Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Thai Tunas

      Regular readers will probably recall that I post a fair bit about canned seafood.  So, it's not too surprising that I happened upon a new-to-me brand a while back, Genova.  When I saw that the fish included inside the can was a product of Thailand I bit, buying two cans--the yellowfin tuna in olive oil seasoned with lemon and herbs, and the albacore tuna in olive oil.

     There wasn't much online about the origins of the Genova brand, so I'll have to provide what little I could find out, which was largely indirect.  Way back in 1914, a man named Gilbert Van Camp bought up the California Tuna Company, and renamed it the Van Camp Sea Food Company.  (Although his father, Frank Van Camp, is listed as the founder.)  Van Camp's most popular product was its tuna, which it called "chicken of the sea," a slogan which eventually became a brand name.  Ralston Purina bought the company in 1963, and then in 1988 an Indonesian company named PT Mantrust briefly acquired it.  Shortly thereafter Prudential Life Insurance owned it for awhile.  Finally, in 1997 a partnership made up of three companies bought Chicken of the Sea.  These three firms were Edmund Gann's Caribbean Marine Services Company, the Singapore-based Tri-Marine International, and the Thailand-based Thai Union International.  Their partnership was called Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC.  In 2000 Gann and Tri-Marine sold their shares to Thai Union International, so it became the sole owner of Tri-Union.  So, I'm not sure if Genova started as an independent company and then was acquired by Chicken of the Sea, and then Tri-Union, or if it was a brand of Van Camp/Chicken of the Sea from the beginning, or if it was a brand of Chicken of the Sea after Tri-Union bought that company.  Moving on, Thai Union is a mammoth seafood company, which owns many brands and subsidiaries aside from Chicken of the Sea and Genova.  It has had its share of controversy, though.  In 2015 Greenpeace accused it of conducting human trafficking.  Other human rights organizations have also made this claim.  (In short, the company is said to have forced its employees to work in unfair, or unsafe, or underpaid conditions while out on the fishing boats, which may be away from land, and thus the law, for weeks or months at a time.)  Predictably, Thai Union has denied these claims, and its official company website documents their fair working conditions, and concern about fair labor practices and such.  I'd like to believe that these employees are being treated well, but, we live in the real world.  It wouldn't shock me to learn that Greenpeace and the other organizations may be right, or at least partially correct.  Sorry, this blog post about a couple of cans of tuna took a turn for the serious, I know, with it being largely about company acquisitions and mergers, and possible labor abuses.  Sometimes that's where the information takes me.  Getting back to the food, Genova does make a couple of premade tuna-based salad bowls, but most of their products consist of canned yellowfin tuna packed in various liquids, and/or different seasonings, or canned albacore tuna packed in various liquids, and/or different seasonings.

Genova yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil, with lemon and herbs:  The tuna itself was a pinkish-tan color, and it had the usual tuna-ish odor.  Plain it tasted like regular canned tuna, or okay but bland.  It was the usual chewy and soft texture.  Next I mixed up some with potatoes, squid, sauce, and ketchup, and this was improved, and pretty good.  But overall it was like most of the canned tuna I've had in my life--no better, no worse.  I don't know if I could have distinguished it from cans of Starkist or Bumblebee, etc.

Genova albacore tuna packed in olive oil:  Had the same pinkish-tan color, and typical tuna smell.  Same soft and chewy texture.  Plain it was fairly bland, and tasted like regular canned tuna.  Mixed up with mayonnaise it was quite good, a solid tuna salad.  Once again, this was like pretty much every other canned tuna I've had.  If you like canned tuna, both of these were fine.  But if they're more expensive than another common brand, I don't think I'd pay the extra price.  (I forgot to save the receipt, so I can't remember if these did cost more than the other brands of canned tuna.)

     To end this on more light-hearted note, I did find out that the human model for the Chicken of the Sea mermaid logo was Grace Lee Whitney.  Who is best known for playing Yeoman Rand in the early episodes of the original Star Trek television program (1966).  She also appeared, apparently as Rand, in many Star Trek movies, and other Star Trek television programs.  Otherwise, she was in movies such as "House of Wax" (1953), "The Naked and the Dead" (1958), and "Some Like it Hot" (1959).

 

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Colombian/American Hot Sauce

      I realized recently that I've been neglecting a very common edible in these posts--the condiment.  I've done a few posts about jams, marmalades, spreads, and such, but very few about savory sauces.  A post on June 8th, 2019 is a rare exception.  I'll try to rectify this, starting today with a hot sauce.  Or, more specifically, the sriracha chili pepper with garlic hot sauce from the Badia brand.

     The origins of the Badia brand, and company, date back to the 1960's.  Jose Badia, a Cuban hardware store owner, fled the country for political reasons.  Resettling in the "Little Havana" part of Miami, Florida, he switched his profession, and began selling spices, assisted by his wife, Azucena Badia.  The Badia company officially began in 1967.  By 1970, Jose had his son, Joseph, take over the day-to-day operations of the company.  The Mariel Boatlift in the early 1980's reportedly helped the company, as thousands of Cuban refugees settled in the Miami area, and bought a taste of home in the Badia products.  Also, distribution deals with the grocery behemoths Publix and Winn-Dixie helped the brand even further.  Baden Spice, Inc., sells spices, obviously, both raw and blended.  They also sell herbs, dried chili peppers, specialty salts, sauces and marinades, olive oils, and teas.  The Badia company was family owned for most of its history, with Joseph "Pepe" Badia taking over for his father.  However, in late 2024 it was sold to a group of investors, including the owners of Bia Foods and some banks.  There is one legal case involving Badia, as in November of 2018 the Gel Spice Company was required to pay Badia $564,000 for trademark infringement.

Badia chili with garlic, sriracha, picante hot sauce:  Had a spicy odor, and a reddish-brown color.  Plain it tasted spicy at first, and it built up a little with time.  A decent heat--not ridiculously overpowering, but a reasonable medium amount.  I also tried some on some Vienna sausages, and in some beans and tomato sauce, and for both it aided the experience, but adding some nice spicy "ummpth" to the dish.  Overall then, I would recommend this hot sauce, to folks like me, who don't want crazy, momentous spice hotness, but instead a manageable, spice "bite" to the proceedings.

     While covering this blog post topic, I was once again intrigued by the question of what is the official hottest pepper in the world.  I went into this category in some depth previously, along with some discussion about the methodology used to determine the winners, in my post on June 6th, 2015.  Anyway, the current champ, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is "Pepper X," created by Ed Currie of the U.S.  Currie is no stranger to the hot pepper game, since he also grew the previous champion, the Carolina Reaper.  Pepper X has a Scoville rating of 2,693,000.  So, case closed, right?  Not quite.  Some peppers growers maintain that Currie's creation is probably not the real champion, or at least its hotness is highly exaggerated.  Because reportedly Currie has not allowed his alleged champion pepper to be tested independently.  Critics point out that Pepper X is a mustard yellow pepper, and all of the other extremely hot candidates are reddish, or orange.  So, we're in a conundrum.  I'm certainly no authority about pepper hotness, but I do find it suspicious that Currie doesn't allow independent testing of his Pepper X.  If it's the real champion, what does he have to lose?  But maybe we'll get a thorough test, and a final assessment at some point.  (Part of me enjoys the drama over a food, but it also would be cool to get a final, scientific judgement on which is the hottest pepper, and what its strength is.)

 

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "Tremors" (1990)

      I think "Tremors" is, in its own way, a perfect movie.  Not the best movie ever (although it's excellent), but perfectly done.  It has characters you care about, a frightening setup, very good special effects, and a refreshing amount of humor.  It's definitely one of those rewatchable films--I've probably seen it at least 15 times, and plan to watch it many more times before I die.  Otherwise, this will be the usual format--questions followed by the answers, many SPOILERS ahead.

Questions:

1)    What's written on Valentine and Earl's truck?

2)    What are Valentine and Earl's last names?

3)    What did Valentine make for breakfast most recently, and what did Earl make?

4)    According to Earl, in the opening scenes, how much money do they currently have?

5)    What day of the week is it during the opening scenes?

6)    What five attributes does Val want the new lady grad student to possess?

7)    What two fields of study do Earl and Val think Rhonda is studying, and what is it, really?

8)    What was the name of Valentine's last girlfriend, and what does Earl think it was?

9)    According to its sign, when was the town of Perfection established?

10)   And what is Perfection's listed population?

11)   What university is Rhonda a student of?

12)   What is the name of the nearest town to Perfection?

13)   How far away is this "nearby" town, according to Burt?

14)   What state is Perfection located in?

15)   What are the names of the two state roadway workers that Val and Earl briefly speak to?

16)   Who is the first victim of the giant underground worms (graboids)?

17)   What is the name of the next victim, the sheep rancher?

18)   Burt wears a hat for a pro sports team.  Name it.

19)   What is Miguel's occupation?

20)   How much does Walter pay Val and Earl for the snake monster attached to their truck?  (It's later revealed to be just a body part of the entire creature.)

21)   According to Burt, what makes Perfection geographically isolated?

22)   When Earl and Val leave on the horses to get help, what food does Walter give them?

23)   How many snakelike tongues does a graboid have?

24)   According to Rhonda, what is the soil type of Perfection Valley?

25)   Where do the citizens of Perfection head to near the end?

26)   We briefly see a street sign when Val flees onto his truck outside of Nancy's house.  (After he rescues Mindy.)  What is the name of this street or road?

27)   What is the vanity license plate on Burt and Heather Gummer's vehicle?

28)   What bumper sticker do we also see on the Gummer's vehicle?

29)   What radio frequency does Burt ask Val and Earl to use to communicate?

30)   According to Earl, the Cat vehicle weighs over how many tons?

31)   How many miles is it to reach the safety of the mountains?

32)   Burt lists six survival attributes of the Gummer residence.  Name them.

33)   How many survivors are there at the end of the movie?

34)   How many people do the graboids kill?  (Directly and indirectly.)

35)   How do each of the four graboids die?

36)   Val and Earl play a hand game to decide who does a specific, usually unpleasant task.  Name each time, and who is the winner.

37)   We see Val and Earl doing three hired hand/handyman jobs, and they discuss two others.  Name them.

38)   According to Rhonda, how many years has the college had seismographs in Perfection Valley?

39)   When we first meet the Gummers, Burt is talking about a specific type of ammunition with Walter.  Name it.

40)   When Earl asks Mindy, how many jumps is she up to on her pogo stick?

41)   What is the name of the doctor's wife?  (It's never spoken, but is listed in the credits.)

42)   The Gummers use a wide variety of guns.  What is the so called Elephant Gun that Burt uses?

43)   Earl and Val speculate on what caused the worms to be, and come up with three.  Name them.

44)   True of False?  The bad "f"  curse word is never spoken in the movie.

45)   Where are Melvin's parents, or parent?  (Somewhat conjectural.)

46)   So who are the actual residents of Perfection?  The numbers don't add up.  (Somewhat conjectural.)

Answers:

1)    V and E   Odd Jobs

2)    Valentine McKee, and Earl Basset.  We hear Val mention Earl's surname once, and it's written on the sign outside their trailer.  But it's misspelled as "Bass" in the credits.

3)    Val says he just made bologna and beans, and Earl claims he made eggs, over easy.

4)    $3, as the $50 Nestor will pay them for the garbage removal will give them $47 more than they currently have.

5)    Monday.  Earl thinks.

6)    Long blonde hair, big green eyes, world class breasts, an ass that won't quit, and legs that go all the way up.

7)    Earl says geography, Val says geology, but Rhonda corrects them by saying seismology.

8)    Her name was Tammy Lynn Baxter, although Earl thought it was Bobby Lynn Dexter.

9)    1902.  A later prequel shows their was a town in the same area named "Rejection" in the late 1800's, though.

10)   14.

11)   Mesa State University.  The college's initials are written on some of her seismology equipment, and it's written on the side of her truck.  This is a fictitious university.  Although during the time of filming there was a Mesa State College in Colorado, which since has renamed itself Colorado Mesa University.

12)   Bixby.  Also a fictitious, made up name for the state Perfection is in (see Question #14).  Although there are many real states with a Bixby, such as Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and a creek in California.

13)   38 miles.

14)   Nevada.  Several license plates are seen, and Walter's store is a listed post office with the state included.

15)   Carmine and Howard.

16)   Edgar Deems.

17)   Fred, often referred to as Old Fred.

18)   The NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

19)   He's a cattle rancher.  He mentions this at one point.

20)   $15.  He then charges $3 per photo with the snake monster.

21)   It has cliffs to its north, and mountains to the east and west.  And it's far from any other town.

22)   Swiss cheese.

23)   3.

24)   Pleistocene alluvial.

25)   The mountains to the west.

26)   Talcum Lane.

27)   UZI 4U.

28)   Free Afghanistan.

29)   22.

30)   30.

31)   9 miles.

32)   Food for five years, 1000 gallons of gas, air filtration, water filtration, Geiger counter, and bomb shelter.

33)   9.  Val, Earl, Rhonda, Burt, Heather, Nancy, Mindy, Miguel, and Melvin.

34)   10.  Edgar, Fred, Dr. Jim, the doc's wife (see Question #41), Carmine, Howard, the 2 unidentified additional road workers, Nestor, and Walter.  Edgar is killed indirectly, as he dies from dehydration up on the electric tower, and Howard the road worker appears to be killed by the rockslide that occurs when Carmine is dragged up slope.

35)   The first one dies after burrowing into the concrete culvert at full speed chasing Earl and Val.  The second one is shot dozens (hundreds?) of times by Burt and Heather Gummer.  The third one is blown up by the Gummer's pipe bomb when Earl "fishes" with it.  The fourth one is panicked by the final pipe bomb thrown by Val, and accidently goes off the cliff before splatting on the rocks below.

36)   They first do this to decide whose turn it is to make breakfast at the start of the film.  Earl wins.  The second time is to see who has to climb the tower to check on Edgar.  Val again loses.  The third time is to see who gets Edgar's rifle when they ride away on the horses.  Val "wins" but then Earl wins by getting Heather's superior gun on loan.  Finally, to decide who runs for the Cat, Val again loses, but cheats and elbows Earl away and runs off himself.  Incidentally, I always thought the game they were playing was "odds and evens," but most viewers think it's "rock-paper-scissors."

37)   They're seen putting up the fence for Miguel, hauling away trash for Nestor, and emptying the Plug's (Melvin's family) septic tank.  They discuss laying linoleum for the Gummers, and consider building a pottery kiln for Nancy.

38)   3 years.

39)   Hydra-shok hollow point bullets.  I looked it up, and these are real, and were even released in 1989.  Their full name is Federal Hydra-shok.

40)   640.

41)   The credits list her name as being Megan.

42)   Gun enthusiasts on the internet say it's the Belgian-made William Moore & Co. 8 gauge shotgun, which Burt fires solid slugs from.

43)   Val thinks they might be mutated from radiation, or made by the government.  Earl thinks they're aliens ("no way these are these local boys.").  And Rhonda notes that they predate the fossil record.

44)   False.  Val yells it at the first killed worm's corpse.

45)   Early versions of the script, and a deleted scene, indicate that Melvin's parents are degenerate gamblers, who often leave their son alone when they go to Las Vegas for days at a time.  But the version released to theaters doesn't provide an explanation.

46)  They don't really.  We can be sure that Nancy, Mindy, Walter, Burt, Heather, Nestor, Miguel, Melvin, Earl, and Val are definitely included in the count of 14 on the town sign.  That's 10 people.  But, we also have Edgar, Fred, Dr. Jim, and Megan.  Plus Melvin has to have at least 1, if not 2 parents, which would be 15 or 16.  Rhonda doesn't count, presumably, since she's only there temporarily, for the semester.  So, either Fred and/or Edgar live too far out of the town proper to count, or Dr. Jim and Megan just moved in (they're building their house, after all) and so aren't counted yet.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Vietnamese/American Fruit Drink

     After I bought this one, and drank it, I had some misgivings.  Had I posted about soursop before?  The picture of the fruit on the label looked vaguely familiar, and one of its alternative names, guanabana, seemed familiar as well.  I went through my blog's history in its entirety, scrolling through all 830 of my previous posts.  I clicked on many, all the ones that mentioned something Mexican or Central American, or anything fruit-related.  Long story short, I couldn't find a previous post on it.  So I'm writing this one.  If any reader lets me know of a post that I somehow missed, well, I'll just have to acknowledge that it was a reprint of sorts.  Finally, the drink that I got was the soursop juice from the IOS Natural company, based out of New Jersey in the U.S.  But the fruit itself was cultivated in Vietnam.

     Here are some of soursop's aliases:  guanabana, guybana, graviola, paw-paw, and sirsak.  Its point of origin was Mexico and other parts around Central America.  However, it was transported to many other places in the world with suitably tropical environments.  In some areas too well, as now it's considered an invasive species, like in portions of India.  The soursop plant grows into a small, evergreen tree, which can top out at a height of about 10 meters (or 33 feet).  The fruit can get quite large, sometimes reaching a length of 35 cm. (about 14 inches), and a weight of up to 4 kilos (8.8 pounds).  It's dark green at first, but it changes to a yellowish-green as it ripens.  Its exterior is quite leathery, with spiky protrusions.  The inner pulp is a white color, with black, inedible seeds.  The taste of the fruit is often said to be a combination of several other fruits.  Many consumers believe its texture is reminiscent of a banana, while its flavor is thought to be akin to a strawberry mixed with an apple, with perhaps a hint of a sour citrusy taste.  Most folks consume it as a drink, or as a candy, or as a flavoring for sorbets or ice cream.

     I already covered the IOS Natural company's background before, in my post on November 30th, 2024, about watermelon juice that was grown in Turkey.  So if you're interested, head on over to that article.  I won't repeat its information here.

IOS Natural 100% soursop juice:  The color of this juice was mostly clear--just a hint of yellow.  It had a slightly sweet odor.  The texture was thickish, with some pulp in it.  The taste was okay.  It was sweet and tangy.  Not a really bold flavor, but alright.  I would recommend this one slightly.  Maybe people who've never had soursop might be intrigued by its newness, as well.

     Soursop is a favorite of the alternative medicine crowd.  It's said by them to be able to lower high blood sugar, lower high blood pressure, and to act as an antibiotic.  But, most dramatically, soursop is posited to be an effective cancer treatment.  Alas, as is pretty much always the case with these alternative medical claims, these haven't been proven scientifically to date.  So don't substitute a fruit for your doctor-proscribed actual medicines just yet.

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Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Cooked Cheese Snack

      When I happened to see this on the shelf in the snack section at my local grocery store, I assumed it was just a cheese-flavored cracker.  But a closer inspection revealed that it wasn't--instead it was a snack composed solely of grated and baked pieces of cheese.  Literally.  The ingredient lists for these snacks are just the cheeses themselves, with nothing else, not even preservatives.  Anyway, I got two types of the Whisps snacks--the asiago & pepper jack kind, and the parmesan one.

     As has become the norm lately, I couldn't find out who created the Whisps brand, and when, from their official company website.  Fortunately though, I was able to learn some details from other online sources, which I think are accurate.  According to these, Whisps was founded by Ilana Fischer, an executive of Schuman Cheese, based out of New Jersey.  Schuman specializes in selling imported cheeses from various places around the world, including South America, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Israel, Greece, Belgium, France, and especially Italy.  Fischer started the Whisps line in 2015.  In either 2018 or 2019 (sources differ), Whisps left Schuman and became independent.  In particular, Whisps was hoping to capitalize on the keto and low carb diet trends, by putting out a snack that qualified for both of these.  John Ghingo, formerly of Applegate Farms, took over as the CEO in 2023.  And in August of 2024 Whisps was acquired by The Farmer Company, led by founder/CEO Adam Farmer.  The Whisps brand is quite small, consisting of only three products.  Aside from the two that I sampled, there is a cheddar cheese variant.  In addition to being appropriate for keto and low carb dieters, Whisps also proudly touts that its wares lack gluten and rBST.  (If you're like me and didn't know what rBST is, it stands for recombinant bovine somatotropin.  It's a synthetic hormone that's given to cows to increase milk production.  It's banned in places like New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the European Union because it can have adverse health effects on the cows.  There's no evidence that its use causes health problems for humans consuming the dairy products, though.)  They're also free of nuts, although they are made in a facility that processes nuts.  The location where the Whisps are made is a bit spread out.  The cheese is made in Wisconsin, and my product labels mention that they were distributed from an address in Burlington, Vermont.  However, the Whisps headquarters are reportedly in New York City.

Whisps parmesan cheese crisps:  These were disc-shaped, about 1.25 inches (about 3 cm.) in diameter, with a yellowish white color and a rough, uneven exterior.  No real odor to speak of.  The texture was dry, and crunchy, which makes sense, since they're dried pieces of cheese, and are called "crisps."  They tasted like parmesan, which again makes sense, as that's what they were.  The flavor was very good to excellent.  I enjoyed these immensely, and would readily recommend them.

Whisps asiago & pepper jack cheese crisps:  These were the same size and shape, and outer appearance  as the parmesan ones, but their hue was a light orange instead of being yellow-white.  Again, not much of a smell at all.  And they were similarly dry and crunchy.  The flavor was very impressive.  There was a decent amount of spice bite--not overpowering, but enough to make it a bit zesty and interesting.  The parmesan ones were top notch, as I said, but these were maybe slightly better.  Or excellent.  I highly recommend these too.  If you like these kinds of cheese in general, I think you'll really like them in dried baked form as well.  I'll try to locate the cheddar kind, too, and report back here if I do.

     The official company website invited satisfied customers to "become a Whisperer."  I guess I am now, since I very much enjoyed these snacks.  But, contrary to the more common definition of whispering, I WILL EXTOLL MY LOVE AND ADMIRATION OF THESE DRIED CHEESE SNACKS THIS WAY, THE WRITING EQUIVALENT OF SHOUTING.

Great Writing News!

      A while ago I teased a bit about an upcoming acceptance of mine, and now I'm able to be more detailed about it.  An essay of mine, "Blood Lines," will be a part of the eleventh issue of Morbid Curiosity.  Morbid Curiosity is published and edited by Loren Rhoads.  Whose name should be familiar to my readers, since she was also the publisher and editor of 2022's "Death's Garden Revisited," the book that explores all aspects of cemeteries.  (And I had an essay in that one, too.)  Additionally, I did an interview with Loren on this blog back on April 9th, 2022.  The tentative publication date for Morbid Curiosity #11 is October of this year, and a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is planned for the near future.  Obviously I'll include more information about this upcoming  magazine issue in the coming weeks and months, including the cover art, synopses, and the list of contributors.

     Now I'd like to explore Morbid Curiosity in more depth.  Because I have quite a history with this publication.  I was fortunate enough to have stories included in Issues 7, 8 and 9.  These were some of my earlier publishing credits, so they're special memories.  But, first off, what was, and now is, Morbid Curiosity about?  It lived up to its title, as it featured confessional, first person, non-fiction essays which explored, "The unsavory, unwise, unorthodox, and unusual:  All the dark elements that make life truly worth living."  Through most of its run, Morbid Curiosity mainly focused on survivor narratives.  These described folks' experiences with "sexuality, birth, modern healthcare, illicit substances, natural disasters, UFO encounters, humanity's inclination toward violence, as well as homicide, serial killers, and ghosts."  Morbid Curiosity was an annual magazine, and was published between 1997-2006.  All told 310 survivor narratives were featured.  Some of the more famous contributors were, in alphabetical order:  

Michael Amzen, Maurice Broaddus, M. Christian, Alan M. Clark, Aaron Comethus John Everson, Ray Garton, Rain Graves, T.M. Gray, Michael Hemmingson, Brian Hodge, Charlee Jacob, Brian Keene, Nancy Kilpatrick, Jasmine Sailing, Julia Solis, Jill Tracy, V. Vale, Don Webb, and David Niall Wilson.

     Morbid Curiosity attracted a fair bit of attention, too.  Two museums featured it as part of a display.  A copy of an issue can be seen on Mulder's desk in an episode of "The X-Files."  It's been cited in at least four books-- "Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away" by Eric G. Wilson, "Death: An Oral History" by Casey Jarman, "Encyclopedia Gothica" by Lisa Ladouceur, and "The Goth Bible" by Nancy Kilpatrick.  Finally, when it closed in 2006, Peter Carlson of The Washington Post wrote a long, passionate obituary for it.  (Which can still be found online.)

     Loren Rhoads ceased Morbid Curiosity to focus on her writing career.  Which has been prolific--she's penned short stories, nonfiction books, and novels.  Included in this output is the "As Above, So Below" set ("Lost Angels" and "Angelus Rose"), the "In the Wake of the Templars" trilogy ("The Dangerous Type," "Kill By Numbers," and "No More Heroes"), and the nonfiction "199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die," and its later companion, "222 Cemeteries to See Before You Die."  Also both the book I mentioned previously, "Death's Garden Revisited," and its predecessor, "Death's Garden."  She later condensed the highlights of Morbid Curiosity into the book, "Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues."

     However, it's back from the dead.  Presumably the zombie form of Morbid Curiosity will be even more disturbing, fascinating, alarming, and interesting than it was before, if that's possible.  I hope this post has whetted your appetite for Issue #11.  It can't come soon enough!  Much more to follow.      

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Canadian Soft Drinks

      This was a case when I didn't really need to check the "Product of (whatever country it was made in)" section on the label.  The overall name of the product, in clear, large letters told me that it was an import--"Clearly Canadian."  I did check, later, just to make sure it wasn't a geographical ruse, but it wasn't:  Clearly Canadian is indeed made in Canada.  I tried a couple of their sparkling water beverages--their mountain blackberry kind, and the wild cherry one.

Clearly Canadian is neither an ancient company, nor a very recent one.  It started in 1987, founded by Gordon Sim, Doug Mason, and a few other, unidentified folks.  The original water source for their drinks was the Tillicum reservoir, located on Silver Star Road, in the Monashee Mountains, overlooking the British Columbian community of Vernon.  Sim, Mason, and their cohorts decided to add some flavoring to their spring water, and they were off.  Clearly Canadian beverages were a hit after only a short time, as the 1990's was a prolific decade for the company.  Their wares were even featured (not in ads, but in the hands of the characters) on several famous television programs of the era, such as "Sex and the City," "Friends," and "Seinfeld."  Alas, in the aughts the business began to falter due to mismanagement.  This got so severe that Clearly Canadian shut down for a while, starting in 2010-11.  The leader of an investment firm, Robert R. Khan, of 4N Capital Partners, acquired Clearly Canadian in 2012.  Around the same time, a crowdfunding campaign was done, which attracted over 14,000 fans/investors, who pre-bought over 40,000 cases of the beverages.  This money was used to get the business up and running again, and Clearly Canadian was active and successful once again.

     Clearly Canadian just makes beverages, all based on Canadian spring water, although the sources have expanded from only the Tillicum spring.  They make four basic sorts of beverage--the originals, zero sugars, the sparkling essences, and the Clearly sparkling line.  These drinks are flavored with four natural ingredients.  (Which they didn't reveal--I suppose they're company secrets.)  All are fruit-flavored, but no actual fruit juice is used.  Not shockingly, since their products are mostly made from water, all are vegetarian-appropriate, and free of GMOs and gluten.  Some of their drinks do contain cane sugar as the sweetener, and not the common high fructose corn syrup.  (Their zero sugar drinks don't use sugar, obviously, substituting stevia instead.)

Clearly Canadian sparkling water beverage, wild cherry flavor:  Had a cherry-ish odor, and, as the name suggests, was a clear color.  It was carbonated, i.e., sparkling.  The taste was also noticeably cherry-ish.  Or like a typical cherry soda/soft drink.  It was good--fizzy and fruity.  I would rate it good to very good, and would recommend it.

Clearly Canadian sparkling water beverage, mountain berry flavor:  This one was also clear in color, and once again had the advertised fruit odor.  Carbonated too, of course.  It had a pleasant black berry-like flavor.  Not a super strong taste, but pretty good.  Maybe a tad less tasty than the wild cherry kind, but still respectable.  I would also recommend this one.  And I will try other Clearly Canadian beverages if/when I encounter them.