Tetsuya Ishida

Signaling the great (and disturbing) work of painter Tetsuya Ishida.

Anthony Bourdain Quote 05

Basically, if there's no, like..., in-room porn at the hotel, I'm not getin' any exercise at all! 

He said this in the second half of the Cleveland No Reservations Show wile dining with Marky Ramone at the Lola restaurant.

Cool & fun stuff!

Anthony Bourdain Quote 02

"So, the risotto will be a little less good, but we will be a lot happier!"

He said this in the final few minutes of the Rome No Reservations Show, when his friend, Cesare, said that he never cooks risotto on the grill. The moral is that they were on the beach and it was much more important to enjoy the location and the surf than to get the perfect risotto.

It's the same for me with terrace cafes: the view and atmosphere is much more important then the quality of the drinks. Usually I prefer the coast or a beautiful garden. Who cares if the espresso is a bit bitter. Let it go! Enjoy your time. Carpe Diem! Life is hard and then you die! Make your own f*in' espresso! I do!

Breakfast with Rain

I had my breakfast listening to the rain today. By accident, no tv set or radio was on in my proximity. Just the half open window. I almost forgot how much i did love the rain. It brings back memories from the times i was little and I used to spend my summer holiday in the mountains near Sovata, where my grandparents had a little yard with bee hives. We lived outside almost all day long. We didn't have a TV and didn't really miss it. We cooked in the "summer kitchenette" and when it rained, we just sat and listened to it pound on the tin roof, while munching on home baked biscuits.

Coca Cola Aniversary

This is my photo tribute to the 125th aniversary of the most popular soft drink of the world. On this ocasion they have issued a special set of three vintage shaped bottles. I think they are very nice. Happy Birthday, Coca Cola!

St. Constantin and Elena BBQ

Last weekend we went to my fathers to celebrate St. Constantin and Elena (orthodox celebration of the people with the saints names). Of course, the usual BBQ was in order along with some other stuff. All and all, some quality time with friends and family.

Granpa's Baked Potatoes and Salad

On Sunday we were invited to Grandma and Grandpa's at Negru Voda, Constanta. They enjoyed their granddaughter and we ... enjoyed a bbq with a tray of awesome potatoes, onions and carrots as well as a plate of tomato, cucumber and green onion salad with vinegar and dill.

Guest: Kevin Rose Interviews Dr. Andrew Weil

Kevin Rose is a remarkable young IT guy and he is interested not only in the high tech geeky stuff like the internet and gadgets but also in good and healthy living in general. He is a tea drinking fella that (like me) wonders about how you can change your life and habits to live healthier, even though we spend maybe to much time in front of a computer. Well, ... he is also the founder of digg.
I got to him through another amazing guy, Tim Ferris, that I'm sure I'll be talking about some more on other occasions. Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs...
So, Kevin Rose interviews d. Andrew Weil about some health issues that I think might interest you also. The video was posted on Kevin Rose's blog too.

Emy Prize Confirmation

As I was signaling a long time ago, this is an amazing artist and an amazing documentary. Now confirmed by the Emy Award for Arts Programming in 2010.

No Reservations Paris

I simply cannot believe to what amazing heights of knowledge and epicurean artistry have some people arrived to.

Anthony Bourdain rounds up his 100 episode achievement of the show No Reservations with a trip to Paris. Be sure to check out episodes 2 and 3 also. 

Painting People (Literaly)

The artist Alexa Meade champions a different way of painting people. She actually paints the bodies of her subjects so they end up looking like three dimensional painted replicas of themselves. You'll be amazed by this radical new approach by Alexa Meade.
This is via A Cup Of  Joe. 

Park Break Espresso

In between my errands the other day I took the time to sit on a park bench with a nice cup of vending machine espresso. Sometimes that's all it takes to cool down and enjoy life. The warm november sun was shining and the trees are a poem of colours this autumn.

Anthony Bourdain Google Interview

Although I don't want to post youtube links that much any more (it's too easy and too many people do it in a stupid way), this is just too great to miss!"I have the greatest job in the world!", he says. Really!?
Just enjoy!

Lavazza Espresso Cups

Espresso Style has received no less then 12 "demitasse" espresso Lavazza cups. They exhibit the sleek classic Lavazza Italian design with the vertical thick blue stripe on the white porcelain. I love many things Italian, and Lavazza espresso is quintessential Italian. The design and lifestyle culture of Lavazza is very cool and to my taste, not to mention that they roast a damn good coffee blend.

I enjoy my espresso once every few days in one of these cups.

Surprise Birthday Cake

Today was my 33rd birthday and my dear wife and 1 month old daughter surprised me with this wonderful cake. The cake is not baked by us, it is store bought.

Wake Up, America!

We lived to watch this too: Jaime Oliver, the strong willed and resilient Jamie Oliver brought to tears by the idiots of this world. And I can understand how it happened exactly in America. The land of the free is lately also the land of the lamest ignorant idiots on this earth.

As easily as they could be misled and lied to for agreeing to go to war for oil or to vote the idiotic Bush into a second office, they can also be lied to by the food producing giants that they lead a good and healthy life. And so they go on eating crap. And by that I mean fatty pizza, burgers, salty fries and all the sweetened carbonated drinks.

America, wake up and think for yourself. Get educated and do not dismiss others just for being critical of your ways. That is what drove europeans into two world wars. You got us out of that mess. I think that nowadays nobody is threatening America worse than its own ignorance.

Love Jihad !?

Have you heard of the "love jihad"? Neither did I until today. It seems that in India the religious intolerance has made out a new evil. The (supposedly) love jihad is a technique through young hindu and christian women in India are lured into amorous relationships with muslim young men, all with the clear goal of converting them to islam.
The hindu answer for this is forming groups of "moral police", a kind of vigilante action groups, that closely watch the city and punish the cross-religion couples. They literally beat the men and the girls too. After that the girls are dishonored by publishing their story in the local media. Then they feel ashamed and do not complain about the beating.
If this is true, then it is a new height of human ignorance and bigotry. I rest my case.

What Type of Person Are You?

I took an online personality test to see what kind of a man I am, and it turns out that I am an INTP - "Engineer!

"INTPs are logical, individualistic, reserved, and very curious individuals. They focus on ideas, theories and the explanation of how things work. They are especially adept at discussions and debate. They have the ability to focus intently on a subject. They appreciate and respect intelligence in others" - is what the site says about my (supposedly) personality. They gave me a chart, too!

Mark Bittman about eating less meat and more plants

Diana is Here

Diana was bourn on the 2nd of march 2010. She is my first child.

Yeah, the wrinkles are normal for a new born baby!