18:05 15.12.2009
Reality is funnier than the funniest of jokes
The following piece represents real news from Daily Telegraph, not another piece of satire from The Onion...

Nauru recognises South Ossetia and Abkhazia

The tiny Pacific nation of Nauru has stepped into the international spotlight by saying it will recognise the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
According to Kommersant newspaper, Russia is preparing to give hard-up Nauru $50m (£30.74m) in humanitarian aid. In return Nauru will establish relations with the two Russian-backed territories, the Guardian reports.
<...>
Nauru has previously taken money to recognise the independence of Kosovo and Taiwan. In July 2002, Nauru accepted $130m from China to de-recognise Taiwan only to re-recognise it in 2005 after apparently receiving another, better offer. The island, measuring just 8 square miles, is impoverished and threatened by sea level rise.
The republic, which lies just south of the equator, has been in economic trouble for a decade or so after its main resource, fossilised bird droppings mined for their valuable phosphates, began to run out.
(via Yevgeniy)

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

22:44 09.12.2009
Waves of memory
I was feeling less cheerful than usual today, and I thought I should do something about it. An obvious idea seemed to watch an episode of one of my favourite TV shows ever, The Avengers (from the Diana Rigg period, definitely). One of the supporting actors seemed weirdly familiar, but not as an actor would be, rather like an old acquaintance. Well, I could not help doing some research on the internet, and guess what I found   yes, I know that guy! Not as in "met in real life", but close in a sense in some funny way. He was the first British person whose appearances I saw on a regular basis, for at least several months (or maybe a year?) every week in the late 1980s. His name is Francis Matthews. Does it ring a bell? Maybe this photo will help:



Well, you might have better memory than me and actually remember him from some TV shows where he appeared, but where I know him from is a BBC crash course in English called Follow Me. In Soviet Union, the educational channel they had on TV would show that on a regular basis when I was some 6 years old (I think, I can't remember exactly). I completely forgot about this program, even though it definitely contributed a lot to my command of English. Have a look for yourself:


Right, that's it. Just wanted to share this tiny little memory with you. Has anyone here watched this English course?

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

21:57 07.12.2009
A quick update
I just realised that I haven't posted anything for 3 weeks or so, and I thought I'd write a quick line to confirm that I still do exist. I don't have energy for anything apart from work these days, really. Last week, my friend and co-author was visiting Dublin, and I swear, three days in a row I would come back home from work, eat something, and fall asleep, and I still need more rest. I went to London briefly, visited some friends there and sat an exam in English (to be prepared for some of the job-related opportunities where the fact that I've been lecturing in a famous Irish universities is not enough to prove my English skills). I watched several films, the most notable being Hilde (2009) (a great biopic about the German actress and singer Hildegarde Khef). I spent lots of time worrying about the future, and doing whatever I can do to hopefully make it better (applying for jobs, solving maths problems, writing things down). You see, it's totally boring, that's why I don't write. I read blogs from time to time, but it's quite likely that I missed some good stuff you all wrote recently, so do let me know about what you've been doing - it's good to hear from friends. Oh, and if by any chance you want to get a Christmas card from me, e-mail me your address (go to my profile and use the e-mail link on the left), and I'll try my best!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:07 13.11.2009
Video: Dan Savage about marriage


(via oroszlan)

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:02 13.11.2009
RIP Vagrich Bakhchanyan (1938-2009)
One of the most unconventional artists of the last century, Vagrich Bakhchanyan died yesterday in New York at the age of 71. I won't bore you with my story of learning about him or anything. Let me just give you an opportunity to enjoy his artwork:



visit МУХ УЙМА (a book in Russian, but check it out even if you don't read Russian!),


check out some artwork, and more artwork.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:23 10.11.2009
Movies: Me and Orson Welles (2008)
Yesterday we went to a preview screening of Me and Orson Welles (2008). In spite of having a questionable actor (but a worldwide celebrity) Zac Efron playing a teen wannabe actor who gets a small part in Welles' 1937 theatrical production of Julius Caesar, this film is an extraordinary tribute to Orson Welles. Welles is played by Christian McKay, originally trained as a musician, and in fact was not quite known as an actor before this film, so that when Richard Linklater (the director) was looking for funding, all the big Hollywood companies decided to not give him money (consequently, the movie was almost entirely made on the Isle of Man). However, before doing this movie McKay used to do a one man show Rosebud where he portrayed Orson Welles, so it's not a huge surprise that his performance was really thorough. What is quite extraordinary though is how McKay's energy makes us almost forget that a 36 years old actor is playing a 22 years old prodigy director in this film... a truly theatrical casting solution, almost unbelievable for the contemporary approach to cinema. All in all, I urge you to watch this film, it's totally worth it.

In other news, we went to see The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and Mr. Arkadin (1955) as a part of the Welles retrospective at the Irish Film Institute. The Mr. Arkadin print, coming from Munich (I think), was quite different from the one I watched before, in particular, a bit longer. I heard there is another print which is even more different... I'd like to see it, because it might be closer to the way Welles wanted us to see it (the film was taken out of Welles' control in post-production; in his later interviews, he mentioned the complex flashback structure he intended for the film originally).

It is interesting that altogether the three movies that I mention in this post cover, so to say, all Orson Welles' wives: Virginia Nicholson, the first one, is portrayed in Me and Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, the second one, is the star of The Lady from Shanghai, and Paola Mori, the third one (who was with him for 30 year until his death) plays Raina in Mr. Arkadin. (When doing some research for this post, I discovered that the part of Raina was first offered to Marlene Dietrich who however turned it down.)

Let me conclude this random post with three cult parables from Mr. Arkadin which might convince you to watch it if you haven't done it already.

The first one is used as an epigraph.

A certain great and powerful king once asked a poet,
‘What can I give you of all that I have?’

He wisely replied,
‘Anything, sir, but your secret.’

The second one is a toast Arkadin says; it is present in the Munich version, but not in the version I watched before.

`I had a dream. I found myself in a graveyard where all the tombstones were marked in a curious way - '1822 - 1826', '1930-1934', always like that, always a short time between birth and death. In the graveyard was an old man. I asked him how it was he had lived so long when everyone else in his village had died so young. But no, he told me this: 'It's not that we die early, it is just that here our tombstones do not count the years of a man's life, but rather the length of time he has kept a friend.' Let's drink to friendship.'

The third one is a yet another toast; it's always quoted when discussing the film.

`And now I’m going to tell you about a scorpion. This scorpion wanted to cross the river, so he asked a frog to carry him. No, said the frog, no thank you. If I let you on my back you may sting me, and the sting of a scorpion is death. Now where, asked the scorpion, is the logic of that (Scorpions always try to be logical)? If I sting you, you will die and I will drown. So the frog was convinced and allowed the scorpion on his back. But just in the middle of the river he felt a terrible pain and realized that after all the scorpion had stung him. Logic, cried the dying frog as he started under, bearing the scorpion down with him, there is no logic in this! I know, said the scorpion, but I can’t help it. It’s my character. Let’s drink to character.'

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

21:20 07.11.2009
Medicine prices: a poll
What I totally forgot to mention in my previous post was that once Tim got a prescription from the doctor for Tamiflu, they gave it us for free in the pharmacy, which I totally did not expect. My dear readers, do you know how it works where you live, are they scared of swine flu that much that to get the medicine you need just a doctor's prescription, or do you have to pay (and if you do, how much)?

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

10:32 07.11.2009
This week's notes etc.
I guess I was not a good blogger this week. I had too many things on my mind, I guess.

Tim had a flu, possibly swine flu, which is now over, thanks to Tamiflu^tm and my nursing. In my free time I was writing down some new results, and it was progressing very slow because it's that kind of a paper where you just have to have a summary of tons of preliminary results of various mathematicians used in the proofs so that a reader does not get confused, — so most of my time was spent on writing down those preliminary results, which is quite boring. Ah well, it happens.

Apart from that, there's not much to tell. Oh, just a second, I just remembered: Hit and Runway (1999) is a cool film that I strongly recommend, a very rare example of a gay-themed (or at least gay-related) film which is not trying to capitalize on various stereotypes that come for free with the word "gay".

Another thing that came to my mind: in a short while (25th to 29th) I'll be in London, and I'd be really happy to catch up with my London friends. Let me know about your plans!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:39 01.11.2009
The highlight of our uneventful weekend is
that this morning, when Tim was frying eggs for breakfast, each of the three eggs had two yolks in it! Coincidence, you think? A secret feature of Very Large Eggs (tm), I would suggest. Anyway, I've been reading about this phenomenon a little bit, and there are many quite fascinating creepy things that happen to eggs from time to time. Ordinary double yolk eggs



are nothing compared to eggs without shells



or double shelled eggs



or even eggs with tails:



That last one is weird, but at least you don't have to crack it to know that it's weird!

They say that normally double yolk eggs are very unlikely to hatch, but there are known cases of two chicks hatched from such an egg. There even exist comic strips about it.

In other news, our choice of good horror stuff for Halloween was Kingdom; we watched it yesterday and started to watch Kingdom II which we still have to finish. With all possible criticism one can come up with, Lars von Trier is a genius, and if you never watched Kingdom, I strongly recommend you to watch it when you have some time.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

15:26 30.10.2009
True/false: answers
Answers and comments for the "Do you know me?" thing:

1. After I quit the secondary school where I used to study, I received a generous "best student stipend" from that school.
   
   True. I was known to be a very good student (even though I did not think so myself, and, even worse, now I am sure I was not a good student: I easily remembered many things back then, due to good memory, but did not put much effort in understanding things outside the natural sciences), and so even when I told them I was leaving for that mathematical high school, I got exempted from the final year exam, and received that stipend in the beginning at the next academic year, already when I was studying in the other school. A former classmate who lived in the same apartment block brought the money, and I was really touched by that gesture of the teachers from my old school. I never regretted leaving that school though.
   
   
2. I was caught in a snowstorm in the mountains; to hide from it, I dug a cave in the snow and waited there until the snowstorm was over.
   
   True. It happened in Japan, during my trip to Bunagatake in February 2006. I arrived there on a nice sunny day, started walking up the mountain, and when I was quite close to the summit, a snowstorm started. I still think that I did the best possible thing then, digging a cave and hiding there. Luckily, the snowstorm stopped after about an hour, otherwise things could have ended in a different way. A funny detail: when I returned to the guesthouse where I was staying, I wanted to get my boots dry, but there was no heating (I heated my room using the air conditioning, and the conditioner was all the way up, so it would not work for boots). I asked the porter for help, and he got me a hairdryer, which I used successfully for that unusual purpose.
   
   
3. I was 24 when I bought a condom for the first time in my life.
   
   False. Even though the first time when I bought a condom for the same purpose as most people do was when I indeed was 24, the first time was when I was 13, I think, — together with a couple of friends, we filled condoms with water and threw them down from 10th or 11th floor of some apartment block, without any particular purpose, just for fun. I was the one who bought condoms in a small kiosk selling everything (which were, and still are, quite common in Russia).
   
   
4. I was a weak kid getting sick all the time; in fact, I was exempted from Physical Education lessons at school.
   
   True (even though my mother who saw this post claims that it's not quite true). I had all sort of illnesses and allergies one can think of, and I was exempted from P.E. most of the time. It ended when I entered that mathematical school, where the most remarkable P.E. teacher in the world (who was in his seventies when I first met him) told me that such exemptions do not make sense, and that I should stop behaving like an idiot and attend P.E. lessons. Being a good student (see #1 above), I obeyed, and I am really happy I did.
   
   
5. I find it slightly uncomfortable to hang out with people who are more than 20 cm taller or more than 30 cm shorter than I am; in particular, all my dates were in that height range.
   
   False. I never had that sort of issues. My height is 198 cm, the shortest guy I ever dated was 156 cm tall, the tallest guy — 215 cm tall (I never met anyone taller than that).
   
   
6. I never smoked or did drugs.
   
   True. I might be more detailed about that some other time, but for the moment I'll just say I never wanted to.
   
   
7. I haven't quite decided what the word "good-looking" really means for myself; many people find it annoying.
   
   True (how can a totally boring fact like that be false?). It's terribly difficult for me to make conclusions about someone being "good-looking" (and "sexually appealing") unless I know a bit more about them than just their looks. Personality and intelligence are sexually appealing; and we deal with persons, not bodies, so it makes perfect sense to me why I am like that, and I don't plan to change my attitude here.
   
   
8. I had a date with an Anglican priest who served as a chaplain in a women's prison.
   
   True. I could also add that he was the person who convinced me to get a Facebook account. (He removed me from friends after a couple of months though. I almost care.)
   

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

15:26 27.10.2009
Do you know me?
A small variation on a funny flash mob (via french_man and marina_p): in the list below, six statements are true, and two are false. Which are the false ones? Post a reply, and do a similar thing on your blog!

1. After I quit the secondary school where I used to study, I received a generous "best student stipend" from that school.
   
2. I was caught in a snowstorm in the mountains; to hide from it, I dug a cave in the snow and waited there until the snowstorm was over.
   
3. I was 24 when I bought a condom for the first time in my life.
   
4. I was a weak kid getting sick all the time; in fact, I was exempted from Physical Education lessons at school.
   
5. I find it slightly uncomfortable to hang out with people who are more than 20 cm taller or more than 30 cm shorter than I am; in particular, all my dates were in that height range.
   
6. I never smoked or did drugs.
   
7. I haven't quite decided what the word "good-looking" really means for myself; many people find it annoying.
   
8. I had a date with an Anglican priest who served as a chaplain in a women's prison.
   

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:28 24.10.2009
Since I am too exhausted to write a proper blog post,
I'll give you several links that should tell you how I was entertaining myself recently when I had small breaks between writing down some maths stuff, preparing miscellaneous job applications, and talking maths to one distinguished guest of our department:

Echte Kerle/Regular Guys (1996) is a gay themed comedy exploring the same type of a plot as Der Bewegte Mann, a story of a (non-sexual) relationship between a straight guy who broke up with his girlfriend, and a gay guy at whose place he ended up after having been thrown away. What makes a slight difference now is that the straight guy is a policeman, and the gay guy works in a garage renovating stolen cars... where will it lead them? Check it out, it's lightweight fun.

Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure (2006) is a touching documentary about an American gay couple who met in post-war Germany and fell in love... and had their relationship guiding them in life for more than 50 years. It's more or less a long interview with them, and it is definitely a must-see. Check out the film's website as well, to see some extra interviews etc.

Chuecatown/Boystown (2007) is a thriller with slight hints of a comedy about a real estate agent whose business is based on killing lonely old ladies, and selling their apartments to rich gay couples. Suddenly, an unexpected difficulty arises, when it turns out that his last victim left the apartment to her gay neighbour... who decides that he wants his mother to move to that apartment. His mother, the queen of all bitches, arrives, and her main concern becomes to destroy his relationship... I am not sure if you want to check it out where the plot goes, but if you have nothing better to do, why not?

Oh yes, since we are talking about negative images of mothers... we watched Mommie Dearest (1981), a biopic about Joan Crawford and her most wicked relationship with her adopted children. Drama wrapped in misery topped with domestic violence, truly disgusting but featuring the most convincing Faye Dunaway who makes this film worth watching.

Contact (1997) is a movie version of a sci-fi novel by Carl Sagan, directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring Jodie Foster as an astronomer determined to contact other civilisations. It's a fun thing to see, with several at least half-deep thoughts for those who are interested.

The Oxford Murders (2008), based on an interesting book by Guillermo Martinez, is a cool detective story whose main characters work for the maths department in Oxford. I won't tell you the plot so that you can enjoy it to the fullest, I'll just say that Elijah Wood's performance does not appear too impressive, and for those of you who saw him playing Frodo (I didn't, and don't plan to), it might be a bit shocking to see him in a rather detailed sex scene; on the other hand, John Hurt's performance is quite spectacular and a must-see. If you want to read more about the film and the book, see the wiki article about the book, the wiki article about the movie, and, last but not the least, a great review by Marcus du Sautoy.

Finally, yesterday we went to see Putting on the Ritz (RTÉ Concert Orchestra & Big Band, Kim Criswell (vocals), Gary Williams (vocals), John Wilson (conductor)) at the National Concert Hall, and I should say that even though the show had it weak moments, Kim Criswell is a truly talented performer, and she made it very enjoyable.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

19:54 12.10.2009
A picture from the gay rights march in Washington...
...sending out a very eloquent message:


(via Alex)

Not that I would buy a t-shirt with this slogan, but I respect the imagination of the authors.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

15:37 09.10.2009
To make your Friday even more cheerful
I think this Fry&Laurie sketch is my favourite:



And another great one (don't stop watching after the police station part of the sketch is over):

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:14 09.10.2009
To make your Friday more cheerful
I just spotted a sketch from A Bit of Fry and Laurie posted by wind_bbc; it's actually a brilliant way to make one's Friday more cheerful. Let me share with all of you a slightly silly but terribly funny one, feel free to share your Fry&Laurie favourites as well!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

12:37 09.10.2009
The importance of not being earnest
In the last couple of days I realized that lots of people took the anti-smoking ad satire I was telling you about in my previous post way too seriously. Tons of comments on Youtube (many showing their understanding of the joke, but quite a few sounding distressed and appalled) and quite a few blog posts (including popular ones, who have some 13,000 LiveJournal readers) and other ways people choose to express themselves show that for quite a few people, the joke was lost upon them. Even though I still think that was a good one, I can understand why this happened. However, I tend to think that all those reactions of various shocked and appalled people (including my beloved Tim and some of my good friends) mainly prove in the most convincing way how important it is to take things you see with a grain of salt, and not let emotions take over that easily while processing information.

A not completely unrelated piece of satire news from The Onion, to prove my point in a yet another way: The Onion Science News: Factual Error Found On Internet.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

12:59 07.10.2009
A hilarious anti-smoking ad parody from The Onion
People at The Onion are as hilarious as usual — well, I admit that one might need special sense of humour to enjoy their style, but fortunately I've got one. What about you?


New Anti-Smoking Ads Warn Teens 'It's Gay To Smoke'

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

21:38 06.10.2009
A potpourri of random stories
Today, when having short breaks from work, I came across many weird online article, from quite entertaining to really dark and macabre, and I just have to share four of them with you.

If you are very excited about all kinds of IQ tests, we'll have something to argue about when we meet in person because I find IQ tests stupid and pointless. It's not about measuring intellect, it's about measuring the extend to which a person can conform to the expectations of those who composed the test, really. However, it is clear that really gifted people come us with unexpected clever answers to questions, so their answers will be treated by authors as wrong. A clever parody of IQ tests is below. Can you choose the "odd one out" among these symbols?


(via Tanya Khovanova's Math blog).

When you are finished with this question, spend some time reading the Wikipedia entry on Sugihara Chiune, a "Japanese Schindler". His lifestory is the most amazing; we are all used to what they say about the Japanese mentality, total obedience etc.; here we see how being a human makes a person forget of any Japanese mentality and put all the effort in saving lives of thousands of people, sitting down and issuing handwritten visas for 18-20 hours a day (via taki_net).

A bit of news that makes one think of how to make most of blowjobs: biologists seem to have discovered that spermidine, a substance contained in high concentrations in male sperm, and also found in grapefruits, wheat germs and soy beans, prolongs life and might be used in fighting Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. You might want to see the original article in Nature Cell Biology and a more popular explanation on a news website (via Jack).

And finally, to conclude this weird mixture of everything, a sad bit of news on how evil can life and death be in their irony. Kevin McGee, the ex-husband of the Little Britain star Matt Lucas, is reported to have committed suicide yesterday. These days, Matt Lucas was playing the part of Kenneth Halliwell, the mentally unstable lover of Joe Orton who killed Joe and committed suicide himself, in the theatrical version of Prick Up Your Ears (I wrote about the cinematic version a while ago). This macabre coincidence proves yet another time that the reality has enough imagination provided along with it to distress anyone when time comes.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

15:07 06.10.2009
I.M.Gelfand (1913-2009)
Israel Moiseevich Gelfand, an outstanding mathematician whose work influenced nearly every branch of mathematics (and some non-mathematical sciences) died yesterday at the age of 96. I never met him, but most of people who introduced me to the beauty of mathematics belonged to the Gelfand's school, being his students, students of his students, students of students of his students etc. Books and articles authored and coauthored by I.M. helped me a lot both in my research activities and in shaping my approach to teaching maths. Somehow I always assumed that Gelfand was going to be around forever. It's very hard to choose convincing words that would explain why I can be so sad because someone whom I have never met died. However, that's the case. RIP

An obituary by Andrei Zelevinsky (in Russian)

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

23:10 04.10.2009
Movies: Situation hopeless... but not serious (1965)
Situation hopeless... but not serious is one of those films I've been dying to see for quite a while. Let me think... it's 15 years since I first heard of it, more precisely read about it in a charming biography of Alec Guinness written by Igor Stupnikov. However, this movie has never been released on a DVD, and I haven't seen videotapes with it either. Recently, I found a place which distributed DVDs of this film, they have a recording made when it was on TV some time ago. Needless to say, I got really excited about it and my sweetheart got it for me. We watched it on Friday, and now it's time to put my impressions together and write down what I think about it.

First of all, let me admit, even though it is a bit frustrating, that this film could hardly be popular in the modern times. Some films made 70 years ago are still sparkling with proper rhythm that makes us, people of the 21st century, really excited, some films made less than 50 years old seem to be very imbalanced in pace, seem to be relying on good actors whose name should attract large crowds anyway. Sir Alec is very good, but he lacks support, both from other actors and from the large crew of those who were making this film behind cameras.

My second observation, which is to my great surprise missing in all discussions of this film I could locate is that this film is exploding with gay subtext. Judge for yourself: a lonesome single middle aged German clerk Wilhelm Frikk (Guinness) who used to be very close with his late mother and took after her a vivid interest in astrology finds two American soldiers (Robert Redford and Mike Connors) in his cellar. Instead of reporting them to the local authorities, he puts them in a cage of a sort and starts taking care of them, in some weird way. After they try to escape, handcuffs and chains enter the play to create a more reliable bond between the host and the hostages. When the war is over, nothing is changed: being afraid of losing his new ``friends'', Frikk keeps telling them lies about how the war continues. Eventually their relationship becomes more friendly and open: at some point Frikk even goes to a local bar to get ``girls'' for the prisoners, but fails comically because of his complete inability to deal with women. Things like that cannot last forever, and the Americans find themselves back in America, with Frikk moving to them as a butler for one of them. The final scene of the film shows him at a party explaining to one of the guests he is serving how all the story started because the stars brought him luck one day. That final scene is one of the most camp scenes I have seen Alec Guinness in. Now, tell me, isn't it quite a collection of (sometimes ridiculously wrong) stereotypes and innuendos making this film a hidden gem of the queer cinema of 1960s?

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

17:50 04.10.2009
Movies: Der bewegte Mann (1994)
Der bewegte Mann (English titles: Maybe... Maybe Not and The Most Desired Man) is a lightweight German comedy about Axel, a straight guy who suddenly finds himself spending lots of time with gay men. Why? He lives with one, having been thrown away by his girlfriend after cheating on her. This movie reminds you of Kiss me, Guido which I wrote about recently; the difference is that it is more consistent, more funny, and has better actors in it. For example, Til Schweiger who plays Axel, is very convincing as that kind of guy who creates lots of sexual tension wherever he goes; he looks a little bit like Brad Pitt (or do I think so because he is one of the stars of Inglorious basterds?), that guy-who-looks-like-Brad-Pitt-and-shags-everything-he-sees type, you know? Amazingly, the creators of the film managed to do something that almost never works: a straight character in this film appears to be more promiscuous than gay ones! Gay characters of this film are very camp but not in an annoying way, keeping very much in style most of the time. Overall, a good film to watch; strongly recommended.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:54 04.10.2009
Movies: Love and other disasters (2006)
Love and other disasters is probably one of the sweetest romantic comedies I have seen in a while. Taking place in London, it tells us of two intertwined love stories: a story of a guy who falls in love with a guy having seen him only once and knowing nothing of him but his name, and a story of his best female friend who almost misses her chance to live happily with a hot Argentinian guy who she adores and who adores her just because her quick judgement tells her that he's gay and she should fix him up with her best friend. All that is well seasoned with many hilariously absurd characters, including a frustrated poet, and a weird shrink who has an interesting theory about similarities between stages of long-term relationships and farting. To make one even more entertained, the characters comment briefly on cinematic effects that we experience, for example, the girl interrupts herself telling her life story by saying I don't want to be one of those awful characters out of a movie that gushes out their past while violins play. OK, I guess I might be a bit too excited. But you should watch it anyway.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:40 04.10.2009
Movies: All over the guy (2001)
All over the guy is one of those romantic comedies that drain your soul and suddenly become optimistic close to the end. Some people hate that genre, some find it very enjoyable. I watched this film some three years ago, and I was quite surprised how being in a relationship changed my way of approaching the plot. It is a story of two guys who meet on a blind date organized by their friends; at that date they manage to frustrate each other a lot, but still some weird sort of attraction begins to grow. Eli is a hopeless hysterical romantic whose childhood was all about being a guinea pig for various experiments of his parents, keen professional psychologists. Tom's parents are alcoholics, their addiction has shaped and influenced him, and not in a very good way. From this description, one can easily see that the heavy baggage from the past these guys have to deal with on a daily basis makes it quite difficult for either of them to be understanding and caring when it comes to other people. Consequently, they will have to overcome all kinds of trouble to understand that they really want to be together. With this kind of plot, the dramatic part of storyline could have been way too heavy, making the film unwatchable. Surprisingly enough, this does not happen. The film is well-paced and sweet, and makes one think of relationships in a positive and constructive way.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

23:03 30.09.2009
Yay!
I just got a lovely 18 month anniversary present from my sweetheart, a very rare film which I tried to locate for ages, Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965). Looking forward to watching it!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:03 29.09.2009
If I had to write an essay on how I spent this summer
Finally, two papers I was working on during this summer (this one and another one) are (sort of) finished and submitted. The first one has a result that I expect to have some interesting consequences, but it has to wait. Now that teaching resumed, I'd rather switch from writing to thinking for a little while. Also, the whole story with applying for jobs for the next year (my current postdoc ends in October 2010, and in mathematical world this means I should be searching for a job now!) makes my life a bit more busy and stressful than I want it to be. Let's keep fingers crossed and hope that everything works well...

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:36 29.09.2009
Some notes on Dublin Cultural Life
Besides the film reviews, I want to tell you about some other highlights of Dublin cultural life we enjoyed recently.

First of all, a couple of week ago we went to see Chicago in Gaiety theatre. I don't have much to say about it besides that it was HILARIOUS. The new sides of Miss Sunshine's personality (so to say) that were missing in the movie made her character one of the main ones!

Last Friday, we spent some time enjoying Dublin Culture Night, mostly hanging around several art galleries in Francis street. All of them were quite interesting, and if I had more money, I might have bought a couple of items that were on display. However, seeing them was enough enjoyable already. One of quite famous artists whose paintings were displayed in Zozimus gallery was Jef Aérosol; even though I was not tempted to buy any of his paintings, it was one of the artists whose work was presented fully enough to have at least half clear ideas about his art.

On Saturday we went to An Evening of Opera and Song, a charity event where Tim's friend Elaine was involved as an accompanist. Overall, it was a really nice experience, though if I had to choose a female performer I would have tried to replace Michelle Daly by a better singer. Well, I am entitled to my opinion even if it is bitter, right? I should say that the male singer Lukas Kargl was, on the contrary, quite extraordinary: it is clear his inspiration for singing is a great gift, and I wish him all the best in his career.

Finally, on Sunday we went to the National Concert Hall to listen to Viktoria Mullova playing Bach. That was a truly magical experience. I have a recording of Mullova as a soloist in the Four Seasons which might be the best recording of Vivaldi I have ever heard. However, that is not a pure experiment because I like Vivaldi. When it comes to Bach, I find it often difficult to get absorbed by his music; I am quite embarrassed about it, really, but that's the truth and nothing but the truth. Thus, the fact that I loved the Sunday's performance from the very beginning till the very end (following the audience great reception, Mullova and the guy who accompanied her on the harpsichord came to play something extra two times after they were finished with the planned programme), really proves that Mullova is quite extraordinary. An experience to remember, without any doubt.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:07 29.09.2009
Movies: Kiss Me, Guido (1997) and The Reception (2005)
Each of two movies I am going to write about does not deserve a separate blog entry, but half an entry for each is fair enough.

Kiss Me, Guido is a cute comedy about the friendship developing between two totally different guys, a gay actor who recently broke up with his boyfriend and is looking for a flatmate to share his Manhattan apartment, and a straight Italian boy who is moving away from Bronx where he lived after having found his girlfriend cheating on him with his brother on the day when he wanted to propose. The movie suffers from the lack of a consistent plot, but all cute small parts it consists of, as well as a very appropriate choice of supporting actors makes it watchable.


The Reception is a drama of a black gay artist living in upstate New York together with his best friend, a drunkard French woman. When the woman's daughter comes for a short visit with her new husband, things suddenly begin to explode as secrets start crawling from their closets. No one and nothing is what it seems, that's what the movie suggests. When you see a black guy chopping wood in a pine tree forest covered with snow, you suddenly find this point very valid. However low budget and independent and stuffed with weaknesses, the film appears weirdly appealing. You might as well give it a try and then explain me what it is that I liked in it.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

12:54 29.09.2009
Movies: Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2008)
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a recent drama about finding one's way in life. Art Bechstein, the main character, is a recent college graduate making his way through "the last summer of his life", the summer after which he will dive into working as a stock broker. Everything he does in life is controlled and influenced by his father, a criminal authority. Suddenly, Art finds himself hanging around with Jane, a smart and good-looking girl he met at a party, and Cleveland, her adventurous and unpredictable boyfriend. First time in his life, Art makes choices that are his own choices. Where will it lead him? Hard to say. However, it's clear that overall he'll benefit from escaping the pressure, even though he'll have to overcome quite a few losses that hit him on the way to freedom. It's an interesting film, have a quick glance at it when you have time.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

15:13 24.09.2009
Movies: You I love (2004)
Я люблю тебя (You I love) is presumably a very rare example of a gay-themed movie made in Russia. It is a story of a complicated three way relationship between an ad executive Timofey, a TV presenter Vera, and a young Kalmyk guy Uloomji working at the zoo. Uloomji suddenly appears in the lives of Timofey and Vera after being hit by Timofey's car, and sexual attraction suddenly sparks between Timofey and Uloomji. Most of the film is about the trio coming to terms about where they stand in their relationship, and dealing with problems the outside world creates for them.

This film made me weirdly nostalgic: besides the fact that it is showing life in Moscow, which is something not totally unfamiliar to me, besides the fact that they speak Russian, something that did the trick was that Timofey's apartment is in exactly the same Stalinist period skyscraper where I used to live in Moscow... lots of memories! However, these nostalgic feelings do not go much further enjoying the views of Moscow: in 2004, when this film was made, I was gay, but I was not out, I was a virgin, and my life evolved around completely different things.

My overall feelings about this film are complicated. It is not quite clear what was the message that the film creators were trying to get through. There are way too many things that can be read from the most messy and inarticulate script they ended up with. Some scenes suggest that love is an amazing feeling that does not know gender and sexuality, and its power has no limits. However, before you get used to that idea, your nose is rubbed into another kind of scenes which make you think that well-off young Russian professionals do not have any sexual taboos and would try anything, conveniently forgetting about their "love" when they feel sad or bored or horny. Another implicit message of the film (probably the most annoying one) is that the only really gay people in Russia are foreigners, corrupt politicians, and hustlers; in all other cases, there is a hint of possibility to be bisexual.

It seems that my review is getting as messy as the original script. I'll leave you to meditate on it; I don't think I have much more to say.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

10:45 24.09.2009
Movies: Crustacés et coquillages (2005)
A while ago I wrote a huge post about several films I watched recently, including Mulligans, a story of a two college kids visiting the family of one of them... a summer vacation which makes the father of the family start exploring his sexuality. Even though some parts of that film were interesting, overall it was a very average one. A somewhat similar movie having something in common when it comes to the plot is Crustacés et coquillages. What makes a difference here is that this other film is French, and so it is light and cheerful, and has some features of a musical, and the main conflict of the movie is different. The American film is focused on somewhat homophobic attitude of the straight guy and his most small-minded concern about what other people think, rather than what is good for his father and his best friend. The French film focuses on something much more human, including the eternal conflict of parents and kids, the humorous situation of a closeted gay (or maybe bisexual) guy who is all over the place about the possibility of his son being gay, and the most touching story of this closeted guy who, having known he was attracted to guys, still married woman and had established the most deep connection with her, a connection that deep that even when he realizes that he wants to be with his old crush from his youth, and she admits she has a lover, their love helps them to find a way to be together... staying together with their lovers at the same time. It's that kind of a comedy which only French people are good at. Watch it, enjoy it, and feel relaxed about life: you only live once.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

20:38 20.09.2009
Movies: El gran calavera (1949)
El gran calavera (The great madcap) is a hidden gem among screwball comedies. There are several reasons for it to have remained unnoticed by all the lovers of that genre. First of all, it was made a bit too late, the classic era of the genre was over in 1949, and ever though it revived several times after that, 1949 was not quite a year for that. Also, it was made in Mexico, and many avid cinema lovers would be sceptical about Mexican films anyway. Finally, it was made by a director from whom no one would expect a screwball comedy: Luis Buñuel. When mentioning Buñuel, one would think either of his early works, like Un chien andalou (An Andalousian dog) and L'âge d'or (The golden age) (made in collaboration with Salvador Dali; the famous scene in Un chien andalou where an eye is cut by a razor is probably the one which put me off the most among all graphic scenes from movies I have ever seen), or some famous surreal ones he made at the last stage of his career Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie) and Cet obscur objet du désir (That obscure object of desire), or, possibly some of his masterpieces of 1960s, like Viridiana, El ángel exterminador (The exterminating angel), and Le journal d'une femme de chambre (The diary of a chambermaid). This film is nothing like any of these. It's not Buñuel whom we know. However, back in 1949 Buñuel was not a famous director; after his cinematic experience with Dali, he only made several musicals, and they were not too successful. On the contrary, this film was a huge success; as a consequence, Buñuel got complete freedom to try his directing ideas, so, we partly owe the fact that he was able to create all his masterpieces to the fact that he put some of his talent and imagination into El gran calavera.

The plot is not the most notable one. Ramiro, the main character, is a rich man whose wife died recently. He start drinking to get over his grief; his family uses that to make them pay for all their enormous spendings. After he faints once, his brother, the only one in the family who cares about his well-being, decides that they all should pretend that he ran bankrupt in hope that such a stressful thing will wake him up from the grief and bring him back to life. Soon, he discovers that and decides to fool them in return to make them less needy and greedy... I'll stop here, letting you to discover how the story develops.

If you are not into screwball comedies but would rather prefer the surreal pieces of Buñuel's work, watch the film anyway; you will see quite a few things that make one think that Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie is, among many other things, a clever self-parody.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:25 20.09.2009
Olesya's wine bar: the most esctatic review
Two days ago, we  decided to eat out in some posh place to celebrate the 18 months of our engagement anniversary. The place we ended up in was Olesya's wine bar. I noticed this place many time when walking in the city centre but never took time to explore it.

Our choice of wine for the evening was Simonsig Cabernet Sauvignon; it has (as it is often the case with Cabernet Sauvignon) a very strong character, a typical description being "spicy, vanilla, and mocha flavours with a hint of pencil shavings". But it's not the excellent wine that charmed me out of my mind at "Olesya's", after all, it is a wine bar, so they are supposed to have good wines. What amazed me was the food.

The starters we had were fresh bread with a selection of dips for Tim, and a bean cassoulet for me. The cassoulet (old French recipe with duck and several types of sausage) was just perfect. Pesto and pate that came with the bread were really tender, with the most unique and definite taste.

For the main course we both had risotto, and it was the best risotto I've had in my life. Usually, I eat quite fast. With this risotto, I was eating it as slow as possibly, enjoying every second it spent next to my taste buds. That was one of the moments when you know for sure that great food can bring you as much pleasure as great sex does.  

By the moment when we were offered a dessert, we were full, so we took a rosemary cheesecake to share. It came with a scoop of really good ice cream. Usually, I am not crazy about cheesecakes, but I should say that this one was really good. Again, probably the best cheesecake I've ever had.

For a long while, the Georgian restaurant Nikala was my favourite place to eat out in Dublin. When it closed down this summer, I was really upset. Now, I think I found my new favourite. It's more pricey, so I would not be able to come here as often, but I am sure I'll come there again and again!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

13:55 20.09.2009
Some crazy IKEA linen
Besides getting some cheap furniture from IKEA, we got some linen, and I could not resist buying the most crazy one for my room:

I really like it though, there was no linen like that in the Soviet Union when I was a kid! What is the craziest linen you own?

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

12:45 20.09.2009
Some photos from the beach etc.
A week ago, when the weather here was still nice, we went to the Bull Island to walk in the beach there. It was really cool! We did not take many photos, but here are some highlights (if you want to see a picture, click on it):


        


This is probably one of the most subtle photos of a gay kiss ever:




Oh, and why should not I include a small little video to amuse you:




On the way back, we walked through St Anne's Park:

  

It's a great place to walk, and it's kinda funny that these days we walk there more than a year ago when we literally lived next door from it, in Mount Prospect Avenue...

Okay, that's it for this post; soon I shall post more on what's been happening in my life recently, stay tuned!

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

23:07 19.09.2009
More books and movies
I have to resume blogging more regularly, but I've been to busy to keep up with any blogging pattern. In any case, let me tell you something about a couple of books and movies I finished yesterday. (Well, I did not finish one of the movies, see below.)



The Lost Cosmonaut is a really cool book by Daniel Kalder, a Scottish guy who spent quite a while in Russia. I saw it in a bookstore before leaving to Kiev, and it got me really interested, so I got it, and read most of it on the way to Kiev, then put it aside and finished it just recently. (Also, I realized that I knew it from Jean Francois who was reading it when he stayed in Moscow in spring 2007.) The author thoroughly promotes the philosophy of anti-tourism. Basically, his idea is that interesting places are weird shitholes without any impressive sightseeing spots. Consequently, thus book is a collection of stories about the author's visits to some regions in Russia which he suspected would be among the best anti-tourist destinations. It's a clever and witty book, and for someone who wants to understand the unconventional Russian mentality it could be at least half as useful as Watching the English by Kate Fox for those who hope to make sense of Brits.



The Revolutionary Road is a novel by Richard Yates; it was recently made into a movie which I did not appreciate enough, as I did not learn much from it. The book is a bit more interesting because it spends plenty of time in the main characters' heads showing us what they think (unfortunately, in the film neither of the actors is half-close to having achieved that). It's a bitter story of loneliness and misunderstanding, a dramatic failure of the American Dream. It's an interesting thing to read, though I failed to find a character to identify with, and to feel something for.

Yesterday, we rented If these walls could talk 2, a TV film, consisting of three short films about lesbian couples, their lives, troubles, hopes, and expectations. Neither me nor Tim watched the first one; as I just learned from IMDB, the first one (If these walls could talk) is structured similarly, but the focus is on abortions. The stories are very strong, and the acting is quite extraordinary. Strongly recommended.

Today, I tried to watch My beautiful laundrette. I think that Stephen Frears is a very interesting director; his films that I watched so far, that is Prick up your ears and The Queen, are both very good. However, this film, telling a story of a Pakistani family in London, exploring politics, violence, racism, and sexuality all in the most messed up plot, did not appeal to me. Even though I heard many times that this movie is very important for the history of gay cinema, it totally escapes me. I had to stop watching it, completely lost in what was going on and having failed to understand what the movie was about. Any hints?

OK, I'll stop here before the post got too long. Stay tuned.

You may leave comments here, but commenting on the original post is encouraged! / Можно комментировать тут, но лучше в изначальном месте публикации!

14:23 18.09.2009
Movies: Los abrazos rotos (2009)

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13:53 16.09.2009
Movies: Scapegoat (1959)
I discovered yesterday that this lovely movie with Alec Guinness and Bette Davis is available on Youtube. I am looking forward to getting it on DVD, but it's good to have an option. I think it's the first time in my life I really appreciate youtube!This is Part 1, further parts are available via "related videos".

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09:38 16.09.2009
You can buy anything these days
[This posting would be more interesting to mathematicians than to anyone else.]Yesterday, following Misha's question, I was looking for a book I saw long ago. Before succeeding in it, I was referred to a scam website where I was offered to buy free groups and buy representations of free groups. Isn't it cute?

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09:16 16.09.2009
Three more movies
As time passes, I keep remembering movies I watched recently that I haven't mentioned yet... it's hard to believe I watched so many. I guess it IS the best way to relax for me. Cachorro (Bear cub) is a comedy/drama about a kid who, due to some unfortunate circumstances in the life of his mother, suddenly find himself living with his gay uncle. Many storylines (family values, solitude, living

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