Conjuror

        Conjuror:  A 19th-century device for cooking meat rapidly with burning paper as the fuel.  It seems to have been descended on 'necromancer' to which Hannah Glasse (1747) referred, ascribing its invention to an actor, Mr John Rich, and declaring it to be much admired by the nobility (in 1735).  However, the necromancer can be traced further back, to Bradley (1736), who gave a recipe for 'Thin Beef Collops, Stew'd.  From Oxford' which uses the same technique. Stead (1983) surmises from this that the method and the equipment might have been previously practised by students at Oxford University ('student bed-sitter makeshift cookery') but also utilized by the theatrical profession when in need of a hot meal and away from normal cooking facilities.

        The best description of the conjuror is Eliza Acton's in 1845, which was accompanied by a rare  illustration of the conjuror device (see title graphic above):

              'Steaks or cutlets may be quickly cooked with a sheet or two of lighted paper only, in the apparatus called the conjuror. Lift off the cover and lay in the meat properly seasoned, with a small slice of butter under it, and insert the lighted paper in the aperture shown; in from eight to ten minutes the meat will be done, and to be remarkably tender, and very palatable:  it must be turned and moved occasionally during the process.  This is an especially convenient mode of cooking for persons whose hours of dining are rendered uncertain by their avocations. The part in which the meat is placed is of block tin, and fits closely into the stand, which is of sheet iron.'



Text from Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion To Food. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1995

Killer Video Link:  Georges Melies, The Conjuror (1899)
 

Sir John Dee (1527-1608), Adviser and conjuror to Queen Elizabeth I of England. 

"The Prestige" (2006) (Slightly disappointing but worth seeing anyway. By Inception director/screenwriter Christopher Nolan.)

Compulsory Aleister Crowley photo (b. 1875- d. 1947)  (Several years ago, we visited Loch Ness and stayed at Craigdarroch House, a lovely small hotel adjacent to Crowley's Boleskine House "bad vibes" manse, later purchased by Jimmy Page, who apparently rarely visited the place.  I highly recommend the journey on all counts, but particularly for Loch Ness "monster viewing".)

Time Between

Don'tsay you love me , Don't say you care
You're so far away
Telephone communication, Only a three minute elation
When I hear your voice

 

Through love and trust it's gonna work out fine
The only pain I feel is all this time between
You and Me

 

All the days have turned to years 

Only emphasize my fears
Since you said goodbye
I can hear your voice at night 

I can read the words you write
It's only love

 

Through love and trust it's gonna work out fine
The only pain I feel is all this time between
You and Me

Now, Don't say you love me , Don't say you care
You're so far away
I can hear your voice at night 

I can read the words you write
It's only love

 

Through love and trust it's gonna work out fine
The only pain I feel is all this time between
You and Me

1.  Byrds, Time Between (from Younger Than Yesterday, 1966) -- Chris Hillman vocal

2.  Byrds, Time Between (from Live At The Fillmore, 1969) -- Roger McGuinn vocal

3.  Time Between, from the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday lp, was Chris Hillman's first song.  Can you imagine?  As the French say, "Formidable." 

Star Quality -- Steller's Sea Eagles (Orlan and Caspian)

        I first met Orlan and Caspian, the handsome pair of Steller's Sea Eagles in the Edinburgh Zoo who are pictured above and below, on Jane's 8th birthday, August 29, 2006.  It was unforgettable.

        An eagle, once sighted either at a distance or (especially) up close, commands your visual and mental field for quite a while and persists in memory long after you've left his company.  Orlan and Caspian have never left mine.

        The Steller's Sea Eagle (named for naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller) is enormous -- the biggest bird in the genus Haliaeetus and one of the largest raptors overall.

        Their typical size range is 85 to 110 centimetres (33 to 43 in) long and the wingspan is 195 to 300 centimetres (77 to 120 in). Females typically weigh from 6.8 to 9 kilograms (15 to 20 lb), while males are considerably lighter with a weight range from 4.9 to 6 kilograms (11 to 13 lb).  An unverified record exists of a huge female who, apparently gorged on salmon, weighed 12.7 kilograms (28 lb).

        Steller's Sea Eagles' massive nests are build on cliffs, often near seabird colonies. Inland, they will utilize large pine trees near rivers or lakes.  The birds' diet varies by location, but largely features fish and seabirds.

    

        The eagles' large size suggests that they are a glacial relict, a remnant of a formerly widespread species that persists in an isolated area, who evolved in a narrow subarctic zone of the northeasternmost Asian coasts.  The Steller's bird is unique among all sea eagles in having a yellow bill, even in juvenile birds, and possessing 14, not 12, rectrices, or tail flight feathers. The skull and bill are the largest of any eagle and are comparable to the largest Old World vultures, the biggest of the accipitrids.

        Steller's Sea Eagle is classified as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), meaning that they face a high rate of extinction in the wild.  They are protected by law throughhout their range. In Japan they are officially designated as a "National Monument".  The current population of Steller's Sea Eagles is 5,000 (and decreasing).  They are threatened by habitat loss due to hydro-electric, logging and coastal development, over-fishing, pollution and human disturbance, especially in their nesting areas.

        Steller's Sea Eagles have been found in North America but these are considered to be individual eagles that have strayed from Asia. They are not known to nest anywhere in North America.

    Reader Note:        

Our visit to Edinburgh, its zoo (the penguins are truly remarkable there; see penguin cam) and Martin Wishart's marvelous restaurant in the Port of Leith, where we celebrated Jane's birthday dinner, were all memorable and we hope to return there soon in order to visit Orlan, Caspian and the Vane Farm Bumble Bee Sanctuary in Kinross,  the first bee reserve of its kind in the world.   From there we will travel north again to Loch Ness, where it would be nice to stay a while.  I would also like to drink another Caledonian 80/- (pronounced "80 shilling").  You can't get in the the U.S. and it is truly great.

Remarks Before The Society, September, 2006, Tuxedo Park, New York

Good (morning)(afternoon) everyone.

My name is Jane B. Cravan and today I am going to speak to you about one of the greatest and most famous mysteries in the field of cryptozoology, which is the study of still unknown species of animals. The cryptid, or unknown animal I am going to tell you about is the Loch Ness Monster.

The Loch Ness Monster, or "Nessie" as many people refer to her, is said to live in Loch Ness in Scotland, which is the largest and deepest lake on the island of Great Britain. It is more than 900 feet deep in some places – deep enough that if you stood Big Ben – the famous clock tower in London – end-to-end three times it still wouldn't reach the surface. It is almost as deep as the Empire State Building in New York is tall, and it is very, very cold and very, very murky.

The first person we know about who saw the Loch Ness Monster was Saint Columba, the man who brought the Christian religion to Scotland. In the year 565, Saint Columba heard that the monster murdered a man and the saint rowed out into the middle of the lake and told the monster never to do that again. As far as we know, the monster obeyed Saint Columba, and since then she has lived peacefully in the lake.

Many people have seen the creature since then, but it was only since the invention of photography that the whole world became interested in the Loch Ness Monster and learned what she looked like. In 1934, a doctor from London took her picture and after looking at her 50-foot body, humped back and long, thin neck, scientists began to say the monster was probably a plesiosaur, which is a swimming dinosaur from the Cretaceous period – 145 million years ago -- who survived in the isolated deep, cold lake. Many other people have taken her picture too and some people have taken movies. Some people think that the photos are fake and believe that the Loch Ness Monster is a log or a big otter or even an underwater wave that looks like a sea creature on the surface of the lake.

Last summer, I went on a search for the Loch Ness Monster. My Mom, Dad and I traveled to Loch Ness. We walked on the shoreline and took a boat down all 24 miles of the lake. When we were walking back to our hotel from the pier, we saw exactly what looked like a baby "Nessie" feeding on some vegetation on a small island near the shoreline. It looked happy and very peaceful. Unfortunately, it was too misty to get a picture, but I'm sure that what we saw wasn't a log, an otter or a wave. It had a humped back and a long, thin neck and looked just like the photos we'd seen.

Next summer, I am going to go back to Loch Ness and will try to bring back better evidence that the Loch Ness Monster exists. And when I grow up, I would like to be a cryptozoologist and look for the Yeti (or Abominable Snowman), Sasquatch (or Bigfoot) and other cryptids.

Thank you.