In case you didn't know this already: some people are insane when it comes to their coffee preferences. Dueling coffee snobs have recently taken it to the internet.

The blog And I Am Not Lying posted a rant on July 13th about his battle with a barista over the iced triple espresso he wanted:

I just ordered my usual summertime pick-me-up: a triple shot of espresso dumped over ice. And the guy at the counter looked me in the eye with a straight face and said "I'm sorry, we can't serve iced espresso here. It's against our policy."

Starbucks has announced it will close at least 600 stores across the U.S., almost 20% of the stores that have opened in the past two years.

You know the economy's in bad shape when companies peddling an addictive beverage are struggling.

Still, it's kind of amazing how much hand-wringing this is causing. It was the siren-screaming lead item on Drudge yesterday, and much of the coverage has been borderline hysterical: WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH STORES ARE AFFECTED! DEAR GOD, LET IT NOT BE MINE!

PETA is stirring up controversy within its ranks by offering $1 million for the first person who can create a decent fake meat in vitro, reports the New York Times.

According to the story: New Harvest, a nonprofit organization formed to promote the field, says on its Web site, "Because meat substitutes are produced under controlled conditions impossible to maintain in traditional animal farms, they can be safer, more nutritious, less polluting and more humane than conventional meat."

Sounds like a good idea to us. The current state of tofurkey and fake bacon is not all that impressive. But according to a PETA member, the decision created "a near civil war in our office," because so many animal-rights activists don't believe in eating animal tissue even if no animals were killed to provide it.

This reminds us of someone we knew who for Thanksgiving one year constructed a turkey out of tofu to serve to his southern in-laws. (The guests took one look at it and ordered out KFC.)

In a world of deep-fried Twinkies and chocolate-covered everything, diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are obviously going to be prominent. The U.S media has a field day with stories about overweight Americans who can't get out of their beds, much less breathe due to an unhealthy diet. But as fatty supersized meals gain popularity, Kirk Draut from Peppers and Smoke decides to cross the line further.

Draut has created a deep-fried, cheese-stuffed, burger patty made from 100 percent ground bacon. That's right; no beef...just pure pork. I have heard about deadly foods before, but I really think this burger tops it all. Heart attack on a bun never meant anything until now.

Just to put things in perspective, a Whopper with cheese at Burger King is about 760 calories. Keep in mind the patty is not deep-fried, and is also not made from bacon. I'm not sure how many calories Daraut's burger creation has, but I'm sure it's not pretty.

Nevertheless, if you decide to try the newest component to obesity, enjoy it. Just try not to pig out on it too often.

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We just saw this cake on BoingBoing. CNN has more photos here. Apparently, the bride had always wanted a doll version of herself, so her husband did the next best thing and gave her a wedding cake version.

It's sweet of him until you start thinking logistics, like what body part did each guest get? And how weird would it be to have the bride's eyes looking at you while you ate them? Awkward!

There is no media circus when you get arrested for feeding the homeless. Last April, Eric Montanez from Food Not Bombs was arrested for feeding people.

He is now on trial.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial city ordinance has led to a number of protests and now a trial. An Orlando man is the first person to face a jury for feeding the homeless

The ABC affiliate has a video of this news, but I couldn't find one to embed here. While searching, I did find this news broadcast from the NBC Orlando affiliate from about five months ago; the news at that time was about outlawing panhandling. Orlando, the "Magic City" has turned into one twisted fantasy land.

My first thought when reading this news story was, "Jebus! Jesus wouldn't like this law."
Y'know, I am just a liberal, eco-atheist-cyber hippie, and I can't speak for Jesus, but I hope everybody can agree that feeding the poor shouldn't be an illegal, let alone punishable offense. I don't like leaving you without an embed, so here is a YouTube video that challenges viewers to think about Americans' priorities:

It sounds too good to be true, but this story is very real. Whether it's the magic cure-all for weight loss of course is open to question, but I'm sold on it. It will take some time to implement, but I think they finally figured it out. Watch the video below to see what scientists have come up with to make all our weight problems go away:



God knows I could use this. So, after the initial tests on people who need it for medical reasons, I'll be up next. I just want to make sure people don't die from this and then I'm ready to go.

You can read the whole story here. What do you think? Is it going to work?
























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Ever met an Indian guy who weighs 350 pounds? I'm not talking about American Indian but rather Asian Indian. Ever met a massively rotund, excessively adipose, embarrassingly enormous Indian? I haven't either. But according to the current issue of Scientific American, it's starting to happen.

I'm not surprised at today's report that Americans are fatter than ever.

Rappers are constantly being derided for their Cristal and stretch Navigators. If only they could sock some of that away for retirement and emulate the more refined lifestyle of the mega-rich saveur, goes the cry of the appalled blue-blood.

Well, well.

If Frank Bruni's New York Times article on bad behavior at four-star restaurants, "Fine Diner to Riffraff: Tipsy Tales of 4-Star Benders," is to be believed, R. Kelly and Eve have NOTHING on the foodies.