“How do you want your egg?” asks the waitress.
“Over easy,” says The Reveler.
“How about you?”
“Sunny side up,” Geek Goddess says.
“And you?” the waitress asks me.
“Scrambled please.”
It’s always been like that…
That’s why we came up with a theory that maybe, or somehow, how you want your egg done says something about your personality.
But besides trying to be profound here (and before things get a bit sexual which we always end up talking about over brunch)--with eggs and personality--this Eggs Files is in keeping with Easter celebrations because of all the symbols associated with Easter, the egg is the most identifiable.
Did you know that there’s World Egg Day? The second Friday of October.
…and that May is "National Egg Month?” This is the time of the year to celebrate the many benefits of the egg. Among other things, eggs contain the highest quality protein you can buy, and have 13 essential vitamins and minerals. An egg yolk is one of the few foods that contain Vitamin D
A mother hen turns over her egg about 50 times per day so the yolk won't stick to the sides of the shell.
An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year. A hen starts laying eggs at 19 weeks of age.
As a hen grows older she produces larger eggs.
At the time of the French Revolution, the clever French already knew 685 different ways of preparing eggs.
Out of the blue, while preparing food, two friends asked why is there brown and white egg? Was it because of temperature? The kind of chicken? Which one’s healthier?
Finally, the questions are answered: White-shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Hens with red feathers and red ear lobes produce brown-shelled eggs. There is no difference in nutrition between white and brown eggs.
If an egg is accidentally dropped on the floor, then sprinkle it heavily with salt for easy clean up.
But I won’t end my Eggs Files without asking the age-old question: Which came first? Chicken or egg?
If you believe in the Bible, the chicken came first. You may have a different view if you have a different religion. And in the science of evolution, both chickens and eggs came before man. Since both the birds and the eggs were on earth first, “historians weren't around to record which came first.”
A chicken can't be born without a chicken egg and a chicken egg can't be laid without a chicken. Both chickens and eggs are important!
And lastly, do you need to wash the egg before cooking it?
Apr 6, 2007
Good Friday? Have a...what?
Have a happy...Good Friday?
I was down at Blockbuster and the ever friendly staff there greeted me and asked me how my Good Friday was. She greeted me with "Happy...oh how do you say it? Do you ever say it, Happy Good Friday?"
Well, I just told her, I believe there's none. I mean Catholics don't greet each other on Good Friday. I told her, just don't smile on this day. She laughed.
On another note, the Middle Roaders went up Mt. Tapochao. We were late and by 10am people were scarce up there. I kind of concurred that Good Friday tradition on Saipan is just a 2 to 4-hour tradition.
"It's hot up there, that's why," some said.
Oh well, Happy Black Saturday everyone!
Now that's another story.
The Reveler
I was down at Blockbuster and the ever friendly staff there greeted me and asked me how my Good Friday was. She greeted me with "Happy...oh how do you say it? Do you ever say it, Happy Good Friday?"
Well, I just told her, I believe there's none. I mean Catholics don't greet each other on Good Friday. I told her, just don't smile on this day. She laughed.
On another note, the Middle Roaders went up Mt. Tapochao. We were late and by 10am people were scarce up there. I kind of concurred that Good Friday tradition on Saipan is just a 2 to 4-hour tradition.
"It's hot up there, that's why," some said.
Oh well, Happy Black Saturday everyone!
Now that's another story.
The Reveler
Apr 5, 2007
Adam and Eva Air
Ahoy there!
Welcome to Saipan! Just recently, the entire Saipan government was ecstatic with the arrival of over 200 tourists or visitors from Taipei on board the charter flight of Eva Air, a Taiwanese Airline. Reports said that CNMI governor didn't actually sleep just to welcome the visitors Wednesday dawn. Shall we expect him to be on leave tomorrow? Yeah right, it's Good Friday.
Another reason of the CNMI economy why it opposes federal takeover of its immigration department. Dear god, let's not get into this discussion....
The Reveler
Welcome to Saipan! Just recently, the entire Saipan government was ecstatic with the arrival of over 200 tourists or visitors from Taipei on board the charter flight of Eva Air, a Taiwanese Airline. Reports said that CNMI governor didn't actually sleep just to welcome the visitors Wednesday dawn. Shall we expect him to be on leave tomorrow? Yeah right, it's Good Friday.
Another reason of the CNMI economy why it opposes federal takeover of its immigration department. Dear god, let's not get into this discussion....
The Reveler
Apr 4, 2007
Happy Anniversary Beautify CNMI!
Ok. Ok. This is not Beautify CNMI! blog. I just want to congratulate them for a year of hard work and environmental advocacy. Let's support their event on April 20!
From Angelo Villagomez - To commemorate this milestone, we are planning a Beautify CNMI! one year anniversary fundraiser on Friday, April 20th. Please mark your calendars!
The fundraiser will be at the Aqua Resort on April 20th at 7:30 PM. The price is $25 for adults and $12.50 for children (very affordable!). Admission includes the Seafood Night Buffet with draft beer and champagne, a raffle ticket, and other surprises. There will also be a presentation of several Beautify CNMI Environmental Stewardship awards and a presentation of all the work we have accomplished (and the fun we had) together in the last year.
I will have information on where to buy tickets soon. Please RSVP with me via email so that we have an idea of how many people to expect.
Congratulations!!!
The Reveler
Apr 3, 2007
An ode to coffee
Coffee, like love, is an addiction. Like a lover, coffee shares with you life`s joys, frustrations, miseries and victories. And like passion, it drives you wild, elevates your mind, heightens your senses.
Revolutionary ideas, critical thinking come out in between sips of coffee. Over cups of coffee, lovers, friends and families share ideas from the most mundane to the most profound--the memories of yesterday, the absurdities of today, the hopes for the future. Over cups of coffee, you tell the story of your life. Your secrets. Your regrets.
That smell of coffee in the morning? You sure woke up on the right side of bed. On a rainy day or a stormy weather like today, you wish you`d have that good cup of coffee while reading a book at home. On a waiting game? Coffee. Writer`s block? Coffee. Need to be awake? Need to be in focus? Sharpen your mind?
While many have discriminating tastes, others don`t bother. It don`t matter to some sipping brewed coffee, espresso, caffe latte, cappuccino or instant, or whether they`re in Italy, Brazil, New York or on Saipan while doing so. After all, “coffee,” according to Algerian Islamic scholar Abd-Al-Kadir in 1587, “is the common man`s gold and, like gold, it brings to every man the feeling of luxury and nobility.”
Coffee, as one writer says, is one of the essential pleasures of life but very few people know much about it.
Here are some interesting facts from food journalist Jon Thorn`s book, “The Coffee Companion”:
Japan may be the only country in the world to celebrate an official Coffee Day. It falls on Oct. 1.
The Arabica coffee tree originated in Ethiopia, where it grew wild. The name “coffee” derives from the Ethiopian town of Kaffa. To this day, Ethiopia remains as Africa`s major exporter of Arabica beans.
Finland is the world`s leading coffee consumer, with some 5.7 million drinkers each consuming more than 25 pounds of green coffee annually.
Street cafes are so much part of French life that it would be difficult to imagine a visit to a French city without stopping to enjoy a refreshing cup. Other cities around the world try to become street café capitals, too.
The world`s first commercial espresso machines were manufactured in Milan in the early years of the 20th century.
The coffee “revolution” in the U.S. began in the 1970s in Seattle, possibly
because that city enjoys good, clean water, and Starbucks quickly became the city`s second most famous export; Boeing being the first.
Kona Kai Farms on the Kona Coast in Hawaii contain the only coffee grown in the United States, and it is coffee that is highly prized for its wonderful aroma and
flavor.
“It would be surprising if Cuba did not produce good coffee to accompany its fine cigars.”
Here on Saipan, among the places for a good coffee experience that are not necessarily elitists – Coffee Care on Capital Hill, Java Joe`s in Dandan, Wild Bills in Garapan.
Also, many coffee shops and restaurants on Saipan now offer Wi-Fi. But please if you have to use your laptop to surf the Net for an hour or two in a food establishment, try to order something other than coffee.
Revolutionary ideas, critical thinking come out in between sips of coffee. Over cups of coffee, lovers, friends and families share ideas from the most mundane to the most profound--the memories of yesterday, the absurdities of today, the hopes for the future. Over cups of coffee, you tell the story of your life. Your secrets. Your regrets.
That smell of coffee in the morning? You sure woke up on the right side of bed. On a rainy day or a stormy weather like today, you wish you`d have that good cup of coffee while reading a book at home. On a waiting game? Coffee. Writer`s block? Coffee. Need to be awake? Need to be in focus? Sharpen your mind?
While many have discriminating tastes, others don`t bother. It don`t matter to some sipping brewed coffee, espresso, caffe latte, cappuccino or instant, or whether they`re in Italy, Brazil, New York or on Saipan while doing so. After all, “coffee,” according to Algerian Islamic scholar Abd-Al-Kadir in 1587, “is the common man`s gold and, like gold, it brings to every man the feeling of luxury and nobility.”
Coffee, as one writer says, is one of the essential pleasures of life but very few people know much about it.
Here are some interesting facts from food journalist Jon Thorn`s book, “The Coffee Companion”:
Japan may be the only country in the world to celebrate an official Coffee Day. It falls on Oct. 1.
The Arabica coffee tree originated in Ethiopia, where it grew wild. The name “coffee” derives from the Ethiopian town of Kaffa. To this day, Ethiopia remains as Africa`s major exporter of Arabica beans.
Finland is the world`s leading coffee consumer, with some 5.7 million drinkers each consuming more than 25 pounds of green coffee annually.
Street cafes are so much part of French life that it would be difficult to imagine a visit to a French city without stopping to enjoy a refreshing cup. Other cities around the world try to become street café capitals, too.
The world`s first commercial espresso machines were manufactured in Milan in the early years of the 20th century.
The coffee “revolution” in the U.S. began in the 1970s in Seattle, possibly
because that city enjoys good, clean water, and Starbucks quickly became the city`s second most famous export; Boeing being the first.
Kona Kai Farms on the Kona Coast in Hawaii contain the only coffee grown in the United States, and it is coffee that is highly prized for its wonderful aroma and
flavor.
“It would be surprising if Cuba did not produce good coffee to accompany its fine cigars.”
Here on Saipan, among the places for a good coffee experience that are not necessarily elitists – Coffee Care on Capital Hill, Java Joe`s in Dandan, Wild Bills in Garapan.
Also, many coffee shops and restaurants on Saipan now offer Wi-Fi. But please if you have to use your laptop to surf the Net for an hour or two in a food establishment, try to order something other than coffee.
Apr 2, 2007
Ready for Kong Rey
When Supertyphoon Chaba hit Saipan three years ago, I was left for days with no money (ATMs offline), no power (electric poles down), and no water (pumps can't run without power). I didn't mind it too much. It was nothing I hadn't been through before.
What made the experience unbearable was that there was nothing to do.
If Typhoon Kong Rey indeed passes right over the island, then we can be in for trouble—that is, waterless, powerless and, yes, Internetless days. Now, it's always been my fantasy to pass on in the most glamorous way possible. Death by boredom doesn't qualify, does it?
So I made a typhoon preparedness checklist and so far it includes:
What made the experience unbearable was that there was nothing to do.
If Typhoon Kong Rey indeed passes right over the island, then we can be in for trouble—that is, waterless, powerless and, yes, Internetless days. Now, it's always been my fantasy to pass on in the most glamorous way possible. Death by boredom doesn't qualify, does it?
So I made a typhoon preparedness checklist and so far it includes:
- A fully charged laptop
- Half a dozen magazines (last week's Newsweek from the library, old issues of Time that I borrowed from The Reveler, a just-arrived and still-unpaid-for copy of National Geographic Traveler, etc.)
- A Calvin and Hobbes book to keep me up and Thomas L. Friedman's The World Is Flat to help me doze off
- A reading lamp that runs on AA batteries
- A music player that runs on double As
- A DVD player that runs on double As
- Lots of double As
- A car with a full gas tank for the trip to the store, in case I run out of double As...
Tsunami Whammy
What a great way to find out about the "Tsunami Alert" due to the earthquake in Solomon Islands where according to CNN 60 buildings collapsed, than to be at Lao Lao Bay for an appointment. What a beautiful beach out there, however, during my meeting I couldn't help look at giant waves on that side of the island. Scary...
Anyway, imagine an earthquake and tsunami hit the Solomon Islands. What a stroke of luck.
The Reveler
Anyway, imagine an earthquake and tsunami hit the Solomon Islands. What a stroke of luck.
The Reveler
Photo Essay: Vigil of Hope
Thursday vigil for the three Northern Marianas College students that drowned at the Forbidden Islands two weeks ago. Some 100 students, parents and faculty, and the community members offered prayers and candles to the victims.
Text By The Reveler
Photos By TacDer
Apr 1, 2007
Media acquisitions
Saipan Tribune owner Tan family will acquire Marianas Variety and Pacific Times for an undisclosed amount. Marianas Variety and Pacific Times have been having financial difficulty to a point where employees` salaries have been reduced by 10 percent since 2006 and have always been delayed in payment of workers` wages. Tan Holdings, meanwhile, after the closure of its controversial garment factory and a halt in equally controversial poker operations, has focused its resources on hotels and newspapers, among other things, thus the planned acquisition of Marianas Variety, which turned 35 years old on March 16, and newcomer Pacific Times. MCV, meanwhile is up for sale.
Gotcha there ha? This is only a joke. The acquisitions and closure are not true. It`s April 1 after all. Happy April Fool`s Day!
Gotcha there ha? This is only a joke. The acquisitions and closure are not true. It`s April 1 after all. Happy April Fool`s Day!
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who`s the fattest of them all?
Did you know that eight of the top 10 countries with the greatest percentage of overweight people in the world are in the Pacific region? That`s according to estimates by the World Health Organization.
Nauru tops the list of 194 countries, with an alarming 94.5 percent of its adult population classified as such.
The top five countries with the fattest people are as follows:
1. Nauru
2. The Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei)
3. Cook Islands
4. Niue
5. Tonga
The WHO said 90 percent of each of these countries` population is overweight.
The CNMI and Guam were not ranked separate from the United States, which is top nine on the list. The U.S., according to the WHO, has 74.1 percent of those over 15 years old considered overweight.
The local population of the CNMI and Guam may have also ranked high on the list if they were considered separate from the U.S., given the studies done, for example, by the CNMI Department of Public Health on the number of children and adults who are obese or overweight.
Completing the top 10 list are:
6. Samoa
7. Palau
8. Kuwait
9. United States
10. Kiribati
Experts, according to Forbes Magazine, say it is not surprising that people across the globe are increasingly becoming overweight because of urbanization and the influx of Western ways of life including myriad fast food choices, little exercise and stressful jobs. (The third one doesn`t really count in the Pacific?)
“This change in lifestyle is most evident in the South Pacific. On the list of `fattest` countries, eight of the top 10 are in the Pacific region,” said Forbes Magazine. “In the last 50 years, this area has established significant economic ties with the U.S. and New Zealand, which caused a surge in Western imports and a significant change in diet.”
It pays to know something. And regardless of whether or not the CNMI and Guam are on the list, these two territories need to do more to prevent and treat obesity. While the governments have been doing education awareness campaign, they`re not enough. Local government funding for health programs, for example, is limited. Community and government officials` participation in health and fitness programs are also limited.
Others on the list:
11. Dominica
12. Barbados
13. Argentina
14. Egypt
15. Malta
16. Greece
17. New Zealand
18. United Arab Emirates
19. Mexico
20. Trinidad and Tobago
Nauru tops the list of 194 countries, with an alarming 94.5 percent of its adult population classified as such.
The top five countries with the fattest people are as follows:
1. Nauru
2. The Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei)
3. Cook Islands
4. Niue
5. Tonga
The WHO said 90 percent of each of these countries` population is overweight.
The CNMI and Guam were not ranked separate from the United States, which is top nine on the list. The U.S., according to the WHO, has 74.1 percent of those over 15 years old considered overweight.
The local population of the CNMI and Guam may have also ranked high on the list if they were considered separate from the U.S., given the studies done, for example, by the CNMI Department of Public Health on the number of children and adults who are obese or overweight.
Completing the top 10 list are:
6. Samoa
7. Palau
8. Kuwait
9. United States
10. Kiribati
Experts, according to Forbes Magazine, say it is not surprising that people across the globe are increasingly becoming overweight because of urbanization and the influx of Western ways of life including myriad fast food choices, little exercise and stressful jobs. (The third one doesn`t really count in the Pacific?)
“This change in lifestyle is most evident in the South Pacific. On the list of `fattest` countries, eight of the top 10 are in the Pacific region,” said Forbes Magazine. “In the last 50 years, this area has established significant economic ties with the U.S. and New Zealand, which caused a surge in Western imports and a significant change in diet.”
It pays to know something. And regardless of whether or not the CNMI and Guam are on the list, these two territories need to do more to prevent and treat obesity. While the governments have been doing education awareness campaign, they`re not enough. Local government funding for health programs, for example, is limited. Community and government officials` participation in health and fitness programs are also limited.
Others on the list:
11. Dominica
12. Barbados
13. Argentina
14. Egypt
15. Malta
16. Greece
17. New Zealand
18. United Arab Emirates
19. Mexico
20. Trinidad and Tobago
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)