Mar 1 2024 - Secret Code Languages

 

There are common code languages that are considered secret languages - morse code, pigpen, phonetic alphabet, tap code, substitution ciphers, letters for numbers, American sign language. .  I wouldn't call these secret. Mostly one retrieves secret codes are fun for the kids.  That's a reflection of our times right now to ignore real topic in favour of sponsored ones.   Scroll down through the retrieval. - way down.  Secret societies, cults and other groups have always had secret language systems to communicate.  Every once in a while I bump into something like this with an innocent-seeming word.  Usually one I've made up and think would be fun, and find out how immensely wrong that is.  I went to Wikipedia's topic of secret language.  It is a reference entry and the main entry seems to be Cant - the jargon or language of a group often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group.  That's the name for secret languages. It is interesting in itself. Then I find out there is such as thing as anti-language.  I've never heard of this - it is a language created and used by an anti-society - a small, separate community intentionally created within a larger society as an alternative to or resistance of it.  The two examples are Polish prisoners and criminals in Calcutta.  The other groups are homosexuals and teenagers.  Who would have thought that teenagers are equivalent to prisoners and criminals.  We understand homosexuals in the group as they have been viewed as criminals and potential prisoners historically in the larger society.   But for teenagers to be in the prisoner and criminal catchment group, now that's an interesting sociological idea of our times.  And then I realize it isn't new.  Think of this movie: "A Clockwork Orange is a popular example of a novel where the main character is a teenage boy who speaks an anti-language called Nadsat. This language is often referred to as an argot, but it has been argued that it is an anti-language because of the social structure it maintains through the social class of the droogs." Returning to Cant - it is used as a suffix - for example medicant - the language of the medical profession that is largely unintelligible to lay people.

Isn't this a beautiful tree - a headstone carving from the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  I've turned it into graphic sort if image.  Maybe a celebration of life for Brian Mulroney who died yesterday.  When I look at the articles on him, the pictures show him to be a smiling, confident and outgoing person.  He laughed a lot - that had to be true for there to be so many pictures of him with a big small or a laugh.  What would the alternative be?  He was so admired and appreciated by the photographic press that these are the pictures they would submit for publication.  What a great legacy. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 9 2024 - From Child to Adult

 

At watercolour class yesterday, there was discussion over how old people are when they mature.  In Canada an adult is defined as someone 18 years and older.  I notice this when I see Globe and Mail reports where "a man, 18 years, .... had something or other happen or was involved in or died.  In legal terms, one is a child or an adult.  That decision was made in the provinces rather than federally, so there are two variations - 18 and 19 years of age, depending on the province.   We know now that there's a difference between the physiology of the brain and whatever social norms have been adopted: "Although the brain stops growing in size by early adolescence, the teen years are all about fine-tuning how the brain works. The brain finishes developing and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions." So the discussion around the table was now the social transition to adulthood is taking longer to complete.   I checked this out in a Statistics Canada Study titled Delayed transitions of younger adults. This is very interesting reading.  They indicate that there are five traditional "bridges" to adulthood:  leaving school, leaving home, steady full-time work, conjugal union and parenting.  These five bridges are used as a rough indicator of progress toward adulthood between the ages of 18 to 34. Statistics Canada compared the pace of transition between 1971 and 2001 cohorts and found the pace slower in all areas.  The article offers the reasons for delays:  mostly post-secondary schooling. Here's their final summary: "In 1971, three-quarters of 22-year-olds had left school, nearly half were married and one in four had children. In contrast, in 2001, half of 22-year-olds were still in school, only one in five was in a conjugal union (usually common-law) and one in eleven had children. In 2001, young women led men in educational attainment and many more women had full-year full-time jobs than young women 30 years earlier." All the citations are from the early 2000s with the latest one 2007, so I assume that's when the article was written.  We're twenty years later, so I imagine that the gaps would possible be greater now.  Here's the article HERE.  I think this is the nicely-formatted version HERE. That's the story on early life transitions.  I expect there's a story on the changes in later life transitions. This seems like a secret door to me.   It leads to the kitchen garden at Langdon Hall, that beautiful heritage mansion in Cambridge that is now a country hotel. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Mar 29 2023 - Secret Spices

 

How can this be secret? It just seems ordinary.  It was named 99-X.  The secret recipe is formulated by two different firms in order to maintain secrecy with each receiving half of the recipe. The big reveal supposedly came from a nephew who "found" the recipe in a family scrapbook.  From Allrecipe: "According to the recipe, which is called 11 Spices, the top-secret ingredients (and measurements) include: 2/3 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/3 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon dried mustard 4 teaspoons paprika  2 teaspoons garlic salt 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3 teaspoons white pepper The spices are mixed with 2 cups of flour to create the iconic KFC breading." And to continue with the "secret practices": Each piece of chicken is dipped in water for seven seconds, dried for seven seconds, and then rolled in the mixture seven times before frying (sevens must have been lucky for the Colonel). To replicate this method, coat the chicken in dredging flour with seasoning, then shake off the excess, and repeat the process six more times. And the final secrets?  Fresh chicken and  pressure cooking the chicken From foodxp: "Generally there are total 13 ingredients added to make the 11 herbs and spices. If you wondering how, let me tell you salt and msg added to the recipe are not herbs and spices." Here's their list: Smoked Paprika – A teaspoon of smoked paprika will enhance the flavors of herbs and spices.  Chili Powder – Add a little hotness to your spice mix with chili powder.  Onion Salt – Onion salt is rich in savory flavors that enriches the food dishes.  Celery Salt – Add some celery salt to the mix to give it an alum aroma and fresh yet earthy flavor.  Rubbed Sage – Rubbed sage adds herby, earthy, and peppery taste to the mix.  Garlic Powder – Garlic powder adds a mild and roasted garlicky flavor to the spice and herb mix.  Ground Allspice – The ground allspice adds tastes mainly of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.  Ground Oregano – Add a sweet, earthy, and slightly peppery taste to the mixture with some ground oregano.  Black Pepper – Add a peppery and earthy touch to the mix with some black pepper.  Basil Leaves – Basil leaves add a sweet and peppery aroma and flavor to the mix.  Marjoram Leaves – Marjoram adds a strong warm and herby taste to the mix.  Salt – Add salt to your taste.  MSG – Msg will bring out umami flavors to the secret spices and herbs recipe. Do you know what they consider the secret ingredient to be?  They say Tellicherry black pepper. What about Wikipedia? It lists the first recipe above attributed to Joe Ledington of the Chicago Tribune, the nephew.  That's the  oft-repeated story.   Something so humble as the chicken has made its way into American folklore.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca