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Sunday, July 25, 2004

Noteworthy notes from a Sunday evening

We rounded out a busy weekend in a very relaxing way. Spent an hour or so catching up on some reading at the Book Trader's Cafe in New Haven. Enjoyed some coffee while browsing the aisles of used books. Stumbled upon Ralph Leighton's "Tuva or Bust!" which I bought for $6.95. It chronicles the last journey of Richard Feynman as he attempts to visit Tuva -- the northwest area of Mongolia -- home of the famed Tuvan throat-singing.

Feynman was a physics professor at Caltech for over 30 years, a contributor to the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and the individual who uncovered the reason for the space shuttle Challenger disaster (a faulty rubber material that did not hold up under extreme temperatures). He was also pretty crazy. He was a geography nut and decided he wanted to visit Tuva because "Its capital is Kyzyl. A place that's spelled K-Y-Z-Y-L has just got to be interesting." You think?

Anyway, the book looks cool and it comes with some Tuvan throat-singing samples by way of a bright red flexi record adhered to the inside front cover. Hmm. I wonder how I'll get to hear that? The cashier asked if I was a Feynman fan. I said I'm just a fan of Tuvan music, and he laughed me out of the store.

Dinner was up next and we had another excellent sushi experience at Miya's. I was adventurous with my two choices: "Water Pig Roll" (tempura curried cooked tuna, goat cheese, and cranberries) and "Kiss of the Smiling Pig Roll" (sweet potato, slivered almonds, and ginger-tangerine marmalade).

*oink* *oink* A pig motif without a pig in sight.