New Website

Read about my story on Hitachiya , the Japanese cookware store in Torrance in the Saturday section. Here's one of the items that escaped our cameras there. Can't guess what it is? A sesame seed roaster. As owner Hirota Masazumi explained to me, you add the sesame seeds at the top, place the ceramic roaster on a burner and shake gently to move the seeds around. Once the sesame seeds are roasted, pour them out the spout. It's $32 at Hitachiya . ALSO: Test Kitchen tips: Calibrating your thermometer Tales of the Cocktail 2012: A festival with a split personality The Art of Eatings' new website and back issue sale twitter.com/sirenevirbila

OLYMPIC APPETITES Olympic athletes consume several thousand calories a day -- often in the form of junk food . "I love fatty desserts," says gold medalist swimmer Nathan Adrian , such as white cake topped with rainbow sprinkles. [ Wall Street Journal ] BURNING QUESTIONS Norman Lear answers the query : What's the best meal you've eaten in New York? (And he's 90 but has 17-year-old daughters?!)  [New York magazine] ON VALUE AND TRUFFLES " Is it really worth spending money on fine dining when so much of the happiness we experience is simply our brains fleeing from cognitive dissonance?"

Edward Behr's magazine The Art of Eating has a new website and blog. And I guess to celebrate, this seriously wonderful food newsletter turned magazine is having a summer sale. Now through Aug. 12, save 30% when you buy four back issues. That's $33 total, with free shipping. Just scroll through the back issues table of contents to see what you've been missing. Blog posts so far are excerpts from articles. One post on the palm honey of La Gomera begins, "I was sitting in a small bar in La Gomera's capital, San Sebastian, when I began to hear a soft, lilting whistling coming from the streets outside.

The lawyer representing George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, defended his decision to delay the release of documents in the case, arguing that the safety of witnesses needs to be protected. In a posting on his new website , attorney Mark O'Mara argued that he is delaying requesting some court documents until he can file motions that prevent the release of the names of any witnesses. Under Florida rules, documents in a criminal case become a public record 15 days after they have been requested by a defense attorney.

For someone so famous for inspiring the imaginations of her readers, J.K. Rowling now seems determined to cut them off at the pass. In the introductory video for her new interactive website, Pottermore, she makes the announcement that the site will contain "additional information that I've been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter. " One of the major draws of the site, still in testing stage, is the opportunity for Rowling fans to learn character histories and trivia about the boy wizard's magical world.

Consumers looking to compare doctors and hospitals are getting a new resource as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launches an online state-by-state directory of healthcare providers. The directory features an interactive map of the 50 states that consumers can click on to access 197 state-level and 27 national quality databases set up by nonprofits, health plans and government agencies nationwide. Though some of these databases have been available for years, such directories have been proliferating as patient advocates, healthcare leaders and public officials intensify efforts to improve the quality of care that Americans receive.

WASHINGTON — With the U.S. unemployment rate stubbornly above 9%, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke unveiled an initiative Wednesday to encourage U.S. and foreign companies to create more jobs in the United States. Building on previous U.S. government efforts to attract foreign investment, the SelectUSA initiative will help U.S. states deal with federal regulations that may discourage an overseas company from investing in the United States or prompt a U.S. firm to look abroad, senior Commerce Department officials said.

Usually, potential presidential aspirants seek cash before waging a campaign. Mike Huckabee wants your prayers. To that end, a new website has been launched seeking divine inspiration for the former Arkansas governor, called www.prayforhuckabee.com . "As many of you know, I am prayerfully considering an important decision about seeking the office of president in the 2012 election. I am asking for God's guidance now, and I humbly ask that you would join me in prayer as I seek to discern His will for my life," Huckabee writes on the page.

In what was billed as a "major announcement," the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday unveiled not a new policy platform, but a new logo -- one with a familiar ring. It is the first rebranding effort by the party since Bill Clinton was president, officials say, and is meant to deemphasize the traditional notion of the party organization as a Washington-based collection of gray-beards and instead represent a national coalition making "change that matters. " Along with the logo is a redesigned website, which the party calls "a home for powerful tools that will empower Democrats across the country to connect with one another and with the party.

The lineup of guest judges on the new season of "America's Next Top Model" may not mean much to the average viewer. But in the fashion world, Patrick Demarchelier and Matthew Rolston need no introduction. And fashionistas know why the sought-after photographers decided to climb aboard the reality modeling competition in its 15th cycle, which premieres Sept. 8. Two words: Italian Vogue. The magazine, considered the most prestigious fashion publication in the world, has partnered with the CW show for the first time.