Three Bionic Idiots, Your DJs for the Affair*
1.
It's Christmas! We Three Kings, if I...mmm...we can use the royal we, here, for a day, have a special report, inspired by P-funk, as well as by all the brilliant writers of scientific articles, everywhere, who number their thoughts so fastidiously and assume that the numbering works as a logical argument. ("I can tell you put a lot of thought into the organization of your article," I tell those who bring such writing my way, "but I think readers need to know more about the connections between the different thoughts here. How are they working together to make your point?" The poor authors look at me like I'm from another planet, and understandably; although I not from orient are (ah, christmascarolcatspeak), I'm not from Planet Engineer, originally, either.**)
1.1
Educationally, I was raised by Indo-Europeanists. "Three"--of anything, really--takes my brain straight to Dumezil.
1.2
It's Christmas! We Three Kings, if I...mmm...we can use the royal we, here, for a day, have a special report, inspired by P-funk, as well as by all the brilliant writers of scientific articles, everywhere, who number their thoughts so fastidiously and assume that the numbering works as a logical argument. ("I can tell you put a lot of thought into the organization of your article," I tell those who bring such writing my way, "but I think readers need to know more about the connections between the different thoughts here. How are they working together to make your point?" The poor authors look at me like I'm from another planet, and understandably; although I not from orient are (ah, christmascarolcatspeak), I'm not from Planet Engineer, originally, either.**)
1.1
Educationally, I was raised by Indo-Europeanists. "Three"--of anything, really--takes my brain straight to Dumezil.
1.2
I consider Georges Dumezil to be one of the three bionic idiots of my undergraduate education, the other two being Michel Foucault and Clifford Geertz.
1.3
Selected runners-up:
Aristotle
Monier Williams
Aleksandr Kushner (who proves that being a bionic idiot isn't necessarily a bad thing)
2.
When I had a tv, I occasionally used it to watch Emeril Lagassee talk about the "holy trinity" of creole and cajun cooking: onion, celery, green pepper.
When I had a tv, I occasionally used it to watch Emeril Lagassee talk about the "holy trinity" of creole and cajun cooking: onion, celery, green pepper.
2.1
Culinarily, I was raised on a different trinity: onion, carrot, celery (the mirepoix). These three vegetables formed the base of all soup stock, each and every tomato sauce. I ate and cooked with so much of this combination, I grew to resent its salty non-flavor.
Culinarily, I was raised on a different trinity: onion, carrot, celery (the mirepoix). These three vegetables formed the base of all soup stock, each and every tomato sauce. I ate and cooked with so much of this combination, I grew to resent its salty non-flavor.
2.2
As a result, I now know (and stock ingredients for) many different trinities. I flavor according to my mood, or the nature of the other ingredients I'm using.
As a result, I now know (and stock ingredients for) many different trinities. I flavor according to my mood, or the nature of the other ingredients I'm using.
2.3
This is an easy way to add variety to whatever food you're preparing. For example, you could flavor many different foods with any of these combinations:
a little salt, a little sugar, a little (Japanese) soy sauce
Thai/"bird" chili peppers, fish sauce, lime juice
(not Japanese) soy sauce, ginger, cilantro
(not Japanese) soy sauce, ginger, cilantro
black mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric
rosemary, garlic, olive oil
garlic, mushrooms, thyme
cumin, coriander, feta cheese
celery, walnuts, dried cranberries
lemongrass, cilantro, ginger
cumin, cilantro, chipotle pepper
white wine, tarragon, lemon juice
serrano peppers, turmeric, lemon juice
cumin, ginger, lemon juice
parsley, garlic, capers
2.3.1
That is only a small selection of the possibilities.
2.3.2
I tried to repeat ingredients, so if, for example you buy a bunch of cilantro, a jar of cumin seeds or a lemon, you have some different things to try.
cumin, cilantro, chipotle pepper
white wine, tarragon, lemon juice
serrano peppers, turmeric, lemon juice
cumin, ginger, lemon juice
parsley, garlic, capers
2.3.1
That is only a small selection of the possibilities.
2.3.2
I tried to repeat ingredients, so if, for example you buy a bunch of cilantro, a jar of cumin seeds or a lemon, you have some different things to try.
2.3.3
Please add to this list. What are some combinations of flavoring you use?
Please add to this list. What are some combinations of flavoring you use?
3.
They go by "triads" and "trios," more than "trinities," but music, too, has its share of bionic threes that meld together to influence (subtly or not) our experiences: three-note chords, three voices, three instruments, and more.
3.1
Musically, I was raised on Rameau trios, so three voices at a time seems natural to me. I think the idea is better exemplified by music earlier than Rameau's, though. Here is Palestrina's Jesu, rex admirabilis--maybe not the most spectacular of his compositions, but in a video that's helpful for illustrating polyphony with three voices.
3.2
Emeril talks about how the holy trinity forms a "base" for various dishes. Here is Josh Gabriel's remix of BT's "Every Other Way." Please just ignore the video (it has little to do with the song) and keep an ear on the three sustained tones and how they relate to the lyrics "hear me out" and "hold me now."
3.3
And then, in the holiday spirit of We Three Kings of Self-reference, here is De La Soul, saying it better than I can.
Emeril talks about how the holy trinity forms a "base" for various dishes. Here is Josh Gabriel's remix of BT's "Every Other Way." Please just ignore the video (it has little to do with the song) and keep an ear on the three sustained tones and how they relate to the lyrics "hear me out" and "hold me now."
3.3
And then, in the holiday spirit of We Three Kings of Self-reference, here is De La Soul, saying it better than I can.
Happy Holidays to all who inspire--because we all do, in our own way--and to all who are inspired--because we all are, in our own time. And to all a good meal.
*Parliament, Mr Wiggles, from The Motor Booty Affair
**I say this out of tremendous respect for engineers.
**I say this out of tremendous respect for engineers.
8 comments:
I love your structure, darlin. And also the trinities to try, although the one food I pretty much detest is cilantro, sigh. What sorts of veg/grains/noodles would you put with which?
Never heard of Dumezil. Sounds like I'm lucky.
When I get home I shall listen to the myoozik.
Sue, honey, are you saying, after all these years, that you just love me for my...structure?! *sniffs broken-heartedly*
There's lots to do without cilantro. We can talk about combinations, but I'd be interested to hear what you think about putting with what. That's an area of my life in which I'm uncharacteristically rigid. (I won't put Japanese soy sauce in Thai dishes, for example.) I'd like to lose some of that rigidity but I might need to follow an example set by someone else. You could be the one...
Dumezil's alright, in a tripartite-philosophical kind of way. He mentored Foucault, I believe. His name needs an accent: Dume/zil. I don't know how to get diacritics on Blogger.
should be :tripartiteLY-philosophical
Diacritics: is that like Dianetics? ;)
Diacritics: a cult whose core beliefs focus on the supreme power behind typographical doo-dads. Polyglots seem to be particularly susceptible to brainwashing by this cult.
So far I've only listened to the song. I just started drinking my morning coffee, and this Latin beat went straight to my head.
(Some people, it might have gone to their hips. I never actually knew I had hips - I thought I had legs and a torso; never conceived of the intersection as an entity - until I took a Brazilian samba class. I didn't learn to samba, but... I did learn that I'd like to try again to learn to samba, some day.
Btw, I was reading the lyrics (and thanks for posting the lyrics - even when lyrics are easy to discern, it really helps me comprehend a song in one listen), with the drawing viedo in a background tab, and as the song ended I switched to that tab, and... o my goodness, a cartoon she-elf with big boobs! That was my idea of fun when I was 12!
Sorry, I couldn't ignore the video, because the female lead was so attractive! So I found out that the video goes to a completely different Korean pop song, and the actress isn't as stunning as she looks in fleeting moments in the video. (That's always the way with incredible beauty: it can be portrayed only in glimpses; no one really looks that way.)
http://kissinfo.net/kissen.php
You have a better ear than I do: I can't distinguish the three sustained notes. However, I can share a tidbit of music theory that probably applies here. You may already know this, but...
A "chord" is, in its basic form, 3 notes (a "triad"). The lowest note is the tonic, which is the most important note in the song, the one that all the rest of the notes are based on and which the song usually begins and ends on.
The highest note is the fifth, which is 1 1/2 times the frequency of the tonic. The relationship between these two is the basis of the "diatonic" scale of Western music, as well as East Asian music, but not of Middle Eastern (well, not quite).
The third note, between the tonic and fifth, is the major (in this case) or minor third. It establishes a major or minor tonality. A heavy metal "power chord" is missing this tone. Some cool traditional Irish music alternates this note, to fluctuate between major and minor tonality - actually mixolydian (the almost-major tonality of the bagpipes) and dorian (the almost-minor tonality of many spine-tingly Irish ballads and sea-chanties, like "What shall we do with a Drunken Sailor?", as well as "Kiss from a Rose", which is why it sounds spine-tingly).
That explanation wasn't very cogent, but this is definitely a significant example of 3! One might almost say that 3 is the fundamental requirement for context: 3 coordinates to define a point in real space, 3 notes to define a key.
I hope you don't want to shoot me and Dumézil (did that diacritic work?) now. I DO think it's possible to get way too hung up on the number 3!
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