Chefs Do The Most Surprising Things, At 51 In Kerala’s Historic Mattanchery Neighborhood, And Elsewhere

/ Crist Inman / 1 Comment
Photograph by Brian Ach/Getty

Photograph by Brian Ach/Getty

The kitchen team at 51 has gone from concept and recipe development, to food trials, to opening and ongoing operations, to continued taste tests, rather nonstop for months. They have risen to the challenge–Malabar cuisine showing off its Eastern Mediterranean multicultural influences–and surprised our palates pleasurably. But now a quick break with a fun story, for the team at 51.

Everyone loves a well-planned and meticulously executed surprise when the outcome is a big smile. Why not chefs, too? Chef stories are on our radar lately and this one, if it is to be believed in all details, has a surprise within a surprise in that these culinary artists who have all “made it” still deem to sleep in modest accommodation in the interest of pulling off the party of a lifetime, in secret, for someone they care about:

For forty-eight hours this week, some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, who hold twenty Michelin stars and myriad awards between them, were living in hiding in New York City. The twenty non-New Yorkers were sequestered together deep in Williamsburg, in dingy rental apartments with thin mattresses on wooden slats, horrible lighting, and half-eaten bags of Doritos strewn about. Continue reading →

Collaborative Shorts From Brown

/ Organikos / Leave a comment

We have been watching those folks at Brown University since the early days of this blog, and more recently too. They are a community we never tire of learning more about, and from. In the five years since they first started offering simple but imaginative explanations for complex phenomena (many, but not all, oceanographically topical), we have almost come to expect a six minute short on how to save the world’s high seas from over-fishing collapse. Not likely, but we appreciate their efforts with each new short, most recently from about six weeks ago.

The New York Times, one of our many regular sources for excellent science writing, paid attention to this project late last year. We look forward to more. Background on, and credits for, the shorts:

Continue reading →

Pathiramanal Island – Alappuzha, Kerala

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
Photo credits : Surus

Photo credits: Surus

Pathiramanal is a small island located in the backwaters of Alappuzha District, about 2 kilometers from the Muhumma boat jetty. Many rare varieties of migratory birds from different parts of the country come here to nest, adding to the scenic beauty of its location on Lake Vembanad. Continue reading →

Know Your High Seas, EEZs, And 1-2-3s

/ Organikos / 1 Comment
EEZs are shown in green and high seas in blue. EEZs comprise 42% of the planet’s oceans.

EEZs are shown in green and high seas in blue. EEZs comprise 42% of the planet’s oceans.

We are in awe of the scientists who help us understand this topic we write on and link to from time to time. The metrics required to understand overfishing in any meaningful way cannot be simple. But, a marker for a fishing zones we had not even known existed–the EEZ–is a good place to start counting:

The ocean is a big place, but not all seas are created equal. While 58% of the seas are classified as “high seas,” and open to access from all nations, there are over 150 exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which are the sole domain of the countries that operate them. EEZs comprise the remaining 42% of the ocean. The patchwork quilt of economic interests that blanket the ocean pose a problem for the fish who live there and the fisheries that exploit those fish. Continue reading →

Time Zone Adjustments For Sleep

/ Organikos / Leave a comment

 

It is a drag. Just saying the two words that are the inspiration for this app below is a drag. So instead we will say it more soothingly, discussing the need for adjustments for sleep based on crossing time zones. This is definitely of interest to many of the travelers who make their way to properties we manage. Raxa Collective remains firmly rooted in Kerala, India–a long haul flight from most places–while expanding our project reach into Western Africa and Central America, which makes us susceptible to the attraction of this app brought to our attention by National Public Radio (USA):

Jet lag is nobody’s idea of fun. A bunch of mathematicians say they can make the adjustment less painful with a smartphone app that calculates the swiftest way to adjust.

Users plug in the time zone they’re traveling to, and the app will do the calculations before spitting out a schedule specifying when the user should stay in bright light, low light or be in the dark, says Olivia Walch, a graduate student at the University of Michigan who designed the app.

“The conventional wisdom is for every hour you’re shifting, it’s about a day of adjustment,” Walch says. So Washington, D.C., travelers going to Hong Kong — a 12-hour time difference — could take up to 12 days to adjust. The app can reduce that time to roughly four or five days, the inventors say. Continue reading →

Bekal Fort – Kasaragod, Kerala

/ Salim.E.I / 2 Comments
Photo credits : Sijo

Photo credits: Sijo

Bekal Fort is situated in the Kasaragod district in the north of Kerala. One of the largest and most well-preserved forts in the state, Bekel is spread over 40 acres. The fort was built by Sivappa Naik of the Ikkari dynasty in 1650. The west side of the fort offers a magnificent view of the sea and the beach. Continue reading →

If You Happen To Be In London

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

ANDREAS GURSKY. EARLY LANDSCAPES     SPRÜTH MAGERS LONDON   APRIL 15 – JUNE 21 2014

Andreas Gursky Alba, 1989, 87 x 108 7/8 x 2 3/8 inches Copyright: Andreas Gursky / DACS 2014 Courtesy Sprüth Magers Berlin London

Andreas Gursky Alba, 1989, 87 x 108 7/8 x 2 3/8 inches Copyright: Andreas Gursky / DACS 2014 Courtesy Sprüth Magers Berlin London

Thnaks to Phaidon for bringing this exhibition to our attention:

…No one else has captured the queasy beauty of the modern world quite as well as this 59-year-old German. Yet, while his best-known images feel as if they faithfully capture contemporary life, it’s perhaps a little dispiriting to hear that Gursky admits to digitally manipulating some of his photographs. Continue reading →

Lalbagh Flower Show 2014 – Bangalore, Karnataka

/ Salim.E.I / 3 Comments
Photo credits : Dileep Kumar

Photo credits: Dileep Kumar

The flower shows at Bangalore’s famous Lalbagh Botanical Gardens are annual events that add another reason to attract visitors to the beautiful gardens. More than 175 varieties of flowers and vegetables are on display. The showcase also features huge floral structures in the shape of mangoes, mushrooms, coconuts and more. Continue reading →

Birding’s Big Catch

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

The world of birding, it is safe to say, is growing. Occasionally we read about a noted person having established a passion for birdwatching and/or related conservation. Normally we do not take a humorist literally, but David Letterman, in announcing his retirement, seemed to give birds and in particular a newfound interest in bird identification a special credit in realizing he wanted to do something else with his time now:

…Letterman told the audience that people have always asked him how long he would continue to host. His answer is usually, “When this show stops being fun — I will retire 10 years later.”

Continuing his tale, Letterman said that he wanted to share an anecdote: Last fall, he went fishing with his 10-year-old son, Harry, and during the outing, they saw a giant, crazy-looking bird. So when Letterman got into work that following Monday, he spent the entire day making calls to bird societies, e-mailing the photo to his outdoorsy friends, and launching a full-scale investigation to find out what type of bird they saw. Continue reading →

Chicago’s Vertical Farming

/ Organikos / 3 Comments
Plant Chicago, NFP/Rachel Swenie

Arugula plant beds inside The Plant, a vertical farm operation in Chicago. Plant Chicago, NFP/Rachel Swenie

Thanks to National Public Radio (USA) for this story on their weekly program called The Salt:

From plant factories fueled by the magenta glow of blue and red LED lights, to the 30-foot tall Ferris wheel for plants in Singapore, we’ve shown you the design possibilities for growing vegetables up instead of out.

But critics ask, what kind of stresses does that put on the plant? And how do you feed this kind of intensive cultivation without spending more than what you get back in the harvest? Continue reading →

Bappiriyan Theyyam

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
Photo credits : Jobsun

Photo credits: Jobsun

The Bappiriyan Theyyam is mostly performed in the Kannur district, a major center for Theyyam in the north of Kerala. The most significent aspect of this Theyyam is that the performer climbs to the top of a coconut tree, sometimes even dropping a couple of coconuts when he’s there. Continue reading →

If You Happen To Be In New Britain

/ Organikos / Leave a comment

 

home_030714

We have been following James Prosek since first learning about his work, and more recently have been looking for an opportunity to catch one of his in-person exhibitions. This opportunity is just around the corner:

bg_logoNaming Things in the Natural World
Monday, Apr. 21, 2014
9:30 a.m. Welcome reception with Coffee
10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Program
 Continue reading →

If You Happen To Be In New York City

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

04-nypl-580

It has been a while since we have seen any old maps of Iceland, or old images of anything for that matter, so combined with a few select Raxa bloggers receiving a near-final copy of Seth’s honors thesis for review a few moments ago, this announcement came as a pleasant surprise:

Last week, the New York Public Library released twenty thousand maps from its extensive collection, which includes more than four hundred thousand sheets and twenty thousand books and atlases, as free, high-resolution digital downloads. In announcing the newly accessible maps, the N.Y.P.L explained that the holding includes more than a thousand maps of New York City from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century, “which detail transportation, vice, real estate development, urban renewal, industrial development and pollution, political geography among many, many other things.” Continue reading →

Flynn, Come To Kerala!

/ Organikos / 3 Comments

Awesome people get invited places. Awesome people who cook well, probably even more so. We think Flynn, who we first learned about when he was 13 years old, and who we were reminded about more recently in his 15th year of awesomeness, qualifies:

At the age of ten, Flynn McGarry wanted to cook. He began practicing his knife skills afterschool, and then soon after started creating dishes, simple at first, for a few of his mother’s friends. At eleven, came the purchase of Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry cookbook, then Grant Achatz’s Alinea. The influence was immediate…

As noted more than once recently, development of 51 and Spice Harbour have sensitized us to the intersection between food, art, and design so Flynn’s story continues to thrill us. Continue reading →

Flavours Of Kerala – Mango Pickle

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
Photo credits : Sachin

Photo credits: Sachin

Both delicious and easy to prepare, Mango Pickle is an important condiment addition to most Kerala meals.  The main ingredients of this spicy and tangy condiment are raw mango, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, mustard oil and vinegar.

Continue reading →

Craft Beer, Designed

/ Organikos / 4 Comments

What with Spice Harbour and 51 design projects behind us, and the second biennale just ahead, stories about art, design, food and beverage catch our attention more than ever. On the latter, we might think each craft beer is itself an artist’s design searching for masterpiece status, but we might be wrong:

Milton Glaser Critiques Modern Beer Art 

The 84-year-old graphic-design legend who created the Brooklyn Brewery identity weighs in on what craft breweries are doing right and wrong.