Nine years ago it wasn’t a verb. It wasn’t even a noun. It was a fledging business working out of a garage in Menlo Park, California. And the only Google most people had ever heard of was Barney.
Google itself doesn’t officially state the date the company started, but Web lore has it that it was incorporated on Sept. 7, 1998.
As you all know September is the Great American Low-Cholesterol Low-Fat Pizza Bake Month. This is the month we are encouraged to make pizzas with no-fat cheese, healthy vegetables, whole wheat flour (or better yet, soy) and no meat. To this we say, “pffft.” Celebrate Salami Day by making a REAL pizza. Yes, we know salami isn’t the topping of choice for pizza, but its fat-laden goodness is just the ticket for a yummy meal. If not pizza, how about muffaletta/muffuletta?
Muffuletta/Muffaletta
1-10″ round Italian loaf or 6 ciabatta rolls
About 1/2 pound each Italian cheese and meat: Genoa salami, Italian ham, Italian roast beef, mortadella, provolone, mozzarella, etc.
Olive salad
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Make olive salad a day ahead of time because the flavors need to marinate and also because it takes a long time to chop up everything.
Amounts are approximate (all amounts are after chopping.)
1/2 c. chopped pimento stuffed green olives
1/2 c. chopped pitted cured black olives (a couple of different kinds – about 1/3 – 1/2 lb. with pits total)
1/2 c. chopped giardiniera (mixed marinated Italian vegetables)
1/4 c. chopped cocktail onions
1/4 c. minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 T. chopped capers
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste, about 1 t.
Mix everything together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or over night. To assemble sandwiches, cut bread in half horizontally. Remove some bread from both cut sides to form shallow hollows. Spread half the mixture on the bottom. Layer alternating meats and cheeses. Cover with remaining spread. Cover with other bread half and squish down hard. This will make it easier to eat and also get the marinade into the bread. Cut into portions.
Sandwich can be made ahead of time and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
This is not in keeping with the somber tone of the day. However, it is an oldie, but a goodie.
Here’s some Pavarotti:
La Bohème, recorded in 1979 at La Scala
La l’Esir d’Amore, with Kathleen Battle and Dawn Upshaw
La Traviata: Joan Sutherland, Sherril Milnes, Frederica von Stade; Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera New York; conductor, Richard Bonynge
Tosca, it’s an LP, but worth a listen. Arguably his most famous role.
Here’s what we’ll bet you don’t know about Freddie Mercury: he was born in Tanzania, his real name was Farrokh Bulsara, and today would have been his 61st birthday.
The library doesn’t have any authentic Queen CDs, but we do have We will rock you, the “rock theatrical” with music by Ben Elton and Queen. You can check it out and hear that version of “Bohemian rhapsody,” or listen to all six glorious minutes of the real thing (with no visuals) on youtube. If all you know about Queen is “We are the champions” and “We will rock you,” you’ll be surprised and delighted at the musical intelligence and tight vocals.
As far as we know, people in Finland don’t usually stand around in contorted positions and gesticulate wildly. But today it’s happening in Oulu, Finland. Yes, it’s the Air Guitar World Championships, being held today and tomorrow. Talented (?) musicians (?) from all over the world will be competing. Part of the festivities is a training camp where novices learn the basics: history of the sport, choreography, and instrument maintenance. Instrument maintenance? Like keeping your nails clean and trimmed?
It’s too late for you this year, but to enter for next year, you need to send in “one-minute contest clip beforehand on a CD or a Minidisc.” Yes, do make sure that audio clip you send in fully represents your talent.
Anton Bruckner (1824) and Darius Milhaud (1892) share a birthday today. Austrian versus Frenchman. One old enough to be the grandfather of the other. One a composer renowned for symphonic works in the tradition of Beethoven and Schubert (with a Wagnerian twist) along with sacred compositions; devout Roman Catholic; virtuoso organist. The other an avant garde artist of the 1920’s who prodigious output spanned all genres and who, in the words of New Grove, was a “pioneer in the use of percussion, polytonality, jazz and aleatory techniques.” Couldn’t get much different. We’ve got tons of Bruckner and tons of Milhaud. Compare and contrast. And next April the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra will be performing Bruckner’s 4th symphony.
Forty-three years ago today if you were between the ages of, say, 10 and 20 and you were in Wisconsin, and especially if you were a girl, you were only thinking of one thing: tonight’s concert. You’d sent away for tickets the previous spring and were lucky enough to have gotten one. Good thing, too, because reports surfaced about tickets being scalped for as much as $20. Of course, back in the spring a lot of people thought no one would remember who The Beatles were come September. They were wrong. That $4.50 would prove to be about the best money you’d ever spent.
Sure, It’s Labor Day, but more importantly, it’s Bathtub Race Day. Should you have a bathtub with wheels, this would be an excellent opportunity to make use of it. But, really, you’ll need two. Or more.
We might seem a bit obsessed, but today is the beginning of National Waffle Week. And tomorrow’s Waffle Day. Here you see a portion of the drawing for U.S. Patent no. 94, 043. Fire up old number 94, 043 again this week.
