Edward Eager/Cod-Stockfish/Tongue/Child-sized Cars/Norwegian Joke/Ketchup

Sat Feb 8 22:55:56 UTC 2003

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, rvotaw at i... wrote:
> I was looking through my Arrow Scholastic March order form, and 
> came across these books.  The set is called Edward Eager's Magic 
> Tales.  The individual titles are:
> 
> Half Magic
> Magic by the Lake
> The Time Garden
> The Well-Wishers
> Magic or Not?
> Knight's Castle
> Seven-Day Magic
> 
> The Scholastic form *says* they're great for Harry Potter fans, but
> of course they'll say anything to sell books.  Just wondering if 
> anyone has actually read them.
> 
(another post)
> Thanks for all the input, the set of 7 is in my Scholastic book 
> order for $13, so I'll get them.

I read and *adored* the Edward Eager books when I was that age, so 
a couple of years ago, when Harry Potter brought Edward Eager back 
into print, I bought HALF MAGIC as a winter holiday present for my 
god(dess)daughter, and of couse re-read it myself before giftwrapping 
it, and still loved it. I would have bought her the whole set but the 
prices were absurd -- Richelle, I wish someone offered ME the whole 
set for $13; the one I bought for Colleen was $13 by itself!

Those who love Edward Eager books should also read the E. Nesbitt 
books (which libraries catalog as E. Bland, her married name) which 
are loved and mentioned by Edward Eager characters. The Eager books 
are set in USA and written in the 1950s and therefore didn't seem 
particularly alien to my own 1960s California childhood, but the 
"Bland" books are set in Britain and were written around 1900 and 
therefore had the pleasant sense of encountering a new "place" that 
so many Americans love in HP.

CHRISTIAN,I *loved* your essay on stockfish, klipfish, et alia!

EVERYBODY SHOULD READ:
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World 

I am so serious about this that I even looked it up on amazon for you
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-5595089-23129
12

Never mind how much you learn there about bacalao recipes and codfish 
biology and the first Codfish War off Iceland in 1600-something 
between Britain and the Hanseatic League, it is just plain enjoyable. 
And has many funny parts. Okay, here is some trivia from the 
informative aspect: the Hanseatic League merchants in Britain were 
called Easterlings (on the theory that Germany is to the East) which 
was shortened to Sterling. The high regard in which the Hanseatic 
merchants were held for a long time is why "sterling" came to mean 
"Genuine, pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest 
standard; of full value; as, a work of  sterling merit; a man of 
sterling good sense" which in turn is why British money named 
itself "sterling". (The quote is from Websters via my beloved 
www.dictionary.com).

Anna Adams Apple wrote:

<< we were served a tray with different appetizers on it and low and 
behold, it had pickled tongue on the it! (eeewwww!!!) My husband was 
the only one brave enough at our table to try it! I think he said it 
tasted like a pickled deli meat. I just couldn't stand the looks of 
it! 8-( >>

Tongue sandwiches (I think it's roast tongue) were popular in New York 
City when I lived there, so the big roasted tongue with the bumps on 
it (and the sliced off parts missing) would be there at the deli 
counter along with the beef roast and ham and turkey and different 
cheeses. I found that to me, tongue tastes like brisket but chewing it 
is FAR TOO LABOURIOUS.

Amy Z wrote:

<< I also remember being absolutely certain that the child-size cars 
you could buy from Sears Roebuck had an actual engine in them. >>

Eileen lucky_kari replied:

<< Wait a second, they don't? >>?

Tim says they do now.

Eileen, your list of childhood misunderstandings was LMAO funny. I 
was laughing so loud that Tim came in from the other room to ask why. 
I couldn't stop laughing long enough to read it to him, so he had to 
read it himself.

Steve bboy_mn wrote:

<< Joke:
"Did you hear about the Norwegian who loved his wife so much that he
almost told her."
Seriously, that's funny joke to a Norwegian. >>

I have been told that (changing "Norwegian" to "bloke") to English 
people, that joke is so true that, rather than finding it at all 
funny, they are deeply touched to think of such intense love.

Lee and Barry sometimes make ketchup from a recipe from a Kenneth 
Roberts book. My vague recollection is that they make 3 gallons of 
ketchup from 300-odd tomatoes which has to be stirred at JUST below 
boiling for three days (so they urge all their friends to come over 
for a shift of standing in the kitchen, slowly stirring while reading 
or something). The point is that REAL ketchup, like they make, 
contains all the nutrients (and calories) of cooked tomatoes despite 
being consumed in condiment-sized portions. 