Tracking Santa The NORAD Way Christmas 2007

Illustrators’ Visions of Santa Claus - Over the years, great illustrators have created and shaped the popular vision of Santa Claus. Clockwise from top, left: Thomas Nast, who gave Santa Claus a form almost like the modern idea in the mid-1800’s, with his clay pipe and arm full of toys (including a sword). You can see some of his visions of Santa here. /// J. C. Leyendecker, who really created the modern vision of Santa, and painted a number of memorable Saturday Evening Post covers featuring the jolly elf over the years. You can find them in the SEP cover archive. /// Norman Rockwell, along with Leyendecker, provided numerous SEP covers with images of Santa, often with clever takes on the vision of his traditional role. The SEP cover archive has a section devoted to Rockwell Christmas covers. /// Haddon Sundblom was an American illustrator who became noted for his yearly portrayals of Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola company. There is a section on the Coca-Cola site, and an album of Sundblom Santas here. Image Credit: Charley Parker

Tracking Santa The NORAD Way Christmas 2007

Christmas is a time we come together to celebrate forces that are beyond our own experience. On December 25, the birth of the son of God is the source of the excuse for additional forces we know are beyond our own experience to come to life.

The one force that creates the most wonder and awe is the force of Santa Claus and his amazing journey around the world as he drives his Reindeer powered Sleigh. The Sleigh, loaded with gifts, stops at every home throughout the world where Santa knows people believe in giving and the amazing grace of God and his power.

Santa is even known to stop and leave a gift where some people are not even aware they actually believe in him and/or God’s power because he knows what resides deep in all people who wish for a better world but have not found a conscious way to its understanding.

Technology and the internet were made for times like these.

This from the How Stuff Works website -

How Santa's Sleigh Works
by John Fuller – How Stuff Works

On Christmas Eve, millions of children around the world will settle uneasily into bed, hardly able to contain themselves. What vision could possibly dance through their heads, turning them into twitchy, restless insomniacs for just one night? Is it the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" or the sugarplums from Clement Clarke Moore's poem "The Night Before Christmas"? Can sugarplums really do such a thing?

Chances are the children are thinking about toys, Santa Claus and his team of reindeer -- if the children have been nice this year, jolly old St. Nick should be landing his sleigh on their roofs sometime late in the night.

Everyone has their own traditional image of Santa's sleigh, but could there be more to it than just a sled and a team of reindeer? Although no one may ever know for sure just how Santa operates, we at HowStuffWorks have what we think are the most logical explanations for how the big guy accomplishes all that he does: science and technology.

Sure, demystifying Santa's modus operandi puts us at risk of getting nothing but coal in our stockings this year, but it's all for the noble pursuit of yuletide knowledge. After all, have you ever wondered how Santa's sleigh flies? What about the reindeer? And how does Santa fit all of those presents into one bag? In the next section, we'll look at the possible technology behind Santa's sleigh.­

Rustic on the outside and state-of-the-art on the inside, Santa's sleigh would have to be a marvel in engineering. These are the main parts of the sleigh that would be needed to get Santa across the world in one night.

The Sleigh's Interior

The front of the sleigh's dashboard would be dominated by Santa's own GPS navigator -- the elves would map out millions of destinations before Christmas Eve, just to make sure Santa doesn't miss anyone. The device would also have a built-in Naughty-or-Nice sensor that keeps Santa updated on children's activities. This is important, as even the most minor of naughty deeds committed within the last few hours of Dec. 24 can determine whether or not a child receives a shiny lump of coal.

A speedometer on the far left of the dashboard would allow Santa to monitor his flying speeds. On the far right would be a radio communicator -- Mrs. Claus sends broadcasts, and the elves update Santa with weather reports and toy inventory.

For in-flight entertainment, we'd like to the think that the elves would have installed an iPod dock -- perhaps even a red-and-green iPod, which would come with enough memory to play Christmas songs for the entire year through. There would also be a hot cocoa dispenser in the middle of the console, and fuel for the reindeer (in the form of carrots) in a compartment located on the left side of the sleigh.

Transdimensional Present Compartment (The Bag)

Ever wonder how Santa fits all of those presents into one bag? Think of a transdimensional present compartment in the form of a traditional gift sack, which would act as a portal between the sleigh and the North Pole. However, we'd also like to think that Santa may have harnessed the power of nanotechnology and found a way to miniaturize millions of presents into one large bag. But this information remains unconfirmed.

The Stardust Antimatter Propulsion Unit

What is antimatter? Is it some kind of magical substance Santa uses to power his sleigh?

Antimatter is the opposite of regular matter -- the mirror image of normal particles that make up everything we can see or touch. The big draw to antimatter is the amount of energy it helps create. When antimatter and matter come into contact, they annihilate each other -- breaking apart into tons of smaller particles -- and 100 percent of their masses convert into energy.

Although antimatter propulsion rockets are mainly used in science-fiction shows to allow spaceships to travel at warp speed, the possibility of designing one is very real -- NASA is currently developing one that would get us to Mars within a matter of weeks. [source: NASA]

Santa's would have to be way ahead of the game, however, and we'd like to imagine that he has his own custom Stardust Antimatter Rocket. It would be small enough to install in the back of his sleigh and fast enough to deliver every present to all good children across the globe. Of course, if the rocket ever malfunctions, the reindeer would be there to back Santa up.
References Here>>

Track Santa Claus across the globe as he performs his amazing task and journey -

Santa maintains a huge list of children who have been good throughout the year. The list even includes addresses, ZIP codes and postal codes. The list, of course, gets bigger each year by virtue of the world's increasing population. This year's population right now is 6,634,570,959!

Santa has had to adapt over the years to having less and less time to deliver his toys. If one were to assume he works in the realm of standard time, as we know it, clearly he would have perhaps two to three ten-thousandths of a second to deliver his toys to each child's home he visits!

The fact that Santa Claus is more than 15 centuries old and does not appear to age is our biggest clue that he does not work within time, as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it could be that it lasts days, weeks or months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of bringing Christmas happiness to a child, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions on a different time and space continuum.

We believe, based on historical data and more than 50 years of NORAD tracking information, that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of children throughout the world.

Santa Claus is known by many names, but his first recorded name was Saint Nicholas. Historians claim that the history of Santa starts with the tradition of Saint Nicholas, a 4th Century Christian priest who lived in the Middle East in an area of present day Turkey.

Saint Nicholas became famous throughout the world for his kindness in giving gifts to others who were less fortunate. Typically, he placed gifts of gold down people's chimneys - sometimes into stockings. It may be that the Santa we know and love emerged from the legacy of Saint Nicholas. Clearly, Santa's basic approach to gift giving is strikingly similar to that of Saint Nicholas. What we know from history is that the tradition of Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas merged.

Could they be the same person? Only Santa Claus can tell us for sure.

Long before the Wright brothers flew the first airplane or the Montgolfier brothers flew the first hot air balloon, Santa knew he had to find a way to travel quickly from house to house at great speed. We know from our Santa Cam images that Santa's choice for quick transportation was a herd of flying reindeer. Of course, to this day, detailed information on these reindeer remains a mystery. We do know, however, that Santa somehow found a way to get the reindeer to help him with his worldwide mission of gift giving. A veil of sweet mystery hides the rest.

Virginia's letter, written in December 1897, is the most famous example of a child wanting to know about Santa.

Editor’s Response>>

TRACK SANTA CLAUS's JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD HERE

We at MAXINE, Symblogogy, & Oblate Spheroid wish each and everyone a "Merry Christmas To All And To All A Good Night!"

Poll Answers

On Flag Day … It’s United We Stand

On June 14, Americans celebrate the adoption of the first national flag. Also known as the "Stars and Stripes" or "Old Glory," the first American flag was approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. In 1818, after 5 more states joined the Union, Congress passed legislation fixing the number of stripes at 13 and requiring that the number of stars equal the number of states. Image Credit: FactMonster.Com

On Flag Day … It’s United We Stand

President Bush and those who are pushing to make legal the twelve to twenty million (depending on who is doing the estimating) squatters who continue to live openly flaunting our border, culture and our laws are doing something that even the threat of terrorist attack can't do.

Unite the country!

Here we are on Flag Day 2007, and the issue of “Amnesty” … giving people who have entered our country without proper procedure and continue to break our laws through false identity documentation … is beginning to galvanize those who love America because of its structure of fairplay and the rule of law.

When one listens to the leader of the Senate, Sen. Harry Reid, speak about the legislation being proposed (CSPAN News Conference with Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV on Immigration - 6/12/2007) and state that 80% of the Democrats and 14% of the Republicans support the bill one wants to grab him by the collar and say … well, 86% of the Republicans and 20% of the Democrats oppose it.

Come On!

At Maxine, all we see is that the American people are against the Kennedy/Kyl/Bush form of REFORM. Why can’t we just enforce the border, and apply the current laws on the books and open things back up to real documented citizens as if we all actually matter?

With an 86% plus 20% body count in the Senate, one would think Harry Reid and The Crowd could at least FUND the fence they approved last year, ostensibly to increase our border security and reduce illegal immigration.

After listening to Dennis Miller ... At MAXINE, we think we know why they won't!

Oooooh Boy, this will leave a mark ...
(ht: Pajamas Media)

Excerpts from The Washington Times -

Groups unite against 'amnesty'
By Ralph Z. Hallow - THE WASHINGTON TIMES - June 14, 2007

The debate over President Bush's immigration bill and opposition to it as an "amnesty" proposal have invigorated otherwise dispirited conservative interest groups and forged an anti-Bush unity on the right not seen since the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
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"The right generally has been invigorated by the debate and has pulled together in part because of the way the administration has attempted to demonize its conservative opposition," said David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU).

"So the conservatives who have concerns about the direction the administration wants to take the country on immigration but who disagree with each other have come together to defend each other," Mr. Keene said, making conservatives stay united "in a way they have not been since the Harriet Miers debacle."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, reports a similar experience even though his group focuses on religious and values issues and has "not been directly involved in the immigration debate."

Nevertheless, he said, "it is obvious that this issue has struck a nerve among conservatives, and they are pushing back against what they perceive to be a wayward GOP as individuals and through organizations that are challenging the Republican Party."
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"Even people who have not given [donations] to us on the basis of immigration ask us about our position," said Paul M. Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank and lobby group that opposes amnesty for illegals.

"When we tell them our position, we get a bigger-than-expected contribution -- or at the very least, we get them to continue as a contributors," Mr. Weyrich said. "It's clear that if our position were different and we were in support of the president's bill, we would get no further contribution."
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Mr. Keene said that ACU members "are very much engaged on immigration. They aren't all singing the same tune, but they are enraged at what they see as a political establishment attempting to jam something down their throats without prior discussion or consultation. And there's nothing like that to get people's blood flowing."
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Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly said that while her group has not seen significant membership changes, its members overwhelmingly support her stance against the president and his political strategists on immigration.

"The conservative movement in general is very despondent about the Republican leadership and Bush, especially on immigration," she said.

"I have been writing about immigration since 9/11, my membership is strictly grass roots and mostly Republican, and about 98 percent are in agreement with what I'm writing in opposition to what Bush wants on immigration," Mrs. Schlafly said.

Organizers for GOPAC, a group founded by former Delaware Gov. Pete du Pont to use donations and educational programs to elect Republicans at state and local levels, appears to be holding its own. Once led by Rep. Newt Gingrich before he became House speaker, GOPAC too has taken a stand against amnesty for illegals and against the Senate bill backed by Mr. Bush.

"We are having no trouble with fundraising," GOPAC Executive Director Paul D. Ellington said, although he did not provide a dollar figure. "In fact, we sent out a 'Secure the Borders Now!' bumper sticker and have received a good response."
Reference Here (subscription)>>

American Flag Jigsaw Puzzle - Unite Around The Flag!

Bets Placed, Cards Played, Will Power Takes The Pot!

Winner Will Power shares podium with P2-Robert Doornbos and P3-Paul Tracy. Will celebrates by sailing a hat into the crowd. Image Credit: Jalopnik's Las Vegas local, Curtis Walker

Bets Placed, Cards Played, Will Power Takes The Pot!

The race starts on a clear, sunny Las Vegas spring day with the temperature in the mid to upper 80's.

The attitude of game was made at the very beginning of the race when it saw Paul Tracy pass pole winner Will Power and take the lead of the race from the very first turn.

Bobby Rahal's son, Graham, did not fair so well in that he found the wall before he was able to make it to the Start-Finish line.

By lap 11, Will Power found his legs and took the lead back in a clean but contested pass. What would one expect from Tracy?

The races for Champ Car this year are all "timed" races, in that the cars race for a specific period of time as opposed to a specific distance regardless of time.

Las Vegas is a great street course - it has every thing - A wicked fast, curved, 195 MPH front straightaway - Elevation change - Tunnels - Rhythm corners - A great mix of professional international experience rookies and series regulars - Lots of room to pass. The new DP01 car looks very racy as well. The louvered ground effects air escape ports just in front of the rear wheels look intimidating.

At lap 28, Tracy and Power pit while being very close to each other - Tracy played it straight and took full fuel ... Power out a little earlier and may have taken a little less on board to insure a quick turnaround.

Lap 32, after suffering three cut tires early on, Sebastian Bourdais (three time series Champion) goes out after he clips a wall and tucks his wing under the driver’s side front wheel. With that, CCWS' winning-est team, Newman-Haas, folds for good.

Doornbos and Tracy speed past the parked and damaged McDonald's DP01 of Bourdais. Image Credit: Jalopnik's Las Vegas local, Curtis Walker

Tracy in for additional fuel on lap 34 - telemetry indicated that he did not get a full tank. This will put him back but the question remains ... Did Will Power get enough fuel? Reports are that he did.

Lap 40 - Alex Tagliani leads but is getting ready to pit.

Paul Tracy navigates the Las Vegas Grand Prix street course with the Stratosphere looking over his shoulder. Image Credit: Jalopnik's Las Vegas local, Curtis Walker

Lap 41 - Power, Doornbos, Jani, Junqueria, Tagliani, and Tracy

Will Power in the pits on lap 45 so it turns out he did not get a full load of fuel last time in. Power has a sloppy pit stop. These new pit stops on the DP01 car are a lot slower than the previous cars the Champ Car World Series ran last year. What used to be quick 7 second fuel fill-up is taking at least a third longer and it is confusing some of the members of the pit crew. It was causing the pit "captains" to wave drivers out before they were full of fuel.

Lap 50 - Finds Junqueria in for a pit stop and the fuel man indicated that the valve in the fuel tool never opened – Bruno’s Sonny’s BBQ White & Red DP01 is out of contention with a second fuel stop. Paul Tracy leads followed by Power, Tagliani, Doornbos, and Brit Kathryn Legge.

Will Power is fastest on the track and is pacing about one second per lap faster than leader Paul Tracy.

Tracy in on lap 55 for his final fuel with Power taking the lead at 18 minutes left in the race. Power may or may not need fuel to the end.

Tagliani in on lap 59 after 18 laps on the tank. Reports state that Power is running with 13 laps on his tank at this time. Telemetry shows that Paul Tracy is good to the end.

So this is the bet on the table - Does Will Power and the Aussie Vineyards Green & Yellow painted livery have enough to hold off the rest of the field ... Robert Doornbos' Black & Red Muermans machine, Paul Tracy's Dark Blue & White fully fueled Indeck DP01, and Alex Tagliani's Black & Red at eight minutes to go.

Bets placed, cards played, and Aussie Will Power takes the pot and his first win for CCWS 2007 season in the Inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix temporary street race course!

Next week, the granddaddy of all temporary street race courses, The 33rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. It will be a rockin' party in LA ... especially if the teams can sort out the fueling procedure required for the new DP01 formula Champ Cars!

Excerpts from Champ Car World Series, Eric Mauk - Sunday, April 8, 2007 -

QUOTES FROM THE TOP THREE FINISHERS

Will Power: After that, I mean, I was pretty much alone. I caught Katherine Legge for a while, she held me up. But after that, it was a pretty cruisy race really. We had a good car. It handled well all day. The only issue I had was a really long brake pedal at the end of the race. But we had an 18-second lead, so we just brought it home and brought Derrick Walker his second win since '99. It's his birthday. So a pole and a win, I think that's a pretty good present for him.

Robert Doornbos: No, I really enjoyed it. A great start to the weekend. Already yesterday to have qualified in the top three, we couldn't have dreamed of a better start really. Was a bit worried this morning because it's a different routine that you have than in European racing with these rolling starts. I'm so pleased for everybody, especially for my sponsors here, they come all the way from Holland. It's been a long winter. Really a good decision to go racing in Champ Car.

Paul Tracy: It went really well. Obviously, to lead the beginning of the race, I made a good start, was able to get by Will on the start. We spent a lot of the first part of the race under yellow. We came in and did our first pit stop. The car didn't take any fuel for us. We spent 15 seconds and ended up getting like four laps of fuel. We came back out and chased, then had to come straight back in and take fuel again. That really took the fight out of the race I think for Will. I think we could have put a lot of pressure on him. It was a good day for the Forsythe team and Monster Energy.

NOTEWORTHY

· Will Power becomes the first Australian driver to win a Champ Car race. Geoff Brabham held the previous mark, having finished second on three occasions, the last of those being at Road America in 1987.

· Robert Doornbos is the first driver to score a podium finish in his Champ Car debut since Nigel Mansell won his debut in 1993.

· Both Robert Doornbos and Tristan Gommendy made their Champ Car debuts with top-five finishes today, marking the first time that has happened since Jim Crawford (4th) and Emerson Fittipaldi (5th) turned the trick at Long Beach in 1984.
[Reference Here]

... notes from The EDJE

Of E.coli, Foie Gras, Boomer Bellies, And 'Gastroporn' - 2007

It was a burger that was simple in concept but daring in use of ingredients. An almost dainty brioche bun barely holding together slices of Wagyu tataki, Bachi Otoro Sashimi, pan-seared foie gras and blue cheese. The otoro was unexpected initially because I did not read the menu and thought I was mistakenly served a fish sandwich, but soon enough the wagyu, the foie and the cheese asserted themselves and the result was one happy meaty party. Excessive? Maybe, but seriously, I could have eaten another ten pieces. Image Credit: Foie Gras Dinner by u m a m i via Casey

Of E.coli, Foie Gras, Boomer Bellies, And 'Gastroporn' - 2007. Oh, and did we happen to mention "reverse-dieting", Izakayas, mangosteen, and "fatty acid profile"?

It is never easy to predict trends in our cultural experience, especially when it comes to the gastronomic variety.

Some trends might be easy ... like, be careful around packaged vegetables such as Spinach or Lettuce.

Other trends might require a more tactile approach to detect - as in being a little more experimental while dining out.

Surfice it to say, be free to eat and experiment in 2007 for there are many areas in which to explore where food-creativity meets one's needs. Here are a few predictions for 2007 as to what one might run into while eating through the coming year!

Excerpts from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution –

PREDICTING 2007 TRENDS IN FOOD
Ethiopian bread will be popular this year. Check out what else will be on our plates.
By CHRIS ROSENBLOOM and SUSAN PUCKETT - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Published on: 01/04/07

"It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future," goes an often-quoted saying.

But that doesn't stop us from trying.

With last year's focus on the dangers of trans fats, will we see more interest in good and bad fats in 2007?

With sodium levels skyrocketing in convenience products and restaurant items, could salt be the next villain?
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How will food marketers take advantage of baby boomers' abundant disposable income as they go kicking and screaming into old age?

To answer these questions and others about what we can expect to see on our tables and in the marketplace in the coming year, we consulted experts across the country and perused the piles of magazines, press releases and new books that have already weighed in.

Here's what they were seeing in their crystal balls:

Anti-aging products for boomers

"Food products will be moving beyond liquid drinks like Ensure or Boost in marketing to older adults," says Dea Baxter, associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. Superfruits or their extracts like açaí, goji berry, coffee berry, guava and mangosteen will appear on a host of ingredient lists from drinks to desserts. They're loaded with disease-fighting anti-oxidants and especially appealing to older consumers. "Packaging innovations will also be implemented for older adults with arthritis or decreased grip strength," Baxter adds.

'Bellies are big'

So notes restaurant consulting firm Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. in its forecast for 2007. "Relentlessly searching for new things to serve, chefs are focusing on the nether regions of fish and animals," according to the report. Pork belly, better known as bacon, was big on menus everywhere last year, and costly tuna belly, also known as toro, was popular in upscale sushi restaurants. This year, they say, menus will feature veal, salmon, swordfish and lamb bellies — "all rich with fatty flavor, all (not coincidentally) cheap cuts that used to be trimmed away."

A 2007 prediction list "Two-Fer" - Chocolate Caramel Tartlettes with Sea Salt. Image Credit: Nordljus

Chocolate - the darker, the better [goes without saying]

Chocolate is no longer a guilty pleasure as researchers identified that dark chocolate contains compounds called flavonols that provide heart-healthy benefits.
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We will see more chocolate products from Ecuador, Venezuela and the Ivory Coast as competition for the 'best' chocolate grows."

Downsized desserts

Simple carbs are still on the no-no list for many a calorie-conscious eater.
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Seasons 52, the health-oriented chain that opened two locations here last year, serves teeny portions of red velvet cake and Key lime pie; Rathbun's pastry chef Kirk Park offers mini samples of his entire dessert menu all on one plate - a trend in and of itself.

Exotica goes everyday

"Foods unfamiliar to everyday shoppers, like Greek yogurt, jicama from Mexico, Japanese sushi rice and Portuguese peri-peri sauces, will be front and center in the gourmet groceries that spring up in newly developed areas," according to "Next Now" (Palgrave Macmillan, $26.95). "Here, trendy shoppers will visit tasting bars and attend cooking classes." Asian flavors and African specialties such as injera, the soft Ethiopian bread that serves as an eating utensil, are likely to be big in such shops.

'Feel-good fish'

That's how Bon Appétit describes the fish that's in favor now in its January 2007 issue: environmentally sound, and low in toxins and PCBs. Among the eco-friendly varieties it recommends: United States- and Central American-farmed tilapia, wild mahi-mahi from Hawaii, the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; California-farmed sturgeon; American-farmed striped bass.

Mackerel is torched at the table at Musha in Santa Monica. Image Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times

'Gastroporn' invades the lexicon

Now that EVOO - Food Network icon Rachael Ray's catchword for extra-virgin olive oil - has made it into the Oxford American College Dictionary, could this term that's begun popping up everywhere be far behind?
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"The preparing, cooking, tasting and eating of food have become voyeuristic pleasures separated from physical reality."

Hamburgers and hot dogs go haute

Speaking of Ray, she is expanding her empire to include a hamburger restaurant, as is Mario Batali's partner Joe Bastianich, who's planning one serving sustainable beef, according to consulting firm Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. (Here in Atlanta, Shaun Doty uses super-high-end Japanese wagyu beef at Shaun's, Star Provisions continues to sell its foie gras burger to go, Jöel makes its lunch burger with Kobe beef and Midtown's Repast last year rolled out a foie gras hot dog.) "Perhaps they're inspired by Hubert Keller's Burger Bar in Las Vegas, where, in addition to a standard hamburger, you can blow your winnings on a $60 Rossini Burger of Kobe beef, foie gras and truffles," they say.

Izakayas as the next small-plate cuisine

The Japanese version of tapas bars is opening all over the world, notes Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. "These are homey places emphasizing modestly priced Japanese hors d'oeuvres washed down with oversize bottles of beer and overfilled glasses of sake," the consultants say.

"Musha" in Santa Monica, Calif., is an izakaya, or pub. The small dishes in izakayas typically come in traditional forms of tempura, simmered dishes called nimono and grilled dishes like yakitori skewers. Image Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times
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They note that the P.F. Chang's folks have opened a more Americanized version in Scottsdale, Ariz., that, if successful, could launch another chain. Look for the Kinjo brothers, creators of Midtown's MFSushibar and Nam, to open their version soon.

Junk food made over

Fiber-packed fruits and vegetables are being made into chips, ice cream is being enhanced with extra vitamins, whole grains and heart-healthy oils are replacing white flour and trans fats in cookies, and even Disney is putting a more nutritious spin on its theme-park snack foods.

Kid-aimed food advertising

Trend-spotter Salzman calls children the "masters of pester power" who are easily won over with sweet, colorful foods presented in fun formats, making them a much-sought-after target for advertisers across the globe.

Locally grown food

As concerns about food safety and the environment grow, so does the popularity of farmers markets and foods produced close to home. "Consumers want to know where and how food is being grown," says Patti Garrett, a nutrition instructor at Georgia State University. She points to the Atlanta Local Foods Initiative as an example. "This group helped in the distribution of a local foods guide published from Georgia Organics to promote local foods, decrease transportation costs, maintain and improve crop diversity in Georgia and support community gardens." A copy of the guide can be found online at www.buylocalgeorgia.org.

Mad science meets fine dining

Though the trend has yet to take off here, in a growing number of big-city kitchens, chefs are dismantling the molecular structure of fresh ingredients - "whirling them in laboratory equipment with frightening-sounding chemicals, dipping them in liquid nitrogen, inflating them with vacuum cleaners, fabricating cantaloupe caviar, deep-frying mayonnaise, turning sauces into powders, and spraying the air with flavors to suggest that what you're looking at isn't what you're about to eat," according to Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. Richard Blais began dabbling at it at his eponymous Blais here in Atlanta; now Hector Santiago of Pura Vida is planning to unleash his own experiments at his upcoming Bodega Gastronomica.

Newfangled steakhouses with name chefs

Wolfgang Puck, Bradley Ogden, Michael Mina and David Burke are among the celebrity chefs who have launched "newfangled beeferies that marry elements of serious cooking with simple but upscale grilling," according to Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. Locally, look for Kevin Rathbun's Steak to open soon.

Organic beyond the vegetable field

Expect to see the term "industrial organics" more often as giants like Wal-Mart continue to jump into the fray. Organic snack-food sales continue to flourish, while the foodie world is all abuzz about organic wines and chocolates.

Personalized diets

Forget Atkins. "There's a growing belief that there's no such thing as a diet that's right for everyone. Personalization - whether based on lifestyle, ethnicity, blood type or something else - will become an important component of diet programs," says trend-spotter Salzman.

Quick-service restaurants diversify their options

Many of these eateries, according to the National Restaurant Association's 2007 Restaurant Industry Forecast, are jumping on the wellness bandwagon, offering and promoting healthful choices. Among the fastest-growing menu items in quick service: espresso/specialty coffee, chicken sandwiches, energy drinks, deli-style sandwiches, wraps/pitas/tortillas, bottled water and entree salads.

Reverse dieting

Among the latest crop of diet books is "The Reverse Diet" by Tricia Cunningham (Wiley, $24.95). Cunningham is a young mother of two who got considerable attention on talk shows for losing more than 170 pounds by simply eating dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. The idea is to eat your heaviest meal early so you burn those calories throughout the day. Of course, she also ate healthier, too. Whether others will share her success remains to be seen, but those searching for yet another weight-loss method may well be inclined to give it a try.

Salt backlash

New York City chef and registered dietitian Kyle Shadix predicts an attack on salt in 2007, like the attack on trans fats in 2006. "The United Kingdom has taken a stand on salt with the Food Standards Agency Salt Awareness Campaign. Manufacturers have heard the call and are voluntarily reducing the amount of salt in a wide range of processed foods. "I expect to see the same thing in the U.S.," he says. "Some people are going so far as to argue that salt should be removed from the Generally Recognized as Safe list, since evidence seems to support that it is harmful."

Technology on the menu

Restaurants are finding new ways to use technology to improve efficiency and give customers more control over their dining experience, which is especially appealing to younger diners. According to the National Restaurant Association, 46 percent of Americans - and 71 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds - say they are likely to use customer-activated ordering and payment terminals if available in their favorite table-service restaurant. About half of all adults - and roughly two-thirds of those ages 18 to 34 - say they would use a self-serve order and payment terminal at a quick-service restaurant if it were available.

Upscale salt

Manufacturers may be pressed to lower the sodium in canned soups and other processed foods but - health concerns aside - the demand for gourmet salts is hotter than ever. "Not the powdery stuff in round cardboard boxes; we're talking instead about crunchy, flaky, tinted crystals from out-of-the-way places that have migrated from restaurant kitchens to dinner tables at home," says Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co.

Vegetable salads sans the bag

Sales of bagged salad greens continue to wane as consumers remain skeptical about their safety following last year's outbreaks of E. coli linked to bagged spinach. It's prompted creative cooks to experiment with other cool ways to toss veggies - a topic that's been turning up in the latest food mags, including January's Bon Appétit, which includes a feature on no-lettuce salads that call for fennel, cabbage, cauliflower and artichokes.

"Ice Rocks" - The water for Ice Rocks is drawn from the heart of the Vendée region in west central France after flowing through a granite massif formed more than 300 million years ago. The water is drawn from the 100 meters deep natural source which is protected by a clay soil surface resulting in nitrate free water with Total Dissolved Solids of 300mg/l. Image Credit: Finewaters

Waters with pedigrees

Bottled water has become a $9 billion-a-year industry, according to Michael Mascha, founder of www.finewaters.com, described as "the definitive voice for water connoisseurs and their lifestyle." And consumers are becoming increasingly picky about them. Consider his just-released "Fine Waters: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Most Distinctive Bottled Waters" (Quirk, $24.95), which not only rates the "virginality" (the degree a water is protected from its surroundings) and "minerality" of 100 brands but offers food pairing suggestions and advice on what stemware to serve it in.

X-rated cocktails take a back seat to restrained classics

Saveur magazine notes in its January issue, look for the return of classic cocktails - perhaps made with artisanal distilled spirits, and possibly served in a retro bar. "Instead of vodka, think gin; instead of 'Sex and the City's' Carrie Bradshaw, think William Powell in 'The Thin Man." (The bar at Trois, one of 2006's biggest Atlanta restaurant openings, is one spot to experience the trend locally.)

Yogurt and beyond

Probiotics, which help populate the gut with good bacteria that help strengthen our ability to fight infection and disease, will be a major buzzword in the nutrition world. San Francisco-based nutrition consultant Jo Ann Hattner says she's "added probiotic therapies to my practice using dairy foods with natural cultures," and predicts we will see more probiotic foods competing for space in the dairy case. Yogurt is the best-known source, but look for others - like Dannon's Activia and Kashi Vive Cereal.

Zero trans fats

Already, many food companies have removed these heart-damaging, chemically altered fats.
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And as New York City implements its war on these "bad" fats by phasing them out of restaurants and other food establishments, we may see other cities follow that lead. As a result, "I predict we will see more emphasis on including healthy fats such as omega-3 fats into balanced diets vs. focusing just on what not to eat," says Lisa Carlson, registered dietitian and director of professional education for Quaker/Tropicana Foods. Neva Cochran, a nutrition consultant in Dallas, adds that this will give rise to more "designer fats," or the reformulation of traditional vegetable oils to improve their fatty acid profile to make them more healthful.
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