zaterdag 12 december 2009
I am leaving tomorrow night. A long Pacific journey is ahead. This New Years will be tropical – the grand finale of an amazing, adventurous and slightly lonely year. 2009 was great and I know that 2010 will be even better. There will be more music, more friends; more time spent alone, another new beginning. The application to Edinburgh has been sent and now I am waiting. In the meantime, I am applying for an online journalism course at the London School of Journalism and let’s see where this may take me. So much is happening and it seems irrelevant at the same time. I guess it is.
I have so much to say and so little patience to write it down and post it. The temperature in mid December is ridiculous – 27 degrees – and I am lost. In time, in space, in translation.
I stopped thinking, I stopped missing people and places, I stopped the melancholy. As if it was yesterday when we greeted 2009.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!
Hope to see your faces again in the summer!
(this post makes no sense)
I have so much to say and so little patience to write it down and post it. The temperature in mid December is ridiculous – 27 degrees – and I am lost. In time, in space, in translation.
I stopped thinking, I stopped missing people and places, I stopped the melancholy. As if it was yesterday when we greeted 2009.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!
Hope to see your faces again in the summer!
(this post makes no sense)
maandag 7 december 2009
Korean Karaoke
Good or bad, embarrassing or not, I lost my karaoke virginity last Friday. After 3 complete months in Asia it was unthinkable to continue resisting. The karaoke rules Asian night life. However, as with most things around here, my idea of karaoke bar was completely and unquestionably wrong. Instead of featuring an embarassment in front of a wasted unknown audience, the karaoke experience is private and much more fun that I thought it would be. Fist of all, you could never, by no means guess that this black door, more similar to a storage room door, in the middle of a completely random building downtown, leads to an ultra-modern club. Yeah, you need to know somebody, who knows that it does. Two smiling hot chicks take to your private karaoke lounge, equipped with state-of-the-art sound system and large plasma screenс. The song-list is endless – and no! – there are not only Chinese, Korean or Taiwanese –but also a generous collection of nice and not-so English songs. I never figured out how we got served 5 pitchers of ice-cold beer. As the night progressed, we rocked the lounge! I sang my first (and probably the last) song ... The Monkees ”I am a believer”. Give it up for the enthusiasts! We’re doing it again next year!
Not sure what are we singing here, but I am afraid it was something lame....
Not sure what are we singing here, but I am afraid it was something lame....
zondag 29 november 2009
The Wall
The following is a true story and could easily be circulated as a joke.
The Background: on the 9th of November 2009 Germany – and the entire old continent- was celebrating the 20 years from the historical fall of the Berlin Wall. A German and a Chinese guy sit in a living room in China watching CNN and the celebration. Suddenly the Chinese screams in surprise and disappointment:
“What…you had a Wall too?”
The Background: on the 9th of November 2009 Germany – and the entire old continent- was celebrating the 20 years from the historical fall of the Berlin Wall. A German and a Chinese guy sit in a living room in China watching CNN and the celebration. Suddenly the Chinese screams in surprise and disappointment:
“What…you had a Wall too?”
zaterdag 28 november 2009
Basterds
Finally, it has reached me. I’ve been waiting for this movie since February…yeah it was February when I found out that Tarantino’s got a new one. And now after seeing it I’d say it’s the best that he has ever done. It’s brutal. I had to stop it a few times and rewind. While watching it ... I knew something will go wrong with the Operation Kino, cause you know, it didn’t happen like that…and surprisingly as the events unfolded I was simply stunned. Stunned indeed! Apparently it’s only through the unlimited scope of art that one could transform the past, change history, adress human tragedies and make them ….. entertaining. I had the same thought while reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close . Of course, not even a decade has passed since 9/11 and the issue is still hot. But that was the only piece of art about those events that was not political and propaganda-driven, no peace and war, nothing like it. It happened, its part of human history and must be reflected in art. Read that book. You won’t regret a single line.
It’s the mastermind behind this movie that will not let me sleep tonight. I’ll probably watch some parts again… thinking what on Earth is this guy’s brain made of so he simply cannot create anything mundane or peaceful? Damn I wish I knew.
It’s the mastermind behind this movie that will not let me sleep tonight. I’ll probably watch some parts again… thinking what on Earth is this guy’s brain made of so he simply cannot create anything mundane or peaceful? Damn I wish I knew.
donderdag 26 november 2009
If I ever feel better
(damn Embedding disabled by request) How did I manage to miss this band? From France. Time to leave the European Cafe.
Не по-по-по-помня
Намирам се в малко квартално кафене. Уютно е. Европейско. Да често се случва ние чужденците да се бягаме от местната обстановката. Да се крием из потулените кътчета- в малки европеийски кафенета в Азия. Седя си, отворила лап топа, пия второ кафе (Азиатиците не пият кафе междудругото и не обичат сирене) и изведнъж Winamp-a превключва на Стефан Вълдобрев “Как”. Стана ми тъжно. Носталгично. Искам да се прибера, дори за малко само да е, а няма, дерзай! (от съседната маса ме заглеждат странно, мсй трябва да намаля звука). До тук с shuffle-a. Завърта се зелия “Към”.
Хубаво е да пътуваш.
Да си далеч, да си свободен, да се сблъскваш с чужди култури, да им разкажеш да твоята. (Мъж)
Още по-хубаво е да се върнеш обратно. В къщи. Не мога да бъда чужденец постоянно. Не искам. Не мога постоянно да намирам нови приятели. Нови домове. Нови къщи в които да живея. Нови езици – колко станаха вече – започнах 2 нови езика през последните 3 месеца, общо 7 чужди езика в главата ми. (Не) И докога? Колко още? Да ясно- живота не е дестинация, а пътуване. В моя случай буквално. Прибирам се в къщи за по седмица/две в годината, имам време да кажа “Здравей, хайде на кафе” – един, два, три пъти- и хайде пак във филма.
(Вълк) Добре че 90% от времето ми е окупирано и нямам време да мисля, колко много ми се прибира. Няма и на кого да споделя без да чуя куп глупости от сорта “Да не си луда да се връщаш тука? Срамота” (??!?!??!). (Да). “Кво ще правиш тука в България, за по 200лв. на месец”. Само глупости. Колко много имам за правене в България – нямате си идея. Много повече имам за правене там октолкото тук. Но нямам време да мисля за всичко това сега. Ще дойде денят.
Знам само че през последните 4 години всичко се случи по default (Едно). Че няма значение колко езика говориш. Няма значение, че си най-забавната в компанията, защото няма кой да ти отвърне на шегите – никой не ги е учил тия хора - запад и изток - на хумор. (Как...пак). Както и да е. Винаги съм си повтаряла че каквото си го направиш такова – така че дали ще бъде Холандия, България или Азербайджан не мисля, че с този хроничен позитивизъм ще ми бъде кофти в което и да е кътче на планетата- особено пък в моето собствено.
(Към).
(Шшш мноу як пич влезe в кафето и ме разсея)
Хубаво е да пътуваш.
Да си далеч, да си свободен, да се сблъскваш с чужди култури, да им разкажеш да твоята. (Мъж)
Още по-хубаво е да се върнеш обратно. В къщи. Не мога да бъда чужденец постоянно. Не искам. Не мога постоянно да намирам нови приятели. Нови домове. Нови къщи в които да живея. Нови езици – колко станаха вече – започнах 2 нови езика през последните 3 месеца, общо 7 чужди езика в главата ми. (Не) И докога? Колко още? Да ясно- живота не е дестинация, а пътуване. В моя случай буквално. Прибирам се в къщи за по седмица/две в годината, имам време да кажа “Здравей, хайде на кафе” – един, два, три пъти- и хайде пак във филма.
(Вълк) Добре че 90% от времето ми е окупирано и нямам време да мисля, колко много ми се прибира. Няма и на кого да споделя без да чуя куп глупости от сорта “Да не си луда да се връщаш тука? Срамота” (??!?!??!). (Да). “Кво ще правиш тука в България, за по 200лв. на месец”. Само глупости. Колко много имам за правене в България – нямате си идея. Много повече имам за правене там октолкото тук. Но нямам време да мисля за всичко това сега. Ще дойде денят.
Знам само че през последните 4 години всичко се случи по default (Едно). Че няма значение колко езика говориш. Няма значение, че си най-забавната в компанията, защото няма кой да ти отвърне на шегите – никой не ги е учил тия хора - запад и изток - на хумор. (Как...пак). Както и да е. Винаги съм си повтаряла че каквото си го направиш такова – така че дали ще бъде Холандия, България или Азербайджан не мисля, че с този хроничен позитивизъм ще ми бъде кофти в което и да е кътче на планетата- особено пък в моето собствено.
(Към).
(Шшш мноу як пич влезe в кафето и ме разсея)
woensdag 25 november 2009
Constipated soul
"I think you are constipated ….. in your fucking soul. ..I think you might have a really big load of grumpy petrified poop up your soul’s ass"
(The Brothers Bloom- watch that movie it's very inspiring)
(The Brothers Bloom- watch that movie it's very inspiring)
dinsdag 24 november 2009
300 days of summer!
(On the picture: hard core Asian emotions)
Summer 2009 commenced on the 21st of January when after 10 hours of freezing at Brussels International Airport and 15 hours of a sleeping-mode intercontinental flight, we found ourselves in the hottest month of Mexico’s summer.
Summer continued throughout February, March and April round the beaches while friends from around the globe were complaining about rain, snow and more rain.
It was summer in the summer time when a got back to Europe in August- there is nothing more charming than Dutch summer. In the forest, parks, new suburb flats and with good old friends.
Summer continued stubbornly through September upon arrival in Asia where the all-embracing 80% humidity and 30 degrees C continued until two weeks ago.
Its summer now, at the end of November when my body and soul know that it’s winter. My bones and skin remember coldness and wind. But its 28 degrees today and I am wearing a short dress.
It will be summer in the winter holiday that will be spent only and solely and mainly on and around the beaches of Thailand and the Philippines.
It’s been summer since last winter. Sometimes I need to kick the fallen leaves but they are all green, firmly connected to their branches and twigs.
So much summer that I wonder how I am going to handle next year’s Scotland plans. So much summer. The longest summer ever. And its end is not near..
Summer 2009 commenced on the 21st of January when after 10 hours of freezing at Brussels International Airport and 15 hours of a sleeping-mode intercontinental flight, we found ourselves in the hottest month of Mexico’s summer.
Summer continued throughout February, March and April round the beaches while friends from around the globe were complaining about rain, snow and more rain.
It was summer in the summer time when a got back to Europe in August- there is nothing more charming than Dutch summer. In the forest, parks, new suburb flats and with good old friends.
Summer continued stubbornly through September upon arrival in Asia where the all-embracing 80% humidity and 30 degrees C continued until two weeks ago.
Its summer now, at the end of November when my body and soul know that it’s winter. My bones and skin remember coldness and wind. But its 28 degrees today and I am wearing a short dress.
It will be summer in the winter holiday that will be spent only and solely and mainly on and around the beaches of Thailand and the Philippines.
It’s been summer since last winter. Sometimes I need to kick the fallen leaves but they are all green, firmly connected to their branches and twigs.
So much summer that I wonder how I am going to handle next year’s Scotland plans. So much summer. The longest summer ever. And its end is not near..
zaterdag 21 november 2009
Sunday beat
Classics for fighting Macau Grand Prix hangover and that terrible terrible music abound me. Somebody must stop Lady Gaga! Urgently! Riot!!!!
vrijdag 20 november 2009
Тайм фор булшит
(следва дългата, леко-объркана мисъл на едно Европейско дете в Азия)
И така смятам да направя един бърз синтаксис на местната мода и тендензии а именно тези в Макау и Хонгконг. в момента около мен се вихри модно шоу, Независимо дали чакам на спирката, седя в час или с мотая безцелно из центъра . И така, дами и господа, присъдата е: местната мода е ужасно вдъхновяваща. Искам да отбележа, че няма нищо общо с модата в Европа, което леко ме озадачава понякога (нали уж всичко е made in china днес, защо тия хави ги няма из Европейския пазар???!??) Tака така сега за модата. Първо, всички по улиците изглеждат извадени едно-към-едно от life-style списание. Второ, всеки е различен, уникален, моден, шокиращ. Комбинациите са невъзможно-забвни понякога, но това, което прави модената младеж наоколо толкова уникална са самите дрехи. Случвало ми се е да стоя , пулеща очи пред някое девойче, мъчейки се да разгадая дали то носи потник или панталон, или може би и двете заедно, но някак си наобратно. Уникалност. Панталоните варират в цветова гама и форма на крачола: тесни, широки, чувалести, клош, шутовски, рицарски, турски, шарени ( с десен на калинки например), карирани – имам предвид всичко което съм смятала за уникално преди тук се носи масово , s други думи не е достатъчно да си с панаталон– нещо трябва да не му е наред. Ако панталоните са тесни, се носят с дълги и широки тениски (които нa крехките хранени с ориз телца са понякога гротескни) с невъобразимо як дизайн, шаблон, бродерия, рисунка, симка. Но истинското богатство на модните архиви се крие в разнообразието от рокли: тесниски-рокли, пуловери-рокли, якета-рокли, жилетки-рокли, потници-рокли, ризи-рокли и рокли-рокли разбира се. Pокло-образните модели са доминиращи наоколо и вдъхновяват с кройки, копчета, колани, ципове, деколтета, качулки, материи, цветове, стилове – изобщо лудница! Особено любим сред малдите девоичета е стилът на Блонди – масово – тесни, къси рокли, с виснали деколтета, блестящи допълнения и лек пънкарски полъх. В смисъл и в Европа е така, но не толкова масово и явно. Друг много любим местен елемент е клинът. Клинът се носи с всичко – рокли, блузи, потници, якета,паналони даже и с други клинове. Особено моден е черният, кожен клин или с тигров десен. Също: с десен на дървесна кора (?), на цветя, искрящ, с брокат (но някакси не изглежда кофти-евтин). Псевдо-пънкари на всеки ъгъл. Мда – тук дори и и алтернативното е масово (damn)
Личен фаворит: ръкавчетата, ръкавите, ръкавищата и мега-ръкавищата, които ти стигат до коленете. Или понякога направо си липсват и имаш само парче плат с дупка за главата, а останалото можеш да си го зашиеш сам.
Най-интересното е, че тук доминират малките бутици, в които една дреха не се повтаря – вервайте всеки стил би бил задоволен. А стиловете наоколо са многобройни. Имам една колежка, която всеки ден ме изумява с модните си решения. Любимото ми- ефирна, дантелена розова коля, с леко ретро ръкав и деколте, която просто се слива с порцелановата кожа и … мощни, пънкарски (поне в други региони на света) кубинки! Мда .... кубинките тук са навсякъде. (damn again) Във всякакви модели и цветове. Как да не са fashion тия китайци с този огромен избор наоколо и с необятните възможности на страната да произвежда. За качеството не искам да говоря защото и Polo и Gap и Luis Vuitton и Burberry и H&M и Addidas и Converse ако щете имат фабрики ей там зад границата на Макау, в небезизвестния Big Mother. И да може би сред милиардното население младите имат нужда да се изтъкнат, особено след като от 5 до 20 годишна възраст са в ужасни униформи 24/7. Как да не се поизкривиш малко? Както казах преди все едно са извадени от life-style списание... но само life-style-а нещо липсва (кубинки .. пък Риана в
слушалките). Незнам, не съм от тук и нищо не разбирам още. Сигурно няма и да разбера. Интересен ми е просто мащабът на консумизма тук. В Европа си super cool с Converse и интересно яке, а тук и бабите и хлапетата сa ултра модни. Да де .. само тези развитите региони на Китай... за западните незнам още ( но ще узная скоро, защото мега яка виза краси паспорта ми от миналата сряда). Както и да е: обощение: а) пазарът е залят с кретивни идеи, които не съм виждала никъде преди (leave the punk style alone, god damn it!!!) б) грехота е да не си купиш нещо в) ако някой се вдъхнови и иска блузо-панталон и ризо-рокля да се свързва докато съм тук. 7-те Евро ще ми ги върнете догодина за по една-две бири.
(Простете грозните ми правописни и пунктоационни грешки, писането на български на компютър ме изнервя до краен предел. )
И така смятам да направя един бърз синтаксис на местната мода и тендензии а именно тези в Макау и Хонгконг. в момента около мен се вихри модно шоу, Независимо дали чакам на спирката, седя в час или с мотая безцелно из центъра . И така, дами и господа, присъдата е: местната мода е ужасно вдъхновяваща. Искам да отбележа, че няма нищо общо с модата в Европа, което леко ме озадачава понякога (нали уж всичко е made in china днес, защо тия хави ги няма из Европейския пазар???!??) Tака така сега за модата. Първо, всички по улиците изглеждат извадени едно-към-едно от life-style списание. Второ, всеки е различен, уникален, моден, шокиращ. Комбинациите са невъзможно-забвни понякога, но това, което прави модената младеж наоколо толкова уникална са самите дрехи. Случвало ми се е да стоя , пулеща очи пред някое девойче, мъчейки се да разгадая дали то носи потник или панталон, или може би и двете заедно, но някак си наобратно. Уникалност. Панталоните варират в цветова гама и форма на крачола: тесни, широки, чувалести, клош, шутовски, рицарски, турски, шарени ( с десен на калинки например), карирани – имам предвид всичко което съм смятала за уникално преди тук се носи масово , s други думи не е достатъчно да си с панаталон– нещо трябва да не му е наред. Ако панталоните са тесни, се носят с дълги и широки тениски (които нa крехките хранени с ориз телца са понякога гротескни) с невъобразимо як дизайн, шаблон, бродерия, рисунка, симка. Но истинското богатство на модните архиви се крие в разнообразието от рокли: тесниски-рокли, пуловери-рокли, якета-рокли, жилетки-рокли, потници-рокли, ризи-рокли и рокли-рокли разбира се. Pокло-образните модели са доминиращи наоколо и вдъхновяват с кройки, копчета, колани, ципове, деколтета, качулки, материи, цветове, стилове – изобщо лудница! Особено любим сред малдите девоичета е стилът на Блонди – масово – тесни, къси рокли, с виснали деколтета, блестящи допълнения и лек пънкарски полъх. В смисъл и в Европа е така, но не толкова масово и явно. Друг много любим местен елемент е клинът. Клинът се носи с всичко – рокли, блузи, потници, якета,паналони даже и с други клинове. Особено моден е черният, кожен клин или с тигров десен. Също: с десен на дървесна кора (?), на цветя, искрящ, с брокат (но някакси не изглежда кофти-евтин). Псевдо-пънкари на всеки ъгъл. Мда – тук дори и и алтернативното е масово (damn)
Личен фаворит: ръкавчетата, ръкавите, ръкавищата и мега-ръкавищата, които ти стигат до коленете. Или понякога направо си липсват и имаш само парче плат с дупка за главата, а останалото можеш да си го зашиеш сам.
Най-интересното е, че тук доминират малките бутици, в които една дреха не се повтаря – вервайте всеки стил би бил задоволен. А стиловете наоколо са многобройни. Имам една колежка, която всеки ден ме изумява с модните си решения. Любимото ми- ефирна, дантелена розова коля, с леко ретро ръкав и деколте, която просто се слива с порцелановата кожа и … мощни, пънкарски (поне в други региони на света) кубинки! Мда .... кубинките тук са навсякъде. (damn again) Във всякакви модели и цветове. Как да не са fashion тия китайци с този огромен избор наоколо и с необятните възможности на страната да произвежда. За качеството не искам да говоря защото и Polo и Gap и Luis Vuitton и Burberry и H&M и Addidas и Converse ако щете имат фабрики ей там зад границата на Макау, в небезизвестния Big Mother. И да може би сред милиардното население младите имат нужда да се изтъкнат, особено след като от 5 до 20 годишна възраст са в ужасни униформи 24/7. Как да не се поизкривиш малко? Както казах преди все едно са извадени от life-style списание... но само life-style-а нещо липсва (кубинки .. пък Риана в
слушалките). Незнам, не съм от тук и нищо не разбирам още. Сигурно няма и да разбера. Интересен ми е просто мащабът на консумизма тук. В Европа си super cool с Converse и интересно яке, а тук и бабите и хлапетата сa ултра модни. Да де .. само тези развитите региони на Китай... за западните незнам още ( но ще узная скоро, защото мега яка виза краси паспорта ми от миналата сряда). Както и да е: обощение: а) пазарът е залят с кретивни идеи, които не съм виждала никъде преди (leave the punk style alone, god damn it!!!) б) грехота е да не си купиш нещо в) ако някой се вдъхнови и иска блузо-панталон и ризо-рокля да се свързва докато съм тук. 7-те Евро ще ми ги върнете догодина за по една-две бири.
(Простете грозните ми правописни и пунктоационни грешки, писането на български на компютър ме изнервя до краен предел. )
donderdag 19 november 2009
Pnau
Let me introduce another band that has been recently wining leading positions in my MP3 player (MP3 player ... classic). The target of today’s review that’s made me sung on the bus at 7:30 a.m. among 45 standing Chinese while the carrying capacity of the bus is only 30 passengers, is PNAU. I was just sitting in the office this summer listening to Lastfm radio of recommended artists (recommended!!!) and suddenly it started: “lover, give me what you’ve got, I am a passenger and you’re holding my heart”. I got hooked up immediately and stopping me from having all what the duo has done during the past 10 years was simply impossible. PNAU ladies and lads come from Sydney and consist of Peter Mayers and Nick Littlemore (hotness) who is currently roaming the stages together with Luke Steele as the Empire of the Sun. 10 years as one of the leading electro-pop Aussie formations and still active. The new beat collection is coming soon (according to trusted sources down south in Oz ). Until then, “baby” .... "with you forever"
p.s. I dont know who's the chick on the video but the vocals belong to Pip Brown aka Ladyhawke. Finito.
Rainforest Alliance
I worked in this company for 7 months (January-August 2009) and this is the first time I see the promotional video. It makes me feel proud and happy that I did not waste my time in some sales department. I miss the Rainforest(s).
woensdag 18 november 2009
Bones.. it's only natural
Last week the shower drain got blocked and I had to buy some acid or detergent to unblock it. This, however, proved to be a challenge since the whole chemical section in the supermarket was in Chinese. Finally, I found one: called: Drain-opener (creative Chinese) and the sticker says that it disintegrates:
a) grease
b) hair
c) paper
d) fabric
e) and BONES.
I mean, may be it’s a cultural thing... but how do you get bones in your drain pipe often enough so that there is a product to disintegrate them? Or if it’s a multi-purpose detergent in what kind of circumstances would you need a product that disintegrates bones? Interesting right? Or may be the company decided to expand its operations and target that lucrative murderer/serial killer’s market. Well, somebody must cater to their needs as well, right? They need efficiency too! Being one step ahead from competitors – smart marketing strategy! That's why China's economy is expanding that fast.
P.S Somebody should tell Dexter about it .. that whole chopping and dumping into the ocean business is just outdated
a) grease
b) hair
c) paper
d) fabric
e) and BONES.
I mean, may be it’s a cultural thing... but how do you get bones in your drain pipe often enough so that there is a product to disintegrate them? Or if it’s a multi-purpose detergent in what kind of circumstances would you need a product that disintegrates bones? Interesting right? Or may be the company decided to expand its operations and target that lucrative murderer/serial killer’s market. Well, somebody must cater to their needs as well, right? They need efficiency too! Being one step ahead from competitors – smart marketing strategy! That's why China's economy is expanding that fast.
P.S Somebody should tell Dexter about it .. that whole chopping and dumping into the ocean business is just outdated
maandag 16 november 2009
I've got hugs for you
Finnaly found an embed-able version! The video is horrible, I know, it causes a fierce descussion on youtube.
Edinburgh wait for me!
zaterdag 14 november 2009
Gotta get me some kiwi
(Uhm... yeah just for the record: I have just seen a football game between New Zealand and Bahrain: never knew those countries play football. 1-0 for the Kiwis. In the meantime I got a whole story told bout The Northern and the Southern Island and how you can sky-jump from an airplane from the one to the other, and all other bunch of intriguing stuff about the Kiwis, the glaciers and sheep-wool weaveing. Came home and had a glass of NZ milk while the Flight of the Conchords was the first band that my Winamp shuffled ... so I thought its a New Zealand night. One more greate thing about it: The black seeds!. Enough, business hours are over)
vrijdag 13 november 2009
donderdag 12 november 2009
Isn't it annoying and creepy that you can't really delete your Facebook account? You can only deactivate it but as soon as you log in with your old password and username.. you're back in the game with the same profile and the same info. Nothing changes. I guess I should delete all pics and friends in order to disappear from the Facebook archives forever ... if this is possible at all. I mean .... where is the customer's right to stop using Facebook? Or may be they assumed that we'll all hook up to the greatness of social-networking and we'll never be able to get enough of it? Sure just watch me waving goodbye!!!!
Eclipse
By saying the EOTS is coming up with weird-ass videos I meant this stuff. It took me while to decide if I like it or not... but now it's certain: voting positively with both legs and arms. I mean... look at this! Don’t know what's going on with modern music anymore but I like it (:-D). Bedank en tot straks. Lang leef het Rijk!!! Btw, if you are not fervent EOTS fan like myself, I you may not know that this video was dedicated to the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century so far - the one of 22nd July 2009 - that lasted exactly 6 minutes and 39 seconds (check the duration of the video).
Lady Gaga is probably getting a hard-core frustration when watching this video.
Lady Gaga is probably getting a hard-core frustration when watching this video.
woensdag 11 november 2009
The Environment: The lost love
Song of the day! It has been one complete week since I’ve embarked on the long and “forbidden journey” of thesis writing. Around 10 hours per day. Subject: The Environmental Consequences of Tourism Development In Macau, China. And while my heart is breaking at the results from only the desk research and while I read examples both local and global of how much harm have we done only in our leisure time I need a rhythm like this one. In January when I’ll have to finally go and see with my eyes how huge resorts are dumping waste around Macau ... I don’t know what I will need then. The environment ... It is like the love we’ve lost, indeed. And even though, you save water, you recycle, you plant trees, you don’t waste electricity ... in the end of the day some big-ass corporation like the god-damn Venetian here in Macau comes, consolidates the land and bam....20 shuttle buses around town just to promote it, tons of waste dumped guess where, luxury accommodation and casinos operate 24/7. Do you know how much electricity this is? All those flashing signs and stuff? Well, I will tell you all about it in March probably. Of course there is constant sun for at least 6-7 month, there is water everywhere, there's wind all over the place as there are no mountains stopping it, there will be rain for 5-6 months ... but who cares about those god-damn-sources-of-renewable-energy!
I really like what somebody somewhere once said . .. the environment is like the love we’ve lost.. It is and it is the only meaningful thing left to worship. And when you see how beautiful it is across the continents, when you remember the mountains of your home country .... You fall in love immediately and your heart is really breaking while writing a thesis like that one.
(найлонови торбичкииии!!!!!)
P.s. if you've liked the song check The Ghost as well. And basically everyting that James Yuill has done.
dinsdag 10 november 2009
Gerald
Ok time to get away from the Oz and NZ music stream from the past weekend and get back to some Europe-based vibes. Ladies and gents.. A guy called Gerald. Manchester. Belleza!
maandag 9 november 2009
Food Shock
If there is one food that can make me vomit continuously, this is the durian. The durian is a fruit that grows all over South East Aisa and is distinctive for its impressive size, torn-covered surface, unique taste and smell. It is reffered to as the King of Fruits but it is banned from public transport, hotels and administrative buildings. Imagine....
My first encounter with durian was two months ago when touring Macau with some classmates, a friend of mine came to me with an icecream box, grinning mysteriously. He offered me a spoonfull of a yellow normal-looking ice cream. I grew suspicious but curiosity drove me towards what I now remember as the most disturbing taste in my life. As soon as it touched my mouth, I stopped breathing; I stopped moving for a few seconds. My nervous system was shacken up. By this tiny little piece of ice cream which taste resembled rotten garlic, onions and baby vomit. But worse, much worse than that. I looked around for a place to spit it out but there was none and did the impossible. Now I could tell if somebody has eaten durian from half a kilometer. Its stink is all-embracing and never-ending. And everybody loves it here in Asia – they use it in cakes, ice creams, juices or just fresh. The king of fruit. W.T.F. Just a few descriptions of durian that I have found.
“Its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away” (Winokur, Jon, 2003)
"Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother." (Burdain, A., 2006)
My first encounter with durian was two months ago when touring Macau with some classmates, a friend of mine came to me with an icecream box, grinning mysteriously. He offered me a spoonfull of a yellow normal-looking ice cream. I grew suspicious but curiosity drove me towards what I now remember as the most disturbing taste in my life. As soon as it touched my mouth, I stopped breathing; I stopped moving for a few seconds. My nervous system was shacken up. By this tiny little piece of ice cream which taste resembled rotten garlic, onions and baby vomit. But worse, much worse than that. I looked around for a place to spit it out but there was none and did the impossible. Now I could tell if somebody has eaten durian from half a kilometer. Its stink is all-embracing and never-ending. And everybody loves it here in Asia – they use it in cakes, ice creams, juices or just fresh. The king of fruit. W.T.F. Just a few descriptions of durian that I have found.
“Its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away” (Winokur, Jon, 2003)
"Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother." (Burdain, A., 2006)
zondag 8 november 2009
More music
Continuing the good vibe this weekend. This time from New Zealand and while eating a massive Sunday portion of warm pancakes with cream cheese and aboslutely nobody to share them and my positive vibration with. My new friends : bunch of books on my bed and 50 pages to write. Help me music!
"if every solder in this world put down his weapon and picked up a woman .. oh what a peaceful world this world would be!!!"
"Oh you sexy hermaphrodite lady-man-ladies
With your sexy lady bits
And your sexy man bits too
Even you must be in to you "
"it's got to be Sweet 16's not M-16's
When will the governments realize it's got to be funky sexy ladies?"
haaaaaaaaaaaaaahaha .. I mean how can you not love this stuff!
zaterdag 7 november 2009
The Empire
Jeezzzz! Absolutely one of my favourite albums of 2009! Empire of The Sun and the debut Walking on a Dream! Its in my ears every morning on the bus and I guess it will stick around for a while. In the meantime the Aussies keep on releasing new weird-ass videos (this is actually the first one from the album) and I keep on waiting for them to take a flight up north and give a concert/ show / zoo / shaman pereformance /madhouse gig or whatever comes around! And yeah.. waiting for the Tiger by my Side ..c'mnon!
Bangkok
If there is a city among all Asian capitals that you should not miss visiting- this is Bangkok! Yes, Bangkok, that huge, buzy, smelly and noisy and crowded type of anarchy that happens to be the capital of one of the most beautiful countries I have seen. It is not particularly attractive but its special as it makes you really feel the spirit of Asia. For me it was the first absolutely Asian experience so far. Hugeness. 10 million people. Scorching heat in the beginning of November. Real Buddhism. Extreme poverty. Extreme wealth.. Bangkok has got it all. The ultimate never-ending negotiating of taxi prices is the thing to get you started. For somebody who has been only to Hong Kong and Macau, it’s an adventure. In Macau taxis use the meter. In Bangkok they use the art of barter. Tuk Tuk’s are the best way to get around (wait for the visuals - comming soon)- its like half a car, half a motor, it’s small, compact, fast and fun as you are basically siting outside while being driven around town. From one temple to the other, from China Town to the Siam square. There is so much to see and do and everything is scattered around the map. The temples are magical – even though when I enter and see all those people praying to the golden Buddha I don’t know what to do with myself and I just stand still and try to formulate a wish (but somehow at this very moment in the temple I feel absolutely content withmy life and everything around me). Buddhist temples are unique. The Temple of the Sun - my favourite (again –soon I will get the pics), The Reclining Buddha- spectacular. The grandeur of the Grand Palace and the rest – so much light, quietness, simpleness and experience at once. (Of course if you exclude the millions of tourists who feel the same way around you.)
Night life in Bangkok is like night life in Amsterdam. The resemblance is sticking. When you come to Amsterdam you need to fill up your head with jelly, get involved in a weird type of entertainment mostly involving sexual themes and you are supposed to end up at some weird place. In Bangkok – same same but different (I will dedicate a post to this phrase as it is becoming part of my Asian life by the minute). Shit-facing options –all over the place, prostitution- abundnant, good music- everywhere, annoying touristsl to be found in each of the venues offering all of the above. There is rave and rock and punk and jazz and whatever you want and the Thai are so kind to invite to to a local gig. And this is how I ended up on a touist-free sidestreet, chatting with a local band and just hanging out with a beer in my hand. Just like those high-scool years.
I don’t want to talk about the food because it will never be enough. Sweet, sour, steamed, fresh, with peanuts, extra spice, rice, rice rice, no meet (Buddha!!!), spring rolls, papaya salad, loads of noodles everywhere. May be one of the healthiest cuisines I have had. Slurping hot spicy soup in the 35 degrees in Weekend Market (officially the biggest market in word visited by hundreds of thousands of people each weekend) is what can really make you feel local. Sweating and slurping, slurping and sweating I managed to discover finally the secret of eating soup with chopsticks. Yeah. That’s right with chopsticks. Walking around the market in the heat, bargaining for flipflops, checking out scarfs, meeting random locals and enjoying a freshly squeezed pine apple juice with a Buddha smiling on every corner – glourious days in Asia!
You just want to stand still, open your sences as wide as possible and absorb as there is so much of it all – music, scent, sights you haven’t seen, tastes you may never try again. I wanted to take them all with me. Too bad you can’t take pictures of scents; you can’t record the feshness of the healthy Thai meal. They stay with you though, carefully placed in the emotional album collecting everything worth collecting. Just like the one-hour Thai massage I will may be remember forever. Exquisite!
topics omitted from the discussion: trasnformers, trasformer flight attendants, Khao San Road, prices, ultra cool T-shirts, the floathing market, Thai punk music
Night life in Bangkok is like night life in Amsterdam. The resemblance is sticking. When you come to Amsterdam you need to fill up your head with jelly, get involved in a weird type of entertainment mostly involving sexual themes and you are supposed to end up at some weird place. In Bangkok – same same but different (I will dedicate a post to this phrase as it is becoming part of my Asian life by the minute). Shit-facing options –all over the place, prostitution- abundnant, good music- everywhere, annoying touristsl to be found in each of the venues offering all of the above. There is rave and rock and punk and jazz and whatever you want and the Thai are so kind to invite to to a local gig. And this is how I ended up on a touist-free sidestreet, chatting with a local band and just hanging out with a beer in my hand. Just like those high-scool years.
I don’t want to talk about the food because it will never be enough. Sweet, sour, steamed, fresh, with peanuts, extra spice, rice, rice rice, no meet (Buddha!!!), spring rolls, papaya salad, loads of noodles everywhere. May be one of the healthiest cuisines I have had. Slurping hot spicy soup in the 35 degrees in Weekend Market (officially the biggest market in word visited by hundreds of thousands of people each weekend) is what can really make you feel local. Sweating and slurping, slurping and sweating I managed to discover finally the secret of eating soup with chopsticks. Yeah. That’s right with chopsticks. Walking around the market in the heat, bargaining for flipflops, checking out scarfs, meeting random locals and enjoying a freshly squeezed pine apple juice with a Buddha smiling on every corner – glourious days in Asia!
You just want to stand still, open your sences as wide as possible and absorb as there is so much of it all – music, scent, sights you haven’t seen, tastes you may never try again. I wanted to take them all with me. Too bad you can’t take pictures of scents; you can’t record the feshness of the healthy Thai meal. They stay with you though, carefully placed in the emotional album collecting everything worth collecting. Just like the one-hour Thai massage I will may be remember forever. Exquisite!
topics omitted from the discussion: trasnformers, trasformer flight attendants, Khao San Road, prices, ultra cool T-shirts, the floathing market, Thai punk music
vrijdag 6 november 2009
donderdag 5 november 2009
This is the e-mail that I have just received! It is from a person I met a few months ago in CR.
"Hey, how are you? I am sending you this message because I have something to share, something that has been going on in my life for a while and I believe you have been a part of it. Recently, I have begun to feel that I am slowly and very insecurely realising ….. lets call them “things”. Things about myself, who I am, where I am and what kind of reality I am thought to believe I am livign in. I know that a transformation is taking place inside me. One of the first things that is happening to me is that I am shifting my decision-making process from purely logical (as it was before) to more intuitional. Last couple of months spent in Costa Rica were a constant journey that has been taking me to places, people, conversations, data and experiences without me having to do anything but follow my intuition. It’s like information is coming to me on its own account. I have met so many people during my travels who were just talking to me about enegry levels and dimentions and all that stuff and its amazing how many people are out there that have made this “transformation” a global, mutual experience that I know will be our destiny.
I know that you have been talking about spirituality and consciousness and most of the time I was “shutting down”.However, we communicate with each other on many levels and not just with the five sences and I think on some vibrational subconscious level you sent me a lot of information that I was unable or unwilling to process at the time. Thank you and I hope we stay connected! "
I hope so too.
"Hey, how are you? I am sending you this message because I have something to share, something that has been going on in my life for a while and I believe you have been a part of it. Recently, I have begun to feel that I am slowly and very insecurely realising ….. lets call them “things”. Things about myself, who I am, where I am and what kind of reality I am thought to believe I am livign in. I know that a transformation is taking place inside me. One of the first things that is happening to me is that I am shifting my decision-making process from purely logical (as it was before) to more intuitional. Last couple of months spent in Costa Rica were a constant journey that has been taking me to places, people, conversations, data and experiences without me having to do anything but follow my intuition. It’s like information is coming to me on its own account. I have met so many people during my travels who were just talking to me about enegry levels and dimentions and all that stuff and its amazing how many people are out there that have made this “transformation” a global, mutual experience that I know will be our destiny.
I know that you have been talking about spirituality and consciousness and most of the time I was “shutting down”.However, we communicate with each other on many levels and not just with the five sences and I think on some vibrational subconscious level you sent me a lot of information that I was unable or unwilling to process at the time. Thank you and I hope we stay connected! "
I hope so too.
Lifestylism
I was just searching for something in my huge archives and I found the following text. May be it was a response to a post that somebody published in the summer about the things he/she loves (???). Dont know and I don't know why I havent published it so far, but I will do it now. It was written in the begining of August in Costa Rica. No word was altered since then.
"So everybody loves stuff. I love stuff too; probably I won’t publish this but is always healthy to think about the things you love. Especially next to the pool on a sunny midday in San Jose. There we go.
I love tossing pebbles in the river (or any other kind of water body). This is like the number one thing to do on an autumn afternoon when a motley crew of leaves is dancing in the air, in the water, on your scarf and on the benches in the park. Tossing pebbles in the river is a special activity – you have to get to the water and you are required to have pebbles. Therefore, Holland is so far considered “tossing pebbles in the water”-hot-spot numero uno! Needles to say, water is everywhere, you can park your fiets close to the singel, sit on the ground if its not wet, grab the first little stone you see and toss it. Mannn.. I can do this for ages. Of course if you have a company and a butte of cheap Albert Hijn wine…well…life becomes really a beautiful thing.
I love waking up in the sun. Those mornings when I crawl out of my sleeping bag, half-frozen half-sweaty, dirty-faced and grass-smelly, and I see the sunshine light stroking gently our campsite are the best morning of the year. I never forget to sleep outside at least once every four seasons. On the beach, in the mountains, random fields and meadows, in the park (Barcelona crew knows!) ...wherever…. Of course sometimes you wake up with the rain instead of the sun especially in Lowland but the feeling is still there.
I love when boys and girls look all sex-similar or I don’t know if there is a word (androgynous???) What I mean is boys with tight, tight clothes, slightly feminine. I think you call them metro sexual or something like that. Well yeah….I loves that. Moreover, I love when girls have manly hairdos, clothes and attitude. .. When men look like women and women like man. Lovely. I wonder if one day we would completely swap sex roles. Or like Renton says in Trainspotting .. May be there will be only sex left. I would not mind at all.
I love languages. No so much studying tenses ad conjugating verbs but when you start understanding. When you understand that little world of thoughts that you are accessing. When the language starts understanding you and becomes your tool of communication, your best friend and sometimes most dangerous weapon. Yeah ….when you can start expressing your feelings, making jokes and discussing politics and be completely understood. When you start understanding songs… wow... when I heard Manu Chao in Spain last year... those were totally different songs, because I knew what he was singing about. I understood. When you start reading in the language, watching movies, working and loving somebody in that language…you enter a totally new universe of words, expressions, modes of thinking, behavioral patterns, attitudes. In about a month I will start learning three new languages – Portuguese (easy-busy), Mandarin (hard-core) and Cantonese or Japanese (double hard-core but sounding nicer). I am afraid I will become a total 100% nerd trying to read and write yeroglyphs all day and night. If I manage to start understanding one tenth of those languages … That will be like a double mental orgasm. I love when I don’t understand when people speak French, or when your boy whispers in your years something in Italian. I love wondering what kind of language are these people next to me speaking – normally when I don’t understand anything from what people say but they are obviously Europeans – well most of the time its Irish slang Languages, that’s it. Slangs, accents, local words, dying languages … new languages, computer language, body language, sign language (have to learn that one).
I don’t think I need to say how much I love music, arts (all kinds of), literature and cinema. That will be useless. The day the music, arts, literature and cinema die, the world may juts as well stop turning. That’s about it.
I love traveling. I love love love traveling. Arriving somewhere is such a special feeling for me. I am different when I travel. I drink and smoke more, eat less, sleep less and do stupid things most of the time. Don’t care about the main square although there is always somebody with you who wants to climb up the Eifel Tower (Тодоре!!). I always get into weird anti-tourism situations (if you work at a pizza shop probably you don’t eat pizza at home if you know where I am getting at). Like talking about the Sandinista Popular Revolution with a local 60 year old guy in a small non-commercial salsa bar in Granada, Nicaragua, don’t ask how I ended up there. Or listening to a semi-private concert on a God-knows-where-located beach of the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Or lighting fireworks from the roof top of a 7-story building downtown Marsillia, South of France… and all those other special moments shared with people you will never meet again even though you have exchanged e-mails and phone numbers. All that hitchhiking, volcano- climbing, camping, backpacking, cave-snorkeling, bar-hopping and even sight-seeing ... I love that so much and it’s an addiction. Once you start you can never stop. I have to cite Oscar Widle “The only way to resist temptation is to yield to it”. Ende.
I love wine, beer, whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, vermouth, menta, guaro, grappa, rakia, mastica, sake, martini, scotch, brandy, cognac, sweet liquors, sidder, arrack and toddy and tari (haven’t tried them yet but I will love them for sure next year), tequila, sparkling wine, pure, with soda, in a cocktail, in candies, before eating, during eating, after eating, day and night, summer and winter. You got it? I mean I don’t love the after-effect that much as the drinking, the rituals, the taste and the occasion (sometimes the lack of occasion). Yeah…This love will finish me.
I love Zachary Condon! Find him, tie him up and send it to me for my birthday. I want him singing naked in the backyard.
I love people. (Be prepared: here comes a huge hippie though). I love seeing them after a long long separation, I love thinking about them as friends. I love meeting them in parks, squares, in-front-of-the-cinema-Svilengrad-even-thoug-there-is-no-cinema-anymore, bars, at home and at their home, during travels and adventures. I love talking to them for the first time and for the last time before saying goodbye. I love taking showers with them, swimming naked in lakes with them, cutting their hair, traveling with them, sharing a tent with them, listening to them when they have nothing worth saying, drinking with them, I love thinking that they’re so great, I love feeling attracted by them and trying to imitate them. I love when they are being silly or smart-asses, sad, happy, inspired, angry, and energetic. I love the human touch, the smile, the hug, the handshake, the tap on the shoulder, the kiss, and the sudden pull when somebody decides to kiss you unexpectedly. People all over the world – black, white, brown, yellow, red, green on yellow stripes. I love to know how they live and show them how I live, I wanna know what they eat and cook for them what I eat, I wanna know what their favorite songs are and play them my favorite ones. I want to know their language and teach them mine (almost impossible but still true – Joey you are my hope!!!!). Without them nothing in this life will be worth living... no matter if they are friends, family members or complete strangers.
I love sleeping on the floor, hammocks, concerts, landscapes – natural and urban, racial mixtures, peanuts, coffein and matein, huge electronic parties, cities, boats and ships, after parties, coffee beans, every single fruit and vegetable on the planet. I love thinking about the future (I am not a living-in-the-moment person) making plans, imagining places, thinking about my future children, planning trips, studies, careers… and knowing all of this has the freedom not to happen. And that’s the best part of it. I love life itself, I am not curious (not even a little bit) about the afterlife, death and the next level if those things exist whatsoever. I don’t need any extreme sports to feel alive. I am alive every day and I want to be alive until there is not space for wrinkles on my skin anymore. I don’t need to see aliens and other planets and to be in space. I love the earthlings, this planet and its wonders. And I want to see them all. I love slow life. "
The end
"So everybody loves stuff. I love stuff too; probably I won’t publish this but is always healthy to think about the things you love. Especially next to the pool on a sunny midday in San Jose. There we go.
I love tossing pebbles in the river (or any other kind of water body). This is like the number one thing to do on an autumn afternoon when a motley crew of leaves is dancing in the air, in the water, on your scarf and on the benches in the park. Tossing pebbles in the river is a special activity – you have to get to the water and you are required to have pebbles. Therefore, Holland is so far considered “tossing pebbles in the water”-hot-spot numero uno! Needles to say, water is everywhere, you can park your fiets close to the singel, sit on the ground if its not wet, grab the first little stone you see and toss it. Mannn.. I can do this for ages. Of course if you have a company and a butte of cheap Albert Hijn wine…well…life becomes really a beautiful thing.
I love waking up in the sun. Those mornings when I crawl out of my sleeping bag, half-frozen half-sweaty, dirty-faced and grass-smelly, and I see the sunshine light stroking gently our campsite are the best morning of the year. I never forget to sleep outside at least once every four seasons. On the beach, in the mountains, random fields and meadows, in the park (Barcelona crew knows!) ...wherever…. Of course sometimes you wake up with the rain instead of the sun especially in Lowland but the feeling is still there.
I love when boys and girls look all sex-similar or I don’t know if there is a word (androgynous???) What I mean is boys with tight, tight clothes, slightly feminine. I think you call them metro sexual or something like that. Well yeah….I loves that. Moreover, I love when girls have manly hairdos, clothes and attitude. .. When men look like women and women like man. Lovely. I wonder if one day we would completely swap sex roles. Or like Renton says in Trainspotting .. May be there will be only sex left. I would not mind at all.
I love languages. No so much studying tenses ad conjugating verbs but when you start understanding. When you understand that little world of thoughts that you are accessing. When the language starts understanding you and becomes your tool of communication, your best friend and sometimes most dangerous weapon. Yeah ….when you can start expressing your feelings, making jokes and discussing politics and be completely understood. When you start understanding songs… wow... when I heard Manu Chao in Spain last year... those were totally different songs, because I knew what he was singing about. I understood. When you start reading in the language, watching movies, working and loving somebody in that language…you enter a totally new universe of words, expressions, modes of thinking, behavioral patterns, attitudes. In about a month I will start learning three new languages – Portuguese (easy-busy), Mandarin (hard-core) and Cantonese or Japanese (double hard-core but sounding nicer). I am afraid I will become a total 100% nerd trying to read and write yeroglyphs all day and night. If I manage to start understanding one tenth of those languages … That will be like a double mental orgasm. I love when I don’t understand when people speak French, or when your boy whispers in your years something in Italian. I love wondering what kind of language are these people next to me speaking – normally when I don’t understand anything from what people say but they are obviously Europeans – well most of the time its Irish slang Languages, that’s it. Slangs, accents, local words, dying languages … new languages, computer language, body language, sign language (have to learn that one).
I don’t think I need to say how much I love music, arts (all kinds of), literature and cinema. That will be useless. The day the music, arts, literature and cinema die, the world may juts as well stop turning. That’s about it.
I love traveling. I love love love traveling. Arriving somewhere is such a special feeling for me. I am different when I travel. I drink and smoke more, eat less, sleep less and do stupid things most of the time. Don’t care about the main square although there is always somebody with you who wants to climb up the Eifel Tower (Тодоре!!). I always get into weird anti-tourism situations (if you work at a pizza shop probably you don’t eat pizza at home if you know where I am getting at). Like talking about the Sandinista Popular Revolution with a local 60 year old guy in a small non-commercial salsa bar in Granada, Nicaragua, don’t ask how I ended up there. Or listening to a semi-private concert on a God-knows-where-located beach of the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Or lighting fireworks from the roof top of a 7-story building downtown Marsillia, South of France… and all those other special moments shared with people you will never meet again even though you have exchanged e-mails and phone numbers. All that hitchhiking, volcano- climbing, camping, backpacking, cave-snorkeling, bar-hopping and even sight-seeing ... I love that so much and it’s an addiction. Once you start you can never stop. I have to cite Oscar Widle “The only way to resist temptation is to yield to it”. Ende.
I love wine, beer, whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, vermouth, menta, guaro, grappa, rakia, mastica, sake, martini, scotch, brandy, cognac, sweet liquors, sidder, arrack and toddy and tari (haven’t tried them yet but I will love them for sure next year), tequila, sparkling wine, pure, with soda, in a cocktail, in candies, before eating, during eating, after eating, day and night, summer and winter. You got it? I mean I don’t love the after-effect that much as the drinking, the rituals, the taste and the occasion (sometimes the lack of occasion). Yeah…This love will finish me.
I love Zachary Condon! Find him, tie him up and send it to me for my birthday. I want him singing naked in the backyard.
I love people. (Be prepared: here comes a huge hippie though). I love seeing them after a long long separation, I love thinking about them as friends. I love meeting them in parks, squares, in-front-of-the-cinema-Svilengrad-even-thoug-there-is-no-cinema-anymore, bars, at home and at their home, during travels and adventures. I love talking to them for the first time and for the last time before saying goodbye. I love taking showers with them, swimming naked in lakes with them, cutting their hair, traveling with them, sharing a tent with them, listening to them when they have nothing worth saying, drinking with them, I love thinking that they’re so great, I love feeling attracted by them and trying to imitate them. I love when they are being silly or smart-asses, sad, happy, inspired, angry, and energetic. I love the human touch, the smile, the hug, the handshake, the tap on the shoulder, the kiss, and the sudden pull when somebody decides to kiss you unexpectedly. People all over the world – black, white, brown, yellow, red, green on yellow stripes. I love to know how they live and show them how I live, I wanna know what they eat and cook for them what I eat, I wanna know what their favorite songs are and play them my favorite ones. I want to know their language and teach them mine (almost impossible but still true – Joey you are my hope!!!!). Without them nothing in this life will be worth living... no matter if they are friends, family members or complete strangers.
I love sleeping on the floor, hammocks, concerts, landscapes – natural and urban, racial mixtures, peanuts, coffein and matein, huge electronic parties, cities, boats and ships, after parties, coffee beans, every single fruit and vegetable on the planet. I love thinking about the future (I am not a living-in-the-moment person) making plans, imagining places, thinking about my future children, planning trips, studies, careers… and knowing all of this has the freedom not to happen. And that’s the best part of it. I love life itself, I am not curious (not even a little bit) about the afterlife, death and the next level if those things exist whatsoever. I don’t need any extreme sports to feel alive. I am alive every day and I want to be alive until there is not space for wrinkles on my skin anymore. I don’t need to see aliens and other planets and to be in space. I love the earthlings, this planet and its wonders. And I want to see them all. I love slow life. "
The end
woensdag 4 november 2009
Yerba Mate
Mate is commonly known as the traditional ritual beverage of various South American Indian tribes, famous as the ancient drink of health and friendship. What are not so widely-known about mate are its amazing qualities. Apart from being a tea-like beverage, which consumption is a cult, Mate can keep your energy up – in extreme heat, cold, physical activity and stress. The dried herb contains meteine which is almost the same as caffeine with the main advantage of being absolutely unprocessed. Among all natural stimulants Mate holds the aces for being devoid of toxicity and side effects, providing nutrition and stimulation for both the mind and body.
Drinking Mate is not simply the pleasure of having a cup of tea, it is a ritual. But what comes first, before the warm liquid could spread its fortifying effects, is a set of actions that Mate-lovers must keep in mind in order to prepare and serve the herb properly. From pouring the dry leaves in the small hollow calabash cup, to drinking the first Mate and passing it on – the process is ritualistic, directed towards providing the maximum mineral quality of the herb.
How did I find out about Mate? Years ago, in the beautiful (then) beach of Irakli, Eastern Bulgaria somebody passed me on a curious little bulb with a metal straw sticking out of it. The taste – bitter. The effect- missing. Only after the third drink I started feeling slightly energized and then bam!!! My hearth started racing, my breathing changed and I had the feeling I could swim up to Varna.
Earlier this year, in Costa Rica on my fist day at the Rainforest Alliance, my boss – from Argentina where drinking Mate is practiced daily by young and old- shared a cup with me. And then it all started – I fell in love with the drink. I researched it and apparently no scientists and doctors could relate Mate to any negative side effects or illnesses. On the contrary, Mate is proved to strengthen the immune system, cleanse the body from toxins, calm allergies and serve as a gentle diuretic. But what really made me a fervent Mate-drinker was its ability to keep me alert, awake, energized. No coffee has ever made that happen. No other stimulant could keep me up until 3a.m. when I have some work to do and immediately freshen up my mind and body at 6 a.m. before departing to whatever destination. Mate stimulates mental activity and concentration even when its 35 degrees outside. How can you not love it!
For everybody interested in optimum health Mate would be a good choice. It is also excellent for diets as it suppresses the appetite – you are still hungry and you eat normally, but once you start drinking mate, there will be no desire to munch on some useless chips and cookies while studying. And finally, my friends, Mate is a good aphrodisiac. All this explains why among the shoes and clothes, my suitcase to Asia was stuffed with two large packages of Mate Yierba, the bulb and bombilla that have kicked coffee out of my mornings.
I suppose it could be found in specialized coffee, tea and South American stores, probably online as well. Strongly recommended!
dinsdag 3 november 2009
woensdag 28 oktober 2009
Consumer behaviour
People’s consumer behaviour is strongly influenced by their self-concept that is often quite distorted. This stems from an imbalance between their perception of who they really are and who they want to be- a contradiction between the actual and the ideal self. In most cases, the ideal self is an idea forced upon us by external factors (family, friends, media, religion etc) and is very hard to satisfy. As a result, people are “trapped” in a constant search for ways of self-improvement in order to reach their desired self. These ways are expressed in their consumer behaviour and life-style patterns (products, fashions, tastes, preferences etc). In other words, the more you buy, the closer you get to your desired ideal self. The most perfect scam ever created!
How to reduce the gap between actual and desired self? Desire your actual self!
(source: contemplation on Marketing Class study material)
How to reduce the gap between actual and desired self? Desire your actual self!
(source: contemplation on Marketing Class study material)
dinsdag 20 oktober 2009
Fractals
Have you heard of fractals (Фрактали)? In general terms, a fractal is a geometric shape that when split into parts will produce reduced-sized copies of itself... all parts of the whole are similar to the whole. Fractals are found everywhere in nature and also in man-made elements... for example the dragon tail, Hindu and Muslim decorations, broccoli and colliflower, crystals and mountain ranges, fractals are used in the creation of screen savers and compuer landscapes. The picture above presents the Mandelbrot Set discovered by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1982. This set is believed to be one of the most perfect fractal systems found almost everywhere. The youtube video is a documentary (that could be seen online) made by Arthur C. Clarke (the author of the Odyssey sequel) and explores the characteristics of fractals, specifically the M-set, in nature and all around us. Enjoy, you may never see the world with the same eyes again after this film.
maandag 19 oktober 2009
Patterns in Nature
If next year I get accepted to the Unievrsity of Edinburgh (or may be I should say "when I get accepted at the University of Edinburgh" because according to The Secret in this way I am saying it is true, I am making a concrete statement to the universe that has no other choice but rearrange itself and make it true (:-D) (call it wishful thinking) I really hope this course will still be available. I will eat rice for a month if I'd have to, but I will enroll for this set of lectures.
Course Name: Patterns in Nature
Course Summary:
Why do trees look like trees and snowflakes like snowflakes? How do termites build elaborate structures without supervision? What can boiling porridge tell us about clouds? This fully illustrated course explains how patterns in nature can form through self-organisation, using examples and methods from a variety of scientific disciplines. Suitable for anyone who's ever wondered about the astonishing complexity of nature, you'll never look at the world in quite the same way again.
Course Details:
Pre-requisites for enrolment
No prior knowledge required.
Content of Course
Introduction: A tour through patterns in nature, outlining and structuring the topic, and brainstorming: which patterns have students observed in nature?
Waves and oscillations: We look at waves in the ocean, the atmosphere (cloud patterns!) etc., and why our heart beats.
Regularity and chaos: Using examples like population cycles or climate fluctuations, we introduce concepts like the logistic equation, bifurcations and attractors.
Animal Cooperation: How fish swarms communicate and how social insects cooperate.
Spatial patterns: Cracks in mud, paint, soil patterns in Arctic soils, and similar topics.
Aggregation and growth processes: Crystals, snowflakes, lichen, and the shells of snails.
Cellular automata: Recap of some of the earlier topics and how they can be modelled/described by simple discrete models.
Fractals: Leaves, trees, river systems and other fractal systems.
Miscellaneous topics: (Human) perception of randomness and patterns.
Concluding Session.
Sourse: https://www.course-bookings.lifelong.ed.ac.uk/courses/S/science-and-nature/C1861/patterns-in-nature/
Course Name: Patterns in Nature
Course Summary:
Why do trees look like trees and snowflakes like snowflakes? How do termites build elaborate structures without supervision? What can boiling porridge tell us about clouds? This fully illustrated course explains how patterns in nature can form through self-organisation, using examples and methods from a variety of scientific disciplines. Suitable for anyone who's ever wondered about the astonishing complexity of nature, you'll never look at the world in quite the same way again.
Course Details:
Pre-requisites for enrolment
No prior knowledge required.
Content of Course
Introduction: A tour through patterns in nature, outlining and structuring the topic, and brainstorming: which patterns have students observed in nature?
Waves and oscillations: We look at waves in the ocean, the atmosphere (cloud patterns!) etc., and why our heart beats.
Regularity and chaos: Using examples like population cycles or climate fluctuations, we introduce concepts like the logistic equation, bifurcations and attractors.
Animal Cooperation: How fish swarms communicate and how social insects cooperate.
Spatial patterns: Cracks in mud, paint, soil patterns in Arctic soils, and similar topics.
Aggregation and growth processes: Crystals, snowflakes, lichen, and the shells of snails.
Cellular automata: Recap of some of the earlier topics and how they can be modelled/described by simple discrete models.
Fractals: Leaves, trees, river systems and other fractal systems.
Miscellaneous topics: (Human) perception of randomness and patterns.
Concluding Session.
Sourse: https://www.course-bookings.lifelong.ed.ac.uk/courses/S/science-and-nature/C1861/patterns-in-nature/
zaterdag 17 oktober 2009
The age of stupid
And another one I have seen recently..it tells the story of a man living on the devastated planet Earth in the year 2050. He has been collecting all human knowledge, culture and art in a massive data base and saving it for.. well who/whatever finds it... as humanity has played its cards and commited a "suicide". Climate change from the point of view of the future generations looking back in history at the age that knew what's going to happen and still did nothing to save itself. The age of stupid.
The Earth has faced ice ages, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions, continents falling apart because of emerging or submerging tectonic plates. Plastic bags and atmospheric pollution will not cause it much harm; it will rearrange its elements and continue existing undisturbed as it has done since the beginning of time. On the contrary, rearranging its elements will cause the change or the loss of climate - the climate that we know and that has made life on the planet the way it is. As we serve as a catalyst for these events, we are contributing consciously to our own extinction and will eventually murder ourselves. Just as many other civilizations have done before us. The difference is that we know we are doing it and we are still not trying to survive as hard as we are supposed to. Why? “May be because deep inside we know we are not worth saving””
The Earth has faced ice ages, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions, continents falling apart because of emerging or submerging tectonic plates. Plastic bags and atmospheric pollution will not cause it much harm; it will rearrange its elements and continue existing undisturbed as it has done since the beginning of time. On the contrary, rearranging its elements will cause the change or the loss of climate - the climate that we know and that has made life on the planet the way it is. As we serve as a catalyst for these events, we are contributing consciously to our own extinction and will eventually murder ourselves. Just as many other civilizations have done before us. The difference is that we know we are doing it and we are still not trying to survive as hard as we are supposed to. Why? “May be because deep inside we know we are not worth saving””
zaterdag 10 oktober 2009
Taking it easy a.k.a бича айляк
Takin' it easy - PLOVDIV in HD from Teodor Stoyanov on Vimeo.
Браво на режисьора! Пренесе ме години назад във времето, когато Пловдид бе домът ми. Това видео представя истинското значение на израза “Бича айляк”. Пловдив е известен с уникалния си жаргон. Ето един типичен следобеден пловдивски разговор:
А: К’во стаа уе. (това не е въпрос и не изисква отговор)
Б: К’во стаа уе.
А: Как е хавата?
Б: Ми на уе, въртим мохабети тука с едни братлета. Айляк.
А: Ее.. Еваларка ви праскам, майна. Ае на тепе да врътнем една макина.
Б: Яка ли е уе?
А: Цъка, майна, харабия ти казвам. .
C: Къде уе братлета?
А: Ми ши ходим да бичим айляк на тепе.
C: Харабия ли уе. Ми ай и аз ши дойда.
A: Густо майна.
Ако някой нещо не схвана, знае къде да ме намери.
vrijdag 2 oktober 2009
Loud & Close
Some quotes from one of the best pieces of literature that has crossed my way. I cannot even begin to list all the wonderful and painful emotions that this book made me feel.
“Humans are the only animal that blushes, laughs, has religion, wages war, and kisses with lips. So in a way, the more you kiss with lips, the more human you are.”
“When I was a girl, my life was music that was always getting louder. Everything moved me. A dog followed a stranger. That made me feel so much. A calendar that showed the wrong month. I cried over it…I spent my life learning to feel less.”
“He pointed at, Sometimes one simply wants to disappear.
I pointed at, There’s nothing wrong with not understanding yourself.
He pointed at, How sad.
I pointed at, And I wouldn’t say no to something sweet.
He pointed at, Cried and cried and cried.
I pointed at, Don’t cry.
He pointed at, Broken and confused.
I pointed at, Something.
He pointed at, Nothing.
I pointed at, Something.
Nobody pointed at, I love you.”
“If I’d been somone else in a different world I’d've done something different, but I was myself and the world was the world, so I was silent.
"What about little microphones? What if everyone swallowed them, and they played the sounds of our hearts through little speakers, which could be in the pouches of our overalls? When you skateboarded down the street at night you could hear everyone's heartbeat, and they could hear yours, sort of like sonar. One weird thing is, I wonder if everyone's hearts would start to beat at the same time, like how women who live together have their menstrual periods at the same time, which I know about, but don't really want to know about. That would be so weird, except that the place in the hospital where babies are born would sound like a crystal chandelier in a houseboat, because the babies wouldn't have had time to match up their heartbeats yet. And at the finish line at the end of the New York City Marathon it would sound like war."
"I took the world into me, rearranged it, and sent it back out as a question: "Do you like me?"
"In bed that night I invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in New York, and would connect to the reservoir. Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York is in heavy boots."
"Isn’t it so weird how the number of dead people is increasing even though the earth stays the same size, so that one day there isn’t going to be room to bury anyone anymore? For my ninth birthday last year, Grandma gave me a subscription to National Geographic, which she calls “the National Geographic.” She also gave me a white blazer, because I only wear white clothes, and it’s too big to wear so it will last me a long time. She also gave me Grandpa’s camera, which I loved for two reasons. I asked why he didn’t take it with him when he left her. She said, “Maybe he wanted you to have it.”
I said, “But I was negative-thirty years old.” She said, “Still.” Anyway, the fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words, if everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn’t, because there aren’t enough skulls!"
"I felt suddenly shy. I was not used to shy. I was used to shame. Shyness is when you turn your head away from something you want. Shame is when you turn your head away from something you do not want."
Anyway.
I’m not allowed to watch TV, although I am allowed to rent documentaries that are approved for me, and I can read anything I want. My favorite book is A Brief History of Time, even though I haven’t actually finished it, because the math is incredibly hard and Mom isn’t good at helping me. One of my favorite parts is the beginning of the first chapter, where Stephen Hawking tells about a famous scientist who was giving a lecture about how the earth orbits the sun, and the sun orbits the solar system, and whatever. Then a woman in the back of the room raised her hand and said, “What you
have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back
of a giant tortoise.” So the scientist asked her what the tortoise was standing
on. And she said, “But it’s turtles all the way down!”
I love that story, because it shows how ignorant people can be. And also because I love tortoises.
"And the joys I've felt have not always been joyous. I could have lived differently. When I was your age, my grandfather bought me a ruby bracelet. It as too big for me an would slide up and down my arm. It was almost a necklace. He later told me that he had asked the jeweler make that way. Its size was supposed to be a symbol of his love. More rubies, more love. But I could not wear it comfortably. I could not wear it at all. So here is the point of everything I have been trying to say. IF I were to give a bracelet to you, now, I would measure your wrist twice."
Thank you Foer! Please keep up the work!
“Humans are the only animal that blushes, laughs, has religion, wages war, and kisses with lips. So in a way, the more you kiss with lips, the more human you are.”
“When I was a girl, my life was music that was always getting louder. Everything moved me. A dog followed a stranger. That made me feel so much. A calendar that showed the wrong month. I cried over it…I spent my life learning to feel less.”
“He pointed at, Sometimes one simply wants to disappear.
I pointed at, There’s nothing wrong with not understanding yourself.
He pointed at, How sad.
I pointed at, And I wouldn’t say no to something sweet.
He pointed at, Cried and cried and cried.
I pointed at, Don’t cry.
He pointed at, Broken and confused.
I pointed at, Something.
He pointed at, Nothing.
I pointed at, Something.
Nobody pointed at, I love you.”
“If I’d been somone else in a different world I’d've done something different, but I was myself and the world was the world, so I was silent.
"What about little microphones? What if everyone swallowed them, and they played the sounds of our hearts through little speakers, which could be in the pouches of our overalls? When you skateboarded down the street at night you could hear everyone's heartbeat, and they could hear yours, sort of like sonar. One weird thing is, I wonder if everyone's hearts would start to beat at the same time, like how women who live together have their menstrual periods at the same time, which I know about, but don't really want to know about. That would be so weird, except that the place in the hospital where babies are born would sound like a crystal chandelier in a houseboat, because the babies wouldn't have had time to match up their heartbeats yet. And at the finish line at the end of the New York City Marathon it would sound like war."
"I took the world into me, rearranged it, and sent it back out as a question: "Do you like me?"
"In bed that night I invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in New York, and would connect to the reservoir. Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York is in heavy boots."
"Isn’t it so weird how the number of dead people is increasing even though the earth stays the same size, so that one day there isn’t going to be room to bury anyone anymore? For my ninth birthday last year, Grandma gave me a subscription to National Geographic, which she calls “the National Geographic.” She also gave me a white blazer, because I only wear white clothes, and it’s too big to wear so it will last me a long time. She also gave me Grandpa’s camera, which I loved for two reasons. I asked why he didn’t take it with him when he left her. She said, “Maybe he wanted you to have it.”
I said, “But I was negative-thirty years old.” She said, “Still.” Anyway, the fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words, if everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn’t, because there aren’t enough skulls!"
"I felt suddenly shy. I was not used to shy. I was used to shame. Shyness is when you turn your head away from something you want. Shame is when you turn your head away from something you do not want."
Anyway.
I’m not allowed to watch TV, although I am allowed to rent documentaries that are approved for me, and I can read anything I want. My favorite book is A Brief History of Time, even though I haven’t actually finished it, because the math is incredibly hard and Mom isn’t good at helping me. One of my favorite parts is the beginning of the first chapter, where Stephen Hawking tells about a famous scientist who was giving a lecture about how the earth orbits the sun, and the sun orbits the solar system, and whatever. Then a woman in the back of the room raised her hand and said, “What you
have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back
of a giant tortoise.” So the scientist asked her what the tortoise was standing
on. And she said, “But it’s turtles all the way down!”
I love that story, because it shows how ignorant people can be. And also because I love tortoises.
"And the joys I've felt have not always been joyous. I could have lived differently. When I was your age, my grandfather bought me a ruby bracelet. It as too big for me an would slide up and down my arm. It was almost a necklace. He later told me that he had asked the jeweler make that way. Its size was supposed to be a symbol of his love. More rubies, more love. But I could not wear it comfortably. I could not wear it at all. So here is the point of everything I have been trying to say. IF I were to give a bracelet to you, now, I would measure your wrist twice."
Thank you Foer! Please keep up the work!
Fly less
Studing with Chinese is not that bad after all. That's the poster that we have created for the Consumer Behaviour class (e.g. mass-manipulation class - how can I ever buy a Cola again after I learn how they sell it.. no way no way, if yoU read my Marketing Books you will NEVER LET YOUR CHILDREN WATCH DISNEY MOVIES)
At least in this case the objective of the class manipulation campaign was decent: reduce carbon emissions! Fly less, organize carpools and eat less meat, ladies and gentlemen!
zondag 27 september 2009
Why is September
.... the Month?
September is unique because life starts anew in a peculiar uncommon way. Even though most of nature will be dead, miserable and ugly by late November, September trees are still carrying the fruits of summer while getting ready to color their branches in the most beautiful shades that mother Earth is able to create. September is the month when life in cities is throbbing and inviting. New students have arrived, old friends are to be seen again, everyone with their stories about summer festivals, worldly adventures and future plans. Frowning faces in the schoolyard are rare as September classes are still not too heavy and mid term exams are far, far away from thoughts. Everyone is still bronze, wearing flip-flops and unwilling to dispose of the sand in the bags – the leftovers of the long summer days. First student parties, new acquaintances, new small obsessions, frustrations and old desires become reborn. Life starts anew. Normally, spring is associated with new life, because of the few months left to freedom, everybody looking forward to the summer. However, for some of us, the autumn children, September marks the beginning of the New Year – the transition between seasons, where you move one step forward. This is a small collection of September songs selected by a September-born, September-maniac. Enjoy your Sep-days.
September in Cantonese: Kao Yut
I am born in September: Ngo Ge San Yat Hay Kao Yut
September songs:
Melodrom- September
Beatles – September in The Rain
Earth, Wind & Fire- September (recommended)
Future Prophecies- September
my new Septemberists
September is unique because life starts anew in a peculiar uncommon way. Even though most of nature will be dead, miserable and ugly by late November, September trees are still carrying the fruits of summer while getting ready to color their branches in the most beautiful shades that mother Earth is able to create. September is the month when life in cities is throbbing and inviting. New students have arrived, old friends are to be seen again, everyone with their stories about summer festivals, worldly adventures and future plans. Frowning faces in the schoolyard are rare as September classes are still not too heavy and mid term exams are far, far away from thoughts. Everyone is still bronze, wearing flip-flops and unwilling to dispose of the sand in the bags – the leftovers of the long summer days. First student parties, new acquaintances, new small obsessions, frustrations and old desires become reborn. Life starts anew. Normally, spring is associated with new life, because of the few months left to freedom, everybody looking forward to the summer. However, for some of us, the autumn children, September marks the beginning of the New Year – the transition between seasons, where you move one step forward. This is a small collection of September songs selected by a September-born, September-maniac. Enjoy your Sep-days.
September in Cantonese: Kao Yut
I am born in September: Ngo Ge San Yat Hay Kao Yut
September songs:
Melodrom- September
Beatles – September in The Rain
Earth, Wind & Fire- September (recommended)
Future Prophecies- September
my new Septemberists
donderdag 24 september 2009
What the hell is this???
Again, for the Nth time I am reading a sentence in a textbook and I cannot believe its contents. It’s beyond comprehension how could somebody publish this as an academic piece of work. Unbelievable, suddenly I felt the need to throw away all this educational crap and go give workshops on Environmental Respect!!! Damn you people! Just read this:
“Services provided by the environment for society:
(........)
2. The ability to act as a waste disposal system assimilating the wastes of industrial production and other human activities such as leisure and tourism
(........)"
OK, Turner (1994) and Willis (1997) What the hell are you trying to tell us here? May be that onee of the environments’s fundamental fuctions is to carry out humans waste? That’s why we have oceans and rivers on Earth – to dump garbage in them, right? What else are they there for otherwise??!?!?! Those smartasses probably have the environmnent’s signature somewhere on a contract giving its consent to serve obediently the genious of humankind. “Services provided by the environment for society”... services ?!?! And I am supposed to cite those people in my graduation research project. This cannot be true. I must not live in a world that believes such things, pretend that life is sweet and care about my Ipod, school records and future plans. Ignorance is bliss, but I don’t want any of it. (Services?!?!??! I am still shaken)
And still ... Greet the future Master of Environmental Sciences (University of Edinburg, scheduled for 2010-2012)
Source: Turner, K.R., Pearce, D. and Betaman, I. (1994) Environmental Economics: an elementary introduction, Hemel Hempstead: Harcester Wheatsheaf
Willis, I. (1997) Economics and the Environment: a signaling and incentives approach, St. Leonards, Allen and Urwin
“Services provided by the environment for society:
(........)
2. The ability to act as a waste disposal system assimilating the wastes of industrial production and other human activities such as leisure and tourism
(........)"
OK, Turner (1994) and Willis (1997) What the hell are you trying to tell us here? May be that onee of the environments’s fundamental fuctions is to carry out humans waste? That’s why we have oceans and rivers on Earth – to dump garbage in them, right? What else are they there for otherwise??!?!?! Those smartasses probably have the environmnent’s signature somewhere on a contract giving its consent to serve obediently the genious of humankind. “Services provided by the environment for society”... services ?!?! And I am supposed to cite those people in my graduation research project. This cannot be true. I must not live in a world that believes such things, pretend that life is sweet and care about my Ipod, school records and future plans. Ignorance is bliss, but I don’t want any of it. (Services?!?!??! I am still shaken)
And still ... Greet the future Master of Environmental Sciences (University of Edinburg, scheduled for 2010-2012)
Source: Turner, K.R., Pearce, D. and Betaman, I. (1994) Environmental Economics: an elementary introduction, Hemel Hempstead: Harcester Wheatsheaf
Willis, I. (1997) Economics and the Environment: a signaling and incentives approach, St. Leonards, Allen and Urwin
woensdag 23 september 2009
Chinaland
When I have got some more time to describe this weirdness of a country called The People's Republic of China I will make you laugh and cry at the same time. For now : just visuals
One year bloggin'
Today Havevisons have become one complete year old. Remembering that Dutch afternoon 12 months ago I cannot help but write a quick review of unimportant stuff. It was a year of utter weirdness, of loneliness, of amazing breathtaking views, achievements, of desires never satisfied. I have found myself and what I want to be – may be only partly but still a good beginning. It was a year of solitude, music and literature – in fact it’s probably the year with the highest number of books read (more than 30 titles for 12 months). Yes, I fell in love – this was something to remember – even though I did not post too much about it here. I left meat consumption behind my back, learned to cook proper meals, found ways to lead a healthy life-style (this is a big step for somebody who used to live on alcohol, cigarettes and rice). And now here I am again – far from all I love! Ready to see new lands, to eat new food, to speak a new language (so far I count to infinity and greet the guards at school in Chinese). New friends are to be made and I am working on that. But loneliness remains, not bothering me anymore, like a statement that my course of life is making. There are other things to be done and I am doing them almost without the painful need to be somewhere else, with somebody else.
This blog has helped me somehow to reflect on past events, remember impressions that selective memory erases but written words contain forever. Thoughts I shared, songs I loved – needed by no one but chosen by me to be present here. Why? I don’t care. Why in English? - Many people have asked: my thoughts run smoothly in English, they probably fly in Bulgarian but I have never typed in my own language and before I find the “ф” and the “ч” my idea is somewhat getting vague. For those who were reading this blog during the past 12 months: thank you and enjoy one of my favorite songs of August 2009 (yeah I have got mental lists of songs that mark each month and this is one of them). BTW I am getting totally annoyed by "Embedding disabled by request" ...
oh yeah and I аm sorry for what we call in Бulgarian "баластра"! :)
This blog has helped me somehow to reflect on past events, remember impressions that selective memory erases but written words contain forever. Thoughts I shared, songs I loved – needed by no one but chosen by me to be present here. Why? I don’t care. Why in English? - Many people have asked: my thoughts run smoothly in English, they probably fly in Bulgarian but I have never typed in my own language and before I find the “ф” and the “ч” my idea is somewhat getting vague. For those who were reading this blog during the past 12 months: thank you and enjoy one of my favorite songs of August 2009 (yeah I have got mental lists of songs that mark each month and this is one of them). BTW I am getting totally annoyed by "Embedding disabled by request" ...
oh yeah and I аm sorry for what we call in Бulgarian "баластра"! :)
dinsdag 22 september 2009
Bring me the disco king
I could listen to this song over and over again.. and after each fully-enjoyed 7:45 minutes there would still be that feeling of deja-vu, of memories I haven't had, of remembering places I haven't been to. Back in the days before I was born. I return to years long gone and forgotten, never experienced. And that's what David does to me. Each and every night.
donderdag 10 september 2009
22 years, woman!!!!!!
It's time to rock this blog! One more year on this planet has been succesfully completed, with a bagfull of great adventures, unique new aquiaintances, loads of music and fun. My 22nd year was just like that song – noisy and fast and energetic. I would normally play slow and easy songs for the soul and spirit... but not today. Today I am going to be noisy, shouting out loud. It’s not easy to celebrate something with strangers in a strange land and that’s why I have to explode. And as there is no place down here in fancy Macau where I could jump and scream to the guitar strings ... I can at least afford a short 3 minute session in my room. Please feel free to join in! “Woman” by the Aussies Wolfmother.
maandag 7 september 2009
Little ashes
A promising, very promising young British actor, with a weird, anti-social, depressive facial expression that we've seen in How to Be, Twilight and now this masterpiece called Little Ashes. The movie focuses on the early student years of Salavador Dali and his connection to Frederico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel before becoming one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. The storyline touches upon the political and social situation in Spain prior to Franco's regime as well as the underground resistance students movements. Art, homosexuality, emancipation, women rights, ideology - to be defined, dismissed and embraced.
The new adventure
(click on the map and find the red cross)
Oh yeah, for all of you who do not know where my new home is at..... Here we go. I present you: Macao, South China or Macao SAR (Special Administrative Region). It is one of the two SARs of China the other one being Hong Kong. Macao was the first European colony in China and gained idependance from Portugal just 10 years ago. The region comprises the peninsula of Macau and the islands of Taipa and Coloane, all three being connected by bridges overlooking a spectacular skyline.
Macau is a sutle and unique blend of oriental tradtions and modern occidental influence. The mixing of Portuese and Chinese culture is expressed in arquitecture, cuisine, folklore, traditions. However, the real mélange between South-East Asia and South-West Europe is carried by Macanese people – their skin colour, facial features and eyes form, southern hospitality and a laid-back attitude while preserving the traditions of China. Macau is claimed to be the Asian Las Vegas accommodating 28 casinos including The Venetian that is currently the biggest casino in the world. Gambling has become a substantial part of the SAR’s economy and tourism. While walking down the Cotai strip – the famous Macao Cotai project inspired by the Las Vegas Strip – one gets a feeling of light confusion – skyscrapers, palm trees, limos, fountain shows, flashing casino brands – all spiced up with an Asian flavour. The night walk around the famous Macau tower is right by the water and the view is magnificent.
The historical centre of Macau was listed in the World Heritage Sites in 2005 and is like nothing you have seen before. Long, narrow, dark South-European streets, colonial Portugese buildings, cobble stone pavement ... all of this stolen away from its European nest and transported by commerce and politis onto the premises of Asia. Buddhist temples and Catholic churches are friendly neighbours, Western food meets dumplings and riceballs, arched façades feature Chinese lanterns. Oh, humanity, what have you done? How could this notorious globalization of our times have created something so spectacular and beautiful- the real gem of China.
zondag 6 september 2009
Macau: F&F
The Macanese mosquitoes are as quiet as turtles (the small ones not the giant turtles that lay eggs on the beach). This unique quality gives them the chance to strike 4-5 times without being noticed. When the victim senses the silent attack and the lamp gets switched on silent Macanese mosquitoes still die in the same disgraceful manner as in other parts of the world.
When 3 European girls are bored in Macau they watch Twilight (of course for the 4th time at least) secretly hoping that some hot pale vampire is spying on them while they are asleep. His role in the fantasy includes also a speedy vampire flying over to Bali for the weekend. Any Asian physical vampire features are dismissed (to be continued).
Typical Macanese delicatessens are: roasted pig muzzle, chicken fingers, steamed claws, marinated blood. The last one looks like somebody puked tomato sauce on the plate and you have to eat it with chopsticks. Enjoy your meal! Poor vegetarians stick to rice with see-weed or asparagus.
When you see plates with food on the street it’s not sympathy for the homeless (actually homeless people are quite rare in Macau, have you ever seen a Chinese homeless person?). The fruit, candy, biscuits and home made cakes are for the hungry spirits that dwell among humans after death. The ritual is as old as time and includes also the burning of fake money (?!?!?!) in front of the house door. These spirits must be really needy
Even though the general public believes that chopsticks are the most common Asian eating instruments, the spoon, fork and knife are well integrated into the Macanese table-based culture. Their utilization, however, is rather unorthodox. The spoon, held in the right hand, is used as a fork on which all food is swiftly shoveled up with the fork, held in the left hand. The fork’s purpose in this respect is similar to the well-know good-table-manner-role of the knife – to just select food and direct it towards the fork. To sum up, the fork plays the knife and the spoon plays the fork. Question: who plays the spoon? The teacup?
When 3 European girls are bored in Macau they watch Twilight (of course for the 4th time at least) secretly hoping that some hot pale vampire is spying on them while they are asleep. His role in the fantasy includes also a speedy vampire flying over to Bali for the weekend. Any Asian physical vampire features are dismissed (to be continued).
Typical Macanese delicatessens are: roasted pig muzzle, chicken fingers, steamed claws, marinated blood. The last one looks like somebody puked tomato sauce on the plate and you have to eat it with chopsticks. Enjoy your meal! Poor vegetarians stick to rice with see-weed or asparagus.
When you see plates with food on the street it’s not sympathy for the homeless (actually homeless people are quite rare in Macau, have you ever seen a Chinese homeless person?). The fruit, candy, biscuits and home made cakes are for the hungry spirits that dwell among humans after death. The ritual is as old as time and includes also the burning of fake money (?!?!?!) in front of the house door. These spirits must be really needy
Even though the general public believes that chopsticks are the most common Asian eating instruments, the spoon, fork and knife are well integrated into the Macanese table-based culture. Their utilization, however, is rather unorthodox. The spoon, held in the right hand, is used as a fork on which all food is swiftly shoveled up with the fork, held in the left hand. The fork’s purpose in this respect is similar to the well-know good-table-manner-role of the knife – to just select food and direct it towards the fork. To sum up, the fork plays the knife and the spoon plays the fork. Question: who plays the spoon? The teacup?
donderdag 3 september 2009
02:44 a.m.
At the extreme of all extremes. In a position so peculiar and so foreign that objectivity is allowed to penetrate only the upper layers of its eventfulness. Experience is subjective and remote as if reality is on a silver screen, observed from a close distance and the main character of the show is the spectator- silent, assimilating, still uneager to dive in before reading the guidelines. Searching for a point of connection. Waiting for some unexpected hand to shake them up and drag them back to the TV screen where they do belong. Into the “now” of “now”. Far from the concepts – past and future – far from the confortable imaginary idea of a home that used to be. Accept the geography of current events, consider differences as a distorting useless noise, give your shy and stubborn desire to hide and be invisible a loud “no go”. Coming back to a comfortable place in your mind is not applicable for the time being. Is it necessary? As the flight has just begun returning your ticket to the flight attendant will do you no good. Your are already on board.
Thank you for flying with Face-it Air! Try to forget about all emergency exits. Smoking is not stricktly prohibited.
Thank you for flying with Face-it Air! Try to forget about all emergency exits. Smoking is not stricktly prohibited.
dinsdag 1 september 2009
Rice
and tea and language and scents and porcelain skin and fire on the street at night and pagodas and chopsticks and temples and buddha and me being lost and a missing translation and smiling narrow eyes.
My inspiration year has begun.
My inspiration year has begun.
donderdag 13 augustus 2009
maandag 3 augustus 2009
Extremely Loud & Incredibly close
See that book? Read it! Find it, buy it, borrow it, steal it and read it! It took me one day and a half to start and finish it - a day and a half because I had to work 8 hours, and go to the bathroom occasionally. I hope Foer will continue writting like that. And if you haven't read Everything is Illuminated - do it! You wont regret a single page.
zondag 2 augustus 2009
Hm..
"Why would you leave your home to find a new home?
Why would you leave your life to find a new life?
Why would you leave your friends and the people who love you to find new friends and new people to love?"
"American Graffiti" (1973)
Somebody somewhere 30 years ago read my mind....
Why would you leave your life to find a new life?
Why would you leave your friends and the people who love you to find new friends and new people to love?"
"American Graffiti" (1973)
Somebody somewhere 30 years ago read my mind....
vrijdag 31 juli 2009
woensdag 29 juli 2009
I just have to share this song & video
Ok, after checking out the entire dicography of Lemon Jelly I've found out that the London duo DOES NOT HAVE A BAD TRACK!. This is definatelly my favourite one. Recommended to all melomaniacs and fervent slow-beat-ers!
donderdag 23 juli 2009
Cien años de soledad
Nothing is more pleasurable than reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hermann Hesse and Doris Lessing in orginal.
Bedank en tot ziens!
Bedank en tot ziens!
zondag 5 juli 2009
Stranger
I enjoyed every single scene of this movie! Funnily, I could recognise myself in him and her and the other him in almost all situations. The little joys, peculiarities and hells of travelling. In somebody's flat. At work. Arriving at a new city. Playing cards with an old lady. Walking on a windy beach. In the cinema. Traveling in a car with well-known strangers. Finding yourself in thousands of odd moments shared with thousands of odd people. A foreigner. In paradise?
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