Archive by Author
A Dumpling’s-Eye-View of Digestion Posted by Rob on Jun 20, 2012
«Пищеварение, с пельменной точки зрения» We’re going to take a scientific экскурсия (“tour”) of the пищеварительный тракт (“digestive tract”), imagining ourselves as Raquel Welch and her fellow crewmembers aboard their microminiaturized подводная лодка (“submarine”) from the 1966 sci-film Fantastic Voyage («Фантастическое путешествие»). Passing the губы (“lips”) and entering the the рот (“mouth”), we’ll immediately notice…
Keep your shirt on! (Buttoning and zipping in Russian) Posted by Rob on Jun 13, 2012
Getting dressed is one thing. But unless you’re in some kind of tight-fitting spandex, you won’t STAY dressed very long if your clothes aren’t properly secured with some kind of застёжка (“fastener”). As young children have to learn, there are various types of застёжки. For instance, a пуговица (“button”) can help keep your рубашка (“shirt”)…
«Надеть одежду, одеть Надежду» Posted by Rob on Jun 11, 2012
“To put on clothes and to clothe Nadezhda” Maybe you recognize the title of today’s post — it’s a classic mnemonic device to help distinguish between the verbs надеть and одеть. Rest assured that it’s not only foreign students who have trouble with the two; do a Google search and you’ll find plenty of Russians…
My recipe for something sort of like black bread Posted by Rob on Jun 5, 2012
Мой рецепт для хлеба, напоминающего чёрный In part 1, I described my attempts to reproduce “authentic Russian black bread” at home. And now, here’s the step-by-step recipe for those who want to try it! My instructions tell how to make the bread ручным способом (“by hand”), but you can certainly use a хлебопечка (“bread machine”)…
Baking genuine Russian-style black bread in a “Yankistani” kitchen: Can it be done? Posted by Rob on Jun 4, 2012
Выпечка настоящего чёрного хлеба на “пиндостанской” кухне: возможно ли это? In one of her Easter posts, Yelena mentioned the challenge of making baked goods — such as the sweet Easter кулич — from дрожжевое тесто (“yeast dough”). And indeed, yeast loaves can take a bit more practice, and are more labor-intensive, than “quick breads” raised…
Vroom, vroom, VOM! (Verbs of Motion on a Harley) Posted by Rob on May 30, 2012
Here in Washington DC and the пригороды (“suburbs”) surrounding it, канун Дня поминования (“the day before Memorial Day”) becomes the occasion for a really big event — a privately organized парад байкеров (“biker parade”), entirely на мотоциклах (“on motorcycles”)! In English, it’s called “Rolling Thunder”; in Russian, it’s been translated as Раскат грома (“A resounding…
Эта книга изменила мою жизнь… Posted by Rob on May 28, 2012
(“This book changed my life…”) …and it could change yours, too! No, I’m NOT talking about Dianetics, or Think and Grow Rich, or Lose Two Pounds A Day The Herbal Way, or whatever. Я имею в виду вот эту книгу (“I have in mind this book here”): ВНИМАНИЕ! Чтение этой книги может привести к новой…