Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Squid

      I'm kind of kicking myself here.  I've had squid many times in my life, but I thought I'd already posted about it.  It seems I was mistaken, though, as I looked through the titles of the 564 posts I've made since February of 2012, and didn't see any for this creature.  I did write about a close relative of the squid, the octopus (on November 25, 2012), but that's it.  And I mentioned in passing in another post that I liked squid in sushi form, but not about squid in particular, in detail.  So away we go.

     Squid are in the same family as the octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus--the cephalopods.  Structurally, squid have a kind of torpedo-like body, with eight arms, two longer tentacles, and a mouth like a beak.  Or rather similar to the octopus, save for a slightly different body shape, and two extra limbs.  They can move in two basic ways--slowly by moving their limbs and bodies, or quickly by expelling water, in a jetlike propulsion.  The squid's defenses are many, and pretty innovative.  First off, they use their many appendages to attack, or defend.  Some of these limbs have suckers on them, often with raspy edges on them for cutting and slicing.  Like the octopus, squid also come equipped with the ability to squirt out ink.  Only some species have more elaborate ink displays than just a murky cloud.  The ink bursts of some have the approximate size and shape of the squid for a time, confusing potential predators.  Or, some are like sticky mucus, which can adhere to the hunter and block their senses for a while.  Or, sometimes the ink cloud is bioluminescent, meaning the light dazzles and attracts the attention of the predator, especially in deep, dark waters.  Finally, it that's not enough, some squid species will bite off the end of a bioluminescent limb and toss it away, and go dark otherwise, leaving the hunter to chase after a bit of light while the squid escapes in another direction.    Also similar to octopus and cuttlefish, squid seem to be intelligent.  Most scientists think they might not be on par with a typical octopus, but others aren't so sure, since octopus intelligence has been studied much more than that of squids.  Furthermore, squid are quite communicative with each other, mainly by changing colors and again utilizing their bioluminescence to signal one another.  Or to camouflage themselves, too, as yet another defensive device.  The size of squid varies tremendously, with lengths ranging from a small of 10-18 millimeters (or .4 to .7 of an inch) to a record high of 10 meters (33 feet).  It's thought that some are even bigger, probably as much as 13 meters (43 feet), based on encounters, and the size of the wounds found on some large sperm whales (which love to eat squids).  Staying on sperm whales, the incredibly valuable ambergris, used as a fixative (scent enduring agent) in perfumes, is linked to squids.  This waxy substance is rather like a pearl formed in the intestines of sperm whales, building up around hard, sharp objects like squid beaks.  However, it's not just sperm whales that enjoy consuming squid.  Many people traditionally partake, such as folks in East Asian countries, the Middle East, and Mediterranean nations.  And, more recently, this dish has started to become popular in places like Russia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and North America.

     Anyway, I've had squid in lots of ways, as I mentioned before, so I'll report on each individual one.

Dried, shredded squid:  This is a popular Asian snack food, and I bought a bag from an unremembered Asian company decades ago.  It was pretty good as I recall.  Kind of like beef jerky in texture, size and shape of the pieces, with enough seasoning on it to keep it interesting.  A more than solid snack.

Canned squid:  I just had this, from Goya.  The label said they were wild caught in Spain.  One in olive oil, one in a marinara sauce.  Both were oval-ish chunks of squid, which was white in the interior, and  purplish on the outside.  The one in olive oil was just mediocre.  It was chewy, but rather bland.  The marinara one was better, but still just okay.  Chewy again, but not great.  Which makes sense--tinned fish is never as good as fresh, obviously.

Calamari:  This is often how it's made in Mediterranean countries.  It's breaded and fried, and typically comes with a dipping cocktail sauce.  The pieces usually look like meaty onion rings, little circles and ovals.  This format is very good--nice chewy texture, and the breaded spices and the sauce really complement the flavor of the squid meat.

Sushi:  This is clearly raw squid, usually a strip of it with several cuts in it.  This way is the best, absolutely delicious.  It kind of melts in your mouth in a strange but wonderful way.  Yet it is still nicely chewy as well, somehow.  And raw the flavor of the meat is excellent all by itself.

     So, in short, if you like shellfish, and/or octopus, you'll probably enjoy squid as well.  As I covered, there's no really bad way to eat it, although prepared as calamari or as sushi are the best options, in my opinion.

Extremely Difficult Trivia about "Alien" (1979)

      I'm starting to make this an occasional feature on my blog.  Previous installments were about "Night of the Living Dead" (May 8, 2021), and John Carpenter's version of "The Thing" (November 7, 2020).  As before, I'm choosing an extremely successful movie, "Alien," which did excellently both critically and at the box office.  Also like before, be forewarned that these trivia questions are ludicrously detailed--even folks who've seen the film dozens of times probably won't know some or most of these.  (The only reason I found most of these out was by re-watching it and writing all of these tidbits down.)  Clearly, there are many SPOILERS for Alien here.  Finally, these are from the 1979 Theatrical version--the 2003 Director's Cut was slightly different, and may not have had all of these points.  I'll list the questions first, and the answers will be at the end.  The questions follow the order of the movie fairly closely, too.

Questions:

1)   Let's start off easy.  What type of ship is the Nostromo?

2)   What is the Nostromo's listed cargo?

3)   What is the Nostromo's registration number?  (This is seen on screen, and Ripley says it as well.)

4)   Who is the first crew member to wake up and emerge from the hypersleep containers?

5)   According to Parker, what is the only consumable that's good on the ship?

6)   What color light indicates a message for the Captain's eyes only?

7)   On the ship's computer, what interface number is necessary to ask questions?  (It's called "Ready for Inquiry.)

8)   According to Ripley, where is the Nostromo based out of ?

9)   Where on Earth is Traffic Control located?

10)  Where is the Nostromo located at the beginning of the movie?

11)  What fraction of the journey back to Earth has the Nostromo made to this point?

12)  How many shares does each crewperson receive, assuming no bonuses?

13)  How often does the acoustical beacon on the mystery planet repeat?

14)  According to Brett, how many hours will it take to repair the damages after landing on the planet?

15)  How long does Parker then say they'll need over the intercom?

16)  Once the ship's landed, how far away is the acoustical beacon, in meters?

17)  According to Ash, what does the planet's "almost primordial" atmosphere consist of?

18)  What's the surface of the planet like, again, according to Ash?

19)  What computer program does Ripley use to interpret the mysterious beacon transmission?

20)  How long would the quarantine procedure last?

21)  Ash tells Ripley about two features of the Alien, which help make it tolerant of many environmental conditions, and make it a "tough little son of a bitch"?  What are they?

22)  Who is the senior officer after Captain Dallas and Kane?

23)  Dallas listens to some classical music while in the shuttle.  Name the piece, and its composer.

24)  Ash mentions a classic movie monster during a discussion about the Alien. Which one?

25)  How many trips did Dallas make with his previous science officer?

26)  How long before departure was this officer replaced with Ash?

27)  Where was the Nostromo's departure point for this journey?

28)  According to Lambert, how much longer is the journey to Earth?

29)  Many foods are seen on the meal table, but only a few are specifically mentioned by a character.  Name them.

30)  During the chestburster scene, who is sitting directly to Kane's right, and who's directly to his left?

31)  When Ripley, Parker, and Brett mistake Jones for the Alien, some orange lockers are seen with  numbers on them.  What are they?

32)  What is the number of the Special Order that reveals the Nostromo's secret mission, known only by Ash until Ripley finds out late in the film?

33)  What is the Emergency Control Override number which allows Ripley to read this Special Order?

34)  True or False?  There is no (human) nudity seen in "Alien."  (The Aliens and Jones are naked throughout, of course.)

35)  True or False?  The electric cattle prod-like weapon and the incinerator units are never used on anything but air, or parts of the ship.

36)  How long does the self-destruct mechanism take to detonate once activated?

37)  And how long do you have to abort the self destruct after activating it?

38)  This may be a mistake by the filmmakers, but what time does the countdown clock show after Mother the computer says the time is t-minus 10 minutes to detonation?  (Hint, it's not 10 minutes.)

39)  While Ripley is prepping the shuttle for escape, and then locating Jones the cat, what task are Lambert and Parker up to?

40)  What color are the alarm lights, which come on after the self-destruct is activated?

41)  What color is Parker's headband?

42)  What is printed on the helmet of the spacesuit that Ripley wears in the shuttle?

43)  What is Ripley singing as she prepares her attack against the Alien in the shuttle?

44)  In her recording at the end, what rank does Ripley say she is?

45)  About how long does she say it will take her to reach "the frontier" in the shuttle?

46)  What is the final spoken sentence uttered in "Alien"?

47)  What number is printed on the side of Ripley's hypersleep container in the shuttle?

48)  One of the movie's art directors later went on to direct the infamous sci-fi bomb "Battlefield Earth." (2000).  Name him.

49)   The seven actors and actresses who played the Nostromo's crew were all veteran thespians, with many other credits on their resumes.  But the actor who played the Alien itself in most scenes only did this one film.  Name him.  (I'm not counting the stunt people who played the Alien briefly--Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell.)

50)  Some of these were not specifically listed or mentioned in the movie itself, but I'll ask it anyway.  Name the rank or job title for all seven of the (human) crew.  (Jones's title was ship's cat/rodent control.)

Answers:

1)   It's a commercial towing vehicle.

2)   "Refinery processing 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore."

3)   180924609.

4)   Kane.

5)   The coffee.

6)   Yellow.

7)   2037.

8)   The Solomons.  (Presumably the island chain and current sovereign country located in Oceania, to the East of Papua New Guinea.)

9)   Antarctica.

10)  Just short of Zeta II Reticuli.  (Which is a real system, located about 39 light years away from Earth.  This system is often used in fiction, probably because that's where the aliens in the real life (but very questionable, in my opinion) Barney and Betty Hill abduction case were allegedly from.)

11)  Halfway.

12)  Parker and Brett each receive half shares, all of the others a full share each.

13)  Every 12 seconds.

14)  17 hours.

15)  At least 25 hours.

16)  Just under 2000 meters.

17)  Some inert nitrogen, a high concentration of carbon dioxide crystals. methane, and some unnamed trace elements.

18)  It's rock, with a lava base.

19)  E.C.I.U.  It's not revealed what this acronym stands for.

20)  24 hours.

21)  It has an outer layer of protein polysaccharides, and it sheds its cells and replaces them with polarized silicon.

22)  Ripley.

23)  "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (Or, translated into English, "A Little Night Music") by W.A. Mozart.

24)  A zombie, as in he doesn't think the dead facehugger alien is one.

25)  5.

26)  2 days before.

27)  Thedus.  (This is a fictional planet.  Although its star system, Epsilon Reticuli, is real, and located about 59 light years from Earth, and in December of 2000 a planet was discovered there.  That planet, probably a gas giant, is bigger than Jupiter, and is called Epsilon Reticuli b, or sometime Epsilon Reticuli Ab, or sometimes HD 27442.) 

28)  10 months.

29)  Biscuits, cornbread (which also is mentioned in the sequel), coconuts, and pineapple.  The last two are said a bit quietly by Dallas, and may not be on the ship.

30)  Parker is to Kane's right, and Dallas to Kane's left.

31)  1516.

32)  Special Order 937.

33)  100375.

34)  False.  None of the crew get naked (although Sigourney Weaver gets close), but you can see some naked women in magazine pictures that were cut out and attached to the walls, off of the dining room, when Ash is attacking Ripley.  Also, Ash may have tried to suffocate Ripley using a porn magazine--it's very hard to tell.

35)  False.  Neither of these weapons is used on the Aliens, but both are used on Ash.  Lambert uses the electric prod to subdue Ash when he's attacking Ripley and Parker.  And then Parker burns Ash with an incinerator unit after Ash is deactivated.

36)  10 minutes.

37)  5 minutes.

38)  10 minutes and 42.4 seconds.  (If you're confused by this, well, some am I.)

39)  They're getting coolant for the shuttle's air support system.  Which may be another goof, since later when Ripley enters the shuttle for the final time, she has no coolant containers.  So I guess they didn't really need them?  Or at least one person apparently didn't.

40)  Yellow.

41)  Mostly it's blue, but you can see in certain scenes that some of it, the part tied behind his head, is red.

42)  D-7.

43)  "You are my lucky star," repeated over and over with some variants.  Obviously these lyrics are very general, so it could be a lot of songs, but some think it's from the movie musical "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) which starred Gene Kelly.

44)  Third Officer.  (See Answer #50 for more on this.)

45)  About 6 weeks.  (Alas, as we learn in the sequel, it took considerably longer!)

46)  "Come on cat."  Said to Jones, clearly.

47)  723.

48)  Roger Christian.  Looking at his resume, it appears he was maybe a better art director or second unit director than director.  He shared the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for 1977's "Star Wars," and shared a nomination for the same category for "Alien."  To be fair, I think "Battlefield Earth" is worth seeing, but only in a "so bad it's good" sort of way.  John Travolta's glorious overacting in it has to be seen to be believed!

49)  The late Bolaji Badejo.  He wasn't an actor by training, he was picked due to his immense height (he was six feet, ten inches tall, or 2.08 meters) and very thin physique, perfect for portraying the Alien.

50)  Dallas was the Captain, Kane was the Executive Officer (2nd in command), Ripley was the Third Officer/Warrant Officer, Lambert was the Navigator, Ash was the Science Officer, Parker was the Chief Engineer, and Brett was the Assistant Engineer/Engineering Tech.  I think these are in order of command, except maybe for Lambert and Ash, which maybe are switched? 

 

  

   

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Italian/Dutch Gummy Candies

      This was another find from the alternate Shop-Rite I visited about a month ago.  I realize I've done quite a few posts about Italian edibles and drinks, but, alas, I am limited to what's available to me here.  Now that the pandemic is on the decline, and more stores are safely open again, I should be able to test out some newer and more exotic products soon.  Anyway, today's offering is two Fruit-tella gummy types--the strawberry and raspberry kind, and the peach and mango one.

     The Fruit-tella story is actually the tale of two companies, so I'll start with the elder statesman.  Van Melle began as a bakery in the Breskens area of The Netherlands, in 1840.  In 1900, the originator's grandson, Isaak Van Melle, changed it to a confectionary business, concentrating on making candy instead of baked goods.  By 1931 Van Melle began making "square sweets."  By 1949 Van Melle expanded into Germany, Belgium, and some other European countries.  In 1992 the firm expanded outside of Europe, to Russia.  And then in March of 2001 Van Melle was acquired by the Italian Perfetti SpA company, and the result was Perfetti Van Melle.

     Back in 1946, Ambrogio and Egidio Perfetti started a candy manufacturing company, initially called Dolcitico Lombardo.  Their flagship brand was an iconic Italian chewing gum called Brooklyn, after the famous American bridge.  In 1963 the company name was changed to Perfetti SpA.  After the Perfetti--Van Melle merger occurred, the company continued to flourish.  As of now it's the 3rd largest confectionary company in the world, after Mondelez International and Mars, Inc.  It employs nearly 18,000 people, has 31 manufacturing facilities around the globe, and exports to over 150 countries.  (Side note--if you're curious, as I was, as of 2021 there are 195 independent countries that are U.N. recognized, but another 50 or so claim this status.)  The current owners, Augusto and Giorgio Perfetti, have an estimated total worth of 6.3 billion (American) dollars!  To continue with the company's cosmopolitan nature, their current CEO is Sameer Suneja, from India.  Other brands owned by Perfetti Van Melle include AirHeads, Chupa Chups, and probably most famously, Mentos.  There are also many different flavors of Fruit-tella, such as lime, blackcurrant, cola/lemon, and "magic," which reportedly changes flavors as you eat it, kind of like the "several-course-meal-candy" eaten by Violet in the 1971 version of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," I guess (I hope!).  Furthermore, a few posts ago I jokingly wished I'd read about a product that wasn't GMO-free, allergen-free, vegan-friendly, etc., for a change.  Well here it is.  Fruit-tella is not vegetarian (they're made in a facility that processes animal-derived gelatin), they're not GMO-free (they use corn, which is genetically modified), and they're not organic.  They do lack peanuts/nuts, and artificial colors and flavors, though.  And they do use real fruit puree, which is rare for a candy.  So there's that. 

Fruit-tella soft gummies, peach and mango flavor:  These were roundish in shape, little pieces of fruit with faces and feet, about 2 cm. by 2 cm (about .75 inches by .75 inches), in two colors--orangish and yellow.  Evidently the orange ones were the mango, and the yellow the peach.  These were pretty good.  Decent flavor, solid gummy candy.  Not great, but far from terrible. 

Fruit-tella soft gummies, strawberry and raspberry flavor:  Same basic shape and size as the previous, but this time the colors were dull red and blood red.  (Apparently, the strawberry ones were the lighter red, and the raspberry the darker.)  These were quite good.  Nice strong fruit flavor.  I guess the use of real fruit was a boon.  Better than the other kind.  Although, to be fair, while I like peach and mango flavor, I usually enjoy berries more.

     Additionally, I should get into the interesting aspects of Mentos.  Aside from its bizarrely annoying and cringe-y 1990's television commercials, this candy is best known for its dramatic reaction when it's dropped into certain soft drinks, most notably Diet Coke.  This result is a dramatic and entertaining fountain, which can reach several feet, or meters, high.  I was surprised to learn that this practice is older than I imagined.  One source even said it was done back in the 1910's, although this seems a bit questionable.  Anyway, previously people did this type of thing using Wint-o-Green Life Savers and various sodas.  However, by the 1990's the Life Savers were increased in size, making it more difficult to fit into soft drink bottle necks.  But then folks discovered you could also get a fountain using Mentos.  A man named Lee Marek, assisted by some children, demonstrated this on "The Late Show with David Letterman" television program in 1999.  However, this phenomenon really went into the public consciousness after Steve Spangler did it on an NBC affiliate out of Denver, Colorado, in March of 2002.  The great skeptical program "MythBusters" tackled it as well.  Assisted by a nozzle, their team was able to get a fountain height of over 10 meters (or about 34 feet)!  Scientists believe this reaction is due to a process called nucleation, caused by the high surface area of the mints, combined with the surface tension-lowering effect of the aspartame artificial sweetener.  The most dramatic effect appears to be using the mint flavored Mentos, and Diet Coke.  If you're interested in setting the record for most simultaneous fountains, better call ALL your friends.  Perfetti Van Melle organized an event wherein 4,334 fountains were set off at once in Leon, Guananjuato, Mexico, in November of 2014.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Kijafa, the Mysterious European Alcoholic Drink

      A couple of weeks ago I was in a liquor store that I don't usually frequent, and so I decided to shop for this blog.  I went with Kijafa, because it was new to me, imported, slightly exotic in nature (it was a cherry grape wine), and relatively cheap (about $12 for a 750 mL bottle).  The label said it was a product of Poland, and that it had an alcohol content of 16%.  Also sulfites, but that's neither here nor there.

     Therefore, after I tried it, I did my usual online research, hoping to learn a bit about the type of wine, and its manufacturer.  That's when I ran into trouble.  I couldn't locate an official company website, first off.  And the rest of the internet information about Kijafa was extremely lacking--just brief blurbs next to photos of the bottles on various American liquor store websites.  Furthermore, what I did find was often contradictory.  For example, several of the online resources claimed that Kijafa is not Polish, but is Danish in origin.  But, another couple of them said that Kijafa is from The Netherlands.  And yet another reported that this wine was made in Finland.  So I'm not sure which story is accurate, if any.  The Danish origin story is at least the most detailed.  Some of these claim that Kijafa is an acronym derived from various Danish words--the "Ki" is from the Danish word for cherries (kirsbaer, or kirsebaer), the "ja" from J.J. Jacobsen, the founder of the company, and the "fa" from Faaborg, the city where it was first made.  But some other details didn't seem to make sense.  One source said that the wine is made from the distinctive Langeskov cherry, from the Danish island of Lolland.  But, Langeskov is a town on the Danish island of Funen, so this name is kind of misleading.  Even how it's made isn't consistent.  Some folks claim Kijafa is made from just cherries, and using no grapes at all.  So I don't know what to think.  It's certainly possible that it's a Danish invention that's made in factories in other nations, of course.  But clearly I wouldn't testify to this in court.  For the record, the label on my bottle reads that Kijafa was established in 1841, so there's that.  It also reads that this beverage is a "cherry grape wine with artificial and natural flavors," so apparently grapes are one of its ingredients.  As usual, I'd welcome any information from readers, especially any Danish and Polish ones.

Kijafa:  The directions suggested enjoying this over ice, or mixed with a soft drink.  I chose to do the former.  Kijafa's color was a deep purple-red.  My initial reaction wasn't that positive.  It tasted like red wine with cherry flavor added.  It also tasted pretty boozy--it didn't hide its alcohol content well.  Overall it was fairly cloyingly sweet.  So my initial grade would have been low, maybe a D+, or barely passing, but pretty unsatisfactory.  But, I must say, it kind of grew on me as I continued drinking it.  (Maybe the relatively high alcohol content was a factor.)  Anyway, by the end I felt somewhat more sympathetic to it, so adjust my rating to a C-, or just below average.  In conclusion, I'm guessing major wine aficionados will probably hate this, but if you don't mind super sweet, dessert-type wines, this might be acceptable.  Perhaps best suited for poor college students who want to pretend to be sophisticated.  It also had a weird top--a pseudo cork (plastic?) was attached to the cap, so it was somewhat difficult to open.