Country legend Charlie Louvin, who formed the Louvin Brothers with his brother Ira before launching a successful solo career in the early ’60s, has died. He was 83.

Worried about what our youngest children are learning these days? Well, maybe math and reading acquisition is on the decline, but they’re still great at picking up other things: “A child’s taste preferences begin at home and most often involve salt, sugar and fat. And, researchers say, young kids learn quickly what brands deliver the goods. In a study of preschoolers ages 3 to 5, involving two separate experiments, researchers found that salt, sugar and fat are what kids most prefer — and that these children already could equate their taste preferences to brand-name fast-food and soda products.”

“The great and good arriving in Davos are each given a welcome pack that includes crampons to prepare shoes for icy pavements. Should they wish to, the global leaders are offered optional activities by the WEF including a husky adventure, snowshoe trekking or a fondue course under the guidance of an expert ‘cheese master’.”
 — Let’s get this party started.

How does the New York Times express the sentiment of “bullshit?” It uses the words “more mystifying.” We also would have accepted “snow job.”

by Christian Vachon

Gordon Reynolds, our man in Cairo, sends along photos from yesterday’s protest. (For real-time dispatches, follow him here.)

Egyptian police blocked both sides of Tahrir Square, pressing the protesters.

On the south end of the square, a military tank rolled into the crowd.

At the top of the tank an officer manned a fire hose that hammered down onto the protesters. But no one moved.

The fire tank had not advanced more than 30 yards before a young Egyptian sprinted up the front of the vehicle and scaled up the side.

When he reached the top of the tank, the officer manning the hose dropped the nozzle and jumped on the back of the protester. The two men toppled off the vehicle and onto the ground, where the man was taken away by other officers.

Gordon Reynolds is the pseudonym of a teacher in Cairo. Follow him on Twitter here.

“To me the question was not, ‘Would I cook this as a native would?’ but rather, ‘How would a native cook this if he had my ingredients, my kitchen, my background?’ It’s obviously a different dish. But as Jacques Pépin once said to me, you never cook a recipe the same way twice, even if you try. I never maintained that my way of cooking was the ‘best’ way to cook, only that it’s a practical way to cook. (I’m lazy, I’m rushed, and I’m not all that skillful, and many people share those qualities.)”
 — Mark Bittman retires his recipe column, The Minimalist

today, after thirteen years in the Times’ dining section. He’s moving to the op-ed page, where he will advocate for eaters’ rights (more ketchup!), and take over the recipe page in the Sunday magazine.

Speaking of eating bugs, this was probably inevitable: The American love of consuming dubious meatstuffs at rock-bottom prices has collided with the American love of suing anyone anywhere for any possible reason. I don’t know why your president told you we need to compete more last night: So long as we’re filling our bodies with obvious crap and then trying to make a buck out of that obvious crap’s obvious crapness, we will be just fine. This is exactly what they talk about when they use the phrase “American exceptionalism.”

“Bugs are high in protein, low in fat and efficient to cultivate — 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of feed yields six to eight kilograms of insect meat compared to one kilogram of beef, states the university’s research. Insects are abundant, produce less greenhouse gas and manure, and do not transfer any diseases, when eaten, that can mutate into a dangerous human form, say the researchers.”
 — I ate a grasshopper (or, as Marian Peters, secretary of the Dutch insect breeders association, Venik, would call it, “the caviar of insects”) at a sushi restaurant once. It was fried crispy and drenched in soy sauce. It didn’t taste bad, but about halfway through chewing, I was far too aware that there was a large bug in my mouth. I didn’t spit it out. But I never want to eat a grasshopper again, either. Unfortunately, according to science, I will probably have to.

Hey, you guys, anyone know where the hip stuff in Brooklyn goes down? You know, stuff with some edge, with that authentic Kings County feel to it. Like, I hear there’s a flea market? And all the bars serve bacon cocktails? Something something pickling? Where’s all that action at? Oh, no, it’s not for me: It’s Marty Amis wants to know.

Good morning. Please have a seat. I’m going to tell you something that may shock or alarm you, so I’d like you to take a deep breath and be very still. Would you like a glass of water? Okay, good. Now, listen: There’s no easy way to say this. I had hoped that we would never need to have this kind of conversation. But life is unpredictable, and sometimes events outside of our control make it necessary to discuss the difficult issues, improbable though they might see. But I can tell you’re becoming impatient. “Get on with it,” your eyes implore. Very well, then. Right now? Outside? It’s… God, this is so hard to actually say out loud. Okay, focus, Alex. [Clears throat.] OKAY. At this very moment, outside, snow is falling from the sky. Yes, snow. I can see you are unsure, so let me help you.

Snow is a type of precipitation within the Earth’s atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Types which fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing, rather than a flake, are known as graupel, with ice pellets and snow grains as examples of graupel. Snowfall amount and its related liquid equivalent precipitation amount are determined using a variety of different rain gauges.

You’re right, it does seem like something out of science fiction. I don’t know what to tell you. I am not sure how long we will have to deal with this “snow,” but there’s nothing we can do about it now but pull together and somehow muddle through. From what the authorities tell me, this strange material will be dropping to the ground until 3PM today. I know we’ve never seen anything like this before, but we need to stay strong. I’m sure if we make it through this “snowfall,” it will never happen again. Good luck, everybody, and may God have mercy on our souls.

Photo by David Pierce, from Flickr.