On the surface, it’s a hell of an idea.

Unfortunately, that surface is the Pacific Ocean, and beneath it lies miles and miles of silent, black, swirling water, churning with both massive, forceful waves and curious sea beasts who are slowly realizing they missed lunch. And the Plastiki is six people on top of 12,000 recycled bottles, just trying to make a point.

Yes. It’s really come to this.

The Plastiki is the child of David de Rothschild and his latest foray into the world of saving the environment with lots of time and money. On his 60-foot catamaran built solely from recycled materials, his mission is to get the craft from San Francisco to Sydney, with a quick stop in the Pacific Garbage Patch to take samples.

Read more...

While searching through random profiles on myspace, looking for people who might be interested in my food writing, I came across a profile titled “truffle hunter” from Salem Oregon. I sent him a message asking if he had any truffles for sale. He responded with the contact information of a friend of his who did have some Oregon truffles for sale and that’s how I met the wonderfully energetic Toby.

I had read an article a few years before about Oregon truffles. Apparently their quality and flavor rival the incredibly expensive European varieties but because of ill informed over harvesters, the Oregon truffle was gaining a bad reputation with chefs in the global market. Still with an average price tag of $15 an ounce compared to hundreds of dollars an ounce for European truffles, I wanted to try some and find out more about the truffle hunting culture of the Pacific Northwest.

To find out more about Oregon truffle hunters, click the link below.

While most of the nation is prepping up for St. Patrick’s Day in the coming weeks, International Women’s Day on March 8th will pass by without even a blip on the radar of the American mainstream.

Celebrated since 1911, International Women’s Day was established to bring international attention to women’s struggle for equal rights and suffrage, which was becoming more apparent in the days of massive global industrialization. Women were taking on a more noticeable role in society and their societal contributions were beginning to be acknowledged as equal to that of a man’s. Behind the founding of International Women’s Day is Clara Zetkin, a German social activist and former secretary of the International Socialist Women.

We have before us on the bar the new Old-Fashioned. What’s new about this stalwart cocktail is its hook: bacon. My initial reaction to the pork ranged from intrigue to skepticism to what the hell – I need to try this. The drink found me as I sat sipping wine in the Clever Wine Bar in Mid-City, New Orleans. Resident mixologist Sean Thibodeaux regaled me with tales of rosemary-infused simple syrup served with a silver tequila and homemade seltzer; I knew I had to try his Old-Fashioned.

In 1925, Alain Locke edited The New Negro, which was a publication of poems and essays from prominent black writers during the Harlem Renaissance. In it, Locke recognizes the Harlem Renaissance as the perfect opportunity to cast away the negative stereotypes that have plagued African-Americans throughout their history in America. His message to African-Americans is simple: recreate your image.