3 FAT LITTLE FRENCH GUYS...

I love the title of this blog......

For the past 14 days my cousins from Montreal stayed with us and almost the only thing we did was eat...every type of restaurant and store bought foods.... we delivered them to John Wayne this morning...Honest to God they made ham sandwiches before they left so they wouldn't have to buy food on the plane...they're going to call us tonight and let us know if they got the sandwiches on board...

Louie , yeah that's his real name, and Nicole his wife, and brothers Tony, Pep, Chas (Carlo) and some of their children have owned and managed Di Lallo Burger restaurants inherited from their father, my Uncle Louie, my father's brother, who opened the first store over 75 years ago....

I swear to God they're called Di Lallo Burgers and they're made with a combo of beef, lettuce, tomatoes and semi-hot peppers and grilled onions, on a special stove that gets the bun browned and hot...their burgers are like potato chips; you can't eat just one...the peppers increase your appetite...

In between shopping excursions and eating out, we watched football games both weekends, baseball playoffs just about every night and lots of hockey games... they talked about their families, their staff of servers, drivers (they've been delivering way before Domino's)...Their store is in a residential neighborhood common place in large cities.

Last night we stayed up late looking at old photos of our Di Lallo relatives all the while eating Italian fruitcake the ladies made...it is a fabulous fruitcake if you like fruitcake...it's called Chumbalone in Italian which I think means "the crops are dieing" or the "cattle" or something like that...

Then, when it was quite late, I asked them about their patrons who came into the store which they had promised to tell us about...Nicole said: "Let's tell them about the 3 Fat Little French Guys" who came in a few weeks ago, as they were busting a gut laughing, coughing and spitting up...they must have laughed for 15 minutes and we never heard the story...

but the Title is so cool I had to use it today...I'll find out about the 3 guys and blog if it's worth it...

What's special about this number?

Some good, bad and ugly ... of 50 facts...

1 – The speed of light is generally rounded down to 186,000 miles per second. In exact terms it is 299,792,458 m/s (equal to 186,287.49 miles per second).

2 – It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun’s surface to the Earth.

3 – 10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment.

4 – The Earth spins at 1,000 mph but it travels through space at an incredible 67,000 mph.

5 – Every year, over one million earthquakes shake the Earth.

7 – Every second around 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth.

8 – Every year lightning kills 1000 people.

14 – Female black widow spiders eat their males after mating.

23 – The thermometer was invented in 1607 by Galileo.

24 – Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866.

26 – The tallest tree ever was an Australian eucalyptus – In 1872 it was measured at 435 feet tall.

32 – Giraffes often sleep for only 20 minutes in any 24 hours. They may sleep up to 2 hours (in spurts – not all at once), but this is rare. They never lie down.

37 – A quarter of the world’s plants are threatened with extinction by the year 2010.

38 - The average Japanese women can expect to live to be 84

39 - During the Roman Empire, life expectancy was just 22 years; 1500 years later, it reached 33 - now, Japense have the highest life expectancy that is predicted to increase. In Central and South Africa, though, US Census Bureau predicts a drop in life expectancy in 51 countries ... primarly because of the HIV/Aids pandemic.

40 -China has 44 million missing women. For every 100 baby girls born in China in 2000, there were 116.8 baby boys. In China and India, sex-selective abortions are illegal but still common. China's 'one child' policy has meant that many births go unreported; these unregistered children won't be able to, for example, go to school or receive state-funded healthcare.

41 - Brazil has more Avon ladies than members of its armed services. One in five of the world's people live on less than a $1/day. Through the 1990s, there was a 7% improvement in poverty.

42 - Tiger Woods is the world's highest paid sportman. He earns $78 million a year -- or $148 every minute. 71 of that 78 million comes from sponsorships.

44 - More people can identify the golden arches of McDonalds than the Christian cross. Survey of 7,000 people in six countries (including the US) showed that the Shell oil logo, the Mercedes badge and the five Olympic rings were recognized far more widely than the Christain cross. In Britain, less than 20% said they were influenced by religion; churches complain consumerism is replacing faith. In America, 92% believe in God and 33% attend a place of worship at least once a week.

45 - In Kenya, bribery payments make up a third of the average household budget. A request for 'kitu kidogo' (something small) is common in Kenya; Kenyans say its hard to get anything without bribery. Corruption further hurts poor countries because it deters foreign investment.

Hopefully there's one of the above that someone will be interested in knowing...Alli and others & Kenya?

That's a lot of bad news. :( there needs to be a list of 50 people who can address some of these issues...

Comments? I don't expect (m) any...

I WAS ANXIOUS TO POST MY 50TH BLOG !

Now I can rest happily for a while until I blog about relatives staying two weeks with us when they go back to Montreal in five days...YIPPEE!

Sneaked up on me

For years Columbus Day was one of my favorite semi-holidays celebrating what I thought was one of few Italian heroes...I recently discovered the holiday was good for a spaghetti and meatball dinner and not much else...
when I was a kid Italian Catholic Churches held huge parades in the streets of Montreal...because he was Italian born...
Times have changed and now Chris is hated more and more...
I found some interesting tid-bits on him you know where...


Columbus is responsible for the murder of millions of indigenous people.

Columbus was a slavetrader in Africa before invading America. He began the slave trade in the Americas. He deserves no holiday, no parades, no statues.

Columbus Day celebrates the doctrine of discovery – the legal process that stole Indian people's territories, and that continues today.

Columbus brought a philosophy of domination to the Americas that persists today – domination of other peoples, domination of the environment, domination of other belief systems, domination of women by men.

NO MATTER HOW YOU SPELL IT...

It was a slow day today and found out a few things...Google, of course...I didn't have THAT much time...

It's been bugging me for years...what's the difference with these two names?

In 17th century China Ke-tsiap was a spicy pickled fish-sauce condiment and said to be the origin of the name Ketchup...

British sailers brought it home to Britain and New England discovering something needed to be added to it...adding tomatoes to the mixture it became a very tasty condiment and the name ketchup was born...

In 1876 Heinz introduced it; then as other manufacturers brought it to market more variations of the spelling took place...

Soon there were Ketchups, Catsups, Catchups and even Katsocks!

Today one can find Heinz Ketchup, Del Monte Catsup and Hunts who calls it Catsup on the East Coast and Ketchup on the West...

SECRET LIVES OF KETCHUP LOVERS

If you want to learn the more about a person, look no further than how they pour their ketchup. From dippers and squirters, to sprinklers and smotherers, psychologist Donna Dawson has identified seven "sauciological" types.
Those who dunk into a well of ketchup are methodical and trustworthy. But they may also be control freaks who are afraid of change. Ambitious people splodge their sauce in the middle of their food. Creative types squirt and swirl their sauce in thin lines. But deep down they are impatient and do not tolerate fools or time wasting. Those who dot their ketchup are friendly, but live conservatively and dream of adventure holidays. Smotherers are the life and soul of the party, while artists who draw faces and words on their food have an easy-going approach to life. And gourmets who keep ketchup in a cruet appear charming, but deep down may be snobbish social climbers.