The Story of the Guitar

My wife is guest writing today...

If you have been following my blog since I started writing it (Everyday Fish Philippines), you will of course know I am from the Philippines.  What you may not know is music is the lifeblood of the Filipino.  We live and breathe music, we romance each other with music it is in our very soul.  Most Filipinos can play a musical instrument, being a banjo, ukelele, or an instrument familiar to a native tribe, but the ultimate is the classical Spanish Guitar.  Playing a guitar evokes images of gentleman wooing their sweethearts in the tradition of the Ligaw (courting).  I had always wanted to buy a guitar but it was too expensive for us to afford.

My father with my guitar in the Philippines.

Until I met my husband.  When we were courting he took us on a trip to Cebu and while there we went to Mactan Island he bought me a classical Spanish Guitar.  The guitars of Mactan are as good as Benedetto guitars.  It was at that point that I discovered that learning how to play a guitar is hard, especially getting it in tune. Maybe if I had protools at Musician's friend I'd be able to do it easier.  I did eventually learn some simple things with the guitar but it was my brother who really excelled in learning how to play.  When he was over our house he would sit endless hours just strumming the strings and learning songs.  Now that I am in the USA with my husband, I left the guitar with my brother, but I rather miss it now and wish that I had brought it along with me.  I also love playing drums but I'm not as good as my brother, how I wish I have the talent for that too.  

The Old Is New Again

I had a blip on the radar the other day that I ignored much to my detriment.  My old computer had been acting weird for a week or so but I had just chalked it up to it's advanced age.  Then the unthinkable happens and the computer just died.  Seeing as it was using older hard drives I lost pretty much everything to do with the blog, including the pictures and old ads I had collected.  Well I'm back up and running with a middle age laptop until I can get something better but in the meantime it means I have a clean slate to work with as far as the blog goes.  I know I don't write nearly as much as I used to, it goes along with having a full time job now.  Having the job has been a positive experience even if I had to shelve the blog for a few months while I was training.  The biggest thing I have taken away from working at an upscale grocer is my love and newfound depth of understanding pertaining to organic foods.  I started with experimenting with organic and now it's a full on passion.  I don't go crazy with it, insisting that all things be organic but if the option is available I certainly take it.

Monsanto: Poisoning You Since 1943 (At Least)

This ad was a gem of a find because all the previous Monsanto Ads that I have found dealt with the manufacture of Bakelite.  This was the first ad I could find that dealt with food and I can only imagine that Monsanto took up the mantle of of chemical food production as a part of the war effort.  Unfortunately this set them on the path to eventually making the GMO foods that people are only just now waking up to.  The artwork is the typical goofy chef guy throwing a pinch of something in a pot, it's only after you read the ad that you discover what an unhealthy substance this is.  Honestly the look on his face is disconcerting, like he's trying to hold in a fart or something.  Also, heath departments were rather lax in the vintage era because the cigarette over the ear would never pass muster today.

Swift Ham, It's the Ovenized Kind!

I'm not so sure about this ovenized ham.  Is this anything like parkerizing or vulcanizing?  Sounds like my ham is going to be given an indestructible plastic surface.  Better yet no parboiling is needed!  This ad makes little sense unless you know a little food history.  Prior to this time, hams were "country style" in that they were salted and cured in a smokehouse yielding a very salty, dry ham.  You had to soak the ham in simmering water (parboiling) to basically reconstitute it and remove the excess salt before you could eat it.  The ham in this ad however is ovenized which was Swifts early name for a ham being smokehouse cooked after watercuring.  It's exactly how hams are treated today before sale unless you buy country ham or Virginia ham.  Of course hams don't have that lovely rind of fat anymore thanks to the prevalent anti-fat mood championed by the food Nazis.  The cooking instructions on the bottom right suggest serving with spicy cauliflower.  What is spicy cauliflower you might ask?  I'm glad you did because apparently it's cauliflower topped with tartar sauce.  Oh my we're really in the culinary fast lane now, maybe next month we can try 1 drop of Tabasco in a soup?  Maybe after eating all that spicy cauliflower mom and dad will feel a little frisky and do it with the lights on.