IKEA Monkey

Name an English word that contains,
but does NOT begin with,
the letters "QU"

EXAMPLES:

AQUA, SQUATTER, DISQUALIFY

Please add your entry to our comment list below,
and have a great weekend!

Here's a video of the 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest winner, Janos Karancz. His motion is so delicate and intricate, it's almost like he's doing needlepoint or something:

Contrast that with the winner of the 2000 World Yo-Yo Contest, Yu Kawada. Much simpler tricks, more showmanship, like it's a dance:

Here's some footage from a 1989 yo-yo contest. Lots of throwing tricks and fewer spinning tricks. Contestants competed in blazers!

And finally, a Duncan yo-yo commercial from 1976. Super simple tricks and more blazers!

Emphasis on updo.

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Someone took a 45 rpm record of Dolly singing Jolene — her famous track about a woman who steals her man just because she can — and slowed it to 33 rpm. Doesn't it sound like something that could be on a Breaking Bad soundtrack? Or am I just obsessed? Or both?

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Yesterday, I wrote a Corey Feldman-approved post about my night at Corey Feldman's birthday party. Despite describing it as a "great article!" prior to publication, Corey took to Twitter to vent about how much he disliked the post after it was published:

Every1 who was there last Fri had an amazing time, and it was beautiful, I truly hope U aren't deceived by those horrid photos!

— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) August 21, 2013

@VICE mockery is the highest form of flattery! U specifically used all the terrible awful pics I asked U not 2 use......terrible #shame

— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) August 21, 2013

Im really sad that there r so many liars n haters n the world. This online site went out of the way to make beautiful ppl look bad..so sad!

— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) August 21, 2013

 

It's called defamation of character and slander n I'm pretty sure those things r still illegal n this country @VICE pic.twitter.com/810FykUEOq

— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) August 21, 2013

As you can see, his main issue seems to be the images I selected to accompany my post. So at the top of this page is a launchable gallery containing a wider selection of pictures I took during the evening. Corey, if you're reading this, I hope this makes things better between us. 

@JLCT

Previously: I Went to Corey Feldman's Birthday Party 

(Paxton Holley)

We were taking a look at the latest QSR 50 report from QSR Magazine, which ranks the nation’s largest fast food chains by everything from revenue to number of stores, and noticed that not only is Subway the chain with the most stores, it’s also the one that added the most from last year.

According to the chart, there were 25,549 Subways in the U.S. in 2012. To put that in perspective, that’s 1.8 times the number of McDonald’s and more than double the total number of Starbucks, the next two largest chains on the list. When you add McDonald’s and Starbucks’ numbers together, it only comes out to 25,285, short of the total for Subway.

Out of curiosity, we added up the store totals for restaurants 21-50 on the list and it only came to 23,929! That means that Subway is larger than Popeyes, Panera, Jimmy John’s, Panda Express, Chipotle, Papa Murphy’s, Church’s Chicken, Carl’s Jr., Five Guys, Long John Silver’s, Tim Hortons, Checkers/Rally’s, Jamba Juice, Whataburger, Qdoba, Zaxby’s, Del Taco, Cici’s, Bojangles, Wingstop, Captain D’s, Steak ‘n Shake, Moe’s, Culver’s, Boston Market, White Castle, El Pollo Loco, In-N-Out Burger, Jason’s Deli, and Krispy Kreme… combined.

And yet, in spite of that impressive number of stores, Subway only brought in around one-third of the sales revenue that McDonald’s earned in 2012, and only slightly more than Starbucks made with half the number of stores.

If anyone out there wants to make a Subway version of the McFarthest project and try to locate the spot in America that is the farthest away from the odd par-baked bread smell of a Subway, we’d think you were the coolest person on the planet.

Of course, since Subway added 956 new stores in 2012 (2.6 per day) — 615 more than the next chain on the list — such a map would probably be outdated before it was even published.

Prison Break's Wentworth Miller wrote openly about his sexual orientation in a letter to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, explaining that, as a gay man, he didn't feel comfortable supporting (via his presence and profile) the violently anti-gay Russian government. The text of the letter is below.

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From Chicago

View Serious Eats Neighborhood Guides: Lee Kuebler's Ukrainian Village in a larger map

Lee Kuebler, chef de cuisine at Ada St

Lee Kuebler has lived in Ukrainian Village for six years now and enjoys eating out in his neighborhood when he's not busy working as chef de cuisine at Ada St. "The food scene has been blowing up in Ukrainian Village," he says. "There are new restaurants popping up on Chicago Avenue all the time."

Kuebler enjoys the mix of people in his neighborhood and how safe it feels. "There's a lot of Eastern European families and it's a nice quiet neighborhood," he says. "But it's close enough to West Town or Wicker Park that you can access those neighborhoods but stay away from it too. It reminds me of Lakeview but quieter with tree-lined streets."

Here are some of his favorite eats in Ukrainian Village, with a few stops in nearby Humboldt Park.

Char Dog at Phil's Last Stand [Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]

Hot Dog: Phil's Last Stand. They do char dogs, Chicago style. They're open late and one of my favorite hot dog spots in the entire city. It's one of those places that's opened up since I've lived in the neighborhood. A great addition.

Pizza: I don't eat pizza often in Ukrainian Village, but when I do, it's usually late and I'm drunk, so I go to Bacci. They have big New York slices of pizza that you have to fold in half to eat. It usually hits the spot for late night cravings.

Burgers: Usually I go to The Beetle for a good burger. They don't do anything super special but it's close to my house and has a sentimental place in my heart. I've got a lot of good memories there.

Open Faced Tuna Melt at Bite Cafe [Photograph: Michell Eloy]

Breakfast/Brunch: Most of the time I'll venture out of Ukrainian Village for brunch, but I like Bite Cafe. It's a cool atmosphere. They don't try to do anything fancy, but you can tell that there's somebody in the kitchen that cares about what they're doing. I had a pork pozole with a poached egg that was just killer.

Coffee: Star Lounge. It's right across the street from my apartment. I go there three to four times a week. In the summer I drink solely iced coffee, otherwise I like their house blend. They do all sorts of wild specialties though, like coffee on tap. I've never seen anyone so passionate about coffee than the people that work at this place. Every time I go in there, I see them doing something new with coffee, and I always ask them about it. I'm not that adventurous with my own coffee. I like it just with cream and sugar. But it's fascinating to hear when they're doing with it.

Chicken Jibarito from Papa's Cache Sabroso [Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]

Puerto Rican: There's not much Mexican in Ukrainian Village but there's an awesome Puerto Rican spot on the border of Humboldt Park. Papa's Cache Sabroso. They do rotisserie chicken, gandules (pigeon peas) and rice and jibaritos, Puerto Rican sandwiches served on fried plantains instead of bread.

Italian:A Tavola. It's so good. I don't know if they're known for it, but they definitely make the best gnocchi in the entire city. The menu is really small and doesn't change often, but it's super approachable, super simple Italian food. It's a little ten table restaurant and a great romantic spot. It's really a hidden gem. Nobody's ever heard of it and you can drive past it five times without ever seeing it. It's literally in an apartment building and the first floor has a wooden door and the name of the restaurant is inconspicuously displayed next to it.

Fish carpaccio at Kai Zan [Photograph: Roger Kamholz]

Sushi: Kai Zan. I've had the omakase, but usually when I go here I stop in early evening and grab a quick small bite and take off. If I get off early or I just want to grab a six-pack and chat with a friend over seafood, I'll pop in here for a little bit. These guys are really creative, so I tend to order off their specials menu. The dudes are super talented so I like trying their newest inventions.

Groceries: There's this little Amish grocery store on Western Avenue, Amish Healthy Foods. That place is pretty cool to go get farm eggs from and they have a lot of game, frozen bison and venison that's kind of cool. There's also Rich's Deli. That's probably the grocery store I frequent most often. They have some pretty unique Eastern European things. And all these places in Ukrainian Village have ducks, or rabbits or pheasant or squab. It's pretty cool to grab something kind of offbeat.

Corned Beef Sandwich at Kasia's Deli [Photograph: Roger Kamholz]

Essential Neighborhood Spot: Kasia's Deli. They've got pierogi that you can eat there or take them to cook at home. That's Ukrainian Village right there, good Polish food. I usually get them fresh and bring 'em home and boil them and sautée them in brown butter.

Date Night: I think A Tavola is the best date night spot. It's the best restaurant in Ukrainian Village. They always have gnocchi with just brown butter and sage. Those little pillows are just so perfect. Completely unfussy. It's dimly lit with white table cloths and candles on the tables. They've got a great little patio in the summer. It's a real sexy date spot.

Drinks: Usually I drink at Archie's at Iowa and Rockwell. It's just a dive bar, and there's no food except cheese balls that they'll give you if you ask for them. There's free pool and the place has a real community feel. It's like Cheers. For $5 every day they've got what they call a ham and beans. A can of ham and a shot of Jameson every day. That's usually when I stumble to Bacci, after a night at Archie's.

On Wednesday, San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith announced that the city had reached a potential deal with Mayor Bob Filner concerning the sexual harassment lawsuit recently filed by Filner's former communications director Irene McCormack Jackson. Today that deal has been leaked and it involves Bob Filner finally, finally resigning.

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If you’re done whining about High Overlord Fidel Hitler Obama shoving health care down your throat, let’s take a wee peek outside the United States and explore the lives of people. In some countries, instead of raining down health care, leaders are shelling their own populations with chemical weapons. Per the Washington Post:

Horrific photos and videos from Syria on Wednesday showed scores of bodies, including many children, lined up in field hospitals and morgues in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. Opposition spokesmen said they were evidence of a massive chemical weapons attack by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds were reported killed, and medical personnel at the scene described symptoms consistent with the use of deadly nerve agents: constricted pupils, foam around the mouth and breathing difficulties.

At least they are having breathing difficulties and foaming mouths without the threat of forced health care. Three cheers for freedom, yo! 

We reported snarked about some smaller-scale uses of chemical weapons earlier in the summer, when virgina-American Barlinda Obama promised to send some guns over there, but apparently they haven’t arrived yet, but would some small arms really protect you from being gassed by your own leader? Probably not, so maybe we should STEP THE FUCK UP and get moar involved.

We here at Wonket are not military strategists, but when a leader uses chemical weapons on his own people, maybe we can all put aside bullshit partisan differences and agree that we should use some of the elevently gazillion dollars we spend on our military to SHUT THAT SHIT THE FUCK DOWN. Probably in coalition with other countries, and in a responsible way, but maybe sooner rather than later. Perhaps a No Fly Zone to protect people from future chemical weapons attacks?

Of course, we don’t really expect that to happen. Instead, the right will complain that Obama is either being tyrannical or leading from behind or not doing anything, and the left will complain that war – HUH – what is it good for?, and academics will hem and haw about long-term implications of military involvement and in a few weeks there will be more videos of kids FUCKING DYING from chemical weapons and we can start the whole cycle over again because AMERICA, FUCK YEAH, or something.

Sorry kids, but politicians really need to examine how this will affect their polling, and since you are foreigners… and brown… and can’t vote… there might not be much in it for elected officials, sorry you couldn’t raise enough cash to get a good lobbyist, and don’t give me that ‘my money was exploded by chemical weapons’ bullshit, because personal responsibility.

And the U.N. is contemplating a resolution, and we hear that framed copies of U.N. resolutions hung properly in the house work just as good as plastic sheeting and duct tape, so just wait for copies in the mail, folks of Syria!

While we drink our lattes Irish coffees and make what funnies we can out of this horrendous news, there are some organizations who are trying to actually make a difference, like International Medical Corps. Others, like Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, are working in refugee camps in neighboring countries. If you have not given all your monies to Wonket to help pay our bills, consider supporting these organizations before drinking yourself into oblivion while sobbing about the state of the world.

[Washington Post]

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When I read that Olympic gold medal swimmer and failed reality TV star Ryan Lochte was doing something yesterday that involved delivering pizza, I immediately had to go to my records and see who won the “What Will Ryan Lochte Do?” jackpot. But with all apologies to my postal carrier, Esmerelda, it turns out that America’s sex idiot wasn’t delivering pizzas yesterday, but pizzeria-flavord Combos for a new commercial.

What concerns me most about this isn’t how delicious pizza-flavored Combos are and how I’d love it if a giant case was sent to me, but having one of our greatest American athletes swimming in the Hudson River. That’s like asking Gabby Douglas to perform an aerial as a Sharknado passes by. It’s a very irresponsible move by Combos that could have left Lochte very ill, as his mouth isn’t capable of closing all the way and would end up taking in gallons of waste-filled waters.

Behind Jagermeister, that would be the second worst thing that Lochte could put in his body this week.

And in case you were wondering if Lochte still has that undeniable media charm…

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I have no milky boob to fling into the breastfeeding yay vs breastfeeding boo battle royale, but if you do choose to breastfeed your child, this music video will show you the nipple er light er both.

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I guess my best friend's college boyfriend was onto something after all: Two-tone jeans are back!

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Here’s one way to generate some content on a slow news day. Mark Judge, author of A Tremor of Bliss (ick!), has a thing at Tuckerson Carlicue’s House of Words ‘n’ Boobs titled “Barack Obama: the first female president.” And then he explains that he’s come to this conclusion honestly:

And no, it’s not because President Obama doesn’t hunt or drink a lot of beer, or curse and belch. As I’ve written before, quoting H.L. Mencken, every great man has a streak of woman in him.

The problem, says Judge, is that

Barack Obama doesn’t have just a streak of the feminine in him; he seems to be a woman, and a feminist one at that, with a streak of man in him.

Oh, goody — this should be just full of insights!

Judge explains that he

first noticed this in watching Obama’s reaction to terrorism. No matter how bland or professorial a man is, there comes a moment when his family or his country is threatened and he shows rage and the desire to kill. You can see it in his eyes — that flare of hatred, the primal urge to eradicate those who would poison your tribe.

And then we get a bunch of manly examples of eyes that Judge has looked into, including those of “both Roosevelts,” JFK, Reagan, Bush “standing on the rubble of 9/11″ (no mention of Bush’s fiery eyes while reading “The Pet Goat”). And of course, Captain Kirk and the manly men of action movies.

And then we’re off and running, with a point-by point examination of how Barack Obama fails to live up to the “7 Manly Virtues” in a terrific book of “Manvotionals.” You will be shocked and surprised to learn that Barack Obama is not nearly manly enough! And it is proven through such timely examples as his voting record in the Illinois state senate.

Also, we learn that Barack Obama lacks spunk. Seriously, “spunk” — we tend to be in the Lou Grant camp when it comes to spunk, frankly. But that is not the point. The real point is that Obama’s

real lack of spunk is evident in his abject terror of his wife Michelle. It’s not uncommon for a husband to joke about his wife being angry at him, but Obama obsessively returns to the theme in speech after speech: “Now, I don’t wanna get Michelle angry at me…”

Worse, Barack Obama is just plain pussy-whipped:

On their first date, the couple saw the violent black rage film “Do the Right Thing,” so that Michelle could make sure Barack “was down with the struggle.” With her love of violent movies, her fixation on fitness, and death glare that appears when she doesn’t like what she’s hearing, Michelle is actually more man than her husband. Oh for the days when president George W. Bush gave his wife Laura a loving but firm pat on the backside in public. The man knew who was boss.

No, we’re not going to go through the whole tedious thing; you already know what’s there. Benghazi, Obama’s grades, affirmative action, and did we mention that “deep down he’s lazy”? It’s OK because Obama said that, you know. Probably shiftless, too.

But really, it comes down to Obama not being manly like Captain Kirk:

But when it comes time to cast an important vote with profound moralimplications, or defend your ship or your country against an evil enemy, a man is ready to throw down. At these times, Obama ducks out or reacts with puerile resentment or flies to academic abstraction. I mean, what would Michelle think?

Killing The Enemy makes you manly as fuck, doesn’t it? We remember that wimpy night when Obama hid behind Michelle’s skirts while the Navy Seals were killing bin Laden. If he was there at all, right guys?

Also, we like Picard better.

[Daily Caller / Photo credit: Patrick Montero/NYDailyNews]

It's time, once again, to name and shame the week's biggest pussies. Featuring TWO families with unpronounceable names that begin with the letter G.

Cry-Baby #1: The neighbors of the Giesegh family

(screencap 11 News/ story via)

The incident: A family in Colorado installed a wheelchair ramp on their home. 

The appropriate response: Nothing. 

The actual response: Their neighbors are threatening to take legal action against them. 

Vincent and Heidi Giesegh have a 16-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy. Because of this, they installed a wheelchair ramp on their home. 

In an interview with 11 News, Vincent said, "We're trying to do our best to assist our daughter with her daily needs to get in and out of the house." Adding, "As she goes into her spastic modes, we could just tumble down the stairs and both of us could get massively hurt." But, really, he doesn't need to explain any of that. Having a ramp on your house if someone who lives there needs one is a no-brainer. 

According to the Gieseghs, their neighbors got in touch at some point last week asking them to remove the ramp, as they were afraid it would lower the value of their property.

They said that if the Gieseghs refused, they would take legal action against them. 

A lawyer from the Denver-based Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center told News 11 that the ramp is completely legal due to something called the Fair Housing Act. If the neighbors do take legal action, they're unlikely to win. 

11 News tried to speak to the neighbors to get their side of the story, but they declined to comment. 

Cry-Baby #2: The Gastonguay Family

The incident: A family got fed up with abortion, homosexuality, and the state's influence in the church. 

Oh, girl. For those of you who somehow aren’t on Twitter almost always and, when you’re not, you go back and try to research the thing you missed that everyone seems to be talking about: Last night, Twitter went #nuts when Dr. Phil tweeted, and promptly deleted, a question about whether or not it is cool to rape somebody. Hahahah. DR. PHIL! Put that in a poll somewhere on you website where fewer people who know that shit like that is fucked up will find it, you dummy! While — and this is giving the show the benefit of the doubt, but I do think it is a pretty safe benefit of the doubt — it was probably going to be used as shocking evidence about how many people do think that it is okay to have sex with a girl while she is drunk (right?) (RIGHT, DR. PHIL?), uh, maybe don’t tweet it in a way that makes it seem like you think there could be an argument on either side? MAYBE DON’T TWEET IT EVER? Maybe don’t tweet. No one tweet. No one tweet unless you are Joyce Carol Oates or FeministTaylorSwift — then you are allowed to tweet. A spokesperson for Dr. Phil responded to a question from BuzzFeed about the tweet, saying:

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Chances are, the first time you heard of our HBO show was when news outlets around the world reported that we took Bad-as-I-Wanna-Be NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman to North Korea, along with members of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters, to take on the Hermit Kingdom’s national team in a friendly, if entirely absurd, experiment in basketball diplomacy. As you probably know, the enigmatic young ruler of the country, Kim Jong Un, showed up to the game, making us the first American news organization to meet him. It was pretty much the most thrilling thing that could have happened, and when pictures were beamed back to Brooklyn that day, the poured-concrete floors of our offices rippled in cracks and dents as our jaws collectively hit the floor.

Our trip to DPRK is the glorious capstone of the first season of VICE. Here it is, in all its absurd glory.

More about our mission of basketball diplomacy:

Oh, the Memories - Photos from Our Trip to North Korea

Lunch with the North Korean Basketball Team

Ghost Town

Other trips to North Korea:

The VICE Guide to North Korea

North Korean Labor Camps

Photos of our first look inside an old shoe store owned by my family. The store was open from the 40’s through the 60’s from what I recall. The store closed up when my great grandmother fell ill. She ran the store as long as she could until she passed away. They closed shop and it remained this way for over 40 years, mostly untouched.

My immediate thought was “eBay gold mine!” which is kinda horrible. Regardless, this is a fascinating set of photos of a store untouched through time.

While knock-off versions of the Beastie Boys’ sabotage video have been a popular venture for music fans for years, there’s a new one that’s kind of neat. Chicago-based comedy musicians Mike Ferbrache and Duane Freeman recruited a group of middle-aged librarians for their take on “Sabotage,” complete with criminals hell-bent on stealing books and (probably) incorrectly re-shelving the books themselves, those assholes. It’s a simple enough premise, but the way that the totally grown-up lady librarians took to filming is just a joy to watch, and makes the clip that much more heart-warming. [via Laughing Squid]

Good sleep really matters, but even if you have what it takes to get a good night's rest you still have to combat the world around you. You can't control the sun or the noise outside, but you can do a few things to make your bedroom dark and quiet when you need it so nothing stands between you and a good night's rest.

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One of the dozen homes purchased at auction by the city and being “sold” for $1.

Gary’s mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson, tells CNNmoney that when the city announced the availability of these properties back in June, it received applications from 400 potential buyers.

But nearly all of those applicants didn’t meet the city’s strict guidelines for eligible buyers:

-Must have lived in Gary for at least 6 months;
-Must have $1,000 in savings;
-Must earn at least 80% of the area’s median annual income of $35,250;
-Must demonstrate that they have the financial ability to rehabilitate the home;
-Must not currently own a home.

Additionally, anyone who gets one of these properties must reside there for five years before assuming full ownership. Failure to stay the full five years forfeits the buyer’s rights to the property.

So while these criteria aim to make sure that potential buyers have the means and motivation to improve the run-down properties, they also result in very small pool of potential buyers. Mayor Freeman-Wilson says that only 25 of those initial 400 applicants are now eligible to buy these homes. Who gets to buy the bottom-dollar houses will ultimately be decided via random drawing in September.

The homes in this sale were purchased by the city at auction after owners fell behind on property taxes. The goal is for the new buyers to rehab the seen-better-days buildings, not to flip for profit, but to improve the community and stabilize property values for all the neighbors who continue to pay their bills and who haven’t let their homes fall to pieces.

The mayor is hoping that this program proves successful. If so, the city plans to sell off 50 houses each year.

Our Emmy-nominated HBO show recently wrapped up its first season, and complaint numero uno that we got throughout its run was: "I reaaaalllyyy want to watch your show, but I don't have HBO." Well, your cries have been heard. Last week we posted episodes one and three, and today we're giving you episode nine. Look out tomorrow for episode ten, the North Korean basketball-diplomacy episode.

The first half of episode nine is about Chicago. Chicago has become a war zone. Well, not all of Chicago—half the city is doing great. From the Loop up the Magnificent Mile and into the Gold Coast, you'd hardly think you were in a town with an annual body count higher than Afganistan's. South of State Street is another story.

This winter, we went to Chicago's South Side to see how gangs, gun sales, and greed have turned neighborhoods like Englewood and Auburn Gresham into free-fire zones the locals call "Chiraq." And where more than a Sandy Hook's worth of kids die every month.

For the second segment we went to Africa's Niger Delta, where high unemployment, political corruption, and the unequal sharing of oil resources have turned the area into a hell on earth. Oil theft has become big business in Nigeria, costing oil companies more than $7 billion per year while polluting coastal farmlands and fisheries—and wrecking the lives and livelihoods of local residents. We traveled to Nigeria to meet with oil thieves who refine and sell oil in West Africa, and to follow one farmer’s attempt to sue an oil company for poisoning his family’s land.

Oh, you've already seen this episode? But have you seen the season one outtakes?

Photograph by Flickr user Christaface.

Macaroni and cheese is a traditional comfort food in America, born of the fact that it's relatively cheap, simple to prepare, and most importantly, kids like it. You don't stop liking comfort foods when you grow up, but occasionally you want to try something different. Once, I was visiting my parents on a school break and made some macaroni and cheese for my father. He said, "This is good. Is it from a kit, or did you make it from scratch?" I was a bit embarrassed to admit that it was ready made and frozen. Since then I have learned to make macaroni and cheese a few different ways that make me feel like I'm really cooking. However, most of the variations here are things I have yet to try.

Photograph by Flickr user Rosalyn Davis.

The macaroni and cheese who know today was developed by culinary visionary Thomas Jefferson, who built his own pasta machine to add improvements over one he'd bought. The traditional variations on putting cheese on macaroni (or using a boxed kit) include baking it with a crust formed by crushed potato chips or crackers; spicing it up with mustard or chili powder; adding crumbled bacon, diced ham, cut up hot dogs, or broccoli florets; and for feeding young children, sneaking in pureed vegetables. That never fooled my pasta-addicted kid for a minute. And then, at a certain age, children discover the "gourmet" version called fettuccine Alfredo. If you've never made macaroni and cheese from scratch, try a delicious homemade mac and cheese recipe without any of the extras (which you can add in the future). When you get more adventurous, here are some strange and modern variations.

1. Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers Wrapped in Bacon

There's not much to describe about this recipe from Carrie B at Bakeaholic Mama that's not in its name, except that I second the advice about handling jalapeños. You don't want the juice on your hands, because you'll eventually touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, and it will burn. Just reading the title Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers Wrapped in Bacon makes me hungry.

2. Deep Fried Mac & Cheese

You may have seen Deep-fried Mac and Cheese (on a stick) at your local festival. Yes, you can make it at home. Supereric at Instructables tell you how, step by step. The secret is to freeze the prepared macaroni and cheese so that it will keep its shape long enough to deep-fry.

3. Mac n Cheese Pie

JustJENN shows us a variation of baked macaroni and cheese with the addition of a delicious pie crust. It's your choice whether to make the crust from scratch or use a pre-prepared crust, and your dinner guests don't need to know you didn't make it all yourself.

4. Waffled Macaroni and Cheese

You can't exactly make mac and cheese in a waffle maker, because you have to have boiling water. However, Waffleizer has a way to dress up your leftover mac and cheese with the aid of a waffle iron. Chill it, bread it up, and mash it in a hot waffle iron for a completely different dish!

5. Macaroni and Cheese Sushi Rolls

Making sushi rolls out of macaroni and cheese is a presentation trick that contains no fish or rice, but will impress dinner guests. Dan at Food in My Beard developed the technique using boxed mac and cheese, taco meat, and sriracha sauce. He shows you how to do it in a series of pictures to go with the recipe.

6. Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese

Many of us look at a grilled cheese sandwich as a comfort food from childhood, too, so why not combine those two recipes? Umm… because it's redundant? Foodies never let that stop a good experiment! Russell Warnick came up with a mac and cheese recipe with garlic and truffles to stuff between slices of bread. Now you can eat mac and cheese with one hand and no utensils!

7. Mac and Cheese Burrito

An even easier way to eat mac and cheese with your hands is to simply scoop the stuff into a tortilla and make a burrito. This simple dish has its own Facebook fan page. It's not very active, but hundreds of people like it.

8. Ramac and Cheese

You don't have to use traditional elbow macaroni or even shells to make mac and cheese. Ramen noodles will work, according to this tip from Serious Eats. The texture is different, so it is recommended that you put some crunch into it by broiling the top layer.

9. Chocolate Covered Mac and Cheese

Dan at The Food in my Beard came across chocolate mac and cheese at a restaurant and decided to recreate the experience in his own kitchen. You may feel better about it knowing that it is not a sweet dish, but contains poblano peppers, bacon, and very dark chocolate -no added sugar.

10. Mac 'n' Cheese Martini

The most bizarre version of mac and cheese ever must be the Mac 'n' Cheese Martini. It is supposedly from Donovan's Prime Steakhouse Restaurant, but since it is not mentioned on the website, there's a possibility it may be a temporary offering.

After learning that he may have dual Canadian and American citizenship, Sen. Ted Cruz has announced that he will renounce his ties to Canada. "Nothing against Canada, but I'm an American by birth and as a U.S. senator, I believe I should be only an American," he said.

“Now the Dallas Morning News says that I may technically have dual citizenship,” Cruz said, according to ABC News. “Assuming that is true, then sure, I will renounce any Canadian citizenship."

On Monday, Cruz released his birth certificate to the Dallas Morning News, amid questions from some (like Donald Trump) that he may not be eligible to run for president in 2016 since he was born in Canada. Cruz's mother was a U.S. citizen, so when he was born Cruz immediately became a U.S. citizen as well. The Morning News spoke to legal experts who said they believed Cruz, in this case, has dual citizenship.

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