Just wanted to wish all American friends on the forum a Happy 4th of July! Have a great day and hope you are all smoking up some tasty dishes to celebrate with. :) :) :) :)
Greg
Thanks and we are a smokin' two briskets since last night 10 pm.
Olds
Thanks.
No smoking today. Have to attend to other activities, and do some resting.
Thanks Greg. Finishing up two butts, a rack of spareribs, and a cured brisket for pastrami.
Art
(http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/yankee_doodle_dandy(1).jpg)
Hope you guys all had a good Canada Day and July 4th Day respectively. ;D
It is our turn today, we celebrate our National Day with an outdoor meeting of our Parliament, Tynwald, the oldest continuous parliament in the world together with a host of other events including Viking longboat races and re-enactments of the Viking invasion in the 8th century AD....... plunder and pillage and all that!!
Me? It's a glorious day and I'm off fishin' with my two boys.......... ;D
Enjoy your day.
QuoteEnjoy your day.
Thanks HS
Quote from: manxman on July 05, 2006, 03:28:39 AM
Me? It's a glorious day and I'm off fishin' with my two boys..........
Hope you had good success plundering and pillaging in the briny deep.
QuoteHope you had good success plundering and pillaging in the briny deep.
Oh yes, good haul of fish and lobster plus we got to see 13 basking shark up to about 22 foot in length. These are harmless plankton eaters but are the second biggest fish in the world growing to about 35 foot...... an awesome site. They are protected now in many parts of the world including the Isle of Man, UK and US.
We had 6 around the boat at one stage, just takes your breath away!
http://www.isleofman.com/Science/Animals/Fish/Basking%20Sharks.aspx
Wow, thanks for the link Paul. Those are impressive critters. Must be doubly so up close and personal. From head on with the mouth open they look like something from an old Startrek episode I remember.
Tom
Quote from: manxman on July 06, 2006, 01:53:26 AM
We had 6 around the boat at one stage, just takes your breath away!
That had to be one heck of an experience.
I need to tweak some settings on either my firewall or Semantic software, the pictures are not showing when I connect to the site.
QuoteFrom head on with the mouth open they look like something from an old Startrek episode I remember
mmmmm........ from that angle they always remind me of an ex girlfriend I had many moons ago. :-[ Thing is, the moonlight was'nt too bad, it was seeing her in broad daylight that was the scary thing. ;D
Needless to say the relationship didn't even last the summer holidays and she is probaly telling similar stories about me! ;)
That shot didn't remind me of my ex so much as it did of her lawyer! :D Sounds like you had a good day. Viking pillage as an annual tradition--somehow that's got more pizzaz than our fireworks and beer!
T2
QuoteThat shot didn't remind me of my ex so much as it did of her lawyer!
This
http://www3.sympatico.ca/jcomely/great-white-shark-picture-014.jpg
reminds me of lawyers!! ;D Basking shark are such gentle sedate creatures apart from when they rub up against the boat and take the antifouling off!! :o
Great link Manxman.
I'll have to remember the phrase "Gobbag vooar." Seems like the kind of term that might come in handy some day.
I've been trying to learn more about the Isle of Man (or is it Mann) on the net, did it shift from the later to the former and if so when, and where did Manx come from. Then I got sidetracked on ManX Spirit. Oh well. I'll pursue the etymological history some other time.
Regards,
Art
QuoteGobbag vooar.
Yes , it is quite a useful phrase....... means "big mouth" for those that are interested.
It is the Isle of Man, it has had several names historically including Mona (the Romans who never actually came here) and the Manx name is Ellan Vannin.
The Bees Gees were born here and they did a lovely rendition of a local folk song a few years ago of the same name.
Historically the spelling Mann was more common but that has all but disappeared nowadays. The language itself began to devolve from Irish Gaelic around 900AD. The name "Man" is thought to come from an Irish mythical sea and weather god called Mannanan mac lir.......... mac lir meaning "son of the sea" which itself apparently came for an earlier name for the Isle of Man which was "Mannin".
Used to go to school with the guy who runs Manx Spirit, it is basically redistilled Scotch Whisky. Lets just say I am not a fan!! We have some great local food and drink but to my mind this is not one!
regards, Paul
Quote from: manxman on July 07, 2006, 01:59:57 AM
and the Manx name is Ellan Vannin.
Thanks Paul for the introduction to Manx 101. This is really fascinating stuff. (and I'm glad I did the assigned reading ahead of time). "Ellan Vannin" led me to the writings of your Rev. W. T. Radcliffe. That looks like required reading before we come visit you (I mean it - all of us - from the forum - we're all coming - really!) ManX Spirit sounds like what we call here Everclear, or grain alcohol. Do they distill all the flavor out of it?
Regards,
Art
QuoteDo they distill all the flavor out of it?
They basically buy in Scotch Whisky and redistill it...... I quote from the Manx Spirit website which says that "whisky is just a crude product which needs refining that's all."
http://www.manx-spirit.com/
Now I am not a whisky drinker but to dismiss it as just a crude product that needs refining is in my mind just taking the mickey and to me Manx Spirit comes across as bland compared to a good quality Scottish malt.
It was called Manx Whisky until the Scottish brewers took the guy to court and he not only lost spectacularly but at spectacular cost! I am sure it has some fans but basically it has a novelty value as a local Manx product to my mind and that's all.
To me is ranks far behind other Manx specialities such as our kippers, cheese, beer, seafood, meat and other local products!
Quote(I mean it - all of us - from the forum - we're all coming - really!)
Mmmmm....... a Bradley convention, now your talking! :D
Quote from: manxman on July 09, 2006, 09:22:35 AM
I quote from the Manx Spirit website which says that "whisky is just a crude product which needs refining that's all."
Yeah - when I read that I was a bit suspicious of its quality.