Friday, November 30, 2012

Best of the Week #84


Oh hello short week! Yes that’s right, after 10 days at home I finally  made it back to DC, the land of cold and work and winter clothes (I make it sound so terrible, but DC you know I love you!). Luckily I’m easing back into things with a 2-day work week and a lot of friends time. I saw a few high school friends out in CA, but really when I go back it’s all about family time and relaxing time, so I keep my social commitments minimal and my family/dog/nephew time maximal.

Oh and speaking of Amy (my dog), she loves running at the beach and I think watching her running at the beach is hilarious. And now I can video her doing it. Only amusing to me? Maybe.


Ok so now on to Best of the Week! My most popular post was Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. Yes you should make these STAT.


 Quote of the week:
  • "If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world."
    • J.R.R. Tolkien
Really cool data visualization: “Women as Academic Authors, 1665-2010.” Seriously, go to the site and play around with it. Change the time period at the top, then hover your mouse over the bubbles and they give you more details!
  • Explore nearly 1,800 fields and subfields, across four centuries, to see which areas have the most female authors and which have the fewest...

Oh but my 2-day work week has been pretty productive. Here's the latest from the Satellite Sentinel Project:  "Scorched Earth Near al Abassiya." The burned area in the image below is approximately 31 square miles, which is half the size of DC. (More images here.)


"Volcanoes are so cool. "The Most Incredible Photographs of Volcanic Eruptions."


This video of basketballs dribbling "The Carol of the Bells" is bizarrely fascinating and I LOVE it.


I just really liked reading this post. It's sweet and you should read it. "My Friend Ian and His Cheesecake Platter."
  • But one evening Ian bravely opened up his home to everyone, including one friend who is a chef and caterer, and me, a food writer and chef at the time. It had to have been intimidating, especially for someone who had only recently learned it was possible to cook oatmeal from oats instead of a packet. (His mind was blown.) He arranged some store-bought snacks, placed one bottle of white wine in the fridge, and one bottle of red wine, solitary, in his wine rack. It was incredibly endearing, and then we all noticed the cheesecake platter he had arranged...
That’s all I have for you today. This weekend SpeedyKate and I are picking out our Christmas tree and getting in the seasonal spirit. Happy Friday!