A LETTER TO MOTHER

In February 11, 1918, Lieutenant John Madden wrote a letter to his mother, Sarah Jane Fitzpatrick, from his training base at Camp Taylor, Kentucky (now a neighborhood near Louisville).

Dear Mother,

Got your letter yesterday and I’d begun to think you’d all forgotten to write any more. I hardly got a letter all week, 2 or 3 Sunday and Monday. I’m sorry I waited so long without writing, but if I should wait again don’t ever think I’m sick. I’m getting fatter every day. Glad to hear you’re all doing so well. Has Billy grown any? Ruth wrote to me quite a while ago, but I haven’t answered yet. I answered Grace’s letter the same day I wrote to you.

We’re certainly not doing much drilling and I haven’t been doing any. We were in quarantine up till Saturday and as I was going to that Gas and Flame School, I stayed in another barrack, [with] Frank Redolfi, Billy Andreaux, Werner Smith and some more fellows. I never had so much fun since I’ve been in the army. I’m hoping Spring is here to stay. The last week has certainly has been fine. The end here from that wetting snow and ice is 6 inches, deep and slushy as water. This is absolutely the worst place for sticky clay I ever saw.

We’re not supposed to tell away any military news any more I’ve heard; I wasn’t here when the announcement was made. Some of the boys left camp the other day, those from the Reg[iment] went to Texas. I guess they’ll go across pretty soon. None have been transferred from here to France that I knew. There is a brigade of regulars here, the 45th and 46th (Rube Voyles is in the 45th) who are leaving pretty soon for France. I guess you get as much dope about the duration of the war as we do, probably more. A fellow from Staunton got a letter from his bother in France, who said they were betting the war would be over by Feb 15th (this month). There were also bets the war would end in 60 days, by the last of March, and I guess, any way, a fellow wanted to bet. There’s no use figuring on the end, I think, it’s like waiting for a dead man’s shoes.

I haven’t heard from Horace yet; that kid sure writes a good letter. I got a letter the other day. Did I tell you about it? From Larry, with a letter from George Clarke enclosed. I haven’t answered it yet but I’m going to soon. Well, rather I’ll try to never wait so long again before answering your letters, I can imagine you felt worried, but after all there are worse things than going across. We won’t go any place for a long time. I believe we’ll be training camp veterans probably after all this is over. Take good care of yourself and DON”T WORRY. My love to all of you.

Your son,
John

Notes –

1. The references to being “sick” and “quarantine” John refers to is in response to the 1917-1918 Great Influenza epidemic, which killed over 43,000 American soldiers and sailors in the close confines of their training bases and ships.

2. The “Gas and Flame School” taught officers how to employ chemical weapons and flamethrowers in the offense.

3. The war didn’t end in February or March, 1918. It lasted until November 11th.

4. Shortly after this letter was sent, John Madden left Camp Taylor, and deployed to France. He served as an officer in an artillery unit until the war ended, and returned home to Gillespie in early 1919.

Novel Business Idea - Kansas

This was on NPR today. I have been to Preston. It is a typically sad, dying rural Kansas town. But it was this part of the article that caught my eye:

"...he bought the run-down bar and grill on Main Street to turn it into a mortuary and crematorium ."

I'm thinking, hey - what a unique marketing idea. Not a former bar and grill turned into a mortuary and crematorium, but rather - here ya go - a COMBINATION bar and grill and mortuary and crematorium! Imagine the possibilities.

Undertaker Hopes To Revive Kansas Town
by Carla Eckels

December 8, 2009

Ken Stanton and his family are renovating a building on Main Street in Preston, Kan., that will become the Heartland Funeral Home and Crematory.

Many small towns across rural America continue to see population declines as the farming generation dwindles and the younger generation moves to bigger cities. But one small western Kansas town is getting help from an unlikely source: an Arizona undertaker who plans to revive the dying town by catering to the dead.

'Everyone Got Quite Excited'

The tiny town of Preston, Kan., once boasted a very active Main Street with two grocery stores, a post office, a cafe, a drug store and a filling station. But now they are gone — along with the town's high school and church. In fact, only 170 people live here. Boarded-up buildings line either side of Main Street. A City Hall and senior center remain within view of two towering grain elevators.

Ken Stanton plans to change much of that. The 53-year-old mortician with a warm and easy smile has been in the funeral business for 18 years. He is no stranger to Preston. For 35 years, he and his wife, Donna, have come here to visit relatives. Donna Stanton's father dreamed of a revitalized Preston, and Ken Stanton embraced that dream.

"I saw this little town, and I saw some pictures of it back in the early 1900s and saw what it was, and believed that this town could thrive again," he says.

So a year ago, he bought the run-down bar and grill on Main Street to turn it into a mortuary and crematorium. On a recent day, Stanton and brother-in-law Mike Saldan are surveying the gutted 94-year-old brick building. The goal is to complete construction and open the facility by January.

Mayor Wayne Scott, a student in the last graduating class of Preston High School — in 1966 — acknowledges that news of an undertaker investing big time in Preston was at first met with some skepticism.

But Scott says that changed after Stanton attended a City Council meeting and started requesting permits and acquiring properties around town, including on Main Street. "We realized that it could possibly be a reality for us, and then I think everyone got quite excited," Scott says.

A Family Affair

Donna Stanton plans to work alongside her husband in the mortuary and support her son's new business: a 1950s-style restaurant to be built down the street. It's not just Ken and Donna Stanton coming here — it's more than 30 family members and friends.

"My sister from South Carolina is coming in with her husband, and she'll be staying out here; and my other sister came with me; and then, of course, my brother-in-law and my other sister is in Phoenix, so they'll end up here," Donna Stanton says.

Although some Preston residents are welcoming them here, Ken Stanton says others aren't so sure.

"I think there's a group of people that are kind of wondering, 'What are these people trying to do — come in and take over the whole place?' " he says.

Mike Snell, the longtime branch manager of the Cairo Co-Op in Preston, says he hopes the Stanton clan can jump-start the town.

"The city of Preston is just about a dead town," Snell says. "We got the co-op here and a local meat plant, and there's just not a whole lot going on in the town anymore."

Although Preston is tiny, Stanton plans to draw funeral business from a 50-mile radius. He also wants to encourage others to give small towns a second look.

"Metropolitan communities are getting so packed with people," he says. "So many people are out of work. People are starting to gravitate farther out, where housing and things are a little bit less expensive. So I think there's an opportunity for growth and things to happen in small communities and small towns, if people will just be willing to be ready for some change."

And whether Preston lives or dies may rest in part on the success of the funeral business

Book List Entry - The Americans

At yet another estate sale lately, I was rummaging through a shelf loaded with cookbooks (bad ones, unfortunately) when I spied a copy of The Americans: 50 Talks on Our Life and Times by Alistair Cooke. Quite an interesting read. Published in 1979, this was one of Cooke’s many books detailing his career spent observing life in the United States. What is interesting is that his observations were intended for a British audience (the 50 essays are transcripts of his weekly BBC radio show Letter from America). Running from 1969 through 1979, Cooke gives an interesting multi-part running commentary on the Watergate scandal, which, interestingly, he initially poo-poo’d as a tempest in a teapot ginned up by the Democrats (oh, how hindsight works!). Clearly a man of an earlier era, he takes a dim view of the youth culture of the 1960s, the decline of traditional institutions such as marriage, and the U.S. opening of relations with China (which he clearly saw as a Chinese con-job).

After reading this book, I concluded that Cooke was the Craig Ferguson of an earlier generation. He became a U.S. citizen in 1941, but unlike many naturalized citizens, never felt the need to bash neither his native Britain nor his adopted country, the US. Interestingly, he uses the term “us” in referring to people in the US, denoting that he is firmly one of them, when addressing his British audience. He was a keen observer able to see past the chaff on most issues. One thing I found surprising about the book was his willingness, in picking 50 talks out of over 500 in a ten-year period, he chose some that showed that he himself did occasionally get it wrong. Initially, he clearly liked Richard Nixon, and it wasn’t until after five years and the Watergate scandal that he clearly considered him pretty much an immoral scumbag. Among his many interesting observations on life in America, I enjoyed this one in particular:

“…American football is an open-air chess match disguised as warfare.”

Reading this book, I kept drawing mental comparisons to Craig Ferguson and his observations on life in the US and on becoming a citizen. On the whole, I think Cooke would have approved of Ferguson’s comment “If you don’t vote, you’re a moron.” In reverse, I think Ferguson would thoroughly enjoy this book. Perhaps I’ll send it to him.

Oh, final note. At the estate sale. Old book, obviously in good condition and unread. Open cover. Look at flyleaf. There it is. “Alistair Cooke”. Signed by the author. Cool.

Added bonus - Craig Ferguson's rip on Americans who don't vote. Classic. View at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdRVQ4xwwmQ

Recipe List - New Thanksgiving Turkey Idea

The original idea was on Recipezaar or something like that. I can't recall where. It doesn't matter, as the overall concept is not "recipe", but rather "process" related:

East enough. To start, Buy a turkey. Then, thaw it - one day or more.

Boil one large teapot of boiling water. Once boiled, pour boiling water over
the turkey. Frankly, it's pretty damned amazing. You can see the skin before your eyes shrinking and tightening around the carcass. What the boiling water does is tighten the outer skin on the turkey meat, trapping the meat fluid inside the skin as it broils.

I'm not a big stuffing guy. Heck, despite tradition, most people don't like or actually eat bread stuffing. So I stuffed the turkey with orange and apple slices, apricots, raisins, and plums. The sole purpose of the fruit stuffing is to add flavor to the meat, and not to serve as a separate dish (the fruit is too soft and mushy for that). Final touches - I tooth-picked six pieces of raw center-cut bacon on top of the turkey, and poured a 16 oz can of chicken broth on top of the bird while in the broiler.

After the requisite 6-7 hours, I removed the bird from the broiler, removed the bacon from the turkey (but saved for leftover dishes and sandwiches), and left the fruit stuffing to remain inside the carcass. The fruit is eventually discarded with the carcass.

Result - best turkey I've ever made. Very soft and moist, regardless of white meat or dark. This experiment was a complete success. Can't wait to do it again, when at some time turkey is on sale.

Then, straight to the table on a platter. Bottom line - best turkey I've ever made. I will NEVER again another turkey without using the "boiled water" technique. It is flawless. And delicious.

NIU - Still Bowl Watching

OK, NIU lost to Ohio. And then they lost to Central Michigan.

Fair enough. NIU is not the best team in the MAC this year. And not the second best. But after that, I'd put NIU up against all mid-major comers. They finished 7-5 overall, and are still in the hunt for a minor or at-large bowl game. While I certainly respect Notre Dame for saying in advance that, with a 6-6 record, they would turn down a bowl invitation, well - that's Notre Dame. I've got nothing against a Tier 1 school like Notre Dame (except, perhaps that they've managed to turn the entire Chicago Sun Times sports section into their local cheer section, but that's not the school's fault). Hell, NIU isn't Notre Dame, and would never deem to be. But any excuse for a couple thousand NIU alums and students to gather around, down a few Goose Islands, and eat some brats and burgers in advance of even the most insignificant college bowl game (hmm - that would be last year) would be welcome. And a damned good party. Go Red and Black!

For all those bloggers and free-thinkers who opine that, well, anything less than a BCS bowl game is somehow "unworthy" (despite that perhaps 90% of them are not alums from BCS schools), all I can say is, well, f#ck you. It's a game, dammit, not the election of the new President. There are 128 Div-1 schools. There are 32 Div-1 bowl games, which mean exactly 1/2 of all the Div 1 teams get to play one extra game a year. Why are there so many bowl games now? Easy. They make money - big TV money. To assume that it's anything other than financial is foolish.

So a bunch of alums get to travel to a new city, laugh it up with friends, and watch their favorite mid-major team get rare national TV time knowing that their school will rake in some big bucks for a small, underfunded sports program. Don't like it? Too bad. Turn the channel and watch "Desperate Housewives", loser.

Oh, Crap.

NIU 31
Ohio 38

Bad day all around. Too depressed to comment further.

New Book Entry - Once A Runner

Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr., has been described as the best book ever written about middle distance running.

It is.

Originally published in 1978, Once A Runner was out of print for years. It became a cult classic for dedicated runners (especially middle distance runners), and dog-eared copies were prized and collected by those few who happened to find a copy (for example, there are zero copies of the original 1978 printing available on either Alibris, Ebay, or Abebooks). I discovered this book via an article written last year on-line about plans to reissue it this year in hardback.

What to say? On the downside, there is some topical stuff in the book that is a litle dated, like references to the Vietnam War and such (which, in retrospect, the references to Vietnam in 1978 would have been dated even then - I suspect Parker actually wrote it earlier).

The best stuff - Parker describes running a competitive mile race, practically down to 110 yard increments, with such incredible accuracy that any middle distance runner, past or present, can feel the race in his head. It is a truly amazing narrative. Additionally, he describes a hard interval workout - the bread and butter of middle distance runners, with amazingly spot-on accuracy. I found both of these sections impossible to put down, and truly engrossing. It's like Hemingway in Nikes.

I read one review of the book by a "dedicated triathlete" who said he thought the book wasn't about running, and found it boring. All I can say is - dude, you've never been a miler.

Final note - Parker describes an incident relayed to him by famed American runner Frank Shorter in which Shorter describes running over the hood of a car stopped at a stop light after the occupants of the car verbally hassled him while he was running. I heard the same story personally from Shorter himself, while I was attending summer running camp at the University of Wisconsin when I was in high school. The way Parker writes it is the way I remember Shorter telling the story almost 30 years ago, word for word. We also got to listen to Dave Wottle describe his victory in the 800 meter in the 1972 Olympic Trials, after having been spiked and having lost one of his shoes. He then went on to win the gold at Munich. His gold medal victory in 800 final in the 72 Olympics is one of the greatest races ever run by an American athlete. Cool beans. Very cool beans.

Uncurdled But Curdled - Huh?

OK, a quick entry in both the weird food and bad marketing ideas category - Uncurdled Bean Curdle Pot Stew.

What? Is is curdled? Is it uncurdled? How can a curdle be uncurdled? I'm so confused.

Does it matter? Who would want to eat either curdled bean pot stew or uncurdled curdle bean pot stew? Whatever it is, I'll take a pass.

NIU - Getting Some Attention in Mid-November

Here's Rivals.com's take on NIU football going into the Ohio game this Saturday. Lookin' good!

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football Editor

Generally, second- and third-place teams in the Sun Belt Conference and fourth- and fifth-place teams in the Mid-American Conference don't garner much attention.
But fans need to start paying attention to the likes of Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Northern Illinois, Kent State and Ohio University because it seems extremely likely that three or four of those teams will be bowl-bound this season.
The ACC, Big Ten, Mountain West and Pac-10 could have trouble filling all their bowl slots, and in the quest to fill those open spots, bowl officials are going to have to turn to non-affiliated teams with winning records (not 6-6 marks). Those teams are going to come from the MAC and Sun Belt.
The Sun Belt has one tie-in, with the New Orleans Bowl. Troy looks as if it will win the league for the fourth season in a row. But Middle Tennessee (7-3), Louisiana-Monroe (6-4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5) still have a lot at stake. MTSU has a shot at finishing 9-3, but regardless of how the Blue Raiders finish, they are in great shape for a bid because they already have seven wins. ULM and ULL - which play each other Saturday - also would have legitimate chances at a bid if they can get to seven wins.
The Mid-American has three tie-ins, with the Little Caesars Pizza (formerly the Motor City), International and GMAC bowls. The two division champs are guaranteed bowl spots. Right now,Central Michigan (8-2) in the West and Temple (8-2) in the East are in the driver's seat in their respective divisions. Ohio U. (7-3), Northern Illinois (7-3), Bowling Green (5-5) and Kent State (5-5) still have legit division title hopes, with Ohio and NIU - which play Saturday - also in good shape for the league's third bowl bid. One of those plus BG and Kent State - assuming each can get to seven wins - also will be in the mix for any "leftover" bowl slots.
In the Rivals.com bowl projections this week, we had spots open in the EagleBank (an ACC slot), GMAC (ACC), Little Caesars Pizza (Big Ten) and Humanitarian (Mountain West) bowls.
Northern Illinois starting RB Chad Spann has an injured shoulder and may miss Saturday's key game against Ohio U. He will be a game-time decision. Spann is fifth in the nation with 16 rushing touchdowns and is a major reason NIU has won four in a row for the first time since 2006.

A Good Read - The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Not your usual estate sale. An entire Episcopal church closing in Kansas City. Church, parsonage, school, rectory, everything. It was kinda sad.

But there is always a bright side. Among the many many books at the sale, I ran across a copy of The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Hershel Shanks, which is one of the best histories and layman's explanation of the Dead Sea Scrolls (it is certainly the most readable). In a whole bunch of different ways, a completely fascinating book. First, the history of the discovery of the scrolls, and how they were obtained against the backdrop of the birth of the State of Israel. Shanks is remarkably even in his hind-sight look at history, even when discussing in incidents and individuals he clearly found objectionable. For example, while he clearly took issue with the composition of the original scroll team (primarily Catholic priests, and no Jews), he does clarify that the team was technically employed by the Jordanian Government, which would never have countenanced Jewish involvement.

Alternately, Shanks tends to defer a bitt too much to the professional reputations of the original scroll scholars, even though he was a lifelong critic of their slowness and secretiveness regarding their findings. What does come through, however, between the lines was that many of the scholars and their financial sponsors acted very badly, at times almost childishly, regarding their research and their place in history.

In one part of the book I found a bit head scratching, Shanks at length describes his puzzlement at a prohibition in the scrolls against spitting. Frankly, I didn't think it strange at all. Most of the Jewish dietary and ritualistic prohibitions, such as not eating pork, have their ancient origin in health and disease prevention roots. A prohibition against spitting, which spreads diseases like tuberculosis, is entirely logical (as it is in China today). Just because this particular restriction died out in the Jewish traditions over time, I couldn't see why Shanks found it so unusual, or improbable.

Finally, Shanks does an excellent job in tying together biblical history with that of the the scrolls and making is accessible for the layman. Shanks is clearly more comfortable, and much more scholarly in his knowledge of the relevance of the Old Testament to the scrolls. Frankly, I found his references between the scrolls and books of the New Testament to be somewhat unsupportable, if not a little far fetched.

For anyone wanting a basic introduction and history to the Dead sea Scrolls, this is the first book to read.

Bubble & Squeak - Another Nick Page Book

I just finished reading Nick Page's Keep It Simple, a pocket-sized book of hints and ideas intended to help folks simplify their lives and live in a better and more fulfilling way. Chapters including topics such as simple possessions, work, money, relationships, and truths. I found a lot in it to read and re-read later, and have green sticky labels all over the place to make neat ideas that I want to revisit. I expect to keep this on the nightstand, and keep going back to it. I particularly liked the chapter on quietness.

Published in the UK in 1999, I don't think it has ever been released in the US, and is hard to get here. I ordered a used copy from a UK book dealer through Alibris.com.

Of course, and book published exclusively in Great Britain is going to have a few of those linguistic Britishisms that drive us Americans crazy. It didn't take me long to figure out that a "car boot sale" is a "flea market", and not a place to buy the Denver Boot to annoy your neighbors or save a good downtown parking spot. But then I came across this line:

"Leftovers can be great (anyone for bubble and squeak?)."

"Bubble and squeak"? What the? Is that a real term? And, y'know, food? Who would name a dish "bubble and squeak"? I was totally lost.

So, I start googling. Aha! Those crafty, hilarious Brits. "Bubble and Squeak" is what we Americans on this side of the lake would call, ahem, "hash". That's it. Hash. Bubble and squeak, appparently, was yet another sad victim of Teddy Roosevelt's Simplified Spelling Board (which is why we Americans say "aluminum" instead of "aluminium"). And aren't we the lesser for it? Once I found out what bubble and squeak was, I saw a link to a Jamie Oliver bubble and squeak recipe. Jackpot! I love Jamie Oliver. So I look at the recipe. The first thing I see - add "two knobs butter, divided".

Oh, come on! A "knob of butter"? Knob? What the heck is a "knob"? Aaarrrgghh!

Bubble and Squeak with Sausages and Onion Gravy

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 1/4 pounds mixed winter vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, rutabagas, turnips, onions, leeks or savoy cabbage, peeled or trimmed and chopped into equal-sized chunks
Olive oil
2 knobs butter, divided
1 (7-ounce) package vacuum packed chestnuts
6 good quality pork sausages, linked together
6 good quality venison or beef sausages, linked together
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small bunch fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
Nutmeg, for grating
3 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
Few bay leaves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
Directions
Cook the potatoes and mixed vegetables in a pan of boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes. When they're cooked right through, drain and put aside.

Heat a glug of olive oil and half the butter in a large frying pan and add the chestnuts. When they start to sizzle, add the potatoes and vegetables. Mash the vegetables up in the pan, then pat the mixture into a thick pancake shape. Fry on a medium heat for about 1/2 an hour, checking it every 5 minutes. When the bottom turns golden, flip it over bit by bit and mash it back into itself. Pat it out flat again and continue cooking until really crisp all over.

Preheat the oven and a roasting pan to 425 degrees F.

Unravel the pork sausage links and squeeze the filling between them until all 6 sausages are joined together. Do the same to your venison or beef sausages. Pat them to flatten them a bit. Drizzle with olive oil and massage this into your 2 long sausages. Sprinkle over a pinch of pepper, the rosemary and some nutmeg. Put 1sausage on top of the other and roll them up like a licorice wheel! Poke 2 skewers through, in a cross shape, to hold the sausages together.

Take the preheated roasting pan from the oven. Drizzle in some olive oil and add the onions. Season, add the remaining butter and stir. Place the sausage wheel on the onions and stick the bay leaves between the sausages. Drizzle with some more oil and roast in the preheated oven for around 40 minutes, or until golden and crisp. When your sausages and onions are done, your bubble and squeak should be ready too. If it still hasn't browned, put it under a hot broiler for 5 minutes.

Remove the sausages to a plate and place the pan with the onions on the stove top. Whack the heat up to full and stir in the flour, balsamic vinegar and stock. Bring to the boil and leave to thicken to a nice gravy consistency, stirring every now and then, and season to taste. Remove the skewers and cut the sausages into wedges. Serve the bubble and squeak with a good portion of sausage, a spoonful of onion gravy and perhaps some lovely dressed watercress.

The Crowned Jewel of Sedalia - The Guberburger

After driving past the Wheel Inn Drive In billboard on Route 50 between KC and Jeff City every week for a year, I decided it was finally time to try the "Famous Guberburger". So once in Sedalia, I took the four block detour down Route 65 to the Wheel In Drive In, and sat at the counter to order a guberburger, fries, and a Diet Coke.

The good news. The Wheel Inn Drive In is no greasy spoon. It has a 50s diner decor, and is very clean and new looking inside. The service and kitchen staff - three rather matronly ladies -were fast, helpful, and small town friendly. Prices on the menu are low, with almost every burger on the menu under $4.00.

In the not-so-great side - well the guberburger itself. It's been the specialty at the Wheel Inn for over 50 years, but I, for one, just don't get the attraction. The guberburger is a hamburger bun, a beef patty, peanut butter on top of the meat, and then topped with lettuce, tomato, and salad dressing ($3.40). I'm assuming there was salad dressing on it, because I never actually tasted it. The problem with the g-burger - the peanut butter is so overwhelming that you don't really taste anything else. You can barely taste the burger. They do also have a double meat guberburger, but I doubt that would make a difference.

I guess it's an acquired taste. I just haven't acquired it.

There were other local specialties on the menu that looked pretty interesting, and would be worth another stop at the Wheel Inn in Sedalia. I'll probably try the bacon sandwich next time, or - if I need to eat enough to last a couple days - the Wimpy Burger, with three meat patties and three slices of cheese. They also have an egg sandwich, and a bacon and egg sandwich, topped with lettuce, tomato, and Miracle Whip. Just like Mom used to make.

The Wheel Inn Drive In
2103 S Limit (Route 65 South)
Sedalia MO
660-826-5

NIU's Seventh Win

Tonight's score:

NIU 26
Ball State 20

Another great night at Sidepockets in Lee's Summit, who once again gave us a dedicayed 8 ft flatscreen to watch the game. The steaks were excellent as well.

Another good write-up from the Chicago Tribune on the game (better than the NIU-EMU article, where is seemed that the Trib writer wrote most of the article in advance, and then stopped watching the game at the half), and even a write up in the Sun Times (or, as I call, it, the South Bend Times, as it seems that the Sun Times thinks the only college football team in the area is Notre Dame).

From ESPN.com:

Northern Illinois has quietly put itself in the hunt

While Central Michigan has dominated many of the headlines in the Mid-American Conference this season with their 8-2 campaign, Northern Illinois has quietly crept up the standings to give the Chippewas a challenge.

The Huskies have won three straight and are just one back of the Chippewas with three games to play, including tonight’s contest against Ball State. If Northern Illinois and Central Michigan continue to win, it sets up a pivotal game between the two at the end of the regular season to decide the West Division champion.

“To be honest, I think we’re a little farther along than I thought we would be,” Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill said. “We’re so, so young on defense and we’ve had some critical injuries. We’ve lost two defensive tackles, we’re playing two true freshman on the defensive line. I was a little nervous, but our kids have really stepped up and put us in a good position. Now they’ve got to close out. There’s three games left and they’ve got to play very well.”

Central Michigan made a big statement Wednesday night with a 56-28 win over Toledo. Tonight, the Huskies take on a Ball State team that has just one win on the season, but has won the last two against the Huskies.

Kill said he’s been most impressed with his team’s ability to rally despite some tough situations. The three games the Huskies have lost have been by eight or fewer points. They’re lone league loss was a 20-19 decision against Toledo and the Huskies had a blocked field goal in the final seconds.

Not to mention the Huskies have been riddled with injuries, including a knee injury that has sidelined starting quarterback Chandler Harnish since that Toledo game. Backup DeMarcus Grady has filled in the past three games and led the Huskies to three consecutive victories. Both quarterbacks are expected to be available tonight.

“The hard thing for us is that we lost a two-point game to Idaho and we had a chance to win it on field goal at Toledo and then Wisconsin. We’ve been in every game,” Kill said. “Once we lost to Toledo, and certainly losing your starting quarterback, it would have been easy to just tank. But they’ve been able to fight through it, have some guys step up and that’s what it’s all about.”

Northern Illinois also has been helped by a running game that is one of the best in the country. Led by junior Chad Spann, who has 767 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns this season, the Huskies’ running game has allowed Grady to settle in at quarterback and now he’s contributing to the running option as well.

“Me, Me’co [Brown], Justin [Anderson], we’ve had to pick it up ourselves and just try to carry the team as far as we can,” Spann said. “But DeMarcus has bloomed very well, he’s gotten better every game and he’s taken pressure off of us and he’s putting a little bit on himself as well. So, he’s filled in very nicely.”

In Kill’s two seasons with Northern Illinois, he’s won at least six games. Last season, the Huskies went to a bowl and figure to be in the mix for another postseason appearance this year. But a divisional championship is something that would exceed expectations. The Huskies haven’t won the MAC West since 2005 and haven’t won the MAC title while the conference has played a championship game.

“All of our goals are still there,” Spann said. “We just want to focus on one game at a time, get that one game out of the way and we’ll be where we want to be. That’s the kind of mentality we’ve taken and that’s how we’re going to keep going.”

Huskie Bowl Options

The Ball State game is three days away, but it's looking more and more like NIU will be going to a bowl game somewhere - just as long as we don't leave it up to the chuckleheads at Sports.com (a division of the Fox Network - 'nuff sed) to decide where.

After last weekend, Western Michigan and Kent State pretty much choked themselves out of bowl contention (especially KSU, who apparently went out of their way to lose to Akron). That leaves MAC leader Central Michigan, Temple, NIU, and Ohio. Here are the most recent predictions:

CBS and Rivals.com is predicting that NIU will get offered the Eaglebank Bowl at RFK Stadium in DC on December 29 - as an at-large, as Army, unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) sucks again this year at 3-6 thus far, and will not be bowl eligible.

ESPN (Watson) and College Football Talk are predicting that NIU will be offered the January 2nd International Bowl in Toronto, Canada, as third place trailers in the MAC behind CMU and Temple. At first I thought, hell, Canada in January! Then I realized, closed dome - inside game. All in all, probably better than freezing my kiester off at RFK in late December at the Eaglebank Bowl.

NBC, Rogers Poll, and Operation Sports are predicting that NIU will be offered the GMAC Bowl, in Mobile, Alabama, on January 6th.

ESPN (Schlabach and Feldmann) is predicting NIU will be offered the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit on December 26th against Iowa State or Northwestern. Frankly, I don't see the bowl committee inviting two schools from northern Illinois located 70 miles away from each other. And even if technically bowl eligible, Northwestern doesn't have a good track record for a traveling fan base (hey, they have problems filling up home games). Iowa State, though, knows how to fill up a stadium.

On the outside, CycloneFanatic is predicting NIU will get a shot at the New Mexico Bowl on December 19th, to face Fresno State. BCS Watch has NIU tagged to play in the St Petersburg Bowl on 19 December against Houston. Finally, Stewart Mandel from SI.COM has NIU tagged for the Humanitarian Bowl at Boise, Idaho against Idaho. There are a couple of other bowls that may be up for grabs, particularly those that might draw from C-USA. I just don't see C-USA having six decent, bowl eligible teams this year.

Frankly, anything would be better than the Poinsettia Bowl again, which I went to, and while I will admit was very comfy to watch a bowl game in San Diego in late December. But, hey - the Poinsettia Bowl is practically a punch-line for bowl games(hey, does that make it a Punch Bowl? Argh. I kill myself). I can't believe that TCU (who creamed NIU in it in 2006, and then were dumb enough to return the year after that) would even consider going back.

Finally, Scout.com has shown they are indeed as accurate and thoughtful as its Fox Network parent, predicting on November 8th that while NIU would not get a bowl bid, Bowling Green would get an invite to the International Bowl (BSU's record as of 11/3 was 4-5, pretty much out of the mix).

So - Detroit, Toronto, Mobile, DC, St Petersburg, Albuquerque, or Boise. ROAD TRIP!

Veggie Weird Crap #2 = Carrots as a Fruit

Yet another Korean grocery store atrocity. Carrot fruit juice? Umm. Ahh. Ohh.

Apparently, somebody wasn't paying attention in Physical Science class.

Veggie Weird Crap #1

You're either canned pork - or you're not. I've eaten this. Trust me. It ain't pork. Or "mock pork". Mock rubber, perhaps. Uggh. Inedible.

Who buys this stuff?

Catching up on the WTF posts.

Catching up series - number one. I've got several of 'em. Another weirdness tale from the Korean grocery store in Overland Park.

What. The. @#%&?

Vegetarian Soy Sauce? What? Isn't ALL soy sauce, by it's very nature, vegetarian. Normally, I'd give a sliver of possibility to this one, but - hey- my family owns a soy bean farm in Illinois. The last time I looked, none of our soybeans has hooves or, y'know, mammal-type vital organs. I'm pretty sure they were all plants.

I just don't get this.

NIU vs EMU - Kill's Class Act

Many thanks go out to Sidepockets in Lee's Summit for setting aside a table and in 80 inch flatscreen for 1/2 of the Kansas City Chapter of the NIU Alumni Association (that is, umm, me - the other guy couldn't make it). Matt had a great time as well, and NIU's Coach Kill offered a great teaching point on sportsmanship.

NIU was up 50-6 with a little under two minutes to go witha first down on Eastern Michigan's 1 yard line. Had it been Oklahoma or Florida or some school like that, they would have gone for the TD for no reason other than racking up an even bigger score. And it's not like NIU would have had a problem scoring - they pretty much walked over Eastern for the entire game. NIU had already put in their third-string quarterback and pulled most of their starters, and still was having an easy go of it. But rather than go for another TD when they were already up by 44 points, Kill had his offense take a knee and run out the clock - on the Eastern Michigan one yard line. Class act.

Here's the play by play for the last 1:25 of the game:

3rd and 5 at EMU 6Justin Anderson rush for 5 yards to the EMich 1 for a 1ST down.
1st and Goal at EMU 1Timeout NORTHERN ILLINOIS, clock 1:25.
1st and Goal at EMU 1Team rush for a loss of 3 yards to the EMich 4.
2nd and Goal at EMU 4Team rush for a loss of 5 yards to the EMich 9.
End of 4th Quarter


Northern Illinois routs Eastern Michigan 50-6
Chad Spann scores 2 TDs on runs of 65 and 79 yards
By Fred Mitchell, Tribune reporter

DeKALB, Ill. -- Jerry Kill dreaded having his team play on a weeknight.

"I like playing at 11 o'clock, I like playing at 12 and I like playing at 1. And I don't like playing at night," the colorful Northern Illinois coach said before Thursday night's game. "High school football ought to be played on Friday night, college on Saturday, pros on Sunday.

"I'm a traditional dude."

Turns out his Huskies probably could beat winless Eastern Michigan any day of the week. They dispatched the Eagles 50-6 at Huskie Stadium.

Kill wondered before the game if his team would have any "juice" after playing five days ago against Akron. The answer came on the opening kickoff as the Huskies (6-3, 4-1 MAC) became bowl eligible with their sixth victory.

Chad Spann scored two touchdowns and had 151 of his career-best 174 rushing yards in the first half. Quarterback DeMarcus Grady rushed for 104 yards and one touchdown and passed for two touchdowns.

"I thought we played fast coming off the short week," Kill said.

Tommy Davis returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Davis, a redshirt freshman from East St. Louis, appeared to be bottled up around the Eastern Michigan 28-yard line before breaking loose.

"I ran up in there and it was kind of cloudy," Davis said. "But I broke through a tackle and I was able to break free."

It was the first NIU kickoff return for a touchdown since Aug. 29, 2002, when Michael Turner, now with the Falcons, ran one back 93 yards against Wake Forest.

The Huskies' 50 points tied their fourth-highest total in a MAC game and marked the first time NIU has scored 50 or more since Oct. 23, 2004, when it beat Western Michigan 59-38.

Eastern Michigan (0-9, 0-5) kicked a 21-yard field goal for its first score after NIU muffed a punt and the Eagles recovered.

The Huskies responded with a six-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Grady to Landon Cox.

Joe Carithers kicked his second field goal, but that was it for the Eagles.

Spann ripped off a 65-yard touchdown run 17 seconds later. Mike Salerno added a 26-yard field goal early in the second quarter as NIU increased its lead to 23-6.

Spann's second carry of the night was a 79-yard touchdown sprint, a career long and the 10th-longest in NIU history. It was his 16th touchdown of the season.

"The front line did a great job, as always," Spann said. "It's my job to get to the second level. I have to make a play there. I just had to turn on the speed and try to beat them to the end zone."

Grady hooked up with Cox again with 47 seconds left in the half. The 31-yard touchdown pass made it 37-6 at halftime.

Kansas City's Gift to Mankind - Root Beer Milk

The Shatto Milk Company. True visionaries. Sure, anyone can come up with Banana Milk, or Strawberry Milk. And the occasional seasonal eggnog. Child's play.

But this. Oh yes. Root Beer Milk rules.

To Akron -- and Beyond!

NIU played a substandard game against a lousy Akron team last week to win. A win is a win, but games like that are not going to get NIU past Ohio or Central Michigan - or into a bowl game.

It's shaping up to be a tough battle for the not-quite-best. Central Michigan has already locked in a bowl, with a 7-2 record, and got just a few votes short of being listed in the top 25 before last weeks loss to Boston College. NIU is second in the MAC West behind CMU, helped a lot by Western Michigan's loss to Kent State last week. NIU is now 3-1 in the MAC West. However, Ohio and Kent State are both 4-1 behind Temple in the MAC East. WMU's loss to KSU puts them at 3-3 in the MAC West, and probably out of the running. But that leaves NIU, Kent State, and Ohio to vie for bowl game scraps, assuming Temple and CMU are lock-ins.

Fortunately for NIU, they play Eastern Michigan tomorrow, which should be an easy win (if they lose, however, the rest of the season is, for all intents and purposes, tanked). If they win on Thursday, they go to 4-1 in the MAC, and 6-3 overall. Assuming Ball State continues to suck as bad as EMU, the Huskies should go into the last two weeks, against Ohio and CMU, with a 5-1 conference record, and a 7-3 record overall. Frankly, I don't see NIU being consistent or strong enough to knock off CMU (if so, it would be as awesome as the Purdue game), but they seem pretty evenly matched against Ohio. That one's a toss-up.

As for their opponents and bowl slots: Western Michigan - for some ungodly reason, scheduled a game against Michigan State this week. An easily predicted loss there will drop them to 4-6 overall and should end any remote post-season chance for them. Both Kent State and Ohio still have to play Temple in coming weeks, which could affect the MAC East title.

It's going to be an interesting November. Five MAC teams - NIU, CMU, KSU, Ohio, and Temple - will have winning records, and all five will probably have seven wins (CMU should have 9 wins before facing NIU on the 27th). Five winning teams, but there aren't gong to be five bowl slots (Somebody is goin' to get screwed).

From last week's Tribune:

NIU rally overcomes upset-minded Akron 27-10
Chad Spann's 2 4th-quarter touchdowns lift the Huskies

By Fred Mitchell, Tribune reporter

November 1, 2009


DEKALB -- Northern Illinois saved its best for last Saturday, overcoming a four-point fourth-quarter deficit to dispatch upset-minded Akron 27-10 at Huskie Stadium as Chadd Spann rushed for two touchdowns and Nathan Palmer added another in the final period.

NIU (5-3, 3-1 MAC) prevailed with redshirt sophomore DeMarcus Grady starting at quarterback in place of injured starter Chandler Harnish. On a day when gusting winds were swirling at 30 mph, Grady passed for 62 yards and ran for 109.

"I just tried to play my game and not think so much," Grady said of his second straight start. "I took what the defense gave me."

The Huskies enjoyed an advantage in the kicking game that resulted in good field position. Mike Salerno averaged 52.7 yards on three punts with rugby-style kicks, and two of them landed inside the 20. Josh Wilber later punted twice for a 43.5-yard average.

Akron (1-7, 0-4) entered the contest with 13 scholarship players out with injuries. Freshman quarterback Patrick Nicely completed 11 of 27 passes for 124 yards and was sacked three times.

The Zips started the season with three-year starter Chris Jacquemain at quarterback, but coach J.C. Brookhart dismissed him from the team before the Sept. 19 Indiana game for breaking team rules. His successor was sophomore Matt Rodgers, who was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered in the Oct. 10 loss to Ohio University.

Salerno put NIU on the board on its second possession, converting a 22-yard field goal after an eight-play, 46-yard drive. With 2 minutes, 50 seconds left until halftime, Salerno added a 37-yarder.

The Zips scored on their opening drive of the second half when Branko Rogovic connected on a 34-yard field goal.

Akron used a little razzle-dazzle to take the lead with 5:25 left in the third period. Senior Alex Allen threw an 80-yard halfback pass to wide receiver Andre Jones, who was wide open for an easy score.

"The halfback pass was huge, a real shift in momentum," Brookhart said. "It really felt at that point we were in pretty good shape."

Spann regained the lead for NIU with a determined 28-yard run with 13:35 left in the game. Spann appeared to be wrapped up by Akron defenders before breaking loose.

"Chad stepped up and made a heck of a run," coach Jerry Kill said. "I don't praise kids enough sometimes. That, to me, was the play that got us going. It was a tremendous run."

Spann added his MAC-leading 14th touchdown of the year on a 2-yard run with 7:59 left to put NIU on top 20-10.

Palmer scored on an end around from 7 yards out with 46 seconds left.

Comfort Food for an Army - Beef 'N Beans Casserole (with Cringe Inducing Patriotism Thrown In Free!)

At yet another estate sale, I picked up a copy of The All American Crockery Cook Pot Cook Book for 10 cents. Apparently an early rival to, well, Rival, in the crockpot market, The All American Crockery Cook Pot apparently went by the wayside during the brutal crock pot wars of the 1970s. Their little 29 page pamphlet of recipes lives on, though, because I know at least one other person in the universe using it as a reference (here on cdkitchen.com):

http://cooking.cdkitchen.com/TheSavvySlowCooker/318.html

Anyway, the first recipe in the book is this:

Beef 'N Beans Casserole

1 1/2 lbs browned ground beef
salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
1 ea 10 1/2 oz can chili beef soup
1 ea small jar black olives, sliced (optional)
1 ea No 2 can corn, well drained
1 ea small can kidney beans
1 ea one pound can tomatoes, drained
1 ea green pepper, chopped fine
1 ea medium onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 tbs chili powder
1/2 cup water
1 ea small can tomato sauce

Directions - in bottom of Cook-pot, place onions first, then peppers, tomatoes, then corn. Add lightly browned meat. Mix tomato sauce, water, and soup together and pour over meat. Cover, stir occasionally. Serve over noodles. Cook time 6-8 hours (low); 2-4 hours (high).

I used two pounds of browned pork rather than beef because, well, it happened to be in the house. Just as tasty, if a little more bland than ground beef. The gamier the meat, the more it will have aroma and taste. I wasn't unable to find a 10 1/2 oz can of condensed chili beef soup (I'm assuming Campbell's, but perhaps no longer in production) at the local Hyvee (and I'm assuming it called for condensed soup, as all of the other recipes in the book use condensed), so I had to substitute a 17 oz non-condensed Campbell's chili beef soup can instead. I used chili beans rather than kidney beans because, again, it happened to be lying around the pantry. I assumed the small jar of black olives would be the 4 to 4 1/2 oz size (which seemed reasonable), so that's what I used. A "No 2" can of corn is 20 oz, so I used about that amount.

In short, this was a good "clean out the pantry" recipe, as it calls for stuff that's usually in the kitchen somewhere, and no obscure ingredients (except for the condensed chili beef soup, but you can sub that as well). You can substitute a lot in it, and add or hold off on spices to moderate the spiciness level, as well as increasing the volume. You can also add frozen lima beans, or can of cut green beans, as a filler. I ended up using a 5 quart crock pot for this, as I'm not sure how you would have gotten it all to fit in a standard 4 quart). It also fills the house with that great stewy smell, which is so incredibly comforting on a cold autumn or winter day. Finally, I just couldn't see serving this over noodles (a rather 70s thing), so I served it either over rice, or by itself as a thick soup.

A great hit, especially with hungry teenagers. It disappeared pretty fast.

OK - now for the cringe-inducing stuff. The mini-cookbook/pamphlet, while a treasure trove of some, frankly, pretty awesome crock pot recipes, does give one room for pause. First, on the cover, the company is hyped as "Made in America by Americans for all the World" (a bit verbose, methinks). Frankly, that seemed a little extreme. I'm assuming the alternative was "Made in America by Illegal Aliens from South and Central America..." - but, hey, probably not as good an ad slogan. But, let's face it, if you're going to hype the whole "Made in America by Americans" bit, it would help if you didn't MISSPELL A WORD on the COVER of the book. At the top of the cover, it clearly states "It dosen't need watching".

Really. No kidding.

Grandinetti Products of Lynwood, California is, apparently, no longer around. Probably some much the worse for American manufacturers. Probably so much the better for America's English majors.

So They Aren't All Great - Chicago Confidential

So, OK, not every reading choice is a winner. At an estate sale, I picked up a copy of Chicago Confidential by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer. Published in 1950, the book is now exactly 59 years out of date. Lait and Mortimer were two New York newspapermen who had previously made their mark with, not surprisingly, New York Confidential. They followed up the NYC book with a sequel on Chicago. Despite trying to hype some Chicago roots, it's obvious early on that they see most things through a New York lens.

So what were these "Confidential" books (there was later a USA Confidential)? Basically, they were trips through the seedy parts of town, which probably was pretty risque by 1950 standards. They were even made into really bad movies, but seeing how none of these movies have seen the light of day on video, AMC, or TCM, I'm guessing they were pretty horrible. From this book, we learn:

- The "Taj Mahal" of Chicago brothels was the Everleigh Club, at 2131/2133 South Dearborn.

- Heroin costs $1.50 per capsule; marijuana joints cost 3 for $1.00.

- There are many ethnic minority communities in Chicago, but - amazingly - Lait and Mortimer never found the Irish neighborhoods, either on the North or South sides. Really. No, really. Oh, come on! Kinda an obvious oversight.

- There are dolls, dames, show gals, strippers, b-girls, and hookers. Lots and lots of hookers.

- Burlesque was very big. There were three classes of strippers - "fan-dancers", "grinders", and "talking women". There was also a difference between "nude" and "naked". No, really.

- In 1950, in addition to the Cubs and Sox, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (from A League of Their Own fame) still played in Chicago - at the Admiral Stadium, on the West Side. For you trivia buffs, the league lived on quite well past the end of World War II and didn't fold until 1954 (see additional Chicago link below).

- Bughouse Square (Washington Square, at North Clark and Walton) - a "haunt of homos, pinkos, nature lovers, and nuts... soap boxers and prosties". No, really, it says that.

Unfortunately, a book about 1950's Chicago, with mainly Loop addresses, is a severe Google Maps disappointment. Check an address, and it's now a 1970s cinder block post office or a vacant lot. But it does have a taste of what was important in the 1950s, and unfortunately, is pretty much lost today, like backstage phone numbers, names of the headwaiters of the best restaurants (including the Palmer House, Pump Room, and the Drake), and a list of restaurants and bars. I would say "the best" restaurants and bars with a grain of salt, but it seems like the authors never left the Loop to eat (or at least, not further north then the 1000 block of North Clark). There's a list of strip clubs, dancing halls, and restaurants, listed by ethnic cuisine.

One reason I bought the book was to do a bit of research on a famous restaurant owned by Mike Fish. It's part of my Dining Club project. More on that later. But no mention of Mike Fish or his restaurant in the book. Too bad. I was going to pitch the book, since I don't have that much of a need for it now. Rather, I may send it off to Katie, as the restaurant list (with addresses) may be of interest to her LTHForum buddies at some time in the future.

In short, the book was worth it. For 25 cents. Hmmm.

Oh, and the photo. From the Dog N Suds in Richmond. True Chicago cuisine.

Oh, and the girls baseball thing. I don't know why the movie glossed this over, but the entire idea for the AAGPBL was the idea of, yes, Phillip K. Wrigley. Spring training for the inaugural 1943 season was played at - woohoo - Wrigley Field. Well, there ya' go.

-

Another Late Reading List Item - Absolute Friends

Yet another book I actually finished a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't gotten around to posting to the list. I picked this book up for free in the "share box" at the Jefferson City office. I figured, how can you go wrong with John LeCarre? Well, you can't apparently. An excellent read, on par with any of LeCarre's earlier books, with the same elaborate plot development, counterintuitive twists, and great characters. Absolute Friends takes the LeCarre spy genre, and updates it to factor in the post 9/11 paranoia of the GWOT era.

NIU vs Miami

From Friday's Chicago Sun Times:

At the midpoint of their season, the Huskies are 3-3 and entering a critical stretch if they are to entertain hopes of reaching the MAC title game or a bowl game. Their next four opponents -- Miami (0-7), Akron (1-5), Eastern Michigan (0-6) and Ball State (0-7) -- are a combined 1-25. NIU should enter the final two games of its schedule, at Ohio (5-1) and at Central Michigan (6-1), with a 7-3 record.

Today's score:

NIU - 27
Miami - 22

The Huskies are 4-3, with 5 games left to play.

The photo - Matt at the Wisconsin game. The Huskie Hat was a great hit.

Spaghetti con Calamari

The impetus for this recipe was frozen squid on close-out at the Jefferson City West Gerbes (a grocery store chain, for the uninitiated). Frozen squid, medium sized, whole, for 1.99 a pound. Damned good price. I bought two pounds.

I looked on line for an easy squid recipe that didn't involve deep-frying (too much oil, too messy), and I came across a recipe on cdkitchen.com that involved pasta, but didn't rely on a breading, a white or red sauce. Other than the butter - you don't want to use margarine or a non-butter substitute with this - it was a one mighty healthy dish.

Here was the problem, though. I planned to double up on the recipe - good for school week leftovers, good for teenagers. But then I went shopping to buy out of stock ingredients, and it dawned on me what four pounds of tomatoes entailed. That's one big pot-o-food. I stuck with the original recipe - two pounds of tomatoes, with one pound of squid, one pound of pasta. Still a hunk of food.

Like every cook with their personal half-assed "improvements", I substituted Roma tomatoes for Italian plums, and liberally near-doubled dried, processed oregano, thyme, basil, and marjoram for fresh alternatives. Why? Because I live in friggin' Kansas City, for Christ's sake. Try to get fresh basil and Italian plum tomatoes here.

Finally, I went with store bought spaghetti, though if I was going this for a more formal group than hungry kids I would have used a better pasta. But, hey - "tubular spaghetti" (the original recipe)? What the heck is that? Tubular? Is that like groovy fettucine or totally rad ziti?

To make the tomato/calamari sauce, I used a Zojirishi electric skillet, which is much more controllable and easier to clean (up after) than a frying pan. Mmmm. I love electric skillets.

Overall, making the sauce, making pasta, serving to a hungry horde - easy peasy.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter or virgin olive oil
2 pounds Italian plum tomatoes, peeled & coarsely chopped
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound squid, cleaned, tentacles intact, body in bite-size
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 pound spaghetti or perciatelli (tubular spaghetti)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat butter or oil in large saucepan. Add tomatoes and onions and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until tomatoes break apart easily and onion is soft. Add squid, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes more. Add herbs and cook for 5 minutes. The squid should be very tender. Add salt and pepper and serve over pasta.

Oh, the photo. Totally unrelated to squid, curiously. It's my one favorite place in South Korea. The hostels south of the Sorak-san. Unfortunately, this exquisitely beautiful stream (and scenery) was destroyed by torrential flooding in 2006. A tragic loss, like burning the Mona Lisa. Sorely missed.

Your Daily NIU Football Fix

From today's USA Today. Hooah!

Northern Illinois defensive end Jake Coffman spent two tours of duty in Iraq while a member of the Marines where he was an engineer, setting up equipment for combat units to use.

Northern Illinois DE, Iraq veteran Coffman plays for 'the fallen'

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY
When Jake Coffman got the itch to get serious about football again after four years away from the game, he brought a unique perspective back to the field.
War can do that.

The Northern Illinois junior defensive end walked on in 2006 as a 22-year-old freshman after two tours of duty with the Marines in Iraq. A guy who knows what winning and losing is really about, Coffman understands shedding blocks beats evading mortar fire because he's done both.

"I was 18 years old and going into a war. That experience opened my eyes and made me appreciate a lot of things," says Coffman, now 25. "And to be in the situation I'm in now is really a blessing."

Coffman says facing a tough test in the classroom followed by a long, hard afternoon on the practice field is nothing compared to what he experienced in Iraq and what many of his friends and colleagues are still going through. His old unit was recently redeployed to Afghanistan.

"I still have friends there I think about all the time. I stay in contact with a lot of them, and they're on my mind every day," he says.

And so are friends and acquaintances who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Coffman has dedicated his career to them and writes, "For the fallen," on his wristbands before games. He then leads the Huskies onto the field while carrying the U.S. flag. "That's really a rush," he says. "To really know what it stands for means a lot."

Coffman was a linebacker and defensive end at Forreston (Ill.) High but says he was "pretty small" (about 180 pounds) coming out of high school and didn't receive offers to play in college.

"I needed something to pay for school because I didn't want to put a strain on my parents, and I thought the military would be a good way to pay for it," the now 255-pounder says.

"I thought the Marines would be the right fit for me; they're the toughest."

Showing an aptitude for electronics, Coffman became an engineer, setting up equipment for combat units to use when they arrived.

"It was electronic equipment repair, setting up generators, air conditioners, power grids, whatever was needed," he says.

His tours in Iraq lasted eight and seven months, and Coffman earned the rank of corporal while active, although he's now a sergeant on inactive duty. His term is to officially end in January.

It was while playing intramurals at Camp Pendleton in California after returning from Iraq that he began to get the urge to return to the sport. "I had made a promise to my father (Timothy) that I'd at least look into football and go to school when I was done," he says. "I had a lot of fun (in the intramural league) and realized I could still play."

In 2006, Coffman got in contact with then-NIU assistant coach Greg Bower, who had previously coached Coffman's brother-in-law. Joe Novak, then the Huskies' head coach, agreed to bring Coffman in as a walk-on.

He redshirted in 2006 while playing with the practice squad but then almost had his career derailed early in the 2007 season when he suffered a broken foot.

"I began to feel like maybe I was too old, maybe I can't take it. But at the same time, I had already played a little bit, and I got the itch to get healthy," he says.

Coffman returned last season, playing in 11 games, including the Independence Bowl, and finished with 22 tackles, three for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

On Oct. 3 of this year against Western Michigan, Coffman got his first career touchdown when he tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage, caught the ball and ran 79 yards for the score. He also stopped another Broncos drive when he recovered a fumble.

The exploits earned him Mid-American Conference West Division defensive player of the week honors.

"I guess I had some oil in my joints," Coffman says with a laugh when thinking about the long return. "People didn't think I had enough speed or juice."

NIU coach Jerry Kill called Coffman's interception "about the best thing I've ever seen as a coach. With what he's been through, it was just great to see."

Kill, whose team visits Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, says he notices a "unique relationship" between Coffman and younger teammates. It's one of respect for what he's been through, the coach says, "but at the same time, he's one of them."

"People seem to forget about the sacrifices that are being made (by military personnel)," Kill continues. "But what he brings to us means a lot. "

Coffman hopes to graduate in the spring, and if he does, he's undecided about returning for his redshirt senior season next year. He'd like a career in government service and might want to get on with it.

"I'm not sure yet," he says. "I'm having fun. Hopefully at the end of the year, I'll know."

The Pope's Gambit? The Times of London has a New York Times Moment

Zoinks! I read in awe the hyperbolic Times of London article "Pope's gambit could see 1,000 quit Church of England", written by one Ruth Gledhill - ostensibly The Times' "Religion Correspondent". Which religion she normally corresponds on isn't all that clear, but it certainly is not reassuring when the "Religion Correspondent" of the Times possesses such an appaullingly superficial understanding of the Roman Catholic Church. Oh, where to start?

"As many as 1,000 priests could quit the Church of England and thousands more may leave churches in America and Australia under bold proposals to welcome Anglicans to Rome".

Well, not that bold actually, and not all that new, since Anglican/Episcopalian priests, including those who are married, have been converting to Roman Catholicism for almost thirty years, since the practice was approved by the Pope in 1980. It's a rather tiny number, with a handful of married Catholic priests running around here and there. The only thing that has changed is that the Church is formalizing a more distinct mechanism for 'managing' Anglican converts - a move thought necessary by Rome following a spike in conversion requests over the past few years resulting from problems internal to the Anglican Church. The biggest change, actually, is a result of nothing more than volume: rather than having to enter existing Roman Catholic seminaries to "re-blue" as Catholic priests (the current practice), converting Anglicans will be allowed to establish their own seminaries, and churches will be allowed to retain some elements of the Anglican rite. But to characterize it as a sneaky poaching operation foisted upon the Anglican Church by Rome is ridiculous. OK, the next line is even sillier:

"Entire parishes and even dioceses could be tempted to defect after Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to offer a legal structure to Anglicans joining the Roman Catholic Church".

Again, nothing new here. This has been happening since 1980. For example, in 1991 St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in Arlington, Texas, became St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church, with the entire congregation becoming full members of the Catholic Church. The congregation voted on the change, and the pastor of the church was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. So, once again, no real news here.

"Anglicans privately accused Rome of poaching and attacked Dr Williams for capitulating to the Vatican. Some called for his resignation. Although there was little he could have done to forestall the move, many were dismayed at his joint statement..."

Anglicans? Some? Many? The lack of clarity in this bold, unsubstatiated statement is astounding. And no good article about the Catholic Church isn't complete without a bit of the ol' Pope-bashing:

"The Pope has already shown his determination to reunite Christendom at almost any price, welcoming back the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X despite a Holocaust-denying bishop in its ranks."

Here, Ms Gledhill, the "Religion Correspondent", shows her pretty-near absolute ignorance of Canon Law and the SSPX matter. The "traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X" has not been "welcomed back". Unfortunately, Ms Gledhill apparently does not understand the difference between disciplinary actions and doctrinal differences. Yes, the Pope lifted the excommunications of 4 SSPX bishops - but excommunications are individual punishments, not collective. The status of the SSPX itself, as a religious order, has not changed, as the Pope highlighted in his 10 March 2009 letter following the Williamson brouhaha (and, yes, Mr Williamson - I would not dignify him by addressing him as Fr or Rev - is indeed an air-thief):

"The remission of the excommunication was a measure taken in the field of ecclesiastical discipline: the individuals were freed from the burden of conscience constituted by the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. This disciplinary level needs to be distinguished from the doctrinal level. The fact that the Society of Saint Pius X does not possess a canonical status in the Church is not, in the end, based on disciplinary but on doctrinal reasons. As long as the Society does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church. There needs to be a distinction, then, between the disciplinary level, which deals with individuals as such, and the doctrinal level, at which ministry and institution are involved. In order to make this clear once again: until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church."

Of course, The Times correspondent could have easily fact-checked this, as it's all on the Vatican's website and easily searchable. But why let a few facts and understanding get in the way of a facile and easy bias.

By the by, I did visit the SSPX 'campus' in Kansas last year, where they run their own church and school. And, yes, in my opinion, they are total wack-jobs. Even if the SSPX order as a whole isn't quite as anti-Semitic as the ADL paints them, the atavistic views of some of their key leaders regarding Judaism puts them firmly at odds with the the Church's current relationship and doctrine regarding the Jews and the Jewish faith. So they aren't Roman Catholics. No matter how much they want to be. So there.

Oh, the photo - a beautiful little 100+ year-old settler church on the prairie in Saskatchewan, from my October 2008 road trip. A pleasant stop to stretch, meditate, and contemplate.

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

Toledo 20
NIU 19

OK. I'm done here.

Book List #3 - Nothing But Blue Skies

OK, I actually finished reading Thomas McGuane's Nothing But Blue Skies before the Penn Central book a couple of months ago. The initial interest was a novel about a guy living in the far west mountain country of Montana, a part of the country I really like. In that regard, Thomas McGuane did a great job in capturing the quirks, pace, and humor of life in a small rural mountain town in the far West. Similarly, I thoroughly enjoyed his main character Frank, a man left totally rudderless by his divorce, but comfortable and wealthy enough not to be desperate - and thus having a whole lot of time and aimlessness on his hands to make a whole series of slow-motion train wreck decisions. I that regard, the imagery was perfect - you could see the deliberate absence of reasoned thinking, as well as the oncoming cliff. What put it all together was Frank's basic 'niceness', and your hoping for him to find his way despite his basic knuckleheadedness. I came, I read, I enjoyed. A good read.

Book List Entry - "In Search of the World's Worst Writers"

I now can't recall where exactly I picked up a copy of Nick Page's In Search of the World's Worst Writers (London: Harper Collins,2000). But, oh, am I glad I did. Subtitled "A Celebration of Truimphantly Bad Literature", the book is a collection of short essays describing authors considered by Page to be among the worst ever to been published, culminating with the inimitable Amanda McKittrick Ros (pictured), considered by many as the worst published author ever (or, at the least, the worst abuser of alliteration). How good was this book? Tom's tip - don't read it in public. I laughed out loud reading parts of it, which is kinda frowned upon on Amtrak. Apparently, they have a low threshhold for loony behavior (unlike Greyhound, which is still a rolling freak show).

I would like to add a few quotes from Page's book here, but I don't know how he feels about such things. I've emailed him for permission.

One key element of a great book (like In Search of the World's Worst Writers) is when it inspires you to find out more. After laughing out loud reading Page's essay on Amanda McKittrick Ros, I found out a couple of pretty hilarious factoids:

First, she was considered so bad a writer that "she became the fad of the moment for the London literary crew, who threw Amanda McKittrick Ros parties at which they would take it in turns to recite favourite passages", and

Second, "The Oxford literary group the Inklings, which included such luminaries as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, held competitions to see who could read Ros' work for the longest length of time while keeping a straight face". Whoever laughed first, lost.

My one quibble with Page's list: he only gave Timothy Dexter two stars (on a one-to-five scale) for literary awfulness. I would have given him a couple more, for one very simple reason. "Lord" Timothy Dexter was so bad, he made other writers suck. I've read all of John P. Marquand's books, and Lord Timothy Dexter, which, ironically, was Marquand's first "biggie" that put him on the road to fame, is the only one that I found, in my humble opinion, practically unreadable. So Little Time it's not. Perhaps it just didn't age well.

As for Amanda, rare copies of her works are still around. Alibris.com is currently selling A.A. Milne's first addition of Delina Delaney for $651, and Abebooks has a first edition of Irene Iddlesleigh with a signed letter from McKittick Ros (ZOINKS!) for $251. Ah, for a bit of spare cash to splurge.

As for my copy of In Search of the World's Worst Writers, it's too good to keep to myself. I'll probably send mine on to Katie. For anyone else, it's worth finding, buying, and reading. Your darting orbs will become lachrymal lakes of laughter.

And Possibly Pants

Another humorous note from that bastion of ironic Midwest humor, the IGA store in Litchfield, Illinois. If it's hard to make out the blurry image, it goes from 'remove smocks" to "remove socks", to which another wit among the employees added ""& underwear" and then the best "and possibly pants". Great stuff.

No Punching? Huh?

I saw this note in the employee breakroom at a grocery store in Litchfield, Illinois. First, I normally eat off plates, but I kinda get what message they were trying to get across. And the writing thing. But, umm, "no punching". Is there some issue with furniture assault sweeping the Midwest I don't know about?

Don't Be Bitter, or In Brine

Another one of those oddities from the local Asian food store. Call me finicky, but I'm not instantly drawn to, or get a wild case of the yummies, by something with either "bitter" or "brine" on the label. Or a picture of a fruit, if that's what it really is, that looks all shriveled and wrinkly and about 50 years old. Decidedly unappetizing.

So That's Where Restaurants Came From

As seen in St Louis, en route to a Cardinals game.

The "original" restaurant? Really? What did they have before this? I can only imagine some folks cooking at home, and suddenly thinking "Hey, we call SELL this stuff!" And the rest is history.

And then, sadly, one day it closes. Another epoch closes. And the one and only Original Restaurant is lost to the ages. Like ancient Rome. Or the Romanov Dynasty. Or the St. Louis Browns.