Every once in a while, I feel a strong sensation best described as part nostalgia, yearning for the past, and part anticipation, yearning for the future. These brief ‘visions’ can be very detailed…
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Posts Tagged ‘personal’
Yearning
Monday, May 14th, 2007A Tribute to XKCD
Monday, May 7th, 2007I’m a big fan of the webcomic xkcd. It has the cleverness, sweetness and poignancy of Calvin & Hobbes, my all-time favorite comic, but is peppered with a good amount of ‘beta science’ and general geek culture.
Here’s one of my favorite comics, titled The Raven:
(The Raven is one of America’s most famous poems, written by Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite writers)
Some more favorites:
Reno Rhymes (For all you Johnny Cash fans)
Ninja Turtles
What XKCD means
Escalators
Baring My Heart
Chess Photo
Appropriate Term
The Difference
Pet Peeve #114
Kite
Kitty
Small Talk (very, very true!)
Philosophy
90’s Flowchart
America Must Never Forget
Grownups
(hovering your mouse over the images will display some text to complement the comic)
Prayer in the Red Light District
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
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Why Bad Movies Are Good
Saturday, March 17th, 2007
I love bad movies. And with bad, I mean movies that can be described with adjectives like ‘dark’, ‘bleak’, ’sad’ or ‘depressing. Many of my friends don’t understand this, and even I find this fondness difficult to explain. Why do I love movies so much, and why do I love ‘bad’ movies in particular? What is it about them that I find so good?
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You Are What You Eat
Saturday, March 3rd, 2007
Growing up in Albania, much of our food didn’t reach us in the ‘conventional’ way. I remember a family from the nearby slums giving us one of their prized chickens. After my mother (with the help of a friendly neighbor) plucked the poulty and prepared it for dinner, we were all tasked with eating the little bit of tough meat of what turned out to be a tasteless scrawny, elderly chicken.
On Introspection: Surgery, or Deadly Dissection?
Sunday, February 18th, 2007“Character and plot. Chicken and egg. Which comes first? Aristotle’s solution was simple and radical. He said: Plot is character. Forget psychology, forget the insides of men’s heads. Judge them by their actions.” - Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis, Shadowlands
Staring out the window of a train carriage after a busy weekend is often the best time for ‘worthwhile’ thoughts, and new ideas. It’s also the time when I’m prone to introspection. The results of the latter never seems to all that constructive, even when it isn’t negative introspection per sé. Maybe that’s why I prefer reading a book, or watching a movie; it keeps my mind from from turning inwards, from introspection.
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Love Your Bum!
Friday, February 16th, 2007
I don’t care much for this Valentine, because I couldn’t think of someone to send anything to. Rather unfortunate, as I have a number of ‘hilarious’ Valentine gift ideas, and I’m just waiting for the right person to come along and be, eh, blessed by them.
For example, there’s the card with a picture of the rear end of a cow, with the words “I Love You…” on it. The inside would say: “…from the heart of my bottom”. Yeah, I’m a romantic…
Tasteless jokes aside (title included), this year’s Valentine was quite special: together with some friends, I volunteered to help at a big party for the homeless in Amsterdam, organized by the Salvation Army. I wasn’t entirely sure where it was held exactly, but fortunately for me, homeless people are quite conspicuous. Once I arrived at Amsterdam’s Central Station, I just followed the stream of loud, crass, shabby, but generally friendly and quite excited bum-folks.
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Photo: Goodbye, My Roomie
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
“In memory of my roommate, Ulysse Schuitemaker. It’s been two fun years, and I may eventually even miss you clogging up every drain in this household with your stray hairs…”
Film: The Life of Brian
Sunday, January 14th, 2007
The Life of Brian is not only hilarious, but to my surprise, a great movie as well! Why the surprise? Well, I started watching it expecting one of those irritating, blasphemous, over-the-line movies that has me crying with laughter, as well as feeling guilty for not hating something that is so against my beliefs. It was banned on release in many places, after all! Instead, it turned out to be a very funny movie (click for short clips of the movie), with a mostly good message and, in my opinion, only mildly offensive material.
This is quite amazing, considering that the Monty Python group is known to be staunchly atheist, and consequently, quite anti-christian in sentiment. From this group, you’d expect a ‘Christianity-themed comedy’ to be biting, hurtful and offensive to everything Christianity stands for. Why wasn’t this the case?
Stilte in Taizé
Saturday, August 5th, 2006Zie voor meer foto’s het foto-album
Het weggetje naar de communaute
Rond het middaguur, in de brandende zon, arriveerde ik in Taizé, een klein dorpje ten zuiden van Dijon (Frankrijk). Midden in een hittegolf, zware tas op m’n rug (55 liter + tent), een ongelofelijke drukte om me heen en geen idee waar ik heen moest. Een warm welkom…
Twee dagen eerder was ik uit Nederland vertrokken. Via hitchhikers.org had ik een lift van Amsterdam naar Parijs gevonden. Mijn medepassagiers waren een stel van het conservatorium in Amsterdam (jazz), en een meisje dat een week lang met een groep Sikhs (waaronder haar vriend) ging mediteren. De bestuurder was een ontwikkelingseconoom aan de UvA die vanwege een ontwikkelingsproject in India vaak naar Parijs moest. In zeven uur tijd hadden we veel gepraat, en in de Parijse metro namen we als vrienden afscheid van elkaar.