When we want humans to run the treadmill in gyms, we place TVs with basic cable in front of them. This method usually works. When trainers in China’s Harbin Siberian Tiger Park wanted the chubby cats to exercise, they too turned to technology: drones.
But then a strange thing happened with these Siberian Tigers—they tried to hunt these drones. You know, because they’re tigers.
The rather chubby tigers played cat and mouse with the drone until a 2 or 3-year-old tiger swiped at the camera, a large paw filling its screen before losing signal.
The group proceeded to tear the drone apart, with one literally chewing on the gadget as if it was a bird of prey.
All this was luckily caught on camera for our amusement. The footage of the drone swooping close, delivering an intense point of view, is quite incredible. Eventually the trainers retrieved the drone when it started smoking following the attack.
This should serve as proof yet again that in the war against drones, wildlife is our best and surest defense.
What makes for classic cocktails? History, of course, and popularity too. Yet in my eyes, the most important quality of a classic cocktail is that it makes the best possible use of the set of flavors and ingredients it requires. For example, the Manhattan is a classic because the specific way it combines whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters can only be played with, but not really improved upon. However, there are four cocktails I can think of that are considered classics, yet have far better classic alternatives that you should add to your mental list of drinks to order.
Ditch the: Moscow Mule Key Components: Ginger beer, lime juice Switch to: Dark and Stormy. Look, ginger beer and lime juice go great together, but when you make a Moscow Mule, you’re basically saying that you just want those two flavors to get you drunk. A Dark and Stormy, on the other hand, adds dark rum to the mix, adding some molasses and spice notes to the party. You still get that delicious ginger bite and tart hit of lime, but it’s a far more complex drink in total.
Ditch the: Whiskey Sour Key components: Whiskey, citrus, sugar Switch to: Lion’s Tail. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Whiskey Sour, but if you take that drink and make it with allspice dram instead of some of the sugar, you get so much more flavor! It gives the drink a faint tiki sensibility (especially if you also use a dash of Angostura bitters), while still keeping the whiskey at the heart of the drink. If you use a blended Scotch you can get some really interesting results as well.
Ditch the: Cosmopolitan Key components: Vodka, cranberry, lime juice Switch to: The Aviation. I actually like the Cosmo, but the problem I often have with it is that most bars and restaurants use fairly sweet (and fake-tasting) cranberry juice, which throws the balance of the drink off. Instead, I like the Aviation, which starts with a gin base (though you can use vodka if you must) and then adds in lemon juice, creme de violette, and maraschino liqueur. You lose just a touch of the tartness that you might get in a really good Cosmo, but the interaction of all the different aromatics in the gin and creme de violette is delightful, and the drink also looks just as pretty as a Cosmo, which is definitely crucial.
Ditch the: Tequila Sunrise Key components: Tequila, orange juice, grenadine Switch to: The Blood and Sand. I’ve experienced a sort of strange resurgence in the Tequila Sunrise, which is one of the few 80s drinks that isn’t utterly disgusting, but it’s still not all that cohesive, especially if you use a blanco tequila. The Blood and Sand mixes blended Scotch, blood orange juice (though you can sub out the normal stuff and it works), cherry Heering, and sweet vermouth. You still get the fresh fruit and cherry notes, but the Scotch stands up better to the other ingredients, and the combo of cherry Heering and sweet vermouth don’t get syrupy the way that grenadine often does.
So there you go: simple substitutions that should make your next cocktail adventure a bit more rewarding.
Radiohead is rock’s reigning kings of moodiness. Or, I guess, mood killers might be the way others describe the band’s sometimes myopic and “depressing” songs. These people are not completely wrong: Radiohead is one of the few musical acts who have produced multiple records that makes you want to hide away from the world and have a good cry.
But what if there was a way to quantify Radiohead’s “most depressing” song? Would that be something you want?
Well, that’s what Radiohead superfan Charlie Thompson did, trying to measure the band’s “most depressing” record for you. He did so by quantifying numerous factors, including valence as quantified by Spotify. Valence in this application means how sad a song “sounds.” It’s measured on a scale of 0.0 to 1.0, with “happier” songs having a higher score and “sadder” songs receiving a lower score.
Through just this dataset, “True Love Waits” and “We Suck Young Blood” were tied with a valence of 0.0378. But Thompson also tested a song’s lyrical content, using the lyrics website Genius. He measured how many sad words were contained in each song. This gave “High and Dry” the lead, as apparently singing “leave” 15 times in the chorus of a song is pretty sad!
Then Thompson used what he called his Gloom Index, which was able to combine these two factors, as well as a song’s “lyrical density.” The winner? (Or, I guess, loser?) That would be A Moon Shaped Pool closer “True Love Waits,” a track that literally took decades to see the true light (dark?).
This should make sense because out of Radiohead’s nine studio albums, A Moon Shaped Pool contains the lowest average gloom index overall. If you have listened to this record even once, this data should not surprise you.
Still, Thompson’s testing is a new fun way to consider Radiohead. Head over to his blog if you’re interested in checking out more of the data.
Arizona Congressman Trent Franks last week sounded the alarm bell that nukes could easily be smuggled into the United States hidden in a bale of weed. Reefer Madness jokes quickly ensued and most everyone got a little chuckle out the statement.
The odds of a nuke disguised in brick weed crossing the border is, well, probably incalculable. But it is possible? It’s not the first time the question has come up. Seriously.
Franks, who serves a congressional district about 100 miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border, was discussing the illegal drug trade and the planned border wall on Wednesday while on a CNN program with Brianna Keilar:
“The reality, Brianna, is that we have to measure all of the costs, ancillary and otherwise, and make the best decision that we can. But I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border. We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, ‘Well, we’ll simply hide it in a bale of marijuana.’ ”
This was not just a top-of-the-head, brain fart. Franks has suggested this nefarious method in the past. Five year ago, in a speech on the floor of the House, Franks said:
“Specifically imagine for a moment, Mr. Speaker, the scenario of Hezbollah, one of Iran’s terrorist proxies, gaining possession of just two nuclear warheads and bringing them across the border into the United States concealed, say, in bales of marijuana; then transporting them into the heart of two different, crowded, unnamed cities. Then calling and telling the White House exactly when and where the first one will be detonated, and then following through 60 seconds later.”
Is Franks’ theory madness? Well, he’s not alone. The idea was bandied about in 1996 by David Kay, a weapons expert and a former chief weapons inspector for the United Nations. After the Gulf War, Kay led teams of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Iraq.
While at the IAEA, Kay was interviewed on PBSs’ “Frontline,” and this to say:
“I’ve often said, my preferred method for delivering a nuclear device is, I would hide it in a bale of marijuana, contract it out to the drug lords and move it. Marijuana is a good shielder actually for radiation. The drug lords have a superb record for delivery. They’re not Fed Ex, but they’re awfully close to it. And contract it out and get it across the border.”
And this is not just a right-wing conspiracy theory. Democrats have also made the nuke-nug connection. A decade ago, California Congressman Brad Sherman stated:
“The most important issue facing the United States, and certainly the most important part of this bill, deals with preventing nuclear attack on American cities. Since a nuclear bomb is about the size of a person, it could be smuggled into the United States inside a bale of marijuana.”
Even academics have weighed in. Jack Ruina, a professor at MIT, wrote this in 2001 for The Washington Post:
“A potential adversary does not have to rely on ballistic missiles to deliver a warhead. A small nation could easily resort to using planes, ships, cruise missiles or, as has been facetiously suggested, to hiding a warhead in a bale of marijuana, the shipment of which defies most detection.”
So, Franks is not an outlier here. But how real is this threat? Well, marijuana smugglers have been pirating kilos upon kilos of weed into the U.S. for decades and it hasn’t happened yet. In fact, most of the marijuana in the country now is made in the good ol’ United States. It is probably more of a domestic threat if anything.
No lead in America is safe. The Golden State Warriors were up 3-1 in the Finals. So were the Indians in the World Series. The Falcons were leading 28-3 against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Hillary Clinton was smashing Donald Trump in the polls. And the producers of La La Land were standing on the Oscars’ stage, halfway through their speeches, holding those Oscar statues, when they lost. The underdog Moonlight had won.
Movies aren’t sports, though. There wasn’t a lead to blow; nothing La La Land or Moonlight could’ve done right or wrong that night to change their fates. Someone made a mistake, handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope, or it was all a massive conspiracy theory. With the (don’t say “politically-charged times we live in”) rampant distrust and suspicion coursing through American society, our “fake news” and “alternative facts,” that someone might rig the Oscars isn’t necessarily plausible—but it’s not not plausible either.
Luckily, The Fresh Toast investigative team has identified some possible suspects and dug deep on whether or not they did it. Think of this as a massive Clue game, except the murder victim is Damien Chazelle’s shattered heart.
Warren Beatty
Suspicion: He presented the award, and was caught with the incorrect envelope in hand.
Why him?: Warren Beatty seemed like he was doing a bit. He read the piece of paper, looked around, confused, and double-taked in Faye Dunaway’s direction. He opened the envelope again, searching through it, as if something was missing. Beatty then showed Dunaway the placard and she shouted out La La Land as the winner.
When the mix-up was later revealed, and the La La Land crew exited the stage as Moonlight’s crew replaced them, Beatty said, “’I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land and that is why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.”
Report from @JeffreyLAT backstage: Mid @LaLaLand acceptance, stage hand in wings said "Oh, f-ck. Oh my God. He got the wrong envelope."
Everyone asked Beatty if they could see the card, but he refused. As Moonlight director Barry Jenkins told reporters, “Everybody was asking, ‘Can I see the card?’ And he’s like, ‘No, Barry Jenkins has to see the card. I need him to know.’ And he showed it to me, and I felt better about what had happened.”
Motive: None, really. Other than him being an old, white guy in Hollywood who’s going to support the old, white guy in Hollywood movie La La Land at all costs? Considering the absolute dread and dismay on Beatty’s face, blaming Beatty is a reach at best.
Did he do it?: Warren Beatty robs banks, not awards. Leave the legend alone.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Suspicion: He presented the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
I was recording the #oscars to a hard drive. This frame clearly shows that Warren Beatty was given the “Actress In A Leading Role” envelope. pic.twitter.com/PL3eA8Ds1i
Why him?: As it seems Beatty made a genuine mistake, exacerbated by Dunaway’s shoot-your-shot exclamation, the questions becomes, How did that wrong envelope enter the equation? Well.
The standard protocol for Oscar presenters is to hand the envelope and card to the winner. Leo, as visible from the standard broadcast footage scrutinized as if it were the Zapruder film, didn’t do that. This line of reasoning was quickly refuted, however, by Emma Stone backstage.
“We would have loved to have won best picture. But we are so excited for Moonlight. I think it’s one of the best films of all time,” she said. “I was also holding my ‘best actress in a leading role’ card that entire time. So whatever story, I don’t mean to start stuff, but whatever story that was, I had that card.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers is the professional services firm who handles the Oscars envelopes. They revealed in a Q&A a few weeks ago that two sets of envelopes exist for every Academy Award.
We each have a full set. I have all 24 envelopes in my briefcase; Martha has all 24 in hers. We stand on opposite sides of the stage, right off-screen, for the entire evening, and we each hand the respective envelope to the presenter. It doesn’t sound very complicated, but you have to make sure you’re giving the presenter the right envelope.
Motive: Because the Oscars and Leo hold a fraught relationship history: He should’ve won for Wolf of Wall Street and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and probably nominated for a few others. But…
Did he do it?: Nah. Leo’s too consumed with dread over global warming and the world ending.
Jimmy Kimmel
Suspicion: He was the Oscar host and renowned prankster.
But Kimmel helped sort out the epic blunder onstage, trying to alleviate the moment with a dig at Steve Harvey, and seemed legitimately dejected over the mishap.
“It’s funny, I was about to go on stage and do a bit with Matt Damon and a doughnut, but I said, ‘I think I have to go on stage,’ because otherwise our stage manager Gary [Natoli] was going to have to finesse it,” he told the LA Times. “Listen, it’s a TV show.”
Motive: Shooters shoot, pranksters prank.
Did he do it?: Kimmel delights in owning up to his pranks. He loves the “gotcha” moment he’s earned time and time again. If he did it, he’d tell us straight up.
Matt Damon
Suspicion: His ongoing feud with Jimmy Kimmel.
Why him?: Because some people truly believe Matt Damon, in his continuing fabricated rivalry with Kimmel, would ruin a gorgeous moment that Moonlight miraculously crowned the year’s best movie on Hollywood’s biggest stage. Yes, Damon would pull that because Kimmel wouldn’t let him on a dumb talk show.
Why him?: You might argue that Mr. Peanutbutter is a cartoon character. But if you haven’t noticed, we currently live in a cartoon world where cartoon characters make regular appearances on the news and the internet. Thanks to smartphones and screens, our 3D reality morphs into a two-dimensional space more each day.
Also why him?: Because it’s literally just as plausible a cartoon character sabotaged an awards show as anyone else on this list.
As the grip of winter loosens and the chilly months move into the brightness of spring, there’s one thing on many people’s minds: ROAD TRIP!
But where to go? They say life is a journey, not a destination, and while that’s, like, technically true, it’s also about totally great destinations — like stunning microbreweries and places to get a delicious pint. Here, a compilation of the best beer cities for a thirsty traveler.
Ah, the other Portland. Not what you were expecting, huh? Portland, Maine, boasts a total of 17 microbreweries in the city’s area – the most per capita. Not bad for a hippie town on the northern tip of the country known for brutal winters and small liberal arts colleges.
Clocks in at #1 in total number of microbreweries, with a staggering 68. If you had asked if there were 68 total bars and restaurants in the city, we maybe would have said there’s less. But Oregon’s most beloved city is doing the damn thing by offering great beers from places like the strong ale loving Hair of the Dog Brewing Company.
Their IPA helped set the standard for American hoppy, floral versions. And has spawned many others in the city, including 21st Amendment’s Brew Free of Die IPA.
With more than thirty breweries in the county, San Diego might be the overall best beer destination on the planet, especially when you consider all the sunlight available for nice, easy patio pint drinking. Check out Ballast Point first.
Boston, MA
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQicfa-hdOz/
Home of Sam Adams and the Irish. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED? Also, there’s about a bajillion universities in Boston, making it that much more sudsy.
Denver + Boulder, CO
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQR7j5FBe7Z/
Normally, we don’t like to lump cities together, but since Boulder is only about 30 minutes from Denver, we thought it was okay. Colorado is fourth among all fifty states in the number of breweries, and while it’s also home to Coors, they also love their hops. Boulder itself has 23 microbreweries in the city limits.
Offering 19 microbreweries, the up-and-coming town of Asheville, NC is also the new home of Sierra Nevada, which recently opened up a new east coast brewery in this Carolina bohemian mecca. Now, people thirsty for the beloved pale ale don’t need it shipped across the country to quaff.
With 12 microbreweries to choose from —some of which, like Deschutes, are world class — Bend is no slouch, even when compared to its Oregon big brother, Portland. This is another town benefiting from all the college students with disposable income.
The Emerald City benefits from its proximity to Yakima, the world’s leading producer of hops. It seems like every week a new brewery pops up offering your choice of five new IPA’s. Oh, don’t worry. We aren’t complaining! Some of the best include: Georgetown, Fremont and Stoup Brewing.
Montana is oft forgotten when it comes to shining some light onto an American area. Most often, the state is thought of as wide-open plains and a home for buffalo. But the state is also growing rapidly in terms of beer production and Missoula itself offers six choice microbreweries, including Big Sky Brewing, famous for their Moose Drool Brown Ale.
Honorable mentions: Kalamazoo, MI; Philadelphia, PA; Milwaukee, WI; New York, NY; Austin, TX. These places have some of the most breweries per capita and/or drunkest cities. We’ll let you figure out which is which. Either way, the city will be your friend and/or loving companion once you hit a taproom or three.
The 89th Annual Oscars ceremony happened this weekend and what a mess. But what is past is past, so let’s get baked and watch some past winners to make is feel better. Below are five of our favs to watch while high.
While not the strongest film on its own or while sober, Birdman’s surreal special effects and its heavy-handed, symbolism-reliant script make it an entertaining flick to watch while blazed. Bonus points for bringing Michael Keaton back to the mainstream, if only temporarily.
Argo, 2012
A genuinely entertaining thriller, Argo is a flick everyone can enjoy, even your chronically high friend who despises Serious Films.
Crash, 2004
Just kidding.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003
The most obvious choice on this list, the final installment of The Lord of the Rings films concludes an epic, nine plus hour story that has everything a dedicated weed fan could want: an other-worldly setting, dwarfs, giants, wizards, shires, complicated back stories that you spend weeks debating, and an inspiring moral. Plus the film’s special effects are killer.
Rocky, 1976
A sweet, funny, and stranger movie than you remember, Rocky is a great choice to watch after enjoying an edible or two. It’ll leave you inspired and hopeful and maybe ready to go run all over your city and punch some frozen meat.
The Sting, 1973
The Sting is a perfect caper flick. It has Robert Redford and Paul Newman as their absolute peak, a wonderful supporting cast, and a genuinely excellent and surprising script. It’s also fun as hell to watch.
It’s National Kahluah Day, which means 1) people will be getting drunk on White Russians today and 2) everyone is Tweeting The Big Lebowski memes. (The latter would be a better National Holiday, tbh).
Here’s a weed-infused White Russian recipe courtesy of our friend Warren Bobrow, author of four books including Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics.
Says Bobrow, “The White Russian Cocktail lends itself to weed beautifully, primarily because the heavy cream is the perfect ingredient to give depth and balance. The cocktail is one of those classics of the dessert bar. It’s been several years since I’ve played around with this cocktail but no less exciting is the flavor profile.”
The drink is one of simplicity, Vodka, Kahlua (coffee flavored liqueur) and Heavy Cream.
Of course you’ll want to infuse the heavy cream with your cannabis mixture..
The basic recipe is for the infusion:
¼ oz. Decarbed Cannabis (heated in the oven to activate @ 240-covered very well in foil-for an hour or so…)
1 quart Heavy Cream
Add the decarbed cannabis to the heavy cream in a cheesecloth pouch. Simmer at 160 Degrees for an hour. Remove pouch when cool. Use in all cream-based recipes like the White Russian.
It’s going to have some kick to it, so drink slowly and thoughtfully!
NEVER more than one per hour. It takes a bit to kick in.
Weed-Infused White Russian
½ oz. Kahlua
2 oz. Weed Infused Heavy Cream
¼ oz. Vodka- I use the best I can get… no reason to skimp!
Bar ice
Add all the ingredients to a Boston Shaker. Shake hard for 20-40 seconds. Pour into a coupe glass. Sprinkle some fresh nutmeg over the top. Serve with a smile!
The NFL Players’ Association’s stance on recreational marijuana use will continue to be one that urges more progressive rules about cannabis from the league, despite the recent ominous statements on the subject from the White House.
“We are talking about how players get treatment under our jointly agreed upon drug policies, not any advocacy for Federal vs. State statutes,” George Atallah, the NFLPA’s assistant executive director for external affairs, told the Denver Post. Atallah added that the union will continue arguing for a more reasonable marijuana policy in the NFL because it’s “a (collective bargaining agreement) issue, not a law-enforcement issue.”
Last week, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he believes there will be “greater enforcement” from federal agencies against states where voters have legalized recreational marijuana use. “Because again there’s a big difference between the medical use … that’s very different than the recreational use, which is something the Department of Justice will be further looking into,” Spicer added.
While Atallah and the NFLPA didn’t elaborate on what “less punitive” means, the Denver Post notes that it could be something as relatively minor—though certainly not insignificant—as raising THC limits or something as radical as ceasing marijuana testing altogether (the NHL, for example, does not test for THC).
In 2016, an ESPN poll showed that 71 percent of NFL players want marijuana to be legalized, with 60 percent also saying they believed cannabist would help them cut back on prescription opioid use. And earlier this year, DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA’s executive director, told the Washington Post he hopes the league will soften its stance about marijuana use.
“I do think that issues of addressing it more in a treatment and less punitive measure is appropriate. I think it’s important to look at whether there are addiction issues,” he said. “And I think it’s important to not simply assume recreation is the reason it’s being used.”
A couple in Oaxaca, Mexico couldn’t wait to get home—or literally anywhere else—to have sex, so they dropped their pants and banged in an ATM vestibule in broad daylight in front of a huge crowd of onlookers. The love birds were caught on camera and a Twitter user named Guillermo Pérezpeña posted the randy (and NSFW) video online, where it quickly went viral. A censored but still NSFW version is below.
Guillermo Pérezpeña/Twitter
“Look at what’s happening in Oaxaca! Nice!,” someone says near the clip’s end.
After a few seconds on camera, the couple seems to realize their mistake and begins to pull up their pants and underwear. But by that point, it’s too late—as you can see when the camera pans around, dozens of people on a crowded street were watching.
Metro UK reports the ATM sex was rumored to have taken place across the street from the education headquarters, triggering rumors that the couple were teachers on strike.
