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Winning Reviews from Our 2016 Student Contest

Libby Lee McDaniel, 17, reviews “No Country for Old Men” in one of 10 winning student reviews from our 2016 Review Contest.CreditRichard Foreman/Miramax

For the second year in a row, we challenged teenagers to go out and experience works of culture that were new to them and then write up their reactions and opinions for our Student Review Contest. Over 1,250 students submitted entries.

Students could choose any genre of creative work reviewed by The Times, so below you’ll find submissions on everything from “Lolita” to K-pop; Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” to Uber; “Luke Cage” to artisanal doughnuts.

Congratulations to our 10 winners, 24 runners-up and 28 honorable mentions, listed in alphabetical order below. You’ll find the winning reviews published beneath the list of names.

Please visit our 2016-17 content calendar to see what other contests we’re running this school year.

Abigail Brunn, age 17: “‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’: Tackling Bigger Monsters”

Maya Charlton, age 16: “Listening to The (Not So) Modern Lovers Forty Years Later”

Andrew Chung, age 16: “The ‘Wonder’ of Minimalism”

Gabriel Gonzalez, age 16: “432 Park Avenue — A Splinter in the Sky”

Morgan Hickman, age 17: “Lolita: Beauty Versus Crime”

Avery Kim, age 17: “Gimme Danger, Gimme Great Films: Both at the IFC”

Ruiyi Li, age 18: “‘Catch-22’: A War on Our Conscience”

Libby Lee McDaniel, age 17: “No Country for Old Men, or Anybody for That Matter.”

Ben Miller, age 16: “Cooking Mestizo”

Madeline Polkinghorn, age 17: “Book Review: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt”

Amelia Bertaska, age 17: “The Partly Cloudy Patriot”

BSArul, age 16: “Where History Ends Up: A Review of ‘At Home’”

Denise Camarillo, age 17: “A Taste of the Andes”

Ian Cameron, age 14: “Schindler’s List: Tension, Repulsion, Bitterness, and Pride”

Hannah Cho, age 14: “Frankenstein’s Message From 200 Years Ago”

Eve DeAmbra, age 17: “A Plant Grows in Brooklyn”

Matt Frattura, age 17: “A Film Review: ‘The Accountant’”

Alex Frendt, age 17: “Why ‘9’ Is Absolutely Worth Your Time”

Sophie Frieden, age 16: “Oppositional Enlightenment: A Review of Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘A Temporary Matter’”

Sarah Hanson, age 17: “Reflection in the ‘Black Mirror’”

Matt Kinloch, age 18: “‘Arrival’ Movie Review”

Alexander Leo, age 15: “Laziz Kitchen: An Oasis of Flavor in A City of Salt”

Tim Mikulski, age 17: “Naf Naf Grill Surprises With Simplicity”

Emma Miller, age 17: “Amanda Knox: A Social Critique”

Bela Omoeva, age 14: “‘The Stranger’: A Meditation on the Nature of Existence”

Nandi Ndoro, age 15: “Black Girl Lemonade”

Kate Patalino, age 16: “Uber Car Services”

Rose Paxon, age 14: “Green Day Started Their Career With a ‘Bang’ and Added Two More With Revolution Radio”

Charlotte Robbins, age 15: “Coloring Book Shows Chance’s Switch from Los Angeles-Style Partying to Louisiana-Style Praying”

Meg Schwartz, age 17: “‘The Hole’: A New York City Gem”

Randall Seder, age 17: “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World”

Khalil Siddeeq, age 14: “‘Luke Cage’ — A Hero for Hire”

Demetrios Ventouratos, age 17: “If You Yearn for Greek Food, E Taverna Is Your Place”

Ye Bin Won, age 17: “Hollywood’s Satan: The Surprising Depth and Creative Potential of FOX’s New Member”

Honorable Mentions

Will Armstrong, age 17: “Wind, Sand and Stars”

Jackie Ayers, age 15: “Black Pink in Your Area”

Eric Ballesteros, age 16: “Getting Groovy in the City Club”

Ishita Bhimavarapu, age 14: “Stranger Things: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi and Nostalgia”

Jean Cambareri, age 16: “Me and Your Mama Review”

Sydney Crawford, age 16: “Josey Records Leads Vinyl Revival”

Ally Crumb, age 16: “Kate McKinnon’s Hallelujah”

Catherine Dehaemers, age 17: “Sway, Swish, Splash: ‘The Dory’ by Edward Hopper”

Takanga Feimoefiafi, age 15: “Anderson Paak Review Through Malibu”

Naiem Gafar, age 17: “The High Line: Where Sustainability Embraces Rich History”

Marco Garcia, age 17: “‘We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service’: A Tribe Called Quest’s Final Chapter”

Lauren Ismert, age 17: “Cocktails and Breakfast: A Perfect Mix”

Moriana Jaco, age 16: “A Seat at the Grammys: Solange Knowles Sings Boldly in Her Triumphant Return”

Josh Karas, age 16: “‘Saint Pablo’ Review”

Ridhi Shashi Kumar, age 16: “‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’: Probably More Useful Than We Thought”

Milton Joonhee Lee, age 16: “Oden Restaurant: Value in Authenticity”

Brianna McAvey, age 14: “Addicted to ‘Go Ask Alice’”

Sabina Mehdi, age 19: “TILT’s Enchanted Promenade: The Streetlights of Wonderland”

Neve Polavarapu, age 17: “‘Sweet/Vicious’ TV Show Review”

Skye Richmond, age 16: “To Crutch or To Not Crutch, That Is The Question”

Paige Ritter, age 17: “Interview With a Serial Killer”

Ava Rossides, age 15: “A Heroine Soars From the Steppes”

Sadia Saba, age 17: “Gantry Plaza State Park”

Erin Schultz, age 16: “Sigur Rós’s Real-Life Soundscapes”

Julia Therrien, age 14: “‘The Other Wes Moore’ Will Leave The Readers With a New Life Perspective”

Tucker Tull, age 18: “Skyrim Special Edition Review”

Sydney Ward, age 15: “‘Flowers for Algernon’ Book Review”

Sophie Zimbler, age 15: “‘Black Mirror’: A Terrifying Look Into What Could Be Our Future”

Our 10 Winning Reviews

Abigail Brunn, 17, reviews “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” in one of 10 winning student reviews from our 2016 Review Contest.CreditWarner Bros. Pictures

Abigail Brunn: “‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’: Tackling Bigger Monsters”

In a magical world of shapeshifting snakes and pilfering platypi, could humanity pose the greatest threat? For indisputable philanthropist and quintessential Hufflepuff, Newt Scamander, the theory seems all too plausible. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” transports devoted fans and muggles alike into a new realm of witchcraft and wizardry. A story of preserving wildlife, challenging governmental influence, and embracing individuality, the fantastic film seems to have an unexpectedly realistic edge.

Set in 1920s New York City, “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” creates a magic of its own. Bustling streets, towering skyscrapers, and mustard-topped hot dogs immerse viewers into the uncharted universe of early 20th century America. J.K. Rowling, the reason for Harry Potter’s existence and sole screenwriter for the film, adds her own twist — the unlikely protagonist himself, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). Scamander, joined by comical no-maj, or non-magical person, Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and ambitious witch, Tina (Katherine Waterston), travels throughout the city, from Macy’s Department Store to goblin-owned speakeasies. But there’s a catch: Scamander, avid lover of all fantastic beasts, has brought some creatures along in his suitcase. They, too, have decided to explore the city — on their own.

Scamander’s subsequent journey is not only one of recovering creatures; it is one of discovering himself. Like a selfless and loyal Hufflepuff, Scamander fights to defend his beasts from “millions of the most vicious creatures on the planet — humans.” He defies orders from an oppressive government — Rowling’s version of Potter’s Ministry of Magic, the Magical Congress of the United States of America — to protest the state of creature rights. He mentors a young wizard, freeing him from suppression and the puritanical grasp of an anti-wizardry organization, the Second Salem Preservation Society. He exposes the man whose bleached blonde mohawk and infamous name appear on every magical newspaper throughout the wizarding world.

The beauty of the film is not found in Rowling’s shy protagonist or his boy-next-door British charm. Nor is it found in the brilliant cinematography behind window-shopping monkeys and Arizona-bound dragons. It is found in Scamander’s attempts to save his creatures and friends from the world’s most terrible beasts — humans. With the help of an otherworldly cast and captivating story line, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” transforms a fantastic tale into a modern social statement. No magic needed.

Maya Charlton: “Listening to The (Not So) Modern Lovers Forty Years Later”

I’m not sure when exactly, but at some point — and, of course, I’m making overdramatic generalizations here — alternative rock music turned into bearded white guys singing in falsettos about the true meaning of life or love or whatever over wishy-washy Charlie Brown-style drumming. Honestly, I’m tired of pretending I like Bon Iver so record-store hipsters think I’m sensitive and thoughtful. To me, nothing is more grating than a band that takes itself too seriously. Thank God, The Modern Lovers are not that kind of band. Their eponymous debut and final album is at times ecstatic and raucous, at times melancholy, lonely and oddly retrospective for a band with the word “modern” in their name.

With mainly irreverent, but at the same time strangely relatable, lyrics and consistently good beats (shout out to drummer David Robinson, who went on to join The Cars!), “The Modern Lovers” is an album for being young and driving to nowhere in particular at 2 a.m. It’s the rare album that is an ode to every aspect of life. It has songs like “Roadrunner” that make you sing along at the top of your lungs and do awkward Hillary shoulder shimmies while try to keep your hands on the steering wheel (“Roadrunner, roadrunner/going faster miles an hour”). It has songs like “Hospital” that make you tear up to when there’s no other car on the road and you start thinking about people you really shouldn’t bother thinking about (“I go to bakeries all day long/there’s a lack of sweetness in my life”). It has songs like “Pablo Picasso” that make you laugh and roll your eyes (“some people try to pick up girls/and get called ***holes/this never happened to Pablo Picasso”).

However, I suspect “The Modern Lovers,” much like “The Catcher in the Rye,” emotionally resonates the most when you’re between the ages of 15 and 25. Jonathan Richman, the lead singer, guitarist and sole songwriter of the band, was 21 when most of the songs on the album were recorded, and he doesn’t bother pretending to be any older, wiser or more grandiose than a 21-year-old. The album proudly wears its immaturity on its sleeve with drunkenly hiccuping lyrics like “tonight I’m all alone in my room/I’ll go insane if you won’t/sleep with me I’ll still be with you/I’m gonna meet you on the astral plane”. The Modern Lovers don’t try to be sophisticated or even serious, but they do try to be as honest as possible. That’s the best part about this album. It’s raw, vivid, precise, wry, and has managed to avoid almost all clichés (except on the track “Girlfriend” because Richman thought misspelling “G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N” was clever).

Andrew Chung: “The ‘Wonder’ of Minimalism”

South Korean artist Crush’s latest album “Wonderlust” comes across as a pleasant surprise to fans of the 24-year-old R&B wunderkind. The minimalism of “Wonderlust” contrasts directly with the rich instrumentation showcased in his last EP “Interlude” and allows Crush to come into his own as a strong writer and vocalist. The album is also a breath of fresh air in a somewhat shallow K-pop music industry that mainly prioritizes catchiness. The ubiquity of consumer-oriented music in this market allows artistic visionaries like Crush to shine brighter in every project, and “Wonderlust” is no exception.

“Wonderlust” captures a spare, yet nuanced sound that effortlessly evokes the wistfulness of autumn. “Shall we leave this stuffy city,” Crush suggests in the highly economical intro track “Wanderlust.” Without much else said, he entices the listener to take him up on his offer. Fortunately, Crush stands by his word — he seamlessly interweaves a highly minimalistic sound with deep yet simple emotions from times past, leaving all the stuffiness and complexities of the present in the dust.

The overall texture is thin to the point where one might claim that his minimalism skirts lazy production under the guise of art. However, Crush shatters all such impressions upon close inspection, as all five tracks on the album are laced with sheer sensitivity. “2411” is the love child of lyrical precision and purposeful instrumentation, arousing vivid images of Crush’s past as a no-name singer who resolved to “never give up.../ in bus 2411, [his] only shelter.” The third track “Nostalgia,” characterized by a soothing yet painfully restrained vocal line, evokes a pang of reminiscence without explicitly referencing the past. The guitar emotively rolls jazzy chords to produce a yearning vocal quality, reaching the heights of wistfulness every time it follows the melody line. The title song “Fall” follows with straightforward lyrics and seasonal metaphors (“My reality is a cruel fall without you / I still can’t forget”) in a longing message dedicated to a past love. “How’s by you?” he then gently asks, establishing a bond of sympathy with listeners who have most likely asked the same question at one point or another in their lives. The finale “Like My Father” is the apotheosis of both emotional sensitivity and minimalism, as Crush engages in personal dialogue with his father and yearns to “remain in [his] younger days” in a touching duet between falsetto and piano.

The acoustic-ballad-themed “Wonderlust” greatly deviates from the “trendy” alternative R&B sound that dominates Crush’s past albums. There’s nothing fancy to it — the overarching narrative, the production, the vocal techniques, everything. Then again, aren’t our emotions, however strong, simple as well? Crush realizes this very truth in “Wonderlust,” masterfully relating to his audience through overwhelming simplicity and sensitivity — and to do just that, sometimes 13 minutes and 37 seconds is all it takes.

Gabriel Gonzalez: “432 Park Avenue — A Splinter in the Sky”

The residential tower at 432 Park Avenue has 96 stories.CreditSeth Wenig/Associated Press

The New York skyline has undergone many changes in the 400 years since being settled by Dutch colonists. The dynamic skyline has represented the evolution of this world city, the changing architecture serving as the city’s vertical strata that document the different historical periods the city has lived through. However, a recent trend of residential skyscrapers has begun to transform the skyline in a completely different way, chief among them being the one at 432 Park Avenue.

Instead of the graceful Art Deco forms of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, or the gleaming modernism of One World Trade Center, we are presented with a blocky cage, a contemporary take on Mies van der Rohe and 1950s functionalist/international style architecture. The structure itself is composed of glass and steel, and is the tallest residential skyscraper in New York City, with the tallest roof height of any building in the City. 432 Park Avenue has a 19:1 height-to-width ratio, making it one of the most slender skyscrapers in Manhattan. The unconventional width of the building makes it appear as an intruder, invading photos of the beloved New York skyline.

Towering over established landmarks, it impudently demands attention, claiming its height as a verification of superiority. However, it doesn’t take much digging to reveal that the skyscraper’s design was inspired by nothing other than a trash can. Yep, that’s right. New York City has its very own trash can in its skyline. The can in question was designed by Josef Hoffman, and sports the same blocky, square design of the tower — without all the glass. Instead of using rectangular windows, or a tower cloaked in glass, the architect decided to go with square windows that look out of place on the slim tower, and make it appear as if it were composed of gray Lego bricks. The choice of square windows makes the building appear squat, giving passer-by a confusing image of an anorexic giant that seems uncomfortably compressed.

It seems that the Architect was afraid that narrower, vertical, rectangular windows would draw the eye upward and make the tower seem too tall to fit in with the surrounding landscape, but he made the tower so tall that any window configuration would have this effect. It might have been better to cloak the entire building in reflective glass. That way, it would mirror the sky above and the buildings around it, and would camouflage its abnormal dimensions with its surroundings. As this building is the first completed one in a slew of supertall residential towers under construction, it draws alarm to the future of the iconic New York skyline.

Morgan Hickman: “Lolita: Beauty Versus Crime”

I had been wanting to read “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov for quite some time, and often found myself picking it up gingerly along the fiction aisle at Barnes & Noble, spreading my hand over the racy cover while flipping through the pages before letting it nestle back on its spot among the shelves. Knowing the controversy surrounding it, the book itself became this center of mystery to me and formed this reputation in my mind as the forbidden fruit of literature. Beckoning me with its provocative pages and promise of unrequited love, curiosity finally got a hold of me and I found myself up at the register, clutching the novel bashfully to my chest.

On the first page I experienced syrupy-sweet poetry, a siren song for a lost love — “light of my life, fire of my loins” — I became a part of Humbert’s seemingly innocent desire — lost in a eulogy of ashen lust. Then, as the story progressed, what simple sweetness that had emerged on the early pages, soon turned dark as I realized Humbert’s rather alarming past. Confused as to where his own illegal desires come from, he contributes it back to his sexual awakening in his childhood, involving a girl who died shortly after their acquaintance. This view darkens further as the reader discovers just how Humbert spends his time: stalking children in the park, engaging in sexual acts with young prostitutes, and even acquiring a wife in which he abuses verbally and physically.

I found the perception of the story that I previously held was completely false — revering a plot which follows a man with a demented mind-set that allows him to perform illegal acts on behalf of his unavoidable desires for “nymphettes” — labeling him as a pedophile and criminal. These desires run his life, meaning everything he does in the novel, every move and waking breath, is performed to reach his goal of satisfying his own lust.

Even as I am writing this, I am finding it hard to admit what Humbert had done, to call it like it really was — I found myself torn between the poetic phrases in the novel, and this sickening plot. But I think this perfectly explains what Nabokov wanted to portray — a broken man, with his incredibly abusive tendencies but also this overwhelming desire in which he seems to have little control over. One realizes when reading, that the desire expressed for Lolita on the first page was driven by his pedophillic tendencies, but made stronger by his loss of her — and the loss of her innocence toward the end of the book, focusing only on the absence of her from his life — instead of what caused the absence itself.

Avery Kim: “Gimme Danger, Gimme Great Films: Both at the IFC”

Hipsters, college kids and seasoned New Yorkers huddle nightly outside of Manhattan’s IFC Center, an independent cinema, located on Avenue of the Americas near West 3rd Street. A retro-style black and red marquee resides above the single box office. “Now Showing” posters line the IFC Center’s exterior and exhibit the eclectic assortment of international, experimental, documentary and classic films shown at the iconic Greenwich Village theater.

Once a Dutch Reform Church in 1831, later a second-run film house known as the Waverly Theater in 1937, the IFC Center was birthed in 2005 with a screening of “Me and You and Everyone We Know.” Though modernized and commercialized, the community feel of the multiplex thrives. Cinephiles from all walks of life continue to come together and admire the art of the moving image.

On a cold November evening, a diverse crowd waited in line at the box office. I stood in the queue, the illuminated Empire State Building glistening from a distance in my peripherals, amused by a handwritten sign in the IFC’s window proclaiming “[their] shirts go to 11!” (alluding to Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap”). Craving a rockumentary, I purchased a ticket to “Gimme Danger.”

The aroma of cigarettes from the street dominated until I opened the theater’s door — a total immersion into buttery, fresh, hot popcorn. After handing an usher my ticket for entry, my body involuntarily waltzed over to the snack stand.

Despite the IFC’s expansive menu, adorned with organic popcorn, hot teas, Jacque Torres chocolate treats, Melt ice cream sandwiches, and Popsicles from a local favorite, Popbar, I opted for traditional Sour Patch Kids.

The concession vendor was quaint, but kitschy and trendy, nonetheless. A vintage popcorn maker sat behind the clerk, featuring golden kernels exploding on-site.

Theater 3, where “Gimme Danger” screened, was smaller than average, but allowed for a more intimate experience. The leather seats that stippled the theater were plush, buoyant, wide and cloudlike.

The lights dimmed and an IFC-sponsored message enveloped the screen: “No texting, no smoking, no talking,” it started; “No clowns,” it continued with other quirky choices; “No bad movies,” it ended.

Trailers followed. No two genres were alike.

Finally, Iggy and The Stooges appeared on screen, and I knew that “Gimme Danger” had begun.

The film, being a cinematographically inspiring Jarmusch documentary, I would definitely recommend. I would also encourage others to take a journey to the IFC, pick a movie from the carefully curated collection, and appreciate it or hate it or have some reaction to it.

Accessible by trains to West 4th or Christopher Street, heterogeneity is the norm; the IFC Center is in the soul of Greenwich Village, one of Manhattan’s last cultural hubs. It reels in people of all backgrounds and hones in on inclusivity with all-gender bathrooms.

Ruiyi Li: “‘Catch-22’: A War on Our Conscience”

Set on the small fictional island of Pianosa, where the 256th squadron is stationed, “Catch-22”, a gloomy, comic, preposterous World War II novel written by Joseph Heller 55 years ago, confronts us with chaos and asks us to overcome it each in our own way.

Captain Yossarian, a cynical, young bombardier, has no problem being an antihero. With his goal of “living forever or die in the attempt,” he actively engages himself in efforts to get grounded or sent to hospital, but Catch-22, the imaginary rule of the 256th Squadron, the omnipresent double bind, always stops him at the last minute. If he is crazy, rule Catch-22 states, he does not have to fly more missions; but if he applies not to fly missions, he is not crazy. “That’s some catch, that Catch-22.” Even Yossarian respects its ingenuity.

Following Yossarian’s grotesque journey out of the war, I find myself frequently confused and challenged by Heller’s sharp, quizzical comments.

“Anything worth living for is worth dying for,” Nately says.

“Anything worth dying for is worth living for,” the old man from the brothel says.

Conversations like these tear open my preconceived ideals of justice and crime, bravery and cowardice, love and hate, and make me think more than twice about what’s right and what’s wrong.

The characters, too, seem to be the embodiment of conflicting qualities. Milo, the considerate, affectionate mess officer, ruthlessly accumulates wealth for his syndicate under the mask of patriotism. Orr, a small, simple-minded pilot, has a disastrous record of plane crashes, which turn out to be practice for his final escape. Is he good? Is he evil? Is he crazy? Is he not? Even the simplest questions have no simple answer for these men and women living in the upside-down world so close to our own.

By throwing us into a chaotic ocean of confusion and uncertainty, “Catch-22” helps us learn to swim in it. It also inspires me to see the world beneath its appearance, where the real-life Catch-22s exist. As a Chinese in America, do I stay in my own culture or try to integrate into another that I may never fully understand? Do we choose to be disheartened by the thorny problems of contemporary society or pretend to have solved them by moving up the “satin-ribbon bombing line” on the map? After witnessing the war’s mercilessness and struggling through internal conflicts, Yossarian is firmer than ever in his will to survive. After experiencing “Catch-22,” literary or real, we are called to strengthen our own character by trying to answer the hardest questions and making the toughest choices.

Watch out! Catch-22 is always there to mess with your best-laid plans.

Libby Lee McDaniel: “No Country for Old Men, or Anybody for That Matter.”

What do you do when you’ve stolen millions of dollars and are being chased by a serial killer who wants that money? You run. In the film “No Country for Old Men,” this is exactly what Llewelyn Moss does. Set in 1980s Texas, Moss stumbles across a drug deal gone wrong while on a hunting trip. Among the carnage, Llewelyn finds a briefcase full of cash. Of course Llewelyn takes the money, but this does not end his story.

Adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s novel, the Coen brothers come together to create a spectacularly original film. Loaded with talented actors, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Kelly MacDonald being a few, this movie is a cinematic masterpiece. Suspenseful, violent and poetic, “No Country for Old Men” poses the question of morality itself. The movie seems to transform itself from being singularly a “chase” movie into something that is bigger than itself: a social commentary on the nature of violence.

The film opens with a monologue from our main protagonist, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Scruffy, smart, intuitive, and on the chase after Moss and Chigurh, this sheriff stands as a symbol in the film’s major theme. Jones is so fitting to this character; it is hard to believe he is not actually a sheriff. Not to anyone’s surprise, Jones’s acting is impeccable in “No Country for Old Men.”

In “No Country for Old Men,” Moss is simply a character in the wrong place at the wrong time. Little does he know that stealing the money found would cause him to be chased by the merciless Anton Chigurh. Josh Brolin plays the simple cowboy role perfectly. Although simple, Brolin brings out the cunning in this cowboy. His wife, Carla Jean, is played by Kelly MacDonald. MacDonald depicts Carla Jean flawlessly as well, as a strong, faithful, stubborn woman.

A psychopathic, serial killer takes form in the character Anton Chigurh. Played by Javier Bardem, Chigurh’s character doesn’t believe in rules, but only in fate. With his twisted principles, Chigurh is willing to bargain your life with a flip of a coin. Bardem achieves this astonishing depiction of Chigurh with a dreadful haircut, a captive bolt pistol, and a mysterious persona. Chigurh, being the antagonist, is an awesomely terrifying creature.

A seemingly cat-and-mouse movie, in which the cat and mice never truly meet one another, “No Country for Old Men” is an epic tale. What makes this film so great is that it never outright makes a comment on morality, or violence, or any of the underlying themes of the film. It is up to the audience to decipher its meaning, and that may be different to each viewer. Without a doubt this film is clever, original, and deserves recognition for its beauty.

Ben Miller: “Cooking Mestizo”

Sometimes the name says it all.

Painted eight feet high on the back wall of Silver Spring, Maryland’s La Malinche is the restaurant’s namesake, a beautiful Nahua princess who aided the Spanish in their conquest of the Aztec Empire. Though lauded by history as the conjoiner of Spanish and Amerindian culture, La Malinche is reviled by many Latin Americans, denounced as a traitor who abetted the oppression and extermination of their ancestors. But within the confines of this tapas spot, past troubles are pushed aside in favor of small plates which effortlessly fuse Hispanic cuisine of the old and new worlds.

Founded by three brothers in November 2012, La Malinche impresses from first glance. Its warm color scheme and heavily decorated walls evoke the rich, historic spirit of Seville, from which tapas originate. Simultaneously, the restaurant’s décor, showcasing Central American art and imagery, reminds guests of the equally forceful presence of the new world in Hispanic culture.

La Malinche’s bicultural ambience perfectly prefaces its tapas. Given the restaurant’s diverse menu of meats, vegetables, and seafood, it is almost imperative to try it all. Luckily, La Malinche offers a $20 all-you-can-eat lunch special, offering an affordable means of sampling all the restaurant has to offer.

While La Malinche offers capable renditions of both Spanish classics, including pan catalana and tortilla española, and Latin standbys, like fried yuca and empanadas, the restaurant truly shines when blending both cuisines. The highlight of the menu is carne asada, grilled skirt steak topped with guacamole, onions and green peppers. The cilantro and coriander of the guacamole complement the traditional Spanish seasoning of the steak, creating a complex, layered taste which mandates a second helping. Likewise, the patatas bravas, fried wedged potatoes, are elevated through a distinctly Mexican chipotle aioli, which adds nuance to the typically crispy but bland Spanish dish. Other standout plates include the Mejillnoes al Vapór, steamed lemongrass mussels with a fresh Mediterranean flair, and the grilled asparagus spears, which are seared to a light char and smothered in salt and olive oil.

For all its success, certain menu options fall flat. The albondigas, traditional Spanish meatballs, are dry and over-seasoned, creating a musty taste. Similarly, the chorizo and pico de gallo are plainly underwhelming. Beyond the food, La Malinche appears chronically understaffed, leading to forgotten orders and habitually empty glasses.

Despite the hiccups, La Malinche offers an enjoyable culinary experience. By the time dessert (warm churros and buoyant caramel flan) is complete, a diner will have partaken in a unique cross-cultural dining experience. As the restaurant’s name promises, La Malinche presents an enjoyable blend of Spanish and Latin culture, though one decidedly less violent and controversial than its titular historical precedent.

Madeline Polkinghorn: “Book Review: ‘Angela’s Ashes’ by Frank McCourt”

There are certain books that conjure up a world in which the reader becomes so invested the final page feels like a tearful goodbye. Frank McCourt’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, “Angela’s Ashes,” is one of those extraordinarily rare instances of literature.

Born in New York but raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland, McCourt lived a childhood of near constant hunger, disease and unimaginably abject poverty. The desperate financial and political condition of post-Civil War, early 20th-century Ireland serves as the story’s main cultural backdrop. Malachy Sr., the McCourts’ father and a barely functioning alcoholic cursed with a Northern Irish accent, would often spend the entirety of the family’s welfare checks at local pubs. This left Angela, the family’s matriarch, to fend for herself; resorting to charity organizations and outright begging to support her children.

Thematically, “Angela’s Ashes” tackles vast ideas like religion and poverty with a sense of immense ease and, in some cases, profound hope. The reader gets to witness a vivid, gradual chronicle of McCourt’s religious evolution and relationship with the Catholic Church, which serves as a metaphor for McCourt’s ultimate coming-of-age and progression into maturity. The Church, an entity initially idolized by McCourt, ultimately serves to be a disappointing institution of exclusivity and disappointment. The starving McCourt family is frequently turned away by the Jesuits, who live in luxury and comfort despite their ostensible spiritual glorification of poverty. At one particularly heartbreaking moment, wherein McCourt is literally shoved out of the door by a brother, Angela proclaims to her son that he is to “never let anybody slam the door in your face again.”

This idea of Frank resisting the limitations and prejudices that surrounded his impoverished upbringing is traced throughout the memoir by slowly accounting McCourt’s endlessly painful road to immigrating to America. McCourt reiterates the importance of education and intellectual fulfillment regardless of one’s circumstances, remarking that “you might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”

The mastery in “Angela’s Ashes” lies in McCourt’s ability to make the tragic comedic, the unrelatable accessible. Without this, the story would lose its ingenious complexity of emotion and read like a series of obituaries; unmitigatedly depressing and impossible to comfortably digest.

Instead, McCourt manages to adroitly counteract the inexplicably miserable condition of his life with wit and approachable candor. This wit is not forced; McCourt never denies the heartbreaking nature of his childhood. It is seamlessly and subtly weaved throughout the fabric of the story, transcending the rigid barriers of genre. It is neither tragedy nor comedy, nor even tragicomedy; it simply is. This brilliant, jolly rendition of sadness is perhaps illustrative of the perpetual, historical condition of the Irish: downtrodden, hopeless, and dejected, but always to tell a joke and share a pint.

Judges: Amanda Christy Brown, Caroline Crosson Gilpin, Michael Gonchar, Shira Katz, Katherine Schulten and Kate Spence-Ado.


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What’s the Insurance Capital Without Aetna? Hartford May Find Out

Hartford has long been known as the world’s insurance capital. Aetna was founded there more than 150 years ago.CreditJessica Hill for The New York Times

HARTFORD — Very little is going right for this once proud New England capital.

Hartford’s finances are such a shambles that it is on the verge of bankruptcy. In a city already plagued by violence, murders are on the rise this year. Even the minor league baseball stadium, which opened to much fanfare two months ago, is the subject of an F.B.I. investigation over its hefty price tag.

Now comes the latest and perhaps most painful blow: Aetna, the insurance giant, announced last month that it was planning to move its headquarters out of the city it has called home since it was founded more than 150 years ago.

State and city leaders have spent months pleading with the company to stay. Aetna was negotiating with several states for a location of its new headquarters and hoped to have a decision by early summer.

Aetna helped elevate Hartford to international recognition as the world’s insurance capital. Word that it may be packing boxes shows how far the city’s fortunes have fallen.

“In some ways, of all the companies that could move their headquarters out of the state, symbolically this may be the most painful,” said Walter Woodward, Connecticut’s historian and an associate professor at the University of Connecticut. “This is not just a corporate loss. It’s a cultural loss.”

Hartford was once so intertwined with insurance that even Mark Twain, its most famous resident, not only celebrated the city’s lifeblood, but also was a director of the Hartford Accident Insurance Company. In a speech to the a group of insurers in Hartford, which included executives from 10 companies, Twain spoke of Hartford as “a city whose fame as an insurance center has extended to all lands.”

Mayor Luke Bronin has cut Hartford’s payroll and negotiated additional savings with labor unions since he took office last year but said there were limits to such actions.CreditJessica Hill for The New York Times

But that reputation has been disappearing for decades as insurance companies have shrunk, consolidated or moved to the suburbs or bigger cities. The number of people who work in the insurance industry in the metropolitan area has plummeted to 37,000 in 2017 from more than 60,000 in 1990, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the early 1980s, more than three dozen insurance companies had their home offices in the Hartford area. Now, other than Aetna, The Hartford is the only major insurer based in the city.

Aetna’s history is deeply linked with the state: Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, a son of Aetna’s founder, served several terms as Hartford’s mayor before he was elected governor of Connecticut. Throughout his political career, he remained president of the insurance company.

The company does plan to keep most of its approximately 6,000 Connecticut employees in the state. And it will keep the colonial revival office building it owns downtown, which was known for its amenities, including squash and handball courts, bowling alleys, and a state-of-the-art cafeteria.

While Connecticut is home to some of the nation’s wealthiest suburbs, its cities have struggled. Hartford faces a potential bankruptcy filing if it is unable to secure assistance from the state. The city’s median household income is $30,000, less than half the state’s, and many of its neighborhoods are plagued by poverty, drugs and gun violence. Murders have ticked up this year after a drop in 2016.

The mayor, Luke Bronin, has cut the city’s payroll and negotiated additional savings with labor unions since he took office last year, but he said that “there is a limit to how much you can tax an overtaxed city and how much you can cut an underserved city.”

Aetna said it was negotiating with several states for a location of its new headquarters and hoped to have a decision by early summer.CreditJessica Hill for The New York Times

Moody’s downgraded Hartford’s credit rating to junk status last fall, and said it was considering another reduction. A significant factor will be how much additional aid the state will give to Hartford, but state lawmakers have struggled to pass their own budget amid soaring pension payments and declining tax revenue.

Without help from the state, Hartford will have “a hard time paying what they need to pay,” said Leonard Jones, head of local government ratings for Moody’s. “Their wiggle room is bare.”

Aetna’s announcement underscored how Hartford’s deep-seated problems contribute to another: The midsize city finds itself struggling to maintain appeal for young professionals lured by the pull of larger and more dynamic cities.

“Hartford is not ever going to be New York or Boston,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, said in a statement in response to the company’s potential move.

Mr. Malloy, who has written two letters to Aetna lobbying it not to leave Hartford, said he had repeatedly made clear how much the company meant to the state and was willing to match any incentives offered by another state.

“It is my own opinion that this has more to do with their desire to have executive leadership operate in a larger, more vibrant urban center than Connecticut can currently offer,” the governor has said.

A street artist who calls himself ARCY worked on a mural of Mark Twain, who once spoke of Hartford as “a city whose fame as an insurance center has extended to all lands.”CreditJessica Hill for The New York Times

The Hartford Courant, in a sharply worded editorial after Aetna’s announcement, called on elected officials to provide a plan to end the state’s financial troubles and ensure a more thriving future.

“The state’s persistent financial woes and refusal to recalibrate to 21st-century realities have been pushing out people and businesses for years,” the editorial said. “If anyone is still dreaming that all of the state’s problems will be solved with a drive-by casino, legalized marijuana and a few highway toll cameras, they need to wake up.”

Not everyone has given up hope.

Christopher J. Swift, the chief executive of The Hartford, an insurance company whose history dates back over 200 years, pointed to some initiatives that he believed could begin to revitalize the city. They included the construction of new apartments and a proposed new campus for the state university downtown.

“I don’t know if ‘Insurance Capital of the World’ is really necessary or needed for us to carry on our mission,” he said. “I’m bullish on people being attracted to a smaller version of New York or Boston if they want an urban life.”

Bill Breetz, 76, a retired lawyer, spoke with a reporter at the stately stucco house in the city’s West End where his family has lived for nearly 50 years.

“You can’t walk down the street or go to a party without meeting someone who works in the insurance industry,” he said.

Still, he said his wife had never fully taken to the city, even as they raised three children here.

“So it would be easy to convince her that it’s time to get out,” he said. “But we’ve got a wonderful neighborhood. There are all kinds of folks we’ve known forever.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: Aetna’s Relocation Plan Cuts Deeply in Hartford. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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Next Stop

In Paris, a Hotel With a History Gets a Stylish Makeover

The Hôtel de Crillon sits on the corner of the Place de la Concorde.CreditAndy Haslam for The New York Times

By Shivani Vora

“Hôtel de Crillon is Paris,” the renowned French Caribbean musician Henri Salvador wrote in the namesake hotel’s guest book in 1984. “Paris is Champagne, Champagne is France and France is my heart so Hôtel de Crillon is my heart.”

What would Mr. Salvador, a frequent guest at the Crillon, think of his beloved hotel now? After a renovation that has kept its doors closed since March 2013, the Parisian property, now managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and officially called Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel, is reopening on Wednesday, more than 98 years after its original opening on March 12, 1909.

Occupying three buildings on a corner of Place de la Concorde, a square off the Champs-Élysées, the property itself, like any hotel worthy of more than a brief mention, has a notable history, this one dating to the 18th century.

In 1755, King Louis XV commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build two palacelike facades, eventually the exterior of the Crillon, overlooking Place de la Concorde. These ornate structures, completed in 1758, were considered to be an emblem of fine 18th-century architecture, but they remained as facades until another architect, Louis-Francois Trouard, bought the land behind them at auction and built a sumptuous private mansion.

The Count of Crillon bought the home in 1788, and, for the most part, descendants of the Crillon family lived there until 1904. But before the Crillons came into the picture, Queen Marie Antoinette frequented the mansion for her piano lessons — until 1793, when she was guillotined right outside on Place de la Concorde.

From a grand mansion to a grand hotel: The building’s life as the Crillon began in 1906 when a luxury hotel group, the Société des Grands Magasins et des Hôtels du Louvre, bought the mansion and its two adjacent buildings with the intention of creating Paris’s most luxurious palace hotel catering to a growing demand from the international elite.

When the Crillon opened in 1909, said Brice Payen, the Paris historian who consulted on the property’s renovation, it had electricity, hot water, an elevator and a hair salon. And while the Majestic, the Astoria and the Ritz Paris were already part of the city’s luxury hotel scene, the Crillon may have been the most formal, he said. “The décor was in a typical 18th-century style, and the standard of service was very high,” he said.

Gen. John J. Pershing of the United States Army and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the assistant secretary of the United States Navy, were guests in 1918, and President Woodrow Wilson stayed there during the Paris peace conference in 1919. President Wilson, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain and foreign delegations met numerous times at the hotel in early 1919 and drafted the covenant of the League of Nations in a salon.

The lengthy list of high-profile guests in subsequent years included Charlie Chaplin, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Queen Sofía of Spain, Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Sophia Loren and the composer Leonard Bernstein, who was a regular guest and wrote in the hotel’s guest book in 1989, “What a pleasure being once again on my terrace over Place de la Concorde.”

Fine hotels, however, can age over time, and the Crillon closed because a face-lift was in order, said Marc Raffray, the hotel’s managing director. (The hotel has been owned since 2010 by Prince Mitab bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.)

For one, the property had no central air-conditioning, he said; most guests cooled themselves by opening the windows or using fans. And the chief architect of the renovation, Richard Martinet, who lives in Paris and visited the Crillon over the years, said that the hotel felt old. “It was dark and somewhat outdated,” he said, in an interview in the hotel’s redesigned lobby.

The basement-level pool sits under a glass ceiling at the Hôtel de Crillon.CreditAndy Haslam for The New York Times

The new Crillon, central air-conditioning now fully in place, is intended to be the opposite of stuffy, Mr. Raffray said. “We want to be humble, approachable and non-intimidating,” he said. “Instead of having an air of formality, our staff will greet everyone with warmth like friends.”

Unlike the past, when the hotel was a hangout primarily for its wealthy overnight guests, attracting Parisians, he said, is a big priority. Locals won’t have to cross the lobby to enter the new bar past the main entrance to the right. Formerly the fine-dining restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs, the space still has its original 18th-century sky-blue ceiling and marble and gold walls, but the ornate antique furniture has been replaced with contemporary pieces, and patrons can expect a menu of creative cocktails and a lineup of regular live entertainment.

Children, too, will be welcomed with extensive programming like treasure hunts at the hotel and activities that teach them about Paris.

Design-wise, Mr. Martinet said that his goal was to capture the Crillon’s history while making it more modern. “I wanted to lighten up the hotel but make sure it still had soul,” he said. In addition to Mr. Martinet, the design team behind the renovation included the artistic director Aline d’Amman and three decorators, Chahan Minassian, Cyril Vergniol and Tristan Auer.

Mr. Auer faced redoing most of the public spaces, and, in an interview at the hotel, he said that one of the most significant changes he made was to raise the ceilings in the lobby by three feet to create a more spacious and airy appearance. And instead of one large room, the lobby is now a series of smaller spaces with numerous sitting areas. “I tried to replicate the feeling that you’re in a private home, not a hotel,” he said.

Other additions include a white marble and brass-hued spa called Sense; a men’s grooming room offering shaves and shoeshines; a high-end restaurant, L’Ecrin, overseen by Christopher Hache, who was the chef at Les Ambassadeurs; a casual restaurant with a crudo bar, Brasserie d’Aumont; and a basement level with a pool under a glass ceiling, all of which construction workers created by digging two levels underground.

A Karl Lagerfeld-designed suite at the Hôtel de Crillon.CreditAndy Haslam for The New York Times

And always a treasure in the center of any big city, there’s a new garden with 35 varieties of plants and trees in what was once an unused courtyard; the pool’s glass ceiling looks up to the garden.

Rooms for overnight guests have been pared down to 124, from 147, and 43 are suites (nightly rates begin at 1,200 euros, about $1,345). The Bernstein Suite, inspired by the composer, has new furniture and accessories but still in place is the long, private terrace overlooking Place de la Concorde that Mr. Bernstein wrote of fondly in the Crillon’s guest book.

The Duc de Crillon Suite, named after the mansion’s first Crillon occupant (the count became a duke in 1815), and the Marie-Antoinette Suite, adjacent to the salon where the queen took piano lessons, have also been redesigned with new furnishings but with an 18th-century aesthetic.

Two of the most prestigious suites, Les Grand Apartements, are new and were designed by Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel. Their walls hang with photographs that the designer shot himself, such as an image of the Palace of Versailles, and then printed on canvas to give them the look of being 18th-century paintings. And in an over-the-top touch, one of the suites has a white and black marble bathroom with a two-ton bathtub.

Around 800 people were behind the renovation. The Crillon’s owner paid for the project, but his representative, Ramzi Wakim, a managing partner at the asset management firm Avangard Advisory, said that he would not disclose its cost. “The redone hotel — not how much money was spent on it — is what’s important,” he said.

The president of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Radha Arora, was a major figure in his company’s deal to manage the hotel, and for him, the project has a personal connection: He lived in Paris for part of his childhood and worked as a busboy at Les Ambassadeurs when he was 17. “Back then, Hôtel de Crillon was associated with regality,” he said. “Today, it’s still very much a luxury hotel, but it’s meant to impart the sense of being at the beautiful chateau of a good friend who happens to live in the center of Paris.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page TR8 of the New York edition with the headline: A Fitting Makeover for a Stylish Parisian Hotel. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe


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J.D. Martinez Hits Four Home Runs in Diamondbacks’ Rout of Dodgers

By The Associated Press

J. D. Martinez tied a major league record Monday night by hitting four home runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the National-League-West leading Dodgers, 13-0, in Los Angeles for their 11th straight victory.

Martinez, who drove in six runs, is the 18th major leaguer to hit four homers in a game. Earlier this year, Scooter Gennett accomplished the feat for Cincinnati.

ANGELS USE 12 PITCHERS The Los Angeles Angels employed an American-League-record 12 pitchers, and Kole Calhoun hit a two-run triple in the 11th inning to beat the Athletics, 11-9, in Oakland.

Fernando Salas (1-0), the ninth Angels pitcher, tossed a perfect 10th for the victory. Keynan Middleton came in as the third pitcher of the 11th and got his third career save as the Angels tried to move up in the wild-card race. The A’s have lost seven in a row.

Three Angels pitchers didn’t record an out. The use of 12 pitchers topped the A.L. mark of 11, which was done four times, most recently by Tampa Bay in 2013. The Colorado Rockies set a major league record by using 13 pitchers in 2015 during a 16-inning game.

Matt Olson homered twice for Oakland, including a tying, two-run drive with two outs in the ninth against Blake Parker.

RED-HOT INDIANS WIN 12TH STRAIGHT Trevor Bauer won his eighth decision in a row, and Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3, in Chicago for its 12th straight victory. Bauer (15-8) gave up two runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and one walk over six and a third innings.

ROCKIES INCREASE WILD-CARD LEAD Carlos Gonzalez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and Colorado halted a four-game skid by beating the visiting San Francisco Giants, 4-3. The Rockies increased their lead to a game and a half over Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.

REDS WIN WITH A HOMER Billy Hamilton hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending Cincinnati to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Brewers.

Germany on Track With Rout of Norway

Germany roared back to its best in a 6-0 demolition of Norway in Stuttgart, while England also closed in on World Cup qualification, albeit in contrasting fashion in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Slovakia in London.

An early error by Marcus Rashford put England behind, but he made amends by scoring the winner to move his team to 5 points ahead of Northern Ireland in their group with two rounds remaining.

Northern Ireland’s 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Belfast secured at least second place in its group. Germany would need to lose both of its remaining games to surrender the top spot.

Group winners qualify automatically for the World Cup in Russia, while the top eight runners-up from nine groups go on to playoffs to decide the other four European spots.

Poland remained first in its group by beating visiting Kazakhstan, 3-0, with Robert Lewandowski capping the victory by converting a late penalty in Warsaw.

Visiting Denmark thrashed Armenia, 4-1, thanks to a hat trick from Thomas Delaney and a free kick by Christian Eriksen, and stayed 3 points behind Poland.

Scotland closed to within 1 point of second-place Slovakia with a 2-0 victory at home over Malta.

AFRICAN CHAMPION IS OUT Cameroon, which won the Africa Cup of Nations in February, won’t be in Russia for next year’s World Cup. Cameroon was the first team to be eliminated in the final round of qualifying in Africa after tying Nigeria, 1-1, at home.

Sad News for Alabama After Its Win

Alabama’s football team had as much to mourn as to celebrate after a huge opening victory.

On the field, linebackers Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller sustained season-ending injuries in the top-ranked Crimson Tide’s 24-7 win over No. 3 Florida State. About 24 hours after the game, a son of the wide receivers coach Mike Locksley was shot and killed in Maryland.

The Howard County police said 25-year-old Meiko Locksley was shot in Columbia, Md., just after 10 p.m. Sunday, but didn’t release other details.

Jets Put Mauldin on Injured Reserve

The Jets placed linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin on injured reserve and re-signed linebacker Bruce Carter.

Mauldin, entering his third season, has been dealing with a back injury that ailed him for most of training camp. He didn’t participate in any preseason games.

The move doesn’t end Mauldin’s season. He is eligible to be one of the team’s two short-term injured reserve designations, meaning he could return to practice after Week 6 and could play after Week 8.

10th Spot on Presidents Cup Team Is Filled

Kevin Chappell made his first Presidents Cup team by a fraction of a point. Chappell, who won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year in San Antonio, earned enough FedEx Cup points from the Dell Technologies Championship in Norton, Mass., to secure the 10th and final automatic spot on the United States team.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: Baseball; Diamondbacks’ Martinez Hits Four Homers. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe


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Nissan Suspends Production in Japan Because of Flawed Inspections

Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s chief executive, announced on Thursday that the company was suspending vehicle production at all its plants in Japan.CreditKimimasa Mayama/European Pressphoto Agency

By Jonathan Soble

TOKYO — Nissan Motor said on Thursday that it was suspending production at all of its Japanese factories after it discovered that uncertified technicians had conducted vehicle inspections even after a previous disclosure of the practice led to a major recall.

“We have done something inexcusable to everyone who trusted in our efforts to prevent a recurrence,” Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s chief executive, said at a news conference. “I apologize deeply.”

Nissan began recalling 1.2 million vehicles from the Japanese market this month after regulators faulted it for allowing workers who lacked required credentials to certify the cars. Under Japanese rules, vehicles are required to pass a final certification before they leave the factory, to ensure they conform to specifications registered with regulators for each model.

Only workers who have had special training and testing are supposed to certify vehicles, but Nissan said unqualified employees had been doing the work for the past three years. The company said it would have the recalled vehicles recertified by properly authorized technicians.

No accidents or faults had been linked to the problem, according to Nissan.

Despite the admonition from transportation regulators that led to that recall, Mr. Saikawa said on Thursday that the practice of using unqualified inspectors had continued at four of Nissan’s six factories in Japan. Production at all six factories would be suspended, he said, until Nissan could ensure it had enough credentialed workers to carry out the checks.

About 34,000 additional vehicles received certification from unqualified inspectors after the problem was discovered, Mr. Saikawa said. They, too, are expected to be recalled.

The episode is an embarrassment for Nissan and for Mr. Saikawa, who took over as sole chief executive this year after the company’s longtime leader, Carlos Ghosn, stepped aside. Mr. Ghosn remains chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan alliance, the French-Japanese group of which Nissan is a part.

Japanese regulators have yet to announce any penalties over the improper vehicle checks, but Nissan could face fines.

The revelation of corner-cutting comes at an awkward time for Japan’s auto industry. Its reputation for quality has been battered by deadly safety problems at Takata, the airbag maker that was at the center of the largest auto safety recall in history, involving tens of millions of vehicles. Takata, whose faulty airbags have been blamed for more than a dozen deaths, declared bankruptcy in June.

More recently, problems emerged at another important supplier to the industry, Kobe Steel, which admitted this month to doctoring quality reports about aluminum and other materials.

Kobe Steel received some welcome news on Thursday, as a group of Japanese automakers said they did not believe materials they had purchased from the company had posed a danger to the vehicles in which they were used or to their drivers. The carmakers said that while the metal may not have been as strong as advertised, it still met their safety standards, as well as those of regulators.

Regulators warned Nissan in mid-September about its practice of using unqualified workers to certify cars. The practice continued at one of its factories for a short time after that, the company said, but stopped before the recall was announced at the beginning of October.

But three other factories continued to use unqualified workers even after the recall, the company said.

Follow Jonathan Soble on Twitter: @jonathan_soble.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B6 of the New York edition with the headline: Nissan Suspends Production in Japan Because of Flawed Inspections. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe


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San Francisco Ousts a Mayor in a Clash of Tech, Politics and Race

Mark Farrell was appointed interim mayor by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.CreditSantiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle, via Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — In a city where being called conservative can be an insult and where partisanship is often left versus further left, the removal of an African-American interim mayor, and her replacement by a white, male venture capitalist, was bound to set off an uproar.

The appointment of Mark Farrell, the venture capitalist, and the ouster of London Breed, the interim mayor, by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday in some ways exemplified a larger battle for the soul of San Francisco. In just seven years the median price of a home here has nearly doubled, to $1.3 million — a transformation, driven by the riches of the tech industry, that continues to push out longtime residents, many of them nonwhites.

But what may seem on the surface to be a familiar clash between tech and those threatened by its rise is in fact a moment full of complicated alliances and seeming contradictions.

Mr. Farrell, who is the managing director of Thayer Ventures, a firm that invests in technology companies, was backed by a faction that has been critical of tech companies’ influence on San Francisco.

Ms. Breed rose up from modest means and has vociferous support among the city’s thinning African-American population. But she also had the backing of a prominent Silicon Valley investor, Ron Conway.

The political fight quickly spilled out of the wood-paneled meeting rooms of City Hall and into the public arena. It will culminate in a mayoral election in June, one that promises to be in part a battle over the influence of the tech industry on the city and its politics.

“There have been many local politicians who say the tech industry is different, that they are innovative, they want to disrupt the status quo — maybe that’s true on some levels,” said Hillary Ronen, a member of the Board of Supervisors who voted to remove Ms. Breed on Tuesday. “But I haven’t seen that big of a difference when it comes to their interest and their willingness to attack politicians who don’t put their interests first and foremost.”

Perhaps no single person has emerged as the face of the tech industry’s political influence as has Mr. Conway, an investor who made a fortune taking early stakes in companies including Airbnb and Pinterest. Mr. Conway, an adviser to former Mayor Edwin Lee, whose death from a heart attack in December prompted the political scramble to replace him, has been a behind-the-scenes promoter of Ms. Breed’s candidacy.

Yet amid the debate over the tech industry’s influence, there was the powerful imagery of a black woman being thrown out of office, albeit an interim one, in a city that has a long history of discrimination against blacks.

On Tuesday evening, when Mr. Farrell was appointed by a 6-3 vote, some members of the public howled in derision, including many African-American supporters of Ms. Breed.

London Breed, who was removed as interim mayor, speaking to reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.CreditJim Wilson/The New York Times

“The black community is not going to take this sitting down,” the Rev. Amos Brown, head of the N.A.A.C.P. in San Francisco and the pastor of Third Baptist Church, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Mr. Brown portrayed the decision as yet another blow to blacks in the city, whose numbers have been dwindling in recent years and who were evicted en masse during the city-led redevelopment of black neighborhoods in the 1960s and ’70s. “There’s never been an intentional effort on the so-called progressive liberals of this town to work with the black community so that we would have our fair share,” he said.

In a measure of the complex racial dynamics in San Francisco, Mr. Brown said Asians had been welcomed at the expense of blacks. “They opened the floodgates to Southeast Asians and to China, but they told black folks to get out of the way,” he said.

Ms. Breed, in an interview, played down the racial component of her ouster.

“I prefer not to get into the thoughts around that,” Ms. Breed said. “It’s unfortunate that this has brought out the worst in some people.”

Asked about the attacks on Mr. Conway and his support for her, Ms. Breed said she saw it as a political tactic.

“This is the playbook of these people in order to gain power and win elections,” she said. “They have to point the finger at someone. They’ve got to say that someone is the big, bad boogeyman.”

The group that ousted Ms. Breed as interim mayor said their motivation was to avoid a conflict of interest. Ms. Breed, who in the lingo of San Francisco liberal politics is described as a moderate, is president of the Board of Supervisors. Holding both that position and being interim mayor gave her unchecked authority and what her ousters said was an unfair power of incumbency. Mr. Farrell is not running for mayor.

The June election has particularly high stakes. The winner is eligible to serve the balance of Mr. Lee’s term, then run twice more, potentially securing the mayor’s office for the next decade.

Some analysts see Ms. Breed’s removal as a cold political calculus by the city’s progressive faction: Removing her from office would give them a better shot at reclaiming the mayor’s office in June. One of the supervisors who voted for Mr. Farrell on Tuesday is Jane Kim, a progressive who is running for mayor. With no clear front-runner yet, the election is a chance for the city’s progressive wing to reclaim an office that they have been locked out of since the 1980s.

Ms. Breed — who supports legalizing marijuana and recently wrote an op-ed on the need for cities to divest from fossil fuel companies — is considered right of the San Francisco center for her corporate ties and perceived receptiveness to the tech industry.

Mr. Farrell is also considered a moderate and is perhaps best known for a taking a tougher approach toward the city’s homeless problem, sponsoring a ballot measure that banned tent encampments from sidewalks. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But some are skeptical that ideology played a large part in this week’s political machinations.

“They said they didn’t want a white rich person in charge and then they put a rich white person in charge,” said Peter Ragone, a Democratic political consultant in San Francisco who was the communications director for a former mayor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. “What I’ve learned over the years in San Francisco is that for progressives it is not about conscience or ideology, it’s about power.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Clash of Technology, Race and Politics in San Francisco City Hall. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe


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Imagine the following scenario: A user or a group of people need full access to all site collections in your Office 365 tenant. It could be a service account that gathers some statistics regularly, or a group of users who provide regular detailed support to your organization. How can you ensure that these users have access to all site collections, even newly created ones? What is the best of all to manage this group of users?

Currently, there is no way how you automatically assign users or groups as site collection administrators in your tenant. And while you can manage the settings per site collection in the SharePoint Online Administration area of the Office 365 portal, doing so for dozens or hundreds of sites is not a productive use of time.

But there’s a way to automate this process, and as usual PowerShell comes to the rescue. What you need are the OfficeDev PnP PowerShell cmdlets available at (review the installation instructions on that page if you haven’t installed those awesome cmdlets yet) and an account which has been assigned either the “SharePoint administrator” or “Global administrator” role in your tenant.

The cmdlet we are interested in is called Set-SPOTenantSite. It allows you to manage some selected properties of a SharePoint Online site collection, among them the owners. The ‘Owners’ parameter expected a list of accounts, for example: ‘’,  ‘’,  ‘’. As you can see, it requires a user’s login name. But how about groups? If I create an Office 365 group, how can I determine its login name? While you can also achieve the same thing via PowerShell, this is one way to do it via the browser:

  1. Go to a SharePoint site and grant the group access
  2. While still on the permissions view, click on the Group name so that you access it’s Personal Settings page
  3. On that page, it will list something like “Account c:0-.f|rolemanager|s-1-5-21-784567607-4288704409-1262486537-2161342”. “c:0-.f|rolemanager|s-1-5-21-784567607-4288704409-1262486537-2161342” is the login name which you need
  4. You can then remove the permissions for the group again

Next, you also need to think about which users you want to add as site collection administrators. If you have a group of users that should be added to all site collections, it makes sense to add all those users either to an Active Directory group (if you’re synchronising your Active Directory with Office 365) or an Office 365 group. That way, you can manage the group of users fairly easily, and add or remove users simply by managing the group – without having to do anything on the site collections directly.

The Script

Here’s the script that helps you set the site collection administrators on a filtered set of site collections (I’m skipping any personal OneDrive for Business sites in the *mytenant-my.sharepoint/* path, e.g. Update: I just realised that OneDrive sites aren’t returned by default, the IncludeOneDriveSites parameter has to be set to $true for this. Either way, we’re skipping sites in the* path in this example). Please note that in its current form below, it is meant to be run directly by someone who has account credentials for a “SharePoint administrator” or “Global administrator”. It can be adapted to use stored credentials, e.g. when you want to run it as a daily scheduled task on a server.

#comma separated list of users and groups to be added
$adminAccounts = "",""

#Specify the tenant here
$tenant = "mytenant"

# Note: If you run this script regularly, please have a look at the following site to see how you can store credentials securely in Windows
$cred = Get-Credential

write-host "Connecting to https://$($tenant)"
Connect-SPOnline -Url "https://$($tenant)" -Credentials $cred
write-host "Getting list of site collections"

#Note: we are only fetching the root site collection and any site collection in the /sites/ path
#Update filters here accordingly to match your requirements
$sitecollections = Get-SPOTenantSite | where {($_.Url -like "*$($tenant)") -or ($_.Url -like "*$($tenant)*")}

foreach($sitecollection in $sitecollections) {
	write-host "Adding administrators to $($sitecollection.Url)"
	Set-SPOTenantSite -Url $sitecollection.Url -Owners $adminAccounts

That’s it, just a couple of lines of PowerShell which can save you a lot of time and help you with your support processes.

Lastly, if you want to run this script regularly as you want to ensure that your users/groups are also added to new site collections and added to existing ones (if they have been removed), I would recommend to follow the instructions given on the OfficeDev PnP PowerShell page for setting up credentials in Windows’ credentials manager and running the script as a scheduled task.

16 thoughts on “Setting Administrators on all SharePoint Online Site Collections”

  1. awesome article. Is there a way you can retrieve who is a member of site collection administrators for all one drive?

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Tag Archives: female characters

Waifu Wednesday: Chiru Kondo

You know sometimes you see a character and immediately know you’re going to be into them? Yeah, that was me and Chiru, one of the two new main heroines from Gal*Gun 2.

My immediately positive reaction to her was before I even knew what sort of person she was through playing the game, though I had my suspicions. There was just something about her that was striking and pleasing to me… and I was delighted to discover once actually getting to know her that she was exactly my kind of girl.

So it is, then, that she is the subject of this week’s Waifu Wednesday!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Chiru Kondo

Waifu Wednesday: IF and Compa

I can’t in good conscience separate these two, so it’s a two-hander for this week’s Waifu Wednesday as we give thanks for the lovely IF and Compa.

Recurring characters in the Neptunia series since its very inception, IF and Compa are the personifications of developer-publisher Idea Factory and subsidiary developer Compile Heart respectively. They’re an inseparable pair — a reflection of the fact that you never see a Compile Heart game without Idea Factory branding, for obvious reasons — and, between them, popular choices for series waifus.

They’re also an interesting contrast to the main cast of goddesses, for numerous reasons.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: IF and Compa

The MoeGamer Awards: Saving the World with Only Girls

The MoeGamer Awards are a series of made-up prizes that give me an excuse to celebrate games, concepts and communities I’ve particularly appreciated over the course of 2017. Find out more and suggest some categories here!

Today’s category comes to us from SoriasSire, who left some great ideas in the comments of this post just like you (yes, you!) should go and do right now. SoriasSire is also a longtime supporter of the site and Japanese gaming in general, so a hearty thank-you for your ongoing support!

It’s a popular misconception among people who don’t know any better (or do any research) that we have a shortage of badass female lead characters in video games, but nothing could be further from the truth — particularly in Japanese gaming. This award aims to celebrate an awesome example of an all-female ensemble cast that we’ve explored over the course of 2017.

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer Awards: Saving the World with Only Girls

Waifu Wednesday: Rizna Lanfbitt

Rance 5D’s main heroine Rizna Lanfbitt is a great character — and pleasingly, she gets plenty of time in the spotlight in the subsequent games, too.

Initially presented pretty much as a textbook example of a “damsel in distress” — right down to being trapped inside a castle, fairy tale-style — Rizna shows herself over the course of her subsequent adventures to be a character with considerable depth and appeal to her, not to mention plenty of flaws that humanise her somewhat.

One might argue that Rance perhaps isn’t the best influence on her, given the things she’s been through, but when our “hero” isn’t taking advantage of her, they enjoy a good relationship that comes across as one of the most genuine friendships in the series.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Rizna Lanfbitt

Waifu Wednesday: Sill Plain

Now our exploration of the Rance series is well underway, it’s only fitting we celebrate some of its excellent female characters.

And where better to start than the protagonist’s perpetual companion (and slave) Sill Plain?

Sill has been a fixture in the series from its inception through to its current status, acting as Rance’s long-suffering sidekick and primary romantic interest despite her status as a slave. She’s one of the series’ most beloved characters, and the perfect counter to Rance’s shameless, brutish nature.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Sill Plain

Waifu Wednesday: Peridot

I love puzzle games, if that was not already evident.

However, I particularly love late ’90s arcade puzzlers such as those put out by Taito, Data East and their peers, for one reason in particular: as well as providing solid, addictive gameplay, they also had a tendency to have a cast of wonderful characters to accompany the action.

While you may want to debate whether or not Taito’s 1997 block-breaker Puchi Carat is truly a puzzle game or not, one thing we can hopefully agree on is that it features a spectacular cast of waifus.

And Queen of the Puchi Carat Waifus, so far as I’m concerned anyway, is Peridot.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Peridot

Waifu Wednesday: Vert

Everyone has a favourite in the Neptunia cast, but even if she’s not top of your list, it’s hard to dislike Vert.

The blonde-haired, big-breasted goddess of Leanbox personifies Microsoft’s Xbox platform as well as embodying the anime trope of “beautiful foreigner” thanks to her physical characteristics.

And as with the rest of the Neptunia cast, there’s a lot more to her than first appears, too, making her a delight to get to know and spend some time with.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Vert


text:
1 John 1:8-10

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.”

If I claim to be without sin, I thereby deceive myself and make God out to be liar.

The truth is that I do sin and because of this sin, I need salvation which can only be found in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. Upon coming to Christ, I then enter into a process that progressively makes me more like Him. I will continue to sin as my original nature was completely corrupted, but in Christ I am being made new and have been empowered to follow His will which ultimately gives Him glory. It is in this glory-giving state that I find my greatest joy and contentment.

Want to know more about the work done at Monergist Gratia? Check out my Patreon!

One thought on “Liar

  1. Well written account of what it means to be transformed and on the daily path to developing the character of Christ, with the aid of His Holy Spirit. Oswald Chambers writes in commentary on 2 Peter 1:5, “No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character, he has to make character.”

    Liked by 1 person

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Regulatory authorities in the aviation sector have commenced investigation of another stowaway on Med-View Airlines’ Lagos-London flight.The stowaway, Emmanuel Ugochukwu, hid in the front wheel of the commercial flight, travelling unnoticed from Lagos to London and back to Lagos last weekend. It was, however, a mystery that Ugochukwu was recovered alive and well too, after over 12 hours in the air.

The airline confirmed the incident, saying the appropriate authorities were investigating the matter.Its spokesperson, Oyibotha Obuke, said the development was quite disturbing for all parties and in effect, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that manages the airport and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were looking into it.
General Manager, Public Relations of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said the investigation is aimed at identifying what went wrong and the contributing factor to prevent a future reoccurrence.

He told The Guardian that the probe might take awhile, since all relevant agencies would have to be summoned, including the airline that has the responsibility to ensure safety.
Also, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu, confirmed the investigation, adding that their findings would be made public in due course.

Adurogboye noted: “Safety of an aircraft lies more with the owner than with anyone else. As an owner, you have the 100 per cent responsibility for safety. Because, before take off, you have to ensure that everything is intact.

“So, there is no room for bulk passing in this matter. Nevertheless, every agency involved still has to account for its roles, so as to learn lessons and prevent the issue from repeating itself.”

Last November, a dead body was found on an Arik plane last after it landed at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport from Lagos.The corpse, apparently a stowaway, was discovered in the A330-200 commercial aircraft’s wheel by South African engineers during inspection.In the last five years, there have been reports of dead Nigerian stowaways in planes operating locally and internationally.

Source: theguardian

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text:
oh Jamaica 1/who knows

I find more and more my relationship with Jamaica is a conflicted thing full up of resentment and growing short on hope.

I hate the feeling.

The latest thing I am trying to make sense of is the vendors who beat a Rasta man and left him for dead because he started (him alone mind you) chanting against their jerked chicken and saying it smelled like dog and was polluting the place.

The whole thing bothers me for a number of reasons:

1. Is it that easy to kill a person now? Anything they say that’s against you or displeases you deserves death? What happen to all the shades of responses in between and why more people inna the crowd never recognise say it was a mob against one man and that never fair? And when we going to realise that this particular brand of badness can only ever benefit a select few while taking advantage of most…rather, when we going to recognise that our time as the ‘bad’ is limited and soon we will all fall from power and become the beaten?

2. I know somebody is going to say

‘well you haffi consider say wah him a do coulda did a interfere wid the people dem money…some people nuh play bout dem money’.

This I understand. When smaddy a ramp wid you money it nuh just easy fi siddung and watch. But that draw up even more question fimme: a) people really in such desperate situations (that kind that warrants killing a man fi piece a bread) or we just tell we self say things desperate as a way fi excuse we self fi treat one another terrible? Because sometimes me feel say we turn the sufferers story into the national identity and use that justify anything we do. Not everybody is at the ‘anytime me hungry again you a go see mi nine’ state. Some a dem nuh even hungry but dem a tear out people neck and headback like dem a starve. We, the not hungry,  tell we self say Jamaican dark lakka midnight inna every situation and go from there. Fi why? To what end? And what cost?

3. Now as me write this round and brown me know say smaddy a go tell me say

 A middle class browning like you cyan chat because you have privilege  and you belly full and you will never understand

Yes, me have privilege. Cyaan deny it and the impact it have pon me life. And me nuh waan take up too much space in a conversation that is not about and my experience. But the fact that I am privileged does not mean I am blind and don’t mean me cyan call out foolishness when me see it. And this is it: One Rasta man chanting fire on a whole slew a jerk man never did a go cost them business, dem cudda shout him down and run him dem never need fi do him physical harm. Dat a just people feeling like anybody come against dem must be exterminated because them a pest. That a we feeling like black people easy fi kill and deserve fi dead. That a colonial ignorance and foolishness. That a summn we need fi puddung.

4. Why is it so easy for us to sing about and talk about and actually do harm to black people? Because me sure a white man woulda never get beating and me nuh see white people a sing bout killing niggaz nearly as much as black people. So wah di deal?

5. Why all now Rasta cyan get some respect. This many years after defining some aspects of Jamaica culture internationally, after the many atrocities including Coral Gardens, after everybody wanna be a Marley, people still cyan see Rasta as anything but dutty foot mad man.

The more I think about my future in Jamaica the more deeply riddled I am with doubt.

What do I see?

An upper class that manages to thrive because they have enough social and economic buffers to make a world inside a world. To live in the Jamaica we wish we could inhabit. Some of whom have grown mercenary in their relationship with the lower classes.

A middle class that is being held accountable for the country’s debt through taxation. Some of whom have grown mercenary in their relationship with the lower classes.

A lower class that has managed to resist and recover from crippling under development. Some of whom have grown mercenary in their relationship with the middle and upper classes.

Criminal activity passing for culture. Violence as a marker of national identity. And hopelessness.

Inside of that beauty and hope and children growing businesses opening and people living their lives.

When I think about my future here I don’t know what I see…and with the love I have for the country…this burns me.

It actually makes me cry.

I want to scream that we can do better but I’m not sure who is we and who I should scream at first. Perhaps at the colonisers and the ones with the whip. Perhaps at myself.

One Reply to “oh Jamaica 1/who knows”

  1. I am right there with you, in the concern and the frustration and the feelings of hopelessness.

    The acknowledgment of privilege makes every day experiences that much more complicated. All well and good when you brown and insulated and can just look at that story through the lens of “What is wrong with Jamaican people??” It’s a different thing when you start to consider people’s motivation, people’s ability to handle minor (and major) upsets, and how on earth we gonna go about improving that.

    As a nation our reserve for dealing with any kind of stress is so tapped out. We feel powerless to effect any real change, so we take out frustrations in any way we can. Goes back to the badness theory – yes every badman will be out-badded one day but we are so desperate for something anything that gives us the illusion of control, even if it means robbing/raping/killing our own. But where/how do we begin to fix that?

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Close Ltd – Pop-in Nursing Pads 3 Pairs

In stock

Product Description

Pop-in nursing pads are designed to make breastfeeding enjoyable and stress-free for Mum.

Reusable, washable and made from absorbent and indulgently soft material, this is a breast pad you’ll love to use.

Styled with a slim design and a unique “seal to skin” binding, this reusable and washable breast pad is made up of three layers; next to the breast, a fast-wicking polyester that takes away the wetness from the skin, inside, the absorbent core is soya bean fabric, well known for its natural absorbency, softness and thermo-regulating properties and lastly there is a full layer of waterproof laminate.

The slim design ensures the reusable nursing pad fits the natural contours of the breast while the unique seal to skin binding keeps the pad in place even, when it’s full!

Leaky breasts are probably the least favourite part of breastfeeding for Mums. The Pop-in reusable nursing pads solve this problem by being absorbent and waterproof.

The design ensures there are no visible lines, so you can wear your normal clothes without any style worries.

Available as a pack of 3 pairs of washable pads means you’ll never run out of a pair ever.

Peace of mind in a nursing pad.

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text:
quinoa chocolate cake

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

we’re missing an hour
never before have
i wanted an hour back
like i do now

daylight saving time
never bothered me before
growing up
either because my body didn’t
register the loss
or the countries i lived in
didn’t participate in DST

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

it’s an adjustment
much like making minor
dietary changes
we made the decision
recently to cut back on
our gluten intake,
for health-reasons
and as it happens,
our close friends are
also attempting the gf lifestyle

for less than 2 weeks
i’ve missed bread
i’ve missed pasta
no lie:
i’ve cheated
and i have to remind myself
that much like when i went
dairy free
it’s not so much what i’m missing,
it’s what i could be gaining
the challenges i could tackle
in the kitchen

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

quinoa chocolate cake – gluten free & dairy free
adapted from Quinoa 365

*note: i baked this cake for my dear friend Nuria’s birthday. i’ve made many, many desserts for this hooker, including her wedding cakes, and she said this was her most favorite. the flour wasn’t missed.
*initially i had wanted to make it a two layered cake with whipped coconut milk but the coconut milk was too runny, though delicious, and i wasn’t confident that it would make the trek to the party. so i topped with powdered sugar and called it a day.

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa (about 1/2 cup dried quinoa, though just cook a full cup and find another use for the unused)
1/3 cup coconut creamer, i used So Delicious
4 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil, liquid but cool
1 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

cook up the quinoa according to package instructions, be sure to fight the urge to NOT cook it with broth, cus i damn near forgot… allow to cool completely.

preheat oven to 350F and prep 2 8″ round pans.

in a bowl, sift the dry ingredients.

in a food processor, whizz up the eggs, coconut oil and coconut creamer. add in the cooled cooked quinoa and process until smooth, or as smooth as you want it to be. pour mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients and mix everything until fully combined.

divvy up into pans equally and bake for 28-30 minutes. the sides will pull clean from the pans.

cool on rack and either top with powdered sugar or frosting of your choice.

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

24 thoughts on “quinoa chocolate cake

  1. I love bringing my dancers treats, and most can eat just about anything. But I have a few that are gluten-free, dairy free, vegan or all three! You are going to become my number one source for treat alternatives. Which is nice, because I’m feeling awfully lazy these days, and when someone else does all the research for you, it’s very convenient…

  2. SO. HARD. to get out of bed this morning. Normally I wake up a few minutes before my alarm. Today, it was like — where am I! What day is it. Help.

    Good on you guys for cutting back gluten! Please let me know how it affects your overall sense of health and how you feel as you go along, I’m curious. This cake is beautiful with powdered sugar, I dont think anyone would miss the whipped coconut. Lovely!

    1. i’ve been feeling that way all week! it’s just 60 minutes but i guess with sleep, every second counts.

      i’m feeling less bloated and not full, it’s a comfortable fullness. it’s still quite the adjustment!

  3. Quinoa in cakes is something that has been on my to-do list for-ev-er. And this one was ya girl’s favorite cake ever, including her wedding cake? OK, I need to get on this ASAP. PS You’re an awesome friend, and PPS props to you for going GF! Good luck!!

  4. Yes. So much yes. I love that you can just use quinoa instead of flour for structure!! Would you say this is similar to a brownie? Because I have been craving brownies and if I can make a batch healthier with cooked quinoa…um that is SO happening.

    1. not sure if you saw my IG comment: i talked it over with dw and we have decided that yes, it is dense enough to give you a brownie fix but it’s still pretty light comparatively. this treat will give you all kinds of fixes: cake, chocolate, brownies…

  5. This looks so yummy and I bet it tastes even better. I am so glad you are doing this challenge, so I can bake from your recipe on a “healthy” day 🙂

  6. YAY to going gluten-free! I’ve been going grain-free as much as I can since the year started and while I do miss bread and pasta, there are no regrets! I mean, you can even make grain-free bread, and cakes and there are so many creative recipes to try, soon you’ll forget the need for wheat!

    sending love and strength for going GF!!

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text:
I was told today that my little girl
should be in a regular kindergarten class.
That she is bright and social and
understands the world around her.
And it turned my world upside down.
Because up until now
I never thought she would be able to do that.
I assumed that when the school told me
she needed to be in a special room
with special teachers,
that they knew what they were talking about.
After all, they are the experts.
They did the tests,
the evaluations,
the observations.
Why would they tell me that she should
be kept away from her peers,
if that isn’t what she needed?
It has been thirty years
since I started kindergarten.
A lot has changed since then.
But it seems that not enough has
Why are schools still pushing
to segregate our children?
Is it because it is easier?
Is it because they don’t want
to try?
Have they lost sight of why
they started working at a school
to begin with?
Didn’t they want to help kids?
Isn’t that why they applied,
long ago?
Then WHY are they trying
to put my baby girl in a room
where she will not reach her
full potential?
Is it the cost?
How much does having
an aide in the room cost?
Does it cost more
than my daughter’s
Does it cost more
than her dreams?
My girl is bright.
She is the sun that shines down,
casting light into the darkest hearts.
Would you dim that light
to save yourself the hassle
of including her?

One thought on “Inclusion

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text:
Mendham beats Rahway; advances to play Plainfield in sectional final

Senior guard Drew Jacobs scored 21 points and Alex Jacobs added 17 to lift Mendham to a 54-44 triumph over Rahway in a North 2, Group III state semifinal contest on Friday.

Nick Maguire added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Minutemen. An 18-7 third-quarter effort helped Mendham build a 42-27 advantage going into the final period. Hakeem Kornegay scored 15 points for top-seeded Rahway.

The victory provides fourth-seeded Mendham with a rematch against defending champion Plainfield. Second-seeded Plainfield defeated Newark East Side 71-57. Last season Plainfield topped Mendham 87-81  in double overtime to capture the state sectional title. Tore Vicarisi put on a display with 41 points in the title game that was played at Mendham. This time the Minutemen will travel to Plainfield for a 7 p.m. game on Monday night.

There are three Morris County teams left in state tournament play. Two of them will be in action on Saturday. In North 1, Group II Mountain Lakes travels to play Lodi in a 1 p.m. contest at Lodi High School. In Non-Public B Morristown-Beard will host Hudson Catholic in a 5:30 p.m. contest.

About mcvbb

Mark Kitchin is a boys varsity basketball writer for the Morris County New Jersey area

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text:
Lee Holdsworth has been demoted five places on the grid for tomorrow's Bathurst 1000 Garry Rogers Motorsport driver Lee Holdsworth has been issued a five-place grid penalty by V8 Supercars stewards when his team failed to present his Holden Commodore for weighing after yesterday’s qualifying session.

The decision means Holdsworth and co-driver Greg Ritter will start tomorrow’s 161-lap race from 13th place. The decision promotes Ford Performance Racing’s Will Davison into this afternoon’s one-lap Top-10 qualifying shootout, which determines the final starting order for yesterday’s fastest ten qualifiers.

[Image via Garry Rogers Motorsport]

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Richard Bailey

Founder & Chief Editor at MotorsportM8
Hasn't missed a Grand Prix since 1989. Has a soft spot for Minardi. Tattooed with 35+ Grand Prix circuits.