The Standing Novation

What To Do When You’re In Atlantic City Revel 500...

sweetnyo — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:22:00 -0400

What To Do When You’re In Atlantic City

Revel

500 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ

So the new Revel Casino and Resort in Atlantic City is really fucking awesome. This thing is straight out of Las Vegas…but on a beach. Say goodbye to windowless gambling halls filled with smoke and degenerate gamblers. Revel is not just a casino, it’s a resort. They have Beyonce coming for three shows and The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Madonna and Avicii coming as well. Check out all the amenities on Revel’s website.

$2.4 Billion
710 feet tall (would be the second tallest in Las Vegas)
1,898 guest rooms
130,000 square feet of gambling space
5,050 seat arena called Ovation Hall
14 restaurants
55,000 square feet of retail space
10 pools
700 seat smaller arena

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White House Sub Shop

2301 Arctic Ave
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

This place is a time machine back to the 1940s. White House maintains they haven’t changed their recipe for Italian subs and cheesesteaks since 1946 and you can tell. Their process is meituculous in creating a masterpiece of food that will be the biggest sandwich you have ever seen. While you wait in line (yeah, there will be a line) check out the numerous signed photos on the wall by everyone from Frank Sinatra to George Clooney.

Urbanpoon Review

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The Quarter at Tropicana

2831 Boardwalk

Atlantic City, NJ

At the heart of Old Havana stood the original Tropicana Casino and Resort, the queen of all Havana casinos. Her majesty has been transported to Atlantic City via The Quarter, a vibrantly colored, three-story streetscape that brings to life the exotic splendor of historic Havana. The Quarter at Tropicana houses an unprecedented selection of world-class dining options, a stunning array of red-hot entertainment and nightlife venues, chic retail establishments, and the most luxuriant spa facility in Atlantic City. The Quarter at Tropicana Casino and Resort holds bragging rights to the largest nongaming expansion in the history of Atlantic City.

Check out the family style Carmine’s Italian restaurant while you’re there.

Website

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The Walk Outlet Stores

1931 Atlantic Avenue

Atlantic City, NJ

Shops include Adida, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, Clark’s, Coach, Columbia, DKNY, Fossil, GUESS, H&M, J.Crew, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Tommy Hilfinger, Under Armour nad many more. Check out the full directory here

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The Pier Shops at Caesars

One Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Come discover The Pier Shops at Caesars and experience a whole new level of world-class shopping, incredible dining and premiere nightlife. Explore an amazing collection of shops, offering fine fashions from the world over. Discover Armani Exchange, Apple, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Betsey Johnson, Coach, Tommy Bahama, Tiffany & Co. and many more. Check out the full directory here.

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Angelo’s Fairmount Tavern

2300 Fairmount Ave
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Urbanspoon Review

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40/40 Club

2120 Atlantic Avenue

Atlantic City, NJ

Looking for some swag? This is the place for you. Jay-Z’s infamous club done only as HOVA could do it. After the Manhattan location, Jay-Z decided the gambling capital of the East coast was ready for the 40/40 club. Since it’s opening in 2005 it’s been a great spot for imitating Jay-Z with your entourage.

It Can’t Hurt: Dylan Ennis Transfers To Villanova With...

sweetnyo — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:22:35 -0400

It Can’t Hurt: Dylan Ennis Transfers To Villanova

With Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek leaving early for the NBA Draft, it’s clear that Villanova needs an influx of talent on its basketball roster. While Villanova has not done too well on the recruiting circuit recently (Savon Goodman decomitted and might be headed to arch-rival Temple, and VU looks like it will strikeout on landing Amile Jefferson), Jay Wright and staff have hit the transfer wire hard, and have been in talks with multiple players. Wright and staff landed the first of potentially three new transfers yesterday when Point Guard Dylan Ennis of Rice, picked the Wildcats over Big-East rival Cincinnati. While this move may not raise too many eyebrows now, it has the potential to be a huge move for VU going forward.

First let’s talk about Ennis. As a freshman, he started for the Owls and put up pretty good numbers. He average 8.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. He’s got good size for a point guard at 6’2 and he is a very good passer with a great handle. He was named to the all-freshman team for Conference-USA and set the assists by a freshman record in a season this year distributing 144 dimes for the Owls. A pass first point guard will be good for the ‘Cats as many times this year, they struggled to get open looks and point guard play was inconsistent at best this season. Ennis is no slouch at scoring though. He shot the ball reasonably well (43.5 percent) including 35 percent from 3 point land, another area where the Wildcats need some help. The question for Ennis will be whether or not he is ready for the competition in the Big East. While this is a common knock on players coming to elite conferences from lower-tier conferences, the stats don’t lie. In Rice’s three biggest games (Iowa State, Texas, and Memphis), Ennis struggled as he scored a combined 11 points in those games and had more turnovers than assists. The good news is he won’t be thrown into the fire right away. Most likely, he’ll have to sit out this upcoming season but he’ll get to go against rising sophomore Ty Johnson and incoming freshman Ryan Arcidiacono in practice every day and he should be ready to go in 2013-2014.

As for Villanova’s other two transfer targets (Tony Chennault of Wake Forest and Michael Gbinije of Duke), the Ennis decision should have little to no effect. Gbinije is a forward and there are plenty of minutes to be had there, but the ‘Cats will have to wait and see where Gbinije narrows his list down to. He is still fielding offers from prospective suitors but Villanova is mentioned as a potential landing spot. Chennault is the man who could get lost in the equation here. A hometown kid (played high-school ball at Neumann-Gorretti in Philly); he leaves the Deamon Deacons program to be closer to his ailing mother back home. If Chennault decides to come, he’ll be eligible to play right away but could leave the Cats with a glut of point guards (4 in 2013-2014). Chennault who has been in talks with other Big 5 schools (St. Joe’s, La Salle, etc.) has only visited Villanova and was rumored to be close to committing to the Wildcats. Ennis said that he talked with Chennault and believes that his decision won’t deter Chennault from picking Villanova, but it is to be determined.

Ennis’s decision also could have a big impact on recruiting. His brother, Tyler Ennis, is one of the top point guards in the class of 2013 and a Villanova recruit. Ennis stopped short of saying his pledge to the Wildcats would help, but he didn’t shut the door on it completely. Nonetheless, the addition of Dylan Ennis is a nice pickup for the program and his game should improve as VU looks to rebound and rebuild from this year’s disastrous 19 loss season. Until next time, Go Cats!

Stella Artois Commercial Directed by Wes Anderson Stella Artois...

sweetnyo — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:56:37 -0400

Stella Artois Commercial Directed by Wes Anderson

Stella Artois Wikipedia:

Tax records exist from 1366 for Leuven’s Den Horen Brewery. In 1708, Sebastianus Artois became the master brewer at Den Horen, and gave his name to the brewery in 1717.

In 1926, Stella Artois was launched initially as a seasonal beer especially for the Christmas holiday market. First sold in Canada, it was such a commercial success it became available year round and, apart from the duration of the Second World War, has been produced ever since. The first Stella Artois beer was exported to the European market in 1930. By 1960, 100 million litres of Stella Artois were being produced annually. InBev opened a new fully automated brewery in Leuven in 1993, and by 2006, total production volume was over a billion litres annually.

The current package design and bottle design and shape was created in 1988 by David Taylor, founder of Taylorbrands. The design replaced a 1960s design and is inspired by the original 1926 bottle label. The design incorporates the horn symbol of the Den Hoorn brewery and the date 1366 which is the date of the earliest recorded brewing in Leuven. The label also shows medals for excellence awarded to the brewery at a number of trade exhibitions in Belgium in the 19th and 20th century. The name Stella Artois is held within a “cartouche” which was influenced by the style of Belgian architecture of Leuvenes.

In 2008 a lower alcohol version named Stella Artois 4% was launched in the UK. As of 2011, a new spin-off cider product has been produced, named “Stella Artois Cidre”.

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Wes Anderson (director) IMDB

Wesley Wales “Wes” Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials.

He was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums and a 2010 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic Mr. Fox. His films employ similar aesthetics, using a deliberate, methodical cinematography, with mostly primary colors. His soundtracks feature folk and early rock music, in particular classic British rock. Anderson’s films combine dry humor with poignant portrayals of flawed characters – often a mix of the wealthy and the working class. He is also known for working with many of the same actors and crew on varying projects.

Known For:

Wikipedia: Persol is an Italian luxury eyewear company...

sweetnyo — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:21:23 -0400

Wikipedia:

Persol is an Italian luxury eyewear company specializing in sunglasses. The name is derived from “per il sole,” which, in Italian, means “for the sun.” Formed in 1917 by Giuseppe Ratti, Persol originally catered to pilots and sports drivers. Presently, the company is famous for its durable sports sunglasses. Its trademark is the silver arrow (often referred to as the “Supreme Arrow”), and several of the company’s glasses feature this symbol.

Persol was a heavy influence in the production of sunglasses. The company developed the first flexible stem. This flexible stem system is known as the patented Meflecto system and was one of the first spring hinges ever developed for eyewear. Persol was introduced to the United States in 1962. Its first boutique opened on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles in 1991. It is currently owned by the Luxottica group. Currently all “plastic” Persol eyewear is hand crafted in Italy using cellulose acetate, a hypoallergenic material derived from cotton.

Steve McQueen popularized two Persol models: the 714 folding sunglasses and closely styled 649. He wore a special pair of 714’s with blue lenses in The Thomas Crown Affair and was often photographed wearing the 649 model. Persol models 2244-S and 2720-S were both worn by Daniel Craig in the James Bond film Casino Royale. Pierce Brosnan wore Persol model 2672-S as James Bond in the film Die Another Day and then Persol model 2720-S in Mamma Mia! Don Johnson wore a Persol 69218 during Season Three of Miami Vice. Persol sunglasses have also been used in other movies, Bill Murray can be seen wearing them in both Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers. One of the most iconic images of Persol sunglasses can be seen in the movie Divorce Italian Style where Marcello Mastroianni wears a pair of black 649s; Mastroianni also has a pair of Persol sunglasses on in almost every scene in the movie La Dolce Vita. In addition Nicolas Cage wears them in Lord of War. Robert Culp, as Kelly Robinson, in the iconic I SPY TV series in the 1960s sported Persols 2656S in many episodes.

When To End: A Look At The Longevity of Baseball Players Few...

sweetnyo — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:50:00 -0400

When To End: A Look At The Longevity of Baseball Players

Few athletes enjoy greater longevity in their careers than baseball players. This can in large part be attributed to the fact that ballplayers are not as susceptible to serious injury as football or hockey players, but perhaps it also stems from the fact that baseball feels so naturally human as to transcend the typical realm of occupation. It’s not a job; it’s a way of life.

When I was a teenager, I had the good fortune of working for a local independent pro baseball team, the Somerset Patriots. Michael Hernandez, a catcher, was far and away the club’s best player. In a league of anonymity, it was definitely notable for a guy who was not a former Major Leaguer to garner name recognition from the fans.

One day, Hernandez didn’t show up at the park. The news came down that he had been signed by the Yankees to one of their farm teams, and most of the other employees and players seemed to think the Patriots’ season was over. While I was in the batting cages unwrapping game balls, Sparky Lyle came up the ramp from the dugout to smoke. A legendary Yankee and manager of the Patriots since their inception, Sparky was kind of like the “Old Perfessor” of the Atlantic League.

One of the players started asking questions about how he was going to fill Hernandez’s spot in the lineup. Sparky stamped out his cigarette and turned toward him. Even in his sixties, with his trademark mustache pure white, he was a very intimidating man.

“Don’t worry about Hernandez,” Sparky growled, “He got his shot and he better take it. Pretty soon he won’t know when to quit.”

Why do ballplayers never know when to quit? This past month, when Jorge Posada decided it was his time, most fans recognized it as a bit overdue. His plummeting batting average, relegation to the role of Designated Hitter, and public tantrum over being dropped to 9^th in the batting order for a game in Boston were enough to manifest that.

Still, Posada ended it all on a high note. He batted .429 in the Yankees’ first round postseason defeat and was able to retire with the typical press conference and fanfare before the situation became truly awkward. Surely, a “Jorge Posada Day” at Yankee Stadium this summer is imminent.

Other notable players haven’t been so fortunate. Ozzie Smith’s very public dismay and subsequent retirement announcement over losing the Cardinals’ starting shortstop job to Royce Clayton in spring training of 1996 form a perfect example of a player and management handling the delicate age issue entirely the wrong way.

Smith isn’t the only player to embarrass himself by becoming a burden to his team. It was pretty obvious that Ken Griffey, Jr. had reached his time in 2010 when he missed a chance to pinch hit by falling asleep in the clubhouse.

Perhaps I am not giving the players their due credit. Everyone remembers seeing Ozzie Smith do back flips across the infield, and watching in awe as Jr. Griffey scaled the outfield walls of the Kingdome to bring back would-be homeruns. Why should it be any easier for the players to accept the reality that their skills are diminished than it is for the fans who worship them?

Professional athletics are one of the few lines of work in which someone is told it’s time to retire at the age of 40. Cynics will say that these men deserve no sympathy, that they got rich by playing a child’s game. For many of these players, though, this is the only job they’ve ever known. Professional baseball is what they’ve been playing since they were 18, and baseball itself since long before that.

In the age of free agency, we, as fans, become emotionally invested in the rare player who achieves greatness with the same team on a yearly basis. I know that the difficult time will soon come when Derek Jeter no longer patrols the left side of the Yankee infield and the Stadium no longer rings with the opening chords of “Enter Sandman” in anticipation of Mariano Rivera.

Surely, the transition will not be smooth. Even Jeter, the embodiment of professionalism, saw his contract extension negotiations border on ugly in the offseason of 2010. Hopefully, when the time comes that Jeter or A-Rod are asked to become the DH or move to the outfield, Sparky Lyle’s words won’t ring true. If they do, though, it might just be with reason. After all, there was one smile in the home clubhouse of Somerset Ballpark that day: on the face of the backup catcher.

The Shocking New Scientific Discoveries Behind Call Me Maybe...

sweetnyo — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:36:00 -0400

The Shocking New Scientific Discoveries Behind Call Me Maybe Obession

It’s catchiness, like it’s immature prepubescent style, is undeniable. Still, college girls put Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe on a high pedestal with Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and John Lennon’s Imagine. So, what is it about Call Me Maybe that leaves young girls incapable of simply unhearing the pop sensation?

Dr. Carl Cornwallis, leading ear expert at University of Cambridge’s prestigious School of Clinical Medicine, says, “…Through evolution, the ears of young women have changed to perceive Call Me Maybe in a manner that a twelve year old girl would typically have.” Scientists agree that the lethal combination of lyrics and pop beat provides a combination that leaves 20-something girls without control of their bodily emotions and screaming tendencies. Let us look further in depth to see the innerworkings of Call Me Maybe on the human ear.

The middle ear, an air-filled cavity behind the ear drum (tympanic membrane), includes the three ear bones or ossicles: the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup). Each of these bones has a specific role in detecting the playing of Call Me Maybe. The malleus has a long process (the manubrium, or handle) that is attached to the mobile portion of the eardrum. The malleus is triggered when Carly Rae Jepsen belts out, “Where you think you’re going, baby?”

The incus is the bridge between the malleus and stapes. Being that the incus is the connector, the chorus of the song (connector of verses) obviously relates to this bone in the ear. Dr. Carl Cornwallis states, “The sense of doubt that arises from ‘Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me, maybe?’ prompts involuntary coordinated head, arm and body gyrations in 97% of women between the ages of 18-22.”

The stapes is the smallest named bone in the human body and corresponds to repetitive nature of the song. “The amount of repetition is simply staggering,” says Dr. Carl Cornwallis and continues, “…by saying ‘I missed you so bad’ 8 times and ‘so call me maybe’ 12 times all in a span of about 3 minutes, renders females incapable of seeing through the actually horrible, generic and repetitive lyrics.” Carly Jepsen says, “If your lyrics aren’t good, you just have repeat them over and over again in hopes of tricking the liseners into liking them,” and continues, “people notice one bad line, not 50 bad ones.”

The three bones are arranged so that movement of the tympanic membrane causes movement of the malleus, which causes movement of the incus, which causes movement of the stapes. Is the song then a fad that will with time or have continued popularity? Dr. Cornwallis fears the worst. “Through many auditory studies, we have determined the evolutionary process to be unchangeable - Call Me Maybe will prompt these current results in young women for at least the next 72 years.” Guys, Call Me Maybe is here to stay.

Everything just said is totally true.

A Park In The Sky For Philadelphia It’s a never ending debate...

sweetnyo — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:58:00 -0400

A Park In The Sky For Philadelphia

It’s a never ending debate around Villanova. Define “the city”. New Yorkers insist it’s Manhattan and Philadelphians insist it’s Center City. It’s hard to argue with the Manhattanites who claim that Philadelphia is a wannabe New York City when projects like the Reading Viaduct Park advertise themselves as trying to “replicate the magic of NYC.” Never the less, we think it’s a great idea! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Most people who have visited New York City know about High Line Park, a transformed abandoned freight line that runs 30 feet off the ground through New York City. The self proclaimed “Friends of the High Line” started an organization in 1999, after almost 20 years of the railway being unused, and within three years had the support of the city to turn the abandoned railroad into an elevated park. Flash forward almost 10 years to this past summer, and the High Line has just opened the second section of the renovation to the public. Check it out next time you’re in “the city.” http://www.thehighline.org/

Inspired by this urban renewal project, the Reading Viaduct Project is doing the exact same thing here in Philly, taking the former Reading Railroad (you may better know it as ‘that railroad from my favorite Hasbro game, Monopoly’) and turning it into a suspended park, running one mile in length. The structure of the Viaduct is, appropriately, wishbone shaped as it hopes to bridge the socio-economical gap between different barrios in Philly. The wish is for the viaduct to generate revenue for the city, and bring attention to otherwise overlooked regions of Philadelphia. The project’s website is quoted saying, “As in Paris and New York, a new recreational amenity in this section of Philadelphia will result in additional economic investment and development.” Essentially, Philly wants to play with the big boys over in France and in New York, and for good reason, Paris and NYC are the crème de la crème.

Lined with restaurants, shopping and open green spaces, one could visit the sky park and sing the classic Dixie Chicks “Wide Open Spaces”. The views from the park are going to be phenomenal when they are finished, and for people in Philly who complain about lack of safe places to run outdoors: problem solved. The aspect of the Viaduct that makes it stand out against its New York and Parisian counter parts is the underground portion. Running underneath the streets of Philadelphia, the project will connect to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, and the controversial Barnes Foundation Center.

Underground portion pictured above

The project is still in the stages of finding district support and funding, but Mayor Nutter has expressed interest in its potential. It seems that a tranquil area in the heart of a chaotic city, and any opportunity we can give Philadelphians to work out more should be an easy sell. Go to the website and check it out, look at the pictures and help make Philly the next best thing to ‘the city’.

http://viaductgreene.org/

http://www.facebook.com/readingviaductpark

So the new Revel Casino and Resort in Atlantic City is going to...

sweetnyo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:47:12 -0400

So the new Revel Casino and Resort in Atlantic City is going to be really fucking awesome. This thing is straight out of Las Vegas…but on a beach. Say goodbye to windowless gambling halls filled with smoke and degenerate gamblers. Revel is not just a casino, it’s a resort. They have Beyonce coming for three shows and The Black Keys coming as well right when it opens. Only about an hour away, see you there. Check out all the amenities on Revel’s website.

Resort preview: April 2nd - May 24th

Premiere weekend: May 25th - 28th

Let’s look at the numbers to put this thing in perspective:

$2.4 Billion
710 feet tall
1,898 guest rooms
130,000 square feet of gambling space
5,050 seat arena called Ovation Hall
14 restaurants
55,000 square feet of retail space
10 pools
700 seat smaller arena

I think Atlantic City got it’s swag back.

Read a few articles here: Huffington Post, Press of Atlantic City and USA Today

wxvu: WXVU’s Top 10 - as of 3/20/12 1. fun. - Some Nights 2....

sweetnyo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:25:31 -0400

fun. - Some Nights

Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect

Moon Hooch - Moon Hooch

Bowerbirds - The Clearing

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

Hospitality - Hospitality

Laura Gibson - La Grande

The Black Keys - El Camino

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

wxvu:

WXVU’s Top 10 - as of 3/20/12

1. fun. - Some Nights

2. Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

3. Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect

4. Moon Hooch - Moon Hooch

5. Bowerbirds - The Clearing

6. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

7. Hospitality - Hospitality

8. Laura Gibson - La Grande

9. The Black Keys - El Camino

10. Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

One Photo At a Time: The Good and Bad of Villanova. This photo...

sweetnyo — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:18:46 -0400

One Photo At a Time: The Good and Bad of Villanova. This photo stuck out to me as a juxtaposition of natural beauty and ugliness. That ugliness, however, is ironically there to maintain the environment.

Falvey.

5:02 PM on a Tuesday.

Full Series of Photos on Flickr

With the rapid advancement in digital camera technology it has...

sweetnyo — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:04:00 -0400

With the rapid advancement in digital camera technology it has become increasingly easy to capture a moment in time. With my trusty iPhone and handy Instagram application, I’ve wandered about Villanova’s campus finding things to capture. This album, however, will not be in any Villanova prospective handbook. It will instead capture all of the aspects of Villanova’s campus, good or bad.

Pizza, a constant reminder of the good things in...

sweetnyo — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:57:16 -0400

Pizza, a constant reminder of the good things in life.

Wiki:

Pizza (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpittsa], from the Latin verb pìnsere, to press) is Greek in origin. The Ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbsand cheese. In Byzantine Greek, the word was spelled πίτα or pita, meaning pie. The word has now spread to Turkish as pide, and Bulgarian,Croatian and Serbian as pita, Albanian as pite and Modern Hebrew pittāh. The Romans developed placenta, a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves. Modern pizza originated in Italy as the Neapolitan pie with tomato. In 1889, cheese was added.

In 1889, during a visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Italy was served a pizza resembling the colors of the Italian flag, red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil). This kind of pizza has been named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.

Base and baking methods

Pizzas in a traditional wood-fired brick oven

Vegetarian pizza typically includes cheese and any toppings except meat.

The bottom of the pizza, called the “crust”, may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand-tossed pizza or Roman pizza, or thick as in a typical pan pizza or Chicago-style pizza. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic, or herbs, or stuffed with cheese.

In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. On deck ovens, the pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle, called a peel, and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum). When made at home, it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce the effect of a brick oven. Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Greek pizza, like Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.

Pizza types

Pizza al taglio in Rome

500 pizzas are proposed in a trattoria in southern Italy

Neapolitan pizza (pizza napoletana): Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are typically made with tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese. They can be made with ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, and mozzarella di bufala Campana, made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state (this mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin).

According to the rules proposed by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of wheat flour (type 0 or 00, or a mixture of both), natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer’s yeast, salt and water. For proper results, strong flour with high protein content (as used for bread-making rather than cakes) must be used. The dough must be kneaded by hand or with a low-speed mixer. After the rising process, the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or other machine, and may be no more than 3 millimetres (0.12 in) thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire. When cooked, it should be crispy, tender and fragrant. There are three official variants: pizza marinara, which is made with tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil, pizza Margherita, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra-virgin olive oil, and pizza Margherita extra made with tomato, mozzarella from Campania in fillets, basil and extra virgin olive oil. The pizza napoletana is a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (Specialità Tradizionale Garantita, STG) product in Europe.

A homemade pizza cooked on a pizza pan.

Lazio style: Pizza in Lazio (Rome), as well as in many other parts of Italy, is available in two different styles. Take-away shops sell pizza rustica or pizza al taglio. This pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1–2 cm). The pizza is often cooked in an electric oven. It is usually cut with scissors or a knife and sold by weight. In pizzerias, pizza is served in a dish in its traditional round shape. It has a thin, crisp base quite different from the thicker and softer Neapolitan style base. It is usually cooked in a wood-fired oven, giving the pizza its unique flavor and texture. In Rome, a pizza napoletana is topped with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and oil (thus, what in Naples is calledpizza romana, in Rome is called pizza napoletana).

Other types of Lazio-style pizza include:

Pizza romana: tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano, oil
Pizza viennese: tomato, mozzarella, German sausage, oregano, oil
Pizza capricciosa: mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, cooked ham, olives, oil
Pizza quattro formaggi (“four cheese pizza”): tomatoes, and the cheeses mozzarella, stracchino, fontina, and gorgonzola. Sometimes ricotta is swapped for one of the last three.
Pizza bianca In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped with olive oil, salt and, occasionally, rosemary sprigs. It is also a Roman style to add figs to the pizza, the result being known as pizza e fichi
Pizza alla casalinga (“Grandma pizza”) consists of a thin layer of dough is stretched into an oiled, square “Sicilian” pan, topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, crushed uncooked canned tomatoes, chopped garlic and olive oil, and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp.

Pizza is available frozen. Ways have been developed to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. Modified corn starch is commonly used as a moisture barrier between the sauce and crust. Traditionally the dough is partially baked and other ingredients are also sometimes precooked. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self-rising crusts. A form of uncooked pizza is available from take and bake pizzerias. This pizza is created fresh using raw ingredients, then sold to customers to bake in their own ovens and microwaves.

When someone tries to talk to me while I'm eating ice cream

sweetnyo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:14:57 -0400

I’m just like,

“Excellence is my presence. Never tense, never...

sweetnyo — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:10:00 -0500

“Excellence is my presence. Never tense, never hesitant.”

- Christopher George Latore Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.)

May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997

“I’m not one of those complicated, mixed-up cats....

sweetnyo — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:31:29 -0500

“I’m not one of those complicated, mixed-up cats. I’m not looking for the secret to life…I just go on from day to day, taking what comes.”

- Frank Sinatra

A Bright Spot For Villanova Basketball: Jay Wright To Receive...

sweetnyo — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:27:00 -0500

A Bright Spot For Villanova Basketball: Jay Wright To Receive Jimmy V Award

In a setting where coaching means a lot more than simply putting the best team on the court, Jay Wright has been described as a teacher, a mentor, a leader, and a friend. It should come as no surprise, then, that on May 18 Wright will join the elite echelon of collegiate coaching legends to be honored at the V Foundation’s annual Dick Vitale Gala for Cancer Research in Sarasota, Florida.

“Jay is an outstanding humanitarian as well as a great coach,” said sportscaster Dick Vitale, “He’s a friend of the V Foundation and he’s always been there to help us raise money. Our goal this year is to raise a million dollars to help kids battling cancer.”

The V Foundation was set up by ESPN and former college basketball coach Jim Valvano following his diagnosis with bone cancer in 1993. Fueled by Valvano’s inspirational speech at the ESPY Awards just weeks before his death, the V Foundation has become one of the most popular and well-funded charities in the sports world, awarding 100% of all donations directly to cancer research.

“As a young assistant coach, I got a chance to spend some time with Coach Valvano. His courage in facing cancer was truly remarkable,” said Wright, “We made a point of showing his speech at the ESPY’s to our team before we played in the Jimmy V Classic against Missouri. I think our guys gained a better appreciation for who he was and what his memory means to all of us today.”

Alongside Wright, Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams and former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz will also be honored for their efforts to support the foundation.

“This is a very prestigious honor for Coach Wright and Villanova,” said Vince Nicastro, Director of Athletics, “It is a testament to not only his numerous charitable works, but to his exemplary leadership of our nationally respected basketball program.”

According to Wright, the V Foundation is a cause that is close to the hearts of him and his wife Patty, along with Coaches vs. Cancer and the Augustinian Fund, a Catholic humanitarian organization. Never one to shine the spotlight on himself, Wright preferred instead to praise the work of Dick Vitale in organizing the yearly fundraiser and his players and preceding coaches in lifting the University basketball program to its current level of national recognition.

Those around him, however, view this honor as a manifestation of Wright’s outstanding work both on and off the court.

“I think people recognize character and success,” said Billy Lange, Associate Head Basketball Coach, “The success of this program puts these kids on a national level, and when you see the way they carry themselves, people are impressed by that. I think that plays a hand in this recognition.”

Wright’s impeccable reputation is not without good reason. The University’s basketball team has enjoyed a very high graduation rate since the beginning of Wright’s tenure—one of just two Big East teams with a rate of 100 percent last season—and, unlike many of his contemporaries, Wright has never been implicated in any type of recruiting scandal. These are not simply erroneous, feel-good accolades, but hard evidence that Wright cares as much about making gentlemen out of boys and winning the right way as he does about winning at all.

“Jay is more than just a basketball coach,” said Vitale, “He cares deeply about people and has always given generously of his time to help us in this fight.”

In the wake of the world-rocking Penn State scandal, Jay Wright is the perfect antidote to disturbed cynicism.

“Jay has always been genuine, sincere, and humble,” said Lange, “He sees himself as being in a position to help people, and I think he takes great pride in that.”

As an Augustinian institution, the University repeatedly emphasizes the values of community and service to others.

“Jay repeatedly exemplifies Augustinian values,” said Associate Athletic Director Rev. Rob Hagan, O.S.A., “I marvel at his availability to all those who call upon him for assistance. He sacrifices his own time on a regular basis in an effort to support cause after cause, person after person, striving to make a difference and a positive impact in the community.”

Consistent with this imperative, Wright is a fixture on campus, accessible not just to his players but to all members of the population. Similarly, being honored by the V Foundation shows Wright’s recognition of the importance of helping those both inside and outside of the University community.

“Together with the entire Villanova community, I congratulate Coach Wright on this recognition,” said the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., President of the University, “He works year-round on behalf of the V Foundation and truly believes in its mission. It is wonderful to see him honored for what we see on campus every day—his genuine compassion and commitment to improving the lives of others.”

Despite the billions of dollars and hours of work contributed to cancer research by the V Foundation and others, cancer is still an omnipresent issue. Thanks to the work of Jay Wright and the countless other coaches and sports figures who have contributed to the V Foundation’s mission, however, the fight against cancer has been given a vital boost.

In the immortal words of Jim Valvano from his 1993 ESPY Awards speech, “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.”

smallest Jordans I’ve ever seen. #smallswag

sweetnyo — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:48:27 -0500

smallest Jordans I’ve ever seen. #smallswag

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t...

sweetnyo — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:35:02 -0500

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

- Mark Twain

Fear And Loathing In Bryn Mawr Courts note: some names are...

sweetnyo — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:34:00 -0500

Fear And Loathing In Bryn Mawr Courts

note: some names are blacked out for anonymity

Outside the windows of the “D” tower the noise is rising. If you had woken up a foreigner in this place, alone, you may be nervous about what’s growing outside. It sounds like the Moroccan mob closing in on DiCaprio from the opening scenes of “Inception.” Crack the linoleum blinds and make a V-shaped crevace to peer out—fifty under-ages are drinking on the pavement, unafraid and sauced as sin—it’s not going to get any quieter tonight.

The U-shaped inlet they occupy is created by College Hall, an ancient set of brick apartments built on the corner of Montgomery and Morris Avenue, in Bryn Mawr. The height of the building, combined with its narrow dimensions, force the sun to rise late and set early on the two rows of eight cars that fill the edges of the “courtyard”. It is 12AM, and those fifty Villanovans, and the cars, are being half-lit by old, piss-yellow exterior lamps. They are chirping, finagling, and loitering. Pounding music comes from different windows, bouncing around in a brick-walled acoustic trap. Red cups are littered on the ground. Out of nowhere there is screaming, yelling, deep voices—heads turn and everyone pauses.

A group of African-American football players have stripped off their shirts; they rush into a tower. THWACK, the tower door, spring-loaded, slams behind them. A nearby voice commentates, “they’re going to fuck up Fiji, they wouldn’t let their boy into a party the other night, and threw him down the stairs.” Ten seconds pass, and immediately it seems as if nothing happened. Normalcy resumes. The normalcy of young Villanovans walking into strangers’s apartments, hunting for booze, craving sexual contact or drugs or both. The normalcy of hiding from police in vomit-and-urine caked back staircases. The normalcy of “Getting Greedy” at College Hall, or the Courts, or whatever you want to call it, is the coveted calling of Villanova’s students, and the Bain of existence for Villanova University’s administration, Lower Merion Township, and Bryn Mawr.

Downtown Bryn Mawr is a point of pride in the Main Line area of Pennsylvania. The architecture is characterized by lavish size and gorgeous stonework. The buildings, erected over generations by Philadelphia’s most well-off suburbanites, serve as a foundation for a lasting atmosphere of wealth and class. The apartment complex on the corner of Montgomery and Morris Avenue, now home to the scene described above, used to be the centerpiece of it all.

“Across on the other side of Montgomery Avenue is Harcum College. To the right, on the near side of Montgomery Avenue, is the Shipley School. To the left, on the near side of Montgomery Avenue, is the Baldwin School, and behind the complex is Bryn Mawr College.” Bryn Mawr, Baldwin, and Shipley all date back to the 19th century, Harcum since 1913. The quoted voice belongs to General Julius Becton Jr.— Head of FEMA 1985-1989, Army Lieutenant General, Lower Merion High School Graduate, and Bryn Mawr Courts Resident 1926-1942—he voice has sharp tenor and stark annunciation. Becton’s father was the Janitor Superintendent of the apartment complex during the building’s early years.

“I don’t know how familiar you are with the surrounding area,” Becton says. “The building, was built in 1923. It was filled with the upper-middle class, and higher. Lawyers, Bankers, and Railroad Magnets. To buy an apartment was around ten thousand dollars, which was a lot in the 1920’s.” In addition to Becton’s father, the building was staffed by ten “housekeepers,” who also lived in the basement with Becton and his younger brother. “My father was paid seventy five dollars every two weeks, which, was not a lot. However, we paid no rent, no utilities. We were always comfortable. The apartment’s were very nice, my father was also responsible for showing them to buyers.”

But what about the piss-lit mosh-pit in the complex’s innards? “There was a centerpiece, cement and circular, which created a roundabout in the center of the opening. During the winter, an evergreen would be put up and decorated.”

A cigarette is flicked and ash drifts down off the balcony while a young man urinates between the black iron railings off the H tower. A red, cast iron cube is embedded, about chest-high, in the wall behind them. There is a hinged door on the small compartment; it reads “THE MAJESTIC COMPANY, HUNTINGTON IND., PATENTED 1916.” The cast iron milk box is now home to three cups of red drink called ‘jungle juice,’ assembled en masse earlier that night, with the world’s shittiest vodka and enough sugar to make sure your head hurts tomorrow… I wonder if they know that Becton Sr. used to sign-off the milkman’s request to stock this metal artifact.

The crimson box spans through the wall, and opens into the back staircase. Being in a back staircase in this building is like playing Russian roulette; six staircases to choose from, worse odds than the gun. If you can breathe, you have found a tower that likely has a good share of female tenants. The more common experience involves stairs softened by urine and vomit, and sawdust at the bottom of rickety wooden steps soaking it up. In Spring 2010, Junior ANONYMOUS 1 made the mistake of trusting a third story railing in one of these staircases. Leaning backward, his feet slipped out beneath him, beginning a fifteen foot inversion that ended a full story below. Hospitalized, but unscathed, ANONYMOUS 1 returned home the next day. He and other brazen residents of this place have been known to take a beating; however, others have not all been so lucky.

On March 26, 2011, ANONYMOUS 2, a junior engineering student, did not wake up. Crime Scene Investigation arrived later that morning. They arrived in a van wearing yellow and blue-lettered jackets and filed into the F tower. Every resident present watched a motionless silhouette under a white sheet leave the courtyard—the autopsy was partially released to the public, citing “accidental causes— I was a C tower resident that semester, and I know, for fact, that every resident at that moment thought, “This could happen to me, I’m not invincible.” We all had nights spent emptying stomachs over railings, sinks or toilets. Some of them may have been close calls with something worse; bad nights, the ones you forget as soon as possible. An event like this forced us, against our will, to remember of them what we could.

After ANONYMOUS 2’s death there was a change in the handling of the “Courts” by Villanova, and Lower Merion. “A student death is the moment I dread the most,” says Ryan Rost, Villanova’s dean of students. “There is clearly an ‘Animal House’ mentality there. I was a student until 1992, and it was the same way then as it is now.” Rost’s patience was tested in the 2010-2011 academic year to the point where she decided to take action. “The events last year, hospitalizations, write-ups, death, it really concerned us. To the point at which Dean Pew and I made the decision to draft a personalized letter to every student moving into the courts.” The letter, a single page, has the resident’s name at the top. Following it is a message which blurs the line between a plea and a threat. “We wanted to make sure that the students were aware of what had happened before, and the risks involved with living there. We asked them to use more discretion.”

The students have not listened, and Lower Merion Police officers have become nightly weekend guests. “This year, I have about one to two reports per week on my desk involving the courts,” Rost says. These are mostly students who return to campus intoxicated, but also those who are hospitalized or arrested. We have an open line with Marks Apartments and Lower Merion.” She looks down at her desk, and flips over the topmost piece of paper. “Look at this, 801 Montgomery Avenue, I’m not kidding,” she says. “Our report has fallen on deaf ears.”

It’s around 1 AM. I head back in the D tower with a resident who I often hosted during my time in this building. His roommate says, “The cops haven’t been here in two weeks, we’ve probably been throwing down four nights a week.”
“HEY MAKE SURE THAT DOORS LOCKED!” a voice yells from another room.

“Why did he say that?” I ask.

“We got tired of random kids walking in all the time, if the doors locked it feels like a normal place.”

The living room in this D tower Apartment is half-furnished, but has a humongous HD television. A poster on the wall with a smiling Mr. Monopoly says, “GET GREEDY;” I take the advice, down my cup of vodka, pour one more and step out into the drunken amoeba that has formed outside.

Flashing blue lights ricochet off the windows as a Police cruiser makes a right turn into the driveway. He pulls into the courtyard, exits the vehicle and pulls a flashlight. As he approaches, pairs of drunk, underage eyes are turning, fixating on the officer. Countless drunken stupors snap into reality in perfect synchronization; they funnel into the six tower doors like sand into an hourglass. They leap into humid, rank, and slippery rubber-gripped staircases that lead to half-furnished apartments with giant TV’s and bigger speakers. There is no milk in the MAJESTIC cast iron boxes, and no decorated Christmas tree middle of the courtyard. The Officer is now standing where the tree should be, yelling “IF YOU DON’T LIVE HERE, LEAVE NOW!”

There are now four additional police cruisers lining the curb. A German shepherd is barking out of a cruiser window. Four degenerates have fled on the wings of a stolen golf cart down Montgomery Ave, with a police cruiser in tow.

Where do they think they’re going? What’s their contingency plan?

But they have the right idea. It’s busted, broken, it’s time to get out of here. The cops run up the E tower as I head for the sidewalk. My friend Dr. Gonzo is walking up the driveway, just arriving…

“What the fuck’s going on here?”

“Nothing, let’s get out of here.”

As far as awards shows go, I was pretty pleased with tonight’s...

ssloane — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:47:00 -0500

As far as awards shows go, I was pretty pleased with tonight’s Oscars. Here, I’ll give a brief sum up in case you missed it, and share some of my opinions as well…

First, as a fashion enthusiast, let me start with the red carpet. My winners for best dressed tonight go to Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen, and Milla Jovovich in Elie Saab. Jessica’s dress was a gorgeous gold on black brocade gown, and Milla’s was a glamorous old Hollywood sparkling white number. I also thought Octavia Spencer, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose Byrne looked beautiful (in Tadashi Shoji, Tom Ford, and Vivienne Westwood, respectively).

As for awards, I was quite pleased with how much recognition Martin Scorsese’s brilliant film Hugo got. It won five total awards, for Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. Though it did not win best Director or Best Picture, in my book it was a clear winner tonight.

The Artist was the big winner, taking home not only Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanivicius), and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), but also Best Original Score and Costume Design. I am really glad to see this film get all the awards it was expected to. As the first black and white film in over a half century and first silent film since the 1930s, this looked like a unique and well done film very deserving of its attention. I didn’t see The Artist, but it looks like now I’ll really have to!

Other awards tonight included The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore for Short Film (Animated), Saving Face for Documentary Short Film (which, by the way, looked incredibly moving), The Shore for Short Film (Live Action), Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris for Best Original Screenplay (because really, who does endless dialogue better than Woody Allen), The Descendants for Best Adapted Screenplay, “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets for Best Original Song (YES), Rango for Best Animated Feature (so well done, I loved this movie), Undefeated for Documentary Feature, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for Film Editing, A Separation (Iran) for Best Foreign Feature, and The Iron Lady for Makeup.

I was really happy about the picks for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor as well. Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) can do absolutely no wrong, and gave one of the classiest speeches I’ve ever heard. Octavia Spencer was fantastic in The Help, and I actually teared up when she won. Christopher Plummer became the oldest Oscar winner in history at the age of 82 for Beginners (Captain Von Trapp finally won!!)

Overall, I really liked this year’s Oscars. While it was often dull or drug out (but really, when isn’t it), there were funny moments. The ladies of Bridesmaids never fail to disappoint, and who doesn’t love their “Scorsese” drinking game? Scorsese! Scorsese! I particularly enjoyed the delightful Emma Stone as a presenter, and I liked when Billy Crystal did his “what is the audience thinking” sketch. Some of the assessments were dead on. Though Billy Crystal may have seemed like a has been choice for host this year (having presented eight times before, and most of those times so long ago that some readers probably have no idea who he even is), I think he did a pretty good job. Because frankly, anything is better than last year’s horrible Anne Hathaway-James Franco gig. I can’t even believe how terrible James Franco was…anyway. There were some weird moments too- of course, Woody Allen didn’t show up even though he won something (what’s new) and what was with Angelina Jolie’s weird stance as she presented? We know your dress has a slit! That’s no excuse!

I hoped W.E. would win for costume design, because I’m a sucker for the 20s and 30s and the fashion in that film looked incredible. I’m glad Jean Dujardin won Best Actor, but poor Gary Oldman. The man is probably the most underrated actor of all time, and he was fantastic in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Here’s to hoping he gets many more chances. I loved Viola Davis in The Help, and it’s a shame she didn’t get recognized, but Meryl Streep is always deserving. There were so many fantastic films nominated this year, it’s tough to even choose which “would’ve deserved it most.” I saw War Horse on stage in London last summer, and it was incredible, so I’m sure the movie was as well. Hugo was fantastic (Scorsese was robbed as Best Director, but anyhow…) and Midnight in Paris was one of the most delightful films I’ve ever seen. But overall, I really think The Help should have won. In this case, I loved the film even more than the book, and it was thought and emotion provoking, not to mention just flat out amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing many more films from its wonderful actresses in the future.

As for drinking games, I’ve said Scorsese five times in this article. Better take five shots.

- SS