Some months back, I reported on a Scottish delicacy known as the Stonner, a 1000-calorie deep fried pork kabob so dangerous to the health of the eater that customers may not purchase more than one per week. Awestruck though I was by the culinary ingenuity on display, I confess that I felt galled to know that another nation had apparently bested my own in the field of unhealthy eating.
Well, I am proud to announce that America has retaken the lead. Even better, my native land’s culinary triumph comes courtesy of baseball, our national sport.
The Gateway Grizzles– 2003 champions of the Frontier League– have introduced a product they are describing as America’s Best Burger. Here is the description, from the press release:

As I think I’ve mentioned before, one of the odd effects of living abroad is the feeling of distance when tragic events take place in the US. I’ve therefore found myself fascinated and moved by the Katrina-related photographs posted on Flickr.
This photo, this photo, and especially this one struck me as some of the most powerful depictions of the storm’s force I’ve seen.
Other photos have a sense of documentary immediacy; some drive home the extent of the devastation or offer
frightening images of objects unmoored. Some even manage to make beautiful art out of the horrible storm and its aftereffects.

I am please to present the third (and, for now at least, final) in a series of entirely serious, not-at-all tongue-in-cheek public service announcements, will give you all the facts you need to make your vote for President. This film takes a simple, non-sensationalist look at the ways in which foreign policy decisions affect domestic security.
[NOTE: Due to a sudden surge in visitors, I’ve moved all my public service announcements to a site that can better handle the traffic. You’ll find them here.]

I’m pleased to announce that, once again, an important television ad for the presidential election is debuting here at Yankee Fog. Like the previous one, this will offer you balanced and impartial advice as you decide between George W. Bush and John Kerry.
[NOTE: Due to a sudden surge in visitors, I’ve moved all my public service announcements to a site that can better handle the traffic. You’ll find them here.]

My former co-worker Rob Kutner–who just won an Emmy–recently sent out the following backstage report to his family and friends. With his kind permission, I’m reprinting it here.
The Emmys are held every year at the Shrine Auditorium, right in the ultra-glamorous, star-studded region of Los Angeles known as “South Central.” The afternoon of the broadcast (it starts at 5pm, West Coast time), the whole area becomes a sea of limos. Reportedly, the demand is so high for them on this particular day, they have to be brought in from not only the rest of California, but from neighboring states as well. At any rate, the surreal spectacle outside your tinted window is of minority residents in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods watching this army of limos insert some of the nation’s richest people, one by one, into their armed compound in the ‘hood.