Tuck into this little bitty on Sunday...if you dare. Full recipe and story at the NYT here, but these photos alone from an @home production should inspire the Iron Chef within us all. (Plus the "Bacon Explosion" as it is officially called, was created by an Internet marketer who utilized Twitter to push people to his recipe. So, maybe we can write this off on the taxes somehow? Consult HR.)

As the nation plows into what promises to be a challenging 2009, this weekend America and the world get to return to a slight sense of normalcy by eating large amounts of chow, asking "which team is wearing red?" and putting those smarties on Madison Avenue through their paces for the commercials they offer up for untold millions of buckaroos.

Explore our rich cultural history and dive into this link here and enjoy some of the great ads of Super Bowls past. "It certainly is a big bun."

So big events won't be like Woodstock where you can just claim to have been there anymore? Perhaps that isn't too far off given this navigable monster of a historic photo that a press photog put up on his site. Check it out.





Go nuts and zoom in on anything...In just a few minutes, I found the 43rd President of the US, the 44th President of the US and the guy with the biggest coat next to a woman who looks like she took a wrong turn at Mardi Gras. But the photog claims you can see YoYo Ma taking an iPhone pic of the moment somewhere...or maybe he's just using Shazam to figure out what that music playing earlier over the P.A. was (burn!).

Here's a post from the photog's blog about how he did it.

--Mike Hudson

SAN FRANCISCO

PERLMAN, MA LED QUARTET REPLAY POSSIBLE THANKS TO YOUTUBE

I thought the inauguration ceremony was beautifully organized and Obama's speech very uplifting but my favorite part was actually "Air and Simple Gifts", the music composed by John Williams and performed by Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano), Itzhak Perlman (violin) and  Anthony McGill (clarinet). The same evening I went on YouTube to listen to it again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Ao9jyq5Vk.  I thought it was a beautiful piece.

--Laure G.

"THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND, MAN"...CHENEY REPRISES LEBOWSKI?



My favorite part was watching Cheney come out looking like exactly like David Huddleston in the Big Lebowski.  I couldn't get over that.

--Tyler Griffis

(Eds note: This is done with full sympathy for the former vice president, as getting injured moving is something I have personal experience with. Stupid awkward stairs. But seriously...he's a dead ringer for this cult classic star! "MY WIFE IS NOT THE ISSUE HERE!")


CHIA OBAMA: YES WE CAN...HAPPY POSE OR DETERMINED?



My favorite inauguration item:
http://www.chiaobama.com/

--Adrienne LaBonte

DETROIT

PIZZA AND PLUCKINESS LETS NATE, COWORKERS WATCH IN COMFORT

The Detroit office had a pizza party for the inauguration in our auditorium downstairs. It was pretty cool of them to do this, considering that most companies wouldn't dare attempt something that could be taken as pushing political viewpoints on their employees. Not satisfied to sit downstairs, some of us in the creative department set up the flat-screen TV in our area to show the streaming webcast. We grabbed a pizza from downstairs and sat around eating it while watching the ceremonies and making playing commentator. After "the big moment" passed and Obama was sworn in, we returned to our desks but kept the feed going for the rest of the day. It was a pretty good way to ease into the week, and I'm glad we didn't have to miss a very significant historic event due to work -- or have to be sneaky and watch the feed on our individual computers.

--Nate Rogers

NEW YORK

ORGANIC TRAVELS...WITHOUT CAMERA?

I was not in the office, I had a ticket and was in DC.

No, not any of the good tickets, but a tix to 'sit' in the back. Left the camera at home! WT(heck) I know!

--Anna S.

TORONTO

A STEP AWAY FROM PLAGUE OF RACISM FOR THE  ENTIRE WORLD

As an Asian-Canadian, I have experienced racism throughout my life.  I've gotten past all that negativity and learned how to deal with all of this.  Seeing the inauguration yesterday gave me hope that this world can and will change for the better.  My parents are proud that their descendants can now live a place that promotes equality, regardless of race or sex.  Life is changing for the better, and I am glad I could say that I have witnessed this milestone in my lifetime.  Yet, as it was implied during the inauguration, we all must change ourselves to make Obama's and Martin Luther King's dream into a reality.  The most we can do as individuals is be less negative and more supportive of our peers.  Although it won't happen instantly, we must not lose hope that one day the global community will become safer and more unified for our unborn children.

--Peter B.

In case you missed it, a US Airways A320 lands in the Hudson River.

Here's some pics from a friend on the rescue boats:

A letter from the Bloomfield (Mich.) Optimist Club:


I am happy to report that this year's Children's Holiday Wish Program is
history, and the best one yet at that! We have removed our tables and
equipment, straighted out the operations center and delivered all of the
gifts to the happy recipients.

As usual, thank you very much for the indispensable role that your
company and the Bloomfield Hills Organic team played in making this
program such a total success.

Looking back, I checked my records and found that this is the seventh
year that we have worked on this project together with you and Organic.
We have come a long way from the casual conversation that we had over a
holiday dinner in 2001, when the subject of the Holiday Wish came up and
you expressed interest in coming on board the next year. That
conversation marked the beginning of a dramatic rise in our program
capacity and scope. Having a dependable space to work from has allowed
us to think ahead and as a result, the material handling and logistical
operations of the program have improved dramatically over the years.



I

(Another in our occasional series from Tracy Cote, our head of all things related to talent)

Have yourself a virtual little Christmas? (or, Call Me Old Fashioned, but I Miss the Human Touch)

My husband and I had a lively discussion this week about whether or not to get our son a dog for Christmas. I am sure we're not the first family to debate this topic. I was arguing for, he was arguing against.  Eventually, in the spirit of compromise, my husband suggests we buy a robot dog. I suppose such a thing doesn't actually leave a mess and would never die, unless you toss it in the garbage or run over.  However, as I pointed out to him...it's not actually real. It just seems weird to me to buy a robot dog instead of a real one, sort of sad, and pathetic, somehow.

The next gift idea we discussed, inevitably, was the Wii. The Wii, as I think everyone on the planet knows by now, allows you to pretend to play golf, tennis, or baseball, or go bowling...all in the comfort of your own living room. You can even be a rock star. And never actually have to accomplish, well, much of anything, or take any risks, emotional or physical, while doing so (http://www.nintendo.com/wii).