I'm not sure but I think she may have ironed them.
Its been an on-going argument for the past century: Uruguay claims that tango was born in Montevideo where the distinctive style of music was composed*, while Argentina maintains it originated in the dance halls in the barrios of Buenos Aires. But for the moment the two countries are joining forces to petition UNESCO to grant tango world heritage status.
Of course being Roma the entrance has to have a certain grandeur if not the out and out air of the grandiose. The baroque entrance ways are typical columns, vine-entwined capitals and marble balustrades replete with stucco elephants and draperies.  |
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In honour of the approaching New Year I had Chinese food twice this week and it wasn't bad. After two previous experiences at "Chinese" restaurants - one in Roma where the MSG level was enough to guarantee an instant migraine, the other in Munich where the Haus Ming is the only place I know that can ruin white rice - I have been giving them a wide berth. But the WOK I near work was actually good and the jioazi and shao mei were very good, and they served really cheap jasmine tea - Laurent said he almost felt he was back in Beijing.
If you were born in any of the Years of the Ox you might want to check this out. And the rest of us can check out our signs here.
I know that as I am writing this that in Beijing our friend Jack's mother will be making her own jioazi and shao mei for the family New Year's celebration. If you'd like to try your hand at shao mei here's an easy recipe I adapted from Cook's Illustrated.Filling:
6 ounces medium shrimp , raw, peeled, and coarsely chopped
2 ounces ground pork
6 water chestnuts (peeled if fresh), minced
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry or vermouth
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 large egg white , lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Ground black pepper , to taste
2 tablespoons minced scallions (greens only)
1 package wonton wrappers
Instructions
1. Mix all filling ingredients in medium bowl; let stand about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to make dumplings.
2. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut square wonton wrappers into rounds. Holding the wonton skin in the cup of your hand, place two rounded teaspoons of filling in the center. Cup your hand around the wonton skin, gathering folds up around the filling. Press the gathered folds lightly around the filling to adhere, forming a cup-shaped dumpling.
3. Spray a collapsible steamer basket* with cooking spray. Fill large Dutch oven with enough water to come to the bottom of the steamer basket. Bring to simmer over medium-low heat; lower basket into Dutch oven. Arrange dumplings 1/2-inch apart in basket. Increase heat to high; cover and steam until the dumplings are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve, passing dipping sauces separately.
*I use a bamboo steamer lined with cabbage leaves over a wok of simmering water.
And being a Roman cemetery it also has to have cats - and if this sleek and well fed feline is anything to go by there must be a cat lady or ladies who feed and look after them regularly.
At first she approached us with great interest but when there was no food forthcoming decided we were best ignored.
Though her disdain for the treatless humans was nothing compared to her opinion of that angel.
And I tend to agree with her.
The chairs, candelabra and most of the table are a painted backdrop with perhaps a 12 foot wide platform as the front of the table. Fortunately the Folies also had a promenade around the orchestra pit so the action could be moved out - to the delight of the gentlemen in the audience. |
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the first African American singer to appear on its stage. It was arranged by her manager Sol Hurok and Rudolf Bing, the Met's General Manager, who was quoted as saying, "I am not straining every muscle to find Negro singers. I am looking for the best, regardless of race or creed." It paved the way for so many wonderful performers that I recall hearing on the Met broadcasts in the years after. The Met website has a wonderful description of the performance and the events leading up to it.
It sends a rush of air down the tube which forces the trap to lift and the water flows.
Technically a very simple premise but like any pump it sometimes, to the confusion of guests I might add, requires priming.
Occasionally I have made comments, perhaps less than flattering, about Big Ben and the Boys in that other country across the Tiber but today I am seriously impressed by the power of Pope Post. On Saturday last at around 2:30 pm Laurent put several parcels into the hands of a very pleasant gentleman at the Vatican Post Office - several bound for Canada and several for the United States. Imagine my surprise when I received a message from my friend Rick sent at 2:30 pm yesterday (Thursday.) saying that his two parcels had just arrived in Ottawa. That means five days - one of which was a Sunday - from post office to front door. Now that is a miracle!
I hadn't noticed the RomaBike stations around town - too big to be seen I guess. The scheme is a simple one meant to encourage people to bike within Centro rather than taking their cars. You enroll in the scheme for free and are issued a card which will unlock bikes at 19 stations situated around town. The first 30 minutes are free and there is a nominal charge (against a credit card you have registered) after that time. You bike to the station nearest your destination lock the bike and continue on your way. If the station is full you have a padlock to attach it to a rail, a cell number to call to let control know. Larry has a colleague who has used it as her mode of transportation to work every day and so far it hasn't cost her a cent.
Water fountains for public use have been a feature of Rome since the Caesers - most tourists, and a few ex-pats, are scandalised by the constant running taps throughout the city but Romans take it for granted. This is one of the oldest fountains in Rome - the Facchino or Porter. He was a real person called Abbondio Rizi and was head of the Porters' Guild in the 15th century. He was famous for the heavy weights he could carry and the fountain was carved as a monument after his death. He is one of the Six Talking Statues of Rome.
And this little notice, put in place on August 6, 1784 is very specific in it's instructions. The basic message is "Don't shit on our doorstep, under penalty." Can't be any more explicite than that can you? And didn't I say Larry showed us unusual things?
because its me writing I can have a however, where the Requiem is concerned I have certain sounds in my mind's ear. The first recording I owned of it was the old EMI pressing with Sir John Barbarolli leading Montserrat Caballé, Fiorenza Cossotto, Jon Vickers and Ruggerio Raimondi. Sir John had worked with the New Phil and Chorus for years and even in a work as monumental as this had a way of making it seem intimate and human when needed. The blend of voices worked, not always an easy thing with Vickers in particular, especially Caballé-Cossotto. Their Agnes Dei sounded like one voice - perhaps it stayed in my mind because it was almost otherworldly. It may have been a trick of the recording studio but even without the recording, sadly I don't believe it was ever reissued, I can still hear it.
I have a problem with Pappano - I am not as enamoured of him as much of the Roman audience seems to be. There are times when he is good and times when he is, frankly, bad. And like the little girl with the curl, when he is good he is very, very good and when he is bad, he's dull! Last night was a dull night. I can't fault either the magnificent chorus - is there anything these people can't do - or orchestra - I agree with Opera Chic they are the best in Italy; they responded to his interpretation faultlessly. It the interpretation that bothered me. We had molto fortissimo, we had molto pianissimo but we had little in between and, for me at least, in this work it is those in between parts that give it emotional power. 
One of our guests on Christmas Day was another Colette, a friend from Canada who teaches English in Japan. As well as some gelatin sweets adorned with good luck symbols she presented us with a length of obi silk. Well over 14 feet long, its lacquered silk which gives the pattern extra depth and makes it easier to tie the obi. The band of solid orange silk towards one end would be the part of the obi closest the body. It doesn't show and given the cost of patterned silk it is more economical to use the plain silk.
And a click on the Chrysanthemum will lead you to the first of Laurent's Flickr photo sets of his trip. "Nara is a small town a former Capital of Japan prior to Kyoto. Lovely temples and sacred deers roaming around the parks of the city."
