Two words, One unstoppable force: Pancake Puffs.

Watch this video, and see the future of gastronomy.

Highlights to watch for:
- The post-infusion ooze of an unnamed chocolate cream
- "No more pizza deliveries!"
- ILM-produced special effects to convey the even distribution of heat. My sources tell me this "red glow" effect was originally used for the Terminator's cybernetic eyes.
- The fairy dust sparkle sound when the pan's nonstick surface is wiped clean.

Buy one today! It's Pan-freaking-tastic.

"And on your right, an Olfactory..."

After a very patriotic day of consumerism, I walked back to the T station near Kendall/MIT. Then, it hit me: The unmistakable smell of Corn Muffin. I looked around. Was a homeless man holding out not the usual coffee mug or outstretched palm, but a crumby, warm, just-baked corn muffin slathered in honey? Had I snuck one into my pants, to eat later as a mid-day snack, and now my pockets were full of yellow bits? Were the very Green residents of Cambridge now using cornmeal as their alterna-fuel du jour? But no. I looked up, and saw this:

Billowing clouds poured from this building's smoke-stacks, giving the surrounding atmosphere an inescapable scent of Corn Muffin. Thank you, Industrial Revolution. If Marlboro could invent a tobacco with such euphoric fumes, I'd inhale a pack a day.

What Goes In...

I just stumbled upon a new type of degree, one that is, I suspect, even less practical than a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

The world's first Master in Fine Food and Beverage.

Hey, I'm all for expanding the palettes of the mainstream beyond high fructose corn syrup and cheezburgers. I think Top Chef is excellent television. The fondest eating experience I've had in my post-SpaghettiO days involved crispy calf brains and a Meyer Lemon souffle. (R.I.P. Portland, Maine's Bandol) And the idea of higher education finally supporting and preparing those interested in the pursuit of gastronomic greatness fills me with something not unlike the cream-filling in my step-mom's homemade cannolis: rich, sweet, and studded with chocolate chips. In short, happiness personified. So what's the problem?

Below, their online banner ad:

This is the first image of an animated GIF file. Unfortunately the rest of the images do not cycle through after uploading the picture. Here is the text that appears in the white space above:

"Come and see" ... "how tasty" ... "A Master in Management can be."

Then: "The world's first Master in Fine Food & Beverage"

The program is run through an Italian business school called SDA Bocconi. It begins in 2009, and runs for 12 months. Sorry, latecomers--The deadline for applying was June 30th, 2008. You'll have to wait until next year to learn how to prepare, cook and sell the very finest coils of moist poop.