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47 days ago
I thought this had to be a joke when I heard, but it seems to be for real. No wonder the Obama campaign was awarded two top prizes for advertising - it seems they did a terrific job and not just on Joe public. I read that the nominations were closed 2 weeks after Obama took office, now that is good going to nail down the prize in such a short time. So what did he achieve exactly in these precious 14 days? Well according to the Nobel website, the award was.. "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" I can only think it's been awarded based on his spoken intentions, so reading between the lines 'rhetoric' then. Don't mock 'rhetoric' though, it's pretty much all we've got these days, although the gap between 'it' and reality seems ever wider. As an aside, there is evidence that awards actually have a negative effect, a large proportion of Nobel winners, particulalry in the science field, never accomplish ...
105 days ago
It’s a bit early for my annual blog post, but I thought I’d throw caution to the wind, in more ways than one. Intrigued - read on. Not - don’t, I can’t force you. Anyone who has actually been following my blog posts may remember a post I made over 2 years ago about some questions I had regarding 9/11 and the official story. If you do give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve more but its the best I can do in the current economic climate. If you didn’t, here’s a quick recap. I had to do a lesson on conspiracy theories, stumbled across some material on 9/11, watched a few ‘documentaries’ and became rather sceptical of the official story. Coming up with a credible alternative and proving it is a little more tricky – but the range of attempts provide food for thought, nightmarish visions or some pretty bizarre flights of fancy. For the record, I still have trouble believing much of the official story whether in the 911 cOmission Report or the subsequent NIST report, but I ...
411 days ago
Like any reunion with good friends you’ve spent far too long talking yourself out of getting in touch with, the initial words can be a bit awkward. But once you’re through that hoop, you realise all the common ground is there and you just slip back into the groove. Provided, that is, there was ever a groove to slip back into. Well a quick check of the dates and it’s been almost a year, so how’ve you been? So what have I been doing with myself for the last year? (...quickly checks last entry to see where I was at...) Oh, I feel a bit guilty now. I just realised I abandoned you half way through Popkom, almost unforgiveable - almost. I didn’t even get round to writing about Sundays exploits, at the ‘Old Canteen’ next to Berghain. And even more alarmingly I’ve not even told you what Berghain is. Please forgive me, but I don’t intend to catch up just yet. One event eclipsed them all anyway, even if they did include going for pizza with a couple of my favourite dj/producers and ...
736 days ago
Not the smoothest start to my Berlin adventure – stood in East Midlands airport with 15kgs of additional baggage as I’d mistakenly though paying for additional baggage would include extra weight allowance, apparently it doesn’t. I decided to risk it, clearly in a Dr. Pepper frame of mind, as I figured it was nobodies actual job to spot people with 2 pieces of hand luggage (even if one is pushing the weight limit on its own), seems I figured correctly, with a few funny looks from fellow passengers and a few deft manoeuvres to hide my extra bag from view and I was there, somehow. The whole airport experience is a little stressful at the best of times, however if you are a bit of an adrenaline junky try getting 2 pieces of hand luggage through onto the plane with you, certainly sets the heart-a-racing let me assure you. It was late when I landed so dumped my stuff in the basic but clean hostel in the West of Berlin, and went for a walk – didn’t really have an aim, just wandering, ...
796 days ago
Well here I sit in the flat of an attractive Israeli dancer in the centre of Berlin. Now that’s an interesting start to a blog update is it not? Well it is true, but not quite as tantalising as I may have led you to believe. I’m renting the place for a couple of weeks while the regular inhabitant takes a break back in Israel. So, I’ve been in Berlin almost 3 weeks now, still no job although I may have finally sorted somewhere to live now, just waiting for confirmation on a place. It’s a room in an apartment that is desperately clinging onto the status of being in Prenzlauer Berg, a pretty cool, chic area to the north of the city centre. Well it took much longer than I expected, but I’m beginning to get settled. I suppose the main hurdle was the difficulty in finding somewhere to live, particularly as I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so anywhere most certainly will not do. It’s not that there is a lack of properties or vacant rooms it’s just that the market is so vibrant, ...
