Bookshelf Porn

I enjoy those shelf porn posts that pop up from time to time (“Ooo! Books! Comics! Avarice!”) so I thought I’d do one, too, since I just got this fabulous bookcase and is just about finished sorting stuff out to put in it.

But first I had to rip out the baseboard so that the shelf could fit neatly to the wall. Look at this awesome wallpaper design I found behind it:

So awesome.

Wall ready.

Shelf installed!

Yes, it’s the same colour as that car down there.

Most of these comics have been living in shortboxes in a cupboard for the last few years, and the problem is, of course, how to select the stuff I want to stare at in the living room. You have to have some kind of system, don’t you? Yes. So I went for…

Japanese comics.

Raw and Raw-associated stuff.

Alternative weeklies.

Pap-pap comics.

And Drawn & Quarterly, Uncivilized, Picturebox and stuff like that. Leaving most Fantagraphics stuff to languish in the bookcase in the office.

And while rooting and sorting, I inevitably found an entire stack of comics that I’ve bought twice (or more). Does everybody do this? I think I’ll drag them over to the used bookstore.

Since I’m re-buying (and the re-reading without knowing) so many comics, perhaps I should just consciously re-read comics more. And since they’re now prominently displayed within arms reach (I have long arms), perhaps that’s going to happen.

Sure.

WFC Uzbekistan: The Keeper

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.

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

WFC Western Sahara: Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara

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.

WFC Tanzania: People of the Forest

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.

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

WFC Tuvalu: ThuleTuvalu

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.