FOUND!

Add a new item to the list of apartment awesomeness:

There are some good things lying around in boxes on the sidewalks within 4 blocks the house around 8 or 9 pm most nights of the week. We picked up all of this at just 3 places last night. Already made compote with the apples and strawberries, scarfed down the grapes with shredded ginger (magic!), I've roasted some of the eggplants for eggplant caviar, and stuffed my face with more fresh strawberries. I should add that the best find we didn't even take, which was so many hardy greens - think collards. But I picked up the winter CSA this weekend, and the fridge is seeping greenage. But point being: this neighborhood is prime free food spot!

In other news, for those keeping track at home...

We were all forced to buy new calendars.

Some hot sailors kissed.

New Brunswick celebrated global warming.

First polar bear swim of the year.

We got a new pet.EP danced with a dog. I thought this was a camera. (It's not.)

What have you done in 2012?

Machoing Up Int'l Women's Day Weekend

Well, I think some of you may know what this post is going to be about.

But first, how about a little down-hill action? I must admit, I was not excited about this hill. Unlike our previous inner-tube outing at Leninskie gory (or in the Sierra Nevadas, for that matter), the snow here had been on the ground for some time and an icy layer had formed. I don't know about our brave companion, but MG had to give pause before committing to launching himself down. (He notes this in the spirit of truthfulness, and not without some embarrassment.)


In his defense, and though it's hard to tell from the photographs, this hill was epically long and treacherously steep.



This is where our hero grabs some air and ends up biting his tongue...


Bravely losing his hat and glasses along the way.


And as wise BrotherGote counsels, любишь кататься, люби и саночьки носить.*


*If you like to ride, you'd better like to carry the sled.

Then it was on to the main event. Represented here by the blind walrus cooling his tail. The walrus, it is well known, is a cold-weather cousin of the gote.


Walrus-gote family reunions are legendary. Here is another commemorative plaque of a reunion past.


Wait, what? I'm sorry, gotes can't read stick figures.


Ah, here we go. Our little changing area.

Friendly ducks gather to lend support.


A little calisthetics...


And...


For some reason, there seems to be no evidence of Alex's dip. But here he is performing gymnastic feats.


And here he is seeking the comfort of old Mr. Greeny.


And if you come visit, you can come swimming too, and then I'll show you the rest of them, even the embarrassing ones, even without creative Photoshopping.

(A big thank you to Alex for documenting the event, and apologies in advance for likely f-ing up the post-production.)

Ugh, That Was Totally Uncalled For! What Was That Lady Thinking? Gross!

Okay, two things.

One:



OMFG, how did I not know about this ahead of time? I suppose this raises a question: what's more important - religious sentiment or sheer awesomeness? Cause, you know, they're dunkin' for Jeebus, people. (via)

And two: Have you seen Rachel Maddow's interview with Gov. F-word, a.k.a. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich? If you have not, you need to download it on the itunes or get it on the youtube or whatever. It is mesmerizing. This man is an absolute maniac and I found it nearly impossible to turn away from his car-wreck of a self-defense. Here's how crazy it was: I actually agreed with him about the "innocent until proven guilty" thing and wished that other politicians *ahem, Eliot Spitzer* would stick up for themselves a bit more instead of slinking off and letting those sharks have the last laugh. What?! Eliot "I am a fucking steamroller" Spitzer? This is some strong brew. Fasten your seat-belts.

Dear Readers,

Forgive me... [for tagging your wall
with the cutest graffito of all time]

Last we spoke, I was back stateside eating bahn mi, putting up a show, and being grateful for everyone's generosity with their cars, coffee-makers, and soft horizontally-oriented furniture. Well, I came back to the Moskva, got back into the swing of things, then a long-lost pal some of you may know as the rocking-est Canadian grad student at the U of C came to Moscow, we went to St. Petersburg and Novgorod with a couple of fellow displaced dissertators, and I'm finally back and freaking out a little bit that it's December already. Where do these short short days go every day? They must be sneaking their friends in through the turnstiles without paying, cause I can't figure out how it can be December already! I'm not going to indulge in a numerical tally of trivialities I farted out this month, but I will just say that, standing on the bridge between Novgorod's Kremlin side and the Old Market District side (connected by the Volkhov River, geography buffs) and feeling the cold wind blow that cold river spittle in my face and nearly blow the camera out of my cold, nearly dead hand and resulting in this pseudo-pin-hole gem:

Volkhov River, Veliky Novgorod

yea, I did go swimming in December, hallelujah! Not in the Volkhov, back at my usual yellow dot in Filyovsky Park. But it was a nice way to end my month of travel and touch back down on familiar ground. I'll post some more photographic evidence soon, but in the meanwhile, here's the crazy view out my window in the Novgorod hostel. This picture of a sunrise was taken at 9 o'clock in the morning.

Also, there was a guy frying sausages on a hotplate in the common room, so don't let's get too excited now.

MasterGote for (Vice) President!

People! Can you please take a look at this map? Click on it, please, so you can see and hear the importance of what I am about to say to you. Your own MasterGote lives a mere hop, skip, and a swim away from one of the most important people in the world, a threat to the American people, and an eyesore to the Russian schoolchildren and tourists. I am talking about Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. His house is marked in Red on this here Map. I think you will agree with me that it is Better to Be Dead than Red, and your own MasterGote, living as he does at the point marked in Blue on the Map, is in a unique position to keep an eye on old Red Vlad. (And new Red Vlad, for that matter.) Please, people, do not listen to that silly Alaskan woman. She cannot see what I see from her boonies cabin all the way up there in Alahskah. She does not enter the Moscow River on a brisk October day at the point marked in Yellow for her Inaugural Swim. MasterGote does, and he is ready to serve. MasterGote for (Vice) President! Inaugural Swim!

The Solution to the Puzzle Was...

Jellyfish. Brighton Beach is full of jellyfish. And delicious buckwheat. Nina Simone was a gift.