The Man Who Saved Britain: a Personal Journey into the Disturbing World of James Bond by Simon Winder is uneven but full of hilarious insights into the tastelessness of pubescent male Bond fans (my brother and I both qualified); Winder shows how the evolution of Fleming’s fantasy world parallels the grimness of recent British history 
You Are Free by Cat Power I enjoyed more than the soulful recent The Greatest
Children of Men for the cinematography, with amazing tracking shots, and the well-realized future Britain–the plot and acting are fine but not its strengths
I’d been wanting to read Epitaph for a Peach by David Masumoto for its elegiac portrayal of the decline of heirloom farming in California, but it’s a beautiful and hopeful book too
Straight Man by Richard Russo — a university novel with just enough absurdism
Finished The Wire (Season 3), which has to be the best show on TV; like CSI and that ilk, but for adults 
The Shop Around The Corner (1940, with Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart), a better Christmas movie than It’s A Wonderful Life
Noticing a new bulb coming up each day through the mulch of Fall’s leaves
This American Life, now available as a podcast, reminding those of us who got too infuriated by NPR’s hideous pledge drives why public radio matters
Making your own sausage rolls with home-made puff pastry (not the wildly overpriced stuff in Whole Foods) and good North Carolina pork For too long I assumed Bright Eyes was just for shoe-gazing emo kids, but I’m pleased to have my mind changed when I finally listened to I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning–I’ll have to try more Conor Oberst, as long as he doesn’t cry too much during the songs
Getting the New York Times Sunday edition delivered.
Archive for: January, 2007
Recommended
A Pav for Oz Day
As we all know, there is some dispute over whether New Zealand or Australia invented the pavlova. In the spirit of détente, we made one for Australia Day but topped it with kiwifruit.
Flick’s Pav (via Catherine’s Mum)
- 4 egg whites
- 8 Australian tablespoons caster sugar/superfine sugar (that’s 11 US or NZ tablespoons)
- 1 T cornstarch/cornflour
- 1 t white vinegar
Beat the egg whites to peaks, beat in sugar slowly and cornstarch until glossy, fold in vinegar, scrape into a round on parchment and bake 250°F for 45 minutes. Cool and top with whipped cream and kiwifruit. Yum.
My previous pavlovas had been crisp on the outside, but always somewhat collapsed under their shell. This one was softer and fluffier; there’s a good case to be made for both, but I wish Cook’s Illustrated would send in the cavalry and sort the pavlova out once and for all.
The Sudoku Song
Someone I know was trying to work on her sudoku, so I came up with a little song to cheer her on, until she threatened to throw something at me. Here it is (revealing just how much Japanese my 14-year-old self managed to absorb).
Kore-wa, watashi-wa, sudoku, sudoku
Kumamoto, Yatsushiro, sudoku-san
Hajimemashita Fujiyama moshi-moshi
Boku-wa, watashi-wa, sudoku-san
The trick is to sing like you’re an eight-year-old Japanese girl wearing a sailor suit in a TV commercial for dried shrimp.