on the idiocy of some

don't ask me for what obscure reason i have finally made up my mind to go to a master's degree. fact is, i have. and there's this cute little subject called... never mind. doesn't matter, anyway. and in this suject we have to make a presentation of a book. general description, topics teated, blah blah, and insist upon a chapter we deem important.
well, along comes a colleague of mine with his "presentation". he starts reading it, mind you, of his darn paper. ok, maybe he's not good at presentations. but he isn't good at reading either. kept stumbling through the words like a drunken elephant. hard as i tried, i couldn't follow what he was saying but for the mutters and mumbles. and then the book lands on my desk. i open it and... surprise, surprise. the bloke was actually reading the preface of the darn book, word by word. and not even reading it properly. and his in depth presentation of the chapter, which was not at all an important one, well... yeah, he read us the chapter aloud, in the same 4th grader manner.
well, i know i'm a nerd. but mind you there are people out there who aren't, but who still can read. so this guy basically cheats by copying a preface and he can't even read that clearly. the only question i still have is whether he copied the text, or just scanned it. my guess would be for the latter. oh, and as to the title of the blog entry. the idiocy is entirely mine. because idiots like these still get my pulse racing in rage...

olympic discipline of heart spilling

i wanted to rant about something, but am not sure what got me started on this. must be my old age :). what i do remember however, is the point i wanted to make. i seem to have an issue with putting your life, your emotions on display, to an as large crowd as possible. i simply cannot understand this ‘doing the laundry in public’.
there is a tv show running here, hosted by a guy who graduated psychology (i think), discussing people’s problems on tv. i do not have the nerves to watch, so i can’t give you any more details. what makes it worse than your average “my neighbour stole my salad from the gargen” talk show is the fact that this guy actually studied to help people with issues in thei lives. that is they come and pour their hearts out, and he tries to make them find a way out. in private. and he has something like professional confidentiality to observe - that is not going to the superstore and chatting to the cashier about someone’s troubles. but no. this one does it on national television. and people actually go to the show and stick their insides out in front of the camera for a nation to see, if they care to watch (and they do).
is it me being behind times and changes, or is this totally wacko??? all of a sudden tom cruise and the penible show he put on on oprah, making a total fool of himself, doesn’t seem that out of place anymore, not for someone called thomas cruise mapother IV, anyway… crazy times we live in, i tell you.

dead pants

the dead pants. or as the german would put it, die toten hosen. which while unknown were once presented as 'die toten hasen', meaning the dead rabbits. irrelevant, actually, but to this day i find that slip hilarious :)
i am talking about a band, a german punk rock band who sing (mostly) in german. yes, there are bands other than rammstein doing that :p. the band's history goes back to 1982. my favourite songs include unsterblich ('immortal') and ich bin die sehsucht in dir ('i am the longing in you'). do not let the titles mislead you to deem the songs cheesy. if you prefer english songs, there's the frustration-venting pushed again - an excellent song! - and an english album called learning english, lesson one.
just give 'em a listen if you're into the genre ;)

sheep in the big city

warning: aggressive ranting ahead :D. remember the cartoon sheep in the big city? with the lost sheep looked for by the military? private public and general specific were after sheep, the main character, but he kept escaping them. oh, the wit! oh, the irony of that cartoon...
unfortunately, there are loads of sheep in a big city. and that would be a good thing, if only they would rise to cartoon-sheep's level of intelligence.
as it happens, a great mall opened in my city today. just across the street from my block. people flocked to it like sheep. not too bad. but they stared blank-eyed or round-eyed, like sheep. they walked like sheep, stepping on your toes if you didn't get out of the way. they drove like sheep, driven by policeman and honking. and they even bleated like sheep, or that's how it sounded to my strained nerves. and i might not even have realised. i wasn't planning on going against the stream today. but the cosmic joker had it that i had to walk in the opposite direction of the pouring of the crowd stream. and i couldn't help marvelling at and getting frustrated by all the sheepishness.

scrat

scrat is a remedy i want to share with you.
i discovered something that makes me feel good. something that amuses me and picks me up when i'm so down that i can't pick myself up from the floor. remember ice age? remember scrat? you don't knpow who scrat is? the little fellow at the beginning. the one true reasons for the forming of continents.
i watched the scrat-mini-movie today. i kept quietly chuckling to myself for the whole duration of it. but i felt so gooooood afterwards. i guess you could say that the life and torment of scrat is a really liberating experience - some really have it worse than you. so why fret?

i need a miracle

... and not someone's charity. that's the way a beautiful song goes. a song from a computer game called silent hill. a friend told me about the game (*wink*). never seen or played it, but looks good from what i've seen of screenshots. not recommended to play late at night when you're alone and a storm is raging outside. or maybe recommended just then. depends on how you digest survival horror ;). this particular song from the soundtrack is called i want love and is sung by melissa williamson. a fragment of the lyrics is posted here, they are beautiful as is, but even more gripping when you listen to them to the music - song warmly recommended ;)

I want a cup that overflows with love
Although it's not enough to fill my heart
I want a barrel full of love
Although I know it's not enough to fill my heart
Want a river full of love, but then
I know the holes will still remain
I need an ocean full of love
Although I know the holes will still remain
And this Swiss cheese heart knows
Only kindness can fill its holes
Love can dry my tears
As pain disappears
I need a miracle and not someone's charity
One drop of love from him
And my heart's in ecstacy
The high that is sending me
Is most likely ending me
I need a miracle and not someone's charity now
Fill up my heart with love
Oh you'd be amazed at how little I need from him
To feel complete here and now
Stirring within me are these feelings I can't ignore
I need a miracle and that's what I'm hoping for

lasagna

actually, i was faced with quite a few choices of topics today. however, i didn't feel in the necessary mood to rant about most of them, so i stuck with a "light" one. and it really is light. you'll see in a minute why.
i absolutely adore pasta. have tried home-made lasagna. but i found it very heavy on the stomache. so i decided to cut out all the heavy crap, and voila, today i made one that even my mum would eat :)
the ingredients are plain and need no pre-cooking. all you need is lasagna (duh!), canned sliced mushrooms, sliced cheddar cheese and sliced ham - pick whatever sortiments of these you enjoy. and the classical bechamel sauce (butter, flour, milk and maybe cream - makes it yummier). layer mushrooms, sauce, lasagna, ham, cheese, sauce, lasagna, and over again until you're done with the ingredients. make sure the topmost layer is cheese. bake until the cheese forms a nice gold brown crust and bon appetit!

heed the warning bell...

... for they are coming. one of the tag lines of the movie the village. no, i will not give you a synopsis, and i will not give you a review. there are people who do that better than me on dedicated sites. i'm afraid i'm not even going to give you a humble personal opinion about the movie, although i do think it was underrated from what i've read of reviews. what i am going to tell you about is the ideas i've been left brooding about. yes, in the end it made a lasting impression.
i've been left thinking of how tabus are constructed, passed on and reinforced when questioned in tight communities; of how an outside threat, whether real or imaginary, creates cohesion within a group and shifts attention from inside problems - these questions are mere signs of professional deformation for me. but there are others, deeper and more meaningful: thoughts of the lengths some people go to escape the ghosts of their own past; of how human nature surfaces in primary instincts like love, curiosity, posessiveness, a certain murderous instinct - always; of how sooner or later any good intention is tainted by the need to inforce one's vision upon others, by matter of deceit, if necessary; of how far one's right to lead people allows them to intrude upon their free will... and others as such. a somehow bubbly elogy of the power of love has somehow gone under on me, under the weight of these questions.
and then, another interesting aspect of human behaviour is concentrated in something that, for me, was the most memorable phrase of the movie. heed the warning bell that echoes within it.

"sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them"

losers weepers (1): the story of loss

i think there's hardly anyone who hasn't suffered the loss of someone dear. death takes a loved one away. but most of the times, i think life does. and i honestly do not know which pain is bigger. i guess losing someone to death is perceived as a reason for grief and seems something unfair. i find losing someone to life more saddening. losing touch with friends, growing apart from loved ones, falling out with parents, moving away from all those you've held dear for so long in life.
i am not a believer as the definition goes. i have no faith whatsoever in established faith. but i do believe in the soul and that it may live on after death. i also belive it can be maimed and twisted, as your limbs may be maimed and twisted. and i do believe you lose a bit of it every time a loved one dies, one you have bound your soul to. however, there is the remote comfort that the soul is out there, much likely in a better place. and the distance that separates you can and will some day be bridged.
if you lose someone to life, there's a gap that no one may close again. it's filled with all the things each of your lives holds. those things you cannot erase and you cannot walk around. they are here to stay, blocking your path, maiming your soul as it tries to reach around. blessed are those whose loved ones' bodies have died away but whose' spirits wait somewhere for a joyous reunion. blessed when compared to the maimed souls on earth.

might and magic

a universe i am most fond of, as you might have guessed from other posts. well, that universe had a marvellous incarnation in the heroes of might and magic series. i only played III and IV. but good things come to those who wait. every time i check the game's site there is some new piece of information on the fifth game of this particular might and magic series. i can hardly await its release as the trailer and demos look very promising. also, what i have read so far about the factions and creatures shows real hard research and compiling work has been carried out, each nation has a background, a philosophy, a personality. indeed, it promises not to be yet another 'go forth slash eveeything you encounter' game. here's a little teaser - a picture of one of the available wallpapers.

the importance of being friendly

... has struck me yesterday. i work at a tehnical assistence centre. as part of my job, every friday i have to call the technicians in charge and let them know they're on duty call. now there's one guy i particularly enjoy calling, because he's always so friendly. he once asked me to help him out, make some photocopies and leave them for him to pick up, i said 'no problem' and then couldn't stop him thanking me. we've been on very friendly terms ever since.
one day he asked me why i always call to let him know he was on duty, and not just to ask how he's been. i promised one day i'll surprise him. a couple of weeks passed, he called on tuesday with some job stuff and i remembered my promise. so i called him yesterday. i was having a difficult time with a task that wasn't even mine to complete and felt the need for a friendly voice. he asked what was up and i said 'nothing. just wanted to ask how you've been'. there was a moment of silence, and i went on 'remember, i promised one day i'll surprise you and just call to ask how you've been. well that day is today. just wanted to say hi.' he burst into laughing and said he was great, for two reasons: the one that i stated - calling him - and hearing my voice.
don't get me wrong. this was no flirting. we've seen face to face maybe a couple of times. we talked work business and exchanges a few niceties. he may be twenty years older than me. i don't know and it doens't matter. this is just a matter of people being friendly to each other for no particular reason. but god, it made my day yesterday.

cold

i've mentioned bon jovi. i've mentioned maroon5. but as good things always come in threesomes, i gotta mention matchbox twenty. great songs, great lyrics. highly inspiring, as far as i'm concerned. i wanted to give you a taste, but i had a really hard time choosing. if i'm not too lazy, i might even change them over time. anyways, first taste is of cold.

I will do without // The spaces in between
If you can tell me now // What it means to be
You have been found out // I have been deceived
By the one that I need

Tell me why you gotta be so cold
How'd you get so high // Why you keeping me low
You don't know
Tell me how we're gonna make it last
You're ready to fly // I'm ready to crash
Don't go

You will go without // The better part of me
There will be no doubt // What this all could mean
You will be found out // I can not believe
In the one that I need

Tell me why you gotta be so cold // Tell me anything about you I don't know

max mutzke

most of you are probably unfamiliar with the name. if you are not from europe, no chance you've heard it. and if you are from europe chances are slim if you're not from germany or austria. max mutzke is the boy next door. with an absolutely amazing voice. with genuine talent. and with some luck that got him to istanbul, as the german representative for the eurovision song contest in 2004. i liked him ever since i saw him on tv in a german preselection - talent - scouting - show, where i was knocked down by his performance of bill wither's ain't no sunshine. he reached number 8 in istanbul. a couple of days ago i remembered the song with which he entered the competition, entitled can't wait until tonight. i downloaded the song and surfed some more, looking for songs, images and trying to find out what has happened ever since. if you are curious to listen to some stuff he sings, you may try here, there are some downloads available. i just have to say, passion hit me all over again - definitely my type of guy ;)

pet respect and animal care

i've been working as a volunteer for ecovet, an organisation for animal rights and protection for almost a year now. currently, we are trying to implement an education programme for school children aged 7-11 years. the wspa have kindly given us permission to translate and adapt their animal care manual. and again i am a dog's sociologist, as i've been drafting a questionnaire to test children's knowledge & perception of and attitude towards dogs, both woth guardian and strays. i certainly hope we can start implementing the pilot course this school year and keep your fingers crossed that the results are relevant enough so that we may continue trying to build pet respect in order to improve these animal's lives. bark on!

warning - explicit content ;)

100 points question: what do rugby players do when they're not playing rugby? answer: they pose nude. yep, you read right. the french national rugby team has a bestselling calendar series entitled dieux du stade, that is the gods of the stadium. where the guys pose nude. now if you wanna know how good a rugby ball may actually look in a black and white photograph, you google for 'dieux du stade' and see what you can feast your eyes on. posted here is just a small sample of what a month's name might evoke to you ;)

brilliant i can handle...

... but elegant? geesh! /:)
stumbled over a thing called blogthings - basically loads of stuff that you can put in your blog, wherever it is hosted. below you see my results to a quick personality test - based on choosing an image by instinct.

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant.
Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle.
You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs.
For you, comfort and calm are very important.
You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.


blogthing no. 2: my hidden talent is rocking the boat. as if that's hidden *insert evil laughter here*. based on image choosing once again. too lazy these days to even do a proper test *grin*. amuse yourselves to the results below, i almost felt flattered.

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

brain pattern:

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

view of the world:

You claim to be a realist or even a cynic. In realty, you are more emotional, romantic, and truthful. You tend to life in a fantasy world and avoid reality.
If you are not living a happy life, the cause is within yourself. You are a rebel with a trace of spoiled child about you. You value truth above morality, but you are reasonably tolerant of those who disagree with you.

heart attack!... i came very close to that. and while i promise this is the last test i'm gonna bore you with, those who know me will understand why i have a broad sheepish grin glued to my face from ear to ear right now....

Maroon 5 Shares Your Taste in Music

55!

well, it's not like anyone cared... but my collection of post-soulstrip-publishing has grown today to the beautiful number of 55 poems. that means another 30 something to go and then the time is ripe for another volume. that bearing in mind that it's of course quality and not quantity that matters. and modesty above all, lol. so far, the working title (i like the way that sounds, hehe) is scrambled. i've even come up with a little cover art for it, though both title and design are subject to change... so don't blame me for misguiding you if the end product will be something different :p

ps: poems may be viewed here.

the goblet of fire

the countdown on mugglenet states there are 40 days left till the release of the movie. so i figured it's only natural for me to share my excitement with the world (*giggle* as if the world cares about my blog). judging by the turn the story takes in volume 4 of the harry potter series, the goblet of fire, the film promises to be a most dramatic experience. the trailer i've seen seems to confirm my hopes. i sure hope that it's not rated general audience. a black magic resurrection ceremony in a cemetary is something i'd rather watch without disturbing scared kids' shrieks ;). until november 18, when you can all feast your eyes and your fantasy addiction (now why on earth do i keep assuming everyone suffers of that?) on the real thing, here's the poster of the upcoming goblet of fire.

blogging gay-friendly

i stumbled upon a french guy's blog and he was trying (as far as my french helped me understand, lol) to launch an idea of marking gay-friendly blogs. well, this one is such a blog, seeing that i have loads of gay friends (and no, it's not my fault :) ). so i thought why not putting the logo in it. well, here it is.

a fantasy christmas present

i was already wondering what to treat myself to this christmas, seeing that the lord of the rings trilogy is now complete. well, i found an answer to that question. the first movie from the chronicles of narnia is due in winter. ever since delving into the adventures of middle earth, i have wanted to explore the world of narnia, but i never found the complete series of seven novels. but now, with the news broken that the film will be out soon, i solemnly promise that i'll read them before watching it. in lack of any better alternative, and until i find the complete series in the same edition, which i firmly intend to, i have downloaded the texts of all seven novels and i plan to start reading them as soon as i finish the series i am currently reading (another fantasy one, mind you), some time before christmas.

have a nice day!

the new and long awaited bon jovi album Have a Nice Day is out. and rock rocks once again. much more than it did on crush or even bounce, if you ask me, and trust me, i am very subjective and a fan for ten years. the songs are solid rock, yet with a modern sound to it, so no chance anyone will feel lost in the 80's. am not gonna go in depth with all the songs, as it would take up loads of time and space and i don't want to spoil anyone's fun of discovering them by themselves. but the album rocks and best proof is that my favourite tracks change every day.
and as a ps: the smirk is a great marketing idea!

wonderful web game

this is something that i've come across in long hours of boredom and pointless surfing. it's a web-based game. if you like fantasy, d&d, rpg or the sorts, you really need to check it out. just click on the banner below to become a part of the great story of Adventure Quest.

return of the rider

apparently, one blog isn't enough...
i need a space where my brain can spill out what runs over.
and this is going to be it :)