this city needs an exorcism!

What's up with the smoke Moscow!?

It's bad enough that for 10 years I had my share of poison, and now I have to suffer through this horrible white nightmare! пошел на хуй!

For those who doesn't know me or doesn't know the fact that I quit smoking last week, I have been in agony of nicotine-free life which ironically don't feel free at all. It turns out that every pleasure preserves the accumulative equal amount of pain which you happily ignore while enjoying the former part of the equation.

I am happy to suffer in silence, I am becoming healthier, it's ok, все нормально; but my non-smoker hubby and my anti-smoker cat suffered this stupid fog of forest and peat bog fires.

We closed all the windows, put on masks to walk to our cars and as if it isn't fun enough: it's 38 degrees outside. And I'm not smoking.

When you stop giving your body something it got used to in such a way that it is almost a chemical infusion, you don't want the negative effects of that substance while undergoing such a pain refraining from it. I ache not to have poison in my lungs and thanks to humanity, global warming has led to extreme hot weather and extreme hot weather led to fires and fires led to smoke in the city. Now I have poison in my lungs.

Pff, summer isn't fun anymore.

unhappy mish

just like the famous fogs of Milan (except for the toxic particles)

give the girl a pen

I drew tattoos on me and asko the other night, it's permanent as well (until the next shower)

ma giant painting

Last week I finished my giant painting and delivered it to Atlantic preschool (which is opening soon).

It's been kinda warm(!) in Moscow lately and I, as an artist in despair, don't have an air conditioner. So it's been a long and painful project as well as colorful and exciting. Now the best part of any project: the end :)

check out my room as it turns into a studio to fit the 2*2m canvas

You can check out the site and see my painting on a 3D wall:

http://www.atlanticschool.ru/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&func=viewcategory&catid=38&Itemid=60&lang=en

now, more new projects :)

Prichal restaurant

Last weekend, one of our friends took us to Prichal restaurant near Rublyevsky. He didn't tell where we were going and kept us hanging until we got there, and get there we did.

The place is an urban patio myth. It is a combination of beach (pool planted on the river, poolside lounge with wooden chaise longues with white mats) and a summer restaurant with kalyans, roasted lamps and tall frozen coctails.

We got seated right away (which is rare, considering we get in line even for Planet Sushi). There were floating platforms on the river with decorated tables for private parties. The mentioned parties have bodyguards waiting ashore. Well of course...

We ended up spending whole evening there, watching drunk old men and beautiful gals (Moscow's finest).

I forgot to take pictures during the day, but here are some photos taken before we left.

29th km Rublevo-Uspenskoye shosse, Ilinskoe

+7 495 504 1269, +7 495 418 4032

http://www.prichal-rest.ru

Подмосковные вечера

catch that cold

Ain't life a bitch

Last week I arrived at a sunny, blossoming Moscow and in just two days I got sick... not normal sick mind you, the kind that makes you unable to get out of bed just to go to pee.

I was looking forward to picnics, open air sports, walk arounds and going to Botanicheski Sad for some urban sketching. Now, I can go to the kitchen in 5 minutes, holding on to the walls.

Is this catching cold thing getting bigger lately or is it just me? (sneezing my reason away gradually...maybe). Countless people I know is sick these days and they all have the same shit. I hear "I used to get better on antibiotics, even if I don't, it would take me a week at most to heal. Now it's taking weeks for me to recover. Am I getting older?" I don't know how many times I listened to that sort of complaints.

For those who live in Moscow, (I don't know about the rest, I have no means of observation, plus I don't care that much)-(cranky when sick) getting sick is so common that nowadays we receive the news of a person catching a cold like it is a mosquito bite; "what else is new"...

It seems to me that catching a cold is easy when you move to a country where your definition of cold is not the same with the locals. It is amazing how being brought up in a certain way can affect your way of thinking what is normal.

Maybe I'm wrong, but tell me: is it normal to keep your coat, fur hat and your woolen scarf on when you enter a 28 degree metro station? Ok, the weather might be -20 outside, but when you walk into the station, it feels like a Turkish hamam! I begin taking some things out, just to keep looking not-so-foreign, then I cannot stand for long and take my coat, gloves, scarf and hat off and carry them around with me like a fool. Russian people don't, instead they come in and go out the same as if they are weather-resistant. I understand the tolerance to cold but they also have tolerance to hot. Maybe they are nonconductive...hmm

It is a dead end, we cannot be like them. It is both their physique and upbringing, both cannot be modified.

What we can do is first ACCEPT the fact that WE ARE DIFFERENT, so we should BE WEARING MORE.

I wanna add that we don't eat well here, we should take some vitamins as well. But who has the consistency to do so.

Ok I'm bored and going away from the computer. I remembered that I am in fact still sick. Downloading Lost and Sherlock Holmes (gonna see some Robert Downey maaan)

Stay tuned to hear from grumpy zenushka

^_^

kisses to all

take care

Back in town

Priviet!
I've been away for three weeks and I am back indeed (a silent "hiphiphurray" :)

I have a fierce energy to write and share, but unfortunately I have little time today.

I will only share a few pictures from my trip of love, serenity, lust and high-caloried pleasures:

take care and stay tuned
xxx

house party-go shawty it's your birthday

Garage Center now

Garage Center is hosting two exhibitons; Russian Utopias and Futurologia. If you want to explore Russian avant-garde art and infamous Kazimir Malevich's work you should stop by Garage (http://www.garageccc.com/)

skiing in moscow

There are 3 good options for skiing in Moscow:

First one is Sorochany ( http://www.sorochany.ru/ )

The slopes are mostly short but there are 10 lifts I think, so you won't get bored or very crowded. The longest slope is 850 m (lift no 8). The only problem would be, if it is extraordinarily cold that day, you would actually freeze on that lift since it is relatively slow.

Yesterday we went skiing in Shukolovo ( http://www.shukolovo.ru/?main=true )

I liked it better. It's hard to say that slopes are better but the place in general is nicer. They have about 11 slopes, the longest being 600 m. However there were less people, so somehow it was more satisfying skii&lift wait-loop-wise. Plus it is not far from Sorochany, they are practically the same distance from the center.

Café in the entrance was more civilized then Sorochany. We had soup and french fries before we head back.

Plus the lifts are much cheaper. There are different tariffes of course but in general the price for one lift in Sorochany is 100 rubles, in Shukolovo it's 50 rubles.

The third option is Volen ( http://www.volen.ru/ )

I haven't been there yet but Asko says it's more chic than the other two. However the slopes are shorter than the other two.

It's -12 now, with no snow :(

Let's just hope that skiing season lasts a little bit longer !

ice ice baby

Last week we went ice skating in Sokolniki Park. It was sunny and not that cold :)

Near the entrance there was this arena of some sort. On it, elderly russians were singing and dancing as usual. How can you not love this about Moscow.

As for us, we skated a little in the beautiful weather and also enjoyed the ringside view after we took off the skates. We also saw this young couple skating with the stroller.

Hey, check out the icicle outside our window.

But not everything is cold in here. The weekend before that we went to "We are Family" a new spot in town, after a birthday party (actually, as a part of the birthday party).

cantinetta antinori

Do you know who Arkady Novikov is?

Well, he is the founder of number of restaurants, some of them are big chains like Yolki Palki, Yapona Mama, or high scale places like GQ bar, Vogue Cafe or the matter in hand: Cantinetta Antinori.

Cantinetta Antinori was first opened in Florence, which I read great restaurant reviews about, but haven't been yet (or I don't recall). There are Cantinetta Antinori restaurants also in Zurich and Vienna. The one in Moscow is a joint project by Antinori wine house and Novikov Group.

I read the reviews before I went there because I chose the spot for our 7th anniversary with Asko-my hubby (btw it's our start-to-date anniversary, not marriage). But still I wanted to go to a nice romantic place with good food. Almost all the reviews I read about Cantinetta Antinori was negative, they said that it is a great restaurant chain but the moscow version is just not worth going because of the ridiculously overpriced menu.

Live and learn right?

We went there and as usual I was the only well dressed person there because it seems that mostly businessmen preffered the location since they could expense the meal. The prices are more ludicrous than Plyushchenko winning the silver medal.

I was in the supermarket earlier that day and waiting for Asko to come pick me up to help carry the bags. He got a little late so I walked around the wine part and looked at the prices a little bit. I swear I saw the half of the wines on the menu that night and it is beyond reason. 300 rubles a bottle Chile wines was priced for 600 rubles a glass. Have some commonsense!

So it is not a place to drink a lot of wine, ok...but the food? I consider myself an italian-cuisine fan, I couldn't believe my taste buds. I ordered spaghetti alle vongole and Asko ordered Tuscan bean soup and lasagna. My spaghetti came in 3 seconds which we didn't understand how? There were no shells to begin with...It is for me one of the best things about spaghetti with clams, you play with your food, you extract the meat from the shells. Plus you can see how healthy your clams are. Also it looks much better on the plate. Anyway...since it came so fast it got cold even faster. I really love asparagus in that dish but I've never had one undercooked. And pasta was overcooked. The sauce was more than juicy and it needed a little salt because there was nothing resembling a flavor in that dish. (it costs 1400 rubles btw)

Asko's soup was good but came in a very tiny portion and it costs 700 rubles (for 100 g of soup, figurati!). His lasagna was good but nothing special. I stand corrected that I make the best lasagna bolognese in the world (and I've been to Bologna).

The interior, I have to give them credit, was sweet and comforting. All the jars of pickles and pasta looked so enriching. However, I am not a big fan of FAKE flowers in that type of a restaurant. You over-charge anyway, give something back in return!

And for the complimentary stuff; like juice they serve as soon as you sit on table (very unnecessary) and the sweets they bring with tea are very inadequate, just for sake of serving something.

Soon I will try "Da Cicco" in Profsoiusnaya. One dear Italian friend of mine recommended it but it is so south we always skip it. After Cantinetta Antinori, I would love to try good italian food. Ah, what a disappointment...

I will soon write about El Asador, the spanish restaurant. I loved that one, but what you order is really important.

See you next post

xoxo

ode to snow

I haven't gone out for four days now. Maybe even more. I will start to have that phobia, whatsitsname, the one that sigourney weaver had in copycat killer movie. The fear of leaving the house. I will continiue my evolution towards botanical substances. I may actually perform photosynthesis to survive. Maybe I will lose weight. If I don't mind the green, I will be supermodel thin. Hehe...I'm bored.

I've almost finished my freelance work, 3D chocolate modelling. Luckily I'm not a chocolate person.

I'm impatiently waiting to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. What's up with Johnny Depp's eyes, I'm curious.

I am a pro on I pod touch TH poker now. Texas holdem of course. Not a pro maybe. But getting there...

Alexander McQueen passed away. Most of the girls tweeted as if they have lost their uncles. I have to admit I don't know his designs. But I read that he was too young. Bummer...

Now we have google buzz thingy...I doubt that it would improve communication by any means. But what do I know, I was skeptic about twitter.

I want to create a poll of some sort. Who is cuter, Robert Downey Jr or ...boy I can't think of a competitor. Haha, no poll afterall :) But let me know if you can think of anyone who is cuter than he is...(we are looking for cute ladies and gentlemen...not hot...cute...)

The other day (I think it was a week ago) we went to see the British American poster exhibition on Pushkin Museum of Fine arts. The posters were amazing and all but at the end of the hall, started a shitload of french paintings. I still cannot understand how I missed that part. I visited the museum at least 3 times but always the main gallery. This part had Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Miro, Kandinsky, Chagall, Monet, Renoir and countless other artists. This is what John Locke must've feel like when he found the hatch, I thought. (oh, have you seen the first two episodes of the sixth season...I wouldn't be surprised if they find yet another tribe living in the island. How big is this island anyhow? is jacob a prophet? next time on lost) Anyway the trip to Pushkin MOFA was absolutely a wonderful surprise. And the surprise element in Moscow continiues...

Have you notice that this year the snow haven't shut the f%*&! up yet. I guess it has something more to say to the audience. I am so fed up with it. I miss the sunshine. The first time I see a clear blue sky I will definitely sing "sun is shining, the weather is clear/ want you to know, I'm a rainbow too" in my head.

By the way does anyone know a good comic book drawing programme with all the applications for frames and speech baloons for Mac. Let me know.

Oh did I save the best for last or what: check out Pavel Ruminov's videos if you are hungry for inspiration:

http://www.vimeo.com/5435233

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKUk4XdjIWc

That's all for now.

Take care and come to water me from time to time

xoxo

I'm back baby!

After a very productive month in Istanbul, I am back on business in my favorite cold city.

The biggest news is of course my website. I put some illustration and 3D stuff in it. I like the homepage and my signature fading in (wasn't my idea, clearly. I am the "woaw" client). However, I am not crazy about wall design or sketching part. Those parts are work in progress. An-nyway, check it out:

http://www.zeynepcopurdesign.com/

I have an I pod touch now. I love it. I am officially an I pod touch promoter from now on...I pod touch versus I phone..Listen, I phone is too stressful to carry. Will it be stolen, would I drop it and break it, will I forget it somewhere...I wanna sleep you know. Plus you don't have to worry about excess radioaction while playing braintuner or watching an episode of the Office on I pod touch. Oh my god, did you see 6th season part 2. I think it was one of the best. Micheal consulting Oscar about his colonoscopy the next day, asking if Oscar would tell him what to do, you know because Oscar would know because he is gay. Not even close to Ricky Gervais version but Steve Carell is hilarious.

Where was I before I got distracted like a giant cat. Ah, I pod touch. I want to add the economical situation here. Y'all have telephones. You don't need an I phone to start with. It costs 3 times what I pod touch costs. I pod touch is I phone without dialling. You can skype and text on I pod touch too. Touch can also have wireless, Safari and all that shit. Don't you miss the day when you can forget your phone in your friend's house and you can take it 2 days later without any sweat. I phones are addictive. You become those zombies where you carry your phone from room to room. You can't keep up with a conversation, because whatever the subject would be, you would find a way to google your way with your slightly tilted down head and invisible finger-typing. I pod touch is still naive, because it is primarily an ipod. You can leave it at home.

Enough with i pod promotion. But have you seen i pad...Anyway, people will start to think as if I work for apple. I dont. I'm just a happy user.

What else, what else. I saw the Avatar movie. Did you know that it's been watched more than Titanic. Was there an american hero on Titanic like toruk macto? Hmm...

I also saw "whatever works". I loved the combo, Larry David and Woody Allen. You can't get more jewish than that. Ah, maybe when Woody Allen would have Sascha Baron Cohen in one of his films. You know what, I think he def-finitely should. Sascha is witty, funny and cynical as well. He is the young Woody Allen except the beautiful british accent, good looks and of course the height. Altough Sascha's style is disturbingly different, I shouldn't even make this comparison, but I think he is a good candidate to jewish comedian throne.

I am a promotional wizard today, don't you think. What else did you expect, I come to a clean home, my cat is finally un-stressed (you know the horror of the flight and all) and I am so happy and energetic, I can type my fingers off for hours now. But I won't. Instead, I'm gonna go out with an excuse to buy some cat food and check out the new moscow trends (if tiger print coats or metallic nail polishes are back).

So much to tell, so much to do. I will catch up with some Moscow stuff soon. I just came in, give me a break.

see you next post

xoxo

OUT OF TOWN

Patience dear readers, I'm in Istanbul for another 2 weeks.

I will be writing soon.