7 January: Tempura

Today is National Tempura Day. 10 things you might not know about tempura:

1. Tempura is a Japanese dish in which seafood or vegetables are coated in batter and deep fried.

2. It didn’t entirely originate in Japan. Tempura’s origins are actually in Portugal. The Portuguese had a dish called peixinhos da horta, which translates as “little fish of the garden”. This was green beans deep fired in batter and was a staple dish in Portugal during Lent when meat was off the menu. Portuguese traders and missionaries brought it with them to Japan.

3. In fact, the word tempura might have come from the Latin, quator anni tempora or ad tempora cuaresme, referring to Ember Days or Lent. Although an alternative theory suggests the origin of the word was tempêro, which is Portuguese for seasoning.

4. When the Portuguese left Japan, the Japanese took the recipe and made it their own. They made it with seafood and other vegetables as well as green beans. Meat other than seafood isn’t usually used because it’s too heavy. Some Western-Japanese fusion dishes may use other meats but they cook it differently.

5. The batter used in tempura is traditionally made of Wheat flour, Egg, and Water. The idea is that the flavour is whatever is inside it, so it’s usually not seasoned, except perhaps with a little Salt.

6. The batter is meant to be light and crispy, which is achieved by adding a little baking powder or using sparkling water. Keeping the batter cold until it goes into the frying pan keeps it crispy. It slows the development of gluten, which would make it heavier.

7. Tempura was traditionally cooked using sesame oil, although today, vegetable oil or canola oil are most often used.

8. Traditionally, the batter is mixed in small batches using chopsticks. In between batches, the bits of batter left behind in the oil are scooped out with a small mesh scoop so they won’t burn and leave a bad taste in the oil. These bits are called tenkasu, and will be used as ingredients in other dishes or as a topping.

9. Tempura is served either salted or with dipping sauces.

10. Tempura desserts are a thing in some experimental cuisines, where it’s possible to get tempura Ice cream and tempura Chocolate.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

6 January: Artemis

The sixth day of each month is sacred to the goddess Artemis. Ten facts about her:

1. She is the Greek goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation, chastity and childbirth.

2. She is said to embody wild nature, and would dance in the forests with her entourage of nymphs.

3. Her Roman equivalent is Diana.

4. Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, who was born the day after her.

5. She is usually pictured wearing a knee length tunic and accompanied by various animals such as stags, bears or hunting dogs. As she is the goddess of fishing as well as hunting, she’s sometimes shown holding a fishing spear.

6. Artemis was a virgin who resisted the attentions of many men, and it was only Orion, a fellow hunter, who stole her heart. His mistake was boasting that he could kill every animal on Earth which mightily peed off Gaia, goddess of the Earth, who sent a Scorpion to kill him. It was Artemis who turned him into a constellation after his death.

7. Adonis’s boasts that he was a better hunter than Artemis didn’t go down so well with her, though. She sent a wild boar to kill him for that, although according to some myths, he was killed as revenge for the killing of Hippolytus.

8. Another man who peed her off was Agamemnon, because he killed a Deer in her sacred grove. One punishment was that Artemis halted the ocean winds so Agamemnon’s fleet was becalmed. It’s also said that Artemis demanded the sacrifice of his young daughter, Iphigenia. Which seems at odds with her role as protector of children and young things. However, the story goes that when Iphigenia was brought to the altar to be sacrificed, Artemis stepped in and took her, replacing her with a deer. It’s not known what happened to Iphigenia after that, but some myths claim she became a companion of Artemis.

9. She was a very popular goddess, especially in rural areas, where she was especially venerated in the spring.

10. The ancient Spartans used to sacrifice to her as one of their patron goddesses before starting a new military campaign.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

5 January: Saint Simon Stylites

Today is the feast day of St Simeon Stylites. Here are 10 facts about him.

1. So, what is this saint famous for? Basically, for spending 36 years living on a small platform on top of a pillar in Syria.

2. His name comes from the Greek word for pillar, “Style”.

3. Western Christians celebrate his feast today but he has other feast days, too: 1 September in the Eastern Orthodox Church, 27 July in the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Monday after second Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross in the Armenian Apostolic Church, and in the Coptic Orthodox church which uses a different calendar, 29 Pashons.

4. He was born in a town called Sis, which was in what is now Turkey. His father was a shepherd.

5. He entered a monastery as a teenager and immediately took on himself a regime of austerity that was too extreme even for the monks, so they threw him out. He then went to live in a hut. He stayed there about 18 months. It was here that he started to gain a following after not eating or drinking for the whole of Lent. This was hailed as a miracle.

6. Then he sought out an even smaller space on what is now the Sheik Barakat Mountain, just 20 metres in diameter. He wanted to dedicate his life to prayer and devotion but was constantly interrupted by people asking his advice or wanting him to pray for them. It was to escape these constant interruptions that he started living on a series of pillars. They got higher and higher off the ground until his last one, which was 15 metres/50 feet off the ground.

7. He got his food from small boys from the village who would climb up the pillar and give him flat breads and goats’ milk.

8. Even so, he wasn’t entirely isolated. People would still come from miles around to see him and some would climb up on ladders in order to talk to him. Sometimes he would preach sermons to the crowds below. He wrote letters, too, some of which survive to this day.

9. He died on 2 September 459; his body was found bent in prayer. He was buried near his pillar. A number of other extremely austere Christians copied him, including at least two more called Simon.

10. A large church was built in his honour, around the site where his pillar stood. The base of the style or column on which Simeon stood in in the centre of four basilicas built from an octagonal court towards the four points of the compass, forming a cross. The building was called the Qalaat Semaan ("the Fortress of Simeon") and the ruins are still there, although it’s said to have been hit by a Russian missile in 2016.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

4 January: Bagpipes

In the song Twelve Days of Christmas, today is represented by 11 pipers piping. So here are ten facts about bagpipes.

1. Bagpipes weren’t invented in Scotland. Nobody knows where they originated. According to The Oxford History of Music, a sculpture featuring bagpipes was found on a Hittite slab at Euyuk in Anatolia, dated to 1000 BC.

2. They were played in Ancient Egypt and Rome. There’s evidence that the Emperor Nero played an instrument very similar to bagpipes. It’s possible he played bagpipes, rather than a fiddle, as Rome burned. It was through the Romans that bagpipes arrived in Scotland. The Scottish people added an extra pipe to create the instrument we know today.

3. Early bagpipes were made from the entire skin of an animal, usually a Sheep, with the pipes placed where the legs and neck would be. These days, bagpipes are usually made with artificial fabric such as Goretex.

4. In Gaelic, 'bagpipe' translates into P'iob mho'r, literally meaning 'big pipe'.

5. In the 1400s they were used during battles, to signal to troops or possibly scare off the enemy. Bagpipes are the only musical instrument in history known to have been used as a weapon of war. That came to an end in 1915 when they were banned during battles in the first world war, after 3,000 pipers were killed going over the top of the trenches.

6. They have been banned twice in Scotland, once in 1560 and then in 1746. Possessing a set of bagpipes in those days could get you in serious trouble. At the battle of Culloden, a Scottish Jacobite piper called James Reid was captured and hung by British authorities for being in possession of the instrument.

7. Queen Elizabeth II was a big fan of bagpipes and would be woken each morning by her personal piper who would play outside her window. Prince Philip, however, hated the instrument.

8. Bagpipes have been played in space. In 2015, astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren played Amazing Grace on bagpipes on board the International Space Station in tribute to late research scientist Victor Hurst.

9. The 10th of March is International Bagpipe Day.

10. There are more pipe bands in the US than there are in Scotland.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

3 January: Sergio Leone

Born on this date in 1929 was Sergio Leone, Italian film director, producer and screenwriter associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was born in Rome, and was the son of a director (Roberto Roberti, A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone) and an actress (Bice Valerian).

2. He went to university to study law, but dropped out in favour of a career in the film industry.

3. The first film he worked on was Bicycle Thieves in 1948, as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica. In 1959, director Mario Bonnard fell ill during the production of The Last Days of Pompeii and Leone was asked to step in and complete the film.

4. From 1964 he frequently worked with composer Ennio Morricone. The two were classmates at school.

5. He would ask Morricone to compose the music before filming started, so the Music could be played to the actors to help enhance their performance.

6. Leone couldn’t speak English and always relied on a translator when talking to American actors. He was, however, fluent in French and if an actor could speak French they could communicate in that language.

7. He almost directed Flash Gordon (1980), being a fan of the comic strip, but turned it down because the script wasn’t faithful to the comic. He was also in the running to direct The Godfather but turned that down as well because he was already working on a gangster story.

8. His favourite actor was Henry Fonda. Fonda was offered a role in every one of Leone's early Westerns. They worked together finally in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Fonda would later say this was his favourite role.

9. His final film was Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

10. He died at the age of 60 from a heart attack.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

2 January: Science Fiction

Today is National Science Fiction Day. Here are 10 quotes about the genre:

1. Science fiction is no more written for scientists that ghost stories are written for ghosts. Brian Aldiss

2. Science fiction encourages us to explore... all the futures, good and bad, that the human mind can envision. Marion Zimmer Bradley

3. Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact. Marie Lu Warcross

4. Science fiction is something that could happen – but usually you wouldn't want it to. Fantasy is something that couldn't happen – though often you only wish that it could. Arthur C. Clarke

5. If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others. Philip K. Dick

6. Here's a quick rule of thumb" Don't annoy science fiction writers. These are people who destroy entire planets before lunch. Think of what they'll do to you. John Scalzi

7. Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century. J. G. Ballard

8. Joy is the essential and final ingredient of science fiction, the joy of discovery of newness. Philip K. Dick

9. Science fiction frees you to go anyplace and examine anything. Octavia E. Butler

10. Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle science fiction. Gene Wolfe

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

1 January: J Edgar Hoover Quotes

J Edgar Hoover was born on this date in 1895. Here are 10 things that he said:

1. When morals decline and good men do nothing, evil flourishes.

2. The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation... The efforts of all law enforcement agencies with the support and understanding of the American people.

3. A society unwilling to learn from past is doomed. We must never forget our history.

4. No amount of law enforcement can solve a problem that goes back to the family.

5. Truth-telling, I have found, is the key to responsible citizenship. The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar.

6. There is something addictive about secrets.

7. We (the FBI) are a fact-gathering organisation only. We don't clear anybody. We don't condemn anybody.

8. I don't need to tell you that, what determines a man's legacy is often what isn't seen.

9. Even great men can be corrupted.

10. Experts say that children are not born criminals, nor pampered parasites. They are made that way by the environment in which they live.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book