A gramme is...

It's February 5, 2007.

[22:10] EarnestWinkle: do the facing history?
[22:10] inqualcanto: yea....mostly
[22:15] EarnestWinkle: what was the turkey a metaphor for
[22:16] inqualcanto: hama
[22:21] EarnestWinkle: and whatd you say for why he used such extreme violence
[22:24] EarnestWinkle: jeez man
[22:24] EarnestWinkle: no need to write an essay here
[22:24] inqualcanto: hama = tribalism + authoritarianism
tribalism = showing off + "dog eat dog"
authoritarianism = overwhelming force
thus (showing off + dog eat dog)overwhelming force = extreme violence
thus hama = extreme violence
[22:26] EarnestWinkle: how much crack did you just smoke
[22:27] inqualcanto: just a few grammes
[22:27] inqualcanto: a gramme is better than a damn
[22:27] EarnestWinkle: touche

The Last King of Scotland

Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.

When you're fooled into sympathizing with the bad guy, you can't help but question yourself too. When that bad guy is Idi Amin, there's something wrong with you. Except that I think there are few people who wouldn't think, "Oh, wow, this guys actually kind of cool." Until you learn about the shit going on.

I gotta say the one thing I loved best was the way the movie ended with the Entebbe hijacking and the events that led up to Gallagher's escape from Uganda. Oh, and Forest Whitaker is amazing in this film, I should add.

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On Friday, Sasha and I went down to Juna's to grab some coffee and talk like we normally do. That day, we were joined by Lukas who had just gotten out of an internship interview with the Ithaca Journal.

So we covered the basic subjects, and then Sasha had to leave, and Lukas and I went to get some pizza from Neds, when we learned that neither of us had the three dollars we owed Neds for the the pizza.

"I have a debit card," says Lukas.

"No swipe...no swipe thing. I don't have," the rather rude pizza man says.

With no money, and no pin number for the ATM, we don't have a choice. We start looking around for people who have money, yet no one will give us any. I grab my bag and search through the deepest crevasses for loose change. In the end, we come up with $2.50 cents, a full 50 cents short. Problem is, we already ordered.

"You owe me fifty cents, next time," he tells me.

Shit, I think, what is this guy trying to do, jack me out of money later? But what choice do we have? We just spent money we didn't have. So we accept and go eat pizza while laughing about it. In the back of my mind, I know that if I come to him on Monday, he's going to ask for a dollar or two. I'm cool with that, but I'm not cool with letting him play me like that.

But my mom comes in with fifty cents and thus we are rescued.

:-/

I don't like Facing History as much as I should.

Young age

Younger age can sometimes only be consoled by two things:

The knowledge that we will see the future.

And the knowledge that older counterparts are gonna die first.

Amelie

I should have watched this much earlier. I don't know why it took me so long before I'd come around and see this movie. You know, it's that procrastination thing. Everyone says you need to see it, you know it's going to be good, but that's where the problem lies. Oh, you'll say, I can watch it whenever I want. It's even on my mp3 player.


Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain could be my favorite movie ever. It's one of those movies that sort of shove a cute sense of happiness down your throat, and then make you chew. It's a little painful, a little cloying at first, but then you understand. You realize that oh, that's the way it should have been. Oh, so the cloying sweetness works. Oh, so that's why Audrey Tautou's the lead role.

Amelie, the character is just great, really. The first few minutes in, you automatically attach yourself to her persona. You'd want to meet her, even be the butt end of her ridiculous yet amusing schemes. Amelie understands our little insanities and appreciates us for them.

Speaking of which, Audrey Tautou has also probably become one of my favorite actresses, if not my favorite. Nelly was right, it should have happened earlier but the only movies I had seen with her were frankly, disappointing. (The Da Vinci Code, A Very Long Engagement.)

Amelie

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I just ruined the movie for you. :-)

So yeah, you could say I've had a good night. I'm dead tired from our jam today. It's been a while since we've had something that productive and that energy-draining. Tomorrow you can catch me before 11AM or after 4PM. I'm selling fruit at ACS and then going to the allergist again. :-(

Love,
- Mirko

French exchange?

This morning, I recieved a couple emails from various French exchange groups regarding language-intensive summer programs. I'm pretty interested by the whole idea, but I had sort of already made a previous commitment to the closer (and substantially cheaper) summer music program at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.

It brought up an interesting dilemma for me, namely, what was more important for me? Of course, music trumped most things on my list, and French...well, not really. But just being abroad and learning French in France might be a totally different experience. Besides, I can stand 3 hours a day in Therese's class, two and a half hours a day shouldn't be that hard.

In any case, I'm going to France in May with the French trip. And don't get me wrong, I love the French language. I just don't like my French teacher.

___________

Never give an iguana Viagra

Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:04pm ET

ANTWERP, Belgium (Reuters) - Mozart, an iguana with an erection that has lasted for over a week, will have his penis amputated in the next couple of days.

Veterinarians at Antwerp's Aquatopia had sought to treat the animal's problem, but decided removal was the only solution because of the risk of infection. The good news for Mozart and his mates is that male iguanas have two penises.

Mozart, sitting on the shoulders of his keeper as camera crews focused on his red, swollen erection, seemed unperturbed by the news.

"It doesn't bother him. He doesn't know what amputation means," said vet Luc Lambrecht, adding that Mozart's sexual activity should be undimmed by the operation.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

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In case the header didn't strike you, don't give an iguana Viagra. They like having two penises. Just a little warning for you, in case you guys were thinking about it.

A little funny, when you think about the magnitude of fetish porn on the internet. I can only imagine the amount pertaining to anthropomorphic iguanas non-consensually giving it to hapless young blonde women who just happen to have 34DD breasts and a big tattoo across their spine and just above their ass.

Porn is such cheap shit.

Curse of the Golden Flower/The pPhone

Wanna see a weird movie that makes you really want to be a flying ninja?

Okay, so the ending's a little disappointing, and the plot's just absurd, but I find it typical of Chinese movies. The difference here, is that the fighting scenes are far more natural than other mainstream Asian films, and the cinematography is really a brilliant use of CGI.

That's where the film's high points really are: imagery and symbolism. The golden flower, the chrysanthemum, plays a thousand different roles in the film as the symbol for rebellion, particularly the final showdown scenes where the golden army's blood is spilled over a fresh bed of the flowers.

Go watch it. Next movie on my list is The Last King of Scotland.

_______________

You know, speaking of form over function, Lukas, here's a little gadget that'll make you drool. Okay, so it's actually just a rebranded, souped up LG, but it's got the same features as Apple's new communication toy, it looks sexier than my bike, and it matches my favorite pants with the PRADA sign emblazoned underneath the camera.

And the beauty of it? It's less expensive than the nice pair of PRADA jeans and tight sweater I've been eyeing but will probably never attain. Form shouldn't exactly trump function, but never let school get in the way of your education.

Yeah, so um....fuck the iPhone?

_____________

I cannot stress the beauty of French electronica that's not in French. Though French electronica that's in French is just as good.

Gotan Project - Santa Maria (rUmPeLsTiLtSkIn)

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Lunatico

http://www.sophiakokosalaki.com/ - Sophia Kokosalaki, an emerging New York designer with inspiration from ancient Greek fashion sense. With the draping jackets, oversized jackets, and flamboyant colors, it's more pretty than hot, more cute than sleek, more coquette than sophisticated, but it's still fashion and it's still worth a look.

I realized that I've never taken enough time to thank my friends for providing over half the music in my music library, all of which I listen to. I don't know what I'd do without you guys; I'd probably still be listening to Matthew Shipp and William Parker over and over again.

Thanks to Kai for sharing the Gotan Project with me. This is quite honestly the third sexiest music I know, coming in just after Haddaway and Bjork. I'm joking of course. It actually pulls in at number one sexiest music, and Bjork comes in fourth.

This bears continuity to everything I was saying about French electronica...even though the lyrics in the majority of the songs are in Spanish. (The video below takes place in Buenos Aires.) There's still that little extra that the French do to their music that makes it so much better than say, Italian, Egyptian, or even British electronica.

As for Haddaway, um, don't ask...



Gotan Project - Diferente (Promo Video)

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____________

I'm a little intrigued by WordPress over Blogger. Blogspot could learn a thing or two from WordPress's design schemes and options. Moving over there could be an improvement, then again, it could also be a little messy given the integration my computer has with Google software.

I'm also a little intrigued by this whole concept of multiple authors on one blog. Within that scenario, posting would all show up on one page, but that would also eliminate the need for multiple users. But at the same time, it's nice retaining a little individuality, until I learn how to trick out Blogger to look like something I made.

A fleeting dash of ego

"Donc, mot...?"

Good evening, everyone.

Homework assigned to us for French V on Tuesday was a French analysis of Guilliame Apollinaire's Le Pont Mirabeau, a simply yet aesthetically beautiful poem about...well, that's up to interpretation. Doing poems is enjoyable, because not only do I love poems, but sometimes, it's a poem I know by heart, like this time. Thus, the work was relatively easy for me.

Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine
Et nos amours
Faut-il qu'il m'en souvienne
La joie venait toujours après la peine

Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure

Les mains dans les mains restons face à face
Tandis que sous
Le pont de nos bras passe
Des éternels regards l'onde si lasse

Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure

L'amour s'en va comme cette eau courante
L'amour s'en va
Comme la vie est lente
Et comme l'Espérance est violente

Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure

Passent les jours et passent les semaines
Ni temps passait
Ni les amours reviennent
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine

Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure

"Le Pont Mirabeau"
Apollinaire, Alcools (1912)

French poetry's not everyone's taste. It tries a little too hard to be profound sometimes, but I find that Apollinaire does a good job making sure that the interpretation works literally as well as symbolically.

For an English translation, see Sasha's page. I do believe, however, that poetry was not meant to be altered, changed, or translated in any shape or form. You want to read Mongolian poetry? Learn Mongolian. The concept of poetry was created not for just the meaning (which can also be undesirably altered during translation) but also the aesthetics of the words and phrases themselves.

If you want to hear the song, the one that's NOT by the Pogues, check out Sophie Auster. It's quirky, but it's definitely pretty.

_____________

"If my penis were as big as my ego, I'd be King Kong."

- Dylan JJ

Thanks for the insight, Dylan.

So the uh, Physics midterm started today. First problem and I already skipped over it. Over at Sasha's house I began to calculate my grade if I say...uh, well forgot about the rest of the problems. When you start counting your score before you even finish the test, you know you're going to fail. Fail hard, too.

It seems like such a simple algebra problem, too, that I'm actually beginning to doubt myself. I used to have a pretty big ego when it came to being logical, but I figured that I'm not all that. Besides, that ego was all formulated. It wasn't ever really there; it started to fool the teachers into thinking that I was actually working, but I guess I let the little lie grow a little uhm, big. I'm not actually a member of the smart people crew. Haha. Member. Get it? MEMBER. Tee hee.

Whatever. My ego could use a beating.

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It's always fun getting into philosophical debates over trivial matters. That's how I spent my afternoon though, debating over cappuccino and 5-layer chocolate things and sporadic internet at Juna's. Nothing too hardcore today, though, just the usual relative good and bad that makes our world worth living in, and that perhaps human intelligence will outlive its usefulness one day, where one day civilization will stagnate because we have nowhere to turn.

Sasha and I pretty much rock.

Untitled

I thought she was one of my best friends. I thought we knew each other.

But when she asked me, "How are you?" I began to question myself.

I thought for a moment, how was I? She asked me a second time and when I was ready to respond, I was scared. Not because of what she said, but because of what I said.

"I'm fine."

__________

Unappreciated art has the same effect on the artist as unrequited love on the lover. It eat, it destroys, and when there's nothing left to destroy, it moves on to the next victim like a parasite. You want to keep good art alive? Then don't make the distinction between good and bad.