The Case For Working With Your Hands, by Matthew Crawford

I just read and thoroughly enjoyed this book. A condensed version of his argument is in this NYT essay, which is well worth a read (ideally from your office cubicle...).

another interesting bloomberg editorial

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-31/warren-buffett-s-tax-proposal-withstands-write-a-check-critique-view.html

It's really interesting to see how belligerently simple-minded the republican rhetoric is against any call to consider raising more revenue from the rich. It's gotten to the point where even suggesting they they pay the same rate as the working class is received with outright hostility -- presumably asking them to pay a progressively higher rate is completely off the table. 

I'm reminded of the increasingly exasperated efforts of scientists to argue against the ridiculous claims of creationists. At some point, no matter how tolerant, reasonable, or carefully constructed your argument, you hit up against a solid bedrock of fundamentalist ideology that is as immutable as it is irrational.

Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique (2010)

I was fairly disappointed by this, the third film in a hat-trick of musical biopics that I've watched over this weekend (do I know how to party while the Missus is out of town, or WHAT?). It follows the life, music, and astounding litany of amorous conquests of Monsieur Cabbage-Head Serge Gainsbourg. As lives and careers go, his was certainly an interesting one, well worth telling. But I didn't enjoy the surreal, excessively romanticized Baz Luhrman-esque style -- it just didn't work for me.

Eric Elmosnino was excellent as Gainsbourg -- he had the mannerisms and voice down nailed, and the physical resemblance was uncanny. Laetitia Casta was ravishing as Brigitte Bardot, and Lucy Gordon (who, sadly, committed suicide before the film was released) was great as Jane Birkin (her exaggeratedly english-accented french was exactly as I've heard it described. 

Ray (2004)

Excellent bio-pic on the life of soul/R&B legend Ray Charles, featuring a career-defining performance from Jamie Foxx.

Sexy Beast (2000)

Nice little cockney gangster flick. Ex-crim "Gal" (Ray Winstone, looking like a post-BAFTAs Ricky Gervais) is retired and living the "Home in the Sun" dream in a Spanish villa with his wife Deedee. With fellow ex-eastenders "H" and Jackie living nearby, life is pretty idyllic. But things turn pear shaped when old boss Don (Ben Kingsley) turns up out of blue to recruit Gal for "one more job" back in London, and won't take no for an answer.

Bird (1988)

Enjoyed this biopic on the life of jazz great Charlie Parker, directed by Clint Eastwood and with the lead role played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker. The music is excellent throughout (the saxophone parts are taken from Parker recordings and mixed with re-recorded rhythm parts), with the jazz club scene vividly brought to life. The film is a little on the long and slow side, and is fairly depressing -- tracing Parker's unsuccessful struggle against heroin and alcohol addiction and tragically early death in 1955, at the age of 34.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Another enjoyable instalment from Pixar's original, and best, franchise. I liked the numerous pokes at Ken's effeminate qualities, as well as Buzz in spanish mode. The screeching monkey sentinel was quite scary.

Catfish (2010)

Really enjoyed this documentary-film about a Facebook romance. Surprising and ultimately quite moving.

LEVEL 1: Espresso Foundations @ Toby's Estate

Recently attended an introductory barista training course at Toby's Estate (a well-chosen birthday gift from the other half). Was a good experience: plenty of hands-on practice at making espressos and flat whites.

To summarize the main points I picked up:

Freshness: after roasting, beans can last at most a month (under ideal storage conditions); ideally, they should be used within 2 weeks. When buying beans, you should look for the "roasting date"; if this is not available, that's a sign that the coffee could be old and therefore no good (the two-year "use by date" given on popular brands is, therefore, a nonsense).  After grinding, the ground coffee should be used within 10 minutes (!). This latter criterion means that the ground coffee we buy is doomed to mediocrity: it's not even fresh when we first open the package, and will only degrade further from there on.

[Comment: I'm taking all of this with a pinch of salt (or should that be sugar?). Having violated both freshness criteria to varying degrees over the years, I think that, while there is certainly a significant loss of quality, it seems a bit snobby to suddenly take the attitude that it must have been utter pigswill. I prefer to take the same approach I take with wine: it's nice to savour a $50 bottle now and again, but that doesn't mean one can't enjoy an $8 clean skin or vin de table the rest of the time.]

Grind: it turns out that a high-quality grinder is at least as important as a good coffee machine -- indeed, possibly more so, since with a good grinder you can still make excellent plunger coffee, for example. There are several reasons why a quality grinder is important:

• Firstly, grinding fresh is of key importance (see above point), so some kind of grinder is essential.
• A quality grinder (i.e. not just a pepper mill) ensures that the size of the grains is consistent, which is important in the extraction process.
• The coarseness of the grind should be adjustable to cater for different types of extraction method (e.g. fine for espresso machine, coarse for plunger). The coarseness may also need to be adjusted according to the specific machine, roast type, and even humidity (I'm not joking, or at least, I assume the trainer wasn't).

For a good grinder one can expect to fork out something in the region of $300-800. The ones you see in cafes can easily cost several $k.

Making espresso: a few points to note when using an espresso machine:

• The basket should be loaded to the top with the ground coffee (before tamping). The trainer did this by over-filling slightly, tapping (to allow it to settle somewhat), and then scraping the excess back into the grinder doser.
• The tamper is then used to press down and make the coffee uniform. It is not necessary to tamp with excessive force (the water pressure with naturally press down very hard anyway); the only purpose of the tamping is to make the grounds uniform.
• When running the espresso, the ideal flow is slightly intermittent. Stop whenever the colour of the froth turns yellow(er).
• Afterwards, look at the "cookie": ideally it should be slightly spongy to the touch. If it is too hard/dry there was too much coffee or it was too fine; too soggy there wasn't enough, or it was too coarse.

I was slightly surprised to learn that a barista-approved home machine can be had for under $800: the Sunbeam EM6910. This does seem to have mixed reviews, however, and I'm not sure if I would rush to get one of these. For $3k you can get an excellent machine for home use. 

Steaming milk for flat white: 

• The standard kit is two or three stainless steel milk jugs.
• The full amount of milk should take up about half the jug. The steamer should be immersed just under the surface, leaning against the edge, in such a way that it induces the milk to start spinning.
• With one hand cupping the milk jug (what!? I'm talking about coffee making!), you can feel when it gets hot enough (65 degrees celsius, I'm told). The sound of the steamer will change as the froth starts to rise. It is important not to over heat the milk -- it shouldn't be piping hot.
• If making more than one coffee, you then pour the top third or so into one of the other jugs, because the top is frothier than the rest. Add it back in when you've poured the first coffee.
• When pouring, it's easiest to set the cup on the bench, and rest the jug on the top of the cup. Pour slowly at first, then towards the end speed up. Near the top, the milk should start to form a white blob in the middle; at this point, pull the jug up and draw it across the white blob, hopefully making a nice heart-like shape.

Above all, the training course drove home the idea that making great coffee is about knowing the do's and don'ts (see above) and then practising. A lot. In the course, making round after round of flat whites and seeing what went right/wrong each time was extremely effective. Unfortunately, at home I would typically just make a single coffee and, good or bad, drink it and move on. So the final point is that you need to practise intensively until you can make a consistently good cup. This will require making more than you drink (unless you want to end up like Tweek), but will pay off in the end.

Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections

Am enjoying this television series with the diminutive Top Gear cast member. Does a great job of presenting the key engineering/science concepts underpinning various modern-day technological marvels by using amusing, and often rather violent, hands-on demonstrations. Getting to watch a show like this would liven up the high school science classroom.

License to Drive (1988)

The second in the run of iconic 80s flicks that the "two Coreys" starred in together towards the end of that decade. It's rather formulaic 80s teen comedy, and had I watched it back in the day I don't imagine I would have thought too much of it. However, watching it in 2011 through the rose-tinted lens of nostalgia it actually emerges as a classic historical cinematic document. While ostensibly a cheesy comedy (and for 80s fans like me it still works on that level), it is also -- and perhaps more importantly -- a snapshot of the golden era of America's wealthy suburban middle class. Big cars, drive-in diners, roller skates, telephones in bedrooms, teenage angst, tranquil tree-lined streets with huge double-storey houses, yellow schoolbuses.. it's all here. Feldman is classic as always -- though he takes a back seat (literally) to Haim. Also features a young (and slightly gawky looking) Heather Graham as Haim's dream girl.

Bloomberg editorial on Republican no-tax stand

An excellent, balanced article from Bloomberg, here. The counter-examples to the Republican scare-mongering about "the demon of job-killing taxes" is particularly refreshing:

This is partisan nonsense. First, consider the claim that Americans are being taxed to death. In fact, in terms of the economy as a whole, federal taxes are at their lowest level since 1950. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that federal taxes would account for 14.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2011. 

That isn't a one-year anomaly: Revenue was 14.9 percent of GDP in both 2009 and 2010. Compare that with a postwar average of about 18.5 percent of GDP, and an average of 18.2 percent during the administration of President Ronald Reagan

Which brings us to a second dubious claim: Raising taxes in a downturn hinders growth. In 1982, amid a punishing 16-month recession, Reagan approved the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history. A booming economy followed in 1983 and 1984, enabling him to sail to re-election.

 

 

Ruthless People (1986)

Another cheesy 80s classic, starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold (Seinfeld's "close talker"). It's one of those farcical romps where everyone has their own agenda: sleazy millionaire businessman DeVito is conspiring with his mistress to kill his annoying wife
(Midler); the mistress is plotting with her other lover to frame DeVito; meanwhile Reinhold and his wife, bitter after DeVito ripped off their spandex miniskirt idea (hey, it's the 80s alright!), kidnap Midler with the intent of holding DeVito to ransom. Needless to say, it all goes awry with amusing consequences.

A young Bill Pullman also appears as the dimwitted (other) lover of DeVito's mistress. He is the subject of the movie's funniest line, delivered in deadpan style over a megaphone by the police chief during the hold-up scene near the end: "Give the bag to Bozo, drop the gun, and put your hands in the air!". You had to be there...

Marvellous blooming

A couple of snaps showing off the beautiful flowers on the apricot tree in our front garden. A welcome sign that winter is on the way out!

The Fighter (2010) and The King's Speech (2010)

Recently watched, and enjoyed, these two films. For some reason, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic going into either of them: The Fighter didn't seem like it would be particularly uplifting, while The King's Speech just didn't seem like a story I would care about (would-be King heroically overcomes speech impediment and delivers a rousing speech --- on the eve of a war that will see the slaughter of millions of those born into less fortunate circumstances). But I was glad I made the effort and struggled through my early misgivings.

Not to stretch comparisons between two such unlikely cinematic bedfellows, but both films could also be characterized by the fact that they feature a pair of strong male leads. In The Fighter, Christian Bale once again turns in an amazing performance which would, for my money, not be out of place with de Nero in Raging Bull or Day-Lewis in My Left Foot. Alongside such virtuosic acting, Mark Wahlberg inevitably pales somewhat -- but is nevertheless excellent. In The King's Speech, Colin Firth puts in what is surely his strongest performance to date as the stammering King George, while Geoffrey Rush gives a typically "actor's actor" showing.

Bottom Line: worth seeing; two recent films that live up to the hype.