A Box of Chocolates

There are numerous kinds of food all over the world. Most of these may be influenced by the culture of a certain country. In this light, it is quite obvious that there are foods in some countries that may just not be acceptable for people in other countries because of the difference in cultures. The list below shows a few of the grossest foods actually served and eaten by people in different countries:

1. Cow Testicles
In some parts in the States, there are some restaurants that serve Calf Fries served with marinara sauce. It may sound like just any other ordinary food. When one sees it, it even looks like fried breaded mushrooms. But this is just another name for fried cow testicles! According to people who have already tasted this, it was not really so bad but had a slight taste of sweat. It was soft and kind of spongy.

2. Monkey’s Brain
In China and in a few other countries, restaurants actually serve monkey’s brain as food! There are even some that would have a hole in the center of the table where the live monkey is placed and is paralyzed. The body of the monkey will be under the table, while the head is the one that protrudes on top of the center of the table. And when the top of its skull is cut with a knife, it will then serve as a bowl where the people dining will be getting the monkey brain from.

3. Squid Ink Ice Cream
Everybody would surely know that there are tons of different flavors of ice cream. But in Japan, there is such thing as Squid Ink ice cream! As the name connotes, this ice cream flavor is made out of squid ink. So naturally, the color of this ice cream would be the same color of a squid ink, which is black.

4. Baby Mouse Wine
In China, and some parts of Korea, they have wine that is infused with baby mice! This is prepared by placing about two to three day old mice into a bottle of rice wine and leaving it there to stew for at least a year. Some people use this as an alternative medicine.

5. Centipede Whisky
Just like the Baby Mouse Wine in China, the Vietnamese have the Centipede Whisky. Both are similar in the sense that there are living creatures actually submerged into the alcoholic beverage. But in this case, a centipede is used.

Everyone is already familiar by now that there are just people who eat the weirdest of things, which people who were raised in different cultures would find really gross. But there are still a few who, instead of calling it gross, would see it as exotic food, and would love them! So, it would probably be safe to say that whether the food is gross or not, as long as it is really edible, then it is still food.  And there are more grosser things than these dishes, such as politics, in these lifetime. Heck, some people would even eat insects and have found ways of incorporating them in recipes (an example of calling this smoothly, is the Mealworm Chocolate Chip Cookies)!

We, Humans are very lazy. We would do everything just not to do anything. Contrasting statement, right?

Here is a video proof that humans, are geniuses but sadly, we are really lazy.

We invent things to make a simple life, simpler!

Have you ever wondered what you can do when a banana goes bad? Do you recycle it? Mash it to and apply as fertilizer to the ground or just throw it away? Strangely, these people shout at it! Find out why.

We are planning to surprise our mother this Sunday. It is her birthday. I do not want to disclose her age so let’s just keep it that way.

We are going to make her breakfast in bed. The menu? Eggs Benedict with a nice sparking red wine. Sounds weird? Nope! We do that from time to time.

To me, wine is as important as the food. It adds up to the entire taste created by what you are eating. Well, for one, drinking red wine occasionally is good for the health.

Any more ideas? just pop a comment!

When we are taking photographs an you found out that it looks dull and dead, what will you attribute that to it? Probably, the number one culprit you will blame for is the poor lighting. What are various options for cheap photography lights?

Most photographs will look flat and dull if the lighting is not in the right mix and proper as per the background and theme of the photo. The professionalism in photography and the art of photography demands the perfect photo at the first instant of taking the photo, without any additive and supplements by photo editing software. One thing well accepted for this kind of perfection is good photography lights. Here are some options:

Sunset and Sunrise are two natural, but powerful lighting options in still photography. During these periods the natural colour combinations are very attractive and will suit to many themes for photography. No artificial photography lights are necessary during sunset and sunrise.

Clear sky and selection of location are always helped in getting better lighting for the photographs. If the theme of photograph wants a background of cloudy environment, do it in a cloudy season without any lights manipulation.

An innovative idea is to use reflectors to get more light by just using the Sunlight. Reflectors can reflect in multi-colours and the right colour combination can be achieved by using one of these. One can use different kinds of filters and shields to adjust the brightness of the Sunlight to get the proper combination of the colour mix.

Night photography requires you to go out in a full moon night with a clear sky. The photos will look pretty natural and professional. Simple cheap two monochromatic lightings may be required to get more effect.
There can be much such cheap photography light techniques by which one can get better pictures. One need not go for highly expensive lighting options if you have a theme in mind and some creative ideas. Just extract your resourcefulness inside of you and you can get what you want for less the price.

We all eat in restaurants and fast food chains because some of us do not have the luxury of time to make our own meals at home because we are very busy with our careers. Of course, our family need not suffer from the consequences of our choice that is why we dine out with them. The medium you get your food won’t matter as long as you eat food. There are only three times when it is bad to order food in a restaurant and dine there.

1.    Lunch time peak
As per my experience, when ordering in peak hours of the restaurant, the quality would more or less be the same but the quantity would not be. This would be applicable more if the restaurant that you went in to has little manpower to cook and serve you. If you notice they are already sporting their sweaty brows, I suggest you walk out from that place.

If the servers outside have sweaty brows, what more in the “hot” kitchen area? They might drip their sweaty brows in your salt-lacking food that is why it might taste not bad at all. Another thing, the serving size would sometimes be compromised because they are so busy. The good thing here is if you are the one who is served with a little extra.

2.    Opening time
Restaurant owners know all the rules. Never serve left over food from last night’s operation. But since most employees want to be efficient and effective, they re-cook some of last night’s food and serve them. This is the reason why ordering and eating when a restaurant opens is not a good idea. I am not saying this applies to all. Those are just my thoughts and I know somewhere some place, this is applicable.

3.    Closing time
They are also humans. If the restaurant’s closing time is 11pm, do not go in there at 10:55pm for God’s sake. They need rest to and they cannot drive away customers. Instead they will be forced to serve the late comers. I am pretty sure you know what happens if you are being forced to do what you do not want to do. Sometimes, things like the one I saw on a hidden camera show where the server touched his groin and smothered his hands all over the food happens. Talk about disgusting.

So, remember, dining at home is healthy and dining out is the least healthy food option. You do now know what unhealthy ingredients they use out there. Some ingredients may be out of this world and you wouldn’t want to know what alien stuffs they put in.  This is not applicable to all restaurants and fast food chains out there but, this has a possibility to take place.

Illusions are things or images that we see, but are processed differently by our brains that they become come out different. When we see these things, we can also say that our brain is playing tricks on us! Here are some well-known companies in the world who has the best logos with hidden symbols.

1. Amazon.com Logo
They sell almost everything from apparels, books, music, software, videos and more. Now, try and take a look at their logo. What do you notice? If you still can’t see anything, look again. See how the arrow points from A to Z? yes! They made their logo like that to let the people know, they have everything from A to Z.

2. FedEx Logo
“It’s just letters!” No, look harder. I bet you can see something else when you use your creative right side of the brain. If you still don’t get it, look at the letter E and X and find the arrow formed below them. Creative, isn’t it?

3. Toblerone Logo
You think that is the Swiss Alps? It might be. Toblerone originated in Bern, Switzerland - A city whose name is rumored to mean, “City of bears”. Now, look at the logo again and look for the bear in the logo. Incredibly surprising that we eat it but we never noticed it, right?

Simply explained, our eyes use tricks to take the image they see and make it into a 3 dimensional map of reality. But our eyes themselves can be tricked in the process.

This is a nice advertising of Berlitz language school.

Funny Images

In other words, none of our conceptions and perceptions are quite adequate, but fortunately most of them are satisfactory for practical purposes. Only a part of what is perceived comes through the senses from the object; the remainder always comes from within. In fact, it is the visual sense or the intellect which is responsible for optical illusions of the various types to be discussed in the following chapters. Our past experiences, associations, desires, demands, imaginings, and other more or less obscure influences create optical illusions.”
- Matthew Luckiesh

Bar Pub or Tavern. Whatever you call it, this is a heaven for people who socializes and heavy drinkers alike not to forget people who wants to doze off forgetting what has happened. We all have our own favorite bars and some offer more services than another. Floor shows, magic shows, sports shows or this one show that you can equate to going to a circus, Flair tending.

Flair tending is known as extreme bar tending. It is an act where you are entertained while the bar tender is mixing your drinks. This is also when your tip is larger than the price of the curious drink you ordered. Also, it is better when there is someone like a basketball/ Horse race announcer around announcing the flair tender moves. You will be amazed on what some of their moves are called. While watching one live made me find videos about it, I compiled here some of the best flair tending videos I found on the net.

Mike “Sushi” Doetzer is one of the most famous and original flair bartenders in Europe. He can also be considered as the best active flair tender in Germany.

Lovro Vukadin, one of the well-known Flair Tenders alive. (Or in Youtube, at least)

2nd international flair tending held in Switzerland

Who said only males excel in flair tending? This cutie performs her tricks in the spotlight and boy, is she good! Good moves and flexibility!

One TGI Fridays bartender with his awesome moves!

By the way, it’s now time to close your jaws.

With photography being the new ‘in’ thing nowadays, it is only natural that we see all these cameras being sold everywhere! I’ve noticed that even companies who don’t even specialize in photography or cameras have already started investing in it and started selling them in the market as well. With all the different camera brands in the market today who would claim to have more or less similar features, it has become difficult for some people to decide which camera to purchase. In this light, here are the top 5 point and shoot cameras to buy.

1. Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS
This has great image quality, minimal shutter lag and performs speedily with optical image stabilizer that delivers impressive image quality. The only bad thing with this one is this one has no manual exposure controls and slow flash recycle time.

2. Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS
This one has face detection, which automatically focuses on faces. The optical image stabilization is becoming a standard feature in Canon cameras now. This one though, has no optical view finder but still captures superb images with its 3.8x optical zoom. This is why it is among the top ranking in compact cameras.

3. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX36
The 25mm wide-angled lens quality photo it takes puts this in one of the top point and shoot cameras. Aside from its elegant design, this compact powerhouse is capable of delivering HD quality videos. The bad thing here is, focusing is a bit tad slow.

4. Fujifilm FinePix F100fd
The high ISO density of 12,800 with 5x optical zoom and 28mm wide angle lens is joined with a short shutter lag with intuitive face detection. These are notable features of the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd. The problem lies on its weight and awkward positioning of the lens because it can be easily covered by the fingers.

5. Sony Cyber-shot DSC- T70
This is one of the slimmest and thinnest point and shoot cameras available. Don’t look down on it because it has an excellent macro photo taking mode. The battery life is not long and the touch screen is not a plus because buttons are easily pressed accidentally. Even though there are a lot of issues in this model, Cybershot performs just fine is you do not demand a lot from your point and shoot camera.

Now, Go and take your winning creative shots!

Just as an additional FYI, these are the most famous brands when it comes to cameras.

Image from the Digital Photography School

I don’t know about you girls out there but, isn’t learning something new everyday make our growth faster? When you stop learning, you grow old. Do not ever believe in the saying that old dogs can’t learn new tricks. It is the determination inside of you that will determine if you really can’t learn anymore. Willingness and determination can beat science.

I’ve subscribed to this online dictionary thing. it’s from dictionary.com. Everyday, that website sends out new vocabulary for the day. You can also opt to just visit their website to check out the word for the day. It appears like something like this.

cogent \KOH-juhnt\, adjective:

Having the power to compel conviction; appealing to the mind or to reason; convincing.

One woman, Adrian Pomerantz, was so intelligent that the professors always lit up when Adrian spoke; her eloquent, cogent analyses forced them not to be lazy, not to repeat themselves.
– Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy

It has the word for the day, the meaning of it and some samples. try it. This will increase the dictionary in you!