Category: Nonfiction

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Coffee and Contemplation: National Rum Day

Today offers several celebrations. It’s National Tell a Joke Day, National Roller Coaster Day, and National Airborne Day. If you know anyone who was in the Airborne division of the military, thank them for their service and offer to listen to a story they’re willing to tell. If you don’t know what Airborne means, I recommend you look it up. Today is also National Rum Day and that’s what I want to discuss. Of all the liquors, rum is my favorite followed by whiskey. I’m specific about the kind of rum I drink, however. 

My rum of choice is the Kraken Black Spiced Rum. There are many dark rums but they’re often not black. Of the few black rums I’ve found, the Kraken has the best flavor in my opinion. I’ve even learned they have a rum infused with coffee which I plan to buy in celebration of National Rum Day. If you’ve never tried it, I recommend the Kraken. If rum isn’t your thing, then we can’t be friends. 

Did you know rum has been produced since the third century BCE? It didn’t become popular until the 17th Century when colonizers began growing sugarcane in the Caribbean. Molasses came from sugarcane and was used to make rum as well as contribute to the slave trade. In 1764, the British Crown placed a tax on sugar, molasses, and rum on the American colonies. This tax was called The Sugar Act of 1764. It was instrumental in the unrest that finally became the American Revolution.

Have yourself a rum cocktail this evening in celebration of rum. Also celebrate that rum today is slave free. I enjoy having rum on the rocks with nothing else added. How do you enjoy your rum or other cocktails? Did I mention I wrote a poem about the Kraken and it was featured on the Kraken Rum Instagram page? Check it our below.

Dead Men Tell No Tales

The large arm lifted higher
Than the masthead
Shiny and black with
Hooks pushing out of each sucker
The ship crushed in twine
A large beak like a bird
Rose from the water
Catching the crew of the lost vessel
The rest of the beast hidden
We watched from the safety of our ship
As our sister ship was devoured
By the merciless black titan

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Wacky Wednesday: August 12

Today is an unusual day for Wacky Wednesday. I say this because the words and holidays are unusual. Our first word is Gabelle. A noun referring to an unpopular tax on salt in France. It began in the mid-14th century lasting until 1790 in the midst of the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated this tax in 1806. It was terminated then reinstated again and finally abolished in 1945. Salt was used for cooking, preserving food, making cheese, and raising livestock making the salt tax the most hated tax in France.

Our next word is Halfpace. This noun has a few meanings. It can be another name for footpace. It can be a small stage on which something stands; like a throne or an altar. It can also be a landing at the top of a flight of stairs before the stairs turn and ascend in the opposite direction. With the stairs definition, one can think of it as a floor between floors.

For our holidays this week, we only have one that’s related to food. Today is National Julienne Fries Day. Julienne Fries are sometimes called shoestring fries and they refer to a specific type of cut for the skinny sliced potatoes. The look like matchsticks. This was also a method for cutting different vegetables for soups. Today is also National Vinyl Record Day, National Middle Child Day, and Congressional Startup Day (changes annually). Startup Day celebrates small business startups and helps entrepreneurs connect with their lawmakers. So, are you a middle child? Do you still have vinyl records? Today is the day to buy more.

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Coffee and Contemplation: National Book Lover’s Day

Today is an exciting day for bibliophiles. National Book Lover’s Day is an unofficial holiday for those of us who love reading and collecting books. I didn’t realize for many years most of the books I owned were nonfiction. This wasn’t a conscious choice. Those were the only books I wanted to read at the time. I started reading more fiction and even gave myself a purpose to read more fiction. I gave myself a goal for the kind of fiction I wanted to read. I wanted to read the kind of fiction I wanted to write.

It began as a list of horror fiction with a supernatural focus. As I read and researched, I realized I wanted the supernatural more than the horror. There are many stories and novels that are supernatural but are not horrific. Likewise, there are many stories and novels that are horrific but have not supernatural elements. I began looking for both supernatural horror and magical realism in stories and novels. This has made for an interesting collection of books I’ve acquired. There are many stories that are not scary in the least but still involve supernatural creatures or beings. Some stories are even humorous in their absurdity.

I plan to share this list of books I’ve read on my journey one day. For now, tell me what you all are reading right now. What kind of books are you most interested in reading and collecting? I also want to leave you with a couple quotes that you may find interesting. One of them has some profanity, but I’m against censorship so consider yourself warned.

“It wasn’t until I started reading and found books, they wouldn’t let us read in school, that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.”

John Waters

“We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them.”

John Waters