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Posts Archived Under Fanatics
| Food Porn | By Heather Sevrens
Tue, November 3, 2009, 12:01 am PST |
Makes you hungry, doesn't it?
C'mon; you know you want it.
(Photo by Lorenia) |
WARNING: If you find yourself watching the Food Network with the kind of enthusiasm most toddlers save for Barney, think recipes without pictures are stupid, and constantly refresh your browser to see if anything new has been posted on foodgawker, you may be addicted to food porn.*
Food porn addiction, also known as Iron Chef Syndrome, is an affliction commonly found among foodies and amateur chefs. It's often expressed through such profound philosophical statements as, "How am I supposed to know what I want to eat if I can't see it?" and "Me wanty."**
Alas, in the interest of economics, many cookbooks tend to skimp on the pictures, rendering many recipes useless except to the most adventurous of chefs. However, thanks to the Internet, there are countless websites with full-color photos and step-by-step instructions on how to make your favorite dishes. There's Smitten Kitchen, a website that combines the deadly force of succulently roasted chicken with the cuteness of cinnamon swirl hair. Or TasteSpotting, a visual carousel of temptingly delicious recipes best not looked at before lunchtime. And the irreverent-yet-tasty Cook to Bang, which aims to not only please the palate, but other parts of the anatomy, as well.
So, if you find yourself drooling at the computer screen on your coffee break, dreaming of lobster thermidor while asleep in your bed, or wondering helplessly what to do with those cranberries in your refrigerator, you may be in need of an intervention: a tasty one.
* Be wary of typing "food porn" into a search engine.
** Quotes not at all taken from this writer's sister.
Suggested Sites...
- Epicurious - recipes, menus, pictures, and ratings of thousands of dishes.
- foodgawker - a collection of recipes and images from all over the Internet.
- Foodista - a food encyclopedia users can edit.
- Serious Eats - a blog all about recipes, dining, and all things food.
- The Amateur Gourmet - restaurant reviews, recipes, how-tos and more.
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Directory categories:
Recipes, Food Blogs, Gourmet Food, Cooking, Ingedients |
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Archived under: Books, Chefs, Cooking, Fanatics, Food and Drink, Photography, Recipes |
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Writers hold a "midnight write"
to kick off NaNoWriMo.
(Photo by Megan Myers) |
Writers, boot up your laptops! November is National Novel Writing Month, or "NaNoWriMo"
to the initiated. The idea is that with the right combination of drive and
discipline, anyone can crank out a 175-page novel over the course of a month.
A group of writers in San
Francisco organized the first NoWriMo in 1999, and since then the event
has snowballed into a national (if niche) phenomenon.
Interestingly, the project isn’t for pen and paper. To be an
official participant, you have to submit your manuscript electronically in order to
have the length verified by word-count
software. It should be noted that people were keeping tabs on words long before
machines made it easy to do so. Ernest Hemingway famously
wrote 500 words a day.
This marathon
of writing events begs the question: Can you really write a good novel in 30 days? Well, it doesn't
have to be Proust; it
just has to be 50,000 words. The event organizers are the first to admit that
writing done in this manner isn't the stuff of masterpieces. They say -- and I quote -- "You will be writing
a lot of crap." To them, it's more about the process. And like the marathon,
not everyone finishes. According to the site, last year 120,000 participants
signed on at the beginning of the month, but only 20,000 people completed their
pieces by midnight on November 30, the official deadline.
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Literature, Creative Writing, Literature Events, Authors, San Francisco |
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Archived under: Arts, Authors, Books, Events, Fanatics, Literature, San Francisco, Writing |
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What is the rabid sports fan to do, once he or she leaves the home territories -- the "Friendly Confines," if you will -- of their favorite team?
When you become attached to a team, you want to -- you need to -- follow its exploits and discuss its chances with like-minded fans who are eager to praise it or damn it -- as necessary.
But what to do if you're a member of Steeler Nation who moves to Seattle, or if you're a Packer Backer in Pensacola? Fear not, for the sports bar has made it possible for you to gather with your fellow fanatics and root, root, root for the home team -- even if that ballclub is a continent away.
The tavern dedicated to athletic endeavors is not a new phenomenon; saloons such as Toots Shor and Jack Dempsey's in Manhattan were all the rage in the 1920s. But satellite TV, the collaborative nature of the Internet, and the leagues themselves have made it possible to watch far-away games as they happen.
So while you may not be able to find a place where "everybody knows your name," you can certainly find a watering hole where everybody knows that that idiot on the sidelines needs to be fired.
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Bars, Pubs, and Clubs, Fantasy Sports, Sports TV Networks, Sports News and Media, Sports Chats and Forums |
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Archived under: 1920s, Athletes, Baseball, Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, College Sports, Communities, Entertainment, Fanatics, Fantasy Sports, Football, Hockey, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, New York, Restaurants, Soccer, Sports, Sports Bars, TV, United States |
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Who knows what numbers are
whizzing over the airwaves
right now?
(Photo by Delneshin Danaei)
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"¡Atención! 3, 8, 9, 5, 9... 6, 6... 3, 8, 9, 5, 9... 6, 6...."
For decades, shortwave radio enthusiasts have been puzzled by coded transmissions broadcast from unknown "numbers stations."
"4, 7, 8 ... 6, 9, 5, 9, 0 ... 8, 9, 9, 8, 4 ... 5, 3, 7, 6, 8 ... 9, 5, 9, 5, 8 ..."
Transmitted in varied looping intervals, the messages consist of numeric groupings in a multitude of languages, usually recited by a human or a machine in a soothing monotone. The transmissions make little sense to most listeners, but that's to be expected, as they're aimed at only small, select audiences; conspiracy theorists and espionage experts widely believe them to be intended for international spies.
"8, 2, 1 ... 8, 2, 1 ... 8, 2, 1 ... 8, 2, 1 ... 7, 0, 4 ... 7, 0, 4 ... 4, 2 ... 4, 2 ... 6, 0, 0, 8, 3 ... 6, 0, 0, 8, 3 ... 5, 3, 8, 2, 1 ... 5, 3, 8, 2, 1"
Within this world, there are stars ("The Board Man," "Bulgarian Betty," "The Spanish Lady," "Cynthia" -- whose broadcasts originate in northern Virginia and whose name starts with a "C" and ends with an "IA" ...), and even if their true identities are unknown, many have distinctive openings and theme songs for their "shows." For example, the "Lincolnshire Poacher" station precedes each transmission with a tonal melody from the song of the same name, and some believe its transmissions come from Cyprus -- although most stations remain hidden. While no government will claim using stations for any purpose, testimony during the trial of a Cuban spy strengthens the link to espionage.
"1, 1, 5, 7, 3 ... 1, 1, 5, 7, 3 ... 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 ... 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 ... 5, 5, 3, 0, 6 ... 5, 5, 3, 0, 6 ... 0, 5, 6, 7, 7 ... 0, 5, 6, 7, 7"
Despite the lack of answers, the enigma of numbers stations persists by influencing music artists, television shows, and even prompting a compilation of recordings. So, if Sudoku isn't challenging enough while you wait for "Lost" to return, rest assured that an insurmountable puzzle is only as far away as the nearest shortwave radio or CD player.
"End transmission."
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Numbers Stations, Intelligence and Espionage, Cryptology, Amateur and Ham Radio, Central Intelligence Agency |
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Archived under: CIA, Codes, Communication, Conspiracies, Cuba, Eavesdropping, Fanatics, Music, Mysteries, Numbers, Radio, Secrets, Weird Stuff |
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| Whodunit? | By Dave Sikula
Wed, August 5, 2009, 12:01 am PDT |
Back in the Golden Age of Radio, there was a program called "I Love a Mystery." Even though it lasted only five years, there are any number of people who still subscribe to its title, and who will even create mysteries and conundrums where none exist. We call them "conspiracy theorists," and today we take note of them.
Why? Well, August 5th marks the 47th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, and that occasion reminds us of the many conspiracy theories that have arisen in the decades since. Monroe, a troubled woman who had many personal problems in her final years, could not simply have either taken her own life or accidentally overdosed on barbiturates, these theorists insist. It's obvious to them that she was murdered because of her tenuous connections to organized crime or her romantic entanglements with John F. Kennedy or his brother Robert -- or both.
Mentioning the Kennedys opens its own particular can of worms. Were they murdered by lone assassins, as the evidence suggests, or were they victims of a cabal that included -- solely, or in various combinations -- Lyndon B. Johnson, the Mafia, the CIA, Fidel Castro, the Soviet Union, or the military-industrial complex? You’d think a conspiracy that large would have leaked out somewhere over the past four decades, but so far, only rumor and innuendo have made it through the filter.
Of course, that's the beauty of the conspiracy theory. Only a few random facts or inconsistencies can be knitted together to form a vast plot that would make even the most ambitious comic book supervillain blush. Let us assure you, though, that Dr. Doom wasn't behind the recent transition to digital TV, and Lex Luthor had nothing to do with killing the electric car.
In some sense, conspiracy theories are fun. It's like something straight out of a movie to imagine that aliens did indeed crash land at Roswell, New Mexico, and that their technology is being studied at Area 51, or that water fluoridation was a plot by Communists to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of Americans.
But, on the other hand, some theories are too dark to laugh off. 9/11 "Truthers" have amassed much "evidence" that "proves" that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were inside jobs, and a number of coups d’etat and overthrown governments that were alleged to be conspiracies turned out to be actual conspiracies (usually headed by the CIA).
Lately, the most persistent conspiracy comes to us courtesy of the "Birthers," who are convinced, despite all logic and no actual evidence or proof, that President Obama was either born in Kenya or is somehow not a U.S. citizen. (Seems like Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" went further than he imagined.)
Let it not be said, though, that just because something is dismissed as a crackpot conspiracy theory doesn’t mean it's not real. The men who gather in Northern California's Bohemian Grove every year to meet and plan their global domination? That one's legit.
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Conspiracies, John F. Kennedy Assassination, Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Bohemian Grove, The Illuminati |
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Archived under: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 9/11, Aliens, Anniversaries, Assassinations, Assassins, Astronauts, Barack Obama, CIA, Celebrities, Communism, Conspiracies, Counterculture, Cover Ups, Cultures, Dead Celebrities, Fanatics, History, Hoaxes, Illuminati, Issues and Causes, Marilyn Monroe, Murder, Mysteries, Organized Crime, Presidents, Suicide, Unsolved Crimes, Urban Legends, Villains |
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