New Year, new stuff: third time's the charm

New Hat:(also new gloves). Bought from the Red Cross around the corner for about a pound. Is soft felt on top, so at a moments notice can become a plausible bowler, in case I need to persaude the Swiss I am a London banker.

In a change to the advertised schedules, tomorrow will be the last in this series. Appearing will be the answer (well, an answer) to the following riddle: what is small, hairy, and has eight legs?

Meanwhile, I have a new hero:



Update: By way of preemption Before this goes any further , I look nothing like this in my new getup:
-- Herr Flick has, incidentally, really let himself go since the war.

Further update and actual preemption: Before someone launches germanswhowearhatslikerichards.blogspot.com, I am also trying to imitate neither scary plastinating Gunter von Hagens nor bonkers artist Joseph Beuys:



Besides, all these Germans are wearing Fedoras, whereas my hat is a homburg.

New year, new stuff: Secondary phase

True to my word, here is another new thing I have:


This is my new camel leather manbag, which carries my important musings on the polytime completeness of soft linear set theory wheresoever I go. It does not, as feared by some, smell bad. It smells of nice leathery things.

In other news, last Friday was the Decemberists concert in Fribourg. My enjoyment was magnified by the presence of Sam Smiths Nut Brown Ale behind the bar: a more Decemberists drink this side of an absinthe and arsenic martini I can't imagine. The gig was great fun, and ended with a re-enactment of the foundation of Switzerland (sort of-- I don't remember chickens or the Ottoman empire having much to do with it). The band were obviously a bit worse for wear, and the gig had, in the words of Colin Meloy, "an odd flavor -- sort of like eating a lychee. It's difficult to peel, it tatstes odd, but you like it."

Bachelor boy...

...well, not quite. But Mary is in the 'Bridge at the moment, getting her CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults), leaving me with all the downsides of singledom (sole dominion over issues such as cleaning, tidying, laundry) without the upsides (busy social whirl, venereal disease...). The situation has, however, allowed me to really get to grips with Crane Wife, The Decemberists' new album. I heartily recommend the heady mix of prog rock (The Island -- a 12 minute epic of Yes-style laser syth and allusions to The Tempest), Zepplin stomp (When the war came) and Talking-Heads-Groove (The Perfect Crime #2). And they're coming to Switzerland next February! All I have to do is ask Mary if I can go...see, none of the benefits of bachelorhood.

Additionally, I have been experimenting culinarily; I had my first try at cooking gnocchi recently, to great success, and also have been playing around with Jerusalem Artichokes. Tonight I'm going to stew beef with qunices and cinnamon. I hope it tastes nice, as I'll have enough for four or more portions...

In other news, I have been invited to Paris to give a talk at a workshop, which is exciting, but not as exciting as the 250 euros our host has allocated to me for meals while I'm there (for three nights).

Finally, since it's nearly Halloween: