Author Archives: Hank

About Hank

I am H.M. Talbot, chief driveller, intrepid journalist and poet laureate of fantasticdrivel.com. You can call me Hank. I am a pseudonym.

ketchup

Posted on by
Reply

I have quite a backlog to blog. I thought I’d at least post it all to give me a list to chip away at.

I pin photos of my Wednesday culinary creations to my Pinterest board, Another Wednesday Dinner. All of the following meals are on Pinterest; they may (or may not) make it onto fantasticdrivel.com in the future.

ketchup dinners
date   event dinner
Nov 26 1842 University of Notre Dame is founded Notre Dame Tailgate Chili, Irish Soda Bread, Orange Bowls
Dec 3 1854 Eureka Rebellion pomegranate pavlova and vegemite toast, served “stockade style” after the Eureka Stockade
Dec 10 — Alfred Nobel Day dynamite Swedish pancakes
Dec 17 1903 First flight made by Wright brothers popcorn pork, deviled eggs
1938 Otto Hahn discovers nuclear fission deviled eggs, edamame
Dec 25 —   Pomegranate Mint Christmas Pavlova
Dec 31 — Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve in Scotland) Ashet Pie (steak pie)
Jan 8 — some Korean guy’s birthday Korean Saewoo Bokkeumbap (shrimp fried rice)
Jan 15 1919 The Great Boston Molasses Tragedy Chipotle Mustard Molasses BBQ Chicken
Jan 21 — New England-Style Clam Chowder Day Denver-Style Clam Chowder (it’s orange!)
Jan 29 1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” first published Edgar Allan Po’ Boy sandwiches, Black Ravens for dessert
Feb 5 1985 “Official” end of the Third Punic War Punic Porridge, Pomegranates (aka Carthaginian Apples)
Feb 12 1809 Charles Darwin (Darwin Day) Potato Rissoles, based on Mrs. Charles Darwin’s recipe for “Potatoe Ripoles”
Feb 19 1473 Copernicus, Polish Astronomer Kielbasa and Cabbage
— Mint Chocolate Day dark chocolate brownie with mint, toasted hazelnuts, and copernicus glaze (blackstrap, hazelnut, and mint)
Feb 26 1932 Johnny Cash, the Man in Black Johnny Cash Chili
Mar 05 — Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), Observed Pancakes
Mar 12 1889 Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian Ballet Dancer and Choreographer Apple Cranberry Gingersnap Blini
Mar 18 1915 Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey; the Ottoman Naval Victory in WWI) Yurmurtali Ispanak
Mar 26 1931 Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock Vulcan Plomeek Soup
1812 political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” Boston Brown Bread

GRAMMYs and gettysburg

Posted on by
Reply

Nov 19 A Hat Cake Like Lincoln's for Gettysburg Address #fantasticdrivelNov 19 Grammy's Infamous Homecooked Supper feat. Milli Vanilli #fantasticdrivel

Wednesday Tuesday is my night to cook dinner. But it is also a weekly opportunity for me to share some fantastic drivel—things you didn’t care you didn’t know—with you, dear reader.

November 19 gives us two reasons to celebrate. Firstly, and less importantly, it is the anniversary of Milli Vanilli’s de-GRAMMYfication. That’s right: they lost their GRAMMY award because it was discovered that they were not the singers on their album. Secondly, and more importantly, it is the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address—one of the most powerful pieces in the history of the United States and one of the greatest works in the history of the English language.

Click more to find out what I made, and to see these graphics in detail!

Continue reading →

exploding whale day

Posted on by
1

Nov 12 Architeuthis Chowder for exploding whale day #fantasticdrivel

Wednesday Tuesday is my night to cook dinner. But it is also a weekly opportunity for me to share some fantastic drivel—things you didn’t care you didn’t know—with you, dear reader.

November 12 is “Exploding Whale Day,” commemorating a bizarre story involving a rotting sperm whale carcass, the Oregon Highway Division, and a half-ton of dynamite.

I wanted to celebrate Exploding Whale Day, but I wasn’t about to serve up sperm whale for dinner. I decided instead to prepare something using the sperm whale’s favorite food: the giant squid (genus: Architeuthis). I adapted this recipe for Seafood Chowder, using mostly calamari instead of the other seafood the recipe calls for. The result was delicious, albeit slightly rubbery, as squid usually is. It’s a bit of a stretch to call it “Architeuthis” chowder, since I don’t think there was any giant squid in the calamari I bought at the store, but let’s not quibble over cephalopod taxonomy.

The really interesting stuff is the story of the exploding whale. (click more to find out!)

Continue reading →

guy fawkes day

Posted on by
1

Nov 05 Apple Pear Pork Flambe for Guy Fawkes Day #fantasticdrivel

Wednesday Tuesday is my night to cook dinner. But it is also a weekly opportunity for me to share some fantastic drivel—things you didn’t care you didn’t know—with you, dear reader.

FYI: I used to make dinner on Wednesday nights but, for scheduling reasons, had to switch to Tuesdays. I already had my Pinterest board, Another Wednesday Dinner, and I’ve grown rather fond of the title. “Another Wednesday or Tuesday Dinner” doesn’t really do it for me. And at this point I have more Wednesdays under my belt than Tuesdays, so “Another Tuesday Dinner” seems somewhat disingenuous. I guess it’s also disingenuous to keep calling them “Wednesday” dinners when I know they are on Tuesdays, but at least I have tradition to back me up. Sorry; this FYI is becoming TMI.

November 05 is Guy Fawkes Day. It is also known as Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night, and (in some times and places) Pope Day. The holiday is always celebrated with fire, so some kind of flambé seemed like a good choice.

I went with this one: Apple Pear Pork Loin Chops, although I like Apple Pear Pork Flambé as a title. If you are a first-time flambéer, I highly recommend reading these Flambé Cooking Tips first.

That’s all the cooking stuff…but at this point you are probably asking:

what is guy fawkes day?

Bard Ylvisaker (of Ylvis): "What is Guy Fawkes Day?" #fantasticdrivel #ylvis #guyfawkesday #thefox

Thank you for asking, Bård. (Bård Ylvisåker of Ylvis)

(click more to find out!)

Continue reading →

Wily Willie: Pot-Bellied Scourge of Eastern Des Moines

Posted on by
Reply

A tip of the hat to Kyle Munson of the Des Moines Register. This has to be one of the best stories in modern journalism.

You really need to read the full story: Pot-belly pig terrorizes Des Moines neighborhood. While this video doesn’t show off Munson’s ability to capture compelling video footage (Merle Schieffer demonstrating how the cage operates, Willie chasing the rabbit), his narration gives a small taste of the wonderful wit he wields with the written word. Kyle Munson, you would be a welcome guest driveller any time. Perhaps I can get him to do a fantastic op-ed someday.