Must have been, because this recording of the two parts of the William Tell Overture that count were done with an orchestra twice the size of the one Rossini would have used, but hey … it works:

If it’s real, it’s epic:

And that will not buff out.

What’s better than roast chicken and mashed potatoes on a winter evening? And, of course, there are as many ways to roast a chicken as there are cooks. Here’s how I do it, and I’d like to hear how you do it – always looking for tips and tricks. First, the neck (and giblets if they’re in the cavity) go into a pot to slow cook with a rough-cut mirepoix:

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“And before you say ‘Well that’s going to make it hard to get into college when you graduate with a background in basic science that has built-in air quotes’, the law applies to universities and colleges in Missouri too, defined as ‘any introductory science course taught at any public institution of higher education in this state’ having to meet [certain] criteria ….” [Balloon Juice]

Another photograph Mittens doesn’t want you to see:

[via]

My tax dollars at work:

It is perhaps the most minor crime New Yorkers are routinely arrested for: sitting improperly on a subway seat. Seven years ago, rule 1050(7)(J) of the city’s transit code criminalized what was once simply bad etiquette: passengers putting their feet on a subway seat. They also cannot take up more than one seat if it interferes with other passengers’ comfort, nor can they block movement on a subway by doing something like standing too close to the doors.

Tonight a cop pulled me and another guy over because he thought we’d used the door at the end of the car to move to the next one. I hadn’t, and the other guy told the cop I hadn’t. He had. Wonder if he got arrested?

Relax, if You Want, But Don’t Put Your Feet Up [NYT]

Last night: