It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story: how the Jamaican bobsled team tried to take on the world at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and was later immortalized in the film Cool Runnings. The tale is charming enough when you’re reading newspaper clippings about the team’s heroics in the tiny museum next to Jamaica’s Mystic Mountain’s bobsled track, but it’s a screamer when you’re hurtling through a rainforest of twisted Dr. Seuss-like trees on a roller coaster of sorts. Granted, there are no near-vertical drops or 360-degree loop-de-loops, but when you’re zigzagging around blind corners at 48 kph while being teased with quick peeks at the ocean hundreds of metres below you—well, it’s a heart-thumper. And it doesn’t help matters that you must personally control the speed with hand brakes (note—most riders don’t use them as you’re warned you could create a pileup). The adrenaline kick doesn’t end with the bobsled ride. Right next to the stainless steel track is a series of five ziplines (one with a 10-metre vertical drop) loved by all Tarzan wannabes
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Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 3 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups grated unpeeled zucchini 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained 1/2 cup shredded coconut Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl until well blended; set aside. 2. Whisk eggs, oil, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Stir in sour cream, vanilla, zucchini, pineapple, and coconut. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing just until moistened. Divide batter between the prepared loaf pans. 3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack. [Via: allrecipes.com] Yank tank or máquina are the words used to describe the many classic cars (for example: 1957 Chevrolet, 1953 Ford, 1958 Dodge, etc.) present in Cuba with an estimated 60,000 of them still driving the roads today. In 1962 a United States embargo against Cuba was introduced, effectively cutting trade between the two countries. This meant that the cars in Cuba could no longer receive new replacement parts when something broke. Currently, the only way to keep these cars on the road today is by using Cuban ingenuity to adapt household products and Soviet technology into these vehicles. If a car is unable to be repaired at the time, the car is usually either “parked” for future repair or “parted out” (to produce extra income for the owner’s family) so that other cars can remain on the road. During the years of Soviet Union influence on Cuba, Ladas,Moskvitchs and Volgas became the main cars imported by the communist regime, mainly for state use. As a result of these internal economic restrictions, to this day there is no such thing as a new or used private European or Asian automotive dealership branch in Cuba for independent purchasing by regular Cubans. The only American cars that can be purchased for private use in Cuba (with "particular" plates) are those that were previously registered for private use and acquired before the revolution. However, if the owner doesn’t have the proper paper work called a “traspaso”, the vehicle cannot be legally sold. American cars that were present, at the time of the embargo, have been preserved through loving care and ingenuity. And since there were many of these, due to the presence of a past strong Cuban middle-class, classic cars have been the standard, rather than an exception in Cuba. Even President Fulgencio Batista’s son owned a 1956 Corvette. Due to the constant good care, many remain in good working order only because Cuban people are able to adapt to a diminishing source of parts to keep the vehicles running. The owners of these yank tanks are sitting on a potential “gold mine” that, if the embargo were to be lifted, the Cuban people could make quick cash by selling their cars to people who collect and restore them. On the other hand, many of these vehicles, especially those in taxi service, have been converted to accept replacement engines, usually Soviet diesel engines. Fortunately, this is a modification that gives a car a new lease of life. The practical limits of engine longevity, scarcity of replacement parts, and the high cost of fuel in post Cold War (roughly 75 U.S. cents a liter in the summer of 2002) Cuba have made diesel power (roughly 15 to 20 U.S. cents) a popular choice for engine replacement, if a suitable gasoline engine couldn’t be acquired. However, the old American cars on the road today have “relatively high inefficiencies” due in large part to the lack of modern technology. This has resulted in increased fuel consumption as well as aiding to the economic plight of its owners. With these inefficiencies, noticeable drop in travel has occurred from an “average of nearly 3000 km/year in the mid-1980s to less than 800 km/year in 2000–2001”. As the Cuban people try to save as much money as possible, when traveling is done, the cars are usually loaded past the maximum allowable weight and travel on the decaying roads, resulting in even more abuse to the already under maintained vehicles. The extreme lack or scarcity of parts is directly a result of the Revolution and the embargo. However, there have been talks about easing some of the restriction of the embargo. Former President Clinton has pushed for U.S. citizens to be allowed to send up to $300 a month to Cuba and for “direct mail service between Cuba and the United States, suspended in 1963, to be reestablished.” This would allow for families in the U.S. to send the needed parts (assuming they can be located) to their own families in Cuba, for the necessary repairs.
Currently, it is estimated that there are some 173,000 cars in Cuba, of these it is unknown how many are yank tanks and are considered road worthy Cuisine: Indonesian
Sambal is sauce typically made from a variety of chili peppers and secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, sugar, lime juice, and rice vinegar or other vinegars. Various recipes of sambals usually are served as hot and spicy condiments for dishes such as ikan bakar (grilled fish), ikan goreng (fried fish), ayam goreng (fried chicken), and soto.Sambal is a Malay loan-word of Javanese origin (sambel) Sambal is such a versatile accompaniment and, when you try this recipe, you'll never use store-bought sambal again. Stored in the fridge, this will keep for several weeks. Ingredients 6-8 fresh chillies 1x 2cm piece of ginger 2 cloves of garlic 1 lemongrass root, finely chopped Zest of 1 lime 50ml white vinegar Coarse salt ½ cup white sugar Preparation Chop the ginger, garlic and lemongrass into the mortar and add the chillies and half of the lime zest, keeping the other half aside for later. Crush the ingredients together in the mortar. Gradually add the vinegar. Add a pinch of salt and continue pounding. The salt will assist to break down the other ingredients. Taste the mix to ensure you are happy with the combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. Add additional amounts of the ingredients as required to balance the taste to your liking. Add the mix to a cold pan. Place the pan over high heat. Be careful not to let the flame come up around the sides of the pan (this will burn the edges). Mix the sambal with a wooden spoon as it heats. Add the sugar. This will caramelise the mix and bring the flavours together. Cook, over medium heat, for 10 minutes or until the mixture is pulpy. When the mix is almost done, add the remaining lime zest. Cook for a further 90 seconds. Serve the sambal hot or cold, as an accompaniment to just about any dish. Note: You’ll need a good mortar and pestle, which are widely available – you can also buy one from Peter's website. [via: sbs.com.au] This Sandal has a 100% cotton footbed, the ABC Thong Sandals come in the choice of green, blue or red camo, all with corresponding colored leather. Retailing for ¥18,144 JPY (approximately $180 USD), the BAPE x Island Slipper ABC Thong Sandals are available now at A Bathing Ape’s web store |
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