January 2010
Good Ingredients, Great Ganache
The cupcake craze is everywhere, but we set a special sweet tooth aside for the Deathcake Royale served up by Seattle’s Cupcake Royale every year in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Beyond the sheer silly fun of slogans like “Meant to be shared by lovers and loved by haters,” it’s a hardcore powerhouse of Northwest flavors, a solid, block-shaped triple-threat...
Dishing with Kathy Casey: From Cocktails to Camel...
Here’s a brief recap from my first trip to the super fabulous Abu Dhabi. I had a great time developing the cocktail program for many of the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr bars and lounges. Actually, I loved my time there so much that I just went back for a 16-day trip to open the signature, Chameleon Bar! I took a lot of pictures, tweeted, and shared my adventures on Facebook. The UAE: From Cocktails to...
The Power Of A Good Baking Repertoire
I have a large baking repertoire and many of my tried and true favorites have been gleaned from books, magazines, generous food writers, and home cooks.
Most of my baking recipes are simple and straightforward classics. Some favorites are the ones that I grew up with. Others, such as Norene Gilletz’s Blueberry Crumble Cake from The Food Processor Bible are recent discoveries.
...
Will You Watch a Mel Gibson Movie?
Mel Gibson hasn’t starred in a major movie since 2002’s Signs, stayed behind the scenes for his next two directorial efforts (Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto). Plus, his image took quite the beating over the last few years (the DUI and the anti-Semitic remarks, the divorce, etc.), and with the gradual decline of movie stars in general (remember back when they were known simply as...
Bites from the Apple: Magical! Revolutionary!!...
Rejoice! The iPad is here! Well, almost… While Apple’s long-awaited/rumored/gossiped-about/lusted-after tablet device was formally announced on Wednesday by Steve Jobs, availability of the iPad is still 60 days away for the Wi-Fi-only models and an additional 30 days until the 3G/Wi-Fi models are added. (Amazon has all six models—with your choice of 16/32/64 GB storage...
Howard Zinn, 1922-2010
As noted in Omnivoracious and other sources, Howard Zinn passed away on Wednesday at the age of 87. We’d like to share with you a short clip Zinn filmed along with Anthony Arnove about the DVD The People Speak, a follow-up to their books A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. —David
Rambler/AMC Marlin
Remember the Marlin, AMC’s answer to the Mustang? Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t. It’s not exactly at the forefront of modern collector-car consciousness. Truth be told, the Marlin didn’t get a whole lot of attention even back when it was in production. There were 17,419 Marlins built in the three years it was on the market—contrasted with production of well...
Graphic Novel Friday: Weekend Grab Bag
The new year is barely a month old, and my reading journal is already teeming with more graphic novels than I can handle. So as a service to those with similar problems, I’m devoting this week’s post to two new releases that shouldn’t be missed and one last-minute favorite from 2009. The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross: Here is a simple way to rope readers into a new...
Omni Daily Crush: "Succulent Container Gardens"
When my 5-year-old nephew came by my garden last summer, the otherworldly plants snaking out of my patio containers fascinated him. He wanted to feel them, but when I told him they were succulents, he drew his hand back fast and asked gravely, “What do they suck?” (Cuuuuuute.) Succulents—a plant gang that includes cacti, the tender and showy echeverias, and cold-hardy...
Moonlight Oyster Picnic Makes For Slippery Fun
Seattle seafood legend Jon Rowley led a group of 50 head lamp-wearing oyster fans down to the beach on Totten Inlet near Shelton, Wash., last night and said: “Let’s eat!” The moonlit, low-tide feast at the oyster beds of Taylor Shellfish is a winter tradition Rowley dreamed up a few years ago. He calls it the “Walrus & Carpenter” picnic, plucked from a Lewis...
Live "Avatar" Action Figure at Sundance Film...
This past week I attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City to get away from the toy industry for a few days and to catch up with friends from my previous life in the entertainment industry. But it seems that, even on top of a mountain in Utah, the world of toys was still able to find me. On a short shuttle ride to a screening of the documentary, “Waste Land” (excellent, by...
More on Salinger and Zinn
With a writer like J.D. Salinger, everyone brings their own memories of reading him: being forced to read Catcher in school and hating it (and then going back to it years later and getting it), being forced to read it in school and loving it (and then going back to it later and thinking you were too old to get it), or discovering him on your own, particularly the stories. I was one of those...
Best Salad Ever
My friend Matt is a seasoned traveler, a globetrotter extraordinaire who often plans excursions to the ends of the earth. This is the second time I have followed him off the beaten path, and while the journey involved seventeen hours in the air, five hours in a taxi, and an hour and a half speed boat ride, there was indeed a pay off at the end: the Shantaa resort in Koh Kood, Thailand. Aside from...
Omni Daily News: Remembering J.D. Salinger, Howard...
J.D. Salinger (1919-2010) CNN has reported that author J.D. Salinger passed away yesterday at his home in Cornish, N.H. Jerome David Salinger was 91 years old. Salinger wrote numerous short stories and novellas, but it was his sole novel, The Catcher in the Rye, that brought him commercial success, and catapulted him into the realm of literary greatness. This groundbreaking coming-of-age story...
Embrace the Bourbon
Sometimes we fear what we should love (that’s my sweeping generalization for the day). Take bourbon, for example. Many people shy away from this historic, essential, and completely American spirit. Because it has a bit of a tough guy reputation, and is known to carry a bit of a wallop at times (then again, so does a really good kiss), folks often avoid bringing a good bottle of bourbon home. This...
Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake...
My sister is forever on the quest for “the best chocolate cake” recipe. I’m not sure if she’s finally found exactly the right one, but I’ve often told her to try the simple recipe on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa powder box.
Called Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake, the recipe requires basic pantry ingredients and can be...
iPad is Here-- Now Tell Us About the Green
If you’re interested, you can find out all about the Apple iPad here on Amazon.com.and spend that other green to your heart’s content. But what is the Green story behind this new device? Earth2tech.com did a very nice breakdown on the greeness of the primary elements of the Apple iPad. Here’s an excerpt: The Screen: Sorry, but for a device that starts at $499, OLED is simply a...
Great Commercials--SsangYong Rodius
We recently had our fun mocking the bizarre looks of the SsangYong Odious—er, I mean Hideous—no, no, I mean Rodius!—a Korean-built SUV whose ah, challenging styling almost makes the Aztek look normal. That posting included a surreal Korean TV commercial in which the very oceans themselves rage against it. That’s not the only Rodius commercial to appear on Korean...
Omni Decade Crush: From Barbery to Whittemore,...
Wait! The decade’s best lists aren’t quite finished. Below find mine.
In general, “Best of Decade” book lists are arbitrary and too close to the period they pretend to cover. At point of impact, the pool of visible worthies has been reduced due to environmental factors that (sadly) include lack of the right push by the publishers, lack of charisma or some other quality on the...
Scooby Doo Scavenger Hunt Party Ideas - Guest...
Who’s kids’ favorite mystery sleuth? Scooby Doo, of course! All of us know that Scooby is more interested in his Scooby snacks than the actual mystery (he is a bit of a scaredy cat, after all). Still, kids will love to solve a Scooby mystery with their own sleuthing skills. Invite your gang over for a Scooby Party, complete with a scavenger hunt full of mystery fun.When all of the kids have...
Valentine's Toys for Your Girls and Boys
The day of love is coming ever so close…are you looking for something sweet for your little pumpkins? Something other than sugar-y treats? Here’s some ideas to get your brain in motion… 1. Ty Pluffie Kisser White and Red Giraffe 2. Barbie Valentine Wishes Doll 3. Valentine’s Day Elmo 4. Shinning Stars Valentine Frog 5. Valentine Penguin with Rose 6. Tiny Love...
10 Movies About the Holocaust
The U.N. Assembly dedicated Wednesday, January 27, as International
Holocaust Remembrance Day, a date which marks the anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Several poignant, yet brilliant films
are set against the backdrop of this horrific era of our history. In
the hands of extraordinary actors and directors, these sensitive, yet
brutal movies have earned numerous awards and...
iPad Rising: The Dawn of the Apple Tablet
Hang with us this morning as we follow Steve Jobs and his reveal of a “magical and revolutionary product”—one that will finally get a name. While we wait through some congratulatory numbers (great quarter, 250 millionth iPod, etc.), here’s a little musical interlude for you:
[10:10 am update] And the official name is… iPad!
[10:12 am update] An image of the iPad...
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout
I recently had the mixed pleasure of reading the newest biography of the great Satchmo, entitled Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout. Having previously read Teachout’s The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken, I’d expected a reasonably satisfying read, fueled by extensive research and delivered in rather pedestrian prose. As it turns out, that’s exactly what the book...
elBummer
On Monday I received this notice from elBulli, Ferran Adrià’s culinary mecca, confirming that I was not one of the lucky 8,000 people to procure a reservation this year: “The demand has again surpassed our limited possibilities of reservations for one season and we regret not to be able to fulfill more requests. You can revise the situation during the season, near your available...
The Dawn of the Apple Tablet
Hang with us this morning as we follow Steve Jobs and his reveal of a “magical and revolutionary product”—one that will finally get a name. While we wait through some congratulatory numbers (great quarter, 250 millionth iPod, etc.), here’s a little musical interlude for you:
[10:10 am update] And the official name is… iPad!
[10:12 am update] An image of the iPad...
Omni Daily Crush: "The Unnamed" (and Omnivoracious...
Not everybody likes The Unnamed. As regular Old Media Monday readers may have noticed, there have been raves (it’s an “accomplished and daring work,” or “This is fiction with the force of an avalanche”) but also a number of reviews of the “boy, kudos for trying something new after your first book was so awesome, but it didn’t quite work” (e.g. Jay...
Let's Banter About The Bacon And Egg Sandwich
What’s your idea of the ultimate bacon and egg sandwich? What is the best pan for the job? Should the bacon be thin and crispy? Should the egg be free range, organic, poached, or fried? What’s the best bread to use? Whole wheat, artisan, basic white, or a bagel? Are salt, pepper, and butter critical ingredients?
I have forever been a fan of the bacon and egg sandwich. When I was a child,...
It's Time to Submit Your Novel
Amazon.com, along with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for the third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, the international competition seeking the next popular novel. For the first time, the competition will award two grand prizes: one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction.The 2010 competition will also now be open to...
A Healthful, Nonalcoholic Sipper for the New Year...
It’s said that the average American gains five pounds during the holiday feeding (and drinking) frenzy. But even if that’s just an old wives’ tale, many of us look to January as a time of fresh hope and new beginnings in our diet and alcohol regimes. So instead of my usual blog about the latest and greatest in wine and cocktails, I’d like to offer up instead a recipe for refreshing,...
Expert Sticky Rice Advice from Pok Pok Chef Andy...
If you’ve been following along, you know about my misadventures in sticky rice. Turns out chef-owner Andy Ricker of Portland’s Pok Pok and Ping restaurants was following along, too, and was kind enough to pass along the following professional advice: “Hey, just fyi: San Patong is a district where some of the better quality glutinous rice (aka sticky rice or khao niaw in Thai) is...
Greenhouse Gas Reduction and ENERGY STAR®
US EPA Fighting Climate Change The US Environmental Protection Agency has worked for years to deliver solutions to climate change. EPA runs many successful voluntary programs like ENERGY STAR, WaterSense, Climate Leaders and SmartWay. These programs facilitate the efforts of individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities to cost-effectively address their impact on the environment. Over...
Editor's Choice: Othmar Schoeck, "Notturno"
By the time the European avant garde had advanced to breaking china and blowing train whistles, Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck was deemed “too accessible.” Their loss, as “Notturno,” op. 47, (1931-1933) is a post-romantic chamber gem. Poems by Nikolaus Lenau, scored for string quartet and baritone are given a new reading on an ECM recording featuring the rock-solid,...
Bites from the Apple Bonus: (Mostly) Non-iTablet...
And, as promised, some (mostly) non-iPad/iSlate/iTablet/iBook Apple-y goodness… David Carr in the NYTimes writes the typical pre-reveal-of-an-Apple-potential-gamechanger article with a focus on Apple’s tight-lipped message discipline and Steve Jobs’ showman qualities, but it’s got a good quote from Daring Fireball’s John Gruber. And for a reminder that Jobs has been...
The YA Decade
No other genre (except maybe graphic novels) has grown and changed as much during the last decade as young adult fiction. Inspired by Harry Potter (and probably a little bit by Lemony Snicket and Artemis Fowl), a whole generation of voracious readers emerged, and a whole new group of writers came up with stories to keep them reading well into their teens. Over the past few years, we’ve seen...
What Movie Makes You Laugh the Hardest?
From our Who Knew? Department: Sunday, January 24, is Belly Laugh Day.
Yup. I’m celebrating by going for a round of snort-laughs with some
pals. We’re re-watching Borat,
which I originally saw while recovering at home from laparoscopic
surgery via my abdomen. I don’t know why I thought watching a comedy
was a brilliant idea, so I’ll blame it on the meds. I nearly busted...
National Book Critics Circle Awards: 2009 Nominees...
The National Book Critics Circle announced the nominees for their 2009 awards (update: I called them 2010 in the headline ‘cause that’s what year it is, but the NBCC calls them 2009 ‘cause that’s when the books came out) today in New York. Unlike the other two big US literary awards (the NBAs in fall and the Pulitzers in spring), the NBCCs are open in theory to books by...
National Book Critics Circle Awards: 2010 Nominees...
The National Book Critics Circle announced the nominees for their 2009 awards today in New York. Unlike the other two big US literary awards (the NBAs in fall and the Pulitzers in spring), the NBCCs are open in theory to books by authors from outside the US (as long as the books were published here), though in practice they are usually heavily American, with a few high-profile international...
Screen Actors Guild Award Winners & Best...
This Oscar season is starting to get boring predictable.
After last week’s Globes and tonight’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, the acting categories are nearly a lock: Mo’Nique (Precious) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) in the supporting categories, and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) in the lead categories, repeated their wins. Barring a...
Hope for Haiti Now
Download the Hope for Haiti Now benefit album featuring live performances from last night’s star-studded Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon. All proceeds from the album sales will go to the Clinton Bush Haiti
Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, the
United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation. In addition, all...
Omni Crush of the Decade: Exploring WWII, Part II
After the great response to last week’s Omni Crush of the Decade: Exploring WWII, I wanted to follow-up with more of my favorite World War II reads from the last decade, as well a compilation of the insightful recommendations submitted by Omni readers. In the interest of honesty, I’ve starred the books on my list that were influenced by a recommendation, as even though I’m...
Omni Decade Crush: It's Over, People
Ok, right up front: I don’t like lists. They’re arbitrary, destined to exclude worthy items, rigid, and too easily informed by itinerant moods. (And don’t get me started on lists by committee.) So this, the last installment of Omni Decade Crush, eschews the ranked list form for notes about just few of my favorite books from the decade. Sure, I liked The Corrections and Kavalier...
Bites from the Apple: Something Tablet-ey This Way...
With this week’s official confirmation that Apple will unveil something big and game-changing and seemingly splattered with color, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the end is finally in sight—much like the final resolution-producing season of LOST. But much like that show’s myriad storylines and uncertain futures (or pasts) for its characters, I’m...
Graphic Novel Friday: Grimmer Tales by Erik...
Grimmer Tales by Erik Bergstrom isn’t for kids, although I think most teens would find it hilarious. In a series of devilishly clever sequences, using a colorful faux primitive style, Bergstrom’s dark sense of humor brings forth chuckles and full-on belly laughs. In part, it’s because he gets beneath the stylized surface of the stories. Certain fairy tales when re-created in...
Five Simple Gadgets: Low Tech in High Tech Times
I remember having a conversation with my dad in the late 80s, just as cordless phones became all the rage. You know the ones I’m talking about: those brick phones with telescoping antennae and batteries that never lasted long and were insanely expensive to replace. That day, dad was waxing poetic about what he imagined technology would be like in the future. Having grown up in the 50s and...
Omni Yearly News: 2008
In the News: Perhaps the dismal reports from Wall Street had something to do with it, but readers in 2008 strayed from the headlines and dove into the worlds of J.K Rowling (Beedle the Bard), Stephenie Meyer (Breaking Dawn), and Christopher Paolini (Brisingr). Fans of David Foster Wallace were shaken by news of his suicide in September, while Randy Pausch battled terminal cancer long enough to...
Tournament of Books Field Announced (a Little...
We’ve been so caught up in our Aughts nostalgia that I’ve been late in passing along word of the lineup for the second-most-fun tournament of March: the 2010 Tournament of Books, hosted by the Morning News. They always manage to hit the right balance between silliness and seriousness with which all such awards should be met, and as usual they have a high-powered lineup of judges (from...
Heaven To Go
Among my favorite food discoveries (and guilty pleasures) in Thailand are rotee (or roti). Thicker than a crepe, lighter and thinner than a pancake, they are at once soft and crispy, hot and gooey. Rotees are fried in ghee and, while they come with a range of fillings, I was instantly hooked on egg and banana, which comes with a generous drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Plus, for less than a...
Amazon exclusive: "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn,...
Available exclusively at Amazon.com is the Blu-ray edition of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Vol. 1, releasing on March 12, 2010. This is the first in a highly anticipated series of six OVAs set in the Universal Century timeline. You can watch the trailer and read the press release below. AMAZON.COM TO EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTE MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UNICORN V. 1 BLU-RAY; OTHER GUNDAM SERIES AVAILABLE...
Cock Rock: A Definition
The world needs more music critics like Charles Shaar Murray. Looking forward to the release of Jimi Hendrix’s Valleys of Neptune (yes, a new Hendrix album!), I’ve been reading Murray’s Crosstown Traffic. It’s brilliant writing. Hendrix is the book’s centerpiece, but there’s a load to learn here for anyone who likes books about music. The subtitle of its best...