Nut House Insider: Angelina Jolie Eats Crickets, So I Try Them

In a desperate attempt to attract readers, I eat crickets so I can write an article that mentions Angelina Jolie.  How many Triond clicks do you get for eating a bug? (The answer as of 21 June 2012 is 36.)  This article rechristened as a Nut House Insider article 6/21/2012.  Enjoy!

Angelina Jolie's kids eat crickets

In an interview last July about her recent trip to Cambodia, Angelina Jolie told E! that her boys loved to eat fried crickets, a local delicacy.  She's tried crickets herself: "... they're good--they are like a potato chip."  She went so far as to say that she had to "ban cricket eating at one point" because she feared the boys would get sick from eating too many.  
Jolie has always been a trendsetter.  When she wore emerald earrings designed by Lorraine Schwartz to the Academy Awards, she inspired a horde of Internet entrepreneurs to offer knock-offs priced from $35 up.   Cricket eating, however, hasn't quite caught on--but that doesn't mean that we aren't hearing the first chirps of a fad.

Do her boys eat crickets when mommy's back is turned?

I Become an Insectivore 

In rural Georgia, rural grocery and convenience stores often carry live crickets--in a stand outside the building with minnows and other live bait. I'm not sure it's legal to vend them near food for humans. Only fish eat these crickets. Atlanta is a different story.  Fishing with live bait in the Atlanta area is illegal.  The law allows only artificial lures.  No crickets are sold for bait, but pet stores stock plenty of crickets for reptile owners.  I call these crickets "boutique" crickets because they are so much more expensive than bait crickets.  The pet store/cricket boutique in the strip mall nearest me sells chocolate crickets at the counter (photo below).  These crickets are not marked for human consumption, but the employees warn you that chocolate may not be good for pets.   

Several other Triond writers have written about eating insects.  For example, Kristie Leong, MD, wrote  "Discover the Delicious World of Edible Insects http://www.trifter.com/Practical-Travel/World-Cuisine/Discover-the-Delicious-World-of-Edible-Insects---.48218", and Jimmy Shilaho wrote "Mosquitoes for Dinner: Reasons Why You Should Eat Insects http://gomestic.com/cooking/mosquitoes-for-dinner-reasons-why-you-should-eat-insects/."  I believe I, however, am the first to bite the bug.

My iPhone Photo of Chocolate Insects

Taste Test

Appearance


I bought two packages of crickets so I could place the contents of one package beside the other unopened package in a photograph.  As you can see above, chocolate crickets are extremely unprepossessing.  They look like the droppings of small animals.  I can't imagine a plate presentation that would make them appetizing.


Flavor 


When I put a chocolate cricket in my mouth, I tasted some very bland milk chocolate.  I "pulled the trigger" and crunched the candy with my teeth.  Immediately, I tasted very strong cinnamon.  Cinnamon and chocolate overwhelm any flavor that the crickets might have, and so tasting the candy is much like biting a section of an Abuelita's hot chocolate tablet.


Texture


Texture is the big problem with chocolate crickets.  After chewing the candy briefly, I was left with some crunchy bits that had the same mouth feel as straw.  I continued chewing, but then declined to swallow.  (If wine tasters can expectorate the vintage after a taste, bug tasters can too.  It's only fair.)


Disappointment


I wanted chocolate crickets either to be so good that I'd want to introduce my friends to them or so disgusting that ingesting one would be memorable.  I was disappointed on both counts.  A chocolate cricket is at worst a mildly unpalatable non-food.  Moreover, chocolate crickets aren't anywhere near as disgusting as the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten.  With apologies to readers of Japanese heritage, the most  disgusting food I've ever eaten is natto, a dish made from gooey fermented soybeans.   As almost any little kid will tell you, vegetables are more disgusting than anything else.


If you want to try chocolate crickets yourself ...


Should you desire to sample some chocolate crickets or other edible insects, you can buy them--at least in the U.S.-- on the Internet from Hotlix.com.   You may also order by phone by calling 1-800-EAT-WORM (I'm not kidding).  The company has a store in Pismo Beach, California.  I found the following video, titled "Dad Eats Chocolate-Covered Cricket, Grosses Out Son," uploaded by zlivruquok.   It shows the interior of the store.

In the above video, the father tells his son the cricket tastes like a chocolate-covered rice crispy.  In the video below "Dennis eatting [sic] chocolate covered cricket!," uploaded by b00fo0,  the taster has a different reaction that suggests the dad is lying:

All sources are linked.  Please tell me about any broken links.


This article originally appeared on Triond's Sportales website:


http://sportales.com/sports/nut-house-insider-angelina-jolie-eats-crickets-so-i-try-them/

Nut House Insider: My 13 Favorite Tweets of Rupert Murdoch's

Twitter is the new playground of celebrity octogenarians.  When you can’t nap, tweet.  Hugo Chavez talked Fidel Castro into using Twitter.  It's a good idea.  Castro needs to tweet to prove he's still alive.  Now Rupert Murdoch has joined the electronic festival.  After all, the price is right, and perhaps he feels he doesn't have enough access to the press to get his ideas circulating.

I have consistently refused to write numbered list articles that give the seven this or the ten that.  While I hid behind my principles, others had to dodge bullet points and boldly write the list articles that Internet readers expect.  Now I’m joining the fray by making an exception for Rupert Murdoch.  Nobody deserves the number 13 like him.

Here’s my list of my 13 favorite tweets of Rupert Murdoch.

                                                                Photo of Ron Paul by DickClarkMises from Wikimedia (Public Domain)

1. He observes that Ron Paul appeals to Wall Street Journal readers (31 Dec. 2011).  I’m sure that’s true.  Ron Paul would even have an honest face if he didn't have Richard Nixon's nose stuck on it. 
2. Murdoch tweets that he enjoys the winter weather in New York City: “NY cold and empty, even central park.  Nice!” (2 Jan. 2012)  Listen to them.  The children of the night.  What music they make!
3. He writes that the new Steve Jobs biography is “unfair” (31 Dec. 2011).  I can understand how Murdoch could appreciate Jobs.  When you hack somebody's iPhone, you know all about them, who, when, where, why, and how.
4. Newt Gingrich, according to Murdoch (11 Jan, 2012), is “Brilliant, visionary but just too much baggage!”   Rupert, how do you know it’s too much?  Oh, right.  Your guys went through his luggage.
5. “Think! Three richest Americans are three greatest philanthropists - Bloomberg, Gates and Buffett?”  (4 Jan. 2012)  Huh?  Bloomberg didn’t crack the top ten of Forbes’ 400 richest Americans last September, but George Soros, who gives away far more than Bloomberg, did.  George Soros usually heads up lists of the top three philoanthropists.  Oh right, it’s not philanthropy if you give your money away to conspiracies, eh Rupert?.
6. “George Soros @WSJ.com predicting awful deflation and trouble nearly everywhere. He knows this stuff. Let's see if he is right again.” (9 Jan. 2012 )  What?  Murdoch’s being nice to Soros.  Did Soros get Murdoch into the Illuminati or what?
7. Murdoch writes, “Euro always a huge mistake, but free trade EU okay without one currency" (10 Jan. 2012).  What?  Has Murdoch thought this through?  Does he want to give Soros 17 new currencies to trade?  I think Soros did get him into the Illuminati.
8. He says he likes the Fox film “The Descendants.”  It’s “ … one to be proud of. Star Geo Clooney deserves Oscar, maybe film too.”  I'm sure he's being totally honest and not just plugging a Fox movie.  I imagine the movie resonates with him, speaks to his circumstances.  What if Wendi Deng went into a coma, and he had to deal with their children?
9. On vacation he had a “Great time in sea with young daughters, uboating” (31 Dec. 2011).  Wow.  He bought his daughters a German submarine.  Having a billionaire dad has its privileges.                                             Photo credit: Wikipedia (Public Domain)
10. “I LOVE the film "we bought a zoo", a great family movie. Very proud of fox team who made this great film.” (1 Jan. 2012)  This tweet shows how far out of touch Murdoch is from the rest of us who can’t buy our kids submarines and zoos.
11. “Just visited ASPCA. Young daughters looking for another dog to adopt! Help!”  (7 Jan.  2012)  What a letdown for the kids.  Promised a whole zoo, but all they get is a puppy from the pound.
12. Murdoch tweets he likes Art.sy, the “Art Genome” company (10 Jan. 2012)--yet he isn’t an owner or investor in the company.  See, he’s not as self-centered as you thought.  I’m sure his wife Wendi’s heart is warmed by his support for her investment.  Love.
13. Murdoch didn’t capitalize the “s” in Santorum when he wrote, “Good to see santorum surging in Iowa” (1 Jan. 2012).  If you have to, Google it.  Savage.

 Rupert Murdoch, Happy Friday the 13th!

This post originally appeared Jan. 13, 2012, on Triond's Newsflavor website:

http://newsflavor.com/world/usa-canada/nut-house-insider-my-13-favorite-tweets-of-rupert-murdochs/