, to help dislodge whatever it is that is stuck so far up their asses that they can't even concentrate on the road, which is really the only task at hand or so it should be. What is it up in there? Is it a cell phone? Maybe it's a greasy french fry? Are they mid-text and thinking of which abbreviation to punch in thumb-wise? LOL + FU!
"I pity the fools." - Mr. T
The worst of this kind of irresponsible piloting has to be the four lane divided highway. The unobservant fools in question seem oblivious to traffic upstream and simply wheel a multi-ton vehicle out into the masses with little or no regard for how that action might affect the traffic flow at large. Driving along in the right lane, I and other drivers are forced, sometimes rather abruptly, to adjust our routes to these absent-minded people. Often times, when no egress is available due to heavy volume, a driver must decrease speed severely to accomodate this oblivious behavior of pulling out into traffic without regard to surroundings.
I don't mind slowing down a little, but the worst instances are when the driver depends on the attentiveness of approaching vehicles and expects those drivers to react appropriately. The whole "Drive Defensively" campaign was meant to increase awareness and eradicate this kind of assumptive positioning, the type of taking for granted that gets people killed.
To aggravate responsible travelers further, these people who bank on the good judgement of others many times neglect to sense the urgency of the action they've just commited. If the person is driving a Mercedes SUV or a BMW or every a decent American made sedan, the logical expectation is that the driver would want to show the world how much power is under the hood by accelerating in a way that is proportionate to the traffic situation.
SPEED UP! And do it fast or you will be rear-ended!
Maybe that would be the best thing for these people, to help dislodge whatever it is that is stuck so far up their asses that they can't even concentrate on the road, which is really the only task at hand or so it should be. What is it up in there? Is it a cell phone? Maybe it's a greasy french fry? Are they mid-text and thinking of which abbreviation to punch in thumb-wise? LOL + FU!
"I pity the fools." - Mr. T
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