A controversial war photography show closes Sunday at the Brooklyn Museum, after a three-month exhibit with stops in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. “War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath”features more than 480 photographs and other documents from wars dating back to 1887.

 “In the news and magazines, people don't show us what’s really going on,” says Ann Wilkes Tucker, who curated the show with Will Michels. “We felt that if the soldiers have to see it and if the journalists have to see it, we have to see it.”

Reactions to the exhibition have been mostly positive, if disturbed. Phillip Kennicott at The Washington Post called the exhibition “wrenching and horrifying,” while Vince Aletti at The New Yorker found it “tough and unflinching.” 

Some reviewers, however, objected to the overwhelming size and structure of the exhibit, which is jam-packed and arranged thematically, with images of World War II appearing next to images of Afghanistan or Rwanda. The effect, according to Ken Johnson of The New York Times, is “mind-numbing” and “flawed.”

One way or another, it's a powerful experience. With permission from the Brooklyn Museum, we are (again) publishing a selection of the photos.

Soldiers aboard the Australian transport ship Ajana head out for overseas destinations in 1916.

Ukrainian battalion commander Alexsei Yeremenko leads soldiers to attack in 1941, after the commander of his regiment was injured.

Russian soldiers charge forward on the Eastern Front in 1941.

Last week, the Argentine government devalued its currency and prices soared. It was just one step on a long road to getting Argentina's economy back in order as the Central Bank's currency reserves dip to dangerous levels.

It's been chaotic, but Argentines don't sweat it. They've seen this before.

Economic crashes, underground dollar exchanges, Rolling Stones cults, and a string of five Presidents in two weeks in 2001 — Argentina is a crazy place.

The South American country is rich with resources, but often broke. As a result, Argentines are so accustomed to political and economic turmoil that they've adopted a bunch of interesting coping mechanisms — habits that help them get through the disorder.

And then there's the stuff that just comes out of left field.

In 2001/2002 the country had five presidents in two weeks.

It was a tough time  — Argentina's economy had crashed after it defaulted on $13.2 billion of foreign debt it could not pay.

The string of presidents started when Fernando de la Rua resigned in December of 2001. The last of the five, Eduardo Duhalde, was appointed in January 2002 amid major protesting.

The country's naval vessel, La Fragata Libertad, was impounded in Ghana for two weeks thanks to a hedge fund manager.

Hedge fund manager Paul Singer got a Ghanaian court to impound the 'Libertad,' which was docked in a Ghanaian port, last year. It was stuck there for months.

The country has refused to pay Singer and other investors $1.4 billion in sovereign debt. The legal case has raged for years, with Argentina referring to the hedge fund managers as "vultures."

Singer took the boat as collateral.

The government put out this video of the crew finally returning home.

A major sign of a nation's overall wellbeing is the diet of its population.

Oxfam— an international confederation of organizations that works to end poverty — studied data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to find out which world countries had the most nutritious, plentiful, and affordable diets.

The resulting "Good Enough To Eat" index ranks 125 countries based on how much people have to eat (levels of undernourishment and percent of underweight children), food affordability (measured by food price levels compared to other goods, and food price volatility over time), quality of food (measured by diet diversification and access to clean water), and health outcomes (such as diabetes and obesity).

European countries dominated the list with high diet diversification and low food price volatility, while poorer African countries were ranked lower. Chad was the lowest rated country, while the Netherlands took the top spot.

Check out a heatmap of the best and worst countries for healthy eating, as well as a data visualization tool, here.

#25 (TIE) Hungary

Overall Score: 15

100% of people in Hungary have access to safe water and only 4% of the population is undernourished.

On the other side, 27.6% of Hungary's population is obese and 10.8% have diabetes.

Source: Oxfam Food Index Data based on the most recent numbers from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Overall score is ranked from 0-100, with 100 representing the worst possible score.

#25 (TIE) Slovakia

Overall Score: 15

Food price inflation volatility is low in Slovakia, where only 4% of the population is undernourished.

36% of Slovakian diet comes from staple, carb-heavy foods, such as cereals, roots, and tubers. 25.4% of the population is obese, and 10.6% have diabetes.

Source: Oxfam Food Index Data based on the most recent numbers from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Overall score is ranked from 0-100, with 100 representing the worst possible score.

#25 (TIE) Estonia

Overall Score: 15

98.8% of people in Estonia have access to safe water, and food price inflation volatility is relatively low.

9.7% of the population have diabetes and 20.6% of the population is obese, but only 35% of the standard diet comes from carb-heavy foods.

Source: Oxfam Food Index Data based on the most recent numbers from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Overall score is ranked from 0-100, with 100 representing the worst possible score.

A few years ago, Aaron Hirschhorn and his wife Karine went to visit their family on the east coast. They left their two dogs, Rocky and Rainbow, in a kennel. It cost them $1,400 — more than their trip — and Rocky hid under Hirschhorn's desk for the next two days.

Skip straight to the puppy photos »

"It was clearly a bad experience," Hirschhorn told Business Insider last week in Santa Monica, Calif.

He and his wife started brainstorming better solutions and then spent 2011 turning their home into a dog-sitting hotspot. Over the course of the year, they took in 100 dogs when friends went out of town. The result was DogVacay, a network of local dog sitters, which has raised $22 million from investors such as First Round Capital, Benchmark, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Any animal lover can become a dog sitter on DogVacay with a little bit of training. Hirschhorn says common sitters include busy professionals who want to spend a few weekends a year taking dogs to the park, or retirees who don't want to commit to a new pet full time. Hosts set their own prices, but the average comes out to $28 per night. A kennel can cost $50 on up to $80 per night.

There have been situations where animals have gotten injured — or worse, died — while being dog-sat by DogVacay users. Hirschhorn says hosts are given up to $3 million in insurance and dogs are covered up to $25,000. He also says his team has 24/7 customer service and owners can receive photo updates of their pets on the app while they're away.

For the most part, the app is a life-saver. "There are 78 million dogs in the US, which is more than there are kids, so a lot of people have dogs and our service helps them with a real need," says Hirschhorn.

He let us tour his puppy-filled headquarters. Here's where the dog-lovers congregate. 

DogVacay Founder, CEO, and Top Dog Aaron Hirschhorn greeted us with his pet who inspired the business, Rocky.

There are also leashes nearby so dog owners on staff can take their pets for walks. Everyone is allowed to bring their dogs to work, and many do.

Where there aren't live dogs, there are stuffed animals. These two were scattered outside the kitchen.

For wealthy New Yorkers accustomed to $10+ million urban homes, buying a Bahamas condo for $3 million doesn't seem so bad.

At least, that's what Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and real estate company Douglas Elliman are hoping.

They have teamed up on a gorgeous new project called the Honeycomb on the south coast of New Providence, named for its geometric and organic façade. The midrise condominium will face a marina and the ocean, and feature apartments ranging from two bedrooms to seven-bedroom penthouses.

The 34-unit complex is a part of a larger resort known as The Albany, a project developed by the Tavistock Group with investors such as Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, and would be the tallest building in the area, according to the press release.

“The idea with having Douglas Elliman on board is that the New York buyer hasn’t been addressed,” Horacio LeDon, a senior managing director at Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, told The New York Times. “Wealthy New Yorkers have been going down to the Bahamas for quite some time, and all without any proper marketing. We aim to change that.”

Compared to some Manhattan real estate, the condos are relatively cheap, costing roughly $1,600 to $1,700 per square foot after closing costs and other expenditures, according to The Times (that's a range of $3 million to $12.5 million). In Manhattan, square footage can go for many times that price.

Each apartment comes with an outdoor private terrace, as well as a pool. Honeycomb will break ground this summer, and opens in the first half of 2016.

A new midrise condominium in the Bahamas, the Honeycomb has 34 apartments with their own private terraces and pools.

Source: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

The building will look out into the marina filled with yachts and towards the ocean.

Source: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

During the night, Honeycomb will be clearly visible from the water with the pools and windows all lit up.

Source: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

Since the beginning of the year emerging markets have gotten completely routed.

There have been a number of explanations — a Chinese slow down, the davaluation of the Argentine peso, political problems exacerbating economic problems in Turkey— but lets be real, markets come back.

When they do, you should be ready.

For that moment, Bloomberg Markets Magazine has compiled a list of the 22 most exciting emerging markets in the world. These are places where there's an opportunity around (almost) every turn if you know how to see it.

To calculate the ranking, Bloomberg Markets Magazine awarded countries points based on 19 different indicators including gross domestic product growth, inflation, current-account balance, government debt and total investment. Countries were then given 0 to the maximum number of points for each category for their overall score (which was out of 100).

22. Egypt

Total score: 20.0

21. India

Total score: 28.6

20. Morocco

Total score: 37.9

In a still-sluggish job market, for many people job hunting can be a frustrating series of nos and non-responses.

To combat that, many job seekers with coding and design experience go to extreme creative lengths to stand out and demonstrate their skills in a tangible way.

From designing a personal Amazon page complete with reviews to making a candy bar wrapper to showcase job skills, here are some of the most creative resumes we've ever seen. 

Omondi Abudho designed a resume that folds into a box.

Abudho is a Kenyan art director and photographer who is well-known for his photography, but has also picked up quite a bit of attention for his resume.

He was inspired one day when he was making a routine purchase. "Believe it or not, I got the idea while buying a pack of coffee," he says. "Java Coffee, one of Kenya's best, to be exact."

He designed a resume that potential employers could cut out and fold into a box, complete with creative "nutrition" facts. The result was immediate. He got three good job offers from top agencies in Kenya. He's currently a creative partner at Scanad in Nairobi.

Simone Fortunini modeled his impressive resume after Google Analytics.

An Amazon online marketing manager, Fortunini created a resume that actually looks like a Google Analytics page. 

Fortunini tells us that since his work involves online marketing and advertising campaigns, Google Analytics is a basic tool that those in his industry work with. He wanted to create a resume illustrating his understanding in online marketing, graphic design abilities, and HTML skills.

"My intent with this project is showing both sides of my professionality in digital: a good technological understanding and an online marketing knowledge," Fortunini says. "Trying to analyze my professional path like a 'web site performance' has been hard, but helpful to get an objective point of view about current achievements and future goals."

Under his "Experience" section, you can click on the different positions he's held on the left-hand side, which will then allow you to see more details about the projects he's worked on and the skills he developed in each position.

Kelly Weihs created a resume made to look like a Wild West wanted poster.

Weihs's resume stands out from the crowd thanks to its vintage, historical look.

"I wanted to have fun creating a resume that was different from everyone else," she says. "I love historically inspired design. For me, it's just a lot of fun to look to the past for ideas."

She applied to her current place of employment using this resume, and immediately saw results. "My current employer quite liked the resume," she says.

Seems like just twelve days ago that Kate Erbland and I posted a list of our most anticipated films playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Our choices were based on elements as diverse as cast, premise, the filmmaker’s previous work, and even the two-word concept of an “abortion comedy.”

As is always the case, though, expectations are never fully met, and while some movies we expected to love ended up disappointing us others that weren’t even on our radar completely blew us away.

That, in a lanyard-wearing nutshell, is the beauty of film festivals. Unlike movies that open at your local cineplex or release onto Blu-ray and DVD each week, the majority of festival titles are unknown entities. There are no trailers or other marketing materials for these films, and the talent involved are often barely familiar faces at best. Most of the screenings are complete crapshoots, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This year’s Sundance was one of the most rewarding film festivals I’ve attended in regard to quality, and it’s evident in the high number of films already picked up for distribution. It’s telling that I had to exclude great and/or highly entertaining movies like Dear White People, Cooties, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, and The Battered Bastards of Baseball to narrow down my list below. Keep reading to see Kate’s and my top fourteen films of Sundance 2014.

"The Babadook"

A single mother and her young son square off against the monster haunting the boy’s dreams. Like the best horror films, this Australian chiller ties its terrors into a very human story.

Even more impressive, writer/director Jennifer Kent‘s feature debut would be just as frightening with the supernatural elements removed. (My review) – Rob Hunter

"Boyhood"

Richard Linklater‘s long-in-the-making look at the adolescence of one boy (Ellar Coltrane) is both bold (it was filmed over twelve years) and suitably lo-fi (it’s really just a great coming-of-age story).

It’s one of the most satisfying in-theater experiences I’ve had in years, and it shows that gimmicks can still work to great effect. - Kate Erbland

"Blind"

A woman who recently lost her sight tries to make sense of her condition by imagining the world and people around her.

Writer/director Eskil Vogt co-wrote the emotionally devastating yet intensely life-affirming Oslo August 31st, so it comes as no surprise that his directorial debut is such an affecting, creative, and beautiful film. (My review) - Rob Hunter

For some investors, choppy waters, uncertainty, and volatility are just the price of rapid growth.

Even more, they're a thrill.

For these investors, Bloomberg Markets Magazine has compiled a list of the 16 most promising frontier markets on the globe. These are places where only investors like Mark Mobius (the Indiana Jones of investing, if you will) dare to tread.

To calculate the ranking, Bloomberg Markets Magazine awarded countries points based on 19 different indicators including gross domestic product growth, inflation, current-account balance, government debt and total investment. Countries were then given a score of zero to 100, the maximum number of points for each category, to compute their overall score.

16. Venezuela

Total score: 26.9

Projected annual GDP growth: 1.1%

Ease of doing business: 181

15. Nigeria

Total score: 38.3

Projected annual GDP growth: 7.1%

Ease of doing business: 147

14. Argentina

Total score: 41.5

Projected annual GDP growth: 2.4%

Ease of doing business: 126

For several freezing, early-morning hours Monday, Jan. 27, thousands of New York City volunteers patrolled the city's streets and subways looking for undocumented homeless residents.

Last year's survey reported a 13% rise to 64,060 homeless people in shelters and on the street, bucking a national trend of declining rates. This year's numbers won't be available for a few weeks.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed to make a significant dent in city homelessness despite an overhaul of policies in the mid-2000s, and new Mayor Bill De Blasio made the crisis a major part of his campaign.

When Business Insider tagged along to see how the count was done, we learned that the most difficult part of helping the homeless can be finding them, particularly the thousands of chronically homeless people, who have spent at least one consecutive year without a home and typically live outside shelters and suffer mental illness, substance abuse, or physical handicap.

Volunteers were sent to all five New York City boroughs and their subways. We went to New York's Pennsylvania Station where we met dozens of people with tragic stories, needing help more than most of us can imagine.

New York City's Department of Homeless Services called for 3,000 volunteers Monday, Jan. 27, to help count the city's unsheltered homeless population.

Department of Homeless Services attorney Tonie Baez delivered the rules for the complicated task ahead.

Much of the volunteer's instructions centered around the temperature outside. When it's below freezing, during sustained winds or rain, a Code Blue calls for increased efforts from outreach teams and tonight was no different.

Both wine and beer are acquired tastes, but some people prefer one over the other.

So Zach Mack, the NYC-based co-owner of Alphabet City Beer Co., combined forces with wine information website VinePair to make an infographic that pairs up different wines with beers based on your taste preference.

For example, people who love a light wheat beer would also likely enjoy a glass of chardonnay. On the other hand, Merlot drinkers — one of the most commonly recommended wines for first timers — should give an easy pale ale a try.

So if you've been meaning to expand your taste pallet and make the switch from beer to wine (or vice versa), take a look at the infographic below.

SEE ALSO: Beer Experts Say These Are The 20 Best Beers In The World

Join the conversation about this story »

On Wall Street, many of the biggest traders and fund managers love playing poker. And they're good at it, too. 

Pro poker player Phil Hellmuth, who has won thirteen bracelets at the World Series of Poker, explained that there are a lot similarities between the card game and trading the markets. 

When it comes to the market, you have traders managing money in a forum with a lot of other people around them. Just like in poker, the traders are betting against other traders and betting on or against certain stocks. 

"It's very similar. You're sitting down and you're playing against other players and you're betting on your cards versus their cards.  I also think traders, sometimes they're notorious. When they're on tilt, they over-bet a little. Same thing in poker."

Last night, hundreds of Wall Street traders, bankers and analysts gathered in the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan's Flatiron District to play their favorite game for charity.   

The Aces & Angels "Salute the Troops Wall Street Poker Showdown" raised funds for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Wall Street Warfighters Foundation and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. Hellmuth was the host for the evening.  

Firms in attendance included Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Drexel Hamilton, Greenlight Capital, Pine River Capital, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, SAC Capital Advisors, Sanford C Bernstein & Co., Magnitude Capital and others. We also met many financial services professionals who served in the military.

The winner got a seat in the World Series of Poker tournament this summer in Las Vegas. 

If you missed the event, we've included highlights and photos of those who were in attendance. 

Goldman Sachs vice president Jon Puckhaber (left) and Goldman Sachs managing director John Knorring. (Also, we love the beard. It looks like Lloyd Blankfein really started a facial hair movement.)

Goldman Sachs managing director Dinkar Bhatia (left) and Goldman Sachs managing director/ former Marine Major Owen West

(Left to Right) Former Marine Staff Sergeant John P. Jones; Goldman Sachs associate/ Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Eric Ceglowski; and Goldman's Owen West. Sergeant Ceglowski is headed to Afghanistan next month.

With the Super Bowl XLVIII now just four days away, many of the world's biggest brands have already released the ads they'll run during the big game.

One by one, we've seen the reveal of exciting appearances from the likes of Scarlett Johansson (SodaStream) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Bud Light), and incredible ads that run the gamut from emotional tearjerkers (Budweiser) to knee-slapping comedy (Audi).

Given that a 30-second spot at this year's game costs advertisers an average of $4 million, it's no wonder companies like Axe and Kia have chosen to air their best commercials in recent memory.

We've collected all the ads that been released for the game here, and included teaser videos and relevant background for the ads that haven't yet made it to the Internet.

Budweiser — "Puppy Love"

Created by Anomaly. Click here to learn more about Budweiser's campaign.

Kia — "The Truth"

Created by David&Goliath. Click here to learn more about Kia's campaign.

SodaStream — "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi"

Fox rejected SodaStream's original commercial, below, for directly attacking Coke and Pepsi. The ad will air during the game without the final line.

Created by Humanaut.

Travel photographer Jesper Anhede originally went to Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania to start a surf school with a friend at The Manta Resort.

But he ended up with an even bigger challenge: photographing the resort's underwater hotel room — the first of its kind in Africa — anchored over 13 feet deep in the Indian Ocean.

The shoot took the veteran photographer two weeks to finish.

"You have to take the photos at exactly the best time, considering water clarity, angle of the sun, strength of the sun, when are there the most fish around, currents, tides, wind, and waves." Anhede wrote in an email to Business Insider.

He has a CMAS scuba diving certification, and during the shoot was largely focused on the light and color distortions that happen underwater, which he said were both a blessing and a curse. The turquoise water made the room look spectacular, but choosing the right indoor lighting and sheets were difficult since colors appear distorted 13 feet below the surface.

Despite these challenges and even in the middle of the island's rainy season, Anhede still made some fantastic shots of the three-tiered underwater suite.

"Sleeping in the room is a fantastic experience," Anhede wrote. "But sleeping on the sky deck of the room under the clearly visible Milky Way is almost even more fantastic. Two other things that really stuck out were swimming around the underwater room during the night, when there is phosphorus that lights everything up, and taking a dive first thing in the morning and hearing the dolphins chatter."

At $900 a night as a single or $1,500 a night as a couple, it sounds like a worthwhile experience.

Before setting out to Pemba Island, the crew visited a small village in Tanzania on the eastern coast of Africa, which consisted of only a few huts.

Anhede practiced his aerial shots with a remote-controlled flying camera he rigged in a Tanzanian jungle before shooting the underwater hotel room.

Pemba Island, home to The Manta Resort's underwater hotel room, is most easily reached by plane from Tanzania. Anhede said the flight was a "very bumpy ride."

It isn't easy to pinpoint exactly what Peter Thiel is most famous for. His interests range from the mundane (online payments) to the fringes of scientific thought (immortality and floating cities).

He's a libertarian. But he has also funded the secretive data-mining company Palantir, which works for the FBI and the CIA.

Check out some of his amazing quotes »

He co-founded PayPal and acted as its CEO before the company sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

Since then he launched the global hedge-fund Clarium Capital and the Founders Fund, a venture capital firm. He was Facebook's first outside investor, making him a billionaire when the company went public.

He supports the Methuselah Foundation, whose goal is to reverse human aging, and the SeaSteading Institute, a libertarian group founded to create independent floating cities in international waters.

He's also launched the controversial "20 Under 20" initiative which gives 20 teens $100,000 to drop out of college for two years to pursue their own tech projects. 

He is one of the most original, controversial thinkers in tech today.

On living: "Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it. Extinction is approaching. Fight it."

Source. 

On higher education: "University administrators are the equivalent of subprime mortgage brokers selling you a story that you should go into debt massively, that it's not a consumption decision, it's an investment decision. Actually, no, it's a bad consumption decision. Most colleges are four-year parties."

Source. 

On responses to his "20 Under 20" Thiel Foundation drop-outs: "Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It’s like telling the world there’s no Santa Claus."

Source. 

There have been 29 seasons of MTV's hit show, "Real World." The general plot: 

"This is the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite ... and start getting real."

Sometimes, the producers decide to spice up the story line with an unforeseen twist.

This season in San Francisco, they've created a total train wreck. You can only hope it's all scripted. 

Hint: It's called "Ex-Plosion."

The season starts out normal, with seven strangers living in a house together. The seven strangers live together for exactly one month before the crazy twist happens — just enough time for them all to hook up.

This is Jenny, one of the roommates.

This is Cory, another roommate.

Fans watching Super Bowl XLVIII from home don't have to abide by the NFL's strict tailgating rules, but many still end up with the basic pizza and wings at their game day parties. 

In honor of the first outdoor, cold weather match-up in Super Bowl history, it's the perfect time to shake up your viewing party menu as well.  

We compiled a list of regional favorites from Seattle and Denver to get you psyched to watch the Seahawks take on the Broncos, and threw in the recipes that are easy to make at home. Check out what you should be serving at your Super Bowl party:

Pancetta salmon kebabs

Salmon is a staple in Seattle, and also happens to be one of the best natural sources of omega 3, which is good for heart health.

Wrap salmon chunks in pancetta, a thin Italian bacon, and char them over the grill for 15 minutes for an easy-to-handle northwestern snack. Just remember to soak the wooden kebabs in water for at least an hour before cooking to keep them from burning. Then finish the dish with olive oil, vinegar and parsley.  

Colorado whiskey chili 

Firmly rooted in the wild west tradition, Colorado chili is spicy and hearty and preferences beef over pork. Throw together beef, red and black beans, tomatoes and a dose of Denver's iconic Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey for a winning combination. 

Your buddies will love a warm, spiked chili on a cold game day. Plus, it's easy to make; just throw everything in the crock pot and let it simmer until you're ready to eat.

World's best mac 'n' cheese

Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Seattle has been recognized across the country for their "World's Best" mac 'n' cheese. They use a combination of semi-hard cow's milk cheese and Jack cheese over Penne pasta finished with baked-on panko bread crumbs.

If you're feeling lazy (and you're in the New York/New Jersey area), you can also pick up a pre-made batch from Beecher's Handmade Cheese at their Flatiron outpost.

Rainier cherry crumble

Rainiers are very sweet cherries that are famous in Washington. You can make a quick and easy dessert by plopping them in a pan with flour, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon and butter. Cook it at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Or, if you don't feel like doing any baking on game day, just have a hearty supply of Rainier cherries ready to pop in your mouth or cocktail for a sweet burst.

Deep fried rocky mountain oysters

Nothing matches the machismo of the Super Bowl quite like bull testicles. Rocky mountain oysters are a delicacy from western ranchers, who castrate spring calves. If you deep fry them, they're a handy snack that tastes similar to a clam strip. 

Just coat the meat in vinegar, red wine, flour and cornmeal before frying it in hot oil for a few minutes until it's golden brown. Most recipes allow for calf, lamb, sheep, or turkey testicles to substitute for a bull's, which may not be available in your region.

Spicy cheddar cheese football

This food ball will take you about 20 minutes to make. Whip together cream cheese, sharp cheddar, Romano, sour cream, hot sauce and Worcestershire in a bowl (basically all that extra stuff you've got stored in your cupboards anyway). 

Take the cheese mixture out of the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, so you can mold it into the shape of a football. Sprinkle nuts of your choice on top and draw the football laces with Sriracha. It's the perfect cheese dip for anything you've got lying around.

Loaded nachos

This is another easy recipe that largely calls for throwing a bunch of stuff together in a bowl. The only constant for this menu item is tortilla chips. Other than that, you can pile on any toppings you like.

If you're feeling the love for both Denver and Seattle, you can incorporate some hearty western beef along with clams, oysters, salsa and guac.

Dungeness crab dip

Dungeness crab yields particularly sweet meat from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It's a great way to punch up a standard crab dip with cream cheese, leeks, mayo and garlic powder. 

Elk burgers

You can please fans for both Super Bowl teams this year with elk burgers. The Rocky Mountains in Colorado are elk country, but Roosevelt elk are also the state mammal of Washington.

Plus, you can add a new dimension to your game day menu by replacing the standard beef patty with the leaner tasting elk. 

Tree line cocktail

In 2011, the Colorado Distillers Guild and the Colorado Bartenders Guild hosted a competition to create a signature state cocktail. The Tree Line, by mixologists at Denver's Avenue Grill, came out the winner.

It's made with two Bing cherries, 2 oz. Leopold's Small Batch Whiskey, 0.5 oz Leopold's Three Pins Alpine Herbal Liqueur, 0.5 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice, and 0.5 oz simple syrup.

Washington apple cocktail

Washington apples are known the world over, so why not have a drinkable version? The Washington apple cocktail can be served as a Martini, a shooter, in a tall glass or short on the rocks.

It's made with equal parts Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey, sour apple schnapps, cranberry juice and an apple slice. 

SEE ALSO: Where To Watch The Super Bowl In New York City

Join the conversation about this story »

When it comes to cooking meat, give me a pot roast or pork shoulder and I’m golden: I’m plenty comfortable with a lovely long, slow braise.

But when it comes cooking a steak, I’ve always been a little timid. No longer!

Researching our America’s Best New Steakhouse Recipes story for our February issue was the ultimate crash course in how — and how not — to cook steak.

Chatting with some of America’s best meat cooks banished my fears.

We could have dedicated a whole issue to the art of steak cookery. Instead, here, a few of my favorite tips shared by some of the extraordinary chefs from the story:

On seasoning

1. Grant Achatz, Alinea and Next; Chicago: "Use a lot of salt. Everybody underseasons meat," he said. "Meat is like an avocado if you’re making guacamole, or mashed potatoes. They take a tremendous amount of salt before they actually become well seasoned."

On deciding whether to cook on a grill or in a pan

2. Michael White, Costata; New York City: "A cast-iron pan is your best friend when you cook steak at home because it retains heat well," he said. "When you initially put the meat into a hot cast-iron skillet, you’ll get really nice caramelization."

3. Achatz: "How I cook steak at home depends on the season. During the warm months, I use my half-melted Weber grill outside, which burns real hardwood, not charcoal. And when I say melted, I mean the heat gets so hot the plastic handles have succumbed to the state of melted candles and the belly of the grill is warped," he said.

"During the winter, when it is unbearable to be outside in Chicago, I sear the meat in a cast-iron pan," Achatz added. "I leave the pan on the burner full blast for an hour, as hot as I can get it. Even with the front door open and the hood fan on, when the steak hits the pan it’s only a matter of time before the smoke detector goes off: That is a sign the pan is almost hot enough."

On flipping

4. Marc Forgione, American Cut; New York City: "I try not to be the chef when I go to a friend’s house for a barbecue, but I can’t stand it when guys flip the steak a hundred times to get the flames to come up," he said. "You should only touch the steak three or four times the whole time you’re cooking it, whether it’s on the grill or in a pan. There’s a lot of juice in there that you don’t want to mess with."

5. Tim Love, Queenie’s; Denton, Texas: "Cooking steaks is really easy, and that’s what makes it so hard," he said. "It’s three movements: You put it on the grill, you flip it and you take it off the grill. That’s it."

On knowing when it's done

6. John Gorham, Tasty n Alder; Portland, Oregon: "Use your thermometer, and know how to calibrate it. There’s no shame in a thermometer at all," he said. "People will tell you about the trick of testing a steak’s doneness by pressing on it and comparing it to the firmness of the flesh of your hand, but all steaks have different muscle fibers, so it doesn’t always work."

On serving steak at a party

7. Love: "Sear the steaks on the grill or in your cast-iron pan until they’re slightly more rare than you want them, and then let them rest at room temperature for up to three or four hours," he said. "When you’re ready to eat, put them on the top rack in your grill and shut the lid, or pop them in the oven at 450 degrees for just a minute or two, and they’ll be ready to serve, right at the temperature where you want them."

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The Oscars are supposed to be Hollywood's most prestigious awards ceremony, but that doesn't mean a movie has to be prestigious to be recognized by the Academy.

Sometimes some of the more forgettable or just outright bad films of the year wind up on Academy ballots.

Movies that were shockingly nominated >

1. "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" (2013)

Yes, thanks to the Hair and Makeup category, a movie presented by Jackass and staring Johnny Knoxville as an old man who plays hidden camera pranks on unsuspecting passerbys is up for as many Oscars this year as All is Lost and Before Midnight.

2. "Mirror, Mirror" (2012)

In a year (2013) that saw two live action adaptations of the Snow White fairy tale, both got nominated for Best Costume Design.

Only one deserved it, and it definitely wasn't Mirror Mirror (unless you consider putting a swan on an actress' head is something especially innovative).

3. "Transformers" (2007)

Did you know the Transformers franchise has more Oscar nominations than Marlon Brando and Al Pacino have for acting and more than Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have for directing? Those guys should get into stunt work and special effects.

High-end coffee retailer Blue Bottle Coffee made headlines earlier this week when it was reported the company had received $25 million from several big-name tech investors and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. 

The company, which operates 11 locations in New York City and California's Bay Area, has become hugely popular with hipsters and techies from coast to coast. Vintage brewing machines and artisanal coffee are some of its major selling points, and lines are known to get long. 

We paid a visit to the spacious Blue Bottle cafe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to see what the hype is all about. 

We visited Blue Bottle's Brooklyn shop, located on a pretty nondescript street in Williamsburg.

We got our first glance of their famous Blue Bottle logo right at the entrance.

And another one where the shop's hours are posted. The logo on a to-go cup part is of the company's cachet and a sure sign the drinker is "in the know" about what's cool in the world of coffee.