Thursday, February 27, 2020

Virtual Belize: The Music...and Finishing Belize


Winding down our Virtual Belizean Adventure on a musical note.

Punta is a distinctive Afro-Caribbean style you will hear.

(Example)

Punta Garifuna Music

https://youtu.be/HSe-p3LgQ7A

and Brukdown

 Which is closer to Jamaican Calypso or Reggae 

(Example)

https://youtu.be/G-oTDImnau0

and sometimes involves an accordian!

https://youtu.be/MoPEdcuAfSY

All washed down agreeably with Belikin


 The Official Beer of Belize.

..complete with a Mayan Temple right on the label...


Belize in Music and Pictures

https://youtu.be/n4PjEStf_do

And some Belizean Kriol (Creole)

Basic Phrases in Belizean Kriol

  • Gud maanin! — Good morning!
  • Weh di gaan an? — What’s up?
  • Aarite. — All right.
  • Cho! — What on earth!
  • Weh yuh naym? — What’s your name?
  • You da Belize? — Are you from Belize?
  • Weh gaan ahn gyal? — What’s up, girl?
  • Da weh time? — What time is it?
  • Mi naym da… — My name is…
  • Lata! — See you later.
  • Ah tayad/mi tayad — I’m tired.
  • Weh/weh-paat… — Where is…?
  • Evryting gud/aarite. — Everything’s fine.
  • Haul your rass! — Get the hell out of here!
  • Fu chroo? — Really? (Is that right?)
  • Mi love Bileez! — I love Belize!

Sayings in Belizean Kriol

  • Wahnti wahnti kyah geti an geti geti nuh wahnti. — You always want what you can’t have.
  • Dah no so, dah naily so. — Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
  • Wait bruk down bridge. — Don’t make me wait too long.
  • Sleep wit’ yo’ own eye. — Only rely on what you know, not what others tell you.
  • One one craboo fill barrel. — Every little bit counts (craboo is a Belizean fruit).
  • Ah wah know who seh Kriol noh gat no kulcha? — Who said the Creole don’t have any culture? (A phrase coined by renown Belizean Creole artist and performer, Leela Vernon).


 Lata!

I hope you have enjoyed our Virtual Trip to Belize...

Now to finish my Beach Painting!















And done!


Maybe it is a conch shell in the left corner of the beach...or maybe just a smear of Thousand Island Dressing...lol!



Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Virtual Belize: Cuisine


Yeah...it is whatever and served with red beans and rice.

Kind of like Grits in the South.

Red Beans and Rice makes up the omnipresent side.

And the rice is made with a bit of coconut milk which gives it a very different flavor than say Red Beans and Rice in New Orleans.

All in all...I found it pretty good, though.

Of course, like every country, there is particular bush meat.

Where this guy is referred to as "hamadilly"

and served like this
'


Or Conch Slug

A sea snail that is made into

Conch Fritters

Chopped with the addition of peppers, onions, bread and batter.

(...I have actually tried these and they are delicious...)

And who could forget The Royal Gibnut?

"I say, Geoffrey...they've served The Queen a rat."



Accompanied here with Red Beans and Rice.


Belizean Cuisine is much like the people there. A wonderful mash-up of ethnicities and cultures.

Creole, Mexican, African, Indian, Asian, British.

And all the fresh fruit and seafood/fish you could ever hope to eat.

Although the beef is reputed as

"Not worth the jaw power to chew it"

There are multitudes of simmering pork dishes...sometimes they even use the tail to season their red beans and rice.

And Chicken is KING here.

Served in every fashion and all parts...they even stew the feet for rich yellow stock.





and resulting soup.




Locals usually stop at "Meegan's" for a plate of Red Beans and Rice and the nearby Chinese Take-Out for "Dolla Chicken" with fries.

(Dolla Chicken used to actually be a bag full for $1.  Now it is about $5 Belizean...$2.50 USD for a Quarter of a chicken and a bag of fried plantians.)



"Lot's of sal' and peppa and ketch'up"

An odd hold out from the British Honduras days is tinned articles of food...creams and sweet evaporated milk...tinned meats (think Spam).

In this country of so much wonderful fresh food...it is difficult to understand.

(...recalling Hawaii...where Spam was considered a great dish...)

Yeah...perhaps not.

Bleah.




A lot of Mestizo influence. 

Tamales, wrapped and tied in corn husks and steamed.



and opened & served...


(...and I am going to make these from scratch soon!!!)

and tacos...which I make regularly, anyway.

Belize was just a great excuse to make them again.

Also Fry-Jacks



Which is a great deal like Indian Fry-Bread...and is used in Belize as both a sweet dessert item (with fruit or sugar and spices) or a bread to fold over a savory item like peppers and sausage and eggs.

Either way it is delicious.

A Taste of Belize

https://youtu.be/hKDANnsn0Xo

More anon...








Saturday, February 22, 2020

This Week...Hatchets, Ties and Pupdates...CDC...Politics and More


 Yes...it feels like SPRING out!

(...there...I've said it...now watch the blizzard arrive...)

The woodchuck has promised an early arrival...and I am seeing and hearing several signs, though.

(...morning Spring bird song...the misty pale green-up of a nearby willow tree...tipping bulbs...and perhaps the surest sign of all...sneezing and morning allergies starting...)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...chooooooooooooooooooo!

Be that as it may, I am hopeful...and celebrating the near sixty degree day with the first of the outdoor tidying.

Adding the leaves and gathered plant debris on the patio to the compost box...and check to see how it has fared this winter.

Cleaning pots for planting...replanting.

Make a list of repairs and touch ups outdoors for Spring proper.

Make my gardening plans for this year.

But mostly just enjoy the warm up, and the HOPE of the coming season...and celebrating (almost) another Winter behind me.

Started the week with James and Kaylee who stopped by after her physical therapy.  

She is doing great...and such a teenager now!



Enjoying James' Pupdate



And listening to him with new guitar-work (live) on Facebook.



Chris and Tina have discovered a new place 
(Ragnarok) 

Which feature not only pub and grub...but also Axe Throwing!!!

Kind of makes the local brew and darts look positively tame!


"Beer and Axes...how could THAT possibly go wrong???"



They loved it!


Chris has been learning fancy tie knots...presumably for business world.







I love love love this second knot...and had never seen it before.

Tina bought him the ties.

(...to put them in perspective...these two ties  cost more than everything I am currently wearing...)

We are looking forward to his graduation!!!

Not long now.

The Book this Week:

A non-fiction travel guide I have been using with my Virtual Belize Adventure.

A lot of good information about Belize, and its surrounding cayes.

Some Recipes and many Belizean things to discover/try/explore/order.

Well worth the time.

This Week's Movie:

Although McConaughey is the lead and does a great job...Hugh Grant (as a sleazy member of the paparazzi with a enormous telephoto) steals the show...as well as Colin Firth as The Coach.

Nothing deep and soul searching in this film...just a lot of laughs and twists, betrayals and turns and above all...a really good time.

You'll LOVE it!





The Wuhan Virus

 n Cov 19

Covid 19

Cov-SARS 2

Whatever you call it...it spells trouble.
 
The CDC and WHO have now been admitted to Hubei.

And it is a mess.

Everyone very very concerned that this is going to be our next Pandemic.

Numbers on the outside of Mainland China are steadily rising.

The mortality rate of this virus now at between 2.5 and 3%

Deaths have now far surpassed MERS and SARS.

Here are the recent numbers







































 Still too early to tell where this thing is headed.

A slight slowdown noted midweek in new cases.

And finally




 And if you are huddled in a corner with a pint of Hagen Daz...I completely understand.

What a shit-show.

And that is just the last Democratic Debate.


 With everybody fighting...everybody.

So much infighting that the ONLY clear winner from this night was Donald Trump.

Instead of presenting ideas and platforms they spent the time tearing at each others weak spots and soft underbellies.

Trump should send them all thank you notes and flowers, because all this cage fighting will be very useful in his re-election.

SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE...

If we don't come together and stop this we will get another 4 years of Ugly Lord Orangestroke...

And we will deserve it.

And Trump...emboldened by his Acquittal in the Senate Trial has been on an absolute rip the past week.

A Purge at the White House.

Firing anyone that has the audacity to say anything contradictory or negative about him.

Still trying to root out the author of that unflattering Op-Ed.

His Spiritual Advisor  


Paula White...Pastor from Florida...

(...How do you get from the Trailer Park to the White House...)

who (last week) encouraged people not to pay their utility bills but instead contribute to her church...and "God will take care of the lights."

(...good luck with this approach...)

And the week before that asked God to end all SATANIC pregnancies through  miscarriage.

Now claims

(...I am NOT making this up...) 

that she

QUOTE

"I literally went to the Throne Room of God. There was a mist that was coming off the water, and I went to the throne of God, and I didn’t see God’s face clearly, but I saw the face of God … I knew it was the face of God."

and continues

"He put a mantle [on me] and it was a very distinct mantle. There was a mantle, and I saw it very distinctly, the color was like a goldish, a yellowish goldish and then I saw the Earth for a moment, and [God] brought me back, and he put me in certain places, one being the White House, one being certain continents."

concluding

"I didn’t come out of that really until the next morning."


Yeah...you know, Paula...most of us refer to that as DREAMING...but you do you, okay?

If this doesn't scream the need for better access to mental healthcare in America, I don't know what does.

But I sincerely hope not one red cent of our taxpayer dollars are going toward this soothsayer.

Somebody needs to check!

Roger Stone also got sentenced to 40 months in prison this week...and is appealing it...of course.

"Doesn't the judge realize I am quite quite wealthy...filthy rich...people like us just don't GO to prison..."


After his sentencing he said

"I am going to get her (the judge) removed from my trial...and have another judge..."

OMG.

(...now I need the corner and the Hagen Daz...)



Forget these clowns and try to have a great weekend!