Tag Archives: food

We Follow ‘Hope For Haiti Now’ Donations With World Food Programme

MTV News crew met with WFP’s Louis Hamann to see how food donations are being distributed in Haiti. By Gil Kaufman A victim of the earthquake in Haiti prepares food Photo: MTV News Haiti faces untold challenges as the Caribbean island nation tries to dig out and recover from the devastating 7.0 earthquake that leveled thousands of buildings and killed more than 200,000 in January. In addition to medical attention and shelter in advance of the rainy season, one of the most crucial needs continues to be food aid to the millions of Haitians left homeless in the wake of the disaster. MTV News returned to the island in late February to follow the trail of some of the more than $65 million raised during January’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon . We dropped in on staffers from the 50-year-old United Nations World Food Programme, which delivers life-saving food to victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters across the globe. Even before the quake, conditions were desperate in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with poverty and hunger already rampant. But the destruction of so many homes, businesses and government buildings made conditions even more dire for the chronically hungry and impoverished. MTV’s Sway traveled to Haiti to document the work of the WFP, applying stickers to a few 110-pound bags of urgently needed rice to follow their path to hungry Haitians. Surrounded by bags of food in the port of the nation’s devastated capital, Port-au-Prince, WFP’s Louis Hamann said the organization has brought in about 25,000 metric tons of food (around 55 million pounds) to date. “It just gives you an idea of how massive this operation is for us here in Haiti,” he said, noting that the $58 million grant from “Hope for Haiti Now” has helped the organization buy, ship and distribute the food aid to those most in need, possibly for the next year. Rice is an obvious first-choice staple to distribute because it is easy to store, cook and share and a little goes a long way. “The reason that it’s only rice right now is to make sure that we reach everybody quickly and efficiently [and] calm down the food situation in Port-au-Prince,” said Hamann, who added that the plan is to move to a “more traditional basket” of food items featuring staples of the Haitian diet in the next weeks and months. Sway also visited a massive staging area where trucks were loaded up with bags of rice that were delivered early in the morning to the sea of refugees set up in a temporary tent city inside the Sylvio Cator Soccer Stadium near the island’s capital. As the thousands inside the stadium lined up for food aid early in the morning, they were quickly joined by thousands more looking for rice, an example of the more than 3,000 families that line up every day in just one location to haul away the heavy bags. MTV’s crew then followed one of those families as they carried a bag back to their crumpled home, a pile of rubble and twisted metal, where the rice would be cooked over a makeshift carbon stove by widowed mother Myrthile Joseph. “Thank you to everyone that donated for Haiti from all over the world,” said a grateful Joseph. “Thank you for the distribution that is going to the people in need.” Related Videos Making Progress In Haiti

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We Follow ‘Hope For Haiti Now’ Donations With World Food Programme

Lady Gaga’s New Music Video Tackles Penis Rumor, Lesbian Prison Babes [VideUhOh]

A leak of Lady Gaga ‘s Telephone music video (premieres tonight) shows the Lady of Gah tackling her penis rumor with burly prison lesbians who rip her clothes off and mutter, “I told you she didn’t have a dick.” As Lady Gaga attempts to dispel one rumor (hermaphrodite) with another (lesbian with Beyonce) our quest for pop culture’s Loch Ness Monster continues. Ambling into the most recklessly stylish, diamond-studded women’s prison in the world (perhaps the one from Chicago , where stiletto heels are not security hazards) Gaga is flanked by a pair of butch prison guards, one of whom later surfs a lesbian Manhunt knockoff called PlentyOfFish (-4:50). They rip off her clothes and we are treated to a booty shot (-8:30) and the guards murmur, “I told you she didn’t have a dick,” and “Too bad.” Indeed, later thong-clad gyrations boggle the mind. Where is she hiding her penis? A deus ex machina of the phallus comes in the form of Beyonce, bails Gaga out of prison in a pick-up truck labeled PUSSYWAGON. As Thelma and Louise of the dykes, they go Natural Born Killers (and Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill ) on a diner. Here, we get a subliminal message explaining where the penis has gone. At -2:30, the camera zooms in on Beyonce’s jerk boyfriend painstakingly slicing a big, greasy sausage. Suddenly everyone is choking on their food and dying, and B and Gaga run off together in happy, sexy bliss—for Lady Gaga has chopped off his penis. That’s right, Lady Gaga’s penis is gone, sliced from her body to improve her ability to make puns about pussy with Beyonce. But you know what they say: Every time you cut off a hermaphrodite’s penis, two grow in its place. The penis will be back, mark our words.

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Lady Gaga’s New Music Video Tackles Penis Rumor, Lesbian Prison Babes [VideUhOh]

Pick Two

May need to do some quick math on whether plastic surgery is more expensive than therapy before you make your choice. View

Top 5 Buzz List – Mar 10th

These are the top posts from Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Read

Mondrian Cake

From the food court at SF MoMA . This is way more palatable than their Damien Hirst cake. View

All Fish Tested from U.S. Streams Found Contaminated with Mercury

In a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), every single fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the United States was found to be contaminated with mercury. “This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that builds up in the food chain at ever higher concentrations in predators such as large fish and humans. It is especially damaging to the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, but can have severe effects on adults, as well. The pollutant enters the environment almost wholly as atmospheric emissions from industrial processes, primarily the burning of coal for electricity. It then spreads across the plant and settles back to the surface, eventually concentrating in rivers, lakes and oceans, where it enters the aquatic food chain. The number one cause of human mercury poisoning in the United States is the consumption of fish and shellfish. Researchers tested the water, sediment and fish of the 291 streams between 1998 and 2005. Fish tested were mostly larger species near the top of the food chain, such as largemouth bass. added by: jefftego

Oprah Builds Her Set Out Of Chocolate

FOOD BUZZ : Further proof that it's good to be Oprah. [ Ed Note : This is NOT a good use of chocolate. They should be building my sets out of chocolate. WTF?] (Via Grub Street Chicago .) The Best Links: Oprah Rebuilds Her Entire Set Out of Chocolate Read

Swimming with whales: Looking into the eye of the beast

Last weekend I was sitting on the edge of a cliff in Big Sur when a whale swam by. My friend turned to me and said, “Every time I see a whale I have an irresistible urge to run to the water and jump in and swim with them.” “Doesn't everyone?” I asked. Apparently not. Even for those rare souls who do have a case of deep desire, most people aren't crazy enough to actually do it. Enter Bryant Austin, the man who has dedicated himself to creating life size photographs of whales. That sounds all fine and dandy until you realize he is coming within 6 feet of a pod of wild animals that can weigh as much as two tons each. First question: “How the heck do you do that?” Lucky for us Bryant explains the process, and told us an amazing story of a close encounter with a carnivorous sperm whale in the following video. After the interview I asked Bryant how he became interested in capturing this unique perspective of whales; he told us a story about his first encounter with Humpback whales. He found himself dangerously close to a calf, and was admiring its agility given their close range of contact when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He explained that he assumed he was bumping into the boat since he was swimming on the surface of the ocean, but when he turned back to look, he was staring into the eye of the mother whale, who had just tapped him with her 15-foot, one-ton pectoral fin. He explained the moment of having actual eye contact with the whale, and realizing that there was a perspective and story that wasn't being told through conventional photographs of whales, and that if he wanted to share this perspective of connecting with the whale. After spending a few days with Bryant's footage and photos of whales I would have to agree. Even as a self proclaimed lover of whales, after looking at these photos, I see the animal in a different way. The photos (his largest photo is 6 feet by 28 feet, and it took 2800 hours to complete) create a feeling of intimacy that Bryant hopes will start to change the way that future generations perceive whales. The short documentary below, “In the Eye of the Whale” tells more of the Bryant's purpose, and explains his experiences of taking these images to the whaling nations. Passion and Purpose Plenty of people go out there and photograph whales, but Bryant has matched his passion with purpose. Whales are in serious danger (to satiate your inner eco geek, see the whaling information at the bottom of this post). Norway is one of the top whaling nations, a country which has a surplus of whaling meat, and has recently raised the limits. Bryant has taken his photographs to Norway to share with adults, and with hopes to influence the youth culture to shift the countries' whale consumption habits. The advocacy for these elements requires a gentle touch of, lets say, a humpback's fin. You need weight and power, and political prowess that allow whaling nations to change their ways with honor. (Norway recently responded to recent pressure by raising numbers even though they have a surplus of meat, while Japan recently requested to negotiate to lower it's “scientific” catch. How can you engage? Of course there are lots of ways to engage with protecting whales. Depending of your flavor of activism there is Greenpeace, there is the notorious Sea Shepperd, and then there is always Bryant Austin's work. Bryant is one of the humbler people who you will meet, and I had to drag the following information out of him re: how we can support his conservation work: We are presently raising funds to reunite with and film the whale responsible for my first life-size composite photo , which will cost about $50,000 (think what goes into getting on boats, equipment, oxygen, and then waiting for the right moment). We are hoping to begin in April of this year. It will be the first of four individual whales we are working to reunite with and film for our upcoming feature length documentary which has a much higher budget! So if you want to support Bryant's conservation efforts, head on over to his non-profit, Marine Mammal Conservation Through the Arts. More information whales for the curious The blue whales of the Antarctic are at less than 1 percent of their original abundance, despite 40 years of complete protection. Some populations of whales are recovering but some are not. In 2003 Palumbi estimated that humpback whales could have numbered 1.5 million prior to the onset of commercial whaling in the 1800s. Humpback whales currently number in the 20,000. Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear. They were initially guarded by an organization with the misleading title of the International Whaling Commission, known more as a “whalers club” than a conservation organization it states it's mission as: “Recognizing the interest of the nations of the world in safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by the whale stocks…..having decided to conclude a convention to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry”.

RuPaul’s Drag Race: Tastes Like Chicken

Child, I don’t even know what to tell you about last night’s episode of the wig-wonkiest show on television. Things happened! Things didn’t happen. A big girl did splits and a Raven turned into a chicken. This week was Country Week. Because why the hell not. Plenty of drag queens are country. I mean, actually, I have no idea if any of them are country or not. But at least one of them has to be, right? There must be some sort of barn-like drag bar somewhere in the sparse hills and plains of America. Some boot-scootin’ bewigged old bitch lip-syncing to Martina McBride or some shit, rumbling home in her old GMC pickup, sitting on her cricket-chirped porch with its buzzing yellow light and drinking a can of MGD. But, you know, fabulously . I can picture it, can you? Well, the episode required that you were able to. Or not. Whatever. This show requires nothing. Literally all you need to bring to this show is a moderately functioning set of eyeballs and ears. And maybe a working voice, so you can whoop-shriek as things get progressively weirder and weirder until you don’t even know why you’re whoop-shrieking, just that you’re whoop-shrieking in the still of the night and there before you is a glowing box full of moving pictures. That’s all you need. That’s all you’ll ever need for this show. The episode began with an eating contest. The dragtestants had to play a game of Chicken, or What?!? in which they put on blindfolds and were told to eat things and then had to identify whether they were Chicken, or What?!?. Get it? Pretty much everything was What?!?!, actually. They ate bull balls and soy faux chicken and frog legs. They all shrieked and spit fried food all over the place. It was really attractive. And yes, everything was fried. Just a bunch of drag queens eating fried nasties on a grainy public access gay game show. If that doesn’t sound like something you’d want to watch, then, well… I don’t know what to tell you. Because that is what this show is about. The two winners were Mystique, because she is a large lady and could put away the food the fastest, and Morgan, because I don’t know why. Just because. As a reward for winning they were sent home on the next plane, far far away from this awful place made team captains for the big challenge. Which was: Make a commercial. Yes, a commercial! Like something they show on TV and is almost like acting, but for failed actors. It was pretty exciting. Until RuPaul showed the girlz what product they’d be shilling. It was something called Disco that looked like Crisco and, yes oh mercy mama of course, was a fake product. Aw nuts. Even worse? The Disco shortening or whatever it was supposed to be was hailed as “extra greasy.” Pandora’s bird-like eyes grew to saucer size. Only no one said “greasy.” They all, even more disgustingly, said “greezy.” Extra greezy. “Girl, I can’t put on my eyeliner, my hands are too greezy.” “Get away from me with that greezy face of yours.” “Honey, that dick is greezy.” It was HORRIBLE. Greezy. Eugh. Low-budget tranny snuff films should not incorporate a fried food ‘n cooking greez subplot, because everyone will turn it off before they get to the big important part: the snuff. You want them to see the snuff, don’t you? Otherwise you’d have snuffed in vain! And no one wants that. Greezy. Hyuuuagh. So, OK. The commercial. The commercial was sort of like a John Waters movie if when Divine died she had died inside John Waters’ head and then started to rot, seeping into his brain. It was, again, about greezy fried food and featured all the gals done up in their country bumpkin best-worst. They tried to do their best at looking their worst, is what I’m saying. They blacked out teeth, but didn’t really do it all the way, so it was like weird teeth bits floating in mottled outerspace. They also put on even sillier makeup than usual, especially that raggedy little bitch Morgan. Whooooooo boy did Morgan put on some makeup! She must have worked on plays in high school or something, because she did this really ridiculous old age makeup that made her look like Gloria Stuart, if Gloria Stuart began using methamphetamine and was then eaten by Divine. It was ridiculous. And vaguely embarrassing. Like when someone takes something too far or too literally. The most elaborate costume at the costume party that nobody else really cared about. That kind of thing. See Morgan was playing Granny in the little commercial. Basically it was a sketch about country people talking about Disco baking grease. One of them was about chicken, the other about fish. (Like really about fish in a gross way, if you get my drift. Greezy.) But both of them featured a chicken. Yes, Raven and Jessica Wild were cast in the role of “Disco Critter,” which was a chicken for some reason. Doesn’t “Disco Critter” sound like… well, basically Animal from The Muppets if Animal was a real person. Or a sort-of real person? Some tuft-haired weirdo who speaks mostly in Jive and basically breathes cocaine and other uppers and does weird dances and sometimes sneaks up on you and says “skeeble dee dop doo woo” in your ear, but not in a funny way, in a menacing way. That sounds like a Disco Critter to me. Not a chicken. But oh well. Chicken it was. Jessica Wild can’t speak English and has a weird voice, so her Disco Chicken was resoundingly terrifying. Squawky like a chicken should be squawky, but in a frightening way. If you were to wake up in the middle of the night and see the manic eyeball glow and squawky smile of the Jessica Wild Chicken staring you in the face, I think you might die from fright right there. Raven on the other hand was just sort of a dul ice princess Disco Chicken. A laconic, quaaludesy Disco Chicken. Just a mean bitch in a chicken outfit. Why someone didn’t nominate Pandora to wear the chicken outfit is beyond me. It is a natural fit , people. Let Pandora be herself and give her the damn chicken costume. It is not that hard. Anyway, they went to film the ad and, because they are already performers of a sort, the girls didn’t do all that bad. Jujubee and Pandora were fairly funny, and even hood-lidded bored teenager Tyra sulking in the corner over there did OK. She was playing a baby, which is fitting, because she is a mean little baby. Morgan terrified as a granny, Raven just spoke in a sad monotone, and then Jessica Wild came out in her chicken suit and ate the world. Oh! Speaking of eating the world, Kathy Najimy was the guest judge and was “directing” the “commercial” and was surprisingly bitchy. I suppose drag queens just give you license to be bitchy or something. It’s sort of just how you talk to them. To policemen you are humble and polite, to waitresses you are breezy and familiar, and to drag queens you just bitchy, lady. You just plain old bitchy. They really don’t seem to mind. SO. After Najimy was done doing her talking, it was time for the girls to get all gussied up in their finest country drag and strut around the runway. Raven looked terrific as always. Tatianna actually is a lady. Sonique continues to be a promising dark horse. Pandora’s costume was deemed “pedestrian” by Santino Rice, which is like… Santino Rice calling your RuPaul’s Drag Race costume “pedestrian” doesn’t really mean anything. That word has no context or foothold in this world. It’s like a ferret presenting you with a math problem. You just sort of stare at it bemusedly, and then wander off. Who else. Oh, yes, Tyra looked good as always and BLERGH ended up winning. So, ego. Morgan looked terrifying as usual. Jujubee typically cleans up nice. And Mystique. Well, Mystique just tucked a Tello’s dress into some pantaloons and walked out there like it was no thang. But it was a thang! It was downright greezy. When questioned about her choices by a perplexed RuPaul, Mystique was all “This is country. This is what the country girls I know wear to the mall.” So that was awfully literal. And silly. I mean… I wholeheartedly believe that the country girls that Mystique knows tuck their Tello’s dresses into their black Contempo Casuals waitress pants before hitting the Dixie Crossings Galleria, but come on lady. You know that’s not what Rupes meant when she told you to get into your country finest. It was bad. Because Raven whiffed it so hard in the commercial shoot, she ended up in the bottom with ol’ Mystique. The two were told to perform a country song about men knock-knocking but not getting in the door or something, so they both spent a lot of time pointing to their boobs during the knock-knock part and their butts during the door part, so yay for that. It was greezy. Just as it went last week, Raven is a fun lip-syncer and her competitor was just flailing around on stage. After a final crotch-slamming split, Mystique went home. Ah well, oh well. What can you do. If you’re anywhere near the Gator Springs Shopping Centre in the next coupla days, shove that Delia’s dress into some Bebe capris and go console Mystique. You’ll feel good about it. OK. I think that’s it. The episode was, in a word, Greezy . So very gree— Oh God. Run. Run!!! It’s coming!!!! The Jessica Wild Chic— CHOMP. SQUAAAWWKKKK.

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RuPaul’s Drag Race: Tastes Like Chicken

That’s The Way Love Goes: A Valentine’s Day for Everyone

In our continuing campaign to stop worrying and learn to love Valentine’s Day , we bring you the advice of Carrie Brownstein , reprinted from her NPR blog Monitor Mix , on how to enjoy the holiday no matter what your romantic status. Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us! You’ve probably been wondering about — perhaps even waiting for — the annual Monitor Mix Valentine’s Day post. Fear not: That day has arrived. Two years ago, I doled out advice on the art of the February 14 mix tape . And last year, I helped readers choose their own Valentine’s Day musical identity . For 2010, Monitor Mix will help you plan a romantic evening; whether you’re married, partnered, suffocating-and-lovin’-it, together-but-lonely or single, I have the perfect night for you. You: Are in a Threesome Monogamy is so old-fashioned, it went out of style on Nov. 7, 2009, at 6:34 p.m. That’s when your boyfriend told you that the best way he could express his love for you would be by expressing his love for someone else at the same time. Armed with a copy of The Ethical Slut , he told you how jealousy was a rain cloud on his rainbow of love. Not wanting to smudge his rainbow, you agreed to upgrade your relationship to a larger box of crayons. Two days later — it seemed so sudden, but he said he’d just met her at the gym that morning — Jenna arrived. For Valentine’s Day, you’ll be dining in, because no restaurant short of Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club wants to accommodate a six-legged couple. Split up the food prep three ways (wait, this isn’t so bad!), buy two bouquets of flowers (you’ll be receiving two, as well!) and dim the lights. Then get ready for romance, tripod-style! Song picks: De La Soul, “Magic Number.” Britney Spears, “3.” Stereo Total, “L’Amour a Trois.” The Commodores, “Three Times a Lady.” You: Blamed Your iPhone for the Fact That You Forgot Valentine’s Day Last Year. That your partner believed you is a testament to just how crummy the iPhone is. The conversation went like this: You: Honey, I’m so sorry, my iPhone said it was February 41st. Her/Him: Only the iPhone could do something like that. You: I know, isn’t that crazy? Apple makes uselessness so beautiful. Your romantic evening will start off with a ritualized slaughter of your iPhone while your partner looks on. Download the iPhone Ritualized Slaughter app and follow the instructions. Then, on a $40 cellphone, make the first uninterrupted, clear-sounding phone call you’ve made in years! Call your favorite restaurant, confirm your reservation, and then — without using GPS to navigate the three blocks you have to walk and without checking the weather, even though you’re standing outside IN the weather — go to the restaurant. Order a bottle of wine and get dessert. Now that you can no longer do a mobile Facebook update from the table, look your person in the eyes and say something nice for a change. Song Picks: Kraftwerk, “Computer Love.” Roberta Flack, “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” You: Are Single with Dog (SWD), a Status That Transcends Sexuality. Ever since the dog started sleeping in bed with you, you’re wondering if you need human contact at all anymore. There’s no sex, obviously, but the spooning has never been better. Plus, now you don’t have to put on lipstick along with your pajamas, nor do you have to get up early and sneak off to brush your teeth, just so you can pretend you never get morning breath. Nope, now it’s sweatpants, bad breath and an unapologetic stream of gas. Instead of waking up next to someone and thinking, ‘Do you love me?’ you wake up and think, ‘Who’s a good dog?’ The amazing part is, you know the answer! Your dog has no idea that Valentine’s Day is any different than any other day, which means that it’s all about you projecting your feelings onto him. Is he happy? Is he lonely? Does he need anything? Does he like his job? Is love forever? You’ll never know, so just give him another biscuit and invite him up onto the couch. It’s movie time! Does he like rom-coms? You bet he does. Song Picks: The Stooges, “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Fiery Furnaces, “My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found.” The Troggs, “Wild Thing.” Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody.” You: Are Dating Your Doppelganger a.k.a doppelBANGer You and your significant other have started to look exactly the same. You thought this could only happen to gay couples, but you were wrong. It all began with his-and-hers baseball caps; then came the matching track suits, and now you go to the same hairdresser. You both love Nike shoes, Jack Spade messenger bags and North Face puffy coats. You love it when you’re both in an American Apparel hoodie and Converse. It should feel wrong, but you know what? It doesn’t. Deep down, your perfect match is, well, you. And now she/he is you. Almost. Your Valentine’s Day will be easy: You like all of the same things! You’ll each wear a Gap sweater. Whose Subaru Wagon should you drive? Ha ha ha! It doesn’t matter; they’re both great! That’s so weird that you put some of the same songs on the mix CDs you made for one another. You bought each other the same brand of perfume and cologne? Burberry? No effing way! You smell like me! No, you smell like me. Only a mirror would have been a better gift. Song Picks: Queen, “We Are the Champions.” Any song by Tegan and Sara or Nelson. Carrie Brownstein is a writer and musician. She was a member of the critically acclaimed rock band Sleater-Kinney. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times , The Believer , Pitchfork, and various book anthologies on music and culture. Her blog, Monitor Mix , deserves a place in your RSS reader.

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That’s The Way Love Goes: A Valentine’s Day for Everyone