Coinciding with the star-studded premiere of the feature film on this courageous profiles in conservatorship, the Smithsonian is exhibiting many photographs and artefacts from its archives to enhance the portrayal of the so-called “Monuments Men.”
Wednesday 5 February 2014
monumenta germaniae historica
Tuesday 4 February 2014
personae, pandora
Conceived as sort of an electronic annual, a year book ten years ago for an elite university in a dorm room, the reigning social network has matured and seems to have come of age, established and hard-wired.
I cannot say whether the lure of the instantaneous and easy and convenient is taking away from native creativity (rather than enhancing it) or more artistic, meaningful or fulfilling pursuit—but if that is the case, I think people are still quick (mostly, at least as quick as they would be otherwise) to realise that that chance is not easily retaken, but there is more than just a change in our vocabularies or ways of coddling our own sense of indolence or procrastination in the simple fact that the Internet does not forget and reminders are lightly stirred. I believe, if used correctly, that could be a supplement rather than a liability too, but considering the current climate, telecommunication providers being prosecuted for complicity and governments being held liable for their abidance, it seems that we are not very good at self-censorship and temperance.
catagories: ๐ฅธ, ๐ง , holidays and observances, networking and blogging, revolution
Monday 3 February 2014
hors d'oeuver or hors taxes
There is an apparently flourishing business for pizza and for others in the meals on wheels service on the German side of Swiss borderlands.
catagories: ๐จ๐ญ, ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐, foreign policy
Sunday 2 February 2014
black hole or all light is mute amid the gloom
There were a lot of singular influences, like the anime feature Galaxy Express 999 (1978), where an orphaned little boy shuns technology promising immortality by having ones memories but not emotions transferred to robotic vessels, plus also other Disney productions, which discounting all fairy tales, were not really made for young audiences, like the Witch Mountain (1975) series, about telekinetic extra-terrestrial children on the lamb from the government, or Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971, compare to the Narnia or the Middle Earth sagas) which is a story about coping with evacuation during the Blitz of London during WWII and a sorceress defeats the Nazi invasion. Formative, I am grateful that kids' entertainment was not handled with kid-gloves and subject to censor and psychologists.
pastiche
We tried something new in the kitchen with a vegetarian pastitsio (Pastizio)--sort of the Greek equivalent of a lasagne or macaroni casserole. It was pretty fun to prepare and tasted very good.
For four servings, you will need:
- Approximately 360 grams (13 ounces) of macaroni noodles
- 200 millilitres (7 fluid ounces) of soy-based cream or milk
- 200 grams (7 ounces) of sour cream (Schmand)
- 200 grams (7 ounces) of tofu as the base for the bolognese sauce—one could also substitute ground beef
- A 200 gram (7 ounce) lump of fresh mozzarella
- 1 cube of vegetable stock
- 1 medium onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves
- 200 grams (7 ounces) of tomato puree (passierte Tomaten, sonst Tomatenmark)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Oregano, thyme, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper power and cinnamon to season
Bring to boil the noodles in water with a bit of salt and then drain and set aside—about four minutes and not thoroughly cooked. Preheat the oven to 220ยบC (425ยบF).
For the filling (where the metaphorical meaning of pastiche comes from and you can try your own mix of ingredients), finely chop up the carrot, onion and garlic in a food-processor and fry in olive oil and then puree about four tomatoes (or use puree from a can) and add that and the tofu to the pan.
Introduce the bullion cube and season with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and basil. Allow the sauce to continue to cook until it really thickens up. Transfer the bolognese and noodles to a large casserole dish and mix together while pouring in the cream or milk. Next spread the top of the dish with a thick layer of the sour cream.
Tear the lump of mozzarella into large, flat pieces and cover the surface and season with the red chili power and a bit of salt and pepper. Lastly, sprinkle the entire surface liberally with cinnamon. Bake for around 45 minutes. The cinnamon seems like an unusual ingredient but really enhances the medley of tastes and no one notices the meatless bolognese.
catagories: food and drink, lifestyle