The Ugly Stepsister of Japanese Holidays

It just so happens to be National Founding Day (kenkoku kinen-bi) in Japan, so go eat some sushi in celebration. This just so happens to be the most boring Japanese holiday there is. It's apparently a very conterversial holiday, so most people are too scared to do anything other than flying a Japanese flag outside their homes.

Why is it such a conterversial holiday? Well, it wasn't always National Foundation Day. It used to be Empire Day (Kigensetsu); then it was a whole lot more exciting.

Waitangi?

Today is Waitangi Day. It's sort of New Zealand's founding holiday. Today marks the day when the original inhabitants of New Zealand, the Maori, finally signed a treaty ending the war for the contested land. The Maori signed the treaty rather fast to avoid running out of food provisions. The terms appeared to be good but now the Maori feel duped. This is partly because of bad translations of the treaty and also because some of the terms of the treaty have been ignored by future generations of kiwis. Much like our Columbus Day celebrations the Waitangi Day celebrations are often a magnet to native protestors. In many past years the flagpoles on which the New Zealand flags have flown were cut down in protest. In 2004 the Maori managed to raise their flag on a close by tree higher then the New Zealand flag; this was seen as a very bold and disrespectful move. I think it was a rather tame reaction.

In New Zealand the celebrations for Waitangi day are very formal. They begin the previous day with political dignitaries being welcomed into the Maori meeting house to hear speeches from the local iwi, or tribes. Then they debate about the issues brought forth late into the night. The next day the Royal New Zealand Navy raises the New Zealand flag, Union Jack and White Ensign. Then there is a church service and some Maori singing and dancing. There's also a thrilling re-enactment of the first governor of New Zealand, General Hobson, being called ashore to sign the treaty. Finally the flags are lowered.

Recently kiwis who've relocated in London have been celebrating Waitangi day. In London the celebration is a lot more fun. Here, they've decided to have a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line. They travel counter-clockwise from Paddington to Temple. The goal is to ingest one drink at each of the 27 stops on the Circle Line. The less hardcore participants only stop at a few of these stations. Participants wear costumes for the celebration and all gather at Westminster waiting for Big Ben to strike 4 p.m. A large scale haka, a traditional Maori dance, is performed and many sing their kiwi favorites.

Mexico's Constitution Day, Mouse Hunting, Pastries, and Italian Food

I have a lot to cover. First off, today is a public holiday in Mexico. Dia de la Constitucion is today. Today commemorates the birth of the constitution of Mexico. I couldn't find any interesting things on its celebration, but oh well. One good way is to go to a new eatery on Metcalf called tienda Casa Paloma Mexican Market. We sampled it last night and it was pretty decent. I like Torreons close to Shawnee Mission West, my old alma mater. One of Rob's old classmates now runs it.

My cat finally did something useful Thursday night. She caught a mouse; I immediately jumped up on my bed. I eventually got down and got a box to scoop the still alive caught mouse into; my cat is evidently gentle when it comes to mouse catching and didn't want to let go of her new toy. I freed it but it probably just ended trotting right back into my house.

I finally made it to JCCC's pastry sale on Friday. It was well worth the short walk. I got a ginormous amount of pastries for seven dollars. I used to have to wear an outfit kind of close to theirs. My hat was a bit less ridiculous looking.

Tonight I'm cooking Italian food. Pasta Fazool is one of my favorites. I also cheated and made a box version of Boston Cream Pie. I choose to try to ignore the Super Bowl. I have my first Chemistry test Monday so I should probably go study.

Rob's Pasta Fazool (Pasta E Fagioli)

1 T. olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped coarsely
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ lb dried Soldier beans or cannellini (available at Whole Foods)
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried basil
½ t. dried thyme
½ t. dried rosemary
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
14-ounce can tomatoes, drained (I prefer roma tomatoes)
1 rind (about ¼ pound) Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 oz very small cut tubular pasta, such as ditali (Barilla calls ditalini)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and chopped fresh basil for garnish

Cover cannellini with water and let soak at least 24 hours; dispose of any beans that float to the top, this is a sign that they have gone bad.

Place the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add the celery, onion, and garlic; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, dried herbs, broth, water, tomatoes, and cheese rind. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking, covered, stirring occasionally. This part of the preparation is finished when the beans are soft, about 1 to 2 hours (depending on the age of your beans).

When the beans are soft, remove cheese rind from the pot and add the pasta. Cook fazool for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta is done. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in wide bowls, garnishing each serving with a drizzle of olive oil, about a tablespoon of cheese, and about a teaspoon of fresh basil. This recipe serves four as a main course.

Note: This recipe is from the snobs at Dean and Deluca. I have never located ditali in Kansas City; mini elbow macaroni works well. Without soaking the beans; I’ve never been able to get them soft. I recommend doubling the recipe, cooking in a Dutch oven or stockpot, and adding garnishes way more liberally.

Punxsutawney Propaganda

According to Punxsutawney Phil and a gaggle of professional meteorologists there will be six more weeks of winter. I've also learned that much like God and our fearless leader, Punxsutawney Phil is infallible. Unfortunately like many of the things that come from any of these characters mouths there is a loophole; he's not talking about New England or even any other part of the U.S. specifically. He's 100% accurate somewhere on the planet Earth; and quite possibly somewhere else in a galaxy far, far away.

Punxsutawney Phil not only has his own cult complete with an inner circle (they really freak me out) but also has many rivals. Staten Island Chuck calls for an end to winter and also dreams of changing his name. Phil is also apparently a lush, who threatened sixty more weeks of winter to try to end prohibition; I hope next year he joins NORML. I think purely to annoy me he also gives his predictions in rhyme. This years is particuarly horrid:

"It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Around the country there are many imitators of me.

In Harrisburg there is Gus who appears on TV
working for the lottery.

Then all around town,
Cute groundhog statues abound.
They all look like me, I found.

Today on the Knob as I'm doing my job,I don't like this likeness of me.
It's my shadow I see.

Six more weeks of mild winter there will be."

Historically speaking, some people think this tradition came from Candlemas Day traditions. According to the official history the Romans introduced it to the Germans who used a hegdehog to do their weather predictions. The Germans moved to Pennsylvania and since there were more groundhogs then hedgehogs around Gobbler's Knob, they decided to use groundhogs to do their bidding. New England winters are historically only half over by February. If global warming prevails however, we won't need to worry about any of this winter crap.

Holiday Crap Aside

This week has been pretty good so far. Sunday I went to a church voluntarily for the first time. It was interesting. Universal Unitarianism may be as close as I could ever come to a religion that sums up my beliefs; hell there are even some atheists who attend this church. The sermon was on fascism in the United States; it was a bit more like a political rally then a sermon but that's why I attended in the first place. I don't know that I'll go regularly or anything but it was nice to actually feel like there are people here in Overland Park, Kansas who are actually somewhat liberal. I was beginning to wonder. The only parts that were awkward for me were the group singing and the greeting part. I don't like to be forced to be social.

After church I went to Bo Lings for a little Chinese New Year's Eve celebration of my own. Don't trying going to the locations with Dim Sum on this date; they're all packed. I was going to go to Blue Koi and I'd called to see if they were doing anything special for the holiday. I asked about New Year's Eve and listed the date to make sure the trip would be worthwhile. Something must have been lost during the cross-cultural communication because they're closed every Sunday. Oh well, Bo Lings sufficed.

Tuesday was a pretty fun day because I got to go to Chemistry lab. Yes, I am so much of a nerd that I think Chemistry lab can be fun. In my opinion you can't get much better then playing with fire and hydrochloric acid in the same day. We got to see the different flame colors produced with different kinds of metal.

Well that's pretty much been it. A lot of studying with a few moments of entertainment interspersed here and there.