If you have ever wanted to look different than you currently appear, you’re not alone: more than 12 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in the US alone in 2008. That number includes everything from liposuction to Botox, but doesn’t include bariatric (weight loss) surgery or body art like tattoos and piercings.

The “Devil’s Wine,” as the monks who created it dubbed the volatile spirit, has become the staple of our celebrations, an object of affection and obsession for rappers, crucial for the christening of ships, a bartender’s secret weapon in scores of dazzling cocktails, and has secured its place in our culture as the highlight of high society. In the world of spirits, champagne is a relative newcomer with a short history, but this effervescent elixir has had little trouble garnering popularity and status amongst vinophiles and cocktail connoisseurs worldwide.

Accused of being a large contributor to many artistic creations over the past centuries, it would seem absinthe is a revolutionary tool; individuals such as Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Picasso have all been storied to drink from this fabled bottle, yet its reputation for bold artistic direction has been outshined by its darker, more belligerent transgressions. Sure, Van Gogh may have partook in a number of absinthe drinks to rev his creative engine, but it is also said that he cut off his own ear while under the spell of the same elixir. Now, in a country where absinthe has only recently been taken off the blacklist, Americans can enjoy the beverage many have labeled the “Green Devil.”

Before long, the holidays will be here and entertaining will bring us together and food will be the glue. Our fondest memories tend to center around food, and we all certainly have our favorites. I hope the creative process of producing a wonderful meal and the delight of spending time with family and friends makes the holidays all the more enjoyable for you. Let the entertaining begin!

Meant as a tribute to one chef’s troubled and tormented son, A Boy After the Sea: An Untold Story is not an ordinary cookbook. When chef Kevin Snook learned of his youngest son’s drug overdose, he vowed he would not let him die in vain. After being sexually abused while working onboard a commercial fishing boat, Daniel (Snook’s son) turned to drugs to cope with the reality of what happened to him. At the young age of 19, and after three years of drug use and depression, Daniel ended his life by overdosing.

Few architects have achieved the international status of Antoni Gaudí. He produced some of the most unique and controversial buildings in the Art Nouveau movement. A genius before his time, Gaudí’s work was often the target of ridicule by even the progressive artists of his era. His flamboyant designs drew praise and his deep religious conservatism created rifts between him and his critics. Reviled by some but respected by all, he was an architect, artist, catholic, patriot, and ecologist all rolled into one.

For many celebrities, fame offers a chance to lose staggering amounts of money in a winery. For others, the wine business is paying off. Celebrity wine makers have about one per cent of the American wine market, adding about $42 million per year to their wealth, up almost 20 per cent from last year.