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.