You Won't Believe What These Guys Did With Some Bits of Wood and a Ball made of a Cork Core Wrapped With Yarn and Covered With Two Pieces of Animal Hide

They played baseball.

For a while now, I've been fascinated by America's fascination with baseball. I'm told its the national pastime. Not the national sport, but the national pastime, because that's what it does: it passes the time. Lots and lots of time. My sister attended a game that went for seven hours. I heard of a recent game in Japan that went for five days!

I went to see the Minnesota Twins play the Detroit Tigers. You can see on the left of the photo above the Twins old logo: two guys shaking hands with a river between them; one representing Minneapolis and the other St Paul. We got some really great seats, and because the MLB season is so long, we got them quite cheap too.

The game went for about four hours. It's certainly not an exciting game, although it has a few seconds of excitement every hour. Still, I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the experience. We went and got some food, chatted, and generally enjoyed each others' company, all while keeping one eye on the game. I guess its similar to going to a test or one day cricket match. I wouldn't know, since I've never been to the cricket.

Raleigh, NC

Recently I attended a conference in Raleigh, NC. The city of Raleigh was a weird hybrid of old, dirty, run-down buildings and clean, hip, mostly overpriced food outlets. For example, I found a shop that was very white and clean and shiny (kind of like and Apple Store), but they were selling bottled fruit/Veggie 'smoothies'. I had a free taste of one that was just watermelon juice and basil; it was not unpleasant but I could have bought a whole watermelon and a basil plant for less than the cost of a bottle of this drink.

Before traveling to Raleigh, I was sure that Charlotte was the capital of North Carolina. Turns out I was wrong. This picture was taken inside the capitol building. It was the Senate meeting room for some time, and it was the room in which William H. Holden, the governor of NC at the time, stood trial for impeachment; apparently during the civil war, he was quite critical of the Confederacy's stance on slavery, which made him quite unpopular in Confederate NC. William Holden was the first US state governor to be impeached and removed from office.

 

I visited a number of historical sites, including the capitol building, the Raleigh City Museum and the North Carolina History Museum. Here are two of the interesting facts I learned.

1. The 19th amendment (the right of women to vote) was passed and became national law in 1920. However, NC did not ratify the amendment until 1971. They 'tabled' the bill for more than 50 years!
2. NC would not ratify the US Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added; but this did not occur until after George Washington was elected president. So, NC had no part in electing the first president of America.

I also visited the science museum. Possibly the best thing about the science museum was the presence of actual scientists, in actual white coats, doing actual science in the museum! The other great thing about all the museums in Raleigh was the low entry price of $0; all the museums are supported by generous donations from patrons.

I can't finish a post about 'the South' without mentioning the food. It's very good. They love their barbecue. I went to a renowned BBQ place called The Pit. I got the Carolina Classic

It's pulled pork and southern fried chicken with Brussels sprouts and fries on the side. The sauce you can see is southern BBQ sauce. It would be enough to make a Hobart hipster cry tears of joy.

Portland, OR

Recently, I attended a work conference in Portland, OR. Having seen the show Portlandia, I was fairly excited to see how reality stacked up against the TV version. It was actually surprisingly similar. Portlandia is a caricature of Portland. There were indeed many tattoos, midriff tops, druggies, hipsters, homeless, craft breweries, specialty chocolate shops, farmers' markets and quirky restaurants, bars, and cafes. It was in Portland I finally found a coffee place that comes close to Yellow Bernard Quality. It was called Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and it was almost too portland for Portland.

 I ordered a latte. It passed the test, so I ordered their cold brew. It was also excellent. My only complaint was the vinyl records were playing too loud. The soap in the bathrooms was in a sauce bottle. The hot water cylinder was covered in 'art'.

I also sampled Voodoo Donuts, which was way over-hyped. They were donuts. Good donuts. But not worth lining up outside to get them!

I decided to spend some time in Washington Park. In the Forestry Center, they were having an exhibit of the art of Dr Seuss. It was really interesting to see how his career progressed and learn of his involvement in projects other than children's books.

From Washington Park I followed the 4T trail back to the city and catch the aerial tram down the hillside. It was beautiful, but really poorly signed. It was meant to be four miles. But I think I walked about 10.
I still rode the aerial tram though.

I really like Portland. I could live there.

Weird Foods VII: Tater Tot Hot Dish

About a week ago, we were treated to a traditional mid-western meal, cooked by one of our wonderful and generous friends. She made us tater tot hot dish (hot dish in Minnesota = casserole in Wisconsin).

I can't remember all the ingredients but I think it had minced beef, a can of mushroom soup, a can of mixed vegetables and, obviously, tater tots.

To me, it tasted very similar to shepherd's pie or cottage pie, only slightly more creamy due to the addition of canned soup. It sounds like it is easy to make, is probably pretty good for you and was delicious. I give tater tot hot dish a solid two thumbs up.

Weird Foods VI: Bridgford Monkey Bread

Today's weird food, as I understand it, is a favourite American breakfast bread.

Apparently it's great microwaved, but I like my breads a little crusty rather than rubbery, so we heated it in the oven.

The best way I can describe it is a cross between a dumpling and a doughnut covered in sweet cinnamon-flavoured sauce. It is easily pulled apart into bite-sized chunks. As with most of these 'breakfast' foods, I think monkey bread is very tasty, just not for breakfast. At least, not on a regular basis.

I Don't Understand People

Recently I took my parents-in-law on a cruise on the St Croix River.

It was lovely. We watched the paddles turning controlling the boat's speed and direction, chatted about all manner of things, had a buffet lunch and watched the shoreline go by. But there was one thing I did not understand. A lot of people on the cruise were not even paying attention to their beautiful natural surrounds; some of them were sitting inside playing hangman. Others were on their smartphones on Facebook or checking emails.

I think this kind of behaviour illustrates something I've been thinking a lot about lately. People in the modern Western world are addicted to distraction. We've lost the ability to be 'present'. We are continually thinking about what we're going to do next instead of  concentrating on the task at hand. We are more concerned with checking Facebook than interacting with the people right there in front of us. We only enjoy our food inasmuch as it makes a good picture on Instagram. Most of us can't just sit back, relax and soak in the natural beauty on a cruise up the St Croix River. And I believe we are the poorer for it.

Science Museum of Minnesota

A few weeks ago Amy, Micah and I went to the Science Museum in St Paul. They have a dinosaur exhibit for the Summer and Micah had previously shown some interest in dinosaurs, so I thought he would like it. I was wrong. He loved it. First there was the hall with all the skeletons of dinosaurs I had never heard of, such as the Nigersaurus, the skull of which can be seen here.

It seems that most of the dinosaurs I remember are no longer considered 'real'. Never mind; I'm sure all the dinosaurs Micah learned about will be removed from the dinosaur canon before he's an adult. After going through the dinosaur skeleton exhibit, we went to the IMAX 'Omnitheatre' to watch Dinosaurs Alive!, a 45-min documentary about paleontology. It was Micah's first ever movie and I thought he would be either bored or scared by the CGI animations of dinosaurs fighting. Once again, I was wrong. He was enthralled. Occasionally he would repeat a word that he heard in the movie. And for days after he would randomly come out with dinosaur knowledge he had gained.

All in all in was a great, albeit expensive, experience. It was worth the $26 per adult for admission, but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it. As with most of these places (the Children's Museum, the Minnesota Zoo, etc.), if you plan to visit more than once in a year, the annual membership really does pay for itself.

Weird Foods V: General Mills Reese's Puffs

Ah, General Mills, how did you ever convince people your products were breakfast foods? Today we review Reese's Puffs. That's right. Reese's, makers of the well known health foods Reece's pieces and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups.

They are described on the box as Hershey's cocoa & Reese's peanut butter sweet & crunchy corn puffs. Awesome. It's like they're not even trying to hide what this food is really like. According to the Nutrition Facts panel, it's 34% sugar. 34%!  Words fail me. No one should eat this for breakfast. No one. It's no wonder kids have trouble concentrating at school after eating this for breakfast. On the plus side though, I'm told a lot of Americans use these kinds of 'breakfast' cereals in party mixes, which I think its a much more appropriate use.

All that being said, they are kind of delicious. I ate them with milk, as suggested on the box.

They taste just like you would expect: like a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup mixed with corn flakes.

Things I See on My Daily Commute (Winter Edition)

In Minnesota, there's great variation in the seasons. Winter covers everything with a blanket of snow, which is both pretty and annoying at the same time. Here are some thing I see on my daily commute through the snow.

Let's start here. Snow. Everywhere. Every day.

First I take a short hike through the forest

Then I hit this street. I don't know why these trees still have leaves after a month of sub-zero temperatures.

This is the view from my bus stop. I often get here before sunrise.

All the houses look like this as a ride the bus through the suburbs.

 

Then I get to the University of Minnesota, which looks like this.

 

I find snow beautiful and depressing at the same time. It's beautiful because snow has an inherent mystical quality; it covers everything with a sparkly white blanket. It's depressing because in winter almost everything you see is white, brown or grey.

America: Not as Bad as You Think.

I think America and Americans get a fairly bad rap in the rest of the world. People tend to think that all Americans are like that one overweight, loud, obnoxious American tourist they met that one time. But if there's one thing I have learnt since we have been here, it's that you cannot generalise about America. For every 'dumb tourist' there are many more thoughtful travelers who are keen for cultural exchange. For every radical liberal, there's an equally radical conservative. For everyone who hates Obamacare, there are others who think healthcare for everyone is a good idea. For every gun-toting red neck...you get the idea. You can't say 'Americans are like this' or 'Americans are like that' because, in most cases, whatever you say, it will only be a true for a portion of the population. This truly is a land of extremes.

On a unrelated note, I would just like to share with you an interesting fact. A4 paper. They don't really use it here. Their standard paper is called 'US Letter', which measures 21.6 cm by 27.9 cm. A4 measures 21.0 cm by 29.7 cm. I never knew that until I got here. I sometimes wish the UN or someone would standardise this kind of thing. I feel the same way about arbitrarily-designed power outlets.