Category Archives: Covid-19

Get bottomless bloody Marys, mimosas, and margaritas at dLena. Photograph courtesy of dLena

Bottomless brunches used to be prolific around DCbut like everything else, the pandemic has changed the landscape (blame staffing shortages and shorter table time limits, among other things). Still, those looking for free-flowing mimosas, all-you-can-eat brunch plates, and other trappings of a hedonistic morningor lets face it, mid-afternoonarent without options.

Ambar and TTTAmbar (523 Eighth St., SE; 2901 Wilson Blvd., Arlington) TTT (2900 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 8407 Ramsey Ave., Silver Spring)Theres a reason restaurateur Ivan Iricanin is known as the All You Can Eat King of Washington. His Balkan concept, Ambar, and TTT Mexican restaurants serve AYCE food menus for both brunch and dinner, with bottomless drink options in DC (libations are a mere .25 cents in Virginia, per state laws). Options are plentiful on the menus, which are mostly below $40 per personit just depends whether youre more in the mood for rakia cocktails and Southeastern European fare, or margaritas and huevos rancheros.

Compass Rose1346 T St., NWRose Prevites globetrotting Shaw restaurant is a relaxing space to linger on a Sunday, when endless orange or grapefruit mimosas are yours for $30. The menu spans from North African shakshuka to the restaurants famed Georgian khachapuri (cheese bread). While its not bottomless, per se, you can get a very filling taste of all small plates in a brunch tour of the world ($30 for omnivore or vegetarian).

dLea476 K St., NWRestaurateur Richard Sandovals new wood-fired Mexican restaurant in Mount Vernon Triangle serves bottomless food and drink for weekend brunch ($49 per person; $30 without drinks). Plates include options like birria tacos, tuna ceviche, shrimp enchiladas, and Mexican scrambled eggs, which you can wash down with any of the four Ms (mimosas, Marys, margaritas, and micheladas).

Dukes GroceryLocations in Dupont, Woodley Park, and Foggy BottomIn addition to having one of the lengthiest happy hours in DC (it runs from noon to 7 PM on weekdays), this string of gastropubs encourages patrons to lingerup to 90 minuteson weekends with bottomless bevvies (their word). Pick between mimosas or house bloody Marys ($24) and then order up one of the decadent brunch burgers or a proper English breakfast.

The Fainting Goat1330 U St., NWThe U Street corridor gastropub dishes up a comforting, no-fuss brunch menu with dishes like sausage-egg-and-cheese sandwiches and waffles. Soak up bottomless sangria, bloodies, or mimosaswith a choice of orange, cranberry, or mango juiceplus a must-share for the table: goat cheese fondue. The all-you-can-drink option is $22 per person.

Palette 224053 Campbell Ave., ArlingtonAll-you-can-eat isnt just a weekend affair at this artsy-industrial space in Shirlington. Diners can order bottomless menus for lunch ($29.22) and dinner ($34.22) as well as brunch ($26.92). Theres a lot to choose from on the eclectic menus. At brunch that means anything from pizza to tacos, bao buns, waffles, and lumpia spring rolls. Add on brunch drinks like bellinis, mimosas, and bloodies for $4.22 each.

Mission1606 20th St., NW;1221 Van St., SEThese sister Mexican bars in Dupont and Navy Yard throw brunch for a young party crowd with bottomless house margaritas, Bud Lights, mimosas, and Marys ($26.99 per person). The menu chides that you must order a food itemone taco doesnt count! You must get two!and adds: Its a marathon, not a sprintplease drink responsibly (responsibly-ish?).

Join the conversation!

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia Universitys MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Originally posted here:

8 DC-Area Bottomless Brunches That Are Totally Worth the Splurge - Washingtonian

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

I sometimes experience guilt over nothing. Why is this?

M.G.: The Bible says that all have broken Gods laws and guilt is inescapable. Guilt rests upon the entire human race due to sin. Some people may feel it more intensely than others, but the guilt is there whether in the conscious or in the subconscious realm. It must be dealt with before we can become normal, fulfilled personalities.

Jesus died on the cross to take our guilt away. He shed His blood to purge our dead conscience. So guilt is not all bad. Without it, there is nothing to drive a person toward self-examination and toward Gods forgiveness.

All through history, mans heart has not been attuned to God; therefore, the heart becomes a catch basin for every device of the devil. Satan is at work in our world (Job 1:7). This is what the Bible says. Satan exists and has control over multitudes whose hearts have never been captured by Jesus Christ. The devil has hundreds of agents writing pornographic literature and producing immoral movies to pollute human minds. He has intellectuals in high positions teaching a hedonistic and permissive philosophy. He has recruited even church leaders who are advocating more promiscuity. While the culture has had great success in infiltrating peoples minds, not all is hopeless. The Bible is filled with testimonies of those who, by Gods grace, were victorious over Satans power.

John Newton was a slave trader on the west coast of Africa. One day in a storm at sea, he met Jesus Christ and it changed his life forever. He will always be remembered for writing the hymn Amazing Grace. No one is beyond the reach of the loving arms of the Savior.

Read the original post:

Guilt rests upon the entire human race due to sin - Brunswick News

Snake EyesGI Joe

The shrouded history of ninjas dates back to feudal Japan but these martial arts masters became an unavoidable pop culture craze in the 1980s. The 1982 GI Joe action figure line included breakout character Snake Eyes, a ninjutsu-trained US commando whose damaged vocal cords made him literally silent but deadly. In the new prequel movie, Henry Golding offers a chattier take on the mythos.

The Japanese actor Sh Kosugi made a loose trilogy of ninja movies for cheap thrill specialists Cannon Films in the 1980s. In Enter the Ninja (1981) he was a baddie; in Ninja III: The Domination (1984) he was an eye patch-sporting exorcist. As Cho Osaki in Revenge of the Ninja (1983) he got to play the lead, a noble, retired shinobi smashing a heroin ring.

From early arcade classic Shinobi to the unkillable Mortal Kombat franchise, video games have always loved a good ninja. Raiden was the breakdancing cyborg shinobi from the Metal Gear series who earned his own spin-off in 2013. The brilliantly titled Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance game added Fruit Ninja-style sword-swiping to his skill set.

The on-off squeeze of Marvels blind crimefighter, Elektra is heir to a Greek shipping fortune with a side hustle as a ninja assassin. Embodied on the big screen by Jennifer Garner in 2003 and more recently by lodie Yung on Netflix she is notorious for her wicked sai blades and seeming inability to stay dead.

What if James Bond was Batman? That is the premise of Ninjak, the comic-starring, katana-wielding MI6 agent Colin King. Hes gone through various revamps since debuting in 1993 but the current Ninjak series featuring art by Javier Pulido evokes psychedelic 1960s spy-fi such as The Prisoner.

In the early days of the vigilante TV drama, society girl Sara (Caity Lotz) was forcibly recruited into gloomy ninja clan the League of Assassins. Fast-forward to now and she has swapped ascetic fealty for hedonistic ass-kicking, leading time-travelling super-team the Legends of Tomorrow.

Manga artist Masashi Kishimotos magical coming-of-age tale about an orphaned ninja with the malevolent spirit of a nine-tailed demon fox inside him began as a sprawling comic series in 1999 before being adapted into hundreds of anime TV episodes. The plucky teens characteristically headlong Naruto run has also become a resilient inspiration for memes.

Linnear is the half British, half Asian, fully deadly protagonist of the doorstop-sized novel by Eric Van Lustbader first published in 1980. Saturated with vague mysticism and featuring as many sex scenes as martial arts duels, Linnears lurid misadventures which continued in multiple bestselling sequels helped stoke the decades ninja fever.

The word ninja was considered so alarming it was replaced with hero when the Turtles cartoon debuted on Childrens BBC three decades ago. Based on the surprisingly gritty series of comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the pizza-guzzling reptilian warrior dudes have proven surprisingly hardy, surviving countless reboots in TV and film.

Across myriad construction sets, a long-running cartoon (Ninjago: Rise of the Snakes, which began in 2011) and a 2017 film, the Lego Ninjago franchise sees six colour-coded champions protect their island realm using the art of spinjitsu. Stressed green teen Lloyd has the added problem that their arch-enemy Lord Garmadon is his estranged dad.

More here:

Martial arts masters to pizza-guzzling turtles: the best ninjas in pop culture - The Guardian

Exploring the Hippie caves of Matala, Crete

Ive always wanted to visit Matala, to explore the Hippie caves and get a sense of how these people lived, how they spent their days and nights under the starry Cretan sky. Maybe it was because I loved listening to Janis Joplins, Bob Dylans and Joan Maezs voice echoing the stone walls or Joni Michells song Carey travelling down the deep blue Matala Sea.

The night is a starry domeAnd theyre playin that scratchy rock & rollBeneath the Matala Moon

Before visiting Matala, I read a lot about Hippies in this fishing village of the 1960s and its caves. Once upon a time, during the Neolithic Age, the prehistoric inhabitants of the island sculpted the rocks of the area and later, during the Roman occupation, these rocks were used as graves.

The first people that went to Matala and stayed in these sculpted caves were Beatnik, in 1965. These bohemian hedonists, praised their independence from the conservative society, the American dream and the acquisition of material goods and experimented with sex and hallucinogenic substances. Two years later, Hippies arrived. They stayed in the caves as primitives.

During winter they wore lambs wool to protect themselves from low temperatures and during summer they were half-naked. Most of them were highly educated and had consciously chosen to refrain from consumer society. They chose to live with peace and meditation. They wanted to be one with Mother Nature, to become Children of God.

Inside these caves, a famous love story began a story that would remain in rock history forever, as it stood in the tradition by an immortal child. The song Carey written by Joni Mitchell is about Carey, a Hippie who came from America to find the real meaning of life and to discover its truth.

Come on down to the Mermaid CafeAnd I will buy you a bottle of wineAnd well laugh and toast to nothing andSmash our empty glasses down

We will drink in the health of nothing, says the verse, to this nothing that encloses the concept of absolute freedom, which would soon stop violently from the Greek military junta (1967-1974).

Matala became known in a somewhat peculiar way. The first person who revolted against the hippies was Michalis Vamvoukas, who despite his young age started sending letters to the Cretan newspaper PATRIS asking for the vulgar to be removed, but also to the Despot of the region, who was convinced that Orthodoxy was at risk. Then, Metropolitan Timothy (later Archbishop of Crete) issued a circular against the hippies. The circular was also published by Athenian newspapers and made international headlines.

American Magazine Life sent a journalist to Matala and in July 1968, the magazines cover featured a young couple in the Matala Caves, with Thomas Thompsons write up and the stunning pictures of Denis Cameron. Everyone was reading about Matala, the Land of the Hippies Promise!

In the summer of 1969, however, the Cretan newspaper Mediterranean described the hippies as bummer, unbalanced and abnormal and that they want to create the third sex. Following such publications, the Prosecutor of Heraklion Michalis Tsevas ordered a special investigation into Matala Caves. Police raids by day and night searched for orgies. Evidence of third-sex creation was not found, but cannabis was discovered and as a result, there were seventeen convictions in total.

Today, Matala caves have been fenced, protected by the Archaeological Service and are accessible to tourists (with a 3 euros ticket) but no one is allowed to live there or stay overnight. However, residents told me that there are a few more Hippies living in the caves in the surrounding mountains, continuing the bohemian way of life.

Dekapentavgoustos in different parts of Greece

Read the original:

Exploring The Hippie Caves Of Matala, Crete Greek City Times - GreekCityTimes.com

Anyone lucky enough to attend this weekends prestigious Pebble Beach automotive concours will be hoping Covid is firmly in the rear-view mirror, while keeping an eye on the Dixie wildfire which has decimated a chunk of northern California not so far from this gilded coastal enclave.

Pebble Beach is the culmination of Monterey car week, one of the greatest celebrations of the automobile in all its forms, since its inception 125-plus years ago. But for all the high-gloss and high-revving braggadocio, the industry itself is determined not to fiddle Nero-style while Rome and lots of other places burn. Take the Audi Skysphere, for example, a wild concept that alludes to the sort of Gatsby-esque roadsters that characterised the original Roaring Twenties. But this ones on a different mission. It wont save the planet, but it recasts the idea of an ultra-luxurious car in a vastly less hedonistic, pure-electric form. Plus, it has a significant party trick: its wheelbase can be physically extended by 250mm, to configure itself in either Sport mode or as an autonomous grand touring car. Neat.

Audi actually claims design inspiration from the 1930s Horch 853 roadster a former Pebble Beach winner, Horch being one of the four brands that constitutes the Audi four-ring logo but the Skysphere pushes the limits in every direction. The 853 has been benchmarked for its driving dynamics on one hand and for its comfort on the other, Audis design boss, Marc Lichte, says. The Skysphere is a modern, very progressive interpretation of these two characteristics.

The Skysphere pushes the limits of design in every direction

And then some. Created in Audis Malibu satellite studio, the Skysphere is the first of three new concepts that, says Audi, are no longer just about driving The [Skysphere] was designed with the clear objective of offering its occupants captivating and world-class experiences. On which basis, the interior is arguably more important than what envelops it, except that the Skysphere is purest aesthetic spectacle: elongated nose, enormous 23-inch wheels, ultra-low cockpit and roofline, abbreviated front and rear overhangs. The rear sweeps to a dramatic quasi-shooting brake conclusion, two bespoke suitcases sitting under the glass expanse. A matrix of LEDs enliven the front and rear end, as well as signalling whether the car is in Sport or GT mode.

Read more from the original source:

Audis new Skysphere concept is a sleek, shapeshifting vision of the future of electric vehicles - British GQ

In the world of commercial coffee, the blends that are generally used in coffee bars are calibrated by roasters in order to keep the price and the investments on the client low and to ensure to unprofessional baristas a decent yield in the cup.

The largest producer of Arabica coffee in the world is Brazil which, for practical reasons, traditionally uses the so-called natural process. This aspect is also to be considered among the reasons why natural is used in almost all espresso blends.

Washed coffee was trendy when the world coffee market was sourcing from Central American countries, which process their coffee wet.

The commercial coffee market rarely or never uses a single origin coffee for espresso therefore the common espresso consumer can hardly have developed the ability to distinguish between washed and natural and therefore understand and appreciate their differences.

Only the advent of specialty coffees and the movement of baristas and coffee lovers (the third wave of coffee) introduced the use of single origin coffees for filter and espresso extractions and consequently, baristas, roasters and coffee lovers were able to express their own taste tendencies between the more complex aromas of washed coffees and the full-bodied sweetness of natural coffees.

Natural coffees are generally less fresh and complex than washed coffees, but more immediate due to their evident sweetness and body and therefore suitable for espresso, are also more popular in the specialty universe. Full bodied and less acid, natural coffees allow an easy and immediate approach even to the least experienced palates.

However, processing processes only partially determine the sensorial profile of a cup, on which weigh the botanical variety (cultivar), altitude, cultivation in shade or sun, the ripening level of the cherries harvested and therefore the chemical composition of the cherry.

In addition to the most common wet and dry systems and to the less common honey process, an interesting phenomenon is the fermentation design that, as we know, starts from wine and invests in the whole food planet and since some years has also landed in the world of specialty coffee.

By modulating and controlling time and temperature in partial or almost total absence of oxygen and in some cases, by adding yeasts or bacteria as in carbonic maceration for example, it is possible to obtain very complex and often unique cups.

In the world of specialty coffee, studies and experiments of fermentation design are getting a lot of interest and are giving surprising results, giving coffee different sensorial profiles, which change considerably, according to the solutions adopted.

All this implies innovative choices among producers, push for improvement and ambition for a professional recognition as well as an economic one.

The risk to be avoided is trivialization, routine, homologation, mystification of the genetic imprint of the varieties. Even with all the risks, however, the process of fermentation in coffee, besides giving excellent results, if well done, is also a method with less impact on the environment.

Moreover, producers who choose to work on post-harvesting processes cannot avoid harvesting cherries with knowledge and therefore it means they made a quality choice.

Maybe terroir is also evolution, research, experimentation.

Read more here:

Slow Food Coffee Coalition: new trends in the world of coffee - Slow Food International

It would be a mistake to think that, in sun-drenched Northern California wine country, all vintages are created equal. Its true that California vineyards rarely struggle to ripen as those in Old World regions often do, but a late frost can threaten after bud break; a sudden August heat spike can send sugar levels surging; a fireenough said.

But then there was 2018. After several years of drought, generous rain set vineyards up with the moisture they needed. Cool, foggy mornings, warm afternoons and cold nighttime tempssans heat spikesheld through the summer into fall, giving winemakers the choice to let their fruit hang (without losing crucial acidity), to develop complexity. As it turns out, Mike Sullivan, winemaker and co-owner at Benovia Wineryknown for beautiful Pinot Noir and Chardonnaymade Cabernet Sauvignon for the first time under the brand in 2018 (one from Napa and one from Sonoma). It was a brilliant vintage debut. The Cabs, in his view, have exceptional color and structure, with ideal balance. Ripe tannins, bright acidity, hedonistic aromatics

In short, the best of the 2018 Bordeaux-style reds from Napa Valley and Sonoma County are stunningly beautiful. Theyve captured the holy grail of finesse and power together, pure fruit with classic tannin structure. These are the wines youll want to drink the day they land on your porch, but also hold in your cellar for years (good luck with that). Now is the time to order or join mailing lists, to make sure bottles head your way come September. Here are 13 you really shouldnt miss.

Original post:

13 Best Bordeaux-Style Red Wines From Napa & Sonoma's Outstanding 2018 - Robb Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today released the following statement regarding a new House Foreign Affairs Committeereportthat shows the CCP covered up the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, which likely began at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

I commend Rep. McCaul for his work to uncover the origins of COVID-19, pushing forward despite Democrat obstruction. His new report outlines the role Peter Daszak played in spreading disinformation during the critical early days of the pandemic. As evidence mounts in favor of the lab-leak hypothesis, Congress should use every tool at its disposal to understand what happened in Wuhan, why the intelligence community missed it, and how U.S. taxpayer dollars funded dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Issuing a subpoena to Peter Daszak is an obvious and appropriate next step to get these answers."

Rep. Gallagher has led the charge in investigating the origins of COVID-19. In recent months, he has:

Here is the original post:

Gallagher Statement on Addendum to Origins of COVID-19 Report - Congressman Mike Gallagher

Santa Rosa, CA August 3, 2021 Due to increasing case rates and testing demand, the Sonoma County Department of Health Services ispartnering with four trusted providers - Curative, LHI, Molecular Matrix, and Fox Home Health - to offer expanded COVID-19 testing services for Sonoma County residents.

As case rates have risen in recent weeks, the demand for pop-up COVID-19 testing has significantly increased. In the two weeks from June 22 to July 5, the DHS Field Services team administered 572 tests. From July 6 to July 19, DHS testing more than doubled to 1150 tests. In the last single week for which the county has data, from July 20 to July 26, the team administered 1054 tests in just seven days. Expanding the testing services of LHI, Curative, Molecular Matrix, and Fox Home Health raises testing capacity from just over 1,000 tests per week to more than 10,000 tests per week.

The Field Services team also has been limited in where it could effectively operate, hosting sites only in Santa Rosa. Partnering with these proven vendors will enable COVID-19 testing to expand beyond Santa Rosa to confirmed sites in Boyes Hot Springs, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Guerneville, Cloverdale, Healdsburg, and Petaluma, said Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase. There are even more sites in the final planning stages that will allow us to expand locations and capacity even further. We strongly encourage everyone in Sonoma County to get vaccinated as soon as possible to limit the significant impact of the Delta variant in our community.

This plan allows the Field Services team to instead focus on outbreak and surveillance testing. Though DHS will not administer COVID-19 tests at pop-up events, the department is overseeing the placement of sites and working with these providers to ensure that as many community members as possible have equitable access to testing. The County will also continue to provide help navigating the many options available to community members through the testing and vaccine hotline at (707) 565-4667.

Curative Testing

Appointments and walk-ins are accepted. Appointment openings appear on the Curative website three to four days before each event. Visit curative.com or call (888) 702-9042 to make an appointment. Beginning Aug. 2, Curative will host sites throughout Sonoma County:

LHI Testing

Appointments are highly recommended. Visit lhi.care/covidtestingor call LHI at (866) 284-8788 to make an appointment.Beginning Aug. 3, LHI will test from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at:

Molecular Matrix

Appointments are required. Visit molecularmatrix.com/covidtesting to make an appointment. In addition to the location below, Molecular Matrix is in the process of securing another site in Petaluma as well as several sites in Santa Rosa:

Fox Home Health

Santa Rosa Community Health ceased operation of the Roseland Community Center clinic at 779 Sebastopol Road on July 31. Fox Home Health has agreed to take over and offer vaccines and testing in southwest Santa Rosa beginning Aug. 3:

In addition, Fox has added testing to their existing vaccine clinic at 1400 N. Dutton Ave., Suite 17, Santa Rosa:

For the most up-to-date information about COVID-19 testing in Sonoma County, please visit socoemergency.org/test.

###

Read more here:

Sonoma County partners with private providers to expand COVID-19 testing opportunities | Press Releases | County Administrator's Office | County -...

Posted August 3, 2021 | 7:38 PM

Walk-in locations will open on Saturday, Aug. 7

With COVID-19 cases increasing due to the Delta variant, Hillsborough County will temporarily open two free public testing sites.

These walk-in locations will open on Saturday, Aug. 7. They will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All testing will be conducted indoors. Five-hundred tests per day will be available at each site on a first-come, first-serve basis. Rapid tests will be administered; PCR tests will be available upon request. Appointments are not needed.

There is no charge to be tested. In accordance with federal guidelines, health insurance information will be collected; however, individuals who do not have health insurance will still be tested.

People being tested should bring a photo ID (driver's license, state-issued ID, or passport) with name and date of birth, as well as their health insurance card (if applicable). Face coverings will be required except during the brief time when the sampling is done.

While there are many private COVID-19 testing locations available in Hillsborough County, the County is opening the two temporary sites out of an abundance of caution and to enhance community testing capabilities. The number of positive cases in Hillsborough County has been increasing in recent weeks, and some residents are reporting wait times of up to three days to be tested.

For information, go to HCFLGov.net/COVIDTesting. Residents without digital access may call (813) 272-5900, the County's main information line. For other testing options, go to FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov/testing-sites.

People who are experiencing a medical emergency should dial 9-1-1 immediately.

Get Connected. Stay Alert.For more information on COVID-19, and any other potential emergency in the region, visit HCFLGov.net/StaySafe and sign up for the HCFL Alert system. Additionally, you can follow Hillsborough County on social media at Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor for updates. For general County information, call (813) 272-5900, the County's main information line.

Follow this link:

Hillsborough County to Temporarily Resume COVID-19 Testing Operations - Hillsborough County