Fussy Eaters

One of Wosog's favourite TV programmes is "I'm a Celebrity! Get Me Out of Here!". For those not familiar with it, the idea of the programme is that a small number of so-called celebrities are placed in jungle conditions in Australia for around 2 weeks. The objective is to see how they respond to the privations of jungle life, including the consumption of various bizarre foods. These include things like kangaroo testicles as well as live insects and grubs. As you can imagine, many of the people prepared to endure this treatment are not individuals whose careers are heading for the stratosphere. A lot of them are folk who you have almost forgotten about, like ex-stars of soap operas etc. I wouldn't say I am a fussy eater but the texture of certain things definitely "turns my stomach". I can't imagine ever being desperate enough that I would consider consuming a live widgety grub on or off TV!

The video above was found on a site called Uglyfood.com, which, sadly, doesn't seem to have been updated since October last year. Although I've tasted frog's legs---and they do taste like chicken---the idea of eating a still-beating raw frog's heart fills me with revulsion! Without Uglyfood.com I wouldn't know about Vietnamese duck blood soup or boiled duck embryo from Cambodia.

But, then again, maybe I'd be better off not knowing!

Celebrity Beliefs

There can be few Internet enthusiasts who have not seen or at least heard of the infamous video showing Tom Cruise talking about his belief in the Church of Scientology. I must confess I haven't been able to watch it all the way through because I am pathologically impatient and have little tolerance of someone who uses hundreds of words to say very little. This is especially true if the "very little" makes no sense at all. Cruise has been mocked to varying degrees for his beliefs for a number of years, but this video seems to have stimulated a frenzy of criticism and numerous parodies including:



and



This article in Gawker describes how various Internet-based groups are mounting a concerted opposition to the Church of Scientology, which most of its opponents would describe as a dangerous cult. I can't say I have a detailed knowledge of the subject, but it does seem a somewhat sinister organisation and I would not like my family to have anything to do with it.

In the interests of balance, and just to show that I have reservations about forms of religion other than Scientology, I present to you this quotation from Richard Gere, who I believe is a Buddhist:

"I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe, and someone said I was a snake, I'd think, no, actually I'm a giraffe."

I rest my case.