FACEBOOK.COM

What is facebook? Answer: one of the most famous social networking sites IN THE WORLD (pffff).
I have also signed in and I'm active. Not under my nickname, "trotos", but, rather, under my real life name (hehe it will not be revealed, although all my friends and maybe more people know my real-life personality). This revealing of identity is not common when browsing the net, registering to sites, or talking to chat groups. Everyone wants to move in the vastness of the internet under the safety of anonymity, to speak up one's mind or even to be what he ever wanted to be, without "the real life" to criticize him or make fun out of him (in person anyway).
For once this "revelation" goes with some happy surprises.
For me one of this welcomed surprises, came from an ex-neighbour, with whom we were good friends almost 20 years ago, back in the days of innocence and soccer-playing in the alleys (yes those mythical places existed once). She was just looking around faces in the "search for people" option and my lovable face, popped up, like a politician's fart, waking up memories of the past. "Where have I seen this toad!!!" she would probably thought, but she didn't hesitate, she just grub the keyboard and send me a message, despite my toadish appearance. "this person wants to add you as a friend", appeared in my screen, and I was amazed that a woman would like to add me as her friend. But, as I was reading her name and watching her photo it occurred to me that I know her from somewhere, so I confirmed the add friend invitation. In a few days we were talking over the phone about the good OLD days.
Some thing happened recently when I received another invitation from a colleague of mine from the academic era,
the traitor now lives in a different town, so it is not soooo easy for me to give him a visit, but I will work things out. Although till now I haven't wrote anything of importance to him, cause I I'm bored to death (and that is unacceptable).
But beware, and be advised, facebook once probably was a fresh air to the social networking community, but I think that lately it stinks of money (maybe this one sounds a little bit harsh, but If you read the various reports on how much the facebook worths, and how managers from various big companies whining about the money companies are loosing cause the employs are preoccupied with the facebook. and rumor has it that from sometime in the future it will ask for a subscription -that one could be a hoax-. Also a lot of people, and companies residue in the facebook hopping to attract more clients.
The article "The Facebook economy" is describing in more details the road to success for facebook.com but also ways to get money out of it. I believe this one is worth reading.

For example, download iLike, an app that lets you sample and purchase music, and the developer gets a 5 percent kickback if you end up buying songs from iTunes or Amazon.com (Charts, Fortune 500).

Last but no least, facebook, is not as safe as we think it is (previous post for details). And most of the so called applications for me look like the evolution of the chain-mails and the spam-mails, so please take no offense if I immediately ignore or delete any invitation-message that applies to the previous categories. Also, there is the case of exploiting our personal data for economic interests without asking us first, personal data as sex, likes, occupation, education and so on are delivered to companies so that will feed us with more personalized advertisement. A lot of articles exist over the net about the mining of personal data and a few of them are:

Do internet companies protect personal data well enough?
Facebook Sharing Too Much Personal Data With Application Developers
MySpace and Facebook Plan to Use Personal Data for "Targeted Advertising"
Facebook questioned over data protection

BUT, I will continue to use it since I find it useful and sometimes even funny and relaxing, but I do not know for how long. Also I'm thinking of removing every application, except maybe a few, and use it as a tool to communicate with people, usually with the ones that are hard to find.

P.S.: Is my English terrible, or it's just me?

Update 06-02-08: As a friend wrote at the comment session, my English IS terrible, but it's OK for facebook. And I expect it to be OK for any social networking site, for any instant messaging application.
Yep, it's a fact my English is terrible, so are my Greek...so, no harm done. But, I also forgot to finish a sentence...

Update 07-02-08: This articles will again be revised, since everytime I read it I find it incomplete and horrible.

Update 08-02-08: This should be the final

From The Rooftops

How are you this excellent, superb, if I may, morning. Today, the 19th January 2008, started as a awful day (OK not so awful). From the next building the sounds of reconstruction, hammers, jackhammers, and other unspeakable tools were disturbing my sleep, also Vassily's sleep, who is kind enough to get along with my existence and my occupation of his house, and mostly his toilet. The weather WAS cloudy, and the mood was not the one suitable for a weekend away from the Navy (mpliax, Greek expression corresponds to great revulsion). The tip of the iceberg (the cherry on the cake, as we say here in Greece), Vasily doesn't have an ADSL connection installed to his house and no TV (no TV you've read correct), and the radio in Crete really suck big time
(in general, I think that the radio stations that worth your attention are the national radio station and the university radio station in Heraclio). So, it is a little bit boring to just preparing the breakfast, waiting for him to wake up. Anyway...
The point is that in a few minutes, sunrays break through, Vasily woke up and most of all I could get an access to fast internet (Broadband). The rapid change in the weather is all about physics, the early arouse of Vasily is thanks to the jackhammer (which in general is no good at all), and the internet-connection thanks to those loving-caring-people who, either because they do not know how, or they just don't care, leave their wireless routers free to public access. BUT, the good weather was actually the main reason for the internet. If the cloudy weather persisted I would have never pulled myself on the rooftop and search around for an open wi-fi network.
Dear LILA, is kind enough (no past tense here) to share her internet access with everyone. So I Seized the day, and wrote down those lines, which have no meaning and will not change the way people thing. But, it could be an important aspect of my life, because the story doesn't end at this point.
The truth is that this story, if you haven't been bored till now keep reading, completed in FO.R.T.H. (the technological institute of Crete), were I had accompanied Vassily to finish a work with fruit-flies. After a long-long time I was inside an institute, deep-freezers on one corner, little glass bottles on the other one, PCR machines, electrophoresis devices, and so on. It occurred to me that I enjoyed working in an institute, able to talk about "science", do science and all that stuff, even when the environment (talking mostly about my supervisors and the way the institute, I am working to (know I consider to be on vacation, long term), is functioning. So I would like to return to a place like that, for many reasons, but under better supervision, and of course with bigger salary:)

P.S. another chaotic note from a disturbed mind...

News For Technology Freaks

The first one goes around to the net for a while now and has to do with the popular "social site" FACEBOOK. So if you ever get invitation from the application "Secret Crush" just harden yourself, turn your heart into stone and forget of the could-be-lovers ones.

Secret Crush was quickly branded a malicious widget by the security researchers who discovered it, seeing as how it poses as a legitimate application that promises to reveal someone’s admirer(s). In reality, it loads an adware/spyware associated with Zango, which historically has been linked to adware and spyware designed to gain access to certain games, DRM-protected videos, and software. In 2006, the FBI gave it a fine of US$3 million for allowing third parties to secretly install its adware.

.
The next one has to do with the vodafone 3G, or however they call it, and sites as yahoo, mail.yahoo.com to be more accurate. It just refuses to load while I'm surfing using the vodafone's 3G service, for those who doesn't know, 3G services are streaming data over the cell technology in high speed, as with ADSL. This network thinks for itself, sometimes I'm able to "surf" to any site I want to and sometimes the address is unreachable...This blog is not too popular so it want make any difference, or I want start a thread from this post, but posting it won't harm anyone, right?
update
it seems that with the newer 3g modems internet sites loads properly now.

eArtHQuakE

For your information and only, Sunday's earthquake was strong enough to wake me up, even all the way down here in Crete.
It was one of a horrible Sunday.
I had a really good plan.
It would started with dozing in my bed till 10:00 in the morning and latter on reading the news, spend time listening to music and reading a little bit...and so on.
But the sailor-mates who woke up at about 6:30, they needed to wear the official uniform, the one that also SAILOR MOON characters wear, to participate in the Sunday's ceremony (present arms and so on), and had the bright idea to wake me up by turning on those horrible lights of the dorm had it coming...
...and you know how rude I am when waking up like this...
...well...you know, I think that a was f@$k and As#$%e them for nearly 30min...

maybe this is a new record

and then there was the earthquake. The bed was swinging like a ping-pong ball in the middle of a game, and the old building was threating our peaceful living with collapsing.
I think that it was the first time that I did nothing, I just woke up, wished a "good morning" to the earthquake as I had done with the guys earlier and stood up and went to take a leak(!!!???)...

Best Scientific Magazine Now is Free

Could it be Nature? Could it be Science? PNAS? Popular Science? Scientific American?

No, no and once more no. The source off grandioseness lies elsewhere.

The one and only magazine that will be unforgettable for its "Ig Nobel Prizes" offers for free a low resolution of its acclaimed publications in pdf format. So, click on the link that will let you through the vast knowledge that improbable research offers us.
...and to give you a hint of the grandioseness of those Ig Nobel Prizes, the winner of 2007 for the PEACE IgNP was:

The Air Force Wright Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio, USA, for instigating research & development on a chemical weapon -- the so-called "gay bomb" -- that will make enemy soldiers become sexually irresistible to each other.
REFERENCE: "Harassing, Annoying, and 'Bad Guy' Identifying Chemicals," Wright Laboratory, WL/FIVR, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, June 1, 1994.

.
conducting war without spilling a drop of blood, but by spreading LOVE to the world

Although my favorite is the IgNP for the AVIATION category:

AVIATION: Patricia V. Agostino, Santiago A. Plano and Diego A. Golombek of Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina, for their discovery that Viagra aids jetlag recovery in hamsters.
REFERENCE: "Sildenafil Accelerates Reentrainment of Circadian Rhythms After Advancing Light Schedules," Patricia V. Agostino, Santiago A. Plano and Diego A. Golombek, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 104, no. 23, June 5 2007, pp. 9834-9.
WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Diego A. Golombek

yeap, this is THE PNAS dear ladies and gentlemen!

P.S. Dear koxakies are you reading this?

A long time ago, in a music land far away

Again, due to extreme situations, I was not able to update this post. But I'm BaCk.

This Time I intend to do a review, tribute to things I listened to a decade ago, but still I am really Fond of them. Most of the albums I will present, or just announce, could be unknown to most of you, but I enjoy them till now.

So let us begin...
The albums will be not presented in a Top 10 listing and are from my CD collection

808 state - Don Solaris// a great album from a group that influenced musicians as Autechre and Aphex Twin. This album includes one of my favorite songs, Azura, featuring the lead singer of Lamb Louise Rhodes

A Reminiscent Drive - embrace e.p.// electronica, down tempo, kind of music. Not the boring type of down-tempo you usually listen to those fancy bar found anywhere in Athens these days. No computer was used for this album, as the creator of this album is mentioning. The last song of the e.p. "two sides to every story" distinguishes from the rest.

AkaSha - cinematique// from the wiki:

Akasha (or Akash, Ākāśa, आकाश) is the Sanskrit word meaning "aether" in both its elemental and mythological senses. In Hinduism Akasha means the basis and essence of all things. The source of everything that exists. One of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five great elements"; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound). In Hindi the meaning of Akash is sky.

In this catalog refers to a band form in Brixton, London, UK, and theirs first album. A fusion of electronica and jazz. Akasha are responsible for one of the best re-arrangements and orchestrations, of Guns n' Roses' Sweet Child of mine, featuring Neneh Cherry

Boards Of Canada - in a beautiful place out in the country// another electronic based e.p. I surely recommend the excellent album: Music Has the Right to Children, but this one belongs to the LP/Vinyl area. Excepts from the easy-listening theme song this e.p. includes the "amo bishop roden" one that comes in waves of repetition, building the sound in every step, adding in every loop a new sound, so being repetitive but not boring.

coti K- quasi// a Greek producer, mostly known from his collaborations with the famous Greek band Στερεο Νοβα. This album from the '97 includes one of the best memories I have, the formation of the AEON FLUX, and the intro of our radio days, back there in Patra. Notte Estiva was the track. I found an interview of coti K from avopolis (Greek only).

the princess + the warrior - OST// From the same people that brought up Run Lola Run comes another great film. Enough with the film, the soundtrack is written by "pale 3", the same people that written the Run Lola Run Soundtrack. I think that I prefer this one.

french fried funk - various// all the super stars of France electronic stage are here, from DJ CAM to AIR,Alex Gopher to Dimitris from Paris. Double cd, songs spiced by the remixes of IVAN and ERIC RUG (who the F@$K are those people?)

Gonzales - Uber Alles// hmmm, this one is sooooo good, he is behind and responsible for the increased fame of popstars as FEIST and Peaches , involved in various collaborations and re-arrangements. I recommend his latest album "Solo Piano"

Deep Dish - junk science// house music from one of the best groups (DJs actualy) formed by the Iranian American members Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi.

Cut La Roc - la roc rocks// At the end of the big-beat movement led by "fat boy slim", "the chemical brothers" and other bands, this album stands out to remind us of the parties. Get you jumpin'.

Red Snapper - Prince Blimey - The debut album from the U.K. instrumental band. One of the best albums I ever listened to. An excellent fusion of Jazz and jungle-breakbeat percussions, performed using a bass, drums and a guitar.

Jamie Myerson - The Listen Project//Mostly known as a remixer, but this album is good, and the songs titled as "afraid" and "this time" are worth your attention.

DAFT PUNK - everything your choice// OK, so nothing to say here, the name speaks for itself, the duo from Paris, with the robot heads. Influenced everyone and everywhere.Teir first album back at 1998. tracks as "revolution 909", "da Funk", "Around the world",Burnin'" from their first album are monumental to the dance community (am I wrong?). Ah, also you can know find them at their new sub-site in youtube

check this one...it really rocks


Scheer - Infliction// enough with the electronic based groups. This one in '96 was voted as one of the most promising new bands. And listening to the "wish you were dead" felt like it.

cracker - kerosene hat// don't foul yourself lyrics are about opium!!!

Sometimes I wanna take you down.
Sometime I wanna get you low.
I brush your hair back from your eyes.
I take you down let the river flow.
Sometimes I go and walk the street
Behind the green sheet of glass.
A million miles below their feet
A million miles, a million miles

CHORUS:
I'll be with you girl
Like being low
hey hey hey like being stone
I'll be with you girl
Like being low
hey hey hey like being stoned.

A million poppies gonna make me sleep.
But just one rose it knows your name
The fruit is rusting on the vine
The fruit is calling from the trees
Hey don't you wanna go down
Like some junkie cosmonaut
A million miles below their feet
A million miles a million miles

CHORUS
Blue blue is the sun.
Brown brown is the sky.
Green green are her eyes.
A million miles a million miles
Hey don't you wanna go down
Like some disgraced cosmonaut
A million miles below their feet
A million miles a million miles
CHORUS

Don Fleming - Because tomorrow comes// the uber song, the uber e.p., from the leader of the "Gumball".

Motorpsycho - angels and deamons at play// the first album of the Norwegian rock band that i have ever heard, The Song "in the family" echoes in my brain for a decade now. Also its one of the bands, with the Gomez, that till now never fails to amaze me, that every-single-one album they release is a diamond worth listening.

Kyuss - Blues for the red sun// long time ago, before QOTSA (queens of the stone age), this band among others was building the now-called "stone rock". Hard guitars, mixed with blues rhythm, cool as a hard-rock band can be. Each album a different story, a different sound, till their final one "...and the circus leaves town"

Steel Pole Bath Tub - scars from falling down// from New York, a punk rock band formed almost 20 years ago. This is the only album I ever listened to. They sound almost like Sonic Youth, if you asked to compare it with another group. Song to listen to "Kansas City"

The Posies - Amazing Disgrace// Power-Pop band, with lots of fuzz to the guitars (speaking for the amazing disgrace). Not so good in total, but there are excellent songs in this one. My favorite "Please return it", melancholic although the the fuzzy guitars. Loved also "ontario", "precious moments" and "everybody is a fucking liar"

the experimental pop band - homesick// one of the coolest albums I have ever listen. Most famous for the "forty greatest hits". Pop-funky-Samples, everything goes in this album. Songs as "for dancers only", "archive"

the afghan whigs - black love// If I were to describe the music played by the afghan whigs I would described it as soul-funk-hard-rock fusion, sometimes with a 80's finishing touch. Honky's ladder the single from this album. The band became famous with the 1965 album and the single "somethin' hot". In the 1965 album their love for soul, is more than obvious.

Fu Manchu - the action is Go// Speeding cars, gazoline in the air, explosive riffs...

Rolling Stone describes their sound as: "Super heavy and bass happy Detroit rock 'n' roll is totally deep-fried, fuzzed out, window breakin', pot sellin', sleepin-in-the-van, skater metal."

...head-bunging all the way. Feel the power of fu-manchu.

Octopus - from A to B// Pop till you drop dead, with a touch of psychedelic tunes. A classic if you ask me, the first single, also the first track "your smile", sounds so gooooood. Find it, listen to it. The best part is the album itself, a game is hidden inside it.

Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights// from pop to pop, lightning seeds dear ladies and gentlemen, one of the most famous british bands around. Lucky you from the Jollification, album is their greatest hits ever.

Shit gotta go so a few more in rush...

the cruel sea - the honeymoon is over
john lee hooker - chill out
honest - OST
grand lee buffalo - copperopolis
this is for apache - various
babybird - ugly beautiful
the church - magician among spirits

Radiohead, a new album, but not a review

I believe that most of you know that Radiohead (Ραδιοκέφαλος) have finished recording their latest album, In Rainbows, the forthcoming cd/vinyl release should be available after the 3rd of December. I am also aware that a great deal of you also have visited the corresponding site and downloaded the album either free or by paying a fee (those not informed of this, will now be considered as such!!!). No big deal right?
Not quite...
...Radiohead are not just a group, since they considered to be one of the greatest bands in the world. So when Radiohead decide to "sell" their new album, directly from their site, by giving us the chance to pay as much as we want, to download the album, (or to preorder a great edition of it, double cd, vinyl and a hardcover illustration book, I'm drooling here, without the labels) it will be an opportunity for various sources to do their hypothesis and conclusions about the outcome.
From Bittorrent search engines to market analysts. even slashdot.com, all making their comments on this movement, as do I, while others, go even farther, considering it to be a hard kick in the balls for the music industry.
Even TIME magazine has an article on this, including a piece from an interview of Thom York, describing the music industry as a decaying business model. A statement, that is backed up by:

an A&R executive at a major European label:
"This feels like yet another death knell, If the best band in the world doesn't want a part of us, I'm not sure what's left for this business."

As of 12th of October Radiohead Made $6-$10 Million on Initial Album Sales (depending on the average amount payed for downloading the album) as I was informed from WIRED

I'm thinking...will they got a lawsuit from RIAA, from music corporations, for "freely" distributing an album via the internet, even if Radiohead has finished with EMI from 2004, and by doing so, encouraging the "leeching/seeding" community to burn up some more the copper telephone wires?

A few more artists seem to follow this business plan, one of the Trent Raznor, the Nine Inch Nails man, as well as Prince(?couldn't find that one). Even a record label as magnatune and artists as Saul Williams.

And this lovable guy (Trent Raznor) has said:

A few months ago, Trent Reznor (frontman of the band Nine Inch Nails), was in Australia doing an interview when he commented on the outrageous prices of CDs there. Apparently now his label, Universal Media Group is angry at him for having said that. During a concert last night, he told fans, '...Has anyone seen the price come down? Okay, well, you know what that means — STEAL IT. Steal away. Steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin'. Because one way or another these mother****ers will get it through their head that they're ripping people off and that's not right.

And to finish this read that one:

The Impact of Music Downloads and P2P File-Sharing on the Purchase of Music: A Study for Industry Canada

Description: Industry Canada undertook a music file sharing study during 2006-07 to measure the extent to which music downloads over peer-to-peer file sharing networks, for which the sound recording industry receives no remuneration, affect music purchasing activity in Canada. The data used for this analysis are from a Decima Research survey conducted between April and June, 2006, on behalf of Industry Canada. The report, prepared by University of London researchers, Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz, found that music downloads have a positive effect on music purchases among Canadian downloaders but that there is no effect taken over the entire population aged 15 and over.

that's all for now...keep on sharing...

News, DO we have ENOUGH time to ponder over them

In the state I am the past 2 and 1/2 months, I've been missing quite a few things that concerns me and the rest of the world. The one outside the NAVY. One of those is the ability to "freely" be informed on the latest developments on almost every subject, whenever and wherever I want to. So during my "vacations" I spend most of my time sitting in frond of my (excellent DELL 2007WFP) screen (if you won't praise your house...!!!) and reading everything, from the game industry to scientific achievements to domesticate problems. I don't think that I will be able to read, even superficial, what happened in the real world before the 2nd of November.
So this one raises one significant question:

News, DO we have ENOUGH time to ponder over them?

...and more significantly, DOES IT WORTH IT? What good does it make to know that Radiohead earned about 6 million $, by releasing their latest album over the internet under a shareware, kind of, license? Or that scientist are about to brake through the production of hydrogen from waste water by bacteria, so that it can be used in a mass scale (a kind of free- environmental friendly energy).

So, as all these information stacking in my brain, occupying free neuron cells and reforming or forming new synapses, between my nerve cells, do I have time, or will I ever be able, to brake down this information, deconstruct it and in consequence reconstruct this flood of information to knowledge, that can be used to make my life better, to know my rights, to brace myself for the future (I am denying to talk about the future of me as a worker in this country, considering the pensioning system, that competes on equal terms with the estimate Average life span.)?

A Gem Raised From Trash? Paul Potts

I got the following from the known email-chain, so probably it's not news, but it was one of those things that got my attention. Is anyone of you familiar with the show "Britain you have talent"? I believe that the same reality show was aired in Greece with the profound name of "Greece you have talent"!!!
I could never attend to similar shows for more than 15 min, and I thing that that's a personal record. But a friend of mine send me an e-mail, that emphasized on the winner of this show.
Paul Potts
He appears to be an ordinary guy, a 36 year-old cell-phone seller, too ordinary, modest and maybe a little bit shy, bullied as a kid, with low self esteem. He chooses to participate in the show and I'm indifferent to what he is about to do or to say, his looks betray him. One of the judges asks one and only one question:

"What are you here for today, Paul?"
"To sing OPERA", he replies

and she is almost shocked by this unbelievable answer. So am I, this is just another hoax with a lunatic megalomaniac thinking of being grandiose, without even deserve to be in frond of a TV camera (now that is an oxymoron). And after the millions of animals performing, sometimes better than men...

...he sings and I am amazed and shocked. I just hope this is for real, cause he is marvelous. "a breath of fresh air", out of those TV trashes, I couldn't agree more.
Listen to him sing:

Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turrandor, in the first round



...and Time To Say Goodbye

Soundtrack, for your ears only

The Chemical Brothers - All Rights Reversed (at last the duo goes back to the old good songs)
American Analog Set - Million Young (I will never get tired of this)
Clint Mansell - Together We Will Live For Ever (End Credits For a Great Movie)
dEUS - The Magic Hour (no comments)
Feist - One Evening (Gonzales Solo Album, when was the last time you listen to good pop songs?)
Gomez - Notice (One of my favorite bands, from my late high school years)
The Cinematic Orchestra - To Built a Home (Wonderful)
The Avalances - Since I Left You (It really fixes me when I'm blue)
Razorlight - Who Needs Love (CooooooooL)
Q.O.T.S.A. - Little Sister (Best Band On Earth)
Motorpsycho - Devil Dog (Both motorpsycho and Gomez have never disappointment me)
Mogwai - Travel Is Danger (the definition of post-rock)
All About Lily Chou-Chou - Sight (from the OSTof the movie)
King Of Convinience - I Don't Know What I can Save You From (Quiet IS the new Loud)

Constant editting

Well, one of the things I like to do in my blog, is to go back to older posts, editting them and either enriching them or cut things down. The same applies to the bars at the left side and the interface of this page. I like it to be in constant flow, not something static.

Cheers from Herakleio

Days Going By

Even if I haven't slept well
I'm always looking forward for the few hours
I'll be out of that miserable place,
in order to ease my mind to cope with
the attitude of some people, who test the "red thin line" of my nerves, disturbing my inner peace (OK there is not such a thing, but anyway)

My hung-out-place is a cafe by the beach
called small coffee shop (μικρό καφέ). Not too crowded, not too isolated.

A freddo espresso, a bottle of water, the seventh tale from
the "tales of the malazan book of the fallen" by Steven Ericson"
and the mp3player playing for hours.

By the sea, as calm as I want to be. The cigarette never tasted
better, and smoke swarm out of my mouth hiding the unwanted.
(not the gorgeous lady at the far end).
How long has it been? Two full weeks
and still there is this feeling in my guts when I'm in that place.
And I don't think it has to do with the "being there"
rather than with the being with people I haven't choose.
People I either find boring or swallow,
or completely irritating.
With enormous complexes waiting to get "old" so they will do what the want!!!
So even for a few hours, while I'm alone at that cafe
listening to something I chose To, something I chose to,
reading, and be swallowed by the vast world of Steven Ericson,
I find peace...momentary.
And I feel even better, my skin crawls, a sweet chill travels through my spine,
as the night unfolds over the stormy sea of Chania, listening to Cinematic's Orchestra, To Build A Home, their first song from theirs latest album, My Fleur.

Chania 15/10/07

Movie: All About Lily Chou-Chou

Αway from the political orgasm that this country just got through and as an interfering post, I would like to recommend a movie, from Japan. It is not a plesant one, it is not a DIE HARD movie for 2 pleasant hours.

All About Lily Chou-Chou



It's a movie about the misleading Japanese youth:
A story about the end of innocence, from a carefree life to being bullied to a dead-end road, leading to a predetermined death. The small parts of past events that are interfering to the main story, will test our feelings towards the main characters, enough to prepare us for the final scene.
The ones considered to be closed friends turn against you, when their way of living dramatically shattered. The film, focus on characters and on events that transformed them, from the late preliminary years, to the last high-school days. Their lives goes one without anyone restraining them without any morality. Parents living in another world, grownups who have turned away from the bitter reality. Salvation can be found only in the music of the pop artist Lily Choo-Choo. For both sides.
Beautiful cinematography, great story.
Beautiful, yet so disturbing.

Hope you'll be able to get a copy in your hands.

200 years ago, history lesson

It was the 4th quartet of 1824 that the Sultan with the help of the Egyptian forces, trained under the western military forces, sets to annihilate the successful Greek revolution. Two forces, different in the way of training compared to the chaotic past organization of Ottoman troops, set to deliver mayhem, to eliminate any resisting Greeks. Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali, With an army of almost 15.000 (not 100% sure about this one) sets to Methoni in 1825, without any force to oppose him, with a single purpose:

To Burn down or chop every tree, to kill everyone who will oppose him, and will not yield. And he succeeded. For 2 years, and even under the resistance of the released Kolokotronis and his guerrilla warfare, Ibrahim managed to take over Peloponnese.
The disaster was so great that Kolokotronis send a mail to Ibrahim telling him that:

Not the branches of tress to cut from us, not the trees, not our homes you burned down,even if stone under stone to be left, we'll never yield. Even if, the trees to cut them down, the soil that doesn't want to be lifted up, the same soil that raised them, this soil will be ours for ever and it will reborn everything.

free translation...the original as follows:

Όχι τα κλαριά να μας κόψεις, όχι τα δέντρα, όχι τα σπίτια που μας έκαψες, μόνο πέτρα πάνω στην πέτρα να μείνει, εμείς δε προσκυνούμε. Τι, τα δέντρα μας αν κόψεις, τη γη δε θέλει να την σηκώσεις και η ίδια γη που τα έθρεψε, αυτή η ίδια γη μένει δική μασ και τα ματακάνει.

The reasons for the complete defeat were: the best strategic minds of Greece where in prison or pursued as criminals, the Greece was under the bad influence of foreign forces, the government under the presidency of Georgios Kountouriotis not able to handle the crisis, and the people not having faith to the government.

Peloponnese was turned into a dry land, was deserted, people were fleeing either to Sicily or to the coast line of Ottoman Empire, to get away from the disaster inflicted by Ibrahim. The land recovered after 100 years.

It seems that History repeats itself. But this time we do not needed any Ibrahim, or any Ottoman troops. We managed to bring total annihilation by ourselves. Cause, don't get fooled by political declarations of salvation to all Greeks by blaming the others, pointing the finger to everyone else but ourselves, we all have part in this.

I that throw the cigarette out of the speeding car into the dry land, my need for more money, for a "better place" to raise my children into the "forest", any action that is believed to put the blame on the other political party, of burning the weeds. Of the Greek way, as a nation, of the government (of every government) THAT consists of local Representatives that are responsible for theirs specific area of jurisdiction, of the ministers, the authorities, the leaders, all elected by the people...and goes on and on. Because I believe that in this case its not only the head of the fish that stinks it the whole fish.

And a final though is:
will this disaster be enough to awaken us, the dormant fellow Greeks;
It sounds as rhetorical as ever. Anyway I hope that I made a point and not been misunderstood.

Talk to you when I feel like it, or when the Navy permits it...

P.S.: minor spelling corrections. 19/09/2007

The Day After Tomorrow

...will it ever come?
PHOTO IS FROM NASA's "VISIBLE EARTH" obtained ON 2000 (not recent OK? but to the point)

Once more the world has noticed this small country called Greece, but again not for something we are proud of. Almost the 2/3 of Peloponnese is turned to ashes, over 52 persons dead, and respiratory problems for thousands of people as most part of Peloponnese is covered with thick smoke. It seems that there is no end to this horror that is spreading through Greece, mostly at Peloponnese.
Fire raging on, from numerous locations to devour anything or everyone that stands in its way. As if it will rage on even through the sea.
People have died, people will probably die during the night of Saturday 25th of August and the death toll will probably rise, at the morning of Sunday the 26th. Hopefully, I will be mistaken, and wish I am.


CNN,photos
EL PAIS
ABC NEWS
HERALD TRIBUNE
THE GUARDIAN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
MSN NEWS
AL JAZEERA
RADIO CANADA
LE FIGARO

I believe that there are numerous hypothesis on this profound disaster. I know that we all have listen, read, talk about the why who or where and how, but in the end as history dictates and to quote Einstein:

...Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.

I will come back to this subject and edit a few things, as I usually do with every article.

It's been almost a month since i've written anything

I will start by saying this...

What the F#@$

Well for starters, since Friday, 20 July 2007 I'm facing a great opportunity. The one that WILL lead me where I never, ever have settled my feet before (and hopefully never to settle myself there ever again). This GREAT PLACE, this GREAT opportunity has a name:

ARMY

It will grand me the valor, the discipline, the heroism that was missing in my life (and then by grabbing the +4 dragonslayer sword, you'll be the hero of sword coast, not to mention the advance in the constitution stats). And all this glory, in no more than 2 weeks...

BUT...those are oooooold news

Actually by the blessing of mother country and of course taking advance of the great opportunity called elections, a great guy managed to get me into the NAVY (at 28 of August). But there is this constant feeling, that it's the same but not so intense anymore, I got when I was about to join the "ground forces", expecting the unexpected, getting my self in a new "environment" without the faintest clue of how it really is. You hear a lot, you get thousand of advices but then again you still thinking "WHAT I AM DOING?". The biggest problem is the restriction of choices, offered by this "wonderful new world", that gives me the creeps. I mean it's not a job, it's not for fun, it's not for mother nation, it's not for learning to withstand any threat, to be prepared for a new world, it's not about passing to maturity or learning the way of the warrior, the discipline. Then what it is about?
When I get over with it I will inform you.

So waiting for the day...

Enough of that.


P.S.(23-08-07): The WORST part is that there isn't a gorgeous woman around to comfort me...and not just that!!!
Also it is really hot.
I'm starting to act like my father, taking care of the garden, which gives me great pleasure, watching movies of every kind and reading. I do spent like 30 min to 1 hr trying to finish this publication, but it's not gonna happen if I'm spending soooooooo much time with it!

The Long Before Forgoten Usage of Spear

Long before javelin was introduced as a standard Olympic Game (modern or ancient), it has been used during warfare or for hunting. Think of it as the ancient equal of a modern rifle.
In 13 of July 2007 during the Golden Gala Rome Giavellotto, a javelin athlete, mr. Pitkamaki (hmmmm weird name...here in Greece kamaki means fish-spear, a harpoon....hmmmmm...coinsidence?) demonstrated the original use of a spear to the unfortunate candidate of long-jump, mr Sdiri.

If you ask me that was a perfect throw, well calculated, balanced, the warrior demonstrated his skills without the need for further bloodshed.

France should admit defeat to Finland.






P.S.: Rumor has it that mr. Sdiri looks like a dear but its from an unconfirmed source.

Music A personal Afair

OuR DearesT FrienD Has ReturneD FroM The LanD Of "if-you-pay-a good-lawyer-you-can-almost-do-anything" and many other , BUT RidiculouS NewS Are FlooDing IN. AnD My FavoritE Ones Are RelateD To MusiC RoyaltieS and THE ExtremitY OF RIAA ActionS. SO...
I've TolD YOU AbouT The BIG HAND of Darkne$$ ThaT AfteR The "SuccesfuL" ProsecutioN OF InterneT UserS ThaT ARE SHARING MUSIC, actually "stealing" under theirs terms, AND InterneT RadiO StationS...the Fullne$$ OF TimE is HerE and TheiRs ProtectivE Wings HAD SpreaD to OtheR areas ThaT NeedeD TheiRs ImmediatE DivinE IntervantioN.
ONE of ThosE ARE YouR LocaL CoffeE ShoPs (the American Term for CAFE, avec accent)...

So In the future,
AuthoritY WilL CrosS ChecK if your MP3 PlayeR IncludE LegaL CopieS of OweneD MusiC
.............. WilL ArresT You if The MusiC is TOO LOUD and CAN be HearD FroM OtheR PeoplE
.............. OfficerS WitH A WarreN EscordinG LwayerS WilL BreaK UP a PartY and ArresT PeoplE NOT FOR BEING TO LOUD, BuT FoR BroadcastiC MusiC, without PayinG a PennY for ThiS Action.
.............. No MoRE BeacH PartieS WitH a GuiTaR UndeR a StarfuLL SKY
.............. No MorE WhisperinG of SongS to The EAR oF YOUR LOVER, SinginG LullabieS to YOUR ChilD.
It COulD EveN go to the extreme case of:
BeinG aBle To SinG a FamiliaR TunE WhilE BathinG ONLY if those bloody ROYALTIES were PAID.

CASE CLOSED

Short Story Of a Desperate Moment/famous lines

I'm sitting in front of my PC and I'm trying to set up my UBUNTU Feisty (Ver.7.4) drinking my chilled frape (avec axcent agouce? please correct me). The same frape I prepared 10 minutes ago, or so. But with great anxiety I had come across the reality of missing ice-cubes.
My dear brother (probably soon-to-be-dead-by-my-own-hands for his intolerant actions) had visited my freezer (also my sister has a part in this extreme situation), removed and used every single ice-cube I had and left the ice-cube container empty and out of the freezer (not that it would have made any difference if it was empty inside the freezer, he could still have been starting a controversial conversation with radishes).
So, happy in my ignorance, I prepared my world famous frape. A short moment latter my good mood disappeared like a planet under the gravitation effect of a black hole, and in GREAT horror as soon as I was indulging my mind to a chilled frape, I realized the ugly truth, and it was as hard as a meteorite's impact on earth. I was left with a warm substitution of my world famous frape, with no ice-cubes to ease my thirst.

"The battle was lost but not the war"

After I took a few deep breaths, inhale-exhale, breath with me, slow down my heart beats, ate a chocolate bar, rationality come back to me and I postponed my plans for world annihilation, which I regret it now. My thoughts were faster than a speeding bullet, faster than light itself. And without further delay I placed my coffee into the freezer.
After 10 min (present time) I'm writing those lines with a cup of chilled frape happy and content with myself and my everlasting ability to face boldly any challenge and deal successfully with them...So the moral lesson for today is:

"World Annihilation can always wait a few more days"

Army

I've been informed that till further notice I will have to be presented to the army at November.