Bug Eating

This blog is a response to the blog titled, "Bug eating in the Wall Street Journal" and I found it via boingboing.com. The blog is in response to an article written in the Wall Street Journal called "The Six Legged Meat Of The Future". This article discusses the increasing popularity of insects in food. It goes on to describe a couple of sample dishes such as creme brulee topped with a bee and grasshopper stuffed tacos. It also displays a recipe for crispy crickets and it goes on to give step by step directions on how to properly prepare the cricket by doing things such as stripping the antenna limbs and wings off the crickets because they are apparently non edible. Although I do find this very interesting that upscale restaurants are choosing to include insects in their menus, I find it quite disgusting. I was raised in an Italian household and throughout the years I have tried everything from octopus to tripe, (which is the inside lining of a cows stomach). I do not consider myself shy when it comes to trying new cuisines, but this is one thing that I find revolting. I just don't find it appetizing what so ever to include insects in a meal. I would never in a million years order a dish that included insects and I can only imagine some of the peoples faces when the waiter mentions insects in some of the specials. However, if insects truly are becoming more popular in food items then people must be enjoying them. There are thousands of strange things that occur every day, and this is certainly some very peculiar news.

Patriot Talk

Tom Brady was the first player ever to be chosen as the unanimous MVP for the NFL. Rightly so as Brady put up monster number this year throwing 36 touchdown passes and a mere four interceptions. Some quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions in a GAME, let alone a season. The MVP award is given out by the associated press, a panel of fifty sports writers from all across the nation vote on who they feel is the best player during the regular season. For all fifty of them to vote for Tom Brady is truly incredible. In a way it was redemption for Brady because in 2007 he was one vote shy of winning the award unanimously and he should have, if it wasn't for the one sportswriter who chose Brett Favre as the MVP instead. Tom can add this to his already impressive resume of three Superbowl rings, and two MVP awards. He greatly exceeded expectations for this years team by leading them to fourteen wins and two losses, the best record in the NFL. During the preseason all of the experts predicted the Patriots to have a marginal season at best and many deemed the team too young to have any positive impact on the league. When discussions of the elite teams was had, nobody so much as whispered the Patriots name, yet at the end of the season, when it mattered, they were at the top. Sadly, the Patriots suffered a disappointing loss to their rivals, the New York Jets in the second round of the playoffs. While some will argue that this season was a bust because the team did not win the Superbowl, I disagree. Out of the 32 teams in the NFL only one is lucky enough to win, and a lot of the time the best team does not win, the luckiest does. Just because the Patriots did not win the Superbowl does not mean they didn't have a good season. Us New Englanders get spoiled by having such great sports teams and we almost expect them to win every year and when they don't many consider it a failure. However there are many cities out there who would KILL to have a season like the Patriots had and a quarterback as prestigious as Tom Brady is. I consider myself lucky to have been born in a place with such a great football team and such a great leader on the team in Tom Brady. I am truly thankful to have been born a Patriots fan and look forward to what next year brings.