At a time when the word “integrity” doesn’t apply to a lot of media outlets in America, Pat Oliphant upholds a standard of political sature that appears to hail from another age. Born in Australia, Oliphant moved to the United States in 1964. It took him three years to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1967. His editorial cartoons on uComics are to be recommended for anyone wishing to keep up with the type of news Fox doesn’t broadcast.
Archive for August, 2003
Expatica reports that non-EU nationals resident in Belgium are soon to be given voting rights in local elections. The new bill should be voted through parliament in September 2003, which could mean non-Belgian citizens voting in the 2006 regional elections. Good news for us tax-paying, law-abiding non-Belgians. Non-EU citizens who wish to vote will have to have been resident for more than five years, and will have to take an oath of allegiance to the Belgian constitution. Time to start reading up on what I’ll be swearing to...
Yanick Dusseault is a visual artist, a creative force in artwork for movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gattaca and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Impressive artwork on his personal site.
I won’t even attempt to describe Cosma Shalizi’s notebooks, except to say that the curious surfer will be rewarded.
Photoshop geeks showing off. Pretty impressive contributions by people who clearly have a lot of time on their hands.
No, really. The old family favourite (well, mine anyway) of Lemmings, all done in dHTML and JavaScript. And it works! Well, not properly in Mozilla, but whatcha gonna do…
Clever use of Amazon’s API by Mike Trinder. Strictly geek humor—if you have to ask you probably won’t find it funny.
You just always knew those Nigerian scam e-mails had some entertainment value hidden somewhere, but it took Mike Hunt to unleash it. Follow his relationship with Albert Fred and their combined efforts to shift fifteen million dollars into Mike’s bank account:
A project by Daniel Rozin, best explained in his own words: “The Wooden Mirror project is an art installation, and as such the goals leading to its creation are a bit vague. The piece explores the line between analog and digital. In the essence of the piece is the notion of inflicting digital order on a material that is as analog as it gets—wood. I was hoping to take the computational power of a computer and video camera , and seamlessly integrate them into the physicality warmth and beauty of a wooden mirror. The piece reflects any object or person in front of it by organizing the wooden pieces. It moves fast enough to create live animation. The simple interaction between the viewer and the piece remove any questions regarding how to operate the piece, it is a mirror.”
CSS Zen Garden has become one of the central reference points for CSS hacking by the standards-based community. Visit and be inspired.
In a country with an epicurean culture as strong as that in Belgium, good restaurants are a regular experience. Fine restaurants are commonplace. But few restaurateurs can boast the innovation of Frank Fol and his Leuven-based restaurant Sire Pynnock, a talent that has elevated him among the finest of the fine Flemish chefs.
Yesterday I had the great fortune to eat there for the second time, and words can’t adequately describe the delights presented with five-star precision.
Amuse-bouche to start, of course. A gaspacho of carrots and young onions. A ragout of Mediterranean vegetables. A tomato salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, black pepper and green pea ice cream. Signature Frank Fol innovation. All lightly washed down with a subtle kir royal.
The first course: a tartare of tuna with champignons de Paris, leek, pineapple and a summer salad with tempura de lgumes, served with a cold cucumber and chervil emulsion. The course was accompanied by a 2002 vintage Warrick Station Chardonnay from Australian. Delightful grassy tones and a pleasant compliment to the subtle tuna tartare, a combination which probably would not have worked as well with a woodier French Chardonnay.
The second course: marinated monkfish and oven-baked red pepper, fine pasta with courgettes and a tapenade of black olives, accompanied by a 2001 Domaine Saint-Vincent Medaille d’Argent.
At last, the main course: grilled rib of “free-range” steer (“grasstiertje” in Dutch), with a radish tapenade and mashed “dauphinoise” potato perfumed with aniseed. The wine was a Domaine de la Roche Vive L’Esprit de la Ngly, if memory serves. The details start to become fuzzy at this stage.
For desert: a light riz au lait with fromage blanc, peach marmalade with a subtle rosemary perfume and skewered strawberries.
Coffee, chocolates and fine hand-made biscuits rounded off the meal.
Exceptional. True artistry in a time when a sandwich and a pint have to suffice as a pleasant meal.
