New 2020 Food Trends: “Ambar Balkan Cuisine” In Washington DC Earns Michelin Guide Review

From a Michelin Guide online review listing:

Ambar Balkan Cuisine Washington DC logoDon’t balk at trying something new, since Ambar rewards rookies with a lineup of enticing offerings at appealing prices. This two-story restaurant’s rustic-country décor is as well suited to groups as it is to solo diners. Come with a gang and eat to your heart’s content with the Balkan Experience, which is a litany of delightful small plates. Don’t fret if you’re sans friends though, as everyone is guaranteed a good time.

Ambar Balkan Cuisine Washington DC menu items 2019

Michelin Guide logoOrder the chef’s platter and you’ll be treated to the likes of pita sa sirom, a flaky cheese pie resting in a red bell pepper- and eggplant-ajvar sauce. Partake in the veal and beef kebabs set in a sheep’s milk cheese spread; or sour cabbage stuffed with rice, pork belly and set atop garlicky mashed potatoes for even more fun.

Ambar website

Michelin Guide

Healthcare: U.S. “Total Hip Replacement” Costs Were $32.5K In 2017, Up To 4 Times The Cost In Europe (Chart)

From a Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) release (12/17/19):

iFHP 2017 prices Hip Replacement Costs in USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia, UAE, Switzerland, South Africa and Holland Health Costs Institute December 2019 chart

 

  • Holland had the lowest prices for hip and knee replacements with prices less than 25% of the US price. Prices for hip and knee replacements in the United Arab Emeritus (UAE) were the closest to the US at 71% of the price.

Read more

 

Politics: Mark Shields And David Brooks On The Latest In Washington (PBS)

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week’s political news, including the battle between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over rules for a Senate impeachment trial, how the presidential primary race is shaping up among 2020 Democrats and the year’s most surprising political developments.

Profiles: Franco-American Illustrator Jessie Kanelos Weiner

Her work explores gastronomy, travel, lifestyle, architecture and pop culture for selected clients including Vogue, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Tmag, Afar, Vanity Fair France, M le Magazine du Monde, LVMH, Nespresso, Free People, and Penguin Press among many others.

Jessie Kanelos Weiner IllustrationsJessie Kanelos Weiner is a Franco-American illustrator, author and food stylist based in Paris and New York. Born and raised in Chicago, she was a costume designer in a previous life when picking up watercolor for the first time, developing her highly detailed, whimsical and instantly recognizable style. She is the coauthor of “Paris In Stride” (Rizzoli), author of “Edible Paradise”: A Coloring Book of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables” (Universe) and 8 cookbooks published by Editions Marabout.Jessie Kanelos Weiner IllustrationsShe is currently working on the next book in the “In Stride” series.

Her website

Top New Travel Books: “New York In Stride – An Insider’s Walking Guide”

New York In Stride An Insider's Walking Guide To Exploring the City by Jacob Lehman and Jessie Kanelos Weiner Rizzoli 2020The book features eleven curated neighborhood destination walks–guiding the reader through the energetic New York streets, passing restaurants and coffee shops, historical sights, museums and galleries, parks, and the kind of authentic and timeless sites that one hopes to find when imagining the city. Interwoven throughout are insider guides on how to eat like a New Yorker; explore the city’s most beautiful parks and gardens; navigate transit via ferry, subway, and bike; visit some of NYC’s most iconic TV and film locations.

“A locals’ treasure map to the secret spots favored by true New Yorkers.”

The “must-visit, must-see” travel list given to you by the New Yorker friend you wish you had. Vibrantly illustrated throughout, this practical guide transports readers to discover an insider’s view of the Big Apple. The vivid watercolors illustrate destinations of the architectural marvels, cultural hubs, food and drink spots, and music venues that make New York so exciting. Cultural musings, accessible histories, anecdotes, and informative details accompany the illustrations throughout, making this volume as practical as it is beautiful.

About The Author

Jessie Kanelos Weiner is an illustrator, food stylist, and author of Paris in Stride (Rizzoli) and Edible Paradise: A Coloring Book of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables (Universe). Jacob Lehman is the coauthor of several guidebooks to the city, including The Best Things to Do in New York: 1001 Ideas and In Love in New York.

To purchase or review (February 2020)

Art: “Bassins de Lumières” Opens As Largest Digital Art Center In World, Bordeaux (April 17, 2020)

Bassins de Lumières Digital Art Center Bordeaux France April 2020 OpeningLocated in Bordeaux’s former submarine base, the BASSINS DE LUMIÈRES will present monumental immersive digital exhibitions devoted to the major artists in the history of art and contemporary art. The submarine base’s surface area is three times the size of that of the Carrières de Lumières in Les Baux-de-Provence and five times that of the Atelier des Lumières in Paris.

The digital exhibitions will be perfectly adapted to the monumental architecture of the submarine base and will be reflected in the water of the four enormous basins, thereby adding a new dimension to the immersive experience. Visits will be conducted on gangways above the water and along the quays of the enormous basins.

On 17 April 2020, Culturespaces will open the largest digital art centre in the world: the Bassins de Lumières. France’s leading private operator in the management and promotion of monuments, museums, and art centres, Culturespaces is pursuing the creation of digital art centres and immersive exhibitions.

Website

 

Medical Research Video: “Synthesizing Speech From Brain Signals” (JAMA)

Imagine you’re paralyzed and can’t move or speak. How would you communicate with the world? This video describes the principles of early brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) designed to read electrical brain signals, analyze how brain activity patterns contribute to vocal tract movements, and reproduce the sound patterns as speech. The model is a first step toward one day restoring paralyzed individuals’ natural rate of communication and quality of life.

For more information see https://ja.ma/37dfVSx and https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158….

Technology: VW’s New “Mobile Charging Robot” Turns Every Carpark Into EV Charging Stations

From a VW media online news release December 26, 2019:

“The mobile charging robot will spark a revolution when it comes to charging in different parking facilities, such as multistorey car parks, parking spaces and underground car parks because we bring the charging infrastructure to the car Revolution_in_the_underground_car_park__Volkswagen_lets_its_charging_robots_loose-Small-10821and not the other way around. With this, we are making almost every car park electric, without any complex individual infrastructural measures”, summarises Mark Möller, Head of Development at Volkswagen Group Components.

“It’s a visionary prototype, which can be made into reality quite quickly, if the general conditions are right”, Möller continues. Volkswagen Group Components is researching different approaches to the assembly of charging infrastructure and has already developed several successful products. The flexible quick charging station and DC wall boxes are already part of a future charging family. Customer-oriented, intelligent and flexible approaches to charging are at the centre of the research. Other innovative products such as the charging robot are currently being developed.

  • Volkswagen Group Components presents a new and visionary charging concept
  • Mobile robots will charge electric vehicles completely autonomously in future
  • Every parking space can become a charging point

Volkswagen provides a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. Volkswagen Group Components’ mobile charging robot takes over this task – and drives to the electric car completely autonomously.

Read VW news release

History: The Early Promise, Fiery Failure Of Eucalytus Trees In California

From a The Economist magazine article and podcast:

The Economist podcastsThe real California, though, the California of immigrant dreams that break and get reborn, of lives as they turn out not as they are planned, is the California of the eucalyptus.

The Long and Tangled History of California's Eucalyptus Trees The Economist December 2019Like his friend John Muir, Lukens believed that California desperately needed more forests. Since the mid-19th century forests, and their loss, had been the principal focus of conservationist thought in America. According to Jared Farmer, who traces the history of the eucalyptus in California in “Trees in Paradise” (2013), Lukens and Muir were particularly keen on growing forests as a way to provide water—always a key to power in the state. Trees brought rain and captured fog and moisture; without forests, the men feared the state’s great cities would dry up.

“EUCALYPTUS PROMISES TO BE GREAT INDUSTRY”, announced the front page of the San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, later claiming that what the speculators following where Lukens had led were planting “will be the largest artificial forest in the world when completed”.

Read The Economist article

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious