Most Expensive Burger - a one shirt rating?

As a burger connoisseur I have a fine appreciation of this burger story from Reuters. My local burger shop offers lashings of everything - tomato, cheese, lettuce, bacon, egg, beetroot topped with a sauce of your choice all in a fluffy big bread bun. It's something to die for. After consuming this culinary delight, it becomes necessary to change my shirt as burger remains and sauce on one's clothing are not acceptable when mixing in polite society. I give my local burger retailer a one shirt burger rating. The burger connoisseur one shirt rating is equivalent to that of a 5 star hotel. Cost of burger, $7. Cost of shirt cleaning, $4.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Its creators admit it is the ultimate in decadence: a $175 hamburger.
The Wall Street Burger Shoppe just raised its price from $150 to assure its designation as the costliest burger in the city as determined by Pocket Change, an online newsletter about the most expensive things in New York.
"Wall Street has good days and bad days. We wanted to have the everyday burger (for $4) ... and then something special if you really have a good day on Wall Street," said co-owner Heather Tierney.
The burger, created by chef and co-owner Kevin O'Connell, seeks to justify its price with a Kobe beef patty, lots of black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flecks of gold leaf on a brioche bun.
The eatery sells 20 or 25 per month in the fine dining room upstairs versus hundreds of $4 burgers each day at the diner counter downstairs, Tierney said.
Pocket Change previously designated the double truffle burger at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne as the most expensive at $120, and the Burger Shoppe set out to top that.
Boulud's creation -- available only during black truffle season from December to March -- rose to $150 this past season, so the Burger Shoppe raised its price on Monday to $175.
"Our burger is not about the price," said Georgette Farkas, a Boulud spokeswoman. "If you are making something concerned only about the price, you are off in the wrong direction."
Without truffles, Boulud's burger costs $32. It has a ground sirloin patty stuffed with red wine braised short ribs.
O'Connell said the Burger Shoppe was "finding the ultimate expression of each one of the ingredients."
"The concept was like a mushroom-bacon-Swiss cheese burger, which is my favorite sort of burger," he said.
The burger comes with golden truffle mayonnaise, Belgian-style fries and a mixed greens and tomato salad. O'Connell pairs the dish with many fine wines, a lager or a toasted brown beer, or ginger ale.

It's a Cat's Life

My housemate, Tuxedo the cat received this recent email from his feline friend next door.

Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am.
Bastards!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event.
However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow - but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.
For now...

It's A Weird World

They do it because they can!

Perhaps life doesn't need to be that serious thanks to technology. Cartoon animators such as the the producer of the above video have helped lighten the mood.

People do other funny things like creating strange world records for 15 minutes of fame. Look at this small selection of weird world records and happenings:

Largest (and Probably Only) Airplane Ever Eaten. Michel Lotito, better known as Monsieur Mangetout (Mr. Eat Everything) is basically a normal guy, except he eats things like metal and glass.
He is the current (as if anyone else can do it …) world record holder of biggest meal ever eaten: a Cessna 150 airplane.
Doctors found that Mangetout’s stomach lining is twice as thick as a normal stomach lining, which explains why he is able to digest these things. The doctors concluded that his rare condition must have developed when he was still in his mother’s womb.
World’s Greatest Miser. Hetty Green was a very rich woman - actually, she was once the richest woman in the world, probably because she didn’t spend any money. And I mean any:
Green was mainly interested in business, and there are many tales (of various degrees of accuracy) about her stinginess. She never turned on the heat nor used hot water. She wore one old black dress and undergarments that she changed only after they had been worn out. She did not wash her hands and rode an old carriage. She ate mostly pies that cost fifteen cents. One tale claims that she spent a night looking for a lost stamp worth two cents.
Hettie’s son Ned broke his leg and had to have it amputated because Hettie delayed treatment while insisting on finding free medical care!
World’s Largest Gold Coin. How’s this for spare change: a 100,000 Euro gold coin made from 24-karat gold created by the Austrian Mint:
The coin, with a face value of 100,000 euros, bears a replica of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s famous hall on one side and instruments on the other.
Only 15 of the 24-carat discs - dubbed Big Phil and measuring 37cm (14.5in) -were created by the Austrian mint.
World’s Largest Bagel. At 868 lb, 6 ft in diameter and 20 in thick, Bruegger’s Bagel made the biggest bagel in the world in the 2004 New York State Fair.
The bagel is so big that it needed to be baked in a custom-built oven and moved with a small crane!
World’s Fastest Human Conveyor Belt. On March 3, 2005, one hundred students at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville, UT, set the world’s record for fastest human conveyor belt by "conveying" a mattress a distance of nearly 180 feet in just 2 minutes and 1 second.
World’s Largest Currency. The currency in the teeny Island of Yap, where stone wheels larger than tractor tires are used as cash!
Hundreds of giant stone coins, some as big as 12 feet in diameter, stand by the side of the road, lean against houses or lie half hidden among trees and shrubs. Many of the mottled gray stones are centuries old and are worth thousands of dollars.
Though doughnut-shaped coins that weigh a ton might seem impractical elsewhere, stone money is an essential part of the economy and cultural life of Yap, a small group of islands 4,300 miles west of Hawaii.
The larger pieces are seldom moved and instead change hands in something akin to an electronic bank transfer. They are used to buy land, pay for services or provide compensation in cases of wrongdoing or negligence. Even stones that sank offshore long ago still hold their monetary value.

A Wicked Wit!

I have a favourite journalist. With a wicked sense of humor Joe Hildebrand, of the Sydney Daily Telegraph. Read and enjoy!

Reflections on Mischa Barton’s bottom
This week I sat down to write a column about how I always seem to keep offending people, and by “people” I mean “Clare”.
Clare is a girl I work with whom has often been described as “charmingly petulant” - albeit mostly by me and with a fair degree of lattitude in the meaning of the first word.
Clare is very small and cute and seems like a kindly and warm soul but if you cross her even once she will tear out your eyes with a butterknife.
So I was about to write a column about how I always seem to offend Clare because as well as being highly volatile and prone to violence, she is also quite sensitive - especially about personal things being discussed in public.
Then all of a sudden I got a phone call from Bryon.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hello,” said Bryon.
“What’s up?” I said.
“Oh nothing,” said Bryon.
“Oh,” I said.
“Yeah,” said Bryon.
“Right,” I said.
“What are you doing?” said Bryon.
“I’m doing a column on offending people,” I said.
“I’ll tell you what’s offensive,” said Bryon. “Mischa Barton’s arse.”
And with that, he was gone.
I later learned that Bryon was making reference to the growing controversy surrounding the size and texture of Mischa Barton’s caravan of courage.
Apparently it has been discovered that Mischa Barton has cellulite, which is that colourful see-through paper your mother used to wrap up birthday cake so the other kids couldn’t tell it was mouldy. Apparently Mischa’s stylists had the same thing in mind.
What a terrible situation, I thought. Mischa’s clearly going through a very difficult time and here the media is cruelly exploiting her. And to see just how cruel, check out our Mischa Barton cellulite horror picture gallery at dailytelegraph.com.au.
It’s certainly an eye-opening experience that makes you think about your own mortality. Of course luckily the scourge of cellulite is one fatty menace that is yet to ravage my body, which at least sets it apart from Darrin.
I was just reflecting upon this when I received another phone call from Bryon.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hello,” said Bryon.
“What’s up?” I said.
“Oh nothing,” said Bryon.
“Oh,” I said.
“Yeah,” said Bryon.
“Right,” I said.
“What are you doing?” said Bryon.
“I’m writing a column about Mischa Barton’s arse,” I said.
“I’ll tell you something about Mischa Barton’s arse,” said Bryon. “It’s great.”
And with that, he was gone.
So then it got me thinking, was there anything actually wrong with cellulite?
Sure, it looks like cottage cheese but a lot of people love cottage cheese. In fact if you’re growing up in an all female house without a strong male role model it’s perfectly natural.
Cellulite also looks a bit like scrambled eggs, which is also very popular. In fact at Bowral’s Cafe Rocca they will charge you an extra 80 cents to scramble your eggs, which is a bit like a hairdresser charging extra to mess up your hair, which is in fact pretty much what they do.
(Incidentally, in fact-checking for this story I rang Cafe Rocca to ask if it cost an extra 80 cents for scrambled eggs and the person who answered the phone just said “Yeah”. What does one have to do to arouse suspicion?)
And cellulite is also soft - have you ever heard of someone say they hate pillows? Plenty of times but Darrin always talks them round.
But most importantly cellulite is as natural as Mischa Barton’s acting, and everybody likes that too - with the obvious exception of the Academy.
So I was reflecting on this when the phone rang again.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hello,” said Bryon.
“What’s up?” I said.
“Oh nothing,” said Bryon.
“Oh,” I said.
“Yeah,” said Bryon.
“Right,” I said.
“What are you doing?” said Bryon.
“I’m doing a column on body image,” I said.
“I’ll tell you something about body image,” said Bryon. “It’s all a conspiracy by gay fashion designers to make women look like boys.”
And with that, he was gone.
Surely, I thought to myself, there must be someone I can report him to?