A Less Arcane Post

I apologize to Special K for the allusive nature of the last post. Did the links not send you on a Wikipedia-browsing binge? Wikipedia explains all.

So, dialing down the obscurity a hair, I'll talk about PBS. It's pledge drive time again, and you know what that means: concerts by that long-haired Dutch guy, Placido Domingo, Engelbert Humperdinck. (I would love to see the results of an experiment with sound symbolism that asked speakers of different languages to describe a man named Engelbert Humperdinck, based solely on the sound of his name. What imagery does it conjure for you?)

They don't seem to run Anne of Green Gables during pledge time anymore. The first time I remember being allowed to stay up past midnight was during the Anne of Green Gables marathon. I was very excited. No, we didn't have cable, why do you ask?

So, did I mention it's pledge drive time again? Operators are waiting to take your call. Out of the many things that make me feel obligated to give money (the Salvation Army kettle, missionaries, orphanages, food pantries, people with no gas in their cars), PBS has never managed to pluck the old heart strings and loosen the purse strings. Prospects for the future aren't promising, either, seeing as how I'll eventually have to start contributing to my alma maters (at least the U and Trinity; the University of Edinburgh is on its own). See, I got scholarships from the U, so I have to give back, and I didn't get scholarships from Trinity, so I need to help them build their endowment. So many dollars already spoken for.

Anyway, it's pledge drive time, and one of our local PBS stations ran one of the most enjoyable documentaries I've ever seen: a history of Chicago food. Full title: Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History. The linked site has previews. All the major immigrant communities get a chapter--except for the unconscionable and inexplicable omission of the Luxembourgers.