it's time for something biblical

I've been drawing for days and I feel a little spent. How I managed to fail to do something I genuinely liked, I'll never know....But productivity is good. It is!

But I can see how weather can affect us, poor humans, and how it can create mood swings. For those who feel tired relentlessly as I do, I have some advice. 

- read something you postpone and postpone and postpone...just look at the pile of your eagerly bought and carefully ignored books and take something you feel like and leave aside the one that you just cannot finish. You'll get to that later (as if..)

- prepare yourself a little treat...if you are in moscow, that is easy...the land of faux-luxury (fake luxury if you will). You can get some caviar and a champaign for less than 15 bucks. (God bless this city). But if you live somewhere else, find some cheese to go with red wine... (I don' like other alcoholic drinks but you can get vodka, raki or tequila)....I don' know why, but it seems to be the perfect time to get a little wasted.

- get melancholic! ah that's my favorite...put on some old tunes that reminds you of an era far far away...and lay down to listen in peace. (I mean if you don't have a hysterical cat, of course) To get more pleasure out of this, see recommendation no.2.

- wash something that you try to act as if it's not dirty. For example, your wool gloves.

- bake something really easy and eat until you fall asleep.

- watch a film that you love (how bout godfather?)

- no no watch "one night at roxburry's"...where there's sun....

- take a long bath...(ah now I sound like cosmo..) but seriously, it always make me feel purified. 

- listen to "Cold wind"-Arcade Fire

- draw a little fly on your wall. (huh, that's not cosmo)

I will add a muffin recipe soon. You can try that one as well. I would love to have some muffin right now..Damn, I have no eggs...ok, less calories..

That's all folks..

Btw, the title is from Muse "Apocalypse please"...thought you wanted to know..I was listening to that when I started to write.

bye now

moscow biennale 2009-favorite pieces

what the bleep do I do recently

I am trying a to read a book in italian. It's quite interesting actually, yet I get distracted very easily- I wonder why...hmm...

It's Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-5, or Mattatoio N. 5. I'll let you know when I finish it, but don't hold your breath.

I missed the japanese film festival last week. Damn you, good stuff on tv!!

I saw "Bronson" on the British film festival though...What a disappointment. I wish they would be more careful with the " 'A Clockwork Orange' of the 21st century" comment...It was so not "a clockwork orange" of the 21st century, it was hardly anything of the 21st century. a film that we wasted 700 rubles on, in the 21st century, maybe. Good acting though.

I finished my wall, wanna see?





A silhouette of Istanbul from left to right. I wish I had a fish eye camera to get the whole thing at once.

I have finished very interesting drawings (I'm not gonna show you now, or maybe never- burn my novels when I die...that was Kafka, not me..I don't have anything else written but this blog...but you can delete my blog when I die). Since it is cold and infectious outside I've been productive in my home's safe and warm environment.

I'll write about 3rd moscow biennale soon.

The japanese film festival is still haunting me.

I don't need a banana

Since last week we no longer have a garbage container outside our house. A chaihana (it's supposed to mean teahouse but it's a garlic smelly restaurant) claimed our garbage container for themselves and now we no longer can dispose our 60 lt garbage bags. (we somehow produce loads of garbage- I blame it on the cat but who am I kidding, we consume like elephants)

That is unfortunately why I have to use the one inside the building. You know the ones for common usage, on every floor. I try to imagine a worse way of getting rid of garbage, but the only way I can think of is to feed it to rats with your bare hands.

It is not dirty, it is not filthy...it's somethin else! You can feel your nose trying to go back into your skull.

You don't want to touch the air around it, let alone the handle itself.

You need to have two gloves to open the damn thing. And if you're lucky you will squeeze the bag and get rid of it at first try...But if you are unlucky or a fan of hygene let's say; you wouldn't be able to hold still and drop something out of it, then you will curse like you never cursed before.

BUT, there is a plus side to all this....yes there is...Once you close the cover and go home and wash your hands in an obsessive compulsive way, you decide to consume less. A-ha! You postpone having another glass of orange juice. The bottle somehow seems bigger. A banana is not essential for your survival. Why do they make cereal boxes this enormous. I'm gonna eat the oranges with their zest, it should be detoxing, everything is detoxing.

Boy, do I miss my good old, smelly but untouched garbage container.

Damn you chaihana

to wake up and see the white

I wonder how long it has been snowing, but this is what I woke up to.

God bless this weather.

sunday breakfast

A type flu-my cautions

I bought this sterilization liquid "Sanitelle" which absolutely dries out hands, so I started to carry a hand cream. So, first caution:

1) CARRY BIGGER BAGS




I couldn't find a mask in pharmacies, I have been told that nobody could. Then I asked one of my friends who is coming to Moscow this week, to bring me some. So:

2) FIND A FRIEND WHO COMES TO MOSCOW

One of the places to have the most circulation is the subway. How do I solve the touching problem:

3) LEARN TO IMITATE SNOWBOARDING ON METRO



The easiest and maybe more safe way:

4)FIND A GOOD EXCUSE TO STAY AT HOME

Spaghetti- Frutti di Mare

I have my experience in this area, and there were times when I did a pretty sloppy job cooking this one.

But ı can say I mastered spaghetti-frutti di mare after last monday. It was so successful that we overate! After a coffee, tea and smoking period, when we got back to our normal selves, we decided that it was the best spaghetti di mare, ever...

Ok, I exaggerated. But believe me, it was the best.

Here's the recipe:

You get frozen seafood, about 500gr.
Boil half box of barilla spaghetti no.5

As soon as pasta starts to boil you put in butter and olive oil together (as much as you like, but I find 1 tablespoon each to be just fine) into a large pan. As the butter melts, you add two cloves of garlic and let it infuse to hot oil for 30 secs. Then you add diced onions (1 big one would suffice) and cook for 2 mins. Then you add the seafood. You actually should put different kinds in a different order but I buy pre-cooked so I don't believe it will make any difference. You can add at this point half a glass of white wine and let it boil for a minute. Then you add about one glass of tomato pureé. Add salt and pepper, and maybe some paprika.
And then you wish for your spaghetti to be not overcooked and drain it and add it to the sauce pan.

That's all...

I now wish to have had a picture of that dish but I will do it soon enough. But here's the seafood I always get.



enjoy

social marioposa.blogspot

I can honestly say that I am a poor internet user...I don't remember a day when I googled something with the right words and find what I want at first go...I also never read news online, check out gossip pages nor see what's hip and new.

I told you, I'm a lonely twitter.

Enough with the game "I never"; what I would like to say is that the only blog I follow daily in this scheme of primitive websurfing is my dear friend's blog www.social mariposa.blogspot.com. She is also the person who inspired me to write this blog.

So a warm heart thanks again to my succesfull blogger and many luck in her career in spreading her wisdom.

Breakfast at Ludi kak Ludi's

One of the things that I'm gonna miss when I leave Moscow would be our traditional brunch on sundays.
After a night of playing poker with friends or going out to a club or just watcing a movie on a saturday night, it is lovely to realize the next morning that it is indeed sunday. You yawn, strech and stay in bed for a couple of minutes, enjoying the idea of the day to come; to be spent with brunch, sports and grocery shopping.
We have this wonderful spot which I think is a gem in the whole restaurant scene in Moscow. The place is called Ludi Kak Ludi (people like people?) on Solyanskiy Proyezd in Kitai Gorod. It actually is a cafe, but we haven't been there except for a brunch, so we have no idea how would it feel like to be there on weekdays, sipping a cup of coffee.
It is one of those places where you find everything to be just how it should be and nothing more. There are waiters but they only help to clean. You have to go to the counter to place your order and simply go back to your table and chat with your friends until your order is ready and soldier-looking molodoi chelovek announces the ready order and asks you to collect it from the counter. It may sound quite direct and rugged those who has never been to Moscow but believe me this style of serving food fits Russian style right on the spot. The style which I love: nothing dazzling, nothing confusing: plain, simple and functioning. It's rather convenient when you consider american diner themed restaurants.
What do we eat in Ludi Kak Ludi:
Spinach and feta pie
Mozarella sandwich (this is amazing- it has a sauce with black olives and I get a hint of orange?)
A fresh baked croissant
Smoothy No.2

Pies are incredible, the spinach-feta pie is the best but you still can try meat, mushroom or onion pie. They are all very good. Even mozarella sandwich is my favorite by far, but my hubby prefers roastbeef sandwich. Well, have an open mind about it too.

Smoothies are the same as Propaganda and Krizis Janra (they are from the same family), our favorite is no.2 but it has been witnessed that some people actually had no.10 and no.5.

They are open at 11:00, so don't come knocking earlier, they don't think themselves as serving breakfast. Do I have to add that they are curiously inexpensive...

I will try to find a picture of the spot on my computer, I hope I will soon...

You sometimes walk alone

It's winter time; I know; dark, cold and wet; I know..But still nothing beats going out for a walk with any vague excuse. Warm subway and bright perihods would be little breaks from skin numbing cold and maybe I can get a can of fruity cocktail in a russki fashion while I listen to Amy Winehouse or Coldplay.

I always have an excuse, I sometimes even feel good if some work stays unfinished- which is very often.

Here are some ideas for those who are skeptical about going out for a walk:

You can get to Chistie Prudy and take a quick detour around the park and make a stop on Coffee Bean for hot chocolate and maybe a notorious cheese cake.

And if you want to buy some books in english, you can visit my favorite bookstore "Dom Inostrannoi Knigu" on Kuznetskiy Most Ul. 18/7. After you get a book, say a graphic version of a classic novel, then you should stop by Squat, one of my favorite cafes, on Varsonofevski Pereulok 12/1. Food is not very fulfilling but you can enjoy the tables with different and brilliant paintings on and drink a very inexpensive cocktail (cosmopolitan 120 rub-4 dollars).



And my favorite place in Moscow to walk around is Botanichesky Park on Prospekt Mira. It is of course best to visit on summer or spring with amazing colors and dizzying variety of flowers but still a very quite and relaxing environment around this time of year. A small but very aesthetic pond and a lot of art students painting in silence (less and less every week now).



I will add more walking routes as soon as I can stop my cat playing around the keyboardddd
xoxo

how to buy a pet in moscow

First of all, keep in mind that it is not very easy; not only getting one, but also keeping one.

Our main problem has always been what to do with our cat when we go out of moscow. Luckily we have this sweet friend of ours who also loves our cat, takes care of her when we are out of town. She certainly is in love with him too.

ok, step by step: getting a pet!

If you live a little outside the center you can easily pick up a newborn kitten or puppy old enough to leave his or her mother. But if you live in the center, seeing a street cat or dog is not very easy. And if you don't have a friend with a pregnant pet, you will buy yourself one.

Last year we decided to buy a cat. We went to stari arbat where we saw pets were being sold in cardboard boxes on the street. We were warned earlier by our close friends that the animals you get from the street usually are nourished poorly, being seperated from the mother early to make sure the little ones would attrack more buyers. so when you get one, after a couple of months it will get sick and die eventually.

So we went for pet shops, which was not a realistic option for us since we didn't want to buy a cat for 23.000 rubles (about 800 dollars), but you sure can buy one, if you are interested in pure breeds or show cats.

After a careful research period we took our chances and go to the streetsellers once again. We were undecided until we saw this beautiful light grey fluffy siamese who kept looking at us. The guy had two of them on his wooden box in front of the zoomagazin on stari arbat. We chose that sweet little thing because we wanted a playful cat and since the other one was sleeping constantly, we didn't even consider her. We bargained a little and at the end little kitten was ours for 3000 rubles (about 100 dollars).

We went inside the shop after our illegal purchase to get some legal cat stuff, toilet, food cup etc. While we were discussing with the shop lady which toilet box to get, she asked the expected size of the cat when she grew. We went outside to ask the seller and he showed us a picture of her mother. It was a pile of fur. We then changed our minds to get the sleepy one. She slept in the car on the way home. We were silent for a while. When we got back home, the joke was on us because she jumped right out of her carrying box and started to play with anything on sight as if she was living there for years. She turned out to be the most playful thing ever. She is one of the greatest cats that I've ever seen, she is playful, sweet and easygoing.

The lesson of this story is you need luck!

You also need a good doctor. Ours is very reccomendable: Veterinarniy Tsentr "SOPICO".

The address is 109544, Shkolnaya Ul. Dom 19 Metro Rimskaya.

http://sopico.ru
8(495) 510-21-90

Ksenia is a very sweet and caring doctor, ask for her. She's been very helpful.

That's all for now.

if you have the time, you can do the crime

a high tone "yellow!" to everyone who knows me

and my sincere greetings to those who somehow found out about this blog. It was meant to be a secret, congrats!

I usually am late for everything. I am the last one to buy a mac computer (as a designer I mean, don't harrass me if you don't own one), I am the last one to hear about twitter (which by the way is not working out for me still. I have 9 followers, it's not even worth writing something) and I possibly am last for doing something that I am not aware of right now. I am, as you can see, the last blogger in town. I doubted that there were some openings for newcomers.

I wanted to share what I think, see and hear, here in moscow, the city of last things (as in "will keep up with the world in 10 years"; not in paul auster sense).

I also will try to give advice for "what to find, where to find and how to deal with who" for strangers in moscow just like myself.

All the activities, including concerts, festivals, special days (aka.any excuse to drink), I will try to share with you guys...

I hope you all enjoy