Tuesday, September 30, 2008

On Gurkhas


The Gurkhas have history of bravery, loyalty and honor amount the British. They have served with distinction and honor since 1817. In short, these people who have nothing have fought with bravery and honor for the British.

I have meet and conversed with a few Gurkhas in my travels abroad. I have to say, they strike me as smallish, friendly people, very quick to smile and were proud of their service.

Gurkha soldiers have been awarded 13 Victoria Crosses, all but one (Rambahadur Limbu) were awarded when all Gurkha regiments were still part of the Indian Army. An additional 13 VCs have been awarded to British Officers in Gurkha regiments. Since Indian independence, Gurkhas have also been awarded 3 Param Vir Chakras.

Ethnically, Gurkhas who are presently serving in the British armed forces are Indo-Tibeto-Mongolians. Gurkhas serving in the Indian Armed Forces are of both groups, Indo-Tibeto-Mongolian and ethnic Rajput. Gurkhas of Indo-Tibeto-Mongolian origin mostly belong to the Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Khasa and Kiranti origin, many of whom are adherents of Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism.[10]

All Gurkhas, regardless of ethnic origin, speak Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language. They are also famous for their large knife called the khukuri, which is featured in an X shaped congifuration on their emblem. Tradition has it that whenever a Gurkha draws their khukuri for any reason, the blade must taste blood.

Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal , who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath.[1] His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan (Rajputana). Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the house of Gorkha, which in turn founded the Kingdom of Nepal.[2]

Gurkhas are best known for their history of bravery and strength in the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments.

Gorkha is one of the 75 districts of modern Nepal.

The Gurkhas were designated by British officials as a "Martial Race". "Martial Race" was a designation created by officials of British India to describe "races" (peoples) that were thought to be naturally warlike and aggressive in battle, and to possess qualities like courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, the ability to work hard for long periods of time, fighting tenacity and military strategy. The British recruited heavily from these Martial Races for service in the colonial army.
Gurkhas win right to stay in UK.

Gurkas belonging to the Hong Kong Regiminet who retired prior to the handover in 1997, living in the UK face not being aloud imigration. SOme with thier families had been living in the UK for decades. This was a wrong that looks like it is about to be corrected.

Here is the article.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Mojo Nixon


Well It was 1987, I had just moved to Californa, and low and behold, I discovered underground Radio.

Who did I discover? Mojo Nixon.

The Man the Myth the Legeond.

Mojo is one of a kind, all stripped out in his ways.
Classic Songs like:
"Are you Drinking with me Jesus?"
"Debbie Gibson is Pregnant, with my Two Headed Love Child"
"Elvis is Everywhere"
"I want to be stuff in Martha's Muffin" (Martha Quinn the Original MTV VJ)
"Burn down the Malls"
and my own personal favorite
"Tie my Pecker to my Leg"

Mojo lives, and lives on!

Check out a Mojo Nixon Search on YouTube.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Star Wars: Update


It would appear from this image, Darth Vader was a little too much in to the Dark Side, and by the Dark Side I mean Han's Butthole.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hot Dogs = Bomb Scare



PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After a bomb scare at the Philadelphia Phillies' ballpark, authorities pointed the finger at a fuzzy green suspect — The Phillie Phanatic.

Hours before the Phillies-Atlanta Braves' game on Wednesday night, a film crew shot a commercial of the mascot shooting heavily wrapped hot dogs from a launcher.

But someone inadvertently left three of the duct taped hot dogs outside the ballpark, sparking security fears. Stadium employees were evacuated and the bomb squad was called in.

Only after the packages were blown up did authorities realize they'd just exploded some sausages.

"We saw something that looked suspicious," said Michael Stiles, Phillies senior vice president, administration and operations. "We did the right thing. It turned out to be nothing. We could have gone over and picked it up and thrown it in the trash and been done with it. But if we had been wrong, somebody might have lost an arm."

After the detonation, the game went on as scheduled.

"I'd rather them blow up some hot dogs or some ketchup and mustard and relish than have it be a real bomb," reliever Chad Durbin said. "Better safe than sorry.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Sea Cucumber Ice Cream


So I found this flavor while looking up Filipino Cheese and Corn Ice Cream. Sea Cucumber Ice Cream.

If we can have that, I am confident we can have Cthulhu Ice Cream.

It would be the "Taste of the Eternal Sleeping God"

The taste would be a combination of Mackerel, Raisins, Walnuts and have the musty scent of death lingering when you opened it.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Casper"s or Kasper"s Hotdogs...



I love a good hotdog, I mean relish it really. I like Hotlinks, Chili dogs, dogs with Kraut.

So I live in Fremont and have been a patron of Kasper's Hot Dogs

This is in the Hub in Fremont.

A few years ago I stumbled upon Casper"s hotdog in Hayward. Caspers

So the menus are almost exact. The dogs themselves are a little differant, but both are really, really good. I prefer the ones in Hayward (Casper's) to the one in Fremont (Kasper's). But here is the story behind them.

Oh BTW, if you ever strike up a conversation with the waitstaff at either, be prepared for an earful, or even to get thrown out!javascript:void(0)

Kasper"s was a hotdog stand opened in 1929. The original I am told is still there. 4521 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. It currently is under renovation (Since 2003 apparently)
Kaspers
It was opened by a gentleman by the name of Kasper Koojoolian.

Now there is another Kasper's in Oakland, Kasper's Hot Dogs 2551 MacArthur Blvd. The owner Harold is the Nephew of Kasper Koojoolian, (from the Oakbook).

Someone Else opened up Casper's in 1934. The rumor I hear it was the same family and someone got upset and left. Another rumor is nothing doing. Kasper's came first. Casper's came second. Casper's has it's own sausage company. As Kasper's does not.

I would like more info, if anybody has it, let me know. I probe at the stores and no-one wants to talk about it.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

It's that time again! Oktoberfest


YES fellow Junkies, the time we all should focus on the most serious issues that face us...
Drinking large 1 liter mugs of beer, eating salty food, listening to Polka Music, sweating and seating at picnic benches inside large tents and of course screwing.


Oktoberfest starts today in Munich (or München if you speak a the Deutsche) (München, is derived from the Old German word for Mönche, which means "Monks" in English.)

Anyway I digress...

In 1985 I lived the dream, working in Germany as a young technician for an American company I got the opportunity to to to Oktoberfest for the weekend. We drank a shitload of Beer, served in Oktoberfest beer mugs (1-liter-Steins, Maßkrug in German are made from heavy glass and typically have a decorative brewery logo on the side).
This is a picture of a VERY Strong Waitress with 8 Maßkrugs in her hands. The Ketosis Junkie would be challenged with doing such.

So we drank and ate and I ran into a couple of local Bavarian girls, we hung out and made a rendezvous for the next day, as I had to manage several of my American co-workers who had drunk to much.

The next day we headed to Oktoberfest where I met the two young ladies and we skipped the beer halls went to their apartment and discussed politics, music and the nature of man. We smoked some hash, drank some beer and they showed me the German game of swap the salami. These two girls were very close and sharing a young American between them was as natural as sharing a sandwich with your best friend. I feel in love with Germany. Now these were the days where shaving had not quite made it to Europe, so, by today's standards, there was a bit of stubble, and the landscape was a bit wild.

Some facts on Oktoberfest:
The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October.

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 12, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17 — therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Oktoberfest numbers (2007)
Area: 103.79 acres (0.42 km²)
Seats in the festival halls: ca. 100,000
Visitors: 6.2 million
Beer: appr. 69,406 hl (1,269 hl non-alcoholic)
Wine: 79,624 liters
Sparkling wine: 32,047 liters
Coffee, tea: 222,725 liters
Water, lemonade: 909,765 ½ liters
Chicken: 521,872 units
Pork sausages: 142,253 pairs
Fish: 38,650 kg
Pork knuckles: 58,446 units
Oxen: 104 units
Expenditure of electricity: 2.8 million kWh (as much as 14% of Munich's daily need or as much as a four person family will need in 52 years and 4 months)
Expenditure of gas: about 205,000 m³
Expenditure of water: about 90,000 m³ (as much as 27% of Munich´s daily need )
Waste: 678 t (2004)
Toilette's: about 980 seats, more than 878 meters stands and 17 for disabled persons.
Telephones: 83, also for international credit cards.
Lost property: about 4000 items, among them 260 pairs of glasses, 200 mobile phones, a wedding ring and two crutches.