NonnaBlog

Best of the Web: "You're So Vain" Edition

2010-02-28T15:21:00.010-05:00

This week’s revelation that Carly Simon’s 1972 “You’re So Vain” was not about Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger but about someone named “David,” the name whispered on the new recording of the song, has got Simon’s past flames and the rest of us thinking.

Is it really “David”? And, if so, which David is it? London’s Daily Mail declared that the song was about record producer David Gaffen, who is gay and allegedly earned Simon’s scorn because he paid more attention to Joni Mitchell’s career at the time. Many of us, along with Warren Beatty, simply refused to believe this.

Thankfully, Simon dispelled the notion in The Hollywood Reporter via an e-mail: “What a riot! Nothing to do with David Geffen! What a funny mistake! Someone got a clue mistaken for another mistake!”

But the plot grows thicker…As The Independent reports: “A source who worked on the new version of the song told the US website ShowBiz411 that it contained two other ‘whispered’ names, one that’s unintelligible and another that is ‘Warren.’ So, for now, Warren, Kris, Mick, Yusuf, you can go back to probably thinking this song is about you after all.”

Whoever he is, Mr. Vain rebuts Carly’s charges in McSweeny’s. Best bits: “First of all, that party took place on a yacht. So the way I walked in was perfectly appropriate.” And “… I am known to spend time with wives of close friends. And what do I do with said women, Carly? Talk. Have tea. Catch a movie or attend a polo match. These women’s husbands are entertainers and travel quite a bit, so I spend time with them, because that’s what friends do. And sometimes I have sex with them. But not as often as you might think.” (Thanks to Rachel for sharing this one.)

Finally, Simon has announced a music video contest for “You’re So Vain.” I would like the winning video to include a lot of footage of Warren Beatty—with or without the apricot scarf.

Let the Indians Eat Triscuits!

2009-11-24T21:39:00.009-05:00

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in town, and the man needs to be fed. I found this AP roundup of 60 years of meals for Indian leaders served up by American presidents intriguing. I loved that Harry S. Truman’s meal included Triscuits.

I happen to love Triscuits, and this story made me think back on my teenage love affair with a true American snack icon—the Twinkie. This, in turn, reminded me of how Jon Stewart served tea and Twinkies to Pervez Musharraf. No Twinkies were on offer for Singh. Instead, the Obamas’ menu included “potato and egg plant salad, red lentil soup, and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns.” I just might reach for my trusty jar of Patak’s and make some Thanksgiving korma. With Twinkies for dessert?

Photo courtesy of Scott Mioduszewski/Flickr’s Creative Commons

"CNN—Nobody Leaves More Things There"

2009-10-18T22:00:00.004-04:00

Jon Stewart mercilessly skewers CNN for having the time to “fact-check” a Saturday Night Live skit but not the bogus numbers thrown out by its interviewees in the health care debate. When it comes to fact-checking whether there are five or 35 million uninsured in the country, CNN anchors are “out of time” and just “leave it there.” As Stewart puts it, “Don’t leave it there!...‘There’ is a terrible place to leave it—unless somebody will pick it up later.”

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

CNN Leaves It There

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Ron Paul Interview

Extra Large Grande Barista, Bangalore vs. Venti Starbucks, Washington, DC

2009-10-07T21:18:00.009-04:00

I have a minor coffee addiction. Like many things in my life, I blame it on my mother. I grew up with the smells of ridiculous amounts of Turkish coffee brewing at all hours of the day in our Soviet studio in Kiev. By the time I discovered lattes with the little drawings at Berkeley’s Café Milano, I did not stand a chance.

Unlike Berkeley, the proud of home of liberal lattes, Washington, DC does not have a café culture. Or, if it has one, it is carefully hidden from the naked eye in case Washingtonians decide to have a leisurely Americano before getting to the all-consuming task of running the world. There are a few exceptions like Tryst and Politics and Prose that are consistently good and perpetually overcrowded, so I mostly resort to Starbucks and Cosi to quench my latte thirst. If I get “my” Starbucks guy, I can be assured that my latte will be decent. Otherwise, it might appear disguised as a black coffee gone bad or a glass of warmed up milk with traces of caffeine. A botched latte is a tragedy indeed and is better than no latte at all.

The most annoying aspect of going to Starbucks is being exposed to Starbucks-speak. If you order “a small latte,” the barista will remind you that it is a “tall latte.” Through the years, I have been relentless in my affirmation of the cup’s smallness. If I say, “I like tall men,” I mean that I like men over 5’8”. I don’t mean I like midgets. So why should I say “tall” when all I am getting is a midget latte? Starbucks may be taking over the world, but there is competition. Take Barista, the deservedly popular Indian chain with a knack for bombastic labels, which is now part of the Lavazza empire. Starbucks, behold Barista’s “cappuccino grande...served in an extra large grande cup.” Venti cappuccino, you got served!

(Photos: Cafe Milano drinks courtesy of anniemalchang via Flickr; Bangalore menu, NonnaBlog)

A Washington, DC Intern Moment

2009-10-03T11:37:00.005-04:00

Overheard at Tryst:

Dude #1: So what do you do?

Dude #2: I work at NPR. You know All Songs Considered?

Dude #1: Of course, of course.

Dude #2: I’m involved in that.

Dude #1: That’s tight man. So what sort of things do you do for them? Do you write or do you, like, work on sound?

Dude #2: Actually, I don’t know. I just started two days ago. They have a website, and I want to write stuff for that.

Dude #1: So what’s your title?

Dude #2: Well, it’s sort of like an apprenticeship.

Snow Patrol

2009-10-02T19:09:00.018-04:00

In spite of my numerous musical accomplishments, such as singing “May There Always be Sunshine!” to a distinguished African delegation in Soviet Ukraine and performing in San Francisco’s premier ex-Soviet Jewish music and dance group Tikvah, I don’t play any instrument and am utterly hopeless when discussing music. Last week, I tagged along with a friend to see Snow Patrol, the alt band from Northern Ireland and Scotland.

They gave a fantastic performance, and it was a lot of fun. The music is melodic and has the right mix of complaint and optimism and fast and slow for my liking. There was a bit of joking around—always a good sign when bands don’t take themselves too seriously—and a request to sing on one’s toes. I am good at following important directions. That’s as sophisticated as my analysis will get. Here’s what The New York Times had to say:

Nowadays scruffy rock bands are learning what pop stars long ago discovered: It pays to have “one song you know….” Snow Patrol…has “Chasing Cars,” a ballad that became its first American pop hit. (It reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100.) Even if the title doesn’t ring a bell, the refrain — delivered in a pleasing accent by a singer from Northern Ireland — just might. It begins, “If I lay here/If I just laaay here.”

Those nine words helped Snow Patrol crack America….Snow Patrol has officially gone from the Scottish indie scene (the band was formed in Glasgow) to the American mainstream. Fans knew all the songs, but they might not have been there were it not for that one song.

“Chasing Cars” comes from “Eyes Open” (A&M/Universal), the fourth Snow Patrol album, which was the top-selling CD last year in Britain, where the band is well established. No doubt some fans hear Snow Patrol as a humbler, hipper version of Coldplay. (One lyric from the new album drops an indie-rock name: “Put Sufjan Stevens on/And we’ll play your favorite song.”) That’s not fair, especially since the earliest incarnation of Snow Patrol predates Coldplay by nearly half a decade, but it is understandable.

Snow Patrol’s grandest songs build slowly and gently, until eventually the huge chorus unfurls. (By contrast the worst ones simply trudge, like “Make This Go On Forever,” which did.) Gary Lightbody, the highly likable lead singer, knows how to lead a sing-along without letting the power go to his head. “Shut Your Eyes” was no doubt designed to make crowds go nuts, but Mr. Lightbody made the refrain sound like a simple request: “Shut your eyes and sing to me….”

Certainly Snow Patrol doesn’t have a marketable image or a polarizing sub-genre or a famous face or an audacious sound. What Snow Patrol has is songs: a few great ones, along with a bunch of less-than-great ones. And its fans don’t want deep-catalog obscurities or free-form improvisations; they want to sing along. As Mr. Lightbody and his band mates know, there is only one way to avoid becoming a one-hit wonder: Write more.

Well, I hope that they will write a lot more. I disagree with the reviewer about “Make This Go On Forever” being one of their “worst” songs. It’s angsty, and I happen to like it. Although I think this was a well-written and fair review, it also reminded me why I don’t usually read music reviews: They make me doubt my personal tastes. I got three Snow Patrol albums—Final Straw, Eyes Open and A Hundred Million Suns—and found something I loved on each one. The band is on tour until the end of the year in the United States and United Kingdom, so check these guys out. The concert truly made my month. I am even feeling inspired enough to possibly make good on my ancient but not forgotten plan to pick up the guitar.

Women and Foreign Policy @ Foreign Policy Association

2008-11-02T23:27:00.014-05:00

(Flickr/H@ne)

I am happy to announce that Women on Foreign Policy has moved to Foreign Policy Association's website. Women and Foreign Policy (yes, a slight name change) will continue to explore the same issues, with a special focus on the role of women in political life and, for the lack of a better phrase, women's issues. We've also just launched a Facebook fan page. So, show your love and devotion!

Women on Foreign Policy blog

2008-09-14T18:16:00.009-04:00

Along with some of the Oxford mafia members and other coerced friends, I've launched the Women on Foreign Policy blog last month. Our motto is "lively commentary on foreign affairs from women around the world." Any foreign policy topic goes, with special attention showered upon lady politicians.

Nonnka's scribblings elsewhere

2008-09-14T17:47:00.011-04:00

Presidential election moments from the Moment archives, September/October 2008, Moment Magazine.

"The bar mitzvah from hell—and heaven," co-written with Laurel Lachowiez, September/October 2008, Moment Magazine.

"The shrinking newspaper, July 28, 2008, NiemanWatchdog.org.

"Rather, Moyers see deterioration in news coverage," June 9, 2008, NiemanWatchdog.org

"Media consolidation seen as "almost un-American," June 8, 2008, NiemanWatchdog.org.

"Media Reform conference opens in Minneapolis," June 8, 2008, NiemanWatchdog.org.

A musical interlude

2008-08-31T21:34:00.005-04:00

Whether Barack Obama wins or loses, the Democrats sure know how to give a superb music concert. The Republicans just can't compete. If you missed the performances Thursday night at the DNC, here are Stevie Wonder (can you spot the dancing Bob Scheiffer in the crowd?), Sheryl Crow and Jennifer Hudson hitting all the notes all the way on the national anthem.

Inappropriate headline of the day

2008-08-29T22:57:00.005-04:00

Slate’s “It’s a Girl!” headline (since removed and replaced by “Huh?”) announcing John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin as his running mate was disgraceful. Would “It’s a Boy!” been deemed appropriate for Barack Obama, John McCain or Joe Biden? I am light years away from Palin ideologically, but I am angry about the torrent of sexist rubbish that she is going to have to put up. It just never stops and there is no end to its ridiculousness. Take this absurd commentary on Hillary’s pantsuit in Denver that appeared in a Los Angeles Times blog:

Picking the orange outfit could have meant that it simply looked better against the blue background. She's worn orange several times this year, so perhaps it was more flattering to Hillary Clinton's hair and skin tones.

But there might be another reason. Does picking orange over blue or lilac, which would have coordinated with Michelle Obama's teal blue dress worn Tuesday night, have a deeper meaning?

Subliminally, to some observers it means that Hillary Clinton is maintaining her political individuality, not following the color code set by the Obama camp.

On the surface, it may sound silly. But small things, like the color of a pantsuit, can telegraph big political messages.

So though her speech was all about party unity, Hillary remains very formidable and individual. And she still wants to be president one day, which might be easier if the Republicans are defeated by Barack Obama this year.

If I understand this correctly, Hillary chose orange because she wants to look presidential if/when Obama loses. Perhaps female politicians should just wear black garbage bags and/or check with reporters on what’s OK to wear?

Mr. Dean, tear down this temple!

2008-08-27T23:15:00.005-04:00

Arhhhhh!!! What were the bright folks at the DNC thinking when they decided to erect this monstrosity? According to the Reuters article “Obama Speech Stage Resembles Ancient Greek Temple”:

The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos’ National Football League team plays.

Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington’s Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.

He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the
floor.

The show should provide a striking image for the millions of Americans watching on television as Obama delivers a speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.

I had several thoughts when I read this. Will they beam a halo over his head for added effect? Will the 80,000 have to ditch the infamously ridiculous campaign outfits (I love them!) for togas? As my friend Barbara commented, “It looks like a cheap version of the already cheap Las Vegas Strip version of the Partenon...and yes I think Obama will be cast as Zeus and the 80,000 as the worshiping Athenians!”

More seriously, I just don’t think wasting money on the “temple of Obama,” as the Republicans have dubbed it (talk about the Democrats making it way too easy) on a tacky stage prop, is the way to go after talking for days (and rightly so) about the many Americans who have lost their homes and can’t afford basic medical care. All this cult of personality stuff is freaking me out. Mr. Dean, tear down this temple!

Nonnka's scribblings elsewhere

2008-05-22T10:43:00.004-04:00

"Why I defend President Bush when I'm abroad," The Christian Science Monitor.

A life examined over instant noodles

2008-05-15T23:29:00.004-04:00

Last month, The New York Times ran an article entitled “In a New Generation of College Students, Many Opt for the Life Examined” on the growing number of students who are majoring in philosophy. It topped the list of the most e-mailed articles at one point. I imagine that a good number of Times’ readers majored in philosophy and wanted to share the giddy news with other philosophy majors. Perhaps others, like me, were simply shocked and wanted to share their shock. Who would have thought that in a sinking economy some programs managed to double their student numbers? As the article states:

The economic downturn has done little, if anything, to dampen this enthusiasm among students, who say that what they learn in class can translate into practical skills and careers. On many campuses, debate over modern issues like war and technology is emphasized over the study of classic ancient texts.

Rutgers, which has long had a top-ranked philosophy department, is one of a number of universities where the number of undergraduate philosophy majors is ballooning; there are 100 in this year’s graduating class, up from 50 in 2002, even as overall enrollment on the main campus has declined by 4 percent.

Although I found the article engrossing, I would have liked to have learned about what exactly these people DO after graduation. The student interviewed in the story’s opening switched from pre-med to philosophy and is applying to law school. Rutgers’ department chair notes that those students who double majored in philosophy and, say, economics, went on to achieve great things. But if you don’t double major or go on to grad school, what jobs are open to you? This questioned is left, um, unexamined.

I have the utmost respect for philosophy and most employers, one hopes, look upon critical thinking as a positive thing. Having majored in political science, I also understand the desire to study something that you’re passionate about even when your pocketbook tells you to opt for something more “practical.”

I suspect that philosophy majors have it even tougher on the job market than political science majors. It would have been nice if the reporter interviewed Rutgers alums about the career paths that they pursued and how long it took them to land their first full-time jobs. I am sure that many Rutgers students believe that finishing a great school will guarantee a great job and are in for a nasty shock. University officials mean their graduates well but can’t exactly say: “And 15 percent of our students went on to become successful professional interns and continue to take a philosophical approach to lending jobs with health care coverage.”

A life examined is a jolly good thing indeed, but one would rather examine it with brass in pocket. Just a thought for the class of 2008…

Nonnka's scribblings elsewhere

2008-04-03T19:43:00.005-04:00

"The candidates on the legal justice system," NiemanWatchdog.org.

"Someone like Putin..."

2008-03-16T19:04:00.004-04:00

I am belatedly reading Andrew Jack’s Inside Putin’s Russia, which is quite good so far. Inevitably, as with all Putin-related reading, the ridiculously sycophantic yet catchy tune “Someone Like Putin” enters my head at most inappropriate moments. I find myself humming “someone like Putin, full of strength, someone like Putin, who doesn’t drink” while reading about his non-adventures as a KGB officer in East Germany. You too can have the song not get out of your head! Here are the Russian and English music videos as well as the lyrics for the really hardcore fans.

The Taj Mahal

2008-03-09T00:03:00.002-05:00

"It was the Ivory Gate through which all good dreams come; it was the realization of the gleaming halls of dawn that Tennyson sighs of; it was veritably the 'aspiration fixed,' the 'sigh made stone' of a lesser poet; and over and above concrete comparisons, it seemed the embodiment of all things pure, all things holy, and all things unhappy.'' -- Rudyard Kipling

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2008-02-26T23:22:00.002-05:00

"Key McCain, Clinton fundraisers lobby for foreign governments:
A Q&A with Will Evans of the Center for Investigative Reporting," NiemanWatchdog.org

Be my Valentine/anti-Valentine!

2008-02-14T15:36:00.006-05:00

In spirit of the 14th, NPR put together a Valentine's mix tape (images of Neal Conan singing Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" are fleshing in my head) and tells us why Hollywood doesn't make romantic comedies like it used to. If you like sarcasm, vd.meish.org is marching on with its oldy but goody e-cards. "You'll do" indeed.

Monkey Madness

2008-01-29T03:07:00.000-05:00

I know that you are expecting me to go on and on about the beauty of the Taj Mahal now that I am back from “Incredible India.” That broken Celine Dion record will makes its due appearance once I figure out way to outdo Rudyard Kipling’s “It was the Ivory Gate through which all good dreams come true it seemed the embodiment of all things pure, all things holy, and all things unhappy.” I can top that, right? In the meantime, I am giving the masses Agra’s other wonders of the world. Long live lovely langurs—not to be confused with the nasty wild rhesus monkeys!

A langur performing "All By Myself" a la Bridget Jones

2008-01-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

"One flea down, fifty more to go dear..."

2008-01-29T02:56:00.000-05:00

"OK, five more minutes and then it is my turn!"

2008-01-29T02:52:00.001-05:00

Baby got back...or perhaps not

2008-01-29T02:46:00.001-05:00

"Yes, white people, we know just how cute we are"

2008-01-29T02:40:00.000-05:00

Mother and child

2008-01-29T02:34:00.000-05:00

New Delhi and Winter Blog Slumber

2007-11-02T01:18:00.000-04:00

Note to self: No blogging after excessive packing and less than 24 hours before a long, long flight. It might be a while before I blog again, but I shall be keeping a very detailed journal (you know, the low-tech paper kind) of sights, sounds, wonders and annoyances. Come late January, this blog will be full of those along with photos of "Incredible India," as the nifty tourism campaign goes. I plan on making it worth the wait (wink, wink).

"Indian Beatles"

2007-10-25T13:51:00.000-04:00

After 15 minutes of trying to come up with a clever comment to accompany my latest YouTube find, it is suffice to say that in this case words are not enough. So I leave you to dance along to this Bollywood rendition of the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2007-10-22T01:33:00.000-04:00

"Money grows on fruit trees for S.F.'s 'Chief Banana,'"
San Francisco Business Times.

"'Black sheep' of the financial industry helps small businesses," San Francisco Business Times.

The roads not taken on this lonely planet

2007-10-01T22:19:00.000-04:00

It is always hard to get one’s mind on track after traveling. Ordinary life seems oppressive in its mundaneness, yet it is also very much missed after one is abroad for too long. You start buying last month’s Time for thrice the cover price and engaging in other ridiculous acts for some illusion of connectedness with your boring, daily ways back at home. Yet, no matter how long my international stay, after about six months back in the States, I want to go somewhere else.

The San Francisco Public Library had their annual sale this weekend, and I stocked up on lots of books (thankfully, I kept myself out of the fiction section and was able to carry the loot back home without sustaining injury). I browsed through the travel section, with its guides for Central Europe, China, Italy and all the other places to which I have either not been or want to return to. I always try to get the latest guides, so I did not get any there. However, after using the very good Moon guide for Mexico City, I am done with my fierce loyalty to Lonely Planet, especially after they postponed the publication of their India guide. I really did like their guides to Sweden, England, New York City, so it was not quite blind loyalty but the Armenia portion of their Caucasus guide was atrocious. The woman did not know what she was writing about, made factual mistakes and relied on hearsay instead of visiting the actual places, which you would think is why they sent her there in the first place. Still, I had forgiven them until now. I bought the Rough Guide to India and am beginning to tackle it. The guide is well-written, though I wish they’d used thicker paper. I can see myself destroying the thing in the future not too distant.

There was supposed to be a point to this post: I have itchy feet. I can’t wait to start packing for Delhi. Just a month more. It feels at once too near and too far.

But I thought that I was a latte...

2007-10-01T21:38:00.000-04:00

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic

At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung

You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping

Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

2007-09-07T23:06:00.001-04:00

Your Russian Name Is...

Ninockha Aleksandra Kuznetsov

What's Your Russian Name?

Blog Break and a Lovely Poem...

2007-08-04T02:07:00.000-04:00

Hola,

NonnaBlog is going to sleep until August 24th. Until then, I leave you with one of my favorite poems by Pushkin:

Wondrous Moment

The wondrous moment of our meeting . . .
I well remember you appear
Before me like a vision fleeting,
A beauty's angel pure and clear.

In hopeless ennui surrounding
The worldly bustle, to my ear
For long your tender voice kept sounding,
For long in dreams came features dear.

Time passed. Unruly storms confounded
Old dreams, and I from year to year
Forgot how tender you had sounded,
Your heavenly features once so dear.

My backwoods days dragged slow and quiet-
Dull fence around, dark vault above-
Devoid of God and uninspired,
Devoid of tears, of fire, of love.

Sleep from my soul began retreating,
And here you once again appear
Before me like a vision fleeting,
A beauty's angel pure and clear.

In ecstasy the heart is beating,
Old joys for it anew revive;
Inspired and God-filled, it is greeting
The fire, and tears, and love alive.

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2007-07-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

"The Rise and Fall of Paragraph #5,"Moment.

Fancy a Pint?

2007-07-23T00:23:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Anna, my fellow Englishwoman, I took the quiz. Long live the Queen (and Hugh Grant)!

You Belong in the UK

Blimey!
A little proper, a little saucy.
You're so witty and charming...
No one notices your curry breath

What English Speaking Country Are You?

Reverse Halloween

2007-07-21T23:20:00.000-04:00

It has been a few weeks now since I have been back in dear San Francisco. The lattes are still strong, the Peking ducks are still dripping with fat and weird things on public transportation are still happening. I was riding BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit from Berkeley to San Francisco when a bunch of twenty-somethings dressed up as witches and wizards streamed into the train car distributing candy out of plastic pumpkins. They said was “Reverse Halloween.” Some hopeful youngsters inquired if there were any drugs in the candy. I couldn’t hear the answer. “You have a bucket too! Take some candy,” offered one of the guys, noticing my much hunted for Longs Drugs plastic bucket filled with Lysol and other toxins. Then the candy-givers vanished into the other car.

It has been 10-minutes since I’ve eaten the Tootsie Roll but stay tuned for any Reverse Halloween symptoms. I think the whole thing was connected to the release of the last Harry Potter book but after a quick web search, it appears that Reverse Halloween has quite a range of followers. Take this announcement from Churches of Christ Online:

On Wednesday evenings at Jackson Ridge we normally have a Youth Alive! program that draws around 35 teens. On the 31st we are planning a Reverse Halloween. Our teens are dressing as Bible characters and will be canvassing our community handing out "goody bags" with a number of brochures on subjects such as developing a relationship with Jesus Christ, our youth program, as well as a special "Hope" mailing card developed by Outreach Marketing in light of the events of Sept. 11th. Churches can recieve 1,000 cards for the cost of shipping only by contacting them at www.outreachmarketing.com.

What I really would like are some brochures on why my parents never took me trick-or-treating in my childhood. Maybe they can make up for past sins in October. I WANT TO BE A PRINCESS…WAHHHHHHHH…

Notting Hill

2007-06-02T23:07:00.000-04:00

I took these shots of Notting Hill (minus Hugh) that I rather like on my last trip to England. One of these days, I really should take a photography course. I am confidant that this will happen right after I learn how to speak French and learn to play the guitar. Perhaps I can even sing sad French songs as I play my guitar with the professional black and white photos that I've taken in Paris surrounding me for full effect...For now, however, these digital shots of hippie old England will have to do.

Victoria’s Secret: A Complaint

2007-05-01T20:40:00.001-04:00

Men tend to associate Victoria’s Secret with things that are not meant to be worn for more than the time it takes to take them off. The most curious item, of course, is the Fantasy Bra—this year’s is priced $12.5 million. Victoria’s Secret tells us that this “breathtaking bra features a delicate floral design rendered in 18-karat white gold with over 2,900 pave-set diamonds and 22 ruby gemstones.” In short, it gives a whole new meaning to the term “safe sex.”

Those of us for whom the Fantasy Bra will be forever safely out of reach, nevertheless expect to spend fantastical sums on seemingly ordinary and non-sexy items such as durable bras. One would think that you could get a normal bra at say a Target or a GAP, but the truth is that you really can’t. They sell crap that hardly holds together. So once in a while, I am forced to make a Victoria’s Secret run. I walk past the guys uncomfortably sitting by the thongs—or worse, helping the mentally challenged girls whom they’re sleeping with pick out their lacy bits….There ought to be a law…

After the breakdown of my sole strapless bra after five years of faithful service, I went to get a replacement only to find that the store sold no non-padded strapless bras. If you got it, flaunt it but no such luck in my case. And since I am not a communist determined on making that that was nothing everything, plain old bras are all I want and wear.

In the end, I was forced to get this padded bra, which so stuck out that I couldn’t wear the dress it was intended for. I am slowly getting used to it, though there was that uncomfortable episode in the movie theatre, when the evil bra created cleavage for popcorn to fall into—a problem to which I was previously a stranger. If I was not so lazy, I would write a complaint.

"A Semi-charmed Kind of Life..."

2007-04-28T19:22:00.000-04:00

Brrrrr...Just found out that Third Eye Blind from my lovely San Francisco is playing a sold-out concert in Washington next week. I guess I will have to reconcile myself to watching the "Semi-charmed Life" video, which has some nice shots of the city, on YouTube. Although I can think of many movies that were filmed in San Francisco, I am having troubling doing the same for music videos...Anyone?

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2007-04-28T00:13:00.000-04:00

Interview with Mark Malseed, coauthor of
The Google Story, momentmag.com.

Peer Pressure

2007-04-27T23:52:00.000-04:00

Ms. Swedish Anna has been set on me filling in the blanks...Hopefully, I will be rewarded with a fat slice of her famed strawberry cake in Stockholm.

Three Things That Scare Me:
* Torture
* Unemployment
* Looking stupid in front of people whom I admire

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
* Jerry Seinfeld (in a good way)
* Maureen Dowd (in a good way)
* George W. Bush (in a sad way)

Three Things I Love:
* San Francisco
* Seeing my work (when it is not crap) in print
* Pub crawls

Three Things I Hate:
* Pretentious people
* Stupid people
* Incompetent people

Three Things I Don't Understand:
* Why D.C. residents don’t have representation in Congress
* The George W. Bush administration
* Why I procrastinate

Three Things On My Desk:
* 300 Cotton swabs
* U2 18 Singles CD
* A pink pen

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now:
* Drinking white wine in my pajamas
* Thinking that I really shouldn’t be drinking white wine in my pajamas at 11p.m.
* Thinking about a refill

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
* Write a book
* See Paul McCartney in concert
* Establish a magazine in San Francisco devoted to international affairs

Three Things I Can Do:
* Daydream
* Keep a secret
* Research

Three Things I Can't Do:
* Light a match
* Speak Ukrainian (but I do speak Russian, which is closely related)
* Play an instrument

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:
* The Beatles
* Norah Jones (her first album)
* Silence (sshhhhhhh)

Three Things I'd Like To Learn:
* French
* Discipline
* How to play the guitar

Three Favorite Foods:
* Apples
* Chocolate
* Sushi

Three Wonderful People to Inflict My Meme On:
* Here I part ways with Anna and refuse to inflict such suffering on others!

Funny Stuff

2007-04-16T22:21:00.000-04:00

For those who missed it, Google's April Fool's Day joke was both cruel and funny. I think that if the service was for real, I would be one of the many pathetic people taking advantage of it. I could see the cardboard boxes filled with my Gmail correspondence slowly taking over what little remains of my breathing space.

And speaking of funny, I saw Blades of Glory, which is definitely worth at least a rental. I was not a fan of Will Ferrell during his SNL days, but after
Talladega Nights and Stanger Than Fiction, he had won me over.

"Pop! Goes My Heart!"

2007-03-07T04:21:00.000-05:00

Went to see Music and Lyrics yesterday to take a break from production festivities at the magazine. There is really only one reason why everyone should see this movie and that is the brilliant music video "Pop! Goes My Heart!" It takes a man truly confident in his sexuality and at peace with the '80s to accomplish the feat.

For those who have not been religiously checking Moment's Web site, we've had a major redesign done. Here are my favorite pics for this issue:

1."The Holiday Brief: A Jewish Lawyer’s Survival Guide" by Jeremy Blachman (better known as Anonymous Lawyer).

2."The Story of Sergey Brin" by Mark Malseed, who coauthored a book on Google. After Genia Brin's “We thought everybody in their right mind ought to get a Ph.D.” comment, I will never hear the end of it from my parents. "See Nonna, you can have $15 billion and still, if you don't have a Ph.D...."

3.Ha'aretz's Lily Galili profiles Israel's most controversial politician in "All is Heaven with Avigdor Lieberman.

Nonnka’s Scribblings Elsewhere

2007-03-04T19:12:00.000-05:00

Here’s my backlog of Moment articles:

Film review of Live and Become.

A look at the founders of IM.

Interview with Robert Satloff, author of Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust’s Long Reach into Arab Lands.

"Hindi Russi Bhai Bhai!"

2007-02-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Went diving into the Time magazine archives and found this treasure, datelined December 12,1955. Best enjoyed shoeless with a vodka lassi:

Starvation, squalor, teeming restlessness and ill-concealed resentment haunt the alleys and byways of refugee-swollen Calcutta, India's biggest (pop. circa 7,000,000) and most turbulent city. There last week, in greater numbers than ever, hysterically cheering Indians turned out to greet the touring missionaries of Muscovite good will, bulletheaded Communist Party Chief Nikita Khrushchev and his straight man, Soviet Premier Bulganin. Streets along the line of entry were scrubbed and decorated with triumphal arches; the city's swarming sacred cows had been driven into back alleys, and red flags fluttered on every side.

For hours before the Russians arrived, a crowd estimated at more than 2,000,000 jammed the center of the city. Only a comparative handful were within viewing distance when at last Khrushchev, Bulganin and their host, West Bengal Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, showed up in an open Mercedes-Benz. At the intersection of two of Calcutta's big streets, the Russians waved their straw hats, and Khrushchev cried out in their own language: "Hindi Russi bhai bhai!" (Indians, Russians, brothers, brothers!). Instantly the crowd burst forward, shattering police lines and bamboo barricades to swarm over the car. Some clutched Bulganin's coat. Others seized Khrushchev's hands and arms. As the Indians piled their weight upon the Mercedes, it broke down. With police aid, the visitors pulled themselves clear of the clustering crowd and fought their way to a nearby police van. Behind them, the happy mob pulled the Mercedes apart. Safe at last from their frantic fans, the Russians sped on in the paddywagon to reach an official reception at Government House one hour late.

For Veronica (Somewhere in Denmark)

2007-02-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

Anything, of course, for my striking and talented relative…Alas, Veronica, “Vernisage” seems to have been removed from YouTube because of copyright violations. There is, however, a more risqué gay version of the song available.

International Women’s Day vs. Valentine’s Day

2007-02-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

I always thought that I hated Valentine’s Day because it was a commercial holiday designed to make single people feel bad. However, it turns out that there is a more profound ideological reason for my animosity—my solidarity with the freedom-loving people of North Korea. As Eugene Volokh points out, it’s “Not Just Valentine’s Day—Great Leader King Jong Il’s Birthday.” Mmmm…Why didn’t I notice this before? Mmmm…Double the celebrations! I see visions of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates with Dear Leader’s face and other disturbing treats. (This reminds me of a Soviet joke about a king-size bed for newlyweds called “Lenin is With Us...”)

Back in the U.S.S.R., there was no Valentine’s or Mother’s Day but March 8th, the International Day of Women, was (and still is) a big holiday. I remember being given a rubber ducky by some assigned boy in my school on the happy day. (Boys, in turn, got toy tanks on February 23rd, Day of the Soviet Army and Navy...So much for gender equality.) Of course, the socialist stuff aside, the real purpose of March 8th was to serve as a sort of Yom Kippur for Soviet men. On this day, they had to go out and buy flowers and maybe candy for their mothers, wives and so on after never so much as offering to wash a plate on this or the rest of the 364 days of the year. With Valentine’s Day taking off in the formerly Evil Empire, they will have to do this TWICE. There is some justice in Russia’s transition to a market economy after all.

Inappropriate Article of the Week

2007-02-19T00:52:00.000-05:00

There’s a new newspaper in the capital called The Politico. It is available for free all over town, they’ve unleashed a massive ad campaign, and its reporters have been welcomed with open arms on various news shows. I decided to pick up a copy to see what the hoopla was about and must say was not impressed. Though nicely designed, it was not as well-written and informative as The Hill. Especially inappropriate for what aims to be a serious publication was a front page article by Helena Andrews titled "Get Ready for 'Barchelle'":

Beware, Brangelina. Barchelle has your number.

The Obamas (Barack + Michelle) steamed up newsstands recently as Ebony's "hottest couple" in 2007 -- gracing the cover of the magazine's February issue. And if recent sales are any indication, Barack can do more than draft legislation and make campaign stump speeches. He (and his wife) can sell the heck out of a magazine.

What are they smoking in their editorial office? At this rate, we can expect stories about Barack Obama’s alien lover in the future not too distant. It is denigrating in general to merge people’s names like that, not to mention that Michelle Obama is not exactly micromanaging her husband’s campaign.(Ebony’s cover line btw was:"America’s Next First Couple? Sen. Barack & Michelle Obama on Their Love and Plans for the Future.”)

After going on and on about the Ebony cover, Andrews goes on and on about The Cosby Show:

They also revive the image of a devoted and affectionate black couple— something not often celebrated by the media.

“Particularly in the mainstream media there aren't enough images of loving black couples beyond The Cosby Show,” said Monroe, referring to the iconic 1980s television show that featured Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad as Cliff and Claire Huxtable. (The show won won six Emmy awards in eight seasons.)

When it comes to comparing the Huxtables and Obamas, the similarities go beyond the obvious—successful, black and well-off. Barack and Michelle, much like Cliff and Claire, have been charged, by some, with being too good to be true.

In the end, Andrews wisely reminds me us that unlike the Huxtables, the Obamas are real, non-fictional human beings. Wow.

Takaya, Blin, Life

2007-02-07T23:33:00.000-05:00

Was taking a trip down e-mail memory lane and stumbled na etu klevuyu poemku (and net, I did not compose it):

Takaya, Blin, Life

tikho padaet bucks
mirno tikayut clocks
nastroenie sucks
slovno nyukhayu socks.
zaletel svezhi air
skvoz' balkonnuyu door
mne postrich' by svoi hair
da pobrit'sya once more

s pokhmel'ya noet head.
byl vchera trudnyi day.
vsye kakoye-to bad
vsye kakoe-to gray.

chem travit' sebe soul
luchshe stavit' na luck.
snyat' na ulitze girl,
a potom eye fuck

nastroenie nice,
no krugom, bratzy, shit
i povysili price
na tverskoy fucking street.
oblomali, blin, kaif
vsya nadezhda na hand.
vot takaya blin life
what takoi happy end.

nastroenie fine
khot' za oknami cold.
khot' uspekhov a little,
a uzh 30 years old.
skoro vnov' budet spring,
budet solntze nam shine.
budut pritzy nam sing,
v tzelom, truly devine.

Move Over MTV (Davai, Davai)

2007-02-03T18:27:00.000-05:00

I just discovered that YouTube has some Soviet pop goodies. The collection is not that vast and the sound quality is often crap, but I did manage to find a few of my favorites. Fountains, fake fog, puffy sleeves and much coordinated clapping await you. Gotta love it. There are so many singers in Russia today who can’t carry a tune to save their lives, that bringing some of the Soviet standards back to the stage wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Please send me your favorites, and I will see if I can link to them. Do Enjoy!

"It is Not Evening Yet," Laima Vaikule.

"Iceberg," Alla Pugacheva.

"I Like It," Alla Pugacheva.

Very Funny

2007-01-08T20:17:00.000-05:00

This Economist guide to Russian airports is simply hilarious.

Call for Cold Remedies

2007-01-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

With napkin droppings and the mellow sounds of Daniel Powter all around, I can barely feel my throat and have not felt so lousy in a while. I still believe in the American-Russian marriage of DayQuil and tea with lemon as the cure for all. However, being the open-minded person that I am, I want your golden cures as well. Just as long as the remedy is not alive and kicking, I am game. A very belated Happy New Year to all!

Love Your Local Gorilla

2006-12-10T21:17:00.000-05:00

In case I ever decide to bury this whole journalism thing, it is nice to know that there is a great gorilla opportunity for Gorilovskaya in the city by the bay...

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2006-10-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

"The Hidden Veterans," NiemanWatchdog.org

Shana Tova!

2006-09-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Vladimir invites George to dip the apples into the honey and ring in the Jewish New Year. Bush responds with “chto?” Happy 5767! Thanks to Alik via mom for this one.

2X2

2006-08-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

Anna -- blogger, friend and enthusiastic participant in friend surveys -- has tagged me to provide the information below...Enjoy suffering through the trivia.

4 jobs I have had in my life

Folding clothes at Mervyn’s
Editor/Writer
Researcher
High school forensics coach

4 places I’ve lived in

Yerevan, Armenia
San Francisco, USA
Kiev, Ukraine
Oxford, UK

4 TV series I enjoy watching

Friends
Scrubs
Sex and the City
Freaks and Geeks

4 places I've been on vacation

Stockholm, Sweden
Berlin, Germany
Tbilisi, Georgia
Israel

4 places I’d like to visit

Australia
Czech Republic
Taiwan
India

4 places I would rather be right now

At a launch party for my imaginary, best-selling and very highly-acclaimed work of nonfiction
Café Milano, my favorite hangout in Berkeley, California
On a beach in Italy
Travelling around the world as a reporter-at-large for The New Yorker

4 Web sites that I visit daily

Gmail
Google News
The New York Times
Niemanwatchdog.org

4 favourite foods

Apples
Piroshki
Latkes
Black caviar on freshly buttered bread

4 places where I feel at home

A coffee shop
A library
San Francisco
The World Wide Web

4 things that I wish for

To better control my compulsive e-mail checking
To work for The New Yorker
To be kind to the people who are not mean to me
To die in my sleep in old, but cognizant age

4 concerts I've been to

The Rolling Stones
Pearl Jam
Macy Gray
Avraam Russo

Take a Swing

2006-08-09T23:29:00.001-04:00

Here's an unusual Chinese bar with global franchise potential written all over it. After a hard day's work, I fancy nothing better than to gulp down my Guinness and beat the crap out of the waiter who served it:

The Rising Sun Anger Release Bar in Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, employs 20 muscled young men as "models" for customers to punch and scream at.

"Customers can specify how they want the models to appear -- they can even appear as women -- and then they are free to give them a sound beating," the China Daily said.

The bar charges from 50 yuan (3.30 pounds) to 300 yuan for the pleasure.

...
Wu said that since he opened the bar in April, most of the patrons have been women, especially those working in karaoke bars and massage parlours.

Juicy Jews

2006-08-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

We apparently got wrong what Mel Gibson actually said. According to one highly trusted source, the explanation went as follows,"I said 'juice.' I hate 'juice.'" I know that there are many offended fruits and vegetables out there who will demand a third apology from Mr. Gibson, but they can't buy movie tickets, so who cares? I am just grateful that I can now watch Mr. Gibson's next cinematic gem with a clear conscience. Here's a sneak preview. Have some juice or tequila or better yet, a Tequila Sunrise. Also, don't forget to enter The Mel Gibson Tequila-Kosher Dill Pickles Contest. We will raise our shot glasses to toast the winner September 4th.

9/11 and Tenure

2006-08-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

I think Larissa put it best when she said that "this
is what happens when people with tenure get up to no good."

NonnaBlog Presents...The Mel Gibson Tequila-Kosher Dill Pickles Contest

2006-08-03T22:39:00.000-04:00

Mel Gibson has asked the Jewish community to help him heal his burning anti-Semitic tongue. Tequila! At some point he realized that he has to continue working in that Hollywood place. Similar to law school, it must be insufferable to be an anti-Semite there.

Experience has taught me that drunk people are infinitely more truthful than sober ones and so, I have been thinking about ways to make Mr. Gibson love us. This task has been greatly complicated by the fact that the last Mel Gibson movie I saw was Lethal Weapon I. We all know that Gibson will soon be forced to do all sorts of things at the urging of Jewish leaders, including yoga. Thoughts of Gibson, his Holocaust-denying father and Borat visiting Auschwitz have crossed my mind, but I need to keep my eyes on the prize.

How can we get Gibson on the path to recovery and a better understanding of the Jews? For a short-term fix, I suggest that sober Jews (I am, obviously, will be unable participate) worldwide sign up for Sock-in-the-Mouth Mel Gibson Patrol Duty. However, what we really need are long-term remedies like 10,000 hours of dancing the Hava Nagila and similar cruelties. Ideas anyone? Post them in the comments. I will select my favorites and the winner will get a bottle of tequila and some kosher dill pickles. Tasty. Yummy. Philo-Semitic. L'haim and let the healing begin...

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2006-07-29T12:47:00.000-04:00

"Stranded in Absurdistan," Moment.
"A Moment with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan."
Also check out Moment's expert round table on the Iraq war.

Six Scary Signs That I Am Getting Used to Washington,DC

2006-07-25T23:54:00.000-04:00

1. Armies of Pleasantville-type dressed girls in Georgetown scare me no more. I even find myself longing for a '50s skirt of my own.
2. I wake parents and friends during ungodly hours of the morning, forgetting that unfortunate Californians are three hours back.
3. I no longer give dirty looks to people who ask me where I work before they ask me what my name is.
4. I eat barely breathing fruits and vegetables with minimal bitching about how good and cheap Californian produce is.
5. I talk about the importance of having “Hill experience in this city” without having any.
6. The words “Starbucks” and “coffee shop” have become one and the same.

Neglecting the Blog

2006-07-24T08:10:00.000-04:00

Once again, I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. However, this time, I really did have some good excuses. First off, I have been promoted to assistant editor at Moment.We’ve spent the past few weeks freaking out and getting the issue out to the printers. After that superhuman feat was accomplished, we shut down the office for a few days during which my brainless activities included the viewing of The Office (the American version),The Office (the British version), The Devil Wears Prada, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and a Hugh Grant marathon. Yes, that’s the life. I am also happy to report that I am now researcher at NiemanWatchdog.org, a Harvard site that serves primary as a resource to reporters. The idea is to focus on questions that the press is not asking by, among other things, asking experts to draft pieces. I will write one or two once in a while as well. Here are my inaugural ramblings for the site on the Electoral College.

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2006-07-17T23:58:00.000-04:00

"What Irish Eyes Are Reading,"Foreign Policy.

An Inconvenient Truth (If You Can Sit Through It)

2006-06-07T22:01:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, I went to see Al Gore’s big movie on global warming. Yes, me and everyone else who has wet dreams about him being the 43rd president of the United States. Really, who else would actually pay money to watch Gore give a presentation in front of some blandly academic white audience for one hour and 40 minutes? Surely there are other, less painful, ways of calling our attention to the fact that the icebergs are going to melt, and WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!! It can definitely wait until the DVD comes out. The highlights for me were 1) Gore sliding up and down the computer generated graph. Way sexy. 2) Gore visiting the family tobacco farm. He is not a robot, though he may appear that way at times. 3) My lovely San Francisco Bay Area going underwater after Iceland and/or Greenland melt. Could it be that my parents will finally toss my middle school homework? Upon exiting the theatre, my boyfriend elicited dirty looks from the more environmentally conscious Georgetown theatre goers for his damning indictment of the film, “Whatever, I am not going to do stuff just because Al Gore tells me to.”

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2006-05-25T10:15:00.000-04:00

"The Shiksa Revival,"Moment.

"Ruth Prawer Jhabvala,"Moment.

Pandas & Prime Real Estate

2006-05-16T19:24:00.000-04:00

I finally got to see Tai Shan,the celebrity baby panda, this weekend. I was not willing to bear the long lines to see him back in July, when trained professionals could actually carry the little guy. Now, the little guy can probably have me for lunch if he was not interested in bamboo. To get you to understand the sort of panda craziness that spread through the DC area at the time, one woman offered to give a hand job on Craig’s List to whoever could secure her the prized panda ticket. Besides the pandas, I thought that the zoo was not all that impressive, but the neighborhood in which it is located makes me want to leave journalism so that I could afford a little closet there.

Pass It On

2006-04-28T09:16:00.000-04:00

Am blogging from work for the first time ever to announce our...

Moment Magazine Editorial Cartoon Contest

We are thrilled to sponsor our first ever editorial cartoon contest. Entries should have some kind of Jewish content or overtone and will be judged on subtlety, creativity, freshness, content and drawing. Please stick to a single, quarter of a page panel. The winner will be published in Moment, a magazine of Jewish politics, religion and culture and win $250. Young cartoonists are especially encouraged to apply. Entries must be received by June 15th. Do spread the word and mail entries to: Moment Magazine, Editorial Cartoon Contest, 4115 Wisconsin Ave., Suite #102, Washington, DC 20016. Please include you name, address, phone number and e-mail. If you have any questions, contact us at editor@momentmag.com.

Giant Soviet/Post-Soviet Bows

2006-04-24T20:08:00.000-04:00

I was reading a story on Russia’s ethnic republics, when my eyes fell on these giant blue bows of proud Adygeya Republic pupils. For those who care, here’s where the place is, but on to the more important subject of the humungous blue bows. Back in the Soviet wonderland, I too wore giant bows. However, my bows were restricted to the two uniform colors –- white and brown. The whites were bearable, but the brown ones looked like crap. We could only dream of communism’s downfall, and the day when we would be free to wear big blue, pink and yellow bows. So what can I say? Good for the Adyghe! Long live resistance to central rule and diversity of bows! Though I wonder if they allowed wear red bows even though their uniforms are blue. Hmmmm...About the photo: I am the one with the biggest bow.

"A Translator's Baggage"

2006-04-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

I found these musings on English-Russian and Russian-English translation in The Moscow Times quite true and entertaining. Now, time for random but somewhat related thought of the day: When Lost in Translation came out, I went to see it under the assumption that it would have something to do with translation. I guess I misunderstood. 'Twas a good movie, but Bill Murray looked like he was going to cry when he did not get the Oscar.

Lubavitch-Style Porn

2006-04-16T18:33:00.001-04:00

I watched Saturday Night Live yesterday for the first time in several years, and I must say that the skits sucked. The exception was the Weekend Update which informed us that ultra-Orthodox Jewish computer hackers have been invading porn sites and replacing objectionable materials with the photo of the late Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson. What can I say except: sexy, saucy, sassy. I think we may have a Lubavitch porn site in the making.

It's Cool Man

2006-04-01T18:58:00.000-05:00

Breaking up is hard to do, so here's a nice little way to say that there are
no hard feelings. Thanks Marinochka for the heads up on this umm...sharp gift for the "mature adult" on your list.

Friends in the News

2006-03-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

Some of you may best know her for her heart-wrenching version of "I Will Survive" on the drunken streets of Oxford. However, Anoushka is also our up-and-coming Middle Easten expert, as illustrated in this Newsweek article on the Dubai port scandal in which she was extensively quoted.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Booze

2006-03-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

The whole "freedom fries" thing never caught on, but a recent Stanford study estimates that French wine sellers lost $112 million in sales as a result of the boycott. Of course, being the patriotic Californian that I am, I follow the advice of the Governator, who reminds us to "Be Californian, Buy Californian!" Minus last Friday. However, as that wine ended up on a ceiling thanks to someone's fancy-shmancy cork opener, it doesn't really count. I wonder if the boycotters bought Californian wine or just settled for Bud Light. Lest you think the French are alone in their wine troubles, the Spaniards are boycotting Catalonian bubbly. More Cava for the Germans and the Americans, The New York Times reports. Oh, what do I know? Some people, unlike me, have principles which interfere with their drinking habits. What I wish I was drinking now: Khvanchkara.

Minus Geneva: Prison Stories

2006-03-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

This American Life, which is one of my favorite programs on NPR, had a great segment today on “Habeas Shmabeas.” Never thought that I would use funny and Guantanamo Bay in the same sentence, but one of the former prisoners -- released without charges or an apology after hellish treatment -- was pretty hilarious. The audio will be available on their site next week. The New York Times, meanwhile, puts a name and a face on the infamous hooded man standing on box Abu Ghraib photo. Ali Shalal Qaissi's business card for his prisoners’ rights organization, reprinted in the paper, incorporates the image. I wonder how many e-mails are sitting in his inbox right now.

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

2006-03-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

"Sounding Suspect," Foreign Policy.

Jailing David Irving

2006-02-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Not to sound like a big Jewish supporter of David Irving and his views, but really, is imposing multi-year prison sentences the best way to deal with Holocaust deniers? It just elevates them to martyrdom among their wacko, anti-Semitic followers and gives them the publicity that they, being media whores, seek. Shoddy history books should be fought with legitimate research on the Holocaust, of which there is little shortage thanks to the Nazis’ meticulous documentation of their crimes.

Dangerous Dick

2006-02-12T21:43:00.000-05:00

I wonder if this means that Justice Scalia will recuse himself from those famous duck hunting trips of his.

Crazy C-SPAN Callers

2006-02-05T13:49:00.000-05:00

The joy of listening to C-SPAN, cable’s forced upon public service to the cable-watching masses, never ends. Where else can you hear Congressional, presidential, and think-tank speeches and events in full without being interrupted by images of your Always maxi-pad holding a whole gallon of water without giving way? But the best part of C-SPAN is, undoubtedly, the crazy ass callers. From red states to blue, from coast to coast, crazy people from across this great country of ours call in and say the stupidest shit, often without being interrupted. Usually, the crazy caller in question is thanked for the specific conspiracy theory in question and the next crazy caller from Odessa, Texas is told that he is next. One of the morning programs today focused on the legacy of Betty Friedan of The Feminine Mystique fame. So this dude calls in to say that Betty was a communist who single-handedly destroyed the American nuclear family, and that the Taliban had the right idea when it came to dealing with us uppity women. R.I.P.

Rentals

2006-01-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

YEAHH!

“Supersize Me”: Strangely, it made me want to have some fries. I haven’t had some of those fries in a long time.

“Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran”: Beautiful, funny, and touching little movie. Sad that I don’t know French though…Sigh…I blame it on my parents who placed me in Spanish, which I managed not to learn either.

PASS!!!

“Closer”: Don’t like wannabe profound movies that are not that profound. Especially a pity given the good cast.

Ringing Blog Endorsement

2006-01-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

Ah, if only every blogger was so lucky:

NonnaBlog
She doesn't respond to comments, and she's boring. But I visit anyway, because I have no life.

I am reaching for my Kleenex, like, now.

The Levees Race

2006-01-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

Ah, it’s not going to happen, but competent engineers can dream. Thanks mom for this one.

No Comfy State Department Post for You!

2006-01-22T16:23:00.000-05:00

Here’s a novel concept: If you want to advance in the U.S. Foreign Service, you will be expected to speak foreign languages and stuff. Yes, Secretary Rice sent shivers down the spines of bureaucrats from London to Rome with her recent announcement that Lebanon eagerly awaits their arrival, and that they better secure their Arabic for Dummies copies while they last:

As part of the change in priorities, Rice announced that diplomats will not be promoted into the senior ranks unless they accept assignments in dangerous posts, gain expertise in at least two regions and are fluent in two foreign languages, citing Chinese, Urdu and Arabic as a few preferred examples.

Rice noted that the United States has nearly as many State Department personnel in Germany -- which has 82 million people -- as in India, with 1 billion people. As a first step, 100 jobs in Europe and Washington will be immediately shifted to expanded embassies in countries such as India, China and Lebanon. Many of these diplomats had been scheduled to rotate into coveted posts in European capitals this summer, and the sudden change in assignment has caused some distress, State Department officials said.

Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported with glee about State Department’s “perestroika” headlining the article “Instead of Comfy Europe…Into the Burner.”

"Too Many Marriages Between First Cousins!"

2006-01-14T21:57:00.000-05:00

Yes, one of my mom’s deeply held beliefs about our tribe is backed up by yet more scientific data:

The researchers, Doron Behar and Karl Skorecki of the Technion and Ramban Medical Center in Haifa, and colleagues elsewhere, report that just four women, who may have lived 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, are the ancestors of 40 percent of Ashkenazis alive today.

See JDate (no, I've never done it) for further proof.

Lame Words of 2005

2006-01-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

Something tells me that I would have made a bloody awful linguist:

A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness,"defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

…
Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, said "truthiness" means "truthy, not facty."

"The national argument right now is, one, who's got the truth and, two, who's got the facts," he said. "Until we can manage to get the two of them back together again, we're not going make much progress."

And I am definitely out of touch with the fashion world, though I was under the impression that jeans nudity was soooooooo 90s:

In a runoff for the most creative word, "whale tail," the appearance of a thong above the waistband, beat out "muffin top," the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-riding jeans.

And of course, it wouldn’t be truly 2005 if it was not oversaturated to the point of vomiting by the love of Tom and Kate:

Tom Cruise became the first public figure in the contest's 16 years to be noted for his influence on public discourse. The group coined the term "Cruiselex" to describe such terms as "jump the couch" and "Cruisazy."

"Jump the couch," meaning to exhibit strange or frenetic behavior, won the best Tom Cruise-related word or phrase. It stems from the actor's antics in May on Oprah Winfrey’s couch as he talked about his love for fiancee Katie Holmes. "Cruisazy" means to exhibit crazy behavior.

Thanks to Babs for passing this on and a happy and less linguistically lame 2006 to us all!

Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

I am off to deep fry my latkes. I managed to secure some flour and a jar of apple sauce for them in a Whole Foods store. To my great amusement, the place came as close to a command economy grocery shopping experience as I was going to get in Georgetown. No, unfortunately, I did not bear witness to yuppie fights over organic turkeys and sushi appetizers, but I wouldn't be surprised...Of course, we shall all heed Ariel Sharon's culinary warning this holiday season:

Sharon advised against letting go. The badly overweight Sharon, 77, was back at work Sunday, a week after suffering a mild stroke. Doctors insisted that he must go on a diet, something they've been urging unsuccessfully since 1965.

Estimates of the rotund, 5-foot-7 Israeli leader's weight varied widely in Israeli media, from 258 to 313 pounds.

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Sharon smiled as he said, "I hope you will all eat doughnuts and potato pancakes. You have permission to eat them, but I recommend that you don't overdo it," evoking laughter from the ministers.

My last Hanukkah was in Israel, and I do miss the sufganiyot. However,
I think that I will hold off prejudicing other people against them by attempting to bake them. Happy Holidays!

Urban Dictionary

2005-12-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is great, especially for the uninitiated. Entries include:

Ho ho ho

Santa's cry, or three prostitutes.
ho ho ho, it's christmas!

Verklempt

Fake Yiddish for "overcome with emotion" -- from the "Linda Richman" skits on "Saturday Night Live"I saw Sally Field with the Oscar. Oy, I was all verklempt.

Hipster

1. the next step in evoluton from emo, (i.e. emo) 2. twenty-something stroketard whose style of clothing conflicts with their demeanor, thus resulting in a spicy psudeo-intellectual with more flavor-of-the-month conversations than a long island prostitute. more

E-mos

1. E-mos, commonly found reciprocating in livejournals, exclusive/uber-trendy chatrooms, myspace, or your local Starbucks with their wireless mac laptop
(Let it be noted that whether the E-mo uses myspace, they will have a vast quantity of pictures, mostly of themselves posing...somehow.)

1a. Aside from computer proficiency, they maintain the same characteristics of an emo or hipster1. "id0pa: Hey, emo kid!
Auto response from Rachelle: how sad this is what your life has been reduced to, a single room apartment containing no more than a mattress. how sad the strings have been removed from the blinds and all the outlets have been painted over. the television screen is streaked with blood smeared from your knuckles as you were trying to punch it out but you underestimated its strength. or maybe you just weren't trying hard enough. startled by a knock at the door you rise for the first time in two days to answer, but you can only greet the visitor with one short statement. hello my first name is distance and i really don't care if i never wake up again. hello my name is distance and i really don't care if i never wake up again. hello i really don't care if i never wake up again. i really don't care if i never wake up again.
Id0pa: You don't say!"

Newsflash!

2005-12-23T09:24:00.000-05:00

"INFANT DISCOVERED IN BARN, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES LAUNCH PROBE: Nazareth Carpenter Being Held On Charges Involving Underage Mother" Read all about it. Thanks to mom, my favorite government employee, for this one.

Bread and Butter

2005-12-15T22:40:00.000-05:00

I was listening to yet another Iraqi elections segment and was struck by a reporter’s question about “the bread and butter issues that ordinary Iraqis worry about.” I don’t know that many ordinary Iraqis, but I somehow doubt that they frame their issues with our terminology. It would be like President Bush going around promising to “fight for the pita and falafel issues ordinary Americans care about.” Mmmm…falafel…For those who don’t know, it is snowing in Washington and I am eating bread, butter, falafel and anything edible in my sight for a layer of nice, winter fat.

Munich

2005-12-11T18:27:00.000-05:00

The debates on Stephen Spielberg’s Munich have begun, so there will be even more to talk about when the movie actually comes out and the rest of us can see it. Depending on whose review you read, it is either too pro-Israeli or too pro-Palestinian. No matter what, I think it is good that the movie is coming out for no one other reason than a lot of people don’t have a clue that the Israeli Olympic team was murdered during the 1972 Games, much less about what happened afterwards. Then again, this is not too surprising given that the International Olympic Committee has never had the decency to hold a minute of silence to honor the dead athletes on the count that this audacious gesture would offend some of the Arab countries.

Annals of Academia

2005-12-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

I don’t know if I ever will make parents happy and write a bloody book myself, but for now they will have to make due with my five minutes of academic spotlight in the acknowledgements. My former senior thesis advisor,Professor M. Steven Fish, just published Democracy Derailed in Russia for which I am told I lent my "formidable talents as a research assistant.” Maybe there is hope for me after all. Needless to say, the book makes the perfect gift for the social science geeks on your Chrismukkah list.

A+

2005-12-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

Congrats to my mom, Inna Bleykhman, who has finished the last of her courses, not to mention the evil thesis, for her Master’s of Social Work degree at San Francisco State University. Mom can add the degree to her long list of San Francisco accomplishments, such as coming to the rescue of an Estonian pigeon lady. Go mom!

"Using His Power so Evil Will Cease..."

2005-12-07T15:54:00.000-05:00

I was worried about what was going to happen to Harriet Miers after that whole Supreme Court thing didn’t work out, but something tells me that she reincarnated herself as a Pakistani textbook writer:

The Leader

Patient and steady with all he must bear,
Ready to accept every challenge with care,
Easy in manner, yet solid as steel,
Strong in his faith, refreshingly real,
Isn't afraid to propose what is bold,
Doesn't conform to the usual mold,
Eyes that have foresight, for hindsight wont do
Never back down when he sees what is true
Tells it all straight, and means it all too
Bracing for war, but praying for peace
Using his power so evil will cease:
So much a leader and worthy of trust,
Here stands a man who will do what he must

A masterpiece, except that there is an apostrophe missing in “won’t.” Thanks to Jeff, my favorite Pakistani, for this poetic interlude.

A Dick Travel Alert

2005-11-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

Gee, I was about to slip into something more comfortable and sip some champagne while my private jet circles over Dick Cheney’s new house (I guess Lynne’s latest book must be doing quite well), but AP had to ruin it for me:

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed flight restrictions over Vice President Dick Cheney's new Maryland house, angering private pilots because they cannot fly overhead even when he is not there.
…
Private pilots call airspace restrictions an inconvenience. If they stray into restricted space, they could lose their pilot's license, be escorted away by fighter jets or, in a worst case, be shot down.

Bummer, what will we do for fun now? Thanks to Rosie, who continues to fulfill her 5-year-plans in NonnaBlog contributions in spite of her inability to unblock this darn, anti-communist propaganda, for passing on this goodie.

Christmas & The Jews

2005-11-29T13:35:00.000-05:00

Given that Hanukkah falls on December 25th this year, Slate’s Daniel Gross asks the question that is heavy on the minds of retailers worried about mixed holiday sales data: “Can the Jews Save Christmas?”. Apparently not. We are too few, old, childless, intermarried, assimilated and unsuited for miraculous feats of exuberant consumption to answer the retailers’ Christmas prayers:

But not all Jews shop for Hanukkah. Many are assimilated and/or intermarried, and celebrate Christmas, or (ugh!) Chrismukkah…Meanwhile, affiliated Jews from the right and left ends of the spectrum aren't big Hanukkah shoppers either. Many Orthodox Jews regard the gift-giving component of Hanukkah as a mere imitation of Christmas and instead focus on the historical and religious significance of the non-biblical, proto-nationalist holiday. The Satmar Hasidim in Brooklyn aren't flocking to Best Buy the day after Thanksgiving. Neither are many left-leaning, Tikkun-reading Jews, who regard Hanukkah gift-giving as another exercise in vulgar American materialism.
…
Now, if all Jews were extremely wealthy and had plenty of money to spend, they could surely have a hugely disproportionate effect on consumer spending. But—and this will come as a huge disappointment to anti-Semites—they're not. Jews are doing plenty well as a group, but not well enough to flip GDP. According to the UJC survey, in 2000, 34 percent of Jewish households had income over $75,000, compared to 17 percent of all U.S. households. Jewish households had a median income of $54,000, nearly 30 percent higher than the U.S. median. Some 22 percent of Jewish households had income of less than $25,000, compared with 28 percent of all U.S. households.
…
Merchants who are waiting around for late Hanukkah shoppers will likely be disappointed. This year, as every year, the greatest Jewish contribution to the American Christmas season is likely to be Irving Berlin's White Christmas.

So that settles that. Daily Kos, meanwhile, refutes Bill O’Reilly’s annual accusation of the alleged persecution of Christmas in this communist land of ours. Personally, I don’t care if people wish me a “Merry Christmas.” I did mind, however, when a stranger knocked on my door, interrupting a very productive drinking/reading about the Armenians Christmas Eve special and upon discovering that my neighbor screwed the whole working on the D.Phil. thing in deserted Oxford and went back home to Germany, turned to me with a look of utter pity and asked: “And you are spending Christmas Eve all alone?” Yes, I am. Bugger off and Merry Christmas to you!

My Jewish grandma, who takes the opportunity of any and every holiday to cook a meal big enough to feed a Soviet Army does a little Christmas thing of her own. I never fail to be amused by the site of agnostic ex-Soviet Jews, with my aunt’s Kurdish, Iranian-born husband for variety, sitting around the Christmas table, interrupted by my feeble objections of “but we are not even Christian…And can I have some more of that salad?” I think that babushka would make Mr. O’Reilly proud.

Grumpy With a Cold

2005-11-29T12:34:00.000-05:00

I woke up with a cold…Brrrr… Am on a diet of tea with lemon, raspberry preserves and DayQuil, all of which I highly recommend. Need to get better by the evening, so I can go to a function at a conservative think tank that shall remain nameless. After all, it's not everyday that I get invited to observe neo-cons in their natural habitat…he he he…Even bought a new cashmere sweater for the momentous occasion. I fear that much of my clothing is “too Francisco,” especially for special gatherings like this one. Washington, or more accurately, Georgetown where I live and DuPont, where I work, are quite preppy. You have all these women with perfect hair and make-up, immaculately matched clothes and jewelry galloping around town with understated handbags costing a good month’s rent.

China Books

2005-11-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Any non-fiction suggestions for my upcoming (fingers crossed) Spring trip to China? I’m looking for something that was not written while Mao was still alive. More of a “waive your Mulberry bag, not your little red book in the air” kind of books.

Harriet Miers’s Blog & Company

2005-11-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

For those of you who miss Harriet, here’s her very own blog (“The blog of the #1 nominee for Associate Justice to be picked by the #1 smartest President to ever withdraw, in all of history!!”), which I came across via The Ethical Werewolf blog. Yes, I am slowly, but surely expanding my anorexic blogroll/publications list. Right now it looks like Kate Moss without the designer clothes. It needs to be fed! I should at some point add The New York Times and company, but I am still punishing the Times for this whole Select bullshit. I read a little Editor & Publisher article musing that Maureen Dowd is too resisting this monstrosity:

Is Maureen Dowd boycotting the new pay-for-play TimesSelect plan at The New York Times? Despite promises from the newspaper that its high-profile columnists--now hidden behind a pay wall on the Web--would provide bonus content and services at the site, Dowd so far has offered nothing original, beyond her twice-weekly print column.

This stands in stark contrast to her colleagues, Frank Rich, Bob Herbert, Thomas Friedman, David Brooks, Paul Krugman, Nicholas Kristof, and John Tierney.

Others, for example, provide a list of “What I'm Reading.” Special video interviews with many of them are available on their pages. Many have posted favorite Web sites, ranging from Juancole to Drudge. But nothing from Dowd, who is rumored to be against the pay plan, which severely limits online audience. Columnists once dominated the Web site's "most e-mailed" list, but no longer.

Gotta love Maureen Dowd, but I think that she should stick to her columns and give up this silly book business, tempting as it is. I am reading her "Are Men Necessary?" and man, even I need to take breaks. I will post a review at some point. If you guys (as in males, as in men, as in boys) don't hear from me, you’ll know the answer to the eternal question of your necessity.

"The Simpsons" at the ECHR?

2005-11-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

Ah, always nice to see the absurdities of America’s litigation culture spread their wings beyond the borders of apple pie land:

Russian lawyer who says the US animated television satire "The Simpsons" has caused moral harm to his son plans to petition the European Court of Human Rights after a Russian court rejected his case for the show to be removed from prime-time viewing slots.
…
The lawyer, Igor Smykov, charged that the popular program, syndicated in many countries around the world, spread "propaganda of violence, cruelty, drugs and homosexuality," but a spokeswoman for the Moscow court that heard his case confirmed it was rejected.
…
Last March, lawmakers from the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party tried but failed to have the culture ministry ban broadcast of "The Simpsons" on Russian television.

Somehow, I am not surprised that the LDPR is involved in this noble mission, though it does signal a lowering of expectations on their part. After all, this is a party whose leader's ambitious political goals once included the coming of a day "when Russian soldiers can wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean." Now, all they want to do is get rid of Bart.Thanks to mom for this Russian goodie.

My Sharona

2005-11-25T15:47:00.000-05:00

Some guy called in National Public Radio to suggest a name for Sharon’s new party. One, two, three: HIT IT.