blond bond

a few words on the new bond, casino royale.
disappointing. if you are a bond fan.
where was miss moneypenny, where was q?
and if you decide to get rid of them as outdated relics, what were they replaced with? a bond film has to be trashy and full of improbable gimmicks! that's part of the fun.
all this bond had was clumsy mobile gps and a laptop.
i use both everyday for work and don't want to be reminded of it in an action movie.
daniel craig looks like an asbo from the estate round the corner.
blonds just don't do it for me.
the action was mainly in jetons being thrown on a poker table.
exciting... NOT
no last-second saving of the world, and frankly, i did not care about the bad guy and who was behind him.
to say it in the words of bond/craig when asked if he wanted his vodka martini shaken or stirred:
*do i look like i give a damn.*
this was also the best line in the film.
best scene: the freestyle chase just after the opening credits. that guy, i assume he is an urban jump specialist, was so great he should get his own show! unfortunately for this film, he got shot at the end of that scene.
worst of all, it's a bloody cliffhanger! if i don't care about the baddies in this part, why will i bother to see the sequel?

my verdict: if you want fun, sex, and danger in a movie - borat for bond!

vanessa redgrave and the rabbi

an evening with vanessa redgrave, the great vanessa redgrave, and rabbi goldberg at the liberal jewish synagogue. vanessa would be asked by the rabbi about her support for the palestinian people and their cause, and the rabbi promised not to hold back and mince his words.
that's how the event was billed.
vanessa arrives in the full hall. she is in her 70s. unbelievable. she is tall, slender, elegant and so beautiful. the audience consists mainly of members of ljs, on average they are ms redgrave's age group. the rabbi is probably carried away by his crush on vanessa, he shows us endless clips of her films and engaged her in a chat about her acting career. in the final half hour of the evening the audience get the mike, at last, and of course they ask about palestine and israel. the mood turns from reverence to close observation. what will vanessa redgrave say? will she be controversial? denying what she once said?
no, ms redgrave is patience incarnate. she answers questions that she probably heard before a 1,000 times. a teenie, a *youth*, asks from the back row how she can have been a member of the workers revolutionary party if she's so rich and a non-worker herself. funny.
vanessa: *i think you and me are off to a bit of a non-starter here if you say that i'm not a worker.*
i meet barbara and peter from fulham, who are acquaintances of vanessa and established the contact to ljs. they are very sweet. peter is so happy when i tell him i know dresden, and asks me for my phone number so he can talk to me about the opera house, music, and all about dresden.
i also get introduced to their son simon, best marrying age, who lived in berlin for a few years.
did i make new friends?

itsu

i, too, have eaten in itsu.
they have very tasty japanese food, though the quality is nowhere near the clandestine japanese place next to konstablerwache in frankfurt where my little frankfurter mel s. took me once. the food there was gorgeous - why have i forgotten what it's called?
anyway, i still have all my hair (too much!) and feel relatively healthy, i'm sure none of my little ailments are sushi-related. fortunately, itsu have more than one outlet in london. i think you should be afraid to go there only if you are a russian ex-spy. in which case you should be afraid to go anywhere!
so not to worry, just come to itsu in st john's wood!

song for the weekend: *too many fish in the sea* by the marvellettes, not the commitments.

prekär prekär

einen interessanten, auf jeden fall langen artikel auf spiegel online gefunden. eine scharfe kritik des kapitalistischen systems vor dem hintergrund der unterschichtendebatte. oder zumindest will er das sein, der artikel.

zitat des tages: *capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.* keynes (aber nicht milton)

child catcher

madonna wants to buy nother baby from malawi. i think she is preparing for the role of the terrifying child catcher in chitty chitty bang bang. a few more and she'll be perfect for the part.
fantasmadonnagorical!

hyde park - statues, shoes and memorials

a day from the picture book.

london walks

from st john's wood to maida vale, then eastwards to petticoat lane, to brick lane and back to baker st.

zeitrevoluzzer

gerade kam mir ein revolutionaerer gedanke.
global warming steht vor den toren, die sommer werden immer laenger, wir stehen immer spaeter auf und haben mehr vom abend als vom morgen. warum brauchen wir da noch die winterzeit?
lasst uns im naechsten oktober allesamt nicht die uhr um eine stunde zurueckstellen!

dann sind die englaender fuer 6 monate auf mitteleuropaeischer zeit. die mitteleuropaeer sind in der zeitzone von...finnland? und europa ist insgesamt ein stueck weiter nach osten gerutscht.

aber an den abenden bleibt's laenger hell. das ist doch was.

ich kaufe eine wohnung - teil 1

es ist soweit. nach 3 jahren und 4 monaten in london, und unzaehligen unglaeubigen fragen von englischen freunden, *warum ich denn geld zum fenster rausschmeissen wuerde*, also miete zahlen, werde ich dem ein ende bereiten.
ich kaufe eine wohnung.
immobilien kaufen ist das englischste, was es gibt.
jeder hier hat nur ein lebensziel: the property ladder.
das heisst, man faengt jung an, mit der ersten kleinen bruchbude, die man mit papas geld finanziert, um dann bis 55 zum semi (doppelhaushaelfte) in rickmanworth und als bonus zum haus in portugal aufgestiegen zu sein. auf dem weg hat man sich entweder ueber die naechsten generationen hinaus verschuldet oder ist zum immobilienhai geworden. so sieht's hier aus.
ich plane weder noch.
ich hab's nur satt, in mietmoebeln zu wohnen, horrende mieten zu zahlen, und meinen lebensraum nicht so gestalten zu koennen, dass ich mich darin wohlfuehle. mein einziger ausweg, dank guenstiger zinsen von 5-6%, ist eine kleine einraumwohnung (ossijargon). moeglichst schnuckelig und in der gegend. maida vale oder hill; st. john's wood ist erwiesenermassen zu teuer.
ich hab ein paar tausender angespart, das wird meine anzahlung.
nun noch die schlechte nachricht: estate agents.

(kann kaum noch die augen offen halten und muss sofort ins bett.)

aus unserer lockeren reihe: veranstaltungstips

hingehen, angucken, zuhoeren, nachmachen!

politics

question of the month: *can the international politics of the middle east between 1945 and 1990 be understood without reference to the cold war rivalries between the us and ussr? discuss using ir theory.* any scholarly thoughts anyone? please send contributions to the author, no later than 15 november.