Tired of the political mud slinging???
Iam… A little Rodney Dangerfield from back in the day…
He’d never be allowed to get away with this today, nor would Don Rickles, or Jackie Mason…
But they all made a ‘living’ so to speak by making fun of themselves… Just enjoy it for what it is!!! 🙂
In the pre-dawn of September 1st 1939, units of Hitler’s Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht were poised to smash across Poland’s borders to begin WWII. At sunrise, formations of German bombers were over Krakow and attacked the Polish airbase of Rakowice. Meanwhile, several miles to the west on a secret airfield at Balice, 121 Fighter Eskadra (Squadron) of Army Krakow’s 2 Dyon (Air Regiment) was alerted to the attack by the noise of explosions and flaming horizon. Leaping from his bed and pulling on his flight clothes, 28 year-old veteran flyer, 2nd Lt. Wladek Gnys ran with his CO, Capt. Mieczyslaw Medwecki, to their gull-winged PZLP.11c fighters. As they took off to make an interception of the German attackers, the pair was surprised by fire from passing Ju-87 Stukas of I./StG2, and Medwecki was downed. In attempting to evade, Gnys went into a stall, but regained control just above the ground. Climbing once again, he managed to put two bursts into the engine of another Stuka, which turned away trailing a plume of smoke. Later, at 5000 feet, Gnys spotted two Do-17E bombers of III/KG77 just above the rising early-morning fog. Putting his small fighter into a near-vertical dive, Gnys banked steeply toward the Dornier on the right and fired his four 7.7mm machine guns, silencing the rear gunner and hitting the port engine. He then climbed and banked to the left, away from his smoking victim, to pursue the second German. Attacking from the second bomber’s port side, Gnys dove and fired, getting hits on the cockpit. Realizing that the two mortally wounded Dorniers were on a collision course, he continued his dive below and away from them. Returning to base, the victorious pilot did not see the two crashed bombers smoldering in a farmyard near the village of Zurada… the first victories over the Luftwaffe in World War II! Gnys later fought with the French Air Force in the Battle of France, the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, and ended his combat career as the squadron leader of the 317F Squadron , RAF.
So there you are, drinking your first PSL (ahem, that’s Pumpkin Spice Latte) of the season.
But wait.
What I’m about to tell you could rock your Starbucks-loving world: The coffee drink that makes you feel like you’re eating liquid pumpkin pie is in fact a SSL. Yes, that is a Squash Spice Latte. Because that pumpkin pie you grew up eating—the pie from which the aforementioned drink derives its name, owing to the spices commonly included in said pie—was most likely made not from pumpkin, but from squash.
Libby’s Pure Pumpkin—the quintessential American canned pumpkin brand—is responsible for 85% of canned pumpkin sold in the world. When we think of a pumpkin, we usually imagine either the rotund, bright orange specimen that we buy up at Halloween to carve into a jack-o-lantern—which, while edible, isn’t good for cooking—or its smaller, tastier cousin, the sugar pumpkin. But instead of those pumpkin varieties, Libby’s grows a proprietary strain of tan-skinned Dickinson squash.
And although Libby’s does refer to its fruit as “pumpkin,” in appearance, taste, and texture (not to mention species) it more closely resembles squash. In fact, its closest high-profile relative is butternut squash.
Because the FDA finds that drawing a hard-line designation between pumpkins and “golden-fleshed” winter squash is murky, it’s perfectly legal for Libby’s and other canned pumpkin brands to label their products as such. In addition, companies are allowed to combine different plant varieties into one purée to achieve a desired flavor and consistency—especially beneficial if one type doesn’t grow as well from one year to the next.
And because many of these companies do offer a product that is denser, sweeter, and more flavorful than the more commonly available pumpkin would be, can we really begrudge them the semantics?
If it does bother you to think that your pumpkin pie might be filled with squash, you could always make your own purée by slicing a sugar pumpkin in half, discarding the seeds and pulp, and then roasting it, cut-side down, at 375ºF until it’s tender throughout, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (test by sticking a paring knife into the side—when there is no resistance, it’s ready). Once it’s cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the peel and purée in a food processor or blender until totally smooth.
Finally, depending on the water content of the fruit, you may or may not have to scrape the purée into a cheesecloth-lined strainer and let it strain for a few hours.
Or, you could just pop open a can and accept the fact that if it was good enough for grandma, it’s good enough for you.
So, you’ll never look at a pumpkin (squash) pie or that pumpkin (squash) whatever drink the same again…LOL
And yes, I know I’m going to hell for upsetting all those applecarts (but at least they aren’t squash)… 🙂
Thank you to all the folks that bought any of The Grey Man series during the Labor Day Weekend sale, and thank you to all those fellow bloggers and folks on the book of face that also pushed the books on their feeds!
I really appreciate it, and I also appreciate the honest reviews that are coming in. Payback is now up to 81 reviews, getting close to that magic 100 reviews, which will help, since Amazon will then start increasing publicity to the book, Changes is up to 59 reviews, so still a ways to go on that one.
If you bought any of my books, I would appreciate honest reviews on Amazon at your leisure. They are one of the ‘big’ tells for Amazon, that people are actually taking an interest in the books.
Partners, thanks to the sales on Labor Day Weekend, got as high as #34 in crime fiction, and put me in the top 4000 for paid sales on Amazon. Considering there are something like 2,000,000+ books available, I’m very grateful for your being willing to spend some of your hard earned $$ to buy my books.
Most of those who ordered books should have them in hand by today (I hope), and I’ve ordered a few more for those that I know are going to want a signed copy. If you do, email me and we can exchange information.
I hope y’all have a great weekend!
Ads from back in the day… 100 years ago for a couple of them…
And the irony?
They are ALL still viable products today! Matter of fact, if you have one of those original Gillette Safety Razors and an original pack of blades, they are worth some money. 🙂
Spent a few hours at the OKC VA yesterday, two ‘interesting’ things…
First, we all STILL hate standing in line…LOL What a surprise! Pharmacy line was probably 8-9 long, 7 standing, 1 in wheelchair. The usual comments were flying (hurry up and wait, etc.) The gent in the wheelchair piped up, “At least I’m sitting down.” Moving his lap blanket, he held up a stump in a sock and said, “And I gotta remember the damn thing is gone, especially at night, when I gotta go piss… Got up last night and fell flat on my damn face.” Rather than commiseration, the line broke out in laughter, not AT the gent, but with him. One of the others in line rapped his prosthetic and replied, “Yep, you can either set the leg right by the bed, or put your walker where you’ll fall into it, your choice.”
Yep, gallows humor, but hey… Military…
The inherent politeness of veterans of all ages, sexes, creeds, and colors…
The other was an ongoing conversation I stepped into the middle of in the waiting room. Probably 8-10 folks, all races, at least three generations spanning WWII to GWOT. I caught the tail end of the 9/11 conversation, which segued into the whole Generals and Admirals coming out for either candidate (consensus they should ALL shut up, not their place to drag the military into the middle of the crap), to the NFL thing (general consensus, boycott their asses for any team or players that sit) and the laughable facts surrounding Kaepernick (adopted, raised by white parents, $19M paycheck this year, scholarships, etc), and the idiot from Kansas City that did the black power salute last night.
That got a younger black veteran started (probably mid-late 20s, missing an arm below the elbow). He pulled at his skin and said something like, “This skin suit don’t mean s**t,” hitting his chest he went on, “It’s what’s in here. I hate going home, everybody pity’s me, or says I was stupid to go.” He waved his arm around the room, “I feel more comfortable with you old farts than I do with any of my peers. Y’all understand…”
That got a round of laughter, and and one of the older black vets said something like, “Welcome to our world. The only thing that counts here is your service. Nothing more, nothing less. We ARE your family now. All of us.”
I got called for the doc at that point, and didn’t hear the rest of it, but damned if that isn’t true… Inter-service rivalries not withstanding, active duty and veterans DO stand together, pretty much regardless of what they are facing…
Well, there was supposed to be a post here, however…
It seems to have skipped the country. I’m off site, so go read the folks on the aidebar. They are good reads!!!
Hopefully I won’t screw this up again tomorrow!!!
Then…
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DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cedric H. Rudisill. (Released)
911-flight93-map
Wiki
Now…
photo-credit-mike-myers
091102-G-1732P-005
NEW YORK (Nov. 2, 2009) Coast Guard Marine Safety and Security Team Boston and New York City Police Department marine and air units escort the amphibious transport dock ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) New York (LPD 21) enters New York Harbor. The ship has 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center towers forged into her bow, and will be used to support humanitarian, amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions around the world. New York is the sixth U.S. Navy ship named for the state and will be homeported in Norfolk, Va. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Barbara L. Patton/Released)
NY Ferry
Nuff said…
From a buddy at NASA… 🙂 There are Trekkies everywhere…
ISS is represented by the Enterprise for the 50th Anniversary. Pretty neat tribute.