Gastronomic Exotica by Louis Bakay

Several things are interesting about Dr. Louis Bakay. The first being that he is a brain surgeon and historian on the Faculty of Harvard Medical School, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery of the University of Buffalo. The second is that in his past time he enjoys reading and writing about a history of epicures and societies obsession and love for all things food-related. The third is that he is not even a passable cook but an enthusiastic gourmet.

Random books are the best and I stumbled across this in the food section a week ago while browsing for some gifts for a few of my friends. Dr. Bakay takes the reader through a history of eating from the Stone Age where “the bones of animals found during excavations in Europe reveal what man ate in prehistoric times” all the way to modern French cuisine.

The book is full of interesting facts and random information surrounding the history of how society (mainly Western) has consumed food. For example:

“A typical example of feudal meals was one recorded of the wedding of Wilhelm von Rosenberg at his castle in Bohemia in 1578: 370 oxen; 98 wild boar; 2,292 hares; 3,910 patridge; 22,687 thrushes; 12,887 chickens; 3,000 capons; a large number of eel, carp, salmon, and pike. Also 5 tons of oysters and 40,837 eggs. It was washed down by 6,405 pails of wine.”

You have to love the excess of it all. Not that much has changed since then, but still all of that for a single wedding is impressive.

If you can find this book, it seems to be out of print, or if you can find me and remind me to lend it out, this is definitely a fascinating review of how we eat through the ages. Cheers.

Slate: Poetry Discussion

Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (re)posted Thomas Hardy‘s “The Darkling Thrush” to Slate. Discussion ensued, and became very lively when National Book Award winner Mark Doty observed that the poem contains an overt homage to an earlier poem by Keats. Guggenheim fellow Mark Halliday, MacArthur fellow Jim Powell and Annie Finch chime in. An opportunistic Billy Collins (also a former Poet Laureate & Guggenheim fellow) even showed up, attracted by the discussion of a “bird poem.” A fascinating look at some of the finest American poets geeking out over poems that were hits before your mother was born.

“If you want to know the people around you, find out what they read.” – Joseph Stalin –

Timothy W. Ryback has recently published a book, Hitler’s Private Library. While it is certainly fascinating to examine books that Hitler has read and the influence they might have had, I think you can only take these types of judgments and perspectives so far. I will not deny that certain books found in his collection influenced his behavior, books and knowledge have a way of creeping into our daily lives, such as Hitler’s well thumbed copy of Racial Typology of the German People by Hans F.K. Gunther.

But one simply has to go into their own library to discover that some books that find a way into the library are not always a true reflection of a person’s identity. I own a copy of Brittlestone’s Odyssey Unbound, a geographical and topographical history of the physical landscapes and places mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey and their existence in a real world. Why I own this? I have no clue, an impulse buy I am sure. It is one of those books that I purchase when I am in a very particular mood. Sometimes I like the idea of a book, and other times I like the idea of being the type of person that purchase a particular type of book. I have a passing interest in ornithology, but do I really see myself enjoying a nice relaxing afternoon with a copy of The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin, not so much. A hundred years from now when people are perusing my past library in an attempt to piece together the genius of my life, what will they say when they encounter Odyssey Unbound,

“It makes sense, Gaurav was very much a person grounded in reality and interested in matters of the earth, so his interest and passion for geology and literature coming together is evidenced by this wonderful artifact from his library.”

We must not forget that sometimes we just pick up books that may not adequately reflect our personality or sum up our entire existence. And then there are those works of literature that people “gift” to us, and I use that term loosely. “Thanks Grandma, I’ve been eying Tuesday’s With Morrie for quite some time.”

In our society we tend to catalog the life of celebrities. If you’re thinking we do not do this, ask yourself why the underwear of Michael Jackson is being sold at auction for charity? Why do we care about the fact that President Bush claims to have read 2 books each week his entire presidency and that the majority of these were biographies of great men. Ok, so he can read, and so too can Barack Obama, President Elect. Yes, it is interesting to know that he’s reading Team of Rivals, a book that chronicles Lincoln’s rise to power and presidency and the types of people he placed around himself to help him politically. But as I’ve said already, just because a person is reading a certain type of book or owns such an item, does not mean that those “things” are symbolic of that entire person, it’s far too reductive.

As Ezra Klein posted over at The American Prospect:

Bookshelves are not for displaying books you’ve read — those books go in your office, or near your bed, or on your Facebook profile. Rather, the books on your shelves are there to convey the type of person you would like to be. I am the type of person who would read long biographies of Lyndon Johnson, despite not being the type of person who has read any long biographies of Lyndon Johnson. I am the type of person who is very interested in a history of the Reformation, but am not, as it happens, the type of person with the time to read 900 pages on the subject. More importantly, I am the type of person who amasses many books, on all sorts of subjects. I’m pretty sure that’s what a bookshelf is there to prove. The reading of those books is entirely incidental. The question becomes how we’ll project all of this when Kindles takes off and all our books are digital.

Happy Birthday John!

Happy 400h Birthday John!

Milton turns 400 today. The Morgan Library celebrates by exhibiting the last surviving pages of Paradise Lost manuscript. Just you wait for the movie!

Mumbai:

I just want to document this moment. As I sit here eating my Japanese Oranges, reading Lorca, Mumbai is under siege, with people being held captive as hostages. I am ashamed to admit but I often forget how sheltered and safe a life I have here in North America. When I wake up in the morning I worry about upcoming assignments or my work schedule. People waking up in Mumbai this morning are concerned about avoiding gunshots or grenade launchers.

“Ahoy, ahoy, oh how the winds did blow…”

“They… brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned…. They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane…. They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” – Columbus’ Log – Sourced From: Howard Zinn’s – A People’s History of America –

Yes, let’s celebrate this joyous occasion by giving a day of rest in his honour. I’m always troubled by this particular holiday. One of the main reasons of my consternation, is that the history centering around Columbus, and I use the term “history” in a very light context, this history is when I first realized that history is something that is based primarily on the “winners” point of view. I remember learning about this man in primary school in the states (Thomas Haley Elementary School in Dallas, TX, U.S.), and what I remember most is how highly praised he was for his new world adventures. Then I read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of America, and my entire point of view of history was shaken.

I recall the various films we were required to watch, showing how nice Christopher was to the natives, all of the wonderful knowledge and culture that he brought to these people. Yes…yes indeed: rape, famine, torture, servitude, slavery, the best of culture brought to the lowest of people. (insert disgusted look here).

The chief source-and, on many matters the only source of information about what happened on the islands after Columbus came is Bartolome de las Casas, who, as a young priest, participated in the conquest of Cuba. For a time he owned a plantation on which Indian slaves worked, but he gave that up and became a vehement critic of Spanish cruelty. In Book Two of his History of the Indies, Las Casas (who at first urged replacing Indians by black slaves, thinking they were stronger and would survive, but later relented when he saw the effects on blacks) tells about the treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards. It is a unique account and deserves to be quoted at length:

“Endless testimonies . . . prove the mild and pacific temperament of the natives…. But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy; small wonder, then, if they tried to kill one of us now and then…. The admiral, it is true, was blind as those who came after him, and he was so anxious to please the King that he committed irreparable crimes against the Indians…”

Ugh, it makes me ill. The one thing I’ve learned through this confrontation with history is that I am more aware of the “voice” of history and the context with which it is applied. I think about our current time period and our defining moments: 9/11, Invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, etc. and I wonder how will we be looked upon through the eyes of our children, how will King George be hailed: hero or dictator?

I understand completely that I’m living and enjoying the benefits of Columbus and many other seafaring voyagers, pirates, conquistadors, etc. Without their escapades into North America, I could be living in a completely different part of the world, under some drastically different contexts. But it is still horrifying to think that the benefits I enjoy were at the expense of an entire people’s genocide, and let’s be honest, it was a pure genocide.

So as my American friends and readers celebrate their day off, think and reflect at what cost your day of rest was achieved.

Oh and don’t worry my Canadian friends, I’m sure that Britain had its fun too raping and pillaging various natives for the sake of our very own Canadian Thanksgiving. We too are not beyond ethnic cleansing for Imperialist expansion.