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2008 Bombay Sapphire Glass Design Competition Entries






Most of you are familiar with the Bombay Sapphire ads that show a lovely martini glass along with a bottle of the product. Depending upon how observant -or astute you are, you may have noticed that they always attribute the glass design to its creator in the small text. That's because each year Bombay Sapphire has a design contest and the winning 'glass' shows up in their ads.

This year, the winning design named Palletini, was created by Michael Krtizker. (see below):


But what you don't get to see are the numerous beautifully conceived of entries that didn't win, so I wanted to share some of those with you.

The design parameters were as listed below:





Unfortunately I haven't the time to list each and every wonderful creator of the following designs, so please be sure to see the names of these artists in gallery of finalists by clicking here.

Below are some of the entries that deserve to be admired but will not be seen in any of the ads:









So raise your glass to these beautiful designs! Salut!

A Side Of iPod Please...




The latest offering at The Fat Duck, a UK restaurant, is a seafood creation served with an iPod so that diners can listen to the sounds of the ocean as they eat. "I did a series of tests with Charles Spence at Oxford University three years ago, which revealed that sound can really enhance the sense of taste," said Heston Blumenthal, the restaurant's owner and chef.

When it comes to weird dining experiences, customers at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant, The Fat Duck, in England probably thought that snail porridge was the last word in outlandish eating.

However, even his most extraordinary dishes will seem dull and ordinary compared with his latest -- creation seafood served with an iPod.

No, diners will not be expected to eat the music player, but instead to listen to the noise of crashing waves as they eat.

Seaside Ambiance

The dish, entitled "Sound of the Sea," will be part of the tasting menu at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, from next month, along with such innovations as a silver rose bush with edible petals and afterdinner whiskey gums.

Blumenthal will also resurrect a 250-year-old British beef dish and send 3-D glasses and the address of a sweetshop Web site to customers when they book a table.

The seafood dish is presented on a glass-topped wooden box containing sand and seashells and consists of what looks like sand but is in fact a mixture of tapioca, fried breadcrumbs, crushed fried baby eels, cod liver oil and langoustine oil topped with abalone, razor clams, shrimps and oysters and three kinds of edible seaweed.




'A Massive Umami'

The final touch the culmination of Blumenthal's experiments exploring the relationship between sound and the experience of eating will be the iPod so that diners can listen to the sound of the sea while they eat.

Blumenthal told Square Meal magazine: "I did a series of tests with Charles Spence at Oxford University three years ago, which revealed that sound can really enhance the sense of taste.

"We ate an oyster while listening to the sea and it tasted stronger and saltier than when we ate it while listening to barnyard noises, for example."

Explaining the dish, he said: "We have the juices from the shellfish made into a foam and placed along one side of the tapioca dish, so it looks like the sea.

Alongside the dish we'll serve a glass of seaweed extraction and mirin (sweet rice wine), which will give diners a massive umami (taste sensation) hit."

Diners might feel that listening to the iPod will kill the art of conversation.

A 17-Course Journey

However, a spokesperson for Blumenthal said: "When you are having the tasting menu you are maybe having 17 courses.

"It is a journey, a whole experience. It is not that you are sitting there with an iPod all night like a teenager. It is a tiny component in a huge event." The rose bush is brought to the table with the coffee. "We've been working with parfumiers to develop crystallized petals, overlaid with scents of apple, litchi, coriander, raspberry and so on," said Blumenthal.

The whiskey gums are brought to the table in a framed map of Scotland, each one showing where each malt is made, but contain no alcohol.

As for the sweetshop Web site, from August diners will be able to use the 3-D glasses to see everything from jars of flying saucer sweets to bursting sherbet fountains, as well as crabs holding ice cream cones and boxes of snail porridge.

Blumenthal said: "When I discover something new, I feel like a kid in a sweetshop, so that's the emotion I want to generate for diners."

Info:
CONTACT
The Fat Duck
High Street
Bray
Berkshire
SL6 2AQ

Reservations:
+44 (0) 1628 580 333
The Fat Duck can take reservations as far as two calendar months in advance.

Happy Earth Day!
Today's post will be up later than usual.

Goodbye Sweet Roxanne. The World Loses a Loveable Pug.



above: A recent and sweet picture of Roxanne taken by Monika a few months ago

I've been very sensitive to animal lovers these days with my little Abbey being as sick as she is.
Yesterday, my dear friend Monika had the difficult task of having to put her pug, Roxanne, down due to the toll that years of arthritis was taking on her.

Rox lived a long and wonderful life with my sweet friend being a loving mother and wonderful owner to this little black pug with lots of character.

In remembrance of Roxanne, and with sympathy and condolences to Monika, here's a few pics.


Above: Monika with Roxanne and Ozwald (also now in the Great Dog Park in the Sky) several years ago

Not to fear, Monika, who opens her heart and home to foster dogs as well as giving love to some of her own, still has Woody (below) to comfort her.


And just so you can see what kind of loving dog owner she is, here are my favorite pics of Monika with my Abbey:

My heart goes out to you Monika.

The Hotdoll: For the Libidinous Canine



Wanna stop that dog from humping your leg?

Well, the HotDoll: The Sex Toy For Dogs, is just the thing.
A creation by Feel Addicted, it's both hilarious and shameful.


No, it's not actually available for purchase, but with the amount of buzz going on, I wouldn't be surprised if it soon is.


With openings and protuberances in the places libidinous canines are hoping they'll be, The Hotdoll makes you want to giggle and look away simultaneously. Even the comments this Hotdoll is spurring on blogs like Gizmondo are almost as funny as the product itself.



As one of the readers on Gizmodo commented..."where's the video?"......

Product Pick Of The Week: The Good Vs. Evil Foosball Table





I really never thought of Foosball as a high-end sport. My personal Foosball experience consists of seeing a Foosball table grace the main room of every fraternity house at UC Berkeley, the rec rooms of most families in Marin County (where I grew up) and got lots of recognition as a staple in Joey and Chandler's kitchen on the ever popular sitcom, Friends.



But Eleven Forty doesn't make ordinary Foosball tables. Uh uh. They have created The Opus. Every detail is thought out. Each table is hand crafted with etched glass, stainless steel and assorted exotic woods. Utilizing computer technology, precision engineering and innovative construction, it has transformed a recreational game into a piece of functional art.



Here are a few pics of the hand crafted details:








Now, as if it weren't enough to create such a beautiful 'game', as an owner you are treated to amazing service from Forty Eleven.


And, if you thought all that was cool, check out their coup de grace, The Good Vs. Evil Edition. This is a limited edition “opus football table” by Eleven Forty for the super exclusive 20LTD. Only 20 were made and it retails for $23,207.70 USD




The Team of Evil XI consists of: Pot (as in Pol Pot), Lucifer (you know...Satan), Caligula, Ripper (as in Jack), Impaler (as in Vlad the), Hitler, Macbeth (as in Lady), Hyde (the darker side of Dr, Jekyll), Klebb (as in Rosa), Idi Amin, Catcher (as in the Child).

Playing for Good XI : Claus (as in Santa), More (as in Sir Thomas), Moore (as in Bobby), Gordon (as in Flash), Robin (as in Christopher), God, Assisi (the saint), Jekyll (The lighter side of Mr. Hyde), Mary Poppins, Mother Teresa, M.K. Gandhi.





I can't think of a more fun way to pit Ghandi against Hitler, can you?

All Hands on Deck(s) : Skateboard Deck Design Competition


The collective expo will take place in Bucharest/Romania and will feature works from numerous international artists along with Romania’s finest.It first started at Inoperable Gallery in Wien, now Bucharest is the next stop. For submissions, please send an e-mail to skateboardart@gmail.com including some personal works. The deck can be in any condition (old, new or broken) and can be customized using any technique; deadline - 10th of may. We are sorry but we can not support deck and shipment charges. If not returned to the artists, the decks will afterwards move to the next venue; who knows where that might be.

Questions and answers via e-mail: contact skateboardart@gmail.com

A Moment of Respect & Prayer


I just wanted to say how sorry I am about the tragedy that befell Virginia Tech yeterday. It's a horrible and horrendous event and my thoughts and prayers go out to all and any affected.

Design You'll Just Eat Up! Cakes by Kate Sullivan



Above: The Warhol Cake

Above: The Mod Cake

Kate Sullivan of Lovin Sullivan Cakes makes the most amazing cakes I have ever seen.I'm not sure I could bring myself to eat them! I simply had to share a few of her edible masterpieces with you, but you can see them all and learn more about Lovin Sullivan Cakes here.


Above: The Tea Party Cake

Above: The Monsoon Cake

Above: The Silhouette Cake

Above: The Kaws Cake

Above: The Guggenheim Cake

Lovin Sullivan Cakes

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