the power of procrstination

procrastination (latin: pro- (forward) and crastinus (of tomorrow)) is somewhat related to the ancient romanian custom of “mint rubbing”. it basically involves (but is not limited to) all those small activities one does at work or school in order to improve his productivity – like drawing random caricatures, reading webcomics or counting the cracks in the ceiling. in modern times, due to the advent of the internet, procrastination is easier than ever, still, if you’re somewhat confused and don’t know how to start, you might wont to check out some of these sites (the first one is really kawaii and involves permutations):

- grow (http://www.eyezmaze.com/grow/cube/index.html),
- big red button
(http://www.transbuddha.com/mediaHolder.php?id=747),
- progress quest (http://www.progressquest.com/),
- 1d tetris (http://www.tetris1d.org/),

enjoy and have a productive procrastination

chocolate fondue....mmm

tonight we -me and some neighbors of mine- had chocolate fondue, complete with bananas, pears and oranges. it was great fun. by the time it ended we had fondue all over the place (the table, us, our clothes), which is quite a frequent occurrence in my case, though it felt got not to be the only one :)

+2 flamming mousepad of the moon

well, this is my new mouse pad. cute, isn’t it? it reads “space protectors” instead of invaders, cause we don’t want to infringe any copyright law, now do we? (this grammatical structure is called a ‘tag question’ *gains +10 in english grammar skill*). anyway, i’m looking forward to using it.

shin seiki evangelion

it’s quite difficult for me to review this one as it’s my favorite anime of all times. a masterpiece. truly unique. if you pick this up i promise you, you’ll either love it or hate it. (it’s important that you watch the entire series and don’t stop halfway through at episode 14)

an acquaintance of mine from france once told me when i inquired about him seeing eva that he is not into mecha anime. EVANGELION IS NOT ABOUT MECHA!! keep this in mind. if you want an action mecha anime pick up gundam, macros or anything else, there are a million plus one titles out there. for those unfamiliar with the term, mecha stands for anything from powered armor to giant robots/mechs (basically any mechanical thingy that has 2 or more legs and is piloted by humans).

the anime is rather old (it’s 10 years anniversary will be sometime in spring if i’m not mistaken) so the animation might seen somewhat outdated by today’s standards. but it really doesn’t matter. it’s not the animation or the action scenes that make eva great, it’s what lies underneath. and i can assure you, there are plenty of layers below the surface. i could write about the philosophy or the religious symbolism or the psychology of the show, but i won’t. just get the anime, find some time to watch it and if you liked it you’ll find plenty of forums and sites with detailed info and interpretations. just don’t expect to understand everything after the first viewing, you won’t.

after watching the 26 episodes of the series there’s also a full length feature called “the end of evangelion” which is an alternate ending, but it’s as much an integral part of the show as the 26 episodes (so don’t go to sleep before you watch that too). again, i can’t emphasize enough (maybe some caps will help) THIS ANIME IS A MUST SEE !! it doesn’t matter what genre you like, if you are into anime, you must try this one out.

also, as a not entirely off-topic side note, if you are interested in a crash course on kabbala you might want to read “inner space” by rabbi aryeh kaplan (amongst other things it explains in a comprehensive manner the basics about the ten sefirot and their standing in the context of jewish mysticism). just keep in mind that by reading what some contemporary rabbis wrote about some medieval rabbis who wrote about the kabbala, you won’t become an expert on the subject, unless you’re madonna of course.

and to finish with a well suited quote:

"god's in his heaven, all's right in the world!" - robert browning

shiroi kisetsu [white season]

it was the 18th of november. saturday. it snowed…a lot. when i woke up on sunday morning the snow was around 30-35cm. it was simply great. usually snow doesn’t last too long around here, since it’s not cold enough (can you believe that?!) and a colleague of mine made a bet that it wouldn’t last for more then 4-5 days. she lost the bet, as today is the 30th and we still have some snow left (though very little).

i wonder if we can expect some snow for the winter holidays (hanukkah :p, that is)

asoiaf - grrm

i’ve been neglecting my blog somewhat lately, but that’s mainly because i’ve been reading the 4th book in the “a song of ice and fire” saga by george martin. well, i can only recommend it to everybody, it’s fantasy literature at it’s best. forget about those shitty dragonlance and forgotten realms books (i’m ashamed i’ve ever read those). this is true literature, not some stupid wizards of the cost novel (they release three or so every month, but they are not worth the paper they’re printed on).

also, you can forget about tokien’s high fantasy and the war between the absolute good and the absolute evil (the former always winning, i still think sauron should have won, a few centuries of darkness might have been welcome) in a song of fire and ice all the characters are grey, and have their own goals and ambitions.

the plot is thick and runs on multiple threads. george martin uses the multiple point of view characters narration, which means that you experience the story through the eyes of different characters (thus you know more than any single character, but you’re not truly omniscient). far from being just a rewritten history, the novels were somewhat influenced by the war of the roses, and two of the main families, the starks and the lannisters represent, to a certain extent, the house of york and house lancaster, respectively. the story is truly epic in scale spanning several continents and featuring more than one hundred characters (from podrick the squire to ser gregor clegane, the mountain that rides); also all the names are perfectly pronounceable and make sense (no “yafein val'sullisin'rune” here).

the plot, like i’ve said, is truly complex, no trace of the typical “farm boy becomes magician and undertakes journey to defeat dragon and marry princess” cliché here. we are faced with political power struggles, a clash of religions and many subtle or violent twists. the only drawback: seven books are to be released, but only 4 are out so far, the fifth being released sometime in spring 2007 (and i can’t wait any longer!)

so whether you’re into fantasy or not, grab the first book (ask viki to lend it to you) and start reading. decide for yourself if you’re interested in the rest or not. (i think pete and andrei will like it, endi should first finish the black company though).

and to serve as an ending, the oath of the night’s watch:
”night gathers, and now my watch begins. it shall not end until my death. i shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. i shall wear no crowns and win no glory. i shall live and die at my post. i am the sword in the darkness. i am the watcher on the walls. i am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. i pledge my life and honor to the night's watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”