Random Thoughts

Uzbekistan looks very modern.

I found this short on Youtube.

Oy vey.

I did like the fake “paused” shots, so:

The Keeper. Otabek Djuraev. 2013. Uzbekistan.

Grape + Sage Holiday Kompot Cocktail

• 12 parts red grapes
• 4 parts water
• 2 parts sage leaves
• 1 part honey
• champagne

Cut the grapes and sage leaves. Put the first four ingredients into a jar and shake hard. Chill and let set for some days. Put the kompot into a champagne flute and pour champagne over. Garnish with grapes and sage leaves.

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I found this documentary on Amazon Prime. It’s a very… modern… documentary. That is, a typical cut lasts for about a second, and it’s filmed with very shaky shakycam, and the soundtrack is cacophonous.

Get off my lawn!

But it manages to convey a lot (a lot!) of information about Western Sahara, a country that I knew nothing about, so it’s successful, I think: The information conveyed is persuasive and seems accurate. I have no idea whether that’s the case, of course.

Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara. Iara Lee. 2015. Western Sahara.

West Sahara Ginger Drink

• ginger roots
• limes
• peppercorns
• raw sugar
• rum

Chop the ginger into small pieces (without peeling). Chop lime (with rind). In a blender, put more ginger than lime and add some water. Strain into a bowl. Put back into the blender with peppercorns and sugar. Blend until smooth. Strain again into a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil and allow to cool. Pour over ice into a glass and add the rum and some water.

(I added the rum to the recipe.)

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

This is a film about chimpanzees in Tanzania. (Which I’ve learned has the stress on the middle “a” from watching other films from around this area in Africa. Tanzaaania.)

It’s one of those very old-fashioned ones where you have a narrator that explains what all the animals are thinking and feeling, and there’s a narrative thread.

It’s from 1988, but I would have guessed late 50s based on the style and lack of all sciencey stuff.

I guess it may have been aimed at children? It even starts off with a guy apparently telling a fairy tale…

So it’s a … fictional documentary? Everybody on imdb seems to take it on face value, though.

Anyway, it’s kinda fun. I mean, apes are fun and this is a film about apes so it’s fun. But it’s also oh so *rolls eyes*.

Despite its hokeyness, it’s interesting and moving.

People of the Forest. Hugo Van Lawick. 1988. Tanzania.

Tanzania 28 Cocktail

• 3 parts vodka
• 6 parts Sprite
• 4 parts cranberry juice

Combine in an ice-filled glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

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This Amazon Prime find is made by a Swiss director, but it’s about Greenland and Tuvalu, juxtaposing the effect of climate change on the two places.

It’s a very good good documentary, managing to tell most of the story through the voices of the affected people. No talking heads constantly intercutting the footage with serious voices, as is the norm for these things.

Instead it’s calm and contemplative and moving.

ThuleTuvalu. Matthias von Gunten. 2014. Tuvalu.

‘Otai

• 8 parts watermelon
• 2 parts coconut water
• 1 part lime juice
• 4 parts rum

Crush the watermelon with a potato masher. Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into a glass. Garnish with shredded coconut.

This is really from Tonga. And I added the rum to the recipe.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

“avec toi”

I found this sci-fi film on Youtube. It didn’t have English subtitles, but I noticed that Youtube now provides “auto-captioning” for select films. In addition, they also have machine translations of these captions, so I went for it.

I think the conclusion, after rolling on the floor, laughing, for an hour and a half, is that I probably don’t want to sit in a Google Self Drive Car any time soon.

I don’t know French, but I can probably guess that “Pour Afrique… les Africains” (modulo speeling and word order) doesn’t mean “nene” (and I quote in full) in English.

That might just be my overly sceptical nature. I’m sure Google’s Deep Learning AI will take over any day now.

So what’s the film about?

It’s… I think… About… the future… And some French people seeking asylum in Benin? Where mysterious things are going on?

I’m just guessing. I did enjoy watching this, trying to piece together what was going on from the few French words I know and the ahem translation. Even if it was more befuddling than enlightening.

Chapman 1 part cassis 3 parts orange soda 3 parts lemon/lime soda a few drops of bitters some lime slices some orange slices gin to taste Put all ingredients into an ice-filled glass and stir lightly.

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This is a… documentary… on Youtube…

OK, I’m so ashamed of myself! This is a random clip from Youtube! There’s supposed to be one single real film from St. Kitts and or Nevis, but it’s nowhere to be found on the interwebs! Or Amazon! Or Netflix! Or anywhere!

Anyway, looks like they had fun. All the people in the parade sure seemed to be… keeping… hydrated…

New Year Parade Day St. Kitts SugarMas 2016. unknown. 2016. Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Killer Bee with Pepper and Nutmeg

• 1 part honey
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts club soda
• 4 parts dark rum
• 4 parts passion fruit puree
• “plenty of” black pepper

Warm the honey with a splash of water until dissolved. Stir all the ingredients together in an ice-filled glass. Garnish with nutmeg and a slice of lime.

I thought this was going to be very tart (due to the passion fruit), but it’s kinda nice. Complex flavours.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

Was this what 45 was thinking of?

Yes! Djibouti!

This is more of an American/Somali film than a Djibouti (that’s a word), but there is some Djiboutian (that’s a word) interest… because of the… football…

It’s about a football team.

I mean, I’m not the right person to say whether a football documentary is a good one or not, but I found this very engaging. I almost laughed, I almost cried…

Men in the Arena. J.R. Biersmith. 2017. Djibouti.

Retoxed Detox Tea

• green tea
• mint tea
• ginger
• lemongrass
• rum

Grate the ginger, brew with all ingredients except the rum. Allow to chill and then pour into an ice-filled glass. Add rum to taste.

(I added the rum to the recipe.)

I think it’s the mint that ruins this drink.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.