kate

I know I totally had a can of both the Trunks cola and a can of the Sailor Moon R cola at one point, but I have no idea what happened to them…

MS. MARVEL #10
G. WILLOW WILSON (W) • ADRIAN ALPHONA (A)
Cover by KRIS ANKA
• Kamala bands together with some unlikely heroes against the maniacal Inventor.
• But has she taken on more than she can handle?
• Find out why Ms. Marvel is the best new super hero of the year!

Recent Commissions.

More info on my blog: New Blogpost of my most recent commissions: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/08/recent-commissions.html

so here’s a bit of a treat. This is a piece I did that has never been shown in any capacity ever. This is Unused art I made a few years ago to along with the Captain American Premium Format statue from Sideshow Collectibles from the first film.. It was inevitable never approved in time to be produced along with the statue, but I’ve finally received word I can share it, so at least there is that. 

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that FBI agents were working with attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and US Attorney's Office to conduct what Attorney General Eric Holder promised would be a "thorough and complete investigation" into the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Since then, more than 40 FBI agents have arrived in the St. Louis suburb to interview witnesses and canvas the neighborhood where Brown was shot by a police officer on August 9.

On Wednesday, the AG himself arrived in Ferguson for a series of meetings with federal investigators, local authorities, and community members. Writing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Holder said, "At a time when so much may seem uncertain, the people of Ferguson can have confidence that the Justice Department intends to learn—in a fair and thorough manner—exactly what happened."

What exactly happens when the feds step in to investigate a case like Michael Brown's? A quick explainer:

What is the Justice Department investigating? According to Holder, the DOJ is specifically investigating "the shooting death of Michael Brown," and "looking for violations of federal, criminal civil rights statutes." The investigation is separate from local authorities' investigation. Some have asked the DOJ to take a broader view: In a letter to Holder on August 11, Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio), and William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) asked the DOJ to consider expanding the scope of its investigation to include "the potential for any pattern or practice of police misconduct by the Ferguson Police Department." Meanwhile, the US Commission on Civil Rights, a panel appointed by the president and members of Congress, has asked the DOJ to look into the disproportionately low representation of African Americans on Ferguson's police force and city council. It remains to be seen if the DOJ will broaden its investigation beyond Brown's death.

What could happen as a result of the DOJ investigation? The findings of the investigation could lead to a federal prosecution against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Brown.

Who is conducting the investigation? So far, three branches of the DOJ are working together on the federal investigation. More than 40 FBI agents from the St. Louis field office are canvassing the area and interviewing witnesses. They're working with the Civil Rights Division and the US Attorney's Office, which would handle a potential prosecution. Within the Civil Rights Division, two sections may be involved: There's the Criminal Section, which "prosecutes cases involving the violent interference with liberties and rights defined in the Constitution or federal law," including excessive use of force by police officers; also, the Special Litigation Section conducts investigations into systematic violations of civil rights by state and local institutions, including police departments. DOJ spokesperson Dena Iverson clarified to Mother Jones that the Criminal Section is the one currently involved in the Ferguson investigation.

Cards being handed out by FBI #Ferguson #MikeBrown pic.twitter.com/ahspShTOMj

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 16, 2014

What triggered the investigation? Generally, DOJ investigations into civil rights violations can begin in response to an official complaint filed with the Civil Rights Division, or in response to major events like those in Ferguson. The CRD has not said if there was an official complaint filed by citizens, or if the department decided to initiate the investigation on its own. "There's no rule book" that the department follows to determine if a case warrants an investigation, explains Samuel Walker, a criminal-justice scholar at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Civil Rights Division doesn't announce all of its investigative activities. The agency has not responded to a request for comment on what percentage of incoming complaints it decides to investigate, and why. But back in 2012, then-DOJ spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa told my colleague AJ Vicens that "the department investigates each jurisdiction based on the allegations received. There is no one-size-fits all approach to our investigations or our settlements."

Where else besides Ferguson is the DOJ investigating civil rights violations? The Civil Rights Division's Special Litigation Section is currently investigating systematic violations of civil rights by law enforcement in at least 34 other jurisdictions across 17 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, according to a list on the DOJ website. But these cases are different from the investigation in Ferguson, which so far appears to be focused on Wilson's shooting of Brown, which would fall under the CRD's Criminal Section. According to its website, the Special Litigation Section can step in "if we find a pattern or practice by the law enforcement agency that systemically violates people's rights. Harm to a single person, or isolated action, is usually not enough to show a pattern or practice that violates these laws." The Criminal Section, meanwhile, lists 17 past investigations into criminal misconduct by law enforcement officials in 11 states.

The Justice Department's Office for Civil Rights, which is separate from the Civil Rights Division, monitors discrimination in DOJ-funded state and local law enforcement institutions. In a May 2013 memo, OCR reported that over the previous four years, it handled 346 discrimination complaints, many of them alleging that federally funded law enforcement agencies "engaged in unlawful racial profiling in conducting traffic stops."

Since when does the DOJ investigate civil rights violations? The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorizes the Civil Rights Division's Special Litigation Section "to review the practices of law enforcement agencies that may be violating people's federal rights," and oversees cases involving discrimination—prohibited under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—in state or local agencies receiving federal funds. As a result of these special litigation cases dating back to 1997, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 21 police departments across the country have signed consent agreements with the DOJ to improve their procedures and policies, often the use of force and relationships with minority communities. Samuel Walker says that the number of these cases fell dramatically during the Bush administration, but picked back up under the Obama administration, which has doubled the size of the special litigations unit. While criminal civil rights prosecutions under the DOJ date back to 1939, the Criminal Section's powers were limited until the Civil Rights Division was created in 1957 as part of the Civil Rights Act.

How else is the DOJ involved in Ferguson? Holder has announced that the DOJ's COPS (Community-Oriented Policing Services) office and Office of Justice Programs are also assisting local authorities "in order to help conduct crowd control and maintain public safety without relying on unnecessarily extreme displays of force." It's unclear how this assistance has played out on the streets of Ferguson. Holder added that Justice Department officials from the Community Relations Service are also helping "convene law enforcement officials and civic and faith leaders to plot out steps to reduce tensions in the community."

When will we see some results from the investigation? It may be a while. As Holder wrote in Wednesday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Long after the events of Aug. 9 have receded from the headlines, the Justice Department will continue to stand with this community." For now, there are many more questions than answers.

One of the most difficult parts of getting a Ph.D. is finishing your dissertation. Those last three months were certainly the hardest of my life. Beyond the mountain of work a dissertation requires, graduate students also have to face feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, and anxiety about the looming job search. Sometimes, they need a gentle, supportive push to quit stressing about every last comma and—after years of blood, sweat, and tears—finally turn it in.

So when Kate Clancy, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, chided an old friend who was still a graduate student about taking that last step to finish her thesis, she thought she was doing her a favor. But she was floored by her friend's response.

Clancy remembers her friend saying, "Well, I was sexually assaulted in the field, and every time I open the dissertation files I have flashbacks." On this week's episode of the Inquiring Minds podcast, Clancy goes on to say that conversation "was the first time that it really hit me how much these kinds of experiences can not only emotionally traumatize women, but also explicitly hold them back in their research."

So she joined up with three fellow female scientists to study the extent to which sexual harassment and sexual assault occur in the field. On this week's podcast, the four coauthors—Clancy, anthropologists Robin Nelson and Julienne Rutherford, and evolutionary biologist Katie Hinde—discuss their recently published survey of scientists who have worked in the field.

Their results were eye-opening and immediately generated headlines. "Around 70 percent of women from our sample reported experiencing harassment and about 40 percent of men," Clancy says. Additionally, 26 percent of women and 6 percent of men reported being sexually assaulted (defined as "unwanted physical contact") while doing field research. Nearly all of the women who reported assault or harassment were students, post-docs, or employees—rather than faculty members.

Field work is a highly-sought-after experience during scientific training in biology, anthropology, and other disciplines. As the study authors note, many universities require at least one field work module to earn a degree, and scientists who engage in field research publish more and secure more grants than those who do not. What's more, despite the fact that more women enter and complete Ph.D. programs in biology and anthropology, women are less likely than men to maintain fieldwork throughout their careers.

There's been a lot of debate concerning why, with an increasing number of Ph.D.s going to women, women remain underrepresented in the top tiers of science. This is a complicated and thorny issue, but Clancy and colleagues have added yet another data point: Women might be leaving some disciplines in order to avoid unwanted sexual comments and contact, especially in the field.

So how did the researchers arrive at these results?

Relying on social media and other outlets to recruit survey-takers, Clancy and her colleagues managed to collect 666 responses, 77.5 percent of them from women.

As the authors note, their sample might overrepresent people who have had negative experiences, as these individuals might be more likely to respond to the survey request. But it might also be an underestimate: "We received information from some folks who said, 'I would love to do your survey, but I can't do your survey because it would trigger me in having to think about this traumatic experience that I had in the field,'" says Nelson, who is an assistant professor at Skidmore College.

Importantly, the study's findings go beyond simply documenting that women are far more likely than men to be sexually harassed or assaulted in the field. Women were also more likely to report that they were harassed or assaulted by superiors. Men, by contrast, were more likely to be harassed by their peers. "There is a whole literature on sort of the directionality of sexual harassment, and there's much greater psychological harm when it's a vertical abuse, meaning coming from someone higher up in the hierarchy," Clancy explains. "And so not only are women experiencing harassment and assault in greater numbers than men, but the actual nature of the assault potentially can cause greater psychological harm."

What's so special about field work that might explain these findings? "Our data can't speak to specific environments within the lab or the office," says Rutherford, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. "But there are some aspects of field work that I think contribute to these kinds of behaviors, and that is there is often a certain amount of confusion about who is in charge…some field sites are run by investigators from multiple universities, and research institutions; there might be a field school where you'll have students from many different universities—so the overseeing institution may not be clear to any individual participant in any stage in their training or in the hierarchy. So that confusion contributes to, I think, a loosening of boundaries." And then, of course, there are the practical considerations: Scientists are far away from home, their families, other responsibilities, and social networks that both serve to keep bad behaviors in check and provide support to victims of abuse.

Indeed, the study found that only about 1 in 5 respondents who had been harassed or assaulted were "aware of a mechanism to easily report" the incidents at the time. And of those who did file reports, less than 20 percent said they were satisfied with the outcome.

So what are the next steps? "We put this paper out there as a start of a conversation," says Hinde, an assistant professor at Harvard. "Solutions are going to be effected by our community coming together agreeing that this is a problem, that these aren't just occasional isolated incidences or the rare bad apple, but something that we need to systematically address with culture-change."

You can listen to the full interview with Kate Clancy, Robin Nelson, Julienne Rutherford, and Katie Hinde below:

This episode of Inquiring Minds, a podcast hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and best-selling author Chris Mooney, also features a short interview with University of Chicago geoscientist Ray Pierrehumbert, who argues that we've been worrying too much about methane emissions from natural gas, and a discussion of a study finding that kids' drawings at age four are an "indicator" of their intelligence 10 years later.

To catch future shows right when they are released, subscribe to Inquiring Minds via iTunes or RSS. We are also available on Stitcher. You can follow the show on Twitter at @inquiringshow and like us on Facebook. Inquiring Minds was also recently singled out as one of the "Best of 2013" on iTunes—you can learn more here.

• Current Hunter x Hunter TV Anime's End Slated for September 23
• Yo-kai Watch Planned for Overseas Release
• 3rd Kuroko's Basketball Season's Premiere Month Not Announced

lupincentral:

vintageweeaboo:

That one time Jigen from Lupin the 3rd appeared in Samurai Jack

And he was voiced by the same actor, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, in the Japanese dub too!

Slate, Dear Prudence, 4 August 2014:

Q. Kids Birthday Parties: A family member is hosting a birthday party for her child. The invitation specifically states only cake and ice cream will be served at the party, which is being held at 4 p.m. Is it wrong that I am incredibly irritated by this? She has made comments in the past about how it’s “too much work” to cook for everyone. The way I see it, because she is lazy, I am expected to feed my kids cake and ice cream for dinner because she can’t be bothered to provide anything more. Am I off here? It just seems rude.

Children’s birthday parties are often construed as convivial, whimsical celebrations of childhood, much to the detriment of those who have worked hard to be able to walk into someone else’s house and demand they be provided with a well-balanced meal.

Cake and ice cream at 4 p.m.—what’s next, 12 year-olds watching PG-13 movies!? Staying up to watch the musical guest on Letterman!? Pure fucking chaos, that’s what.

The fabric of American society is held together with the threads of other people managing your children’s diets, and this irresponsible parent is single-handedly unweaving everything that is good and wholesome on this earth. You’re supposed to figure out how to get your kids a sensible dinner before or after they’ve been exposed to the abjection of cake and ice cream in the late afternoon? No parent signs up for that kind of insurmountable challenge, and it’s not only lazy but downright cruel for this other person to force you to mitigate the potential life-altering consequences of their malevolence. 

A Little Teen Boat and a little Matt Furie (Boy’s club) and you have the new Boom! Box series Teen Dog but webcomicker Jake Lawrence of Time Cowboy note.

It’s got teens. it’s got dogs. It’s got legs.

TEEN DOG #1 Retailer Incentive Cover (1 in 15) by Jen Lee

Award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios is excited to announce the September debut of TEEN DOG, the newest title to join the publisher’s imprint, BOOM! Box, where comics are kept weird and made for the love of it! Created, written, and illustrated by emerging web cartoonist Jake Lawrence, TEEN DOG is the cool guy you always wanted to be in high school, à la Michael J. Fox and Ferris Bueller, except he’s a dog in a rad denim vest. Each issue contains short vignettes featuring Teen Dog, his best friend Mariella, Thug Pug, Sara the star quarterback, and many more. Teen angst and whimsical adventures collide in this new series that combines the feel of John Hughes movies with ‘90s Nickelodeon cartoons.

“Teen Dog. TEEN. DOG. Need we say more?” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Our new BOOM! Box imprint is becoming a home for some of our favorite cartoonists and storytellers, many of whom are coming over to print for the first time. Jake, like many of our other BOOM! Box creators, has built up his audience on Tumblr. We’re continuing to carve out a place where quirky, silly, and just outrageously fun and experimental comics can thrive in print.”

Skateboards, football games, prom…your teenage years have got nothin’ on the raddest dude that’s ever graced a denim vest. Written and illustrated by Jake Lawrence (Time Cowboy), join Teen Dog and his best friend Mariella as they tackle typical teen life with a manic twist. Growing up is an adventure, and you might as well rock it!

TEEN DOG #1 arrives in comic shops on September 10th with a cover price of $3.99 under Diamond order code JUL140989. A variant cover by Jen Lee will be available in limited quantities. Not sure where to find your nearest comic retailer? Use comicshoplocator.com orfindacomicshop.com to find one! It’s also available for order directly from boom-studios.com.

Thirteen-year-old pitching sensation Mo'ne Davis just became the first Little Leaguer ever on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Remember Her Name! #LLWS2014 sensation @Monedavis11 is on this week's national cover http://t.co/LAwVgubpCS pic.twitter.com/sENsPMF7ew

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 19, 2014

Davis, who pitches for South Philadelphia's Taney Dragons, received national attention last week when she threw a two-hit shutout and struck out eight in the Dragons' Little League World Series opening victory over Nashville, Tennessee. On Sunday she became the sixth girl to get a hit in the LLWS, a first-inning RBI single that helped Philadelphia to a 7-6 win over Pearland, Texas.

And the 5-foot-4 right-hander's fastball, clocked at 71 mph, is roughly equivalent to a 93 mph pitch thrown on a big-league-size field.

But Davis' Sports Illustrated appearance isn't just unusual for her age: It's also damn-near impossible for a female to make the magazine's cover. Discounting the women dressed only in leis and inner tubes for the annual swimsuit edition, about 95 percent of SI covers feature men. An analysis of 716 covers from 2000 to 2011 found:

• 35 (4.9 percent) featured a woman;
• 18 (2.5 percent) featured a woman as the primary image;
• 11 (1.5 percent) featured a woman of color.

And this trend doesn't appear to have reversed since 2011: A quick glance at SI's 2014 cover gallery shows that just five female athletes have graced the cover prior to Davis this year.

Davis told ESPN she plans to play basketball at UConn and eventually in the WNBA. When a Fox News anchor asked why she doesn't play a "more female friendly sport," like soccer, last week, she seemed surprised. "Well, I play soccer actually, but I don't consider it as my favorite sport…But soccer is fun."

As Albert Chen writes in the Sports Illustrated story, "She's a lot of things to a lot of different people, all of them good things: a totem for inner-city baseball, a role model for your 10-year-old niece, a role model for your 10-year-old nephew. Most of all, she's a laid-back kid just having a really good time." NBA superstar Kevin Durant was just one of a number of pro athletes to tweet their support: "This youngster is striking everyone out and she is a girl. I love it."

Davis told the Philadelphia Inquirer that "the attention should not just be on one girl; more girls should join boys' teams so it is a tradition and it won't be so special." She is expected to take the mound again Wednesday, when Philadelphia faces off against Las Vegas.

[Yelp]

It's really official now: CNBC host Marcus Lemonis won his bid for Crumbs yesterday, after no one else attempted to beat his $6.5 million offer for the failed giant cupcake purveyor. This means that the chain will be pulled back out of bankruptcy on August 26, and get to work reopening those bake shops. Lemonis has already emphasized that when Crumbs does reopen, it will no longer stick just to those ill-fated cupcakes, but instead sell many of the other brands he and his partner already own, including Key West Key Lime Pie, Matt's Cookies, and maybe, just maybe, even Dippin' Dots.
· Lemonis Wins Crumbs Bakery With Unsweetend $6.5M Bid [NYP]
· All Coverage of Crumbs [~ENY~]

Like many novel technologies in this age of TED Talks and Silicon Valley triumphalism, synthetic biology—synbio for short—floats on a sea of hype. One of its founding scientists, Boston University biomedical engineer James Collins, has called it "genetic engineering on steroids." Whereas garden-variety genetic engineers busy themselves moving genes from one organism into another—to create tomatoes that don't bruise easily, for example—synthetic biologists generate new DNA sequences the way programmers write code, creating new life-forms.

It may sound like science fiction, but synbio companies have already performed modest miracles. The California-based firm Amyris, for example, has harnessed the technology to make a malaria drug that now comes from a tropical plant. In order to do this, company scientists leveraged the well-known transformative powers of yeast, which humans have used for millennia to turn, say, the sugar in grape juice into alcohol: They figured out how the wormwood tree generates artemisinic acid—the compound that makes up the globe's last consistently effective anti-malarial treatment—and programmed a yeast strain to do the same thing.

And there could be more innovations on the horizon. In 2011, Craig Venter, the scientist/entrepreneur who spearheaded the mapping of the human genome, vowed to synthesize an algae that would use sunlight to unlock the energy in carbon dioxide. If successful, this attempt to replicate photosynthesis could transform CO₂ from climate-heating scourge into a limitless source of energy. Synthetic biologists also aim to conjure up self-growing buildings, streetlight-replacing glowing trees, and medicines tailored to your body's needs. No wonder the market for synbio is expected to reach $13.4 billion by 2019.

So how soon can you expect glowing trees to light up your block? Well, no one knows. That's because thus far it has been much easier to create novel life-forms than to control how they function. Venter, for example, hasn't yet figured out how to cheaply grow enough of his synbio algae to make it competitive with fossil fuels. And malaria is rapidly developing resistance to artemisin drugs, which could eventually render the synbio replicant as useless as the real deal.

But while synbio likely won't sort out our climate and health woes anytime soon, it just might transform our…ice cream. By creating yeasts that produce high-end flavorings, a Swiss company called Evolva has created synbio vanillin, the main flavor compound in the vanilla bean—and it insists its product tastes much better than the petroleum-derived synthetic vanillin that now comprises virtually all of the vanilla market. Evolva is also preparing to release a synbio version of resveratrol, a compound with antioxidant properties naturally found in grapes and cocoa beans. Next up: a better-tasting version of stevia, a natural, low-calorie sweetener that the soda industry hopes can replace synthetic chemicals in diet sodas. After that, Evolva hopes to make a dizzying variety of lab-grown analogues, including musk, truffle flavoring, and even breast milk.

What could possibly go wrong with vanilla flavoring brewed by DNA-manipulated yeast? Well, like genetic engineering, synbio falls into a regulatory void that often allows products to go from lab to grocery store with little or no oversight. Evolva's vanillin and resveratrol will likely sail through the Food and Drug Administration's approval process—and end up in your food without any special labeling—because they are versions of already-existing compounds and thus have "generally recognized as safe" status. The Environmental Protection Agency—which is supposed to evaluate the environmental implications of new products—requires companies to file a report on novel microbes but doesn't always mandate testing.

And what happens to farmers when their jobs are taken over by designer yeasts? Jim Thomas, the research program manager for the Canada-based technology watchdog ETC Group, points out that synbio companies are so far targeting stuff grown in the Global South, which could have devastating economic consequences for the poor farmers who produce the natural versions. In addition to vanilla (grown in Madagascar, Indonesia, and Mexico) and stevia (China, Paraguay, and Kenya), Evolva's projected roster of products includes saffron (Iran), turmeric (India), and ginseng (China).

Evolva CEO Neil Goldsmith says that Thomas raises a "legitimate question" but doesn't think farmers will ultimately be harmed. He argues that synthetic vanillin has existed for decades without taking business away from natural vanilla producers. But that could be because consumers are willing to pay more for the real version. If Evolva is allowed to market its vanillin as a "natural" flavoring rather than a synthetic one, then it could compete directly with vanilla farmers—and it looks like Evolva is aiming to do just that: A recent press release called the product "natural vanillin for global food and flavor markets."

Indeed, Goldsmith claims that his process is "as natural as bread." Yeasts used in commercial bakeries have been carefully selected and cultivated. Now, you may consider creating new genomes to be an entirely different matter, but whether you find it creepy or cool ultimately doesn't matter: Because synbio foods won't have to be labeled as such, you'll likely soon be eating them—without even knowing it.

[This will look a lot nicer next month. Google Maps]

New York is about to get another enormous indoor food market. The Gansevoort Street Market, which originally opened in the late 1800's, will be revived in early September just near the southern tip of The High Line. Corey Lane of the Pink Elephant and Chris Reda of The Griffin have assembled an impressive 20+ vendor lineup for the space, including David Bouhadana's Sushi Dojo, Smorgasburg vendor the Bruffin's first brick and mortar location, a Tacombi taqueria, an outpost of local Greenpoint favorite Champion Coffee, and many, many more.

A handful of the stalls like Sushi Dojo and a still unknown tapas spot will have dedicated seating, while other restaurants will share communal tables, kind of like the set up at Gotham West Market. Select vendors will serve beer and wine and some others will open early in the morning offering coffee and breakfast. At night, a DJ is expected to provide music. Right now, the tentative opening date is September 8, but representative for the market says it may be a few days later during that week, just in time to roll up the facade's large garage doors and enjoy the fall.

We are always sad when Wonder Festival comes to an end, but it gives us something else to look forward to--the post-WF displays in Akihabara! Without the heat and sense of urgency at such a big event it's much easier to take in the fine details on each figure. Here are the best offerings from Good Smile Company, Max Factory and more!

Attack on Titan - Levi (Release Date TBD)

Attack on Titan - Eren Yeager (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Dark Knight Rising: Batman (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - METAL GEAR SOLID: Solid Snake (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Super Mario: Mario (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Super Mario: Luigi (Released)

Kill la Kill - Ryuko Matoi Senketsu Kisaragi Ver. (Release Date TBD)

Fate/extra - Saber Extra (Jan. 2015 Planned Release)

Nendoroid - Sakura Taisen 3: Erica Fontaine & Koubu F2 (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Rei Ayanami Evangelion Racing Ver. (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Girlfriend (beta): Chloe Lemaire (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Girlfriend (beta): Kokomi Shiina (Release Date TBD)

Hatsune Miku Tell your world Ver. (Release Date TBD)

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet - Chamber Action Figure (Release Date TBD)

Goukin Shimkaze (Kai) (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Hiei (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Amatsukaze (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - I-401 (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid Petite - KanColle (Nov. Planned Release)

Nendoroid Petite - Love Live! Our Miracle Ver. (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Love Live! Honoka Kousaka (Dec. Planned Release)

Nendoroid - Love Live! Niko Yazawa (Nov. Planned Release)

Nendoroid - Sword Art Online 2: Shinon (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Magica Wars: Naruko Aoba (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - World Conquest Zvezda Plot: Lady Venera (Nov. Planned Release)

Nendoroid - Captain Earth: Hana Mutou (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - Engaged to the Unidentified: Mashiro Mitsumine (2014 Planned Release)

Nendoroid - Nobunaga the Fool: Himiko (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid Petite - Girls und Panzer (Sept. Planned Release)

Girls und Panzer - Panzer IV Ausf. D (Release Date TBD)

Nendoroid - RAIL WARS!: Haruka Komi (2014 Planned Release)

Nendoroid - RAIL WARS!: Aoi Sakurai (2014 Planned Release)

Berserk: Guts Complete Polystone Figure (2015 Planned Release)

Yamato (Spring 2015 Planned Release)

Kuubo Wo-Class (Max Factory) (Release Date TBD)

I-168 Moderate Damage Ver. (Winter 2015 Planned Release)

7th Dragon 2020-II Samurai (Katanako) Color Variation (Winter 2015 Planned Release)

DRAMAtical Murder: Ren (Spring 2015 Planned Release)

Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd Mikuzukin (Spring 2015 Planned Release)

Fang of the Sun Dougram - COMBAT ARMORS MAX03 1/72 Abitate T10B Blockhead Plastic Model (Oct. Planned Release)

Fang of the Sun Dougram - COMBAT ARMORS MAX02 1/72 Soltic H8 Roundfacer Plastic Model (Release Date TBD)

RAIL WARS!: Aoi Sakurai (Winter 2015 Planned Release)

figma - Terraformars: Terraformar (Oct. Planned Release)

figFIX - Shimakaze Moderate Damage Ver. (Spring 2015 Planned Release)

figma - KanColle: Amatsukaze (Spring 2015 Planned Release)

figma - Nisemonogatari: Shinobu Oshino (Winter 2015 Planned Release)

figma - Bio Booster Armor Guyver: Guyver I

figma - Fire Emblem Awakening: Rukina (Winter 2015 Planned Release)

figmaPLUS - Horse (Release Date TBD)

figmaPLUS - School road

figmaPLUS - Classroom

figma - Table Art Museum: The Thinker (Release Date TBD)

figma - Detective Conan: Conan and Criminal

figma - Silent Hill 2: Red Pyramid Thing (Release Date TBD)

Racing Miku 7 Ver.

 

*AmiAmi Blog received special permission for all photos.

*All information subject to change.

Yonekichi the rice burger spot that's coming to 9th Street has confirmed that they'll soft open on Monday. In addition to rice burgers they will also be serving fries cooked in rice-bran oil and topped with wasabi salt. Opening hours will be noon to 10 p.m. every day, possibly extending later into the evening by next month. [B + B]

kittyinabeaker:

jenoshmellark:

When an actor stumbles into their fandom on Tumblr:

The longer that gif went on, the more I laughed/cried. 

Early on in the new Netflix documentary "Mission Blue" (preview here), a voice off camera asks Sylvia Earle—ocean explorer, scientist, conservationist, and the film's main character—if she's a "radical."

"If I seem like a radical," Earle answers slowly, "it may be because I see things that others do not."

Unlike 99.9 percent of us, Earle actually gets to say stuff like that. As a woman who has spent almost a year of her life underwater, she really has witnessed things that we cannot imagine. Unfortunately, that includes not only the awe of swimming with a pack of whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico (and hundreds of other underwater adventures), but also visiting once vibrant coral reefs that today look like desiccated moonscapes, or finding trash entangled in kelp and office chairs sitting on the sea floor.

In Mission Blue (directed by Fisher Stevens, who also brought us "The Cove"), we follow the now 78-year-old Earle from her Florida childhood as a nature-loving kid all the way through her career as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chief scientist, and now on to her role as a leader of ocean conservation initiatives. Along the way, the film samples her ultra-nerdy research on algaes, travels around the world with her for dives, and lets us hear from her biggest fans, including filmmaker and ocean explorer James Cameron.

There are also some very powerful scenes, in which Earle is shocked and devastated as she visits Japanese fish markets where young tuna are slaughtered before they've even had a chance to reproduce, and in which she vigilante-dives with a camera to film industrial fishermen sucking up gigantic hauls of fish, like something out of a high seas version of The Lorax. You can watch that scene above.

No wonder Earle herself refuses to eat fish. As the above segment ends, Mission Blue unveils an incredible statistic about the damage we have done to our oceans since the year 1950. Now, compared with then, only 5 percent of bluefin tuna remain; only 10 percent of sharks remain; and only 5 percent of Atlantic cod remain. It's really that bad.

Anybody can point out such statistics, though; what is so amazing about Earle is how she motivates you to want to change them.

"If I could be born anywhere in time," says Earle at the end of the film, "it would be now. It would be now because this is the time, as never before, that we know, we understand, what we didn't know 50 years ago. If we wait another 50 years, opportunities we now have will be gone. This is the moment. Our decisions, our actions, will shape everything that follows."

Mission Blue is available on Netflix today.

Sylvia Earle was also one of our earliest guests on the Inquiring Minds podcast; you can stream that show below:

On the political right, it's pretty popular these days to claim that the left exaggerates scientific worries about hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." In a recent National Review article, for instance, a Hoover Institution researcher complains that 53 percent of Democrats in California support a fracking ban "despite the existence of little if any credible scientific evidence of fracking's feared harms and overwhelming scientific evidence of its environmental benefits, including substantial reductions in both local and global pollutants."

Three or four years ago, a statement like that may have seemed defensible. The chief environmental concern about fracking at that time involved the contamination of drinking water through the fracking process—blasting water, sand, and chemicals underground in vast quantities and at extreme pressures to force open shale layers deep beneath the Earth, and release natural gas. But the science was still pretty ambiguous, and a great deal turned on how "fracking" was defined. The entire mega-process of "unconventional" gas drilling had clearly caused instances of groundwater contamination, due to spills and leaks from improperly cased wells. But technically, "fracking" only refers to the water and chemical blast, not the drilling, the disposal of waste, or the huge industrial operations that accompany it all.

How things have changed. Nowadays, explains Cornell University engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea on the latest installment of the Inquiring Minds podcast (stream above), the scientific argument against fracking and unconventional gas drilling is more extensive. It involves not simply groundwater contamination, but also at least two other major problems: earthquake generation and the accidental emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

On the show, Ingraffea laid out the science on these issues—and it is certainly not something a reasonable person can ignore. Take earthquakes, for instance. According to Ingraffea, "there is now, in my opinion, scientific consensus that human-induced seismicity does occur" as a result of a particular aspect of unconventional gas drilling (namely, disposing of chemically laden "flowback water" in underground wastewater injection wells).

Ingraffea isn't the likeliest scientific foe of fracking. His past research has been funded by corporations and industry interests including Schlumberger, the Gas Research Institute, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman. His original doctoral work, in the 1970s, involved the study of "rock fracture mechanics"—in other words, how cracks in rock form and propagate, a body of knowledge that is crucial to extractive industries like oil and gas. "I spent 20, 25 years working with the oil and gas industry…helping them to figure out how best to get oil and gas out of rock," Ingraffea explains.

But he has since become an outspoken critic of unconventional gas development. He recently appeared in the HBO film Gasland II, and was recognized in 2011 by Time (alongside actor Mark Ruffalo and his Cornell colleague Robert Howarth) for his work highlighting the environmental risks of shale gas development.

So what happened? In a word: Science. On Inquiring Minds, Ingraffea laid out the developing science on earthquakes and methane emissions as they relate to unconventional gas development—and even if you don't fully agree with everything he said, you still will find it unnerving. Let's take these topics in turn:

Fracking and Earthquakes. Somewhat surprisingly, the earthquake issue may actually be the least contentious scientific topic in the fracking debate. As Mother Jones has extensively reported, it now seems clear that wastewater injection—the underground storing of the chemical-laced water that comes back out of wells after fracking—can contribute to seismic activity. In fact, in a study published just last month in Science, researchers suggest that a dramatic increase in recent seismic activity in Oklahoma—including a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in 2011—is partly linked to the proliferation of wastewater disposal wells.

Granted, it may seem hard to understand (at least if you're a non-geologist) how underground disposal wells can cause an earthquake. Let Ingraffea explain: "We've mobilized pre-existing, stable faults," he says. Underground water from waste disposal "lubricates those faults and changes the pressure on them." Naturally, the waste injection wells at issue are the ones that are closest to faults. Here's a visualization:

As for the fracking process itself? That, too, can cause earthquakes, Ingraffea says, although earthquakes related to fracking (as opposed to injection wells) have been smaller ("so far," as Ingraffea puts it). When you think about what we're doing to the Earth, maybe that's not so surprising. Fracking water, after all, is blasted underground at "pressures approaching what you would get if you put, say, 10 SUVs on your fingertip," says Ingraffea.

Fracking and Fugitive Methane Emissions. Perhaps we can manage the earthquake issue. Certainly, it would help to stop injecting wastewater near faults. "That would be a design objective, yes," deadpans Ingraffea. (It happens, he contends, because of a lack of EPA regulation.)

But there's a potentially even graver issue—fugitive methane emissions from shale gas operations. This is the topic on which Ingraffea made his name in the fracking debate, and it's probably the most momentous one of all.

In 2011, Ingraffea and two other Cornell researchers published a highly discussed scientific study in the journal Climatic Change, arguing that between 3.6 and 7.9 percent of methane gas from shale drilling operations actually escapes into the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming. If true, then considering the unique atmospheric potency of methane—"methane is about 80 to 90 times…more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide" over a two-to-three-decade time period, says Ingraffea—the implications could be dramatic. Natural gas could swing from being a net climate benefit (because it burns cleaner than oil or coal) to a climate harm, because of all the escaping methane.

Granted, it all depends on the leak rate from natural gas operations, across all the myriad stages of the process, from the initial release of the gas from the Earth all the way through to its transportation. And that's where the debate lies. "Every single measurement has concluded that the percentage of methane leaking into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations is far greater than two and a half percent," says Ingraffea. "I think the best estimate right now is somewhere around 5 percent"—an amount, he says, that would be more than big enough to doom the idea of natural gas as a "bridge fuel" to a clean energy future.

Ingraffea isn't the only researcher suggesting that methane leakage is troublingly high. In a 2013 study published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers from both US universities and national labs found that the EPA is currently underestimating methane emissions from the energy industry (including both conventional and shale gas drilling). However, in another paper in Science earlier this year (covered here by Mother Jones), researchers again faulted EPA's methane measurements, but nonetheless concluded that natural gas can still contribute to a cleaner future if methane emissions are policed adequately. (The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reached a similar conclusion.)

The Bottom Line? It is certainly not the case that every expert agrees with Ingraffea. For instance, both publicly and in print, Ingraffea has regularly debated Terry Engelder, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, who argues that the benefits of shale gas development still outweigh the risks.

Engelder certainly doesn't deny the problem of fugitive methane emissions. Rather, his view is that "by fixing leaks, green completions and what not, that can take care of the methane leaking into the atmosphere." ("Green completions" refers to a new EPA rule that will require natural gas operators to capture volatile organic compounds on site rather than allowing them to escape to the atmosphere—a process, the EPA says, that would also "significantly reduce" methane emissions.)

But Ingraffea counters that that's not enough. The new regulation, he says, only covers "one part of the whole supply train for natural gas, and it only applies to new gas wells, not the old ones." Plus, it only applies to gas wells, not oil wells that also release methane.

With mounting scientific evidence behind him, then, Ingraffea makes a pretty strong case today that natural gas is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The methane issue may not be settled fully, but it is undoubtedly grave—and certainly not something that we can afford to be wrong about. To still support President Obama's "all of the above" approach to energy (which favors renewables, but also natural gas), you have to assume we can mitigate the methane leakage problem somehow. And you shouldn't assume that without first listening, hard, to Ingraffea's warning. As he concludes the Inquiring Minds interview:

For those who say we can regulate our way around this, just give us time and we'll fix the problems—I'm sorry. We've had 100 years of commercial oil and gas development at very large quantities, around the world. Time is over. We've damaged the atmosphere too much, and it would take too long, it would take decades and billions of dollars, to begin to fix the problems that we know have existed for decades. And by then, it will be too late.

To listen to the full Inquiring Minds interview with Anthony Ingraffea, you can stream below:

This episode of Inquiring Minds, a podcast hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and best-selling author Chris Mooney, also features a discussion of the science on racial prejudice and guns, and, in the wake of the suicide of the beloved actor Robin Williams, the science of depression.

To catch future shows right when they are released, subscribe to Inquiring Minds via iTunes or RSS. We are also available on Stitcher. You can follow the show on Twitter at @inquiringshow and like us on Facebook. Inquiring Minds was also recently singled out as one of the "Best of 2013" on iTunes—you can learn more here.

At least four black men were killed by police in the past month, via chokehold, tasing, and shootings, after being confronted for reasons ranging from selling untaxed cigarettes to picking up a BB gun off a shelf in Wal-Mart.

In at least two of these cases—Dante Parker and Eric Garner—the victims allegedly resisted arrest. Some political leaders, witnesses at the scene, and Internet commenters have placed blame on the victims for this reason, saying their refusal to go quietly with the cops is what ended their lives. 

"For FUCKS SAKE stop struggling and resisting like this and deal with it at the precinct!! Resisting arrest, even if the police have the wrong guy, is a TERRIBLE idea!! God why don't people get this?" writes one commenter at Gawker. At a press conference on gun control in Harlem yesterday, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said that "once an officer has decided that arrest is necessary, every New Yorker should agree to do what they need to do as a citizen and respect the police officer and follow their guidance. And then there is a thorough due-process system thereafter."

And how about in the tasing death of Dante Parker? A San Bernadino county newspaper employee and married father of five with no criminal record, Parker was out riding his bike for exercise on Tuesday when he was approached by sheriff's deputies as a robbery suspect. A witness relayed what he saw:

He was super strong…it took about two or three guys to get his hands behind him. They went to try to get him to stand up, but he wouldn't do it…He kept kicking and kicking and kicking. He was very uncooperative."

So why would someone like Dante Parker or Eric Garner resist arrest? Here are six good reasons:

1. The idea that "if you didn't do anything wrong, you don't have anything to fear" does not hold true for black people. Most people who end up being exonerated for crimes they served time for, but didn't commit, are people of color. 
2. Blacks routinely serve higher sentences than whites—for the same crimes.
3. Once in custody, black men are rough-handled by police more often than whites.
4. Racial profiling and bias in police departments across the country is well-documented.
5. There are many well-known cases of police torture directed at blacks in prison, such as the dozens of black Chicago inmates who were systematically tortured over a span of 20 years.
6. Scientific studies shed light on how racial bias can influence witness testimony, like this finding that race can make people "see" guns, or a reach for a gun, where no weapon was present.

Asking why a black man with even the slightest bit of awareness of these facts wouldn't fully cooperate with the cops is a bit like asking why William Wallace didn't simply extend a warm welcome to the invading English forces. Here's a better question: What are law enforcement agencies doing to heal their relationships with the black communities they're supposed to protect and serve?

Slate, Dear Prudence, 8/13/2014:

Dear Prudence, I tend to travel solo and without much more than a rolling carrying bag and a purse. I’ve often found that when I board when my row is called, there’s not enough space in the overhead compartments for my bag. My past few flights, I’ve boarded earlier with the folks who “require extra time” to board, and that gives me time to stow my bags and get comfortable. Recently, when I traveled with my husband and did this, it mortified him. He said I was taking advantage of a situation intended for parents with children and the disabled. My stance is that I am bothering no one by doing this, and no flight attendants have ever said anything to me about it. Am I being an inconsiderate traveler? Signed, Early Bird

Dear Early Bird,

Rules were not made to be broken, they were simply made to apply to every other human being on planet earth besides you. Unique among the good lord’s wond’rous creations, you in particular deserve nice things that other people just have to do without. Tough break for everyone who is not you, but who are you to stop doing whatever the fuck you want to do, whenever the fuck you want to do it?

Who knows what unfathomable terrors might befall humanity if you had to—perish the thought—check your rolly-bag instead of stowing it in the overhead compartment? What heinous, topsy-turvy machinations might ensue if you found yourself having to wait five, ten, even FIFTEEN seconds while the person in 16B adjusts their tray table in order to accommodate your magnificent person?

After all, you surely could not ever, under any circumstances, be a hindrance to any other early boarders with their piddly-ass actual need for assistance. Disabled folks and parents with small children already enjoy too many social benefits in America today, worshipped as they are every time they leave their homes and given all the publicly funded medical assistance, work and family leave they could ever use—not to mention the assloads of political capital they enjoy in their gross overrepresentation in elected public office.  

You’re just taking a little piece of the pie back for the average Joe. Thanks for taking a stand! Because you literally can.

Gkids release films on November 11

Reboot of UFO Robo Grendizer, 3rd installment of Nagai's Mazinger giant robot franchise

This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.

Jason Westcott was afraid.

One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott's handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was planning on "burning" Westcott, who promptly called the Tampa Bay police and reported the plot.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the investigating officers responding to Westcott's call had a simple message for him: "If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill."

Around 7:30 pm on May 27th, the intruders arrived. Westcott followed the officers' advice, grabbed his gun to defend his home, and died pointing it at the intruders. They used a semiautomatic shotgun and handgun to shoot down the 29-year-old motorcycle mechanic. He was hit three times, once in the arm and twice in his side, and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Continue Reading »

CENTRAL PARK — Smorgasburg is popping up in Central Park on September 19 from 5 to 9 p.m. Mighty Quinns, Ramen Burger, Milk Truck, and a bunch of other vendors will be there. According to Gothamist, the pop-up is a supposed to be a "preview of 2015" so Smorg in the park might become a regular thing. [Gothamist]

TRIBECA — After being stolen last week, Bubby's beloved cow mascot has been returned, safely, to its home — along with an anonymous apology note. [EaterWire]

SOHO — Max Sussman of The Cleveland will offer a special menu on September 10, in honor of NYC Honey Week. Blue Hill at Stone Barns' beekeeper will be on hand to offer "an experiential" (read: honey harvesting) element to dinner. Dinner is $90 and will be served in the garden. Proceeds will go towards City Growers' Honeybee Education Program. [EaterWire]

BOOK CLUB — Eater National offers an in-depth profile of Meat Hook butcher Tom Mylan, who was formerly a vegetarian. In interviews with Mylan and some of his colleagues along the way, the story tracks his unlikely rise to rock star butcher. [~EN~]
[Credit]

Update (August 13, 4:12 p.m. ET): Anonymous has obtained and posted St. Louis police dispatch tapes from the day of the shooting.

Update 2 (August 14, 12:07 p.m. ET): @theanonmessage, A Twitter account affiliated with Operation Ferguson has released the name of a police officer who it claims shot Michael Brown. Although the main Twitter account for Operation Ferguson retweeted the announcement, it later said that the name does not match the one provided by its source.

The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, says he is withholding the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, out of concern for the safety of the officer and his family. But that might be easier said than done. Just a few hours later, the hacktivist group Anonymous announced on Twitter that it was now "making a final confirmation on the name of Mike Brown's murderer," adding: "It will be released the moment we receive it."

I traded emails last night with one of the half-dozen core Anonymous members working on Operation Ferguson, as the group's effort to pressure and shame the local police department is known. They were still working to verify the identity of the shooter. "I can only tell you that our source is very close personally to the officer who killed Mike Brown, and that this person is terrified to be our source," said the anon, whom I will call Fawkes. He added that the source "reached out to us, we did not seek out this person."

The claim to have outed the Ferguson shooter comes only two days after Anonymous announced the launch of Operation Ferguson in this video:

The computer-generated voice, graphics, and hacking threats are trademark Anonymous, but one aspect is unusual: a demand for federal legislation "that will set strict national standards for police misconduct and misbehavior." Though Anonymous has a strong anarchist strain that disdains politics, Fawkes told me that the idea wasn't controversial within the group. "We have done a few of these 'justice ops' and it seems there needs to be a larger solution to the problem on a nationwide level," he told me. "There was no debate—everyone on the team embraced the idea."

It has been a busy few days for Operation Ferguson. The hackers shut down the city's website for a few hours on Sunday night and Tuesday morning, posted the home address and number of St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar, and dropped an email bomb that crammed city and police inboxes with junk messages. The goal was "to get journalists like you to do interviews with us, and incidentally maybe talk about the issue at hand in the process," Fawkes told me. "Looks like it worked."

In previous "justice ops," Anonymous hackers have targeted the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system to protest the Charles Hill and Oscar Grant shootings and the transit system's attempt to dampen protests by shutting down cellphone signals. Other Anonymous ops have uncovered criminal evidence or the names of suspects. "It's actually back to the classics," said McGill University cultural anthropologist Gabriella Coleman, author of the forthcoming book Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous, whom I met last night in a chatroom where hackers were plotting their next moves. She added that "a lot of old-school folks came back for this," though they've been careful to avoid the attention of law enforcement and other anons by using fresh pseudonyms.

But the veterans' participation hasn't stopped Op Ferguson from seeming unhinged at times. On Tuesday afternoon, one Anonymous Twitter account threatened to release information about the police chief's daughter unless he disclosed the name of the officer who'd killed Brown. (The threat was later withdrawn.) And the op's Twitter account repeated a bogus internet rumor attributing a screenshot of a racist Facebook tirade to Belmar's wife—the tweet has since been deleted.

"We are not exactly known for being 'responsible,' nor for worrying overly much about the safety of cops," Fawkes told me. "After all, they have vests and assault weapons. I think they can look after themselves. This is psychological and information warfare, not a love fest."

Half outlaw, half idealist, Anonymous has always operated at the margins of legitimacy, its tactics ranging from gumshoe detective work to illegal hacking and shameless PR stunts. It's hard to know whether its current claim to have ID'd Brown's killer will be borne out. "I don't think they have it," Coleman told me. But, she added: "I would not be surprised if they do soon." 

Welcome to Eating Japanese, a new series in which Eater Editorial Producer Kat Odell explores the city's collection of unsung Japanese restaurants and bars.

Inside 15 East by Krieger.

Japanese food. There's more to it than sushi and ramen. And naturally, New York, with its gastronomic diversity, is host to a multitude of styles of Japanese cuisine from low to high. Street food sometimes takes the form of takoyaki, grilled octopus balls from Osaka, and extends upward to Japanese fine dining or kaiseki, an intricate, multi-course meal composed of beautiful small dishes usually served on a tray. But that's not all. Seasonal sake, hot pots, and vegetarian Buddhist cuisine are all found and oft overlooked in this here city.

Going forward, this column will zero in on specific Japanese offerings in New York, but first here's an overview of what's out there. Note, certain styles of food vary ingredients based on regional locale.

Donburi

Salmon skin don at Ennju by Robert Sietsema

Basically a topping (meat, veggies, seafood) over white rice. Often refers to a mix of meat or seafood and veggies cooked together in a dashi, soy, mirin sauce (sometimes with egg added at the last minute) and served over white rice in a large bowl. One popular version of the dish is gyūdon, composed of beef and onion cooked in the aforementioned broth, served over rice. Donburiya in Midtown offers an abundance of rice bowl selections.

Hibachi

Often confused with teppanyaki, hibachi is a round or box-shaped pot with a grill fueled by charcoal and used to cook lightly seasoned meat, seafood, and vegetables. For example, yakitori is frequently cooked on a hibachi.

Kaiseki

Kaiseki is a term to describe many small, intricate dishes served on a tray during a multi-course meal. The best known modern kaiseki restaurant in the world is Tokyo's RyuGin, which S. Pellegrino named the 33rd best restaurant in the world this year. In New York there are places like Brushstroke in Tribeca and Kyo Ya in the East Village, each of which have been reviewed in the Times, earning two and three stars respectively.

Kappo

Uni at Cagen by Kat Odell

Kappo is the broad term used to reference multi-course prix fixe meals. Often customers sit at a bar from behind which the chef prepares a series of dishes both raw and cooked. Once the dish is complete the chef hands it directly to the customer. Kappo meals, like the ones served at Kura and Cagen, are generally more upscale and take into account seasonality. Omakase or chef's choice-style restaurants often serve a mix of sushi, kappo, and kaiseki.

Kushikatsu/Kushiage

Another popular street food and izakaya dish. Kushikatsu refers to skewered meat, seafood and vegetables that are dipped in flour, egg, panko bread crumbs and deep fried. There are usually sauces for dipping as well. Village Yokocho, the East Village izakaya home to excellent Japanese cocktail bar Angel's Share, puts forth a number of kushiage options from chicken to kabocha squash.

Oden

Think of oden as a type of long-simmered, hearty, dashi-flavored stew studded with an assortment of ingredients like hard boiled eggs, daikon, and fishcake. It's not the easiest of foods to find in Manhattan, but superb Lower East Side sake bar Yopparai offers a handful of iterations.

Okonomiyaki

This Japanese cabbage-based pancake (similar to an omelette or frittata) is found throughout Japan. While the savory batter and toppings vary by region, it's usually filled with a mix of meat, seafood and vegetables then topped with mayo, okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce), shaved bonito flakes, green onion, and seaweed powder. In Japan one will find restaurants that specialize in okonomiyaki, but here in NY izakayas are the best way to go for a taste. Drop by Sake Bar Hagi in Midtown.

Onigiri/Omusubi

Onigiri, which is also known as omusubi, is a compressed Japanese rice ball. Though fillings vary, plain salted white rice is formed into a triangle or oval, stuffed, and then frequently wrapped in nori. Traditionally, the rice balls came packed with salty or sour ingredients like ume (sort of like a salty, pickled plum), but nowadays one can find more creative versions. Onigiri By Tampopo, a stall at mini outdoor food court Broadway Bites, sells its rice balls flavored with garlic miso and wasabi shrimp.

Ramen

Ivan Ramen by Krieger

In recent times New York has experienced a ramen boom, with old school players like Ippudo now competing with hipper, American-run joints like Ivan Ramen. And just the term "ramen" itself is the gateway into scores of soup styles hailing from prefectures throughout Japan. Tonkotsu is built on fatty stocks made of boiled pork bones as compared to the lighter shio ramen or "salt" ramen. Noodles vary, too.

Robata

One form of Japanese-style grilling is robata. Meats, fish and vegetables are cooked on skewers over an open bincho (charcoal) hearth. NY's Aburiya Kinnosuke is an izakaya that specializes in such cookery.

Sake Bars/Izakayas

Egg on egg on egg at SakaMai by Kat Odell

To experience a taste of Golden Gai, the famously compact drinking row in Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood, look no further than Decibel, a sake bar on 9th Street and 2nd Avenue in the East Village. Golden Gai is notorious for its 200 tiny themed bars and eateries, many of which contain between two and six seats, crammed next to and on top of each other on just six narrow streets. Likewise, the cramped Decibel, situated down a set of stairs and below a lit sign that reads "On Air," offers just a handful of tables. But the main attraction here is the sake bar which seats about five people at once side by side along an uncushioned banquette. The place itself is colored by graffiti walls with rows of inverted sake bottles (sake "on tap") behind the bar. To say the least, it's a unique New York experience.

Like many izakayas — basically a Japanese pub that offers food — Decibel serves a fairly lengthy list of alcohol-friendly Japanese small plates considering its size. SakaMai on Ludlow at Stanton is another example of an izakaya and sake bar, though more upscale with American and European nods. Here one might find a foie gras chawan mushi (egg custard) and uni plus sturgeon caviar over scrambled eggs.

Shabu-Shabu

Japanese shabu-shabu is a form of cooking in which the diner uses chopsticks to quickly cook slices of raw meat and vegetables in a pot of simmering water. It's considered a healthier style of eating since the ingredients are simply boiled and then dipped in a sauce flavored with soy or sesame. Once all ingredients are cooked, the boiling water is transformed into a soup. Shabu-Tatsu in the East Village presents such a style of dining, as does longtime staple Shabu-Shabu 70 in the Upper East Side.

Shojin

Image via Kajitsu

A prime example of Shojin cuisine, or vegetarian cooking that originates in Zen Buddhism, is found at Kajitsu in Midtown. A shojin meal is devoid of fish and meat, and even root vegetables (uprooting a root vegetable kills the entire plant). Seasonal and usually local (non root) vegetables, fruit, and grains form a shojin meal that's usually composed of many different plates. The idea behind this is to serve a visually pleasing, complete and balanced meal that incorporates a variety of flavors, textures and colors.

Sukiyaki

Almost like a cross between shabu-shabu and teppanyaki, sukiyaki is a form of hot pot cookery in which thinly sliced beef, vegetables, and noodles are cooked at a table in a shallow cast iron pot in a broth of soy, mirin, and sugar. After the ingredients are cooked they are dipped in a bowl of raw egg. Momokawa, a Kyotan restaurant with locations in Kips Bay and Tokyo, presents sukiyaki for two centered on Berkshire pork or beef.

Sushi

Sushi at Sushi Nakazawa by Nick Solares

One of the most ubiquitous and subsequently familiar styles of Japanese cuisine is sushi. This all encompassing term refers to seasoned rice and seafood (or veggies), and is the umbrella title for maki (cut rolls) and nigiri (mounds of rice that support fish). Sashimi, raw seafood without rice, is in its own category. Then there's chirashi, which is a bowl of seasoned rice topped with raw fish, veggies, roe, and other ingredients. Similar to chirashi is kaisendon, or a bowl of plain (unseasoned) white rice topped with a spread of sashimi. New York is host to a plethora of sushi restaurants that will and won't break the bank. At the top is Masa, notoriously the city's most expensive restaurant, but for less pricey, high quality eats try 15 East or Sushi Azabu, the "secret" sushi bar below Daruma-Ya.

Takoyaki

Takoyaki at Sunrise Mart by Robert Sietsema

Takoyaki is a Japanese snack, also considered Japanese street food, that is believed to have originated in Osaka. It's an octopus ball composed of a wheat flour batter mixed with octopus bits, green onions, and ginger, cooked on a cast iron grill filled with spherical molds. Traditionally the balls are topped with Takoyaki Sauce, mayo, bonito shavings, and seaweed. Hit up Otafuku to taste. (Protip: While there also go for taiyaki, a fish-shaped pancake filled with red bean.)

Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki is lightly seasoned meat, seafood, and vegetables cooked over an iron griddle. Benihana is the most famous example of such a restaurant.

Udon/Soba

Soba from Soba Koh by Robert Sietsema

Udon and soba often have their own set of dedicated restaurants. Udon, a thick chewy wheat flour noodle usually served in a hot or cold broth, can be found at Soba-Ya. An East Village restaurant which, as its name suggests, also offers an abundance of soba dishes. Soba refers to thin noodles made from buckwheat flour usually served chilled with a dipping sauce or in a hot broth.

Wagashi

Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets often usually served with tea and made from plant-based ingredients. The most popular example of which is mochi. Try Cha-An in the East Village. If red bean butter toast with black sesame ice cream; and green tea, black sesame, and earl grey chocolate mochi sound appealing (yes, all of the aforementioned are made in house), then head upstairs to check it out. Fun tip: Cha-An also holds occasional mochi-making classes.

[Courtesy of Shake Shack]

Danny Meyer's obsessively loved Shake Shack has finally reached Barclays Center. The long-awaited Flatbush Shack, as its dubbed, opened yesterday across the street from the home of the Nets. The newest outpost, which is the borough's third, is serving all of the Shack classics including its much missed crinkle cut fries. As per usual, the team has come up with a new custard concrete for this location. It's called the "Nothin' But NETS", and involves chocolate and vanilla custard plus marshmallow sauce, crunchy bits, and chocolate sprinkles. That Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie concrete from the Dumbo outpost is also on the menu.
· Let's Do This, Brooklyn! [Official Shake Shack Website]
· All Coverage of Shake Shack [~ENY~]

Korean fried chicken business Seoul Chicken is coming to the notoriously cursed space at 71 Clinton Street. Former tenant San Marzano was forced to move after a flood earlier this year and before that Izakaya Dodom Pa, Fat Hippo, Patate Fellow, and Hachember all occupied the space for short stints over the last four years — and the trouble goes back even further than that. [Bowery Boogie]

[The db burger at db Bistro Moderne. All photos by Nick Solares]

New York City has some of the nation's oldest and most storied hamburgers. Here is a guide to 13 of the city's true icons, which are as diverse in form as the New York burger scene is broad. The burgers listed below date as far back as the 1940s and for the most part remain largely unchanged, providing a timeline of sorts for New York's ever-changing burger tastes.

Burger Heaven, which represents the hamburger diner genre, serves a broiled sirloin patty that at one time was considered luxurious in comparison to the ground chuck used in most burgers. By modern standards, it is on the lean and dry side of things. Burger Heaven dates back to 1943, and was originally called the Beefburger, until the name was changed for legal reasons in 1974. It remains a family-owned business with three locations and is the last of a dying breed that included such notable establishments as The Prime Burger and Hamburger Heaven, immortalized in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Also mentioned in Capote's novella is P.J. Clarke's, which serves a burger that has stood the test of time. Dubbed the "Cadillac of cheeseburgers" by Nat King Cole in the 1950's, this griddle cooked burger remains one of the city's best.

[21 Club]

The exception to the usual permanence of burger form is the 21 Club, which has consistently reinterpreted its "21 burger" over the decades. The most recent version is the most traditional (in relation to other hamburgers), topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. It's a far cry from the original, which was spiked with fennel seed and cooked in duck fat, but it is no less luxurious: executive chef Sylvain Delpique uses a dry aged blend from Master Purveyors, one of NYC's top butchers. Master Purveyors also provides the blend for J.G. Melon which has been serving burgers since opening in 1972. These days, the restaurant goes through 300 pounds of chopped beef a day. No top burger list is complete without J.G. Melon's inclusion.

In the early 1970s the "metal dome" diner burger emerged at Jackson Hole in Queens, and at Cozy Soup 'n Burger in Manhattan. Characterized by griddle-cooked patties so thick that they need to be cooked under metal bowls to cook through, these burgers provide excellent value, if not the last word in flavor. Paul's da Burger Joint opened in 1989 and is the last significant restaurant to adopt the style.

If there is one common thread in the burgers of NYC, it is that they benefit from the city's rich tradition of high quality beef. Corner Bistro, whose burger rose to prominence virtually overnight after a 1977 Mimi Sheraton article in the Times, used to have the fresh chuck for the bistro burger carted over twice a day from a butcher in the Meatpacking District. Similarly the beef in the lunchtime-only hamburger at Peter Luger Steakhouse comes from the same prime grade beef featured in the legendary restaurant's steaks.

[Shake Shack]

A significant influence on burgers in the city in the last decade has been butcher Pat LaFrieda, whose custom blends are featured in some of the city's most celebrated hamburgers. Most notably April Bloomfield's Spotted Pig burger and the Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern. LaFrieda's most prolific client is surely the wildly successful Shake Shack, but arguably the most important burger of the new century remains chef Daniel Boulud's Original db Burger at db Bistro Moderne. Despite its unorthodox construction and exorbitant price, that burger changed the game, clearing the way both for chefs to get fancier and at the same time renewing an interest in more down-to-earth hamburgers.

Here are NYC's most iconic hamburgers: