Just last week we were reading various reports about sharply rising food prices and demonstrations that were turning into riots in a number of countries. And then we had a revolution in Tunisia, toppling a dictator (western supported, of course) who had been in power for decades. And now we’re reading about concerns about a domino effect of the potential collapse of a variety of mideast dictatorships or kingdoms. And, true to form, we’re already seeing some governments furiously lowering food prices in an attempt to forestall more rioting—in fact, Algeria has already done so.

Let’s be clear about this—this should not have come as a surprise. What is surprising, perhaps, is that the demonstrations and rioting in Tunisia were actually successful in driving out a hated government—although what will replace it remains a bit unclear. Full story »

As the griddle began to heat up, it made a single loud crack. Then it sat silent for a couple minutes as I mixed my batter, then it cracked again.

Nothing broke. My griddle just likes to protest every time it wakes up.

I watched the little orange light next to the heat controller: It would go out once the griddle heated to 400 degrees.

I still had a few lumps in my batter to mix out, so I was in no big rush. I mix mine from a box of Bisquick. Nothing fancy. A couple eggs. A cup of milk. I’m golden.

I don’t do pancakes from scratch the way my dad’s mother used to. Full story »

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at a Henrietta’s Table in Cambridge, and the grandkids were fantastic, contrary to earlier intimations. And we got to top it off with some fine pumpkin and pecan pies, after the cheese course. The cheese course had a pretty good selection—mostly Vermont cheeses of different types. What was disappointing was their blandness. Cheeses are supposed to complement a meal—these did not, sadly. Like much American food, it was the overall drabness, the lack of any particular flavor, that stood out.

As is my wont, I compare what I find in the US with what I find in Britain. Like much food we find in the US, there are few US cheeses of quality, and few kinds in general. Britain, on the other hand, is rolling in cheeses, and for many they have come to represent the resurgence in the production of local food in Britain that has occurred over the past twenty years or so. Full story »

Last month the Financial Times had an important article on a disastrous Department of Agriculture report in early October on the state of US crop expectations. Specifically, the Department’s downward revision of this year’s corn and wheat crops in the United States. These downward revisions were something of a shock, because up to then the US corn and wheat crops were expected to be close to record levels, or at least pretty healthy. The turnaround came from a combination of bad weather in the US and Canada, specifically an exceptionally hot summer in US crop-growing regions. As a result, the DOA predicted that corn stocks would be at their lowest levels in 14 years. Since corn is the foundation for modern American agribusiness, the implications, not least for food inflation next year are pretty worrying. Sarah Palin withstanding, food inflation has been pretty mild in the US this past year–at 1.4%, it’s among the lowest levels recorded. But of course, that’s not necessarily true of the rest of the world. Food inflation is 8% year over year in China. But the US government’s (denied) policy of continued weakening of the US dollar isn’t helping either—as the dollar continues to weaken against other currencies, the prices of dollar-based commodities (and that includes oil and most agricultural commodities) will continue to rise. Check out the price of oil recently?
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Watching the game? Thinking you’d like something tasty and perhaps a little different to drink as the second half unfolds?

I’ve got just the thing.

Meanwhile, something to remember, in the true spirit of sport and fair play: Hate is too precious a commodity to waste on a sports team. Unless it’s the Raiders.

So i was just walking down the street the other day and this guy in a trenchcoat sidled up to me and offered me some milk. Now i’ll partake in a little cabbage now and again…recreationally, of course and i disagree that it’s gateway produce because i never touch milk. On special occasions i’ll even fool around with beets, but i’m not “in the scene” or anything. Good thing too, because The Man is starting to crack down.

Now i don’t know about you, but i’m pretty sure that we have better things to spend tax dollars on than busting raw milk rings.
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No, really, read it for yourself.

So, the largest global study detailing research into radiation and mobile phones plainly shows that there is no clear link between mobile phones and cancer.  The response from San Francisco is to ensure radiation labeling on phones.  Compare that with the science of cigarettes and cancer which has never been anything but unequivocal.

The Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, despite opposition from the cell phone industry which argued that it could impede sales and mislead consumers into believing some phones are safer than others.

And this will be both misleading and confusing.  Most countries have regulators that only allow phones that meet certain safety requirements onto the market.  Your phone, somewhere in the fine-print, says “FCC approved.”  So, except for illegally distributed phones, all US phones meet current safety standards.  Full story »

When I was young, summer always began with Memorial Day. Since I have a few moments between filling out applications, I thought I would enlighten the world with this sad but true tale of chickens and summer madness.

When we were kids, my brother and I had to sacrifice one week each summer to visit dad’s folks. That’s what we called them: dad’s folks. We did not look forward to the trip, because things are different out in the country.

In their middle years, dad’s folks were baked by the Great Depression, and they came out of that furnace overcooked, tough and hard. They used an outhouse, a decrepit structure I refused to enter. When people ask me why I’m so anal, I assure them there’s a reason. They drank well water that smelled like sulfur. They didn’t have a television, a car, a book, or anything else that could provide escape. Full story »

This should come as no surprise, but The New York Times breathlessly informed us yesterday that US farmers are starting to have a hard time coping with Roundup-resistant weeds. That’s right. Straight from the heart of the country where people don’t want to see evolution taught, farmers are getting a real-life lesson in evolutionary theory. I bet no one, absolutely no one, saw this one coming. Full story »

Those of you living in the South may already be at full speed in putting your garden out, but with D.C. predicting 20 inches of snow (which apparently requires apocalypse level preparation) and the still non-robotic groundhog predicting six more weeks of winter, most of us are in the seed catalog browsing stage of gardening. Soon enough – we hope – the ground will be workable; the sun will start turning necks red; and photosynthetic life will spring forth to please and nourish gardeners.

We here at Scholars and Rogues would like to know what plans you have, and we are offering a new service. Send us gardening questions and we’ll answer them.

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According to a BBC report:

A controversial Scottish brewery has launched what it described as the world’s strongest beer — with a 32% alcohol content. Tactical Nuclear Penguin has been unveiled by BrewDog of Fraserburgh. Full story »

Summer is gone Full story »

. . .or, why can’t we be more like the savage socialists across the pond?

Marion Nestle recently pointed out that in Europe food must be labeled as containing GMO’s. The system isn’t new, and it springs from a general distrust of GM agriculture in much of the world. Nothing, however, stops a company from using GM ingredients or consumers from purchasing GM products. Their presence is labeled with the allergens. Looks like a free market where the informed consumer can make choices, promote competition and generally play a part in the all important invisible hand mechanism. But, no, you can’t have it.

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An ear of corn is quintessentially summer. Full story »

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Went to Lucille’s this morning for brunch. (Best biscuits and gravy in .. the … world, by the way.) And guess who was sitting at the next table? Full story »

So the Rev. Joseph Lowery is among the many fine individuals newly awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2009.

The good reverend has had a long and storied career, with a recent highlight being his poetic excoriation of the Bush administration with President George W. Bush himself sitting behind Lowery as he spoke at Coretta Scott King’s memorial service in 2006.

What will the loquacious Lowery say at his Freedom Medal acceptance speech?

I can imagine it’ll go something like this: Full story »