What Caught My Eye Today - Diamonds, Venezuela, Africa, Ireland, Hamburgers

Diamonds - A rare 29.6-carat blue diamond has been discovered in a South African mine. Good news, lads.  You know that stupid thing you are going to do that pisses off your significant other. Here's your get out of jail free card. The "exceptional" vivid blue stone was found in the Cullinan mine, near Pretoria.  Let me guess, "exceptional" is industry speak for butt ass expensive. The Cullinan mine has an even greater history as the place where in 1905 the world's biggest diamond -- dubbed the "Cullinan" -- was found. The 3,106-carat stone was cut up and two major pieces are part of the British crown jewels. To give you some context, a carat is 0.2 grams, which means the "Cullinan" weighs in at 621 grams or about 1 pound 6 ounces. This newly discovered blue diamond is less than one-hundredth the size. Blue diamonds are seldom hit the market and have been coveted by royals and celebrities for centuries. That makes complete sense, if you think about it. Who else but some obscenely wealth jerk could afford the price tag (no bitterness here)? A 5.30 carat-fancy deep-blue diamond sold for $9.5 million at a London auction in 2013, setting a new world record for price per carat. You know how I started off saying this gem could be your get out of jail card? Maybe jail isn't so bad.

Fred's Note: As you all know, Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez passed away last year and no one was more depressed about his passing than me. Boyfriend provided so much material for this blog and my fear has been no one would ever be able to fill that gap.  Perhaps I need not worry so much...

Venezuela - President Nicolas Maduro has a new villain as he campaigns to bring down Venezuela's spiraling crime: TV soap operas. God love ya, President Maduro. Hugo would be proud. He accuses them of spreading "anti-values" to young people by glamorizing violence, guns and drugs. The criticism follows attacks last year by Maduro on violent video games and the Hollywood movie "Spider-Man." I don't know that I can fault Maduro too much for this. The last few installments of "Spider Man" have been pretty lackluster. It's unclear whether the government will take steps to restrict programming or impose harsher rules on the soap operas known as telenovelas, which are hugely popular across Latin America. I'm not sure the government would need to exert much effort here.  Inflation is so out of control, I don't think too many citizens can actually afford TVs in the first place. Analysts say arm-twisting is unlikely to reduce Venezuela's high homicide rate, which the United Nations ranks as the fifth worst globally, and they warn that Maduro's campaign could be used as an excuse to further gag media criticism of the government. . Critics have blamed the country's bloodshed on the proliferation of illegal firearms, between 9 million and 15 million by the government's count, as well as the lack of punishment for those who commit crimes. Here's a question for you. Are these telenovelas inspiring people to use firearms or is the widespread use of firearms inspiring storylines for telenovelas?  Try to wrap your heads around that one.

Africa - President Barack Obama will invite 47 leaders to a landmark US-Africa summit in August, seeking to widen U.S. trade, development and security ties with an increasingly dynamic continent to which he traces part of his ancestry. Obama will send out invites to all African nations that are currently in good standing with the United States or are not suspended from the African Union. Is it just me or does this remind you of a party that only the cool kids get invited to?  Let's see who didn't make the cut. Egypt is not eligible to attend as it is currently suspended from the African Union. Yeah, we dodged a bullet on that one. Gee guys, we'd love for you to attend (hell, no!) but you aren't part of the African Union. Darn it all. The United States maintains sanctions against the Zimbabwean government of Robert Mugabe and key officials over suppression of democracy and what Washington sees as politically motivated violence. You're a bad man who doesn't know how to play nice, so you cannot come to our party. Also not on a list distributed by the White House were Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar. Washington has concerns over the subversion of democracy in both nations. Not to mention the fact that most of the State Department probably couldn't find Guinea-Bissau on a map (I checked and its on the west side of the continent sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea). Fun fact about Guinea-Bissau--the national motto is "Unity, Struggle, Progress". So you gotta figure that getting excluded from the summit probably doesn't come as that big of a surprise to this struggling nation. There will also be no invitation for Sudan, whose president, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Show of hands...who actually wants al-Bashir to show up? One notable inclusion is Kenya, where President Uhuru Kenyatta is currently awaiting a delayed trial at the ICC on charges related to violence after an election in 2007 that left 1,000 people dead. I get that one is innocent until proven guilty, but dude is under indictment by the International Criminal Court. He must have done something not good. Obama pledged during his trip to the continent last year to help build "Africa for Africans" and argued that the region's growing economic potential could help it shake off its reputation as simply a recipient of foreign aid. Translation: We don't want China to buy up the continent.  We were here first, dammit. The Obama administration has also been increasing its indirect engagement in regional conflicts in Africa and is also increasingly concerned about Al-Qaeda franchises in the continent. Translation: We don't want another Iraq or Afghanistan.

Ireland -  Ireland is reopening its embassy to the Vatican more than two years after shutting it down in the wake of sex abuse cases, in a sign relations may be thawing. In a huge blow to the Holy See's prestige, staunchly Catholic Ireland closed its embassy to the Vatican in 2011, when relations soured over Church handling of sex abuse cases.  Maybe its just me, but you'd sort of expect the roles to be reversed, right? That said, turns out this is not that big of a deal. Guess how large the staff will be at the Irish embassy? Hint: Anything more than one, is way too high. Ireland also plans to establish embassies in Thailand and Indonesia and newest European Union member Croatia, and consulates in financial hubs Hong Kong, Sao Paolo and Austin, Texas. I'm sorry, but when did Austin, Texas become a financial hub? Ireland will set up an embassy in Kenya to support an aid program there and is closing its mission in Lesotho. Anyone know where Lesotho is on a map? Does anyone care?

Hamburgers - Time magazine says White Castle's small, square "sliders" are "the most influential burger of all time," noting the "now-iconic square patty" that debuted in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas was the first burger to spawn a fast-food empire. And with it the expansion of humanity's waist line. The full list of influential burgers includes the following:
17. The Krusty Burger - The fictional Simpsons hangout was so popular, it became a real-life restaurant when Universal Studios Orlando opened a Simpsons theme park. At the risk of stating the obvious, the criteria for this list is influence. Taste has nothing to do with it.
16. The Ghost Burger - A Chicago heavy-metal-themed bar launched one of the most outrageous burgers to date: the Ghost Burger (named after Swedish metal band Ghost B.C.) was topped with an unconsecrated Communion wafer. I rest my case.
15. The Varsity Burger - The ordering lingo for this Atlanta staple is almost as well known as the burger itself: you get it “all the way” in lieu of “with onions,” and “walk a steak” replaces “to-go.” Yeah, because just saying "with onions" is way too complicated. 
14. The Umami Burger - Arguably the first “modernist cuisine” patty, the Umami Burger is meant to taste like, well, umami (a savory taste embodied in MSG), incorporating such toppings as soy-roasted tomatoes, parmesan crisps and pickled ginger. So is umami the modernist term for salt lick?
13. The Ray’s Hell Burger - President Obama treated then-Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to one of these patties in Arlington in 2010—Obama’s was reportedly ordered plain, while Medvedev added jalapeños, mushrooms and onions. Really, a plain burger, Mr. President? Man up, dude. 
12. The Ramen Burger - This so-called hybrid burger—two parts ramen, one part beef patty—drew vast crowds at the Smorgasburg outdoor food market in Brooklyn throughout the summer of 2013. Alas, there’s no official ramen-burger restaurant yet. Imagine that.
11. The MOS Burger - MOS (a.k.a. “Mountain Ocean Sun”) Burger, which opened in Japan in 1972. Although its signature patty mimics the U.S. classic, other items are designed around Japanese tastes; there’s a teriyaki burger and a grilled salmon rice burger. And this is influential in what way?
10. The Jucy Lucy - A twist on the cheeseburger, in which the cheese is melted inside the patty, the Jucy Lucy was reportedly invented in the 1920s. They had me a melted cheese.
9. The Lab-Grown Burger -  This burger is grown in a lab from cow stem cells, which means it may even be palatable for vegetarians. The only issue: for now, it carries a $325,000 price tag. What's the word I'm looking for here?  Oh that's right: Eew.
8. The Quadruple Bypass Burger - The Heart Attack Grill's (notorious for offering free meals for those over 350 pounds) most notorious dish is this behemoth, which layers eight slices of cheese between four half-pound patties and clocks in at nearly 10,000 calories. 10,000 calories of pure heaven if you ask me.
7. The ShackBurger - The 2004 invention—topped with a tangy, secret-recipe ShackSauce—was the first burger to start a food craze, inspiring hordes of eaters to wait in lines that stretched throughout New York’s Madison Square Park. Food craze or pathetic excuse to take a 3 hour lunch? You tell me.
6. The Gardenburger - The original veggie burger was invented in 1981 at the Gardenhouse, an Oregon vegetarian restaurant, and it consisted mainly of leftover vegetables and grains. Riddle me this. Why would a vegetarian want to eat something that reminds them of the animal flesh they are trying to avoid in the first place?
5. The Burger King Whopper - The quarter-pound patty, introduced in 1957, was the fast food industry’s first gimmick burger—developed as a premium alternative to McDonald’s, Wendy’s and others. Too bad they didn't spend as much time on the taste as they did the gimmick.
4. The 21 Burger - When the 21 Club introduced its gourmet burger in the late 1940s or early 1950s, New Yorkers were shocked that an upper-class establishment would offer something as lowly as the burger—and at the exorbitant price of $2.75, compared with McDonald’s’ 15 cents. Nevertheless, it was a hit. The luxury burger has since become a mainstay at many higher-end restaurants, from Le Parker Meridien (a high-low offering in the lobby’s Burger Joint) to db Bistro Moderne (the truffle, foie gras and short ribs DB Burger) to Hubert Keller’s (the foie gras-topped Fleur Burger, which costs $5,000 and is served with a bottle of 1995 Château Pétrus).  Now this is what I call a gimmick.
3. The In-N-Out Burger - In-N-Out focuses on food—its signature burger, which debuted in 1948, was made from locally sourced ground beef and fresh vegetables. That approach may have prevented In-N-Out’s expansion (it has just 294 locations today, compared with McDonald’s 34,000-plus). The way I heard it was the secret menu was too complicated to appeal to a mass audience.
2. The McDonald’s Burger - The original McDonald’s burger, which debuted in San Bernardino, California, spawned an empire that now spans 118 countries. You just know that In-N-Out is kicking itself over this.
1. The White Castle Slider  I've never had the pleasure. Pity.