Marc Antony’s funeral oration from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the second in our five-part series, entitled “Man against the Masses”. The series examines the strength of the individual standing apart from the foolishness and perfidy of the masses and their delusions. The relationship between the individual and the masses is inherently precarious. Every individual risks being consumed and losing his values, virtues, and sense of self. If lost, he becomes incapable of independent action, destined to become a pawn in someone else’s game.

When Godzilla makes his first appearance in the 2016 film Shin Godzilla it’s not his size that strikes terror. It’s the eyes. Sure, the size helps, but this fresh-start take on the atomic-powered monster arrives in Tokyo with a pair of unblinking eyes that betray no hint of any kind of inner life. Later to evolve into a more familiar, dinosaur-like beast, Godzilla first crawls ashore as a kind of super-sized lungfish, spewing liquid from his gills and leaving destruction in his wake as his unthinking body lurches through the outskirts of the Japanese metropolis.

Arguably one of the most important crops we grow and eat worldwide, tomatoes hold a special position in many cultures and my heart. Today, there are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes. Today, we will get into a healthy dose of tomato science because I think it is one of the most fascinating vegetables/fruit from an evolutionary standpoint. Much of what you read today inspired me to write my upcoming cookbook, Veg-Table.

Let’s stop calling dashi Japanese stock. It’s an easy shortcut, but misleading. I’ve introduced it this way for years myself. However, recently, I’ve wondered if it’s putting people off making it. Prepping a stock conjures up ideas of chopping vegetables, meat carcasses, hours with a huge steaming pot on the go and all the resulting mess to deal with. Not the case with making a dashi. It’s more of a brew, or infusion.

Imagine that you have won the lottery. A vast prize is yours for the claiming; a life-changing sum, ready to be deployed as you see fit. Now imagine that as you reach out for the cheque, the lottery official suddenly pulls it back. There is a catch: you have to spend the prize on housing. In fact, you have to spend it all on one particular house. You can’t sell it or rent it out, you have to live in it.