Archive | January, 2011

Secrets of San Francisco

22 Jan

During our recent trip to San Francisco, I sought (as is my habit) to take a step off the beaten path. I found a semi-hidden, secretive world in Chinatown.

Down one of the many alleys, we found the “Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.” Inside, we spotted four women turning the freshly baked dough into various shapes of fortune cookies. They worked in silence.  The owner approached us quickly and suggested we buy something. He wouldn’t let us step further into the factory.

We opted for a bag of flat fortune cookies (also in chocolate and strawberry) for $3.50 and paid in cash. No tax. He stepped to an open container of flat cookies (really fresh) and scooped in a couple of handfulls into the plastic bag. It was a really strange place.

Love Hurts— Hickey Paralyzes Woman

22 Jan

Attention people all over the world. Next time you’re getting busy, be careful. The New Zealand Medical Journal reports that a 44-year-old woman suffered a small, but partially paralyzing, stroke after receiving a “love bite” from her partner.

The woman was watching TV when she and her partner began kissing. Shortly after the “love bite,” she lost feeling in her left arm and went to the doctor.

Doctors couldn’t determine what caused the stroke to the woman, until they noticed a small bruise close to a major artery in the neck. They now believe that the partner’s suction caused a blood clot that traveled to her neck. Thankfully, she is expected to make a full recovery.

Food Links: 1/21

21 Jan

Yum! During my trip to San Francisco last week, I fell behind on reading my beloved food blogs. I read Eater’s daily listages (that link is an example), which are full of interesting food news. Therefore, I’ve decided to put together some links to the most interesting articles. Get ready for more food-related stories on this blog.

1) The Iceman Cometh (The Atlantic): An interesting look at the latest in food trends: gourmet ice. The owner of one “luxury ice” company stresses that poor quality ice can ruin a cocktail. He says the only way to evaluate his claims is to try his product.

2) Undercover Fish Testing Reveals Mercury at Three Times Federal Limits (GOOD): As this article warns, watch out sushi lovers. San Francisco-based “Got Mercury?” tested 32 samples of fish obtained from supermarkets throughout the state. Of those tested, only 6 fish tested below the federal guidelines for mercury.

3) Good Healthy Food News All Around: Several large corporations recently announced greater commitments to healthy food options. Dominoes announced they would offer reduced fat pizza options for schools and  Wal-Mart, now the country’s largest grocer, pledged to reduce fats, sodium and sugars in their food selections (teaming with Michelle Obama). It’s not perfect, to be sure, but any positive changes among such large corporations could make a big difference nationally. Good news except at Burger King.

4) 10 Best NYC Restaurants Of The Last Two Centuries (Village Voice): How can one reasonably make this list? You can’t, but it’s still  interesting. I’ve always wondered, “Who first thought of the concept of the restaurant?” This article reveals the first restaurant to open in NYC.

5) Italy’s Legendary Butcher Comes to New York and Boston (Atlantic): A look into the rise of celebrity butchers. I swear this is a real thing.

6) New York’s 12 Most Expensive Cocktails (Eater): Hey, it’s nice to dream every once in a while, right? Any of these cocktails is over-the-top. The winner comes from the Covet Lounge and is called, “the $100 Icarus Cocktail. It’s a mix of Louis XIII Cognac (priced at $1,600 a bottle) and … imported, Iranian saffron oil, served over hand-chiseled dry ice, for that oh-so-desirable haunted house effect.” Or the $10,000 “Martini on the Rock” (it has a diamond at the bottom of the glass) at the Algonquin Hotel.  Drink up.

Tourists Flock to the South Pole

21 Jan

The hottest (ironically) tourist destination of the year may be one of the coldest places on Earth. The South Pole.

Later this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of Roald Amundsen to the South Pole, followed shortly after by British explorer Robert Scott. In honor of their achievements, many adventure-seekers will seek to trace their routes through Antarctica. And they will pay a pretty penny to do so.

Polar Explorers, a company based in Chicago, Illinois, will take costumers to the pole for just $40,500. Or, if you want to be dropped just a couple of miles short of the pole, it will cost you $57,500. Tourism to the South Pole peaked in 2007-8 with 46,000 people arriving, and has since dropped off because of the recession. At the pole, visitors can get their letters stamped with an official postmark and can purchase souvenirs, but there are few amenities.

One of [the explorers] is Matt Elliott, a 28-year-old Briton, who will compete in a 440-mile ski race, pulling 200 pounds of gear the whole way. A resident of Windsor, he works for his family’s paper wholesaling business and calls himself “a complete polar novice.”

He has never tried cross-country skiing, and he is not a big fan of cold weather, but he has been practicing by dragging two car tires on a rope for several hours at a time.

“I want to know how far, physically, I can go,” said Mr. Elliott, who is paying about $95,000 to enter the competition, sponsored by a London-based company called Extreme World Races. “It would be great to get there first and run the Union Jack at the South Pole before the Norwegians get there,” he said.

Despite their excitment for the trips, some scientists dislike the increased human traffic to the South Pole.

“It’s a place that wants you dead,” said Robert Swan, an environmentalist who walked Scott’s route to the South Pole in 1985. “Scott found that out 100 years ago

Two Other Notable Newspaper Headlines

21 Jan

I will stop with the focus on journalism stories, but how can you ignore these headlines.

1) Meatball Sandwich Horseplay Leads to Two Deaths, Family Betrayal, Two Trials- Cincinnati.com: The story itself is really sad. Two deaths after somebody was hit over the head by a meatball sandwich. I wouldn’t recommend writing a story in the same style. It’s wandering, and hard to follow.

2) Keira’s Not Getting It Knightley- The Sun: Pretty good pun, I have to say. This is in response to the actress’ breakup with longtime boyfriend Rupert Friend.

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