Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Knowing what to keep and what to throw away can streamline your records and save you time, headaches and money later on.
Great advice for which financial documents to keep and for how long, in particular for tax purposes.
Last month, we posted about a Slate article encouraging people to depend on their senses and instincts when deciding whether food is safe to eat, rather than going solely by printed expiration or “sell by” dates. “Is the food slimy and smelly?” that post proclaimed. “Don’t eat it.” But if you doubt your own judgment and are unsure of the exact level of smelliness and sliminess that is acceptable for you and your family, the Livejournal community Can I Eat This? is here to help you navigate the scary world of your own refrigerator.
I was particularly struck by this comment:
Initially, KFC meals were built around a whole chicken, with a pick-up surface that contained “an enormous amount of breading, crispiness and brownness on the surface. That makes the chicken look like more and gives it this wonderful oily flavour.” Over time, the company began to realise there was less meat in a chicken nugget compared with a whole chicken, and a greater percentage of fried batter. But the real breakthrough was popcorn chicken. “The smaller the piece of meat, the greater the percentage of fat pick-up,” said the food designer. “Now, we have lots of pieces of a cheaper part of the chicken.” The product has been “optimised on every dimension”, with the fat, sugar and salt combining with the perception of good value virtually to guarantee consumer appeal.
Beauty products have expiration dates too! Here’s a useful guide to keeping your magic potions and lotions fresh and effective, and not causing breakouts or infections.
Whether or not you care about the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow’s wins this year were big. This piece by Manohla Dargis of the NY Times is a must-read.
Infographic of the Day: Nathaniel James tracks Jessie Spano’s excitement level over the course of Saved By The Bell’s classic, and classically superficial, anti-pill-popping episode, “Jessie’s Songâ€.
some earcandy for a monday afternoon…
Link: Watch 1903’s Alice in Wonderland for free.
Alice in Wonderland (1903), the first-ever film version of Lewis Carroll’s tale, has recently been restored by the BFI National Archive and premiered at a celebration of the history of the classic story at the British Library.
Made just 37 years after the novel’s publication and eight years after the birth of cinema, the first film adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations. Hepworth cast his wife as the Red Queen, and he himself appears as the Frog Footman. His production secretary May Clark played Alice, and even the family cat and dog got in on the act. The cat played the Cheshire Cat, and the dog would go on to become the first authentic British film star (canine or otherwise) to have his name in the credit of a film when he headlined the pioneering chase film Rescued By Rover in 1905.
Although originally running just 12 minutes, Alice in Wonderland was the longest film produced in England at that time and represented a major investment for the pioneering Hepworth Studios. However, despite its historical importance, it was almost lost for good, and just one incomplete print is known to survive. (via the auteurs)
