John Mark is hiding something in this picture, but what? Is it a sharp wit? Smoldering charisma? A honey-baked ham? I'm guessing it's the latter....

Each Saturday at 1, as chicken fries in vats of oil or ham bakes in an oven, several dozen people, many of them African-American women of a certain age, come together for worship in a former auto bay. Those who gather here have traveled many roads, none of them smooth. They bring their stories with them.

The holidays. A time for joy, a time for gathering, a time for product smackdowns. So which is the better buy? A Mac mini or a festive honey baked ham? Let TUAW do the comparison work for you.

"A sandwich consisting of slices of cooked chicken or turkey, cheese (usually Swiss) and sometimes baked ham. The sandwich is dipped into beaten egg and grilled in butter until golden brown." (B)

"J"--wherever, whoever you are, I so admire your courage and discipline. 16 days of starvation to protest Sanjaya's crimes against humanity and our collective eardrums? Hit me with your address...I'm sending you a Honey-Baked Ham out of profound gratitude.

Ham is the thigh and rump of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it can be cooked and served fresh, most ham is cured in some fashion.Ham can either be dry-cured or wet-cured. A dry-cured ham has been rubbed in a mixture containing salt and a variety of other ingredients (most usually some proportion of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite), Sugar is common in many dry cures in the United States. This is followed by a period of drying and ageing. Dry-cured hams may require a period of rehydration prior to consumption. A wet-cured ham has been cured with a brine, either by immersion or injection. The division between wet and dry cure is not always hard-and-fast as some ham curing methods begin wet but are followed by dry aging.The majority of common wet-cured ham available in U.S. supermarkets is of the "city ham" variety, in which brine is injected into the meat for a very rapid curing suitable for mass market. Traditional wet curing requires immersing the ham in a brine for an extended period, often followed by light smoking. Traditional wet cured ham includes the English Wiltshire ham and the French Jambon de Paris.Dry-cured varieties include Italian prosciutto crudo (prosciutto di Parma, prosciutto di San Daniele, prosciutto di Carpegna, prosciutto di Modena, prosciutto Toscano, prosciutto Veneto Berico-Euganeo, Valle d’Aosta Jambon de Bosses, prosciutto di Norcia) and the Spanish Jamon serrano and jamón ibérico (notably the Cured iberic Ham of Guijuelo). The United States has country ham (including Virginia ham), which might or might not be smoked. England has the York ham. Germany's Westphalian ham is usually smoked over juniper, in Belgium there is the smoked Ardennes ham, and from China there is the unsmoked Jinhua ham. In Bulgaria the specific Elenski but is produced. In Iran, the dry-cured Zard Kūh ham is produced.Ham is also processed into other meat products such as Spam luncheon meat. Baked ham is also a traditional dish served on Easter.