Russian SledgesI don't have this many feelings about frank gehry, but I appreciate how densely packed with invective this is
While it's been widely known for at least a decade that Frank Gehry is the world's worst living architect, it's not entirely clear why some people—mostly very rich clients—haven't picked up on this yet. The utterly god awful and ridiculous Biomuseo in Panama, an eco-discovery center that cost at least $60 million and took a decade to construct, is only the most recent case in point.
    
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Maryr appreciated the romantic message from Sav-Mor Liquors in Medford today.
Russian Sledgessaved for grim lunch reading
“An Indian farmer has committed suicide every half hour since 2001.”
Buried in the archives of the British Museum is this wonderful series of lithographs from illustrator Charles Joseph Hullmandel that transforms the English alphabet into sweeping landscapes. Hullmandel was one of the most important figures in the advancement of British lithography in the first half of the 19th century. These particular pieces were produced sometime between 1818 and 1860 and you can see the full collection here. (via Juxtapoz)
How divorce and marriage compare internationally
IT IS not a seven year itch: the unlucky number is 13.6. That is the average length of a marriage before a divorce in the mostly rich countries of the OECD. Italians stick it out longest (perhaps because formal separation is lengthy and expensive). Americans, stereotypically impatient, only stay together eight years before divvying up the wedding gifts. Qatar, where polygamy is legal, has both a short length of marriage prior to a divorce and low divorce rate. Across Europe the divorce rate is around 2.5 for every 1,000 people; America’s is 3.6. As for marriage, the rate in many Western countries has long declined, but plateaued in recent years. (In Russia and China the rate has increased). Sobering data as one reflects on the hard work of romance—and a reminder to stoke the flames of those relationships that still burn on this Valentine’s Day.
WHEN Dong Nguyen, a Vietnamese designer, yanked his popular video-game Flappy Bird from the internet on February 10th, it was game-over for an estimated $50,000 a day from advertising. (In one two-week period it was downloaded over 50m times.) With supply squelched and demand raging, opportunistic geeks took to eBay to flog their smartphones and tablets that already had a copy installed. So how much value does Flappy Bird add to a device?
We scraped eBay sales and compared the prices of devices with and without the game. This suggests that Flappy Bird doubles the value of gadgetry. Low-cost items got a bigger boosts: some iPods with the app sold for five times their usual value. (We looked at the first ten listings per category, stripping out outliers or statistical noise. Variation within models reflects things that scraping cannot detect, like broken screens in photos.) The findings also suggest that had the inventor not removed the game, he’d be flapping all the way to the bank.
Historical Map: Southern Pacific “Red Electric” Tracks in Downtown Portland, c. 1920
Scanned from the book “The Red Electrics: Southern Pacific’s Oregon Interurbans” by Tom Dill and Walter Grande.
This handsome map shows the routing of the Southern Pacific’s electric interurban trains through downtown Portland from their northern terminus at Union Station. These trains, popularly known as the “Red Electrics” after their distinctive carriages, ran from Portland all the way down the Willamette Valley as far as Corvallis, 85 miles distant. Service started in 1914, extended to Corvallis in 1917 and ceased in 1929; just 15 years later.
These big, heavy trains ran right down the middle of Fourth Avenue from Union Station with an intermediate stop at Stark and Fourth. At Fourth and Jefferson, the lines split into two services: the “Westside” route served Beaverton, Hillsboro, Forest Grove and Carlton, while the “Eastside” line served Oswego, Sherwood, Newberg and Lafayette. The two routes connected in Saint Joseph, just north of McMinnville, and then continued to Corvallis.
Of further interest, the map also shows the route of the competing Oregon Electric company, running down 10th Avenue and Salmon Street. Their terminus station was at 10th and Hoyt (the train barns still exist, repurposed as fancy loft apartments on either side of 10th Avenue), with stations at 10th and Stark, 10th and Alder, Salmon and 5th/6th, and Jefferson and Front (modern-day Naito). Also seen is the incredible network of streetcar lines at the time, visible on almost every downtown street!
(Source: jackonflickr/Flickr)
14 февраля - знаменательный день, когда исполняется вторая годовщина присвоения великому Ким Чен Иру звания генералиссимуса Корейской Народно-Демократической Республики.
Наши воины и народ с особой теплотой в душе вспоминают о немеркнущих заслугах великого Ким Чен Ира, который под знаменем Сонгун всю жизнь стойко отстаивал достоинство и суверенитет Родины и нации. Вот что говорит Чан Чхор Нам, офицер Корейской народной армии:
- Два года назад с большой радостью наши воины восприняли указ Президиума ВНС о присвоении великому Ким Чен Иру звания генералиссимуса КНДР. Как нам было бы приятно, если такая наша мечта сбылась бы при жизни Ким Чен Ира.
На протяжении более чем 50-летней своей революционной деятельности Ким Чен Ир первостепенные силы направлял на унаследование и развитие сонгунской мысли великого Ким Ир Сена и его руководства сонгунской революцией. Смысл и гордость своей жизни он видел в повседневной инспекции воинских частей ради благополучия и счастья Отчизны и народа. И невзирая на зимние и летние дни, продолжал инспектировать войсковые части, говоря, что вся своя жизнь и борьба целиком посвящены фронтовой дороге, направленной на благополучие и счастье Родины и народа.
Все воины и народ сегодня в один голос воспевают, что фронтовой путь великого Ким Чен Ира был путем ради народа и процветания Отчизны.
В восточной части страны стоит крутой перевал Чхор, передавая людям трогательный рассказ. Когда-то Ким Чен Ир, перебирая в памяти дни своего руководства сонгунской революцией, сказал, что ему приходилось не раз проезжать через обрывистый перевал Чхор и в дождливые и снежные дни, и ночью и ранним рассветом.
Это было тогда, когда Ким Чен Ир через перевал Чхор навестил воинов на передовой линии фронта. Воины с волнением говорили ему, чтобы больше не преодолевал перевал Чхор. Прочитав заветное пожелание воинов, Ким Чен Ир с яркой улыбкой отметил: если я столько преодолевал перевал Чхор, то вы, значит, хотите наградить меня дипломом об окончании преодоления перевала Чхор!
Не только перевал Чхор, но и гора Осон, Высота 1211, гора Чихэ, перевал Чиктон, высота 351 и другие родные горы живо рассказывают о том, какой далекий и трудный путь прошел великий Ким Чен Ир. Благодаря этому наша Народная армия развивалась в революционные вооруженные силы, последовательно подготовленные в идейно-политическом и военно-техническом плане, а социалистическая Корея продемонстрировала себя как мощь нерушимого могучего государства.
Под знаменем Сонгун Ким Чен Ир мудро направлял все дела так, чтобы совершился крутой подъем и в построении экономически развитого государства. Благодаря его скрупулезным усилиям для процветания и развития Родины и счастья народа был взят последний рубеж науки и техники в производстве отечественной стали, отечественного виналонового волокна и удобрений.
Появились в стране многие гидроэлектростанции средней и малой мощностей, многочисленные промышленные предприятия, перепланированы земельные угодья площадью в сотни тысяч гектаров, построились благоустроенные жилые дома, что до неузнаваемости обновили облик Отчизны.
Благодаря мудрому руководству великого Ким Чен Ира в сегодняшней Корее быстрыми темпами идет строительство экономически развитого государства.
Великие заслуги Ким Чен Ира навсегда оставлены в памяти всех наших воинов и народа. Вот что говорит Ким Хен Су, заведующий отделом Центрального районного наркома города Пхеньян:
- Поистине Ким Чен Ир - несравненный великий человек мира. До последнего биения своего великого сердца он себя целиком посвятил Родине и счастью народа. Мы никогда не забудем немеркнущих заслуг великого Ким Чен Ира.
Революционный Чучхейский календарь на новый 103 год Чучхе (2014) и другая печатная чучхе-продукция
Since reporting on Netflix data that shows months-long declines in streaming performance on Verizon and Comcast, we've heard from several readers who say they've eliminated video problems by using VPN services.
"Netflix on Comcast tanked for us in the past month or two," one commenter wrote. "We would spend more time buffering than actually watching video. Once we set up a VPN with UnblockUs it magically went away."Another reader sent us bandwidth statistics from his home that compared traffic on Comcast to traffic over a VPN, saying the poor Comcast performance proves that "they throttle Netflix heavily." Similar accusations have been leveled against Verizon.
No one has actually shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that ISPs directly throttle Netflix traffic. Throttling may be legal in the US now that Verizon has convinced a court to strike down net neutrality rules, and Netflix has criticized ISPs, but it hasn't gone so far as to allege throttling. Netflix performance does vary by ISP, but we can't rule out the possibility that Netflix's own practices are causing bad outcomes for consumers. It's also possible that no one is doing anything particularly nefarious.
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Russian Sledgesyessssssssss
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Russian Sledgesin the media lab
sushiesque posted a photo:
Russian Sledgeswillow & otters lit the paper boat
sushiesque posted a photo:
Peek & saucie selfie. It’s not duck-face, it’s bird-face.
Russian Sledgesthis fucking guy
Anders Breivik, the 35-year-old right-wing extremist who is serving a 21-year sentence for killing 77 people in a 2011 rampage, is threatening to go on a hunger strike to protest what he calls the "torture"-like conditions that he's endured during his confinement. Among his demands: an upgrade from his current PlayStation 2 to a PlayStation 3 "with access to more adult games that I get to choose myself."
Yes, seriously.
In a copy of a November complaint to prison authorities sent to AFP, Breivik, who is held separately from other prisoners for his protection, complained that his entertainment choices are being limited differently than other inmates.
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Russian Sledgestw: vagina
From old to new.
The Unitarian Universalist Association, based in Boston, today unveiled a new logo, as part of an overall branding strategy (yes, of course churches these days have branding strategies):
Our new logo, for many, will be the first introduction to who we are. It’s meant to entice a person to learn more. And it’s doing just that. Our random testing groups of UUs and non-UUs described emotions and images evoked by this logo with words such as brave, enlightening, warm, spiritual, energizing, having integrity, welcoming and determined.
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Russian Sledgesthere's a florida of everything now
Russian Sledgesaw;dw
Russian Sledgesaw;dw
Russian Sledgessarma autoshare
Valentine's Day has us thinking about romance. And to us, there's nothing more romantic than a captivating conversation over cocktails. But would you date the cutie on the other side of the bar?
Dating a bartender has its benefits: you already know that your favorite bartender is attractive and creative, and they probably sparked your interest with charming conversation. Your bartender-beau can try out new drinks on you, and might have some time during the off season for a little world traveling.
"Having a bartender at home is about as fun as it sounds," says our contributor (and former Managing Editor) Carey Jones. During recent snowstorms, Carey says, her bartender boyfriend concocted seasonal blood orange-cranberry daiquiris "and experimented with numerous hot toddies; during the holidays we had fresh eggnog better than anyone's."
An amazing home bar is a big side-benefit: "We have the most absurdly well-stocked liquor cabinet, with hundreds of bottles, every imaginable shaking/muddling/juicing implement, a dozen kinds of bitters. And his experiments are all around the house—right now there's Sichuan peppercorn-infused white rum, a barrel-aging mezcal-Scotch cocktail with about 10 weeks on it, cardamom simple syrup and rosemary honey in the fridge." This sort of working at home sounds pretty appealing: "Also fun: sitting on the couch while he develops a cocktail menu and brings over new drinks for assessment every 15 minutes. It's fun to collaborate, too; I feel very cool when I come up with an idea that makes it onto his list, and even cooler when I name it!"
But there are downsides, too. Namely: the hours. If your partner works nights and you work days, you may never see each other. "I date a day-walker," says Maxine Sharkey Giammo, a bartender at Sarma in Somerville, MA, "so I mostly see my boyfriend angelically asleep when I get home." Giammo doesn't recommend that bartenders date other bartenders, though: "At our best, we are slightly dysfunctional, overthinking, highly social introverts, which is a ratio I wouldn't raise to the 2nd degree."
Others say bartender-bartender relationships are ideal: Claire Sprouse, who can be found at San Francisco's The Hideout at Dalva, says dating a bartender works out: "Our relationship is easier to navigate since we both have similar schedules, appetites for destruction, and an understanding that a little winking across the bar at guests is just part of the job and part of the fun."
Not sure you could handle a bunch of bros trying to get the attention of your lady friend instead of just admiring the skillful way she carves ice spheres? Would you flip out over a gaggle of girls giggling at your man's jokes? Maybe dating a bartender isn't for you...
For some, it comes down to one big risk. If you get together with the bartender at your favorite neighborhood joint, and then things don't work out, you may have to break up with the bar. And there are only so many great bars out there.
Tell us: would you date a bartender? If you've done it, do you have any advice?
About the Author: Maggie Hoffman is a Senior Editor at Serious Eats, based in San Francisco. She founded Serious Eats: Drinks in 2011. You can follow her on Twitter @maggiejane.
Editor's note: Please welcome our newest AHT contributor and fellow burger blogger, Jeremy Goldberg! As a professional photographer he splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City, and Tokyo. Check out Tokyo's burgers through his eyes over at Tokyo Burger Blog.
[Photographs: ads, McDonald's Japan; others, Jeremy Goldberg]
It's hard to tell if quotes from Den Fujita, the first CEO of McDonald's Japan, represented real beliefs or just showmanship. Even in the non-PC era of 1971 when he opened the first McDonald's in Asia in Tokyo's ritzy Ginza Mitsukoshi department store, his claim that the Japanese would all grow tall and have blonde hair if they ate a steady diet of hamburgers must have seemed a bit peculiar. (I'm still waiting to grow taller, but I'm eating a lot of burgers, so any day now!)
That first Ginza McDonald's seems to have disappeared, likely replaced by 23 Louis Vuitton boutiques and a high end melon store* (for all your $100 melon needs), but according to a plaque above the door, the second Japanese McDonald's still exists in Yoyogi, a nice quiet strip of Tokyo between the flashing lights of Shinjuku and Shibuya. And out of the over 3,000 McDonalds in Japan (their second biggest market after the US), the oldest remaining one happens to be five minutes from my apartment.
*I wrote that in jest, but a quick internet search netted Mitsukoshi actually does have a $100 melon boutique. Ah, the Japanese.
Living in close proximity to a piece of Japan's burger history hasn't changed my burger snobbiness. Until today, I'd eaten at McDonald's twice in the last 10+ years: once after a drunken night in South Korea, and once after a late Tokyo karaoke session with the mostly original lineup of the Smashing Pumpkins. However, I did spend my college years alternating between the fine cuisine of Taco Bell and McDonald's, so I feel I can still have a viewpoint on the relative merits of the two cheeseburger meal versus the individual Big Mac. Now that I'm more sophisticated (i.e., feel old around college kids), I frequent more fine dining establishments like In-N-Out.
The Japan-specific McDonald's American Vintage '50s Campaign ended at the end of January, followed up with the American Vintage '70s Campaign. I got in just before the '50s gave way to the '70s. Rounding out the American Vintage will be an '80s Campaign. Apparently the Japanese feel that the 1960s were a fast food wasteland not worthy of a vintage revival.
Japan idolizes certain aspects and time periods of American history—like James Dean and Levi's. In their effort to pay homage, they often do it better, but they rarely do it accurately despite their insane attention to detail. For instance, Denny's in Japan is (luckily) a far cry from the American Denny's.
In this case, the American Vintage '50s Diner Double Beef burger is, if my weak Japanese skills can be trusted, their image of a 1950s diner steak plate (which I recall reading about in exactly zero books), but in hamburger form: double 100 percent beef patties with a fried egg, a slice of cheese, onions, Chicago-style steak sauce, and a mashed potato sauce on a classic whole wheat bun. There's some more culinary prose waxing poetic about wine-infused sauce, coarse ground black pepper, and roasted garlic, but you get the idea.
There was a decent line, but I waited patiently and chatted with my friend who loved the excuse to eat at McDonald's "for science" instead of "for drunkenness." The jukebox was playing oldies, although to be fair a lot of those "oldies" were from the 1960s instead of the 1950s. A rather careless move. (Yes, when you live in Japan you start to notice all the details—it's hard to tell where OCD stops and sarcasm begins).
Like most everything in Japan, the service at McDonald's is polite, fast, and thorough. I ordered the #22 combo for ¥790 (approximately $7) that included the Diner Double Beef burger, cheese fries, and a drink (I went with oolong tea, that most American of vintage drinks). It seemed to take about 30-40 milliseconds to get my order.
I have to say I was impressed with the looks of the burger. It looked surprisingly similar to the glossy advertising displays. The almost perfectly formed fluffy egg looked like it was a real egg poured into a mold and not an "egg product" poured out of a jug. The peppered mashed potato sauce, which looked a bit like extra gooey mayonnaise seeping out from underneath the patties, tasted like a peppercorn sauce and added a nice kick to the burger. The patties themselves were pretty natural tasting, and the small amount of supposedly Chicago-style steak sauce and some lonely onions pulled together nicely, although I would've liked a bit more of both. The supposedly whole wheat bun was a bit disappointing; it seemed unnaturally fluffy where a wheatier (that really should be a word) bun would've worked better.
Still, this is unmistakably a McDonald's burger that leaves you with that heavy fast food feeling. It's quite a bit better than I expected, but I can't say it will change my usual burger snobbiness. And if I had any question that I was eating in a McDonald's, the french fries removed all doubt.
In the ads, the Cheese Fries look like chili cheese fries. In real life, I'm not sure what it looks like. There's some bacon "flavor" bits from a small packet, and a cheese product squeezed from a salad dressing-style container. The "cheese" tastes slightly less like cheese than Cheez Wiz, and the "bacon" tastes slightly less like bacon than congealed motor oil.
I finished the 610 calorie burger but consigned the rest of the 544 calorie fries to the garbage. In Japan, they usually separate the Burnables and the Non-Burnables for recycling. I honestly didn't know into which bin to put the cheese and bacon.
About the author: When not living the fast lane life of a burger blogger at Tokyo Burger Blog, Jeremy Goldberg is an international spy. His cover identity is a celebrity photographer because no one would believe he's a burger blogger. Justin Timberlake, Blake Lively, Michael J Fox and Zooey Deschanel have all let him take their portrait as they too are spies.
Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!
Russian Sledgesvia multitask suicide
I would like one of these, with cash tucked into all its folds
There's nothing quite so cuddly as a giant isopod plush toy. It has been encutified to make it even more adorable than the real-life version, with big, round, loving eyes. As the product description notes, these are "passionately loved" by some in Japan and are regarded as "mysterious and cute" -- one in Toba Aquarium has (allegedly) eaten no food for over 4 years.
Giant Isopod Realistic Plush Doll (via Pipedreamdragon) 
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Russian Sledgesvia Gillowbl00N
Russian Sledgesalso available as wallpaper
"They look at it and go, 'Eww.' They never ate something like it before," said a food-bank worker of the incoming 5,000 Chobani cups meant for U.S. athletes in Sochi but blocked by Russia. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Greek yogurt's No. 1 advocate, is pleased anyway: "While we did not prevail, there is a silver — or gold — lining in the news that the yogurt will be donated to hungry men, women and children in New York and New Jersey," he said in a statement that makes dad-joker Bill de Blasio look like Richard Pryor.
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Filed Under: chobani ,sochi olympics 2014 ,russia ,mouthfeel ,chuck schumer
A 22-year-old man from Vallejo stole a U-Haul truck early Thursday morning and proceeded to drive it down 14th Avenue in Oakland over 90 mph, proving once again that 
