Friday, December 11, 2009

History always goes in circles

I've done some reading and a proverb by Aristotle made me wonder of the current political and economical situation in Greece.
It goes as this:
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime

About the current situation an about the things to come and I'm not an optimist or pessimist.

And another more famous to be added to the context:

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

the last days of Last.fm

I was expecting that one a long time ago.

But it was today, as I was at the institute (interpretation vary), doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that, listening to "my music" from last.fm, I got a message, a ridiculous one, from that company asking for subscription fees to continue listening to "my radio station"!!!. And the irony was that this warning came up while a song from Radiohead's last album was playing. An album that was freely distributed from the Internet, for anyone who cared to download it.

The fee is 3 money metrical units, per month. Radio stations will never play the music I listen to, but are free, full of advertisements but there are some producers that still play great music. So I removed every last.fm program I had installed or script placed in this blog, since there is no meaning. I will think of removing my account from their site, since I can access any other information without an account from the Last.fm webpage.

The most annoying part is the press release about the transforming of the company to a pay-to-listen service, that states that three countries will continue to listen to their radio stations freely, what if all the other services are still free, I do not care. It was a good thing that I could listen to my personal music selection everywhere I could get a connection to the Internet.

If I find anything similar I will let you know.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

indie music

Amazon.com, has posted a very interesting article (not an article though, more like a list) about the top 100 indie albums of all time. It is a good list and I think that it will remind us of albums we listen back then, most of them I still listen to, actualy. It is a good opportunity to check out albums and groups that never had the time or the opportunity to listen to, cause this list got me unprepared. I never heard for example the early works of Eliot Smith, even "better" I never heard any album of Neutral Milk Hotel or Unrest or Slint and many more, and it is with great surprise that I found them at the very first of this list, between the top 10. I hope that this list will be a starting point to learn about differentiality in music (if I have grasped the meaning of indie this could be a good point), to listen to new tunes (some of the groups are no longer active, others keep it on for more than 20 years) and to talk about the music (or the list).

so the link to the list is here

By the way I can not understand under what criteria belle and sebastian's "
If You're Feeling Sinister" is at this list and not the "The Boy with the Arab Strap"...maybe the selection was based upon the album that make the band known to a wider audience. Who knows...

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Day We Stuffed Our Pockets With Stones

When? I can not remember.
How, I don't know, and I do not care, since everything is alright now. And this is what matters, present tense.
I’m sure it started when I was young, not even old enough to smoke or drink, but old enough to work for our survival.
A vague sensation stays in me, hunting me, till those days…of those days.

it was during the days of the Great Winds. When all living things stayed underground, not because of the polar cold, or the extreme heat, or the radioactive pollution, or of alien invasion and overflow of land by sea, but rather of windstorms, hurricanes, fiercely traveling through the empty space of soil, constantly moving a huge amount of dust, among other things, that could reap one’s flesh to the bone. Only grass could survive the winds, and the ecosystem developed to live under those conditions.
They did get one thing straight, those scientists of the old times, environmental changes were imminent, but in unpredictable ways. No one could ever get the small details that would define the true outcome of the changing. And one factor was still there, the sun, shining as ever, heating the equator in temperatures never before reached on the earth’s surface. But the poles, although hotter than before, were still cold enough to create a temperature difference from the equator, and that vast difference in temperature was enough to create hurricanes, speedy winds with devastating results. The ground above was a mess, with only the strongest of human’s creations standing.
A few people had clearance to surface to the ground above, for maintenance of the communication systems, the only machines operating at ground level, necessary for our communication with other remaining colonies. All those colonies spread around the world strived to create the kind of civilization existed before. Those were the ones still remembering the influence they had back then, the power.
The survival of the fitness was number one rule, nowadays. There was no meaning for ownership, since you never had something under your possession for too long. There was always someone, bigger, stronger, smarter to take your items, sooner or later.
That was one of the reasons we always carry stones in our pockets, for protection. Small enough not to restrain us in our flee, but big enough to inflict damage when it was necessary. We always moved in groups. The safety provided by numbers, by people you trusted was one of the factors that catalyzed the formation of groups.
Things were far from good, especially for older people who had known the sensation of the sky above their heads. They were under pressure, of an unknown kind to the ones born in the tunnels, they were alone, lost. The few ones still remaining.
Every day the population of the colony decreased, not by illness, but mostly from suicides and sudden bursts of violence, that ended up in a blood bath. The ones responsible for those actions were the old ones, the fossils of the ground above, the “grounders”.
I was just 15 years old by the time it started. My assignment was to monitor and service the communication center. I was one of the the few people, that had special training and special protected armor that could overcome the hardness of the winds above, an armor weight more than a ton, that could be operated with electric power for its movement. Only small children could operate those machines, since only undersized people could fit into that robotic armor. Once in a week or when malfunction was reported, I was away from the security of the underground. Into the void, that always brought me nausea. Because of the winds the visibility was reduced to no more than a few steps away. The exit point had been designed to be no more than that distance away from the machines.
Days passed by, routine faded the sensation of time. Our time in this superior position was almost at the end, we could no longer be of the ones wearing the budge of maintenance, with the armor engraved on it. Soon we were going to stop being untouchable, our marks would be passed down to younger ones…but we didn’t care. At least we would be away from the void that swarmed above. The horrible twilight of the morning or the deepest darkness of the night. Even in the deepest caves there were some light to lighten the path so that none would get lost

It was that time that I realized the unthinkable, i can remember that much, when my...when our expectation for the future altered.
As I was above, doing the week’s inspection, I spotted, far away, something that seemed to me as a ray of light breaking through the dust. Never again for decades had anyone seen the sun that should be somewhere there. I could never believe what I saw, and certainly I would had ignored it. Next week I had the night shift. And the week after nothing happened out of the ordinary to recall the previous incident. After two months I had forgotten all about that incident. As I was above, doing what I had to do, I looked over from small window in the direction where the sky should be. I was lucky cause I was not looking for it. Once again the manifestation of he improbable was up ahead. It was there a faint passage of pure light through the innumerable particles of dust , but it was there, I was astounded, it was mine, and I would never share it with no one. I counted the days, the nights when I could be above, when one of those rays would illuminate me. It took my a while to ask the question, to wonder what could produce this magnificent effect. I never was a bright one, so I didn't care. But, one day while I was above trying to finish the task before me, looking over for the light, it came to me the answer I was looking for. As I was looking at the stream of light, memories of old teachings filled my thoughts, about the harsh climate of the air above, of the speedy winds carrying tones of dust, and more. And then I knew, I knew what I was seeing. This manifestation, could mean only one thing. The winds were breaking up, wind's velocity was dropping enough, for the dust to settle on the ground after decades.

I had to test it. I had to know if winds were as dangerous as described by the tales of people of the old times.

When my turn came up I grubbed one of the rats swarming the place underground, strapped it to my armor and surfaced. I finished my routine and I descended back to the familiar moist, to see the results of my experiment. I was astounded, the rat had suffered great damage, but was still alive. Not for long anyway, cause a couple of hours latter was dead...

I didn’t know what to do with the information, as I was reviewing the results of the test, the observation of the past months, the tales, the facts, the science, something from deep inside me came to feel me up, and I started to smile, it was a discreet twitch of the lips, it was for the first time in my life the sensation of hope, the one feeling forgotten.

Every time i ascended a guinea pig would face the wind for me. Would let me know...
...would let me know of what? What I was thinking, what was the point of these actions...I could not thing straight. But, I knew that this battle inside me had a reason. I knew that it was time for me to ascend to the surface. And this thought, this belief was far from the teachings of our world. The surface, the air above was forbidden. But, all the tests were successful and a hard layer of protective clothes were enough to diminish the effects of the harsh winds. Animals strapped with thick clothes could survive for more than an hour, without even a scratch. A full helmet and goggles, and filters for my nose, mouth ears to protect them from the vicious dust, those were enough to protect me.
But by the time I felt ready for the task, I had lost my permission to use the armors,. So even if I wanted to get out, the only way would be without the safety of 10 cm metal. There was no other way. I wanted to fell the air.
I studied old maps of the area not that I would ever leave the spot, but to be able to imagine the area around me.

...the time had come. I strapped myself in old clothes, I could get my hands on, fixed a metal helmet, took gloves, boots, goggles, anything I could get my hands on. The docking station was empty as it always was. No one would ever come near the last frontier of the caves, if it was not necessary. Pressed the big red button and the hatch opened with a hiss. The wind was fierce, from the smallest cracks was pouring a significant amount of dust into the station. But I was OK. The hatch was almost half open but I closed it immediately. I felt as light as a feather, the wind almost got me of the ground. I need to be heavier. I grubbed my old coat and filed once more its pockets with stones. This time with large ones, heavy stones, even scrap metal. When I felt heavy enough I pushed the red button and waited for the hatch to reopen. This time was even better. I felt my feet firmly close to the ground. I didn't feel anypain, or dysphoria, as it was expected. I could even breath right, although without the mask I would have choked to death from the dust.
And for the first time I could breath fresh air, dry air. I looked up the twilight was there. I closed the hatch behind me. I could not afford for anyone to find me out here in the open, for as long as it lasted I wanted this only for me.

I was happy and I knew that the time of our resurface had come. We waited long enough in the darkness, suffered from the errors of the past.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

When science projects...


...become interesting again.

The following article was posted on daylymail and got me smiling. Although, I have stopped to post news, this one got my attention and I thought that it will be nice to share it with you. A bunch of Spanish students could get pictures of the "outer space" (ok not so outer, just of the stratosphere) using a simple digital photographic camera attached to a helium balloon. Total cost of their science project about 60 euros, or the cost of the camera. Innovation and knowledge does not require lots and lots of money to get children learn a few things. And I'm sure that they got their minds off the boring stuff of everyday-life.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Μελλοντικη Μπουρδολογια του Παρελθόντος

Απόσπασμα από την υποθετική αλληλογραφία δύο υποθετικών προσώπων σε υποθετικό χωροχρόνο για τις επιδράσεις των ναρκωτικών όχι μόνο στον χρήστη αλλά και στον περίγυρο του.

Τι γίνεσαι ωρέ Κοκσάκης; καιρό έχουμε να ακούσουμε νέα σου, αλλά διαβάζουμε τις ιστορίες σου, πολύ καλές δε λέω αλλά τα ναρκωτικά πού σκατά τα βρίσκεις; μα καλά τέτοιο τριπάρισμα, φοβερό. Όμως από παρενέργειες πως είναι, όπως επίδραση 24 ώρες το 24ωρο ακόμα και μετά την διακοπή της χορηγίας.
Να υποθέσω ότι ετοιμάζεις βιβλίο; γιατί αν ναι θα σκάσει από το κακό του ο φανταράκος...
"και μαθηματικός και γράφει και λογοτεχνικά βιβλία...σκατά, που βαδίζει αυτός ο κόσμος"
και άλλα τέτοια θα σκέφτεται εν ώρα γερμανικού σκοπέτου.
Το χειρότερο βεβαίως είναι η άτυπη πνευμονία, το αμέσως χειρότερο η σκέτη πνευμονία, και το υπέρτατο ο Φόρις, του οποίου τα τα κατορθώματα αν δεν τα ξέρεις μπορώ άνετα να στα μεταφέρω, αν βέβαια με πιάσει η όρεξη για κουτσομπολιό την οποία αυτή τη στιγμή δε διαθέτω, ο οποίος Φόρις, επανέρχομαι θα σκέφτεται...αν σκέφτεται αυτή την περίοδο (μακάριοι οι εκτός του γνωστού κόσμου περιπλανώμενοι)...ότι
"πάει ο καλός μου ο φίλος το κολλητάρι μου, αυτός με τον οποίο σκαρώναμε την επανάσταση, στον οποίο στήριζα την επανάσταση, με πρόδωσε για χάρη των κολοναρκωτικών...αχχχχχ που να πνίξω τον πόνο μου"
και θα τον πνίξει σα το κουνέλι, μάλλον, ίσως πιο σωστά την κότα, και ίσως γίνει και γερός αλκοολικός...
οπότε επανερχόμαστε στον Sfiltro, ο οποίος για ακόμα μια φορά θα δεχτεί ισχυρό πλήγμα, θα απογοητευτεί από τις επιδόσεις του στο αλκοόλ και στις γκόμενες, πλήγμα που το δέχεται βεβαίως βεβαίως από τις επιδόσεις του Φόρι, για τις οποίες κανείς δε ξέρει τίποτα αλλά κάτι πρέπει να υπάρχει για να ασχολιόμαστε, η μπορεί και να μην υπάρχει τίποτα, αλλά και πάλι κάτι θα φτιαχνόταν ώστε να έχουμε να ασχολιόμαστε με κάτι ακόμα και αν είναι άτοπο.
Μάλλον δε θα αντέξει την ντροπή της μη αντοχής στο αλκοόλ ("τις γυναίκες ποιος τις γαμεί..".) και μέσα σε μια νύχτα μεγίστης κρίσης η μεταμόρφωση θα πραγματοποιηθεί και πλέον στα χέρια μας θα μείνει μόνο ο "Βασιλάκης".
Τελικά ο Λιάκουρας βλέποντας την κατάντια των φίλων του αλκοόλ, drugs και "Βασιλάκης" θα ξεκόψει εντελώς από την παρέα, θα παντρευτεί με όποια είναι εκείνη την περίοδο, γιατί "που να ψάχνουμε για γυναίκες τέτοια εποχή, και βρέχει έξω, το μαλλί δε προλαβαίνω να το φτιάξω, και για να μην ξεχνιόμαστε, άμα δεν έχει και λίγο κρέας το πράγμα δε το φχαριστιέσαι"
οπότε ο Λιάκουρας μπαμπάς, με κάτι πιτσουνάκια, με θέση στο δημόσιο, τιμητική θέση στο γυμναστήριο, με δώρο μια ώρα στο μασάζ, διαμονή μακριά από την Αθήνα τον τόπο διαμονής των πρώην φίλων του (πάντα, όμως, κοιτάζει που βρίσκονται)
Ο koxakies από την άλλη μόνιμος κάτοικος πλέον του εξωτερικού, εδώ και καιρό έχει ασπαστεί την Αμερικάνικη κουλτούρα και ιδεολογία και πιστεύει ότι ο
"Θάμνος ο νεότερος, δεν ήταν και τόσο χάλια ντε"
έχει γίνει ο κλασσικός μαλάκας, αλλά μεγάλο μυαλό,φοβερός μαθηματικός, τον οποίο τα Ελληνικά Πανεπιστήμια θέλουν για μεταγραφή για τον τελικό του διαγωνισμού "επίλυσης του τετραγωνισμού του κύκλου με απιθανολογικές προσεγγίσεις". Αυτός δεν υποκύπτει σε μαλάκες εξω-ΝΑΤΟικούς (η ΕΕ πλέον είναι ανεξάρτητο κράτος, 5 χρόνια μετά την καθολική επικράτηση των αριστερών στοιχείων στο πολιτικό παρασκήνιο, και προσκήνιο), αλλά γενικώς όλοι γνωρίζουμε ότι δε πρόκειται να έρθει εν στην ΕΕ γιατί οι μπασταρδεμένες ασιατικές φιγούρες σπανίζουν πλέων εντός των πυλών,ένα φετίχ που δε μπορεί να αποβάλει ακόμα.
Επαφή πλέον έχει μόνο με τον Φόρι, ο οποίος αποτελεί τον καταλυτικό μηχανισμό για τον απόσχιση της ΕΕ από το ΝΑΤΟ και της κήρυξης της ανεξαρτησίας της, φήμη βεβαίως που διαδίδεται από τους γνωστούς τύπους, και ο λόγος που το κάνει αυτό, ο koxakies, παρόλο που έρχεται σε αντίθεση με την παρούσα ιδεολογία του είναι η μεγάλη απήχηση που έχει με αυτό τον τρόπο στις νεαρές υπάρξεις και χωρίς να το παραδεχτεί η συνομιλία μαζί του κατά περίεργο και υπερφυσικό τρόπο οδηγεί σε διαρκώς και μεγαλύτερες επιστημονικές επιτεύξεις, καθιερώνοντας πέρα για πέρα το όνομά του στους πάπυρος της επιστήμης, για την συμβολή της θεωρίας των αριθμών και των πιθανοτήτων στην επικοινωνία με άλλους πολιτισμούς (αυτή η θεωρία πρέπει να αναπτύχθηκε κατά την διάρκεια της ενασχόλησής του με τα ναρκωτικά, ίσως την δημιουργικότερη περίοδο του, ακόμα μια προσωπική παρεμβολή, στα γεγονότα πάλι) επίτευγμα τόσο σημαντικό όπως και της αναγωγής μετά από τουλάχιστον 150 χρόνια από την ίδρυσης της. Ο Βασσιλάκης-Sfiltros, ξεπέρασε τα προβλήματά του με την εμφύτευση μονάδων στο σώμα του, τα οποία επιτυχώς και για καλή του τύχη οδήγησαν σε αύξηση των επιδόσεών του στο ποτό, στις γυναίκες και στους κριτικούς (όχι σε αυτούς που μένουν στην Κρήτη) σε αφάνταστα επίπεδα, με αποτέλεσμα να επιτύχει ότι πάντα ονειρευόταν. Την καταξίωσή του ως συγγραφέα (αν και η μυστήρια εξαφάνιση του Δύδιμου και η ταυτόχρονη απώλεια χειρόγραφων διηγημάτων του άγνωστου, γνωστού ως Δύδιμου -μόνο τα ποιήματά του κατάφερε να εκδώσει, για τα πεζά κανείς δεν ήξερε τίποτα-, μπορεί και να μην είναι τόσο τυχαία...) την κατανάλωση απερίγραφτων ποσοτήτων αλκοόλ και τις επιδόσεις του στις γυναίκες σε επίπεδα ΚΟΡΚΑ (: μυθικό πλάσμα που βασίλευε στην περίοδο 1985-2006, όπου και παντρεύτηκε, με το μοναδικό προσόν της πανταχού αναγνώρισης στο γυναικείο φύλο, εκφράσεις όπως "το κάνει σαν τον ΚΟΡΚΑ" και άλλα έχουν παγιωθεί, από την εγκυκλοπαίδεια).
Ο Λιάκουρας, 'οπως προαναφέρθηκε πάντα παρακολουθούσε τις κινήσεις των φίλων του με τρόπο ύπουλο που φανέρωνε ζήλεια αλλά και δέος, τελικώς κατάλαβε το λάθος του, που όμως δε μπόρεσε να επανορθώσει (ποιό λάθος είναι αυτό ακόμα το ψάχνουν και τι θα επανορθώσει και αυτ΄οδε το γνωρίζουμε), γιατί η παντόφλα δε τον αφήνει (ακόμα και σε αυτόν τον χωροχρόνο η παντόφλα δεσπόζει), οπότε μάλλον η ιστορία του είναι μικρή και αδιάφορη, όμως αν εξετάσουμε την κατάσταση καλύτερα στο πρόσωπό του διακρίνουμε ένα τελευταίο απομεινάρι του παραδοσιακού πατέρα (όποις είναι αυτός)
Τέλος, στην ιστορία υπάρχουν και άλλοι ακόμα, όπως και ένας που ζει στην κοσμάρα του, άξιο λόγο για τον οποίο δε μπορώ να έχω

ΤΕΛΟΣ
(2004)

Το παραπάνω είναι ασυνάρτητο, ανορθόγραφο, ασύντακτο, άχρονο, ατονικό και άγχρωμο.
οποιαδήποτε ομοιότητα με τον οποιαδήποτε μπορεί και να υπάρχει, μιας και ότι γράφουμε και λέμε πηγάζει από τα βιώματά μας. Αν δεν αρέσει ή προσβάλει θα μπορούσα να πω ότι χέστηκα αλλά φοβάμαι τισ μηνύσεις μιας και πλεόν τρως μήνυση απλά επειδή είπες καλημέρα, και άμα την πεις και σε καναν ματατζί μπορεί να βρεθείς και νεκρός.