Hasta La Gadget!

You know how it is. You’re traversing the Jubilee Line, nearing Waterloo and feel the need for a number two. Does Waterloo provide toilet facilities? Unless you’ve got encyclopaedic knowledge of TfL’s toilet facilities, or have access to its trusty…

Barges crawl across our oceans like dark, anonymous sea monsters, hiding their contents behind mammoth walls. From a distance, we can only wonder what’s contained inside, making its way from one land mass to another. Meanwhile, the birds — and perhaps eagle-eyed plane passengers — have a clear line of sight into the uncovered watercrafts.

Hungarian photographer Gyula Sopronyi must have been envious of the birds’ views, or just plain curious as to what lies behind the barges’ walls. His anxiety-inducing photographers peer inside the slow-moving boats, capturing the mesmerizing loads of people and objects that dwell upon their decks.

Titled “Floating Aspect,” the series frames vantage points from the Danube River’s bridges, snapping shots of moving vessels as they reveal their innards to anyone paying attention.

“Floating, towed timelessness. Sluggish giants. Barges might be generally described by these words,” Sopronyi explains in a project statement. “Once a very familiar sight of the riverside, even time has forgotten them. Their shapes remain as they used to be, moving slowly with their long, flat bodies up and down river with their heavy loads, just as they have for centuries. A mundane but, sometimes, romantic world it has many faces to reveal to the careful observer.”

From trash to crushed stone, kids’ toys to lounging strangers, Sopronyi’s series offers a hypnotic and alternative way of viewing our planet’s sprawling seas. Take a look for yourself, and may you ponder every barge and its visual potential from here on out.

The African American population is the only one in the U.S. where more women are employed than men, representing nearly 54 percent of Black workers in 2011. While this may not seem like a bad thing when it comes to the important role of women in the workplace, the stat is more a statement on the dismal performance of Black men in the workforce than it is a reflection of the women’s success. Black men carry the highest unemployment rates, year after year, and represent a large percentage of Americans in poverty. If we know this, then why isn’t more being done to correct it?

In the first two posts of this series, I looked at the troubles that stem from illiteracy among the young Black men in our K-12 schools, and the way they are punished more severely than their peers, statistically speaking. Today I want to look at what all of the foundational childhood circumstances mean on a larger scale, and how it impacts the workforce for Black men.

Less Education Equals Smaller Paychecks

Statistic after statistic shows us that of all demographics, Black men have the least amount of education as a group. Only 54 percent of African Americans graduate from high school in the U.S., compared to over three-quarters of White and Asian students. The 12th grade reading scores of African American males are generally on the same level as White students in 8th grade. When it comes to college, by the mid-20s, only 14 percent of Black Americans had graduated from college, compared with 30 percent of White students. People without a high school diploma earn roughly $10,000 less per year than those with a diploma, and people without a college degree earn over $16,000 less than those who have one.

For Black men who never earn a college degree, or even cross the stage for a high school diploma, the job earning potential over a lifetime is bleak.

Hardest Hit in Recessions

During the latest recession years, Black workers – particularly the men – were hurt the most by the economic downturn. During January 2007, when the recession first began, unemployment rates for Black workers was at 7.9 percent, compared to just 5.8 for Hispanics and 4.2 for Whites. The Department of Labor reports that the reason for this is multi-faceted. For one thing, Black men are statistically less educated than their women and white counterparts. Though no job was truly safe during the recession, those with lower levels of education certainly experienced the biggest brunt of the financial hard times. Another reason Black men faced higher levels of unemployment during the recession is because they make up the largest percentage of government employees in the public sector. In 2011, almost 20 percent of employed Blacks in the U.S. worked in the public sector, compared to only 14.2 percent of Whites and 10.4 percent of Hispanics. When the government is forced to cut back on its budgets, workers are laid off or fired.

Less Likely to Find Work

Statistics also show that when Black men do lose their jobs, they stay unemployed an average of seven weeks longer than white workers and eight weeks longer than Hispanic workers. Almost half of all unemployed Black workers in 2011 were out of work from 27 weeks or longer. The longer a person is out of work, the harder it is for him to regain employment for a variety of reasons. The gap in resume time is certainly part of it, but there is also a mental effect that weighs heavily on the unemployed, with enthusiasm waning with each week that passes without work.

What can be Done?

The solution to improving the outlook for Black workers starts in K-12 classrooms. By keeping these young men in school and encouraging them to further their educational pursuits, the building blocks of a brighter economic future are put in place. While there is certainly nothing wrong with working in the public sector, Black men should also be encouraged to seek out employment in a variety of private fields too. Not only should these fields be encouraged, but there should be targeting programs in place that point these young men in the right direction through special classes, group and mentorship initiatives. Whatever the solution, it needs to start inside K-12 classrooms if it stands a chance of turning the tide for the Black boys who become the men of society after their school days.

Chashu Pork Ramen in Shibuya

When I arrived in Tokyo, I already harbored a deep love for ramen–the Japanese noodle soup with an increasing fan following in America. But I soon discovered I had a very narrow view of the tasty dish. Having only previously eaten ramen in the U.S. and France, I was exposed to a limited range of flavors, and I wrongly assumed that there was little variation on the basic broth, noodles and side of pork combination.

My friends, there is an entire world of ramen in Tokyo. A beautiful, delicious, calorie-heavy world that I readily embraced with arms (and mouth) wide open. In three weeks, I tasted more than a dozen varieties in the city’s ramen shops– here’s what I learned.

Shrimp Broth Ramen in Shinjuku

There are as many kinds of ramen as stars in the sky
Ok, that may be a little overly poetic (ramen deserves it IMO), but I was shocked at the amount of combinations and types of ramen I had never heard about.

Tsukemen “dipping” ramen? Soupless ramen? Tantan ramen? These previously unknown species have become my new favorites.

Each shop tends to have a specialty it’s known for–extra thick noodles, a touch of Japanese citrus, perfectly slow-roasted chashu pork. I’m sure you could eat for a lifetime and never try all the varieties, so I’ll just tell you a bit more about the three types I named above, because they surprised me the most.

Tsukemen Ramen in Shibuya

Tsukemen “dipping” ramen blew my mind because I had no idea the noodles could be served outside the soup. And the broth is more like a thick stew, so it sticks to the noodles when you dip them in the broth before eating. The noodles tend to be heartier too– a big eat, Tsukemen is not a ramen for the weak.

Spicy Soupless Ramen

Soupless ramen– At first I questioned its authenticity because there was no broth, just a spicy sauce on the bottom and a soft-boiled egg for moisture. But a Japanese friend assured me this does indeed count as ramen. Adding some spicy and sesame oils, breaking the egg and mixing with all the sides created a sort of Japanese carbonara. Again, not a ramen for the faint of stomach, but it was unlike anything I’ve had outside of Japan.

TamTam Ramen in Shibuya

Tantan ramen is a tasty enigma to me. How can a ramen have this much flavor, what is it made of exactly, and why isn’t it in every noodle shop in the world? A little Googling told me it’s sesame oil and chilies that give this soup its special oomph. I had two tantans during my ramen expedition, and though the flavor profile is far from the “classic” style, it is my new favorite.

It’s all about the noodles
The star in most ramen shops is the noodle, not the broth as I previously thought. Some restaurants, such as the chain Ichiran, let you choose between multiple levels of tenderness based on your noodle preference. Others let you pick between different sized portions of noodles (for the same price) so you can get your desired broth-to-noodle ratio. And Tsukemen ramen noodles are served outside the broth at room temperature specifically to maintain the perfect level of chewiness it would lose sitting in the hot soup.

Spicy Yuzu Ramen from Afuri in Ebisu

Ramen does not make you feel good about yourself
Japanese people love ramen, but there’s a reason they don’t eat it every day. The calorie count of a bowl ramen can easily exceed the amount you need for a full day.

Japanese friends expressed concern for my health upon learning how much ramen I was consuming. Ramen is often a late-night food enjoyed after a boozy night out– the Japanese equivalent of ordering a pizza to your dorm room at 3 a.m. A once-in-a-while treat, it’s not an every-day dinner kind of food, so I can see why they were slightly frightened by my endeavor.

I don’t recommend eating as much ramen as I did in a short amount of time. I must confess that the one day I had ramen for both lunch AND dinner (never again), I was very uncomfortable. After that I cut back to once every two or three days, but it still became a bit of a (delicious) burden.

Ramen Vending Machine in Shibuya

America should embrace vending machine ordering
The most common way to place your order in ramen shops is using a vending machine. To get your fix, just put cash in, press the buttons for the ramen you want plus any sides, and out pops a ticket and change. There is usually a person to assist you with the machine (especially helpful for non-Japanese readers such as myself), and they may also seat you and get your ticket to the chef.

Obviously this process wouldn’t work for every type of restaurant, but the efficiency is genius. You pay for the food when you’re hungry and really want it. It cuts down on staff. There’s no messing up your order because you’re the one placing it. And the best part is, when you are done snarfing down, you just get up and leave–no waiting for the check, no flagging down the waiter–you’ve already paid.

Tsukemen Ramen on Ramen Street in Tokyo Station

If you’re a ramen fan like me, get thyself to Tokyo. Expand your ramen horizons, get ready for some serious flavor, and bring your stretch pants. I feel I’ve earned my ramen badge in Tokyo, now I just hope I can find my favorites when I get back to New York City.

Chris Pratt’s headshot from 2000 quickly went viral when he tweeted it earlier this month. On a visit to “The Tonight Show,” Pratt told Jimmy Fallon the story of how “Douchemaster McChest” — his words, not ours! — came to be, and how it got Pratt his first big role on “Everwood.”

Turns out, Pratt was 20 years old, living out of his car in Los Angeles and trying to become an actor. While at the post office, a photographer spotted him, asked him to come back to his apartment, shower and change so he could take his picture for free. Luckily, this did not turn into the opening scene of a “Law & Order: SVU” episode.