OT: A little Polynesian X-mas present.

[HoneyBadger]

Aloha!

It's cold and icy in Utah, so the best thing for me-aside from a cup of hot cocoa-is to daydream about Tahiti. Infact, going to Tahiti has been a dream in my family for three generations, now. I thought I'd share that dream with everyone else who isn't quite as close as they want to be, to that legendary palm tree from the Corona commerical (Yes, I choose to believe it's somewhere in Tahiti, waiting for me faithfully, whatever reality has to say about it).

While it has very little to do with Dom3 on the surface, it is something you can watch/listen to, in between turns, and it's also an exploration of foreign cultures, and...FOODPORN!.

If you don't know what foodporn is, you're missing a major facet of the human experience.

Plus it's my favorite show, so here you go, Parts 1-5 of No Reservations: French Polynesia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ksFjEW1V8I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbZ2K...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TiF...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVv9K...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHaRq...eature=related

If nothing else, consider it a suggestion for a Maori/Islander Nation.

If you like this show, and I hope you will, most of the episodes can be found on YouTube. If you can't find one, let me know, I'll try to track it down for you. As "lightweight" as cooking and travel shows tend to be, and as irreverent as this one sometimes is, I find it surprisingly deep, honest (in it's flawed way), at times almost oddly spiritual.

Happy Holidays!

[Gandalf Parker]

This is the Age of Food.
At no other time have we been able to eat more types of food,from more places, at more times of the year, anytime we want. Its not likely that new foods will be discovered unless its at the bottom of the ocean or in space. From here its probably downhill (some foods will become hard to get and even illegal). So enjoy the age you live in.

[HoneyBadger]

It absolutely is the Age of Food. Not only that, but it's a lot easier to make your own versions of food at home than it used to be. I learned to make waffles and Yorkshire pudding from scratch this year, and I'm even learning to make my own pasta-I'm just not very good at it.

I learned how on the internet. I've also found methods of making my own eggnog, and my own ricotta cheese, I just haven't tried them yet.

And my wife gave me a beer-making kit (Mr. Beer!) for X-mas!

I worry that you're right about things going downhill, Gandalf (overfishing is my biggest concern), but I think for a while atleast, things will keep getting better. We're still in the dawn of the Age, anyway. With the gas prices as volatile as they are, I'm hoping that that will help encourage local food markets in this country. That would be a huge step in the right direction for foodies in the USA. Utah has some of the best produce, and dozens of farms, but the stuff in grocery stores is pathetic. There's really no reason for it.

I'm also growing my own produce in my own garden (with semi-success), and I think that will become more commonplace, too. I'm hoping so, anyway. With people having to leave their homes less and less for work, and with grocery stores and gas becoming more and more expensive, and so much free knowledge available on the internet, it's not unreasonable that more people will get into gardening.

One thing I found on the internet is something called "Terra Preta", which is this incredibly rich, self-sustaining dirt that the Amazonian Indians invented. There's stories about farmers growing crops on this stuff successfully for more than 40 years, without ever having to fertilize. It's pretty amazing, and could be used to feed a lot of people in this country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta

[MaxWilson]

I presume you're already familiar with (http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/about)? I never looked real deep into Terra Preta but it did seem interesting.

-Max

[HoneyBadger]

Thanks MaxWilson, but I'm afraid that link is broken.

[MaxWilson]

Er, sorry, it didn't parse right (the forum left the ")?" on at the end). http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/about