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I've talked about it here and here, but i can't say it better than snack this time. Go here, get pissed and do something.
04:42 PM in rants | Permalink
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Wine with Thanksgiving dinner seems well discussed these days. Personally, for an all around suggestion when asked I tend to recommend Dr. Konstantin Frank's Salmon Run Riesling.
There are three levels to the classic Thanksgiving dinner as far as a see it. The first are the immutable dishes that absolutely must be included no matter what else you do: roasted turkey, gravy, horrible canned cranberry jelly (other versions are great but nothing has the insane acidity combined with sweetness of the can-shaped blob), stuffing (which varies regionally), and fluffy white mashed potatoes. In the second level are the standards that round out this meal and are interchangeable but will appear in variations: sweet potatoes (roasted with glaze or mashed and topped with marshmallow), green beans (almandine, baked with onion crisps, steamed), creamed pearl onions, green salad, and way too many other ingredients and preparations to go on listing. The third level is one I heartily endorse as long as it does not attempt to replace any of the core five components; it is comprised of the foodie items. Here is where truffle whipped potatoes will show, great in addition to mashed but not a good substitute. Orange-glazed grilled acorn squash can sit right next to sweet potato purée or replace it, but must sit proudly next to the simple, straightforward traditional roast turkey dinner. In my opinion, you can fancy yourself a foodie all you like and try new things with your family and strive to impress, but to impress me make a better turkey than I have ever had; perfect the flavors, don't replace them.
Over the years I have tried many wine parings to this traditional meal. I have had the very American and egocentric "if I like drinking it, I will like food with it" dinner in which mostly Bordeaux was served. We did the all rosé dinner and the champagne/rosé champagne dinner. I've been to the "only vitis grape indigenous to America is Zinfandel" dinner (really indigenous to Croatia by the way), and have tried the always-a-failure "Beaujolais Nouveau with turkey" dinner. In the long run, I have come to feel that the best parings are aromatic whites: they handle the tartness of cranberries, the richness of mashed potatoes, draw out the subtlety of well roasted turkey and stuffing, and stand the best chance of pairing with the thousands of other dishes that will appear over the years.
Having been through all the Alsatian versions, the German versions, the Austrians and the Americans, I have a couple of standbys: Austrian Grüner Veltliner is quite good; in France go with Pinot Gris or Blanc; and in Germany go with the earliest of the Rieslings, Kabinette or Spatlese. As far as America goes, I wanted it to be the home of the perfect wine for the American holiday but had found most of the aromatic whites of America to be overwrought and/or cloying. Then I tried Salmon Run and the other Rieslings of the Finger Lakes region.
Salmon Run is the second label of Dr. Konstantin Frank, the man credited with bringing viticulture to the Finger Lakes. His is a fascinating story well worth learning, but has little to do with pairing wine to turkey. His wine though is my favorite for gifting, bringing, suggesting, and drinking (at least till the crowd forces the move to red) for Thanksgiving dinner.
Autumnal by nature, dry Riesling is pretty well suited to the Thanksgiving meal. Salmon Run benefits from being local – American if that's you, and New York for me. I have sampled the current vintages over the last five years and have found them, in spite of vintage variation, to be light, minerally and steely, with driving acids enough to contrast well while having enough autumnal fruit and spices on the nose to compliment. And best of all, since a reasonable amount of any one wine for my family gatherings is at least a case, it is very fairly priced ($12.99 on the website).
Start the way I did, add one bottle to that collection of under twenties we all end up mixing into a case with bright ideas like California Sangiovese and see how it suits you.
10:25 AM in learn wine, rants, the best | Permalink
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… I just assume diners know that real Kobe is back in America after a hiatus. But Meg recently linked this rather fluffy piece in the Post so I figured I would offer my experience with it here. I became aware of the embargo's end shortly before I had what I assumed was real Kobe on my second L'Atelier visit. I didn't ask so I can't swear it was authentic, what I can say is it was exponentially better than all the other meat I have been served around town that was branded as Kobe or Waygu (don't know if you have been to Old Homestead but little in New York food is as pathetic as their offerings).
When I had this discussion with my friend Mark, the Chef De Cuisine at Morimoto, he explained that to truly appreciate the finest Kobe it should be prepared Shabu Shabu. In a nutshell, you quickly swish very thinly sliced Kobe through a hot, flavored liquid and pair it to differing vegetables and dipping sauces. Absolutely convinced that Mark had gone insane from too much Japanese exposure and that meat with that kind of fat content could not be better boiled than seared, I accepted his challenge, leading to my first ever full meal at Morimoto not at the Omakase bar.
The meal left me feeling three things: that Mark is a very good chef producing very cool food from the Morimoto kitchen, that I am a bad friend for confining my dining at his restaurant to the Omakase bar with which he is not involved, and that I was totally wrong – Shabu Shabu is indeed the superior manner for Kobe preparation.
Grilled/seared/roasted and all other high heat methods scorch the predominant and flavorful fats, while with Shabu Shabu the flavored broth heated by an incredibly hot rock releases and encourages them to bloom, offering more of a slightly melted silky texture. Words like rich, buttery, and unctuous describe fast high heat preparations of Kobe and they are indeed special. However, I have no words to describe the sensation of this dish. I will tell you it ended a headache that I had in my temples and I spent most of the rest of the evening with the aromas running through my head in rather blissful contemplation.
There are many reasons to be into trying Kobe and it is an amazing ingredient. If your inspiration is that you are into flavor contemplation and you have an opportunity to try it as Shabu Shabu I think it is well worth taking.
Not sure why I never posted a report on the meal; maybe because I didn't keep good enough notes, or didn't want to concede my wrongness to Mark. Either way it was an exceptional meal. I did shoot it, though. Here are the pics of the Kobe Shabu Shabu course:
09:05 PM in ?, rants, restaurants, the best | Permalink
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…Because I see it as such a simple reality that the trans-fat ban is stupid and will in the long run hurt the cause of American health more than help I haven't really paid attention to it much, but this article in the Motley Fool has forced my hand. To learn the lesson of why a trans-fat ban is stupid you need look no further than the origins of the problem.
At some point some genius decided that butter (a component of the human diet for a very long time) was bad for you and said we shouldn't eat it, giving the American population the belief that butter = bad. Then some other genius invented a way to make non-animal products behave and seem somewhat like animal products, and for some reason believed and got others to believe that a substance with zero equivalents in nature was better nutrition for humans than milk that had been stirred a lot. Americans got the message that margarine was fine and began consuming more of it than they ever did butter. Later, the truth that science does not make better food but alternate food became obvious, and the fact that the created food item was bad for you was probably also apparent but not necessarily admitted to.
So now here we are. Turns out the alternate food is basically poison to some degree or other, but rather than learn from past mistakes and put energy into teaching Americans the nature of fats and that natural fats used appropriately are far better for you than any other possible substitute, big business has created a new food, this time from a plant they created that has a resistance to poison added to its genetic make up, and Americans are getting the message that fried chicken at KFC is not as bad for you as it used to be.
Rather than go back to the naturally occurring lipids that were doing little if any harm originally, the solution is a new synthetic food. The article notes:
"In an interesting aside, the company that provides the Vistive brand of low-linolenic soybeans is none other than biotech giant Monsanto (NYSE: MON). Monsanto put out a press release applauding KFC's move, while KFC said it is working with several possible suppliers, including Monsanto, to secure its oil. Known for genetically modified agricultural products, Monsanto says that Vistive soybeans are grown through conventional breeding techniques, but critics say that's a bit misleading because they still contain the Roundup Ready trait.
Connections to GM foods make this an issue that could, at some point, become controversial, since some people believe that GM foods might prove dangerous in their own right. Of course, it seems unlikely that the people who police their diet against GM foods are the same consumers who frequent fast-food establishments such as KFC, Wendy's, and McDonald's. (In a news conference, KFC President Gregg Dedrick said he didn't know whether the oil would contain GM soybeans). "
Nevertheless, the trans-fat ban will equate in the American conscience to "they made fried chicken safe" and our culture will take one more step toward ill health, particularly in the lower income populations that are the predominant consumers the of offerings of YUM brands.
I know there is no reason to believe me, I am an anonymous, credential-less guy with a website about food, but I hold these truths self evident none the less:
So get some lard and a flavorful bird raised on a farm, not in a warehouse, bread it and fry it in a cast-iron pan. Even if you do it every day it is better for you than KFC, but if you do it right it will be just what it should be: comfort food perfect for good times…
…Just like some time in the future I will get to say "I told you so" about frying your food in factory-produced oil from poison plants, I now get to say I told you so, good wine and good food should always go hand in hand and just can't be bad for you…
03:06 PM in ?, rants | Permalink
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A while back I did a post about the glories of the acorn-fed black footed pigs of Spain and the hams and charcuterie that arise from them. Soon after, I received an email from a gentleman named Woody explaining that he was a chestnut farmer/breeder and had recently been raising some pigs on the chestnuts he had been farming. While at this point he is not producing the pigs for sale so I couldn't buy them, he explained that he would happily give me some for sampling if I was interested and would give him feedback. After entertaining the idea that he might be related to the wine guy at A Voce or some other restaurateur I have been less than nice to, I decided this would be quite an elaborate ruse and that maybe this guy was on the up and up.
Last week, right before my Alba trip, a Styrofoam cooler box filled with dry ice and some pig showed up (so it is worth noting all this meat spent 10 days in my freezer before the tasting). There was a tube of ground pork, a pork liver, an Iowa chop, and some bacon. In the interest of giving good feedback and running this meat through its courses I decided on three tests:
First test – Bacon. For the bacon I went over Pichon's and did a side by side comparison with what I felt would be a competent competitor. For the other bacon we chose Seriously Good bacon from the guys at the Greenmarket with the Seriously Good Bacon sign.
To be fair, the Seriously Good bacon guys had no idea they were entering a competition, but there was a drastic difference between the two bacons physically. Woody's bacon was striated with fat while the Seriously Good bacon was more a fat cap next to meat. Both types possessed almost a one to one ratio of meat to fat, the Woody bacon however had its fat spread throughout, while the Seriously Good bacon was more two distinct sides.
We went with two methods of preparation: microwave for its exactness and lack of human error, and pan-frying, because it tastes better. Each preparation was done separately, so as not to commingle flavors. The pan-frying was performed by Pichon in two pans, the microwaving for four minutes at half power in two waves.
I don't know how much of these results were due to cut and how much were the chestnut raising, but texture does not seem a fair point of comparison. Woody's won hands down. The fat on the Seriously Good was just getting limber while the meat was already too tough. The Woody pig, however, benefited from its fat being distributed in striations so that crisp was crisp rather than crunchy. This carried even into the tasting – as you chewed the Seriously Good bacon the sensation was of freeing trapped salt from the limber fat, while Woody's was uniform enough to be perceived as one thing.
As for flavor, in order we preferred the Woody bacon in a frying pan, the Woody bacon in the microwave, the Seriously Good bacon in the microwave, with the Seriously Good bacon in a frying pan bringing up the rear. We tried desperately not to use the word "nutty" to describe the flavor of the Woody bacon. The best alternative we could come up with was when Ringwald noted its faint aromas of roasted winter squash, which did make some sense of the flavor. Sadly, as clichéd as it sounds, the fat of the nut-raised pigs was nutty, wonderfully nutty. Both bacons were salt cured, though the salt notes were far more pronounced in the harder fat of the Seriously Good bacon.
I chose Seriously Good bacon because I love it and wanted as fair a competition as possible. Going in, Pichon absolutely declared he doubted one bacon could be better, or even very different. But side by side I may have designed an unfair competition. Whether we admit it or not, bacon is about fat and the fat of nut-raised pigs just tastes better, more interesting, more complex, more pastoral and in general just more. Hands down the victor of this round was Woody's bacon.
Second test-was actually an experiment. For the liver I decided we should try to recreate the sofritto Nettasdad made when we roasted the pig in October. I had tasted Nettasdad's sofritto but was too busy with pig roasting and wine drinking to see him make it. What we had to go on was that awesome old hand Italian cook thing where he mumbled the recipe as: "the liver, the heart, some pork meat, some tomatoes, some garlic, some wine, some peppers oh yea and some peppers." With this in mind, the gift liver seemed a fair excuse for me to test my hand at some-some-some.
We grated about four garlic cloves and set them in a cool pan with olive oil to wait while I chopped up the liver in a rough dice and mixed the ground pork in.
Once the liver was cut up and the ground pork was added to it I turned the heat under the pan to high.
As the garlic started to brown I added the pile of meat and spread it around evenly. I moved it a little too much, I think, because in the long run the meat more grayed then browned. (Next time I will brown the offal first, then the meat).
Once everything was uniformly grayish brown I added some twists of salt, black pepper, and a couple shakes of chili flake.
Then we threw a large fistful of rough-chopped vinegar peppers in and let it simmer for about fifteen minute with about four glugs from a bottle of a California Cabernet Sauvignon we were drinking ('97 McKenzie Muller to be exact).
The first taste lacked a certain acidic zing so I added a couple more twists of salt, a couple more twists of pepper, a few more shakes of chili flake, and about a quarter cup of the vinegar from the peppers.
Then Pichon remembered that Nettasdad had said tomatoes so we added about a half cup of chopped tomatoes and their liquid and let that cook down for another fifteen minutes. This added a different and sweeter acidity, rounding the dish out nicely.
Was it as good as Nettasdad's? Who knows? (Like I said, I was Busy drinking and roasting while he made it.) It was very good and I think I can make it better next time. I would happily serve it to friends as well as enemies as was. How much of the credit belongs to Woody's pig meat and liver? At this point I am willing to split credit, the worst critique we got was "that's awesome" and that was from a sober person. If I am sure of anything it is that great cooking may cover mediocre ingredients, but just as much when fooling around in the kitchen trying to reproduce someone else's good results great ingredients will give you a huge amount of leeway which I definitely enjoyed.
Third Test-For the chop I decided to take my hands out of the prep. Not many people make a pork chop so well that the New York Times reviewer dedicates the title of a review and a whole paragraph to explaining how he was close to getting it on every visit to a particular restaurant. Joey Campanaro is such a chef, so I called Little Owl to see if Joey would play along. I asked that he take my chestnut-fed Iowa chop and one of his now famous chops into his kitchen, prepare them identically, and come out and eat them with me and Pichon, not telling us which was which.
I gave the chop to Joey wrapped hoping he would be able to mask from me which was which; sadly this could not happen. So I never saw it uncooked. On the plate, though, Woody's was a more traditional chop and obviously different from Joey's very thick one so I decided to turn the tables, cutting them down to bite-sized morsels and presenting them to Joey and one of his waiters blind, both of whom preferred the house chop.
Again, this was an expected outcome. Joey, his recipe, and his chop have come together over time to be a pretty special combination and just throwing Woody's chop in deprived it a fair evolution. There is no doubt, though, that Chef Campanaro was fair in the kitchen; both chops were the same hue of pink in the middle, the Woody chop a little more succulent and the Joey chop toothier, apparently by nature.
Once the four of us had tasted, the consensus seemed to be:-- that the fat on the Woody chop scorched on the grill, giving it an acrid note. We figure that this cut may be better suited to roasting or some other longer, lower heat aplication. -- that the fat in the Woody chop really adopted the fennel and black pepper notes of Joey's marinade, so much that some bites were a little overpowering, and that the aroma of these lingered far longer with the Woody chop.
So what have we learned? First and foremost, it may be bad to accept candy from strangers, but pork should always be welcome. Second, that a diet of nuts makes for far more interesting pork. I don't know what it will take for Woody to move from the fooling-around-raising-pigs-on-the-nuts-left-over-after-the-humans-are-taken-care-of phase to the pig-raising phase, but I hope it happens soon. This meat was amazing, seriously reminiscent of the greatest pigs I have had.
04:11 PM in rants, recipe, the best | Permalink
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One small post changed me from a guy at the end of the bar ranting about wine, restaurants, and food politics, to a guy on a computer ranting about wine, restaurants, and food politics. That post was entitled Those Silly French and was written in response to friends asking for my opinion on the first Michelin guide to New York. Well another group of stars has been awarded and again my computer lit up with people asking my thoughts.
First, let me start with a conspiracy theory about industrial culture because these are the things that make my world go round:
If I were involved in the world's largest tire company, when I met with my local government to discuss things like tax credits and pensions (as I understand it France is very involved in these areas with French-based companies) I would find it an advantage to be able to make the case that for seventy-five years I have worked to promote travel to France. I would also like to be able to point out that what started as a little book to encourage Frenchmen to wear out their tires driving all over the country in the summer travel season, successful due to its reputation for integrity, has turned into a reason people come to France to spend food dollars at an unrivaled rate. If this were one of my bargaining chips, which it assuredly would be, as the guide grew in popularity and became a viable business I would grow it carefully ever mindful that, to the end of remaining a bargaining tool for my actual business (tires), it would need to remain a significant motivator of the belief that fine food is available more in France than anywhere else.
I think Michelin is producing a French guidebook trying to establish itself in foreign markets, and I think part of this motivation may simply be to lend credibility to the French guide. When the whole world is saying there are almost a dozen restaurants in Spain operating at a level beyond all but a few places in France, what better way to quell these worries and keep your credibility than to acknowledge the irrefutable successes with some stars? And if the people start insisting that New York and other major US cities have as many great places as Paris while Parisian chefs are turning their backs on your ratings, what better way to keep your hold as the definitive voice on fine dining than to start a New York book?
Ok, that's out of my system. Going forward let's assume Michelin is just trying to grow a successful business. The perceived integrity referred to in the conspiracy above was based on a couple of simple truths that have been seeing some rocky times as of late. Some assumptions regarding Michelin's ratings have proven to be false in recent years, such as that there was a huge anonymous staff traveling the world of dining, ever on the quest for places worth traveling to, or that Michelin inspectors had actually visited all the places reviewed. Then there were the rules that applied almost without exception, which I thought mattered most. Rules like that all restaurants must start at a base one star level and that only after multiple visits and time proving they could perform at the top level could they be advanced, which meant that if you were a three star Michelin restaurant you had achieved at a top level for many years with many and constant inspections.
Starting a New York book with any three star restaurants, let alone including one that was in its first two years of existence, belied any integrity claimed. This simple move more than any other proved that Michelin did not hold this book or this place to the same level that it holds its French books and restaurants, implying that the folks there don't see equal merit in our food (unless of course they were giving additional credence and merit to some restaurants simply for being French, which also implies a lack of understanding of American cuisine).
Then there is their choice to do a New York guide (and this year one for San Francisco) and not a US one. Keeping in mind that Michelin is meant to be a travel guide about restaurants, there are at least five restaurants in Chicago I do travel for solely and regularly. Based simply on reputation, there are another ten in California I plan to travel for (when I do visit you can be sure I will let you know if I found them worth the trip). There are also two places in Boston I travel for, one in DC (and another two I would like to). There is at least one place in every major city that is worth a diversion to for a meal. Here we bump into my conspiracy again: if you properly try to assess the restaurants of America and not isolate them by city but simply apply the criteria of destination eating to the nation, towns like Philly alone should get a star each for its cheese-steak places (if you are there you should definitely try one at either Pat's, Gino's or Carl's), not to mention at least two (I would say three Michelin stars are deserved) for Le Bec Fin. Fairly analyzing a region even as small as the original thirteen colonies would blow out the bloated count for France by comparison, which would be dangerous to the service Michelin provides of keeping people traveling to France above all other countries for destination dining.
So what do I think of the current list for New York? Well you are still reading so:
As I understand it the meaning of the stars is:One: if you are in this city this is a very good place well worth visitingTwo: if you are near this city go to this placeThree: this place is so good it is worth traveling to that city simply for the experience of dining at
Applying this notion of the stars here are my thoughts
Jean Georges: I would travel for this place and happily add the cost of travel to my dinner.Le Bernardin: still haven't traveled from the Village to try it.Per Se: went, was let down and have not forgiven; one of the reasons I find it hard to cross 23rd Street.
Bouley: very good, when I am already in its neighborhood visiting friends I happily go.Daniel: I would travel from the Village.Del Posto: good or bad it is a unique experience worth traveling to at least once.Masa: hands down the greatest single meal I have had was here, but it is such a destination place sometimes I wish I lived far away so I would be forced to seek it out more.
Annisa: no idea.Aureole: they have wine fairies in Vegas right? That has always kept me from taking it seriously.A Voce: travel to get fleeced by a wine list? yeah, right.Babbo: goes without saying that people travel for this place; sooner or later people on their way to New York ask me for any secrets I might know about getting a res, especially those who have been already.Café Boulud: I would cross neighborhood boundaries for this place.Café Gray: still haven't traveled past the other places in the mall for it, but haven't given up.Country Restaurant: had a bad time at the bar early and haven't traveled past that.Craft: makes no sense to me to go back to a place that puts the job of the chef on the diner, but this is New York and people like control so if that's what you're into it may be worth a stop when you are traveling to a dungeon or some other place that puts all the decisions on you. Cru: I find it hard to believe there are many better meals to be had in New York than I have had at Cru so I travel there regularly, in fact I often go there first when on my way back from traveling. Danube: haven't been, know I should but it involves traveling past places I love.Dévi: I really like Devi and have traveled at least eight blocks to eat there.Etats-Unis: isn't that on the Upper East Side, pretty much would rather go to Chicago.Fiamma Osteria: it's good.Fleur de Sel: I love not having to travel much to go to this place, the Monday night wine deal may be worth commuter airfare, though.Gotham Bar & Grill: I can think of few more definitively organically born of New York places, so I guess if that's what you want it is well worth the travel.Gramercy Tavern: People very often travel from far away to join me for meals here.Jewel Bako: can't travel past Degustation.Kurumazushi: news of it has yet to travel to me.La Goulue: got to look into this one.Lever House: no idea.Modern (The): no travel, no thanks.Oceana: great meal but have never seen cause to travel back.Perry Street: well I love spending food dollars at JGV so hard to say.Peter Luger: travel to Brooklyn for a steak that variant in quality? Sure, as long as it is with a big group of people so excited by the travel they never seem to notice.Picholine: as long as our USDA rules remain as they are for fresh cheese and hunted game it will be worth travel from all over.Saul: if they ever do Michelin Brooklyn I may make a journey there to hit a couple places.Spotted Pig: stopped traveling there early on; nice food but this is New York, pubs with good grub are easy to come by. Sushi of Gari: heard great stuff, not enough to travel that far yet.Veritas: you love wine, especially Parker wines? May be better spent travel dollars than Napa or Bordeaux.Vong: not in a long time.Wallsé: involves traveling past places I know to be cool, but its on my list.wd~50: few people in the world with an opinion don't agree that Wylie is pretty serious among those changing the face of world dining. You tell me, is that worth traveling for?
Without going too deep into the list I will simply mention three places unique to New York that I believe should be experienced by all, are worth traveling for, and could only exist here: Blue Hill, Savoy, and Hearth.
So I guess on their second attempt rather than seeming crazy the folks at Michelin just seem not to understand New York. Then again, if your goal is to understand New York, would you look to the French for advice in the first place?
10:02 AM in rants | Permalink
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…I don't know if I am in a new restaurant rut or the city is, but when I think about eating these days the newer options all seem to be a new burger joint, a new steak house, or some ridiculous theme spot, none of which play nicely into my ideal of a place with integrity of vision, execution, ingredient and a sense of community.
In times like this I tend to do one of two things: revisit my most favorite restaurants, and cook at home. On the revisiting front I happily declare that Cru, Lupa, Hearth, Blue Hill, Gotham and Morimoto are all still wonderful assets to our community. As for cooking at home, even though or maybe because this was one of the worst tomato seasons ever, I have been loving different things from the greenmarket that I would be happy to tell you about.
First and foremost is the kefir from Tonjes Farm Dairy. People from Eastern Europe will tell you great stories about kefir making you live forever because of its active cultures. I like it because in good versions it combines a very sour lactic yogurt flavor with a very earthy pastoral flavor, and this is a very good version. I have not learned the entire story from the Tonjes folks yet; for most of this summer they were just the guys next to Tim Stark's stand selling very good Mozzarella I was buying to go with Tim's tomatoes before the season washed out. Then about four weeks ago I saw kefir listed on the Tonjes' sign and bought a bottle (having gotten fed up with not being able to find a pedigree for the Organic Lifeway kefir I had been buying from Fresh Direct which the Cornucopia Institute has rated as "ethically challenged" for producing or purchasing factory farm milk, I needed a new source). Since then I have probably had about thirty small bottles of it, and cannot only tell you I love it, I can say that I like it best around the Wednesday or Thursday after my Saturday purchase.
Keith's mesclun greens are the next awesome available ingredient. All kinds of greens – bitter, spicy, sweet, soft, fibrous – all triple-washed and sold loose at what seems a very fair price. I have been simply throwing these in a bowl and dressing them with a drizzle of Olio Verde, a pinch of Maldon salt, and a sprinkling of the grated aged Goat cheese Coach farms sells in jars. At this point I think I am taking down about a pound and a half of these greens a week and looking forward to more tonight.
There are many other things going on as well. Thanks to Meg I tried Flying Pigs' liverwurst when I picked up my usual bacon and eggs. I sliced it and put it on toasted Rye from Rock Hill Bakehouse with some coarse mustard and sliced onions (Keith's Farm again). I am averaging a steak of some cut or other a week from Hawthorne Valley Farms as well as their pickles for snacking.
Except for tomatoes it was been quite a harvest this year, and everything tastes wonderful but, sadly, years of wandering the Greenmarket has officially set the end date in my calendar as Thanksgiving, so get there and eat, or at least don't say I didn't warn ya...
09:54 AM in rants | Permalink
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Pichon, Helmet, Link and me standing outside a red barn-like butcher shop at the end of a dead end road in Chatham Township, NJ, on a chilly early autumn morning with a sixty-seven pound pig on a stick and four bags of charcoal, discussing constant rotation or focused heat with a man in a bloodied white jacket is the picture of this day.
The first plan was to cook a proper ghetto pig. One day I happened across Link and Helmet talking about pig cooking methods and joined the conversation. They were discussing whether to bury it with coal and banana leaves, or to roast it rotisserie style. I told the story of when I first got involved in pig roasting through Cuz, and that the research he had done had turned up a website by a couple of Cubans in Miami who like to butterfly a whole pig, strap it to a chain link fence and grill it, something I had always wanted to try. At this point Cuz and I have rotisseried many pigs and have strong beliefs on the proper way to do it, but I have always thought it would be fun to do the ghetto pig version of the guys down in Miami. So Helmet, Link and I started discussing approaches and methods and decided the pig would be done lashed to fencing and set on cinderblocks over charcoal.
About the time we figured out that un-galvanized aluminum fencing is almost impossible to get in the metropolitan New York area (I assume the weather changes of the northeast make it impractical to use unprotected steel, or aluminum) Helmet found this butcher in NJ that rents fire pits and rotisseries and gives you the entire pig already lashed to the spit.
The story as we believed it was that this place was a working farm and we would be involved in the killing of the pig, something I felt obliged to participate in because of the amount of trepidation it caused me. As it turned out, after having steeled myself to face the discomfort of taking part in an intimate task of involving myself in the moment of death of my food that society has so removed us from it seems foreign, I had actually taken an extra step away from being involved because the second most intimate thing about roasting a whole pig is the actual hands-on step of securing the beast to the spit and the folks of Green Village Packing, had already done this for us.
So we gave up a little involvement in the interest of convenience, which tears me. I hate convenience in food prep as a general principal. Wife and I long ago threw out our microwave believing that the little extra time taken in making things like mashed potatoes from scratch makes a far bigger difference in flavor. However, when preparing food for fifty folks, a little help is great.
When Cuz and I roast a pig we have come to a pretty stripped down method. We simply and liberally salt the inside of the carcass and fasten it on the rod. We then salt it again on the outside, and set it over the heat. Now, to be honest, leaving well enough alone is the hardest part from here on out. In order to give ourselves something to do, we've picked up the little nervous device of dipping long branches of rosemary in olive oil and smacking them against the skin of the pig while it cooks. I know that the skin of a pig is tough enough to make footballs from so I don't believe we are doing any flavor adding with our little exercise, but it is still fun and dissipates the energy of hours of staring.
What the folks at Green Village Packing do besides giving you the fire pit, the charcoal, the rotisserie, and the spit, as well as affixing the pig, is to season its interior. They use a blend of garlic, herbs, adobo, black pepper and oil, all good and all sensible and all much appreciated. I clearly am a purist and find the flavor of slow-roasted pork best unadorned while cooking. I do like accoutrements like mojo, or vinegary slaw, or even hot barbeque sauce when it is done, but for cooking I keep it simple. That being said, nothing could be simpler than this.
Literally all you have to do is go home, light a fire, set the spit in the rotisserie and cook until the ham and shoulder achieve 165 degrees in the center. And that's almost what we did. My belief is the pig should be belly side down over low heat for about 45% of the estimated cooking time (about an hour for every 10-12 pounds). Then 20% on each side, 10% with the back facing down, and the remaining 5% spent spinning over much higher heat to crisp and brown the skin. The logic here is that the concentration of the meat is on the pig's underside, so time spent spinning it leaves ¾ of each minute with the densest concentration of the meat being off the flame, making the leaner meat toward the pigs back overcook. So without a calculator I guessed our sixty-seven pound pig would spend two and a half hours stomach down, an hour or so on its left side followed by another hour or so on its right, half an hour with its feet in the air, and the remaining time spinning with periodic temperature checks.
The reality is, as will always happen when men gather around a fire with raw meat, a committee formed with votes on how best to do it. Ultimately, we went with one hour belly down, one hour spinning, half an hour on each side (while a rosemary, garlic olive oil wet rub was applied to the off-fire side) and then spinning till it was finished (people like to watch things spin). There is also the truth that meat + fire = happy eaters.
About 90% of the pig was consumed within half an hour of it coming off the spit. I was proud to have been a part of it's making (even though the back was a little tougher then I like ;-) and, as often happens when I cook, I had little interest in eating it beyond the taste that confirmed I was proud of the job we had done. Instead, I went inside to eat the sofritto that Nettasdad had made of our pig's heart and liver. Now that's the way food should taste; once I figure out how to make it I'll tell ya.
06:25 PM in day drinking, friendly spirits, rants, recipe | Permalink
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…Bill Buford's New Yorker article about the Food Network started me wondering about things you don't see on the Food Network any more other than chefs and dirt, like foie gras. How can a channel about food not show Foie Gras? I have to assume it stems from some ridiculous "don't upset anyone, anywhere" approach to marketing. Add this to the list of reasons I no longer watch the Food Network. Does anyone else miss Discovery's "Great Chefs" and Emeril before the audience???
…I just assume everyone that comes to Augieland clicks on that link to the Bruni Digest while visiting. If not, do so today. She is a very funny woman…
…Ok, clearly the whole world has gone insane. Mark it on your calendar: we are officially doomed as a race as of 9/27/06 and the exact thing to mark this event is this article by Marion Burros in the Times entitled "Tainted Spinach Brings Demands for New Rules."
At this point we are all aware that somehow in the last month or so spinach caught a cold named E. coli O157:H7 and started giving it to humans. This particular strain is dangerous to humans and our best guess at the moment is that it got to the spinach through run-off water from factory cattle farms near the spinach fields.
One more important bit of information is that this dangerous strain of E. coli only comes from corn-fed cows, or more accurately stops existing in cows that are fed grass for as little as five days.
Now here is where the insanity starts. You ready for this??? Brace yourself… the proposed issue and solution, from a microbiologist at UC Davis named Dr. Trevor Suslow is, get this, "Should cows be raised in close proximity to produce? Ideally, you would like to see them well separated." And the FDA has this to offer, "I'm speculating, but there is a logical link between cattle and manure getting into the water." Can you smack a whole government department for being stupid?
So rather than stop creating the poison by ending the practice of feeding cows poison (yes corn is poisonous to cows) even though E. coli and all the other poisons current cattle farming practices create obviously will find ways into our lives no matter where we put the feedlots (it is spread through the water table), we will separate spinach and cows as if it were insane to assume animals and vegetables could coexist and that we have just been dodging a bullet for the thousands of years we have luckily gotten away with these crazy death-traps called farms.
Here is the solution I offer free of charge: STOP POISONING YOUR FOOD. How? The simple fact that the idea being put forth as problematic is that farm animals and farm vegetables need be separated makes it pretty clear the corn subsidies that are actually the root of this poisoning will not be ended. So what's left? Avoid buying standard beef in the supermarket, restaurants or fast-food chains as much as possible. No kidding. Make steak a special thing, pay a little more for grass-fed beef raised on pasture, and enjoy it, it actually tastes far better. Tell your restaurants why you are eating less, they will get you what you want.
The ultimate irony is that if we fed all the tainted spinach we are throwing out to the cows rather than what we are currently feeding them the E. coli issue would probably clear up…
…So in the middle of an E. coli issue clearly tied to spinach four kids who regularly drink raw milk get E. coli and the milk is blamed and a recall enacted. Well the milk has been tested and proven not to have E. coli. Yet the recall stands. We all know where I stand on raw milk, and it is hard to talk about this without sounding like a strange paranoid conspiracy theorist. But here is an example of the result of years of demonization of raw milk by an industry that only stays hugely profitable if pasteurization stays the status quo. During a spinach-related E. coli outbreak in the part of the world the spinach is from, raw milk is the first assumed infector…
…I saw a post on The Gurgling Cod I felt inspired to comment on about snapping pictures in restaurants, which in turn led me to this article by Molly O'Neill in The Columbia Journalism Review, which I very much enjoyed because of writing like this:
From the beginning of newspaper food coverage, the pages have been home to dietary fads and weight-loss schemes. Horace Greeley was himself an acolyte of Sylvester Graham, whose vegetarian moralism makes that of say, Dr. Dean Ornish, appear to be downright sybaritic. But it may be nothing more than the mists of time that differentiate the dietary faddism of that era from the fads promulgated by food writers today. After being diagnosed with hypertension and counseled to reduce his salt intake, for instance, Claiborne wrote a guide to cooking without salt called Craig Claiborne's Gourmet Diet in 1980. Based on the medical establishment's assumption that foreswearing salt could stave off hypertension, Claiborne echoed the American Heart Association's position and rallied the public to join his low-salt life-style. Thus was a low-salt food industry born before further research revealed that although cutting salt consumption is critical for people who have high blood pressure, reducing it prior to the onset of high blood pressure generally does little to lower the chance of developing the disease.
Interesting, no???
...What good is lamenting the scourge of factory farms and sick cows without offering a viable and accessible alternative?
Wife and I have been heartily enjoying our weekly CSA vegetables from Stoneledge Farms and, saddened that our summers' share will soon be drawing to a close, were delighted to learn that the Washington Square CSA will be offering a winter share this year consisting of winter vegetables, organic chicken, grass-fed beef, organic eggs and dairy products and assorted dry goods (beans, granola and the like) from local farms. Unlike our summer share, this will be a once-monthly pick-up and runs from December through April. We are looking forward to seeing what the winter brings…
01:27 PM in Current Affairs, rants | Permalink
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Cru rules, that's it this week. I love it. I ended up drinking at the bar twice and in the dining room for dinner once this week, and realized it has been a while since i declared it: Cru rules.
06:33 PM in rants | Permalink
Comments (1)


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A court in Florida said that Apple and Motorola Mobility have no interest in quickly and efficiently resolving a patent infringement lawsuit, but are instead using their litigations around the world as "a business strategy that appears to have no end."
Referring to the "parties' obstreperous and cantankerous conduct," Judge Robert N. Scola of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, described it as not a proper use of the court.
The judge was reacting to the litigation before the court which now includes over 180 claims asserted from 12 patents, in which the parties dispute the meaning of over 100 terms from those claims, according to an order which was entered into the court record on Wednesday. "Both Apple and Motorola greatly expanded the scope of this patent litigation by, among other things, supplementing patent infringement and invalidity contentions," the judge wrote.
The parties agree that the case needs to be simplified, primarily through voluntarily agreeing to drop patents and claims from the case, but it is not a surprise that they have been unable to agree on how to accomplish this goal, the judge wrote in his order.
"Without a hint of irony, the parties now ask the Court to mop up a mess they made by holding a hearing to reduce the size and complexity of the case. The Court declines this invitation," Judge Scola added, while denying the two companies a case management conference to narrow the case.
Setting a Markman hearing for Sept. 20, the judge said he expected the two companies will use the time to narrow the case to a manageable scope themselves. "If the parties cannot make this case manageable, the court forewarns them that it intends to stay the litigation while the Markman issues are pending and issue a decision as expeditiously as the parties deserve," he added.
A Markman claim construction process is used to hear parties on different claims and their specific meanings in a patent infringement suit.
In a filing in March, the two companies told the court that they spent weeks "negotiating a way to mutually reduce the size and complexity of the case, primarily through voluntarily agreeing to drop patents and claims from the case." They submitted in the filing "that the most efficient approach is for the court to schedule a telephonic conference to discuss an orderly approach to reducing the size and complexity of the case."
Motorola, which was acquired by Google last year, accuses Apple of infringing 12 patents in the lawsuit, while Apple has accused Motorola of infringing 10 patents. The lawsuit was filed by Motorola in January last year, its second in the same court, alleging infringement of six patents by Apple.

subset: commoncrawl


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DALLAS – Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem booked his semifinal spot in Strikeforce's ambitious heavyweight grand prix, but he did little to gain fan following in a rather lackluster unanimous-decision win over submission specialist Fabricio Werdum.
The frustrating cat-and-mouse affair saw Werdum literally begging his opponent to engage him on the floor, while Overeem was unable to land any real significant damage during brief exchanges on the feet.
The contest served as the featured main-card bout of Saturday's Showtime-broadcast "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" event, which took place at Dallas' American Airlines Center. The evening's four-bout preliminary card aired on HDNet.
The opening round saw Overeem stalking early, as Werdum looked to get the fight to the floor. Werdum's takedown attempts started in earnest, but with each successive Overeem sprawl, the efforts became more and more comical. Certainly, Werdum was keeping his best interests at heart, but as Overeem refused to engage on the floor, the Brazilian resorted to pleading with the Dutch striker to fight him on the mat – an invitation Overeem politely declined.
In the second, Werdum showed a brief sign of life with an early takedown, but he was unable to hold top position before Overeem scrambled back to his feet. At that point, things took a nasty turn.
As the second wore on, Overeem looked to tire and appeared rather stiff as he sought a finishing blow. Meanwhile, Werdum hit the deck at every available opportunity, whether legitimately driven there or not, and was extremely slow to rise to his feet each time Overeem backed away in favor of a standup fight. Werdum did seem to be the better striker at times, but the overall flow of the fight unquestionably favored Overeem
In the final frame, Werdum again opened with a salvo of punches and knees, but he quickly hit the deck and begged Overeem to follow. The two returned to their feet briefly at the halfway mark of the round, but it was only a short exchange. With the action stuck on the floor, the entire arena pleaded for referee Leon Roberts to "Stand them up!" He didn't, though Overeem did finally break away and return to the feet.
Werdum latched on to a leg in a last-ditch effort to steal the fight, but it simply didn't happen. Overeem remained comfortably on his back until the final bell, when both fighters were greeted with a chorus of boos. Werdum staked a claim to the final round, especially considering Overeem's lack of activity on top, but the result appeared fairly certain. While often successful on the feet, Werdum did himself few favors by flopping to his back.
In the end, Overeem was granted a unanimous-decision win, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
With the win, Overeem (35-11 MMA, 3-0 SF) is now unbeaten in his past 11 fights and will meet Antonio Silva in a grand prix semifinal bout later this year. Meanwhile, Werdum (14-5-1 MMA, 3-1 SF) sees a three-fight win streak snapped.
Barnett cruises, taps Rogers in second
In a classic battle of striker vs. grappler, catchwrestling enthusiast Josh Barnett made quick work of the heavy-handed Brett Rogers en route to booking a Strikeforce grand prix semifinal contest with Sergei Kharitonov.
Barnett took the action to the floor early in the opening round, avoiding any and all damage while intelligently passing on the striking game. To his credit, Rogers avoided any sincere submission attempts in the opening five minutes despite facing his opponent's mount and side control, but that would quickly change in the second frame.
After Rogers landed a quick jab, Barnett again took the fight to the ground and quickly advanced to mount. From there, he nestled into an arm-triangle choke attempt that he cinched up with little resistance. Rogers held on as long as he could, but he was forced to tap just 77 seconds into the second round.
Barnett (30-5 MMA, 1-0 SF) has now earned seven-straight victories and will face Kharitonov later this year.
"Brett was a tough opponent," Barnett said following the win. "I hope he's around for a long time knocking people out. However, tonight was my night, and I'm here to win this tournament. After I win the whole thing I'm coming after the heavyweight championship."
Rogers (11-3 MMA, 2-3 SF) has now dropped three-straight fights for the promotion, albeit against the world's best heavyweights in Barnett, Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko.
Masvidal batters Noons, stakes claim for title shot
In a bout deemed an unofficial No. 1 contender fight in Strikeforce's lightweight division, 155-pound fighters Jorge Masvidal and K.J. Noons combined for a thrilling contest, albeit one that featured rather one-sided action.
While Noons opened in typical brawling fashion, it was Masvidal that did the early damage. An early knee opened a cut on Noons' hairline, and a successful takedown followed moments later. When Noons returned to his feet, a slick Masvidal high kick to the chin sent his opponent back to the floor. Masvidal pounced for the finish, but Noons worked to his feet and somehow made it to the second round.
In the second, Noons came out with a sense of urgency, and a taunting Masvidal found himself on the receiving end of a few stiff punches. But Noons' cut began to bleed again early in the round, and Masvidal continued to pick apart his foe. A takedown led to a few Masvidal elbows on the ground, and a knee later in the round punctuated the performance as Noons' face began to swell beyond recognition, complete with a Mark Hominick-esque hematoma.
So convincing was Masvidal's performance through two rounds, he raised his arms in celebration at the close of the frame.
Despite the damage, Noons moved forward valiantly in the losing frame, scoring an early lead uppercut that caught his opponent's attention. Masvidal cruised for much of the round, in clear control of the matchup, though he did take top position in the closing minutes and deliver a bit more damage. Noons tried for a miracle kimura in the final seconds, but it was not to be.
Masvidal turned in a masterful performance and likely booked a future date with Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez. At the close of the 15-minute contest, Masvidal was awarded the clear-cut win, 30-27 on all three cards.
"I'm a good counter-fighter," Masvidal said. "I'm not going to attack until you come at me. A good wrestler like K.J. Noons is doing everything I need him to do in setting me up to do that. I did what I said I was going to do, and that was hit him in the face over and over a thousand times.
"I hope this win puts me in the mix for a title shot. If not, I'll keep fighting until I get one."
With the win, Masvidal (22-6 MMA, 4-0 SF) is now 5-1 in his past six contests. Noons (10-4 MMA, 2-2 SF) has now dropped two-straight fights, though he's turned in gutsy performances in each of the contests.
Cormier outboxes Monson for impressive three-round win
One-time UFC title challenger Jeff Monson admitted prior to Saturday night that he would likely be unable to stop Daniel Cormier's vaunted takedown attack. He also realized he was probably not going to be able to win if he was underneath his foe. What he either didn't realize or didn't admit was that he would also be completely outclassed on the feet.
Flashing an astoundingly improved striking attack, Cormier blasted Monson with a dizzying array of punches, kicks and knees that left his opponent out of sorts and in trouble from the opening round.
A two-time Olympic wrestler, Cormier looked more like a boxing specialist as he pressed forward with his punches. Monson weathered the storm, but he offered little in the way of return fire.
In the final frame, with his face swollen and his eye closing, Monson dove into a takedown attempt that wouldn't come. Instead, he only hit the mat when tossed unceremoniously there by Cormier, who then refused to bother with the grappling game and instead simply retreated and waited for his foe to rise.
It was unquestionably the best performance of Cormier's young career, dominating the action from start to finish, and the prospect was awarded a unanimous-decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards.
"I'm confident in my skills, but this now proves that I can fight top guys like Jeff," Cormier said following the one-sided win. "I'm glad I was able to dominate him the way that I wanted to.
"I knew coming in that he was strong on the ground, so I trained hard with the best striking coaches around and got my boxing where I needed it. After this fight, I know I can hang with whoever they put in front of me."
With the win, Cormier (8-0 MMA, 5-0 SF) remains undefeated and may soon find himself tangling with Strikeforce's very best heavyweights. Meanwhile, Monson (42-12 MMA, 0-1 SF) sees an eight-fight win streak snapped in his promotional debut but may find new life should he complete a previously announced move to 205 pounds.
Griggs blasts Overeem in first
In the night's first main-card bout, the unheralded Chad Griggs continued his unlikely rise up the Strikeforce ranks with a quick finish of longtime veteran Valentijn Overeem.
As the two felt each other out early, Overeem missed on a high kick that swopped over his opponent's head. Griggs immediately moved into a clinch, where Overeem tried to stall with overhooks. Instead, Griggs dropped and landed a beautiful toss that saw him land directly into half-mount. The end was near.
Overeem rolled to his side for an apparent kimura attempt, but Griggs defended well and began to blast his foe with some 20-plus unanswered punches. Referee Kerry Hatley rushed in to halt the fight just as Overeem appeared to tap, but the fight was recorded as a TKO win for Griggs at the 2:08 mark if the opening round.
"This fight went exactly as I had planned it," Griggs said after the win. "I threw some heavy bombs and got him down. When I got on top of him, I hit with some good hard shots that were getting in clean.
"He's an extremely tough fighter, so I was surprised by how quickly he tapped, but I'll take that win. They keep trying to make me disappear, but I'm not going away anytime soon."
With the win, Griggs (11-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) now sports a six-fight win streak. Meanwhile, Overeem (31-29 MMA, 1-1 SF) sees his own three-fight win streak snapped.
SEE ALSO: "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" preliminary card results: JZ-Wilcox a no decision
- Todd Moore def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)*
- Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:17
- Jorge Masvidal def. K.J. Noons via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Daniel Cormier def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Chad Griggs def. Valentijn Overeem via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:08
- Justin Wilcox vs. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante ruled a no-decision (accidental eyepoke by Cavalcante) – Round 2, 0:31
- Conor Heun def. Magno Almeida via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nah-Shon Burrell def. Joe Ray via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Brian Melancon via split-decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
* – Bout took place following main event
For complete coverage of "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum," check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
(Pictured: Alistair Overeem)


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In June, I met 17 young Nicaraguans who were heading to the U.S. as part of USAID's Scholarships for Education and Economic Development (SEED) program. This program provides training opportunities to young community leaders from disadvantaged and historically underserved populations. The students go to the U.S. to pursue an array of two-year technical degree programs related to the needs of their home communities — programs ranging from small business management to environmental technology.
These courageous young Nicaraguans, mostly from humble backgrounds in rural Nicaragua, leave family, friends, culture and country to embrace new opportunities and receive an education which can dramatically change their futures.
These youth spoke to me candidly about their hopes and plans to support their communities when they return. In turn, I spoke to them about their dual responsibilities, not only for their courses and classes, but also to learn as much as possible about U.S. culture, customs, traditions and our way of life, while sharing with Americans stories of Nicaragua's rich culture, delicious foods and beautiful countryside. In short, I urged them to form the bonds that have united our two countries for so many years — "Estamos Unidos" (We Are United), as our Embassy slogan declares. These types of exchanges establish strong, enduring relationships between our countries.
The program also matches scholarship recipients with alumni, who mentor and encourage the next generation of exchange students and, in doing so, hone their own leadership skills. I have gotten to know some of these alumni mentors, such as Jaime García, who returned in 1998. I heard Jaime speak to a group of outgoing students about the struggles of adapting to a new culture, of being away from home and family, of the rewards he gained from the experience and how the friends and knowledge he acquired continue to play a role in his life. Jaime graduated from an Agriculture and Aquatic Food Products program at Santa Fe Community College in Florida and now works as head of food safety in Sahlman Seafoods, a shrimp factory in Nicaragua that won the Award for Corporate Excellence in 2011.
These types of programs are extremely successful. Of the more than 1,000 alumni of USAID scholarship programs, 100 percent have returned to Nicaragua, and nearly 100 percent are currently employed. My interactions with private sector partners confirm how much they value SEED alumni for their English skills and U.S.-based education.
It is my belief that our support to these young Nicaraguans helps them have a positive impact in their communities and creates a lasting positive impression of the U.S. as a friend and partner in helping them — and their country — on the path to development.


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The nominees for the National Book Award were announced earlier this week. I can recommend two of books in the fiction category: Daniyal Mueenuddin's In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, a carefully turned collection of stories that focus on class divisions in Pakistan, and Jayne Anne Phillips' Lark and Termite, a novel about the intersection of the Korean War and a broken family back in America. It's harder for me to recommend Colum McCann's ambitious Let the Great World Spin a novel that seemed to foreground its bigness at the expense of its characters. My review of the book in the Chicago Sun-Times wraps up this way: "There's plenty to admire in Let the Great World Spin, especially for anybody predisposed to the widescreen style of Don DeLillo's Underworld. But the magic of Petit's wirewalk was that it seemed so effortless, like walking on air. McCann too often lets the reader know just how difficult a balancing act he's trying to pull off." The rest of the nominees? Your guess is as good as mine.
The typewriter that Cormac McCarthy has used to write all his novels until now is going up for auction.
The pleasures of reading To Kill a Mockingbird aloud.
Perhaps Lorrie Moore is trying too hard to be funny? (I haven't gotten to A Gate at the Stairs, but the "jokes" in Self-Help do do a lot of the work. But they're often anti-jokes, planted to show how sad or despairing or resentful a character is. She jokes a lot, but she's not trying to get you to laugh.)
Cynthia Ozick on the Kindle: "A robot!" "A foreign object!"
Willa Cather's development as a novelist.
Junot Diaz in Oprah magazine: "[A] writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway."
Will Ferrell will star in a film based on a Raymond Carver short story ("Why Don't You Dance?", I think).
Lastly, this from the Department of Condescending Media: When a football player reads books, it's news.


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Blog Archives
5 Favorites: Maxi Dress
The best item to have in your closet for a "what to wear" moment – the maxi dress. This versatile item is an all-in-one ensemble that works for almost any occasion. From bright colors and bold prints to strong slits and cinched waists – there is a maxi out there for everyone. Here are a few of my favorite finds:
Monrow ~ T Back Racer V Tank Dress: $76.00
Rebecca Taylor ~ Paisley Gown: $395.00
BCBGeneration ~ Slit Maxi Dress: $101.99
Raquel Allegra ~ Tie-Dye Silk Maxi: $680.00
Splendid ~ Always Hi Lo Maxi Dress: $118.00


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In a welcome move, the Australian Government has said it will legislate to extend the validity period of subclass 410 Retirement visas to 10 years, and remove the working restriction on these visas.
Subclass 410 Retirement visas ceased to be available to new applicants at the end of June 2005, but there are nevertheless some 8,700 410 visaholders in Australia at the moment.
The 410 visa is a long term temporary residency visa, with an initial validity period of 4 years. Initially renewals of this visa were required every 2 years, and there was a no work condition attaching.
Work rights were relaxed in 2003, and relaxations to the health requirements upon renewal of 410 visas were announced later that year.
In 2005 the rollover period for 410 visas was extended from 2 years to 4 years.
Successive Immigration Ministers appear to be sympathetic to the position in which Retirement visaholders find themselves. Many 410 visaholders are now long standing members of Australian communities, and granting permanent residency is a natural next step – the present Minister appears willing to listen to representatives of the 410 cohort, and in extending the renewal period to 10 years is (we would submit) providing quasi-permanent residency to affected individuals.
|Full access to Medicare appears to be the main issue with this visa category, together with an ongoing requirement to maintain private health insurance.Indeed, with temporary visaholders being able to structure their personal tax affairs such that overseas source income (including UK source pensions) are not subject to tax in Australia, some would contend that 410 visaholders are in a good place visa and tax wise.If you are a subclass 410 visaholder and would like to discuss your personal tax and financial position please contact us at our Perth or Geelong office. Go Matilda Accounting and Tax is one of the few firms of advisors that have consultants with knowledge across the UK and Australian jurisdictions, and are therefore ideally placed to assist with the preparation and lodgment of UK and Australian Tax Returns, and to provide strategic advice on personal tax planning.
We also recommend that Retirement visaholders visit the internet discussion group that lobbies for the interests of individuals holding subclass 410 visas – British Expat Retirees In Australia, or BERIA: see the weblink below.
|http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BERIA/ Source : www.gomatilda.com


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The Future is now for West Michigan Alumni
Two players from the Detroit Tigers organization have been chosen to play in the 14th Annual Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game this season, held at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Third-baseman Nick Castellanos and pitcher Bruce Rondon, both of whom also played for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2011. Castellanos seemed to be an easy pick for the U.S. roster, as he's currently one of the best hitters in Minor League baseball. With Class-A Lakeland, he was hitting .405 with 17 doubles, three triples, three homers, and has knocked in 32 RBI's. Since being promoted to Double-A Erie on June 5, he was batting just .225 until he finally found his swing this week in a game against the Bowie Bay Sox. He went 3-4 in the game with three RBI's, and was just a single away from hitting for the cycle.
"This season, this game is up there, definitely in the top five. It's my first game with three extra-base hits. I drove some balls the opposite way pretty well and I got my swing back. I wasn't being myself for a few games," Castellanos told MiLB.com. For him, every level has been somewhat of an adjustment. "It's still a transition. The pitchers are very consistent with what they do so you have to battle every at bat. I really don't believe in mechanical changes. I believe in my swing and I think it works, so if things are not going well I watch video because it is almost always because of my timing."
Castellanos, only 20 years old, was Detroit's top draft pick in 2010. With the Whitecaps in '11, he hit .312 with 36 doubles, seven home runs, and 76 RBI's. He's probably Detroit's top hitting prospect right now, but as a third baseman, I'm not sure where they plan on putting him in a couple of years if he makes the Tigers' roster.
In the opposite dugout of the Futures Game, will be Venezuelan born relief pitcher Bruce Rondon. This flame-thrower has hit 100+ mph on the radar gun a few times this season already. With Lakeland he picked up 15 saves in 22 appearances this season. He's struck out 34 hitters in over 23 innings of work, while only allowing 12 hits. He was promoted to the Seawolves at the same time as Castellanos, and picked up his first Double-A save this week, also, hitting the 101 mark while striking out the side. Last season with the 'Caps, Rondon went 2-2 with 19 saves, with an impressive 2.03 ERA. If he stays healthy, he'll be a huge addition to the Tigers bullpen in a couple of years.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball


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We had great fun at the Annual Inn to Inn Herb Tour this past weekend. The herb we featured was basil, and guests enjoyed it in Lemon Basil Coffee Cake and our savory egg entree with sweet basil at breakfast, and in some wonderful homemade lemonade flavored with lemon basil and Basil Pignoli Bites with Pesto for afternoon refreshments.
We learned a lot of fun facts about basil. In Greek, it means "royal,", in India, it is a symbol of hospitality, and in Italy, a symbol of love. What a perfect combination of meanings ~ part of the inn's hospitality is to prepare your food with love!
Sweet basil typically is used in Italian food: the most common Mediterranean cultivars are "Genovese", "Purple Ruffles", "Mammoth", "Cinnamon", "Lemon", "Globe", and "African Blue". The round, often pointed leaves of the basil plant looks a lot like peppermint to which it is related. Basil is an annual easily grown from seed, and is not frost tolerant at all, so don't plant it too early when cold weather may be possible. It needs full sun, and more moisture than some herbs, so keep it watered; especially in pots. As colder weather approaches, you can bring basil inside as a window herb if you plant the seeds in the late summer in pots and set them in a bright sunny window. Be sure to pinch the tops of your plants so they won't flower – flowering will stop their growth. Harvest just before you start your recipe for maximum flavor.
There's still time to grow some basil in your own garden or herb pot this summer, and enjoy it fresh in the Inn at Ellis River's Savory Crepes Caprese.


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Enid Stryker McLane
The Enid Stryker McLane Building in Kenai recognizes a longtime educator who taught the first art classes for the college. This is reprinted from "The Kenai Peninsula College History: The First Thirty Years." By Lance W. Petersen
Why was the college's first building named for her? "First of all, because Enid McLane symbolized the educational inspiration and dedication to which the college aspired," said Founding Director Clayton Brockel. "And secondly, Enid McLane lived the intensely independent pioneer life which still characterizes the values Alaskans embrace. She was a model for us all."
Enid Stryker was born in Redmond, Wash., on November 23, 1896. She graduated from Bellingham Normal School (now the Western Washington State College of Education). She came to the Kenai Peninsula in 1920 to visit a friend, and stayed to take a teaching job in Ninilchik.
She married Archie P. McLane in 1922; they were among the first homesteaders in Kasilof in 1923. She taught at Kasilof from 1932 to 1938; at Kenai from 1942 to 1945. She returned to teaching at Kasilof in 1949 and continued there until her retirement in 1964. Later, she taught the first art courses at the college.
Enid McLane started the Kasilof Library and the Kasilof Museum and helped to write a book which was once mandatory reading for every teacher who got a rural teaching position for the Alaska Territorial School System: "Tips for Teachers in the Bush."
There were few teachers who knew more about the subject. The Kenai Peninsula didn't have an adequate landing field for aircraft until World War II and wasn't connected to the rest of Alaska by highway until 1952. By then, Enid had been teaching on the Kenai Peninsula for 30 years!
In the ice-free summer months, cannery boats and skiffs and Cap Lathrop's tugboat landed at coast communities; in the winter, mail came by dogsled from Seward. Most of the time, it was a long, long walk from one community to another.
Enid recalled hiking miles to school to teach, and having to get there early enough to split the kindling and start a fire in the barrel stove so the schoolroom would be warm by the time the students arrived. "Sometimes I think all these fancy theories about teaching just boil down to one thing: keep the fire burning."
That's a good enough reason to name the college's first building the Enid S. McLane Building. That's what the college was trying to do, too.
Enid McLane died on February 23, 1989 in Homer. She was 92.
UA Site named after Enid McLane
Enid McLane is also mentioned in this article:
Meritorious Service Award Recipient 1973
"Down on the Farm: Siblings reminisce about raising foxes in Kasilof" Kenai Peninsula Online, March 25, 2001
"Secret treasures: Kasilof community maintains individuality on Kenai Peninsula," Kenai Peninsula Online, July 16, 2000


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The Fantasy - The Mauritius trip from Gunnar Biniasch on Vimeo.
Sevin the [gybing] water dog...
What to pack for Sylt? And will Phil Horrocks run another live commentary from his Blog...when he's not competing?
WindsurfReview.net have the entire F2 Goy and Quatro 2010 ranges live on their site - some of these lines are not listed on the manufactueres homepages yet so check 'em out.
Down to the wire at the Formula Worlds.
When injured - do your duty and film others...and then send the clips here. Please. Thanks.
Two posts spotted at Maui.ee on choosing Quads vs. Singlefins vs. Twin fins and an interview with Keith Teboul.


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100% handmade & high quality Reborn Doll
High quality Silicone vinyl. Head and Arms and Legs are silicone vinyl materials.
The shoulders and body with internal filling PP cotton.
Brand: NPK
Size: Approx. 22"/ 55 cm from head to toe.
Arms: 3/4 Length Vinyl and 1/4 Cloth.
Legs: 3/4 Length Vinyl and 1/4 Cloth.
Weight: Approximately 45.86oz / 1300g
Material: Made with Gentle Touch vinyl head and limbs.
body doll soft; full silicone doll if soft joints easily fall off;
doll sit reclining, will not stand;can be put
in the water to company the baby during the bath
Eyes: High-grade acrylic eyes, the eyes will not blink
Eyelashes: Hand rooted soft dark brown Mohair with a very fine needle and sealed from inside.
Nose: Nostrils are open, as if the Baby Doll is breathing.
Mouth: The lips seem like a real baby's lips.
Hair: Floppy head because of hand rooted Mohair, naturally similar baby hair.
Nails: Natural white tipped and sealed finger and toe nails.
Skin: The baby has a lovely skin tone, mottling, which is after special treatment with multi-layer processes,
will not fade.
Doll Safety: Conforms ASTM F963 & EN71 safety requirements of baby ages 3
Package included:
1 x Baby Doll with Clothes
1 x Birth Certificate
1 x Milk Bottle
1 x Nipple
1. Hair: Hair can be water wet (but not dripping), with a comb gently comb.
2. If the head, arms and legs are dust, you can wipe gently with water,
you can not use alcohol or other cleaning agents, so as not to damage the painting. After drying
must remember swat with a little talcum powder, then gently wipe with a cloth
1. Festival gifts, Birthday gifts for lovers and kids.
2. Play doll of Children and Grandma Accompany doll that will never let them feel alone.
3. Collection of Young people.
4. For training of Maternity Matron, Nursery, mother-to-be.
5. Props for shooting TV or movie.
Q: Is this reborn baby is a boy or a girl?
A: This reborn baby is no gender,he(she) can wear dress or boy's shirt
Q: Is this reborn baby made of cloth or vinyl silicone?
A: Silicone Vinyl & Cotton Body.
Q: Can the Baby's arms and legs move back and forth? Can they removed?
A: The baby's arms and legs can move back and forth, but it can not removed.
Generally speaking, we arrange for shipment within 24 hours after placing the order. Individual orders may be delayed due to temporary shortages. We will ship from the French warehouse.
Orders cannot be cancelled when it has been shipped. But you can return your order as you receive it by contacting our Customer Service and getting a RL.
Please remember, shipment in transit is out of our control and the carrier is responsible for any unforeseen delays. But we will do everything we can to help you get your order to you fast. If the package gets lost in transit, we'll resend for you.
Alimart.com accepts Paypal, Visa, MasterCard, JCB and America Express. Alimart.com secured by Godaddy SSL, all information we collect are secured.
If you're unable to complete payment, please use another credit card or try with a different browser or change another network environment. If issues still remains, you can contact our customer service staff([email protected]) to consult.
Item must be returned within 30 days ,and refund will be given as money back. All NON-seller mistake returns for refund are subject to 20% re-stocking fee.(including buyer Just didn't like it,Ordered by mistake ,Found a better price , Changed mind or Doesn't fit etc.
All returns require a RL (Return Merchandise Authorization) , please contact our customer service first for an issued RL.
All products returned must be in original boxes and 100% complete, with ALL original packing materials, all manuals, and other accessories, otherwise returns will be refused. Any shortages, errors, or damages made to the shipment must be notified to our customer service before returns.
We offer a 180-days warranty on all of products and accessories. This warranty does not cover products that have been abused and misused. All items must have a valid RL to qualify for replacement. Packages returned without a valid RL will be refused.
The RL must be marked on the outside of the package containing the returned product to be accepted. There will be no refunds on shipping for any reason. All returned items must have all original accessories and packaging including manuals, software, and etc, in order to qualify for replacement.
Your receipt of an electronic or any other form of order confirmation does not signify our acceptance of your order, nor does it constitute confirmation of our offer to sell. After receipt of your order,alimart.com reserves the right to accept or decline your order for some especial reason. We may require additional verifications or information before accepting some order of any amount.
We are a tech-driven online retailer. We are trying to be the leading direct main market of outdoor supplies, home furniture, kitchen supplies, toys & pets and storage & organization.


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Since the November 2017 Coup in Harare, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has been friendly to the former President Robert Mugabe and his extended family. The ZANU-PF have let the family eat plenty have a giant package of money and also a big pension for the 37 year long presidency. Today, it is released a document telling, that the state is finally taking action against the family and their possession.
On the 16th March 2018 in the High Court of Harare, where Judge President Justice Chiweshe ordered eviction of Russel Goreraza, Grace Mugabe and Kennedy Fero. These three has lost in court, where they are now evicted from the properties of 409 Harare Drive, Pamona, Harare; 18 Cambridge Drive, Avondale, Harare; 75 King George, Avondale, Harare. All of these properties will go back to companies that owns the properties, since the Mugabe family has been squatting here.
This here is proof that the time has changed, this would never has happen in 2017, but it is in 2018. It might a proof that the President Emmerson Mnangagwa wants to show strength too, because of the blessings of National Patriotic Front and the support of the G-40 Members to the new party, before the up-coming elections. Therefore, the ruling regime want to show the former first family, that they are not untouchable anymore.
This here is vital if people been evicted or alleged crimes by the former first family, the can now petition the courts and get refunded for their hurt, even get their land and properties back. Who knows what more businesses, farms and other frauds the Mugabe family has done and could also lose if people petitioned it. When the state has been run by the family and cronies, they can now get it back and also see justice in these matters.
It is at least hope and proof that the Mugabe family is not untouchable, they can actually lose a court case and the petitioners has a chance. Last year, the courts would have dismissed or not given it merit even. Because Mugabe family good whatever they wanted and got away with it. Now the table has turned.
Mugabe family has been evicted from three properties, that is historic and a proof that time has changed. It is also a sign that the ZANU-PF plans to answer if the former President continues to cry havoc in the press. They will answer, because they will not show mercy, if the Mugabe creates drama. Peace.


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Google's acquisition of Nest for $3.2 billion this week has been heralded as the company's big move into home automation. Nest has made overtures about customer privacy, but given the size and profitability of its new owner's advertising and personal data business, the new relationship needs a closer examination.
Certainly, Nest's products—currently a thermostat and a smoke detector—have potential in their own right, and Google is getting a new slate of devices to sell in the deal. But along with the devices, Google is getting access to new types of data it can put to very good use along with a new set of very interested customers. And like other types of data collection, this has potentially negative consequences for consumers.
What Nest says, and what Nest is actually saying
It makes sense to begin with a close read of what Nest actually says it will do with customers' data under Google. A quote from an FAQ with Nest founder Tony Fadell:
Will Nest customer data be shared with Google?
Our privacy policy clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest's products and services. We've always taken privacy seriously and this will not change.
First, to say a company takes privacy seriously makes no guarantees about what it will do with your data. It's clear at this point that what a privacy policy says has no bearing on what the company may do tomorrow, next year, or five years from now.
Google also takes privacy seriously, but that did not stop it from consolidating its data silos or forcing Google+ into places it didn't used to be. YouTube logins weren't going to change under Google ownership until they did. Your most frequent contacts were your own business until Google Buzz broadcasted them to the public. Your reviews of a new store or restaurant were written for businesses you liked, until they were written for advertisements by Google. All it takes is for Google to dream up a new use for the information that's streaming in, and a few privacy-policy sentences later—not even, in the case of Google Buzz—data that was once drifting into a black hole is being repackaged and sold to a third party or informing a new feature.
Second, "providing and improving Nest's products and services" is a pretty broad range of permissions. Google could consider taking Nest's silo and interfacing it with all the other location data it has on a customer in order to be absolutely sure of where you are as an "improvement" for instance. Another "improvement" could be sharing your energy use (ineffectively anonymized, of course) with every energy provider in your area so that you can be appropriately advertised to, making you aware of all your options. Nest and Google are just trying to make sure you have the best energy provider to use with your Nest. Right? Fadell doesn't answer the question posed to him, and he never says no. Nest's data is going to be for Google's taking, provided it meets the dubious purpose of "improving" or "providing" Nest services.
In light of all the information Google already has on us, a shallow, knee-jerk reaction to its acquisition of Nest might be, so what? It already knows where we are through smartphone GPS more or less all the time. I can do Google one better: it certainly knows my location from my Wi-Fi router, and it knows the one address I type into Google Maps 95 percent of the time. Google knows where I live, certainly. But that doesn't mean even Nest's current products, let alone future extensions of its portfolio, can't augment Google's data arsenal in a very valuable way.
Who will buy the data Nest has to sell?
We've already mentioned one benefactor: energy providers. Nest made several partnerships with electric companies in 2013 that would provide a Nest device and some bill discounts to customers if they were able to lower their power consumption. Google will now be cut in on this relationship, along with the growing number of energy suppliers that many customers can now swap between (see: Ambit, Agway, Citizens Choice).
In this new position, Google can not only collect data on energy use that it can sell to these companies (more to the point, sell to each others' competitors), but it may also be able to now deliver different customers as targets for advertising. Energy companies will be able to target their marketing much more effectively, possibly even tailored to the user. And for companies to do business with, energy providers are not small fish: Ambit Energy made $1.022 billion in 2012.
Another big market Google can wedge itself into that takes even better advantage of Nest's place in the home is with insurance companies. Nest device information, while redundant with some of Google's info, is unique in some ways.
The Nest Protect, the company's smoke detector, will be able to tell Google unequivocally when there has been a home fire or a carbon monoxide leak, even when the home owner does not report it. A Nest thermostat could tell when the heat breaks, and by extension, when the pipes freeze or when the power goes out. This is all information that insurance companies would love to get their hands on. And insurance is not a small business: the top five companies in direct premiums written for home insurance made a collective $171 billion in revenue in 2011 (though not all of it was through home insurance).
Not everyone has a Nest? It doesn't matter.
Nests are currently positioned as a luxury item for people with a home automation fascination. But as we mentioned above, the company has already struck deals with electric companies to help expand its reach.
With Google's resources, Nest's partnerships could expand still further to development contractors, commercial builders, or really any person or company who makes structures that people live and work in. Soon enough, the Nest will hardly need an invitation into a home; it, or products like it, will be as standard an inclusion as dumb programmable thermostats are now.
Why this is all a problem
Insurance is a data-driven industry, and it could eat up what Nest has to offer. The unreported fires seen by Nest that we mentioned earlier could result in higher insurance premiums; so could a spate of burglaries detected by a Nest thermostat's motion sensors while the devices are set to "away."
This is all to say nothing of possible extensions of Nest's product line. Home security would be a natural next step and another area of interest for insurers. Insurance, an industry built on statistics, could benefit in a big way from data that is both more timely and less at the discretion of the customer than self-reports are.
It may sound like a stretch for anyone to put data to use like this, but it's already happening: there is the infamous example of when Target started sending a pregnant teenager baby-related coupons before her father even knew she was pregnant. Consumer data companies also cull domestic violence shelter mailing lists or lists of seniors with dementia to feed marketing categories like "fragile families" or "rough retirement: small town and rural seniors," which predatory financial institutions might use to see who they can rope into high-interest loans or credit cards.
The potential for home automation is certainly cool, and there is hardly a company out there that can stop talking about it. But it's a shrewd move for Google. To say that the privacy implications are negligible, the potential for discrimination is nonexistent, and that Nest can't tell Google anything it doesn't already know is naive.


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A few weeks ago, while listening to a presentation at the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellor's (CAGC) Annual Education Conference in Vancouver, I learned that a newly created genetic counseling clinic had decided to remove the term "genetic counseling" from their clinic name. The term seemed to be confusing potential clients, and it was ultimately determined to be a barrier to getting people in the door.
Just two days earlier, I had sat in a room with the CAGC board of directors while we undertook a brainstorming exercise to try and come up with a simple and straightforward definition of "genetic counselor." Led by a local PR & communications professional, our goal was to try and get the definition to less than 10 words. After 3 hours of lively discussion and long contemplative silences, we decided we had done the best we could do: our sentence was 17 words long. It was interesting to watch the response of the communications professional throughout the process. Clearly she has hosted similar sessions with countless organizations, but I sensed our challenge was unique. "You really do have quite a dilemma here, don't you?" she noted more than once.
Communicators with a communication problem
Genetic counseling isn't simple and genetics isn't straightforward. Unfortunately, we live in a society that seems hell-bent on fitting genetics and genetic testing into a nice, neat, easy-to-handle box. As a result, we expend a lot of energy trying to describe why genetics is rarely nice, neat and easy-to-handle. We explain ad nauseam how complex, intricate and emotionally and ethically charged genetics can be. So, how do you simplify a message, when the message itself is intended to express the complexity and complicated nature of the subject?
As the chair of the CAGC Media and Communications committee, I have spent the past two years contemplating this question. The irony is not lost on me: communication is one of the most fundamental skills of our profession. We are highly trained to translate complex scientific information into manageable lay-mans terms. Yet, we continue to struggle to effectively communicate who we are to the public and other healthcare providers.
Which brings me back to what we call ourselves: Genetic Counselors. Our name is our first impression, our lasting brand and its descriptive nature should easily and accurately reflect the work that we do. As Sean Hazell argued in his recent guest post, the time is right to make a push for increasing our professional awareness. Given the huge communications challenge we have at hand, I think it is crucial we ensure our name is helping our cause, or at the very least, not hindering it.
As is highlighted by this recent tweet by a genetic counseling student researching GC awareness for her thesis project, it appears we certainly have a lot of work to do:
The name game
I'm sure we have all had the conversation at some point or another. I remember during my training a pretty heated class discussion about whether the name "genetic counselor" is the most appropriate title for our role. As Bob Resta has previously pointed out, the name is not technically correct; as he explains "genetics counselor" is a more grammatically appropriate term. And many argue that we should consider replacing "genetic" with "genomic" to represent a more contemporary reflection of the times. Further, some believe that using the terms "consultant," "specialist," or "associate" in place of "counselor" more accurately reflects the broad range of roles we now hold.
While distinct, this subject is intricately tied to the discussion about expanding roles that genetic counselors now hold and will potentially hold in the future (For more on this see Bob Resta's post: Who the hell do we think we are?).
The way forward
As far as I know there has yet to be a formalized discussion or review of the name "genetic counselor" by our professional organizations, despite the fact that this has been the topic of informal conversation since the establishment of the profession in the 1970's. I think it is time we officially take a look at this subject. While our professional organizations are accustomed to creating an internal task force to manage this type of task, I think this particular issue may warrant a unique approach.
Specifically, I'd suggest:
- The project would ideally be a collaboration between US, Canadian and potentially international organizations—as creating one united brand would benefit all of us (and creating different names in different countries would likely hurt us).
- We conduct research and engage external stakeholders— patients, physicians and the general public—in the process. If the goal is to ensure our name accurately reflects what we do to the outside world, then the "outside world" should most certainly be at the table.
- We partner with professionals to help with this task. Whether it is a communications consultancy, a naming firm or a branding agency, there are trained professionals dedicated to helping organizations solve these types of problems.
Changing our professional title would be messy and fraught with logistical issues. And I'm aware that at the end of this type of exercise we may learn that "genetic counselor" really is the most appropriate name for us. Alternatively, we may learn that creating one single term to describe the range of work we now do (or may do in the future) is just not feasible. Whatever the case, I think we owe it to ourselves and to future generations of genetic counselors (or whatever they might be called!) to take a good in-depth look at this issue, in order to ensure we are doing everything we can to enable our professional awareness.
I'm keen to see how others feel about the idea of considering a professional name change. Putting logistical issues aside, do you feel the time is right to officially evaluate our professional title? Cast your vote in the poll below.
Do you have an alternative name you favour? I look forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section.


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The World Cyber Games, or WCG, for a long while regarded as the pinnacle of the e-sports movement, has all but given up with news that it's dropping all support of PC and console titles and switching to competitive...mobile gaming.
In a letter leaked to cadred, and confirmed as authentic by Gamearena, WCG CEO Brad Lee writes:
In recent years, the gaming and IT trends have been moving so fast. In the current status of gaming and IT industry, one of the most remarkable information to us was the mobile shipments have exceeded the PC shipments.
As wide spread mobile devices, mobile gamer would rapidly increase as well. In this situation, the major PC game publishers have been expanding their investment and business in the mobile game development & publishing.
This information was very cruel to us since we had been committed to the PC-Based gaming event for long time. We have witnessed that there have been many companies and organizations who went out of business because they didn't put effort to change. Therefore we concluded that we should create WCG's new identity.
Under this circumstance, we made a hard decision that we should bring the mobile, new key sector in the game industry, in our event concept. Hence, WCG decided to start the Mobile Game-Based Festival.
To create the Mobile Game-Based Festival, WCG is under the discussion with the sponsors and game publishers regarding new event structure and the countries for new festival. Therefore, there will be no longer present event module, such as Pan Championship, and PC-Based National Finals. And, the official game titles of WCG will consist of mobile games.
Um, what? As PC gaming continues its digital resurgence and companies like Valve develop games specifically for the scene, one of the largest e-sports organisations thinks its time to walk away and go mobile? Sorry, not buying that story.
Whatever the future holds for the competition, which has been superseded in relevance lately by other organisations and game-specific events and leagues, we'll always share that one moment, WCG. When we met before. Through the magic of a moment in cyberspace.
WCG to shift focus from PC to Mobile only [GameArena]