no longer vegetarian

[david uk]

well today a long period in my life came to and end and after 24 years I am no longer vegertarian. You see, I was walking down the street about an hour ago with my mouth open (why? who knows ..) and in popped a rather large fly... before I could ask itm to leave it had lodged itself in my throat and after I coughed and spluttered and almost vomited the insect slid down my gullet and is now being eaten by my digestive juices.

I shall now don a hair shirt and whip myself for forty days and forty nights in penance.

[RedjackRyan]

mmmmmmmmm flies.. the other grey meat.

[Dee]

Mmmm, bug meat. http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/danielmarkskelton/EMOTICONS/boggled.jpg My sympathies David.

One night in my teen years I was racing home from a friend's place on my bike full tilt, when what should fly into my open mouth but a big fat juicy June bug.

At least I was able to spit it out, although I still nearly puked.

[ponytail]

No worries, David. You just helped the fly move forward in the reincarnation cycle. Whatever it comes back as, it's gotta be an improvement!:D

[DaveM]

Surely it was the fly's destiny to be eaten....you need not apologize for being the instrument of fate.

[NinasSpaceChild]

Don't you know, we all swallow three live spiders every year (on average) in our sleep. God knows who's counting.

Apparently when we lie on our back breathing out carbon dioxide and moisture, it attracts little spiders that are crawling along the ceiling.
Down they come and into the mouth they go.
Because we're asleep, our instinct is to swallow them.

It's true. I saw it on a nature program a few years ago.

[sister rose]

Fortunately I don't sleep on my back...ever. ;)

poor little fly and spiders! :(

[ponytail]

We sw-sw-swallow sp-sp-spiders? (Faints dead away).

Sorry. I have REALLY bad arachnophobia. :eek:

[DaveM]

Oh great....there's something to think about....while I'm laying in bed tonight having trouble getting to sleep.

I usually sleep on my side, mind. And no, I DON'T want to hear what can crawl in from that direction.

During the early 80s while living in a house that was being extensively remodeled (highly NOT recommended) I was laying awake on a chilly night when a little mouse wandered across my pillow and disappeared under the blankets. My first thought was "oh, that's cute...." Next thing I knew I was on one side of the room and the blankets and sheets were on the other. The mouse was never seen again.

[mixtymotions]

I shall now don a hair shirt and whip myself for forty days and forty nights in penance.
*Readies the camcorder* OOoooOOh, self-flagellation - might I offer my assistance in choosing the proper whip/switch? :p

Then there must be penance for the 72 spiders you've swallowed over the last 24 years...I'm going to need more film...

[snakegrl]

mmmmmmmmm flies.. the other grey meat.
LOLOL
I don't mind so much knowing that I eat a small percentage of insects every time I eat processed grains. But what's irksome is when a gnat flies up my nose and I can't get the dang thing out, or it disintegrates in there, somewhere...:eek:

[Kathleen Brogan]

Gives a whole new meaning to fast food. And a new Janis re-write comes to mind too:

We'll swallow the fly on the square
Spiders cooked rare
We just ate a pair
Hey, Veggie
Now sleep, without care

[Eva]

More Kathleen, more! :D

I heard that bugs are healthy because there is lots of proteine in their meat. Well, maybe not cockroaches... Yuck! :eek:

Mixty, are you selling film?

Eva

[KarenSews2]

Spiders are bad enough! But JUNE BUGS!?!?

I hate those sonsabitches!!!

BLECH!! :eek:

[DaveM]

June bugs are nasty things....and let's not forget what it feels like when you run into them while riding a motorcycle....

During my term as a country boy, I once left the porch light on while June bugs were swarming. Remembered to shut it off after about an hour, but first had to take a look outside....the porch and front steps were sort of crawling....

Next day there were shells and pieces of dead June bugs all over the place. A great relief to know that something eats them.

By the way, did the famous cicadas ever put in an appearance?

[ponytail]

And let's not forget all the worms we non-vegetarians have eaten in McDonald's hamburgers....:rolleyes:

[SongDragon]

Gnats, they're the worst... They seem to want to get eaten. They're not high enough on the food chain for me to want them, though... They just swarm so that it's impossible to not eat a few as well as getting them up your nose and in your ears and eyes.

~Song

[NinasSpaceChild]

And let's not forget all the worms we non-vegetarians have eaten in McDonald's hamburgers....:rolleyes:

I had a friend, some years ago now, who ordered one of their fillet o fish burgers. It was crawling with little worms. When she took it back and complained they apologised and said they were supposed to be killed in the cooking process.:eek: I don't ever eat at MacDonalds or any of those places.

[david uk]

I had a friend, some years ago now, who ordered one of their fillet o fish burgers. It was crawling with little worms. When she took it back and complained they apologised and said they were supposed to be killed in the cooking process.:eek: I don't ever eat at MacDonalds or any of those places.

I think I have started a pretty gross thread here! :eek: LOL

Dylan, I don't go anywhere near fast food outlets either... they are disgusting places....

has anyone read "Fast Food Nation?"

[NinasSpaceChild]

I read it a couple of years ago. It certainly opened my eyes to the way a lot of those companies are run and the total lack of respect they have for their employees, the environment and their customers.

[Eva]

Little worms are usually called maggots I think. They are not supposed to die with the cookingprocess. They are not supposed to be in there at all. Maggots appear when the meat is starting to rot.

A gross thread David. But certainly very educational... :D

Eva

[ponytail]

Someone once referred me to an article aboiut McDonald's -- I no longer have the link -- that said they own the largest worm farm in the U.S., and actually include (dead) worms as an ingredient. It then went on to discuss the nutrition value of worms, which are high in protein, I think. Not as bad as maggots, but still...:eek:

[Dee]

Little worms are usually called maggots I think.

The larva, or maggot, is the main feeding stage of the fly. Bringing us full circle.

All about Maggots (http://www.deathonline.net/decomposition/corpse_fauna/flies/maggots.htm). !Warning: site contains some utterly gross photography!

[RedjackRyan]

As much as I hate mcdonalds, i can't let them take the rap for Worm meat burgers.. thats an ancient internet legend..


http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/wormburg.asp
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/mcdshake.htm#worm

[david uk]

yes Ben I think that's probably an internet legend/urban myth too... but you only have to read Fast Food Nation to be equally disgusted at what MacDonald's/Burger King et al do with their food before it reaches their poor unsuspecting customers' mouths:eek:

[RedjackRyan]

lol.. I worked there briefly.(Rax..sort of like Arby's). I know all too well what ends up in the customers food.. Believe me, I loathe the majority of fast food places and would just as soon see em all go under.. they have enough Real problems without made up ones adding to the fire.

[Dee]

Uh, you mean like finding fingers in Chili? LOL

[Eva]

Do you really think it's any better in 'real' restaurants? Almost everywhere where people make money on food the rules of hygiene get (at least) bent. If you go into a restaurant, check out the kitchen, the bathroom and the place where they dump the garbage. Also take a look if the staff wash their hands regularly. If that's all okay, you have a good chance that your food is handled with some care.

Eva

[ponytail]

I guess the article I saw was a gag (much like the effect it had when I read it!) :D

[hoops]

that fly was obviously looking to be eaten!

[Rowy]

I thought it was only old women who swallowed flies?

:eek:

[david uk]

well apparently not, rowy :p unless that makes me an old woman!

and here was I thinking I was a 43-year old man :p

[hoops]

don't forget that in many places maggots are now being used to clean out deep wounds in humans beacuse they eat disease. so they are saving our lives all the time...maggots can be our friends...and leeches too

[Eva]

Well Hoops, with friends like that, who needs enemies? (yuck!)

Eva

[KarenSews2]

Now you'll have that song stuck in my head for hours! Thanks a LOT! ;)

And David, in light of the song, "...perhaps you'll die!"

[david uk]

Don't you know, we all swallow three live spiders every year (on average) in our sleep. God knows who's counting.

Apparently when we lie on our back breathing out carbon dioxide and moisture, it attracts little spiders that are crawling along the ceiling.
Down they come and into the mouth they go.
Because we're asleep, our instinct is to swallow them.

It's true. I saw it on a nature program a few years ago.

funnily enough I read this morning in a newspaper that this is an urban myth...:eek: let's hope so!

[RedjackRyan]

Sleep easy David :) according to snopes, that swallowing spiders in our sleep stuff is a myth.

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.htm

[david uk]

phew Ben, thanks for that :p

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

These damn food threads always give me the munchies....

best

R. from Pa

[ponytail]

We were at a Chinese buffet yesterday that had octopus as a selection. The tray was full of whole baby octopi (?) in some kind of gooey brown sauce. They looked like little miniature models for "It Came From Beneath The Sea." I impaled one on a toothpick, brought it back to our table, and kept dancing it around like a little hand puppet until my partner hit me in the forehead with a dollop of cocktail sauce...he said I was scaring the shrimp. This is what happens when I forget my medication...:rolleyes:

This buffet also has one of those gaudy golden statues of a big-eyed cat on the front counter that continuously waves to you. Hmmm. What's the significance of a waving cat in a Chinese restaurant? :eek:

[RedjackRyan]

there's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
the little chinese place i eat at every day at noon
they say that its beef or chicken or pork
but garfield's on my fork.. he's purring on my fork



I love the little octopus but i have no idea what that sauce is.. not the most appetizing looking presentation.

[ponytail]

I'm glad someone else remembers that song parody! I love it! I was so disappointed when they pulled it off line because of complaints. :(

I thought the little octopus was kind of cute, just not very appetizing. I found myself wishing I had some little model ships to put into the tray with them...you know, to give it a sense of scale and action...:D

[RedjackRyan]

lol dude.. You are definately a bit more twisted than I :) Though if i had a model ship i'd probably join you. One of my favorite cheesefest movies is IT Conquered the World! with the cheesy giant octopus pulling the bridge down. or was that It came from beneath the sea?


I have a copy of that parody song somewhere on one of the computers, if i find it i'll throw it up on Kyalla's. funny stuff. Was that Weird Al?

[ponytail]

I don't know who it was, but it was great.

"It Came From Beneath The Sea" is the octopus movie (also one of my favorites; I have it on VHS, but not yet on DVD). "It Conquered The World," I think, is the one where this huge caterpillar-like thing with pincers also comes from beneath the sea. It grabs sailors and fishermen and drags them off of boats. I think this latter critter was a role model for me when I reached my twenties...but I always waited till they got on land, and then had a couple of drinks with them first! Ah, the seventies...:cool:

[ponytail]

Japanese look to export octopus dumplings

TOKYO - If Morio Sase has his way, hungry teenagers around the world will soon be snacking on something more exotic than McDonald's hamburgers: takoyaki, or octopus dumplings.

With more than 350 takeout stores in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan already, Sase's Gindaco chain is one of a barrage of fast-food companies bringing lowbrow Japanese chow to overseas markets. Its first U.S. store is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2007, and it hopes to open 20 stores in California by 2010.

Hand-grilled in iron molds by cooks behind a large display window, the octopus dumplings are made from wheat flour paste mixed with fish stock, spring onions and boiled octopus chunks, and drizzled with a sweet sauce, dried bonito flakes and seaweed.

Faced with uncertain demand for fast food as Japan's population ages, an increasing number of the nation's chains are looking overseas for new markets. The U.S. fast food industry as a whole continues to expand, which means plenty of opportunities for newcomers, Caranfa said. Moreover, Caranfa says younger age groups — major fast food consumers — are especially keen to try new flavors.

"We're finding that American teenagers and younger consumers are more adventurous with their food choices than their parents might be," Caranfa said. "I do think even octopus could catch on."

Part of the fun of the octopus dumplings is watching them being cooked. It takes the chefs months to learn to grill the takoyaki to a crisp golden brown on the outside, while keeping the inside soft and fluffy, according to Makoto Takasu, who heads Gindaco's operations in Hong Kong.

"Everybody who tries them loves them, even those who feel squeamish about octopus," Takasu said of takoyaki. "And our customers love watching the cooks. They know their food is fresh off the grill."

To woo octopus skeptics, U.S. stores may feature additional entertainment, says Yohei Miki, who heads the company's overseas operations.

"We're thinking of getting our cooks to chop the spring onions using Japanese swords," Miki chuckled. "You know the Americans, they love attractions."

[RedjackRyan]

ROFL !! Now what are the odds of that happening??? lol

[Margay]

Mixty, are you selling film?


Can I have a copy too?

[Dee]

"... Sase's Gindaco chain is one of a barrage of fast-food companies bringing lowbrow Japanese chow to overseas markets."

Yes, well good luck with that one. *urp!*

I'm hiding at Jimmy's today while they're tearing apart my ceiling. He's making us ribs for lunch. Redjack, you should be here. :D

Sorry, no flies David (not that you eat meat anyway.) ;)

[DaveM]

Bob Rivers did "Cat In The Kettle". I have a copy on a home-burned CD given to me by a friend years ago. Unfortunately, it's the CD I mentioned a while ago that doesn't want to play properly any more.

A P.S.--when a Chinese family opened a wonderful restaurant in this area a few years ago, someone (I presume a competing restaurant owner) started a rumor that they were putting cats and dogs in their food. Their business dropped off by a third, and they were actually thinking of leaving town. I wrote a rather impassioned editorial (which the local rag ran on its front page, as they were pissed off too) pointing out that that particular rumor has been around since at least WWII and that it was just another old-time racist rumor (I believe snopes.com has or had a thorough debunking of it).

The next time I went to the restaurant, I was greeted VERY formally by the entire staff, including the chef (who invited me into the kitchen) and the couple who own the place, who gave me a free dinner and two gift certificates besides. That was years ago, but I STILL get a good table and incredibly prompt service when I go there. Possibly the best "payment" I've ever gotten for a writing bit that was tossed off in a rage and in one heck of a hurry.

[ponytail]

There's a fly that keeps dive-bombing me as I type this. I'm trying to catch it, but no luck so far. I'm going to drown it in soy sauce and see if it lives up to its reputation as "the other grey meat."

Problem is, it has a human head that cries "help me." The head looks suspiciously like George Bush, though, so I'm not inclined towards mercy. If it were in a spider web I'd leave it there, because, as some of you may recall, I'm scared of spiders.

(I'm still trying for the "strangest poster" title. How am I doing?).:o

Thanks for the info, Bob. I'd like to find a CD of that song. I love Chinese food, and I've never believed that rumor -- but I have a demented sense of humor, so the song cracks me up. I wonder if Harry Chapin rolls over in his grave every time it's played, though...

[RedjackRyan]

MMM MMM Dee ! the food of the gods! Think of friends south of the border as you devour those succulent morsels. mmmmmm so jealous i am..

Ponytail, i don't think you have anything to worry about. You are far stranger than I.. now if you can only out-strange Randy..


Dave, thats a great story and one i can relate to. One of the girls here at work has a serious phobia about chinese food, despite having never tried any.. all because of that persistent rumor that they use cats and dogs in the food. Bravo for setting the record straight and kudos to the paper for printing your rant.

*** Joy! I found the cat in the kettle wav file. Will post it from home.

[RedjackRyan]

The infamous Cat in the Kettle song

http://kyalla.gotdns.com/users/test/html/files/cat_food.wav

[snakegrl]

LOLOLOL Redjack. What a riot. If Harry Chapin's rolling over in his grave, it's cause he's laughing.:p :p :p

[MadMusician]

When I was a very little child, I was told that loud noises make people deaf. So I decided to perform an experiment.

I caught a firefly and gently placed him (her?) between my fingers and screamed. My younger sister asked me what I was doing. I explained I was checking to see if loud noises could make fireflies deaf. (How I would have confirmed this, I don't know.) She asked me to try it again so she could watch.

So very delicately (I didn't want to kill him - just cause hearing loss), I positioned the firefly in front of my open mouth and...
my sister slapped my hand and the firefly went down my throat.

P.S. I told my mom on her but my mother just laughed and boy - was I mad that she wasn't punished and I don't think I have forgiven her to this day...

[ponytail]

I know this is kind of a personal question, but does your belly light up at night?:o

[DaveM]

And did you feel it walking around in there?

[Eva]

I feel bad for the firefly...
But I like your sister's and mother's sense of humor! :D

Eva

[Dee]

So very delicately (I didn't want to kill him - just cause hearing loss), I positioned the firefly in front of my open mouth and...
my sister slapped my hand and the firefly went down my throat.

Ha ha ha ha ha! :D

[Oak Kitten]

When I was a kid, we were playing outside on a fine summer day, and this big 'ol June bug landed on my neighbor friend. She let out the most bloodcurdling scream I have enver heard, and I kid you not, that June bug fell to the ground dead as a doornail.

Oak

[ponytail]

OK, now i'm officially scared. Anyone else ever see "The Shout," with Alan Bates?

I think bugs need to get a better union steward! I have a friend who goes to the pet store and brings home a clear plastic bag full of live crickets for his cats. They bat the bag out of sight and the crickets are never seen again...though I have heard them there on occasion...

[Eva]

Oak, the poor bug must have head a heartattack! I didn't know it could happen to them...

Eva