Football, football, football

watched some the African Cup of Nations this evening. Although the second strings of both Cuinea and Tunisia were playing, the game was entertaining enough, but marred by a lack of tactical acumen (or should that be cynicism employed by European and South American teams). Then I happened upon this report from the BBC, suggesting that World Cup fever has slightly influenced the choice of films at this year’s Berlinale. The final part of this post is unrelated to football. I watched Passer’s Intimate Lighting, a classic (if somewhat short) piece of Czech New Wave film making. The essay on the site explains it far better than I ever could, but this film has an effortless charm. I know nothing about life in the Bohemian countryside, yet the gentle Chekhovian humour at work subtly contrasting the lives of the protagonists cannot fail to draw you in.

Anna Akhmatova

Он любил три вещи на свете:
За вечерней пенье, белых павлинов
И стертые карты Америки.
Не любил, когда плачут дети,
Не любил чая с малиной
И женской истерики
…А я была его женой.

9 ноября 1910, Киев

A man speaks…

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

Relationships, books, etc

interesting post I stumbled across: Dating Without Kundera at idlewords

Five books I have just read or am about to read

Miguel de Unamuno – Tragic Sense of Life
Bertrand Russell – In Praise of Idleness
The Desert Fathers – Sayings of Early Christian Monks
Karel Čapek – Notes from England
Harold Shukman (editor) – Redefining Stalinism

Reliving my youth

Got me a movie
I want you to know
Slicing up eyeballs
I want you to know
Girlie so groovy
I want you to know
Don’t know about you
But I am un chien andalusia
Wanna grow
Up to be
Be a debaser, debaser

Got me a movie
Ha ha ha ho
Slicing up eyeballs
Ha ha ha ho
Girlie so groovie
Ha ha ha ho
Don’t know about you
But I am un chien andalusia

Debaser

The Pixies

SSEES

I returned to SSEES for the first time in a couple of years for a business meeting today. The new building is magnificent – the atrium is an incredible feature and lets light into the whole library. In fact, the library was the main reason for the visit, and they kindly allowed me to have a wander around. The delightful smell of old Central/East European books (anyone who has visited the old SSEES library knows what I mean) remains, despite the new shelves and climate control and air conditioning.

Kung Fu Cow

movie here. Enjoy.

A guide

to Master and Margarita. And a Bulgakov encyclopedia (only in Russian, though…) And I met a German at Patriarch’s Ponds in 1998 along with (the now on his way/in NZ) BiB.

Easy Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon or so of parsley, finely chopped
275 g Arborio/ Carnaroli risotto rice
150 g mushrooms, halved
1.5 litres of boiling stock (ideally chicken)

what to do:

Preheat oven to 190°C
Brush a Pyrex or ceramic dish with olive oil and place in the oven.
Chop the chicken breast into 1 inch cubes. Brown them in olive oil in a frying pan, then add the onion, garlic and parsley and fry gently for 5 minutes – or until the onion has become translucent. At this point, fling the rice in too, and stir it all about too, making sure it gets a good coating of olive oil.
Add the mushrooms, and a third of the stock, stirring over a high heat until most of the stock is absorbed.
Now remove the heated dish from the oven, transfer the chicken, onion, garlic, mushrooms and rice to the dish. Pour over the remaining stock and give it a stir. Then put it back in the oven. Once the stock has come back to the boil, stir it again. It will now take 40-50 minutes to cook (depending on your oven). Give it a stir every 5 minutes and add more stock (if required). When most of the stock has been absorbed and the rice grains are tender (best to test with your mouth here), it is almost ready. Add a few blobs of butter and a good grated parmesan or pecorino at the end of the cooking time.
Serve (and enjoy).