Q. "Dear Sun Ra, which cut of beef is best for a Mussaman curry?"
A. Good question. Although in general I prefer top round for most stews and stir-frys, I've found that for a curry beef a London Broil is the way to go. It shreds a bit better, which is what you are looking for in a good curried beef. Getting a better cut of meat, a filet or a sirloin, is kind of a waste when it comes to curry; broil those and enjoy the meat quality, and buy the cheaper London Broil for your curried goodness.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, I know that Reagan wasn't a very good president, but he sure was popular! Which other president do you think is the most like him?"
A. Another excellent question. I'd have to say that the president most resembling old I-can't-recall would be Andrew Jackson. They're both two term presidents, and both very popular despite doing bad things to the country on account of massive personal charisma. Reagan gave us horrendous deficits and really promulgated the falsehood that government is bad; Jackson killed the Bank of the United States and needlessly wiped out large groups of Indians. I think, a hundred years from now, they'll both be remembered mostly as being peculiarly popular for what they actually did.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, what goes best in a fruit salad?"
A. Ah, another food question. To be honest, I'm not the best person to ask; I do enjoy fruit a great deal but I don't like melons and they seem to be a fruit salad staple. Key ingredients for a Sun Ra fruit salad would be grapes, strawberries, bananas, apples... possibly cherries and other sorts of berries. And pineapple. Mmm. Pineapple.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, I hear that most inventions happen several times in different places, or if one person hadn't invented something at a particular time then someone else would have soon thereafter. What's something that was only ever invented once?"
A. Paper. Paper was only ever invented once, in China, by a guy named Cai Lun. Although he invented it in 105 AD, it only reached Europe in the eleventh century.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, why are your Cant columns always late?"
A. They're not always late, God damn it! *sigh*. Mostly because I am lazy, and until the actual day that the column is due, I figure it's not due yet and I can procrastinate. Then, if anything comes up, Boom - the column is late.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, who do you prefer - Superman or Batman?"
A. Ah, a question for the ages. Superman, the boy scout, or Batman, the dark and brooding anti-hero. Actually, of course, those archetypes only cropped up in the eighties; Batman was just another goody-goody (Remember the Justice League?) until some enterprising writers dug deeper into his background and realized how twisted it actually was. Anyway, I prefer Batman, though not by any sort of significant margin.
Q. "Dear Sun Ra, why do you do this Cant thing? Isn't it a waste of time?"
A. Mine, or yours? No, it's not a waste of time. It's exercise for the mind, and a way to vent my spleen. More importantly...
I went to a writer's workshop a few years ago at which Stephen Hunter gave a keynote speech. It was a good speech, which I found somewhat surprising and very gratifying. It also had a point which I found very true. Writing is hard. It's particularly hard to get started, and you have to get started again and again, every damn day. Inspiration won't always be there. Deadlines, and deadlines with money attached, damn sure won't be there most days. But there is one very strong ally you can enlist to keep yourself writing.
Habit. Habit can be your friend. If, at a certain time of day, you sit down and write - because that's just what you always do then - then you will write. And get stuff written.
Don't wait for inspiration. Inspiration is a fickle bitch, and she often needs the foreplay of just sitting down and writing. Count on habit. Anything you want to get done, that is hard to start? Enlist habit. Habit can be your ally, if you let it.
That said, I shall now try and make it a habit to have my Cant column for the following week done by Friday.
We'll see how strong of an ally Habit is.
- Sun Ra