Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Top 10 Restaurants in America You’ve Never Eaten At

10. Standard Diner (American)

Address: 320 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 243-1440
Website: www.standarddiner.com

This place is like a roadside diner turned upscale. They take traditional American cuisine and bring it up just a notch. From their burgers and fries to their mashed potatoes & gravy with meatloaf you are sure to leave here a happy camper. That’s not even mentioning their lobster Caesar salad, country fried tuna with a wasabi guacamole, green chile turkey melt or mac & cheese with a Guinness and Irish cheddar sauce. One of their specialties is their butter bourbon burger that will be one of the best burgers you’ll ever eat. The meat is of the highest quality and seasoned perfectly. Topped with a generous dab of bourbon infused butter and sandwiched between a delicious bun, you’ll be wanting to come back here every day for lunch. The added bonus to the burger are their amazing sweet potato fries. You may just have to come back later in the day though for home-made desserts, from five flavors of ice cream, four of sorbet, a Tiramisu cheesecake, a chocolate cake, an apple pie with butterscotch and fig, amongst others.

9. Arcaro & Genell’s (Italian)
Address: 443 S Main Street, Old Forge, PA 18518-1608
Phone: (570) 457-4262
Website: www.arcaroandgenell.com

They serve a very nontraditional version of pizza here known as Old Forge-Style but rest assured you won’t be disappointed. You can get it with red sauce or white sauce and single layered or double layered (almost like a gourmet Hot Pocket) with the perfect amount of Parmesan and rosemary sprinkled on top. Any way you decide to get it will leave your tastebuds singing. They have all of your traditional Italian options as well starting with their antipasti (they serve everyone a delicious bean salad) and fabulous versions of veal parmigiano to linguine with a White Clams sauce. Make sure to stick around for their home-made cannoli.
 
8. Mary Mac’s Tea Room (Mom’s Home-made)
Address: 224 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308-1938
Phone: (404) 876-1800
Website: www.marymacs.com

The moment you sit down you’ll be in heaven from their bread basket of cornbread, yeast rolls & cinnamon rolls. You literally could eat these all night long and be fully satisfied. That is unless the rest of their food wasn’t equally impressive. From their fried chicken to their chicken fried steaks and their mashed potatoes or mac & cheese, there is not a single person that won’t be able to find something they truly love here. You’ll need to pace yourself though as they also bring it home in the dessert category. The home-made pecan pie and peach cobbler are absolutely to die for.

7. Harry’s Roadhouse (All-Around)
Address: 96B Old Las Vegas Highway, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Phone: 505-989-4629
Website: N/A

They have several dining areas and they’ll let you choose where you’d like to sit. Chose the front room near a window and you’ll have a nice breeze coming in. They have all of your New Mexican breakfast staples (Huevos Rancheros, Chile Omelets, etc) but also delicious pancakes including their Lemon Ricotta pancakes. They are also known for their barbecue, burgers and steaks. There is not any time of day that is not a good time to eat at Harry’s Roadhouse. Just make sure you save room for their chocolate peanut butter ice cream sandwich.

6. Blue Moon Cafe (Breakfast)
Address: 1621 Aliceanna St, Baltimore, MD 21231-2925
Phone: (410) 522-3940
Website: N/A

If you’re looking for a delicious and filling breakfast this place will do you good. Serving all of your typical breakfast items you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. But the real secret is what’s off the menu. You’ll have to ask the fantastic staff what their secret menu consists of but I’ll let you in on the best item. It’s Cap’n Crunch French Toast. It looks like a piece or art and tastes as good. The Cap’n Crunch “breading” is the perfect amount of sweetness and the fruit adds a nice touch (bananas, strawberries and blueberries) with the whipped cream being home-made and extremely fresh. This is the perfect way to start the day.

5. Iggy’s Doughboys & Chowder House (Chowder)
Address: 889 Oakland Beach Ave, Warwick, RI 02889-9616
Phone: (401) 737-9459
Website: www.iggysdoughboys.com
This place is absolutely phenomenal. From the view, to the food, to the prices. They’re known for their doughboys (basically fried dough with sugar), clam cakes & clam chowder. The clam cakes are delicious, not overly greasy and not too heavy. The doughboys are amazing too (sugar, cinnamon sugar & powdered sugar). But if that weren’t enough, where they really shine is their chowder. It is so simple, cream, potatoes and clams but my goodness is it delicious. It will be the best bowl of chowder you’ve ever experienced.

4. Juan in a Million (Breakfast Taco)
Address: 2300 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX‎, 78702
Phone: (512) 472-3872‎
Website: www.juaninamillion.com

You may have to wait a little to get a seat but it will be worth it. Make sure to order the Juan in a Million breakfast taco. It is loaded with the perfect blend of eggs, cheese, bacon and potatoes all piled high on a warm flour tortilla. The quality and freshness is unrivaled. Word to the wise, order a few extra tortillas as the filling from one taco can actually make three. The chips and salsa served beforehand are extremely delicious as well. Be sure to come here with an empty stomach as you will leave with it filled to the brim.

3. Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles (Southern Food)

Address: 10 W Yuma St, Phoenix, AZ‎ 85003
Phone: (602) 340-1304
Website: www.loloschickenandwaffles.com

Lo-Lo’s is a Phoenix institution. It was started by Mrs. White and is currently run by her son Larry White. They are known mainly for their chicken & waffles and this is what you should be going there for. Their list of sides is daunting but you can’t go wrong with anything here, whether it be the mac & cheese, the fried okra, the mashed potatoes & gravy or their cornbread. And the same goes for the desserts especially the red velvet cake (if they’re still got any left for the day). Don’t forget to get a glass of their endless Red Kool-Aid too.

2. Al’s Place (Burger & Fries)
Address: 13943 Main St, Walnut Grove, CA 95690
Phone: (916) 776-1800‎
Website: N/A

Walking in here you’ll have to let your eyes adjust, it’s dark and dingy, almost like a cave but don’t let that stop you. They’re known for a few things here, their steak, burgers, peanut butter & marmalade. The menu doesn’t stretch much beyond that but that’s all you need at Al’s as they make those few items as good as anyone. The portions are huge and the tasty as all get out. Each table is set with a jar of peanut butter & marmalade to be applied to the thick slab of gridded toast they’ll serve you. This is a treat you won’t find anywhere else and something that sets Al’s apart.

1. Hoover’s Cooking & Catering (Comfort Food)
Address: 2002 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722
Phone: (512) 479-0889
Website: www.hooverscooking.com

From the Cajun coleslaw to the garlic grits, home-made French fries and mac & cheese to the fried catfish or the pulled pork sandwiches, not to mention the jalapeno cornbread or sweet potato rolls served at every table, there is something here to please everyone. The only thing you’ll wish for here is that you had a bigger stomach, because they give you so much food you’ll be bringing home a doggy bag. Be sure to ask for their home-made Jerk BBQ sauce and try it on all their delicious entrees.

Monday, March 29, 2010

10 Most Alien and Weird Places on Earth

1. Aurora Borealis (North Pole)

Aurora Borealis
Auroras sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae are natural beautiful light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. The Cree people call this phenomenon the “Dance of the Spirits. Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern polar lights, has similar properties, but is only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia.

2. Spain Rio Tinto

Spain Rio Tinto
Image Source: Unknown
The vast mines of Rio Tinto give a hypnagogic, almost martian landscape. Its growth has consumed not only mountains and valleys but even entire villages. This river has gained recent scientific interest due to the presence of extremophile aerobic bacteria that dwell in the water.The extreme conditions in the river are analogous to other locations in the solar system thought to contain liquid water, such as subterranean Mars. Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic (pH 2) and its deep reddish hue. It is metal soluble and surely not human-friendly!

3. McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica)

McMurdo Dry Valleys
Image Source: Unknown
The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The terrain looks like something not of this Earth; The region includes many interesting geological features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica’s longest river. The valley’s floor occasionally contains a perennially frozen lake with ice several meters thick. It is also one of the world’s most extreme deserts Under the ice, in the extremely salty water, live mysterious simple organisms, a subject of on-going research. Scientists consider the Dry Valleys perhaps an important source of insights into possible extraterrestrial life.

4. The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania

Richat Structure
The Richat Structure is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert of Mauritania near Ouadane. It has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it forms a conspicuous bull’s-eye in the otherwise rather featureless expanse of the desert. The structure, which has a diameter of almost 50 kilometres (30 miles), has become a landmark for space shuttle crews.

5. Rotorua, New Zealand

Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. Rotorua city is renowned for its unique “rotten eggs” aroma, which is caused by the geothermal activity releasing sulphur compounds into the atmosphere. Geothermal activity is at the heart of much of Rotorua’s tourist appeal. Geysers and bubbling mud-pools, hot thermal springs and the Buried Village (Te Wairoa) – are within easy reach of the city.This thermal activity owes itself to the Rotorua caldera on which the city lies. Waters of ivid colors, from yellow to orange to green which is partially possible to visit it.

6. Fly Geyser, Reno

Socotra Island
Fly Ranch features two geysers, one of which is dormant. The other, Fly Geyser, was accidentally formed by a water well drill that hit a geothermal source, and continuously sprays hot water. Fly Ranch is private property and does not allow visitors.

7. Spotted Lake, Osoyoos, British Columbia

Spotted Lake
Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in British Columbia. In the summer, most of the water in the lake evaporates leaving behind all the minerals. Large “spots” on the lake appear and depending on the mineral composition at the time, the spots will be different colors. The spots are made mainly of magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer. Since in the summer, only the minerals in the lake remain, they harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

8. The Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared in a manner that cannot be explained by human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings. Apparently it doesn’t seem alien but it is really scary!

9. Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai, Hawaii
Kauaʻi is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands, it is the fourth largest of the main islands. Seaside lava ledges make for otherworldly experiences on this often-overlooked Hawaiian island.

10. Mount Roraima (Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana)

Mount Roraima
Since long before the arrival of European explorers, the mountain has held a special significance for the indigenous people of the region, and it is central to many of their myths and legends It is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides. There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

10 richest cities in world

A list of the richest and most influential cities in the world in 2010 was released by British real estate agent Knight Frank and Citibank of U.S. on Wednesday.

The ranking is based on the comprehensive analysis of four indexes: Economic vitality, political influence, research ability and living standard.

New York, London and Paris occupy the top 3 positions. Beijing is listed in the ninth place.

However, no city is the all-rounder. For instance, New York took the lead at the ranking of indexes of "economic vitality" and "research ability", but its political influence came in second place and living standard even No. 8!

Meanwhile, some metropolises have had markedly progress, such as Beijing,whose political influence advanced to No. 4, and Berlin, which is the runner-up in the ranking of living standard.


No. 1 New York

No. 2 London

No. 3 Paris

No. 4 Tokyo

No. 5 Los Angeles

No. 6 Brussels


No. 6 Brussels

No. 8 Berlin

No. 9 Beijing
No. 10 Toronto

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

8 Famous Quotes That Were Never Actually Said

1. Let Them Eat Cake


This phrase is often brought up to exemplify how far-removed from the masses the leaders can be. The popular story claims that Queen Marie Antoinette said this when she heard that her people were starving because of lack of bread. The nonchalant attitude embodied by this phrase lead to the French revolution during which Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI were decapitated.

However, Marie Antoinette never utter this phrase, the author of the famous quote being most likely the wife of king Louis XIV who was also named Marie. Even more, the phrase is interpreted by some historians as a direct reference to a French law forcing bakeries to sell their cakes cheaper if their supply of bread was sold out. It might very well be that this phrase, used as a criticism of monarchy was actually uttered as a way to help French people purchase something, anything to eat.

2. Elementary My Dear Watson.


This famous phrase is recognized worldwide as belonging to Sherlock Holmes, and is considered as much a staple of the British detective as his pipe and hat are. However, the character of Sherlock Holmes never utters this quote during the whole book series. The closest we ever come is in a long dialogue where after a brilliant deduction by Sherlock, Watson exclaims:
“Excellent”

“Elementary,” said he [Sherlock].
While catchy, this sentence is clearly not the highlight of the book or even the highlight of this particular dialogue. In fact there is somewhat of a mystery as to how this phrase became as popular as it currently is. One explanation might be the 1929 Sherlock Holmes movie where the quote is first mentioned in its modern version. However, the movie might have just been using an already popular quote to make the character more memorable.


3. GOD Helps Those Who Help Themselves.


This phrase is often mentioned as a passage from the Bible, however nowhere in any translation of the book does the quote appear. It’s also attributed to Ben Franklin, however that is also wrong the most likely author being the British political theorist Algernon Sydney in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government. Although he never actually uses these exact words, the idea conveyed is that divinity cannot replace human actions.

What is really interesting about this phrase is that the Bible repeatedly goes against this quote, saying that salvation lies only in God, who will save the helpless.


4. Beam Me Up Scotty.


When mentioning the series Star Trek people are very likely to say the famous phrase “Beam me up Scotty,” even if they have no clue who Scotty is or what it’s referring to. This is presumably the phrase captain Kirk uses at the end of a show, when Mr. Scott teleports him back to the ship. However, the phrase is never really uttered on the show or in any of the movies. The closest version of the quote can be heard in the Star Trek IV movie when Captain Kirk says “Beam me up, Mr. Scott.” The difference is very small, merely a more formal usage of Scott versus Scotty, but fans of the show have argued for years that Captain Kirk would never use the diminutive Scotty.

In the same category of slightly mispronounced quotes we have the famous: “Luke, I’m your father,” which should be: “No, Luke I am your father.” Once more the public remembers the contracted, more informal version of the phrase, which would be out of character in the actual movie. While these small differences seem trivial, fans of both the Star Trek and the Star Wars series can be very adamant about the correct versions of their favorite quotes.

5. That's One Small Step For Man.


The famous phrase uttered by Neil Armstrong as he first stepped on the moon should have originally been “That’s one small step for a man…” However, static from the transmission cut out the “a”. Normally this wouldn’t have been very notable but the sentence delivered by Armstrong doesn’t really make grammatical sense. By using “man” instead of “a man” Armstrong’s quote is nonsensical if carefully analyzed.

The mistake was quickly discovered and Armstrong made several public statements trying to change the phrase to its correct and intended form. However, as we should already know, by reading the other entries on this list, the public doesn’t really care about perfect grammar and the incorrect sentence entered the pantheon of famous phrases.

6. The Ends Justify The Means.


This quote from Machiavelli is actually completely opposed to the actual phrase used in the original text of the Prince. In his original essays Machiavelli says: “”Si guarda al fine” – “One must consider the end result,” which is the equivalent of him saying: “the ends don’t always justify the means.” A single phrase changes the whole meaning of the text instead of arguing that politicians must be ruthless as long as they meet a greater goal, Machiavelli e tries to say that we must always consider if things are worth the sacrifices and hardships we must endure.

This is an extremely interesting example or misinterpretation. Based on this miss-quote as well as rumors and misinterpretation of his works Machiavelli has come to embody the very concept of evil tyrant, while the man was most likely a political visionary and a promoter of enlightened ideas such as representative rule.

7. Religion Is The Opiate Of The Masses.


This is another example of a famous political thinker whose words were misinterpreted by following generations. Not only does Marx never say directly that religion is the opiate of the masses; his words might have had a completely different meaning at the time they were said. The original quote from Marx’s critique of Hegel’s work is as follows: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

The phrase is a bit ambiguous, but it should be pretty obvious that Marx doesn’t see opium as a mind clouding substance as we think of it today. Considering that at the time this was written opiates were legal and widely available, it becomes obvious that Marx meant something different with this passage. Some interpretations of the passage, based on the fact that Opium was considered a useful medicine in some parts of Europe, even suggest that Marx meant that religion is a positive thing which can help humans elevate themselves above their current position.

8. Money Is The Root Of All Evil.


This phrase is a loose interpretation of the original “The love of money is the root of all evil,” which is a phrase used the New Testament by Apostle Paul. However, even this slightly different phrase is a miss-translation of the original Greek which says: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” It’s easy to see how this is actually not referring to actual money or wealth, but greed. Furthermore, this sentence doesn’t claim that greed is the source of everything evil; instead it just causes some problems.

The stronger meaning of the sentence probably came by during the industrial revolution as our society became more and more capitalistic and focused on accumulating wealth.

Needlessly to say this is not the only example of phrases being translated poorly from Greek to English. The Bible is filled with words that could have double meanings, such as the old Hebrew for Earth, used in the story of Noah’s ark. Earth could also mean land or nation, an interpretation that would make the ancient flood that wiped out all life on Earth a much less epic event.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

10 Extraordinary kids

1 ) George Sampson: Won £100,000 from Britain’s got talent when he was in age 14



George Sampson , 15 years old . He is a street dancer from Warrington, England,[2] and was the winner of the second series of Britain’s Got Talent on 31 May 2008 , aged 14 . As a prize, he received £100,000 and the opportunity to perform at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, staged at the London Palladium on 11 December 2008 .



2 ) Cleopatra Stratan: a 3 year old singer who earns 1000€ per song



The daughter of Moldovan-Romanian singer , Cleopatra . She was born October 2002 Chisinau , Moldova . she breaks the records in the music industry for the youngest singer . she made her album in 2006 when she was still 3 years old  and the most shocking part was.. she was paid about 1000 euro per song .



3 ) Akrit Jaswal: The Seven Year-Old Surgeon



A young Indian boy , Akrit Jaswal who has been called “the world’s smartest boy” and it’s easy to see why . His IQ is 146 and it is considered the smartest person his age in India—a country of more than a billion people . Akrit Jaswal shocks the public when he do a surgery to a local girls when he was 7 years old . He go to the university at the age of 11 .

4 ) Kim Ung-Yong: Attended University at age 4, Ph.D at age 15; world’s highest IQ




Kim Ung-Yong , the Korean super-genius was born in 1962 and might just be the smartest guy alive today (he’s recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest IQ of anyone on the planet) . he has been able to read Japanese words , Korean , Germany and English when he was 4 years old and when he was 5 he can solve the calculus problems . He was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records under “Highest IQ”; the book estimated the boy’s score at over 210 .

5 ) Aelita Andre: The 2-year-old artist who showed her paintings in a famous Gallery


Aelita Andre is a young Australian girl . She was only 2 years old she was able to showed her geniusity in art when Mark Jamieson, the director of Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne’s Fitzroy , was asked by a photographer whose work he represented to consider the work of another artis t. Jamieson liked what he saw and agreed to include it in a group show . Now she own a gallery for her abstract art .

6 ) Elaina Smith: youngest agony aunt aged 7


Elaina became a broadcaster in her local radio station after she rang and offered advice to a woman caller who had been dumped . She is capable in tackles problems ranging from how to dump boyfriends and how to cope with relationship breakdown to dealing with smelly brothers . There was a listener wrote to Elaina asking how to get a man , she replied : “Shake your booty on the dance floor and listen to High School Musical” . Another caller asked how to get her man back , Elaina told her : “He’s not worth the heartache . Life’s too short to be upset with a boy

7 ) Gregory Smith: Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize at age 12



Gregory was born in 1990 . He could read at age two and had enrolled in university at 10. But “genius” is only one half of the Greg Smith story . He is the creator of International Youth Advocates , an organization that promotes principles of peace and understanding among young people throughout the world . Gregory got the peace Nobel for his effort by making the international youth advocates .

8 ) Michael Kevin Kearney: earned his first degree at age 10 and became a reality show Millionaire


Kearney was born in 1984 and is was known for setting several world records and teaching college at the age of 17 and he finish his college when he was 10 years old . When he was 10 , he became known as the world’s youngest college graduate at the age of 10. In 2008, Kearney earned $1,000,000 on the television game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire ?

9)  Saul Aaron Kripke: Invited to apply for a teaching post at Harvard while still in high school


Saul Aaron Kripke was born in New York and grew up in Omaha in 1940 . He is the son of rabbi . He got a letter from Harvard to be a lecture at Harvard when he was a senior in high school . Kripke was awarded the Shock Prize , philosophy’s equivalent of the Nobel . He was also known as the Greatest Philosopher in the history ever

10 ) Sungha Jung – Guitar Prodigy


Sungha Jung , 11 year old classical finger-style guitarist from South Korea whose guitar is nearly as big as he is . Sungha Jung says its’ his dream to become a professional finger-style guitarist . He became famous after his father posted various videos of him playing his guitar on the video sharing site You Tube .

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Inspirational Animals Photography

Here are the collection mind blowing and wonderful wild animals photographs. I have got a lot of inspiration from this photos, hope you will all like them. Taking wild life photos is very dangerous, because there is a chance to become the pray of the animal. Lot of patience and courage is needed to take this photos. I respect all the photographers who have taken such a good photos.