From a Search to a Seed: How a Search Engine is Saving The Rain Forest

Making Green by Making Green

It's common knowledge that big businesses like Nestle are trying to destroy the world, and it's up to startups, Ma & Pa shops, trendy West-Coasters, and selfless techies to stop them. But how? Well, seeing that the big picture is comprised of many brushstrokes, it comes down to that old cliché, "Every little bit counts." Take Ecosia as example, a new search engine that uses clicks to generate funds to offset deforestation in the Amazon... 

The Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Can you believe this Eden is highly threatened by deforestation? Can you believe if you search "Atlantic Forest" with Ecosia you can help save it?

Beer and the Science of Sweetness and Spice

  

I Drank in College so I'd Avoid Science

It has since been heralded the Craft Beer Revolution – the cult following of microbrews blossoming, overflowing into the mainstream throughout the last decade. Its popularization comes along with that of gourmet gastropubs; incidentally, these new style eateries feature an array of craft beers, while some craft breweries offer an eclectic gourmet food menu.  With the climbing interest in flavorful beers nation wide, that beer pairs as richly and complexly with food as wine does is substantive, and restaurants, wholesalers, even roaming food trucks are capitalizing on this truth.

 

However, be it gastropub-hosted beer pairings or to-the-source Internet research, recommendations for honing your pairing palate may leave you baffled. Why does one gastropub pair its spicy curry chicken skewers with an IPA, while another opts for a porter? Fundamentally, the beers are completely different. Baffling, indeed. But the answer is simple, perhaps overly simple: food (and beer) is all about taste – your taste. And your taste preferences vary from the chef’s and the brewer’s and your date’s and your mates’. Not to mention, your tastes can change. There is, however one unchanging, invariable constant when it comes to pairing beer with food. Science.

While preferences vary between individuals, tastes and flavors – and the combinations thereof – don’t. Much of this has to do with chemical reactions (that science stuff I mentioned earlier). For instance, bitterness and alcohol both, individually and collaboratively, enhance the caustic quality of spices, while the sweetness of malts counters that heat. So, why would a chef pair a bitter IPA with a spicy curry dish? Either he’s a sadist, or he wants to accentuate the spices in his dish. Oppositely, the chef pairing her dish with a porter might worry about that enhancing the spiciness with an astringent and characteristically ABV-generous IPA may overpower the other, perhaps more subtle flavors in her recipe. It all depends on the characteristics you want to home your palate.

A Homerun Match*

The Dish: The Dubliner’s Beef Curry Stew. A simple, yet delicious, and definitively spicy curry featuring tender pieces of beef and flavorful vegetables.

The Beer: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. I love curry, and I like it with a  kick. Anticipating just that, I ordered this dish with Breckenridge Brewery’s Vanilla Porter. The natural sweetnes of malts, accompanied with this porter’s light vanilla tones and low ABV (4.0%), balances and calms spiciness without detracting from the aromas and flavor of this curry. Additionally, the malts’ light roasted flavor harmonizes with the wholesomeness of the beef chunks, working with the fat to create a filling meal.

The Outcome: This turned out to be a great combo, perfect for that particular night: warm, with outside seating. Not ideal for a super-spice meal; I didn’t particularly want my forehead to start breaking out in sweat, tears to start pooling in my eyes, and mucus to conspicuously drip from my nose – in front of my girlfriend.   

The But: I’m a hophead; IPAs are my favorite. If there had been a refreshing chill in the air, an IPA would have been a stellar choice to heighten the heat of this stew. And still, I could have taken it two ways: a somewhat carbonated IPA with the fruitiness of cintra hops (like Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA) would have turned on the heat, while the carbonation would have cut through the beef fat. Alternatively, I could have got the same kick, but with the satiation of wholesome meal with a smoother IPA like Ballast Point’s Big Eye IPA, or a super-smooth nitro-infused brew.

Of course, there’s more to beer than just hops and malts, more to food than just spice and fat. There are a plethora of taste and flavor characteristics in both beer and food that work wonders (or plunders) with each other. But it all depends on your specific tastes. With all the scientific rules out there regarding beer and food pairings (Sweet increases Salt, Acid calms Salt, Roast counters Sweet… it’s like an elaborate, quasi-arbitrary game of rock-paper-scissors), the only rule you should definitely follow happens to be a rule both of science and of thumb: experiment. Enjoy both what you’re eating and what you’re drinking. If the combination works out, great. If not, just order another beer. That always does the trick.

* Homerun is the actual term designated for a truly great beer-food match.

Eat Big Before Turkey Day - and other healthy tips for Thanksgiving

Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving. Heard Them All, Have You?

A Google search of "Healthy Thanksgiving Tips" will pull up roughly 144,000,000 results in a matter of 0.17 seconds. It's safe to say there's a hellova lot out there for making Turkey Day both satisfying and slimming. But those tips are all the same; seriously, go look at them: Ease off the butter; skip the stuffing; rethink going for thirds; each glass of wine is an extra 100 calories... Makes you less and less thankful the more you read about it. So, here are some tips for a healthy Thanksgiving that you won't find on the first page of Google (hey, no one reads past the first page anyway. True story.) and that won't have you holding off on that next glass of wine. (What the hell kind of advice was that anyway, Health Living!) 

No Wheat No Worries

"What does gluten-free mean?"
"It means it's good for you."

Above: Probably the most incorrect statement you'll ever hear whilst wandering through Whole Foods. Gluten Free has transformed from dietary necessity to public paradigm. Gluten-free diets are a necessity and relief for those suffering from celiac disease, something comedian Kelly Maclean would call "a rich, white-person problem." Funny, but statistically accurate. As most of the monetary wealth in America is owned by the top 1%, only "about 1% of Americans have celiac disease," explains WebMD. Incidentally, because of the expanding social indifference between "gluten free" and "healthy" most purchasers of gluten-free products don't and won't have a sensitivity to wheat. "Unless people are very careful," Dr. Peter Green, director of Columbia University's Celiac Disease Center told WebMD, who told me, "a gluten-free diet can lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber." 

Essentially, unless toast gives you diarrhea, anemia, bone pains, and the severe rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis, abstaining from wheat products is not healthy, because, even though gluten isn't healthy for you in and of itself, whole grain products that contain gluten are rich in proteins, minerals, and B-Vitimens. But mainly, if you're gluten free for no good reason, you can't drink beer.

But if you are a sufferer of celiac disease, you still have options. Awareness over the disease has incited a call to action for brewers big and small, far and wide. While some gluten-free beers can hardly be considered beer – let alone palatable – some breweries are taking this pop-pandemic seriously. And for good reason. No one should have to eschew from brew, by choice or by chance. I recently tried Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale, and was pleasantly surprised. Here's what I have to say:

Image courtesy of lefthandhorrors.com

Wheat-beer color, sans the wheat! A sweet aroma, followed by distinct strawberry and honey tastes. Full up-front flavor that finishes nicely. Does a good job of hiding its gluten-freeness. A stiff 6%, difficult to quaff but easy to enjoy – if you don't mind a little (but not over-powering) sweetness in your beer. Regardless, quite nice on a sunny day. 

So, unlike Red Bridge, Budweiser's pathetic excuse for a GF beer (yes, I understand singling out any one variety by Bud and calling it bad is an oxymoron), Dogfish Head's is quite palatable. But, it definitely differs from your typical strong ale, which was the brewers' intent. "While there are a few well-made examples that mirror traditional beer styles, there arent [sic] any off-centered offerings," explains Sam Calagione, the brewery's founder. This was my first GF beer, and if you're likewise looking to explore, New Planet, Bards, and Lakefront Brewery's New Grist would each be a fine starting line. 

15 Funny, Witty, Sad GMO Cartoons

There's something to be said for saying it with sketch. In honor of No-To-GMO Month (October), here are fourteen politically poignant cartoons about Genetically Modified Organisms and the hands that spin the wheel. 

This one's just plain sad.

OMGMO

Jeremy Seifert's documentary, GMO OMG, explores just WTF is in the food we eat.

To say that the debate over GMOs is hot right now is putting it lightly. It's scalding. Touch it with a whisper and someone's going to get burned. Unless you don't so much as skim magazine headlines in the checkout line or watch TV, or unless your Twitter feed is down, or your Facebook has been so ingeniously hacked that all politically unstable content is somehow totally blocked (which means your "social" life consists of Instagram food-porn, viral videos of adorable animals doing adorable things really adorably, and some dude you met once with the uncontrollable desire to tell the world that he's "just chillin with some ramen noodles watching my fav shows #Liveisgreat.") then you've undoubtably heard of GMOs, Genetically Modified Organisms. You may even know what they are, maybe even why they are bad for you. Wait, are they bad for you? Well, scientifically, we're not even sure.

Fructose-Glucose Gullible

ZOIKS! Scooby! It's not a ghost, it's High-Fructose!

Despite its geo-political proximity to the Florida, as well as its economical dependancy on U.S. imports, and an ever-adopting of American culture, The Bahamas' exposure to the outside world is not exclusively American. Our history ties us to Britain, Europe, and Africa; Brazilian and Chinese immigrants are on the rise; and our children return from studies abroad in countries such as Canada. But, our exposure to American news and media leaves Bahamians subject to American food/health jargon, which can compromise our health, because nutritional labelling is so varying.

We're all aware (or should be) of the hazards of High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Those who read nutrition labels know to steer clear of it; but High-Fructose Corn Syrup by any other name -- is still High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Next time you're in Super Value or Fresh Market buying jellies and jams, err away from those containing Glucose-Fructose Syrup: the British alias to the infamous High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Canadian products will label it Glucose/Fructose Syrup. Different name, same bad stuff.

Courtesy of Wikipedia 

For The Betterment of Beer: The Best Beer Inventions (Besides, of course, Beer)

From beer cans with built-in shotgunning tabs on the side to those ridiculous funnel hats "that guy" dons at sports games, beer has kicked opened numerous doors to cheeky inventors since Ancient Egypt. And, while I'd stake my taste for 2XIPAs that Pharaoh never buckled up a beer belt, there have been at least a handful of inventions that have been for the beer-good, inventions that don't focus on consumption, ergonomics (who the hell needs an ergonomic beer can? Screw you, Miller Lite), or air-flow (that's you, Coors!). The best beer inventions either benefit the beer itself, benefit the social aspect of drinking beer, or benefit both. With that in mind, I've opined my favorite of the best recent beer inventions, though, deciding my personal favorites was nothing if not difficult, with hours of schizophrenic self-debate, choosing whether to include the revolutionary Hop Cannon, or the Dogfish Head-Sierra Nevada collab IPA pint glass, or a UK design team's Fight-Friendly beer glass (though benefitting man-kind, let's face it, pub brawls are as British as pubs themselves). So, with no further adieu, the best beer inventions: (plus, honorable mentions and inventions that should never have been):

Audio-Adderall, Ambiance and the New Ergonomic

If you can read Romanian, check out http://where-the-strength-lies.blogspot.com, from where I snagged this decadent picture. If you can't read Romanian, have Google Translate read it for you. 

"I swear they put crack in it!"

Was there ever a more frequently uttered statement than that as the Starbucks Virus pervaded throughout the continent over the last decade? Probably not. Did Starbucks really put crack cocaine in its coffee? Probably not. (Though, I wouldn't put it past Big Business... I mean, Coca-Cola thought it was a good idea, only eliminating trace amounts of cocaine from its secret recipe in 1929. True, by 1904 it was only 1/400 of a grain of cocaine per ounce of pop... I digress...) But maybe Starbucks is putting it in the airwaves; maybe that's why people go there so often. An abstract thought? Indeed. But, abstractions are the brain children of creativity. And a new product harnesses the findings of a University of Illinois study linking moderate noise levels to efficient creativity; moderate noise levels such as the those environing you in a popular coffee shop, per se.

Special K(alories)

A good marketing campaign deludes consumers, saying that Special K is exceptionally healthy and will lead to weight loss. In fact, without petite portions and strict adherence to healthy dieting and exercise, it could make that muffin top of yours poke out a bit more. Fact of the matter is, eating one small bowl of almost any cereal can help you lose weight. It's called portion control. This is an extended post comparing Special K products with Lucky Charms. Enjoy. 

Back Off Weirdo Glow Stick Dancers, There're Cooler Kids Of The Night

Check out more amazing photographs from this and other projects on the FTL website

Neon Luminescence

Illuminating waterfalls across Northern California with thousands of Cyalume glow sticks cascading like neon rainbows through the darkness into the pools below, Neon Luminescence, the new artistic endeavor by the boys at From The Lenz, aims to displace reality--or, at least, viewers' surety of real.

Anamorphic Art: The Art of Arrangement

I honestly feel there is nothing cooler, more beautiful or inspiring, and certainly more difficult, than art. Incidentally, there are many forms of art--much of which defies beauty; much more defies modern conceptions of "art." (Which is good; it breaks down current conception, opening the door to new modern conceptions). 

The Mona Lisa is considered art by everybody and is revered by everybody, most often because everybody has grown up able to identify The Mona Lisa, and told to revere it, without actually revering it, and often less impressed by its petite size. Conversely, the apartment building across the street may appear as art to few, and revered as art by few--indeed, perhaps only revered by a handful of tenants, impressive only to an architect. Two different examples of art, and the conceptual differences surrounding them. But, periodically, a piece emerges that only most convulsive contradictors could deny as art, and not revere or be impressed by as art. 

Almonds: The Good & Bad About Healthy Nuts

Photo from: www.wisegeek.com - Thanks, guys!

Nut Check

Health crazes sprout likes weeds in the spring these days. I've covered Greek Yogurt in the past, and will get back to that later; and as soon as my hebetude abates, I'm going to explain why your healthy cereal is making you fat. But right now, I'm going to give a very brief info-mash about healthy nuts. The best nuts. And while my inner child (who, incidentally, is very superficial) could go on and on with an Austin Powers prowess in making too many crass innuendoes and puns about nuts, I'm going to get right to some straightforward info on almonds that you won't find on About [dot] com.

New American Ghost Town

Richard Rothman Captures American Dream

Photos: Richard Rothman

Perusing the perimeter of my purlieu, I stumbled across photographic article in The New Yorker by Suzanne Shaleen about a project by photographer Richard Rothman. The article is brief, a concise précis, if you will, of the actual way the events most likely played out in real life. But, article has it, Rothman had to leave his campsite in the North California Redwoods where he was shooting for a project called "Redwood Saw" to head into town for supplies. The town was Crescent City, which had experienced an economic boom back in the day, now sidelined as a run-down, glorified ghost town after. The project found new direction. The photos are in black and white, which casts the town and it's residents in a grim and sombre, but objective light.

Bitter Days Ahead

Learning the Craft (beer that is)

Before I Begin...

I bitch a lot on this blog - particularly about things I can't stand, flaws prevalent in the human condition. I was going to start this entry (about something I L-O-V-E love) expressing hatred. I was going to start it off like this: "One thing I can't stand is bad beer." Instead, I'm going to feign cornucopian. Here we go.

A small assembly of the massive tap line at J.P. Henley's, St. Augustine, FL (photo: me)

Let Me Begin...

Rooms Like White Elephants

Archinect feature project, "White Elephant (Privately Soft)" by Jaminez Lai.

All images: White Elephant, by Jaminez Lai, via Bureau-Spectacular

One morning, I was sitting on my back porch, sipping coffee and lending my mind to idle musing, when I suddenly and completely out of the blue decided, with vocal proclamation, "I'm interested in architecture." The interest was not fleeting. Too, despite minor colour blindness, I've always had a workable eye for interior design. This, though undoubtedly inherited from my mother, may be more my self-diagnosed OCD than her inadvertent influence.

Text-Free Internet Browsing

A Less-Than-Better Way To Browse

(but still worth its weight in art)

Imagine reading a book with no words, yet gathering from it an entire story. It would literally be a tale of nothing; unless it was a picture book; but that's regardless of what I'm trying to say.

What I'm trying to say is that last week I brought you a post about lookingatsomething, the briefly amusing weather website-artpiece from 33-year-old Dutch-Brazilian creator/designer/artist Rafaël Rozendaal. This go round, it's a little more interesting than rain makin'. 

The Best Weather Website

A Digital Artist's Interactive Art(ish)

Look at something.

Okay.

Well, more specifically, look at this: www.lookingatsomething.com. It's the best weather website out there on the internet, simply because you can control it; the website and the weather. Well, you can make it rain, anyway.

It's the most recent project from visual artist, Rafëal Rozendall. 

                                       


                                       (That's this guy) ------>                          

A Different Take on Pictures

What Writers and Memories Have In Common with Canon 

(or any other camera, for that matter)

There's a stanza in one of my favourite poems ("The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"), but not at all my favourite stanza, which reads:

I have gone at dusk through narrow streets

And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows.

It always reminds me of a very characteristic old man I saw leaning out the window of a building above a very crowded Parisian street, watching, with ostensible amusement, all the pedestrians hurrying their way across the street in the narrow flow of the crosswalk freshet.

I like to think this tanned, leather-skinned man not only enjoyed all us pedestrians hastily going this or that way, but that this gentleman watched every day the hoards migrate.

I had wanted to take a picture of this old, smiling man, his big eyes wide and amused, his white undershirt wrinkled like his skin. But, between his noticing me glancing and me not desiring to upset the quick pace of foot traffic, I restrained.

When I went back to that crosswalk and peered, camera ready, at the window, he was gone.

It doesn't weigh me down, but I've never forgiven myself for not being "socially unacceptable" in raising my lens, in taking a photo a perfect stranger, in deviating from the status quo of respected privacy, in being different. Andy Warhol, the famous American pop artist, perhaps said it best: "You have to do stuff that average people don't understand, because those are the only good things."

Religiously Routine, Ritualistically Regular

Regularity is hugely important in our lives; it's the basis of day-to-day functionality. [Insert bowel-movement joke here.] We do all sorts of things every day with regularity, but are those things regular occurrences? Or are they little rituals we have? That sounds cultish, so maybe they're routines of ours... These little habits, do we do them religiously? 

© Spencer Higgs, 2012

One of my little habits, one of these little things I did day-to-day, was drink. Yes, alcohol; yes, copiously. However, as of today, I'm a day or two out of what was a month-long temperance movement. A little 'time out' from alcohol after what have proven to be a rather indulgent few months, especially that month of and preceding the holidays. So a month off to cleanse and be in control – to break habit and prove I wasn't alcoholic – sounded good. Right, I'm a drinker, but what kind? I'm certainly not dependant (in fact, now free of abstinence practice, I still don't feel any urge to drink), but did I drink copious amounts of alcohol religiously, routinely, ritualistically, or regularly? In a fit of inability to describe myself, I decided to learn the difference in these very similar words, and then share my findings. 

Lucky you.