Bill Niman left Niman Ranch, the natural meat company, in August 2007 after a new management team brought changes he did not agree with. Since then, he’s been raising goats, heritage turkeys, and entirely grass-fed beef. When he was at Niman Ranch his cattle went to “finishing” lots to eat grain before they were slaughtered, a practice that caused Alice Waters to eventually drop his meat in 2002 after 20 years on the menu at Chez Panisse. Now Niman, who doesn’t own the rights to use his name on meat products, has started over with new animals, staying true to his ideals of how animals should be raised. The goats are the risky new addition and he’s hoping they will anchor his comeback. Kim Severson looked into his goat operation in the N.Y. Times last year, noting the taste was like “lamb with a big personality.” An article in Sunday’s S.F. Chronicle goes into more detail on Niman’s battles with the new Niman Ranch owners.

Unlike previous years, no million dollar diamond-encrusted shoes came down the runway at the Academy Awards on Sunday. Designer Stuart Weitzman, who began the publicity stunt in 2002, decided restraint was in order for this economy. But there was still plenty of expensive jewelry on the red carpet.

When Leonard Bernstein wrote the tune to “Somewhere” for West Side Story, the dummy lyric “There goes whatshisname” stood in place until Stephen Sondheim came up with “There’s a place for us.” So says, or actually sings, daughter Jamie Bernstein in a N.Y. Times piece about the No. 2 train of the New York subway which emits the 3 notes that start off the lyric. More specifically, the inverters that convert the third rail’s direct current into alternating current on the train cause the steel to sing out the ascending minor seventh and the descending half-step that make up that bit of the tune. From the Times article that originally investigated the phenomenon back in 2002: “The direct current from the third rail is converted aboard the train to alternating current, and in the process, a catchy tune is unwittingly sung.”

UNESCO is tracking endangered languages in an atlas, available online. The print version will be available in May. 2,500 languages out of the world’s 6,000 languages are in danger of becoming extinct. 199 languages have only a handful of speakers remaining. The linguists who worked on this edition are encouraging immigrants to preserve their native languages.

A photo gallery of some notable playthings from the 2009 American International Toy Fair. The $99.95 Bernard Madoff doll seems extravagant considering the subject matter, plus you’re supposed to smash it with the included hammer. I suppose it’s cheaper than therapy. But I could go for a marshmallow gun decorated with peace symbols.

Design your own cereal at [me] & goji. I think you can accomplish this easily in the bulk foods aisle of certain grocery stores, but this does come in a custom “cereal capsule.” Unfortunately it’s all healthy and organic, so no mixing fruity loops with purple horseshoes and green clovers. (via Luxist)

The news that Pepsi will be offering sugar versions of its drinks in April reminded me that I had read somewhere last year that Snapple would be reformulating its drinks to use sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. And indeed, the ingredients lists on their website show that the drinks now in redesigned slimmer bottles use sugar, except for the diet versions. But there are still fruit drinks in the original bottles that have HFCS. Will those be reformulated soon as well?

I missed this when it came out (that’s what I get for not reading BoingBoing), Dave’s Adjustable Hot Sauce lets you select how much spicy heat you want, then spray it on. By the way, there’s now Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Sauce which is hotter than the original Insanity Sauce. Insane.

Found on Etsy: Rock Band Drum Kit Cosies. They are not for covering your drums when you are done playing, they are for deadening the tapping so you don’t disturb your neighbors. Guitar Hero World Tour players, there’s a set for you too.

Eternally devoted Major League Baseball fans can now be laid to rest in team logo caskets or urns. The caskets feature team logo and colors for the inside pillow and fabric. Headstone markers are also available. (This is from the same company that offers the Star Trek urn and a casket based on the photon torpedo burial of Spock.) (via Luxist)