Yesterday’s dinner was centered on country-style pork ribs. I defrosted them carefully at refrigerator temperature, marinated them in a blend of orange and pineapple juice, nuoc mam, shoyu, canola oil, sarachi, salt, and pepper. They were returned to the refrigerator to absorb the various flavors.
The weather was slightly cool, partly cloudy, and suitable for grilling/smoking. I’ve used up my lump charcoal and had only briquettes to use yesterday. I store charcoal in a plastic container that holds about two standard bags. I use a chimney device with newspaper to light charcoal and develop suitable coals for grilling.
When it was time to light the fire I stuffed newspaper into the lower chimney compartment, then poured briquettes and some small residual bits of lump charcoal into the upper compartment. I lit the newspaper and watched as the usual streams of smoke poured skyward. Normally, 15 minutes of burning will produce a can of hot coals, ready to be spread out and used for grilling. Yesterday the magic did not work. The top of the chimney was cold. No problem, more paper, more flame, more time. 15 more minutes pass and still no hot coals. Insanity is repeating the same series of events and expecting a different result. I noticed some powdered charcoal pouring into the chimney with the briquettes. A large screwdriver poked into the chimney causes a lot of powdered charcoal to fall out into the bottom of the grill. The third time was most definitely not the charm.
The sun is going down; it’s getting cooler, and later. I’m getting annoyed at inanimate objects, at the laws of physics and chemistry that determine combustion and combustion rates. I’m also annoyed at myself for failing to light a fire that a Tenderfoot scout should be able to ignite in ten minutes. As I mutter, it grows darker and cooler. I could use the broiler and cook indoors but the small stream of smoke from the few briquettes that are trying to burn taunts me; and I know that the chimney will somehow smolder all night if I walk away.
Finally, at the time I expected to have dinner prepared, I dump the briquettes onto the grill grates. What appears to be a liter of powdered charcoal pours out too. I rebuild the chimney, without the powder, and try for the fourth time. Dinner is late but tasty.
I know that the powder was so tightly packed into the chimney that it blocked most of the air flow needed to light the charcoal above it. When I was poking at it with the screwdriver I was hoping to open some air channels. As easily ignitable as such charcoal is, it should have caught fire and burned upward like a blast-furnace or a solid fuel rocket engine. If, if, if, it had only had sufficient air flow to allow oxygen to reach the carbon. The residual burned brightly and rapidly from the top down.
This morning I saw a replay of a political ad designed to prevent Latinos voting, specifically voting for Democrats. This is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise an entire voting population selected by ethnicity. The source, the funding for such a despicable ad, is the GOP propaganda machine and the bottomless source of money that flows from business and corporate interests because of the Roberts Supreme Court decision. Much of the funding, funneled through the “Chamber of Commerce,” is from foreign sources. The GOP apparently has no problem allowing foreign interests to own the country as long as the GOP and Tea Party elite get their share of the pie.
The Tea Party mobs, screaming repeatedly and loudly about freeing citizens from “the elite” fails to realize how much of their funding is directly provided by the wealthy, corporation owning, business managing, offshore account holding, revolving Board members who make up the “elite” that owns country clubs, private colleges, and Congress.
I’ve never considered the use of proper grammar, ability to spell, ability to speak coherently, and the pursuit of knowledge to make one a member of “the elite.” I’ve always considered those things to be an essential part of preparing one’s self to become an informed and conscientious citizen and voter. If that makes me an “elitist” I can only conclude that the nation needs many, many more “elitists.”
In concert with the above, I offer the Op-Ed piece written by Maureen Dowd comparing and contrasting Marilyn Monroe and Sarah Palin (and the Palin Clones)
When it comes down to intellect and one’s desire to improve and learn, Ms. Monroe leaves Ms. Palin in the dust. Marilyn wanted to learn, wanted her intellectual appeal to match or exceed her physical appeal. Palin sees no reason to advance intellectually at all beyond middle school; and hasn’t.
“Making Ignorance Chic”
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: October 19, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/opinion/20dowd.html?ref=maureendowd
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