Djulfa

Today is the commemoration of the 3rd anniversary of Djulfa's destruction. The historical Armenian cemetery of Djulfa had countless "khatchkars" (cross stones, some of which I actually saw in the Byzantium exhibition of the Royal Academy in London last week) which date back to various periods, most of them centuries old. On December 15, 2005, the remaining ones (which had escaped damage between 1998-2002) were destroyed by a group of Azerbaijani servicemen. Photos show that the cleaned up area was turned into military shooting range.

The website has more written information, photos, as well as the documentary itself. This not only a crime against Armenian culture, but against our collective cultural heritage as humankind. Don't let it go unnoticed.

Revenge of the living cats

Last night, returning from a concert, we might or might have not run over a cat's paw (as per Schrodinger's Paradox) and what is the first thing I Stumble today?

Srsly.

Is your cat plotting to kill you?

Also check out the main page to keep yourself up to date on cat plots.

thanks to schattenjager, whose cat is also plotting to kill him, no doubt.

Head Injury Theater: Part two of Celebrating Stupid Monsters of D&D

The first edition had such classics
as the Owlbear and the Giant Space Hamster; Head Injury Theater is back with part 2 of the series, with monsters no less interesting -and stupid.

I will quote two examples and rest my case thereat.

Death Linen. The image says it all, really:











And possibly the most retardedly (I know it's not a word. It is now) unimaginative monster in the D&D history: the Zorbo. While most D&D monsters suffer from hormone-induced, highly fertile imaginative powers, this one was just thrown in at the last minute it seems:


























high geekery levels reached, aborting in 3, 2, 1.

Chehuaha @ Obey the Purebreed

Moving along the same vein, from Obey the Purebreed website, I give you Chehuahua.

daha gecen gun gidilmis "korda'nin objektifinden che: bir portrenin devrimle baslayip ikonla biten oykusu" (santralistanbul) sergisi baglaminda dusununce ne kadar manidar, ne kadar ironik. ironik kelimesini dogru kullandigim icin kendimin asilmasina.

Chairman Meow

This is relevant to my interests.

(bu sonuncuyu anlamayan arkadaslar icin uzgunum ama cok degil.)

p.p.s: butun entraylerde kullandigim fontu toplam 6 secenek icinden secememis olmam sebebiyle bilgisayari kirmak istemek.

Countdown to Extinction

It appears that I have to be in Oxford for the start of an intensive Latin course for September 22nd. That changes my leaving for England date to a few weeks earlier than I had planned. So, it's going to be excruciating *INTENSIVE* (read: 6 to 8 hours a day) Latin with no space between that and the start of the Michaelmas term.

Today being July 16th, I have about two months left to live like a normal human being. Note to peers and friends: please be considerate and make my day until then (activities may include seaside breakfasts, movies, animal shelter visits, etc.)


Still, not complaining. Ben bir sakinleseyim.

Cinnet

Tarih 19 Haziran, 2008. Yunanistan'dan Turkiye'ye tasinmaya calisiyor, buyuk oranda fail oluyor, ve sanirim cinnet getiriyorum. Bu blogu da benden ve zop'tan baska kimse okumadigi icin niye yazdigimi kendi kendime sordum. Cevap: esyam olmadan sinirdisi edilmek istemedigim icin adam oldurme, konsolosluk calisani bogazlama yerine buldugum alternatif bu. Outlet of rage, falan filan.

30s Wife

70 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

Ne kadar bos bir insanim, aman tanrim.

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!)