Mags, Meds, Roasts, and Song

Friday, August 20, 2010

Dear Uncle Gus,

If you could only read one magazine for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Signed,

Alfred E. Neuman

Dear Alfred,

Although I grew up reading my parents' old Mad magazines, my tastes have changed over the years.

Strictly speaking, this is really a journal, but it is what I'd pick: The Objective Standard.

***

Dear Uncle Gus,


Will prescriptions be necessary for presently OTC supplements under Obama's health plan, or is that only a scurrilous rumor among nurses?

Signed,

Vigilis

Dear Vigilis,

I am not completely sure, but at least according to one big fan of getting the state to pay for such things, they won't be covered, so perhaps you won't need a prescription for them.

Personally, I'd file that under, "Least of Our Worries."

***

Dear Uncle Gus,

Have you ever tried civet coffee? If not, would you try something such as that after knowing where it came from?

Signed,

Anita Koch

Dear Anita,

I have not.

After the ... processing, the beans are washed and then roasted above the temperatures used for dry heat sterilization (although not so long as that process). I might try such coffee -- provided I could assure myself that the beans are sterile, or at least that there have been no cases of people becoming ill from such coffee.

I'm an adventurous eater and drinker, but it may help you to know that there are things even I won't try. (Do not click if you are eating, unless it's casu marzu. You have been warned.)

***

Dear Uncle Gus,

What might Mozart have said in amazement to have learned Hu Ching-Yun would someday perform his sonata?

Signed,

Siligiv Rachton

Dear Siligiv,

Not knowing the German language, I haven't a clue, but it might depend on what he thought of the performance. I think he'd be pretty happy, though, not to mention, amazed.

-- CAV

If you'd like to ask a question, just type it into the box at the upper right labeled, "Ask Uncle Gus."

2 comments:

mtnrunner2 said...

>casu marzu

Ugh. Why is it every country seems to have something like that, which no one in their right mind would eat? I think some native pranksters just like to beat up on unsuspecting visitors and ambitious cable show hosts.

Gus Van Horn said...

And what really makes thing like that incredible is that, in every case, someone had to be the first to try it.

The only way I can imagine casu marzu coming about is by accident, perhaps with someone eating some cheese, really enjoying it, and then discovering the "secret" behind what made it that way.

Learning about the oddities of our world can be quite an absorbing sport sometimes.