Food hates me back

Food and I are not on particularly friendly terms these days, plus I am starting to feel depressed about my lack of cooking skills and habits. So when I feel like inflicting myself the most amount of pain possible, I watch The food network.
You'll probably enjoy it, and yes, I'll get over it.

Just 35 days

It's barely 35 days to September 2nd, guys: time for a little introspection on a moody day.

Moving back to Italy still feels like the right decision. I've been wanting roots, a family, my shoes all in the same closet, and a place where everyone knows my name - for a while now. It's not exactly going to come easily you know. I'm not slipping back into a slot I've left in a group of friends, or back to my family as I knew it, or the same home, job, any of that life-making stuff. Enerything has changed, so I am actually starting over although I'm going back within the same national borders.

Plus I've never really had roots, except after highlights grew out, so that will be a huge change.
I'm committing to staying in the same place for a couple of years; and all of a sudden I'm buying shoes. A material world weighing me down: nesting.
Scary for someone who'se given away her alarm clock because the cell phone's timer works just as well - and one less item to pack in case I move, like I'd need to get away real fast, anytime now.

The coolest action figure since G.I. Joe

Jesus Action Figure

Everyone has a different take on Jesus. Muslims saw him as a prophet; Buddhists say he was enlightened; Hindus consider him an avatar (the incarnation of a deity in human form) while Christians hail him as the Son of God. But, wherever your theological compass points, you will agree that this is the coolest action figure since G.I. Joe. Each hard plastic Jesus Action Figure stands 5" tall with poseable arms to reach toward the heavens and wheels in his base for smooth gliding action. Comes in our illustrated package with biblical quotes on the back.

Hopefully no one will feel offended by this, or by the fact I find it histerical.
Also available at Archie McPhee: Freud, Jung, Houdini, Van Gogh, Ben Franklin, Jane Austen, Rosie the Riveter, Bach, Sherlock Holmes and Alexander the Great. Wow.

Sceptre is a cool word, by the way

I went to Cambridge with Paola today.

For many years it was the custom for students to place a bicycle high in branches of the tree in the centre of New Court. Usually invisible except in winter, when the leaves had fallen, such bicycles tended to remain for several years before being removed by the authorities. The students then inserted another bicycle. Similarly, the sceptre held by the statue of Henry VIII mounted above the medieval Great Gate was replaced with a chair leg as a prank many years ago. It has remained there to this day: when in the 1980s students exchanged the chair leg for a bicycle pump, the College replaced the chair leg.

(From the Trinity college, Cambridge wiki)

Naive

Yes, I grew up with Dirty Dancing. I've seen Flashdance, Save the last dance, Shall we dance (Japanese version too), and now - Mad hot ballroom. I saw it last evening, sitting in University parks, oh-my-gosh-ing with my friends here every time a 10-year-old on screen mentioned drugs, getting pregnant, or kidnappings.
I'm so happy to have had a nice naive childhood, especially since it helps in having a nice naive adulthood.

20 questions

This is an amazing little game.

Rasputin

Oh you've got to be kidding.

A St. Petersburg museum has on display a 30cm penis which they claim to have belonged to Rasputin. While it has not been proven that the penis is authentic, legend spoke of Rasputin's physical oddity prior to the artifact having surfaced in the 1990's. The current owners claim that the item changed hands more than once before it was put on public display. Critics deny that the object is a penis, let alone that it belonged to Rasputin.

(From the Wikipedia article, of course.)

Change

Yes, I do love The quotations page.

We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.
Lynn Hall, Where Have All the Tigers Gone?, 1989

It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.
James Gordon, M.D.

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.
Harrison Ford, quoted by Garry Jenkins in Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.
Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

The more things change, the more they remain... insane.
Michael Fry and T. Lewis, 2004

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Although, apparently, it is not up to date with the current situation in Iran, I enjoy Reading Lolita in Tehran these days. My sister bought it for me while she was here, Friday night when Borders was still open after fish and chips at the Eagle & Child.
Then we walked to the Tesco on Cowley Road so she could see the fun part of town, and I could buy pink lady apples for breakfast the next day.

Anyway, this is from the book:

A few years ago some members of the Iranian Parliament set up an investigative committee to examine the content of national television. The committee issued a lengthy report in which it condemned the showing of Billy Budd, because, it claimed, the story promoted homosexuality. Ironically, the Iranian television programmers had mainly chosen that film because of its lack of female characters.

Ceci n'est pas un chador...

Good riddance

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end its right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and Dad's kin on trial.
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end its right
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end its right
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end its right
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end its right
I hope you had the time of your life.

Living breathing beings

These days I've got to remember to breath.
Check this out if you like animals (and would anyone admit to not liking them?).

Magritte's "La Chateau des Pyrenees"

That this is one of my favourite paintings probably says more about me than I'd like.

Pathetic personals

If your some crazy creep hoping to hook up, with some stupid woman with children so you can get your sick rocks off. Well, step off cause no one will be meeting my children anytime soon. I will do back ground checks, check all of your stories out, and also check out your family before anyone gets near my babies! My children are #1 in my life and will stay that way till they are grown and on their own. My youngest has athsma.

I have been Divorced for 5 years now and I am looking for a Loving and Exciting Woman, that is no more than 10 pounds over prime weight for her height and build.
(Now why would someone divorce such a tactful man? Go ahead and make it five pounds over prime weight, we got standards to uphold)

I just want to find some nice, caring, sincere man who loves me for me (or in spite of me) -- in other words, a man who is perfect for ME. I'm finally at the point in my life where I don't need a man, but I really want one. And I hope to find a man at the same point. Only he wants a woman, not a man....okay, okay, you get it.

I have a background in chald care and cunlary arts.

This is all from the quite amusing Pathetic personals.

Patience

Patience is not my thing.

I can't stand waiting.
Not for the bus, not for the last reply I need to complete my dissertation's research.
And not for a bunch of other much more important things either.

I can't wait for good things to happen, or for bad things to get over with. I can't wait... yet somehow I do.

Paranoia

I watched The aviator between last night and today (who knew there were so many DVD in the campus library!) and liked it.
Plus I'm waiting for the last e-mail reply from some guy, to get to work and finish another chapter of my dissertation.
This is what you get in consequence.

It's from Lightbulb cartoon.

Like, love, penguin

If reading a book about cover design - for fun - is not nerdy enough for a publishing student, get ahold of this: I love the book, but am really baffled by the bad binding.
Like, really.

Obviously a book printed on this heavy a paper should not be paperbound; the glue used crackles when you turn the pages; and the cover is going to come unstuck any minute, at what I think is called the "joint crease" (quit snickering, now).

However, I love this book for my own reasons, so much that I'll stop before adding "despite its flaws". There are things you like, and you can quit liking them (e.g., if you get really drunk on apricot flavoured vodka I'm told you then can't bear to so much as look at it again from across the rum - ha! ha! Sorry, I meant room, ok).
But when you love, it's forever. There's no going back, even once you find out something you don't like as much. Even if you throw away, break up, decide never to call again, or start hating: love is still there, undiminisced by the other stuff that might change the way you act.

The chicken and the egg

In writing my dissertation, I found myself struggling for words to explain how I'm not sure whether technological innovation in binding machines has elevated quality levels, or market demand for better quality has forced binders and consequently their machine suppliers to tackle the issue.
Searching the internet for an effective way to express myself, this is what I got.

The UK food pyramid

Calvin and Hobbes

A control-freak author and a couple of characters out of control: what's not to love in Calvin and Hobbes? Just don't think you can sit next to me with your own book while I'm reading the strip, because I'll start chuckling and will have to interrupt to share the fun with you - even if you don't get it.

Because of Watterson's strong anti-merchandising sentiments and his reluctance to return to the spotlight, almost no legitimate Calvin and Hobbes licensed merchandise exists outside of the book collections. Some officially approved items were created for marketing purposes and are now sought by collectors. Two notable exceptions to the licensing embargo were the publication of two 16-month wall calendars and the textbook Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes.

However, the strip's immense popularity has led to the appearance of various "bootleg" items, including T-shirts, keychains, bumper stickers, and window decals, sometimes including obscene language or references contradicting or parodying the whimsical spirit of Watterson's work.
[...]
The 3,160th and final strip ran on Sunday, December 31, 1995. It depicted Calvin and Hobbes outside in freshly-fallen snow, reveling in the wonder and excitement of the winter scene. "It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy!" The last panel shows Calvin and Hobbes zooming off on their sled as Calvin exclaims. "Let's go exploring!"

This is all from the Wikipedia entry.

Edward Monkton is not shy!

Oh goody, turns out one of my favourite cartooninst isn't as copyright-shy as I feared: Edward Monkton. As weird as it gets, but if you do get it... it's funny enough to keep you looking through his books at 10.30 pm in Borders, not even sitting on an armchair, just chuckling with a friend about the oddity of it all.
Just don't be so serious about funny stuff, you know? You end up being pretty goofy in real life as well, which makes it so much easier.

And for a little morning self-realisation... who knew I was so into cartoons to actually have favourite cartoonists, ha! So, next one tomorrow, and if you know me you can probably guess who it is.

Technically

Walking with Julia last evening, all the way up to Headington park and back throught the little streets and passageways I've discovered while getting lost in the fog last winter, I found myself talking about this blog. Which is just a collection of random thought, which however I know will make sense once it's over.
I told Julia, I can already identify some trends going on: culture... food...
And I've got to add "weird humour" to the list, I realise that this morning as I was enjoying this website (where the following cartoon is taken from) and this one and this one far too much.


I'd love to post away, especially some cartoons by Natalie Dee which I find truly invaluable, but I'm a bit scared of infringing copyright with these people - they sound serious about it, and fair enough if they can make a living out of it.
I think I've just started another trend: artists I love tend to be very uptight about the use of their work, just my luck.

Politics explained

At last! A reasonable explanation for the state of world politics today.



(... Johannes is listening to Bon Jovi's "Living on a prayer" during the elementary school incident!)

Gattuso

For some reason I thought Italy had won the world cup more often than merely 1934, 1938, 1982 and yesterday. So it's pretty cool that the team made it last night, very cool that they beat the French, and it kind of sucks that I wasn't there to see it.
Could've watched the matches in a pub, which would have been as good as an experience, but for some reason I didn't get involved in that.
Perhaps the reason is I know I don't belong here: not my culture, don't fit in with the English, or with the students, finally not even with the Americans.
Could it be I am Italian after all? Or am I just feeling patriotic the day after victory?

Anyway, I know nothing about soccer, but I do like this guy.


He must be alright if he was playing on the national team, and he obviously has "grinta", which I can't translate: it might not exist in the English language because, it seems to me today, it must be typically Italian.

Ouch 2

Ouch

These are the kind of people who make me feel the worst.
They are not only talented, but driven.
They need so little to succeed.
They make me realise how little I'm doing with the lot I've got. Ouch.

Rock is dead

Work

I have a job interview tomorrow and I'm dreading it. I'd be interested if I were to stay here, which I'm not, so why am I even wasting the whole afternoon going there and coming back?
Because I've got to, that's why. It's the thing you're supposed to do while you're here - only I don't want to. I want to write my dissertation and then get some rest, because from September there will be no excuses: I'll be all grown up and have a master's, and will have to work whether I like it or not.

Culture clash

So, kids, yesterday we had American 4th of July vs Italy winning the world cup semi-finals: I'd love to get a flag-count there, but let's say it was a tie.
Today, on a more personal level, we have the huge amount of pasta I ate for lunch vs this video. Apparently you need to be American to get it, and man did I get it.
You might enjoy it more if you've been away from your home in the US for a while, or if - like me - you've been sitting at a desk 9 hours to come up with, ehem, 556 words. Well well, will I make it to 1.000 by tomorrow? A long nerdy night awaits...

Italiana!

As Italy was winning the football semifinals, I was home watching Pieces of April, which I happen to have liked pretty much. It's the kind of stuff I'd like to write.

Here's a little patriotic knowledge I leaned today, inspired more by Julia's American flag cake than the azzurri's performance I'm afraid.

La bandiera italiana è una variante della bandiera della rivoluzione francese, nella quale fu sostituito l'azzurro con il verde che, secondo il simbolismo massonico, significava la natura ed i diritti naturali (uguaglianza e libertà).
Non si sa precisamente quando fosse stata utilizzata per la prima volta; Napoleone la adottò il 15 maggio 1796 per le Legioni lombarde e italiane. Nell'ottobre dello stesso anno il tricolore assunse il titolo di bandiera rivoluzionaria italiana ed il suo verde, proclamato colore nazionale, divenne per i patrioti simbolo di speranza per un migliore avvenire: con questo valore fu adottato dalla Repubblica Cispadana il 7 gennaio 1797, qualche mese dopo da Bergamo e Brescia e poi dalla Repubblica Cisalpina.
In quell'epoca le sue bande erano disposte talvolta verticalmente all'asta con quella verde in primo luogo, talvolta orizzontalmente con la verde in alto; a cominciare dal 1° maggio 1798 soltanto verticalmente, con asta tricolorata a spirale, terminante con punta bianca. Nella metà del 1802 la forma diviene quadrata, con tre quadrati degli stessi colori racchiusi l'uno nell'altro; questo cambiamento fu voluto dal Melzi (vice presidente della Repubblica Italiana) per cancellare ogni vincolo rivoluzionario legato alla bandiera.
Abolito alla caduta del Regno Italico, il tricolore fu ripreso, nella sua variante rettangolare, dai patrioti dei moti del 1821 e del 1831. Mazzini la scelse come bandiera per la sua Giovine Italia, e fu subito adottata anche dalle truppe garibaldine.
Durante i moti del '48/'49, sventola in tutti gli Stati italiani nei quali sorsero governi costituzionali: Regno di Napoli, Sicilia, Stato Pontificio, Granducato di Toscana, Ducato di Parma, Ducato di Modena, Milano, Venezia e Piemonte. In quest'ultimo caso alla bandiera fu aggiunto nel centro lo stemma sabaudo (uno scudo con croce bianca su sfondo rosso, orlato di azzurro).
La variante sabauda divenne bandiera del Regno d'Italia fino al referendum istituzionale del 2 giugno 1946, quando l'Italia divenne Repubblica e lo scudo dei Savoia fu tolto.
(www.bandieraitaliana.com)

Independence day

Today is the 4th of July, American independence day. Julia has organised a barbecue, and a still indefinite number of us is going to go to the park - South Park in Oxford - for a lazy afternoon.
I'll stick around for as long as it takes to 1. catch up with friends 2. learn how to grill hamburgers 3. drive my roots a little deeper into American culture: apparently, I'm due for the first s'mores of my life today.
Not that I feel more Malaysian for eating star-shaped fruit last night.

Baklava

I enjoy being childishly curious about food: today I had baklava, though I'm not supposed to eat sugar at all.

I loved it. The whole teaspoon-full of it I had.

The perfect boyfriend generator

Don't even ask how I found this.

The Lake House

I thought The Lake House was a good movie in its genre*. It doesn't make any sense, but that's simply not the point: it's a cute love story, with some cute ideas in it. Stop trying to figure it out.

This movie is a fine example of a difference I have found between Hollywood projects and the films of Asia. 'The Lake House' is clearly from the Asian school of filmmaking. I have found that the audience is expected to accept more with less explanation in Asia than American audiences are. A lot less is explained, which makes way for more emotion, and a less linear flow, hence no explanation for the mailbox. I loved it.

The whole article, one of the few good reviews I found, is here.

*The genre is romantic chick-flick. The kind of movie a few guys, surely in the beginning of their significative relationships, either thought would make their date happy, were dragged to, or tricked into seeing (and Brazil-France was on last night!). But guys, take my advice, don't do that: the truth is, you'll never compare. A couple of letters and Keanu is telling Sandra "I'll take care of you", planting trees for her, mapping city walks, writing on the walls; and she doesn't even have the courtesy of sending him winning lottery numbers (that's more surreal than the mailbox idea).

I can't really laugh...

... but I can't help myself finding this wicked comic strip shamefully fun. I apologise for my horrible sense of humour!