Dating Manuscripts

Dating systems and dates of manuscripts. For those who may be struggling with those Byzantine manuscripts which only have the date from "creation" mentioned. Also, note that the Byzantine year starts on September 1st, not January 1st, so it can get tricky.

Yes, this is what I do on a Friday night.

Turkun NHS'le imtihani

Merak edenler icin bir GP (general practician) klinigi; benim kayitli bulundugum Summertown Health Centre. Sira beklerken blog post yapacak kadar sikildim, bir; ikincisi de gelecek nesillere aktarilmasi adina: amme hizmetinde sasmayan adresiniz (bu ben oluyorum, health centre degil) Swine flu'dan kirilan sevimli kasabamiz Oxford'da astim testleri ve gerekirse Babe asisi.


gereksiz islere ayirdigim zamani arastirmaya ayirsam doktoranin bitme suresi: 15 ay.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Oxfordshire Blues

Well, not Oxfordshire, Oxford proper actually. Still, somehow "blues" did go better with "shire" -without any intentions to make a subtle reference to Lord of the Rings, whose author is an Oxonian- in any way.

Oxford is almost always rainy. And if you live in Oxford, or in any other part of the UK, it's actually compulsory to talk about the weather for at least 10 minutes every day. Except Sundays. God created the world in six days and rested on Sunday, watching football, presumably.

It's not a city, it's a town. I think a city needs to have a population of at least 500.000 people, and I am being generous.

Back to the rain business: it's actually better when it rains. It's too humid to be comfortable in warm weather. When (if) it gets above 24, it actually gets uncomfortable. And all these years we ranted and raved about good old Istanbul.

The University: dreaming spires, yes there is all that. There is also an iron clad bureucracy that would put France to shame. In order for things to work, you have to know people. And people you know have to know other people, preferably more important people than themselves. Alternatively, having nerves of steel and the patience of Job may also work. In the long run.

Colleges: They all hate each other, don't believe if they state the opposite. Little states within a state. When they're not hating each other, they look down their noses to the relatively newer establishments. (i.e. "OP" - the Other Place or, say, St. Catz.)

Ducks: ducks, as in Anas platyrhynchos. I live right by the canal and I wake up with ducks, laugh with ducks, cry with ducks, fall asleep with ducks. Like roosters, but they quack throughout the day, not only at dawn. Not that I'm complaining, they're good company for a rainy day.

Bicycles: You have to have one, period. Park near the Odeon cinema for a downtown stroll. Please don't ride through Cornmarket, it's really annoying. It's already chaotic as it is.

More to follow later. So far so good.

Would you like some radiation?

So, the long awaited radiotherapy did start on Monday. I had a tomography before, for my doctor to plan stuff like seeing me in 3D (must have been very exciting) and deciding which areas are to be shot. Or radiated. On Monday I was also marked with a board marker. They put little adhesive tapes over the marks and told me it's okay to take a shower, only don't rub the area. Well, this is day 2, and one of them already came off. I will ask for the tattooing option. On the funnier side, I now have a huge cross on my upper chest, which is very visible. The cleaning lady at the gym asked me if I was a member of some cult. Really.

The radiation part doesn't feel like anything, pretty much like having your x-ray taken and the machine is really cool, reminds of the Space Odyssey. That said, radiotherapy is not the most innocent treatment around; the problems (mostly other cancers) show up years later. I'll think about that years later. Compared to chemotherapy, this one's like a day in the park.

All those said, I am rather hoping for some super hero(ine) powers. I wouldn't like to take all this radiation for nothing. I did consider taking a cat in with me, resulting, hopefully, in me turning to cat woman but the security is rather tight at the hospital. Maybe I'll still get some extraordinary trait. Or have green babies in the future.

Oh Hai

One of my favorites from LOL Manuscripts lately, of Sir Francis Drake. Awesomeness. As a fan of lulz and manuscripts, I am possibly their biggest fan. Do visit the blog, the link is in the title.

How much of a nerd are you?

And on a lighter note:




I really don't think I'm that much of a nerd. It didn't have any seriously nerdy questions. I failed high school maths twice.

Done with the chemotherapy

Now unto the unknown realms of radiotherapy, which is expected to start sometime by the end of April. Although the whole treatment is not over yet, I am grateful the chemo part is, as it was, to say the least, a bitch.

Impressions:

• Chemo sessions take really, really long. At least they did for me except one, and that one resulted in a blocked vein. We're talking about sitting in a chair for 4 hours receiving toxic chemicals through IV.
  
• The nausea. Really. The first few times I didn't even get it, but after the 6th session or so, the nausea was so bad I had to go for cortisone, which is a two sided blade.
  
• Mouth sores. They take about 3 to 7 days to go away and in the meantime one can enjoy wonderful meals in the guise of baby food mixed with protein powder. Mmm yummy. Having to actually do the rather complicated oral hygiene routine during this time is also a thrill.
• I am now a rather yellow-skinned individual. Doctors say the discoloration goes away after a while. Probably. In most people anyway.
  
• I always had problems with the veins on the arm I received the treatment, sometimes so bad that I almost overdosed on painkillers (and still the pain would not go away.) It's really hard to describe it, it's like rheumatoid pain multiplied by 10. I won't miss it.
• Fatigue. I remember days when going to the bathroom seemed like a hike through the mountains.
  
• Say goodbye to your veins: they get really hard and thin, you get multiple thromboses, and are impossible to find. As a result of this, getting a simple blood test sample takes 20 minutes, the nurses (yes, multiple) try to locate a vein that is not blocked or is soft and/or thick enough. They do say that working with weights is the only way to remedy this. I tried.
  

I had to take this for about 7 months, and finally (trumpets) the tests say I don't have any cancerous cells -at least not the size that is detectable by current scanning methods. But since they want to make sure, they will give me some good old radiation to the affected areas. I am now wondering if I will get any superhero powers. Or turn green.

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.