Favorite Things

I know I am perhaps going a bit overboard on the whole Taras Bulba thing, but I do find it so fascinating how the universe drops things under your nose.

Right before we moved to Moscow I read Jane Smiley's Ten Days in the Hills, which included a reference to the Yul Brynner movie, Taras Bulba. (Not Smiley's best work, by the way, but great sex scenes and plenty of 'em.)

As with many things, I had never heard of Taras Bulba in film nor print. It's based on a novel of the same title by Nikolai Gogol. I would mention it to other people, and if they knew of it at all, they would say, "Oh! Yes! Yul Brynner."

Then, we move to Moscow, and not only is my first meal here at a restaurant called Taras Bulba, but we live practically next door to it. We eat there a lot.

In the meantime, there's been a remake of the movie:



That's a whole 'nuther story because not only was this version of the movie financed by the Russian Ministry of Culture, but it takes liberties with Gogol's plot. It can be argued that this new movie is Kremlin propaganda and suggests that Ukraine is rightfully still a part of Russia. Given the political tensions these days between those two countries, it's no wonder the movie is controversial. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't comment.

But back to All Things Taras.

Yesterday, while eating lunch (again) at the restaurant, we discovered they sell themed playing cards. So I bought a pack.

They are just beautiful. Click on the images to see them better.




They would make good gifts, but run a bit steep at $10 for the pack. At that price, they better taste good and ensure I always win, too.