FROM THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Mycoprotein, the novel ingredient in Quorn-brand frozen meat substitutes, is made from processed mold (Fusarium venenatum). Though the manufacturer's (Marlow Foods) advertising and labeling implied that the product is "mushroom protein" or "mushroom in origin," the mold (or fungus) from which it is made does not produce mushrooms. Rather, the mold is grown in liquid solution in large tanks. It has been used in the United Kingdom since the 1990s and has also been sold in continental Europe. Quorn foods have been marketed in the United States since 2002. The chunks of imitation meat are nutritious, but the prepared foods in which they are used may be high in fat or salt. http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#mycoprotein
Summary of the safety of food additives http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#safety_summary

Manhattan is home to some of the country's oldest and most celebrated pizzerias, but the great metropolis also holds many mediocre slices. Colin Hagendorf has tasted it all. Hagendorf, a 28-year-old Brooklyn resident, may know New York-style pizza more exhaustively than any other living soul. During a 2½-year quest, he has sampled nearly every pie sold by the slice in Manhattan. The feat—involving 362 slice joints—is unmatched by any modern-day enthusiast, according to local pizza experts. Mr. Hagendorf began in August 2009 at Grandpa's Place near 211th Street and Broadway—in Manhattan's northernmost neighborhood—and worked his way down to the island's southern tip. He excluded from consideration national chains and cafeterias that don't make their own pizzas. The results are chronicled on Mr. Hagendorf's website, Slice Harvester, as well as in printed 'zines he assembles at copy shops and sells for $3 apiece—only slightly more than the price of the average cheese slice. The reviews are deeply personal and occasionally blue, written in the confessional manner of a pizza-obsessed Lenny Bruce. Each pizzeria gets a grade, from zero to an exalted eight. For Mr. Hagendorf, the best slices display balance above all, cheese and sauce used in moderation upon a solid yet supple crust. His slice-eating endeavor was born after a cross-country trip in 2009, when he grew outraged at a New York-style pizza served in Colorado Springs, Colo. After hearing him berate that, friends jokingly suggested Mr. Hagendorf market himself as a consultant for out-of-town pizzerias. Aaron Rutkoff http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203935604577064641987645430.html

Top Ten New York City Food Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/top-10-new-york-city-food-blogs/

Farro is a food product consisting of the grains of certain wheat species in whole form. The exact definition is debated. It is sold dried and is prepared by cooking in water until soft, but still crunchy (many recommend first soaking over night). It may be eaten plain, though it is often used as an ingredient in dishes such as salads and soups. It is sometimes ground into flour and used to make pasta or bread. There is much confusion or disagreement about exactly what farro is. Emmer, spelt, and einkorn are called farro in Italy, sometimes (but not always) distinguished as farro medio, farro grande, and farro piccolo, respectively. Regional differences in what is grown locally and eaten as farro, as well as similarities between the three grains, may explain the confusion. Barley and farro may be used interchangeably because of their similar characteristics. Spelt is much more commonly grown in Germany and Switzerland and, though called dinkel there, is eaten and used in much the same way, and might therefore be considered farro. Common wheat may also be prepared and eaten much like farro, in which form it is often referred to as wheatberries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farro

In the hyperconnected Western world, our preoccupation with technology is evident in the glut of new expressions now in common parlance. Cringeworthy they may be, but expressions such as 'Let's take this offline, 'Do you have bandwidth?' and 'My brain needs a reboot' signify tech has become interwoven into our language. The birth of new words, and new meanings for existing words, are the most obvious signs of what technology has wrought in linguistic terms. A significant number of new words are being driven into the language because of the increasingly pervasive role technology plays in our lives, according to lexicographer John Simpson, a senior editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. "Digital technology is one of the main motivating forces behind new vocabulary," he tells silicon.com.
See the A-Z of tech-inspired words at: http://www.silicon.com/technology/software/2011/11/21/from-lolcat-to-textspeak-how-technology-is-shaping-our-language-39747927/print/

Think outside the box
Give non-electronic modest gifts such as books, magazines, games (Apples to Apples, Scrabble), homemade items (soaps, candles, food, crafts), service ("IOU" for certain number of visits, phone calls, postcards or letters, preparing meals, cleaning house, mowing grass or shoveling snow), money (individual or charity). Keep in mind that many gift cards and tickets for shows or concerts are never used.
See "Gifts That Say You Care" by Nicholas D. Kristof at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/kristof-gifts-that-say-you-care.html

Feedback to A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
From: Petronella J.C. Elema Subject: pharaoh Def: 1. A title of an ancient Egyptian ruler. 2. A tyrant.
Pharaoh (or faro) was the name of a card game as well -- all the rage in the 18th and even 19th century, with whole fortunes being gambled away!
From: Jamie Polichak Subject: Massachusett / Wampanoag is no longer extinct
Massachusett/Wampanoag is no longer extinct. It has been revived, with work beginning in 1993 by people of Wampanoag ancestry and the linguistics department at MIT. It is the subject of a PBS documentary We Still Live Here.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/we-still-live-here/film.html
From: Clyde Johnson Subject: wampum
In my study of the American Indian I found it fascinating that wampum was also used as a record (history) of events in the life of the tribe by the pictograms that were woven into the wampum belt.

How much a person eats can be affected by the colors of the dinnerware and tablecloth, suggests a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Previous research has shown the size of a dinner plate influences the quantity of food people consume—the larger the dish, the bigger the portion, and vice versa. A series of experiments by two U.S. researchers found participants served themselves significantly more food if the color contrast between the dinnerware and the food was low—for example, cream-colored pasta on a white plate. Overserving was reduced, however, when the contrast was more pronounced, for instance, by offering pasta with red tomato sauce on a white plate, the study found. The opposite occurred when dinnerware was contrasted with an underlying tablecloth. When the color difference was high, as with a white plate on a black tablecloth, for instance, participants served themselves about 10% larger portions than when the contrast was low. Excess portion size was essentially eliminated when contrast was removed, such as a white plate on a white tablecloth. The experiments, which involved about 200 participants 18 to 39 years old, were based on an optical illusion described by philosopher Franz Delboeuf in 1865. He discovered that if the same-size circle is placed inside two separate circles with different circumference sizes, the inner circles appear to be different sizes as well. Ann Lukits
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577066253349009674.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
See Plate Size and Color Suggestibility: The Delboeuf Illusion's Bias on Serving and Eating Behavior by Koert Van Ittersum and Brian Wansink, Journal of Consumer Research http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1086/662615

The Delboeuf illusion is an optical illusion of relative size perception. In the best-known version of the illusion, two circles of identical size have been placed near to each other and one is surrounded by an annulus; the surrounded circle then appears larger than the non-surrounded circle if the annulus is close, while appearing smaller than the non-surrounded circle if the annulus is distant. See example of the illusion at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delboeuf_illusion

Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured. Product placement is an investment for brands trying to reach a niche audience, and there are strong reasons for investors to expect that film product placement will increase consumer awareness of a particular brand. Firms paid $722 million in fees, free product placement, and promotional support for film placement in 2005, and by 2010, spending on film placement is predicted to surge to 1.8 billion. In 2002, Volkswagen spent a estimated $200 million in fees to be integrated into NBC Universal films. Among the famous silent films to feature product placement was Wings (1927), the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It contained a plug for Hershey's chocolate. In Fritz Lang's film "M" released in (1931) there is a prominent banner display on a stair case in one scene for Wrigley's PK Chewing Gum which is right in the viewers eye for around 20-30 seconds. Another early example in film occurs in Horse Feathers (1932) where Thelma Todd's character falls out of a canoe and into a river. She calls for a life saver and Groucho Marx's character tosses her a Life Savers candy. The film It's a Wonderful Life (1946), directed by Frank Capra, depicts a young boy with aspirations to be an explorer, displaying a prominent copy of National Geographic. See many examples of placement, some "extreme," at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_placement Examples of reverse product placement (fictional brands brought to life) are Dunder Mifflin copy paper coming from television show The Office, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, coming from the film Forrest Gump.