August 2008 Archives
Perhaps not quite as jaw-dropping as the Olga Korbut video, but still, seeing an Imperial Star Destroyer over the Bay Bridge is pretty impressive.
This is just breathtaking.
From Andrew Wheeler:
Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.
Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
- Venison
- Nettle tea
- Huevos rancheros
- Steak tartare (surprising, I know, but never quite got around to it. Plus, let's face it, it's not easy to find a restaurant in the US that will serve raw beef)
- Crocodile
- Black pudding
- Cheese fondue
- Carp
- Borscht
- Baba ghanoush
- Calamari
- Pho
- PB&J sandwich
- Aloo gobi
- Hot dog from a street cart
- Epoisses
- Black truffle
- Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (fruit brandy, yes, but...)
- Steamed pork buns (LOOOOOVE)
- Pistachio ice cream
- Heirloom tomatoes
- Fresh wild berries
- Foie gras
- Rice and beans
- Brawn, or head cheese
- Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
- Dulce de leche
- Oysters
- Baklava
- Bagna cauda
- Wasabi peas
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
- Salted lassi
- Sauerkraut
- Root beer float (not a big root beer fan--that's my brother)
- Cognac with a fat cigar (I'll give the cancer stick a pass)
- Clotted cream tea
- Vodka jelly/Jell-O (Not sure why this is on the list, but I'll check it off)
- Gumbo
- Oxtail
- Curried goat
- Whole insects (this was inadvertent)
- Phaal
- Goat’s milk
- Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
- Fugu
- Chicken tikka masala
- Eel
- Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
- Sea urchin
- Prickly pear
- Umeboshi
- Abalone
- Paneer
- McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
- Spaetzle
- Dirty gin martini
- Beer above 8% ABV
- Poutine
- Carob chips
- S’mores
- Sweetbreads
- Kaolin
- Currywurst
- Durian
- Frogs’ legs
- Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (deep-fried dough is a good thing)
- Haggis
- Fried plantain
- Chitterlings, or andouillette
- Gazpacho (this is actually a maybe, but I don't recall exactly, so it's off the list)
- Caviar and blini
- Louche absinthe
- Gjetost, or brunost
- Roadkill (seriously, I can understand 'kill what you eat, but this might be taking it too far)
- Baijiu
- Hostess Fruit Pie
- Snail
- Lapsang souchong
- Bellini
- Tom yum
- Eggs Benedict
- Pocky
- Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
- Kobe beef
- Hare (technically rabbit, but close enough, I say)
- Goulash
- Flowers
- Horse
- Criollo chocolate
- Spam
- Soft shell crab
- Rose harissa
- Catfish
- Mole poblano
- Bagel and lox
- Lobster Thermidor (I say what's wrong with regular lobster?)
- Polenta
- Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
- Snake (arguably covered by the eel entry)
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Nice thumbnail profile of Clint Eastwood, filmmaker.
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Great article about the Great Firewall.
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Pretty impressive resource.
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This story made me ill.
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How classical musicians pay their bills.
- The Team USA softball uniforms look like the sort of thing that you'd find in a competitive rec league, not the Olympics. Seriously, can't we do better? And what's with the huge swoosh, anyway?
- Three bookcases down.
- The padding in bike shorts really does make a huge difference. Believe it.
- Speaking of things that work, icing down sore joints isn't just a myth.
- Chopping up large fruit can be remarkably soothing.
- Dobkin and Kottke: America's next great synchronized diving team.
- Everyone piles on NBC's coverage of the Olympics (to save you the time: people want more sports and less talking), so I won't do it here (well, see infra), but I have to say that ESPN's coverage of the Olympics is really pretty bad.
- Speaking of things that are bad, this chihuahua movie that's being advertised on TV right now looks truly horrific.
- I expect less than half the competitors who start the Olympic marathon to finish it.
- California is weird.
- Average body-fat percentage among Olympians: 0.0%.
- Olympic-level intensity: scary or inspiring? I'm leaning towards scary, myself.
- OK, here's my beef with NBC's coverage of the Olympics: apparently no-one at the ENTIRE FREAKIN' NETWORK knows how to pronounce "Beijing". See this video for instruction on how to do it right..
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This is a cute approach to signage. Would like to see it in person, though that seems unlikely, at least immediately.
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Great gallery of the workings of the cable car system. Pretty much the only cities in the US with functional street car systems these days are SF and Boston, as far as I know....
An unexpected side-effect of taking the bar exam in San Mateo was getting sunburned.
