It’s Friday at lunchtime. Time to clear out the links of articles that caught my eye, but that I couldn’t organize into a three-or-more item theme:
- Sweet, Salty… We’re all familiar with the basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter. Evidently there is a new one: umami, which is sorta-like savory but not. CNN Eatocracy has an interesting article on the taste. Evidently, glutimate is one carrier of the flavor (which is why MSG makes things taste good); other carriers are tomatos, mushrooms, cheese, and meat. Mmmm. Pizza.
- Killing a Custom. The SF Chronicle has an article on how Israel wants to eliminate a custom common among the Falasha (Ethiopian Jews) of the Kessoch. Ethiopia’s Jewish kessoch are a continuation of the traditions of Biblical-era priests, sacrificing animals and collecting the first fruits of the harvest. This is at odds with the more rabbinic approaches of modern Judaism. I found it interesting because it is yet another aspect of the Orthodox establishment in Israel attempting to dictate how the wide variety of Jews must behave.
- Salvaging a Ship. We’ve all been fascinated, horrified, and following the cruise ship disaster in Italy. But the rescue is only the first part of the story. What next? The NY Times has an interesting article on how they will salvage the ship. If you can’t get to that article, the LA Times has another article on the salvage work.
- The Rest of the Story. A number of weeks ago, a story was going around about how Elin Nordegren (Tiger Wood’s Ex) had bulldozed a $12 million mansion to the ground. People were writing about how she did it because she had the money, or for revenge, … and they generally held it up as an example of “the rich are different.” Guess what? The real truth is quite different: the mansion was falling apart, not up to code, and would have cost much more to repair. Further, instead of selling off the interior cabinets, fixtures and such, Nordegren instead turned the house over to a local Habitat for Humanity and allowed them to take what they wanted before the house was destroyed.
- Squeezing ‘Em In. If you fly Southwest, get ready for even tighter seating. Southwest is redesigning the seat layout on its 737s to add 6 extra seats. How are they doing this? SWA will install low-profile cushions on each seat and will reduce the recline from three inches to two inches. The leg room, the space between the seat backs, will also shrink from 32 inches to 31 inches.
- Visiting MickyDs. Lastly, for your lunchtime enjoyment… a gallery of food that is on McDonald’s menu in other countries. How about a McArabia? McRice Burger anyone?
Music: Revival (Sam Harris): Giving It Up For Your Love
