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02 December 2010

Two kinds of writers

Berlin 2006 089_edited

From Rivka Galchen's review in Harper's Magazine of The Microscripts by Robert Walser, as reprinted in Powell's Books.

Let's lie and say there are only two kinds of writers I like, the caffeinated and the sleepy. Balzac exemplifies the caffeinated. He drank coffee to the point of a trembling hand -- something like thirty cups a day -- and then he'd masturbate to the very edge of orgasm, but not over, and that state -- agitated, excited to the point of near madness -- was Balzac's sweet spot, in terms of composing. Then there's the sleepy: De Quincey with his opium, Milton waking up his red-slippered daughters to take down verses that had come to him in a dream. We might also think of the method by which Benjamin Franklin purportedly came up with inventions: he'd deprive himself of sleep, then, exhausted, sit in an uncomfortable chair while holding a heavy metal ball in each hand so that when he'd nod off a hand would go limp and its ball would fall, making a sound that would wake him from his dreams. That was how he came up with his best ideas for inventions, basically asleep -- just not so asleep that he couldn't take down a few notes.

The caffeinated writer and the sleepy writer share the aspiration to be, essentially, not themselves. Which is to say that the creative method is that of vanishing, of disappearing from the drafting table. Robert Walser made of that method -- vanishing by whatever means -- a kind of art all unto itself. And the paradox is that by becoming so small, so quiet, so penciled, Walser became vast, indelible.

30 November 2010

How to make butter at home

This is from chef Eric Ripert's new cookbook Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert as excerpted in the LA Weekly.


Cultured Butter
From: Avec Eric by Eric Ripert

Note: Makes about 2 cups. Ripert says the crème fraîche helps give his homemade version the flavor and texture of European butters.

1 quart heavy cream (preferably 40% fat)
1 cup crème fraîche
1 gallon ice water

1. Stir the cold cream and crème fraîche together in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the fat separates from the liquid, making sure to cover the mixer and bowl with a towel or piece of plastic wrap.

2. Drain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve (reserving the buttermilk for later use) and rinse the butter in the ice water. Place the fresh butter on a clean, damp towel and knead on a cold surface to remove the rest of the moisture. Wrap the butter well and refrigerate. For best flavor, allow the butter to warm up to room temperature before serving.

29 November 2010

Is now a good time to buy a house?

Clos Luce, Da Vinci residence, Amboise, France

Patrick.net has the answer.

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