This past weekend my niece and I were discussing our personal self improvement goals, and reasonable expectations for the foreseeable future. One of my goals for the next couple of weeks is to lose five pounds. I told her, to her dismay, that, at best, I would expect to have about ten good years left in me. I was a heavy smoker and drinker (alcoholic) from the age of sixteen to forty. My foreseeable future is defined by my past.
Which brings us to the subject matter of my new blog. I have always had a Peter Pan complex; I honestly believe that I am still "growing up". However, all too often reality rears its ugly head. The other day I was able to ride my bicycle thirty miles in the New Hampshire hills. Fifty miles may have been possible, one hundred, a "century", is only a fantasy. I love to eat, but I know I need to lose weight. I no longer drink alcohol, but I am addicted to coffee and only recently have begun to "kick" soda. My iced tea is herbal, but I haven't thrown out the black teas. Green vegetables are often an afterthought on the dinner menu and plate, but I am growing a garden this year. My lettuce crop was a success. I have used up all the old bottles of salad dressing and am now on extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So, as I was outlining the general theme for my blog, I searched for a mentor, a philosophical foundation to guide me through my golden years, and this blog.
I found one! Epicurus (Greek Έπίκουρος) (341 BCE, Samos – 270 BCE, Athens) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain a happy, tranquil state of existence. This could be achieved by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. Epicurus once observed, "The art of living well and the art of dying well are one." In modern popular usage, an epicure is a connoisseur of the arts of life and the refinements of sensual pleasures; epicureanism implies a love or knowledgeable enjoyment especially of good food and drink. This is not the case in Epicureanism. Epicurus regarded ataraxia (tranquility, freedom from fear) and aponia (absence of pain) as the height of happiness. He also considered prudence an important virtue and perceived excess and overindulgence to be contrary to the attainment of ataraxia and aponia. He argued that when eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later, such as the grim realization that one could not afford such delicacies in the future.
The beauty of choosing Epicurus as my guide is that very little of his original writings remain. I can pretty much cherry pick what I want and not worry that someone will quote an obscure passage from long lost book 88, chapter 312 and blow me away. He comes highly reommended: His emphasis on minimizing harm and maximizing happiness in his formulation of the Ethic of Reciprocity was later picked up by the democratic thinkers of the French Revolution. Others, like John Locke, wrote that people had a right to "life, liberty, and property." This triad, as well as the egalitarianism of Epicurus, was carried forward into the American freedom movement and Declaration of Independence, by the American founding father, Thomas Jefferson, as "all men are created equal" and endowed with certain "inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
I am particularly attracted by his notion of living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. We are in for some tough times. I am not a pessimist, but rising fuel and food prices in combination with plummeting property values will shrink the middle class. Welcome to the world of my childhood. When the doorbell rang it was often Sears, Roebuck looking to repossess our purchases. My Mom always had a bag of rags ready to hand them. She would say: "Oh, you must be looking for the dungarees", toss them the bag and close the door. The earliest known precursor to jeans is the Indian export of a thick cotton cloth, in the 16th century, known as dungaree. Dyed in indigo, it was sold near the Dongarii Fort near Bombay. Sailors cut it to suit them; but that's a story for another day.
I know that the masses are hoping that the changing of the guard through the upcoming US presidential elections will right the ship of state. Young evangelicals are singing the praises of Barack Obama as if he is the second coming of John the Baptist. I will never bet all my chips on God, or politicians. The opinion of the crowd is, Epicurus claims, that the gods "send great evils to the wicked and great blessings to the righteous who model themselves after the gods," when in reality the gods do not concern themselves at all with human beings.
Difficult economic times ahead. Hunker down. But live well. Welcome to Epicurean Health. We will discuss issues that can help us become more self reliant. And happy! I have started slow, so jump on board to either catch up quickly or help me out! I have my garden. I am drying my basil, but there must be a better way than hanging it on chopsticks held down by spice jars. What does it mean when some leaves turn dark while others remain green? I just bought a large pot for canning, but I am looking for the new Ball Guide to canning. Do I really need the new one or can I buy the ten year old copy from the thrift shop? I'll be on the path to lose weight, but I have no intentions of dieting. I'll learn to eat healthy and exercise more. I want to develop alternative sources of income. Our ultimate goal will be to attain a happy, tranquil state of existence. "The art of living well and the art of dying well are one."
Whether they are made of pork, as is most often the case, or of beef, veal, buck, goat, chamois, venison, sheep, wild boar, or horse, cured meats (salumi in Italian) were born of a need to conserve meat for months after the slaughter of the animal. Salting, smoking, and air-drying are the three processes by which fresh meat is transformed into a long-keeping staple.
While all meats are salted, some are smoked, and others are simply air-dried. Italians have been making an amazing array of cured meats for thousands of years using both noble and humble parts of the animals they raise. The ancient Romans prized the spicy pork sausages crafted in the southern region of Basilicata (called Lucania then, and giving rise to sausages named Lucaniche still eaten today). And, fond of intensely tasty foods, they smoked or salted whole pig thighs, yielding savory Prosciutti not unlike those still made in mountain villages across Italy.
Two thousand years later, pork remains Italy's favorite meat for curing. Pigs are especially prevalent in areas where there is a notable cheesemaking tradition: after all, wherever there is cheese, there is excess whey, which, combined with bran and corn, becomes perfect feed for pigs.
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The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in the comic book Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc fans and historians call "The Galactus Trilogy".
Originally a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, in order to save his home-world from destruction by a fearsome cosmic entity known as Galactus, Norrin Radd made a bargain with the being, pledging himself to serve as his herald. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a silvery appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return with everlasting exile there.
Stan Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own individual title in 1968. John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the eighteenth and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. The Silver Surfer comic book series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Englehart writes that Buscema and Lee were "pouring their souls into the series".
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