Friends of the High Line put up its “initial design concepts” for the final, northern-most leg of the world’s skinniest park. Responses seem outlandishly exuberant. The way they’re handling the coming Rail Yard developments — the High Line wraps around the yards, at 11th Avenue — is best described as “minimally.” The High Line’s “interim walkway” will be just a thin path, while everything settles down around the neighborhood. That’s smart, and probably needful, but it’ll be a hot, crowded mess. Anyway: pretty renderings! As always.

Irritable and out-of-sorts? Blame trans fats. Not a consumer of trans fats and still irritable and out-of-sorts? That is probably because you are aware of what a total con job this whole “existence” thing is.

“[R]esearchers have found that a population of leopard frogs that make their home in the New York City area are probably a newly discovered species… [T]he leopard frogs in the region were noted as having a croak that was quite distinct from those of the two species that inhabit the northern and southern parts of the East Coast…. The researchers suggest that their range is probably centered on Yankee Stadium.”

“I thought of the smells the Pope would smell when praying at the Grotto of Lourdes.”
 — Italian perfumier Silvana Casoli explains the creative process behind the new scent she has made to be worn exclusively by Pope Benedict XVI.

Twelve Album Titles That Would Be Worse, But Only Slightly Worse, Than That Of Ludacris’s Forthcoming “Ludaversal”

1. Ludatarian

2. Ludacellular

3. Ludavalvular

4. Ludavalent

5. Ludaformity

6. Ludalateral

7. Ludaonization

8. Ludafication

9. Ludacycle

10. Ludacorn

11. Ludabrow

12. Ludatard

“The amount and type of fats men consume may have an effect on semen quality. More precisely, eating high levels of saturated fats appears to lower total sperm count and concentration.”

“A baby rabbit born with no ears was being filmed by a news team when the cameraman stepped on him by mistake on Wednesday. The bunny didn’t suffer, said the distraught director of the zoo in Germany who had hoped to turn the rare rabbit into a media star…. Til’s body will now be frozen while zoo officials decide whether to have him stuffed. The tragedy comes as the first anniversary approaches of the death of Knut, Berlin’s polar bear star, on March 19.”

by Mike Dang

Cheap liquor is designed to get you wasted. You can take your time with a nice whisky, and enjoy it as you would with an expensive bottle of wine, but cheap liquor’s only purpose is to be cheap. There is no complexity in cheap alcohol — at least, not the kind you desire — and because of its nature, you will force it down quickly and wait for it to impair you to an equally degraded state of relaxation. Perhaps it will make you long for the days of Drynuary.

But unless you have the means, you will continue to knock back the cheaper stuff on most days, and save your bottles of Laphroaig 18 and George T. Stagg for special occasions. How cheap should you go? As an occasional drinker, I certainly don’t know, so I asked a few better informed drinking buddies to make a trip with me to Warehouse Wines & Spirits in Greenwich Village, our go-to place for affordable booze.

Mike: When you’re looking to go cheap, what kind of liquor do you guys usually buy?

Gregory Beyer, senior editor, The Huffington Post: I guess I would say that I don’t have any brand loyalty. But I do prefer bourbon and gin. I drink Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Makers Mark. I don’t have a lot of strong opinions so I’m interested in seeing what we find today.

Lawrence Marcus, senior digital editor, Food & Wine magazine: When you talk about cheap liquor — we’re talking about whisky here — the cheapest possible thing that is actually really good is Rittenhouse Rye. It’s not their bottom level, but their one rung up called ‘bottled in bond,’ which means it’s 50 percent alcohol, instead of 40 percent alcohol. That’s about $22. We should probably get that. You could probably get something cheaper in the category and get something pretty good. I think Evan Williams is outrageously cheap — like $13. And it’s really pretty decently drinkable!

Mike: We’ll get the Evan Williams and Rittenhouse, then.

Adam Edelman, news writer, NewsCore: Yeah, I suppose if cheapness is a prerogative, I’ll get Johnnie Walker Red.

Mike: How about vodka?

Lawrence: Vodka is different from whiskey in that whiskey is supposed to have different characters, while vodka, ideally, is supposed to be neutral. It’s not supposed to taste like anything but distilled alcohol and water, which is what it is. Smirnoff is as good as about anything for $13, and it actually won in a pretty exhaustive New York Times blind tasting some years ago.

Mike: If that’s the case, let’s try something cheaper.

Lawrence: Look, there’s Dan Akroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka.

Lawrence: You know, there’s a big marketing push right now for Wódka. They have these wacky billboards, and it’s extremely cheap.

Mike: It’s $10. Let’s get the Wódka. What about gin?

Lawrence: Gin is really just flavored vodka. In contrast to vodka, gin is something that bartenders and spirits enthusiasts love. I mean, people love gin, and vodka gets shit on constantly. And gin is basically just vodka that’s been distilled with various other ingredients. It’s flavored vodka. So here’s Gordon’s for $16.99 per liter, but we can go cheaper. Here’s Duggan’s for $9, and Georgi. It’s pretty cheap. They’re both really cheap!

Adam: My roommate buys Georgi, and it’s absolutely disgusting. Avoid that.

Mike: Let’s get the Duggan’s then. What other cheap liquor should we try? Tequila? I don’t like tequila, and cheap tequila sounds awful.

Greg: I agree.

Lawrence: I’m not too familiar with tequila.

Mike: I’m going to ask one of the staffers here. Excuse me, sir, if we were looking for a decent tequila under $20, what would you suggest?

Warehouse staffer: I would not recommend the Jose Cuervo because it’s made from a blended corn alcohol, and they add food coloring to make it look like it’s been aged in oak. For a decent tequila under $20, I would suggest the El Jimador. This is what I usually recommend. Add a squeeze of lime juice and you’re good to go.

Mike: Sold. What do you think about our vodka and gin choices?

Warehouse staffer: The Wódka is decent, and as for the gin. It should be fine for a mixing gin. I wouldn’t make a martini out of it.

Mike: Excellent. Thank you, sir. Let’s buy this stuff and taste this stuff at my place. Wait, how did this moonshine get in here?

Wódka vodka, $9.99

Lawrence: Let’s start with the vodka.

Mike: I’m scared of everything we bought. Except maybe the bourbon.

Adam: Can we have spit buckets?

Lawrence: So, Mike, what are you looking for, drinkability?

Mike: Yeah, but mostly whether it’s worth the money we paid. Okay, is this one supposed to smell a certain way? Because this one smells like rubbing alcohol, and yup, it tastes gross.

Lawrence: This one actually has a little bit of flavor for a vodka, which is normally not considered to be a good thing.

Greg: Yeah, I would not choose to drink this. It really does taste like rubbing alcohol to me.

Lawrence: It has an unusual sweet taste. It’s a strange-tasting vodka. I would just buy Smirnoff for a couple bucks more.

Adam: I feel like it’s really no better than the $5.99 Silver Wolfs I’d buy in college. So I’d say just buy that, or go a step up like Lawrence is saying.

Duggan’s London dry gin, $8.99

Lawrence: This was $9 for a liter. It’s 90 proof or 45.2 percent alcohol, so you’re getting a lot of alcohol for your dollar.

Mike: And this one smells great!

Lawrence: It smells like juniper. Juniper is the major component in most gins and sort of has that piney smell.

Mike: I like this one.

Adam: It’s not so bad. I let it sit in my mouth and it wasn’t an unpleasant thing like it was with the Wódka.

Lawrence: Mike, you have some Tanqueray on your shelf. Should we compare?

Mike: Sure, but remember that the Tanqueray costs about three times more.

Greg: The guy at the store said he’d never make a martini with Duggan’s.

Mike: But I would drink the Duggan’s in a tonic. Whoa, the Tanqeray is stronger.

Lawrence: I think it’s far more pleasant.

Greg: I think so too, but is it three time more pleasant?

Adam: There’s no question that the Tanqueray is more superior, but I thought the Duggan’s was nice. I’d buy it for $9. I would drink it at a party and drink it frequently. It’s much better than the Georgi, which was also $9.

Greg: I’d buy this for $9, definitely.

El Jimador tequila, $17.99

Mike: I don’t like tequila, so don’t pay attention to the face I make.

Lawrence: This is really decent. It’s totally fine.

Adam: I really like this. It’s my favorite by a long shot. It’s really mild in my mouth. Most tequilas make me sick right away, but this one sat in my mouth and it was nice.

Lawrence: It has a really pleasant aftertaste. I think if you’re making a margarita, this would be great to use.

Adam: I can tell you with certainty that I’ve learned something from tasting the El Jimador, and I will buy it when I’m looking for a lower-priced tequila.

Georgia Moon corn whisky moonshine, $9.99

Lawrence: It looks like they put it in a mayonnaise jar. It’s hard to pour.

Mike: I’m going to spoon this into my glass.

Adam: So this is made from corn? What is this?

Lawrence: It’s unaged corn whiskey, meaning it hasn’t been mellowed or aged in a barrel. That’s why it’s clear.

Greg: Ugh, this smells terrible.

Mike: It smells like nightmares!

Lawrence: It smells like something weird. Like wallpaper paste. I’ve never come across an unaged whiskey that I’ve liked.

Adam: It smells like how a trashcan sometimes does. Why would people buy this?

Lawrence: No clue.

Mike: Let’s taste it, and get it over with.

Lawrence: It’s not the worst I’ve tasted, but it’s terrible.

Greg: It didn’t taste as bad as it smelled, but it was still disgusting.

Mike: I think it’s awful. We should put this on a shelf for 100 years, and then try it again on our deathbeds.

Lawrence: You’d have to put it in a barrel.

Evan Williams bourbon whiskey, $13.99

Adam: I like Evan Williams. It’s just a good, cheap whiskey. I don’t think I would know the different between this and a couple of other whiskeys.

Lawrence: Yeah, I think it’s fine.

Mike: I like it a lot.

Greg: No arguments.

Rittenhouse rye whiskey, $21.99

Greg: Lawrence, this is your favorite, right?

Lawrence: It’s 50 percent alcohol. I think if you put a drop of water in your sip, you could compare it to the Evan Willams.

Mike: Whoa, it’s strong. But good. It hit me hard, but in a good way.

Adam: Yeah, it’s good.

Lawrence: It’s something I’m happy to drink by itself.

Adam: And it wasn’t too cheap — it was $22? What comparable rye whiskies are there?

Lawrence: Well, around this price, you have Jim Beam rye which isn’t nearly as good. I’m a fan of the Rittenhouse.

Mike: So what were today’s winners? I think the $9 gin. I expected that to be gross, but it was pretty decent.

Greg: Adam, it was the tequila for you, right?

Adam: Yeah, the tequila. But I wouldn’t dispute that the gin was much better than I thought it would be. It was smooth.

Greg: I think the surprise was the gin. I liked the whiskies, which I expected.

Lawrence: I didn’t mind the tequila.

Mike: I liked the Rittenhouse. I mean, it’s not that cheap though.

Lawrence: It’s cheap enough to have around. It’s a great breakfast rye.

Mike Dang doesn’t want to drink anymore.

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor; advertisers do not produce the content.

This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition.

Barack Obama’s Very Special Election-Year NCAA Bracket

by Dan Shanoff

In a contentious election year in which Barack Obama’s approval rating sits at right around 50 percent, let’s offer the same caveat as last year: Just because the President is taking ten minutes to fill out a bracket doesn’t mean he isn’t focused on creating jobs. Political TV producers will have to find something else to fill 12 hours of talk today.

With that said, let’s dig into President Obama’s bracket, keeping in mind that in last year’s version, he out-performed 87 percent of the country (despite whiffing on his national-champ pick) and has spent his first term with annual bracket success ratings well into the 80th percentile.

SOUTH
Like most of the country, the President recognizes Kentucky’s dominance in the region, and his four South semifinalists are conventional — the top four seeds all advance, with the Wildcats earning a Final Four spot.

Audacity of Upsets: In a nod to the previously red state that flipped blue in 2008, Obama picks 12-seed VCU to upend 5-seed Wichita State. (Or, perhaps, Obama just remembers VCU’s Cinderella run to the Final Four a year ago.)

National (Bracket) Approval Rating: Strong. When compared to the nation — as aggregated through ESPN.com’s “National Bracket” of everyone’s combined picks — Obama is in lockstep in this region. Even Obama’s pick of Baylor over Duke — at nearly 50/50, by far the most nationally divisive pick of the Sweet 16 round — appropriately reads the anti-elitist mood of the country.

WEST
The President is a big fan of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo (with all those Final Fours, what self-respecting amateur bracket pundit wouldn’t be?), and yet he goes another way when it comes to picking a winner of the region. Will America approve? (Answer below.)

Audacity of Upsets: Is New Mexico in play in November? Perhaps that is an extra motivation for Obama to pick the 5-seed Lobos to upend 4-seed Louisville to advance to the Sweet 16. (That it might tweak Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, a die-hard Louisville fan, seems like a serendipitous bonus.) Meanwhile, Obama picks 10-seed Virginia over 7-seed Florida. (This afternoon’s Politico headline: “WILL JEB BUSH TAKE THIS SNUB ALL THE WAY TO A BROKERED GOP CONVENTION?”)

National (Bracket) Approval Rating: Very strong. 1-seeds tend to dominate the Final Four in the National Bracket, but this year, a plurality of the country picked 2-seed Missouri over 1-seed Michigan State — as did Obama. (Unclear whether Mitt Romney will pen an op-ed calling to let Michigan State fail in your bracket.)

EAST
The President made his picks before yesterday’s news that imposing Syracuse center Fab Melo would be ineligible for the tournament. That didn’t stop him from reading the situation correctly that the Orange are a perennial tournament let-down. It probably won’t hurt his standing in the ultimate battleground state that he picks Ohio State to win the region. David Plouffe undoubtedly reminds him that the Electoral College math is more important than bracket percentile. (And yet: It’s a testament to Syracuse’s potential to choke that it overwhelms even the most obvious political conspiracy-theory pick of Obama’s bracket.)

Audacity of Upsets: Obama’s East is chalky — he picks all the favorites, except 10-seed West Virginia over 7-seed Gonzaga (and with the game in WVU’s backyard, Pittsburgh, there’s a near-majority of fans picking the ‘Eers to win anyway).

As for Obama’s law school alma mater, Harvard? Obama picks them to lose in the first round to Vanderbilt: “I will be rooting for Harvard,” he said. “But it’s just too much of a stretch.”

National (Bracket) Approval Rating: Strong — potentially much stronger. The nation has Syracuse nudging past Ohio State to win the region, but almost all of those votes were before yesterday afternoon’s scandal. In the final 24 hours before brackets close, watch for a surge of support for Ohio State — and validation of Obama’s judgment.

MIDWEST
The seemingly most obvious of the four brackets for the rest of us is a simple task for Obama, too: UNC winning the region, beating Kansas in the final. This is the least controversial portion of everyone’s bracket — something about which “red” and “blue” America can finally come together. That doesn’t mean Obama doesn’t make it interesting.

Audacity of Upsets: Modest. Perhaps inspired by the momentum of recently positive job reports, Obama rides the hot hand of 11-seed NC State — one of the final teams let into the Tournament, on the strength of its solid run through the ACC Tournament — into the Sweet 16. (Given Georgetown’s struggles to escape the first weekend of the tournament over the past few years, Obama’s upset pick isn’t a stretch.)

National (Bracket) Approval Rating: Very strong. Obama splits from the country on St. Mary’s-Purdue (he takes Purdue) and NC State-Georgetown (Obama picks NC State), but otherwise, lockstep. If Obama jibes this strongly with the Midwest in November, his re-election is assured.

Final Four: Obama shares 3 of 4 Final Four teams with a plurality of the nation — Kentucky, Missouri and UNC. His fourth Final Four team, Ohio State, may very well be the nation’s pick by the time brackets close tomorrow shortly before noon ET.

When it comes to picking a champion, Obama zigs. The nation overwhelmingly favors Kentucky, yet the President says he thinks that North Carolina’s experience will upend the Wildcats.

Experience matters? Sounds like a campaign theme in the making.

Related: March Madne$$: The School Tuitions Of The NCAA Bracket

Dan Shanoff is the founder of Quickish, a real-time quick-hit sports-news company that helps you keep up with the big things that are happening. Perfect for moments like, you know, 12 straight hours of NCAA Tournament games that start tomorrow afternoon. Oh, you are personally invited to join the Quickish bracket-picking group. (Yes! Another one!) Bonus: Obama’s entry will be a part of it, so you can compare yourself to him as things progress.

There have been a number of songs with this same title released by various musical artists over the years. But Danny Brown’s is better than all of them. Especially that other one with the rapping on it.