You want to know the real reason you pay so much money to dine at four and five-star restaurants? Well, the quality of the food is obviously a factor. But the biggest discrepancy is quite simply the presentation. Order something as simple as pan-seared tuna with sesame seeds and it'll come drizzled in a posmodernist Pollock-esque pattern of soy sauce and a miniature dragon made out of a carrot. It's pretty impressive stuff, almost as impressive as what your bill will be.
Sure, you can buy Rice Krispies or something similar - but making your own puffed rice at home is not too difficult, and is much healthier! This techinque works with any starch. Fully cook your rice, and then dry it out (it usually needs about 24 hours to dry completely). Then take an oil with a high smoke point (such as canola oil) and heat it in a wok. Pour your rice into a strainer, and then submerge in the oil for a few seconds.
With Valentine's Day looming in our midst, it's high time to start thinking about what you'll be cooking up and crafting for your sweetheart. But instead of spending any money on anything, just keep one thing in mind—everybody loves cold hard cash, even as a valentine gift. So, instead of spending your dough, fold it into a beautiful origami heart to give your loved one. Better yet—make a whole bouquet of folded dollar bill hearts. What could be sweeter than a bunch of heart flowers made of m...
Fitness experts will always tell you that, above all, it takes consistent dedication, eating right, and hard work to gain muscle. But what if you're a skinny guy whose efforts just aren't paying off?
Celebrites make party hopping look so easy. Flitting around from red carpet event to after party to after after party, they always seem to look so flawless in their pictures. But here's a little secret: They have some help from Hollywood's top hairstylists.
Lots of designer purse companies, especially Coach and Kate Spade, LOVE attaching beaded charms to their purses and clutches. Sparkly little bits and pieces add extra pizazz to anything they're attached to.
It's called the AUDynamicProcessor, and it's very helpful when it comes to mastering your songs in GarageBand. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to utilize and manipulate the sound dynamics of your songs in GarageBand using the AUDynamicProcessor filter, which effects the high and low ends of audio.
If you've just exported your masterpiece from GarageBand and found that your volume on the song is too low, then you're going to have to fix it. And increasing the levels on your "too quiet" song, you just need to get back into GarageBand and make some adjustments.
GarageBand is a great tool for composing your own beats and jingles, but when it comes to filters, it's not so easy to understand exactly what they do, as in the case of the AUBandpass filter. This video explains exactly what the AUBandpass feature does in GarageBand and how it can be used to make quality-sounding instrumentals for you beat projects.
We know the easy thing to do when you desire a fruit topping for your ice cream or dessert is to run to the store and purchase that squeeze bottle of strawberry "jam." But with all the gnarly chemicals and high fructose corn syrup that composes most of these toppings, you're probably getting more artificial gunk than actual strawberries.
Got an extra thirty minutes today? Cut out that extra episode of "The Big Bang Theory" and give your body and metabolism a treat by completing a high intensity yoga routine.
In this tutorial, we learn how to spice up your eyeliner with a double line style. To start, use gel eyeliner with a small and pointed brush to paint thin strokes onto the top of your lash line. From here, you will draw a line with the liner that goes from the inside of your eye to the outer edge of your eye, creating a high wing. After this, you will do the same thing, except on the bottom lash line of your eye. The wing on the bottom of the eye should end up under the one on top so they are...
In this tutorial, we learn how to get the Phoenix achievement in Soul Calibur IV. To do this, you will need to win with all your equipment destroyed. Hit high and do low attacks to help you get the advantage. Don't fight and just stand there until all your equipment is gone. Go to the Tower of Lost Souls and do this on Floor 11 to help you get this achievement more easily. After the opponent knocks off your equipment, you will be able to start fighting and hurting the other person until they ...
Facials are like magical wonders in a jar - slather some on at home, or get one professionally done at a spa, and you instantly go from tired and beat to a girl ready to take on the world. But purchasing a spa-quality facial, or even buying a "facial in a jar" at a store, can cost quite a lot of money.
Back in Fallout 3, when they released the Broken Steel DLC, once you completed the main mission and finished the training simulation, you were allowed to take some pickings from the weapons and armor vault, one of which was the Tesla Canon, a sniper-rifle meets awesomesauce, high damage gun! Well, Obsidian did one better, and you don't even need to get DLC! This is the Tesla-Beaton Prototype, and you can find it at a crashed Vertibird site there in Fallout New Vegas in the south Mojave Desert...
Honestly, we think Katy Perry is pretty without any makeup on (as she says in "Teenage Dream"). The girl does know how to work a makeup brush, though, and enjoys doing pin up looks with high intensity pigmentation.
Stir frying doesn't just mean "toss whatever you have lying around into the pan and add oil." In fact, stir frying is a precise art that requires control of quantity of ingredients, the right shape of pan (a wok is preferred), and a non-stick pan in order to produce the perfect quality result.
Need a hairstyle that'll wear well throughout the day, or even look better as the day goes on? It's not fiction; with this low ponytail it's reality.
First things first: The chestnut bun does indeed resemble those round brown nuts you roast by the fire around Christmastime.
In this tutorial, we learn how to get your shot off quicker. Make sure you use your feet to establish a good stance and so you are ready to shoot the basketball before it ever arrives. Also, understand that flipping the shot will take too much time and ruin your shot. If the ball is dropped from a high position then brought up for release, this will take too much time. To avoid this, catch the ball and move in an "up" rhythm. This will make the shot go out quicker so you have more time to get...
Purple is the hottest makeup color of the fall season, and it's been seen as much on high fashion runways as on celebrities like Rachel McAdams and, recently, Kate Hudson on the September cover of "Elle."
If you're a steak lover then you know you have to whip out a nice portion of your paycheck to get a quality steak, especially if you're at a five-star restaurant. But with steaks costing upwards of $70 a piece, why not just make some at home to save your hard-earned cash?
Cell phones and mobile devices are getting more and more advanced everyday, and so is the equipped camera technology. You can now shoot HD (high-definition) video on newer mobile phones, which makes it easier to start your filmmaking projects, because it's a lot cheaper to buy a phone than a video camcorder. But, phones come in small packages, which means the video from your camera will be extremely shaky, no matter how steady of a hand you have. That's when it's necessary to have a camera st...
If you could believe, those Hawthorne berries that you see around town are actually edible! Imagine that right? Not only are they edible but they are high in anti-oxidants and are good for your heart, just don't over do it! But what do you do with them exactly? Well, you can make jellies, jams, and even syrup! In this video you will learn how to make a Hawthorne berry syrup for your pancakes or whatever else you use syrup for!
In this tutorial, we learn how to play "What It's Like" by Everlast on acoustic guitar. First, take the D minor chord with the middle finger chord on the second finger. Play this and pick the D, G, and B. Make sure the pinkie is on the third fret of the high E for the first hit of the string. This will lead you through the intro of the song. Once you start the first verse, you will be using the same chords throughout the entire song. Start to sing in the lyrics with the song, then when you re...
Mission 12 is one of several points in the StarCraft 2 campaign when you are presented with options for what mission you want to do. This video will show you how to beat one of them, Safe Haven.
Tandoori chicken, which originates in India, is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven, at high temperatures so that its complex marinade has the optimal conditions to sink in.
Don't worry guys: the Skull Krusher isn't as intimidating as it sounds, and no skulls - especially not yours - will be harmed in the process. Check out this muscle building video to learn how to complete the Skull Krusher.
After Effects makes it easy to create wonderful designs and great looking material, and this tutorial makes it even easier! Watch and learn how to create a really quick carbon fiber (or carbon fibre for all you British folks) effect using After Effects. Carbon fiber is a great-looking material, and you can used the standard toolkit in After Effects to create an instant carbon fibre texture in seconds. Great for your next extreme sports car and high-tech driver video intro title sequence! Get ...
Merrill offers up some of this best tips for making your works of art more realistic. There's three very important strategies for improving your the lifelike quality of your drawings and paintings, and in this video, he demonstrates them for you.
Quite honestly we're sick of getting storebought Christmas cards. Not that we don't appreciate them - many are pretty and well-written, it's just that we have received copycats in the past and they're too mass-produced to maintain any sort of special quality.
Fries are such a killer food. They're beloved as the favorite "vegetable" of kids and adults everywhere, yet they are one of the absolute worst foods you can eat if you want to, you know, live past 40, containing high levels of saturated and trans fats that clog your arteries and lead to lots of gnarly diseases.
Not all of us have an entire photo studio in our houses. In fact, unless you're a professional photographer, you probably don't have much space at all in which to create solid looking shots.
Do you want to look like a high roller the next time you're playing the slots at Mandalay Bay? Then checkout this awesome coin roll trick that's impressive for gamblers and magicians alike.
Starcraft 2 is finally upon us after 12 years of waiting, and it is just as majestic as you would hope it would be. If you're new to the series or just haven't played in five years, the barrier to entry for the unskilled can high, especially if you prefer playing online multiplayer. Fortunately for you, we've compiled videos on just about everything you need to know about the game, including strategies and tips for winning with different races in different modes and situations, and even how t...
Starcraft 2 is finally upon us after 12 years of waiting, and it is just as majestic as you would hope it would be. If you're new to the series or just haven't played in five years, the barrier to entry for the unskilled can high, especially if you prefer playing online multiplayer. Fortunately for you, we've compiled videos on just about everything you need to know about the game, including strategies and tips for winning with different races in different modes and situations, and even how t...
Going back to school means meeting new friends, new love interests, and the oh so dreaded early mornings. No more sleeping in, gals! But if you're a girl who always wants to look good no matter how rushed or tired you are, then there's an easy way to style hair that's both quick and pretty.
One of the most integral parts to being a pilot is knowing when and how to land. And in short-field areas, some may find this tricky, depending on what type of aircrafts you're flying. This video features pilot Mike Lents, Lead Flight Instructor, shows you landing standardization by introducing the Short-Field Approach and Landing.
The irony of a spraycan holding another spraycan aside, this graffiti picture looks pretty awesome. Turning the graffiti artist - spraycan relationship on its side, this picture shows the spray can as the agent, graffiti artist now gone, holding a spray can in one hand and a marker in the other.
Okay, so just as a safety precaution before you dive right in and make yourself a batch of cotton candy at home, remember that melting sugar and corn syrup requires very high temperatures, so you could get burned if you're not careful. Make sure you keep a bowl of cool water next to you at all times just in case any of the hot stuff gets on your skin.