“STREET” PAINTINGS

I put the word “street” in quotes because a few of these are not in the street.  Most are. Comments from me not needed.

 

 

The lesson for the day --

DIFFERENCES AMONG FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS

This all started with an article in the San Jose Mercury Food section that stated that artichokes are not a vegetable, but a flower.  That got me wondering,, what is the difference among fruits, vegetables and flowers.  Is a tomato, for example, a fruit or vegetable.  (The short answer is “yes”).  Several Google searches led to some fascinating information. 

It appears that the answer to the question depends on the context, and that there are two possible views.  (Well, three, really, but we’ll get to that later.)  In a botanical context, a fruit is the ripened ovary, together with seeds, of a flowering plant.  In other words, if it has seeds, it’s a fruit.  But then that means that not only are the sweet and fleshy foods, such as plums, apples and oranges considered fruits, but so are pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes.  (Except that now there are seedless cucumbers).

“Vegetable” is a culinary term, and its definition has no scientific value.  In culinary terms, a vegetable is a plant grown primarily because it produces an edible part.  This includes:  Root crops like potatoes, carrots and turnips, Bulbs like onions and garlic, Stems like asparagus and rhubarb, Leaves like lettuce and cabbage, and (ahem) Flowers like artichokes, broccoli and cauliflower.

Case solved, right? Not quite. The United States Supreme Court entered into this fascinating debate and gave a legal verdict on whether a tomato should be classified as a vegetable or a fruit. They decided unanimously, in Nix versus Hedden, 1883, that a tomato is a vegetable, even though it is a botanical fruit.

I stated earlier that there are really three possibilities, and this is the one I like.  This is the youngster version:  If we like it, it’s a fruit; if we don’t, it’s a vegetable.


A GREAT SATURDAY, part 2

After Batman rescued Robin from ... oops!  Wrong movie.  When last heard, we had made it into the theater, and got to see a most intriguing documentary. San Francisco - the American Jerusalem is the story of a sleepy, non-descript village in the early 19th century on the western edge of the continent that was transformed when in 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on the American River. That triggered a mass rush of people from literally all over the world.

Included in that migration were many Jews from central Europe. In Europe the Jews were treated as second class citizens, confined to ghettos, and denied the right to earn a living in most businesses. There the hierarchy made and enforced the rules. With the discovery of gold, California became the Promised Land.

San Francisco exploded from a sleepy little village into the major port of entry into California. And the Jews discovered that there was no hierarchy here to limit them as to where they lived, how they earned a living, or how much influence they were able to exert.  The following is from the online description of the documentary: “Puzzled visitors to San Francisco often wander around wondering where the Jewish neighborhood is, or at least was. Fact is, beginning with the city’s boom in the 1849 Gold Rush, Jews have been assimilated into nearly every corner of San Francisco life, helping build, grow and define the city—as well as being shaped by it—in ways that are unique in American and Jewish history.”

Among the emigrating Jews were young men whose names you may recognize. One was Adolf Sutro, who became the first American Jewish mayor. There used to be a marvelous set of swimming pools called Sutro Baths that friends and I as youngsters used to go to regularly. Unfortunately, that is no longer there. Another was a young fellow by the name of Levi Strauss. Well, we know what he produced. You may be wearing such right now.

There was one funny bit in the film. The Jews built a new synagogue, and in it was a beautiful stained glass window depicting Moses coming down from the mountain with the tablets of the 10 Commandments. In the background we can see the mountain – – Yosemite’s Half Dome. That had the audience laughing.

Then in the late 1800s there was another wave of Jewish emigration following the Russian pogroms. This was of particular interest to me because my parents came from that part of the world about that time.

All in all this was a most satisfying experience. But that was not the end of our Great Saturday. Just a few doors down from the theater there is a Fish Market restaurant where Cliff and I decided to have dinner. As Cliff started to turn into the parking lot, he had to stop suddenly because cars were jamming the driveway. But how lucky could we get? The very first space in the lot was a handicap slot, and it was empty. So Cliff pulled in. Bingo number one. He got my scooter and we headed to the restaurant entry. I was thinking at the time that there must be a crowd of people waiting to be seated. Sure enough, there were about a dozen people ahead of us. I pulled up to the desk and asked, “How long is the wait?” “How many in your party?” “Just two.” “Oh, we can seat you right now.” Bingo number two. Dinner was delicious, too.


Cartoons --

A GREAT SATURDAY

Really!  A friend of mine (hi, Boyd) alerted me to the SFJFF - the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and to one specific film that would be playing nearby.  As I was born and raised in San Francisco, San Francisco - the American Jerusalem particularly interested me.

Getting tickets started off ominously. The film was only going to be played the one time at this location, and I had little more than a week to get tickets. The online website gave a phone number to call, and when I did, I got a message saying to leave a message, and someone would get back to me. That day no one did. I tried the next day with the same results, by which time I’d reached the weekend preceding the show.  No calls over the weekend. Finally, on Monday before the showing, someone did call. I ordered tickets for Cliff and me.

Saturday we left at what I thought was early, only to find a parking lot jammed with cars. We also saw the line of people waiting to get in.  It was only about a block and a half long.  I’d been warned that the show was sold out! Cliff stopped and got my scooter out of the back of the van, and I rode over and got in line while Cliff found a place to park.

We waited. And we waited. The line was not moving. When it did start to move forward, it was moving pretty fast -- too fast for people to be picking up tickets at Will Call, which is where our tickets were supposed to be.  So I sent Cliff to go find Will Call, and he came back with our tickets. The line shuffled along, and we finally found ourselves inside.  Dark.  The movie had not yet started, so I turned on my scooter headlight. I’d been told that there was wheelchair space at the back of the theater, but with the crowd, I couldn’t see it. Someone called out “Over here!” and sure enough, there was a slot for me to park, with a seat for Cliff right next to me.  Good.

And then what happened?  Tune in tomorrow and learn how the Lone Ranger and Tonto ... uh wrong film ... and learn about the film itself.  Most interesting.


Humor --

Remember these?

Does your husband
Misbehave
Grunt and grumble
Rant and rave
Shoot the brute some
Burma-Shave

                                          Golfers!
                                          If fewer strokes
                                         Are what you crave
                                         You're out of the rough
                                         With
                                         Burma-Shave

You'll love your wife
You'll love her paw
You'll even love
Your mother-in-law
If you use
Burma-Shave








                   ...and my favorite --

                                           Ben met Anna
                                           Made a hit
                                           Neglected beard
                                           Ben - Anna split
                                           Burma-Shave

FOLLOW THE HEADLINES, part 2

Here are some more headlines to simply amaze you!

Oh, good!  I can watch it on the radio!

What a discovery!

Unbelievable!

But no headache?

I can beleive at.

Okay, I'm gonna be sick next Tuesday.

Don't just lie there!  Say something!

FOLLOW THE HEADLINES

It’s amazing what one can learn from the daily paper!  For instance ...

What were they expecting?

Marshmallows?

Tahts ritgh

That sure surprises me.

Shall we tell them?

Wow!  What you can learn from statistics!

CATS ‘N DOGS

These I thought were funny, or cute, or ... whatever you make of them.

Keeps him out of trouble.

 Oh, goody! My favorite whatever-it-is!

Pretty nifty!

You my baby sitter today?

Quite a menagerie

So that's how they get the picture on the package!

Ooooh, delicious.  I was hungry.

Look at that!

No, I don't have black eye.  That's the way I am.

Humor --

SOME THINGS THAT ANNOY

People who ask, "Can I ask you a question?".... Didn't really give me a choice there, huh?  (What if I say ‘No”?)

Which is similar to when you dial a number, someone answers, and asks, “Will you hold, please?” You have a choice?

When something is “new and improved”... Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it—it couldn't be new.

When people say, "Life is short." Well, for heaven’s sake! Life is the longest thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

When you are waiting for the bus and someone just arriving asks, "Has the bus come yet?" If the bus had come, would I be standing there?