From: S.Phillips (gkca16@udcf.gla.ac.uk)
Date: Thu 19 May 1994 - 17:09:08 EEST
Hello from Sam
I seem to be getting my dailies in a bizzare order - replies before questions etc. Maybe I have fallen into a time-warp...warp...warp...arp...rp..p..p..
MOB:
>I plead a late night's debauchery followed by early-morning
>earth-moving equipment over the back fence for fuddling my brain.
Is this some sort of Aussie euphemism for "calling on Hughie", "Telephoning Dr. Hurl", .. etc?
Sandy: (on today's "heated" debate - arf!)
> In discussions of food ere now, I've used the term "spicy" to
>mean "hot". By this I do NOT mean the food's actual temperature, but
>the fierce burning you get from chomping down on a hot chili or
>spoonful of white pepper.
Dinnae ye patronise me, Sonny-jim. >;-(=)
>Anyone who's had Korean kim chee can
>testify that a chilled food can be "hot".
Absolutely, Mmmm! Slurp! As is the morning after's vindaloo or bowl of chili eaten cold with a flat half-tin of beer and a somewhat stale pitta or nan - The best hang-over cure I know ;-j ..but this isn't quite what I meant to be taking issue with. I was trying to argue that the addition of a chili to a meal was not the *only* way of spicing up a bland meal and that many other cultures or cuisines used other strong flavoured spices to add interest to a meal.
> If you think of Cloves and Nutmeg as "hot", you must have a
>very mild-tempered palate.
No. I'd sooner eat a chili than a handful of cloves - or a nutmeg. "Heat" is a red herring here. Strong flavour is the thing. (or hallucinogenic properties in the case of the nutmeg - but that's a different matter).
You seem to be arguing that the addition of chili is the *only* way to make a bland meal interesting. The addition of a chili to a bland meal only leads to a hot bland meal. Chili is nearly always added with other strong flavours eg lime, cumin, lemongrass, cloves, cardomon, coriander, nam-pla,...
> Haggis is hot-flavored? I thought it was just oats and
>tidbits boiled in a sheep tummy.
You obviously haven't eaten a good haggis :'-( Perhaps I should bring a good one to Convulsion? No, okay - they are not "hot" by Thai or Indonesian standards. But they are peppery and very strong flavoured. They are *not* just old offal'n'oats (well they are but they don't taste like it) and they are definitely *not* bland. Grrrrrrr... With a good malt whisky (or a good cheap blend) they make a fine firey meal. The neeps are neccessary to cool the palate.
> The medieval recipes I've seen, including
>descriptions of feasts, are NOT hot by Mexican, Indian, Szechuan, or
>even Texan standards
Neither were Indian, Szechuan or Thai meals before the discovery of America. But they *were* "spicy". It was the Europeans who introduced "hot" food to the east.
Cullen O'Neill in X-RQ-ID: 4012 (filched from Joerg)
>> All (85%) Orlanthi males are initiated to Orlanth (KoS p.245f).
> To me the idea that 'All Orlanthi males' need to be actual
> initiates is ridiculous. Most are probably just lay members. I
> regard all information from KoS with suspicion anyway.
Why? What use are lay members within a culture? You are either *in* or you are a weirdo and are therfore *out*. People get linched for less. I play (yes that "p" word) that to the Sartarian Orlanthi clans there is a cheif god who all must love, follow and obey (in much a similar way as you do your cheif and king). This does not mean you cannot hold an alternative view on some aspects. Orlanth has many kin. Each hold different opinions. The Orlanthi are passionate people and love a good argument. But at the end of the day the kinship is what holds them together. If you do not see Orlanth as Rex then you cannot be kin. Be-Off!
Joerg:
>In Orlanthi society: if you are a male, act like Orlanth, if a
>female, like Ernalda. If you are a plowman, act like Barntar, if a
>charioteer, like Mastakos. If you're a warrior, act like one of the
>following: Orlanth, Humakt, Heler, Elmal, the Thunder Brothers,
>Urox, any greater hero.
Yes, yes yes!
I would add to this:
"If you are kin, honour the clan. If you are wise obey the chief".
Cullen?:
> I think associate cults were created to address this exact point.
Yes. By Godlearners with their bizzare way of expressing things. What is an associate? There are kin and there are outsiders. There are freinds and there are enemies. Anyone who does not recognise that Orlanth is the king of gods *cannot* be kin. In a predominately Orlanthi society any Orlanth associate religion would believe this. On the fringe they may play along to keep "in". Outside, the normal rules for "association" may not hold at all.
I am sure that culture will effect association as much as religion. A young Sartarian Uroxi may find it hard to embrace a Zorak Zorani as an "associate" the first time he met one. For, how *could* he be kin? He eats babies.. Doesn't he?
Keep the rules flexible.
If you don't like it - change it. If you don't know it - make it up!
>Nick nobly requests:
>>Where does all this "foolish/peevish" stuff come from? Did I
>>inadvertently do something to piss you off?
> Sorry. Just pulling your chain. Hadn't realized I'd picked on
>you more than others. Must mean I like you more.
Excuse me while I go for some early-morning earth-moving equipment over the back fence. This is the sort of thing that gives flame wars a bad name.
Happy eating.. Yum Yum!
Sam. x
Not Scotland but Sartar.
p.s. Anyone else for Haggis?
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