Just when you think you've seen every celebration, festival or gathering-of-the-minds, somebody comes up with a new one. In this case, it's a new twist on an old one. Popular belief says that some 3,500 years ago, a traveler in Asia set out on a long journey across the desert. He would have carried some sort of liquid with him, likely a pouch or "canteen" of milk to quench the thirst brought on by the desert heat. In those day, water/milk pouches were made from the water-proof linings of a sheep's stomach. Legend goes that when the man stopped for the night, he found his milk had turned to a solid white mass. The discovery of cheese. Some of the sheep's digestive juices had probably dried in the stomach, and remained there to interact with the milk during the journey. And beginning Aug. 23, 2009 there will be the 1st annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, to celebrate the curdled wonder. Suddenly, I'm hearing Monty Python's version of The Sermon-On-The-Mount: "Blessed are the cheesemakers." Anyway, this concept was brought to fruition by The Vermont Institute For Artisan Cheese, The Vermont Butter And Cheese Company, and The Vermont Cheese Council. The fact that there are 3 such institutions in Vermont, with employees and luminaries and magnates, tells me there must be a shortage of Cable TV in Vermont! But that's not for me to judge, and the locals are excited about tourism prospects for the region. The festival will be held at Shelburne Farms, near Burlington, where more than 100 cheeses will be available for tasting, performing seminars and cooking demonstrations, and probably sitting on plates with little toothpicks sticking in them, aiming skyward. Visitors to Vermont can also check out the state's Cheese Trail, with close to 30 farms where you can meet cheesemakers, see their animals, and watch how cheese is made. It all sounds so GOUDA, my SHARP readers will probably buy tickets immediately, to avoid being BLEU later. Rumors that comedian Ray ROMANO will pop out of a local COTTAGE, dressed as Herman MUENSTER, remain unconfirmed.
Joan Rivers? Meet Abe Lincoln (and friends!)
Washington. Roosevelt. Lincoln. Jefferson. Scientists from California and Scotland will soon be descending on Mount Rushmore, to do laser treatments on the iconic monument. They're not really performing "surgery" but instead are mapping the entire structure from various angles, in 3-dimensions. This is so that archaeologists and engineers could do an Extreme Makeover and restoration, should there ever be damage from erosion, earthquake or other external force. Long-term, they would also like to explore the possibility of using the 3-D image of Mount Rushmore in one of the visitor center theaters, to help educate children in an entertaining way, about the history of the famous monument. It might also explain to the kids why they are spending their Summer vacation in South Dakota, while their friends and schoolmates are at the beach, Disney World, or on a cruise. Just lucky, I guess....
HEADLINE: Technology Still Cannot Trump Ignorance!
Italian Officials say a Swedish couple was on vacation there last week, and were searching for the pristine waters of the popular island of Capri. Here's a thought: rent a sailboat! Instead, the couple decided to use the GPS unit that was conveniently-installed in their rental car. Unfortunately, the husband or wife (who refused to be identified) accidentally typed in the word Carpi instead of Capri. This took them on an exciting journey, approximately 400 miles off-course, to the Northern industrial town of Carpi, near Modena Italy. Angelo Giovannini, a spokesman for Carpi's Town Hall, said the couple drove into the main square, and asked the local tourist office how to reach Capri's famed Blue Grotto sea cave. Giovannini said "we thought maybe they meant a restaurant by that name, although we have no such restaurant here in Carpi. We explained that "Capri" is an island off the coast, but they didn't even question why they never had to cross a bridge, or transfer to a boat." Sounds like a couple of Swedish Meatballs to me.
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