Thud!

The new Discworld novel Thud! was in every way a treat. This one is, among with the Night Watch, a book for Sam Vimes lovers. I'm sure all Discworld fans will enjoy it, but those whose lives are boring enough to not have been to the Discworld before, it might be too "Discworldy" to start from. Still, you can enjoy this website where you can at least play Thud!


Play Thud!



(Bunu da suraya yazmadan gitmem: Thud! Sam Vimes'in sayfada devlestigi eser!)

Moving again?

Yes, looks like it. However, since I'm moving intercity, hopefully it won't be that much of a hassle this time. Let's see the pros and cons of the whole thing (this is where it gets boring and personal so you might as well stop reading)

Cons:
- Lots of effort
- Building has signed a "no pets" policy but the owner doesn't mind. Still, the cats have got to stay quiet. Or quieter.
- The boiler in the kitchen doesn't work and since I don't have a dishwasher, it has to be fixed ASAP.
- Gotta go to IKEA for a few things again.
- IKEA is 30 kilometers away.

Pros:
- The apartment is in a very nice area.
- Lovely view from the windows.
- The view mainly consists of the school campus.
- Two minute walk to classes.
- Well heated apartment. How do we say it, "afthonomi thermancy."
- The main street is only about 100 meters away.
- Reminds me of Brooklyn.
- Gotta go to IKEA again.


So, weighing all the pros and cons I either have to move, or I have to move. Thus, I will move. Next week, I hope.

Home of the Muses

Yes, I meant a museum actually. Those who know me well might be smirking at this choice of topic. As everyone knows, I only get up early if it is to catch up the opening hours of a museum (and it's not an easy thing in Athens, given that the state museums close at 2 pm) Anyway, since our topic is museums, why not have a quick review? (entirely my own)





Best: Benaki Museum. Benaki, named after a Mister Benakis, is an unbeliavably rich museum having a collection span from Cycladic art to Greek regional costumes. Open until a surprising 17.00 on most days, it's free and open till midnight on Thursdays!




Most Depressing: National Archaelogical Museum. Even though a state museum, given the amount of material to be seen, open till 19.00 everyday. A must when visiting (or living in) Athens. Putting aside the obvious fact that it is one of the best archaelogical museums in the world; how come it is also the most depressing? My answer is: three whole exhibitions solely for funerary steles with little girls with doves, little boys with puppies and hand-waving mothers. Greeks certainly took death rather tragically.





Most Fun: The War Museum. Tons of portraits picturing men in white skirts and pompons. Watch out for my main man, Kolokotronis (on the right). Not to be missed is a WAR flag in the entrance with a smiling sunshine embroidered on it. I'm not joking.








Most Elusive: National History Museum. After five or more attempts, I have yet to see this jealously preserved museum. Some questions are: Where exactly is it? What times do they open if at all? and Is there actually anything worth to see after all?


Although it doesn't go under any special selection, the Byzantine Museum is one of the first to be seen in Athens too. Reconstructed completely, the museum was Europe's best a few years ago. Even if you're not too keen on Byzantine art, it's worth seeing even if only for the organization of the items and how a museum should be designed. They have a cool gift shop too. (I know that I totally destroyed the intellectual level of my post with that last comment. Ah well)

It's All Greek to Me!

Har har har! After years of waiting patiently, here I use this (in)famous quote in context at last. It's my 5th week as a resident in this mindbogglingly original country and my 3rd week in Greek classes and yet, it still is all Greek to me (except well known classics like "malaka", "ti kitas?" and of course "den katalaveno" -the last one means "I have no clue about what you're saying" and is used pretty commonly.) Still, some helpful folks have come up with a website for foreigners, who, for some reason have decided to learn this (not so) user-friendly language and as a friendly blogger and fellow Greek learner I am sharing the URL with you.

My Own Little Empire

Not really, it's just countries visited. Neat little map though, looks like I have a Mediterranean Empire with a New World colony. Not a bad idea.



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Don't believe the monkey lie, kids

For those who aren't familiar with Jack Chick's work, I have two words to say: too bad! You don't know what you're missing, and you'll definitely burn in hell for that too. So go now and check him out. Be saved. Haleluja! Hosanna!

For a little preview from the aforementioned track (see link):



The little girl will no doubt have a lot to share with her therapist in the years to come.

How White Trash are You?

Take the test and find out. I myself failed miserably but it's one of those things you'd be happy about miserably failing.

I am 5% White Trash.

I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

cheja r0x0rs!

bokbeyin!

Discworld Quiz

21 questions for 21 years. I scored an unsatisfying 19. It was the names of "The four pigs that pull the Hogfather's sleigh" question that got me (and something else, obviously.)

I finally have a cat after years and years of pleading for one. My cause was successfully maneouvered so far by my significant other but a film script starring a cat was apparently the solution to my problems. Even though we decided we'll not use our own cat but a trained one afterwards, I still got one, and for my birthday too, no less.

Here's Toots posing as her paws are being cleaned because she was startled enough to pee and shit in her carrier as we carried her through the streets of Long Beach. Still bearing the name she was given at the shelter because I couldn't be bothered with finding an alternative although being the Harry Potter fan that I am Hermione occupied my mind for quite a bit (but was debated hotly against by others). She's invariably called "cat", "hey you", "ssshhh", "awww" so I don't think it really matters anyway.

Bad Religion @ Webster Hall

Finally a noteworthy concert-goer crowd I encountered in New York. New Yorkers had utterly disappointed me in the past; Tori Amos concert was a sitting event -which isn't too surprising given the genre of the music- but so was R.E.M. And even, so was the Curiosa festival. To be honest I was expecting a similar approach to the punk rock legends Bad Religion as well, but they got me by surprise. It was a dancing, hopping, singing, pogo-ing, and a highly amusing crowd so kudos to everyone who was out there yesterday night. A special thank you goes to zop who so kindly agreed to accompany me, but wasn't disappointed afterwards, I'm sure.



Special note: for those who are interested, apparently Thursday nights are Ladies Night Out at the Webster Hall with male strippers and whatnot. We however were kicked out the second we sneaked in on account of my friend being clearly of the male persuasion.