Yearly Archives: 2012
Can a building ever be cuddly?
Copyright David Gardener-Flickr
They are made of steel and glass, of reinforced concrete and plastic, of bricks, mortar, marble and granite. They tower over London, they soar into New York skies, they arrest the eye in Beijing and defy gravity in Dubai. Love them or hate them the world’s iconic buildings are works of art, extraordinary achievements or eyesores – depending on your point of view.
Magnificent, extraordinary, breath-taking, ridiculous, wasteful, ground breaking, stupid – whatever your opinion they are here to stay. Well for the moment anyway. The architects of the brutal tower blocks and ugly egg boxes of the sixties and seventies can hardly have imagined they’d see their creations razed to the ground in their lifetimes. And so it may be with the current crop. Though not for some time.
These edifices are variously stark, glittering, towering, monumental and inspirational. They are larger than life, not on a human scale. Yet we persist in giving them cuddly, human nicknames. No sooner does the press get whiff of a new building than they slap on a pet name. Of course some of these may have been coined from the grass roots, but in general I imagine they first appear in the media. That said, it’s one thing to name a building and another to have the name stick. The fact that they are widely used is down to the fact that they fit and that people accept them. And the more they are used, the more they stick.
This didn’t happen so much in the past. Buildings like the Chrysler and the Empire state weren’t given nicknames although the latter has one of sorts since the Empire State was in fact a nickname for New York State itself. These skyscrapers were, in the main, the flagships of large corporations. And were built in a very different era from ours where corporate dignity would not contemplate such indignity – besides the names themselves were a form of publicity. One notable exception was the Flatiron building at 175 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. Indeed the whole district subsequently took the name.
Perhaps it’s a sign of our changing attitude to corporations – we are more cynical, less reverent and at the same time less compliant. The corporations and architects too are complicit – having your iconic building known by a popular and cuddly name is good marketing. London currently has at least 10 of these buildings in varied and extraordinary shapes and sizes. The one thing they have in common is standout futuristic design and cuddly human scale nicknames. With one exception.
Perhaps another reason is the way that their shapes virtually dictate their names. Thus we have the Gherkin at 30 St Mary Axe, soon to be joined by the Can of Ham nearby at numbers 60-70. In fact the City of London has quite a cluster of food and kitchen inspired names. There’s the Cheesegrater at 122 Leadenhall Street and the Pint at 20 Fenchurch Street, though the latter is more popularly known as the Walkie Talkie. For more food inspired names you have to travel to City Hall on the South Bank, or the Onion, and to the Olympic Park where the Velodrome is known as the Pringle. Although the Shard, at 32 London Bridge, is known by some folks as the Salt Cellar, the former is the name that has stuck. It’s an appropriate name for the tallest building in Western Europe and is the exception – there’s nothing cuddly about a shard of glass.
Some people loathe this anthropomorphising of buildings. Others decry what they see as the destruction of the London skyline. I like the names. And the buildings – they add interest and quirkiness, enlivening the surrounding areas. London Bridge, traffic nightmare that it is at present due to the construction work, is a case in point. The Razor, London’s newest high-rise apartment building with its built in wind turbines will, I hope, generate new life into Elephant and Castle. It would be difficult now to imagine London without its Eye. And the Helter Skelter, formerly known as Bishopsgate Tower, will continue the fairground theme. The names are fun, the buildings are beautiful and weird and strange. I defy anyone to catch a glimpse of the Eye shining electric blue at night or to see the Shard rising through the mist and not be moved.
The Onion
Whiskers on kittens and marmite on porridge ….
Courtesy of www.mycuteanimals.com
… high protein cockroaches and bacon with cupcakes. No these are not a few of my favourite things, except for the whiskers on kittens bit. I wouldn’t be averse to having a go at bacon cupcakes though but I hate marmite. Hate, it hate it hate it. Bacon, however, seems to be very much in vogue. With absolutely everything. And I don’t think it started with Heston but maybe he’s the one who got everyone at it.
A little while ago I wrote a piece about food fads and fetishes for Eat Me magazine. While doing the research I was surprised to discover some of the things people will eat, still less enjoy. I’m not talking about the milder combinations like cheese and strawberry jam. Or cornflake ice cream (which is delicious) or even ham and marmalade spaghetti. But yes, in Malaysia they do eat marmite on porridge. Other weird combinations include banana with mayonnaise and Nutella and peas. Some folks like to eat everything frozen – M&Ms, grapes, pickle juice, mashed potato and not surprisingly ice cubes.
Of course not everyone is content with simply eating their food. Smearing foodstuffs all over your partner and licking it off again is considered fairly normal nowadays – though I doubt that as many do it as say they do. I certainly prefer my chocolate straight out of the pack and my olive oil on the salad. But then I don’t like being sticky. Some don’t stop at chocolate and olive oil, or so I’m told. Cream, golden syrup, sticky toffee pudding. These I can understand. But mashed potato? And Tapenade?
Unusual as some of this may seem, it’s nothing compared to the things some people put in their mouths. Most of us will have heard of pregnant women and small children eating coal or dirt. This is actually a form of pica, a disorder that leads people to crave substances not generally considered food. Some forms of pica can be genuinely distressing and can also be dangerous. Not only is there a risk of poisoning, but sharp objects may tear the stomach lining.
I haven’t even started on the celebrity diets – the most extreme of these being perhaps the Maria Callas. She swallowed a tapeworm, though there’s some doubt as to whether or not she did it on purpose. All I know is that she was fat – and she got thin. Our modern celebrities haven’t gone that far. Yet. Give them time.
If you’d like to read the article in full, just click on Pages on the right, then on Food.
“Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn.”
Do I agree with Garrison Keillor? Hmm! Now let me see. Sex or sweet corn? Sweet corn or sex? Why choose at all! Have both. All at the same time. A quick browse on the Internet will turn up more food fads, fetishes and weird combinations than you ever dreamed up in your wildest imaginings. Some are sexy, some are playful, others are downright weird. Even the vegetarian society has got into the act with their very own rude video – I’ll never look at an asparagus tip in the same way again. Ever!
As for fish! Some years ago I was given the present of ‘Rude Food’, a collection of possibly the most beautiful, erotic food photography ever, created by David Thorpe, a gifted photographer. It’s still on Amazon, still in print and so it should be. Turn to the page with the Dover sole. Need I say more! Of course, certain fruit and veg always suggest the exotic, they just can’t help themselves. Bananas, cucumbers and courgettes. Sausages and hot dogs. Whatever turns you on – at least you’d be practicing safe sex. If nature doesn’t provide it in her copious larder, food manufacturers are happy to oblige. Take Spencer and Fleetwood, for instance. Their offerings include such tempting treats as candy G-strings, nookie cookies, licorice whips and lust dust.
Even if the food’s not rude, the names can be hilariously so. There’s ‘Big Nuts’ and ‘Donkey Balls’, ‘Fanny Pudding’, ‘Jerk Sauce’ and ‘Knob Biscuits’. These can be explained by a somewhat tenuous grasp of English on behalf of the marketers. But what on earth were Haribo thinking when they named their sweeties ‘Creamy Dreams’? Had Primula taken leave of their senses calling their bread rolls ‘Jussipussi’? Even respectable Mr. Heinz has got in on the act. Spotted Dick anyone? I’m pleased, but somewhat surprised, to see that that’s still around. After all, Bird’s Eye withdrew their Crispy Cod’s Balls years ago. Much to the dismay of my then teenage brother who was always eager to do the shopping when they were on the menu. We also took great delight when buying iced buns. “Six sticky willies and a packet of cod’s balls please.” The man at the corner shop just loved us!
There’s no great surprise in what people smear on their bodies in pursuit of a bit of extra excitement – olive oil, chocolate, cream, mashed potato, golden syrup, sticky toffee pudding. You may however be more startled by things people put into them. Most of us have heard of pregnant women and small children eating clay, or coal or dirt. It’s a form of a disorder called pica, characterized by an appetite for substances that would not generally be considered food. How about a nice battery for tea, or a toothbrush, some soap perhaps or a pencil. Not to make light of it pica is a genuinely distressing disorder, which can also be dangerous. Not only is there a risk of poisoning, but sharp objects may tear the stomach lining.
Less distressing, but nevertheless weird, are the fads people have for strange combinations. Thanks to the proliferation of food blogs out in Cyberspace some, which would have once appeared wacky, now seem perfectly normal. Bacon cupcakes, chili chocolate and, one of my favorites, digestive biscuits with cheddar cheese and marmalade. Slightly more odd was my ham and marmalade spaghetti – a strange phase now over. But I’m in good company. In Malaysia they eat Marmite with porridge. Some people like tongue in sweet raisin sauce, banana with mayonnaise or cheese with popcorn or Nutella and garden peas. To say nothing of those addicts who like everything frozen – M&Ms, Skittles, pickle juice and strawberries.
Food fads and fetishes are nothing new. Alexander the Great had a thing about mint. He wouldn’t t let his soldiers chew it; he thought it would over-stimulate them so they wouldn’t want to fight. What a spoilsport. Slipping further down the historical pole we come to Henry Ford. For him sugar was the enemy – he thought those little sharp granules would perforate his stomach and kill him. Maria Callas had no such fears, even though she was in far more danger from the tapeworm she swallowed. No one knows whether or not she did it on purpose, but she was chubby and got thin. Work it out.
Swallowing a tapeworm might be considered animal cruelty. Eating butterflies certainly is but that didn’t bother Vladimir Nabokov. Mind you eating insects is pretty normal in many cultures. They’re full of protein. Angelina Jolie will attest to that, having snacked on high-protein cockroaches. Saddam Hussein loved Raisin Bran Crunch and Joe Lewis, the famous boxer, would drink fresh blood before a fight. Rather more normal, but far more socially unacceptable, was Clark Gable’s fetish for eating onions. He may have been handsome as hell, but to his leading ladies the star of Gone with the Wind was simply smelly.
If today’s celebrities haven’t gone as far as swallowing tapeworms – give them time – they are well practiced in faddy diets. Oprah Winfrey swore by the acai berry. She certainly lost weight – again, and again and again. Beyoncé drinks homemade lemonade, maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper. Demi Moor eats everything raw, including meat. Reece Witherspoon eats baby food. Jennifer Lopez sniffs grapefruit oil. Christina Aguilera’s fad is even odder – she groups foods by colour – while Maria Carey eats only purple foods three times a week.
Smearing foodstuffs all over your partner and licking it off is considered fairly normal – though I doubt that as many do it as say they do. I certainly prefer my chocolate straight out of the pack and my olive oil on my salad. But then I don’t like being sticky! Even eating fish with jam or sitting on cakes doesn’t seem so bad when you hear of what some folks get up to. Take Vorarephilia, for instance, or rather don’t. Not unless you want to eat someone. Or be eaten. Now that really is taking it to extremes.
© Clodagh Phelan February 2012 www.wordswithwings.co.uk
More Angel Food: two favourite authors and two new ones
I took loads of books out of the library to cover me over Christmas, and I still haven’t read them all. I’m very short of time this week, more so than usual, because my blog writing time has been taken up by a long letter to the Chairman of John Lewis – part complaint, part praise but that’s maybe for another time.
I thought I’d just do a quick list and even quicker reviews of my some of my recent reading. I originally set out to write about nine books, but am stopping at five as once again, I’m running out of time.
I’d been really looking forward to reading these first three books – I was thrilled to discover that there were some books by my favourite authors that I had yet to read.
Tigerlily’s Orchids – Ruth Rendell. One of my favourite authors, though I prefer her when she writes as Barbara Vine. This book is more Vine than Rendell, similar in that respect to The Keys to the Street, but that’s where the comparison ends. Some interesting characters but some I soon tired of. Overall it was disappointing, especially as the main premise was so obvious and easy to spot.
The Vault – Ruth Rendell. Much hyped and reviewed. Linked to her earlier novel A Sight for Sore Eyes. I knew I should have re-read that book first but, although I have nearly all the Rendell and Vine books, I couldn’t find it and was too impatient to wait. I don’t generally like the Wexford books; this was no exception. Since I couldn’t remember much about the first book, I spent the whole time wondering when I was going to be reminded of the earlier crime. That didn’t happen until the very end. I don’t know if that made it better or worse for someone who hadn’t read the first book.
Blue Monday – Nicci French. This was also much hyped but with justification. I love the fact that, like most of the French books, this one is set in London. At first the plot seemed fairly pedestrian – small boy goes missing and at the same time a psychiatrist is faced with a patient whose dreams seem to indicate some guilty knowledge. But the plot deepens. The characters are very well drawn. It’s difficult to end a book well, especially a mystery/detective/thriller. This one has the most wonderful twist in the tail, which makes for a great ending.
The next two authors were unknown to me although I don’t know how I missed Derby Day as it was on the Booker shortlist.
Derby Day – D.J. Taylor. Subtitled ‘A Victorian Mystery’ this lives up to the description in spades. The book feels authentic from page one. I could really put myself in the scene. D.J. Taylor brings the era alive, I really related to the characters and felt as if I would understand them as easily as I would someone living today. I haven’t even finished this book – I’m about three quarters of the way through and am just as engaged as I was at the beginning. From looking at the chapter headings I know there are still some surprises to come – and we haven’t even reached Derby Day yet.
Any Human Face – Charles Lambert. The late and much missed Beryl Bainbridge said ‘Charles Lambert is a seriously good writer.’ I totally agree. The book moves from the mid-80s to 2008 and back again, with a side step into the early 60s. Beautifully put together, each section revealing a little bit of the story, until they combine to show the links between apparently unrelated crimes. This is always a brave thing to do as the author must rely on the reader staying with it even though this may demand some patience. The setting is Rome, but a part of Rome the tourists don’t see, the seamy fringe of Rome’s gay scene. The characters are engaging especially the colourful and poignant Birdman.
And the Oscar goes to …
- Courtesy of Dog News Daily
… well we’ll have to wait until Monday to find out. No I haven’t got that wrong. The people Oscars do take place on a Sunday, on February 26th in fact, but this year there’s another very important date in the Oscar calendar. For Monday, 13th February, sees the inauguration of the annual dog Oscars. The Golden Collar awards have been created by Alan Siskind, the founder and CEO of Dog News Daily, a digital-media and marketing company.
Courtesy of Getty Images/Kevin Winter
Uggie has two nominations!
It’s about time. Dogs have played an important part in movies for over a hundred years. The first being Rover the Collie in a British short, filmed in 1905; he was followed by many more. Some now forgotten, others enshrined in movie memory. Old Yeller and Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. Skip, Marley and Hooch. To say nothing of the dogs in family films like Hotel for Dogs and 101 Dalmations. They make us laugh, they make us cry. The cinema would be the poorer without them.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/GK Films
Blackie – a dastardly plot?
Of course there’s a commercial element to these Oscars. Not to mention their value in the marketing mix. Nevertheless, just because that’s true it doesn’t make the creation of the Golden Collars any less laudable. Apart from the recognition it brings to these clever, hardworking dogs and their owners and trainers, there’s another excellent reason for welcoming them. For it’s been announced that all the proceeds will go to rescue charities. And that alone is a good enough reason, in my book. And it’s appropriate since at least two of the dogs are rescue dogs.
Courtesy of Hollywood News
Hummer- how cute is that!
Categories include best dog in a television series, in a reality television series and in a direct-to-DVD film as well as best dog in a foreign film and best dog in a theatrical film. This last category, like it’s counterpart in the people Oscars before it, has stirred up some controversy. Originally Blackie the Doberman, star of Hugo, was not included. Until the film’s director, Martin Scorsese kicked up a storm in the media, insisting on the stars inclusion in the list.
Courtesy of The Envelope
Cosmo-from Rescue to Film Star
It was unfair he claimed. Just because cute Jack Russell Uggie, star of The Artist, plays a nice little mascot who does tricks and saves his master’s life, whereas Blackie plays a ferocious guard dog who terrorizes children, that was no reason to exclude her. To add insult to injury, little Uggie actually has two nominations, the second for his portrayal as Queenie in Water for Elephants.
- Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/GK Films
Dog News Daily responded by saying that rather than engage in a war of words about two extremely talented dogs it would leave the public decide, via Facebook. If it received 500 nominations for Blackie by 6th February, Blackie would be in. He’s in! Joining Uggie and Blackie on the short list for Best Dog in a theatrical film are Cosmo, as Arthur, in Beginners, Denver as Skeletor in 50/50 and Hummer as Dolce in Young Adult. Uggie in fact has two nominations, the second for his portrayal as Queenie in Water for Elephants.
Penguins that can’t fly and cockroaches that can’t pee … what a wonderful world we live in
Who would have thought that a festival titled Death could be so stimulating! Or such fun. Well I would for a start, but then I rather like the strange, weird and offbeat. I’m cheating a bit mind you because that wasn’t the full title of the event. Its full title was Death: festival for the living and it was held at the South Bank last weekend. And in case you might have thought it would be somewhat gloomy, macabre or even distasteful a glimpse at the jolly yellow programme cover with its lively horses and neon stencilled coffin would make you think twice.
Good luck with that …
There were all manner of things to see and do, most of them fun, all of them informative. For me one of the highlights was ‘Before I Die’ part of an on-going international project by artist Candy Chang. Visitors were invited to share their dreams, ambitions and resolutions – on an enormous L-shaped chalkboard. The contributions ranged from the poignant ‘before I die I want to meet my gran’ to the wit who declared that they wanted ‘to get away with murder.’ There was endless variety – one individual wished to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, literally, including the resurrection, someone else longed to teach a penguin how to fly and another message said plaintively ‘before I die I want to have a puppy.’
Scattered around the foyers of the Royal Festival Hall, a variety of jolly coffins added to the general air of merriment. These creative inventions are the work of the Paa Joe workshop in Ghana and Crazy Coffins in Nottingham. A few, such as the giant corkscrew coffin, were imaginative exercises, but for the most part they were commissioned by people who wanted to celebrate their life as well as their death in a truly unusual, and indeed a life-affirming way, if that’s not too much of a contradiction and I don’t believe it is.
Fly away home …!
- Gives a whole new meaning to being eaten by a lion
I love the crosses – nice touch!
For me, however, the true highlight was the Sandi Toksvig Memorial Lecture. Entitled ‘Die Laughing’ it certainly lived up to it’s billing except for the death bit. No one died, as far as I know, and if they had they would have gone out in the happiest way possible. I did bruise my thumb I clapped so much and got a sore throat from the community singing but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. What with some wonderful singing, a guest appearance from Jeremy Hardy, the unforgettable knowledge that a cockroach can’t pee and Sandi T herself, who must be one of the funniest persons on earth, I rolled out onto the South Bank with a grin from ear to ear and very happy to be alive.
Exactly what it says on the tin …
news.sky.com
Recently a panel at Creative Review came together to compile what they considered to be the twenty top slogans of all time. Not surprisingly, many of those that made it onto the list were not only familiar, but also long-lived. It’s a hard task, selecting from so many brilliant campaigns, and they’ve put together a great list.
That said, only five or maybe six of their choices make it onto my list. Heinz because it broke the rules, Ronseal because it’s so simple, and logical. Marmite and Audi are selected because they are so brave. Why brave? Anyone who works or who has ever worked in advertising will know what I mean. Tell a client that there are people who hate the product! Sudden death. Tell them you’re going to write their slogan in a foreign language or that you’re going to spell it wrong! Yikes!
I’m full of admiration for those agencies who were that brave. And for those clients. They trusted their agencies, they let them get on and do the job they were hired to do. Their trust was well placed. ‘Beanz Meanz Heinz’ has been running for nearly half a century, Audi for 30 years and some of those on Creative Review’s list date even further back – ‘Say it with Flowers’ has been going since 1917! They all deserve their place, but these things are necessarily objective. So now, in no particular order, as they say on the telly – here’s my list. …
Beanz Meanz Heinz – Heinz
We take more care of you – British Airways
Does Exactly What It Says On the Tin – Ronseal
We try harder – Avis Rent a Car
The Appliance of Science – Zanussi
The Fourth Emergency Service – AA
Vorsprung Durch Technik – Audi
Freshly squeezed glaciers – Adelma
All you add is love – Ralston Purina dog and cat food
It’s Finger Lickin’ Good – KFC
Say It With Flowers – FTD
Drink Canada Dry – Dry Tonics and Mixers
Go to work on an egg – British Egg Marketing Board
You Either Love It Or Hate It – Marmite
A dog is for life – not just for Christmas – Dogs Trust
FCUK – French Connection UK
Extinct is Forever – Friends of Animals
Hand built by robots – Fiat Strada
Probably the best lager in the world – Carlsberg
Liquid Engineering – Castrol Motor Oil
Yes, I’ve had to leave out the iconic ‘Diamonds are Forever’ and not all the slogans on my list are still around – doesn’t mean they aren’t brilliant. Ralston Purina, now simply called Purina, have a new slogan – ‘Your Pet. Our Passion’. It isn’t a patch on the original, ‘All you add is love’. I’d never heard of Adelma Mineral water until I looked at the slogans on Ad-Mad, but who could resist ‘Freshly squeezed glaciers.’ For what it’s worth I’ve chosen my slogans either because they are brave, or clever, or just, like Ronseal, say exactly what they do on the tin.
Nestle Purina
To some it’s a milk churn, to others it’s a work of art
Some years ago when I was trying to arrange to travel from London to the Jura, via Paris, I blithely told the French Railways person that I wanted to book a ticket to St. Laurent. “Which one?” she asked. “The one in the Jura,” I replied. “No” she said, being French “I need to know the name of the station.” “St Laurent,” I repeated taking a deep breath. “But which St Laurent,” came the reply?
There are, it seems, a multitude of stations with that name in France. All with a du- this or de-that, en-this or sous-that suffix. They can be found on the Riviera, in the Loire valley, in Aquitaine – all over the shop. My St Laurent is in fact St-Laurent-en Grandvaux, a small and charming town set in the Haut Jura. It has a SuperU and a bricolage place, brilliant cheese shops, because it’s France, and also great in wonderful wine cellars, for the same reason. It also has an excellent bookshop, which sells cards and postcards as well as books.
Which brings me to the point of this post. For it was in this bookshop that I first came across Les Bidons Sans Frontières and the photographer, Gérard Benoit à la Guillaume. His photographs make me smile. A lot. The concept is quirky and imaginative and he must have so much patience. It’s almost unnecessary to say that the English translation is ‘milk churns without borders’ or maybe ‘without limits.’ The photographs speak for themselves. Here’s a small selection, but to see the complete series go to www.bidonssansfrontieres.com He also takes brilliant pictures of cows, among other things. Click on his name, above, to take a look.
© Bidons Sans Frontières
© Bidons Sans Frontières
© Bidons Sans Frontières
© Bidons Sans Frontières
“I want my food dead. Not wounded, not sick. Dead.”
If, like Woody Allen, you prefer your fodder deceased and departed, look away right now. Especially if you are fond of our furry and feathered friends.
.jpeg/220px-Woody_Allen_(2006).jpeg)
Image : Wikipedia
On the other hand, if you’re just a tad ghoulish and, lets face it, most of us are, you may find what follows pretty fascinating. Disgusting perhaps, cruel and unusual almost certainly but, yes, fascinating.
In Korea and China, there’s a ‘health tonic’ that tastes like petrol and looks like the slaughter of the innocents. Without the human babies. To make
Baby Rice Wine, tiny newborn mice, less than three days old, are wrested from their distraught mummies and plunged into a vat of rice wine. Why so young? So that you don’t end up swallowing any fur. If a bit of crunchy beak and a mouthful of feathers doesn’t put you off you could try balut. This Filipino street food consists of duck eggs, carefully incubated until the foetus is nicely developed. Then it’s boiled alive.
At least they are not alive when you eat them. Unlike the unfortunate baby octopus in Korea. It doesn’t go down without a fight though and clings tenaciously to your chopsticks. Horrible as it sounds, it’s not that different from dropping lobsters into boiling water or eating oysters. On the other hand, the story that Chinese people eat a monkey’s brains from its skull while it is still breathing appears to be an urban myth. Great news for the monkeys – and for us.
Not extreme enough? Try playing Russian roulette with a fish. The notorious Japanese blowfish have been known to kill around 300 people annually, though some reports exaggerate the number wildly. Unless it’s prepared by a specially licensed chef, the lethal poison in the fishes’ organs can paralyze the muscles while leaving the diner fully conscious.
If you’d rather be mobile when you meet your maker, there are other ways to risk your life at the table. Sardinia’s infamous Casu marzu is riddled with the larvae of the cheese fly. Make sure to eat the cheese while the maggots are alive; when they’re dead they’re toxic. Mind you, they’ll get you either way. These athletic critters can jump up to six inches and make straight for the eyes. There’s also the little matter of intestinal larval infection; this is where they take up residence and bore through your internal organs. Nice!
Casu Marzu 
Image: Wikipedia/Shardan
Feeling a little squeamish? Perhaps what you need is a blood transfusion. The culinary variety. Our blood pudding seems tame compared to some dishes. The Maasai take blood directly from the neck of a living cow, mix it with milk then drink it. And not a vampire in sight. In the Philippines congealed duck blood, Tiet Canh, is a popular favourite. As is Dinuguan – blood stew with intestines, heart, ears and snout. It’s all bubbled together with garlic, chili and vinegar. Still, when it comes down to it, our blood pudding is not that different from Tiet Canh. I imagine oysters don’t enjoy being eaten alive any more than baby octopus do. It all comes down to a matter of taste and culture. Me? I’ll stick to sugar mice.
