Faking It

 

 

With the help of then still little known alpha chef Gordon Ramsay, a timid fish and chips vendor quickly tranforms formidably. 

But he rejects the prospect of a new "Tier 1" life for what's familiar, comfortable.

“the king of chefs and the chef of kings”

"Prepare at the table as much of the meal as possible."

- Georges-Auguste Escoffier, [1846 - 1935]

On teamwork

                                

                                   Who built Thebes of the 7 gates ? 

In the books you will read the names of kings. 
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock ? 

And Babylon, many times demolished, 
Who raised it up so many times ? 

In what houses of gold glittering Lima did its builders live? 

Where, the evening that the Great Wall of China was finished, did the masons go?

Great Rome is full of triumphal arches. 
Who erected them ? 

Over whom did the Caesars triumph? 

Had Byzantium, much praised in song, only palaces for its inhabitants ? 

Even in fabled Atlantis, the night that the ocean engulfed it, 
The drowning still cried out for their slaves. 

The young Alexander conquered India.
Was he alone ? 

Caesar defeated the Gauls. 
Did he not even have a cook with him ? 

Philip of Spain wept when his armada went down. 
Was he the only one to weep ?  

Frederick the 2nd won the 7 Years War. 
Who else won it ? 

Every page a victory. 
Who cooked the feast for the victors ? 

Every 10 years a great man. 
Who paid the bill ? 

So many reports.  

So many questions.

Bertholt Brecht [1898-1956]

dystopians

In "1984" people are controlled by inflicting pain. In "Brave New World" people are controlled by inflicting pleasure. Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

minutia to the nature of the divine.

“A dim premonition tells us that we cannot be whole without this negative side, that we have a body which, like all bodies, casts a shadow, and that if we deny this body we cease to be three-dimensional and become flat and without substance."

- Carl Jung [1875-1961]

on other people

"Stop trying to change them; treat them like houseplants."

- Robert Greene [born 1959]

cultivate habits & skills to break free

 

"... this man who, drop by drop, squeezes the slave's blood out of himself until he wakes one day to find the blood of a real human being--not a slave's--coursing through his veins.”

- Anton Chekov [1860-1904]

his most important novel

 

“How did you go bankrupt?"
"Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
― Ernest Hemingway [1899-1961], The Sun Also Rises.which was published when he was 27.

defense against the evil eye

- Gad Ullman's [born 1935] "Hamsa Hand" recalls ancient Mesopotamian symbolism of protection and prosperity.

goombah

“The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.”

– Frank Sinatra [1915-1998]

be underestimated

"All warfare is based on deception ... when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
- Sun Tzu [544 BCE - 496 BCE]

This site is undergoing renovation

 

repressed memories

"The findings imply that in response to traumatic stress, some individuals, instead of activating the glutamate system to store memories, activate the extra-synaptic GABA system and form inaccessible traumatic memories." 

- Full Northwestern University article here.

relief

"Singultus, as hiccups are known, are contractions of the diaphragm and the muscles between the floating ribs, known as the intercostals. The sharp intake of air causes the vocal folds to resonate, creating the  sound which give singultus their common name.

While often presenting nothing more than a nuisance, one group of scientists mention in a study that hiccups can last in some people for days, even weeks. A terrifying prospect.

When the straw is placed inside a glass of water, a pressure valve on the bottom of the straw blocks the water from moving upward as fast as the strength of the human-generated suction would normally allow. This causes the phrenic nerve to activate all of the diaphragm’s capacity, while swallowing uses something called the vagus nerve.

These two parts of the nervous system are the cause for the contractions in the first place, and so keeping them busy prevents them from doing so."

Source here.

enumeration

Polytheism is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God, in most cases transcendent. 

Atheists disbelieve or lack belief in the existence of God or gods.

Agnostics believe that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

Pastafarianism is a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster charges US$30 for a Canadian to become an ordained minister of the religion. The United States recognizes Pastafarianism as a religion.

top spin

“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.”

– Martina Navratilova [born 1956]

= 5,555,555 Prime Memberships

Video here.

we are beasts of burden

"If (humans) are not provided with a place where they can accept social and individual responsibility they degenerate and die." 
- University of Toronto Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson [born 1962]

saga

“Most of the basic truths of life sound absurd at first hearing.” ... "Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life."
– Elizabeth Goudge [1900-1984]

24-foot ring

"Don't be surprised if I act like a savage. I am a savage."
- Mike Tyson [born 1966]

none, chuck

“Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

- Bruce Lee [1940-1973]

hungry dogs run faster

 

reputed best pizza in detroit

Fredi The PizzaMan [17900 Allen Rd, Melvindale, MI 48122, United States] as reviewed by David Scott Portnoy [born March 22, 1977] video here.

Spectral Evidence

    

"Witchcraft was a felony in both England and its American colonies, and therefore witches were hanged, not burned. However, witches’ bodies were burned in Scotland, though they were strangled to death first." [Source here].

Dreams were admitted as credible prosecutorial evidence. 

Straight, No Chaser

"The genius is the one most like himself."
- Thelonious Monk [1917-1982]

25% of problem gamblers kill themselves

" The Cosmopolitan experienced 2 suicides recently; it is the only Las Vegas (Strip) hotel to offer balconies."
- On The Joe Rogan Experience

"most significant English language play of the 20th century"

 Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot here.

optics

To eliminate embarrassing memories of Hitler's past, 85 senior Nazi's were assassinated, including ruthless Nazi henchman Reinhard Heydrich [1904-1942], responsible for the murder of many, he was himself assassinated in Prague in 1942.

full of it

 

Wabi Sabi

The acceptance of transience and imperfection.