..... Would be happier if I could manage to find the catsticks in this tree .. meeow ...
12/25/2006
12/18/2006
What happens to your body if you drink a coke right now?
Healthbolt tells you about those wonderful effects. I hadn't heard about the cocaine before.
12/17/2006
TV hoax in Belgium
The public uproar in Belgium regarding the hoax the official state television RTBF planted on Wednesday ("the Dutch-speaking part of the country had declared independence, king and queen had to flee") - is certainly a good topic for media-educational purposes and reminds us - as every student of Media Studies 1.0 will know - of the 1938 radio broadcasting of H.G.Wells's "War of the Worlds" which caused chaos in the United States because people believed that Martians had invaded the country.
But back to Belgium. Remarkable is the momentum of such actions: The fake separatists played by actors who waved flags for the indepence of Flanders were joined after a short time by cheering real-life separatists.
There's more in the International Herald Tribune and a video on Youtube showing parts of the broadcast for speakers of French.
But back to Belgium. Remarkable is the momentum of such actions: The fake separatists played by actors who waved flags for the indepence of Flanders were joined after a short time by cheering real-life separatists.
There's more in the International Herald Tribune and a video on Youtube showing parts of the broadcast for speakers of French.
12/13/2006
Interview Thomas Bernhard
I just read an - only recently published -
and very long interview from the year 1986, with the late Austrian author Thomas Bernhard (1931 - 1989), internationally acknowledged as one of the greatest 20th century writers.
Asked about translations of his books, he answered:
"Doesn't interest me at all, because a translation is a different book. It has nothing to do with the original at all. It's a book by the person who translated it. I write in the German language. You get sent a copy of these books and either you like them or you don't. If they have awful covers then they're just annoying. And you flip through and that's it. It has nothing in common with your own work, apart from the weirdly different title. Right? Because translation is impossible."
Another question: Your characters and you yourself often say they don't care about anything, which sounds like total entropy, universal indifference of everyone towards everything.
T.B.: "Not at all, you want to do something good, you take pleasure in what you do, like a pianist, he has to start somewhere too, he tries three notes, then he masters twenty, and eventually he knows them all, and then he spends the rest of his life perfecting them. And that's his great pleasure, that's what he lives for. And what some do with notes, I do with words. Simple as that. I'm not really interested in anything else. Because getting to know the world happens anyway, by living in it, as soon as you walk out the door you're confronted with the world directly. With the whole world. With up and down, back and front, ugliness and beauty, perfectly normal. There's no need to want this. It happens of its own accord. And if you never leave the house, the process is the same."
The complete interview, including the description of the Viennese coffee house and friends coming by at Sign and Sight.
and very long interview from the year 1986, with the late Austrian author Thomas Bernhard (1931 - 1989), internationally acknowledged as one of the greatest 20th century writers.
Asked about translations of his books, he answered:
"Doesn't interest me at all, because a translation is a different book. It has nothing to do with the original at all. It's a book by the person who translated it. I write in the German language. You get sent a copy of these books and either you like them or you don't. If they have awful covers then they're just annoying. And you flip through and that's it. It has nothing in common with your own work, apart from the weirdly different title. Right? Because translation is impossible."
Another question: Your characters and you yourself often say they don't care about anything, which sounds like total entropy, universal indifference of everyone towards everything.
T.B.: "Not at all, you want to do something good, you take pleasure in what you do, like a pianist, he has to start somewhere too, he tries three notes, then he masters twenty, and eventually he knows them all, and then he spends the rest of his life perfecting them. And that's his great pleasure, that's what he lives for. And what some do with notes, I do with words. Simple as that. I'm not really interested in anything else. Because getting to know the world happens anyway, by living in it, as soon as you walk out the door you're confronted with the world directly. With the whole world. With up and down, back and front, ugliness and beauty, perfectly normal. There's no need to want this. It happens of its own accord. And if you never leave the house, the process is the same."
The complete interview, including the description of the Viennese coffee house and friends coming by at Sign and Sight.
Books, films, games, music
A very good site is Metacritic. It`s about music, DVDs, games, books and film. What I like best: it's not only about rankings and lists - there are links to reviews in newspapers and magazines as well and lots of info, such as new DVD releases and short summaries for books, films and games. Very helpful if you're looking for gifts.
12/12/2006
2006 Web Technology Trends
The Read/ Write Web provides us with a nice overview of the 2006 Web Technology Trends.
Material about world internet penetration and of course, all the social web applications.
Material about world internet penetration and of course, all the social web applications.
12/11/2006
The US vs John Lennon
Open Democracy`s Richard Young talks to David Leaf, writer and director of "The US vs John Lennon", a film about the Nixon administration's attempts to silence Lennon's anti-war message.
"You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead"
(The Beatles - Revolution).
Here's a link to the "US vs John Lennon" official site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
