There's a secret language spoken in the often self–serious world of wine tasting: Words like awkward, clone, note, legs, bouquet, and thief suddenly don't mean what they normally mean. For amateur imbibers, sommelier jargon and that weird front–of–teeth slurping and spitting thing can seem like a joke we're not in on. But the snobbery that often surrounds the wine illuminati is completely absent in The Essential Scratch–and–Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert, a new book written by Richard Betts, one of fewer than 200 master sommeliers in the world. As the wine–world equivalent of a Knight or a Jedi, Betts believes that "wine is a grocery, not a luxury." It's a 22–page board book, beautifully illustrated by San Francisco–based Wendy MacNaughton and designed by Crystal English Sacca. Why should the wonders of scratching–and–sniffing be reserved only for children? Scents of bacon, flowers, butter, grass, and even cat pee are translated onto paper to help readers identify the aromatic components of their beverages. "Once you realize there are cat pee scents in white wine, you'll never be able to drink a lot of white wine again," MacNaughton tells Co.Design. "All you'll smell is cat pee." Worry not: there's no actual cat pee in wine, or so they claim. It's just a compound called p–mentha–8–thiol–3–1 that happens to smell exactly like feline urine––and Sauvingnon blanc afficionados consider it a positive trait. MacNaughton credited a huge print run right off the bat to the... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
On April Fools' Day this year, Amazon spoofed itself with an introduction to PetLexa, an animal-friendly version of its Alexa voice assistant. Now, it's actually releasing something real--audiobooks for animals. Today, Audible announced a new brand of books with Cesar Millan, a longtime dog... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While Canadians are usually known for being nice, Kik is having a bit of fun at Facebook's expense this April Fools' Day. The wildly popular Waterloo, Ontario-based messaging app published a fake blog post today outlining plans to launch Storyz, a feature that lets users share photos and videos... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books are a serious business, but the publishing industry had a little fun on April 1 to commemorate April Fools' Day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Silkworm, written as Robert Galbraith, was advertised with long delivery delays, but web retailer appears to have backed down· Review: The Silkworm by JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith· Digested read: The Silkworm by Robert GalbraithAmazon.com appears to have bowed to consumer pressure and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There's a secret language spoken in the often self–serious world of wine tasting: Words like awkward, clone, note, legs, bouquet, and thief suddenly don't mean what they normally mean. For amateur imbibers, sommelier jargon and that weird front–of–teeth slurping and spitting thing can seem like... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Limiting Kindle Worlds to the ebook form may cater the needs of licensors, but it is counter to the ethos, habits and desires of fanfiction writers and readers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It remains to be seen if it's a full-on change of policy, but it looks like Amazon is at least shifting it stance when it comes to where some of the ebooks put out by its Amazon Publishing division are sold. As you may recall, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers recently pulled print... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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