I can't blog about recent items in good faith until I've done the holiday report.
I spent my Christmas and New Year's in the cold. On the Wednesday before Christmas I caught a bus to the station, a train to St Malo, a taxi to the airport at Pleurtuit, a RyanAir flight to Stanstead, another to Torp, and then a 2 hour bus-ride to Oslo central, where Lee met me. By 1am, I was safely arrived at Lee's little apartment. Pretty simple, really.
The next day we headed up to Lillehammer by train. We checked into our massive apartment, which normally sleeps 6, and then spent the afternoon wandering around exploring and buying supplies for the coming days. We had dinner that day, and indeed the next, with Jenny, from Lee's course, and a friend of hers. They were doing a whirlwind 2-week tour of northern Europe with 2 or 3 days in Lillehammer before going still further north for Christmas. Good company.
On day 2 of Lillehammer we started our cross-country skiing. We caught a late bus up to Sjusjøen to hire gear, and decided to ski back down to Lillehammer, a route of about 16 or 17km. I was shocking at the start. The flat sections were OK, but on the downhills I had absolutely no confidence, and fell about every 10 meters. The route wasn't the best choice in terms of terrain, either, since it started with what must have been 4km or so of downhills. Once we got down onto the flat it was OK; I started to get the rhythm for the flat parts, and gained a little more confidence on the gentle downhills. We started to run out of light, though, since the sun starts to disappear about 3pm, and is gone by 4pm, at that time of year. By the time we were a few km from Lillehammer it was dark, and we were both pretty tired. The scenery was really beautiful at times, with long sections through forests and past frozen lakes. Unfortunately, the last few km were, like the first few, downhill, and pretty twisty to boot. The fatigue and my general lack of ability saw me falling again a fair bit, culminating in a face plant at speed that my right knee objected to most strongly, to the point that I swear I heard it click at me. We took that as a sign and walked that last km or so back to the cabin, where a cold beer was well-earned.
TBC.
Monday, 9 January 2006
Friday, 30 December 2005
book and film count
So, my anomalous 2004 of reading 41 books has been followed by a more reasonable, perhaps even disappointing 2005 of only 9 books completed (having finished off the Constant Gardener yesterday). I do still have 3 or 4 on the go, though, at least two of which bear a reasonable chance of being finished within the foreseeable future.
More shocking is that, following a sortie last night to see King Kong with Lee, I've only been to the cinema 12 times. I don't have the numbers, but I rather suspect that to be my lowest yearly total since '96, my first year of uni, and possibly even lower than that year, which was basically my first of going to cinemas. There are a lot of factors: a lack of viewing partners some of the time, lack of original (i.e. not dubbed) versions of films I would otherwise have seen, and the temporary relocation of my local cinema, TNB. Most significantly, I've been doing massive, massive amounts of film and TV watching on my computer at home, which instalments I have not counted in that figure of 12. I have a list at home of the films watched on my PC, so when I get back maybe I'll post that.
It would be nice to think that the coming year would see a rise in both figures, and while the cinema count is almost sure to go back up a bit, I think the thesis will probably block a large rise in the novel count.
My Lillehammer trip was good, posts and photos to come when I get back to Rennes next week.
More shocking is that, following a sortie last night to see King Kong with Lee, I've only been to the cinema 12 times. I don't have the numbers, but I rather suspect that to be my lowest yearly total since '96, my first year of uni, and possibly even lower than that year, which was basically my first of going to cinemas. There are a lot of factors: a lack of viewing partners some of the time, lack of original (i.e. not dubbed) versions of films I would otherwise have seen, and the temporary relocation of my local cinema, TNB. Most significantly, I've been doing massive, massive amounts of film and TV watching on my computer at home, which instalments I have not counted in that figure of 12. I have a list at home of the films watched on my PC, so when I get back maybe I'll post that.
It would be nice to think that the coming year would see a rise in both figures, and while the cinema count is almost sure to go back up a bit, I think the thesis will probably block a large rise in the novel count.
My Lillehammer trip was good, posts and photos to come when I get back to Rennes next week.
Monday, 19 December 2005
what the...
I've been browsing Australia media outlets sporadically over the last week for responses to what's been going on in Cronulla. This morning I've found some shockers.
This report via Yahoo, has a quote right at the end that I can't even parse. I really had the impression that these sort of people evolved away a hundred years ago, and that they are alive and running around in Australia is kinda scary.
The Donnelly clown got some play a few months ago bagging postmodern approaches to education, but at least he had some credibility in that discussion. Today, the Australian's given him a soapbox to air some views that it is PC education that has caused these troubles. Such an obvious abuse of common sense would be funny if it weren't sure to exacerbate the problem.
Finally we have this James Morrow fellow, who makes two points. Firstly, that violence perpetrated by the Anglo-Celts has been disproportionately publicised compared to that perpetrated by the Lebanese, which I can't comment on at this distance - certainly all the coverage I've seen has been of the former. Secondly, he attacks the idea that the problems will not be much noticed internationally, and will not effect our image overseas. I can say from personal experience that this is bullshit. I've had four or five people ask me about this stuff over the last week, and in every case I think their opinion of Australian society has been changed a little.
This report via Yahoo, has a quote right at the end that I can't even parse. I really had the impression that these sort of people evolved away a hundred years ago, and that they are alive and running around in Australia is kinda scary.
The Donnelly clown got some play a few months ago bagging postmodern approaches to education, but at least he had some credibility in that discussion. Today, the Australian's given him a soapbox to air some views that it is PC education that has caused these troubles. Such an obvious abuse of common sense would be funny if it weren't sure to exacerbate the problem.
Finally we have this James Morrow fellow, who makes two points. Firstly, that violence perpetrated by the Anglo-Celts has been disproportionately publicised compared to that perpetrated by the Lebanese, which I can't comment on at this distance - certainly all the coverage I've seen has been of the former. Secondly, he attacks the idea that the problems will not be much noticed internationally, and will not effect our image overseas. I can say from personal experience that this is bullshit. I've had four or five people ask me about this stuff over the last week, and in every case I think their opinion of Australian society has been changed a little.
twas the weekend before christmas
And all over town people were praying to the hungry god of consumerism. I should have been amongst them, but I couldn't be arsed, so I stayed home and fiddled about on my computer. In the evening, there was an Avenir game, a fairly win against Nantes after some worries early on. Early in the second quarter, when your centre has 16 of the team's 22 points and her opponent has 3 fouls, it is imperative that you not throw the ball into the low post. Or at least, that seems to be the prevailing "wisdom". Their logic is not like our earth logic.
After the game there was a party for Nono's 25th. Some friends made her a video montage, and food, drink and merriment abounded. I was pissed enough to do some dancing later on, including the chicken dance (duck dance over here) around 3am or so. We, being Liz, Soso, Francky, Ashoo and myself, headed off at 5:30am, after Francky's general mood took a turn for the worst - poor chap.
On Sunday there was a game at Vezin, Soso's team playing in the Coupe de France. I jumped on my bike and rode out around 2pm, overestimating fairly considerably the time needed for a 9k trip. I thus squeezed in some time sitting in a park reading Crime & Punishment and watching a bit of a local football game. The basketball was OK, the difference between the N2 and N3 levels very evident in the lesser physicality. The gym wasn't heated though, so I spent most of the match feeling pretty cold. Goodness only knows how I'm going to manage in Lillehammer.
After the game there was a party for Nono's 25th. Some friends made her a video montage, and food, drink and merriment abounded. I was pissed enough to do some dancing later on, including the chicken dance (duck dance over here) around 3am or so. We, being Liz, Soso, Francky, Ashoo and myself, headed off at 5:30am, after Francky's general mood took a turn for the worst - poor chap.
On Sunday there was a game at Vezin, Soso's team playing in the Coupe de France. I jumped on my bike and rode out around 2pm, overestimating fairly considerably the time needed for a 9k trip. I thus squeezed in some time sitting in a park reading Crime & Punishment and watching a bit of a local football game. The basketball was OK, the difference between the N2 and N3 levels very evident in the lesser physicality. The gym wasn't heated though, so I spent most of the match feeling pretty cold. Goodness only knows how I'm going to manage in Lillehammer.
Thursday, 15 December 2005
curry with ashoo
Last night we gathered for curry. Present were Franck, the host from Alsace, Soso, the sole local, Ashoo, the cook, from Hyderabad, Liz, from Canada, and myself, the antipodean. Good curry, good company, and for bonus points we played a little NBA Live in between courses. To be repeated, I can only hope.
Wednesday, 7 December 2005
Tuesday, 6 December 2005
hell. handbasket.
Jobs in Australian IT research are rare things. Every time a lab gets shut down, my chances of working in my current field in my own country get smaller and smaller. DSTC, gone. And now TRL, apparently.
From another point of view, I find it baffling that a company (Telstra) would at the same time dispose of both its in-house research (by firing its TRL researchers), and its outsourced research (by withdrawing from CRCs). I'm a shareholder of Telstra, but I won't be for much longer if this news is confirmed by Telstra itself. A company the size of Telstra with no view to research, is not long for this world.
From another point of view, I find it baffling that a company (Telstra) would at the same time dispose of both its in-house research (by firing its TRL researchers), and its outsourced research (by withdrawing from CRCs). I'm a shareholder of Telstra, but I won't be for much longer if this news is confirmed by Telstra itself. A company the size of Telstra with no view to research, is not long for this world.
Wednesday, 30 November 2005
modern liberalism
It seems like its been a while since I blogged about politics. It remains of interest to me, and I still don't quite know where I fit in the Australian political spectrum. I would like to think of myself as a liberal, but not a libertarian, and certainly not a Liberal.
Anyway, so an article about the new terror laws passing the House and about their prospects of being amended in the senate made me think about small 'l' vs big 'L' liberals. So I wandered across to Wikipedia and read about small 'l' liberalism. That lead me to 'classical liberalism' - not really me, I decided. Thus onto 'social liberalism', or 'modern liberalism'. There, I said, that sounds a little like me. So I googled for 'australian modern liberal', and came across the maiden speech of The Hon Joe Hockey MP, Member for North Sydney (NSW). Earlier today, Mr Hockey voted in favour of the terror legislation, including the changes to the sedition laws. I wonder how that decision, along with the general culture of fear, as I see it, that has begun to effect Australian politics. In particular, how do these things relate to his quote of George Reid:
And how do they relate to his four tenets of modern liberalism: the rights of the individual, representative parliamentary democracy, reform and equality of opportunity? I'd say that the first has been diminished by a process showing, to date (we can hope that the senate can restore our faith), very little respect for the second.
Anyway, so an article about the new terror laws passing the House and about their prospects of being amended in the senate made me think about small 'l' vs big 'L' liberals. So I wandered across to Wikipedia and read about small 'l' liberalism. That lead me to 'classical liberalism' - not really me, I decided. Thus onto 'social liberalism', or 'modern liberalism'. There, I said, that sounds a little like me. So I googled for 'australian modern liberal', and came across the maiden speech of The Hon Joe Hockey MP, Member for North Sydney (NSW). Earlier today, Mr Hockey voted in favour of the terror legislation, including the changes to the sedition laws. I wonder how that decision, along with the general culture of fear, as I see it, that has begun to effect Australian politics. In particular, how do these things relate to his quote of George Reid:
"There is no country in the world where the people are less paralysed by reverence to the past. There are no people in the world who have fewer fears for the future."
And how do they relate to his four tenets of modern liberalism: the rights of the individual, representative parliamentary democracy, reform and equality of opportunity? I'd say that the first has been diminished by a process showing, to date (we can hope that the senate can restore our faith), very little respect for the second.
Friday, 25 November 2005
to the happy tipple
I squeezed out some sentimental words by way of a wedding toast this evening, in a spontaneous role as surrogate speechwriter. Two and a half large jars of Beamish red played a not significant assisting part in the copious corn contained, in a flourish the fruity froth which perhaps only Jesse could fully appreciate. (*sniff* Almost made we want to dance on levels *sniff*) God bless the sauce and the eloquence it engenders, and three cheers for Kev'n'Kel, the happy and unknowing beneficiaries!
Tuesday, 22 November 2005
famous last noises
So apparently Willy got it wrong. It wasn't "Et tu brute"; it was "gurgle gurgle gurgle". Not unlike Harold Holt, that; put it down to the accent.
Monday, 21 November 2005
weekend
Avenir played a home game Saturday night - an easy (in the end) win over Brest in an ugly game. Ugly because the umpires were letting far too much go down low, and also because I didn't really like the offense Avenir were running. No post play whatsoever, too much dependence on passes from the top of the key to cuts or seals. Anyway, what do I know. There was a party afterwards, a typical affair filled with beer, kir, rum and worrying conversations, and which I should probably have abandoned early but at which I stayed until I found myself queuing at L'Éspace (a local night club) at 4am. The combination of fatigue, the cold (-2 or -3 I believe) and the prospect of paying 10 euros for an experience I've always hated, woke me up somewhat, and I busted a move and walked home.
Why should I have abandoned early? Well, Sunday was lunch at Tortue's, and I had promised to make a dessert, not my strong point. In the end, amid the thick haze of a hangover and 4 hours' sleep, and after much to-ing and fro-ing over what to make, I did a date and walnut cake thing, which worked OK, although was a little too rich compared to the puddings I was making a couple of years ago. I tried to find a pudding dish thingy like I used to have, but was unable to track one down. Anyway, lunch was good - moules in Pineau for starters, seiche (cuttlefish) for the main, chévre chaud and finally my cake thing.
Why should I have abandoned early? Well, Sunday was lunch at Tortue's, and I had promised to make a dessert, not my strong point. In the end, amid the thick haze of a hangover and 4 hours' sleep, and after much to-ing and fro-ing over what to make, I did a date and walnut cake thing, which worked OK, although was a little too rich compared to the puddings I was making a couple of years ago. I tried to find a pudding dish thingy like I used to have, but was unable to track one down. Anyway, lunch was good - moules in Pineau for starters, seiche (cuttlefish) for the main, chévre chaud and finally my cake thing.
Thursday, 17 November 2005
wogball
The socceroos qualified for the world cup yesterday. I'm a pretty patriotic guy (a scoundrel, if you like), so I was walking around with a grin for a while. I read on Ricky's blog, in various articles on SBS' site, that maybe this will help soccer challenge aussie rules and rugby (he doesn't mention the national sport - cricket) for sporting dominance in Australia. Good god, I can't think of anything worse.
All sports are surrogates for war, but none so much as soccer. Sport as a substitute for partisan emotions, be it for country, club or colours, is a wonderful idea. Every sport in the world keeps this on the pitch. Except soccer, amongst whose fans violence is commonplace. I know a bunch of fans of soccer teams, but very few fans of soccer. Take me. I'll cheer for Australia, but put me in front of a game between two neutrals, and I couldn't give a damn, and am likely to get annoyed by the lack of "courage" and "honesty" in the game. Like war, its an outlet for partisan competition where the competition itself is greatly lacking of aesthetic appeal. That it is the closest thing there is to a "world game" is a sad accident of history that we should not reinforce.
So I'm pretty happy for the socceroos, and hope they go well, but they can stay in Europe as far as I'm concerned.
All sports are surrogates for war, but none so much as soccer. Sport as a substitute for partisan emotions, be it for country, club or colours, is a wonderful idea. Every sport in the world keeps this on the pitch. Except soccer, amongst whose fans violence is commonplace. I know a bunch of fans of soccer teams, but very few fans of soccer. Take me. I'll cheer for Australia, but put me in front of a game between two neutrals, and I couldn't give a damn, and am likely to get annoyed by the lack of "courage" and "honesty" in the game. Like war, its an outlet for partisan competition where the competition itself is greatly lacking of aesthetic appeal. That it is the closest thing there is to a "world game" is a sad accident of history that we should not reinforce.
So I'm pretty happy for the socceroos, and hope they go well, but they can stay in Europe as far as I'm concerned.
Tuesday, 15 November 2005
craziness in the streets
I bravely walked 15 minutes home from the metro last night. I didn't see any burning cars, but I did see a pair of shiny black shoes on a window sill with a sign saying "Servez vous" (help yourself). The streets just aren't safe.
Monday, 14 November 2005
underground cookery
Tonight I'm testing my culinary bounds.
My favourite dish of all time, or at least the most nostalgiacally cherished in my twisted little memory, is veal parmigiana with ravioli. Between about 9 and 14 I reckon I ordered this dish perhaps 20 times at the Underground Restaurant in Innisfail. By the end, Silvio Mantovani, the chef, didn't even ask me, he just wrote it down. I've found plenty of other places that offer such a dish by name, but they aren't the same thing. I have no idea how they made it, but I'm giving it a shot tonight based on memory and a mishmash of recipes found online.
So, anyway, the basic recipe tonight is that I take a veal escalope (don't know in english). Ideally I beat it with a hammer to within an inch of its life, but I don't have a hammer. Then I coat one side with flour, then an egg/milk/pepper mixture, then breadcrumbs with a little bit of grated parmesan cheese mixed in. I fry this one side, then lay on a slice of prosciutto, followed by a dose of parmesan cheese, then I fold over the veal to seal the prosciutto and parmesan inside, pinching it closed with a toothpick. This then goes into the oven with some tomato sauce and a slice of mozzarella. The ravioli I've bought, since I have even less chance of duplicating their amazing home-made pasta, and none whatsoever of making that into credible ravioli.
I'm going with a gaillac for wine. The bottle doesn't say what grapes it contains, but it comes from the area between Toulouse and Albi, through which I travelled on a train with Chris and Mick a few months back. From what I remember of previous gaillac escapades, I think its likely to be a cab-merlot or something nice like that.
My favourite dish of all time, or at least the most nostalgiacally cherished in my twisted little memory, is veal parmigiana with ravioli. Between about 9 and 14 I reckon I ordered this dish perhaps 20 times at the Underground Restaurant in Innisfail. By the end, Silvio Mantovani, the chef, didn't even ask me, he just wrote it down. I've found plenty of other places that offer such a dish by name, but they aren't the same thing. I have no idea how they made it, but I'm giving it a shot tonight based on memory and a mishmash of recipes found online.
So, anyway, the basic recipe tonight is that I take a veal escalope (don't know in english). Ideally I beat it with a hammer to within an inch of its life, but I don't have a hammer. Then I coat one side with flour, then an egg/milk/pepper mixture, then breadcrumbs with a little bit of grated parmesan cheese mixed in. I fry this one side, then lay on a slice of prosciutto, followed by a dose of parmesan cheese, then I fold over the veal to seal the prosciutto and parmesan inside, pinching it closed with a toothpick. This then goes into the oven with some tomato sauce and a slice of mozzarella. The ravioli I've bought, since I have even less chance of duplicating their amazing home-made pasta, and none whatsoever of making that into credible ravioli.
I'm going with a gaillac for wine. The bottle doesn't say what grapes it contains, but it comes from the area between Toulouse and Albi, through which I travelled on a train with Chris and Mick a few months back. From what I remember of previous gaillac escapades, I think its likely to be a cab-merlot or something nice like that.
Friday, 4 November 2005
the weeks roll by
... and no blog entries. I'm a slackarse, it's true. You've found me out.
Actually, the truth is that I haven't been doing much. Saturday my new mobile phone and SIM card turned up, so I played a little with that (as much as one can without an activated SIM card).
The plan, meanwhile, was at some point over the weekend to head along to the Salon des Vins et de la Gastronomie (wine and tasty food) with Sophie and Liz. Liz couldn't make it, courtesy of a heinous workload at uni, but Soso and I trotted along Tuesday evening. We tasted a bunch of whites (Rieslings, Sauvignons, Chardonnays and an Anjou or two), I tried a bunch of reds (Grenache - ugh, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chinon, among others), and by the end, a little less sensitive to subtle taste (and gravity), I tried a couple of cognacs. We also bought some jambon from the pays basque, which I hope to get into this weekend.
Great fun, but a pretty slim return for a four-day weekend. Oh, I bought gumboots, too, with a view to going mushroom-hunting, but now that's cancelled. I still have gumboots, though. Whee!
Actually, the truth is that I haven't been doing much. Saturday my new mobile phone and SIM card turned up, so I played a little with that (as much as one can without an activated SIM card).
The plan, meanwhile, was at some point over the weekend to head along to the Salon des Vins et de la Gastronomie (wine and tasty food) with Sophie and Liz. Liz couldn't make it, courtesy of a heinous workload at uni, but Soso and I trotted along Tuesday evening. We tasted a bunch of whites (Rieslings, Sauvignons, Chardonnays and an Anjou or two), I tried a bunch of reds (Grenache - ugh, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chinon, among others), and by the end, a little less sensitive to subtle taste (and gravity), I tried a couple of cognacs. We also bought some jambon from the pays basque, which I hope to get into this weekend.
Great fun, but a pretty slim return for a four-day weekend. Oh, I bought gumboots, too, with a view to going mushroom-hunting, but now that's cancelled. I still have gumboots, though. Whee!
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