Osteria di Tramonto at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling has closed and is undergoing a concept change, according to Dan Egan, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Westin Chicago North Shore hotel (601 N. Milwaukee Ave., 847-777-6500). The new, yet-to-be-announced concept will be under new management, independent of Cenitare Restaurants, the restaurant’s former operators. A fall opening is expected.

During the transition, the Westin Chicago North Shore is operating Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood, the hotel’s popular steak and seafood restaurant, and the RT (sushi) Lounge. Tramonto’s is now open continuously beginning at 6:30 a.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood dinner hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. RT Lounge is open from 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, and from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.

About Tramonto’s Breakfast
Chicago North Shore residents and travelers to the area have always appreciated the hearty American breakfast offered at the Westin. Voted among the top spots for business breakfast and lunch, the menu boasts an array of specialties including Belgian Waffles – simple, nutty or fruity ($6-$7), Steel Cut Oatmeal and Roasted Apples with raisins and brown sugar ($6.95), Gravlox ($8.95), and, of course, a variety of Egg Dishes served with home-style potatoes and a choice of breads ($9.95). Other favorites include Omelet Your Way with a choice of three ingredients ($9.95), a Breakfast Sandwich (9.95), Eggs Benedict with Canadian ham and hollandaise ($10.95) and Steak & Eggs with beef tenderloin medallions and two eggs as you like ($14.95).

About Tramonto’s Lunch
Variety is the keystone of the restaurant’s American menu. Starters include New England Clam Chowder ($5.95), Crispy Calamari ($9.95), French Onion Soup ($6.95), Steakhouse Chopped Salad ($9.95), Caesar Salad ($7.95) and Spinach Salad with goat cheese, red onion, candied pecan, and bacon vinaigrette ($7.95). Guests can add chicken for $2.95 or shrimp for $4.95 to the salads.

Popular priced lunch entrées include Midwestern favorites like Sautéed Lake Superior Whitefish with wood roasted carrots, mint and walnut agrodolce ($11.95); Pan-seared Scottish Salmon with beets, spinach and sherry vinaigrette ($14.95); Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti with basil, provolone and Pomodoro sauce ($10.95); Chicken Scallopine with arugula and lemon vinaigrette ($12.95); and a 6 oz. center cut Filet Mignon with caramelized onion and arugula salad ($21.95). Several pasta dishes are featured including, Absolut Pennetti with diavolo sauce ($8.97) and Pappardelli with Meat Sauce of veal, port and beef ragu and fresh ricotta ($10.95).

The menu features seven sandwiches and burgers which are served with a choice of garlic fries, market vegetables or fresh fruits. Among the selection are Vegetable Panini, Tuna Salad, BLT and Chicken Parmesan, all for $8.95 each. The Pesto Grilled Chicken sandwich and Build Your Own Burger with choice of three toppings are both $9.95. The Steak Sandwich with chili aioli, escarole, Fontina cheese and crispy shallots is $11.95.

About Dinner
Dinner at Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood is an occasion that can be celebrated often. The restaurant gives new meaning to the term steak and seafood restaurant, as it offers a wide variety of selections rarely found at restaurants in the same category. Fresh shellfish and seafood platters for two guests or more are custom designed and filled with hand-picked daily specials representing the ocean’s bounty. Combination platters ranging from $16.95 to $34.95 per person are available, and include items such as jumbo shrimp, oysters, chilled mussels, cracked king crab and Maine lobster tail.

Appetizers range from RT Spicy Tuna Roll, Yellowfin tuna tartar, spicy mayo, scallions and shrimp tempura ($8.95); Sliced Hamachi Sashimi with miso-pineapple emulsion, chili aioli and fried shisho ($9.95); Wood Oven Roasted Escargot ($7.95); Grilled Kobe Beef Sliders ($9.95); Prime Beef Carpaccio ($10.95); Tuna Tartare ($11.95); Lobster Risotto ($15.95); Wood Oven Oysters Rockefeller ($10.95); Seared Jumbo Lump Crab Cake ($13.95) and more. Not to be missed are the signature Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with candied beets, herb crepe and cherry gastrique, or the Whole Roasted Foie Gras serving six for $75.95 (seasonal preparation changes).

Meat of the matter
The menu offers five cuts of USDA Prime beef, both wet- and dry-aged, sourced from the Midwest. Whole prime ribs are seared in a wood-burning oven, while other cuts are seared on a 1,200-degree high-speed broiler; most of the steaks are finished in the wood-burning oven. Toppers for the steaks include sliced bone marrow, truffled poached eggs and seared foie gras.

Choose from the signature Filet Mignon, 6 oz. and 8 oz. center cuts ($26.95/$29.95); Prime New York Strip, 12 oz. Midwestern corn-fed ($34.95); Wood Oven Bone-in Rib-eye, 20 oz. Midwestern grain-fed ($40.95); Prime Porterhouse, 25 oz. Midwestern grain-fed ($54.95); and the Wood Oven Dry-Aged “Tomahawk,” 40 oz. bone-in rib-eye for two ($79.95).

Other steak specialties include Skirt Steak Frites with caramelized onions and frites ($21.95); Horseradish-Crusted Filet, 8 oz. center cut ($30.95); Filet Oscar, 8 oz. with crabmeat and béarnaise sauce ($35.95); Prime New York Strip Al Forno, 12 oz. with parmesan and garlic crust ($36.95); and Wood Oven Bone-In Filet, 16 oz. with seasonal forest mushrooms and natural jus ($53.95). Au Poive, Béarnaise, Red Wine, Bordelaise and Horseradish Cream steak sauces can be added for an additional $1.95 each.

Seafood selections include Maine Lobster Tail, 6 oz. ($27.95), Lobster and RT-Style Spicy Tuna Roll ($36.95), Lobster and 6 oz. Filet ($53.95) and Lobster and Sautéed Foie Gras ($45.95). Twin Sixes, two-6 oz. Tails ($55.95), Alaskan King Crab Legs by the pound ($37.95), Crab and 6 oz. Filet ($63.95), Crab and 6 oz. Lobster Tail ($65.95) and Crab and Sautéed Foie Gras ($55.95) are also featured.

Fish and seafood specialties include house favorites Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass with five grain wild rice and baby bok choy ($27.95), and Seared Spice-rubbed Yellowfin Tuna with fennel puree, orange segments and citrus emulsion ($27.95).
Other house favorites include Wood Oven Amish Chicken with braised fennel, bacon, apple and haystack potato ($19.95), Braised Short Rib with roasted garlic mash, braising jus and baby greens ($25.95), and Grilled Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Dijon bordelaise sauce ($35.95). The menu offers a variety of soups and salads as well as vegetables and side dishes.
Liquid assetsThe 3,000-bottle international wine list includes 25 choices by the glass. Flights of four 3-ounce glasses chosen by the sommelier are offered for $24. Traditional cocktails are updated with fresh juices and chipped ice.

Amuse-bouche (pronounced ah-myuz boosh) are today what hors d’oeuvres were to America in the 1950s: a relatively unknown feature of French culinary tradition that, once introduced, immediately became standard fare. Chefs at many fine restaurants offer guests an amuse-bouche, a bite-sized treat that excites the tongue and delights the eye, before the meal is served. Nobody does it better than the celebrated executive chef/partner of Chicago�s Tru, Rick Tramonto. Amuse-bouche are a fa-vorite of diners at Tru, many of whom come expressly to enjoy the �grand amuse”–an assortment of four different taste sensations.

Amuse-Bouche offers an array of recipes, from elegant and sophisticated to casual and surprising�but always exquisite�that will inspire home cooks to share these culinary jewels with their guests. From Black Mission Figs with Mascarpone Foam and Prosciutto di Parma to Curried Three-Bean Salad, from Soft Polenta with Forest Mushrooms to Blue Cheese Foam with Port Wine Reduction, Tramonto�s creations will embolden the novice and the experienced cook alike to experiment with unfamiliar ingredients and techniques.

Organized by type of amuse and season of the year, the book also includes a directory of sources for specialty products. With more than a hundred recipes and with fifty-two full-page color photographs by James Beard Award–winning photographer Tim Turner, Amuse-Bouche enchants the eyes as much as an amuse pleases the palate.

Many of the best restaurants tantalize diners’ palates with charming, intensely flavored tastes that tickle the tongue and delight the eye. A tiny serving to whet the palate, an amuse-bouche (literally, “mouth amusement”) sets diners up for what is to come. Rick Tramonto, executive chef of Chicago’s widely acclaimed Tru restaurant, is well known for his passion for and commitment to these bite-size treats. In Amuse-Bouche: Little Bites That Delight Before the Meal Begins, he shares the art of creating these miniature delights. While most people won’t find many occasions to serve amuse-bouche at home, the recipes are easily adapted to become passed hors d’oeuvres, first courses, or even main courses. From Chilled Fava Bean Soup with Seared Scallops, to Blue Cheese Foam with Port Wine Reduction, to Charred Lamb with Truffled Vinaigrette and Oven-Dried Tomatoes, this book offers something for every taste. Surprisingly, most of the dishes are exceedingly simple to prepare, often consisting of just four or five ingredients. As might be expected, the success of the recipes is dependent not so much on involved cooking techniques or complicated combinations of flavors but rather on the selection of a few high-quality ingredients. Creamy Corn Grits with Butternut Squash and Sweet Corn, for instance, starts with ever-so-humble beginnings to ultimately showcase the bright flavor of corn and the hearty sweetness of butternut squash. With more than a hundred clever and inspiring recipes, Amuse-Bouche will surely not fail to amuse. –Robin Donovan

Amuse-Bouche: Little Bites That Delight Before the Meal Begins is available at Amazon for $23.10. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Working the Plate: The Art of Food Presentation
• Culinary Artistry
• The French Laundry Cookbook
• Bouchon
• The Complete Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon

Award-winning chef Rick Tramonto shows home cooks how to recreate the simple, flavorful Italian dishes he serves at his wildly popular Osteria di Tramonto.

Osteria means �tavern� in Italian. It is always a casual place, usually family-owned, where simple country cooking is served to accompany the local wine. In 2006, acclaimed chef Rick Tramonto opened Osteria di Tramonto on Chicago�s north shore. In this spectacular restaurant, he serves the kind of earthy, hearty fare so beloved by Italians�and Americans.

Now, Rick has written a cookbook showcasing the food from his osteria, with recipes ideally suited for the home cook. Osterias tend to be open all day, so Rick�s book features recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as for little snacks in between.

Breakfast and brunch recipes include omelets, frittatas, pancakes, crepes, and smoothies. Lunch includes salads, soups, pizzas, and simple pasta and meat dishes. Dinner offers everything from bruschetta and antipasto to fish, meat, and braised dishes, pasta, and desserts. There are small plates, too, and numerous antipasti, panini, and crostini.

Blood Orange Crepes with Vanilla Mascarpone, Roman-Style Omelets, Rick�s Mother�s Lasagna, Capellini with Six Summer Tomatoes, Wood-Roasted Mussels in White Wine Sauce, Braised Pork Shanks with Borlotti Beans, Lamb Porterhouse with Salsa Verde, Goat Cheese Scalloped Potatoes, and Italian Chocolate Pudding are just some of the more than 150 intensely flavorful dishes. This is an irresistible collection no true lover of good eating will want to pass up.

Osteria: Hearty Italian Fare from Rick Tramonto’s Kitchen is available at Amazon for $23.10. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food
• A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes
• A16: Food + Wine
• Fantastico: Little Italian Plates and Antipasti from Rick Tramonto’s Kitchen
• II Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey

The Quickfire Challenge this week was a vegetarian’s nightmare. The chefs had to show their “butchery skills” at Allen Brother’s meat plant and cut seven chops with a “frenched bone” from an American raised long-boned rib-eye, USDA Dry Aged Prime Rib rack in 20 minutes. After returning to the Top Chef Kitchen, each of the five remaining chefs had to cook a tomahawk chop in thirty minutes. Spike, a grandson of two butchers, soared through both parts of this challenge, and as a reward he was able to have first pick of ingredients from Rick Tramonto’s kitchen in Rick Tramonto’s Steak and Seafood restaurant. For the elimination challenge, each chef had to create an original appetizer and entree. Chef Tom Collicico took on the role of “Expediter” for the dinner service. Tom’s quiet demeanor was quite a switch from Chef Ramsey’s famous freak-outs in Hell’s Kitchen. Previous Top Chef winners Harold Dieterle (Season One), Ilan Hall (Season Two), and Hung Hynh (Season Three) were invited as the judges’ VIP guests. (I must say that Ilan looked a little out of place wearing a brown tee-shirt)

Stephanie won the challenge with her Sweetbreads with Golden Raisins & Pine Nuts appetizer (she was proud that she could make sweetbreads taste like Chicken McNuggets) and her Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms & Apple Sauce entree . Richard’s Hamachi with Crispy Sweatbreads, Radish, Avocado & Yuzu appetizer was the favorite dish of the evening, and Lisa’s Peanut Butter Mashed Potatoes was the best side dish. Chef Tom thought that Antonio’s entree tasted best out of all the steak dishes.

Lisa and Spike wound up as the bottom two, Lisa was at the bottom for the fifth time. I think Padma saved her because she thought Lisa had “an amazing pallet.” The frozen scallops turned out to be Spike’s downfall. Spike tried for a long time to drain the water out of them with paper towels, but he still could not turn them into fresh scallops. Moreover, at the Judge’s Table Spike told Rick that he shouldn’t have had scallops in his walk-in that “weren’t high quality.” (Ouch) Rick rebounded with, “I’ll take that shot, bro. I had frozen scallops in my cooler, but you got to take the shot that you used them.” On the positive side, working in Rick’s hot kitchen made Spike remove his signature silly hat. I really hope he tossed it into the wood burning oven. Next week the four remaining chefs head off to Puerto Rico. Will there be an all women final three?

PJ

8:59 (b/c yes, I am now on Central Time) – Previously on Top Chef, Spike & Lisa are inexplicably still around at the beginning of the episode. Restaurant Wars return. Team Disaster predictably bomb. And Spike & Lisa are inexplicably still around at the end of the episode. Which mean Dale is preemptively eliminated. Aw.

9:01 – Everyone is excited that they’re close to the final 4. OMG, one of Spike & Lisa is going to make the final 4. That is so wrong!

9:02 – The Quickfire is at a place called Allen Brothers, where they will be butchering stuff. All the chefs put on comical gear & head in to a giant warehouse of meat. Time starts & the chefs all start struggling with the dry age meat. Spike seems to be doing well (dang it!) but everyone else seems to be having trouble.

9:05 – When time is up, the chefs pack up the meat & go back to the Top Chef kitchen, where apparently the challenge isn’t over. Padma is there with guest judge Rick Tramonto. Richard tells us Rick is known for new American food. The Quickfire challenge is to cook a perfect steak. Rick requests medium rare.

9:06 – Food frenzy. Spike explains how to cook a piece of meat medium rare & it actually makes sense, but he says it in such a smarmy, arrogant way, I still wish horrible failure on him. Antonia tells us how she bastes her steak in butter, which sounds delicious. Mmmm…steak.

9:09 – Tasting. Rick doesn’t have a whole lot to say. Mostly he just says “okay” after having each chef explain how they cooked their steak. Rick picks Stephanie & Richard as the least favorites, Lisa, Spike & Antonia as the favorites. Annoyingly, Spike wins again. Argh. Bno immunity, but he does get to make an “important decision” to make for the elimination challenge.

9:10 – The Elimination Challenge is to take over Rick’s new restaurant for a night. Each chef will do an appetizer and an entrée based of the ingredients already in the restaurant. As the winner, Spike gets to choose first again. But then, we saw how well that worked out to him last time. Padma says the restaurant is booked full…no pressure!

9:14 – Back in the apartment, everyone discusses how much it would suck to go home now. Spike thinks Stephanie is the strongest of the 3 girls left, which I would agree with, but he can’t decide if Antonia or Lisa is stronger, which is ridiculous because Antonia is CLEARLY stronger. I mean, it’s not even a question. Then again, I think I’d still rather have both of them than you, Spike.

9:16 – Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List returns. Ugh. Doesn’t D-List mean she’ll have to eventually go away & not show herself in public anymore? Can that happen sooner rather than later?

9:17 – In Rick’s kitchen, time starts, so Spike chooses his items. He takes the Tomahawk steaks that they used in the Quickfire and frozen scallops, which no one else seems to mind him taking.

9:20 – Spike discovers why no one wanted the scallops: they are wet & torn. Instead of abandoning them for something else though, he tries to salvage the situation by patting them down to dry them. Tom C comes in for consultations. He touches a nerve with Richard by saying his menu sounds a little basic. Red flag! He thinks Lisa’s peanut butter mashed potatoes sound “interesting.” I don’t, I think they sound disgusting.

9:24 – Tom C asks if Spike was disappointed with the scallops, which he was, but he tries to play down the problem. Tom calls for attention and tells the chefs that the judges will dine with 3 VIP guests and that he (Tom) will expedite the meal, which means he’ll coordinate service. Antonia is excited about this, but I don’t really know why. Sounds like an opportunity for Tom C is yell at them a lot.

9:29 – Again, the fact that they let Kathy Griffin host the Bravo A-List Award simply assures that I will not watch them.

9:30 – Richard tells us that everyone is on edge and we hear Lisa yell at someone to get out of their way. God, it’s so ironic how much she hated Dale. She’s like 14 times worse than he was. Tom C introduces the “VIP guests,” which turn out to be Harold, Ilan and Hung, the former season winners.

9:31 – Service begins. We see Tom C yelling back orders. Richard’s dish goes over well, but predictably, Spike’s scallops get attention for being “dehydrated.” Antonia does her poached egg salad again, which seems not to go over as well as it did in the Quickfire.

9:34 – Tom C repeatedly tells Richard he’s “killing him” for being slow plating. The judges like the dish, but not the construction. It seems like no one ever likes ultra-deconstruction, so I don’t know why people keep doing it. Spike’s Tomahawk goes out. Rick says, “um…it was okay.” Heh. I think I like Rick.

9:43 – Spike is thrilled to be in the backroom for the last time. Padma, who is rocking a really nice red dress, asks to see all of the chefs this time. For one of the chefs…the journey ends here. Tom C says Stephanie never looks nervous under pressure, but she does now. She says the judges are freaking her out. Heh. They love her sweetbreads. Rick wanted to hate Lisa’s mashed potatoes, but couldn’t. Antonia’s ribeye goes over well, but Spike’s scallops and steak don’t. The judges were surpised that he didn’t put the scallops back when he realized how bad they were. Spike—I seriously can’t believe this actually came out of his mouth—questions Rick for having them in his freezer in the first place. Rick is clearly a little pissed, but rationally points out that Spike didn’t have to use them. The chefs are dismissed. In the back, Spike can’t believe he said that either. Spike’s idiocracy surprises even himself.

9:46 – Judging. Gail was impressed with how they saw something new from the chefs today. Stephanie is clearly the best overall. Richard’s appetizer was the single best dish of the night. Gail thinks Antonia “cooks from the heart.” I bet it took the producers everything they had not to put in an image of her kid just then. The judges all agree that Spike was disappointing. Tom thinks Lisa is always kind of apathetic to what she’s doing. Her shrimp was the least favorite dish for a lot of the judges. They agree that it seems like Spike put a lot more work into his main course. Man. It doesn’t even matter to me, one of Spike or Lisa is going home & I’m happy. It doesn’t even really matter to me which one. Is there any way we can send them both? That would be the only way to make it sweeter.

9:54 – Tom’s self esteem destruction speech is preempted tonight for warm feelings. The chefs all hold hands as Rick announces Stephanie as the winner. She receives Rick’s new book & a new set of product placement kitchen appliances. In interview, Stephanie celebrates adorably. Richard and Antonia have the favorite single dishes of the night, so they are also both safe. The three of them, who along with Dale, were clearly the best chefs of the season, head off to the back to celebrate.

9:56 – Tom C tells Lisa & Spike they both kind of suck, as measured by the number of times they’ve been on the bottom, & one of them will be going home. Lisa stands with her familiar defensive stance & makes disgusted faces as Tom tells her there’s something missing from her cooking. Tom turns to Padma…Spike, please pack your knives & go!! YESSS!!

9:58 – I mean, in no way does Lisa deserve to be in the final 4. In fact, based off of Spike’s recent wins, you could say he probably deserved it more between the two of them. But like I said, there’s no losing tonight. Ciao, Spike! Auf Wiedersehen!

10:00 – Next time on Top Chef, welcome to Puerto Rico! The season finally, FINALLY comes to a close.

A few weeks ago I was in Chicago working with our Sunsweet client on a few localized events. One of events in particular, I must admit, ended up being more pleasure than work: dinner at TRU. We had a group of eight that included several of Chicago’s top nutritionists and foodies, so where else could we take them but the very best: Gale Gand and Rick Tramonto’s restaurant, TRU on North St. Clair Street in downtown Chicago.

We worked with the restaurant’s chefs a few weeks ahead to create a special menu that would showcase Sunsweet’s diverse line of dried fruit and juice products. Working in the food industry, “official recipe taster” has magically made its way onto my list of job duties; I guess sometimes fate works in our favor. Our four-course dinner was a true culinary experience and I can now join the unofficial, yet extremely loyal, TRU fan club.

We started off with poached chicken, red raisins, baby lettuce and pine nuts..

Second course was steamed fluke, mango sheet and jalapeno, with lemon-grass liquid gel.

For our entrée, I must admit that I had my doubts of how much I would enjoy pork belly. It’s a menu item that probably wouldn’t make it into my personal selection, but I’m glad it was on the group menu because it was fantastic. The presentation was fun as well: a group of servers surrounded the table and simultaneously poured a bright green sauce over each of our pork belly plates as the executive chef explained to our table that the pork had been cooking for three days. The results were a firm and very tasty plate of pork belly, prunes and watercress consommé.

To “prep” us for our dessert, the pastry chef surprised us with a small custard and dried blueberry plate topped with plum juice sauce and garnished with Pop Rocks. Yes, Pop Rocks from 1987, and yes they are still just as exciting, even at an ultra sheek restaurant.

For dessert we had a fresh plum juice gelatin topped with a ginger chamomile custard and PlumSweets (dark chocolate covered prunes).

They must know that this is the type of restaurant where you just don’t want dinner to end. Insert Mignardises, from the old French word mignard, meaning pretty or delicate, and is essentially an after-dessert dessert. Yes, that’s right, dessert part two. And when you’re at a restaurant like this, you find room.

From the food to the incredible wine pairings and extremely knowledgeable and engaged staff, this place is first class. Some places are all hype. TRU is truly not one of them.

By Christine Moravec

Actually, they’re more like late September links, but still…

• History of the Internet
  • ZERO SECONDE: Les 6 cultures d’Internet (par Martin Lessard)
    1. Military personnel (DARPA)
    2. Academics (universities, colleges)
    3. Programmers/Coders (Alpha Geeks)
    4. Virtual communities (BBS)
    5. Entrepreneurs (Web 1.0)
    6. “Web 2.0″ (bloggers, social networking, user-generated content…).
  • Of course, there’s a lot of overlap, some categories could be reshaped, and the term “culture” is applied somewhat loosely, but it’s an interesting perspective.
  • It’s hard for me not to think of the specific cultural turn there as it seems that the West Coast of the United States has had a tremendous impact through this history. Still have to read the article but some people are making connections between “geek culture” (linked to the third step above), specialty coffee (Peet’s, Starbucks), and the “craft beer revolution.” The thlot pickens.
• Celebrity Chefs, Culinary Philosophy, Personality
  • Rick Tramonto
  • Hungry Magazine #24: TRU Character
• NewAcademic Journals Online
  • Sociolinguistic Studies
  • Oral Tradition becomes eOT
• Now online, CMoS: The Chicago Manual of Style Online
  • As the printed manual is a bit bulky and costly, having an online version can be very useful.
• Academic Podcasting
  • Should start podcasting my lectures, next semester.
  • Academic Feeds
  • Using Moodle: New Podcasting module (login as guest)
  • Oncourse CL Podcasts
  • ProfCast – Features
  • Other approaches to online content
    • Yale to post courses on Web for free
• Editing structured texts
  • My Wandering Wiki: MultiMarkdown
  • From a simple email-like syntax to XHTML, LaTeX, PDF, RTF…
  • We really need a new approach to editing and “word processing.” XML is likely to be a key in this respect.
• Canadian Politics: Stéphane Dion
  • Stéphane Dion, candidat à la direction du PLC
  • My own personal opinion: he does seem to be on a “charm” campaign but his ideas sound like a rather rigid application of Leviathan instead of a principled take on direct democratic representation.
• Jane Elliott’s discrimination experiment (1968 through 2006)
  • Open Source » Blog Archive » Race, Class and Racism
  • La leçon de discrimination
    
  • Pascale Turbide et la discrimination
• Religious tolerance, atheism/secularism/agnosticism, multiculturalism, and peace
  • Thoughtful, level-headed, public discussion on these subjects could help.
  • Les institutions québécoises et les communautés culturelles
  • HEATHER MALLICK: Atheists don’t get it
  • Friendly Atheist » Canadians
  • the eBay atheist » Blog Archive » Video: Sam Harris Interview
  • The Blog | RJ Eskow: The Sad State of Atheism Today | The Huffington Post
  • The Blog | Sam Harris: Science Must Destroy Religion | The Huffington Post

Is that Disparate enough for you?