THE KAPLINSKY REPORT

If you were once a Facebook user who responded to every message you received, played the little mind-numbing games only to find they no longer interest you, there is a chance that you are suffering from ‘Facebook’ fatigue. Even though Facebook has experienced phenomenal growth over the last year, many people are now of the view that face book has outlived its usefulness as they begin to feel the effects of social networking overload.

While face book has been credited for being a great way of networking with like minded people and keeping in touch with close friends and family, a large proportion of people feel that it can be a time snatcher. People admit to spending a lot of time navigating around, checking out other peoples’ profiles and looking at pictures. It is estimated that at least 52% of people in the work place stay signed onto Facebook. Should employers be worried about productivity as the world economies starts to slowly come out of recession? (Read: Women and the recession)

Most work places have banned the use of Facebook among their employees. It is now common practice to hear of companies spending millions of pounds on software to block their employees from accessing videos and social networking sites. Inversely, contrary to the belief that social networking sites are disruptive at work, a study by the University of Melbourne in Australia recently showed that people who use the internet for personal reasons were at least 9 per cent more productive than those who don’t. The author of the study, Brent Coker, mentioned that “people need to zone out for a bit to get their concentration back.” Some businesses have taken note of this positive effect and a handful of them are using Facebook as a motivational tool for their workers.

Depending on who you talk to, Facebook remains a hub of information for people of all ages. Even though it has been likened to a crowded night-club where everyone wants to be seen, it is now being used by many firms to reach particular markets they wish to target with their brands. Because of it’s appeal among a certain age group mostly 18 – 24, it has proved to be a great platform for youth oriented businesses. They establish a presence by creating fan pages – Nike for instance has almost 2 million fans – which are indirectly linked to their websites and highly coveted products. (See Nike’s and Abercrombie’s Facebook profiles)

However one chooses to look at it, there is a growing belief that the aura of Facebook has worn off a bit and only caters for peoples’ voyeuristic tendencies. For now, it remains one of the most popular networking sites and with the recent surge in numbers of Smartphones – with their plethora of neat apps – coming on to the market, social networking sites should experience a wave of renewed interest.

Interesting Links: Twitter chief looks to mobile for future, Food for your brain

Executives at Spotify’s headquarters must have let out a deep sigh of relief when Apple gave them the green light allowing their app to be launched on the iPhone app shop. Many doubted that Apple would shoot itself in the foot by allowing a rival music app that could potentially poach its itunes customer base away from them.

iPhone owners in Europe (Spotify is not yet available in the U.S) who take up Spotify’s premium internet service for £9.99 a month, are now able to use their iphones to search for new music using the app and stream music from their playlist or temporarily store the playlists on their iPhones for playback when there is no connection. Sounds fantastic if you’re a music lover; at the beck and call of your fingers tips will be thousands and thousands of your favourite tracks. It would be fantastic if Spotify could have some Beatles music (see The Beatles Stereo Box Set)

Buy Whitney Houston’s latest album: I Look to You

Hot Smart phone: HTC Hero Android G3 A6262 Smartphone Unlocked – International Version with No U.S. Warranty (White)

From tweet streams on Twitter to an endless list of “unknown” friends on facebook and Friendfeed, more and more, computer code by computer code, we are rapidly becoming prisoners of technology. From a personal point of view, I am reminded of the  recent sleepless nights I had, tossing and turning in the early hours of the morning, thinking about the latest smart phone - HTC’s Hero –  whose Teflon coated screen I was going to caress to death once I received my mobile phone upgrade.

And I’m not the only one with this fidgety technological disease; take a short ride on any inter-city bus or subway train and you’re bound to see a good sprinkling of people, both male and female, whose eyes are glued downwards – jerking from side to side on a game like Teeter – thumbing away at their tiny ipods, iPhones or Android gadgets. (Go to: Pocket Gamer)

Describing this 21st century technological culture as an addictive one person universe, with very little human interaction wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Yes, these wonderful gizmos are a step up from the previous generation of devices that wowed us in the 20th, but the price that society has to collectively pay now may too high. One only has to look at the iPhone suicide in China last month and the spate of Facebook divorces and breakups to know somethings wrong. (See: Don’t let facebook break up ur relationship)

The obvious question to ask in these circumstances is why do we spend so much time exploring those tiny screens as opposed to the larger aspects of life that crave our attention? Why have virtual 5inch playgrounds so effectively replaced the texture and expanse of green grass and the motion of playground swings so common in every neighbourhood back in the 70’s? The answer may come as a shock to many. Or may be not.

In the book ‘the singularity is near’, author and inventor Ray Kurzweil predicts a futuristic world where technologically enhanced humans possess endless life in an electronic environment that would make our present world Jurassic by comparison. Over the last millenia, our species has been on an endless quest to enhance, improve and if it were possible, to transcend the physical limitations and restrictions of our  fragile transcient biochemical existence. (Read: The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology)

The relentless technological progression we embrace so often to the detriment of personal relationships and societal links doesn’t fully convey its collective meaning from the perspective of one person or even a group of ipod/Android geeks. However, when seen as a  cluster activity – the  way we would view ants building a nest hill – or as a historical pyramid of invents, then we begin to grasp the direction we are headed with all our gadgets and technology that so seems to portray a picture of interpersonal isolation instead of our innate to desire to merge with fellows human in an environment that will permit its perpetuity.

The day is fast approaching when our species will shed the need to touch our fingers to smudge-free screen; for we will be able fully immerse our consciousness into the digital realm we so desperately crave to merge with. (Look at: Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies — and What It Means to Be Human)

Hot Dan Brown Book: The Lost Symbol

It is common knowledge that working long hours is not good for our health. With levels of unemployment rising each week, more and more people are doing punishing schedules at work without complaining. They know pushing themselves that little extra may offer them immunity when the inevitable pandemic of job cuts sweeps by. Working over-time is also something many people are now resorting to as a way of keeping up with the avalanche of monthly bills that come with the mail. While most employers feel that this increases productivity by getting as much as they can from their employees, there is a potential deleterious health risk to the workers which can eventually lead to a drop in productivity when employees are unable to turn up for work because of ill health.

Researchers in Denmark recently revealed that most men work up to 40 hours a week or more and that this can affect the general well being of an individual. This study can be applied to the U.S where men have been known to work even longer hours – 60 hours a week – giving them a 60% chance of falling ill because of high stress levels compromising their immune system. Culturally, working long hours has been seen as a sign of having good work ethic and ambition but the toll it’s having on a sizable number of workers in various industries is an indication of how unhealthy this practice is.

At least two thirds of people are known to have experienced a negative effect on their personal life and have at some point had mental health problems because of not having a good balance between work and home life. This was revealed in a survey carried out by The Mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom. Those in middle-age who work more than 55 hours a week are more at risk of developing dementia. The stress from over-working can just be as bad for the brain as smoking. Despite overwhelming evidence that long working hours affect the quality of productivity in many industries, many employers continue to carry out this practice. (See: Engaging the Hearts and Minds of All Your Employees: How to Ignite Passionate Performance for Better Business Results)

Many workers realise that they are being over worked, underpaid but simply have no choice because they have to bring in the bread and butter in these harsh economic times. It goes without saying that more needs to be done to strike healthy work-life balance so that our societies can be more productive and people do not work themselves to the grave. (Read: This Is How We Do It: A Practical Guide for the Working Mother)

Health authorities and politicians alike, have been divided over the issue of whether or not to keep school children at home this coming autumn. It is a well known fact that children are flu super-spreaders and in this particular H1N1 pandemic, the 5 to 16 age bracket has been hit hard by the virus. (See KIMBERLY-CLARK CHILD’S FACE MASK)

Of course, there is the economic factor to take into consideration and the effect pulling out children from schools will have on parents in the health care industry. What we know so far, is that the H1N1 virus has mostly impacted its victims in a mild manner, is very contagious and is spreading so fast that the world Health Organisation has stopped counting. Best of all, is the fact the virus has not shown any signs of mutating into a nastier version that could exact a heavier toll.

However, health experts are very quick to remind us that as with past pandemic outbreaks -- as in the case of the Spanish flu in 1918, which killed over 600,000 Americans and tens of million across the globe -- what may initially start as a mild irritation or perturbation, may later on turn around and take everyone by surprise in the Autumn and winter when the seasonal flu season kicks off in the northern hemisphere.

With reports that the summer run of H1N1 infections peaked several weeks ago in America and a significant slow down in the number of cases being reported in the UK last week -- down to an estimated 30,000 cases in England -- there is the human tendency to be lulled into a false sense of security.

The out-of-sight-out-of-mind syndrome, so to speak, may lead many to become lackadaisical in their approach to hygiene practises. It important to keep in mind that pandemics come in waves -- there are signs Mexico may be in the early stages of a second wave -- that can last anything between 12 to 14 weeks. One big shocker with H1N1 was earlier this year, shortly after the initial outbreak in Mexico, many medical experts predicted that the spread of the virus would abate in the warmer months. However, as we all know now, H1N1 proved to be more resilient, continuing its relentless incursion into the human chain even in the hot weather. (Read Big drop in new swine flu cases- BBC)

So in this light, the Obama administration has been paying very close attention to H1N1 developments behind the scenes -- receiving regular weekly updates and attending flu meetings in the situation room -- and planning months in advance for what will be a very difficult winter.

It is anyones’ guess of how things will pan out over the coming weeks and months, but experts expect to see an upsurge in deaths as the children return back from their summer breaks and head back to school. A vaccine is on its way but the task of inoculating 160 million Americans with two shots spread over several weeks and a further time lag of  two weeks before any immunity benefits take over, presents both an unprecedented logistical nightmare and period of uncertainty were the virus to mutate in that window of time between both shots. “In all likelihood, this flu will hit before vaccine is available for people,” Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has said. (Take a look at The Poisoned Needle: Suppressed Facts about Vaccination and Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners: Guide to Immunization Risks and Protection)

There’s a good chance that the pandemic may pass without much incident; then again, things could rapidly deteriorate causing millions of parents to stay at home with their kids. Currents H1N1 trends and past pandemic history do not augur a crystal clear outcome that we can latch on to. For now, all the experts can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. (See HandClens Alcohol-Free 2 in 1 Foaming Hand Sanitizer & Lotion, 8-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 6))

Useful links: National Flu Service website, CDC H1N1 website

The past few months have revealed just how weak the capitalist world really is. To the mind that is confused by the constant barrage of economic data in the form of  W and V shaped graphs, interest rate cuts and cedit card APR increases, the world as they once knew it is long dead. To them, the world is now being ushered into a post-capitalistic phase where the previous sign-posts of economic freedom, decadence, and hedonism are pre-historic totems. (Look at The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?, Second Edition)

The internet is a good place to observe the construction of this new world order. In this limitless universe of software and computer programs, a titanic battle has been raging for several years. On one side of the equation, you have the powerful multi-national conglomerate giants armed with their vast array of tantalising digitised goods ranging from movie and cell-phone downloads to computer operating software and copy-protected DVDs. On the other side are the multitudes of disaffected hungry hackers and fearless digital freedom fighters who believe everything should be free for the masses to consume. (See Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives)

Intellectual property lies at the heart of the battle. The digital freedom fighters want free music, free movies, the freedom to move content through the world’s network of hand-held devices -- much like the freedom granted to goods and services within the EU -- without the fear of recrimination or prosecution. To a degree, and depending on which side of the equation one is situated, it is tempting to see their point of view. The world has become too much of a merciless global super-structure of markets.

Every facet of our lives is governed by the buy and sell culture that is disguised and sold to us like it’s some sort of genuine freedom. We are dehumanised, desensitised and programmed from birth to accept this conveyor-belt existence as the norm. And over the many decades, the system has stealthily morphed from colourful high-street shopping -- where prices are fixed -- into a digital prison where cookies follow you and download quotas are also unfairly fixed. (Read No Place to Hide)

There are some who will argue that conglomerate giants brutally destroy the ingenious creations of the digital freedom fighters and sell it to the masses at exorbitant prices. Some will also argue that it’s too easy and naive to say that intellectual property rights should be protected in perpetuity. Of Course, artists, musicians and inventors should duly be rewarded for their hard work and creativity. However, it would be foolish to completely ignore and dismiss the creative contributions of the digital freedom fighters. It would be intellectually myopic not to see that yesterday’s world as we once knew it, is unsustainable and cannot and should not be the only acceptable platform for human society.

If anything, what truly defines us human -- despite our vast cultural and religious differences -- is our desire and propensity for change. Innately, we are not satisfied with just the invention of the wheel or for that matter the rocket. As Star trek likes to portray human nature, we desire to explore the deep recesses of space and the universe. Digital freedom fighters should be viewed with similar instincts. That is, the desire to break the digital shackles that hold the collective human society down. (Look at Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge)

Where would the multi-billion dollar anti-virus industry be without hackers? Mark my words, today’s digital freedom fighters, one day will be hailed as heroes by future generations. (Read Hacker’s ‘moral crusade’ over UFO and ‘Massive attack’ strikes websites - BBC)

Useful books:

Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It

Several months ago, Spotify turned the music industry inside-out and gave serious notice to music pirates by offering music lovers unlimited listening time to their favourite tracks. Gone are the frustrating 30 seconds clips we’ve had to put up with when deciding whether to include a file to our ever growing mp3 collection; all we have to now is open up our Spotify music player and wallah! It’s been a huge success in Europe with over six million users.

Now Spotify is going for the jugular by setting its sights on Apple’s bestselling iphone. According to recent reports, they’ve submitted their App to Apple and are waiting for approval to be given. If things work according to plan, Spotify’s vast catalogue of music – which includes millions of tracks in genres ranging from classical  to rock – will be available to iphone users who subscribe to their online premium service. (Take a look at Apple iPod touch 32 GB (2nd Generation) NEWEST MODEL and Will Apple Open the iPhone to Rival Spotify? – Time)

Spotify’s online streaming service comes in two forms, the first package is completely free – with adverts run every 20 minutes or so – allowing you to search and listen to your heart’s delights of their vast catalogue of music which is growing at a rate of over 10,000 tracks a day. The second package is advert-free and will set you back £9.99 ($15.00) a month. Many in the music industry doubt that Spotify can survive on just adverts alone, and uptake of its premium service is slow, so Spotify executives are hoping the iphone App will make it more appealing to users if they can carry their music around with them. (See Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) NEWEST MODEL)

As of now, Spotify is only available to the European market but the the Swedish company is planning to roll out its service in the states by the end of the year; until then, U.S based listeners are getting Spotify through Android fans may also get the chance to access the service if Spotify decides to launch the already working Google android application that has been tested in the past.

What would be more exciting, was if Spotify’s music could be streamed on more powerful playing devices. Currently, subscribers are limited to the audio quality of their laptops – which isn’t very impressive – and music streamers who love their bass and treble cannot quite get into the sounds coming from these acoustically impotent machines. (Read Gaming on the Apple iPhone – Telegraph)

To address this deficiency, Spotiy -like Apple did with the ubiquitous ipod – should team up with partners who can create speaker devices that can be plugged directly or indirectly through wifi into the Spotify stream. This would greatly enhance the quality of the music and probably attract more subscribers willing to pay for such a service. Until such device are put onto the market, spotify will remain a very good idea that is being shackled down by unimaginative and limiting technology.

Send your email/name (enter ‘Spotify’ in the subject field) to contact@kaplinskyreport.com if you want the Kaplinsky Report to notify you when Spotify is available in America.

Warning: Some viewers may find this video clip disturbing

As consumers we all like to buy products that have been ethically produced and will not put our health at risk. In order for products to be certified as safe for consumption, they often undergo vigorous tests and trials. Unfortunately some the tests include experimentation on animals. The long standing argument in favour of animal testing is that a large number of medical achievements in the 20th century relied on animal testing. (Read Animal testing essential to NHS, says Ministers -- London Evening Standard)

Supporters of animal testing such as the British Royal Society and the U.S Academy of Science argue that even the most advanced computers can not simulate the interactions that take place in the organs, tissues and cells. Global trends in scientific advancements have led to an increase in the use of animals in experiments. Some in the scientific community feel that the increase is an indication that more is being done to find a cure for serious diseases.

The number of animals used in experimentation is a staggering 50 to 100  million world wide and has shown an increase of 1.5 million from last year. The U.S is leading with 17 million last year and 3 million in the United Kingdom. (Look at ‘Shocking increase’ in animal experiments - The Independent) While some in the scientific community continue to sanction the use of animals for experimentation as a means to medical advancements, others maintain that animal testing has not proved to be helpful to public health and safety. They argue that 92% of new drugs that are successful in animal studies go on to fail in clinical trials. Cancer Research UK is known to have admitted that they do “trials in people because animal models do not predict what will happen in humans”.

While the animal rights movement has for a long time been viewed as an obstacle to medical progress, there is also a growing cacophony of voices within the medical profession carrying out a safer medicines campaign with a view to a  phasing out animal experimentation. Dr Kelly Berube, a human lung tissue engineering specialist at Cardiff University, was recently interviewed by the BBC and in his own words, he said “ Now we can do  our experiments in petri dishes with functional human tissue. Now you have human data, so no need for the rat. I say, why use a rat when a human lung will do? I don’t see any reason why we can’t use human tissue. It’s the best way to go. You get human end point data, you don’t have to worry about saying, well, this happened in the rat, this might happen in a man”.

Even though the Animal Welfare Act in the U.S is meant to regulate procedures performed on animals, it does not provide any protection for more than 90% of the animal species used which include birds, rats, mice and other farm animals such as pig. Cats tend to be largely used in neurological research and in the year 2000 alone,  over 25,500 cats were used in animal experimentation.

As the debate in this area continues, some countries like New Zealand and the Netherlands have responded to concerns regarding animal experimentation and have outlawed invasive experimentation on certain classes of non-primates particularly the great apes. It is hoped that the views held by those in the Safer Medicines campaign will become widely acceptable as more non-invasive techniques are developed which will bring an end -- as some view it -- to the unnecessary suffering of animals in laboratories across the world.

Useful books:

The Fast Food Craze: Wreaking Havoc on Our Bodies and Our Animals

Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals

Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

WIKIPEDIA link on Animal testing

OPSI: Animal Welfare Act 2006 (pdf)

Twitter: Animal Welfare Association and The Kaplinsky Report

We live in an era saturated with information. Stock markets across the world rely on information the same way cars rely  on fuel; without it, life as we know it would eventually grind to a halt.

Last April we were reminded just how information-sensitive we have become. H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu, suddenly came on to the world’s stage without any warning and the W.H.O (World Health Organisation) announced that the human species for the first time could track the progress of a pandemic in real-time. Since then the virus has gone on to get its own dedicated website, thousands of Twitter followers and can you believe it, its own Face book page (Click here). In other words, the first pandemic of the 21st century is fully exploiting all the available technologies to rapidly propagate itself.

If you live in a society controlled by the internet and television media -- and who isn’t these days? -- then by now you’ve most probably been bombarded with thousands of swine flu images, propaganda, information and disinformation. (See Cybercriminals exploit swine flu fears with spam-email -- Timesonline.co.uk) As if locked into some sort of technological/ primitive race, H1N1 and humans are battling it out over the lives of billions of people to see who can spread the message of fear faster. It’s impossible to say who’s winning as the race is still very close.

For example, in the UK -- the hardest hit European country --  last week saw a staggering 100,000 new cases (doubling every week) of swine flu in England, according to the Health Protection Agency, and disinformation is rife. One group of health care professionals believe that pregnant women -- whose immunity tends to be lower during pregnancy -- should stay away from crowded public places, while another group has advised against such stringent precautions. There has also been a debate among health officials and the UK government as to whether or not school holidays should be extended into the autumn in order to slow child transmission and buy enough time to roll out a vaccine programme nationally.

Australia, which is located in the southern hemisphere and currently going through its seasonal flu period, just announced that it has started human trials of its swine flu vaccine. “The fundamental data that we and others around the world are interested in are the immune response to the first and second dose,”  said Andrew Curthbertsno, CSL’s chief scientific officer.  And America -- the hardest hit country in the world -- doesn’t expect to take delivery of vaccines until mid October. Some have expressed concern over rushing out the vaccines too soon because of safety issues.

What is clear is that the use of technology, both online and offline, remains central to the global fight against an unpredictable foe. Whether it’s the handy digital thermometers (Look at Basal Digital Thermometer) that have fast sold out in many shops or the high-tech thermal body scanners used in airports from El Salvador to Jakarta (See photos of Thermal scanner - Time), the human race is having to adapt itself to a constantly changing battle field. Kisses and hand-shakes -- once the social norm in the West --  may soon become a life or death choice and if you think that’s extreme, consider the fact that a high temperature, sneeze or cough can get you arrested and quarantined in China. (Read Swine flu: Shops selling out of thermometers -- Telegraph.co.uk, and Dread: How Fear and Fantasy have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to the Avian Flu)

Useful links: FairHaven Digital Basal Thermometer, 3M 8511 Series Respirator

Michael Jackson links: The Ultimate Collection, Michael Jackson People Tribute: Remembering Michael 1958-2009 (Hardcover), Off the Wall

Twitter: Check out the Kaplinsky Report here

Taking a break from home cooking and choosing to eat out at a restaurant is something most of us like to do once in a while. When choosing a restaurant, we’re more likely to go for a place that we’re familiar, with pleasant staff and surroundings. And more importantly, in this tumultuous times of pandemic swine flu, most of us will be reassured if our favourite restaurant outlets observe fastidious hygiene practices. Imagine for a moment the horror of catching one of the waiters picking his or her nose just after you have finished paying for your drinks! Would you excuse yourself and leave the restaurant or stay on just to be polite?

In recent years, appalling hygiene standards in some restaurants has taken the fun out of dinning in local restaurants. Disgusted customers have witnessed very unpleasant habits which range from waiters handling food with grubby yellowing dish cloths, to licking their fingers while giving out menus to guests. I personally have seen food being picked up from the floor and served to unsuspecting customers minutes later and chefs not washing their hands after using the toilet. Turning a blind eye to situations where hygiene standards are flagrantly ignored can put you at risk of ill health.

It was revealed not too long ago that 70% of the time, the ice in fast-food restaurants contains more bacteria than toilet water. This was according to research done by a professor at the University of South Florida. At least 15% of adults in Britain who took part in a survey by Which? -- a British consumer group -- blamed eating out as the cause of an illness they have suffered in the last year. The consumer group has also revealed that a large proportion of diners are unaware of the cleanliness levels at the food outlets they frequent.

As guests at restaurants, we never get to see the environment where our food is prepared, however clues to look out for include the cleanliness of the staffs’ uniforms, dirty mop buckets left out, overflowing waste bins, greasy tables, and unattended toilets. The logic being: If the areas that can be seen by the public turns out to be filthy,  then it goes without saying that the hidden areas where customers have no access, may be a lot worse.

Eating out at small restaurants were food is displayed in the open is even more risky. Such food should be avoided at all costs because bacteria tends to multiply in moist food between 5 and 63 degrees centigrade. A single bacterium on food left outside the fridge for at least an hour or more, is enough to make you sick. It’s always best to have your food served piping hot and have all meat properly cooked.

Food hygiene certificates are often displayed in most food outlets. Because this is mandatory, ironically, even the restaurants which have staff with bad practices have them displayed at the front. The best way to ensure the outlet you are visiting (UK only) has been vetted and inspected by the local authorities for hygiene standards, is to click here to check out an up to date scoring for that restaurant.

While eating out remains a popular way to socialise with friends and family, going in search of a clean eating outlet is the best way to ensure you are relaxed about what you put in your mouth. (Visit the Food Standards Agency for further information and see pictures of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA -- Channel4.com)

Useful books:

Restaurant Confidential: The Shocking Truth about What You’re Really Eating When You’re Eating Out

Eat Out, Eat Right: The Guide to Healthier Restaurant Eating

Strong, Slim, and 30: Eat Right, Stay Young, Feel Great, and Look Fabulous!

Clean LP: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself

Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trails by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and WhatReally Goes on in the Kitchen

Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)