*notcot -
02.03.08
, 17:09 -
Click the pics to find out more! Wow what a week its been over at TasteSpotting… honestly there was so much incredibly drool worthy deliciousness there this week, i dont know how i manage to not try to cook and consume it all. Looks like stand out trends this week were definitely those Cake Pops of Bakerella, who also brought us Oreo Balls and Nutter Butter Balls. There were also home made pop tarts this week! And my favorite and most inspiring post of all truly was Steamy Kitchen sharing her photo “food porn room” studio with us all! It certainly helped answer my questions about how some of the TasteSpotters get such beautiful imagery of their home cooked delights!
Oh, and if you click through any of those, you may have noticed a little experiment (in beta phases - still cleaning up design) on both notcot.org and TasteSpotting… we now have permalink pages… which also mean a single post view… where you can browse linearly (for those who dont like the overwhelming all at once view!)… AND you can play with the RANDOMIZER feature i’ve long begged for (and can spend hours exploring the nearly 9000 posts with now)… you can even try using Keybord Shortcuts! (although i haven’t put up the image about this on the sites yet… try ctrl+r, <, > keys on mac, and use alt instead of ctrl on a pc).
*notcot -
02.01.08
, 23:48 -
Ok, i’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. And certainly wasn’t expecting any this year… or this early! But a Despair, Inc. generated email from Jef (you can see what he sent after the jump) ~ tipped me off to these hilarious Bittersweets. Just in time for Valentine’s day, these candy hearts come in three tin variations: Dejected, Dysfunctional, and Dumped. “Dejected” sayings include: I MISS MY EX | PEAKED AT 17 | MAIL ORDER | TABLE FOR 1 | I CRY ON Q | U C MY BLOG? | LOSS LEADER | A FINE WHINE | MOMMY ISSUES | DIGNITY FREE | DORK MAGNET | PURE NAUSEA | WE HAD PLANS | MAIL ORDER | SETTLE 4LESS | I’M HOT INSIDE. “Dysfunctional” sayings include: ANNULMENT | I BEEN CREEPIN | HE CAN LISTEN | GAME ON TV | CALL A 900# | P.S. I LUV ME | DO MY DISHES | BOOTY INFL8N | PAROLE IS UP! | AWFUL INLAWS | SUB PRIME | I WANT HALF | RETURN 2 PIT | NO FIX 4 DUMB | RATHER DRINK | MUTUAL DISGUST. “Dumped” sayings include: I GOT SOBER | HE FIT U FAT | U LEFT SEATUP | USED U 4 FUN | JUST A FRIEND | BACK 2 KENNEL | DORKA PHOBIC | U HAVE A BLOG | RUSSIAN BRIDE | CELEB8 THX2U | DOG IS CUTER | TRADIN YOU IN | FORGET WE MET | KISS A FROG | SHE IS 22! | HE HAS A JOB. Wow. See more images after the jump!
p.s. Despair Inc is the company behind those Demotivators posters.
--> to more images
*notcot -
01.26.08
, 17:25 -
Click the images to find out more! Wow. On trends that i can’t quite comprehend… BACON. Sure we’ve all been seeing the bacon toys, bandaids, etc floating around, but i am impressed that there are over 80 posts on TasteSpotting on bacon… and here are 15 of the most unique… we have: Bacon and cheese scones. Bacon wrapped tofu. Bacon weave. Bacon vodka. Bacon salt. Bacon wrapped asparagus. Bacon cookies. Bacon candy. Bacon kettle corn. Bacon dark chocolate. Bacon cupcakes. The Baconator. Bacon wrapped monkfish. Bacon alarm clock (yes it wakes you up with fresh bacon). Bacon spa wrap.
So really, what IS it about bacon that people love so much? Enlighten me?
*notcot -
01.24.08
, 18:53 -
I just spotted the Otto Espresso maker on the Appliancist, which luckily has some pics of the gorgeous twist on classic stove top espresso since the Otto website isn’t quite ready, teasing me with an “Otto: the little guy’s coming” message. “The OTTO espresso maker is designed to produce two espresso shots with steam milk. An automatic cut off prevents burning of the coffee grind, and after the perfect amount of coffee is dispensed, the boiler primes itself for steaming of the milk to produce two perfect homemade lattes.”
--> to more images
*notcot - , 15:50 -
Click the pics to find out more! TasteSpotting roundup! Totally late this week, my apologies, but while changing servers, had to rewrite pieces of my magical roundup tool! So here are some deliciously popular posts this week!
*notcot -
01.22.08
, 11:19 -
I rediscovered the work of YaYa Chou at the Tinlark Gallery Anniversary Show opening ~ her love of gummi bears is impressive… or perhaps its her hatred of them, constantly molding and manipulating them into new forms. At the show, she was showing her 2006 piece “Simon,” 7”X32”X30”, gummi bears, faux nailtops on wire armature and canvas - a gummi bear rug - and you should have seen these little kids diving at it, dying to lay on it and eat some (i wonder if any ever made it when no one was looking). Closeups from the show after the jump, as well as some of her other gummi pieces you may be familiar with, like the chandelier, creatures, and a porcelain boy covered in gummies…
--> to more images
*notcot -
01.12.08
, 21:23 -
Click the images to find out more! Here are 15 of the most popular posts on TasteSpotting this week to get your week started with some culinary inspiration.
*notcot - , 14:03 -
366cm is the swiss design duo Sergio Streun and Vincent Schertenleib. Square is their beautifully subtle trivet that looks like a simple glossy black tile with laser engraved electronic cooker elements, but as soon as you put a hot pot upon it, it quickly transforms to an orangy red glow that not only conveys the heat but looks beautiful as well.
Ooops. Nevermind, it would have been cooler if it changed!
--> to more images
*notcot -
01.09.08
, 23:19 -
Joey Roth’s Sorapot has come a long way, and after years of waiting we can finally all get our hands on one in 2008! In fact, Joey Roth is officially the *first* reader from NOTCOT i ever met in person ~ we met about 2.5 years ago when i was in NY doing our NOTed photoshoot, and he’s been a great friend and supporter to NOTCOT since! Well, you should be caught up on all your Sorapot news by now, and if not check out the video of it in action after the jump, but what this post is really about is the gorgeous new teacup design to match it! So why this design? Joey says “I designed this teacup to emphasize the the beauty of tea on glass while insulating your hand and tabletop from heat.” I must admit my favorite part was the base… at first it looked like a mercedes logo ~ perhaps a cute idea for a future mug is a peace sign base that leaves peace sign water marks when left on paper… See more close ups of his new Teacup below!
--> to more images
*notcot -
01.05.08
, 20:10 -
Click the images to see the posts! I think i might have a new weekend tradition of rounding up the most popular from the week on TasteSpotting! (or at least i’ll try this out for a little while and see how it goes!)… from faux sushi to foccacia, its been quite a drool worthy week as usual!
*notcot -
01.04.08
, 05:40 -
Although this post trilogy on Cup Noodles started out in good fun, and we found ourselves giggling and amused by the 20 ads as well as the custom Cup Noodles… we became inspired by the innovative thinking behind this brand when stumbling across a pdf from Nissin Foods about how “Cup Noodle Looks Ahead”, where President Komori sat down with Koki Ando, president of Nissin… For the most noteworthy excerpt first:
Making the impossible possible. One of my plans for our company is to double the number of ‘eccentrics’ in Nissin Foods. As a manufacturer, we must continue to make new breakthroughs. We must ‘make the impossible possible,’ and common-sense individuals often can’t accomplish this. Breakthroughs can only be achieved by those who are a bit eccentric. organizations, however, necessarily aim at efficiency, and eccentrics, who may only work one week out of a year tend, to vanish from the organization. When the chips are down, though, these people are capable of great feats. Corporate leadership must find and keep these valuable human resources. By ‘encouraging eccentrics’ we can achieve our impossible dreams.
Isn’t that an inspiring thing to hear someone in a corporation say? That passage has given me a whole new level of respect for Cup Noodle - don’t get me wrong, i’m also slightly horrified to find that the noodles are deep fried for efficiency, and are really mostly fat and salt… so luckily we don’t indulge in the college staple often! As for the sweet Eco Style Cup Noodle Refill pack? Read more below…
--> to more images
*notcot - , 04:35 -
So while dan and i got sidetracked from “real work” researching the insanely bizarre world of Cup Noodles… you already saw the Custom Cup Noodles you can make at the factory/museum… well now we have 20 youtube ads embedded for you after the jump. We tried to just show a few, then dan found more and more amazing Cup Noodle Ads, and we couldn’t resist sharing the full collection with you. This all started with my discovery of the funniest cutest animated caveman ads that all end with HUNGRY? Cup O’ Noodles (in that slim jim ad type voice). As the pack of *tiny* cavemen race around to try and catch some very large prey… well, its just hilarious, watch a few! And after that, dan started finding more and more… the main campaigns being a No Border campaign that launched when Cup Noodles were going into space, showing how food could bring people together… and the most recent campaign is the Freedom campaign which is an anime series. So happy friday! Here is more than your usual dose of distraction ~
UPDATES… i just found one with the governator in it… and other hilarious japanese ones… added about 20 more ads.
--> to more images
*notcot - , 03:28 -
On bizarre 4am spontaneous research projects… we just got inspired to learn far too much about Cup Noodle (or Cup O’ Noodles). Best thing we found? Ok well there’s a tie, but we’ll show you the other part in the next post… there is a Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum! And in that museum that is in the factory in Osaka ~ you can make CUSTOM Cup Noodles, where you draw on the cup, fill it with your noodles, choose your toppings and flavors (including cheese, curry, corn, the usuals), seal it up, plastic wrap it… and then even put it in a crazy inflatable bag! Anyhow, watch the videos below to see the custom Cup Noodle Bar, as well as how those noodles came to be as kids work with the factory workers (think crazy happy ikea meets wonka factory look) to make the noodles from scratch!
--> to more images
*notcot -
01.01.08
, 17:17 -
Click any of the 100 tiny images to find out more! In light of 2008 already being upon us, and the first year of TasteSpotting now behind us ~ dan wrote up a new toy for me to create some new roundups playing with popularity of posts! So what were some of the most popular delicious links of 2007? Explore above to find out! Happy 2008!
*notcot -
12.27.07
, 17:07 -
It’s been a spam-filled holiday season, why is it that spammers are attacking me with prospects of great fakes to order (who knew even spammers have boxing day sales?) and ways to enlarge and satisfy? But while cleaning through the multitude of flagged emails i’m far behind on, there was some REAL spam. The meaty kind… some fabulously ambitious TOASTVERTISING for the new Book Of Spam… from the guys who brought you the human flip book (remember those hundreds of tshirts that got printed for the animated advert? It was on .org as #6369), but now they toasted an animation frame by frame and by hand into 220 pieces of toast… thats more than there are pages in the Book Of Spam. See some screenshots as well as the advert itself AND the making of! (both are equally awesome and worth checking out for some toasty inspiration)
--> to more images