August 4, National Oyster Day

Posted by golfkat on August 4, 2020
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Food, Travel. Leave a comment
Two billion of pounds of oysters are consumed annually worldwide.  Celebrated in the U.S. each year on National Oyster Day (Tuesday, August 4), these bivalve mollusks contain hefty amounts of vitamin A, C, D, and B-12, along with calcium, iron, protein and zinc—the mineral credited with boosting sex drive. The oysters that we eat are members of the ostreidae family, while those that produce pearls are members of the pteriidae family.
My favorite oyster is from the Pacific northwest, the Fanny Bay oyster, small and sweet, not too briny.  And they are usually available when we visit Seattle in June each year!
Before delving deeper into the ocean of oysters, how should we pair our oysters?  Again, Winespeed has the best answers.

Champagne, Chablis, and white Bordeaux. In the case of Champagne and Chablis, many of the best the vineyards contain copious amounts of limestone. Limestone itself is formed in part from the fossils of marine skeletons; and thus, the wines that come from vines grown in limestone soils often have a minerally, oceanic tang that is exquisite as a counterpoint to oysters. I also love brisk, complex white Bordeaux. Oysters are harvested off the Atlantic coast just west of Bordeaux and so for centuries, the combination of white Bordeaux and oysters has been a classic in the brasseries and bistros of Paris.

Oyster facts:
An average oyster is only 68 calories,  with 7 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, only 4.2 grams of carbs, and rich in Vitamin D, B12, and iron.  Oysters are very high in zinc, with just 1 ounce exceeding the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of zinc for adults. Zinc plays an essential role in the immune system and has been shown to reduce the duration of the common cold when provided as a supplement during the early stages.  Including oysters in your meal plan will help prevent a zinc deficiency and bolster your immune system throughout the year.
Oyster basics:  

There are four common oyster species and dozens of different varieties.  Oyster varieties taste different depending on the water in which they’re grown.

Oyster species include Eastern or Atlantic oysters (crisp and salty), European Flat oysters (lemony and metallic), Olympia oysters, and Pacific oysters (mild, meaty, and sweet). Many oyster varieties are named for their place of origin, such as Bluepoints (an Eastern/Atlantic variety) and Belon (a European Flat variety). The only oyster indigenous to the West Coast is the Olympia oyster, which is also the smallest type.

Once shucked, oysters are graded and sold based on size. Selects are the largest and standards are the smallest. Oysters are typically packaged into containers filled with their own liquid. Sizes range from 8-ounce, 12-ounce, pint, or gallon containers.

Moving on to the more enjoyable aspects of oysters, where might be a few places to enjoy oysters?  Though we are partial to the Pacific Northwest, Seattle in particular, oysters can be found almost anywhere.  A few places on the east coast that I have enjoyed are the famous Acme Oyster House in Boston, Jake’s in Portland, Acme Oyster House in Nawlins, Joe’s Stone Crabs in Miami and Vegas, and of course, our favorites, Etta’s, Chandler’s and Seabar in Seattle.

I asked the shucker at Acme in Nawlins how many oysters he has shucked in his life.  He said on an average day, he shucks anywhere from 500 to 700 a day, 6 days a week.  That totals 4200 a week, times 50 equals 210,000 a year.  He has been doing this for 40 years, so his total, at the time we met, was 8.4 million!!!!

Here is a little secret.  If you pretend to be rather naïve

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

about oysters, the waiter may offer a complimentary variety plate, to help you choose a half or full dozen.  Please don’t tell them I mentioned this “inside” secret.

The often-asked question, is about what type of sauce to dip your oyster.  This is entirely up to you.  I prefer the cocktail sauce with a heavy dose of fresh, grated horseradish.  Some prefer the champagne mignonette, and still others prefer just plain.

Whichever you choose, it is one of the BEST ways to start a dinner.  Pair it with my champagne, and it becomes the IDEAL way to start.  Of course, there have been times when the oysters were my dinner!!

Crafty, Drafty Beer

Posted by golfkat on August 3, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Travel. Leave a comment
Speaking of alcohol consumption, here is something we are proud of here in California.  As interest in craft beer has risen, so have the number of successful small breweries. In 2019, there were more than 8,000 craft breweries in the United States. California has the most with 907 breweries, more than doubling second place Colorado, which has 425. Runners-up like New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania better hop to it if they want to challenge California’s craft brewery numbers. Last year, California produced 3.6 million barrels of craft beer — roughly 4 gallons per every Californian of legal drinking age.
The top craft beer seller in the U.S. is Yuengling, followed by Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada.  My personal favorite is the 805 by Firestone-Walker over in Paso Robles, CA.  They have a great tasting room with a big cafe, and outdoor seating for Lexi.
Did you know?
Hops are poisonous to dogs!
Malt content influences beer color.
The word “hefe” in German means yeast.
Frosty glasses cause foaming.
President Obama was a home brewer.
The standard growler is 64 ounces.
Craft breweries (pre-pandemic) provided 424,000 jobs in the US.
Beer makes a good marinade for meat, especially tougher cuts.
Czechs are the thirstiest people in the world, consuming 148.6 liters per person per year (418 12 ounce bottles!).
Store your beer upright, and out of direct light.
Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty glass!
Yeast can only survive in alcohol concentrations of 14 to 18%.
The first professional brewers were women!
You can use beer to shine up old copper items.
The definition of craft beer is simply a beer made by a brewer who is small, independent, and traditional.  There are exceptions, I am told.
The Blue Moon brand is the top selling craft beer in the U.S.  Close behind is Smauel Adams, followed by Sierra Nevada.  Some other favorites are Lagunitas, Shiner, New Belgium, Goose Island, Shock Top, and Stone.  Where is my 805?
Bottom line, craft beer makes up 24% of the beer sales ($114 billion) in this country.   As of October, 2019, there were over 1000 craft breweries in California.  And 95% of Californians live within 10 miles of a brewery!  In 2018, craft beer contributed over $906 million in state and local taxes.
Whatever you do, at least try one, even if you are a diehard Bud or Coors person.  That applies to you, my brother Bob!

A Port for Everyone

Posted by golfkat on August 2, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Travel, Wine. Leave a comment
Here is a rather curious word:  A portmanteau, as Humpty Dumpty describes it to Alice in “Through the Looking-Glass,” is “two meanings packed up into one word.” Or, in other words, it’s a linguistic combination of two words smashed together. If you’re headed out for a late breakfast or an early lunch, you might say you’re going to brunch (a blend of breakfast and lunch). If your laugh comes out like a snort, you might say it’s a chortle (a blend of chuckle and snort). And if you’re in the mood for a funny fake documentary, you could probably go for a mockumentary. These are just a few examples of portmanteaus, a word which originally referred to a suitcase opening with two equal halves. (A compound word, meanwhile, is a combination of two complete words, such as sunflower, bathtub, or grandmother.)
Think of European mountain ranges, and you might think first of the Alps, the famous mountains full of yodelers and scenes from “The Sound of Music.” But there are other incredible mountain ranges in Europe, including the Pyrenees, the Urals, and, of course, the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians wind through Central and Eastern Europe, the third-longest of Europe’s mountain ranges (after the Urals and the Alps). Romania is home to much of the range, which also runs through many other nations, from Austria and the Czech Republic in the West to Ukraine in the East and Serbia in the South. The Carpathians form a flourishing ecosystem that includes a huge portion of Europe’s native plant species, as well as its largest populations of brown bears, wolves, and lynxes. Many of these animals make their homes in the wilds of Romania, where spooky stories and real-life wilderness abound. (I was in the Carpathians just last year, on my way to Brasov, and Dracula’s Castle)
From Winespeed, some Calvados information:  Unlike its French cousins Cognac and Armagnac, both of which are distilled from grapes, Calvados (CAL-va-dose) is distilled from apples (and sometimes pears). But not just any apples. Approximately 800 or so heirloom varieties of apples grow in Normandy, the French region most famous for this drink. Of these, most producers would grow 20 to 25 different varieties, among them, Douce Moen, Kermerrien, Douce Coet Ligne, Bedan, Binet Rouge, Frequin Rouge, Marie Menard, and Petit Jaune. The apples fall into four flavor categories: sweet, bittersweet, bitter, and acidic. By distilling different kinds of apples in different proportions, the Calvados maker crafts a subtle, complex apple spirit. About 17 pounds of apples are needed to make one bottle of Calvados.
More Winespeed:  The Jurassic period occurred between 145 million and 200 million years ago and is best known as the Age of the Dinosaurs. It was named for the Jura Mountain Range, on the border between France and Switzerland, where limestone rocks of this age were first studied. The Jura skyline is punctuated by occasional limestone crags, the most dramatic of which are the reculées—steeply faced, horseshoe-shaped rock formations that form abrupt dead ends to valleys. The Jura is one of the smallest wine regions in France, known for producing wonderfully unique wines. The Jura’s most celebrated offering is Vin Jaune, or “Golden Wine,” made exclusively from the native white grape variety, savagnin. Vin jaune must be aged in oak casks for at least six years and three months, during which time it is neither racked nor topped up. As it ages, a film of yeast known as the voile (veil), forms on the wine’s surface, protecting it from oxidation. The resulting wine is golden in color with aromas of walnut, dried fruits, and toasted sourdough bread. The Jurassic period is also marked by the continued breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, when oceans flooded the spaces between new landmasses, creating vast inland seas. One of the Jura’s four appellations, L’Etoile (the star), is said to be named for the ubiquitous star-shaped marine fossils which crunch underfoot throughout its vineyards.
Estufagem  The Portuguese term for the step in the process of making Madeira that involves heating the wine. Depending on the quality of the Madeira being produced, there are several estufagem methods. The most basic involves placing the fortified base wines in containers that are then heated to an average temperature of 113°F (with a maximum temperature of 131°F allowed) for three to six months. To make the very finest Madeiras, however, the containers may be placed in a warehouse attic, which builds up tremendous heat thanks to the intense Madeiran sun. There the Madeira-to-be may be left for twenty years or more.
More words for your ever expanding vocabulary.  Kanpai, salud, cheers, and here’s mud in your eye!!!!

Nothing Has Changed

Posted by golfkat on August 1, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Health, Travel, Wine. Leave a comment
Some wine statistics just amaze me.  How about you??
Percentage (283) year-over-year growth in quarterly revenue booked by Wine.com, one of the nation’s leading online wine retailers. Citing the pandemic as the driver of much of this unprecedented demand, Wine.com also reports that revenue from Millennials and Generation Z (the purported “Holy Grail” consumer) increased by 121%. Wine.com offers live chats with sommeliers, as well as information about wine and wine regions.   Just amazing!
The latest (2018) wine consumption statistics indicate we drink 2.95 gallons per person, which translates to 966 gallons.  But a new survey indicates that Americans are drinking more spirits and ready to drink cocktails, like hard seltzers.  Beer sales have fallen 2.3%, which surprises the hops out of me.  Yet, craft beer sales jumped 4.1%.
The biggest growth in the adult beverage category is the ready-to-drink category, which increased 50% in the last year.  Spiked seltzers are now an $8 billion industry!  And I will readily admit, it is a nice refresher on a hot summer evening.  Easy to drink, just add some crushed ice in a glass!
During the pandemic, perhaps we are all drinking a bit more adult beverages.  I readily admit to that, though my two glasses a night is a proverbial drop in the bucket compared to most people.  Yet, through it all, wine consumption decreased by almost 1% in 2019.  Experts of course, blame the millennials, moving to healthier beverages with low or no alcohol.
So, is the wine consumption boom over?  Is it just the “boomers” who drink good wine?  What happened to all the beer guzzlers?  Are things changing that much?  Yet, wine spending increased 1.1% to $28.2 billion.  Are we drinking better wines now?
Percentage (45%) increase in weekday alcohol consumption by San Franciscans since the start of the pandemic, according to BACtrack, a Bay Area producer of  smartphone-based breathalyzer devices. The company based its assessment on the anonymous BAC (blood alcohol content) data collected from its app users before, and a month after, quarantine began. Thank you Winespeed!
Closer to home, unable to go out to nice restaurants, we are making nicer meals at home.  And the “cocktail hour” is a bigger and more important part of the daily, “Ground Hog Day” routine.  I have been enjoying by champagne, Cabernet, hard seltzers, and single malt Scotch, not necessarily in that order.  What about you??
Just an FYI for you wine fans:  South Africa is among the top 9 wine producers in the world. But while Black South Africans represent nearly 90% of the population, they represent fewer than 8% of wine producers. Elected in 1994, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was South Africa’s first Black president. Mandela’s release from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, in 1990, after more than twenty-seven years in confinement, paved the way for the lifting of trade sanctions and the importation of South African wine into the United States. During this time, many wineries were established or taken over by new owners and black entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to enter the wine industry. In 2010, Nelson Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe and granddaughter Tukwini launched the House of Mandela wine brand, which includes a chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, and a sparkling wine. Tukwini has said: “When we started out, many people thought that House of Mandela was just a little project, a gimmick that would not last.” For the Mandela family, who are part of the royal aba Thembu lineage and the Madiba clan, honoring the ancient wisdom of one’s ancestors and honoring the earth give meaning and purpose to life. Upon the release of their wines, the family wrote, “we have chosen wine as a bridge into the future.”
Sparkling wines photographed at the Roederer Estate’s tasting room in Philo , Calif., Friday, May 25, 2018.

Oh, Say Can You Speak!

Posted by golfkat on August 1, 2020
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Travel. Leave a comment
During this rather frightening period we are experiencing, language rises to the top.  Why?  With increased police brutality and dangerous methods of restraint, being able to communicate in English becomes essential.  Someone of color, who speaks no English, becomes vulnerable to miscommunication, and unable to follow instructions.  I am surprised the Orange man has not mandated English!
Speaking of, did you know this?  You might be surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. However, the majority of individual states have declared English as their official state languages. Two states are officially bilingual: Hawaii and South Dakota. The 1978 Hawaii State Constitution made both English and Hawaiian the official state languages. And in 2019, the South Dakota legislature passed a bill recognizing the official indigenous language of the O’ceti Sakowin. Commonly known as Sioux, the language comprises the dialects of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota and joins English as the second official language of South Dakota. Alaska goes even further — in 2014, the state added twenty indigenous languages to the official language act, making these native tongues co-official with English.
I have never been very good with second or third languages.  But I did have the good fortune to have my grandparents across the street during my childhood.  So, I can understand basic conversational Japanese, thanks to them.  And I manage to get by when I visit my Mother land.  And I also used language programs to enhance my limited Japanese.
I took Latin in high school, but nobody speaks that any more, except maybe for a Jeopardy question.  And my German classes at UC Berkeley allow me to order a “bier” and not much more!  My “in laws” in Ohio are superb linguists, always learning new languages as they traverse the world.  Kudos to them!
With an increasing number of Hispanic or Latino people in California, speaking or understanding some basic Spanish is quite handy.  When my son was waiting tables in college, his Spanish was incredibly useful.  He was able to communicate with the Spanish speaking busboys, allowing his tables to be bussed first, and resulting in his tables being filled the fastest by the hostess!
And finally, I always try to learn a few words or phrases when visiting foreign countries.  A simple “please” or “thank you” shows respect, and provides a portal through which you can understand and communicate.  Oh, and it never hurts to know how to “toast” in a foreign language!

Pairing Wine and Cheese

Posted by golfkat on July 29, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Entertainment, Food, Wine. Leave a comment
Most of us have our favorite wine and cheese pairings.  Since I am a champagne and sparkling wine drinker, my pairings are quite easy.  For those of you with definite red or white wine preferences, here are some helpful hints.
First, here are three mistakes to avoid, per Laura Werlin, a James Beard Award winner.
Pair red wine with soft cheese:Have you ever considered why some cheeses just naturally taste better with your favorite wine? Well, there’s a science to that — kind of. As cheese ages and loses water-content, it becomes richer in flavor with its increased fat content, making it the ideal match for bold red wines. Why exactly? The fat content in the cheese counteracts the high-tannins in the wine. According to Werlin, “Red wine typically has more tannins and low acidity which can cause soft cheeses to taste chalky. Instead, reach for an equally full-bodied, flavorful cheese such as an aged cheddar if you must drink a red wine. The tannins act as a palate cleanser, making each bite and sip just as delicious as the last.”

Mismatch intensity and flavors.

This tip is the most important takeaway for creating your own pairings. “The pairing rule of “like with like” rings true when pairing wine and cheese,” says Werlin. As a general rule wines over 14.5% ABV are more intense and taste better with more intensely flavored cheeses, while wines under 12% ABV are less intense and match nicely with more delicately flavored cheeses. She says, “in general, white wines pair best with lighter, milder cheeses. This allows the fresh, often fruity notes of the white wine to enhance the sweet creaminess of the cheese. Werlin suggests pairing most cheeses with white wines. An unoaked Chardonnay pairs well with an alpine->asiago or parmesan, and Sauvignon Blanc with cheddar or gouda.”

Play it safe:

Though it may seem complicated at first, once you learn a few tips and tricks, you’ll be a wine and cheese connoisseur in no time. According to Werlin, pairing wine and cheese is “all about finding new flavor combinations and having fun.” Cheese should take you on an adventure of taste and texture. Get out of your comfort zone by trying something unique like Roelli’s Red Rock, a bright orange Cheddar Blue combination. Bubbles are very forgiving, so a sparkling wine is always a good choice for cheese wildcards. Want another unique idea? Grab some bubbly and pair it with a blue cheese for an unexpected dessert pairing after dinner. The crisp carbonation of the sparkling wine will cut the creaminess of the bold, blue cheese.

So, here are a few of mine:

Champagne with any cheese except “smoked”

Cabernet with manchego

Dry riesling with brie

Chardonnay with havarti

Pinot noir with gouda

You must have some favorites too.

Umami for Me

Posted by golfkat on July 28, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Food, Travel. Leave a comment
Per Eating Well:  The word “umami” is a Japanese word and roughly translates as “good flavor.” It’s the taste present in food that is sometimes described as “earthy” or “meaty” but isn’t salty, sweet, bitter or sour. It’s sometimes characterized as a pleasant savory taste. This taste comes from glutamic acid, an amino acid which occurs naturally in some foods like mushrooms. It’s also present in monosodium glutamate (MSG)—some say MSG is umami in its purest form.
Umami has been in the English language since 1979, but the definition is sometimes difficult to describe.  Perhaps the one I like best is that it leaves you craving more.
Kazu Kato says:  Umami is the foundation of Japanese cuisine. He acknowledged that it exists around the world: in the tomatoes and Parmesan cheese of Italy, for example, and in the miso, soy sauce, sake, and vinegar of Korea and China. The difference, according to Katoh, is rooted in geography. Japanese umami starts with Japanese terroir: “The temperature, and the moisture in the air. Vegetable growing, water. The dirt, the earth—it’s all important.” Then there’s technique: “The brewing and aging processes involved.” In French cooking, he said, “it’s all about adding. It’s about adding sauces, cooking it in bouillon, using oil, pouring more dressing on it. Japanese cooking is very, very simple. It’s about extracting.”
A Japanese chemist named Kikunae Ikeda first put a name to this mysterious taste experience in 1908. He used kombu seaweed broth (I make my own) to pin down what it is that gives food “body” and enhances flavors. What he found were amino acids that he attributed to the meaty, heavy taste that improves the flavors of food. You can get this flavor experience in foods like aged cheese (Parmesan cheese, in particular), tomato and meat without adding salty, sweet, bitter or sour elements.

How umami tastes is notoriously hard to describe. Some people say that glutamates are responsible for “mouthfeel” and “body” in food without adding bitterness, sweetness, sourness or saltiness. Mushrooms are a good example of an umami-rich food—portobello and shiitake mushrooms in particular. They’re earthy and meaty without any flavoring added.

Adding umami can also enhance the flavor of other foods. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the Culinary Institute of America did a study on the effects of mushroom umami flavor on beef. They blended the mushrooms into meat for tacos and found that the addition of mushrooms improved the flavor of the meat without additional seasonings.

So, the four basic tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, and salt have made way for umami.  The food does not have to be Japanese or even Asian.  Perhaps you can think of a few?   The obvious ones, to me, are soy sauce, miso, mirin, seaweed, fermented soybeans, dried shiitake mushrooms, kimchi, and the above-mentioned kombu.  You might be more familiar with umami in cheese, mushroom, cured ham, anchovies, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Maybe I need to visit a placed called Umami Burger?  Adam Fleischman of Umami Burger says:  The Japanese define umami as “an over-all harmonious state of perfection where the ingredients come together, a really rounded and harmonious dish. They have a sort of zen way of looking at it.” But, he explained, “each chef uses it in the context of their country’s food. America has bold flavors. Japan’s are more subtle: kombu, dashi. Not so in your face.”
Please share your umami story with me!

The Rule of Thirds

Posted by golfkat on July 27, 2020
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Hobbies, Travel. Leave a comment
Here is a tribute to “thirds”, as in one of three parts of a whole.
Fun Fact: The Pacific Ocean is larger than all of Earth’s land area combined. Essentially, the Pacific amounts to roughly a third of Earth’s surface (nearly 64 million square miles), all of the other water amounts to another third, and the land makes up the remaining third.
The Trans Siberian Railway, which I took back in 2012, covers one third of the earth’s surface, or 5772 miles, from Vladivostok to Moscow.
Earth is the “third rock from the sun.”
In photography, we all know the “Rule of Thirds.”  It is a type of composition in which an image is divided evenly into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and the subject of the image is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines, or along one of the lines itself.  From the Digital Photog School:

The “Rule of Thirds” one of the first things that beginner photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it can help you create well balanced and interesting shots.

I (D. Rowse) will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesn’t mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective!

Also keep in mind it’s just one composition technique of many – we have quite a few articles on other techniques and rules of composition here.

What is the Rule of Thirds?

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows.

The rule of thirds 1

As you’re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through your viewfinder or in the LCD display that you use to frame your shot.

With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image.

Not only this – but it also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally.

Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

That said, have you ever tried to divide a candy bar or similar treat into thirds?  Even harder, would be liquids, like a 4 ounce bottle of 18 year old Scotch.  Fortunately, growing up, there were four of us kids.  Division was easy: half, then half again, no cheating!!!

Have You Been Remote?

Posted by golfkat on July 26, 2020
Posted in: Action, Cultures, National Parks, Travel. Leave a comment
I can’t say I have been to many remote places in the world.  They may have seemed remote, like the Atacama, Siberia, or the Arctic Circle.  But check this out!
Looking to really get off the grid? Welcome to Point Nemo, which gives a whole new meaning to the term “middle of nowhere.” Officially known as the “the oceanic pole of inaccessibility,” Point Nemo is the oceanic point that is the farthest from any shore — you may actually be closer to astronauts in the International Space Station than you are to any human on Earth. Located in the Pacific Ocean, Point Nemo got its name from the Latin word for “no one,” as well as the fictional sailor from “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” When drifting at Point Nemo, you are surrounded by well over a thousand oceanic miles in every direction; the closest land masses are the Easter Islands, the Pitcairn Islands, and an island off the coast of Antarctica. Animals seem to steer clear of it too — it’s been called “the least biologically active region of the world ocean.”
The point I wanted to make is that travel should be meaningful to you.  I generally will not go somewhere just to say I have been there.  I really want to experience the places on my narrowing travel radar.  Maybe the Death Road and Uyuni (salt flats) in Bolivia, Belgrade (Serbia), and Yerevan (Armenia)?
Siberia, and the Atacama were both about as remote as I am comfortable with.  Being stranded in either place would have been serious trouble.  Finding a cold beer in either place is next to impossible.
I know a few of you have been to more remote places. Kudos to you!

The Mighty Piccolo

Posted by golfkat on July 25, 2020
Posted in: Cultures, Entertainment, Music. Leave a comment
It is not only John Phillip Souza‘s Stars and Stripes Forever that features a piccolo solo.  The tradition began long before Souza even put his band together. 
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) wrote his piccolo concerto, Concerto in C Major for Piccolo, Strings, and Continuo, RV. 443,  with orchestra strings and harpsichord.  Vivaldi was actually ordained a priest in 1703.  He taught violin, but was fired 6 years later from the Pio Ospedale della Pieta in Venice.  Fired and rehired many times, he began composing operas around 1710.  His reputation as both a composer and violinist launched a career that led him far from Venice.
Antonio Vivaldi Vivaldi led a rather tumultuous and unpredictable life

He died a pauper, though Franz Joseph Haydn was one of six choirboys, who performed the mass at his burial.  He was prolific, as twenty one of his fifty-six operas survive today.  But it is his instrumental composition that made Vivaldi’s enduring mark on music, as he wrote more than 500 concertos.  Vivaldi’s flouting was probably a rather high-pitched recorder, since the piccolo did not come into existence until around 1730.  But Vivaldi’s concerto fits the piccolo perfectly.

What do we really know about the piccolo, other than its size?  It is the highest pitched woodwind instrument in orchestras and bands.  It is a small, transverse flute, mostly cylindrical with a Boehm system keywork, witha pitch an octave higher than the regular flute.
 
Britannica:  The piccolo’s compass extends three octaves upward from the second D above middle C. Its orchestral use dates from the late 18th century, when it replaced the flageolet (also called flauto piccolo). A six-keyed piccolo in D♭ was formerly used in military bands to facilitate playing in flat keys. Piccolo is also the name of an organ stop; the word can be applied to other instruments, such as the piccolo clarinet or the violino piccolo (“small violin”).


Going back even further, in the Middle Ages, military musicians played a transverse flute with only six finger holes.  Instruments were further adapted to mimic the human voice in the 16th century.  The flute family also included the treble recorder, and the bass flute, to complete the instrument family.
From the Vienna Symphonic Library:  The piccolo, and the concert flute, both evolved from the military transverse flute of the Middle Ages. When in the mid 17th century the art of flute-making underwent a process of rapid innovation, the technical improvements made to the flute were passed on one by one to its smaller sister, the piccolo traverso. In the early 18th century the piccolo began to appear with one to four keys, and more were added as the century progressed. In the years that followed the piccolo’s development mirrored that of the flute.

In 1832 the Munich flutist Theobald Boehm invented a revolutionary mechanism for the flute and by the middle of the 19th century it had already found its way onto the piccolo. Nevertheless, piccolos with older key mechanisms remained in use into the 20th century.

Piccolos were made in the tunings C, Db and Eb (fundamentals C5, Db5 and Eb5 – the latter tuning was favored particularly in military circles). The tubing was made first of wood, later of metal and was slightly conical.

Finally, in the 18th century, the piccolo started to appear in musical scores.  One of my all-time favorites, Handel’s Water Music, uses the piccolo extensively.

More Vienna Symphonic Library:


Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the first composers to use the piccolo in his works to imitate sounds of nature, e.g., the whistling of a stormy wind in the fourth movement of his 6th Symphony (“Pastoral Symphony”, 1808). In his “Rigoletto” (1851) Giuseppe Verdi first used a piccolo to symbolize lightning. In addition, the piccolo was used for special effects, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in “The Magic Flute” (1791), for example, for a humorous portrayal of eunuchs. In many works the piercing and shrill fortissimo of the piccolo is used to heighten terror in frightening scenes.

Composers of the Romantic period, particularly Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler, integrated the piccolo completely into the orchestra’s woodwind section. Since then it has been used extensively to add color and shading to the sound of the orchestra and occasionally even as a solo instrument.

Theobald Böhm (1794-1881), Hanfstaengel, Photographie ca. 1852
If you were in the marching band in school or college, you, like me, probably envied the piccolo players.  Their instrument was much easier to carry than a bass drum or tuba!  Both of my sisters played the flute and piccolo.

So, sit back and enjoy the piccolo solos during your next symphony concert (whenever that might be).