Well… It is the day after. (Or would be if we were publishing on Friday. Feel free to wait until the end of the week for your Roger fix if you need to.)
Safe and warm, I hope it finds you all.
So, what is a cornucopia anyway? Glad you asked. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary describes it as:
Main Entry: cor·nu·co·pia
Pronunciation: “kor-n&-‘kO-pE-&, -ny&-‘
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin cornu copiae horn of plenty
Date: 1508
1 : a curved goat’s horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance
2 : an inexhaustible store : abundance
3 : a receptacle shaped like a horn or cone
It’s one of the more ornate symbols associated with the Thanksgiving holiday, found in more newspaper ads for the day after sales, alongside the obligatory turkey or three.
A local railroad hereabouts used it as a symbol of prosperity in it’s own advertisements years back. The Tidewater Southern proclaimed proudly to be “Serving California’s Heartland” with various products flowing from the horn of plenty. Running from it’s connection with parent Western Pacific in Stockton through the communities of Escalon, Modesto, Hilmar and Turlock in the Central Valley. Today the remaining portions of the line are part of the Union Pacific system. Foster Farms (home of many, many chickens and parts) is one of the line’s biggest customers with many trains full of grain feed.
Not to worry, the Cranky Pants are safely tucked away today…
So, let’s see what I can offer to share from the information cornucopia that is the Internet today?
A tasty and healthy item we brought back from Oahu was a sampler of Macadamia nut oil. Worth trying if you’re looking for something healthy or just interesting to cook with. Oils of Aloha ships to the mainland for a reasonable fee. Roger sez try ’em out!
Reyn-Spooner has their 2003 Christmas shirts on sale now. Get one before they’re all gone!
While on the topic of the Islands, would you believe pineapple wine? I do! And it’s tasty! Try the Tedeschi Winery’s Maui Blanc!
A beer I sampled during our trip was the Longboard Lager from the Kona Brewing Company. They have a nice selection of other brews to temp you as well.
One last Hawaiian item for this time. Cheeseburger in Paradise may be a chain, but we enjoyed a quick meal here literally across the street from one of our hotels in Waikiki. Their webcam is kind of a hit and miss thing. I haven’t had a great deal of luck finding it operational. But the burger was first rate as was the live music. I did find it odd that we kept hearing the Eagles “Hotel California” being played at many of the places we stopped in to…
So do you kind of get the idea that I’m ready to go back or what?
Looking for a gadget for that hard to shop for person? Try this one from the Discovery Channel Store. I got one and it’s a winner.
I’ll be saying this one again and again. Got iTunes? Again, it’s FREE (as in no money to download or use! Got it?) and there may be more money going directly to artists from the sale of songs and albums than any other online music service. So run, don’t walk and get it if you haven’t already!
A place on my list to visit when I get back to Florida is the Orlando Museum of Arts & Sciences. For me, there are some fine vintage railroad cars now on display under cover in a new pavillion. The Milwaukie Road Skytop loungeis a deco masterpiece and the Budd dome car was once the private car of the Root family who were major benefactors for the Museum. Lots of other great items from their collections are on display as well. (The web pages are under construction right now, it appears.)
Although I wasn’t a regular viewer of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” during it’s first run, I have come to enjoy the soundtrack from the show’s musical episode, “Once More With Feeling“. Something especially funny about Anya and her aversion to bunnies…
Add me to the fans of NBC’s “Las Vegas”. I’ve always been a fan of James Caan, but this role seems to work well for him. Thankfully they don’t have it scheduled against “CSI“. Got a big chuckle out of the episode of “Las Vegas” that featured the science fiction convention in the Montecito Hotel and then the “CSI” episode that featured the furry convention. There is no truth to the rumor that the next PAFCON will be held at the Montecito…
The list of movies I need to go see just gets longer all the time. “Brother Bear”, “Master and Commander”, “Looney Tunes Back In Action”, “Return of the King”, “The Cat In The Hat”, “The Haunted Mansion”, “Timeline”, “Cold Mountain”…
I think I can pass on Steve Martin’s “Cheaper By The Dozen”. The original with Clifton Webb was good enough.
I’ve been good and haven’t added many Disneyland pins lately, but I suspect that will change next weekend with a visit to the Park. (I just can’t bring myself to call it the Disneyland Resort or DLR.) Trades, trades and more trades…
I’m looking forward to enjoying the Candlelight festivities for the first time. Somehow I’ve never taken it in before, so why not?
Coming up on the end of my cell phone contract. Maybe it’s time for one of those new and especially annoying phones with the polyphonic ring tones? Wonder if they have the Sabre Dance… Supposed to be lots of Disney songs among the list.
So, Arnold is officially “Da Guv” now. Let the games begin. Start here!
Speaking of which, I got less than a big thrill out of the recent Republican marathon on CSPAN. I’ve seen more entertainment on PBS Pledge Nights. It was a question of which side could prove to the American public who are the bigger idiots. A close tie, I thought.
Real estate folks in Sacramento are drooling at the prospect of a big sale to Arnold and Maria. The original Governors Mansion hasn’t been lived in since the Reagan administration; guv, not prez. Something about lack of fire protection. And the current place is just too down scale for the big guy. Maybe the McBane compound is available?
The honeymoon officially ended the day after he was sworn in. And that was just the media!
And just as Gee Dubbyah is not my president, Ahnold is not my governor. Don’t blame me, I voted for Arnold Ziffle, and extra points if you know who he is and why he was a better choice than the above. (If anyone knows about mud, this guy does. And rolling around in the mess that is California politics is definitely dirty. I need to go wash my hands just typing about it…)
Now here’s something I bet you didn’t know. November is National Model Railroad Month. A group I’m a member of will be open this weekend. The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society operates one of the most mountainous model railroads in the country. The Diablo Valley Lines operates trains from all over the country and the world. Hey, everyone needs a hobby!
Don’t recall if I shared this with you or not. If there is a place for real San Francisco food (not cuisine, just food) then Original Joes is it. The San Francisco Chronicle had this great piece including the recipe for “Joe’s Special”, a personal family favorite.
Have you got a favorite childhood friend who could use a visit to the spa? No, not that one. How about that plush bear or other? The Teddy Bear Hospital can renew even some of the most difficult cases. Note that their full up until 2004 after the holidays…
Funny as this may seem to some of you back east, we got snow and in good amounts up in the Sierra. Now this early in November that’s a good thing for Cal-E-Forn-E-Yah. That means water later on, and we need all we can get.
Stop by my web pages for some new galleries with views from some of the 2003 private car trips. Thanks to a fortunate set of circumstances, we have a little private car trip now scheduled for Saturday, December 13. It is a roundtrip from Oakland’s Jack London Square Amtrak station to Sacramento and back using two fine cars. Only $75 per person including soft drink service aboard. Details on the times and the cars are also on the web pages. A great little opportunity to see what this travel experience is all about…
And on that note, this column skids to an end.
“Where’s the Kaboom? There’s supposed to be an Earth shattering Kaboom?”
— Marvin the Martian, “Hare-way To The Stars”
Next week? Well, who knows… Maybe Roger will finish a piece or two he’s got stewing away for you?
And if you’ve got spare change looking for something to do, share it with someone for whom it makes a difference.