Here's looking at you, kid

I sat down with very good and very strong intentions: I would update my blog. Hurrah! But then the TV in front of me was so blank turned off - it was unnatural. It couldn't hurt to turn it on - a little background noise is soothing. Then there was the channel surfing - and lo, Casablanca is featured on TCM. I can't miss that, and neither should you. The following are a few of my favorite quotes.

"I remember Paris perfectly. The Germans wore grey, you wore blue."
- Rick Blaine, Casablanca

Rick: I congratulate you.
Victor: What for?
Rick: Your work.
Victor: I try.
Rick: We all try. You succeed.

"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world she had to walk into mine."
- Rick

"Welcome back to the fight."
- Lazlo, Casablanca

"Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects."
- Capt. Renault, Casablanca

"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
- Rick, Casablanca

White Day

Dear All,
First of all, happy (belated) Valentines day! I should get around to posting those Valentine’s cards sometime around Easter (I rather shamefully admit that I only got around to actually posting some Christmas ‘thank you’s as late as last week. It is a long process from the writing (late December), sealing and addressing (early January), and stamping (early February) to the physical post box delivery (February 13th, 4:58pm) I am pathetic – I know this).
So the cards – if ever posted – will be typically late. But tardiness can be a virtue, no? Think of it as extending the Valentine’s Day celebrations (only the nice bits though - ie: candy and cards made of doilies – not the depressing parts marked by the absence thereof). And actually, I would be right on the proper time frame if we all lived in Japan!

Which brings me to the topic of White Day. (And I apologize if I have already cornered you and lectured on this topic) I learned about White Day while researching the history of Valentines Day during class (hurrah for Wikipedia – without which I might know more about Contracts and Torts but would be entirely clueless about the origin of the “It” Girl). But to return to White Day - In Japan women usually give men chocolate and gifts on Valentine’s Day. A whole other holiday (White Day) developed a month later (March 14th) in which men return the favor with white gifts (marshmallows, white chocolate and the ever-popular lingerie). I’m all for holidays (even such artificial holidays as Valentines Day) and all for chocolate and candies (even such artificial chocolate-creations like white chocolate) so I think that the Japanese and Koreans have a good idea here. The crazy thing is that this billion dollar holiday was promulgated by the…wait for it…MARSHMALLOW industry. Isn’t that crazy? I mean, who ever would expect the marshmallow-makers of the world to wield such influence? They are so…fluffy.
But, perhaps this girl-scout s’more friendly industry with its soft, powdery products is only a façade for a true holiday hegemony. Sort of in the same way the fashion industry is allegedly the puppet master behind all the great world conflicts.(See Zoolander). On reflection, marshmallows do seem to have quite the monopoly over holidays. With the exception of holiday colored M&Ms I can’t think of any other confection that has carved such an essential niche in such a breadth of holiday celebrations. What would Easter be without peeps? And Thanksgiving and family harmony (sometimes fraying at the edges during times of family togetherness) might just unravel without Mom’s sweet potatoes (which, as you know depends on those little marshmallows). What would winter be without marshmallows in the hot chocolate and autumn camp-fires without s’mores? I am sure that there more – the truth is out there. So, the question remains – Marshmallows: tyrant of modern holiday world or benign victim of childish microwave experimentation?