After last week's mild temperature (4C) central Sweden gives a taste of winter this week. Moderatly low temperature (-4C), just perfect for a rainy day to become snowy. It is falling since 9 o'clock in the morning and it won't stop.
Yes, it is also always getting darker earlier, now we have 7 hours of daylight, so it is not worth to stay in bed late, 'cos you can miss it! :-P
How a woman should behave on a date? Tips from the year 1938 illustrated with pictures. (I am actually not totally sure, if it is really from 1938, I'm a bit confused, would guess it originates rather later then that). It is quite sexist for the favor of men (eg. the dancing or the car mirror part) but of course some of the tips would be applicable today as well.
"Ich will halt kein Kind haben, aber ich bin extrem intelligent, ich sehe gut aus und ich will den Welt was hinterlassen einfach. ... Beziehungen, so ein scheiss, da habe ich uberhaupt kein Lust drauf!" :-D :-D
Great invention, works best with Facebook account! Are you tired of the music you have already listened to 1000 times? Want to look for new Bands, Albums, Songs? You either start to look in the genre of your favourites or ask friends. But then you have to search for, download, etc... Lot of time investment needed. With spotify connnected to FB, you can take a look and listen directly to friend's shared favourites and lists. It's pretty cool and time saving! For those with Mac: organisation the same as in iTunes, so there no big loss of the interface experience . :-)
Sihlquai is only a cheap workspace for the Brasilian and Hungarian gypsy hookers. The market is getting too big and prices are going down. But there is another level of prostitution: the luxus escort sevices. Discretion, high confidentiality, top service. Swissmodels, Escort Elite, massage-forum.ch, Belle-Donne, Glamour-Model, Teeny-Model, Swiss-Elite: you can already find their commercials at the airport. Businessmen, pilots and and rich doctors hand in all their wishes and there you go... A very good article in the swissTages Anzeiger weekly extra booklet "Das Magazin", where both the luxus girls and the customers talk about their "sins", tips and tricks.
IKEA is present in our homes since its foundation in 1943. It is mostly present in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Despite its Swedish roots, the whole organization of IKEA is in the hands of a net of mostly non-profit Dutch foundation-group called INGKA. But some parts of it are in the hands of profit oriented INGKA Holdings. This way they try to get away with taxes and they have been severly criticized becuase of that. More about the very complicated business sturcture of IKEA visit Wikipedia.
Lövet Werksentwurf, IKEA, 1956
IKEA catalogues come out annually, and there are more copies of the catalogues printed each year, than the Bible. At the following link you can see a page from each catalogue since 1951, accompanied with fitting music from the decade. On the bottom you can also find the happenings/characteristics of the year in each decade with links to articles and videos.
We did some barbequing at the lake Hjälmaren. The weather was perfect! We took off by bike from the university's Kraka fountain and had a very nice evening at the lake. Some more pics here.
Ray: I'm not being funny. We can't stay here. Ken: We have to stay here until he rings. Ray: Well what if he doesn't ring for two weeks? Ken: Then we stay here for two weeks. Ray: For two weeks? In fucking Bruges? In a room like this? With you? No way.
Ray: Maybe that's what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in fucking Bruges.
Harry: [about Ray] So he's having a really nice time? Ken: Well, I'm having a really nice time. I'm not sure it's really his cup of tea. Harry: [after a long pause] What? Ken: You know, I'm not sure it's really his thing. Harry: What do you mean it's not really his thing? What's that supposed to mean? It's not really his thing. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Ken: Nothing, Harry. Harry: It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's fucking thing?
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After few beautiful Days in Stockholm, I arrived yesterday to Örebro. Well, Sweden is quite spacey :-D The campus and my apartment (shared with 2 other girls) in Brickebacken is on the very edge of the city. It is a 15 min. ride on a bus, where you have the impression, that you are being taken out of the city to some small settlement in the middle of a forest. It is charming, really. :-) Our house is also on the edge of Brickebacken, and my window is facing the wilderness :-)
It is funny, Sweden has a population of Hungary spreaded on a five times bigger area. Language is quite fascinating. If you know English and German well, you'll understand a lot of what is written. And it is really very similar to Danish. When spoken, it has a funny intonation.
People are very friendly and helpful! I got a full half an hour guide from Martina in the international office, who handed me the keys. She explained everything and assured me of her help if I have any further question. Very welcoming. :-) But we still don't have our internet fixed :-S
Apartment: Since it is a "new", or I would rather say, cleaned up, not even really renovated apartment, there is nothing but the furniture. No plates, no cutlery, no bowls, glasses or pans. Since I don't want to buy now anything and I also do not have the money for that, I wait for the other 2 girls to arrive and do it together. Until than, I have plastic and paper plates/glasses/spoons and a sauce pan. A sauce pan? What the hell? I couldn't find any water boiler in any supermarket :-S :-S So I had to buy a sauce pan :-S I really needed a cup of tea and coffee....
Actually, what the hell am I doing in fucking SE??? All what I have is in Zürich and I miss You guys a lot! But no worry, I'n not going to be shot, it will get better with time after getting familiar with the surroundings and people.
Until you or your fellows haven't done it, or until you haven't seen it with your own eyes, you would never trust it works. One of my friend's graphics card (Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT) started mulfunctioning, just when it was needed the most, so there was a need for a rash move. A 15 min work, 10 min baking and everything is back to normal. And you also saved a few hundred bucks.
After listening to the music I have a million times and getting tired of it, I tried to look for some new music at friend's library's. Now, thats what I newly found. Relaxing and refreshing!
One of my favourites is a Joy Division remake: "Love will tear us apart again".
Some of the others: "This is not a love song", "Just can't get a enough", "I melt with you", etc..
“Dolbyman” was a four-minute journey through a variety of musical genres, all generated by the mouth of one man — UK beatbox champion and vocal artist Beardyman. Shot in London and finished at Dolby Laboratories in San Francisco, the original composition of over 200 individual tracks showcases a creative talent in Dolby 5.1 surround sound (this version in stereo ). Role: Design. Animation. Compositing.
How do you handle your life? How do you treat the people that surround you every day? How do you treat your friends? How do you treat your love? Is it all about contracts between us, or does altruismus exist? Is it all about giving and taking between two persons, or can one be independent from another?
I think contracts ruin everything that could be human. We need it in business, in education, etc... But there are no rules for human interaction: this is how you grow up, the influence of culture and how your personality absorbs the happenings that come along through your development. We are the mixture of our genes and environment.
It is usually not hard for a person to give, but what about taking? Think about it: are you happy if you can give somebody something? If yes, you should be also able to be on the other side and accept. Some people think this is a contract and that if they give, than they await, that the other gives something in return. This is a human convention, and in some situations normal. But do we think like this about our friends? What is the definition of a friend and another person, who we know only formally? Is there a difference? While waiting for a bus someone comes along and begs for few coins that he/she is missing for buying his/her ticket. It is obvious to help out (I am talking about real situation, not about drunks) and we never await anything in return. Because we believe in altruismus, whenever we are in the same situation, hopefully others will help us out, too. Why not? Few coins or a phone call, a lift doesn't hurt but gives a plus to our moral and also strengthens the human belief in sleflessness.
One thing I learnt from my grandparents is altruismus and empathy. They were never rich, rather poor, but I was the happiest grandchild in the world while growing up with them, and they were the happiest grandparents. Even that they were poor, they always found a way to help others, provide what they can and never complain, but be happy about what they have. I had a lot of health problems and didn't have a computer or gameboy, there were hard times, but I never had the impression of a bad childhood, rather that it was great and happy. They taught me with their behaviour and way of living the most important thing in the world: the human factor. I love them!! :-)
I do have a lot of experience being poor and happy and being rich and unhappy. It is never about the money, but about the people coming along and surrounding you. I don't say money or hard working, an obsession doesn't make happy, for some it may be the source of happiness. For each person it is different. For me it is the feeling of being independent and secure, having friends who never calculate, but just enjoy the company and are always there for you, when you need them. It sounds very simple and maybe common or vulgar, but thats it. I can't be happy otherwise. I can be selfish sometimes of course, I can be harsh, but thats never the underlying concept, everyone has good days and bad days, thats understandable. But after some time you learn others and see who they are really: happy, sad, selfish, mean, altruistic, claculating, possesiv, insensitive, loving, caring, nervous, relaxed, etc... You also learn what of these makes you happy and what not. If you are lucky, you can also recognize these things for yourself and make decisions according to that. I've been sometimes in quite shitty situations in my life because of such decisions and I never regret any on them, because I'd rather be a happy homeless than an unhappy in the bondage of human contracts.
If you've been longing for a movie about the Java programming language, and not much else, JavaZone should do the trick. Starring Scala Johansson, William Windows, Eddie Larrison, Mona Lisa Harddrive, and Lenny Linux. Continue reading for the trailer.
Do You know the series "Flight of the Conchords"? Well, until few days before me either. Its actually the name of a band from New Zealand, who made a series about themselves being in NY.
It is quite unusual. A bit documentary style, nerdy, lots of music made ad hoc for the actual szene. Some people hate it, others love it. Jemaine fits actually with his style perfectly into the IT Crowd - folks :-D Maybe thats why I like it, and because it is sooooo stupid :-D :-D
A bit of philosophical writing again, and somewhat over-discussed theme. Sorry, it is still an issue for me and I thought of sharing my thoughts here. So, what is it about? Society, social pressure and your own strivings, feelings and view of the world and people in it. What I find very funny, is that there are these imaginations, standards, which everyone thinks is the perfect way, but no one ever had part in it. For example: the perfect career catwalk, the perfect love and relationship, the perfect family, the perfect home. Why do people build and teach clichés? Why are we fed with the utopia of perfectness, as if it had rules and boundaries? Why do we categorize? Because we need a point of view to start with or to hold on to, when there is nothing else? Of course I has been grown up, too, on fairy tales and on the desire of having a perfect life. But somehow it never turned out to be like that, mostly because of the decisions I made myself. Anyway I feel it like they were coming from the inside and I never regret any of those and am actually quite happy with them. Most of all because I made these decisions myself disregarding what others would think. How can this be, if it doesn’t fit the cliché of the fairy tale of the society? Well, it is a question of reorganizing our view. On one side, lets be honest, it would be pretty boring, if everything happened as we programmed it when we were 5 years old. :-D On the other side it is a question of a balance between our present state, knowledge, luck, feelings, needs, desires and possibilities. Of course one can be happy living by the false rules of the society, if this is what they really desire inside. For me it is a kind of life without personality, like a puppet. The very basic grasp of what everybody wants, is being happy. What does happiness mean to different people, varies. Some have definite ideas about it, others don’t know and go after their nose, heart or with the flow. What I learnt from fairy tales and still believe in and experience as well, is just being yourself, doing what you believe in and not what the society expects you to, money does not make happy and that you can count only on yourself. But you get lost if you are alone. I mean, society is a great thing, you learn a lot from them, but you also have to learn the act of critique and not taking everything personally. Being independent and bound, in balance, at the same time is great! :-)
I think my train of thought got a bit mixed up, typical :-D
Now, here is this great band, with a fitting song: “Nothing else matters” form Metallica
OK-OK, here is another style, just for the sake of balance ;-)
Some very nice photos to show the contrast of something that is very powerful, terrifying and beautiful at the same time: the "consequences" of the Eyjafjöll eruption 2010.
Today we had a seminar according to History of Film theory, Cinema Novo. At the end of the lecture our teacher noticed the series of health-related educational shorts produced by the Disney studios and the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs for showing in Latin America.
(it doesn't have any relation to Cinema Novo, but it relates to Latin America in the above mentioned way).
And I am posting few of these shorts, because I find it interesting to see how they tried to educate through animation more than 60 years ago. It has some kind of historical-documentary message too. Moving pictures have been existing for 120 years, and it is now long enough for this medium to become an authentic way of historical documentation. Here I am not saying, that what is shown in the shorts is 100% correct, but that one could analyse these and get a picture :-)
Cleanliness Brings Helath '44
"In this propaganda cartoon, a narrator focuses on two families: the clean family and the careless family. The narrator explains how the two families differ. The clean family washes up all the time and keeps their house clean and food covered while the careless family does not wash up before eating and they do not keep their house very clean."
The Winged Scourge '43
"The first of a series of health-related educational shorts produced by the Disney studios and the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs for showing in Latin America. It was also the only one to use established Disney characters (the Seven Dwarves).
In this propaganda short, the viewers are taught about how the mosquito can spread malaria. A young mosquito flies into a house and consumes the blood of an infected human. She then consumes the blood of a healthy human, transmitting the disease into him. It turns out that this is actually a film within a film and the Seven Dwarves are watching it. They volunteer to get rid of the mosquito by destroying her breeding grounds."
The Unseen Enemy '45
"The film is also known as El Enemigo Invisible or The Unseen"
Planning for Good Eating '45
"Defines the three types of food necessary for good health. Sponsored by U.S. Office of Inter-American Affairs."
Stop that Tank '42
"This film, made for Canada, begins with an interesting cartoon showing Hitler (depicted as a ranting madman speaking in phony German) and an armada of tanks trying to invade a peaceful-looking village, only to be fought off by a barrage of gunfire from anti-tank guns, so much so that it sends Hitler to Hell. The rest of this short is a dry and technical explanation and description of the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle. Just like the previous short, animation is limited."
There were a lot of problems earlier with Google Buzz's privacy. They solved it with the Google-profile, thus those, who have public profiles are visible to anyone. Now, what I discovered (and probably most of you know about it already but for me it is new :-D) and it is actually quite fun to play with is that you can search in your Buzz randomly and see what others across the world are Buzzing according to your search. Just go to your Buzz window and type in a word or expression or name or anything you want to search (exactly the same way you search in your mails).
Are you interested about people's opinion on the hungarian elections? Just type in few keywords and read :-D
Do you want to know how do exams suck? -> "Know wat it feels like while giving exams? Tick tock, Tick tock, Mind block, Pen stop, Eyes up, Time shock, Jaw drop, No luck, Time’s up, Oh! I’m fuck, Exams suck…!!! ;)" (from Vidhi Dave whom I never heard of before)
I don't know, how many of You know about this great guy doing these animated comics, the "Tales of Mere Existence". I really love his way of story-telling about everyday stuff.
Attention! This post has been written in a kind of state of mind, where I tend to be totally inexplicable and no one ever understands what the hell am I writing or saying (just see my very first Hungarian blog before I started this one :-D :-D) So, don’t be surprised, if You take the chance to read it and say after that: What the Hell? He? Attention! Some more confusing ones might come again, I call it: spring :-D
Is it possible feeling being free and not at the same time? Is it possible at all feeling something and the opposite at the same time? Well, empirically looks like yes and it confuses me. I do demand to belong somewhere and/or to someone and still being able to do whatever I want that fits in my moral. I think for being happy everybody needs the right proportion of Attachment and Freedom. Sadly, not many people can allow it. A good example for this is their work. The majority of the population is making their living out of need, out of just what they get. I would be happy doing the same job for all of my life, if I have chosen it and if I always had the opportunity to go on and change, if I wanted to or if I still can be happy with it because I don’t care. But You have to be really lucky to be in that kind of situation or work really hard and long to get there. On the other hand it does help a lot, if someone is an optimist with good adaptation skills and low expectations. I also do believe, it doesn’t matter what you do until it makes you happy. So, go-go-go and be Yourself, believe in Yourself (!!) and don’t give up! People tend to give up too early, that’s sad, very sad! You might think I am a dreamer or too naive... Well, thats all Folks! I just don't wanna yet give up on being like that ;-)
Additionally to this short train of thoughts: I tend to reach to music, whenever I want to complement my feelings, so here is one by one of the best bands/singers ever, which fits perfectly in here now:
Award ceremony of the University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education, 30th March 2010, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford.
Was very nice to meet You folks again, congratulations to all of You and special thanks to all our tutors and Claire & Bob for all their help, support and humour!
There are a lot of different kind of music videos out there. Most of them are usually not that creative. It is also quite current, that good music video directors grow out into film directors with their own special and personal styles. I really do appreciate creativity and personality, when directors put their own individuality in their work. I do often enjoy moving pictures not only because of the story, but because what it offers visuallyThats why I love "Science of Sleep", "Requiem for a Dream", "The Fountain", "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" or Tim Burton's movies. The director of the first one, Michel Gondry (also directed the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" used to do music videos and commercials). Here is one he made for Björk's song "Human behaviour":
Some other videos (I do not know all their dircetors :-S) I really like for their creativity, cool ideas :-)
"Her morning elegance":
Laid Back: "Baker Man", video directed by Lars von Trier. Really stupid, relaxed and I love it :-D
Gary Jules: "Mad World" (music for the movie "Donnie Darko")
A cool short film I saw at the 13. Kurzfilmtage Winterthur: "Photograph Of Jesus" by Laurie Hill in association with the Getty Images Short & Sweet Film Challenge
Another very cool short from the Fantoche2010 Festival, "Notebook"
A hilarious short film from Michel Gonry: "One day..."
I just rediscovered this brilliant movie, "Once", definitely one of my favourites (next to "The Fountain" and "Science of Sleep"). A wonderful, melancholic story, which just exactly what everybody needs to see sometimes.
Why do we like melancholic films? Because they are no Hollywood, no blinders, no lies, no hard-core action and violance, but just pure reality from everyday life. How could we enjoy and appreciate what we've got, if we never experience sadnass and pain? At least such movies can bring some of these feelings in the heart of the empathic audience. Not so long ago a friend of ours suggested a very nice low-budget movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, the "Two Lovers", which is even more sad than "Once". "Once" has a kind of two sides, where one of these is really beautiful, but still. I felt first of all really disappoited at the end, sad and broken-hearted, but hopefully for the good. And this is what makes the sorrow taste somehow sweet.
Here are some great tracks from the movie, written and performed by the lead actors (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova), who are actually no actors, but pure musicians, trying to make their living. This is also a thing, I liked in this movie: real, flesh-and-blood people and no perfomers. It makes the whole film even more real. And guess what: we never get to know the name of the Characters. Isn't that brilliant? The story becomes valid generally, we absorb it more efficiently, feel like it is ours and not James and Anna's story, which we can push away from ourselves if we want so.
