The Dangerous Danielle and I watched "O Brother Where Art Thou?" last night. Previously, I believe we had only seen that movie blitzed out of our minds on ecstacy. Naturally. Anyway, besides solidifying my opinion that the Coen Brothers are truly wonderful people, the movie made me kind of homesick. Many of you know that I was brought up in the Great Depression in Mississippi and spent many years on a chain gang. No need to rehash old stories, of course. The people in the movie are actually a lot like my grandparents and they sang and listened to the same music. This was called "old timey music" seventy years ago, but I really love it. My inner southerner comes out when I here some of these songs and I miss my people, the countryside and my grandma (especially). This despite the fact that the true music of my youth was closer to something by Wings, or AC/DC than the Cox Family's "I Am Weary (Let me rest)," or the like. The "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack is really evocative and moving and I see why so many people responded to it when it came two years ago. In the same mode, I really love The Louvin Brother's album, "Satan is Real." Besides having the best album cover of all time, the harmonies are so beautiful. Crazy as shit, but beautiful.

• • • • •

 
Book o' the moment: "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. Turns out that salt has shaped civilization as much as anything else. Salt links the world! Salt was so valuble as a substance to preserve foods- virtually the only way to do so before refrigeration- that is was used as currency. The phrase "worth his salt" goes back to Roman times when the legions were paid in salt. The root word of salary is, yes, you guessed it, salt. Wars were fought over salt throughout history and trade routes and exploration all over the Pacific and Atlantic were inspired by the search for salt. Salt! Woo! Governments going all the way back to the first Chinese empires used the salt tax as an important source of revenue. Salt also inspired revolutions- much of the dissatisfaction with the Ancien Regime leading to the French Revolution was due to the strict enforcement of penalties for not paying the gabelle, the regressive salt tax of the crown. Gandhi's salt march in 1930 led to the overthrow of the British Empire in India. Salt! The great oil strikes in the 19th century in Pennsylvania and in East Texas were inadverdant...they were looking for salt! Turns out that salt domes are natural storage facilities for oil. Salt! Kurlansky also writes about compellingly about Chinese cuisine and their notion of the importance of balancing flavors. Culinary feng shui! Salt, itself, is a balance of acid and base and plays an integral role in bringing out the flavor in other foods. Salt! I am waiting for a book on jalapneos....

• • • • •