Hasta La Gadget!

I know that one can get extremely excited while gaming, and the entire gameplay, visuals and audio cues add to the overall atmosphere of the gaming experience. Well, it seems that a bunch of noisy students recently had the police and council officials raid their pad, resulting in their Sony PS3, DVD player, as well as surround sound speakers seized. Of course, this was not the first warning they have had from the authorities, taking into consideration how several weeks’ worth of complaints from residents had caused the police and council officials to take action.

The house in question which was raided is located in Fallowfield, south Manchester, and the raid occurred on a Friday afternoon. Neighbors have made their fair share of complaints, where the students did hold gaming sessions at maximum volume even at 4am in the morning, and this happened after they have painted the town red.

According to the council, the raid was conducted because the students had “disregarded” a noise abatement order. A council spokesman mentioned, “Residents should not have to put up with noise until the early hours of the morning.”

All in all, a Sony PS3, five Philips surround speakers, a couple of notebook speakers, a Philips DVD player and a Samsung TV were taken away from the house in Brailsford Road, Fallowfield. It was also tipped that the PS3 was used to play back music, too. Perhaps these dudes ought to own a pair of headphones instead.

Police Seize PS3 From Students After Complaints Of Noise , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Apple has made no secret of its intention to become a major player in the Chinese market. The People’s Republic is regarded as a lucrative emerging market and the company has taken a lot of steps to ensure that its there to cash in on the boom. Over the next few years Apple also plans to radically increase its retail presence in the country. To make it easier for customers in China to purchase digital products, the folks at Cupertino have now inked a deal with UnionPay, accepting it as a payment option for customers in the country.

China UnionPay happens to be the most popular payment card in the country, and thus it products cardholders a simply and convenient way to make purchases on Apple’s content stores. Customers will now be able to link their Apple ID with a UnionPay debit or credit card for one-top purchases.

China is already Apple’s second largest market for app downloads, explains Eddy Cue, who is the senior vice president of internet software and services at the company. Adding support for UnionPay means customers have more convenience when purchasing apps from the App Store.

Some also perceive this as the first step in the company’s larger plan, which is to bring Apple Pay to China. The new payments service is only live in the U.S. for now and multiple reports have suggested that the People’s Republic might be one of the first few countries to receive Apple Pay once its exclusive run in the U.S. ends.

Apple Now Accepts UnionPay As A Payment Option In China , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

There exist two scenarios where no one can hear you scream. The first is of course, in space because there’s no oxygen. And the second is on Earth, but only if you’re a global Muslim leader condemning ISIS and promoting universal religious freedom.

Such was the result of the landmark address His Holiness the Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, delivered last week in London before 1000 dignitaries, politicians, faith and thought leaders, and academics at the 2014 Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Symposium.

As British journalist Sunny Hundal tweeted, “Ahmadiyya Muslim community Caliph devotes his speech to condemning ISIS in strongest terms tonight.”

Conservative British Parliamentary candidate Dan Watkins called it an “Inspiring speech on working for world peace.”

Justine Greening, UK’s Secretary of State for Internal Development exclaimed, “His Holiness gave a speech that was incredibly powerful that set out all the claims violent groups like ISIS make and then totally demolished them in terms of what the Qur’an actually says. [His Holiness] helped [us] truly understand what true Islam is actually about, and that peace is at the heart of it.”

You can listen to the unending praise from attendees here.

So what did His Holiness declare that moved these individuals to offer such profuse praise for him and for Islam? And why didn’t it get the attention of major media, major newspapers, or major news anchors. Why didn’t anti-Islam critics breath a massive sigh of relief?

While the picture seems hazy for the second and third questions above, I can clearly answer the first. At the 2014 Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Symposium His Holiness continued his intellectual Jihad of the pen against extremism and intolerance, declaring,

It is never permissible, in any circumstance, to force another person to accept Islam or indeed any religion… All people are free to believe or not to believe. And so when the Holy Prophet was permitted only to convey the message of Islam and nothing further – how then can the so called Muslim leaders of today go beyond this and think they have more power, authority or rights than the Prophet of Islam?

His Holiness additionally looked deeper than the obvious ISIS atrocity, and called out the groups funding ISIS, demanding they be brought to justice,

I would also hereby like to question those people or organizations who claim that Islam is a religion of violence on the basis of the atrocities of the extremist groups. I would ask them to consider how these groups are able to acquire such funds that allow them to continue their extremist activities and warfare for so long? How do they acquire such sophisticated weapons? Do they have arms industries or factories? It is quite obvious that they are receiving the help and support of certain powers. This could be direct support from very oil-rich states or it could be other major powers covertly providing assistance.

And lest anyone think His Holiness is speaking in reactionary terms, on the contrary, His Holiness and his Caliph predecessors have relentlessly championed absolute justice in a long line of peaceful Islamic worldwide Caliphate spanning over a century. His Holiness has specifically lectured on U.S. Capitol Hill, before the British House of Lords, in front of European Parliament, and with countless heads of state. His Holiness has enacted international humanitarian relief efforts in Syria, Gaza, Pakistan, Kashmir, Liberia, Nigeria, and in hundreds of other nations and war-torn lands. His Holiness leads the world’s single largest Muslim community — spanning 206 countries — that has existed for over 125 years while abhorring all forms of religious violence and terrorism.

Yet, while His Holiness accomplishes far above and beyond what critics and media alike ask when they complain, “Why aren’t Muslims combatting extremism,” it appears they have not heard him scream during his decade plus in office. Meanwhile, ISIS leader al-baghdadi makes one virulent unsubstantiated statement about Islam and violence and he garners 24/7 media coverage for the past six months.

The double standard is sickening.

So I suppose maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong. It appears major media and critics can in fact hear Muslims scream — but only when they scream threats and vitriol. Words and acts of altruism, compassion, love, tolerance, and pluralism fall on deaf ears.

The picture should appear clearly now. Muslims for peace threaten not only ISIS, but also the critics and media who make a living off promoting fear of ISIS and other extremist groups ascribing to Islam. The problem, therefore, isn’t that Muslim leaders aren’t speaking out. It is that critics know their future rests on drowning out Muslims for peace. So the next time you ask why peaceful Muslims aren’t speaking out — know that it’s a slanted question. Know that we are speaking and acting out against all terrorism, but unfortunately that’s not the narrative your media wants you to hear.

And if you’re sick of this slanted narrative, then do something about it. Let the world hear you scream.

Every week — often with your help — Food52’s Executive Editor Kristen Miglore is unearthing recipes that are nothing short of genius.

Today: A just-crazy-enough-to-work technique for outsmarting dry turkey. 

There are lots of sensible reasons to cook a turkey breast instead of a whole bird. Maybe you want to be freed from the commitment of a larger roast — because your table is smaller, or you find the leftovers oppressive. Maybe you just want to do something unexpected this year. Or maybe you want to start DIYing the best turkey sandwiches ever — to have better desk lunches than your cube-mate’s, and provide more for your kids than the sad cold cuts you grew up with.

But with the crowd-pleasing crutch of dark meat gone, serving just a turkey breast feels risky, unimpressive, joyless. This is where we can turn to Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi of Torrisi’s Italian Specialties, who developed the impossible: a juicy, delicious, foolproof, sexy Thanksgiving turkey breast.

To get it, you have to do some pretty strange and unglamorous things to your turkey. First you submerge it in a basic wet brine (water with salt and sugar dissolved in it) overnight, which is unsightly in a Mütter Museum kind of way, but we’re used to that. After this it gets really bizarre.

You dredge it up and mummify it in four layers of plastic wrap, then another of foil. Then you lodge a thermometer in it and roast it all, wrapped up like a big potato, at a temperature normally used to make fruit leather.

A few hours later, the internal temperature hits 135° F, well below the point you thought a cooked turkey should be, and you plunge it in an ice bath for 5 minutes. But the internal temperature will continue to climb, despite the shock. Then you’ll peel off all the protective outerwear, paint it all over with a roasted garlic and honey paste, and crisp up the outside in a now-much-hotter oven.

More: A genius technique for the whole bird from Russ Parsons and Judy Rodgers.

Our photographer Mark Weinberg compared all of this to an elaborate spa treatment, and he’s not far off. (Once, on my birthday, I was actually wrapped in plastic wrap too.)

What these great lengths mean is that you won’t dry out the edges waiting for the middle to cook through, and that literally none of the turkey’s juices are squandered. I tested this recipe a few times and there were never drippings from the turkey in the pan. That’s a good thing! If you want gravy, there are other ways — make a vegetarian mushroom version, or buy some extra bits to make your gravy with (you can even make it ahead).

The Torrisi technique might seem complicated, but you’ll notice the recipe is actually quite short. The brine and the glaze are each just a couple ingredients. And when you don’t have to wrangle a funny-shaped bird, with its uneven limbs, its 2 speeds of meat, you can control the whole process a lot better.

If you feel weird about cooking in plastic wrap, here’s why you shouldn’t, if you buy the good stuff. If you feel weird about pulling the turkey at 135° F, don’t forget the second stage of high-temperature roasting, in which the thermometer will keep inching up. Even if it doesn’t quite hit 165° F, here’s why that’s okay (150° F+ for 10 minutes is just as good). Of course, if you want to be extra safe, you can bring it up to 165° F — thanks to the slow-building temperature and the effects of the brine, this roast is also really hard to overcook. 

Admittedly, there are a lot of oven temps to work around — here’s how to actually pull it off on your oven’s busiest day of the year: Make the glaze the night (or a few nights) before. Start the roast a bit earlier than you think you need to, and just tent it with foil if it comes out early — it will hold its internal temperature for a good while (and it can be served hot, warm, or even cold).

At Parm, Torrisi’s sister restaurant, the turkey is served on sandwiches with spicy sauce. You’ll carve it for dinner on Thanksgiving day, then use it to make turkey sandwiches and hash and soup. But, unlike years past, you won’t have an insurmountable pile, and you won’t need to bury it in cranberry sauce to get through it.

Torrisi’s Turkey

Adapted from Torrisi Italian Specialties in New York, NY via The New York Times.

Serves 12

For brining the turkey:

1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 boneless turkey breasts, 3 to 4 1/2 pounds each

For the glaze:

8 heads garlic, lightly smashed but intact
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon thyme leaves

See the full recipe (and save it and print it) here.

Got a genius recipe to share — from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Please send it my way (and tell me what’s so smart about it) at kristen@food52.com. Thanks to Nozlee Samadzadeh and Kenzi Wilbur for this one!

The Genius Recipes cookbook is here! (Well, almost.) You can now pre-order it on Provisions to get a signed copy in April, plus 3 pretty recipe cards to wrap up in time for the holidays. Find out more about the book here!

Photos by Mark Weinberg

This article originally appeared on Food52.com: Torrisi’s Turkey

Food52 is a community for people who love food and cooking. Follow them at Food52.com — and check out their kitchen and home shop, Provisions.

It looks like some members of our community historically ignored by the fashion community may soon have clothes specifically tailored to their bodies and needs.

Sharpe Suiting, a revolutionary ready-to-wear fashion line, is currently engaged in a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund clothing for butch, androgynous and masculine-of-center individuals. Clothing traditionally understood as masculine has rarely been available to anyone but those with the physical frames of cisgender men. Now, as queer people are gaining more ground in mainstream society, the designers behind Sharpe Suiting are aiming to change that.

In order to better understand Sharpe Suiting and what its founders are trying to accomplish, The Huffington Post chatted with the curators of this new fashion line last week.

The Huffington Post: Why is this line of clothing is so necessary?
Sharpe Suiting: Menswear or masculine clothing for female-bodied individuals has been practically non-existent, until now. If fashion is identity, where are the clothes for women who identify more with masculinity?

At our Sharpe Suiting’s Next Top Model event on Nov. 12, I sat down and spent some time with one of our most loyal clients, a 57-year-old proud self-proclaimed butch woman. The event teamed up with over a hundred members of our local community, out to support a cause near and dear to each of them. Our client was confidently dapper in her own custom Sharpe suit as we talked over the project and its progress. She asked me what my goal was for the company after the Kickstarter. Naturally, I gave her the run-down of to-do’s including online e-commerce sales as well as widening our retail distribution globally. She regarded me and said, “Now, I know you can give me a strategic business school answer! I meant, what is your purpose?”

At that moment, I remembered what I felt when I initially measured her body for her first Sharpe suit, the lines and creases in her body formed from decades of fitting herself into menswear clothing that did not fit her, clothing that does not fit any of us. I told her, “I want younger individuals who identify like us (nowadays in addition to butch they identify as transgender, genderqueer and masculine-of-center) to not have to experience the difficulties we had in the past. I want to change mainstream society’s ideas and views toward butch or masculine-leaning women by building a fashion brand where the world can witness people in our community feeling empowered and confident.

Is this clothing intended exclusively for queer women and trans men or are you trying to reach a wider audience?
Sharpe Suiting was founded initially out of my own inability to find clothing that fit not just my body, but who I was: a genderqueer, masculine-of-center, female-bodied guy. As of now the majority of our clients run within the andro to trans gambit, but when gay men, queens, femmes and cis men showed up wanting high-quality suits to truly express themselves, who were we to say their identities didn’t fit within our scope? Wasn’t that the issue we, ourselves, had such a hard time with growing up? We are inspired by our queer community, but anyone and everyone is welcome through our doors.

What kinds of clothing will you produce?
Sharpe Suiting aims to be an unparalleled leader in the creation and manufacturing of custom-constructed and ready-to-wear dresswear for the queer community and beyond. As of now we offer two-and-three piece suits, blazers, slacks, vests, dress shirts, overcoats, ties, bow-ties and will soon offer accessories such as cufflinks and money clips.

We are thrilled that we will also soon launch our ready-to-wear-line. At Sharpe, we developed a system of measuring and tailoring whereby we minimize stereotypically female curves for those who identify as more masculine. In the past, anthropometrics has been the singular method for measuring the human body and it continues to be traditionally used for tailoring and clothing manufacturing. Our suits have to fit androgynous bodies. So we have developed our own measurement method, Andropometrics, our patented way of measuring the body to create a more masculine (or in some cases, feminine) cut on the individual. Now, after creating over 100 custom suits this past year, we’ve been able to compile measurement data and create our ready-to-wear line with an entirely new sizing chart.

Do you see movements like as evidence of larger social changes at play?
Definitely. Once upon a time a woman wearing a man’s suit was an extraordinary thing: seen only acceptable on a sensationalized entertainer (i.e. Marlene Dietrich or Katharine Hepburn). In the ’80s women began wearing their power-suits, broad with shoulder pads, to demonstrate they had just as much right and ability to compete in the man’s business world.

The androgynous look is something that has been seen increasingly on the runway, with the ultra-slim fit and a tapered leg on men to women wearing femininely cut tuxes. Fashion, an expression of the individual mandated allowable by society, always seems to express the larger social change.

The last 15 years has seen milestone after milestone for the queer community. We now have the ability to legally marry, and there are many out there (queer and not) who don’t want to walk down the aisle in a dress. Yes, there are still some states in which it is illegal to marry, but the overturning of DOMA means that the tipping point of public opinion is in favor of equality.

As more and more celebrities and athletes come out of the closet, we are seeing more tuxes on the red carpet and suits during interviews. Ellen Page, Ellen DeGeneres and Cara Delevingne are just a handful who have all been known to rock a classy suit over a formal dress. Plus, the recent breaking-out of trans stars has seen an upswing in acceptance of gender non-conforming individuals on the whole. We no longer have to fit into boxes with which we don’t identify.

Want to learn more? Head here to visit the Sharpe Suiting Kickstarter.