"Check out the line outside Guy Fieri's. People love 0 star food!" — Adam Roberts, he of the Amateur Gourmet, with the on-the-ground intel at Flavor Town, where people are apparently lining up for the 500-seat Guy's American Kitchen & Bar. [Twitter]

Apparently, when is comes to judging the average person’s ability to correctly assess, “Should I urinate here?” you really can’t be too careful.

Especially, it seems, in Chicago — as witnessed by both Julie and Whitney. Although, “To be fair,” Whitney adds, “the entire city seems to be fair game for public urination.”

related: What is it about thrift store fitting rooms?!

extra credit: Street art by ELBOW-TOE

This Nedroid comic (which often brings pizza into the picture) appeared on reddit last night. Oddly, it doesn't seem to be on the Nedroid site.

[How to Cut a Pizza from reddit]

Youtuber CriticaDaqueleFilme created this supercut of movies that depict the end of the world. Seems fitting, since some people still believe that the end of the world is happening this Friday.

Jazzy! From designer Ty Mattson .

Source: mattsoncreative.com

Via: mattsoncreative.com

Via: mattsoncreative.com

Via: mattsoncreative.com

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Roasting marshmallows -- inside.

Casey Normile

Summer is usually s'more season. You gather around the campfire, stick in hand, and get ready to accidentally set some marshmallows on fire in the quest to get a perfectly golden brown 'mallow.

But the new Madison Station in Albany has decided to lengthen s'mores season by offering tableside make-your-own s'mores.

You don't have to sit out in the cold for a campfire, the ingredients are brought to your table, and you can accidentally overcook your marshmallows from the warmth of a café stool.

there's more

The photo of a passenger peeing out of the window of a public bus in the Fujian city of Xiamen, has been much circulated by Chinese social media users. Unsurprisingly it provoked yet another round of soul-searching about the morality and civic consciousness of the Chinese people. [ more › ]

Chen Siyuan can write simultaneously with both hands, in English and Chinese, in different directions. In high school Chen casually discovered that the easiest way to study English was to develop this insane ambidextrous ability, and has been blowing minds ever since. [ more › ]

In the above video posted on Friday, a woman gives birth as you’ve never seen it before (assuming you’ve witnessed childbirth). At the three-and-a-half-minute mark, with her three-year-old son sitting next to her and staring, the woman on the lower-right part of the screen pulls a newborn baby out of her dress, and… what did the hell did we just watch???

Via Go Chengdoo:

The woman, 39-year-old Wang Liying, was on the 666 bus on her way to the hospital for a checkup when her stomach suddenly began hurting, she told a reporter afterward. It was 8 o’clock Wednesday morning, and she wasn’t expecting the baby to appear for another five days at least. But so it did, and as the other passengers realized what was happening, they notified the bus driver, came over to assist the woman, and unanimously decided that the bus driver should head toward the hospital, according to the Chengdu Commercial Daily.

You might be inclined to criticize nearby passengers for not helping the woman (maybe she didn’t want help?), but let’s not get sidetracked from the main story here: Wang Liying gave birth, without assistance, while sitting on a moving bus. Let’s full-stop this sentence.

The bus driver, by the way, did all he could. Go Chengdoo again:

In an interview the next day with the bus driver, You Zhixu, 41, he said that because it was rush hour, he put on his emergency lights and stepped on the gas. The average speed of a city bus is 30 kmph, but he said he went up to 60, ran through two red lights, and passed every bus stop without stopping, much to the confusion of waiting passengers, who waved at him to stop. He added that at the time he felt more nervous than when his own wife was giving birth.

Eventually he spotted an ambulance and flagged it down. The medical staff came on board to take the mother and her two children to the hospital.

A ridiculous tale, one that’s much better than NOVA’s “The Miracle of Life.”

The below Youku video comes via Shanghaiist; you can see people springing to action to help the woman after the baby is born.

No one can say that we here at NOOBs don’t tackle the profound issues of the day. A Smithsonian Magazine headline, posted just an hour ago (as I write) read: “The Most Exclusive Coffee in the World Is Harvested From Elephant Poo.”

On the other hand, American Republican political operative Grover Norquist notoriously said after our recent election: “The president was elected on the basis that he was not Romney and that Romney was a poopy-head, and you should vote against Romney”

I don’t care much about Grover Norquist or the most exclusive coffee in the world, but I am interested in the possibility that British poo is taking over from good old American poop in the faeces euphemism department.

The question turns out to be a somewhat complicated one, as these questions tend to be. The OED offers two separate sets of entries for these terms, with separate etymologies. One derives from the onomatopoeic interjection “Poo,” dating from the 1600s, when it was more commonly spelled “Puh” or “Pooh,” or, as Fielding rendered it in this quote from Tom Jones: “‘Pugh,’ says she, ‘you have pinked a Man in a Duel, that’s all.’”

It was not until the 1960s, according to the OED, that the word began to be used as a noun or verb for excrement, as The Guardian did in 1981: “That doggy’s doing a poo.”

The second entry derives from a different instance of onomatopoeia. The OED cites this definition from an early eighteenth-century dictionary: “to break Wind backwards softly.” By the 1920s, poop had acquired, in the United States, solidity. The OED quotes Ezra Pound in a 1940 letter: “This federation poop is just the same old..secret committee of shit.”

Complicating manners are at least three additional meanings of poop. One, derived from the term for the rear of a boat, refers to the rear of a person or animal. The second–which Pound may have had in mind–is an American slang term, originating in the military, for inside information. The third, which probably isn’t relevant, is pooped, an Americanism meaning “exhausted” or “worn out.”

Getting back to poo versus poop, here is a Google Ngram chart showing use of dog poo and dog poop n Britain and the U.S. between 2000 and 2008 (the most recent year for which figures are available):

It confirms that the dominant form is poop in the U.S. (red line) and poo Britain (yellow line), and that poo (green line) is on the rise in the U.S., with a roughly 100 percent increase in the period.

Further research is clearly needed. For the time being, my sense is that my fellow Americans are rather conflicted on the matter, sometimes, as in this Huffington Post piece from March, trying to have it both ways:

“Poop. Is there anything it can’t do? On Wednesday, The Denver Zoo introduced what is believed to be the world’s first poo-powered motorized tuk tuk showcasing The Denver Zoo’s very own patent-pending gasification technology.”

Make up your mind, Huffington Post!

Hanjan
36 W 26th St., Flatiron District
Phone: 212-206-7226
Web: www.hanjan26.com
Status: Certified Open

Hooni Kim, chef and owner of the beloved Midtown Korean restaurant (and Eater 38 member) Danji, has opened his newest project Hanjan in the Flatiron District. Hanjan is Kim's take on a joomak, or traditional Korean tavern. The menu is split into modern and traditional items much like Danji's, but has an additional section highlighting Korean skewers, including a barbecue Galbi option. The 50-seat restaurant is open Monday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Previous Coverage: Fall Previewing, 8/20; Fall Tracking, 8/30.
Further Reading: Tasting Table, Grub Street, Mad Park News, TONY.

Hanjan Menu Full
[Photo]

Isa lies at the end of a highway, the terminus of a newly paved road laying across parched scrub land of Northern Nigeria. Geographically, it lies not far from the border of Niger, and exudes some of that qualities of border towns: the squinting stares of merchants, the turned heads as we pass by, the looks with questioning if not accusatory eyes. Soon we’re rounded up by the local police, and quickly find ourselves in the audience of the King. where we explain our mission.

The next morning, Ibrahim, the vice official comes to greet us – they’ve lodged us in a simple unoccupied house – and to deliver us to the King’s mansion. As he explains, the King has “gathered a few of his musicians to play for us.” He leads us down the long main avenue of town. It is a market day, and the street teems with anticipation. We struggle to keep up with Ibrahim, but with a hurried stride he surges ahead of us. Orbiting around us swirl an accumulation of tiny children who dance in our wake until we have assembled our own procession.

Court Musicians of Isa – Guns & Drums

Court Musicians of Isa – Horns

At the far end of the avenue lies the King’s Palace, a grand white structure with a heavy round wooden door. Suddenly, blasts of trumpet sound. We enter through the arch, where much of the town has gathered. The King has assembled not a few musicians, but all of the musicians across his domain in a carnival-esque confusion. The acrid smell of gunpowder burns the air as rifles are fired by dancers, amidst the seemingly unorganized staccato of drums, sending the two tethered horses into a frenzy. Old men yell indiscernible phrases into megaphones over the din. The display is foreign, yet uncannily familiar as some medieval trope, as court magicians in red and green patchwork trace blades across their bodies that leave no marks, dance on broken coke bottles, and swallow razor blades. In a coup de grace, the troupe of the kakakai assemble their instruments, these elongated and impossibly thin brass horns, which are pointed at the King’s house where he sits gazing from inside.

The King’s adviser calls us and asks if we’ve seen enough, at which point the festivities fold, the troupes come to pay their respects kneeling before his highness who sits on a plush green couch and hands out purple and pink Naira as befitting. We are then promptly arrested by the police who have been watching from afar – but that’s another story for another time.

The post king’s crossing appeared first on sahelsounds.

looking at a roasted pig (the end)

Maybe if North Korea hadn't bragged that its satellite was broadcasting "patriotic songs" it would be harder to tell when it wasn't working. As it is, scientists haven't heard any evidence of the supposed broadcast, and they still see it spinning out of control, so basically it sounds like the thing is now space junk. According to the South China Morning Post, the device's two missions were to "observe earth" and air the songs, but there's no sound coming from it. And as The New York Times explains, "the satellite, about the size of a washing machine, reportedly carries an on-board camera to observe the earth. That mission requires the spacecraft to remain quite steady." But it's spinning end over end, which scientists can see by its flickering. It might just be a washing-machine-sized chunk of metal now, but at least we'll be able to track it for a while to come. Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told SCMP: "These things are hard to calculate, but roughly speaking, an object of that density at that height is going to stay up for a few years."

Read more posts by Adam Martin

Filed Under: north korea ,kim jong-un ,satellites ,rockets ,international affairs

The world is supposedly ending on Dec. 21. Are you as ready as these pinners?

There are a ton of "End of the World" boards.

OK, so technically that last one is a wedding board, because if there's one thing Pinterest likes more than collecting tips to circumvent imminent disaster, it's weddings.

Source: pinterest.com

There are a bunch of "Apocalypse" boards too.

Think you have enough recycled bottles to last through nuclear winter? Think again, fool.

Source: pinterest.com

And, naturally, "Zombie Apocalypse."

Source: pinterest.com

They suggest stocking up on zombie-destroying axes and DEHYDRAT[ING] EGGS.

Bonus: instructions for a DIY wind turbine.

Source: pinterest.com

View Entire List ›

Take a quick trip inside the terrifying world of the British psyche. Highlights from the politest and most apologetic subreddit of all time, /r/britishproblems .

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As if the Chinese media's obsession with shèngnǚ (剩女) or 'leftover women' wasn't creepy and regressive enough already, the Global Times is now advising the "yellowed pearls" to go get themselves a gay best friend. Gay people, they're just like handbags! (The article literally says this) [ more › ]

The queen surveyed gold bars, corgis, and swamp monsters with the same implacable gaze.

She looked at stacks of gold.

Giving the late Kim Jong Il a run for his money.

Image by  Eddie Mulholland, Pool / AP

She eyed faucets.

Image by Carl Court - WPA Pool / Getty Images

She examined horses.

Image by David Parker - WPA Pool / Getty Images

Image by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool / Getty Images

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Filed under: Airlines, Video, Airports

Lots of things make me uncomfortable about this video (including the music) but the most gut-wrenching is probably the final approach that this pilot takes towards the air strip. It's an acrobatic, if not risky way to land an airplane, but it sure does make for some sensational video. Skip up to 2:00 if you want to cut down on the superfluous music and footage.

Crazy Airplane Landing Captured On Video originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These tweets are actually the worst.

This girl who can't take a compliment.

Source: despicabletweets

This person who lulz at hungry people. Also Africa. Also the delete button.

Source: despicabletweets

This waiter hater.

Source: despicabletweets

These people who want to assassinate the President.

Source: bensmith

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The amazingly botched restoration of the famous “Ecce Homo” painting, done by a Spanish amateur painter who turned a 19th century portrait of Jesus into that of a ghost monkey, took the Internet by storm this year, quickly becoming what is arguably the best meme of 2012.

Now, Cecelia Giminez, the painting’s infamous restorer, has waded back into the art world with some original work. The Daily Dot reports that she’s selling at least one piece, called “The Bodegas de Borja,” on eBay. Add that to your holiday gift guides.
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Tudou (土豆, potato) is a two-year-old Samoyed from Yixing City, Jiangsu Province. His owner Lu Zesheng claims to have taught the dog to do basic mental arithmetic, Tudou barks the answers to such questions as 'How many digits does ten million have?' or 'How much is 3.44 plus 3.56?' [ more › ]

1. Santigold – Master of My Make-Believe

"I knew this would be my #1 album of 2012 as soon as I heard it.  Beats great for   listening to in really any circumstance.  My fave is “Look at These Hoes."

2.  fun. – Some Nights

Try as I might, I cannot stop listening to this record.  It’s my go-to to get me through the long part of the afternoon on a work day.  Favorite tracks are the single “We Are Young” and “One Foot.”

3. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself

This is a late addition to my list, but I can already tell it is a keeper.  I’ve listened to   this at least twice a day (big underestimate) since my first listen.  The melodies and instrumentation are captivating.  Upbeat, yet introspective.  This may have been a contender for the #1 spot if I had heard it sooner.

4. Hospitality – Hospitality

This record reminds me of the best albums put out by Belle & Sebastian, one of my favorite bands of all time.  So, of course, it was an easy add to the top 10.  Unlike some of the recent music by B&S, it still seems fresh and new, even a bit edgy at times.  Definitely give it a listen.

5.  Cat Power – Sun

The newest entry into Cat Power’s body of work finds her less guitar-heavy and sad sack than in previous ventures.  I like this change, I think it makes for a very strong album from start to finish.  My favorite track is the VERY catchy “3, 6, 9,” listen to it and try not to sing it all day long-I dare you.

6.  David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant

I kept commenting that my list for 2012 was “very tight at the top” and that is definitely case here.  In a year with fewer great releases, this album from David Byrne & St. Vincent could easily have been my #1.  It is kind of whacky, yet creeps into your ears and takes hold there. It makes David Byrne seem just as relevant to the music world as he was 30 years ago.

7. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp

This record manages to be ethereal and thought provoking while still completely rocking. Seeing Van Etten at Restfest this year was definitely a highlight of 2012.

8.  Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls

They are so young. They are so good.  How does she sing like that?
     
9. The Casket Girls– Sleepwalking

Another late addition to my list, The Casket Girls record became an instant favorite for me.  I listen to it when I’m feeling a little (but just a little) gritty.  Definitely check out this awesome band from Savannah, GA.

10.  Beach House– Bloom

The final spot on my list was probably the most difficult to decide this year.  So many great albums came out in 2012 that I easily could have made a Top 20, but decided against it at the last minute. This album is slow and deliberate, but not so slow and deliberate that it is tedious. Instead, the product is comforting.  It definitely took more than one listen for this to catch on for me, but I’m glad it did.

Other Albums of Note

As I’ve mentioned, I easily could have curated a Top 20 list this year, but decided against it. These albums are amongst the strong contenders for that expanded list.

• The Kamikaze Hearts – Live 05-07
• Sigur Ros – Voltari  
• Tame Impala – Lonerism  
• Mount Eerie – Ocean Roar  
• Ben Kweller – Go Fly a Kite  
• Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
• Jack White - Blunderbuss
• The Shins – Port of Morrow
• M. Ward - A Wasteland Companion
• Rosary Beard - Halfmoon Fever

Good news is that the culprit has been discovered. She is big, black, and furry.

Conventional wisdom for women and men choosing a perfume or cologne generally holds that one should avoid making a strong statement with a scent. Let someone else's perfume sensually assault everyone else in the boardroom.

Not so, apparently, in Gaza, where a local company's newest fragrance is called M-75, named after the long-range rockets Hamas designed and fired on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last month.

Marketed to both women and men (there are two different scents and his and hers bottles), the fragrance is meant to be a symbol of Palestinian resistance and a celebration that M-75 rockets were able to reach their targets during the eight day "Operation Pillar of Defense" in November.

According to the owner of the company, Shadi Adwan, "The fragrance is pleasant and attractive, like the missiles of the Palestinian resistance, and especially the M-75." Its goal? "To remind citizens of the victory wherever they may be, even in China."

The success of this political beauty statement has yet to be determined. M-75 costs twice as much as other perfumes in Gaza, due to its "luxurious" ingredients. Let's hope this doesn't lead to retaliation. No one wants to know what "Pillar of Defense" smells like.

We’re going to be posting our favorite songs and albums of the year here. To submit your own, please email beatz2012@mailinator.com.

Maybe you've seen this newish SodaStream commercial that was banned in Europe but airs carefree in the U.S.? The one that features attractive people hitting the carbonating button atop their machines to make seltzer, but also thereby remotely detonating bottles of cola and orange soda in warehouses and bodegas, as if they were two-liter bogeymen?

Last month, the U.K. regulator Clearcast banned the ad for "denigrating the soft drinks industry." The company insisted they didn't mean to offend anyone, but, as stated in the commercial, using the appliance will spare the environment. "With SodaStream you can save 2,000 bottles a year," they say. "Set the bubbles free." After the TV spot was pulled, YouTube views went through the roof.

The Israel-based appliance manufacturer is now launching an expanded YouTube presence and announced it will advertise during the 2013 Super Bowl with an expansion of the exploding-soda gimmick.

And while nothing says "anti-establishment" like spending a few million dollars to advertise during the Super Bowl, or partnering with Kraft on a co-branded line of Country Time seltzer mix-ins, the company seems to be set to profit from its rad new 'tude. “We are the anti-establishment brand,” chief marketing officer Ilan Nacasch tells Bloomberg. “We are challenging the status quo, conscious that moving to SodaStream is a big behavioral change for the consumer. We want to be seen as a rebel, and raise awareness of bottle and can pollution.”

We're sure the people at Coca-Cola will have something to say about this, and we'll all find out during half-time.

SodaStream Counts on Super Bowl Ads for Sales: Israel Overnight [Bloomberg]
Earlier: Not So Sweet: Board of Health Approves Soda Ban

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: tank you, crystal light, sodastream, video feed