Monday, September 16, 2019
Thursday, September 05, 2019
Wednesday, September 04, 2019
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Did You Know: The Development of Superhot Chile Peppers in Trinidad and Tobago
(Disclaimer: I cannot verify the accuracy of the information presented)
Background
The species Capsicum chinense spread throughout the Caribbean basin in prehistoric times, carried by indigenous people via boat from the Amazon basin to what is now Venezuela to Trinidad, and then through the Lesser Antilles to the Greater Antilles, and finally ending in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Land races developed on the different islands, such as Bonney pepper in Barbados, Scotch bonnet in Jamaica, and Congo pepper in Trinidad. Further land race developments in Trinidad included varieties much hotter than the other Caribbean land races—in fact, collectively, the hottest peppers in the world.
Evidence from historical sources and our testing shows that the following Trinidad varieties have Scoville Heat Levels greater than 500,000 SHU: bhut jolokia (transferred to India c. 1854), moruga (both red and yellow), scorpion, and seven pod (also called “seven pot”). The fascinating fact about all these superhots is this: All the hottest chile peppers in the world originated in Trinidad and Tobago. But how and why?
Basic Breeding Starts with a Mutation
Ever since the domestication of the five Capsicum species, with chile breeding, human choice is the most important factor in the development of new varieties. Humans are selecting the plants to use in breeding because they have more useful variations than the other possible plants. Horticulturists call this “differential reproduction,” and this term simply means that some parents will have more offspring than others because of human choice.
Differential reproduction selects for more useful variations and against less useful variations. For example, in the development of the bell pepper from the poblano, pepper breeders were selecting for large size and reduced pungency, and they ended up with a very large pod with no pungency. And that entire breeding project began with a mutation that added to the genetic diversity of the population. Breeders used the mutation to start breeding the bell pepper, and in successive grow-outs, selected the seeds from the largest and mildest pods until the bell was achieved.
Possible Scenarios for the Creation of Superhots
Using the bell pepper development as a guide, here is how I think the superhots of T&T were developed, sometime before 1854.
1. Mutations Happened Among the Already Hot Peppers of T&T
• They were unplanned and unpredictable.
• They radically raised the level of pungency.
• They added to the genetic diversity of T&T hot peppers.
2. Environmental Conditions (Human Choice) Made Some of the Mutations Beneficial
• People liked the hotter peppers and planted those seeds.
• People didn’t like the milder peppers as much so they didn’t plant them
•
The mutation was discovered in 2016 by Dr. Peter Cooke of the New Mexico State University Core University Research Resources Laboratory. He managed to make the capsaicinoid sacs fluoresce in both jalapeños and Trinidad moruga scorpion peppers and then examined the pods with an electron microscope. Dr. Paul Bosland explained, “There, you could see that the jalapeño was fluorescing on the placenta, while the superhots would fluoresce all over the [inner pod] wall. It’s a very dramatic image to see, Right now we’re assuming this is a genetic mutation in superhots because we’ve never seen this in wild chile peppers.” Thus, the superhots had more surface area for the capsaicinoid sacs than any other chile peppers.
3. In time, this differential reproduction caused by breeders (human choice), i.e., superhot peppers, became the norm in T&T.
Therefore, if this scenario is accurate, the more useful variation was the extremely high pungency of the newly developed varieties. Now, there is one final question to answer: Why was the increased pungency such a useful variation?
The Useful Variations of the Superhots
In food: To some cultures, the more capsaicin a pod contains, the more valuable it is. For example, if a person were preparing food for a feast, why buy seven chile pods if one would suffice to spice up all the food? Hence the name of one Trinidadian chile variety, 7-pot, also called 7-pod, which supposedly got its name from the ability of one pod to spice up seven kettles of pepperpot stew.
Given heat levels approaching 1 million Scoville Heat Units, it is perfectly conceivable that a single superhot pod, cut into seven sections, could accomplish this feat. Capsaicin in chile peppers is antibacterial and was used before refrigeration to reduce the spoilage of food, so the hotter the pepper, the greater its antibacterial powers.
In folk beliefs: The more pungent a chile pod, the more powerful it is in fighting evil. The East Indian population of Trinidad wraps seven red pepper pods with salt, onion skins and garlic skins in paper, and passes it seven times around a baby to remove najar, the evil eye, which is believed to cause unnecessary crying. Also, green chiles are dropped around the doorway to keep away evil spirits.
In folk medicine: Hot peppers have long been applied to wounds to prevent them from becoming infected, so hotter peppers would work more effectively
Monday, September 02, 2019
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
Smedley D. Butler
Pious Atheist
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
GLIMPSES OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD IN THE 1940s
In 1918, a visitor to Port-of-Spain described the place thus: "The shopping district fairly teems with pedestrians and vehicles throughout the business hours, and Frederick Street, which is perhaps the busiest in the city, is a gay and interesting sight, kaleidoscopic in colour, crowded with life, and a very beehive of activity.
"Here are stores, after stores of every kind, many modeled on the plan of our own department stores, and here one may find anything and everything the markets of the world afford. Clerks crowd the shop entrances. Goods heap the sidewalks as at a Paris bazaar. A few blocks farther the crowd has thinned, and the shops are smaller and less pretentious."
One of the largest emporiums was the Miller's Public Supply Stores which began life around 1835, when Irishman John Miller broke with his employers at Wilsons (a large cocoa and sugar agent) and went into business on his own. Although he died in 1843, his store survived and was administered from Gate Church Street in London, by a relative, James Miller Esq.
This photo taken in 1940s . Taken from Scott He Collection.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Not too many bands can claim they were pretty much single-handedly responsible for an entire genre and musical movement. The Cure can.
The post-punk found on their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, quickly evolved into a gloomier and moodier form of music on their second LP, the following year's Seventeen Seconds. The next few years gave birth to the goth subgenre, as dark music, darker moods and a super-dark outlook went on to inspire a generation of sad-sack kids – and plenty of crappy music – over the next three decades.
But the Cure weren't done yet. As the '80s moved on, so did the band, which has been fronted by Robert Smith since the start. By the time the decade ended, their music had steered them into new territories, including psychedelic, jangly alt-rock and cheery pop.
Their dozen-plus LPs over the years have swung through all these almost effortlessly, as you'll see in the below list of Cure Albums Ranked Worst to Best. There were some stumbles along the way, but without an album like 1984's bleak The Top, they may have never gotten to The Head on the Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration.
Their influence continues, four decades after songs like "Killing an Arab," "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train" introduced them to the world. Their 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may not be the culmination of their long career, but it puts a stamp of validity on a catalog of music that helped shape an era.
13. 'Wild Mood Swings' (1996)
The Cure's 10th album sounds like kind of a mess because it was made under stormy conditions. Various members were in and out of the group at the time, and, after scoring the highest-charting album of its career with 1992's 'Wish,' Robert Smith took a four-year break – the longest hiatus between Cure albums at the time – that ended with an overlong, and underdeveloped, set of songs. The glory days were over.
12. 'The Top' (1984)
If it wasn't for the slinky "The Caterpillar," the Cure's fifth album would be their worst. It's certainly the most forgettable of all the early records. It's sludgy, murky, confusing and all over the place musically. Plus, Robert Smith seems scattered and unfocused for most of its 40 long minutes. They managed to return with one of their all-time best albums, 'The Head on the Door,' a year later.
11. '4:13 Dream' (2008)
Some of the songs on the band's 13th album dated back to the mid-'80s, and Robert Smith had so much material that he considered making it a double record at one point. Instead, he replaced the gloomier songs with more polished and upbeat ones. Not a good move. Like other Cure albums from the period, '4:13 Dream' tries too hard to replicate the band's best era, but the songs – besides a couple singles – just aren't there.
10. 'The Cure' (2004)
The group's self-titled album from 2004 was co-produced by Ross Robinson, who's worked with Korn, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. So, it's a heavier album than fans probably expected (or even wanted) from the Cure. It's overlong, and it's kind of hard to get through, but 'The Cure' offers a somewhat new perspective on a band that had recently passed the quarter-century mark of their career.
Fiction
9. 'Bloodflowers' (2000)
The Cure's 11th LP was called a return to form following 1996's messy and disappointing 'Wild Mood Swings.' It's certainly mood-building – one track clocks in at more than 11 minutes, and the average song length is a taxing six minutes – but 'Bloodflowers' often comes off like it's trying a little too hard to sound like a Cure album. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there's not much originality here either.
Fiction
8. 'Wish' (1992)
After 'Disintegration' made them worldwide stars three years earlier, the Cure returned with a similar-sounding LP that downplayed the earlier album's gloomier elements. The result was the band's highest-charting album, reaching No. 2 in the U.S. "Friday I'm in Love" was the big single, but there's more to 'Wish' than that. Probably the most consistently joyful album the group has ever made.
Fiction
7. 'Faith' (1981)
Like the albums before ('Seventeen Seconds') and after ('Pornography') it, 'Faith' forms a trilogy of records that helped seal the Cure's reputation as gloomy, black-clad artsy post-punks. The songs are mood-building set pieces, so radio airplay was pretty much non-existent. But as doomy, artsy goth, the Cure's third album is a cornerstone work by a band that excelled at it.
Fiction
6. 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' (1987)
Following the 1985 rebound 'The Head on the Door,' Robert Smith led the band through a double-LP extravaganza that included some of his most joyous songs. The excellent "Just Like Heaven" is here and helped drive the album into the Top 40 (a first in the U.S. for the Cure). There's some filler here – Side Four is a big come-down – but 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' set up the group for its masterpiece two years later.
Fiction
5. 'Three Imaginary Boys' (1979)
The band's debut album is sketchy at times (Robert Smith practically disowned the LP after the record company released it without his approval), but the post-punk moodiness that elevated later records starts here. There's a conceptual tightness here, too, which carried over to some of their best albums. Even better: the reworked U.S. version – called 'Boys Don't Cry' and released a year later – which includes some great early singles.
Fiction
4. 'Seventeen Seconds' (1980)
A year after their debut, the Cure returned darker, more focused and moving closer to the sound that would help define their reputation. 'Seventeen Seconds' comes together as Robert Smith leads the expanded lineup through a group of songs that set the stage for the goth movement right around the corner. The first in a trilogy of landmark records that formed a genre.
Fiction
3. 'The Head on the Door' (1985)
Robert Smith wrote every single song for the first time, and his singular vision helped get the Cure back on track after 1984's dismal 'The Top.' They try on a few different styles here, with the pop songs – especially the bouncy "In Between Days" – finding new radio-ready textures to cling to. Modern-rock radio was starting up around this time, and 'The Head on the Door' turned out to be a perfect fit.
Fiction
2. 'Pornography' (1982)
The Cure at their gloomiest and doomiest. And no wonder: Everyone was fighting and taking drugs, while Robert Smith was fighting back some major bouts of depression. It all amounts to the pinnacle of the band's darkest period. 'Pornography' was the final album in the Cure's trilogy of landmark goth records. Next up was their first real stumble, then a period of renewed creativity and a golden era of hits and music.
Fiction
1. 'Disintegration' (1989)
Everything the Cure had learned over the past decade was summed up on their milestone eighth album. 'Disintegration' has it all: goth dirges, endless psychedelic jams, super-catchy pop songs. And it made them massive stars, setting up a commercial groundswell for the next few years. Some of their best songs are here – "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," "Fascination Street" – but more importantly, 'Disintegration' sounds like an album made by a band at the peak of its creative powers.
Friday, August 16, 2019
New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pain disgrace
The young boy learns their rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away
They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me
I'VE ALWAYS LIVED MY LIFE ALONE, DESTINY FORGOTTEN.
Monday, August 05, 2019
Lying here wide awake on my own now
Silence is the loudest cry
I'm safe but I've lost everything I've known
I can smile because the pain has gone
But cry because it's where I'm from
God I turn to You to make me strong again
I have cried so many times
And all those tears have washed my eyes
I see clearly into the light
'Cause I believe
I know one day I'll be home again
To start a new life, with peace everywhere
Right from the start until the end
I believe
Silence is the loudest cry
I'm safe but I've lost everything I've known
I can smile because the pain has gone
But cry because it's where I'm from
God I turn to You to make me strong again
I have cried so many times
And all those tears have washed my eyes
I see clearly into the light
'Cause I believe
I know one day I'll be home again
To start a new life, with peace everywhere
Right from the start until the end
I believe
Sunday, August 04, 2019
Friday, August 02, 2019
Did you know that Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to have a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery? On 1st August 1838, full freedom was granted to slaves, and every year on this day we celebrate the emancipation of our ancestors from the British empire. While the Act in Parliament came into effect on 1st August 1834, a period of apprenticeship was put in place for a minimum of four years to bridge the gap between slavery and complete freedom. August 1st, 1985 marks the first year that emancipation day became a national holiday in T&T.
Today emancipation day is celebrated in numerous Caribbean islands and here in Trinidad we have parades, vigils, fetes and of course a national holiday.
The Emancipation village is set up in the Queen’s Park Savannah where you will see pictures and live shows showing the history of slavery and what our ancestors endured before becoming free people.
There will be song, dance, visual images and speeches which are always educational and entertaining.
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