Google invests $300 million in SolarCity fund

SAN FRANCISCO — Renewable energy is hot with technology giants.
Google (GOOG)  has invested nearly half the funding for SolarCity’s new $750 million fund to finance about 25,000 residential solar projects.
SolarCity (SCTY) will use the money to put solar panels on homes. Homeowners pay a monthly fee to lease the panels from the company.
Google’s $300 million stake is its largest single backing yet of renewable energy investments.
The fund is the largest ever created for residential solar systems, according to SolarCity.
Apple said earlier this month it’s spending $848 million on a First Solar (FSLR) farm to power its operations in California.
This is the second time Google has made an investment with SolarCity.
In 2011, Google set up a $280 million fund which is backed by Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk.
SolarCity shares were up slightly to $52.63. Google shares rose nearly 2% to $553.09.

If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) By Drake

On February 12, 2015, Drake dropped this surprise mixtape/album to follow up his short film “Jungle”, released earlier that day. It is a precursor to Drake’s fourth album Views From The 6, set to drop later in 2015.
This album features common collaborators Lil Wayne and PARTYNEXTDOOR, but also introduces a new face to the world of the 6 God: Travi$ Scott.
It was also released with a thank you note, hand written by Drake himself.

If Average Moviewatchers Picked The Oscars

On February 17, 2015, HitFix published an article that asked an important question: what would happen if you let the moviegoers pick Oscar winners instead of the Academy? I felt it would be more interesting to put the power in the hands of everyone who watched movies and came up with my own list.

 Hitfix recently ran an article titled “The People’s Ballot: If Average Moviegoers Picked The Oscars” which I enjoyed. It drew attention to the growing disconnect between moviegoers and the Academy, focusing especially on the rise in artistic merit of superhero movies, popularity of comedies, and impact of the box office, all of which I agreed were valid points. Where I disagreed was in their claim that basing their picks off of box office stats would "settle the sometimes hostile rift between audiences and critics".

Times have changed. Not only has technology and mass media made it so that those who attend the theater no longer represent the moviegoing public, it means that "average" is way more impressive than it used to be. There certainly was a point in time where any movie that couldn't afford an impressive marketing campaign complete with Happy Meal toys would get swept under the rug for the film nerds to uncover, but that's not the case in 2015. You don’t need to keep your nose to the grindstone to google “Whiplash”, see that it has a 95 on Rotten Tomatoes, and check it out On Demand when you have 2 hours to kill. So, in keeping up with the times, I'm going to focus on the average movie watcher instead. This includes those who still go to the movies, those who buy it later On Demand or on iTunes, those who stream it on their laptop, and those that bought a Jerry Seinfeld bootleg on the street; all that matters is that they watched.

Best Director - Wes Anderson (HitFix pick: Clint Eastwood)Anderson would win this category because he’s popular and acclaimed enough for people to feel he’s overdue for the award, but not so popular that it stops being the “cool” pick. Combine this with his many perceived snubs in this category, how easy it is to identify a “Wes Anderson movie”, and the fact that The Grand Budapest Hotel truly is a well-executed and highly entertaining movie and we have a winner.

 

 

Best Picture - Interstellar (HitFix pick: American Sniper)

Escapism is still highly popular amongst average movie fans, and Interstellar is the only one that took us to another world in more than one sense. Already ranked in the top 25 of IMDB’s 250 greatest movies of all time despite its panned reception in most published syndicates, Interstellar’s claim to this category is bolstered by the number of angry fans that pointed to this snub as an example of why the Academy is not to be taken seriously. Add in the cinematography that even the strongest Interstellar bashers were stunned by, a recognizable cast, and the Dark Knight snub, and Interstellar seems the most obvious option on the Peoples Ballet.

Best Actor - Bradley Cooper (HitFix pick: Chris Pratt)

 
Hitfix recently ran an article titled “The People’s Ballot: If Average Moviegoers Picked The Oscars” which I enjoyed. It drew attention to the growing disconnect between moviegoers and the Academy, focusing especially on the rise in artistic merit of superhero movies, popularity of comedies, and impact of the box office, all of which I agreed were valid points. Where I disagreed was in their claim that basing their picks off of box office stats would "settle the sometimes hostile rift between audiences and critics".
Times have changed. Not only has technology and mass media made it so that those who attend the theater no longer represent the moviegoing public, it means that "average" is way more impressive than it used to be. There certainly was a point in time where any movie that couldn't afford an impressive marketing campaign complete with Happy Meal toys would get swept under the rug for the film nerds to uncover, but that's not the case in 2015. You don’t need to keep your nose to the grindstone to google “Whiplash”, see that it has a 95 on Rotten Tomatoes, and check it out On Demand when you have 2 hours to kill. So, in keeping up with the times, I'm going to focus on the average movie watcher instead. This includes those who still go to the movies, those who buy it later On Demand or on iTunes, those who stream it on their laptop, and those that bought a Jerry Seinfeld bootleg on the street; all that matters is that they watched.

Best Director - Wes Anderson (HitFix pick: Clint Eastwood)

Anderson would win this category because he’s popular and acclaimed enough for people to feel he’s overdue for the award, but not so popular that it stops being the “cool” pick. Combine this with his many perceived snubs in this category, how easy it is to identify a “Wes Anderson movie”, and the fact that The Grand Budapest Hotel truly is a well-executed and highly entertaining movie and we have a winner.

Best Picture - Interstellar (HitFix pick: American Sniper)

Escapism is still highly popular amongst average movie fans, and Interstellar is the only one that took us to another world in more than one sense. Already ranked in the top 25 of IMDB’s 250 greatest movies of all time despite its panned reception in most published syndicates, Interstellar’s claim to this category is bolstered by the number of angry fans that pointed to this snub as an example of why the Academy is not to be taken seriously. Add in the cinematography that even the strongest Interstellar bashers were stunned by, a recognizable cast, and the Dark Knight snub, and Interstellar seems the most obvious option on the Peoples Ballet.

Best Actor - Bradley Cooper (HitFix pick: Chris Pratt)

While it really is impossible to ignore the statement American Sniper made at the box office, it’s equally impossible to ignore the ensuing controversy that made AS too divisive in the eyes of an average viewer to take home Best Director or Best Picture. But the performances can be separated from the politics even if the movie can’t, and almost no one would argue that Cooper wasn’t captivating as the sniper Chris Kyle. From his spot on Texas accent to the pounds of muscle he put on for the role, Cooper came the closest of any actor to “becoming” their character. This, and the fact audiences love actors that put effort into transitioning from comedy to drama, makes Cooper a safe choice.
 

Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence

 This is the first category HitFix and I agree on, and it makes perfect sense. Jennifer Lawrence already has won a Best Actress Oscar and deserves to win more, so it stands to reason for people to expect her to win for her most prominent role. Lawrence is aided by the fact that outside of Rosamund Pike most of the Best Actress candidates acted in movies that most average fans actually did not see, so the cultural influence of The Hunger Games is enough to give her this category.

 

Best Supporting Actor - J.K. Simmons (HitFix pick: Dave Bautista)

This one was more difficult than the other categories considering most popular movies either had no viable options or had viable options drenched in make-up or covered up by CGI. This means that the two strongest options here are Edward Norton for Birdman or Simmons for Whiplash. What gives Simmons the edge, though, is that Norton's relatively limited screen time means that the audience has to be familiar with the meta elements involving an actor who is reportedly difficult to work with playing an actor who is difficult to work with to fully appreciate the performance. Simmons isn't a no-name, but you didn't have to know who he was to love Terence Fletcher. He was there from start to finish, dominated every scene, and was more important in making Whiplash what it was than many Best Actor candidates can even claim about their respective movies.

Best Supporting Actress - Emma Stone (HitFix pick: Jillian Bell)

Stone did so well opposite of veterans Edward Norton and Michael Keaton in Birdman that she actually has a decent chance at the real Supporting Actress Oscar. This means that her likability and strong past performances in fan favorites like Superbad and Easy A is more than enough to catapult her over the rest of the field -- especially considering Meryl Streep’s award wins/nominations are becoming a punchline more than anything.

Best Animated, Original Song - The LEGO Movie

This one doesn’t require as much explanation, as The LEGO Movie was considered by many to be the Academy’s biggest snub despite Best Animated Feature being a less prominent category, and “Everything Is Awesome” was both clever and infectious.

Best Costume Design, Makeup - Guardians of the Galaxy (HitFix pick: Maleficent)

Maleficent was a good choice, but if we’re really basing this list off of popular opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy would likely win simply on the virtue of being seen and loved by many more people.

---

Obviously neither of these lists are going to be perfect, as no one person can encapsulate the entire world’s preferences in one list. But I felt that the previous list unintentionally diminished the power of the people by focusing on the minority that still consistently go to the theater rather than the multitudes of non-critics that are watching more movies than ever before. And even if I’m wrong and misjudged or overestimated taste more than the previous list underestimated them, I’d still like to offer this up and get people talking about our exposure to media in the 21st century and how it relates to the notorious Academy.

-Nick Ferguson

TOP US 40

“Wolves” is the first track off Kanye’s to-be-named seventh solo album. The song debuted at his YEEZY SEASON 1 launch event on February 12, 2015. In “New Slaves” fashion, the debut was broadcast in fifty movie theatres across the globe. He also performed this song on the 40th Anniversary SNL Special, minus his verse due to losing his voice.
As a “victim to victory” themed song, “Wolves” explores a range of emotions — depression, addiction, suicide, fear, hope and love. Kanye and Sia had to reach their lowest of lows to get where they are today.
The songs title, and content alludes to the media as a “pack of wolves”. Kanye & Sia went into hiatus from the public eye while at their worst — Kanye found Kim in 2010 and Sia found herself circa 2009/10. Both artists shying away from the media until years later.
The “Wolves” imagery is further evident in Sia’s verse where she refers to “unseasoned meat” and “yellow eyes”.

Chicago rapper Vic Mensa thanked Kanye for the feature on Twitter. According to Fake Shore Drive, Vic most likely won’t be the only young Chicago artist to appear on the album.
On Feb. 20th, 2015, Kanye announced in an interview with The Breakfast Club that this song was inspired by a potential collab album with Drake, supposedly titled Wolves.

 
Drake released a short film titled Jungle on his OCTOBER’S VERY OWN blog. You can hear a snippet of this song at the end.
Jungle is the slang name for Lawrence Heights, a particularly rough neighborhood in Toronto.

An Open Letter To Mark Zuckerberg BY Dalton Caldwell

Dear Mark Zuckerberg
Mark,
On June 13, 2012, at 4:30 p.m., I attended a meeting at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, California. In addition to myself, the meeting was attended by executives at Facebook with the following titles: “VP, Engineering & Products”, “VP, Partnerships”,“VP, Corporate & Business Development”, and “Director, Developer Relations/Open Graph”.
As I understood at the time, the purpose of the meeting was for me to present/demonstrate a new iOS app & service I have been building on the Facebook Platform. Previously, I had been reassured by Facebook dev-relations employees that the service I was building was an interesting/ valuable use of Open Graph & Facebook Platform. I was hoping the outcome of this meeting would be executive-level support for my impending product launch.
The meeting took an odd turn when the individuals in the room explained that the product I was building was competitive with your recently-announced Facebook App Center product. Your executives explained to me that they would hate to have to compete with the “interesting product” I had built, and that since I am a “nice guy with a good reputation” that they wanted to acquire my company to help build App Center.
I quickly became skeptical and explained that I was not interested in an acqui-hire. I said that if Facebook wanted to have a serious conversation about acquiring my team and product, I would entertain the idea. Otherwise, I had zero interest in seeing my product shut down and joining Facebook. I told your team I would rather reboot my company than go down that route.
Strangely, your “platform developer relations” executive made no attempt to defend my position. Rather, he explained that he was recently given ownership of App Center, and that because of new ad units they were building, he was now responsible for over $1B/year in ad revenue. The execs in the room made clear that the success of my product would be an impediment to your ad revenue financial goals, and thus even offering me the chance to be acquired was a noble and kind move on their part.
I am not sure if this bubbled up to you, Mark, but after this all happened I directly communicated my feedback regarding just how unhappy I was with this situation to one of your executives. The executive apologized and said he would take my feedback under consideration.
Mark, I know for a fact that my experience was not an isolated incident. Several other startup founders & Facebook employees have told me that what I experienced was part of a systematic M&A “formula”. Your team doesn’t seem to understand that being “good negotiators” vs implying that you will destroy someone’s business built on your “open platform” are not the same thing. I know all about intimidation-based negotiation tactics: I experienced them for years while dealing with the music industry. Bad-faith negotiations are inexcusable, and I didn’t want to believe your company would stoop this low. My mistake.
In a lot of ways, I got what I deserved. I have come to the conclusion that I took this foolhardy risk because the Twitter “platform” was even more of a joke than the Facebook “platform”. As someone that wants to build quality social software, software that doesn’t force users to re-create their friends list, or not use oAuth, etc., I have to endure huge platform risk. Personally speaking, I am resolved to never write another line of code for rotten-to-the-core “platforms” like Facebook or Twitter. Lesson learned.
Mark, I don’t believe that the humans working at Facebook or Twitter want to do the wrong thing. The problem is, employees at Facebook and Twitter are watching your stock price fall, and that is causing them to freak out. Your company, and Twitter, have demonstrably proven that they are willing to screw with users and 3rd-party developer ecosystems, all in the name of ad-revenue. Once you start down the slippery-slope of messing with developers and users, I don’t have any confidence you will stop.
I believe that future social platforms will behave more like infrastructure, and less like media companies. I believe that a number of smaller, interoperable social platforms with a clear, sustainable business models will usurp you. These future companies will be valued at a small fraction of what Facebook and Twitter currently are. I think that is OK. Platforms are judged by the value generated by their ecosystem, not by the value the platforms directly capture.
I don’t think you or your employees are bad people. I just think you constructed a business that has financial motivations that are not in-line with users & developers. Even if my project isn’t the mechanism that instigates this change, the change will happen.
Mark, based on everything I know about you, I think you get all of this. It’s why you launched FB platform to begin with. Do remember how you used to always refer to Facebook as a “social utility”? That is an interesting term to use. I haven’t heard you use that terminology in a while. I can guess why.
Anyway, Mark, perhaps the public markets & your employees will give you the time and goodwill to fix the obvious structural flaws in your “platform” business. You are in a very challenging position right now. Good luck.
Respectfully,
Dalton Caldwell

The Great Dictator Speech BY Charlie Chaplin

In his first speaking role, Charlie Chaplin makes one of the most moving and thought-provoking speeches in cinematic history. The Great Dictator, a movie written, produced, directed, and starring Charlie Chaplin, premiered on October 15, 1940, while the United States was still promoting appeasement with Nazi Germany.
This speech is still prevalent in today’s culture due to its pathos-evoking delivery and powerful message. Snippets of it can be heard in many places if you listen closely.
Paolo Nutini’s song Iron Sky contains parts of the speech in the bridge, making the song very powerful.

[Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator]

I’m sorry
But I don't want to be an Emperor
That's not my business
I don't want to rule or conquer anyone
I should like to help everyone if possible
Jew, Gentile
Black man, White
We all want to help one another
Human beings are like that

We want to live by each other's happiness
Not by each other's misery
We don't want to hate and despise one another
In this world there’s room for everyone and the good earth is rich
And can provide for everyone

The way of life can be free and beautiful

But we have lost the way

Greed has poisoned men's souls
Has barricaded the world with hate
Has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want
Our knowledge has made us cynical
Our cleverness hard and unkind
We think too much, and feel too little
More than machinery, we need humanity
More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness
Without these qualities life will be violent
And all will be lost

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men
Cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all
Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world
Millions of despairing men, women, and little children
Victims of a system that makes men torture
And imprison innocent people
To those who can hear me I say
“Do not despair”

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed
The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The hate of men will pass
And dictators die
And the power they took from the people
Will return to the people
And so long as men die
Liberty will never perish

Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes
Men who despise you, enslave you
Who regiment your lives
Tell you what to do, what to think, and what to feel
Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men
Machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts
You are not machines
You are not cattle
You are men
You have the love of humanity in your hearts
You don't hate
Only the unloved hate
The unloved and the unnatural
Soldiers, don't fight for slavery
Fight for liberty

In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written
“The kingdom of God is within man”
Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men
In you, you the people

You the people have the power
The power to create machines
The power to create happiness
You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful
To make this life a wonderful adventure
Then in the name of democracy
Let us use that power
Let us all unite
Let us fight for a new world, a decent world
That will give men a chance to work
That will give youth a future
And old age a security

By the promise of these things brutes have risen to power
But they lie, they do not fulfill their promise
They never will
Dictators free themselves
But they enslave the people
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise
Let us fight to free the world
To do away with national barriers
Do away with greed
With hate and intolerance
Let us fight for a world of reason
A world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness

Soldiers! In the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Look up! Look up!
The clouds are lifting, the sun is breaking through
We are coming out of the darkness into the light
We are coming into a new world
A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality
The soul of man has been given wings, and at last, he is beginning to fly
He is flying into the rainbow, into the light of hope, into the future
That glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us
Look up. Look up.

Who Taught You to Hate Yourself ? BY Malcolm X

Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? To such extent you bleach, to get like the white man. Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet? Who taught you to hate your own kind? Who taught you to hate the race that you belong to so much so that you don't want to be around each other? No... Before you come asking Mr. Muhammad does he teach hate, you should ask yourself who taught you to hate being what God made you.
We don't steal, we don't gamble, we don't lie and we don't cheat. You can't get into a whiskey bottle without getting past a government seal. You can't buy a deck of cards without getting past a government seal. Here the white man makes the whiskey then puts you in jail for getting drunk. He sells you the cards and the dice and puts you in jail when he catches you using them.
The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman. And as Muslims, the honorable Elijah Muhammed teaches us to respect, our women, and to protect our women. And the only time a Muslim gets real violent, is when someone goes to molest his woman. We will kill you, for our women I'm making it plain yes, we will kill you for our women. We believe that if the white man, will do whatever its necessary, to see that his woman get respect and protection, then you and I will never be recognized as men. Until we stand up like men and pays the same penalty over the head of anyone, who puts his filthy hands out, to put it in a direction of our women.

 Description :

The Autobiography of Malcolm X describes Malcolm’s first twelve years of life, a time he remembers as a nightmare. Indeed, the main events of the chapter are all scenes from a nightmare: the Ku Klux Klan attack in Omaha; the burning of the family’s home in Lansing; the many fights of his parents and their harsh treatment of the children; the violent death of Malcolm’s father; the harassment of the family by welfare officials; the transfer of Malcolm to the custody of another family; and Mrs. Little’s breakdown and committal to the mental hospital.

Malcolm’s attitude toward the early part of his life is that it was an initiatory period, preparing him for the religious conversion which awaited him in prison. All the events of his life, his self-hatred and degradation, had been prepared by Allah to give him a proper sense of humility when he was finally saved.

Unreviewed Annotation 1 Contributor ?

He is making a reference to the fact that white people have been so ignorant to African Americans that even Africa Americans have begun hating them selfs for the way they were born.

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A Muslim Man Walked Around Milan For 5 Hours With A Quran. These Are The Reactions He Elicited

“Taliban!” one woman shouted as Hamdy Mahisen walked past her on a Milan street.
“Shit, have you seen the ISIS?” asked another passer-by.
Mahisen, a student of Egyptian descent, walked around Milan as part of a “social experiment” conducted by Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Wearing a traditional Islamic outfit and holding a Quran, Mahisen silently strode around the Italian city for five hours as the reactions his presence elicited were surreptitiously filmed.
As the video above shows, Mahisen drew distrustful stares and nasty comments from people on the street.
“Look, he’s got the Quran,” said one man, according to a La Repubblica translation. “Think if he’s got a gun under his tunic.”
Anti-Muslim sentiment is reportedly on the rise in Italy following the deadly extremist attacks in France and Denmark. The country is also currently on edge over the threat of an ISIS invasion via Libya.
Earlier this week, Jewish journalist Zvika Klein was recorded walking through Paris for 10 hours wearing a kippah, or yarmulke, to show what it’s like to be a Jew in the French capital.
“I got spit at, cursed and threatened,” Klein wrote on Twitter of the experience.

Is Apple Really Making A Car? Here's What We Know So Far

If Google can make a car, why not Apple?
While the iPhone maker has issued no official statements on a possible car -- and declined to comment to The Huffington Post -- reports have circulated in recent weeks that strongly suggest it's happening. Very strongly.
Let's take a look.
• A123 Systems, a company that makes electric car batteries, is suing Apple for poaching its employees.
• On Thursday, 9to5Mac, a well-known Apple news website, revealed what it said was a team of new hires at the Cupertino tech giant. Most have a strong automotive background, and several were engineers from Tesla Motors, the electric car company run by Elon Musk.
• The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple has "several hundred employees working secretly" on an electric vehicle. According to the Journal's sources, the project is codenamed "Titan" and looks like a minivan.
• Business Insider noted that the Apple Watch will be able to control Tesla cars. Though Apple didn't create the app that makes this possible, it's a hint at the potential ways Apple technology could work with other vehicles.
• Earlier in February, Patently Apple reported that the company was granted a patent for technology allowing iPhones to unlock and start a car.
• Last year, Apple launched CarPlay, an interface built into select cars that essentially shows your iPhone's screen on your vehicle's display.
• As Patently Apple noted, Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, met with Musk in 2013. Musk told Bloomberg in early 2014 that selling Tesla was "unlikely," though he wouldn't exactly say what was discussed in the meeting with Apple. When Bloomberg's Betty Liu asked how he would respond if Apple said it wanted to make electric cars, Musk replied, "I would say I think it's a great idea."
To be fair, reports and rumor are far from confirmation that Apple is working on a car. As WSJ pointed out in its article, the company often builds prototypes for products that are never released, and the components in an electric car could be incorporated into other gadgets.
In addition, Apple files many patents for innovations that ultimately aren't used in consumer products.
Still, it's not hard to believe the company is hoping to conquer the highways one day. Tech rivals like Google and Nokia already have a head start on that.
Before the engines start revving, though, Apple's got another launch on its plate: The Apple Watch hits stores this April.

Your Dream Oscars Party Menu Is Here

For the 87th Academy Awards, plain old crudité with some crackers and cheese just won’t do. If everybody else gets to look their best on Oscar night, so should our snacks. We dressed up our favorite party platters for the gala event. The following bites have been nominated for best snack performance in an edible picture:
Black Tie Crudité with Whipped Ricotta

Veg and dip are actually pretty easy to dress up. Instead of a rainbow of different crunchy vegetables, choose the fairest of them all. A mixture of white vegetables—like baby turnips, fennel, endive, and even pale green lettuce—makes an elegant presentation when cast alongside a strong supporting cast-member. Whipped ricotta is just about the easiest dip around (it’s good with chips or crackers, too). It’s especially striking when dusted with charred onion powder. We call it “The Tuxedo Effect.”
Lambs in a Blanket

We went with spicy merguez here, with a tangy cilantro dip to cut the heat. Think of these as an unexpectedly moving comedic performance.
Duck Confit Crostini with Pickled Cherries and Duck Cracklings

Angie’s doing it. J. Lo’s doing it. Go on, show a little leg. Here we employed our new favorite trick of crisping up duck skin for a savory garnish. Pickled cherries cut the richness of the duck mixture, and they’re also great tossed into leafy salads or with roasted vegetables, too (that’s why the recipes leaves you with a little extra). You’ll keep thinking about this performance long after you’ve left the theater.
Popcorn with Nutritional Yeast and Aleppo Pepper, Popcorn with Herb Salt, Popcorn with Dried-Shrimp Salt

What’s a movie night without popcorn? We’re a little obsessed with nutritional yeast right now, so we blitzed some up with Aleppo pepper and salt for that spicy-cheesy popcorn vibe. Try the herb salt with whatever herbs you have on hand, or the dried shrimp salt if you’re feeling adventurous. This is an addictive snack you’ll want to sneak in to the theater.
Apple and Fontina Grilled Cheese

You know how Meryl Streep is just good in everything? Always? This recipe is like that.
Deep-Fried Beets with Horseradish Dip

We love the idea of disguising something in an unexpected role. (Like putting Steve Carell in a prosthetic nose.) Instead of traditional cocktail meatballs we breaded and fried marinated beets for a surprising presentation, then served them alongside something rich and creamy. Like Channing Tatum.
Each of these snacks are honored simply to have been nominated in this category. They’d like to thank the Academy, their team, and the entire cast and crew for making this dream into a reality.