Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!
Drafted to feed the troops during World War II, Hormel's meat-substance-in-a-can was hated, yet useful. It served, for example, as a gun lubricant, water-proof dressing for boots and substitute Sterno. A group of Korean War soldiers claim they used slices of Spam as playing cards, playing poker with the same "deck" for three months.
These and other miscellaneous facts about Spam are contained in "Spam: A Biography," subtitled, "The Amazing True Story of America's Miracle Meat," by Carolyn Wyman (Harcourt Brace, 1999, $15).
Wyman's book is not exactly a tribute to Spam, but does celebrate its greasy history and offers recipes, Web addresses, Spam prayers and poetry. It's also packed with trivia: 435 cans of Spam are produced per minute at Hormel Foods in Austen, Minn.; the 5-billionth can was produced in 1995; the oldest can of Spam known to be safely consumed was age 25.
"So where in the world can a person be safe from Spam?" Wyman writes. "Only in the Middle East, where Islamic bans on pork make trying to sell it a really bad idea."
John Mayall, hailed as the Godfather of British Blues, is coming to town with the Bluesbreakers for the 3rd annual Hawaiian Islands Rhythm and Blues Mele '99, May 21 at Honolulu Zoo. Mayall brings the blues
Blues are just one part of the event's three Bs. The other two are brew and spicy BBQ. Special guests are B.B. Shawn and Bluzilla.
Gates will open at 5:30, and the show is set to start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 advance, available at the zoo, Tower Video Kapiolani, Tower Records-Kahala Mall and Pearl Kai, Hungry Ear-Kailua, Honolulu and Wahiawa, Rainbow Books-University, Paradise City Music and Schofield Barracks. Or pay $25 at the gate.
Call 926-3191 for details.
The R&B Mele '99 will kick off at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center 7 p.m. on the 20th with Spontaneous Combustion and Sister Monica. Tickets are $20, $25 and $28, with reserved seating. Call the MACC box office, 1(808)242-SHOW (7469).
A third show will be held at the Kona Brewing Company on the Big Island. Gates will open at 1 p.m., with the show at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the gate. Pick up tickets at the Brew Pub, or call 1(808)334-2739.
KFVE and 105.1 KINE-FM present the premiere of "Hawaiian 105 Live!" which will be simulcast on both stations from Don Ho's Island Grill at 8 tonight. Live from Don Ho's
KINE morning personalities Brickwood Galuteria and Frank B. Shaner co-host, with Olomana on stage for the premiere.
If you miss the event, the show will be rebroadcast at noon Saturday on KFVE.
"Hawaiian 105 Live!" will continue every third Wednesday.
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