Not long ago we were in a great southeast Asian restaurant in Manhattan called the Spice Market. The meal was fantastic. The dessert menus arrived and there was something on it that looked interesting… durian ice cream. Durian is a southeast Asian fruit that has been said to have a “distinct” smell. I hadn’t had durian before, and I like trying new foods, so I ordered it.

The waitress asked me if I had had durian before, and I said no. In the most polite way she could manage, she urged me to consider any other dessert on the menu. She continued by saying that it’s only recommended for people who have tried it before, and that that people should try durian for the first time elsewhere. Unmoved, I ordered it.

It arrived in a chinese takeout box, the reason for which I quickly discovered was to prevent nausea among the other patrons. Now you really have to try hard to smell ice cream, but not this stuff. I’ve eaten things that smell bad and taste good, so I took a bite.
Now those who know me well (or strangers who see me) know that there aren’t many foods I don’t like. But one bite of this and I almost wretched. It was the most vile substance ever served. I shit you not, it smelled like a volcanic sulfur vent, and tasted like what I imagine untreated sewage would taste like.

Today I looked the fruit up on Wikipedia and here’s what I found:

Due to the fruit’s strong odour, it is forbidden to bring durians as hand luggage onto aircraft belonging to some airlines, to carry them on the Singapore public transit system, or to store or eat them in many hotels.

Some Westerners have described the experience of eating the durian as “like eating custard in a public lavatory”

Too true.

“Lactivists” all over are soliciting corporations for their support for breast-feeding in public. Burger King and Starbucks are among the companies that welcome breast-feeders and the breast-fed in their stores. There’s an article here. But why stop there? What’s so special about nursing that garners special rights? I say whip ’em out whenever. Racks need no occasion.

Green groups have pressured Disney’s Hong Kong resort to remove shark fin soup from their restaurants because of the cruelty in the way the fins are harvested. An odd compromise was reached when Disney said they would continue to serve the soup, but with each bowl they’ll hand out a pamphlet where the controversial harvesting method is explained and denounced. AFP has an article.

Candy is delicious. And the insides of candy bars, while delicious, often look disturbing. Peep this.

The MARC commuter trains between Baltimore and DC are sporting these terrornoia posters styled after the heyday of Stalin’s totalitarian regime, when Soviet citizens were exhorted to spy on their neighbors and fink them out for suspicious behavior. And they say irony is dead. From here.

Penn Jillette, of Penn and Teller, has a new daughter that he named, Moxie CrimeFighter. From the AP article:

We chose her middle name because when she’s pulled over for speeding she can say, “But officer, we’re on the same side,” Jillette explained. “My middle name is CrimeFighter.”

Yahoo had this photo of the Colima Volcano in Mexico. Currently it’s spewing lava and debris almost three miles into the sky. It reminds me of that scene in Ghosbusters when Sigourney Weaver opens her fridge and Zuul is inside…

Nasty bootleggers. Hacking XBOX games is ok. But get thee away from me sandwich!! Eat this.