Kafka

... is alive and well, and writing the script for Russian news anchors. I was in New York yesterday, to give a talk about anti-Semitism at NYU. To make the most of my time there, I gave an interview to  Russian TV about the European bailout package, release 2.0. Or so I thought. All was well for the first minute or so... until someone must have handed the wrong sheet to the girl, who promptly proceeded to quizz me about oil prices, Obama, and the Arab spring. There is always a risk of something going wrong on live television, but this was a curved ball I didn't see coming at all. You can see my flabbergasted expression about 1.10 into the clip over at youtube. It's funnier after the fact than when it happens... It gets slightly better after that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKvZfePUq8