From the ball at Mansfield Park (Jane Austen) to the Fifth Avenue Party in Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, in A Curious Invitation Suzette Field chronicles forty of the greatest fictional parties. For each party, Suzette describes the hosts, the venue, the guest list, the dress code and the food and drink served. It’s the perfect book to sit and read straight through with a cup of tea, or, I love the idea of using it to inspire your next party. I created a little inspiration board inspired by the “Blossom Viewing Party” from The Tale of Genji. Cherry blossom season is right around the corner (If you can believe it!) and if you live in a location (I’m looking at you, DC), with a lot of cherry trees, how fun would it be to walk through the trees and then return home for saki and sushi? Someone do this and invite me, please! -Amy

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Why aren't all the letters represented in the MTA? According to Mental Floss, some get absorbed, discontinued, and eventually reused (H, K, T, V). Some are confusing either with the number trains (O & I) or words (Y & U). The outlier is P, and we'll let you draw your own conclusions.

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Many of these streets have been destroyed and rebuilt.

An official photographer for the city of Paris during the mid-1800s, Charles Marville was tasked with documenting the medieval streets of old Paris during the time that Haussmann, an urban planner under Napoleon, was demolishing chunks of the city to make way for larger boulevards and structures.

These photos are part of exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art titled Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris (on display until May 4).

Looking down the banks of the Bièvre River at the bottom of the rue des Gobelins (5th Arrondissement) in 1862.

The Bièvre River, a narrow waterway providing support to many tanneries and and mills that flanked it, was covered in Haussmann's renovations. It still technically flows underneath Paris, joining the sewer system.

Charles Marville/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The no-longer existing rue Estienne in the 1st Arrondissement, 1862-1865.

This was taking from the rue Boucher (still there). This street was torn down to make way for the rue du Pont-Neuf.

Haussmann's method of urban planning wiped out lots of small streets to improve air circulation and provide a better system for waste. Basically, the tiny streets of old Paris meant people were living in filth.

Charles Marville/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Passage Saint-Guillaume, looking toward the rue de Richelieu, 1863-65.

This small passageway no longer exists, however you can still walk along the rue de Richelieu in the 1st Arrondissement.

Charles Marville/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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A kids’ epidemiology book, its cover depicting an ominous microscope surrounded by an eerie sci-fi green haze, confirmed what my mother always told me: Wash your clothes before you wear them — or else.

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From Drinks

[Photos: Liz Clayton]

For those who didn't get their fill of Mardi Gras, or perhaps overfilled, a tall glass of chicory coffee may be just the thematic antidote. At Serious Drinks we've been eager to document chicory coffee's legacy. But far from the French Quarter, in the outer boroughs of New York City, you'll find a coffee shop slinging a different twist on the classic combination.

Sweetleaf Coffee, with shops in both Brooklyn and Queens, offers a beverage they call "Rocket Fuel"—a chicory and cold-brew coffee based drink that recalls its predecessors at Cafe du Monde and Blue Bottle. Yet unlike Cafe du Monde's woody, canned blend or Blue Bottle's intensely viscous, almost boozy brew base, Rocket Fuel's a crisp yet rich take on the Louisiana tradition. Its intense, creamy, bakers-chocolate notes—tempered with maple syrup but no taste of maple—wash over the sharpness of nutty chicory—the perfect accelerant to the day after Mardi Gras...or any sluggish afternoon.

We crashed the party at Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Sweetleaf outpost to get some step-by-step tips on this drink from barista Nikita Flavius-Gottschalk.

1. Prepare the cold brew base

You'll make a cold-brew iced coffee, using basic cold brewing principles—only this time, you're adding chicory.

The team at Sweetleaf suggests selecting a coffee that's well-suited to the nutty, woody tones of chicory. "You don't want floral and berry notes in your Rocket Fuel," advises Flavius-Gottschalk. Sweetleaf uses a balanced, rich coffee as their base, like Stumptown's Hairbender blend, while the company gets its feet on the ground roasting its own Sweetleaf brand coffee. Measure out a 1:3 ratio of chicory to coffee—darn right, that's a lot of chicory! ("We had a huge crisis last summer when all the distributors in the New York area were out of chicory," said Flavius-Gottschalk. Hopefully that won't happen to you.)

Coffee should be ground to a filter drip setting: Sweetleaf's team of careful measurers prefers the coffee extract very slowly alongside the chicory, so while some prefer a coarser grind for cold brew, they err towards the finer. Think of a texture more towards coarse salt or cornmeal, rather than the coarser, near-French press grind often advised for cold brewing. Mix the chicory and coffee together before adding to the large container you'll fill with water.

Standard cold brew ratios are 1 part coffee to 4.5 parts water. Rocket Fuel is a little more demanding, so 1 part coffee/chicory mix you'll use 6 times that in water. Add the coffee and chicory mixture to the water, and stir completely. Leave the brew to do its work at room temperature, and in 12 to 18 hours time, filter the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or cloth—twice if you can. Flavius-Gottschalk says you can expect about a gallon of concentrated Rocket Fuel base to result from the slow-brew.

Now that you've got your base, you're ready to make cups of Rocket Fuel.

2. Administer the maple syrup

As with Blue Bottle's New Orleans drip, the next stage after cold brewing is to add a sweetener. Sweetleaf uses Grade B maple syrup to provide the dark and earthy base sweetener for this drink. Add syrup to taste—approximately one tablespoons for every four ounces of cold-brew concentrate.

3. Add ice

Self explanatory.

4. Add milk or dairy substitute

Add your dairy or substitute now—whole milk will be creamiest, but whatever you like the most—in equal proportion to the coffee concentrate. "Milk is the last to go in," says Flavius-Gottschalk, "in case you want an alternative. We want everyone to have rocket fuel." Plus, pouring in the milk last over ice yields a cascading, dairy waterfall effect that will make your eyes glaze over happily like a sleepy animal.

5. Stir and serve!

The final result? A creamy yet brisk drink of intriguing flavors, with the cold-brew coffee enveloped in the full, round, and slightly bittersweet taste of chicory. Bon temps? Why the heck not.

About the author: Liz Clayton drinks, photographs and writes about coffee and tea all over the world, though she pretends to live in Brooklyn, New York. She is the creator of Nice Coffee Time, a book of photographs of the best coffee in the world, published by Presspop, is the New York City correspondent for Sprudge.com, and contributes to other outfits worldwide.

[Photograph: Chris Granger]

Coleslaw and potato salad may be more famous outside of Southern takeout counters, but carrot raisin salad is just as common at picnics and potlucks. In it, grated carrots and plump raisins are mixed with a rich mayonnaise dressing spiked with curry powder. Donald Link's version in his new cookbook, Down South, stays true to the classic preparation. However, he gives the salad one important tweak: freshly made curry powder. Toasting and grinding the spices just before adding them to the dressing heightens their flavor, making this salad less of a forgotten side dish and more like a buffet star.

Why I picked this recipe: Despite seeing this salad everywhere when I was growing up, I had yet to see it pop up in a Southern cookbook.

What worked: Unlike many lackluster versions of the dish, Link's carrot raisin salad was vibrant, fresh, and light (even with all that mayo).

What didn't: I thought the curry powder was a bit cardamom-heavy, making the final dish just a smidge too floral. I'd back down on the cardamom seeds by half next time.

Suggested tweaks: Feel free to tweak the curry powder to suit your taste, or to use a high quality blend from the store. Just stay away from that dusty jar on the back of your spice rack.

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Down South to give away this week.

About the author: Kate Williams is a freelance writer and personal chef living in Berkeley, CA. She is a contributor to The Oxford American, KQED's Bay Area Bites, and Berkeleyside NOSH. She blogs at Cooking Wolves. Follow her @KateHWiliams.

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Stock up on oversize briefcases, Marvel!

On Monday, news broke that Scarlett Johansson is pregnant with her first child, with fiancé Romain Dauriac.

Regis Duvignau / Reuters

She is reportedly due in August, which could pose a problem for Marvel Studios, since production on Avengers: Age of Ultron — co-starring Johansson as Black Widow — is scheduled to start in May.

E! Online reports that Marvel will "fast-track" Johansson's scenes, but even so, hiding the fact that the actress is pregnant would not be a simple task.

But not impossible!

Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios

She could pull a Melinda May and serve as the pilot for all of the Avengers' missions.

Marvel Studios

She could wear a series of oversize coats.

Adam B. Vary for BuzzFeed / Marvel Studios

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Way to go, America!

Let's Move! is the First Lady's initiative to solve the problem of obesity within a generation by putting children on the path to a healthy future.

youtube.com

An interesting trend creeping into kitchen design lately is home kitchens that look a lot like commercial kitchens. Even if you're not ready to embrace the full-on restaurant look, you can inject a little bit of that industrial feel into your own space with stainless steel countertops.

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Watch out for the tractor beam: Bob Hope's vaguely UFO-shaped 23,000 square foot home is on the market. Listed at $34 million, it is the largest private home designed by Modernist architect John Lautner. The Palm Springs home was completed in 1980 and overlooks Coachella Valley.

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My world is looking pretty gray and brown lately, and I'm craving sunshine. I use yellow very sparingly on myself and my home, but those little bits of radiant color are just what the doctor ordered these days.

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Millennials have a reputation for being the most plugged-in generation in the workplace. Experts have even suggested “reverse mentoring” so that younger workers can inculcate their “tech-savvy” habits in older generations. But a new survey from Softchoice shows that those may actually be bad habits when it comes to keeping data secure.

For instance, 28.5% of twenty-somethings keep their passwords in plain sight, compared with just 10.8% of Baby Boomers.  They’re also significantly more likely to store work passwords on a shared drive or word document that isn’t itself password-protected, and more likely than older workers to forget their passwords.

And it gets worse! They’re more likely to email work documents to their personal accounts, move documents via cloud apps that IT doesn’t know they have, and lose devices that would give whoever found them unrestricted access to company data. Basically, in every way that Softchoice measured, the youngest workers were the most likely to lose data or leave themselves open to hacking.

But – here’s the kicker — they’re also the most informed about the risks. Younger workers were also the most likely to say that their company has a clear policy on the downloading of cloud apps; that their IT departments have communicated about the risks of cloud apps; and that their workplace has a clear policy on how to protect information.

So what’s going on?

In part, it’s just that this generation’s well-documented impatience. Which, as an older Millennial myself, I would rebrand as “efficiency.” We just see a bigger payoff in having the data we need when we need it. For instance, the primary reason Millennials cited for not seeking company approval before downloading a new cloud app was that the IT department simply takes too long.

The same logic drives their emailing of sensitive documents to themselves – more than other generations, they said they had to transfer work files to their personal computers, otherwise they couldn’t access the information they needed from home. And unlike older generations, twenty-somethings are more willing to work from home as long as they have the data they need to do so.  This goes back to what young entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley call “the merge” – rather than juggling “work” and “life,” the two fuse into a seamless whole. And our tech habits follow suit: we’re much more likely to use the same apps for both work and personal reasons.

But there’s something else happening here, too — and it shows up in some of the other segments in the Softchoice survey. Workers (regardless of age) who use cloud-based apps are also less rigorous about keeping company data safe than those who don’t. And sorted by function, IT itself is among the worst offenders in violating their own data-security protocols, neck and neck with Finance:

Taken together, these patterns suggest that the people who use write down their passwords, email documents to themselves, and store company documents in the cloud are those who simply use technology the most — and the ones who need or want to access their work from multiple locations. (A different survey, which ranked employees by level of seniority as opposed to age, found that senior leaders were worse than lower-ranking managers when it came to data security. I’m willing to bet it’s the same logic; the more you work away from the office, the more likely you are to violate your IT department’s policy–and justify the increased risk to company data by your own increased productivity).

And it’s not in this survey, but I suspect Millennials and IT workers just have a different take on the ROI of spending time on data security. When major data breaches and password hacks are announced regularly by major corporations, when the NSA is listening in on your phone calls, when Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are leaking secret government documents, and when absolutely everyone, from your dentist to your hairdresser, asks for your Social Security number –  does it really matter if your password is taped to your screen?

Or do you just assume that if the hackers want to get you, they will?

Note: the Softchoice survey also measured workers over the age of 65 and HR professionals, but the sample sizes for those segments were quite small so I’ve excluded those data sets here.

“Honey, they’re just sagebrush.”

After watching this, you just might develop your own fear of tumbleweeds.

youtube.com

Real talk, tumbleweeds are kind of terrifying.

Seriously though, tell me this isn't freaking you out a little bit.

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

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[Photograph: Aged cheese on shelves from Shutterstock]

Raw, or unpasteurized, milk has been a controversial topic for quite some time, with strong arguments on each side. But with the FDA's recently increased inspections on raw milk cheese, the debate has picked up new steam—some believe it's the agency's first step toward changing current regulations, or even banning raw milk cheese altogether.

Given the depth and breadth of this particular dispute, there's simply too much to tackle here (we've got it covered in more detail right this way). But in short, some people believe that raw milk cures allergies and a host of other ailments, while others think raw milk in any form is incredibly dangerous. As someone who sells raw milk cheeses for a living, I obviously have a natural bias on this topic. But before I go into my own reasons, let's take a look at the basics —here's what you need to know about raw milk cheese:

• Pasteurization kills pathogens such as Listeria and e. Coli (plus others like Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella) which can be present in raw milk. Opponents of raw milk assert that the only truly safe cheese is pasteurized cheese.
• Cows kept in dirty, confinement conditions are much more likely to develop udder infections or other illnesses that can contaminate milk.
• Raw milk proponents argue that milk from well-treated cows kept in sanitary conditions is safe and pathogen free.
• If you want to purchase raw milk cheese in the United States, it must have been aged for a minimum of 60 days, whether it's produced domestically or imported from another country. The "60 days rule," which was designed to allow the acids and salt in cheese enough time to destroy harmful bacteria, was set back in 1949 with an almost total lack of scientific evidence. It is, in fact, an arbitrary number.
• This means traditional raw milk cheeses such as Camembert (which is aged for only two weeks) can only be imported in their pasteurized forms.
• Pasteurization is not a guarantee against bacterial contamination of cheese. There have been outbreaks of pathogens in both raw and pasteurized cheeses.
• Though extremely rare, bacterial contamination from cheese (whether raw or not) can be quite dangerous.

Politics aside, we have some phenomenal raw milk cheese makers in the United States. Every raw milk cheese maker understands that the stakes are very high. If these producers aren't fastidious with the cleanliness of their operation, they run the risk of not only potentially endangering consumers, but also bringing negative attention to all raw milk cheese makers. They take their responsibility very seriously and that is undoubtedly the reason why food-borne illness from raw milk cheese is very rare. According to the CDC, there have been 27 outbreaks traced back to raw milk cheeses between 1993 and 2006.

Even with so few incidents, why take the risk? Many argue that raw milk cheeses are more delicious than pasteurized cheeses—pasteurization kills not only potentially harmful bacteria, but also other bacteria that are responsible for infusing cheese with natural, spunky, exciting flavors that can't be simply replicated. Heating milk to high temperatures changes its composition, for better or for worse. But you can count me in the group that believes raw milk cheeses really do have deeper flavor profiles that ought to be appreciated. Here's a list of some of my favorite, domestically-produced raw milk cheeses. Check them out and see for yourself:

Cato Corner Hooligan [Photo courtesy Murray's Cheese]

Cato Corner Hooligan, Colchester, Connecticut
This cheese stinks! In the best way possible. Cato Corner's Mark Gillman quit his job as a teacher to return to his family farm and become a cheese maker. Mark once sent us cheese so afflicted by stink that the DHL delivered it to us in a bright yellow metal hazardous materials drum (true story). Cato Corner's washed-rind Hooligan is rusty orange, and when made with fat winter milk, it bulges at its rind. Perfectly ripe Hooligan is meaty and practically cries out for a Belgian ale to gulp alongside it.

Meadow Creek Grayson [Photo courtesy of Meadow Creek Farms]

Meadow Creek Grayson, Galax, Virginia
More washed-rind madness. The first time this cheese arrived at our shop it filled the whole space with an aroma that can best be described as cow poop. Square, Halloween-hued wheels of Grayson evoke Taleggio but pack a much beefier punch. Let this (and all cheese!) come to a perfect room temperature and the paste will soften and become silky. Then pair Grayson with some dried figs and a medium-bodied red wine.

Consider Bardwell Manchester [Photo courtesy Murray's Cheese]

Consider Bardwell Manchester, Pawlet, Vermont
There aren't many producers of aged, raw goat cheeses in the US. They're finicky to make, and many goat cheese producers focus on fresh style cheeses. But luckily, we've got Manchester. It is a visually stunning cheese, with a mottled, natural rind that reveals snow white paste. Deep, earthy wheels of Manchester vary from batch to batch—sometimes they're a little sweeter and creamier, sometimes a bit funkier and drier. However you find it, Manchester is always well-balanced, with just the right amount of acidity.

Spring Brook Tarentaise [Photograph: Katrina Vahedi]

Spring Brook Tarentaise, Reading, Vermont
Behold, the French Alps in Vermont! Modeled after the famous French cheeses Abondance and Beaufort, Tarentaise is a pure representation of the pastures of Vermont. 100% Jersey cow milk is transformed in copper vats into twenty-pound wheels which are aged for a minimum of ten months. Nutty, caramel-like, and slightly sweet, Tarentaise makes a sublime grilled cheese sandwich.

Vermont Shepherd [Photograph: vtshepherd.com]

Vermont Shepherd, Putney, Vermont
One of the first artisan sheep milk producers in the United States and still one of the best. David Major's cheese making is dialed in so well that he includes a card with every wheel describing his flock's diet on the day that particular batch of cheese was made. Vermont Shepherd is made for only a short period of time each year, when the sheep are out on pasture and supplies of cheese remain limited. David Major's daughter worked at one of our shops for a time and even that didn't help us obtain any more of this highly sought after cheese. Wheels start shipping at the end of August and are usually exhausted by January. Sweet, with the texture of soft lanolin and hints of pasture herbs, Vermont Shepherd truly lets rich sheep's milk shine.

About the author: Benjamin Roberts sells cheese, eats cheese, dreams about cheese and runs a burgeoning Minnesota cheese empire France 44 & St Paul Cheese. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or tumblr.

From Sweets

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

When a jar of Nutella enters my house, I become a slave to it until the moment that it's swiped completely clean. Fortunately, that process only takes a week or so as the presence of Nutella in my kitchen cupboard always manages to convince me that Nutella sandwiches are a perfectly acceptable breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. So, when Sweets editor Carrie asked if I wanted to check out the new Hershey's spreads (chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, and chocolate almond, each $3.49 at Ralph's), I was out the door so fast it's a miracle my shoes matched.

I have mixed feelings about Hershey's chocolate. The bar in the dark brown wrapper tastes like waxy chocolate chips, but I'm all about the Symphony bars. If your tastes skew the same way, you'll be happy to know that the new spreads are creamy and sweet, more like Symphony milk chocolate than the classic formulation.

From left to right: chocolate spread, hazelnut spread, almond spread.

All three of the new Hershey's spreads are great, but some are even better than others. I appreciated how smooth and sweet the plain chocolate flavor is, but thought it tasted too similar to frosting. Spread in a crêpe with some strawberries, it would be awesome, but alone, it's pretty one-note.

From left to right: chocolate spread, hazelnut spread, almond spread.

The chocolate hazelnut and chocolate almond flavors are slightly lighter in color and a bit creamier. The addition of nuts gives them more flavor and enough complexity that they're perfect all on their own, eaten directly off a spoon. Or a finger.

Foreground: Nutella; Background: Hershey's Chocolate Almond spread.

In a side-by-side comparison with a spoonful of Nutella, both spreads were almost equally tasty, but Nutella has a bit more hazelnut flavor. It's also smoother and more glossy. Still, my favorite of the four spreads is the Hershey's chocolate almond. The toasty nuttiness from the almonds gives it a slight edge over all the other spreads, including the Nutella.

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

Want more of the sweet stuff? Follow us on Twitter @SeriousSweets

The gallery wall trend is still going strong, and it's a great solution for collectors of art and objects. Gallery walls have evolved from perfectly matched and level frames to an eclectic mix of art that gives the viewer insight into the person behind the collection. While these galleries may seem effortlessly thrown together, they can actually take years to accumulate. Thinking of starting a gallery wall of your own? Here's a little inspiration.

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These vintage kids books are a major fail, but they’re also HILARIOUS.

What kid (or parent for that matter) wouldn't want to pick up a cookbook with a title like this?

Via waynocartoons.blogspot.com

This is one slut-shaming title:

Via oddstuffmagazine.com

Is it just me or does Archibald seem like the rather aggressive type?

Via thisthatandtheotherthang.wordpress.com

The answer: Only candidates running in midterm elections.

Via news.nster.com

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Culled from Scott Bowers’ infamous memoir Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Life of the Stars as well as other equally brilliant (and juicy) books about the celluloid closet.

Anthony Perkins

Anthony Perkins is best known for playing Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Friendly Persuasion.

Perkins was intense, sensitive, and complex, according to Scotty Bowers in Full Service. He was married with two kids but also gay. His longest gay relationship was with actor Tab Hunter, but he saw many men.

Bowers writes that Perkins always wanted someone different. Bowers writes, "He always wanted someone different. 'Who've you got who's different, Scott?' 'Who do you have for me for tomorrow night that will surprise me? Anything really new?"

“Of course, he was carrying on with Tab Hunter for a long time, we were told on good authority,” artist Don Bachardy told author Charles Winecoff in Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins. Only in mixed gatherings, such as a party at acting teacher Elaine Aiken’s, would Perkins allow himself to be seen with Hunter.

They would go on movie dates but buy tickets separately and sit apart. The Vista Theater, near the predominately gay neighborhood of Silver Lake, attracted a primarily male audience, and Perkins felt comfortable sitting with Hunter there.

“Tab was a known homosexual at the time,” camera operator Leonard Smith remembers. “I don’t think Tony was, he kept to himself. But he used to have Tab come on the set two or three times a week, and they’d have lunch or something. The crew made a lot of jokes about it; they were cruel. Of course, Tony was upset. He’d go off to his dressing room, and answer them in a way that said he didn’t want any more of it. If guys made cracks, he’d get upset and just walk away from them.”

Hulton Archives / Getty

Katharine Hepburn

Katherine Hepburn, most known for her Academy Award-winning performances in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond, knew that socialite and pimp Scotty Bowers set actors up to have sex with anyone they wanted. In Bowers' Full Service, he recalls that Hepburn said, "I know about your reputation, Scotty. When you get a chance, do you think you can find a nice young dark-haired girl for me? Someone that's not too heavily made-up."

Over the next 50 years, Bowers became very close friends with Hepburn. He said, "In the course of time, I would fix her up with over 150 different women. Most of them she would only see once or twice, and then tire of them."

Bowers said there was one exception. Bowers set Hepburn up with a 17-year-old trick named Barbara. Shortly after they started seeing each other, Hepburn bought her a brand-new two-toned Ford Fairlane as a gift. Hepburn saw Barbara on and off for 49 years. Three months before Hepburn passed away in June 2003, Barbara, who had married no less than three times during that period, received a letter from Hepburn's attorneys. With the letter was a check for $100,000.

Via Hulton Archives / Getty

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. He made nine movies with Katharine Hepburn, and studios concocted a phony romance between the actors that was so well-managed the public accepted it without question. Tracy and Hepburn were always given trailers, dressing rooms, and hotel suites next to each other to keep the myth alive.

In Full Service, Scotty Bowers recalls how Tracy called him to come look at his hot-water cylinder in his house. As Bowers fixed the hot-water heater, Tracy drank an entire bottle of Scotch. Bowers offered to cook for him and Tracy opened another bottle of Scotch. Then, Tracy came on to Bowers.

Bowers writes, "He began to undress and begged me not to leave him. I did not have the heart to say no." Bowers got undressed and climbed into bed with Tracy, who was so drunk and difficult to understand. Bowers tried to calm him down, but Bowers said Tracy "lay his head down at my groin, took hold of my penis and began nibbling on my foreskin."

A few hours later, Bowers woke up to the sound of Tracy stumbling around the bedroom trying to find the bathroom door to pee. Bowers said, "He fumbled for the light switch but couldn't find it, so he just let loose. One moment he was urinating up against the drapes, the next into an open closet, then all over the carpet. Finally he fell back into bed and immediately lapsed into a deep sleep, snoring like an express train."

Bowers continued to have sex with Tracy, which always included Tracy drinking himself into a stupor. Bowers said, "The great Spencer Tracy was another bisexual man, a fact totally concealed by the studio publicity department. That is, if they ever knew about it at all."

Via Hulton Archives / Getty

George Cukor

George Cukor was a legend in the movie industry. He had directed Camille, starring Greta Garbo, along with classics like Romeo and Juliet and The Philadelphia Story.

Cukor had sex with Scotty Bowers, author of Full Service. In their first encounter, Bowers writes that Cukor "moved over to me, began to fondle my balls, then rapidly stroked me to a full erection. In no time at all he started to suck on my erect penis. He was so good at what he was doing that before I knew it I was dizzy with ecstasy and simply lay back until I experienced an absolutely exquisite orgasm." Then, Cukor quickly showered, asked Bowers to shower, and insisted on paying Bowers. Bowers realized that he always has blunt sexual encounters like this.

"There was never any foreplay or necking. There was no preamble, nor was there ever any form of penetration. Anal sex was out of the question. To put it crudely, just like my friend, Cole Porter, George just wanted to suck dick. And he would do it with a quick, cold efficiency."

Via Hulton Archives / Getty

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If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again. List inspired by these answers on Quora .

Will Smith's life got flip turned upside down when he owed the IRS $2.8 million in taxes in 1989.

In 1990, he signed with NBC and created The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Vincent van Gogh only sold ONE painting out of 900 in his life, Red Vineyard at Arles.

He is one of the most recognized artists today. Also, he only removed a portion of his ear, not the whole thing.

van Gogh / gaelle_kermen / Creative Commons / quora.com

Lady Gaga got dropped by a major record label after only three months.

As of 2013, she's sold about 125 million singles. She deserves that applause, applause, applause.

Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

Sidney Poitier was brutally rejected by the American Negro Theater for his Bahamian accent and difficulty reading.

He became a dishwasher as he practiced his accent and reading. Six months later, he was accepted by the theater and went on to be the first black person to win an Oscar.

The Evening Standard / Getty Images / quora.com

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Some of these teeny, tiny details will change how you see the movie.

Lucy, the maid terrified of Cher's dad, is hiding from him during this whole scene.

These famous outfits...did you ever notice they were covered in jumbo safety pins?

Travis is an onlooker in the crowd during this confrontation with Murray.

During the debate, Cher and Amber are wearing the same white shirt.

You can tell from the dainty scalloped edge that these are both Petite Bateau tops. (It also looks like Dionne might be wearing one with her plaid ensemble as well.)

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Walt Disney Animation won its first animated-feature Oscar on Sunday for “Frozen,” and with it a new lease on life after a difficult transition to computer-aided filmmaking.

China announced that it was increasing its military budget for 2014 to almost $132 billion. The expansion is being closely watched by other nations in the region and by the United States.

Pro-Russian demonstrators in Donetsk overcame riot police and occupied the regional government’s administration building for a second time this week.

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

You wouldn't believe the volume of email pitches I receive from marketing folks—it's literally in the hundreds per day—and the vast majority of them get a cursory scan before being shuffled off into the ether with a stroke of the "delete" key. It takes a pretty powerful pitch to get me to read with interest, and even more powerful to get me to respond.

The email I got from Hampton Creek, a high-tech food startup company that researches plant-based egg alternatives, got me to not only respond, but to actually head out to their laboratory/test kitchen space in San Francisco to take a look around for myself.

The concept is appealing, and not just from an animal rights perspective. In 2012, over 40 billion eggs were produced in the U.S., the vast majority of which come from hens kept in battery cages—about 88% according to the American Egg Board. Wouldn't it be nice if we could simultaneously ease the environmental strains produced by these massive hen houses, reduce the number of animals we keep for production, and provide a less expensive alternative in the process? That's the idea that Hampton Creek founder Joshua Balk had, and recently raised another $23 million to pursue. That's big business.

A look inside the Hampton Creek laboratory [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Now, I have a tough time believing that science is anywhere near producing an egg that's indistinguishable from the real thing in whole egg applications like, say, scrambled or sunny-side-up eggs,* but what about eggs used as a minor constituent in other products? I'm talking breads, cookies, and mayonnaise? This is Hampton Creek's point of entry, with their first product, a powdered egg substitute called "Beyond Eggs," being sold directly to food manufacturers.

*a preliminary taste I had of a vegetable-based scrambled egg-type product at their lab confirmed this suspicion

Their first consumer-oriented product, distributed through Whole Foods (and a number of other retailers and prepared-food chains) is called Just Mayo, and it's got the big conventional mayonnaise brands square in its sights. It makes sense—the emulsifiers found in egg yolks play an important role chemically in mayonnaise, but flavor-wise, mayo depends largely on the oil, salt, and acid that make up the bulk of its mass. If you can replace those emulsifying agents with plant-based alternatives, you should be able to create a 100% egg-free product that tastes just as good.

Mayo samples at Hampton Creek [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

So how does Just Mayo stack up? We decided to pit it against the most popular egg-free mayonnaise brands in the country, along with a leading brand of conventional mayonnaise in a blind taste test.

The Contenders

We picked 4 nationally available brands for our taste test:

• Just Mayo
• Vegenaise
• Spectrum Organic Eggless Light Canola Mayo
• Nayonaise

As a control, we also included a leading brand of conventional mayonnaise (In retrospect, we probably should have also included our own homemade vegan mayonnaise as a control).

The Criteria

We tasted all of the mayonnaises completely blind both plain (with french fries for dipping), and in our Classic Potato Salad. As with our regular mayonnaise taste test, we asked tasters to evaluate each brand on a number of criteria, including creaminess, sweetness, tanginess, and overall preference, along with taking detailed notes on texture and flavor.

The Results

Here's the big shocker: Our winning egg-free mayo, Just Mayo, fared better than the conventional mayo. That's right, the two were neck and neck, with the Just Mayo barely eking out a win.

What about the others? The general trends showed that the more similar to conventionally-made mayo a brand was, the better is scored. Brands that were made as true oil-in-water emulsions flavored simply with vinegar, lemon juice, and salt fared the best, while brands that relied on starches, gums, and other thickeners that listed water or soy milk as their primary ingredients fell to the bottom of the pack.

Want a quick and easy way to determine whether or not a new brand of vegan mayo is gonna be any good? Just take a quick look at the ingredients. If oil is at the top of the list, it's probably a safe bet.

Our Favorites

Our two favorite brands both received very high scores. We'd heartily recommend either of them.

Just Mayo

If all of Hampton Creek's upcoming products are as successful as this one, then they have a bright future ahead of them. Tasters like this mayo for its "creamy texture" that was "not goopy," and tasted "like real homemade mayo." Of the five mayonnaises we tasted, it was the "most balanced," with a good hit of acid from both vinegar and lemon to balance out its richness. One taster called it "smooth and sauce-like," while another simply said "I like this a lot."

We'd be happy spreading this stuff on our sandwiches or mixing it into our potato salads any time.

Vegenaise

Another made-like-real-mayo brand, Vegenaise also scored very highly in our test. It has a sweeter flavor (due to brown rice syrup) and a much thicker texture than Just Mayo, which some tasters described as "creamy," while others called "stiff" when used as a dip. Either way, that thick texture was coupled with a "light and clean" flavor that was especially good in the salad. The overall consensus? "A perfectly respectable mayo."

Our Tasting Methodology: All taste tests are conducted completely blind and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample 1 first, while taster B will taste sample 6 first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria that vary from sample to sample. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible.

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

From Drinks

[Top image, coca-colacompany.com; all other photographs by Adam Lindsley]

"I have some news I think you should sit down for," I said.

My wife gave me an odd look and took a seat. "Okay, lay it on me."

"7-Eleven is releasing a Diet Coke Slurpee."

The announcement elicited the level of euphoria I knew it would. "Oh! OH! I love Diet Coke! You know I love Diet Coke! I'm in!"

"Diet Coke Cherry," I clarified.

My wife's broad grin fell a bit at the corners and the twinkle faded from her eye. "Oh. Cherry? Not...regular Diet Coke?"

But despite my wife's disappointment, and perhaps to appeal to a slightly younger Slurpee-slurping demographic, it's cherry first on the Slurpee train. We headed to our local 7-Eleven to give the new icy drink a try.

Fans of Diet Coke will recognize many of the flavors of the original in the Slurpee version: the cola base of the frozen drink doesn't appear to be a massively retooled recipe. The sweetener tastes the same, surrounded by the signature hints of vanilla and cinnamon.

Then the cherry flavoring kicks in, bringing with it a vaguely medicinal undertone that most cherry drinks veer toward. It doesn't seem overpoweringly sweet or cloying—as long as the drink stays frozen. The bite of carbonation in a can of Diet Coke is mostly lost in the Slurpee version, and as the ice melts, the Slurpee begins to taste significantly sweeter than the classic. So drink up fast.

How did my wife, ever the consummate Diet Coke aficionado, take to the new slushy drink? "I still prefer my regular Diet Coke," she said, surreptitiously scooting her Big Gulp away from me as if I might try to swap it with my Slurpee behind her back. "But if it was a hot summer day and I walked into a 7-Eleven and saw this for sale, I'd definitely be happy buying one. But honestly, I'd like it better without the cherry."

And therein lies the key to your enjoyment. If you're already a fan of cherry-flavored diet soda, don't hesitate to give this a whirl. If not, though, chances are you'll be happier sticking to your non-Slurpee favorites. (Either way, Coca-Cola is offering you a risk-free way to find out by texting "DIETCOKE" to 711711 for a free small Slurpee. The offer's good until May 20.)

Not every 7-Eleven carries the new Slurpee yet (we had to call five different stores to find one), but keep an eye on your neighborhood location while the company finishes rolling them out over the next few weeks. No word yet on if a classic Diet Coke version is on the horizon, but should such an event occur, you'll find my wife beelining toward the nearest Slurpee machine.

About the author: Adam Lindsley is a Pacific Northwest-based writer, musician, and the author of the pizza blog, This Is Pizza. You can follow him at @ThisIsPizza on Twitter. He may typically be found in his cups wherever Belgian beers are readily available.

[Photograph: Chipotle]

They're called "Sofritas," they're made of tofu, they're 100 percent vegan, and they're pretty darn delicious. The saucy, crumbled, sausage-like filling, which can be ordered in any of Chipotle's burritos, tacos, or salads, has thus far been available in select markets (find out where at chipotle.com), mainly on the West Coast. Today, Chipotle announced that starting March 3, they'd be expanding its availability to both coasts and several markets in between, with plans to roll it out across the country in the works. It's the first nationwide new menu item the company has introduced since its inception.

I've been following the vegetarian options at Chipotle with great interest ever since Culinary Manager Nate Appleman gave me a taste of some early prototype recipes he was working on at the Chipotle test kitchen in Chelsea. For a while, it seemed that the "Garden Blend," a vegan product that had a texture and flavor similar to veggie burger patties, was going to be their vegan option, but thankfully they went back to the drawing board on that one.

The new Sofritas are made with tofu from Hodo, an Oakland-based company that uses traditional methods to produce their organic tofu. For several years, Appleman has been using the tofu at Shophouse, Chipotle's foray into the world of Asian cuisine serving sandwiches and rice bowls in D.C.

At Chipotle, they braise the crumbled tofu with chipotle and poblano peppers and a ton of spices in an aromatic broth. The resulting mixture is a moderately spicy stew with a sort of sloppy joe-like texture.

I've had the Sofritas at several events and at West Coast branches of the chain, and if they manage to keep up the quality of the product across all their stores, this is good reason for vegetarians, vegans, and even veg-curious carnivores to rejoice.

We'll be back with a full review in short order, but until then, what are your thoughts? Have you tried them yet? Would you be willing to if they reach a store near you?

The Internet of Things is coming to your mouth. Procter & Gamble released the Oral-B smartphone-connected toothbrush, the first of its kind from a major brand. The electric brush links with a smartphone and records your brushing habits. The app also gives mouth care tips and news headlines.

READ MORE »

We should really talk about this. Promise you won’t get mad, okay? I came across this for the first time twelve years ago. I’ve been blogging here for almost eight years, which means I had ample time to tell you about and just didn’t. (I kinda feel like a kid right now who forgot to mention that they were flunking Spanish until report cards came out. I’m sooo grounded.) It gets worse. I finally made it on New Years Day for brunch and it was promptly declared one of the best things I’ve ever made, which is kind of rude. I mean, the lasagna bolognese can hear you! I still didn’t tell you about it, reasoning that it is Not Acceptable to talk about carbs, fat and refined sugar in the time of Resolutions. And then, late in January, we had another brunch and I made it again and still I held out. Sheesh, even I think I’m kind of a jerk right now.

Enough is enough. If you think it about it, it was always just a matter of time before two of this site’s great loves — French toast, or if you wanna be fancy, morning bread pudding, and salted butter caramel — got together to become something greater than the sum of their parts. This is basically French toast destiny.

... Read the rest of morning bread pudding with salted caramel on smittenkitchen.com

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