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Jesus was mentioned in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews….The Jewish historian certainly knew something about Jesus, and there is a paragraph on him in the Antiquities. But Josephus' works were preserved by Christian scribes, who could not resist the temptation to revise the text and thus make Josephus proclaim that Jesus was 'the Messiah'; that he taught 'the truth'; and that after death he was 'restored to life'. Failing a fluke discovery, we shall never know what Josephus actually wrote.
[E.P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus ISBN 0-713-99059-7]
« Unscientific America: it's personal! | Main | The gloves are off! »
Category: Personal
Posted on: July 17, 2009 3:52 PM, by PZ Myers
Two things about my daughter: she's always been a finicky eater, particularly hating seafood, and she is currently living far from home, in Arizona. I just about fell off my chair, therefore, when I read that Skatje is actually trying sushi. And she likes it! Well, sort of, and only some of it, but it's a step forward.
Darn kids. They keep growing up and changing on me.
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Comments
Posted by: Bill Dauphin, OM | July 17, 2009 4:00 PM
I ate raw fish,
And I liked it;
Taste of that green wasabi...
[Sorry, couldn't resist.]
Posted by: Stefan | July 17, 2009 4:01 PM
Cool...expanding her taste horizons. I'm not much of a seafood eater myself, but I like sushi as a vehicle for wasabi, ginger and soy sauce...
Posted by: Glen Davidson
|
July 17, 2009 4:04 PM
Cthulhu won't be happy.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: tsg | July 17, 2009 4:05 PM
The only fish I eat comes in stick form.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | July 17, 2009 4:06 PM
I'll never forget when my youngest brother, then like 16, visited me back when I lived in the Bay Area. We went out to dinner, I ordered calamari and pesto and he talked for weeks about eating "green spaghetti and squids."
Posted by: daveau
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July 17, 2009 4:08 PM
Your daughter is disturbed by tentacles?
Posted by: tsg | July 17, 2009 4:10 PM
It's all that anime porn.
Posted by: PGPWNIT
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July 17, 2009 4:10 PM
#4
Do you like fishsticks? Do you like them in your mouth?
Posted by: Pascalle | July 17, 2009 4:10 PM
I was a very fussy eater when i was a kid, because my dad was a fussy eater.
When i grew up and went to colege (and move out of the house into a student dorm) i learned to eat a lot more than i ate at home :)
Some stuff never changes though.. i still don't like carrots.. yuck!
Posted by: Blake Stacey | July 17, 2009 4:11 PM
Eel was the first sushi I liked, too. This might be the beginning of a slippery, soy-and-wasabi covered slope.
Posted by: Azkyroth | July 17, 2009 4:16 PM
I've always had major textural issues with food that far outweigh taste issues. The tough, fibrous texture of most muscle tissue (really tender chicken is okay, as are most of the mollusks I've tried) and the tendency of anything squishy things that are fibrous or grainy (refried beans, a lot of squash dishes, mashes potatoes, etc.) to literally stick in my throat always limited my dining choices somewhat, unfortunately. Fish I don't like because of the flaky texture, and crustaceans weird me out too much to be comfortable eating them, but otherwise I've found Italian and South/East Asian food pretty rewarding to try...
Posted by: Bill Dauphin, OM | July 17, 2009 4:17 PM
Sven:
You remind me of one time my family (me coming from work; my wife and daughter coming from home) met my parents at a seafood restaurant for dinner. I arrived before my wife and daughter, and my father and I ordered a fried calamari appetizer. When my daughter (who was about 7 at the time, and like Skatje, a finicky eater) arrived, we invited her to try the "onion rings"; she's just about forgiven me for that, 10 years on!
For years she has loved sushi... but by that she meant a variety of rolls, none of which contained any raw fish; only recently has she begun to enjoy a proper range of sushi. I think her college boyfriend may have been an influence in her culinary maturation... funny what you'll eat for love, eh?
Posted by: Darren Garrison | July 17, 2009 4:18 PM
It's an age old story-- child raised in traditional Cephalopodian home rebels against her parents by rejecting Cephalopodanity. Next step-- marrying a clean-cut Southern Baptist.
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 4:20 PM
It took me far too long to try sashimi. Now I love it. What's more, if you can find a sushi bar aimed at regular Asians, it can be as cheap as MacDonald's. And the quality is likely to be first rate.
All those who have not tried sashimi, go forth and consume raw fish.
Posted by: Mixter | July 17, 2009 4:20 PM
It's an abomination, I tell you!
Mixter
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | July 17, 2009 4:21 PM
ain't it the truth
Posted by: MarshallDog | July 17, 2009 4:22 PM
I hate seafood, and I come from Gloucester (home of the Gorton's Fisherman) so most people assume I'm a freak.
Posted by: JBlilie | July 17, 2009 4:23 PM
... Not like sea food ... ? This does not compute ...
I can think of few foods more mundane that the good ol' slab of heated beef. Or vegtables.
Give me chili squid, green Thai shrimp curry, cold boiled shrimp, pan fried brook trout with head and tail on, salmon grilled over coals with sprigs of rosemary in the fire, super-fresh halibut cooked any way you please, nice fresh raw oysters (now that's the way to taste the ocean!), etc. I actually don't care much for sashimi: I much prefer my sea food cooked. (Not to mention the absurd prices sashimi/sushi goes for.)
Posted by: MarshallDog | July 17, 2009 4:24 PM
I hate seafood, and I come from Gloucester (home of the Gorton's Fisherman) so most people assume I'm a freak.
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 4:24 PM
BTW, here is a video of how to eat sushi.
Only really applicable to posh restaurants, but interesting, none-the-less.
Posted by: Bill Anderson | July 17, 2009 4:27 PM
I wonder if this thread will "evolve" into a deep discussion of whether the Rev. Sun Myung Moon controls about 90% of the sushi market worldwide, and whether enlightened atheists and their like should perhaps not develop an appreciation for sushi ("appreciation" rather than "taste" because "sushi is art," as the marketing department is always saying). In fact, I'd like this thread to swing that way, because I'm hungry for it (discussion, that is).
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 4:29 PM
@#17
I'd never associated Gloucester with seafood before, but that's probably because I'm a Brit.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 17, 2009 4:31 PM
Skatje is actually trying sushi. And she likes it!
I don't think I tried it until I was about 30. Now I can't get enough of it. Some raw shrimpi is starting to sound really good.
Posted by: Darren Garrison | July 17, 2009 4:42 PM
#20: wrong link-- you meant to post this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc6v8IUe_0g
Posted by: NewEnglandBob
|
July 17, 2009 4:49 PM
I have a 2 1/2 year old granddaughter who eats cereal, milk, juices, pancakes, french toast, peanut butter & jelly, fruits, french fries, ketchup, mac & cheese and some breads/rolls/English muffins.
Of course she likes ice cream and cake and some cookies.
She will NOT eat any meat, fish, vegetables, cheeses or most anything else. Try taking her out to a restaurant for a meal other than breakfast. Its exasperating.
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 4:53 PM
@#24
That was stunning!
I reminded me of "Look Around You".
Posted by: Corgihound
|
July 17, 2009 4:53 PM
I see how she cleverly put all of the Japanese beer and sake they ordered on a separate receipt! Definitely takes after her father! Brava!
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 4:57 PM
I meant "It reminded me..." of course.
Was the sushi sketch from a TV show, or was it a one off?
Posted by: Chris Davis
|
July 17, 2009 4:59 PM
PZ, the time has come for her to experience the marine delicacy known as fissionchips.
Posted by: Kausik Datta | July 17, 2009 5:01 PM
All these years in America, and hosts of Sushi/Sashimi-devouring friends around - and I still can't wrap my head around the idea of eating raw fish!
I firmly believe that we have discovered fire and evolved to a point where we are not forced by nature to survive on raw stuff, that we can now cook our food before we consume it.
"Heresy! Heresy!"
(This is the point where I try to make myself invisible and slither away...)
Posted by: Kausik Datta | July 17, 2009 5:04 PM
All these years in America, and hosts of Sushi/Sashimi-devouring friends around - and I still can't wrap my head around the idea of eating raw fish!
I firmly believe that we have discovered fire and evolved to a point where we are not forced by nature to survive on raw stuff, that we can now cook our food before we consume it.
"Heresy! Heresy!"
(This is the point where I try to make myself invisible and slither away...)
Posted by: Thomas | July 17, 2009 5:04 PM
She sounds just like me. I hated fish growing up, and refused to even try any. A couple of years ago, at age 38, I tried sushi.. and now I'm a big fan. I won't eat cooked fish, but I really like sushi.
Sorry to say.. that doesn't include squid.. too rubbery.
Posted by: whitebird | July 17, 2009 5:04 PM
Ha! A little surprised that she prefers the octopus to the unagi...the latter is usually deemed the most edible by newbies/the fearful, what with it being cooked and covered in that tasty sauce. Distaste for saba (mackerel)is definitely not a surprise...it's waaaay fishy. I kept craving it when I was reading "The old man and the sea".
My personal "gross" list is uni and ankimo (sea urchin and monkfish liver). Tried it, do not want.
Great, now I have a major sushi jones.
Posted by: Paula Helm Murray | July 17, 2009 5:05 PM
My husband was astonished the first time I made baked fish filets for him. He loved it despite telling me he didn't like fish.
He'd only had fishsticks before. Fish is on the menu regularly. He still doesn't like sea-bugs (shrimp, etc.) but that's okay, it leaves more for me!
Posted by: Rick R | July 17, 2009 5:08 PM
I lived in the bay area for several years, and had many friends that loved sushi. They would plead and harangue, "let's go! I'm DYING for sushi!"
So I was a sport, and went, and tried several different kinds, trying to be open-minded. I discovered I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It was just....meh. OK. I still don't understand the sushi passion.
And it's an expensive night out, that's for sure.
Posted by: Kausik Datta | July 17, 2009 5:08 PM
Sorry about the double-post... My first in a long time (usually I am very careful)...
But I must say this SB quirk is beginning to get on my nerves now... How difficult is it to fix this issue? Didn't PZ mention that they were apparently working silently in the background, and their engineers have found a solution to this issue?
Posted by: whitebird | July 17, 2009 5:12 PM
@25 - man, I just spent a few days with some young nephews who will "only eat" pretty much what you described, but are especially fond of chicken in nugget form and fries.
I suggested to my sister that she present them with more wholesome fare, to which she responded "they won't eat it". Last I checked no-one in the history of the world has ever starved themselves to death by refusing food that they don't like that is presented to them. Jeez. Why even introduce stuff like that to little kids? On the other hand, a niece, who is one and a half, eats what her parents eat, sometimes a little bit adjusted for spiciness. When the precedent is set of having specialized "kid" food, I think it's pretty hard to stop it.
Posted by: Bill Dauphin, OM | July 17, 2009 5:14 PM
By this point, I've gotten so used to the quirk that it seems normal. When I left a comment at Skatje's blog moments ago, it went right through... and I almost didn't know what the hell to do with myself!
Posted by: whitebird | July 17, 2009 5:16 PM
...oh, and I mean not anorexics, but little kids refusing stuff they don't like to eat. Just to be clear.
Posted by: Sili
|
July 17, 2009 5:17 PM
I was a very picky eater as kid, too. And a terrible
kcook, now.Only had sushi once. Homemade. Should prolly do something about that (including practising with chopsticks - it's been a while).
Posted by: Kári Rafn | July 17, 2009 5:22 PM
I'm 24 and I have never, nor will I ever, eaten vegetables or seafood (except for fried fish). I always say that I eat food, not what the food eats. I think it's a quality to not eat whatever is put in front of you ;)
Posted by: Kári Rafn | July 17, 2009 5:25 PM
I'm 24 and I have never, nor will I ever, eat vegetables or seafood (except for fried fish). I always say that I eat food, not what the food eats (in regards to the vegetables). I think it's a quality to not eat whatever is put in front of you ;)
Posted by: 'Tis Himself
|
July 17, 2009 5:37 PM
25 years ago, if you'd told me that one of my favorite foods would be raw fish with cold, vinegared rice wrapped in seaweed I'd have stared at you in puzzlement and disbelief. Now I'm a fan of sushi (except for uni, which just tastes nasty).
Posted by: Hao | July 17, 2009 5:41 PM
If she likes octopus, the next logical step is to go find some sannakji: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannakji
Posted by: genecutter | July 17, 2009 5:42 PM
Developing a taste for raw fish is a delayed phenomenon generally in humans, maybe late-onset expression of specific gustatory receptor gene pathways. It is not surprising that this trait surfaced in Skatje, since her father is all tentacled up and stuff. Clearly, the salty brine of ocean waters runs deep in the veins of this family.
Posted by: truthspeaker | July 17, 2009 5:46 PM
What I've read (here among other places) is that children have many more taste buds than adults, and as they grow older some of them become inactive. So what tastes mildly bitter or weird to an adult might taste absolutely horrible to a kid. I eat a lot of things now that I wouldn't as a kid (green beans, asparagus) and it seems to me they don't have as much taste as the vegetables I hated as a youngster. You still couldn't pay me to eat broccoli, though.
Posted by: jj | July 17, 2009 5:48 PM
I still can't wrap my head around the idea of eating raw fish!
'Cause it tastes SOOOO much better! I'd eat fish, and sushi /sashimi for that matter, every day if I could afford it. Although, I wouldn't be to keen on eating in a place that isn't near the ocean (although I've never been to a sushi place outside of CA). Sushi+Sake+Large Kirin Ichiban= Awesome.
Posted by: littlejohn | July 17, 2009 5:48 PM
I recently moved to the midwest(Indiana), and one of the things I miss most is decent seafood. Hey -- how is she getting it in Arizona? My guess is somebody is selling her tacos or something and calling it sushi.
Posted by: winnebago | July 17, 2009 6:06 PM
If she's in Tempe, she need to try the fish tacos at Diego's (it's located in the strip mall on the corner of Mill and Southern). When I attended ASU, it was on my bike ride home from campus and I ate there 2 times a week the tacos are so good.
Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip
|
July 17, 2009 6:13 PM
Have considered encasing them in Lucite®?
Posted by: Chris P | July 17, 2009 6:24 PM
You obviously haven't reached the next stage in the evolving tastes of your daughter when she says "Hey dad, have you tried ... I think you'll like it".
Mine do that with beer, wine and all sorts of other stuff. Having your kids teach you new stuff is weird. They even bring things back from Trader Joe's.
Chris P
Posted by: Levi in NY | July 17, 2009 6:26 PM
Seafood is disgusting. The smell of it makes me want to vomit. I would never consider eating it, even before I went vegetarian.
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 6:30 PM
#36
The problem is that the volume of traffic is so great at Pharyngula that it requires the use of special, custom designed hardware, which is located in Switzerland (and a bit of France). Sometime last year, it developed a fault, and fixing it has not been straight forward; something to do with 'super-cooled magnets', I believe.
Posted by: XD | July 17, 2009 6:34 PM
Carbonite works well, too.(hey, was I the only one to not know that Han solo was a species of trilobite?)
Posted by: Azkyroth | July 17, 2009 6:41 PM
Just wait until she decides to spawn. O.o
Posted by: AJ Milne | July 17, 2009 6:42 PM
Sushi is a good thing. A very good thing. But I mostly stick to teleosts (including their eggs... developmental stage is no obsacle). Much less into molluscs and crustaceans; tends to limit my menu a bit.
And yes on lots of wasabi. Someone once told me this is thought to be insulting to the fish; guess I have to hope the fish is past caring. And especially yes on concoctions involving tasty teleosts mixed in with green onions, wasabi- and pepper- based sauces and other such spicyish things... and especially especially yes on hamachi carpaccio. Pretty sure I could live on that stuff.
Posted by: Noadi | July 17, 2009 6:44 PM
I prefer sashimi over sushi. The rice I'm ambivalent about and I don't like nori at all. So give me my little slices of raw fish with some soy sauce and a little wasabi. Everything but octopus, I will not eat my beloved cephalopods.
Posted by: David Utidjian | July 17, 2009 6:50 PM
PZ,
You almost never talk about your sons. Mostly Skatje this and Skatje that... never about Olaf and Bjornfjord (or whatever their names are). How are the fellas doing? Are they eating anything new and unusual?
Just curious.
-DU-
Posted by: PZ Myers
|
July 17, 2009 7:09 PM
The boys left home years ago, so they rarely pester us any more.
Posted by: Calliope Jane | July 17, 2009 7:20 PM
I just think she's so brave to try raw fish in Arizona. In the summer. I rarely trust cooked fish here!
Posted by: Felix | July 17, 2009 8:02 PM
Here's the general guideline I use when deciding what to eat:
If I can digest it, I can eat it.
Still, there are exceptions like strong cheese and liver, which I just do not want.
Posted by: Primewonk | July 17, 2009 8:52 PM
Yeah, but will she try this kind of sushi?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frf-1tNcdWg
Posted by: DominEditrix | July 17, 2009 9:30 PM
Yummier than that fishy stuff.
Posted by: argal20 | July 17, 2009 9:43 PM
Sushi in the desert...that takes guts.
Posted by: azqaz | July 17, 2009 10:17 PM
OK. I'm going to be a bit pedantic, but...
Sushi is the seasoned rice. Raw seafood is sashimi. There is sashimi in a lot of sushi dishes, but no raw stuff is required for sushi. While I like the sushi that contains sashimi, my favorite is a sushi with scalions, cucumber, and avocado with sea urchin roe. I doubt it is very Japanese, what with the avocado, but it is tasty.
(p.s. I love the freshwater red eel also. Yum.)
Posted by: Jadehawk, OM
|
July 17, 2009 10:34 PM
that must have been a traumatic childhood, then! :-p
anyway, my first encounter with exotic (i.e. not salted or pickled herring) seafood was a Frutti di Mare pizza at some party my mom dragged me to (probably for lack of babysitter) when I was maybe 6. The fact that the shrimp had eyes was disturbing. food isn't supposed to look back at you, especially when you haven't even reached your teens yet.
anyway, I got over that (and a first disgusted encounter with mussels in Italy at age 16) just in time for my move to California, where I suddenly developed the desire to live off seafood exclusively. a plan somewhat hampered my my ex's disgust with seafood, but still partially realized by eating a lot of meals at restaurants :-)
Posted by: Lynnai | July 17, 2009 10:35 PM
Ahhh Mackerel... strangely one of the most uneven sushi experiences ever sometimes it is weird and oily and just kinda nasty. But sometimes, it is just the most magnificent savoury, smokey, salty well.... bacon of the sea frankly. Mmmmmm bacon of the sea.
Posted by: genesgalore | July 17, 2009 10:47 PM
sushi huh. some people's kids. may a bluefin ram your boat and cause you harm.
Posted by: Charley Tuna | July 18, 2009 2:42 AM
Oh great, now another monkey wants to eat seafood. Okay then, we have enough fish left for six more of you and that's it! Fini. Finito. Nada. Zip. Zero. Get a cow. How about carrots? Carrots are good.
Posted by: jellay
|
July 18, 2009 3:32 AM
I recently tried Makizushi for the first time - fishless sushi. And it was AWESOME.
Posted by: Radwaste | July 18, 2009 7:57 AM
Gee, I hope that if she develops a taste for Cuttlefish he's a gentleman about it...
Posted by: Matt Penfold | July 18, 2009 9:16 AM
"Ahhh Mackerel... strangely one of the most uneven sushi experiences ever sometimes it is weird and oily and just kinda nasty. But sometimes, it is just the most magnificent savoury, smokey, salty well.... bacon of the sea frankly. Mmmmmm bacon of the sea."
The thing about Mackerel is that it must be eaten very fresh, within a few hours of being caught. Once it is more than 24 houts old then forget about it.
Posted by: Lowell
|
July 18, 2009 11:17 AM
Bah. Eating seafood in Minnesota is unnatural.
Back in college, I decided I was too far from the ocean to order food that came from it. This was in Troy, NY, about 50 miles from New York City...
Posted by: Ktesibios | July 18, 2009 9:44 PM
This is just another example of a phenomenon which is still, unforgivably, unknown to science:
People in the "young adult" age range start emitting a form of radiation which has profound effects on the chemistry of foodstuffs, causing all the edibles which they formerly would eat only under the threat of a good smack from Mom to become OMGTHISIZGOODOMNOMNOMNOMNOMGIMMEEMORE!
I first observed this when I was 19 and felt a mysterious compulsion to try the cole slaw which had arrived with my hamburger. I later discovered that my new NOM-rays also had the same effect on carrots, peas, broccoli and many other unfortunate members of the vegetable kingdom. To my astonishment they also proved effective on salads but not on cauliflower or artichokes.
Since most of your students will be around the age when NOM-rays are most effective, you should have a bountiful supply of experimental subjects available should you decide to investigate this peculiar phenomenon.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | July 18, 2009 9:51 PM
Pfft
When I was a chef in Jackson, WY I had fish shipped in that was caught that day or the day before. It's pretty easy to get fresh fish even in the middle of the continent.
Posted by: Marvol | July 19, 2009 7:28 AM
She may be clever and all that, but IMHO this is just one step further away from sensible vegetarianism. Pity. Well she's still young maybe one day she'll learn...
Posted by: GMacs | July 19, 2009 3:58 PM
Bah. Eating seafood in Minnesota is unnatural.
Gee, as a sushi chef and seafood fan living in Minnesota, I must be some horrible abomination.
By the way: What was up with the ikura sushi she had a picture of? Did it have bird egg yolk in the middle? That's weird. Also, those lazy bastards who made her sushi left the nori flapping off on the sides.
Posted by: FurrTheBear | July 20, 2009 11:32 PM
Truthspeaker #46: Quite so. In one of my science classes in Jr. High, we did a unit on the senses, and one of the labs was taste testing. I was above average in sensitivity to sweet, salt and sour... and literally off the scale on bitter.
I still find a great many vegetables to be completely revolting, and I'm in my mid-40's now.
And yes, I've been a fussy eater all my life - part of which is a complete disgust for any food consisting of Dead Animal Body. Even leaving out the horrible smells and awful tastes so common to the category, the texture ALONE is enough to make anyone sensible immediately upchuck. I'd have to say that seafood smells the worst, and the cooked-blood taste of red meat is the worst flavor.
Like my four-footed ursine cousins - I do adore berries, raspberries especially. *grin*