I am totally digging this back and forth posting we’ve got going here. The drama is intense. Practically a soap opera. I sense an appearance from Susan Lucci.
I do feel a little like yesterday’s Martin Monday post was a bit of a gimme so I need to do a real Martin Monday, just 1 day late. Yesterday, January 25, was Robert Burns Night, and I think that worthy of a post.
Who is Robert Burns? Why excellent question dear readers. He was a proto-Romantic Scottish poet and song lyricist from the second half of the 18th century. He’s famous for things like “Auld Lang Syne”, “Address to a Haggis”, and “Tam O’Shanter”. A cultural icon for those of Scots lineage the world over. Pretty much Scotland’s greatest historical figure, eclipsing even William Wallace.
And as Francis and I are fond of saying, “if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap” (nod to Mike Myers). While Francis and Robert are of primarily English descent, ol’ Martin here can claim some Scots heritage. I like to tell the fellas that I had ancestors who fought in the Battle of Culloden at the end of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1746 and they got kicked out of Scotland and exiled to the New World, and we’ve been causing trouble ever since.
Every year on Burns Night, Scots all across the globe gather to have a Burns supper, consisting of Burns poetry readings, pipes, and a meal of haggis. A haggis, for those not in the know, is a steamed sheep’s stomach stuffed with organ meat and oats. I think we can all agree that steak has to be much more appetizing.
I think Francis already linked to our bad food ideas hoopajoob, in which we did discuss haggis just a bit. Give it a listen. Since I don’t want to repeat a Francis link, let’s link to the episode on my hero P. J. O’Rourke. Jump from a rather randy Scots poet to my favorite Gonzo Journalist.
