Rituals to the Goddess Ceres

Calvin with a box of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs cerealI was at the super-grocery chain Safeway at 4am (thus, a late afternoon posting) and this blog entry came to mind ... It makes sense there should be 24-hr grocery stores, seeing that one of man's pre-occupations as a pre-modern hunter-gatherer was the constant search for food. On with the entry ...

Cereal choicesWhat has happened to the cereal aisle at the supermarket? Breakfast cereals used to be tied directly to Saturday morning cartoons ... now the boxes are just as random as the mismatched socks coming out of the machines at a public launderette.

Though General Mills and Kellogg's dominate the shelves, Quaker Oats, Post and Nestle can still be seen scattered about, mostly in the lower shelves. Between you, me and the lamppost, nowadays I prefer the generic barcode-labeled brands. It is without a doubt that devotion to the Roman goddess of grain and harvest Ceres (hence, the etymology for "cereal") is very much alive; the clown under the Golden Arches has nothing on this babe when it comes to the most important meal of the day. Some boxes catching my attention ...
Healthy breakfast cereals continue to lack in coolness factor -- obvious choices are Amish-endorsed Quaker Oats oatmeal, no-frill generic muesli or misnomered Post Grape-Nuts (it contains neither) cereal. I decided to go for a couple of just-delivered Krispy Kreme doughnut and donut to go with my coffee.

tags: ........
another point of view ...

Blogger Loz


always with the john cusack!

i'm so jealous of all the cereals you can get in the US. Our cereals are so bloody boring. I was cheerios and lucky charms and all sorts of things I've never had!
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


loz: what are you a super-computer scanning for 'john cusack'? you seem to always have a knack for honing in on his name! so fast! so error-free!

it's weird, but i don't think we have a kangaroo or koala pushing cereals .. hmmm, perhaps more research is needed, or new focus test groups.

i would buy cereal with a kangaroo on the box - maybe the kangaroo can eat cereal right from its pouch!
 

Anonymous Anonymous


I missed out on all those sugary cereals. My mother made me oatmeal, vitamin, & glass of juice every morning.
I never watched sat morning cartoons, as I wasn't allowed to watch tv. Sat a.m. was for chores.
Oh and I wasn't allowed to drink soda pop.
:(
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


peri: i do remember you telling me about a sheltered up-bringing .. i was so underplaying it until now!

my gosh, i think you need to treat yourself to a bowl of lucky charms! but stay away from marbits -- they might be magical, but definitely not delicious.
 

Anonymous Anonymous


Nam.. you amaze me with your ability to turn a simple inspiration into a classic "Post."

As an aside, W. K. Kellogg, inventor of corn flakes, is also recognized as one of the United States' greatest philanthropists.
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


canadian dude: i bet if you walked down the beer aisles, lots of stories would jump out .. just don't let the coors girls distract your memory-meandering.

oh, i did hear that w.k.kellogg was a great philanthropists .. and he was loved by his company, his family, people worldwide, etc. it's hard to find anyone who would speak ill of the man. thus, bill gates is trying very hard to make sure his legacy is closer to philanthropy than monopoly. :-)
 

Blogger Unknown


What a trip down memory lane.
No honey nut bee? The Honeycomb kids?
For the record a like Granola and hate all the puff corn cereal.
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


mquest: i do like to stroll down memory lane now and again, but i have to be careful that i don't do this while on an important fishing expedition. like i once incorporated into an operating systems comparison presentation with analogies of 80's tribute bands! you can imagine how that must have turned out!
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


love hurts: i'm not fond of those cereal-turned-breafast-bars .. i feel that's just such a sell-out to the whole notion of 'breakfast' -- kids don't have the kinda hectic lives that they need cereal-in-a-bowl on the go! yeah, we do have many varieties .. i didn't realize until i lived in another country!
 

Blogger diadima


special k, isn't that kallun's new club name?
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


diadima: i think that really describes him. can you imagine him handing out calling cards:

KALLUN 'SPECIAL K' WILLOCK

wouldn't that be too much?
 

Blogger diadima


of course then you get into such nomers as:

Special K, barrister and solicitor at law.

brilliant
 

Anonymous Anonymous


Yes... howbizaree.... the Canadians are taking over the beer and coffee sector. It won't be long and you'll all be addicted to Tim Hortons.
 

Blogger theColin: (xo)


HEY! Howya' been!? Just got back from VA and saw your post on my blog about the flying IUD and your mention of me and the UoL. Thank you, thank you! The day I left I read that one, but somehow missed that last line there... Gracious! ;)
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


howbizarre: oh .. i wish i can write about beer. i didn't become an alcoholic until well pass my college days, and, even so, i only got into the hard liquiors and wines. i just can't seem to stomach beer (i suspect it's the hop enzymes and proteins).

besides canadian dude will probably write about the beer aisles, he seems so much more acquainted with them!
 

Blogger Nam LaMore


akh: i always enjoy swinging by your blog -- i like your 'languages poem' from a while back. hope you had a good trip to VA - and i'm waiting for your review of the new 'star wars' - i haven't seen it myself, but it's on my list to watch.
 

Blogger H.


Did you ever check this page out? You might enjoy it...
Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide.
 

speak up!


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