Russian Sledges

Die unendliche Geschichte / The NeverEnding Story (1984)

United States Planes in World War II. Illus by Herbert Townsend, from America, the Story of Our Country, 1951

That magic twist of orange or lemon peel is one of the biggest differences between a drink at some fancy cocktail bar and most drinks made at home. It’s just a little thing, but it’s one of the most vital techniques in a bartender’s bag of tricks.

What you want from a citrus peel is the oil. Using a peeler or channel knife, get yourself a nice piece of peel from a well-rinsed lemon or orange, making an effort to get as little of the bitter white pith as you can. Notice the little bit of spray and puff of aroma when you make the garnish— that spray is the oil you want to get onto your drink. Some people will peel the citrus directly over the drink, but others find it difficult to aim. When you’ve got the peel, twist it or pinch it over the drink. If you look carefully, you should see a light film of oil over the surface of the cocktail. That’s the stuff! Mission accomplished!

Depending on the recipe, you might also want to rub the peel around the rim of the glass. Either way, you’ve added a potent little ingredient to your cocktail that can really contribute something to the overall experience.

NORTH YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Authorities say a barn housing dozens of sheep and hundreds of chickens has been destroyed in an early morning fire in North Yarmouth.

Somerville’s great culinary renaissance continues to draw a steady stream of talented entrepreneurs to the neighborhood, making Squares like Inman, Davis and Magoun mini hotspots for foodies and beverage enthusiasts. Case in point: Bantam Cider, which recently opened Massachusetts’ first cider-only tap room right on the edge of Union Square, offering tasting flights and full pours of their locally-made and locally-sourced craft cider.

“Our debut weekend was awesome. We served 60 or 70 guests last Saturday. It was exciting and almost a little absurd,” said co-founder Dana Masterpolo. “It was so social. The ciders were super well-received and people really loved the space.” Housed in the former home of the White Rose Baking Company, the tap room is bright and airy with plenty of space for casks of aging cider and an array of taps for pouring and tasting. “We already have had a dozen requests for private events. It’s overwhelming,” Masterpolo comments (though there’s no official word as to whether or not they’ll be going down that road).

The tap room offers all of Bantam’s current on-market brands, from their wild-fermented cider, to a barrel-aged version, (the Tuthilltown bourbon casks can be seen in the tasting room) and a cider made with pressed cherries, among a few others. They’re even pouring their newest variety to hit the shelves, the Smoked Saison. Made with Belgian yeast, traditionally found in most farmhouse ales, the cider’s bold flavor comes from smoke-roasted local heirloom apples. “We made a limited batch,” said Masterpolo, “just to see how it would play in the market. So far it’s been a success. Visitors really enjoyed the variation, from smoky to sour.” The Saison is very unique for a cider, at once creamy, yet dry, with a bacony flavor that balances nicely with the sweetness of the apples.“Our initial attempt at smoking last year was over an open flame,” remarked Masterpolo. “We borrowed a smoker from friends for the current batch.”

“Through this whole process we’ve learned to be flexible,” says Masterpolo, “I don’t think we would have produced all of these varieties if we had a fixed way of doing things. The same can be said for this space. It’s going to grow and change as we do.” Just like Somerville.

You can pop in to the tap room and try five ciders in a flight or one full pour for $10, each additional pour is $6. Bottles and merchandise are also available. The tap room is open Thursdays and Fridays from 4:00 to 7:00pm and on Saturday from 1:00 to 7:00pm.

Visit Bantam Cider online at www.bantamcider.com

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) on Sunday said he supports Pope Francis in his effort to focus on less contentious issues, rather than on subjects like abortion and same-sex marriage.

"I don't think he's coming across lenient at all," Santorum said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when host Chuck Todd asked if he was concerned about the Pope's focus. "What he's doing is the right thing, which is-- he's looking at a world and he's looking at his faithful that are-- that are really struggling right now, struggling with their faith. And he wants to focus on the central thing, which is the good news."

Read More →

David Bailly, Vanitas, 1651

Matthias Gerung, Pope and Turk, as demons, drag their followers into Hell, ca.1545-08

Jan Gossaert, Cain Killing Abel, ca. 1525

Albrecht Dürer, Cain Killing Abel, 1511

Hans Burgkmair the Elder, St. Veronica with the Vernicle, standing on a meadow, ca. 1505

Johannes Herold, Heydenfeldt Vnd und ihrer Götter anfänglicher vorsprung, Basel, 1554 

Photo: Here be Sea Monsters

Always thought there was something strange about Port Phillip Bay…

fenmura:

When catching a train to the bay, beware of the sea monster.

Historical Map: Gotthardbahn (Switzerland and Italy), 1898

Here’s a beautiful Art Nouveau railway poster promoting the Gotthardbahn that links northern Italy with Switzerland and points north through the famous Gotthard Tunnel. At the time of opening in 1882, the tunnel was the longest railway tunnel in the world at 15 kilometres (9.3 miles).

The map shows the then privately-operated Gotthardbahn and its branch routes in thick black lines (the Swiss Railways incorporated the line into its national network in 1907). The tunnel is indicated by a dashed section, while the railroad spirals that the trains needed to quickly gain or lose elevation when space was limited are also indicated, although certainly not to scale!

The importance of this route to opening up European trade and passenger travel cannot be underestimated, and is well represented by the beautiful allegorical woman, standing atop a winged wheel – a symbol often used by European railway companies of the time – seemingly welcoming travellers from Italy to Switzerland, Germany and France.

Our rating: I’m an absolute sucker for Art Nouveau posters, and one that adds a railway map to the mix is always a winner in my eyes! Four stars.

(Source: Strange Maps website)

cameos:

in the future everyone will be tumblr famous for 15 minutes

Daily Mail

Yulia Tymoshenko will run for Ukraine presidency Daily Mail Ukrainian former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, released from jail last month after her rival Viktor Yanukovich fled from power, announced today that said she would run again for president in an election on May 25. She also pledged to build a strong army ... and more »

dorkly:

The new X-Men movie looks great

This item has been corrected.

PAMPLONA–Pulling his iPhone out of his pocket at a conference’s cocktail reception, Robert Simmon performs a parlor trick few can match: He shows the phone’s lock screen. Up pops the image of Planet Earth that is familiar to millions—the default image on the first iPhone, which was dropped from Apple’s mobile operating system only in 2012, to the dismay of many.

“That’s one of mine,” he says.

As it turns out, much of what one might assume about this beautiful image is not true. It wasn’t commissioned or paid for by Apple. It isn’t actually a photograph of earth. And that blackness surrounding it? That’s not space, either.

But the story behind the much-admired image that introduced the world to the iPhone—known as the “Blue Marble”— is worth telling in its own right. Simmon, a data-visualizer and designer at NASA’s Earth Observatory, created the image in 2002. He told Quartz it’s not a photograph, but a sophisticated visualization.

Images of the earth may seem commonplace, but there actually very few pictures of the entire planet. The problem, Simmon said, is all the NASA earth-observing satellites are in low-earth or geostationary orbit, meaning none of them are far enough away to see a full hemisphere. The most familiar pictures of the entire Earth are from the 1960s and 1970s Apollo missions to the moon.

 

As realistic as it looks, the image is a composite of four months of light data collected in 2,300 km (1,429 mi) wide bands as NASA’s Terra satellite orbited from pole to pole, and the earth rotated beneath it.

That data was then stitched together and applied to the surface of a digital ball, then modified in Photoshop.

Simmon readily admits there are numerous fakeries in his image. The atmosphere is Photoshop blur. Some of the clouds are collaged together using Photoshop’s clone tool to cover gaps in the satellite’s coverage. The black area around the earth is not the void of space. It is simply a background of black color that Simmon placed the earth on top of. (This is standard practice, Simmon says: most actual “photographs” of the earth—including the Apollo images—present the planet on a black background).

Without these alterations, the image wouldn’t look very earth-like. Simmon said he based his manipulations on reality, “in the sense that I’ve looked at a lot of imagery to see how thick should that be, how blue should that be.” But, he later added, “It’s more hyper-realistic than realistic.”

Simmon and his colleague at NASA at the time, Reto Stöckli, created the iconic image that ended up on the iPhone in part to undercut what he saw as undeserving operators profiting in the marketplace for space imagery, he told Quartz. At the time, he recalled, similar falsely colored images rendered from older black-and-white NASA data were selling for up to $10,000. Simmon and Stöckli’s image, as a work created by US government employees, was in the public domain—free for anyone to use, for any purpose, without restriction. Simmon posted it on the NASA website and didn’t think much more of it.

Then, five years later, Simmon, a self-described “Apple fanboy,” bought the first iPhone the day after it came out. When he first turned it on, he screamed with excitement and surprise. The image he had created—collected by a satellite, collaged on a Mac, then given away for free—was staring back at him.

Correction (March 27): An earlier version of this story mistakenly said the image was a composite of only two days of data. It was actually four months, with two days for the clouds.

hodad

#everythingisterrible

University of Alabama’s Student Government Association (SGA) Senate voted down a resolution that supported the full integration of the school’s Greek system.

The resolution was voted on last week during the last meeting of the 2012-2013 Senate. If it was not voted on, the resolution would have died because it would not have been able to carry over to the 2014-15 Senate, reports the university’s newspaper The Crimson White.

According to the paper, Chisholm Allenlundy, one of the resolution’s sponsors, thinks it may have failed to pass due to some of the Greek senators, who may have felt the specific wording was too critical of the Greek system.

The resolution was proposed in response to reports published in The Crimson White last September four traditionally white sororities reportedly blocked two black girls from pledging.

Original Source

GSA has teamed up with social media annotation platform Rap Genius to make government jargon more understandable.

In response to the $100 cocktail craze, B&M is now offering the "Now That I'm Rich" ($106) - a shot of fernet garnished with $100 in Brick & Mortar tokens. Indulge yourself.

Errol Morris has directed a new series of Taco Bell commercials where a bunch of ordinary men named Ronald McDonald review Taco Bell's new breakfast menu. Here's one of the spots:

Tags: advertising   Errol Morris   food   restaurants   Taco Bell   video

Finally! You can own a chunk of Lord Horatio Nelson’s hair! Yes, the famous British war guy who did war stuff like killing and maiming is now physically available for purchase. It’s probably normal and not psychotic at all to own a dead person’s body parts, so if you’ve got twenty-five thousand dollars, it’s yours for the buying.

If your eggs are scrambled enough to want this, but you don’t have the budget, maybe you’d be interested in some Elvis Presley hair?

Kate O'Mara, who played The Rani in two Classic Doctor Who stories, has passed away at the age of 74 after battling an illness.

She was best known for her role in Dynasty as the scheming Cassandra Morrell. She made her first appearance on Television in 1964 in the TV show No Hiding Place.

Her agent Phil Belfield said: "She was extraordinary, she had so much energy and vitality with a love for theatre and acting.

"A shining star has gone out and Kate will be dearly missed by all who knew and have worked with her."

Colin Baker, who she starred against in The Mark of the Rani commented on her passing on Twitter:

Oh my goodness. Kate O'Mara is no longer with us. Sad sad news. A delightful, committed and talented lady and actress. We are the poorer
— Colin Baker (@SawbonesHex) March 30, 2014

Sources: BBC News, ITV, Express.

1.5oz Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry, 1.5oz St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur, 1oz Averna, 2dash Peychaud's Bitters. Build, crushed ice, stir. Orange twist, straw.

Spring Cocktail Party & “Gallo” Sneak Peek Saturday, April 5, 2014, 3 p.m. Temple Bar, 1688 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA Wet your whistle at our Spring Party on April 5th at Temple Bar in Cambridge! Meet award-winning composer Ken Ueno and get a sneak peek of upcoming world premiere opera “Gallo.” There will be delicious appetizers to munch on, a full cash bar, and live performances of music right from the opera featuring the instrumental ensemble and members of the cast!

Barbara Lynch was a pioneer in the macho culture of professional kitchens. Now she’s giving an edge to the next generation.

The country’s most inventive bartenders (please don’t call them mixologists) explain how to make their creations at home, even if you don’t make your own bitters or own a centrifuge.