Client: We need it to be loudly subtle, but peppered with frivolity that is harbored in a unique sense of aesthetic chaos. Remember to keep it simple, clean and concise; however, you may feel free to experiment with the underlying subtext of the piece. Contrast. Juxtaposition. Opposites. It needs to scream at you, while remaining silently enraged.
Me: That all sounds great, but keep in mind that this is a 2.625” x 1” mailing label.
Client: Oh, sure! Just make sure our logo is on it.
kateThis looks like a great project.
Before our burgeoning fast-casual dining climate took hold, and before fast-food fever swept over the nation during the 1950s (continuing its dominance through today), Americans of all classes ...
Continue reading "Documentary Recalls When CEOs Clinked Cups With Buskers in Massive Cafeterias" >
Apparently, each year Burger King gives a big prize to its "Franchisee of the Year." This year's winner, Tom Barnett, an obviously wealthy-enough guy who owns 24 Burger Kings in Arizona, won a brand-new Corvette and a Rolex, which together were worth about $60,000. Burger King bases the award on things like health inspections, customer complaints, and safety scores — and going off that rubric, Barnett wasn't so sure he'd earned anything, frankly: "I thought, 'I didn't clean up the restroom last week, and I didn't work two shifts because a manager called in sick.' I thought, 'How can I be fair and honor the people I work with?'"
His answer: Sell the car and the watch, then double the amount by throwing in an additional $60,000 from his and his business partner's own pockets, and give the money back to his hardworking staffers. That made for $120,000, which he ultimately doled out to about 100 employees in amounts that varied from $500 to $5,000.
What makes this even more impressive is that the average Barnett employee works for him for ten years, which is basically eternity in fast-food time. An employee tells the Arizona Republic that there were "a lot of tears" when everybody heard about the random bonuses.
[Republic]
Read more posts by Clint Rainey
Filed Under: feel-good stories, arizona, burger king, news, the chain gang, tom barnett
We may no longer be in the era of gastropubs and comfort-food joints, but New York City restaurateurs still excel at putting out hamburgers. Some of these are classics, or draped, perhaps, with c...
Continue reading "The Ten Best Burgers in NYC, 2015 Edition" >
This year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival started off on a pretty high note, especially as an anime fan. The opening night premiere was the latest film from an anime production team that needs no introduction: Studio Ghilbi.
When Marnie Was There (pronounced: MAR-knee) begins with one of the classic setups for children’s stories: moving from the city to the country and discovering a bit of magic in the process. Tween Anna is living in the city but after another bad attack of her asthma her mother decides to send her to the country. Anna makes her way from the bustling streets of Sapporo to a small seaside village to stay with relatives she barely knows.
Once Anna arrives, she falls in love with a beautiful foreign mansion overlooking the marsh. I understood her because I too wanted to paint the house and walk its halls. Anna spends most of her days exploring the area, drawing, and playing with the little girl who lives there, Marnie.
At the same time, reality starts to get blurry.
Anna isn’t good at making friends or conversation. She lets her insecurity build up and says something extreme in the process. She can swing between quiet artist and resentful child in a moment.
Friendship is at the core of this film, that is where Marnie comes in. Marnie puts Anna at ease in an instant. Anna feels a bond with her and Marnie’s easy charm is hard to resist. There are moments I thought Anna might be falling in love with Marnie, but it is even more complex than that. Both of them are only children. Anna needs Marnie, Marnie understands her without Anna having to explain anything. And Anna becomes integral to Marnie’s rich, but isolated, life.
Seeing Anna trying to traverse social situations, new people, family, and herself is very rewarding. I felt a real bond with Anna as she so desperately wants a friend, someone who understands her, but without having to navigate the social anxieties of it.
This film also holds a lot of secrets about Anna’s past, Marnie’s life, and the mansion by the marsh. Sometimes it feels confusing, but by the end you realize how the movie is unfurling itself in a deliberate way.
When Marnie Was There delves into accepting who you are, coping with your past, learning to trust others, letting people help you, and forgiveness. It does all of this with a touch towards the fantastical and a true understanding of the young heart.
We’ve all heard that When Marnie Was There was the last film in production at Studio Ghibli. That doesn’t totally mean they will never make another movie, but there is no work currently being done on any upcoming features. So, if Marnie is their last film, I think it is one they can be proud of.
~kate
kateSo jealous!
Most anywhere in the world you go, you’re likely to find the familiar golden arches somewhere nearby. For foreigners living in Japan, McDonald’s can provide a quick and inexpensive taste of home, while at the same time giving more adventurous eaters new and exciting twists on the classic McD’s taste with seasonal treats like the pink sakura or black squid-ink burgers. Currently, the chain is offering up some Hawaiian-themed eats, like its barbeque pork burger, banana milkshake, and mixed berry pancakes.
When the craving for pancakes strikes, McDonald’s might not be the first place to come to mind, but Japanese netizens have been pleasantly surprised at just how good the Hawaiian pancakes actually are.
The Hawaiian mixed berry pancakes are being served for a limited time as part of the burger chain’s “World Mac [as it’s pronounced in Japan] Hawaii” campaign, and Japanese diners are raving about them.
マクドナルドのパンケーキ、予想以上にいい http://t.co/B5Lqb6uWsW
—
イスクラ★プラネットDDR (@DDRplanet) February 27, 2015
▲”McDonald’s pancakes are better than I expected.”
マクドナルドのハワイアンパンケーキ 案外旨いよ！ http://t.co/0zuQZxlXV6
—
＊まかみん＊ (@makaminn) February 28, 2015
▲”McDonald’s Hawaiian pancakes are unexpectedly delicious!”
マックのハワイアンパンケーキっ
うま！うま！ http://t.co/0xaa4tjlY2
—
だみだみっ (@zuuuu8181) February 27, 2015
▲”McD’s Hawaiian pancakes are so good!”
For 420 yen (US$3.50), you get two soft pancakes topped with powdered sugar and mixed berry sauce (which includes raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries), and accompanied by soft-serve ice cream topped with nuts.
マクドナルドのハワイアンパンケーキ食べてみた🎵
想像よりより美味しかった♡
生地のモチモチが特徴なのかな⁇
生クリームあまり好きじゃないのでアイスが嬉しい🍦 http://t.co/7exAnDdoXS
—
(@unchocolat) February 14, 2015
▲”I tried McDonald’s Hawaiian pancakes. They were way better than I imagined. I think it was the springy texture of the pancakes that really stood out. I don’t really like whipped cream, so I was happy that it came with ice cream instead.”
ソフトクリームとミックスベリーソースをからめるとたまらない。 #ハワイアンパンケーキ http://t.co/h3ePsOnfku
—
Tomo (@infra20th) February 09, 2015
▲”When the ice cream and berry sauce melt together, it’s out of this world.”
マクドナルドのハワイアンパンケーキが意外とおいしかったので皆さん機会あればどうぞ http://t.co/DNvipe0Aew
—
鹿田 (@to500km) February 26, 2015
▲”McDonald’s Hawaiian pancakes were surprisingly good, you should try them if you have the chance.”
The Hawaiian campaign is only running until to the end of March, so if you want to see what all the fuss is about you better get there fast! I’m sure there will be lots of disappointment once the pancakes are off the menu.
Source: NAVER Matome, Famiresu
Featured image: Twitter @taozo
Origin: McDonald’s Japan introduces Hawaiian-inspired menu, netizens can’t get over the pancakes
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
Gundam: The Origin finally premiered on Feb. 28th, so now the merchandise tie-in's will bust through. Of course, if that means getting figures of the human characters then I'm all for this incoming bonanza. Fan-favorite character Sayla Mass is next in the RAHDX G.A.NEO line (Gundam Archives) from the fine folks at MegaHouse. Decked out in her pink Earth Federation attire, she seems to come with two right arms: one saluting, and the other holding a pistol. This representation has a bit of modern, Origin, sensibility and definition (rounder features) but is essentially the same 35 year old character.
I love the expression, the warm, subtle smile is perfect for Sayla. The gold in the uniform stands out extremely well. Shinoda has done a spectacular sculpting job here (as he's done with the Yamato 2199, and previous Gundam toys), this isn't a figure anyone would be embarrassed about displaying. Well, unless you're embarrassed about enjoying anime (or Gundam). The Ramba Ral from years past saw a reissue, so I hope these guys can crank out many more characters from our beloved Mobile Suit Gundam series (and if they want to make Zeta figures, there is no opposition here). This is 1/8th scale, and MegaHouse is claiming a Late July release. You can expect an MSRP of ¥9000.
[Pre-Order- Hobby Search | AmiAmi | HobbyLink Japan | J-List]
The Legend of Korra made history by the end of its official series finale, implicitly confirming a romantic relationship between two of its lead characters, a surprise move that creators Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino expanded on at length afterward. Now, all the Korrasami feels can be yours, with official artwork of an Avatar date night.
As part of its brand-new guest-chef collaboration, Black Seed will partner with New York chefs on limited-edition sandwiches. Co-owners Noah Bernamoff and Matt Kliegman have put together a pretty awesome lineup, and it all starts on Monday.
From March 9 to 15, the Nolita shop will feature Ivan Orkin's Japanese-Everything-spice bagel with aonori (or, seaweed) cream cheese and ikura-egg salad.
Next up, from March 16 to 22, is Alex Guarnaschelli's creation: a smoked-salmon belly salad with cream cheese and salt-and-vinegar chips — all on a toasted sesame bagel. (This is unusual, as Black Seed doesn't toast!)
Hometown Bar-B-Que's Billy Durney's rye-Everything bagel — with slow-cooked pastrami bacon, baked eggs, and Gruyère — will run from March 23 to 29.
Perhaps the most exciting bagel, though, is the one from Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien and Angela Dimayuga. It's a squid-ink bagel with white poppy seeds, whipped anchovy butter, and Iberico ham, and it's available from March 30 to April 5.
The series ends with Missy Robbins, who's actually opening a restaurant with Kliegman. Her sesame bagel, available from April 6 to 12, comes topped with burrata, soppressata, basil, and Calabrian chilies.
Read more posts by Sierra Tishgart
Filed Under: bagels, black seed, danny bowien, new york
No one would blame Paul Allen if, having reached the age of 62, he decided to relax and take life easy. After co-founding Microsoft and becoming one of the wealthiest people on the planet, most of us would feel we’d earned a little break.
Allen, though, continues to take on new projects. Owner in whole or part of three professional sports teams, Allen is also major philanthropist who makes donations to further medicine, science, and ecological conservation.
He also owns the 15th largest yacht in the world, the Octopus. While it’s luxuriously appointed, the ship also takes part in humanitarian and research missions, with its latest accomplishment being the discovery of the sunken Japanese battleship Musashi.
Along with its sister vessel the Yamato, Musashi is one of the two largest battleships ever built. Measuring 263 meters (863 feet) in length, the Musashi was equipped with nine eighteen-inch guns, among other weapons, and two catapults for launching the roughly half-dozen floatplanes it carried with it. To further illustrate its massive scale, the Musashi’s armor plating measured 18 inches thick, and two 15-ton anchors were used to hold the position of the ship, which under full load weighed 73,000 tons.
After being commissioned in August of 1942, the imposing vessel served as the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Combined Fleet. It was personally commanded by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto up to his death when a plane he was traveling in was shot down by U.S. forces in April of 1943. The Musashi itself would meet a similar fate a little over a year later, when it was sunk by U.S. Naval aviators on October 24, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but not before 18 aircraft were lost in the assault. Roughly half of the ship’s crew of 2,399 seamen perished when the ship sank.
Due to the chaotic circumstances surrounding its final moments (some scholars claim the Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval conflict in history), the exact resting place of the Musashi was unknown for decades. This is where Allen comes into the story. The philanthropist and entrepreneur’s father served in the military during World War II, and out of reverence to all those who have done likewise, one of Allen’s many endeavors is the preservation of historical military artifacts. On March 2, a remote-operated vehicle launched from the Octopus discovered the wreckage of the Musashi on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea, near the center of the Philippine archipelago.
The video above represents the results of an eight-year quest by Allen to find the Musashi’s remains. According to his website, he hopes the discovery will help bring closure to the surviving relatives and descendants of those whose lives were lost in the war.
Related: PaulAllen.com
Sources: PaulAllen.com, YouTube via Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: Wikipedia/Tobei Shiraishi, YouTube
Origin: Shipwreck of massive Japanese battleship discovered after more than 70 years 【Video】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
Taiwanese-Japanese businessman Momofuku Ando is credited with introducing the world to instant ramen: In 1958, he founded Nissin Foods, a company that popularized Cup Noodles, among other products.
He believed that noodles could cure world hunger, and while they didn't quite achieve that, they did revolutionize the food industry — and, of course, bring great joy to college students everywhere.
Ando died in 2007, but today would have been his 105th birthday. It's a nice tribute from Google.
Another doodle! Photo: Google
And another. Photo: Google
These are just great. Photo: Google
Read more posts by Sierra Tishgart
Filed Under: tributes, google, google doodle, momofuku ando
Just in time for Easter, Prairie Farms has unveiled three new milks — all flavored with Peeps. Because why eat the marshmallow candy when you can drink a liquid version? When it comes to convenience, this is as useful as Go-Gurt.
The three flavors are Marshmallow Milk, Chocolate Marshmallow Milk, and Easter Egg Nog, and they're filled with something like 37 grams of sugar per cup. It looks like Jimmy Kimmel's "cold-pressed juices" made from Skittles, melted Creamsicles, and Fun Dip could become a reality: Just throw your favorite candy into a blender and market it as a brand-new product!
[KSDK.com]
Read more posts by Sierra Tishgart
Filed Under: sugar rush, easter, milk, peeps
Grub Street never needs a reason to celebrate our city's esteemed roster of delicatessens, but since this week marks the New York release of the new documentary Deli Man, we're going all in on the subject today.
You know them by their come-hither hot-dog-and-knish window displays, their celebrity photos, and most of all, their unmistakable, olfactorily assaulting aroma. The Jewish delicatessen is an invention and a totem of this town, and every self-respecting New Yorker of a certain age has his or her favorite, where the pastrami is ostensibly juicier, the franks snappier, and the matzo balls fluffier. (Never mind that most of them nowadays get their pre-cured meats, bread, and mustard from the same few suppliers, and that the menus are virtually interchangeable). In the world of delis perhaps more than anywhere else, nostalgia is all. But for those who equate the smoky, salty, overstuffed, full-sour, schmaltz-seasoned flavor of the Ashkenazi delicatessen with the identity not only of the New York Jew but of the New Yorker, period, the genre is consecrated ground, worthy of preservation. Here are our favorites.
Liebman's Delicatessen
Due to its location in the Bronx hamlet of Riverdale, Liebman's doesn't get the tourist mobs of Katz's and Carnegie. Which isn't to say it doesn't have its regulars, like the dapper dude who stopped in for a quick lunch one frigid afternoon. His order was delivered virtually as soon as he slid into his vinyl booth: a glass of kosher Merlot and an enormous bowl of matzo-ball soup, with a by-request bottle of Sriracha on the side. While we've yet to try that particular pairing, we can heartily recommend the slightly chewy but flavorful Romanian skirt steak and the excellent stuffed cabbage, served in a sweet-and-sour gravy dotted with yellow raisins. The house combo (Liebman's Favorite) is an enlightening Deli 101 for the budding fresser, an open-faced sandwich of hot pastrami and corned beef with well-done deli fries (the snubbed shape is specific to the genre, as is the greasy quasi-crispness) and a wedge of stuffed derma, which is to Jews as haggis is to Scots and scrapple is to the Pennsylvania Dutch. In other words, just eat, don't ask questions.
2nd Ave Deli
For a while, things looked dire for East Village institution 2nd Ave Deli, beginning with founder Abe Lebewohl's murder and the joint's subsequent closing and relocation. But the deli community rallied when the place resurfaced in Kips Bay, spiffier than ever, with all the familiar front-of-house faces and back-of-house recipes. Many fans never get past the ever-popular pastrami and even better corned beef (we like them on twin rolls). But the place excels with Jewish soul food that tastes like an actual bubbe (or a fleet of them) is toiling away in the kitchen. The mushroom-barley soup is rich and woodsy. The long-cooked Sabbath stew cholent, bursting with meat and beans, eats like a Yiddish cassoulet. And the chicken in the pot makes you wonder if this is what the government should be mandating, never mind vaccines. If you're feeling invulnerable, toss some gribenes on your chopped liver. And if you don't give your waiter tsuris, he might surprise you with an egg-cream shot to wash it all down — minus the milk, of course. That wouldn't be kosher.
Pastrami Queen
Pastrami Queen, like the Jewish people themselves, has clung to its traditions while being uprooted time and again. Born Pastrami King in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the deli eventually relocated to Kew Gardens, Queens, before changing gender and settling into its current cramped quarters on the Upper East Side — little more than a chrome display case, a handful of tables, and a TV on the wall to keep the solitary fresser company. Big flavors emerge from the tiny kitchen: jumbo knishes; fries showered with garlic chips; a bright, crunchy, and unusually appealing “health” salad, sweet and vinegary at once. But who are you kidding? You're not here for the salad. You're here for the pastrami. Insist on having it hand-cut, and the resultant slices are juicy, crumbly, and fiendishly good, with a satisfying balance of smoke and spice. The sandwich is further distinguished by the seeded Orwasher's rye, which is several cuts above today's deli standard.
Carnegie Deli
One of the most cherished deli traditions has always been to show great contempt for the customer. Now our pastrami palaces have become disorientingly friendly. (Perhaps it's a misguided response to the delicatessen having been placed on the endangered species list.) One exception: the Carnegie. The best way to describe the man who shoved plates of food at us the other night and made sure we understood that cash tips were preferred is a cross between an unfunny and unintelligible Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Attila the Hun. As for what to eat, the matzo-ball soup is terrific. The towering Woody Allen, an outsize corned-beef-and-pastrami combo, is a little bland but satisfying, exemplifying the Carnegie's quantity-over-quality M.O. (This is the sandwich the late Bob Simon famously requested after being held hostage in Iraq for 40 days.) Triumph the Insult Waiter will recommend the cheesecake for dessert, further proof that his jokes are bad. But the food here is mostly beside the point. The Carnegie is important because it's the last of the great tourist-hazing Broadway showbiz delis. Where else, after all, can you go these days to be treated like dirt by a waiter in a bow tie and tuxedo vest?
Pastrami on rye at Katz's, a paragon of the form. Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Katz's Delicatessen
Just stepping into what Milton Glaser and Jerome Snyder, New York's original Underground Gourmets, described some 50 years ago as a living, breathing Brueghel painting is still a great, odoriferous, slightly harrowing thrill. An ecstasy of chaos and clinking plates. No serious student of deli has not been to Katz's. Nothing else like it in the world. Yes, the pastrami and corned beef are hand-sliced and usually terrific, and that's why you go. But truth be told, it's the snappy hot dogs (natural-casing all-beef Sabrett's) we can't resist. Chalk it up to expert technique and what must be the flavor-enhancing mojo of a well-seasoned, decades-old griddle.
Mill Basin Kosher Deli
Will perfunctoriness be the ruin of the deli? Is a little quirky inventiveness, a dash of irreverence, what our delicatessens need? Then why don't you hear more about this big, comfortable, 41-year-old neighborhood restaurant and its PLT — a purist's nightmare of pastrami cooked to a baconlike crisp on the griddle, then dressed with shredded iceberg, tomato, and mayo on toasted rye? Fantastic. Or its latke chips — essentially latkes that have been cut thin like sliced tomatoes, then refried to bump up the ratio of crisp to soft? There's a delicious pastrami egg-roll, too, that may or may not have preceded the one Joe Ng and Ed Schoenfeld introduced at FoodParc's RedFarm stand a while back. Ultimately, though, you judge a delicatessen by its core cured meats, and Mill Basin acquits itself well on all accounts. Particularly good are its corned beef and hot garlic wurst.
Mile End
By now everyone knows that Mile End is New York's most forward-thinking delicatessen: the seasonal approach, the emphasis on sourcing high-quality ingredients, the Stumptown coffee. What's still undersung is how much of the menu is made from scratch, from the full-sour pickles to the beef salami. And Noah Bernamoff and Rae Cohen are the rare operators who cure, smoke, steam, and hand-slice their own pastrami (okay, Montreal-style smoked meat) — a costly, labor-intensive task that most delis have all but given up on, opting to outsource from Hebrew National, say, or Empire National. The standout dishes are still the smoked meat, the Ruth Wilensky salami sandwich, and the pastrami burger, but what's also great about Mile End is how they keep the menu fresh. A recent visit, for instance, turned up some tasty whitefish croquettes and a surprisingly good chicken shawarma platter.
Jay & Lloyd's Kosher Delicatessen
John Besh dropped by Jay & Lloyd's last year to teach the owners how to spruce up their brisket on the restaurant reality show Hungry Investors. No offense, Mr. Besh, but we're sticking with the pastrami. As at virtually every kosher deli, it's cured and smoked off-premises, at a location no tight-lipped deli man will ever reveal, but the result has a nice, smoky kick and suitably succulent texture. The place caters to a diverse, working-class Sheepshead Bay crowd with no shortage of shtick in the decor or on the menu. The Dippedy Doo Da! is a roast beef au jus that might have been engineered to compete with Brennan & Carr's down the road. The soft, plump zucchini pancakes are a house specialty. And if it doesn't strike you as sacrilege against all that is holy, you might consider the Dave's Deli Corner, wherein char-grilled pastrami and pineapple are layered on garlic bread.
Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfed
Filed Under: in praise of the deli, 2nd ave deli, carnegie deli, grub guides, jay and lloyd's, katz's, liebman's deli, lists, mile end, mill basin kosher deli, new york, pastrami queen
A big announcement for McDonald's: Today the company has pledged that over the next two years, chicken at all 14,000 U.S. locations will come from birds raised without antibiotics that are used to treat humans.
The move is to assuage the worries about getting so-called "superbugs" from chickens raised on antibiotics, but let's face it: Any reminder that McNuggets are made of actual, real chicken is always nice. The chain is talking with poultry suppliers about how to implement the changes, which are easily the most far-reaching by Big Food yet. One animal-rights advocate tells Reuters this is probably the poultry industry's tipping point, saying: "McDonald's has so much purchasing power and brand recognition, I think we're seeing a new industry standard here."
A rep for Tyson, one of McDonald's major suppliers, is onboard with the change. Another change: While McDonald's will still treat sick chickens, under the new policy, it won't buy ill animals. There are certainly other major problems going on under the Golden Arches, but this move is a wise one.
[Reuters]
Read more posts by Clint Rainey
Filed Under: the chain gang, antibiotics, chicken, mcdonald's, mcnuggets, news
A taste of the Lone Star State comes up north.
New York doesn't offer much for ex-Texans. But, tonight, Javelina will bring a little piece of the long star state up north, complete with cacti and a wild pig mascot. The restaurant, which is named after that pig (who is stuffed and mounted over the bar) specializes in upscale Tex-Mex cooking — that means stuffed chile rellenos, Texan enchiladas with cheese, onions, red chili gravy, chili con carne, and pickled jalapenos, and the classic chicken fried steak. And queso. So much queso there's even a "queso sampler."
Yesterday, Eater got a look at the space and the food menu. But to fully prepare for tonight's opening, one might also want to peruse the drink menu, which includes frozen margaritas in flavors like avocado and cilantro and prickly pear, plus margs on the rocks in yet more flavors, like tomatillo, and habanero peach. There are also cocktails like a spicy negroni made with mezcal, Campari, sweet vermouth, mole bitters, and orange peel. And, Shiner Bock, king of Texan beers is of course on tap.
Check out the booze menu below and take a look at the food menu and the space right this way.
Chipotle is about to get a run for its money, at least in the Flatiron. Yesterday, Óxido (18 West 23rd Street; 212-256-1072), a new fast-casual modern Mexican joint, was unleashed to lines out t...
Continue reading "Have an Early Taste of Oxido, a New Fast-Casual Modern Mexican Spot in Flatiron" >
Japan’s numerous cat cafes are proof positive of the appeal of combing a bite to eat and feline companionship. But no matter how cute those kitties may be, you don’t actually want one walking all over your food, do you?
So instead, this clever kitchen tool will add an adorable pawprint to your meal even as your cat’s feet stay firmly on the floor.
A number of cat-paw-shaped kitchen brands are available in Japan, with the one seen here available from the Japanese divisions of online retailers Rakuten and Amazon. Currently, it’s a little cheaper from the former, who’s now charging 2,036 yen (US $17.10) for it.
The right-angle curve to the handle allows you to place the tip directly into an open flame. Once the metal takes on a reddish hue, the brand is ready to be used.
If properly heated, you should be able to leave a clear mark on bread, pancakes, or omelets with just a light touch. While the desire to see the cat-themed cuteness as soon as possible is understandable, it’s important not to rush the heating process, as if the brand’s temperature is too low not only will the mark be poorly defined, you’ll also get some of the food sticking to the metal.
With patience and care, though, you should be able to produce results similar to these by Japanese blogger Ayaka1130, who doesn’t specify which particular brand of brand she used.
If you’re keen to try your hand at adding some paws to your food, both Rakuten and Amazon are currently taking orders, here and here, respectively. Follow your meal with some cat-paw sweets, then sleep off your food coma with a cat nap for a triple helping of the feline-fortified good life.
Source: Twitter via Jin
Top image: Rakuten, FC2 (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images; Rakuten, FC2 (edited by RocketNews24)
Origin: Clever kitchen tool adds paws-itively adorable cat paws to your meal
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
My piece for the Emerald City Comic Con art book Monsters & Dames (more info & process here: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/03/monsters-dames-2015.html )
Manga artist Moyoco Anno (Buffalo 5 Girls, Insufficient Direction) is providing artwork for a new advertising campaign aimed at highlighting the appeal of the Tokyu Toyoko train line that runs between Shibuya and Yokohama. The campaign is designed to attract the attention of young, metropolitan women.
The new ad campaign will kick off with 50,000 print booklets featuring art by Anno. Each booklet emphasizes local attractions, such as cafes, bars, restaurants, and shopping destinations. The next phase of the ad campaign will feature transit art within the train stations and the trains themselves.
Hataraki Man, published in Weekly Morning, is a seinen manga that follows the life of Hiroko Matsukata. Hiroko is a tough, successful business woman who works for a magazine company. Her work ethic earns her the nickname “Hataraki Man” (“Working Man”), but Hiroko has trouble balancing the stresses of her job and her private life.
Source: Otajo.jp
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
Fans of Shovel Knight can look forward to some more content on the horizon. Developer Yacht Club Games made a few announcements on its site, including details on the first set of stretch goal content: Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows.
Plague of Shadows puts players in control of Shovel Knight boss Plague Knight, who is on a quest to concoct the Ultimate Potion. To do so he'll have to take on his former allies from the Order of No Quarter, setting the stage for a special quest with new play style, story, bosses, and more.
The first playable demo for Plague of Shadows will be showcased at PAX East.
Also available at PAX East (for $28) will be a nice-looking Shovel Knight plush, currently up for pre-order at WeLoveFine.
Finally, Yacht Club Games set a release date for Sony platforms. If you've been holding out or just want to buy it again, Shovel Knight is heading to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita on April 21 as part of Sony's Spring Fever campaign. New additions include PS Vita Back touch, something with the PS4 Light bar, Cross-save, and Cross-Buy.
There's also a battle with Kratos from God of War.
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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. His first mini-comic, SLIME, is now available. His blog can be found at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.
NSA whistleblower and fugitive Edward Snowden said through his lawyer that he would be willing to return to the United States to face charges for leaking classified NSA documents on the agencies vast spying apparatus used against American citizens, foreign governments, and people around the world.
Meals are good, and snacking is bad. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you eat dinner with your family, you will keep your girlish figure and your kids will be healthier. Taking a lunch break will make you succeed at your job.
Okay, now forget all that. Because as it turns out, the concept of three square meals a day has practically zero to do with your actual metabolic needs. And our dogmatic adherence to breakfast, lunch, and dinner might actually be making us sick.
Historian Abigail Carroll, author of the book Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal, explained to me that the the thrice-daily eating schedule goes back at least as far as the Middle Ages in Europe. When European settlers got to America, they also imported their meal habits: a light meal—maybe cold mush and radishes—in the morning, a heavier, cooked one midday, and a third meal similar to the first one later in the day. They observed that the eating schedule of the native tribes was less rigid—the volume and timing of their eating varied with the seasons. Sometimes, when food was scarce, they fasted. The Europeans took this as "evidence that natives were uncivilized," Carroll explained to me in an email. "Civilized people ate properly and boundaried their eating, thus differentiating themselves from the animal kingdom, where grazing is the norm." (So fascinated were Europeans with tribes' eating patterns, notes Carroll, that they actually watched Native Americans eat "as a form of entertainment.")
The three daily meals that the settlers brought evolved with Americans' lifestyles. As people became more prosperous, they added meat to breakfast and dinner. After the Industrial Revolution, when people began to work away from home, the midday meal became a more casual affair, and the cooked meal shifted to the end of the day, when workers came home. The one thing that did not change was the overall amount of food that people ate—despite the fact that they had largely abandoned the active lifestyles of the farm in favor of sedentary ones in cities and suburbs. "People were still eating these giant country breakfasts," says Carroll. Soon, doctors reported that more of their patients were suffering from indigestion.
In an effort to rein in caloric intake, nutritionists began advising people to eat a lighter breakfast—and marketers pounced on the opportunity. In 1897, brothers Will Keith Kellogg and John Harvey Kellogg introduced corn flakes as healthy alternative to heavy breakfasts. (The pair had an ulterior motive: They wanted to spread the gospel of the vegetarian diet because it was part of their Seventh Day Adventist faith.)
Corn flakes took off, and in the years that followed, breakfast became known as a meal for health food. Fruit-grower associations seized the opportunity to market juices, which, the ad campaigns announced, were chock full of a newly discovered thing called vitamins. The makers of breakfast foods warned of the dangers of skipping "the most important meal of the day."
That line of reasoning persists today—check out Kellogg's modern-day treatise on the health benefits of breakfast. But there's just one problem: Science shows that when it comes to maintaining your metabolism—the bodily system that helps us turn food into energy and, when out of whack, can lead to diabetes and other disorders—it doesn't make a whit of difference whether you eat breakfast or not. A 2014 study by the University of Bath showed that breakfast had practically zero effect on its subjects' metabolism. (Breakfast eaters did burn more calories than breakfast skippers, but net calorie consumption was the same, since the breakfast eaters burned off the extra calories they ate at breakfast.) A similar University of Alabama study of people who were trying to diet found that breakfast made no difference, either way, on weight loss.
And breakfast isn't the only metabolically unimportant meal. In fact, it doesn't seem to matter much at all how and when you get your calories. In a 2010 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, one group ate three meals a day while another ate six. (Total daily calorie counts were identical.) Researchers found no weight or hormonal differences between the groups. In 2014, University of Warwick researchers found no difference in metabolism between a group of women that ate two meals a day and another group that ate five.
The one thing that might actually improve your metabolism is periodic fasting—that's right, the very same eating pattern that the early European settlers deemed uncivilized. Mark Mattson, a neuroscientist at the National Institute on Aging, has observed in a series of mice experiments over the past two decades that mice who skip feedings are leaner and live longer than their nonskipping counterparts. The fasting mice also have more robust brain cells than those who consume regular meals. Mattson, who skips breakfast and lunch most days, theorizes that caloric deprivation acts as a mild stress that helps cells build up their defenses—warding off damage from aging, environmental toxins, and other threats. Other research has shown that periodic fasting may also prevent heart disease.
Biologist Satchidananda Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, meanwhile, observed in a 2012 study that mice consuming all of their calories within an eight-hour window were less likely to develop metabolic diseases like diabetes than those who ate whenever they pleased. A follow-up study last year confirmed the results—though no one has conducted similar studies in humans.
So should you quit meals and fast intermittently instead? You could try it. Christopher Ochner, a weight loss and nutrition expert at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, notes that there's no one-size-fits-all solution: Some people do well eating all their calories at once; others prefer to split them into snack-size portions.
Instead of obsessing about meal size and frequency, Ochner recommends something simpler: Don't eat when it's time for a meal; eat when you feel hungry. That, he says, is a lost art: In industrialized societies, where food is abundant, we eat because of social cues "or just because something smells good." If we can teach ourselves to pay attention to our own bodies instead of our environment, he says, "that might be the best diet of all."
Plus, many more openings to check out.
Lower East Side: Spreadhouse Cafe, which just opened, plans to double as a cafe and an event venue. For the moment, it has private label coffee by Joe, vegan doughnuts, and some pretty Moroccan rugs. Status: Certified open. 116 Suffolk Street, 305-773-4249.
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Ridgewood: Crystal River Williams and Denise Plowman, who own Norma's cafe in the neighborhood, recently opened a beer spot called Julia's. To eat, there are beer-braised beef turnovers, bratwurst cooked in beer, and a cheese plate made with cheeses from New York state. The duo eventually plans to host drink-and-draw classes and wine tastings, reports Gothamist. Status: Certified open. 818 Woodward Avenue.
Union Square: Yang Gao of Astoria Bier and Cheese just opened Milk & Hops, say the Robs. The place is part market, part beer bar, and offers cheese and salumi tastings. There are also sandwiches and nearly 300 beers by the bottle and another 10 on tap.
Lower East Side: The Comfort Diner, which has been a fixture in Midtown for 20 years, just opened its downtown location. The menu offers the Jewbano, a "Jewish" take on a Cuban sandwich made with roast turkey, Katz's pastrami, Swiss, mustard, and pickles from The Pickle Guys, served on a bulka from Kossar's. For a sense of how broad this menu is, note that there is also a quinoa kale bowl, seafood pot pie, and orange-glazed salmon among other dishes. Status: Certified open. 399 Grand Street, 212-677-3997.
Fort Greene: ThaiHolic recently replaced Manee Thai. The menu offers classic American Thai fare like green papaya salad, pad Thai, pad see ew, and red, green and massaman curries. There are also Thai pork ribs and Hawaiian duck curry, reports Fort Greene Focus. Status: Certified open. 372 Myrtle Avenue, 718-222-9992.
Alphabet City: Pardon My French opened yesterday, serving dishes like creole-style cod fritters, roasted bone marrow with thyme, roasted lamb shoulder, and sea bass in a creamy French white sauce. Cocktails include the PMF Aviation made with absinthe, Luxardo, Violette, and lemon juice. Status: Certified open. 103 Avenue B, 212-358-9683.
Park Slope: Buttermilk Bakeshop opened its second location in the neighborhood, in the old Trois Pommes Patisserie space. The new bakery will sell cakes, cupcakes, and the bakery's signature "monkey buns," according to Park Slope Stoop. The owners also plan to offer cooking classes at the new location. Status: Certified open. 260 5th Avenue.
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Courtesy of Exki
Murray Hill: Healthy fast-casual Belgian import EXKi just debuted its second New York location. Expect French pastries for breakfast, and salads, wraps, and sandwiches at lunchtime. There are also a few larger plates like chicken in a turmeric curry with daikon radish, carrots, and rice noodles. Status: Certified open. 76 Madison Avenue.
East Village: Another dumpling spot, called Dumpling Go, has opened on the same block as dumpling hot spot Mimi Cheng's. Fillings include chive, green beans with pickled vegetables, and kimchi pork. There's another location on West 3rd and two more in the works, reports EV Grieve. Status: Certified open. 188 2nd Avenue.
Crown Heights: The owners of Little Zelda have swapped their cheese shop Wedge, for a bagel spot called Nagle's Bagels. There are, of course, bagels, and shmear, plus the same sandwich menu that was available at Wedge, notes Brownstoner. Status: Certified open. 728 Franklin Avenue.
Following in the footsteps of the Plaza Food Hall, Gotham West Market, Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place, and Berg'n, City Kitchen is a 4,000-square-foot food market at Eighth Avenue and 44th Street. It could be just what Times Square needs: Vendors include Luke's Lobster, Whitman's, Kuro Obi (a brand-new ramen offshoot from Ippudo, which will apparently offer brand-new noodles specifically made to stand up to takeout), Azuki Sushi, ilili Box, and Gabriela's Taqueria. In the mood for just a snack? Dough, Sigmund's Pretzels, Wooly's Shaved Snow are all there, too. The official opening day is this Thursday, March 5, but take a look around in the meantime:
A spread from Azuki Sushi. Photo: Melissa Hom
Kuro Obi's Karaka Men ramen. Photo: Melissa Hom
Whitman's cheesesteak with fries and a wedge salad. Photo: Melissa Hom
Selections from illi Box. Photo: Melissa Hom
Gabriela's tacos. Photo: Melissa Hom
Dough's mocha-almond-crunch doughnuts. Photo: Melissa Hom
A sweet treat from Wolly's. Photo: Melissa Hom
The Sigmund's Pretzels cart. Photo: Melissa Hom
The food court of your dreams. Photo: Melissa Hom
Read more posts by Sierra Tishgart
Filed Under: openings, city kitchen, new york, times square
Now you can eat the world and a deep-fried frog, too. If you love to sample strangely colored foods or fried critters, look no further than nature museum/activity center Orbi Yokohama where you can take a bite of their bizarre burgers.
Sega and the Sunshine Aquarium have teamed up to bring the Deadly Poison Exhibition to Yokohama, featuring 25 different poisonous animals from around the world. To commemorate the event, the cafe nearby at Orbi Yokohama has created a special menu featuring what they call “The Frog Burger.” If a deep-fried frog sandwiched between pitch-black buns sounds good to you, then fork over 1,000 yen (US$8.34) and start eating from the legs, which are peeking out in a mid-jump pose.
▼ Because nothing says “delicious” like chowing down on a frog after seeing a poisonous frog in real life.
Feeling a bit squeamish? If you need an even bigger challenge, why not dive into the “Frog Egg Sweet” dish featuring almond jelly and a jelly frog, only 580 yen ($4.83).
▼ The creators seem to have done a good job mimicking the consistency of real frog eggs!
The Orbi Yokohama cafe has a long history of serving up bizarre burgers. Here’s their Earth Burger, featuring a bright blue bun.
If you’d like to check out the Deadly Poison Exhibition, it will be held at Orbi Yokohama inside the Mark Is Minatomirai shopping center in Yokohama from March 21 to May 17 (admission to Orbi is 600 yen [US$5]). And don’t forget to hop on over to the cafe and get a taste of that Frog Burger! You should be fine; frog tastes like chicken, right?
Source: Entabe
Images: PR Times, Twitter (yukichin925, gaogao_anna)
Origin: Frog burgers join the earthy line-up at cafe in Yokohama
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
After inventing the printing press, mastering the power of flight, and connecting the world through the power of the Internet, it’s inspiring to know there is still more human ingenuity out there innovating and giving us life-changing products like a USB-powered rice ball warmer. But our species is a bright bunch and we continue to find new ways to harness technology, like a Japanese startup that has announced a new wearable device that predicts bowel movements and gives the user a 10-minute heads-up before needing to find a toilet.
It may not be as trendy of a wearable as the upcoming Apple Watch, but it could be a life-changing device for people who suffer from incontinence or those working in the nursing home industry.
Triple W, a Japanese startup based in California, recently pitched the D Free device at a venture capital event. The wearable was presented as a way to help out anyone who has less-than-predictable bowels as a way to give them ample time to find a toilet. D Free could be particularly useful for people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility, giving them ample time to make it to the bathroom. Especially for assisted living facilities or nursing homes, the device could be a game changer, making it easier on attendants who have a heads-up about when to help their patients to avoid an accident.
▼ Atsuhi Nakanishi, from Triple W, holding the D Free while he pitches the idea to venture capitalists
Image: Facebook (Morning Pitch)
To use D Free, you attach the device to your stomach and connect it to an app on your smartphone. The sensors in the device then detect any movement or swelling in your intestines and sends a notification to your smartphone that in about 10 minutes, it’s going to best if you’re near a toilet. The app then records your bowel movements throughout the day to learn your daily habits and give you more accurate notifications in the future.
▼ Although she may have questionable taste in jeans, this woman will always have a 10 minute warning to find a proper place to poop.
Image: YouTube (mieko sadomin)
▼ A 10-minute head start to find a nearby (and hopefully not confusing) toilet
Image: YouTube (mieko sadomin)
▼ D Free will be keeping track of your bathroom visits, so you probably don’t want to connect this app to any social media.
Image: YouTube (mieko sadomin)
Triple W says that they are planning to bring the device to crowdfunding sites, such as Indiegogo, in May and hopefully be able to ship it to customers in the U.S. and Japan by December. Right now, they are envisioning about a $200 price tag, but hope that it could be brought down to as low as $50 when it comes to market.
Japanese netizens thought the idea was pretty cool and many wondered if the device could be used on kids to give parents a break from the “joys” of traveling with a child. Others thought the device would be a prefect addition to Japan’s quest to have robots take care of the rapidly aging population.
“Imagine the panic if 3 or 4 of these alarms went off on a plane with just one bathroom…”
“Could they make something like this to detect when a baby is about to cry?”
“Now I’m depressed thinking about getting old and not being able to control my bowels.”
What do you think of the D Free? Check out the video below from the makers and let us know what you think! Could this be a game changer for the elderly care industry?
Video: YouTube (mieko sadomin)
Source: Shuukan Ascii via Itai News
Feature Image: YouTube (mieko sadomin)
Origin: D Free: a new wearable device that gives you a 10-minute warning to find a toilet 【Video】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
The classic Robot Soldiers from Studio Ghibli's Laputa: Castle in the Sky are now part of Ensky's Mutsumu series of stackable puzzle/figures. They've previously made figures from Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro, though I fear what they would make for Grave of the Fireflies. The basic idea of these hybrid toy/puzzles is a group of figures from one property that easy stack or form a diorama of sorts. For this set you get 6 robots, 3 flying stones and one power crystal. The gallery has some examples of different ways to stack and play with the lovable lunks.
I think the sculpts all look great; and while they may not be painted exactly like the movie, it still captures the adorable and foreboding aspects. The various poses are straight from the film: flying to saving the princess mode, spider-crawling-mind-control version, and the storage unit special. I'm partial to the flying mode, but that's because that scene is awe-inspiring. And I just want an army of Robot Soldiers. Look for this set in May with an MSRP of ¥3218 (about $26.99).
[Via AmiAmi blog]
