As the new school-year's rose fingers touch the sky I have the luxury of indulging my latest students with a myriad of approaches. Today, a student wearing a necklace dangling a large alligator's tooth shared not only this decoration with me, but also that he or she had been told that this tooth could be considered a weapon. Upon being asked by this young student if this was true I immediately launched into a Harry Potter explanation, an explanation that hopefully answered itself.
"Such a tooth can be considered a weapon, particularly if this tooth has been infused with the blood of a basilisk and you are attempting to destroy a diary written by Tom Riddle, or any other Horcrux. Other than that, I do not perceive this lone gator tooth as dangerous or threatening in any way. Thank you for asking."
Please advise me if I have led this student astray. A representative from the orthodontic lobby is pestering me as I write!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Butterbeer: Fact or Fiction?
Is butterbeer simply a delicious invention of the imagination of Ms. Rowling, or is it a beverage to be found in history? It so happens that currently I am reading "Imbibe!" - a history of the cocktail in America during the 19th century. Lo and behold! Here is what I discovered quite accidentally in the section for Hot Spiced or Buttered Rum:
"The addition of butter to hot drinks goes back at least to the days of Henry VIII, when we find one Andrew Boorde recommending buttered beer or ale as a remedy for hoarseness. By Samuel Pepys's day, buttered ale, with sugar and cinnamon, had made the transition from medicinal drink to recreational one." (page 163)
I have never had a warm, let alone a hot, beer, and I don't intend to soon, but I must admit that the possibility is somewhat intriguing with the addition of such sweetness and spice. Also, having never had a Butterbeer from Harry Potter World (which is not a hot drink, nor alcoholic), I cannot compare this current interpretation with the imagined flavors on my mind's palate. I suppose I will eventually persuade some fellow adult Potter Heads to make this leap with me at some future gathering that involves lowered standards and unchained judgement. I will certainly let you know!
"The addition of butter to hot drinks goes back at least to the days of Henry VIII, when we find one Andrew Boorde recommending buttered beer or ale as a remedy for hoarseness. By Samuel Pepys's day, buttered ale, with sugar and cinnamon, had made the transition from medicinal drink to recreational one." (page 163)
I have never had a warm, let alone a hot, beer, and I don't intend to soon, but I must admit that the possibility is somewhat intriguing with the addition of such sweetness and spice. Also, having never had a Butterbeer from Harry Potter World (which is not a hot drink, nor alcoholic), I cannot compare this current interpretation with the imagined flavors on my mind's palate. I suppose I will eventually persuade some fellow adult Potter Heads to make this leap with me at some future gathering that involves lowered standards and unchained judgement. I will certainly let you know!
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