HELSINKI, Finland (Reuters) -- A buzzing ladyshaver in the luggage of the Finnish prime minister's wife set off a bomb alert near the European Union-Asian summit in Copenhagen earlier this week, Finnish media reported on Thursday.
The article goes on:
Security was extra tight in Copenhagen for the meeting of representatives from 25 European and Asian countries, including many leaders.
Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen said police overreacted.
"Over-zealous policemen checked our bags with bomb sniffing dogs. Instead of using their sense they used something else," Paavo Lipponen told Ilta-Sanomat.
Wait, a buzzing ladyshaver? Could it be that the Prime Minister was so upset because in fact it was another tool they found buzzing in his wife's bag?
If so, nice cover-up. And if so, I'm sure the security people had the chuckle of the century. Note also how a Prime Minister uses the words "over-zealous policemen". In this day and age.
no pictures no thoughts
no need for tags
go elsewhere for your joys
surely around you
you must find
go elsewhere to find scraps
crappy scraps fine scraps
but in the end scraps
when the era has come
of turning recycling
into an art
don't forget alice
and john
and phil
and pieter
go say hi
be a good politician
u need your votes don't you know
don't mind me
sour mood maybe
ground hog day fretting
away at the brain
wake me up
for meals
shite
Last weekend, I stumbled upon the website of Jamie Oliver, aka "The Naked Chef" (click the picture to go there). Brilliant site. Completely in the style of its subject. Jamie even has a corner where he answers questions from people all over the world. Everything on the site is very informal and smooth. In the "Extras" section, there are some funny videoclips (which I did not see, since they are in QuickTime format and I'll be damned if I install that again on my computer), some pictures of other "naked chefs" and "unsigned melodies", a forum for bands not yet famous - pretty good things there I think! (I like The Makeshift Gentlmen).
Man cooks: many women drool over that thought. Why? Well because it's sort of reversing the roles I guess. It is a combination of being spoiled (the woman), considering this daily chore has been taken off her shoulders, plus a sort of kinky "uniform" enjoyment. The same way you expect to see a stern, moustached face above a uniform, the sight of a woman in uniform must turn many men on (not me! unless you're talking about Ornella Muti).
Or, the other way, I can imagine a man softening up from seeing his wife, all greasy and dirty, trying to fix something underneath the car, dressed in an overall, smears all over... (I have to stop - shouldn't have mentioned Ornella Muti).
Man cooks: of course it turns women on. For her it has to be a chore, day in, day out. Men take it on as a hobby, fresh, new to the topic. They feel like it, it is a challenge, they go for it. Women sit back and marvel. Let's not forget though that there are some women chefs out there too: such as Delia Smith, Lesley Waters or (alas, not a naked chef) Nigella Lawson. But be a man and become a good cook and you earn the respect and love of many women. One drawback though, as Jamie Oliver puts it: "no one ever wants to cook for me anymore".
But I am sure men don't start cooking because of these consequences. Men are lazy at heart. When they do something, it's because they really want to do it. I think.
After all, we all need to eat. That can be dealt with indifferently, or you can make it an art to feed yourself. Art, cooking is an art. With finesses, nuances, and lots of colours and smells. It can also go wrong, of course. It's not foolproof. And that's also the charming element of it. It is something to start small with, and then to grow as experience is gained. You see me coming, don't you? I definitely do NOT aim at becoming another Jamie Oliver! But I recently started cooking. Trying to. I had thought that it might take ages to make food, it doesn't. I had thought that by the time my food would be ready, I'd already be sick of it. I'm not. I had thought that my appetite would drop after having treated every ingredient myself. It doesn't. Though I'm still at the very very early stages of getting somewhere, I have to say: I enjoy it! One piece of advice though: never ever embark on a long cooking spree while already being extremely hungry. This I have already learned. If you're interested, you can read how I am doing.
Do you know these moments, when you feel a gentle, yet powerful knock on the door of your soul? A bit like the sudden appearance of an old friend. You did not expect him, but his arrival is sweet and familiar. And promising.
I get these moments mostly when witnessing simple things. Never when being entangled in more difficult subjects. What does that tell me? Yesterday night, I watched (again) the magical movie 'Il Postino' (The Postman), not to be confused with Kevin Costner's movie. I won't go into the movie, go and rent it, if you want. Simplicity. Take 'The Others', with Nicole Kidman. Simple story, happening entirely inside the house, with a handful of characters. And yet brilliant.
And there is the knock again. Knock knock. Just like Neo was awoken from his troublesome sleep, to be introduced to the real look and feel of The Matrix. It starts with a knock. Gently. But powerfully. A sudden whiff of recognition and insight, a realization. The only way is the sober way. Maybe in the past years I have heard too much rubbish and now my soul is desperate for something "real" to cling onto. After watching Il Postino last night, I felt strangely cleansed. Purified. Ready to start appreciating the little things of life again. Ready to start creating, from scratch, relying on the basics and not falling in the pitfalls of abundance and overwhelmingness. Ready to start afresh. Ready for a New Way of Living. Oh there is so much work to do first.
Alas, the moment of bliss is only short-lived. In a matter of minutes, the revelation has vanished. Until the next time.
Maybe I need the help of a white rabbit to be able to grasp the moment. And never let go. Or maybe these kinds of moments are not to be grasped.
Lately I am under the spell of a band from England. Their name is Oi-Va-Voi. On their site, you can listen to two full songs. What is the band about? In their own words:
Oi-Va-Voi represent the cutting edge of new wave klezmer. Their unique sound infuses the traditional music of Sephardi Jews, Transylvanian gypsies and the Ashkenazi shtetl with the dub and breakbeats of urban London. Odessan freylekhs, Yemeni devotionals and Macedonian wedding tunes explode effortlessly into the drum n bass heavy club-oriented tracks.
I love these bands that are not stingy and use their website to promote their material by giving access to some of their songs. And I'm not talking about a fragment of a few measly seconds. In the case of Oi-Va-Voi, you can't download the two songs (not as far as I can tell), but that doesn't matter. Every day I just go to the site and play the songs.
Only a few days ago, Oi-Va-Voi performed live in Bruges, for the festival of Klinkers. They were great!
There is only one blog that I visit regularly. And it is this one. Why? Because it never ceases to interest me. It is varied, it is inspired, it is close to earth. And to the universe.
I have visited blogs. Believe me. I have a soft spot for sites with little "fuss". There is too much fuss around. State your facts, express an opinion, or a viewpoint. No need for much more. More is less. Less is more.
Every morning I check my e-mail accounts. Every morning they are there. Loyally. The spam people. I hate them. Not just for what they are. Probably there is some sense of indignation also. Like with the mailbox. You hope for I don't know what. And then all you find is this rubbish, junk.
Spam is worse. They pick up your address somewhere, somehow. And then bomb you. Needless to define spam here. But the mechanical removal, day by day (after all, they tell you never ever to reply to them, or try to "unsubscribe"), is always accompanied by a deep-rooted hatred. Be gone, maggots. If ever a day comes that offers me an all new, revolutionary "spam gun", I will not hesitate to use it. I don't believe in violence. But every spammer should get a beating. If anything will ever contaminate the Internet, it will be commerce. Privacy intruders. Spammers.
Will they ever learn, the commercial invaders? Attacking you with messages will not do the trick. Pop-ups will only raise irritation. Banners will be ignored. So what's the point?
But I'm drifting. I hope Wacondah lives a long life. I am sure Morpheus keeps a watchful eye. Oh look, his sunglasses are for sale. Cool.
Last weekend, I have been mostly upgrading. My computer. Better said, its operating system. From Windows ME to Windows XP. Home Edition.
It's amazing how much time goes into such an upgrade. First the preparations: backing up the "important stuff", writing down what "precious thingie" programs will be lost, taking note of possible problems. Then the installation itself, which, blissfully, went pretty smooth. And finally reinstalling all the familiar little applications that make our (my) life oh so much easier. In the midst of the brand new environment.
It is a bit comparable to moving into a new house or apartment. There is the newness, the excitement, the bewilderment also. But in the midst of all that, during the first hours in the new place, there is the comforting presence of your 'old things', mostly still wrapped in boxes, but they are there. They made the journey with you.
All right, enough about that. I like XP so far. Which is nice. I hope it will grow to like me too.
I think it is the lack of sun that makes my brain foggy. Half of July passed, and no sign yet of true summer. Hooray.
Walking onions Could someone please remind the WeatherMan up there of the location of Belgium? It seems that He is passing us by this year, summerwise...
Today I watched (on video) the football match between England and Brazil. Of 1970 that is. In Mexico. England lost by 1-0. Host country at that time was Mexico. It was scorchingly hot then. Nostalgia broke out with me like sweat. Don't get me wrong. At the moment the match was played I was barely 4 years old. But somehow, somewhere, distant memories creeped up. I will never be the type to say "ahh those were the days". Those were NOT the days. Today is the day! Gary Lineker from the BBC (where the match was broadcast some days before the World Cup 2002 match between the two countries) called it "the best match in a world cup ever" (or something like that). I don't know about that. But it was fun watching an event of 32 years ago. The stars of then are now older men or have died. The stars of today will soon be older men or dead. On the football shirts hardly anything of print. The back number and that's it. No ads, no player's names. A surprisingly vivid camera. And even, scarce but still, some exciting phases rerun in slow motion.
The game seemed slow to me, might have been the heat. 1970. Bobby Moore and Pele.
On the side ad panels, one for a "cassette tape recorder". Hair styles that today would give cause to mockery (or maybe not, considering everything is coming back). Everything is coming back.
Something else I saw on TV today: an episode in a documentary series on our national channel, called "Grenzeloze liefde" (love without borders). Flemish people who fell in love with somebody from abroad and moved over there to start a new life. The most recent episode was about a woman who fell in love with an Argentinian guy and who went to live with him in Patagonia. It was sweet. It was tough but it looked sweet. The first couple also in this series that was not well off moneywise. They just made it to the end of every month. Or how, when material things fall away, one might discover again the things that really matter. (By accident I learned through an Internet page that the couple in the end got divorced, but let that not spoil the mood).
Finally, someone very dear to me compares us, human beings, to walking onions. I hear you say "huh?". Just like onions have many layers, so do we. Some of us will walk for ever, carrying layers that are barely touched. With others, layer after layer will get peeled off, through choice or because of circumstance. Only when the onion is "peeled", the true nature is exposed. The peeling might be liberating, it might be painful. Just now, I found out through a quick Google search that there actually is something like walking onions or Egyptian onions. The vegetable, that is. Now you did not really expect a link to that, did you?
Lessons When in a tight spot, the best thing to do is to retreat, isolate yourself, and rebuild. Even there, your enemies might penetrate and destroy you. But the chances are smaller than if you venture out there with few resources.
Better to fence yourself in. Build walls. Secure your cocoon. And then, once that is done, lick your wounds. And start building up again.
Do it wisely. Give attention to the right things. Secure the balance.
Cover all sides. Make sure you have the healing power. Heal in time.
Reinforce your strong sides so they become even stronger.
...
I bet you are thinking about the post below and that I am again quoting from the book.
Well I'm not. I'm talking about Age of Empires II, the Conquerors Expansion. It took me in total about 25 hours to come out victoriously.
Lately, I have been reading a bit in "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying"', by Sogyal Rinpoche, "one of the foremost interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West". Every time I get absorbed by it and some form of calm falls over me. Most of the things that are written make perfect sense. And it has been a long time since I have come across anything making real sense. Perhaps we have gotten used to the non-sense. Though I am not prepared to shave my head, give away all my worldly possessions and retreat for 27 years in the mountains of Nepal. Not yet.
Here is a quote from the book. Put on some 'relaxing music', burn a few sticks of incense and let it sink in... I'm serious!
"Perhaps the deepest reason why we are afraid of death is because we do not know who we are. We believe in a personal, unique, and separate identity; but if we dare to examine it, we find that this identity depends entirely on an endless collection of things to prop it up: our name, our "biography", our partners, family, home, job, friends, credit cards... It is on their fragile and transient support that we rely for our security. So when they are all taken away, will we have any idea of who we really are?
Without our familiar props, we are faced with just ourselves, a person we do not know, an unnerving stranger with whom we have been living all the time but we never really wanted to meet. Isn't that why we have tried to fill every moment of time with noise and activity, however boring or trivial, to ensure that we are never left in silence with this stranger on our own?"
"Stop the presses" Today, an article appeared in the Belgian newspaper 'De Standaard', about 'blogging'. A while ago, the author of the article had mailed me a few questions about the phenomenon. Since I feel that some of my quotes may give a bit the wrong impression, I hereby publish the full answer I gave to the questions. I especially refer to the piece where I confirm that a blog is a bit of a "peeping tom activity" ('burengluren'). The reference to 'Big Brother' and the 'Thuis'-soap was connected directly to the part about some blogs being boring like hell (pardon my French, I definitely did not exclude myself here). I do not consider blogs at all as a mere Big Brother phenomenon.
Another quote, "to have my little self present on the world wide web: the thought alone appeals to my vanity": I meant it a bit more general than that, I hope you will see that a few lines below (for locals only, I am afraid, this is a local shop today, you know:).
The third quote, "If I have something to say, it has to come out and then I post it", is indeed what I said. But it goes on "if nobody reads it, tant pis". Except that "tant pis" (French for "your loss", or "too bad"), words I did not use, is not quite the same as "then that is no obstacle to the outlet".
For what it's worth, here's the "uncut" version, my ideas about blogs...
"Hoe kwam ik op het idee van een weblog?" Ik had gehoord over het "fenomeen" van webloggen en ook hier en daar een 'blog' bezocht, zoals die van Wim De Bie (ondertussen overgeheveld naar site van VPRO). Ik was het niet meteen zelf van plan, wegens "wat heb ik nu eenmaal te vertellen?". Toen kwam ik blogger.com op het spoor, een service die het bloggen wel heel gemakkelijk maakt en ook host. En ik dacht, waarom niet? "Me on the
web", het blijft iets dat ergens de ijdelheid streelt, veronderstel ik.
"Waarom? Wat is er leuk aan?" Eigenlijk is het een elektronisch dagboek, min of meer (met dat verschil dat je moet opletten wat je schrijft, want je naasten lezen mee :). Het is een plaats waar je bepaalde meningen, gevoelens... allerlei zaken eigenlijk kan ventileren. Niet alleen dat, je kan je 'entries' opfleuren met foto's, tekeningen... Niets is onmogelijk (in mijn geval is het voorlopig nog puur text-based). En, niet onbelangrijk, je bent een zoveelste rader in het gigantisch gelinkt netwerk genaamd Internet. Dat is trouwens de basisbedoeling van het webloggen, als ik me niet vergis. Evoluties bijhouden in het Internetwereldje: nieuwe sites, ophefmakende pagina's die een blogger als scoop
aanbiedt... Maar onderhand wordt het gewoon gebruikt als een persoonlijk dagboek. Met voor- en nadelen. Wie staat er te springen om de posting door Tracy in Dallas die melding maakt van haar bezoek aan de tandarts en dat ze morgen examen wiskunde heeft?
Blogs zijn per definitie niet bepaald de sites die je gemakkelijk "bookmarkt". Maar het blijft leuk om doen natuurlijk. Het blijft een soort van "publiceren".
Wegens het Internet nu ook voor iedereen mogelijk...
"Heb je contact met je lezers?" Goede vraag. Heb ik overigens wel lezers? Als principe plaats ik geen "counters", omdat die al te veel gegevens verzamelen (behalve dan op een "links-pagina", die er sowieso niet toe doet). Er is wel het systeem van 'comments', een box op je pagina waardoor mensen op elke posting een commentaar kunnen plaatsen. Interessant. Een pagina vol lege (contradictie) commentaren is overigens niet noodzakelijk een zielig gegeven. Ik heb zelf recent een sobere counter geplaatst, die dus enkel het aantal 'hits' weergeeft, maar die is al
een tijdje "out of order". Het maakt allemaal niets uit... Als ik iets te zeggen heb, dan post ik het. Dan moet het eruit. Als niemand het leest, is dat geen obstakel voor de ontlading. Waarom dan een comment box plaatsen, vraagt u? Again, goede vraag. Weblog heeft een dualiteit: aan de ene kant is het een persoonlijk dagboek, aan de andere kant bied je je potentiële lezers genoeg contactkanalen. Wat is het nu? Persoonlijk of publiek? Intiem (op Internet??) of openbaar (en wat dan met "indringers"?). Het blijft een boeiend medium, dat
is een feit.
"Vormen de bloggers (misschien nog niet in België, maar wel in Amerika) geleidelijk aan een volwaardige tegenhanger van de traditionele pers?" Heb ik weinig zicht op. Betwijfel ik een beetje. Hangt er van af wie de blogger is vermoed ik. Het blijft trouwens een persoonlijk verslag. De traditionele pers, mag ik verhopen, brengt een neutraal relaas van de feiten.
"Wat is een weblog voor mij?" Een weblog is voor mij een soort dagboek, bijgehouden op een website, vrij toegankelijk voor iedereen. Alles kan en alles mag. Regelmatig updaten is een must, maar vaak onmogelijk. Geforceerd updaten is voor mij uit den boze. Elke dag een paar woorden met een link naar een of andere site is al te makkelijk.
Een weblog kan ook een soort makkelijk bij te houden journaal zijn van een of andere hobby. Zoals linuxleeklog.blogspot.com, mijn andere blog. Een weblog kan persoonlijk, amateuristisch zijn (ik verwijs naar mezelf), of een voor anderen compleet oninteressant regelmatig relaas (ik verwijs ook naar mezelf), of de internet-uitlaat van een bekender persoon (pdw.blogspot.com of bieslog).
Het blijft een elektronische variant van het dagboek. Soms interessant (blog van Israëlische soldaat bijvoorbeeld, of moviedollar.blogspot.com, met enkele fraaie literaire staaltjes), soms hysterisch-hip, soms ronduit oervervelend. Big Brother speelt ook hier een rol. Neem een individu, "publiceer" het, vestig er de aandacht op. Er zal altijd wel iemand zijn die er zijn eigen "Thuis"-soap van maakt...
Ex(c)ited Oh okay. This is not a full-worthy posting. I don't care. Cause I'm happy!
More very soon! Not that you should care. Also I am happy and at the same time sad.
Isn't that life?
Basically, I feel good!
Hug a tree In the midst of all my fussiness and nervosity, I suddenly feel strangely empty. It is Saturday night (live!), my doggies are sweetly asleep (Basset hounds for that matter), I sit at the computer and... don't know where to go.
Soon my life will change drastically, but for the good. A "relocation" is up ahead, in more than one way! But more about that later.
A few weeks ago, when walking home from work, I saw a woman hugging a tree. She was dressed a bit alternatively (or how does one call it) and she was fully, intensely hugging a large tree. At first I thought she might not be feeling well. Then I realized she was into ... well... hugging. "What a weirdo", was my first reaction. Then I saw myself. And another commutor. Empty gaze. Stiff steps. Carrying a briefcase. Coming home after another day of nothingness and routine. And suddenly I realized. She is not a weirdo. WE are! I don't mean we all have to start hugging trees now. But really - how often do we still get in touch with things? With nature. With ourselves. With the ones close to us.
Coldplay Links! Links! I should offer some goodie links here, or you might not return!
I realize by the way a big gap has appeared since the last "sizeable" posting. But, you see, I am a principled guy. If I have nothing to say (or no time to say anything, which is no valid excuse), I just don't say anything. It is too easy to put "something" every day. A line maybe. A link to something. If there is nothing, there will be nothing. It must be annoying to those coming to check here regularly. Then again, no one comes to check here regularly. So I am free!
Alright. Choice of music lately: Coldplay with 'Parachutes'.
Favorite pastime of lately: snooker!
Favorite computer game of lately: eum...... none actually. About time I go let off steam in that area.
As for interesting sites or 'novelties': I did not spot anything lately. Did you? If so, please let me know. Much obliged.
Fatigue Wow. It seems the "spring fatigue" (or whatever one calls it) has hit me pretty well. Last entry was April 2nd... Well I am fully 'recovered' now. So is my computer (how I hate it when the computer is ill!). So consider this a renewal of the friendship with this blog and a promise to myself and my legion of fans to keep up ... err... the good work!
Spring What can I say? Spring is here again!
It's warm, dry, birds are singing... You have to understand, it's a nice event for a Belgian guy...
Too many days waking up to find rain pouring down.
Too many days fighting the wind.
Too many days seeing grey skies.
"Why don't you emigrate?", you say?
Where? To Albania?
Abundance I used to rely on a website to remind me of birthdays that were coming up of family members and friends. About 5 days prior to that event, I would get an e-mail announcing it. Very useful. For some reason, the e-mails stopped coming, even though the website still seems to be operational. No worries. I set out to look for a downloadable program to remind me of birthdays.
I always like to go hunting for software. It is more like shopping, really, though I'm not planning to pay anything. Yes yes, I mainly go for "freeware", you can boo all you want. But the reason is simple: for most programs, there is freeware available. And sometimes this freeware works just as well, if not better, than the "shareware". And I simply don't wish to spend a lot of money on software that I could do perfectly without or that I could find free alternatives for.
If you turn to some software sites, such as Tucows (mirror), or Webattack, or Filebasket, you should find plenty of 'goodies'. You can either do a search on the site, or browse the several categories. But then the real task starts: picking out the one for you. The initial excitement turns into bewilderment because of the abundance. Let's go back to my project. Birthday reminder. Dozens of programs are out there. Some shareware, some freeware. Which one to pick? It takes quite some time to check each one out (I don't mean downloading it and trying it, of course, but first reading about it, "feeling" the home page, looking at screenshots...).
Everybody has a different taste. But sometimes I wonder: how many people, at one point or another, are hunting for exactly the same 'Easter egg'? I am sure there must be someone else, somewhere, who is looking for exactly the same type of birthday reminder that I am (was). What a pity that everyone goes through the same (fun, but eventually tiring) search. Oh yes, you could first visit a site like Epinions, to find out what others think. But in the end all the information and opinions will start to choke you, if you're not careful.
I should learn to cut it short. So, in short: everyone has his own preferences. There is no "universal solution". In the end, I did download a program, a nice one. But it seemed a bit too "big". The problem with a lot of programs is that they want to be 'extensive'. When you want something to remind you of birthdays, you don't need lots of bells and neon lights. So accidentally I came across this one. Very minimal, very small, but to the point and efficient. They don't come better than that.
Knives out It's about time I tell you about these 2 guys at work. Well, guys... actually I should say "wise men". They are something else. Older, true. But their insight! Their wisdom! Their ..... allness!
I look up to these men, I tell you.
One of them is about 60 years of age. He does not type anything, I don't think he knows how to. Let that NOT hamper in any way your feelings about what I am going to tell you! This man recently made a statement. I have to admit: at first I thought he was raving mad. That he was an oooooold guy protesting against the invention of the train. Or the wheel for that matter. But only after thinking deeply about what he meant did I realize that I had found my true master.... Respect!
The statement was: "Pfff Internet - all this hype! I tell you, in 10 years time nobody will even talk about Internet anymore! It will have completely died out!".
Think about it. We are dealing here with a modern-aged visionary! And imagine the nerve it must take to actually DARE to state something so bold as this! This man is unique. Basing himself solely on his complete lack of knowledge in the field and the over-all, general news items about the "internet hype", this Messiah concludes such a deep, surgically precise conclusion! Indeed, Internet is just a hype. A play-ground for children. A temporary fashion. The person I am talking about is actually using this despicable medium to send e-mails to his daughter in China. But what is an e-mail, taking seconds to convey emotions, thoughts, even pictures to the other side of the world as it were, compared to the brutal, inhuman loss of the good old-fashioned feel of a real letter? Bring back the 2-week delivery times!! Bring back the good old writing paper and quiff ! (I mean pen). Bring back the multi-euro stamps! Be gone with this swift, flashy new communication techniques!
Time for the second wizard.
Statement of the second wizard: "Pffffff Internet, nowadays kids..... they don't know who Leonardo da Vinci is anymore, they only know how to LOOK UP Leonardo da Vinci on the Internet! It's a disgrace!". Sit down. Let it sink in for a while. Of course the second wizard could not read what I am writing now, even if I sent him a mail with a link to this page. But that is beside the point. There is a lot of truth in his statement too. I mean, I remember when I was a kid. Once the doctor (old, wrinkly and crumpled) came to see my mother and noticed I was handling a calculator. He remarked "oh these calculators! this way kids really forget how to count for themselves!". Never mind the fact that I was doing calcs for a mathematics exercise. Never mind that it went much quicker that way. Never mind that the guy was a fossil. He was right, wasn't he? Why give up on the old, prehistoric habits? Why use the modern, quick, efficient ways, when you can just rely on the good old medieval techniques?
This second statement, thus, really hits the mark. Kids know how to use the Internet (after all, Internet was created 'for kids', right?), but that's all they do. Use it. What a scandal! Never mind that looking up Leonardo da Vinci also actually gives you results that might take weeks in the public library. Never mind that you can virtually (no, really) ask a school kid in Milwaukee what he/she thinks about the subject in no time, never mind that your kid has a friggin gigantic encyclopedia at his/her disposal in no time.... It's still a DISGRACE!
Internet is an evil, useless hype that is about to die. Take it, please, from these two men of the world. I believe in them. They stand for everything I believe in. And I have had the honour and privilege of being in their immediate company for about 6 years. That should count for something.
(I'm getting out of my job actually - which has nothing to do with the story told above).
Linux While listening to the newest cd of The Notwist, I write this. A few weeks ago, I saw The Notwist in concert. Groovy! (might be the wrong choice of word for their type of music though). A few years ago, the Notwist website looked different. Sober, but stylish. Also back then one could download every song of their first cd. I don't know if that is still possible, simply because I did not have the patience to browse their site. Oh it looks special enough. But the clearness of the structure has vanished. It seems to be the way things go. Flash, Java... great things. But I have a problem with 'special' sites that, in all their "specialness", make it hard to find where is what and how to get where. Maybe I should take more the time to find out. But I don't want to. Or maybe a site should have two accesses: the grand entrance and the side gate. Or an opening page with two options: "do you have time and patience for some flashy stuff?" or "just take me straight to the stuff". Or something like that.
Maybe lately I am complaining too much. Maybe I should change my state of mind a bit (a manual, anyone?).
On a side note, lately I have been digging a bit deeper into the phenomenon called Linux. I am not going to go "geeky" on you here. Anyone remotely interested in the subject and in my most humble experiences with it can go here. Cheers.
Dilemma Only recently, because of this blog, I have been using a counter. You know, a counter, this service where a little icon appears on your site. Through this icon you get to a page full of details: who visited your site? when? using what OS? from which country? how did they get to my site? and so on... Handy little thing.
After all, that is also part of being present on the World Wide Web, no? Not just the being present, but also the being read, the being noticed!
A while ago, my sister visited the blog. I saw it through the counter. I recognized the link that brought her there, and the domain of course.
But I have a problem. To start off, my system automatically rejects this procedure (thanks to the cookies settings in IE and also thanks to SpyBlocker). Why is that? Well because basically these counters gather information from you. Every time you visit a page with a counter, you are being... well... counted. It's not that your full name and address are registered, of course. But your domain, operating system, even screen resolution, the way you got to the page... are being logged.
I don't like that. I want to go and visit my favorite webcam site without every time leaving a distinct footprint! I understand very well their need to get an idea of how frequently they are being visited, but I prefer to be an anonymous visitor. Due to the way I get registered when surfing there from work, they can easily pinpoint me. Meaning that if they put a little effort in it, they can narrow me down to one of about 30 people.
Think about it.
Being a big fan of privacy, always, everywhere, this is obviously in violation with my beliefs. It is cute to suddenly notice that "hey! someone from Turkey just visited my blog!". But that's about it. This someone probably happened to be on the Blogger site and noticed the title of your blog on the left, among the "10 recently updated blogs".
So it's time to be consequent. To kick the counter out the window. To restore the safety settings of SpyBlocker. If people visit, then let people visit. They have an e-mail address if they really want to say something. Or the possibility to comment on each posting.
(I hear someone sneeringly remark "all this belgian bla bla just to cover up the fact that you are eliminating the counter out of sheer frustration for not getting hits" - to that person I say: "You do not exist").
Bad mood We all have a bad mood once in a while. A bad mood is a bit like a thunderstorm. Sometimes you see it coming, sometimes it hits you by surprise. One can last longer than the other, but invariably they are accompanied by noise and doom.
If we are honest with ourselves, we usually know very well what caused the storm. Because our bad mood is our own private storm, generated by us, fuelled by us, maintained by us. Either it is because we are not at peace with ourselves, or because we are not at peace with something external.
Maybe you try to break the spell. In that case, use your own mind's resources. Do NOT look towards the Net for redemption.
Because you might stumble on this page. It looks promising enough at start. But very quickly you spot the huge yellow ad on the right ("YOU MAY BE OWED UNCLAIMED MONEY") and, even worse, the parasitic one on the left that moves along with you as you scroll. Result: your mood turns even more sour (do not expect to get out of this page without being slapped a few more times by ad pop-ups).
Save a screen Screensaver time. My own personal all-time favorite must be "Johnny Castaway". A lovely screensaver, depicting a castaway, Johnny, on his little island. Johnny sleeps, eats, swims, jumps, and many more things. From time to time a surprise. A little christmas tree for example at the end of December. Or a tribute to Saint Patrick. Sometimes pirates attack Johnny. Or he spots a voluptuous lady on a passing speedboat. Always fun to watch. You might still be able to get your own right here.
Currently my screensaver is generated by United Devices. Though at times I miss Johnny, this one is for a good cause. So it wins.
"Let's dance". Not really. I have never been the dancing type. Not at all. One time, in a drunken spell, on a local party, I let go. The Smiths, what can I say? And I ended up kicking off a girl's glasses. No harm done, luckily.
No, I just heard "Let's dance" from Bowie. Taking me back instantly to my "wonder years" (ha!).
I didn't hear it through the radio. I heard it through Internet. While reading mail and checking some links. Music is a great surfing companion. I hear you say "why not just turn on the radio?". Well because I don't want to. I prefer using Sonicbox and picking out the type of music that I am into at the moment. It comes streaming to my ears, baby. Wonderful! Right now I am tuning into club977.com - The 80s channel. But other times I might explore the jazz channels, or another favorite, the Folk band: Celtic Grove or Highlander Radio for example.
Important: you had best be on broadband for this. Because the music comes streaming in, meaning you need to be connected. On line.
Apart from Sonicbox, I also use the Radio Free Virgin Player. Same principle more or less. Less "gadgets" maybe than the Sonicbox, but pretty neat too. You can also choose among different styles of music (check out the soundtrack channel!), but - very handy - with every song, you get a display of the cd cover and of course name and title. Groovy!
Both players are free. Surf with music. But don't hang the deejay.
This morning it so happened that I was in a hospital. A hospital with a very good reputation. But that is beside the point.
It is a funny thing with buildings. They have their own "atmosphere". An airport for example either excites people - adventure! traveling! holiday! - or fills them with sadness (departures) or joy (arrivals) - or vice versa, depending on your relationship with the traveler...
A hospital is mostly a place of sadness (I say mostly, because I can imagine the maternity ward being an exception here).
While you are there, you observe all the doctors, nurses and staff busily moving around. One can't help feeling awe for these doctors in their white coats. They are human, just like you and me. The difference is that I can't patch you up, but they can. In some cases.
But there is also the strong sense of sickness, decay, suffering. This is the pitstop of us human beings. Some get fueled up, others get new tyres. Some don't get to return to the race.
And then, all of a sudden, in the midst of the usual brain clutter, there it comes. Hey! I'm not here for ME! There is basically nothing wrong with me! I don't have the problem this man there has, who comes wheeling in through the corridor. I don't have tubes in my arms. I don't get rolled in and out of operating rooms. I'm lucky!
And then you drive home. And the brain clutter resumes.
[soundtrack: 'Phaedra' from Tangerine Dream - with thanks to D.C.]
So that was the Valentine week. Yes, a week. Why not? Why not a Valentine month? Or a Valentine year? Wait, even better: the Valentine decade!!
Sarcastic? Not at all. But I don't like these "occasions" where people are supposed to do this or behave like that. I know the underlying Valentine motivation. I have seen it. "Ooh I'd better pick up some flowers on my way home today, or my wife will be pissed off". Now, is that the right mentality?
On Valentine's Day, I read a few things in the "local" newspaper. Hindu nationalists burning Valentine cards, because "it is against the Hindu beliefs to show love in public". Can you believe that? They even "surrounded an American woman and European man holding hands as they strolled in New Delhi... --- blocked the tourists from moving on and shoved anti-Valentine's Day handbills written in Hindi at them". Kewl. I'm sure the couple read the pamphlet very thoroughly. Read more about it here.
Just think about that. Before you know it, we'll be reading one day "a young couple was stoned to death in New Delhi after being discovered holding hands in public". Boy, what a wonderful world.
The same day, I read that in China a large number of priests had been thrown in jail. Why? Well, because they were catholic of course! What more reason do you need?
We are now well underway in the year 2002. Looking good...
But why not leave you this time on a more positive note? Do you have these moments when you are a bit bored? Then go to www.bored.com! Simple as that. Or have some fun with some movie sounds. But remember: no holding hands!
The Netherlands (my northern neighbours) had an internet page, it was called "Starting page". Basically a page full of links to useful sites. I guess this is called a "portal site". This "Starting page" somehow became big business and was eventually taken over for a lot of money. Do I sound naive or simple now? Well, that's the way I like it. A page of LINKS! Referrals, hints, tips... Is that worth money??? Excuse me, but where is the kid when you need him/her. To scream out "the emperor is not wearing any clothes!!!".
Having said that, everyone needs bookmarks. How else can you stock the "goodies" on Internet?
But everyone should keep in mind that they are just referring to existing sites. The collection of "referrals" is hardly to be called a valuable site in its own. Please.
And why would I trust or value someone else's links? Why?
Why would you be interested in any of mine?
By the way, if you followed the link, you found an address: tony@mail.be. Leave your comments as you will.
Thank you.
Sometimes I happen to zap by "Liberty-TV", a tv channel run by some tour operator. It runs and reruns (and reruns) tourist programs. All corners of the world are being highlighted and sometimes it is actually even interesting. Okay okay, there are the odd images of naked blondes on a nudist beach. And the whole thing is thickly covered with ye old familiar coating of commercialism. What do you expect? It's not National Geographic Channel (which reminds me, I never tune in there, not even on lost Sunday moments). But what really gets to me in this Liberty TV thing is the occasional appearance of ... Tess!! As I speak (sorry: blog) she is there, full screen, promoting a trip to Turkey. There is a lot to say about Tess... She is not exactly Bo Derek. Basically she looks like a good girl (my wife on the other hand thinks she looks like a porn actress - tastes differ I guess!). One thing though: she is invariably dressed up in an outfit that... well that almost reveals it all. I am talking major cleavage here. Let's just say that she is always wearing clothes that: A) reveal as much as possible of her bosom and B) makes you invariably stare at the dead center of the screen.
But I wonder... Is this their way of seeking viewers? True, considering myself, it does seem to work somewhat. But if they do get viewers, why would the generosity of Tess incite anyone to book a trip? Or am I being too naive?
I think you might be able to find a picture of Tess here. It looks like her but I am not sure.
Thank you Tess, for those heart-warming moments in the weekend...
