Spirited Day

Today is National Brandied Fruit Day! Brandied fruit is a mainly European treat for the autumnal and winter..al holidays. It's fruit kept in brandy for around 3 weeks, giving time for the fruit to absorb the brandy and take on it's flavor. The nice lady at the store told me that brandy is sweeter, and would thusly make a good addition to fruit. However, they also had no brandied fruit, because it's mainly used for holidays such as christmas. So instead, I bought some "Spirited Peaches", which were in an almond liquor. I chopped them up finely... TOO finely, actually. It turned into somewhat of a jam rather than actual peaches. Unhindered by my mistakes, I bravely carried on and put them in crispy, little sweetbread cups and topped it with crumbled almond cinnamon cookies. Turned out pretty good, although I do think it would have been better had I not obliterated the peaches as much as I did. Probably shouldn't have used a food processor, but... live and learn.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Painful or Fruity

Today is National Punch Day! I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm not quite sure whether or not we're talking fruity concoctions or mean interactions here. From what I've researched, it looks like the day is leaning towards being about the drink, but I won't hold it against you if you go around punching people. They might, and the state officials might, but I won't hold a grudge.

As it turns out, "Punch" comes from the Hindustani word "Pench", which means 'five'. And since the punch was made with five ingredients, they called it after how many ingredients are in it. I'm really glad we don't do that with everything, or our restaurant menus would be a lot less fun to read.

However, I can't say all that without also pointing out that a fist is made of five fingers, so physically punching wouldn't technically be a wrong way to celebrate. ... Just sayin'

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Radio is Retro

Today is National Radio Day! Radios were invented in the 1800's, and before Video went on a killing spree of many radio stars, it was very popular. Now it is reduced to cars and lobby music. Even then, that's only true if you don't just want to listen to your mp3 player or CD's. I think I'll celebrate radio day by listening to Pandora Radio. Mainly because I hate radio commercials. They try so hard to get the feel of what they're selling out to you that it hurts. Granted, they have to because they can't express it with facial expressions or leaping gestures, but still: tone it down, guys. I also hate talk radio. There's just no way to listen to it and be happy after you're done. So instead, I'll just listen to my Pomplamoose station and eat some pizza. Pizza has nothing to do with National Radio Day... it's just good.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Ain't Got No Alibi

Today is Ugly Truck Day! Since I am a denizen of the southern states, I see more than my fair share of ugly trucks. The thing about ugly trucks is that they are gorgeous to their owners. Every dent, stain, scratch, hole, and animal on or in the truck is another tale of a small adventure they had out on (or off) the road. In fact, some truck owners claim to have taken their truck straight from the dealership into a field to see just how off road it could go. Trucks are, after all, known for being the tough long-lasting automobiles that stay with you as long as you can keep it running. Truck owners are more likely to own dogs since they are the more loyal pet.* That doesn't necessarily mean the the truck owner is loyal, but just that that is what they appreciate in their autos, pets, and most likely their significant others, too. That's why a lot of country songs are written about somebody the singer loved leaving them.**

* This statement may not be true, but could totally be.
** Ditto

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Frosted Mug

Today is Ice Cream Soda Day! More known to me as a "Float", Ice Cream Sodas have been around for just about as long as ice cream and soda. This month has been filled with holidays geared towards ways to cool down in the summer (this being the third ice cream centric day), but today is arguably the most delicious. In my mind, there is nothing like a cold root beer with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. That says summer. Root beer just willingly lends itself to the flavour that vanilla brings. I can't even write about it without wanting one. I don't have root beer OR vanilla ice cream on me right now, either, so I have to go find some pretty much immediately. So bye.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

'Enry 'Iggins

Today is Eliza Doolittle Day! When I saw this on my list, I KNEW it rang a bell, but googling the name didn't really help until I used the context of the day. Eliza Doolittle is Audrey Hepburn's character from the film "My Fair Lady" (Which you should go watch if you haven't ever seen it). There is a scene in this film in which Eliza becomes so enraged with her mentor that she sings a very catchy song about getting revenge on him, and in her fantasy, the king proclaims the 20th of May to be Eliza Doolittle Day.

The obvious way to celebrate this holiday, is to get revenge on your least favourite mentor practice english. Or you could eat a lot of chocolates and watch "My Fair Lady". Audrey would surely approve.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Easy Day for Twins.

Today is Lookalike Day! Today is a day to go out and find people who look like you! Whether it be that one rival school who seems to suspiciously have doubles of everyone in your class, or a celebrity look a like. I'm told that my celebrity lookalike is Jackson Rathbone, but frankly, I dunno if I see it. If you don't know who he is, He played Sokka in The Last Airbender and Jeremy in S. Darko. Those were the only movies I've seen him in. He may or may not have been in another series of movies. Alright it was Twilight. That's when it all started. Friends of mine went to see Twilight and came back with tales of how much I looked like Jasper. So really, more of a Jasper than a Jackson Rathbone. Cool last name by the way. It reminds me of Bonesaw from Spiderman. Booooooooooonesaaaaaaaaaaaw iiiiis reeeeeeady!!!! ... Sorry.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Down on one tentacle

Today is Proposal Day! It is a day to propose. Plain and simple. Maybe your boyfriend of 17 years has been dragging his feet slightly, you could drop a hint or two today. If you are a male and are planning to propose to the point that you have the ring with you at all times and you are just waiting for the perfect moment, then look VERY hard for an opportunity today in the spirit of the holiday. And I mean come on, what are you waiting for an engraved invitation? How many hints must she drop?

It could also just be a day to propose ideas or activities. It's literally as easy as putting the word 'propose' into the sentence. EX: [Before] "Let's go to a tour of a Wisconsin cheese factory" [After] "I propose we take a tour of a Wisconsin cheese factory". One of my favourite kinds of these proposals was the much prolonged (on purpose in a sense) proposal on The Office.

Today is also The Festival of Extraterrestrial Abductions! I know. Kind of a mood-wrecker. These holidays really don't mesh and it's going to kill me when I try to come up with a semi-witty title for this post that deals with both. Anyways, this is or was a festival where people would gather and celebrate(?) the fact that they had either been abducted or really wanted to be abducted. They make tin foil hats and statues and sell all sorts of things that I'm sure you could also find at places like A'Le'Inn. You can celebrate by wondering if the "Supermoon" was actually an alien mother-ship that may have abducted the people who will think they "missed out on seeing it."

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Hoodie wha?

Today is Hoodie Hoo Day. A holiday I pretty much had to research, for reasons I am hoping are obvious unless I'm just the only one who thinks that those words together or separate make no sense. Today is a day that celebrators of Hoodie Hoo Day will step out of whatever building they are in at noon, brandish their hands above their head, and yell "HOODIE HOO!" in an effort to scare winter away. I'm assuming this holiday was made in the north, because here in the south, there really isn't much need to scare winter away. It comes late and leaves early. However, I will go outside in about 30 minutes or so to take part in what I can only assume is a grand tradition passed down generations of meteorologists. Better do some stretching first if I'm gonna do any real winter scaring.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

A Better Crunch

I had no idea what buttercrunch was until today, and I owe that to National Buttercrunch Day. I went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (an awesome chocolate place incase you were unaware of it) and asked them if they had any. Of course they said they did because they have almost every chocolate ever. (Godiva doesn't have buttercrunch OR vanilla truffles) All that aside, Buttercrunch is delicious. I bought two different kinds: one with nuts and one without. Both are delicious. I was at first afraid that it would be almost painful to bite like SOME toffee-esque things are, but it snaps pretty easily and doesn't stick to your teeth or any nonsense like that. So, go out and get some buttercrunch at your favourite chocolate shop. If you are lucky enough to live near a Thornton's then you should go there. I don't even know if they have buttercrunch, but they are just way too good either way. Here's a picture of my buttercrunch to give you an idea of what you should look for if you don't already know.

Delicious

Thanks for reading!

~Kyle