Riccioni is the italianization of a dialect word. It’s how in Reggio Emilia we call a special wild radicchio, it’s very green, curly and bitter. You can find it in the countryside, but it’s better not to eat it nowadays because it’s probably poisoned by pesticides. I was so lucky to find at a local farmer’s market some riccioni that were harvested in the Apennines.
But I was in Modena and the farmer called them by another name I couldn’t fetch, so I just pointed at them. I wonder how they are called in proper Italian.
A few days ago we reported about the television commercials Haruki Murakami wrote for Japanese beer brewery Sapporo. Those commercials (four in number, not only one like previously assumed) were aired during the annual Tokyo-Hakone Ekiden which is a very popular race telecasted on Nippon TV. The four videos which are each one minute in length were produced by movie director Hirokazu Koreeda and voiced by actress Yukie Nakama. See them here:
Haruki Murakami’s Sapporo beer commercials
or on Sapporo’s homepage (only until the end of January)
The commercials are based on “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”. It seems like most passages were taken directly from the book and perhaps a little bit modified by Murakami-san to fit the TV format.
Those commercials were produced to encourage the people struck by the earthquake and tsunami back in March. Murakami is going to donate his writing fee to them.
See our ramblings and a few of the passages quoted from the book down below.
Torta Pistocchi
Suddenly missing Finland.
My Juhannustaika table cloth by Aino-Maija Metsola for Marimekko.
(trying to make this Sunday last)
(no, I’m not on a spring diet)
Friend E. reconciled me with risotto.
The Tupperware containers have arrived.
I’m using them to freeze portioned raw meat for the cat. At the next party I’m not going to tell.
turned red in the oven (maybe because of the lemon juice).
