nerdesin bie cheju

ne hayirsiz bi insanmissin yahu hayret

Meet your Daemon

For those who have read the Philip Pullman trilogy, His Dark Materials, here is something of interest.

Nora, the Piano-Playing Cat

Now my cat looks totally unaccomplished to my eyes, like Elizabeth Bennett must have looked to Lady Catherine de Burgh.

The Evils of YouTube

And just when I was thinking I was beyond getting shocked by anything that happens in good old Turkey; she takes its proud place next to other such countries as People's Republic of China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran -just to name a few- in internet censorship.
 
Turkish court bans YouTube access

YouTube attracts a monthly audience of 70 million people

Access to the popular video-sharing website YouTube has been suspended in Turkey following a court order.

The ban was imposed after prosecutors told the court that clips insulting former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had appeared on the site.

According to Turkish media, there has been a "virtual war" between Greek and Turkish users of the site, with both sides posting insulting videos.

The clip prompting the ban reportedly dubbed Ataturk and Turks homosexuals.

Insulting Ataturk, the founding father of modern Turkey, or "Turkishness" is an offence which can result in a prison sentence.

The offending videos sparked a storm of complaints to YouTube and the clips were removed, but the court order goes further, blocking all access to the site.

Freedom of speech

Turkish visitors to the site are now greeted with a message in English and Turkish reading "Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court".

Paul Doany, the head of Turk Telecom, the country's largest telecoms company, said that they had blocked access to the site as soon as the court order came through.

"We are not in the position of saying that what YouTube did was an insult, that it was right or wrong," Mr Doany told Anatolia news agency. "A court decision was proposed to us, and we are doing what that court decision says."

Mr Doany said that for its part Turk Telecom will continue to enforce the ban as long as the order stands.

The European Union, which Turkey is hoping to join, has long called for an easing of Article 301 - the law which prevents insults to Turkish culture - arguing that the law places severe restrictions on free speech in Turkey.

About 50 writers in the country have been put on trial for allegedly contravening the rule, including Nobel prizewinner Orhan Pamuk, though most cases have eventually been dismissed by the judge.

Visitor Map

Not that I think I have many visitors to have such a map; and it's probably not supposed to be on a post, but directly in the code -and yet, here it goes.




Create your own visitor map!

Adopt a Dolphin

Or at least check out the website which has many interesting facts about dolphins. This UK based marine life conservation center (WDCS) has both dolphin and whale adoption programs, and many interesting links. If you ever get to be in Scotland (Moray Firth, right at the Northern tip), you can take a boat ride to meet your dolphin too.

Me? I am the proud mother of "Moonlight."

Stop Bloody Whaling

There's nothing that justifies whaling and hunting dolphins; high mammals that are closer to us than most species. People get shocked by the idea of cats and dogs being eaten as delicacies in Asian countries (and I am one of them) but why not by the idea of eating dolphins and whales? Because we can't keep them as pets? Both whales and dolphins are extremely smart animals, with complex social lives and the most important thing is, their numbers are dropping down each year. The whales and dolphins hunted in Japan end up being thrown away or used as fertilizer and dog food. Due to the high mercury levels in the seas, their meat is not so much sought after by the wider population anymore. Still, even though commercial whaling is no longer permitted, Japan gets away by putting these animals into their "scientific research" quota.

I'm sure anyone could do WITHOUT eating whale or dolphin meat, and manage to survive.

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

And I really do love Klimt.

Who Should Paint You: Gustav Klimt

Sensual and gorgeous, you would inspire an enchanting portrait.. With just enough classic appeal to be hung in any museum!

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Hi-Tech Athens

I am happy to announce to anyone who lives in Athens and is an internet addicted nerd -like the writer of this post- the existence of the online ordering system of the well known and dearly loved Pizza Hut (check link above.) Saves a lot of frustrating moments in Tarzan-Greek on the phone for losers like me who can't speak more than five words of Greek (three of them being "I don't speak Greek." That's four actually.)

No need to thank me, I'm here solely to be of assistance.

Yours truly,
F. Nightingale

10 Things I Hate About You

Does anyone remember the movie? A loose remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew shot in a American teen setting starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger; I think it sticks to the mind with the direct quote from the original "I burn, I pine, I perish", and where Pat Verona (Heath Ledger) sings Can't Take My Eyes Off of You for Kat in the school stadium. Dates from 1999, I remember watching it and hoping someone would sing it for me one day. And now...

Well no one sang it for me yet, sorry to disappoint you, most of all myself. But I fooled you there for a second, I hope. The reason I had mentioned the film at all (and ended up writing and ess-ay about it) is because I was going to mention 10 things I hate about Greece.

So, let's get to the point:

10. No good, cheap Chinese food on sight so far.
9. Postmen don't deliver boxes. And I mean even small boxes. Just your regular small package! To any Greek postmen who might be reading: I'll give you a tip if you deliver to my door, I promise.
8. No automatic payment for electricity bills.
7. Not much credit card use for that matter!
6. Siesta time. As enjoyable it might have been if I were working, it's really frustrating when people just close down after 2.30. There are people who wake up at 2.30! And what's up with closing everything down on Sundays, are we in Europe or something?
5. Traffic.
4. Bureucracy. Going from office to office and end up not achieving anything whatsoever only to start over the next day. One of these days I'm waiting for a major civil servant massacre in Greece. There's going to be a social explosion, mark my words, the whole world will stand up to civil servants who rather play solitaire or drink coffee and chat on the phone.
3. Coffee. Everyone drinks coffee. And they take 4 hours to drink one. One of the major things why things go so slow, I'm thinking.
2. Motorbikes with their exhaust pipe silencers taken out so that they make an awful lot of noise. Seriously, if there is one thing that leads me to blind rage, it's these motorbikes, or rather, the drivers. If I had my way I would consider taking these exhaust pipes and locating them elsewhere, preferably on the said driver's body.
1. Can't think of anything. Guess there's only 9 things I hate about Greece then.

So now, what about the things I love?

1. Everything else. And there's so much of it I won't be making a list.

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.