Tuesday, November 09, 2004

I Wondered What George Carlin Was Up To Even in my darkest hour last week, I didn't sit down at my keyboard and type this out: F*ck the South. Assuming you get past the rather direct language, whoever wrote that rant does make great points.  Of course the people who need to read and digest those sorts of facts are the ones who'll be the first to scream about the profanity and venom and won't get past the first sentence.  Oh well. And to be honest, I have no idea who wrote it.  Just sounded like George Carlin to me. 8:20:41 PM     |

One Hundred Pieces Of News You've never seen the news this way before:  10x10. 8:02:27 PM     |

$41,000 For Two Pounds Of Fungus I'll be the first to admit that you should be able to spend your money on whatever you like.  If you earned it, you also earned the right to set it on fire if you want to. That said, I still find this unbelievable: New York restaurateur Francesco Giambelli dished out a record $41,000 (£22,000)for a 2.4lb Italian white truffle yesterday. The 85-year-old, who owns Giambelli 50th on New York's East Side, beat off an unnamed opponent in Moscow to claim the truffle, the largest to be sold at an auction. "It was very aggressive," he said. "No one has ever paid this much for a truffle." The auction was held on Sunday with restaurants from New York to Moscow, connected by a satellite link. It was the sixth annual edition of the event, but the first time Moscow has participated. In past years, bidding has centred in Japan and Los Angeles. The auction raised $135,000 from 19 truffles. The proceeds go to charities in the United States, Italy, and Russia. A delicacy since Roman times, the fungus forms in symbiosis with tree roots. Italy's white truffles sell for 10 times the price of France's black variety. By the way, that's Mr. Giambelli in the picture above drooling over his pricey tumor. Now, while I don't care for the fungus eating idea, I'm going to have to try a truffle at least once before I die.  I want to know what is so flippin' great about them that someone would be willing to shell out more than most people earn in a year for two pounds of the stuff. Seriously, is there anything in the world you like to eat so much that you'd pay anywhere near that much for two pounds of it? 5:52:17 PM     |

© Copyright 2005 Alex L. Mauldin.