August 21, 2012: The Curious Case of the Unapproved Comment! News of Note! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Sunday!

Don’t you just hate it?  You write up a comment and hit “post” only to be informed your comment is awaiting moderation.  Now, provided you weren’t rude or disrespectful (or redirected to the spam bin) your comment will eventually appear.  But sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, you’ll comment, hit “post”, be informed your content is awaiting moderation – and your comment will remain in moderation. You may initially assume it is because the moderator hasn’t had the opportunity to get around to it, but when your comment remains in moderation for over forty-eight hours while other comments are being approved, then have to wonder “What’s up?”.

I’m asking myself that today after posting a comment on a recent article on Time.com.  The story was sent my way via blog regular baterista9.  Intrigued by the title:, “Gastocrats Beware: Luxury Foods Aren’t Worth It”, I clicked on the link expecting an expose, perhaps a surprising truth concerning a luxury food item I’ve long taken for granted like olive oil (Italian extra virgin olive oil is valuable. That’s why is so often faked) or Kobe beef (Fake Food: That’s Not Kobe Beef You’re Eating : NPR).  Instead, the article offered little in the way of insight outside of the author’s personal opinion.  Why aren’t luxury foods worth it?  Because Josh Ozersky feels that way.

Disappointed, I left a comment.  That has been sitting in moderation since last week.  Rather than allow it to perish in obscurity, I thought I’d just post it here instead.

Here is the link to the article: http://ideas.time.com/2012/08/15/are-luxury-foods-worth-it/ (Thanks, Gilder).

And my response:

I’m sorry.  What was the point of this article?  It’s titled “Luxury Foods Aren’t Worth It” so I was expecting the writer to make this point somewhere over the course of this meandering piece.

“Is it worth it?”he asks in the opening paragraph, and immediately answer: “almost never, for almost all of us.”  Great.  So this take is based on what?  Well, according Mr. Ozersky: “The marketing angle is simple enough to grasp: scarcity is what makes certain things valuable, even if they aren’t that good.  One need only look as far as shark’s fin soup, blowfish or off-year truffles for evidence of that.”

That’s your evidence?  Your opinion that shark’s fin soup and blowfish aren’t that good?  Many of my Chinese and Japanese friends would offer a very different opinion on the relative worth of shark’s fin soup and blowfish, both of which are enjoyed, not due to their scarcity (as Mr. Ozersky would have us believe) but, in large part, due to their texture and place in local food culture.

After touching on a singular case of gastronomic excessive, what he terms the $666 douche burger, he moves on to sushi, making the case that not one of a hundred diners would feel let down by a good piece of sushi purportedly made by a sushi master.  Not only would they not know, but more likely they would close their eyes ” and sigh and kvell and call it some version of orgasmic”.  Really?  And this is because…? They’re idiots, easily duped?  That seems to be the gist of his argument.

After veering off into a discussion on the merits of sushi knives, our author returns to the subject at hand: luxury foods.  He cites the case of a wine purveyor who relabeled a wine in the belief that most of his customers wouldn’t notice.  Sadly for him, and for our author, 100 out of 100 customers DIDN’T notice.

Which I think is the point Mr. Ozersky glosses over.  Just because a lot of people don’t appreciate shark’s fin soup or fugu or can’t tell the difference between a 1983 Haut-Brion and a 1982 Haut-Brion, doesn’t mean others don’t genuinely appreciate them, or can tell the difference between the 1982 and 1983 , or a good piece of sushi and a great piece of sushi.

By the way, Chefs in California aren’t giving away foie gras because it’s expected of luxury restaurants.  They’re giving it away because they’re prohibited from selling it and the demand still exists.

Finally, the author concludes with the (sarcastic) call for a required tasting exam in instances where a luxury item is ordered.   Why?  So that “fat cats ordering rare and wonderful things with no more pleasure, and no more appreciation, than a toddler slurping on Yoo-Hoo.”

Tell you what, Mr. Ozersky.  I’ll promise to genuinely appreciate and enjoy my foie gras and bluefin toro sashimi with a minimum of slurping if you show similar restraint eating your perfectly acceptable dinner.

Which brings us back to whole point of this article: Are luxury foods worth it?  Well, as far as Mr. Ozersky is concerned, no.  And that’s about all I learned from reading this article.”

Shamed dogs…

More here: http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2012/08/21/20-bad-dogs-being-shamed-with-signs/ and here: Dog Shaming

Oh, I know they’ve wrapped, but I couldn’t resist just one more Olympic-related article: 5 Things They Don’t Want You to Know About the Olympics

Sometimes, you just can’t catch a break: Driver swerves to avoid moose, hits bear instead

Awesome -

Damn.  I’ve got to start practicing if I’m going to be ready for this weekend’s Cos and Effect (Cos & Effect):

I’ll save you the trouble.  Don’t bother.  There’s no video.  Two Ontario seniors involved in world’s creakiest fistfight

Continuing our trip down SGA memory lane with the controversial…

SUNDAY (317)

Martin Gero had wanted to tell an atypical story for quite a while. Essentially, it would be an episode that spotlighted our character during their off-hours.  No off-world missions.  No threat to Atlantis. Just a series of slice-of-life vignettes.  But Executive Producer pointed out that, as interesting as such a story might be to hardcore viewers, the general audience would be bored to tears.  Martin needed to find a way to tell his story within the parameters of the established SGA template.  And, after significant consideration, the writers came up with a solution.

Like most any episode some things worked for me (the non-linear narrative, David Helwett’s performance, the shocking turn) while others did not (the mysterious Mike Branton who disappears after this episode never to be mentioned again, explosive tumors).  Still, as sad as I was to see Beckett (and the terrific Paul McGillion go), I thought this was a great episode that effectively delivered on the initial premise Marty G. had envisioned – a peek at our all-too human heroes and the uncertainty of life.

The plan was to give the character of Dr. Cole a more prominent role on Atlantis moving forward but, when this proved unfeasible, the search was on for a new CMO.

Unlike some fans, I never read the final McKay/Beckett scene as an indication that Carson had ascended and I’m quite certain that wasn’t the intent.  Nevertheless, the discussion and Carson’s fade away ranks right up there with ascended Daniel’s goodbye and walk through the gate as one of the most emotionally devastating moments in Stargate history.

Hmmmm.  I think I’ve got an idea for our next poll.

Tagged: Atlantis, food, Gastrocrats Beware: Luxury Foods Aren't Worth It, luxury foods, science fiction, scifi television, SF, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, Time.com