Federal Legalization of Marijuana and the Food Industry

    The high-end culinary scene could be legalization's most powerful accomplice. This goes well beyond convenient store edibles and corner store smoke shops. The beauty of federal legalization could lead to nation wide access to specialized "weed-infused" menus sought after by consumers for an upscale and exciting experience. For civilians living in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Washington and Washington D.C. recreational use is already proving to be extremely beneficial.

See full list here:
List of recreationally legal states in America 

    As a frequent traveler and food industry enthusiast (who happens to be married to a marijuana enthusiast), I have to wonder about the potential for restaurants, food trucks, and specialty shops in these recreationally-friendly parts of the country. How has the economy improved in these areas? What kind of FOOD are the locals experiencing? I am reminded of an informative and impressively creative docu-series on Vice called "Bong Appetit." I urge you to watch this short clip with one of my favorite chefs, Marcel Vigneron. He creates an all encompassing infused menu complete with such things as Cannabis Smoked Tuna, Seared Beef Tongue with a Cannabis Infused Butter and Honey topped with a Ganja Gremoulade and enticing ice cream flavors for dessert; complete with   cannabis oil infusions.

    With creative juices flowing, and brand new ingredients at their fingertips chefs and food enthusiasts could open so many literal and figurative new doors. The face of marijuana usage is changing and it is only appropriate the rest of the nation keeps up. This is no longer just a "gateway street drug," arguably it never really was. Nonetheless, marijuana is an ingredient and in many parts of the world a very celebrated one. I could go in depth about the economical benefits, but frankly if you haven't heard about how well Colorado, Washington, Nevada and the others are doing by now then you just aren't paying attention. It is my sole responsibility to enlighten you, as the reader, about the creative benefits and the fascinating science behind what the use of cannabis ingredients could bring. Here are a few menus I found extremely enticing if only it were legal where I live. 

MARY magazine pop-up

FoodRaves Tapas

Danksgiving

   After seeing such creativity and passion how can we as a nation still consider Cannabis such a controversial topic? It's time to open up these creative flood gates! Perhaps it is a pipe dream, but only time will tell. In the mean time I will be looking forward to when Kansas City decides to join in on recreational use so I can add "cooks with cannabis" to my resume. 

   

Stranger Things Are Happening

The entire new season of Stranger Things was released on Netflix last weekend, and I have been hooked. It's only 9 episodes long, to much of our dismay, and I had to binge-watch it all in one sitting. Don't worry, I will not reveal any spoilers.

There were so many different emotions conveyed in this season, and a lot more in depth look into Eleven's (the psychokinetic major character of the show) back story and feelings. I really enjoyed that about this season, because as much as Eleven was loved last season, we didn't really get to know her much, until now.

We got to see more of Will as well, who was taken to the Upside Down by a Demagorgon last season. He experienced a lot of pain in this season, as if he hasn't suffered enough already. It was a whole new experience watching it, though, because he spent most of the last season being missing from most of the action that took place. I actually really enjoyed the actor, Noah Schnapp, having a bigger, more prominent role in this season. We got to see his full potential. This season examined his post-traumatic stress after escaping the Upside Down, which wasn't the only thing he had to go through. (As I promised, no spoilers).

We were also introduced to some new characters this season. Two of them are Max (or Maxine) and Billy, the new kids in town. The show portrayed their (somewhat abusive?) sibling relationship, and a little more insight on what their family is like. Max has also been caught in an unexpected love triangle between Dustin and Lucas, who are also two of the major characters in the series. It's more of a middle-school-crush triangle, though.

As for Mike, this season showed him longing/waiting for Eleven to come back into their lives. I felt like this season basically built up his story to his reunion with Eleven, whom he has deep feelings for. They both obviously really liked each other, and "Mileven" (Mike and Eleven's couple name) fans were driven insane, desperately waiting for the reunion.

Final 2 spots up for grabs heading into Paris

The final tournament of the year, the Paris Rolex Masters, is always filled with drama. Being the final tournament of the year, this is the last opportunity for players looking to qualify for the ATP finals to claim a spot. Going into the tournament, there are still 2 qualifying spots remaining. There are only 7 players that have chance at grabbing one of those last coveted spots.



In 7th place right now is David Goffin. He is in a spot to qualify currently and looks as if he will, but to automatically secure his spot he must reach the Paris semifinals.




In 8th place is Pablo Carreno Busta. He is currently sitting in that last position but needs to do well in Paris to keep that spot. He will automatically qualify by winning the tournament.

In 9th place is American Sam Querrey. He is looking to qualify for the first time ever, but he must win the whole tournament to even have a chance at qualifying. If he reaches the final, his fate lies in the hands of the players in front of him in the standings and where they finish up in the tournament.

In 10th is U.S. Open finalist Kevin Anderson. Anderson's fate is the same as Querrey's as he also must win to automatically qualify. If he does it will be the South African's first time qualifying for the finals.

In 11th is Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro could have moved up to the 8th position if he won the tournament in Basel last week, but a loss in the final keeps him in 11th. He will automatically qualify if he wins the title.

In 12th is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. A former champion in Paris, Tsonga will look to the home support to push him through the final week. If he wins he will automatically qualify for London which will be his 5th time ever to qualify for the finals.


In 13th and the last man that has a chance of qualification is Frenchman Lucas Pouille. He has the toughest odds out of all of the players. He must win the title and hope that the players in front of him in the standings lose before the semifinals.

Off The Bench? Jemele Hill Returns to ESPN

If we recall roughly 3 weeks ago, ESPN sports anchor Jemele Hill made several tweets stating her opinion about Trump and his administration. Although this caused tension, ESPN only commented that she has a right to her views and those views don't correspond as the networks.

Shortly afterwards, Hill also tweeted about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones threatened to bench players who protest police brutality by not standing during the national anthem. Interesting fact, that same owner locked arms and knelt with his team prior to making that statement. Once Jones made a release saying the complete opposite of his actions, Hill responded. She said, "..owner Jerry Jones creates many problems for his players specifically the black players." Hill also went further to say fans opposed should boycott the merchandise instead of waiting for the star players to act.

Well this was the final straw for ESPN and those opposed to Hill's comments. She was quickly suspended the same day. Her husband who also is her co host pledged he would not continue if she was replaced. While her husband stood by her, so did social media.


 ESPN sports anchor Jemele Hill returns to ESPN after a 2 week suspension. Earlier before the show she began expressing her love for her fans standing with her even in her absence. Once she fully returned, Hill said that she needed to be suspended and her opinions and comments still stand, however it wasn't fair to put ESPN in that situation.

Off The Bench, Hill looks to stay in the game.




links : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jemele-hill-return-espn-suspension_us_59ecddf4e4b00f08619f82e7?section=us_black-voices
 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/10/556764495/dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-players-cannot-disrespect-flag
 

Russell Wilson: The Silent MVP Candidate

Earl Thomas returns an INT for a touchdown Sunday 

Finding himself down 14-0 in the first quarter, Russell Wilson was standing on the sidelines watching free safety Earl Thomas intercept Texans quarterback, DeShaune Watson, and run it back for a touchdown.

The burst of energy gave the Seahawks quarterback new life as he went out and threw for 452 yards on 41 attempts. Adding together passing with rushing stats, Wilson, accounted for 482 yards of total offense.

Russell Wilson

The performance is nothing new to Seahawks fans as Wilson has been on fire the last few seasons throwing for over 4,000 yards in both 2015 and 2016, but now he’s starting to finally look like a true MVP candidate.

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers

With Aaron Rodgers on IR for the remainder of the season, and teams like the Patriots not performing as normal, Wilson has led his team to a 5-2 record and first place in the NFC West. After the team started off 1-2, the Seahawks started the team’s current 4-game winning streak, and Wilson has thrown for 10 touchdowns and 1,279 yards. In the Seahawks loss to the Titans, Wilson had another 4 touchdowns and 373 yards.

With the run game basically non-existent, just one day after facing the Texans, the Seahawks made a move to sure up the offensive line, by trading cornerback Jeremy Lane to the Texans for left tackle Duane Brown. With the move the Seahawks quarterback will be even scarier to defenses, as he’ll have more time in the pocket to throw.

Tesla Power Train: Is it practical? Part 2

Since its release, Tesla has done all it can to make a real life rendition of the fairy tale car dreamt up by every disappointed electric car guy.

The 2017 Tesla Model S 75D is fully electric, with a 3-phase/4-pole electric 75 kWh performance battery, dual motor all wheel drive, regenerative 4-wheel disc brakes with 4-wheel ABS, front and rear vented discs, brake assist, hill hold control and electric parking brake, and the world class, unmatched electric torque.

To the everyday driver, all of those accolades just seems like a bunch of big car phrases with a couple of words that we know but no overall meaning. To a car guy, these meaningless phrases mean much much more.

Aspects like instant torque application, dual motor acceleration and a 0 to 60 that sits at just over 3 seconds, to name a few, put the Tesla Model S 75D in the same speed and acceleration category as all of the top production supercars around the world. In fact, the more expensive Tesla Model S P100D current sits with the fastest 0-60 for any production car, ringing in at a mere 2.28 seconds.

These accolades place this car above Bugatti, Lamborghini, McLaren, Audi, Porsche, the list could go on and on. In the end, the truth is simple, Tesla has managed to create a beastly piece of machinery that has stopped everyone in their tracks, or at least beat them to the finish line.

The perpetual question seems to be: is it practical? In the last post, we came to the conclusion that the battery life cages this animal to in-town, daily commuting. Do you really need the world’s fastest car for your in-town commutes? The average residential speed limit is 30 mph, only bumping up to 45 on farm roads and 55 on highways. Do you even need this car for highway driving?

All in all, given the battery life and the drive train, no, the insane accolades of the Tesla make it less than practical for the average consumer. But don’t worry you power hungry electric car fans out there, I’m sure you can convince yourself or your significant other differently.

Tips to help stay organized and have good time management

Many of us get caught up in our everyday life and can easily forget things or lose track. I have dealt with this on various occasions. Things will get forgotten and/or overwhelming. It is hard when you are busy all the time. Here are some tips I found helpful to stay organized and keep good time management:

1. Know when to say “no”

It is not always easy to tell someone no without maybe offending them. You have to make sure it will benefit you and not make you want to pull your hair out. Things can get busy and if you say yes to everything that comes up, it will get stressful. Make sure you have the time and energy to fit things in. Remember, it is okay to say no. Put yourself first.

2. Use your calendar/agenda

A calendar has always helped me make sure my plate does not overflow with things to do. Whenever a new plan or event pops up, you have your calendar there and ready to show you what may be happening on that exact day at that exact time. It is very useful to help keep a schedule and stay on track.

3. Set a routine

Setting a routine is an important way to help you know what is to come. Set one for little things like waking up, exercising, cleaning, etc. It is another way to help get a schedule going and make time for things throughout your busy day.

4. Notes/Reminders

Keep notes around the house and on your phone to help remind about your meetings or to not forget a certain item when leaving the house.There are apps to help set reminders on your phones. Alarms work too. This always helps me remember the littlest things throughout my day.

Make time for what you can do. Do not overwhelm yourself and know what you are capable of doing. I hope these tips help you as much as they have helped me. It will keep you organized and become successful every day!

The Return of JT at the Superbowl

"I'll have you naked by the end of this song . . ." The famous line that changed the Superbowl forever. For those needing a refresher, Superbowl XXXVIII was an exciting year for America, Panthers vs Patriots, millions of families watching. Why most tune in for the game, a huge chunk of viewers await the exciting halftime show. Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson ripped the stage performing the hit song, "Rock Your Body".  During the performance, Timberlake rips Jackson's shirt exposing her breast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeVkKoSgkTg Of course the FCC was all over the situation causing Jackson to be banned and fined for the mishaps.
However, fans are roaring at the fact that Justin Timberlake was invited back to headline the 2018 Superbowl.

Fans are now asking the question, what about Janet? Why did she receive so much backlash when he was the one to rip the clothing? In words of actress Leslie Jones: "I don't know if this was a race thing or lady thing, but I'm mad as hell"

Eventful week of tennis in Europe: Dimitrov and Cilic qualify

This past week on the ATP tour was the week for players who were on the bubble of making the finals to gain some much needed points. Some players took advantage and some did not.

In Antwerp, the European Open was won by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga was seeded second and with the win jolts his position in the race to London to15th. This title was Tsonga's 4th on the year and he still has a decent chance to qualify for the finals. He is the 8th seed in this weeks tournament in Vienna.





The final tournament of the week, the Stockholm Open, was won by Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro successfully defended his title from the previous year by knocking off top seed Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. Del Potro's position in the race also made a jolt as he is now sitting at the 14th position. Del Potro is seeded 4th in this weeks tournament in Basel



The biggest news of the week is that two more men locked up their position in the ATP World Tour finals in London. Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, and Croatia's Marin Cilic.

Dimitrov started the year ranked 17th in the world but showed early on in the year he wanted to be in London in November. He started off with a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open, his best result yet at the event. He stayed solid throughout the year and won 3 tournaments including the biggest of his career so far, the Cincinatti Masters 1000 event. This is Dimitrov's first time qualifying for the finals.


Marin Cilic, the former U.S. Open champion is making his 3rd appearance in London in the past 4 years. Cilic started and stayed in the top 10 in the world throughout the entire year. Even though he only has 1 title this year so far, his ability to make the semi-finals or finals of tournaments shows that he deserves to be in London. Besides his lone title, the highlight of his year is making the Wimbledon final for the first time of his career.

This week the eyes of the tennis world turn towards two big 500 events in Europe. The Swiss Indoor in Basel, Switzerland, and the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria.

Big Mouth Review

As I was scrolling through Twitter one day, my eyes diverted their attention to a video containing an unusual character I haven't seen before, and so I pressed play. By now, everybody has most probably seen some of the weirdest shit on the Internet, and this video counts as one of the ones I've seen. (I couldn't find it on YouTube so click here).

The videos are from the new Netlfix show, Big Mouth. The show follows the two main prepubescent characters, Nick and Andrew (voiced respectively by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney), along their journeys through hormonal changes and puberty in middle school. It is sort of a "coming of age" show, as they call it. I wouldn't say it's appropriate for actual middle schoolers to watch. I actually found it a bit uncomfortable to watch some  scenes, but it somehow lured me in to completing the entirety of the 10 episodes.

The questions people are asking is has Netflix gone too far? Is this borderline child pornography? Why would anyone make such a show? For starters, the two main characters on the show are supposed to reflect Kroll's and Andrew Goldberg's (the show's writer) actual tweenage years and experiences. It is an adult sitcom show, NOT a children's show. However one question still stands; is this basically child pornography? The show does include the main characters engaging in some "innocent" sexual acts (as middle schoolers do, apparently), and there is something overtly creepy about watching children, although cartoons, trying to discover their sexual identities. 

Overall, I'm not sure how to defend this show because I'm still deciding whether I even like it or not. The raunchy show is supposed to be relatable to some people. It has a hilarious cast as well. It has already been confirmed for a second season, so it'd be interesting to watch what else the show's creators come up with next. I hope it includes less disturbing acts between the tween/teen characters.

The Tesla Battery Life - is it practical?

While electric cars seem to be the focus of a number of car companies and environmental investors, they faced many years of criticism due to lack of power, battery range, charge up time, size of the vehicle, and even the looks of the vehicle.

As we all know, Tesla came in and broke the electric car market; it fixed a number of those problems and improved on the aspects it did not completely fix. More power, a stylish look, very high tech internal equipment, top-knotch drive train parts, faster charging, longer battery life. Elon Musk seemed to have save the world, there was just one problem, the car just is not a feasible replacement for a gas engine car.

With a starting price of just under $70,000, the Tesla was already priced out of a number of markets due to a simple lack of income. From there, we look at the battery life of the car, the original Tesla Model S can travel from 210 miles to 315 miles on a single charge.

Comparable to a gas engine getting around 300 miles per tank, for an everyday, in-town commuter this would definitely be a good option. In the standard in home wall outlet, it takes anywhere from 64.5 to 96.7 hours for a full charge, getting incrementally better with different Tesla offered adapters.

An in-town commuter would not need a full charge every day, therefore as far as the battery is concerned, the Tesla is very practical for an in-town commuter. If you want to go more than 600 miles, enjoy hunting down public chargers and be ready to camp out until it’s charged.