2012/09/01

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  “Camilienne” – Square St-Louis
  Scènes de Montréal – Montreal Scenes
  

  Above

  A Camilienne. A vespasienne by its original name. A public men’s urinal, originally. The name vespasienne would come from Roman emperor Vespasian who I think was the first to make these available. Now those which still exist in Montreal are used for other purposes, like flower shops or other uses. A great deal of them were built during the Big Depression in the early thirties, when Camilien Houde was mayor of Montreal. That’s why they were known “affectionately” as camiliennes. Houde was very popular as mayor, although a little fascist on the sides. He was jailed four years in a concentration camp by the feds during WWII, because of his opposition to conscription, and also his support of ‘catholic’ Italy. That only helped to turn him into a legend.

  

  Tomatoes

  As planned, Friend and I did our yearly batch of tomato sauce today. As last year, we did 1½ mannes. A manne is a local produce volume measurement which I explained in posts from previous years and don’t have the time to re-explain right now besides saying it may be like one bushel. Last year it yielded 69 250ml jars, this year 73. One half manne yields about 24, depending on the number of rejected tomatoes. I got a scare when I bought them on Tuesday because they were maturing way too fast. You can tell because they exhale a lot of ethylene and you can’t not smell it. I closed the blinds to prevent the sun to come in that room and had a fan blowing on them for two days and it worked to stop the maturing process.

  We started at 12h30 and finished at 19h20. A seven hour job. Lots of work (and subsequent clean-up) but it did not prevent the kid in the eldest of the two to make again a slight fool of himself with a few tomatoes.

  Siding with the traditional salt and pepper shakers, there’s a «Jean qui pleure Jean qui rit» (John who cries John who laughs), a French expression coined by Voltaire and usually represented by two theater masks, one smiling, one sad.

  

  

  The American Presidential Race

  Self explanatory.

  
  Cartoon © BADO, Le Droit (Ottawa) – July 24

  

  The Quebec Election Race

  The weirdest election campaign in a very long time, in the foosteps of this Spring’s events, will find its conclusion on Tuesday evening. Would be too long to explain it all (and vaguely non-interesting for non-Canadians) so I’ll just say that polls show that the current Liberal government, in power since 2003, is in for big vacations. According to polls also, the separatist Parti Québécois is expected to form the next one, although maybe not with a majority. And there’s a new kid on the block, the CAQ (Coalition Avenir Québec) which is a right-wing party like the Liberals, but since it’s a newcomer, swears to fight the corruption installed by the former, plus slashing in government services. I say Canadians are interested because they dread the election of the Parti Québécois. I voted last Sunday in the advanced polls.

  
  Cartoon © Garnotte, Le Devoir – Sept 1

  Bavarian blues

  I tried some of that Gran Bavarese blue cheese I bought the other day. Rather ordinary but could be worse. Slightly creamy. Didn’t find any trace of factory-floor aftertaste though.

  

  Continental divide

  We (that includes just about most Canadians I have to say) had a good laugh when I was back east having nothing to do but reading such silly news (because of the lousy weather).

  First, this letter to the editor of the Calgary Herald by a visiting Michigan police officer:

  I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.
  Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be allowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.
  Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: “Been to the Stampede yet?”
  We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: “Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?”
  I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, “Gentlemen, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye.” They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.
  I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.
  Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know – it’s because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.
  Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.

  A spokesman for the Calgary tourism services later confirmed that the two “aggressive, disrespectful and menacing” young men were, in fact, distributing free tickets for the rodeo, an event of the Calgary Stampede. Can we say that Mister Wawra was the national laughing stock of the day?
  I occasionally meet such persons here in Montreal. When I see someone on the street/sidewalk seeming like trying to find directions (like holding a map and looking all around, puzzled, generally because they are looking for the Marché Jean-Talon), I offer to help them by asking if they are looking for any particular place, letting them know when warranted that I can speak English. They are sometimes surprised but generally quite happy when I clue them out, and thank me for it. Only a very few clench their teeth, look at me as if I wanted to steal their wallet or stab them in the back, and reply a resounding NO. Do I have to mention more? Too many Americans are freaked-out paranoids. At home, and abroad. Dangerous cocktail when mixed with guns.

  

  Da food section

  The other day, Thursday I guess it was, I did again that lemony salmon brochette I had made earlier in the summer. Really a nice addition to my recipe portfolio (that sounds so artistic ), especially that it is so easy to make. In fact, the hardest part of it is to find salmon cut in cubes.

  

  Talk of “pain doré” on Biggles’ site yesterday gave me the urge to make me some. I just happened to have a left-over half baguette which I had frozen a while ago so as not to lose it, so I brought it back to life last evening and this morning, well this almost noon, well for breakfast to make it short, I made myself some “pain doré”. Maple syrup is sold here in those 540 ml cans and I buy it at marché Jean-Talon, directly from the producer(s). Once the can is open, I transfer its contents in that jar which I keep in the fridge and where it can be kept for a long time, provided it is well capped. In the can, maple syrup stays good for years. I’ll explain the elastic around the bottle tomorrow if I have the time, along with the difference between light, medium and dark maple syrup. Right now it’s almost 22h00 and I really do have to make myself some kind of supper, which will be, essentially, cheese (what remains of the three I bought at La Vieille Europe – see preceding post), and bread and wine, in any order. Oh, and green grapes. And I was not worshipping Romney in that pic, even if on that image he seems to be worshipping himself. I was reading the rest of the pages where there was an article outlining the five possible scenario outcomes for Tuesday’s elections.

  

  

  

  • 21:57
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