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Journey to the West
Monkey or Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century. It is one of the four novels that form the core of Chinese classical literature.
If you haven't read Monkey, or seen the infamous 01970s cult TV series: Monkey Magic, it is very episodic and you can feel how a traditional oral story can easily be converted to a TV show. There is a definite beginning and end, but the number of adventures in-between can easily be compartmentalized to fit the time available.
It is one of the books on the shelf we've come back to time and time again.
Red Pistachios
If you were born after 01985, you probably have never experienced red pistachios. For some reason, these are inexplicably linked to Christmas time for us. Probably that’s when they were marketed alongside the red poinsettias.
Without the red dye, the natural color of pistachios includes a green skin and a light beige shell. The red ones were dyed in an attempt to hide blemishes from the picking process. After around 01985, picking was automated and therefore fewer hands interacted with the nuts and no dye was used because there were no blemishes.
Red pistachios are now an anachronism to a different era.
Viva Magenta: Pantone Color of 02023
Welcome to the "Magentaverse". Viva Magenta is the chosen Pantone color of the year for 02023. It is inspired by the red of cochineal, an insect ground into a natural dye used in foodstuffs and cosmetics today.
It takes 25,000 live insects or 70,000 dried ones to make around 450 grams or one pound of dye.
A Taste of the Ancient World
Sally Grainger is a Food Historian. She has several books about cooking in the Ancient World. She also has a YouTube channel where she demonstrates how to cooks Roman Dishes.
One recipe for Parthian Chicken calls for Silphion, which we mentioned in our s01e11 newsletter. Instead, she substitutes asafoetida, which is the latex extruded from the roots of some herbs in the celery family; you can see in its crystallized form.
https://www.atasteoftheancientworld.co.uk/episode-6-pullum-parthicum/
Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games
If you're at all interested in video games, this YouTube channel is a great place to learn some tips from a master.
Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series.
Every few days, he releases a short video focusing on a single game design or development topic.