Amber

With Independence Day coming up next week, Stephen Merchant, on behalf of Newcastle Brown Ale, poses the question: What if Britain had won the Revolutionary War? True, we would have to pay a few more taxes, but if it would mean fewer gun-toting maniacs and mass shootings, then, I don’t know — kind of worth it? Plus the bitchin’ Indian food, and you know I love getting my curry on. And of course, we can’t forget: MOAR COARGIS.

I’m liking Stephen Merchant’s vision of the United Kingdom II better already.

(Via Tastefully Offensive)

Filed under: TV Tagged: BEER COMMERCIALS, NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE, STEPHEN MERCHANT, TV COMMERCIALS

In what is some of the hands down finest internet reporting I’ve ever seen, last week the folks over at Autostraddle complied an article of every cast member of Orange is the New Black who has appeared on Law & Order. And just how many is that, you ask? Fifteen? Sixteen? Hell, even twenty? No, motherf*ckers — thirty-f*cking-three. Thirty-three people from Orange is the New Black have, at some point, appeared on Law & Order. It’s no wonder, as I mentioned yesterday, that I need to keep IMBD open while I do my recaps.

Anyway, here’s a gif wall of ten of them, via this tumblr, but I can’t encourage you enough to go check out Autostraddle’s piece. Also, fun fact about me? Hand to god, I have never seen an episode of Law & Order. Yeah, I don’t know how that’s possible either.

  

  

  

  

  

Filed under: TV Tagged: LAW AND ORDER, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

During the dog days of summer these Limited Edition Limeade Oreo Cookies will be soooo not refreshing. (Spotted by Sascha at Meijer.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Copyright The Impulsive Buy 2004-2014

This week, Tanqueray drinkers will find a new bottling on the shelf next to the familiar green bottle of London Dry: the distillery's spin on an Old Tom Gin, a once-extinct liquor that's poised to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight again. It's delicious stuff. Here's a bit more on Old Tom (and how to use it in cocktails.) Read More

Mindy Kaling turns thirty-five today, and to celebrate, I’ve put together ten reasons why we love her. I’ve been a fan of Mindy Kaling since The Office and just got hooked on The Mindy Project this year — and every time I see her on a talk show or interview she makes me like her even more with her funny and charming yet no bullsh*t personality. Aside from that, she’s just an overall good role model, which is refreshing being that the biggest societal concerns of many young female celebrities today is whether or not they can show their nipples on social media.

With that, we salute you, Mindy Kaling. Happy birthday, girl!

Because she’s really smart:

Because she’s not afraid to treat herself:

  

  

Via

Because she’s not afraid to sometimes look like a hot mess:

Because she knows how to drink wine like a muthaf*ckin’ lady:

  

Via

Because she understands the importance of having staples in the home:

Because she’s probably a very good kisser:

  

  

Via

Because she owns up to her farts:

Because she knows better than to indulge people in political debates:

Because she doesn’t have a problem with being single:

Because she came up with the best ever motivation to work out:

  

  

Filed under: TV Tagged: CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS, MINDY KALING, THE MINDY PROJECT

Chef Jonathon Sawyer operates six diverse restaurants in Cleveland. Although he has a hectic schedule (we spoke to him in midst of an unexpected restaurant inspection), Sawyer makes a point of dining out and trying all sorts of different restaurants around town so he can give visiting friends and family the best food recommendations. "I think it's important to be an ambassador of the city," he says. Read More

Thick, homemade corn tortillas stuffed with melted cheese and refried beans are topped with a quick cabbage slaw. [Photographs: Lauren Rothman]

After covering both Mexican gorditas and sopes, we've come to the third and final installment in our series on how to make great street food with homemade masa dough. Today, we'll talking about Salvadoran pupusas, thick homemade tortillas stuffed with with a variety of fillings and then cooked on a hot griddle. Pupusas have a lot in common with their kissing cousin, the gordita, but the former have the advantage of being stuffed before they're cooked, ensuring that the cheese you'll inevitably want to fold inside will become melted and gooey and pretty much irresistible.

As we discussed in previous installments, homemade masa dough is a breeze to make, coming together in just minutes once you've picked up a bag of widely-available masa harina: just add the masa flour, salt, fat, and baking powder, knead briefly, and you're ready to go. Forming the pupusas is the more labor-intensive part: after rolling out golfball-sized orbs, you use you thumb to press an indentation into the pliable dough, then work it with your fingers to create a small "bowl"—if you've ever taken a ceramics class, you know exactly what I mean.

Once you have that little bowl, it's ready to be filled with all kinds of delectable stuffings. Then it's pinched together, rolled back into a ball, and carefully flattened out, yielding a delicious, stuffed pancake-like situation. To keep things simple, our recipe calls for a layer of Daniel's Perfect Refried Beans, followed by a layer of shredded Oaxacan cheese. Both of these fillings are extremely easy to put together, and because they're not too runny or wet, you won't run the risk of them bursting through as you form and griddle the pupusas. Plus, if you make the beans the day ahead—a good idea anyway since they need to be at room temperature before you proceed with the recipe—you can get the pupusas on the table in about 45 minutes. The finished, piping-hot pupusas get topped with a briny, refreshing cabbage slaw and a dash of hot sauce.

Get the Recipe!

[Photographs: Donna Currie]

I'm not exactly sure what to call the Lekue Silicone Bread Maker ($35). I mean, they call it a bread maker, but it's really more of a bread pan that can be used as a bowl. It doesn't actually do any making of bread.

The idea is that you can mix your bread ingredients in the bowl, do the kneading in the bowl, close it up and cover the open ends to let it rise, then shape, rise, and bake, all in the same container. It all makes perfect sense for me, except when it comes to kneading in the bowl—if I'm hand-kneading, I prefer to do that on a clean counter top. But I suppose there might be reasons why someone would prefer to do their kneading in a container.

The best thing about using this as a bread pan is that the resulting bread is a unique shape—a cross between a football and a submarine, with slices being nearly round. I've bought plenty of baking equipment just because I like the shape, so I'm more than happy to add this to my arsenal.

A bonus is that because the bread bakes in an enclosed space that holds in the steam, you get a crisp crust—one that browns nicely, to boot. And, since the bread maker is made from silicone, it's microwave (and dishwasher) safe. Not that you'd bake bread in the microwave, but it's perfect for cooking, say, zapping some corn on the cob if you're so inclined. If you leave it closed after cooking, it will also help keep the corn nice and warm.

And, of course, you can cook, bake, or roast other foods in it as well. I'd like this even if it was just a bread pan, because it turns out beautifully-shaped loaves; the fact that it can be used for a variety of items is just icing on the cake.

About the author: Resident yeast whisperer and bread baking columnist Donna Currie also has a serious gadget habit. When her father-in-law heard about this column, he upgraded the nickname for her kitchen from "gadget world" to "gadget heaven." You can find her on her blog, Cookistry or follow her on Twitter at @dbcurrie.

Disclaimer: Testing samples were provided to Serious Eats.

Tom Chiarella shares his rules for giving a eulogy.

It may hurt to write it. And reading it? For some, that's the worst part. The world might spin a little, and everything familiar to you might fade for a few minutes. But remember, remind yourself as you stand there, you are the lucky one.

And that's not because you aren't dead. You were selected. You get to stand, face the group, the family, the world, and add it up. You're being asked to do something at the very moment when nothing can be done. You get the last word in the attempt to define the outlines of a life. I don't care what you say, bub: That is a gift.

This rule surprised me:

You must make them laugh. Laughs are a pivot point in a funeral. They are your responsibility. The best laughs come by forcing people not to idealize the dead. In order to do this, you have to be willing to tell a story, at the closing of which you draw conclusions that no one expects.

Tags: death   how to   Tom Chiarella

In France, pie charts are called "le camembert" after the cheese. Or sometimes "un diagramme en fromage" (cheese diagram). In Brazil, they are pizza charts. (via numberphile & reddit)

Tags: cheese   food   France   language   mathematics

Before Adolf Hitler came along and seized the title of the most evil person in the world, who was commonly cited as the embodiment of evil? The Egyptian Pharoah in the story of Exodus.

In the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, many Americans and Europeans had a firmer grasp of the bible than of the history of genocidal dictators. Orators in search of a universal symbol for evil typically turned to figures like Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, or, most frequently, the Pharaoh of Exodus, who chose to endure 10 plagues rather than let the Hebrew people go. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine wrote: "No man was a warmer wisher for reconciliation than myself, before the fatal nineteenth of April, 1775 [the date of the Lexington massacre], but the moment the event of that day was made known, I rejected the hardened, sullen tempered Pharaoh of England for ever." In the run-up to the Civil War, abolitionists regularly referred to slaveholders as modern-day Pharaohs. Even after VE Day, Pharaoh continued to pop up in the speeches of social reformers like Martin Luther King Jr.

Also, this is a good line:

Generally speaking, hatred was more local and short-lived before World War II.

(via mr)

Tags: Adolf Hitler

Jimmy Kimmel infused his “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” gag with some NBA flavor on Sunday night, giving players not involved in the NBA Finals a chance to shine one last time before the offseason. Stars including Paul George, Dwight Howard, Steph Curry, Boogie Cousins, and the unstoppable comedy force that is Dikembe Mutombo all read the worst things being said about them on the internet.

The burns aren’t as hot — and the reactions aren’t nearly as entertaining — as your typical celebrity version. (And of course ABC had to shoehorn Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons into the segment.) But then again, we may never see anyone top Sofia Vergara’s spicy hot comeback from last month.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Filed under: Sports, TV, Uncategorized Tagged: CELEBRITIES READ MEAN TWEETS, jimmy kimmel, jimmy kimmel live, MEAN TWEETS, NBA

The editing wizards at The Tonight Show have topped themselves this time with Brian Williams rapping “Baby Got Back.” Not even Sir Mix-A-Lot backed by an orchestra can top this version, with special appearances by all the NBC News all stars and Kathie Lee Gifford.

Even Kim Jong Un inadvertently gets in on the good time, providing the key phrase that might not exist if he wasn’t a fixture in the news.

(Via The Tonight Show)

Filed under: Music, TV Tagged: baby got back, brian williams, jimmy fallon, Sir Mix-A-Lot, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The Book of Mormon, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s masterpiece of a musical, debuted on Broadway in 2011, back when the world wasn’t sick of Josh Gad yet. So it’s hard to believe that it took three long years for someone to mashup the show’s opening number, “Hello,” with South Park animation. The attention to detail is impressive, and I hope Simon Chong makes a video for every song.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Starvin’ Marvin.

Filed under: TV, Upcoming Tagged: ANDREW RANNELLS, Mashups, south park, the book of mormon

Ladies, I’m sorry, but there’s a monster out there named Bread Foster, and he’s spoiling Game of Thrones on Tinder. Why? “I realized there is an unspoiled market of screwing with people on that site.” I’d say he’s a real-life Joffrey, but no one ruined Game of Thrones for Joffrey (or else he probably would have done a few things differently). He’s something worse: he’s a book reader. THE HORROR.

As always, the post is dark, and full of spoilers.

Some took it better than others.

The lesson learned here is: everyone on Tinder is awful.

Via Bro Bible

Filed under: TV, Web Culture Tagged: game of thrones, tinder, WORST PEOPLE ALIVE

I’ve had to remind myself of this five times today. 

by Mike Dang

Perhaps a little belated for Father’s Day, but Stephanie Lucianovic has a really wonderful essay about rereading Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, and getting a new perspective on the theme of being a parent and adult with a job through the character of Mr. Quimby, Ramona’s father:

What we learn in the Ramona books is that Mr. Quimby was once an art major, but when Mrs. Quimby got pregnant with Beezus, he dropped out of school and got a job. We can acknowledge that some of the Ramona books were a product of their time (Cleary wrote them between 1955-1999) when getting married while in college was not as mind-boggling as it might be today, yet also still recognize that having a baby at any stage of life forces a family to completely change their life around in order to accommodate it. Dropping out of college and not finishing his art degree is the first data point in Mr. Quimby’s realistic if depressing career trajectory.

Bit by bit we find out about all the jobs Mr. Quimby has held. In Beezus and Ramona, he has an unnamed position at Pacific Gas & Electric, and in Ramona and Her Father he loses his job in an office of a small moving and storage company, and everything appears to go downhill from there. For what feels like a painfully extended time (all of Ramona and Her Father), Mr. Quimby is standing in line at unemployment, waiting by the phone for interviews and job offers, and smoking. By the close of Ramona and Her Father, Mr. Quimby has finally secured a job as a checker at a grocery store chain with management potential. In other books, we’ll learn how much he hates his checker job — once again a concept which may not mean much to the kids for whom the books were written but one which resonates far too loudly for adults — and how he’ll leave that checker job to go back to art school and then get a teaching certificate while also working part-time at another hated job in a frozen foods warehouse.

Mr. Quimby should have studied STEM. Okay, no, but seriously, I sort of want to read all of the books I read as a kid and look at them through the lens of the parents.

10 Comments

There’s a new Tumblr called Emojinalysis, a.k.a. my new most favorite thing ever, that will psychoanalyze you based upon your most recently used emojis. The project is the brainchild of copywriter Dan Brill, who — totally out of the kindness of his own heart — will “tell you what’s wrong with you life” if you send him a screenshot, your name and age.

Here’s a sampling of his most recent work:

Subject 29: Anne, 19

Hi, “Anne.” Let’s get this out of the way up front. You’re clearly a dude running some sort of shady Eastern European identity scam, right? The bottom row alone (Busts in silhouette, Free/New/Cool symbols, Heart with arrow) could literally be the outline for a bad John Grisham novel. Let me guess, your front is an online dating site for the swine-curious called “Porkers”? Punch yourself twice if I’m right.

Diagnostic emoji: Money with wings
Prescribed emoji: Wrapped present + Pile of poop

Subject 28: Kate, 26

Listen, we’ve all pointed a Gun at a Birthday Cake at some point in our lives. But in the presence of Japanese ogre, Confounded face and Weary cat? This must be what it looks like when the coke runs out at a Charlie Sheen party. I must admit, the transition of Heart-shaped eyes face/cat into Crying face/cat is quite a powerful story. And the moral of that story is you’re a fucking lunatic.

Diagnostic emoji: Police cars revolving light
Prescribed emoji: Ticket + Airplane

Subject 26: Elizabeth, 28

OK so I think you might actually be the IRL version of Drunk in Love? You been drinkin, one martini. Paired with this sugar Candy, Cookie, baby I’m worried about you. Na-na. TOOOO MUCH LOOOOVE. Did you text Hearts all night? (Love, love) Text Hearts all night? (Love, love) I bet you woke up in a kitchen sayin’ how the hell did these emojis happen? Oh baby.

Diagnostic emoji: Crown
Prescribed emoji: Smoking symbol + Snowflake (Cigars on ice)

Subject 23: Taryn, 21

You’re so young, Taryn. I worry that you’re rushing into things. Love. Marriage. Alcohol. Shooting people and lighting shit on fire. I know, I know, #YOLO. But how about trying #EMOJO for a change? (Everything’s Menacing, Oppose Jeopardizing Opportunities.) You think Police Officer is all smiles outside of emojiland? Go binge Orange is the New Black and get back to me.

Diagnostic emoji: Party popper
Prescribed emoji: Television

And yes, if you’re wondering, that is my own personal most recently used emoji screen in the header image, which I did send in and may or may not share depending on the results if he posts them. Because honestly, I don’t even remember ever using the cigarette, pill or needle — so I feel like my phone may be trying to somehow slander my good name. The poop, cat and food emojis, though? Guilty as charged.

UPDATE: VICTORY!!!!!!!!!

Subject 33: Stacey, 36

OK so this is basically Emoji: Vice City. Cookie. Cigarette. Poultry Leg. Shortcake. Freaking Pizza. Three boozimojis. Holy shit, Stacey. I’m getting full Ron Burgundy here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the Pill and Syringe concerned me a bit, but fuck it, you’re essentially the most amazing person on Earth. Teach me how to emoji, Stacey, teach me how to emoji.

Diagnostic emoji: Clapping hands sign x 1,000
Prescribed emoji: Ring (Marry me)

(Via Jezebel)

Filed under: Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: emoji, TUMBLR

I didn’t even realize schizophrenia simulators were a thing that existed, but Anderson Cooper got his hands on one for a recent “Exercise in Emphathy” segment on 360 and attempted to go through a normal day while hearing voices.

The experiment itself would be fascinating if taken by any of us, but when it’s a public figure who seemingly has their razor sharp wits about them twenty-four hours a day struggling with routine activities it really hammers home how debilitating the mental disorder is.

If you can’t swing all five minutes start at the 3:30 mark where a clearly discombobulated Cooper outlines how soul-crushing the entire experience was.

Filed under: TV, Upcoming Tagged: ANDERSON COOPER, ANDERSON COOPER 360, schizophrenia

tastefullyoffensive:

The National Galleries [x]

… than alive (with my student loan debt).”

Here’s my take on the incredible Tumblr Q&A with President Obama. Student loans and college tuition are just impossibly difficult questions with very, very few answers.

The tl;dr — college should be way more affordable. Loan interest rates should be way more reasonable. Unfortunately, it seems like neither of those things are going to happen in the short term.

So at the very least, high school students should be super informed before they make college choices and take on huge debt loads. Financial literacy must become a component of every high school education. Not all of us are going to use calculus; every single one of us has to know how money works. 

Thanks again to the incredible Tumblr staff and David Karp for making this event happen. 

The Swamp Donkeys are a wonderfully named New Orleans-based group that specialize in “traditional jazz, blues, jass originals, vaudeville, modern jazz adaptations, and many other jazz and New Orleans-derived styles,” including lively renditions of theme songs from very violent HBO series. Have a listen to their recent Game of Thrones theme cover (dedicated to a very special dead someone), and try to imagine Hodor Hodor’ing a pot of GUMBO and Melisandre collecting beads. “TITS!”

Via Vanity Fair

Filed under: TV, Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: COVER SONGS, game of thrones, live music, SWAMP DONKEYS, TV Theme Songs

Kumail Nanjiani, one of my new favorite actors/comedians and participant in the greatest dick joke in the history of television, has launched a new podcast devoted exclusively to breaking down every episode of The X-Files, consecutively, throughout the entire series. (Or basically, “through season six,” as Nanjiani says.) The podcast is hosted by the network Feral Audio, which also houses Dan Harmon’s Harmontown and Chelsea Peretti’s Call Chelsea Peretti.

Each episode will feature a different guest host, the first being Film critic Devin Faraci, in which they tackle the first two episodes: “Pilot” and “Deep Throat.” I listened to part of the first episode and despite being a funny guy, the show is actually SUPER SERIOUS — so far, anyway — with Nanjiani saying that he was a UFO-obsessed kid growing up, and when the The X-Files premiered it was practically religion to him. They make an interesting point that back when the The X-Files was on the air, since it was pre-today’s internet, if you wanted to obsess over a series you had to record every episode on VHS tapes and then buy the season guides at the end of the year. Dark times, indeed, and it looks like he’s got a lot of catching up to do.

I kind of wish someone would do a Quantum Leap podcast in this style, (my favorite sci-fi show growing up) except every episode would be like, Sam jumps into this person and then it’s really awkward while he’s trying to figure sh*t out, then he figures it out but there’s a red herring, and he almost doesn’t save the day but then he does. Al also says some funny stuff and uses laughably fake technology. Actually — don’t care, would still listen.

You can check out The X-Files Files here.

(Via Splitsider)

Filed under: TV, Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: Kumail Nanjiani, PODCASTS, THE X-FILES

Hillary Clinton did a little fluffy cover story with People magazine about becoming a grandmother and having some free time since stepping down as Secretary of State and whatever other humanizing details she wants to get across to the American voting public, which is all fine and good and politics as usual, but she also revealed one tidbit that has completely fascinated me since I read it earlier today: She and Bill binge-watched House of Cards together.

Clinton provided a glimpse into her life as a private citizen these past 16 months, even dishing on organizing her closets and binge-watching TV.

“Oh, that was good, too,” she said, describing a little self-consciously how she and her husband Bill “totally binge-watched” the first season of House of Cards. Part of the appeal, she explained, was “a little bit of the, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe we can just sit here and do this’ and ‘We’re only going to watch one episode, oh, let’s watch another. Okay, well, we have time, we’re not going anywhere, let’s watch a third.’ I know that sounds kind of devoid of content.”

Stick with me here.

Season 1 of House of Cards was about a powerful, charismatic Southern politician who is married to a whip-smart, ambitious blonde woman. Their marriage is as much about convenience and teaming up to conquer Washington as it is about love. Eventually, a few episodes into the season, this powerful, charismatic Southern politician — who also, by the way, enjoys soul food and is popular with black people — begins a torrid affair with an attractive younger woman who took steps to insert herself into his life, and who is often associated with a memorable dress.

Okay, now picture the Clintons — Bill and Hillary, together — laying in bed next to each other and watching all of that play out in front of them. Bill making bedroom eyes at the screen every time Zoe Barnes shows up, Hillary making death eyes at Bill. IT MUST HAVE BEEN SO WEIRD. Can you even imagine them talking to their friends about it?

HILLARY: Oh, yeah. Bill and I love House of Cards. My favorite character is Claire. What a bright, straight shooter that woman is. Why, she’d make a better politician than Frank, I bet, if she hadn’t agreed to put his career ahead of hers. And then Frank went to run around with that … that floozy. You know what? I’m glad Claire cheated on him with that photographer. GOOD, I say. He’s ruining EVERYTHING. Just wait till SHE gets her turn to be president 20 years later. I’l-… She’ll be the best president this stupid country has ever seen.

FRIEND: …

I must know more about this. Someone else ask the Clintons about House of Cards.

Filed under: TV Tagged: hillary clinton, HOUSE OF CARDS, NETFLIX

Yesterday, news leaked that Darren Aronofsky, a director noted for taking on complex and difficult science fiction movies like Pi and The Fountain, was turning Margaret Atwood’s series of Madaddam novels into an HBO TV series. Which is bold since only fussy academics and literary SF nerds have read the series. Luckily for you, I’m both, so let’s lay these books out.

Help me out here, I know the name Margaret Atwood from somewhere…

You probably know her best from her enormously popular science fiction novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. It got a lot of attention when it was published in the ’80s because basically Atwood took the religious chest-pounding of guys like Jerry Falwell to its obvious conclusion. Namely, everybody but guys like Jerry Falwell get screwed in a society so repressed gay men are hung from fences as “gender traitors” and women aren’t even allowed to read. It was “controversial” and made good news fodder.

So she’s a science fiction author?

Well, that depends on who’s writing the graduate thesis. Most people would argue that Atwood is a “serious novelist,” but she’s got a real taste for science fiction, as you may have guessed. She prefers the term “speculative fiction” for these books, and has managed to pull off getting these books shortlisted for major awards such as the Man Booker Prize, a rarity for such a decidedly genre-specific work.

So what’s the Madaddam series about, exactly, without any spoilers?

The short answer is humanity goes crazy with the genetic engineering, and we manage to wipe ourselves out for the most part. The first book, Oryx & Crake, largely deals with the fallout of that through the eyes of the no-longer-quite human protagonist and the “Crakers” around him. The second, The Year of The Flood, deals with the few remaining actual humans. The finale, MadAddam, ties the two together.

It’s rife with Atwood’s dry humor and taste for the bizarre: Robo mentioned yesterday that Crakers, for example, reproduce by waving their blue wangs around and the females select the best for their orgies.

Ah, so that’s why HBO wants it. What about Aronofsky?

Presumably he wants to scratch an itch Hollywood will no longer let him anywhere near. This is the guy who got Warner Bros. to pay for The Fountain, a tragic love story about Hugh Jackman flying to a nebula in a bubble with a tree that used to be his wife. He’s pretty much the only director with any clout out there who’d even touch this series, forget actually get it made. By the same token, the guy only makes money in theaters when Natalie Portman does Mila Kunis. So HBO probably has some appeal.

Will it be worth watching?

Well, the books are awesome and Aronofsky is jealously protective of the source material that he works on, so yeah, we’re going to say it’ll be awesome. Weird as hell, mind you, but awesome. We’ll likely see it in the 2015-2016 TV season.

Filed under: GammaSquad Tagged: Darren Aronofsky, explainers, HBO, madaddam, MARGARET ATWOOD, ORYX AND CRAKE, the year of the flood

Updated “who should sit on the Iron Throne” power rankings, from least to most deserving:

7. Tommen Baratheon
6. Bran Stark
5. Gendry
4. Stannis Baratheon
3. Daenerys Targaryen
2. “Emma”
1. These cats:

Here’s how Emma’s dad did it:

We had fun making it. As for the chair, we used a baby chair from Pottery Barn. Wrapped it with some linen (so as not to damage the chair), then cut out foam board swords and glue-gunned it to the linen. Hope that helps. (Via)

Keep it away from dragons.

Via Reddit

Filed under: TV, Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: BIRTHDAY PARTIES, Cats, cool parents, game of thrones

whitehouse:

The President is answering your questions tomorrow, and it will be awesome. Tune in Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET on whitehouse.tumblr.com.

You know, if you’re hip to all these things.

After thumbing through a copy at my local bar the other night, I've had my eye on Jeffrey Morgenthaler's new book, The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique.

Written by renowned bartender and cocktail blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book is the only technique-driven cocktail handbook out there. This indispensable guide breaks down bartending into essential techniques, and then applies them to building the best drinks. More than 60 recipes illustrate the concepts explored in the text, ranging from juicing, garnishing, carbonating, stirring, and shaking to choosing the correct ice for proper chilling and dilution of a drink. With how-to photography to provide inspiration and guidance, this book breaks new ground for the home cocktail enthusiast.

I've been beefing up my home bar over the past few weeks and hopefully this book will help me along in the technique department. Nothing in there about catching glasses behind your back, but no book is perfect, I guess. (thx, gabe)

Tags: books   cocktails   Jeffrey Morgenthaler   The Bar Book

lexcanroar:

phampants:

HOLY SHIT!!!

AHAHAHAHA

HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE.