Lifestyle "1983 Redux Zeitgeist Surf School"

[Pamcake1]

Watch the official trailer for the long-awaited Becoming Led Zeppelin film

The first official trailer for the long gestating Led Zeppelin documentary...

hellorayo.co.uk

And a Baddonk:

 

[3KZ is Football]

I might give that a go.

Sorry folks, I've been very slack in posting as I've been on hols o/s. I too have seen lots of temples and cats.

Where are you moginie?

 

[3KZ is Football]

It seems that if you are a tourist and you like a cat on Naxos, you can take it home with you. What an interesting concept.

Our favourite Naxos Cat. Followed us as we went for a walk along the beach. Very friendly.

Our favourite doughnuts. Slightly chewy texture. Simple and beautiful with a Greek coffee.

 

[moginie]

Where are you?

Returned today after three weeks in Bali. Saw a heck of a lot - the comparison between places like Uluwatu and the gated fantasy that is Nusa Dua, compared to the suburbs like Renon or Kertalangu is stark. Traffic is choking the island and there's been a huge influx of cars from other islands - especially Java, but that shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

[Pamcake1]

View attachment 2183967
It seems that if you are a tourist and you like a cat on Naxos, you can take it home with you. What an interesting concept.

Our favourite Naxos Cat. Followed us as we went for a walk along the beach. Very friendly. View attachment 2183968

Our favourite doughnuts. Slightly chewy texture. Simple and beautiful with a Greek coffee.
View attachment 2183970

Are they the donuts made with ricotta?
Are you bring home the cat?
Too many questions?
I hope you and yours are relishing time on foreign shores.

 

[3KZ is Football]

Are they the donuts made with ricotta?
Are you bring home the cat?
Too many questions?
I hope you and yours are relishing time on foreign shores.

I don’t think they are. Not sure. They have done something with them, because they have a chewy texture, almost as if they have a slight skin under all that sugar.

We won’t be bringing home a cat, but my eldest son desperately wants us to. We are going back to Athens for another week after Naxos, sans chat.

 

[Pamcake1]

I don’t think they are. Not sure. They have done something with them, because they have a chewy texture, almost as if they have a slight skin under all that sugar.

We won’t be bringing home a cat, but my eldest son desperately wants us to. We are going back to Athens for another week after Naxos, sans chat.

Will there be ideas of a 'petit chaton' under the Xmas tree for number one son?

 

[3KZ is Football]

Not if our dog has anything to say about it.

 

[Pamcake1]

For when you return with time to read 3KZ is Football

The 25 Most Influential Cookbooks From the Last 100 Years

Chefs, writers, editors and a bookseller gathered to debate — and decide — which titles have most changed the way we cook and eat.

www.nytimes.com

 

[moginie]

Following through:
The new washing machine is peachy and whisper quiet.
French politics:
NYTimes.

By Catherine Porter
Reporting from Paris
Aug. 23, 2024, 2:16 p.m. ET

The first thing Lucie Castets intends to do as France’s next prime minister is to peel back the age of retirement to 62. Then, she will pour more money into the creaking health care and education systems. To pay for at least some of that, she will introduce a tax on the country’s ultrarich.
There is just one hitch. Ms. Castets, the candidate of choice of the left-wing coalition that won the most seats in France’s snap legislative elections that ended in July, has not been tapped for the job. And the one person with the power to offer it to her, President Emmanuel Macron, has shown no sign he plans to do so.
“We are in a somewhat Kafkaesque, surreal situation, where a candidate for the post of prime minister is campaigning for a job that she cannot exercise,” Rémi Lefebvre, a professor of political science at the University of Lille, said.
Almost seven weeks since those elections ended in deadlock, with neither left, right nor center winning a majority, France remains intractably stuck.

Since then, Mr. Macron has been in no hurry to pick a new prime minister, whose job it is to run the country while the president officially oversees France’s institutions. He called for a political truce during the Olympics, which continued into the dog days of August, when the capital empties and anyone who can posts an “I’m on vacation” sign on the door and disappears.
On Friday, Mr. Macron began hosting a series of meetings with political leaders to help inform his choice. In the past, choosing was easier: He simply picked candidates from his own winning coalition and expected them to collaborate with him.
But since his coalition took a drubbing in the election and lost more than 80 seats in Parliament, that’s no longer a clear choice. Tradition would hold that he offer the choice to the winning party — but in the past, that party always had a majority, unlike now.

The president’s plan, his advisers have said, is to pick the person who could shore up the most political support and therefore run a stable government. His read of the election result, he told citizens in an open letter last month, was that voters were demanding a new, conciliatory style of politics with “power sharing” — something unknown to recent French political culture and that Mr. Macron himself pledged to introduce in 2022 but didn’t.

“In France, we are used to having either all the power or none,” a left-wing politician, Raphaël Glucksmann, explained to Le Point magazine.
That sensibility has left nearly everyone talking about compromise but offering little of it. The leaders of the four left-wing parties that banded together to form a coalition called the New Popular Front say someone from their group should be given the job, since they won the most seats in the election. But many of the actions the coalition has vowed to champion run counter to Mr. Macron’s philosophy of making France more business-friendly, including trying to overturn what he considers the hard-fought success of raising the retirement age.
After arguing for two weeks over whom they would put forward, they settled on Ms. Castets — plucking her from the relative political obscurity of her office at Paris City Hall, where until then she had run the financial department.
The request, which came over the phone while Ms. Castets was biking, shocked even her. She has never run for, let alone held, public office. And while she is a vocal supporter of left-wing causes — particularly in support of France’s vaunted public service — she left the Socialist Party years ago. Since then, she has not been a member of any party.
“They know people want some fresh air,” said Ms. Castets, 37, during an interview this week, squeezed in between meetings. “They want people who were not involved in the parties — they want something else.”

She added, “I don’t want to be president in 2027. I’m not a threat to them.”
Still, this lifelong civil servant has been doing something political analysts say they’ve never seen before: campaigning for the job of prime minister.
She has been introducing herself to fellow citizens, in person and through the media, as a lesbian married mother of a 2-year-old, a graduate of the country’s top college for civil servants who loves to be physically active. She has been fielding interviews. She has sent letters to parliamentarians, co-signed by leaders of the parties, laying out her potential government’s plans.
Over the weeks, she has softened her position from its original hard-core stance that her government would follow through on the entire left-wing coalition program. Now, she says she would pursue something more reflective of minority government position.
Her government would focus on goals she believes she could find wider agreement on, she says, among them increasing the minimum wage, making the economy more environmentally sound and investing in public services.
“Who will accept the continued catastrophic situation in public hospitals with emergency services closed in the middle of summer?” she said in an open letter this week to fellow citizens, co-signed by political backers who all vowed to invent a new way of governing. “Who will settle for a new school year where there will be a shortage of teachers facing our children in elementary, middle and high schools?”

Still, she is facing an uphill battle, and not only because she is unknown and politically inexperienced. The biggest party in her coalition, France Unbowed, has a history of scorched-earth politics that makes the pledge for conciliation feel thin.
Image

Over the weeks, Ms. Castets has softened her position from its original hard-core stance to something slightly more conciliatory. Credit...Guillaume Souvant/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
On Thursday, Aurore Bergé, a departing minister and leading member of Macron’s party, Renaissance, repeated on the radio that she would vote immediately to bring down any government with far-left France Unbowed members in it. She and many others consider France Unbowed and its combative leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Trotskyist, to be as dangerous to France’s democracy as the extreme right.
Ms. Castets is not the only one openly vying to be part of a new government. The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, and foreign minister, Stephane Séjourné, both historically key players in Renaissance and part of the current caretaker government, sent an “action pact for the French” to fellow politicians, laying out seven areas they believed offered ground for collaboration.
The leaders of the country’s moderate Conservatives, now called the Republican Right, also published an “emergency legislative pact.”

If the president does not pick someone from the left or someone from center who could corral more votes than New Popular Front, the message to citizens would be scathing, said Bruno Cautrès, a political scientist at the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po university in Paris: “that Emmanuel Macron did what he wanted and didn’t take into account the election results.”
While the constitution does not lay down rules on whom the president should name as prime minister or by when, a kind of deadline is looming. Normally, the government must introduce its budget by early October so Parliament can pass it by the end of the year.
“It would be catastrophic for Emmanuel Macron if by Jan. 1, 2025, the French Parliament was unable to adopt a budget,” Mr. Cautrès said. He noted that the state could still function without one but that France’s image would take a serious bruising in the international financial markets.
To get that all done, a government would need to be in place by the end of August or the first days of September, he said.
Mr. Macron’s team said he would announce his choice “quite soon.”
To many, the road ahead looks bleak, and whoever takes the job seems destined to fail. Right-wing lawmakers have said they will immediately bring down any left-wing government. France Unbowed lawmakers have said they will censure any prime minister who is not Ms. Castets.

“The crisis will deepen,” Mr. Lefebvre said. “I don’t see any viable institutional or political solution emerging over the coming weeks and months.”

Worthwhile rereading considering the situation.

 

[moginie]

It's crawling towards the drowsy end of the year when days sort of drift into each other, Christmas responsibilities, late nights, chatting and quaffing.

So I'll take this opportunity to thank all the members of the RZSS for their contribution to my life this year. I've read lots, learnt lots, reminisced a fair bit and listened to music old and not so old.

Have a good one folks and stay safe over the holiday season.

 

[Pamcake1]

It's crawling towards the drowsy end of the year when days sort of drift into each other, Christmas responsibilities, late nights, chatting and quaffing.

So I'll take this opportunity to thank all the members of the RZSS for their contribution to my life this year. I've read lots, learnt lots, reminisced a fair bit and listened to music old and not so old.

Have a good one folks and stay safe over the holiday season.

And to you and yours Mogs for the silly season.

 

[moginie]

And to you and yours Mogs for the silly season.

Thanks Pammy. The chooks send their regards too.

 

[Pamcake1]

I don’t think they are. Not sure. They have done something with them, because they have a chewy texture, almost as if they have a slight skin under all that sugar.

We won’t be bringing home a cat, but my eldest son desperately wants us to. We are going back to Athens for another week after Naxos, sans chat.

Ok, this question has been bugging me.
You are right that they are not Ricotta doughnuts, as having done a little bit of research they are possibly these:

Loukoumades - Greek doughnuts - Lazy Cat Kitchen

Loukoumades are crispy dough balls covered in aromatic syrup and sprinkled with chopped nuts or cinnamon. They are Greek mini-doughnuts.

www.lazycatkitchen.com

I do recommend trying these:

Italian Ricotta Doughnuts

How to make the most delicious Italian Ricotta Doughnuts. Soft and fluffy with a delicious orange flavour and dusted in powdered sugar.

www.insidetherustickitchen.com

 

[Pamcake1]

If you can then read the letters attached.
(I don't know whether they allow access to the comments. If someone could confirm please.)

Let’s Talk About Pornography. No, Seriously.

More adolescents than ever are watching it. What’s needed, researchers say, are frank conversations and “pr0n literacy.”

www.nytimes.com

 

[moginie]

If you can then read the letters attached.
(I don't know whether they allow access to the comments. If someone could confirm please.)

Let’s Talk About Pornography. No, Seriously.

More adolescents than ever are watching it. What’s needed, researchers say, are frank conversations and “pr0n literacy.”

www.nytimes.com

So many relevant points in the letters. It's a huge issue and one which can't be reduced to a couple of quick bon mots or trite sentences.

There is a very fine balancing act as a parent when discussing this subject. And the delineation between violent and erotic should not be difficult. Misogyny is wrong. Violence against women is wrong. Interesting to read the views of several gay men.

 

[Pamcake1]

So many relevant points in the letters. It's a huge issue and one which can't be reduced to a couple of quick bon mots or trite sentences.

There is a very fine balancing act as a parent when discussing this subject. And the delineation between violent and erotic should not be difficult. Misogyny is wrong. Violence against women is wrong. Interesting to read the views of several gay men.

Yes it is. Good that you can read the letters as there are many points of real value not covered in the article.

 

[3KZ is Football]

Ok, this question has been bugging me.
You are right that they are not Ricotta doughnuts, as having done a little bit of research they are possibly these:

Loukoumades - Greek doughnuts - Lazy Cat Kitchen

Loukoumades are crispy dough balls covered in aromatic syrup and sprinkled with chopped nuts or cinnamon. They are Greek mini-doughnuts.

www.lazycatkitchen.com

I do recommend trying these:

Italian Ricotta Doughnuts

How to make the most delicious Italian Ricotta Doughnuts. Soft and fluffy with a delicious orange flavour and dusted in powdered sugar.

www.insidetherustickitchen.com

They are Loukoumades Pammy, but unlike the ones you get in restaurants in Melbourne and Athens, which are served hot, having been deep fried and smothered in honey and crushed walnuts. The Naxian ones were served cold and unadorned, apart from the sugar. I asked the woman in the bakery what they were called and she said Loukoumades. The fact that they were not hot was a big point of difference.

While we are on baked goods, I was having one of these each morning with a coffee before I came back to Athens and today I found a bakery that does them well here. You can buy them off the street from bread stands for €0.70 but they aren’t as nice as the ones from the bakery that is pretty much next to my hotel. The bread is crispy, covered in sesame seeds and just on the sweet side. Divine!



Heading home in a couple of days.

 

[3KZ is Football]

koulouria

Easy Greek Bread Rings with Sesame Seeds - Marilena's Kitchen

Few things are so iconic as these Greek bread rings covered with sesame seeds, which are sold every morning by street vendors throughout the country.

marilenaskitchen.com

 

[moginie]

They are Loukoumades Pammy, but unlike the ones you get in restaurants in Melbourne and Athens, which are served hot, having been deep fried and smothered in honey and crushed walnuts. The Naxian ones were served cold and unadorned, apart from the sugar. I asked the woman in the bakery what they were called and she said Loukoumades. The fact that they were not hot was a big point of difference.

While we are on baked goods, I was having one of these each morning with a coffee before I came back to Athens and today I found a bakery that does them well here. You can buy them off the street from bread stands for €0.70 but they aren’t as nice as the ones from the bakery that is pretty much next to my hotel. The bread is crispy, covered in sesame seeds and just on the sweet side. Divine!

View attachment 2187238View attachment 2187239

Heading home in a couple of days.

They have them in Türkiye too (surprise, surprise) but for the life of me I can't remember the name.

 

[Pamcake1]

1986

 

[Pamcake1]

1986

 

[3KZ is Football]

1986

 

[Pamcake1]

Starting my Xmas money book list.
The below looks like a contender.
I came to it via the article in todays NYT by the author.
But wait. Why buy when it's on the library shelf. Now on order at the library.

Old King

One of NPR's Books We Love in 2024 • A <em>Publisher's Weekly</em> Best Book of the Year • A <em>CrimeReads</em> Notable Crime Novel of 2024 <br /><br /> In this haunting novel about the end of the frontier dream, a man tries to reinvent himself in one of America’s last wild territories, while...

wwnorton.com

Opinion | The Unabomber’s Influence Is Deeper and More Dangerous Than We Know

To some disaffected young Americans, the ruthlessly intellectualized turn to violence can seem justified. It is not.

www.nytimes.com

 

[moginie]

Starting my Xmas money book list.
The below looks like a contender.
I came to it via the article in todays NYT by the author.
But wait. Why buy when it's on the library shelf. Now on order at the library.

Old King

One of NPR's Books We Love in 2024 • A <em>Publisher's Weekly</em> Best Book of the Year • A <em>CrimeReads</em> Notable Crime Novel of 2024 <br /><br /> In this haunting novel about the end of the frontier dream, a man tries to reinvent himself in one of America’s last wild territories, while...

wwnorton.com

Opinion | The Unabomber’s Influence Is Deeper and More Dangerous Than We Know

To some disaffected young Americans, the ruthlessly intellectualized turn to violence can seem justified. It is not.

www.nytimes.com

I needed something to read on the flight home, so I picked up a copy of Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See. I've meant to read it for ten years and it was worth the wait. Excellent. Still, the Lehman Trilogy is the best thing I've read this year. Reading Auf Wiedersehn Pet now. Great series and fun to go back and read it.