March 2010
1 post
What’s for dinner: Crispy, sticky chicken thighs with smashed baby potatoes and tomatoes.
February 2010
7 posts
What’s for dinner: Corn muffins.
What’s for dinner: Meatloaf. That’s it.
What's for dinner: White beans two ways. 1. With...
What’s for dinner: Braised osso buco with brussels sprouts; milk chocolate mousse trifle with Madeira ganache and whipped crème fraiche.
What’s for Valentine’s Day dinner: Roast rack of lamb with a Dijon mustard crust and steamed asparagus.
What’s for dinner: Seared sea scallops with wine, butter, shallots and toasted sesame seeds.
What’s for dinner: Dad’s sauce with homemade meatballs and spaghetti.
October 2009
1 post
Sad Day For Food Writers And Readers
It appears Conde Nast is shutting down Gourmet. My dad’s had a subscription for as long as I can remember, and the publication was instrumental to my love for journalism, food and a combination thereof.
Dad carefully clipped and photocopied Gourmet articles of note for decades. I took some with me to London when I worked there in the summer of 2005 and to Thailand when I backpacked up...
August 2009
1 post
http://woofertime.com →
May 2009
1 post
Google Editing: 'The Sky's The Limit' →
March 2009
1 post
It Springs Eternal
Whenever I get down about the business of journalism I come across things that re-inspire me.
Liberia’s Blackboard Blogger
Read more at The New York Times.
via Neatorama
February 2009
1 post
Best Disney Movie Of The '70s
… by far is the animated Robin Hood. I had it on VHS growing up and probably wore out the tape.
Ever wondered what it’d sound like translated into 13 languages? Wonder no longer.
via Neatorama
January 2009
1 post
Best Meal I Had Last Weekend
the website.
the menu.
above: pastel azteca
November 2008
1 post
Life Imitates Art. Sort Of.
It’s no secret that I think “The Wire” is the best television ever made. I’ve been rewatching it (again) as another one of my roommates has gotten hooked on the series. Which is why I was delighted to read about “Vancouver’s Radical New Approach To Drugs: Let Junkies Be Junkies.” Sounds awfully similar to Hamsterdam from...
September 2008
2 posts
Movie Trailers Won't Ever Be The Same
Don LaFontaine, the man behind the chilling voice in various movie trailers and commercials, died Monday, his agent said. He was 68.
“If they ever decided to form their own autonomous state it’d be more...”
– Wallpaper magazine, on the 30th anniversary of LEGO’s minifigure — those cute, little yellow dudes — via nytimes’ Ideas blog
August 2008
4 posts
Whoa, 2020 Is Only 12 Years Away
And look how cool Shanghai (maybe) will look by then! I’ve always been a sucker for maps of all kinds and, by extension, cool scale models like the one seen above. Neatorama pulls together some Flickr snapshots of this cooler than cool scale projection of what the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum believes China’s largest city will look like in 2020.
Any time I see one of these cool...
Some People Hate The Word "Moist." I Hate ...
… the word “mouthfeel.” It just gets under my skin. For the way it sounds. For the combination of two fairly intimate words in a way that just seems unnatural and creepy. But most important, for what it stands for.
I’ve often grouped people who harp on the texture of food into two camps: picky or pompous. There’s nothing worse than someone who refuses to eat...
'The Economics Of Free' Win Again
It’s been difficult to get a straight analysis of Radiohead’s groundbreaking, pay-what-you-want-online record release strategy for its latest effort, In Rainbows. Lots of winking and nodding and declining to comment.
But Wired gives a nice breakdown of a new British study of how torrent downloads affected the sanctioned downloads at the band’s official site. The verdict?...
Today's Favorite Word ...
THE PASSAGE
“Four years is a long time in Beijing, a city frantically reinventing and rebuilding itself. The poplars have filled out into a wall of green that seems no more or less dishonest than the strips of woods I grew up with in America, concealing subdivisions and the interstate from one another.
The air has gotten cleaner, too — not clean, not even close to what most Americans...
July 2008
43 posts
Quick Hits Before Friday
Biggest story of the day for me so far is Google’s foray into venture capital. There’s a 95% chance we’ll run this story in The Courant for Friday. That’s the kind of power I wield!
I like this. It reminds me of this.
It’s too bad the brewery I went to last weekend didn’t have a distillery, too. The West Coast is always ahead of the curve.
I’ve...
Really, nytimes.com?
If You're Reading This, I Assume You're...
Interesting breakdown of the abilities American readers by Cheryl Stephens, author of “Plain Language Legal Writing” over on the (New) Legal Writer blog.
Writing in plain English is something every writer should be doing all the time, regardless of readership or platform. There is no argument for otherwise.
She And Him: Surprisingly Good
Zooey Deshanel and M. Ward’s collaboration is refreshing in a time when most actresses think they can sing. Zooey has the pipes to pull it off, I think, although she’s going to need a while to smooth some things out. I also like songs with clapping. (See video below.)
The two played at Cat’s Cradle yesterday (good venue) and will play at the Orange Peel on Thursday (great...
I'm Back!
Another busy summer weekend included a Friday night at the best bar in Hartford you’ve never heard about, the Bushnell Park Cafe at the Pump House; a Saturday afternoon at the Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield, Conn.; a Sunday afternoon at my roommate’s family’s lake house just over the border in Massachusetts; and a boring Sunday evening at work filling in to design...
This Seems Like Magic To Me
I’ve ruined some electronics because of water spills in my day, so this new product called Golden Shellback that can waterproof anything has me dismayed.
Screech To Dish Dirt On Saved By The Bell →
Can You Lend Me $100 billion?
In Zimbabwe, it’s no big thing. Well, actually, conditions are so bad there, that’s not even the case. With inflation raging out of control, the country just issued a $100 billion bank note.
(One of the new bills is available on eBay for about $80 U.S., which is officially equal to about $1.5 trillion Zimbabwe, if you were wondering.)
When I first heard about this, my question...
Smart Marketing
I wonder why this Run London campaign hasn’t been tried in New York. Too expensive? I bet the boroughs would eat it up.
via Dapp3r
I Wish I Knew More People Like Martin
via Selectism
Maine Is Pretty, Part II
I’ve just returned from the second installment of my July adventures in Maine. This trip featured a visit to Orono, home of the University of Maine Black Bears, to see my best buddy from Wake, Kurt, above, and his new fiancee, Kristin, also above. Before last weekend, I had only met Kristin a couple of times, so it was good to spend some time with her and get to know her a bit better....
Robot Parade
Robot Parade from Jared Foster on Vimeo.
Quick Hits Before The Weekend
The Christian Science Monitor profiles one of my favorite editors, John McIntyre of the Baltimore Sun. His blog is indispensable. (Also, check out my buddy Dave’s semi-recent piece in the CSM.)
Someday I will become a great cook. Perhaps one of Gourmet’s best cooking schools will help me.
Anyone stay up to see the final out of the MLB All Star Game this week? I did. Anyone wonder...
Tracking The Major Papers' Anonymous Sources
Brilliant job by Jack Shafer of Slate. Zubin Jelveh of Portfolio’s Odd Numbers blog is eating it up.
Mechanical Pencils Were Worthless In My Eyes
Until now. Check out these graphite drawings by Dan Fischer on display at the Alison Jacques Gallery in London. His website is just as impressive. I still prefer rollerball pens, though.
via Creative Review
Top 20 Rock Band 2 Tracks I'm Excited About
The setlist has been released. Also, check out this premium drum set.
“Ramblin’ Man,” Allman Brothers Band “So Whatcha Want,” Beastie Boys “E-Pro,” Beck “Tangled Up in Blue,” Bob Dylan “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran “Pump It Up,” Elvis Costello “Everlong,” Foo Fighters “PDA,” Interpol...
Maine Is Pretty
Last weekend I was up in Ogunquit, Maine, visiting my parents. They’re staying in a house owned by a family friend that’s about a quarter-mile from the beach. As a child, I spent three years living in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, which is just south of Portland, so it’s always good to be back up there. It’s hard to find a more beautiful place in the eastern United States in...
I've Never Experienced A Natural Disaster, But...
BLDGBLOG wonders if air turbulence would properly simulate the experience of being in an earthquake.
First he posts a video of the “earthquake van” in Japan (see below). Then he makes the jump toward the skies.
“In any case, it seemed like aerial turbulence was a very good analogy for the structural motions of earthquakes.
In fact, you could install some sort of in-flight...
I Love Reuters' Photographers Blog
I know I posted a link from these guys a couple of weeks ago, but this brief account by Reuters photographer Romeo Ranoco is what great photojournalism is all about. He hitched a ride on an air force helicopter after a ferry carrying 865 passengers capsized off Sibuyen Island in the central Philippines during Typhoon Fengshen last month.
In the climate of buyouts and layoffs, it’s...
By Far The Best Move Of The Summer, But ...
You know when you get choked up about a cartoon robot at the end of a movie, the animators have done their job. Such was the case for me after watching “Wall-E” a couple of weeks ago. That I could show so much emotion for characters who really have no dialogue is a testament to how well Pixar did with the film. It’s the most astonishing animation I’ve seen. Until the end...
Not A Good Week For Picture Editors
On Monday, I posted about the growing technology behind digital forensics in the battle to find fake photos.
Today, we receive word that a widely circulated photo of Iranian missile tests was a fake. (It showed up on the cover of the Tribune and the L.A. Times, as well as all the major players’ websites. Insert photo of sinking Tribune Co. ship here.)
At second glance, it’s a...
Today I Am Buying
This…
And This…
Home Run Derby Wednesday = No Blog Posts
I was blasting home runs over the wall at Camden Yards fence at a Little League field yesterday morning, which seriously cut into my blogging time. My apologies. Today will be much better, I promise.
Before the derby, a few friends and I had breakfast at The Cosmic Omelet in Manchester, Conn., which has now become my favorite omelet spot. (I had the Philly Omelet, no mayo, with jalapenos.)...
I Think “This American Life” Is A Little Overrated,
But Ira Glass (And His Advice) Is Not
via Lifehacker, etc.
http://www.capitolwords.org →
My Next International Destination: Malaysia?
Ever feel like the world is conspiring against you? Everywhere you turn, someone is sending you a signal that you’re being watched? Well, I believe I am currently under surveillance … by the Malaysian Board of Tourism.
It can’t be a coincidence that yesterday I read/watched about half a dozen things online or on television that made me want to visit Malaysia, a combination...
Not Sure I'd Be Able To Control Myself
A calendar made out of bubble wrap? Genius. But maybe hang it at home, not at work. I’d be shocked if random people walking by in the office could contain their excitement. It’s like putting a button on your desk that says “push me” and expecting nobody to push it.
A great thing about working in the business news department is that we’re right next to the...
The Ax
Question: How many U.S. newsroom jobs have been cut so far in 2008?
Answer: Nearly 6,000, according to this grim yet brilliant Google map mashup by graphicdesignr.net.
Also in the world of technology and journalism, check out this video from NOVA about Hany Farid, a Dartmouth computer science professor who’s pioneering the field of digital forensics. His research builds software to...
So Excited For This
I’m fairly certain that “Generation Kill,” HBO’s new miniseries from the creators of “The Wire” about Marines in Iraq, won’t live up to my expectations, which couldn’t be higher. The channel’s miniseries about John Adams was phenomenal (and highly quotable between me and my roommate this Independence Day weekend), and “The Wire”...