Year: 2008

One of the items in this list: the difference between photos of food on packaging and the actual food that comes from those packages.

In order to bung up your productivity for the week, here are some links to interesting things I found on the web (or that readers found and emailed to me):

Everybody kills Hitler on their first trip: Wikihistory is a short story that takes place in an online discussion forum for time travelling history buffs.

Deep fried cheeseburger. Do I have to say any more?

Don’t food photos always set your expecations too high? The site pundo3000.com has a section titled “werbung gegen realität” that compares the photos on food packages with photos of what actually comes out of them.

Fake Plastic Rock is Jeff “Coding Horror” Atwood’s blog devoted to music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Salawikain is a collection of Filipino proverbs. One of my favourites in their list is Walang ligaya sa lupa na hindi dinilig ng luha, which translates as “There is no earthly bliss not watered by tears.”

Marry Him! is an article from the March 2008 edition of The Atlantic whose thesis is that at some point, you have to stop looking to marry Mr. Perfect and “settle” for Mr. Good Enough.

The Eligible-Bachelor Paradox might make good follow-up reader for Marry Him! (see above): its subtitle is “How economics and game theory explain the shortage of available, appealing men.”

These older versions of Monopoly “Community Chest” and “Chance” cards predate the use of the moustachioed “rich uncle” we see in current versions.

This episode of the animated series Terrifying Kyochan should probably not be viewed at work and will make you wonder if the Japanese take courses in advanced weirdness in what little spare time they have. (Warning: phalluses and a urine-soaked ending.)

If you could have conversations with your younger self, what would you say? Kate Beaton turned this idea into a series of interesting comics.

Darque Dungeon: A parody in which a Jack Chick tract warning about the dangers of playing Dungeons and Dragons gets turned into a warning about turning into…a goth! The bit with the lyrics to Front 242’s Headhunter 3.0 made me laugh out loud.

The Cat Stationmaster: Not only is “Tama”, the stationmaster of Japan’s Wakayama Electric Railway’s Kishi Station a cat, she’s also the only female in a managerial position.

A “Get Out of Sex and the City” Free Card. Yeah, I’m a little late with this one, but I’m glad that someone made such a thing.

The so-called “Terrorist Fist Bump”, debunked with pictures. Includes photos of George H.W. Bush and Joe Lieberman making the OMG ITS A TERRIST gesture.

Read It and Lacrimate. It’s really about how PR people love to use overly complex words when simple ones would’ve sufficed, but what got me reading it were its first lines: “From time to time, I am cruelly slandered by members of the public relations industry, who accuse me of writing unfairly about their profession. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love PR professionals. They’re a hoot, because they are such pathetic, desperate dillweeds.”

This guide to Accordion City patios could come in handy.

How does The Daily Show always dig up those file videos of someone saying the exact opposite of what they’re now saying? Credit goes to Adam Chodikoff, “the go-to researcher for the then-and-now footage that lends satirical punch” to Jon Stewart’s “fake news show”.

Here’s a quick update on tickets for the upcoming DemoCamp 18, Accordion City’s grassroots show-and-tell-and-network gathering of high-techies. As I write this:

• 49 Community Supporter tickets remain ($5.00 each)
• 15 Community All-Star tickets are left ($10.00 each)
• 100 General tickets will be made available on June 24th (they’re free)

If you want to get your paws on a ticket, please visit the DemoCamp ticket site now!

“‘Big Science’ is always suppressing The Truth with their blatant pro-evolution anti-wacko agenda,” says the site for the “Teach the Controversy” t-shirts. “From the fact that UFOs built the pyramids to the reality of creationism and fact the universe is ‘Turtles All The Way Down’. It is time to fight back and urge schools to Teach The Controversy with these intelligently designed t-shirts…”

Order ’em all for your science pals!

Here’s a scan of Friday’s edition of the UK paper The Daily Mirror:

The sign outside Royal Meats Barbeque.

If you’re in Accordion City and out Etobicoke way and looking for a good burger/ice cream combo, I recommend visiting Royal Meats Barbeque for the burger and Tom’s Dairy Freeze for dessert.

Royal Meats Barbeque

The folks at Royal Meats have added their own Serbian twists to the traditional burger joint:

• They’re a meat company that happens to operate a restaurant. The owners are a family who’ve had a butcher shop in Mississauga — Royal Meat Products at Cawthra and Burnhamthorpe — for decades. This background is evident when you walk in, because you place your order at a glass butcher shop counter where you can see the fresh meat that will eventually go into your sandwich. You’re not going to be eating something that’s been frozen and then thawed.
• Their burger mix is closer to a European meatball than your standard North American burger. Their signature burger is a mix of pork and veal. It’s an interesting change from straight beef, and it’s juicy and tastes great.
• Instead of the traditional burger bun, they use lepinja. Lepinja is Serbian flatbread that’s kind of like a slightly more substantial pita without a pocket. It’s freshly baked, and when toasted, it gets crispy around the edges, which is a nice touch. On its own, lepinja is delicious; in a burger, it’s outstanding.
• Good toppings. In addition to some fresh-looking standards like lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles, they offer some interesting sauces: Royal Sauce, which is a mix of feta, red peppers and onion, and kaymak, a rich cream sauce that does a great job of replacing cheese (they don’t do cheeseburgers). I generally like my burger with both sauces.
• Great fries! I’ve been to many burger places that make a great burger but completely fall down with their fries. Not Royal: their fries are made with potatoes with the skin still on, and are crispy outside and fluffy inside (which suggests that they’ve been boiled first, then fried). These are fries worthy of the burger they accompany.
• Generous portions. The sandwiches come in two sizes: the half-pound, which should satisfy most people, and the full pound, for when you’re really hungry. They always offer to cut your sandwich into two, so you can always share with a friend. The serving of fries is also generous.
• No heat lamps! Burgers are cooked as you order them. It means that you’ll wait a few minutes for your order (they’ll give you one of those restaurant pagers), but you’re going to get a burger fresh from the grill.
• They put a lot of work into the place. The restaurant itself is a step up from a typical burger joint. With its granite flooring and walls, halogen lights, custom signs, tables and chairs, and bathrooms that would be at home at the Drake Hotel lounge, it could easily pass for a cappuccino bar if it weren’t for the open kitchen featuring a giant grill. They also work hard at keeping the place clean.

Their location isn’t exactly convenient unless you’re travelling by car (they’re at 710 Kipling, just north of the Queensway), but if you were planning to do a run to the nearby Costco, IKEA or Sherway Gardens, it’s a worthwhile detour. I can’t recommend this burger joint highly enough, and the foodies over at Chowhound agree with me.

I’ve included a screenshot of their menu below — it comes from their website:

Click the menu above to visit Royal Meats Barbeque’s site.

Tom’s Dairy Freeze

Tom’s Dairy Freeze, as it appeared last night.

After a burger and fries at Royal Meats, a five-minute drive will take you to Tom’s Dairy Freeze, located at 630 The Queensway. It’s an old-school independent soft-serve ice cream shop that’s been there forever. Their soft serve tastes creamier than either Dairy Queen’s or that goo that comes from the ice cream trucks, and the whole “retro”/small town feel of the place is a ice bonus. I’m fond of the large hot fudge sundae, which is an impressive tower of soft serve.

My large hot fudge sundae at Tom’s.

If you’re in the west end of town this summer, make sure you give this combo a try!

…is A bill to save Kill Bill rights, written by Terence Corcoran, in defence of Bill C-61. Corcoran needs to be pummelled savagely with the clue bat many, many times.

I’m certain I will rant more later.

This weekend at Nathan Phillips Square, the Filipino Centre Toronto will be hosting Pistahan sa Toronto, a celebration of Filipino culture, timed to coincide closely with Philippine Independence Day. There will be a large stage featuring all sorts of Philippine cultural performances as well as the “Philippine Idol” singing contest. In addition, there will be all sorts of vendors selling some really tasty Filipino food!