minz gives a party for vaughn, julian and su-lin: the running commentaryjulian and vaughn are sitting on my bedroom floor drinking makgoli. also brewing on the side is my newest royal pouchong oolong with coconut (i have a new electric hotplate and ceramic kettle which keeps the pot warm) although i think the boys will want to switch to calvados soon. julian also brought an indifferent wine and his second best whiskey.
j: full disclosure. i brought a so-so wine. i had to make room at home for my good wines.the boys discuss sicilian wines while i do not listen.
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julian and i are introducing von to the wonderful world of xckd what ifs and exhorting him to help us think of a good question.
j: such as, if you download every episode of every tv show that has ever been made, after one year when they seize your hard drive how much would you have to pay in fines?v: in fact, i once ran into randall munroe in cambridge.
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we are now one bottle of makgoli and one of wine down.
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su-lin has just got here bearing half a chocolate truffle tart she baked (vaughn: what does she mean she is bringing us half a tart, does she mean she will arrive with the comestible or a harlot?) and, of course, he was answered tartly by the lady.
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we bring in von’s slice of birthday cake (traditional neighbourhood bakery cake fulll of buttercream and a dollop of jam in the middle.)
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su-lin, without even the excuse of being tipsy, has spilt cocoa powder from her tart all over her skirt (sl: but it is good quality cocoa, so i don’t mind so much.) i will be back at the point when we are sprawling on the floor. stay tuned.
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vaughn, bringing out the calvados: would anyone like apple brandy?
su-lin: would it be like scrumble?~~
von tells us he is a small investor in a new restaurant by diana and tse wei (of journeyman), but only very minimally.
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julian has opened up his second best whiskey (abelour a’bunadh batch 45.)
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drinking whiskey makes me think of being taken to the now defunct raw ktichen&bar, and that wide backyard, and white globes of paper lanterns. and of yen’s wedding at B29, and the bride in her gown waiting by the dustbins in the alley to come in (lovely grungy incongruous)
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julian to me: you look like helena bonham carter again.~~
me: really? take a photo and show me.
julian to su-lin: take a photo of her and show her, minzhi.
su-lin: i’m su-lin.the conversation has taken a strange turn. They are now talking about estonia, tricho-bezoars and buckwheat mattresses.
re: buckwheat mattress. “it would be noisy.”~~
julian: the four of us should go on a holiday.vaughn: it would have to be a low-activities holiday. we’re old. i know! we should ride on a boat slowly down on a river through wine country.
me: is it going to be like “sideways”?
vaughn: there will be a winery in the morning another in the late afternoon. the day will end by 3pm, so you will be compelled to get up very early to make the best of the day. and in between we would toddle over to the village pub for lunch, come back, cast off again, float down the river a little bit, and then get off at the next winery…
me: can you be drunk and driving a boat?
julian: well all things considered it is probably one of the safer things to be drunk and driving
su-lin: could i drive a boat do you think.
julian: i don’t think there are complicated mechanics. you point it in the direction you want to go and the river does the rest
vaughn: it’s only if you have sails that you need to have skill.
me: well she certainly couldn’t operate sails if she were drunk
julian: she couldn’t operate sails even if she were not drunk.
su-lin, throwing a pillow at julian: you know, i read all the swallows and amazons.
vaughn: i never could get the hang of swallows and amazons.
su-lin: well i could try right?
julian: you most certainly could try but you might not succeed
vaughn: i will mull on this possibility.
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we have now run out of calvados and are onto bokbunjaju mixed with makgoli.
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v. is hunting on my bookshelves for an elusive guy davenport quote, and su-lin has retired onto my bed and wants to know why a 刘海 is called a 刘海, and i’m looking up the chemical symbol for cinnabar (HgS) because the search for the origin of 刘海 got me onto tang dynasty punishments and disfigured faces, and we’re talking about how to start v. on richard powers (i have plowing the dark and gold bug variations and galatea 2.2, but not time of our singing, which we think should be his first.) the boys are back on the scotch.
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also teaching julian the word ‘zabuton’ which i hope is going to appear in his next NYT crossword. it is not often i get to teach new words to j, king of scrabble. the last time, it was gest.~~
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