Link roundup

1. Great, long article about Stephon Marbury's continuing adventures in China. Via.

2. Serious Eats: Passover Recipes We Love.

3. "Which HBO pilot has more nudity: True Blood or Game of Thrones?" A detailed analysis by io9.

Link roundup

1. Someone uploaded Tron: Legacy to Youtube - - the full movie as one, two-hour video. This has to be by Disney, right? It was mentioned on Reddit hours ago, and yet Disney hasn't taken it down. Or does it take much longer than I think for infringing videos to be removed?

2. Recipe for Horseradish Cream Sauce (so good with prime rib).

3. Noxzema now has two fewer ounces than it used to, but comes in the same size container - - which features a false bottom to disguise the smaller amount of product.

Link roundup

1. The NY Daily News says, a woman won a settlement of $850 a month for life in alimony and "the couple's home by convincing a court three years ago that a 1997 car accident left her too injured to work." But her husband spotted photos she had posted about her daily belly dancing and turned them into the court. "Confronted with the damning evidence, [the woman] told the court she was prescribed belly dancing as treatment for her injuries - a statement her doctor contradicted on the stand."

2. The Awl imagines what the menu would be at Passover at Guy Fieri's House (for example, "Gefilte fish parmigiana jammers"). Via.

3. The Mortal Kombat 9 fatalities and Stage Fatalities stepped past amusingly violent and are more like short snuff films. But the babalities are very cute.

Link roundup

1. Fashion photographs as animated gifs. (These are incredible.)

2. An assertion that Google could simply buy the entire music industry.

3. "Downward Spiral of Whole Foods House Brand."

Food link roundup

1. Taco Bell is testing out shells made out of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

2. News about the Chipotle spinoff restaurant, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen:

Chipotle Unveils Details about New Asian Restaurant Concept
DENVER, Apr 12, 2011 -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has unveiled additional details for its new restaurant concept slated to open this summer. The concept, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, is inspired by the traditional shophouses found throughout Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Shophouses are classical two or three-story buildings where families live upstairs and run restaurants or fresh markets on the ground level.

The ShopHouse menu will pair the bold and complex flavors of southeast Asia with fresh, sustainably raised ingredients; grilled and braised meats, a variety of fresh vegetables, aromatic herbs, spicy sauces, and an array of garnishes. Customers will move along a service line and customize their meal according to flavor preference and diet, in a format similar to the one that has become the hallmark of Chipotle's success.

"I have always believed that the Chipotle model would work well with a variety of different cuisines," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. "Chipotle's success is not necessarily about burritos and tacos, but rather about serving great, sustainably raised food that is delicious, affordable, and convenient."

"Anyone who has traveled throughout Southeast Asia can tell you that food there is served very fast -- it's also full of flavor, nutritious, and affordable," said Ells. "This cuisine gives us a great opportunity to prove the idea that the Chipotle model can work with other cuisines."

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen is scheduled to open summer 2011 in Washington, D.C.

3. Cupcake fondue.

4. Recipe for Matzo Brei With Pear And Dried Sour Cherries.

5. Recipe for Gluten-Free Mozzarella Sticks.

*Buy Happy Meal toys at eBay.

PushCakes and Butterbeer Cupcakes

"PushCake: cake layers kept moist between generous, almost mini trifle-esque layers of buttercream."




Butterbeer cupcakes recipe. The final step: "Then pipe your buttercream onto your cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache!" Via.

Link roundup

1. Excellent overview of the Undertaker's WWE career, including this:

In 2006 The Undertaker was feuding with Randy Orton and his proxy (and father), '80s fixture "Cowboy" Bob Orton. (The Orton-'Taker match at WrestleMania 21, incidentally, was the first to use The Undertaker's undefeated streak as part of the storyline. After last night, his streak now stands at 19 matches.) In one match, an aggrieved 'Taker took it to Orton père, bloodying him badly. Later, off screen, Calaway found out that Bob had once tested positive for hepatitis and that nobody had thought to mention it to him before the two shared a bloodbath. Calaway was justifiably incensed, and the elder Orton was soon sent packing.

2. Jim Shooter has been posting one great anecdote after another. For example:

The San Diego Comic Con used to do this thing where artists would do drawings on stage, and then auction them off to raise money for the con. I remember Jack Katz had set a minimum bid on his of $200, and somebody actually paid $200 for it. Then the auctioneer gets this wonderful, huge drawing of Captain America that Jack had been drawing live on stage, and the auctioneer looks at it and says, “Am I bid $5?” I was so offended; it just cut me like a knife. He, like a lot of fans, didn’t like Jack’s work at that point, and that was his honest assessment of what somebody might pay for this.

And another:

The road that led to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars actually began when Kenner Toys licensed the DC Universe for a boys’ action figure line. Their competitor, Mattel, already had their He-Man action figure line, which was doing very well, but wanted to hedge the bet in case comic book character action figures became the rage. So, they came to Marvel to talk about licensing our characters. One thing they demanded of us was an “event,” a special publication or series to help launch the toy line. I offered an idea that was suggested by a dozen or so correspondents -- usually younger ones -- in the fan mail every day: one big, epic story with all (or many) of the heroes and villains in it. Everyone agreed.

We went through a number of ideas for names for the toy line and series. Mattel’s focus group tests indicated that kids reacted positively to the words “wars” and “secret.” Okay.

Mattel had a number of other requirements. Doctor Doom, they said, looked too medieval. His armor would have to be made more high-tech. So would Iron Man’s, because their focus groups indicated that kids reacted positively...etc. Okay.

3. In 2010, 186 restaurants in Florida were cited for mislabeling their fish. Via.

*Buy Secret Wars toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Yuki 7 by Megan Brain.

2. Starting March 28, food trucks in Los Angles and New York will feature a menu created by Tom Colicchio based on Game of Thrones. (Which is kind of lame because food, aside from one very specific exception, has no special significance in the book.)

3. Spoke Art is auctioning off a set of feudal Japan/Star Wars prints at eBay to benefit Japan.

*Previously: A polar bear-drawn chariot stars on the Jack in the Box food truck.

Link roundup

1. "Family firms" (firms where one relative takes control of a business when another relative steps down) do far better in Japan than the rest of the world. Why? Because Japanese families adopt an adult to run the family firm.

2. Jim Shooter started writing The Legion of Super Heroes when he was in high school, and based the characters on kids he knew:

With Mort's blessing I struggled to find raison d'etre for a character called Bouncing Boy, who previously had been offered up at face value, and played straight and serious. I found my Bouncing Boy among my Bethel Park Senior High classmates, in the person of a friend whose initials, T.K., and slightly rotund body had earned him the nickname "Teakettle." Going through high school coping with a weight problem and the name Teakettle is not a whole lot different, I think, than being Bouncing Boy in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Thus, in my mind, they became one, and BB grew into a bright-but-insecure, self-effacing, lovable guy who was resigned to the role of comic relief and once described himself as the Legion's "...self-appointed chief of morale."

3. "An NFL lockout could have dire snack food consequences, and the chicken wing industry is bracing itself for the worst."

Link roundup

1. Wild stories about the penny-pinching ways of the original Tamp Bay Devils Rays owner.

2. Bleeding Cool posted some really fascinating excerpts from various depositions related to the Kirby Family Vs Marvel Lawsuit. For example, from Stan Lee's deposition:

With Spider-Man, that was kind of an interesting thing. I thought Spider-Man would be a good strip, so I wanted Jack to do it. And I gave it to him. And I said, Jack, now you always draw these characters so heroically, but I don’t want this guy to be too heroic-looking. He’s kind of a nebbishy guy.

Q. Would we call him a nerd today?

STAN LEE: I would say so. Yeah.
Anyway, Jack, who glamorizes everything, even though he tried to nerd him up, the guy looked still a little bit too heroic for me. So I said: All right, forget it, Jack. I will give it to somebody else.
Jack didn’t care. He had so much to do.

Q. Who did you give it to?

STAN LEE: I gave it to Steve Ditko. His style was really more really what Spider-Man should have been. So Steve did the Spider-Man thing. Although, again, I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jack’s covers.

And from the deposition of Larry Lieber (Stan Lee's brother):

Q: Did you come up with any of the names in Thor?

LARRY LIEBER: Yes.

Q: What did you come up with?

LARRY LIEBER: The civilian name of Don Blake I made up. And I also came up with his hammer. I made that, which people know about. My Uru hammer, I created that.

Q: And where did you get the name Uru hammer?
LARRY LIEBER: I just made it up, as far as I know. I might have read it. I used to — Stan liked the way I made up names, civilian names, and I used to, from my years of doing these, what do you call it, these fantasy books, monster books, and I used to look at the back of dictionary, Miriam Webster had biographical names and geographical, so I would look in towns and if I liked the town, I might put it. And it was kind of fun and he liked what I did.

Now, I don’t know if I found “Uru” someplace or I just made it up or whatever. I know I made it short because I felt that Thor might be around a while and I was always worrying about the letterer or somebody. I was worrying about somebody else’s feeling, and I figured, well, if I make it U-R-U, there’s not that much to letter. And since nobody knows the name of it, I’ll make it a short name. So that’s why I did that.

And Don Blake I just thought sounded like a doctor and, you know, to fit the personality. I tried to get names that fit the — the person.

Q: Who came up with the name Thor, the hero name?

LARRY LIEBER: Not me. I don’t know. Stan, I guess. But I don’t — yeah, yeah, Stan.

Q: And just to follow up on something you said, you mentioned a letterer, what was the job of the letterer?

LARRY LIEBER: Well, when the — when the — I give a
(break in testimony)

LARRY LIEBER: …and I made it up.” He looked a little surprised and walked away, and then I stopped writing it and he would — I don’t know if he was writing it or somebody else, but they gave it another name, which I believe was the authentic name from Bulfinch’s Mythology. So …

Q: Was it the usual practice that you would write a book for a few issues and then you would move on to something else?

LARRY LIEBER: It seems that way. You know, I don’t remember. I — I’ve been looking at the books and it seems with a few of them I did. I – I wrote a few books, the first issue or the first couple issues, yes. I don’t, yeah, I don’t know how it came about that way and why I moved on. I don’t recall.

Q: Who would make the decision about who was going to write the scripts for a book?

LARRY LIEBER: It would be Stan, I’m sure, as the editor.

Q: Are you familiar with a comic called Iron Man?

LARRY LIEBER: Yes.

Q: And what was your involvement with Iron Man?

LARRY LIEBER: I wrote the first script for Iron Man also.

Q: And who asked you to write the first script for Iron Man?

LARRY LIEBER: Stan. Stan Lee.

Q: Stan Lee. And what — what did he provide you with or what did he ask you to do?

MR. TOBEROFF: Assumes facts.

LARRY LIEBER: I’m sorry, I –

Q: If you understand the question, you can –

MR. TOBEROFF: That’s okay. I’m just objecting for the record.
LARRY LIEBER: Oh, okay.

MS. SINGER: Lawyer stuff.

LARRY LIEBER: What was the question, if I may?

Q: Fair enough. How, how did you come to write the first script for Iron Man?

LARRY LIEBER: He made up a character and he wanted — and he asked me to write it. And he told me the plot, you know, somehow I got synopsis, and I — and I wrote it. And again, I made up the civilian name.

Q: And the “he” there is Stan Lee?

LARRY LIEBER: Thank me for Anthony Stark. I’m sorry, what?

Q: I’m sorry, the “he” in that was Stan Lee?

LARRY LIEBER: Yes, Stan Lee.

Q: So you came up with the name Anthony Stark?

LARRY LIEBER: Yes.

Q: And where did you come up with that name?

LARRY LIEBER: I don’t know, but I guess I — I had been writing so many. Again, either I just made it up or I felt it was a name that would fit a guy who was very, very rich and a lady – you know, I wanted — I thought it sounded distinguished and wealthy or something. Anthony Stark.

3. Serious Eats liked new food at Arby's: Arby's Angus Three Cheese and Bacon, Steakhouse Onion Rings and Inside-Out Cinnamon Bites.

*Buy Kirby: King of Comics at Amazon.

Image roundup

A few gems from Reddit:


Comic book logic.



Tangga House by Guz Architects.



Condoms prevent minivans.


Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.



Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon.

Link roundup

1. There's a blog devoted to pictures of Paula Deen Riding Things.

2. English Muffins recipe.

2. Gizmodo lists the essential iPhone and Android apps.

*Buy iPhones at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Long interview with China Mieville at BldgBlog. (But be forewarned, it has a massive spoiler for The City and The City, which you should absolutely read. It's $10 at Amazon.)

2. "Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators and coroner's officials were digging up the floor of a Lomita restaurant on Tuesday, looking for the remains of the owner's wife, who went missing 16 months ago."

3. Umami Burger is opening up (relatively) close to my home tomorrow! Via.

Link roundup

1. An assertion that Detroit will soon close half its public schools, leading to 60+ kids in each class. (Schools in Los Angeles face a prospect nearly as dire.) Via.

2. Maybe it's just because I don't like brainteasers that much, or maybe it's because I haven't enjoyed a Spielberg movie in at least 10 years, but I find it a little hard to believe that people (as opposed to marketers pretending to be fans) have really spent so much effort deciphering clues about the JJ Abrams/Spielberg movie Super 8.

3. McDonald's inedible new oatmeal apparently contains more sugar than a Snickers bar.

Link roundup

1. French baguette vending machine (the video is at the bottom). Via.

2. Thomas Barnett on Libya.

3. Pin-up drawing of the White Queen. And this is a cool vintage pin-up.

*Buy Emma Frost art at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Victorian ghost costume.

2. From a post by Seth Roberts on meat-only diets:

Sure, some cravings reflect nutrient deficiencies. (Not all cravings: An alcoholic craves alcohol.) But in the cases I know about, there is an obvious or semi-obvious connection between the craving and the deficiency. For example, people who chew too much ice (pagophagia) crave ice to chew. They are iron-deficient. Eating iron eliminates the pagophagia. Long ago, a craving to eat something crunchy would have led you to eat bones. Bone marrow is high in iron.

3. SDF-1 fan art/wallpaper.

*Buy Robotech toys at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Animated gif of Leia/Carrie Fisher handing a beer to Luke/Mark Hamill sitting in an X-Wing.

2. Gizmodo:

Truth be told though, it's impossible to fully replicate Coke's recipe because there's one ingredient only Coca-Cola can get: fluid extract of coca (which is coca leaves stripped of cocaine). Only one factory can process those leaves and only Coca-Cola has a special deal with the DEA that allows them to use it.

3. This is an interesting read about how Ferrari sets extremely specific terms before allowing reporters to test drive its cars.

Pizza burger at Burger King Japan

Burger King in Japan sells a 2,530-calorie "Pizza Burger." Via.

*Buy Happy Meal toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. One of Bill Simmons's readers had a great idea - - losing team in the NBA all-star game has to wear short shorts in next year's game.

2. Here's a great explanation for why Mubarak will be very reluctant to give up power - - he fears prosecution:

So, how can Mubarak protect himself if he eventually makes an escape from Cairo? He's taking the usual steps now. Start with his decision to install foreign intelligence chief and CIA confidant Omar Suleiman as vice president and constitutional successor. (Mubarak himself came to the presidency through this route; he had been Anwar Sadat's vice president.) This comes close to matching what in the Russian-speaking world is known as the "Putin option," a reference to the exit strategy adopted by a teetering Boris Yeltsin: Fearing possible retribution from opposition figures, Yeltsin opted to surrender power through a transitional period to a wily senior player in the intelligence community. In exchange, Yeltsin is said to have extracted a firm commitment from Putin that the full machinery of the Russian state would be mustered to protect him. There would be no criminal probes or inquiries, and no cooperation with foreigners who undertook the same. Yeltsin would be free to live his final days shuttling between Moscow and the French Riviera. Putin scrupulously kept his end of the bargain.

Via.

3. Here's Consumer Reports' picks for best frozen pizzas. (Presumably they'll have to reevaluate once the pizza/cookie dough combo is released.)

Link roundup

1. Josh Ellingson has posted several improbably cute drawings of Chase the No Face Cat.

2. Serious Eats' dollar menu favorites.

3. How Jets players inadvertently tipped off plays to the Steelers.

Buy NFL bobbleheads at eBay.