The Mechanist vs. AntAntagonizer

As witnessed in Fallout 3: Mexican Standoff in Canterbury Commons:

The Mechanist vs. AntAntagonizer

P.S.: The screenshot is quite large (~6 MByte).

For the Win

Presidental Debate & Beyond

Last week I was in the USA (job-wise), and took the liberty to watch the second presidental candidate debate between Barak Obama (D) and John McCain (R) in order to see what was the big deal about these debates. And I was sorely disappointed, in fact it was quite boring .. I would have expected a more livelier debate when it comes down to the most powerful political office in the world. It always seemed that both candidates shied away from any statement that might offend (even so small) group.

I think I'll stick to the VP candidate debate as witnessed on Saturday Night Life (SNL):

Avatar: The Last Airbender

You would guess I am too old to watch this show (aired on Nickelodeon), but hey the story is good, the animation is great, so why not?

.. You Have to Fight

"The first rule of fight club is... you do not talk about fight club.
The second rule of fight club is... you do not talk about fight club.
Third rule of fight club, someone yells "Stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.
Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight.
Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas.
Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes.
Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to.
And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight."

-- Tyler Durden in "Fight Club".

Sweet Home Alabama

No, not really Alabama, not even on the same continent. Here are some pictures from near where I live.

I am big. It's the pictures that got small.

Currently I am in a sort of "Film Noir"-mood, so I have been watching "Sunset Boulevard", "The Third Man" and "Double Indemnity".

The Cuckoo Clock

"In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed — they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

"Harry Lime" in "The Third Man"

Wonderful World of Movie Parodies

From the wonderful world of movie parodies, this is one of those which deserves attention. It's is an hommage to the SciFi-classic "Alien" in which animated vegetables and fruit have to experience that nightmare ..

Paradise Lost

Gustave Dore's illustration of Lucifer in John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Sweeney Todd

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few have trod
did Sweeney Todd
the demon barber of fleet street.
He kept a shop in London town.
Of fancy clients and good renown
and what if none of their souls were saved
they went to their maker impecably shaved.
By Sweeney,
by Sweeney Todd
the demon barber of fleet street.

"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" by Stephen Sondheim

The wallpaper was composed by sajwest.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Science-fiction Cradlesong

Most people know C.S Lewis by his magnus opus "The Chronicles of Narnia". Some more interessted may also know that he's was part of the literary discussion group The Inklings (together with J.R.R. Tolkien).

But I never thought that C.S. Lewis would write something like this poem:

By and by Man will try
To get out into the sky,
Sailing far beyond the air
From Down and Here to Up and There.
Stars and sky, sky and stars
Make us feel the prison bars.

Suppose it done. Now we ride
Closed in steel, up there, outside
Through our port-holes see the vast
Heaven-scape go rushing past.
Shall we? All that meets the eye
Is sky and stars, stars and sky.

Points of light with black between
Hang like a painted scene
Motionless, no nearer there
Than on Earth, everywhere
Equidistant from our ship.
Heaven has given us the slip.

Hush, be still. Outer space
Is a concept, not a place.
Try no more. Where we are
Never can be sky or star.
From prison, in a prison, we fly;
There's no way into the sky.

"Science-fiction Cradlesong" by C.S Lewis

The Belgariad

Currently I am reading all five volumes of the Belgariad epic by David Eddings. As of now I am in the middle of the second book ("Queen of Sorcery"), but as of now I am not too impressed by the books. I am not very fond of several aspects like:

• the story is from an adolescent's point of view, who is mostly ignorant of the major background story. No cute robots, or little children, please!
• there are a lot of Deus-Ex-Machinas in the story.
• the races described in the book are often quite stereotypical.

But on the other hand the adult characters are quite enjoyable, so I will stick to reading it a little bit longer ..

Utrecht on a Saturday

During the VtES tournament I attended this weekend (23/Feb/2008) in Utrecht, Netherlands, I took some pictures of the city. Albeit the quality of the pictures is not so well, since I do not own (or could operate) a good camera.

Right: A view from the cellar of the Joker, the game shop in which's cellar we played in.

Left: Also outside of the Joker, at the canal level of the "Oudegracht" (literally "Old canal")


Left: Three columns of women form the entrance of a restaurant.

Right: The tower of the Utrecht cathedral.

Utrecht in the late 19th century (1890-1900)

Nighthawks

Nighthawks, Edward Hopper (1942)

From Nightwatch to Daywatch

"I was beginning to understand her, not just as a professional target and a potential victim of a Dark Magician, not just as the unwitting cause of catastrophe, but as a person. An introverted, bookish child, with a mass of complexes and her head full of crazy ideals and a childish faith in the beautiful prince who was searching for her and would surely find her. Work as a doctor, a few girlfriends, a few male friends, and a great deal of loneliness. Conscientious work almost in the spirit of a builder of communism, occasional visits to the café and occasional loves.

And each evening like every one other, on the couch, with a book, with the phone lying besides her, with the television muttering something soapy and comforting. How many of you there still are, girls and boys of various ages, raised by naïve parents in the sixties. How many of you there are, so unhappy, not knowing how to be happy. How I long to take pity on you, how I long to help you. To touch you through the Twilight - gently, with no force at all. To give you just a little confidence in yourself, just a tiny bit of optimism, a gram of willpower, a crumb of irony. To help you, so that you could help other."

"Nightwatch" (p126) by Sergei Lukyanenko

So much truth (for me) in two paragraphs ...

P.S.: This from the russian novel "Nightwatch", not related the Danish film or the dutch painting by Rembrandt.

Mock German Little Red Riding Hood

I just love this pseudo cross-language thingies:

Ein smallisch fraulein ben stayen mit der mama ein thicken woodser besiden. Der mama ben loven der fraulein und maken ein reddisch riden hood, mit warmen der earsers.

Acrossen der woodser der sicken grossmama ben liven. Reddisch Riden Hood been tooken ein boxen mit cheesen cakers and butter patters und starten der walken mit maken ein visiter.

Mitout warnen ein grosser wolfer ben uppen gecomen mit maken der talken. Reddisch Riden Hood ben tellen abouten der grossmama und outenpointen der housen, Das wolfer ben racen mit breaknecken speeded und reachen der housen firster.

Der grossmama ben hearen der knocken mit rapper-tappen und asken der namen.

"Reddisch Riden Hood mit cheese cakers und butter patters," das wolfer ben callen.

Der sicken grossmama ben yellen, "Flippen der latchen und insiden gecomen."

Das wolfer ben growlen mit bursten der dooren. Mit screamers der grossmama ben uppenleapen und der chasen ben starten. Ach! Ober und under der bedden und das roomen arounder gerunen mit nippen und tucken das hotten chasen ben proceeden!

In der meantimer Reddisch Riden Hood ben hoppen und skippen mit watchen der birdsers und smellen der bloomen budden und finaller reachen der housen. Der noisers ben raisen der roofen und der fraulein ben closer obercomen mit frighters.

Suddener der noises ben stoppen und der housen ben stillisch. Reddisch Riden Hood ben inpeepen der windowpaner. Mit smoothen der curlers, der grossmama iss licken der choppers.

"Cinderella Hassenpfeffer and Other Tales mein Grossfader Told" by Dave Morrah (New York: Rinehart & Co., Inc. 1948) pp. 14-16.

CWOT

Somewhile ago this was published as a scotish's pupil homework essay of her summer vaction. But see for yourself:

"My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ kds FTF. ILNY, its gr8.

Bt my Ps wr so {:-/ BC o 9/11 tht they dcdd 2 stay in SCO & spnd 2wks up N.

Up N, WUCIWUG -- 0. I ws vvv brd in MON. 0 bt baas & ^^^^^.

AAR8, my Ps wr :-) -- they sd ICBW, & tht they wr ha-p 4 the pc&qt...IDTS!! I wntd 2 go hm ASAP, 2C my M8s again.

2day, I cam bk 2 skool. I feel v O:-) BC I hv dn all my hm wrk. Now its BAU ..."

... and that's the "translation" into plain, old-school English:

"My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York, it's a great place.

But my parents were so worried because of the terrorism attack on September 11 that they decided we would stay in Scotland and spend two weeks up north.

Up north, what you see is what you get - nothing. I was extremely bored in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but sheep and mountains.

At any rate, my parents were happy. They said that it could be worse, and that they were happy with the peace and quiet. I don't think so! I wanted to go home as soon as possible, to see my mates again.

Today I came back to school. I feel very saintly because I have done all my homework. Now it's business as usual..."

While other's claim it as a sign for the decline of people's language skill, I merely this either a temporary fashion or it'll be the style of the future communication. In the first case I don't really care, since it's gone in 5 years; if it's the second case then that's the way it is, and it's called evolution/progress. In the 18th century French was the language at Germany's courts, and many words from French spilled over into "proper" German. I don't hear any linguist complaining about that.