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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 10/31/2023: Phantom of the Kitchen [1]
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Date: 2023-10-31
James McNeill Whistler: Nocturne in Black and Gold - The Falling Rocket (ca. 1875)
Good evening, Kibitzers, and happy Samhain/Halloween! Because one still cannot put links in the caption of the title image, here’s the link to Longfellow’s Haunted Houses.
On Saturday, it was 80° here, and on Sunday, it was 50°. By Wednesday night, they’re calling for a dip below freezing. So as I write, it looks to be chilly for trick-or-treating, but maybe not raining like they had threatened earlier.
I didn’t get any trick-or-treaters here last year, but I still bought some candy this year because who knows? Maybe this neighborhood is smart enough to do something different, or only allow kids to go to the doors of people they know, or maybe it’s just random.
I wish it were a thing you sign up for, because I would feel bad about not having anything to hand out if kids did show up, but I really do not need a bunch of candy that no one is going to come collect. It was less of a problem when I went to an office. Oh well, my nephews will eat whatever I don’t hand out, I’m sure.
So anyway, since this diary is actually ON the 31st, I didn’t see how I could ignore the holiday. I’ve assembled some videos that deal with an assortment of spooky and faux-spooky topics.
I’ll start with some atmosphere. This is two hours looking up at a dark, spooky castle, where stuff happens. I mean, there’s not a plot, but it’s not static. Clouds of sinister mist emerge and swirl, and various small creatures fly through. I’d say, don’t try to watch it all unless you’re really stoned, but it’s good in the background. (Did you know that, while a group of bats hanging at rest is called a “colony”, a group that’s flying like the bats here is a “cloud”, and a group that’s flying in a circle is a “cauldron”?) [2 hours]
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London shows off its collection of “spirit photographs” by early photographers. Some are created intentionally, and some are things that just happened with an ordinary photograph, for reasons people didn’t understand at the time. [15:33]
I have some music collections to sprinkle in. This one is Halloween-themed jazz songs of the 1940s and 50s, with an added montage of appropriate old video clips (that have nothing to do with the songs per se). The track list and source of the matching video can be found on the YouTube page under the video. [35:37]
Hank Green of SciShow offers scientific explanations for three spooky phenomena that many think are paranormal. [5:59]
This is a Halloween classical music collection that feels well-chosen. The track list is, again, on the YouTube page. [2:03:16]
In the same spirit (heh) as the SciShow piece, Vox considers scientific reasons that people might be persuaded they’ve seen ghosts — only a bit of overlap with Hank. [6:29]
Snack break: Listen, I think John Kanell of Preppy Kitchen is cute as a button, and he often makes things that look reasonably doable and quite tasty. But I am posting these little pumpkin cakes chiefly as entertainment, because for most people, and I do emphasize "most", this is not so much a recipe as an elaborate piece of performance art. Even Martha Stewart would look at this process and go, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” [14:25]
Theoretical physicist Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder is moved by a question from a stranger sharing a cab to consider whether quantum mechanics means that dead people are really still alive (spoiler: no, it is Einstein’s special relativity that does that!) [9:41]
This is a fun Halloween-themed song collection spanning the years 1929-1969. The track list is not in the video’s notes, but is in the comment that will appear at the top of the thread if you use this link to get there. [1:42:35]
Ghost Forest was an art installation by Maya Lin that stood in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from May to November 2021, made from Atlantic white cedars that were killed in their natural habitat by rising sea levels. She was hoping to call people’s attention to the environmental havoc we’re wreaking. (Link on the title is to the work’s page on Maya Lin’s website.) Wikipedia tells us that, when the trees were removed, they were milled into planks and donated to a Bronx educational non-profit for students to work with. [4:29]
(Links to additional videos of interest: CBS Mornings approached this by interviewing Maya Lin and shooting footage of her selecting and placing the trees. The NEA provides background on the artist and her work.)
Okay, gotta add one more this morning: OwlKitty has a brand new Barbie parody. Those people do a great job video-editing on a shoestring! [1:17]
That’s all I have to say except:
A very happy birthday to Glen The Plumber!
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