Tequila!!!

Ta da, ta ta ta da da... tequila!!!!


... I am not sure if it's the The Champs or the Los Lobos version but that's fiiiiine... :P

Thanks to Pablo F. for reminding me of what to look for and cheering my afternoon up a bit! (even I notice that I am lately regularly in need of being cheered up, some things just are not the same since I got back from Lyon)

And now something a little bit more more texmex:


... it's taken from Feast of Wire, but the single was the this one (if it wasn't... it should have been):




n.-

open a can of laughs

Some folks have the natural talent with a small amount of words to cause a huge amount of laughs (ie. mine) anywhere I could be reading their shit. Some precious examples I got for now are portuguese:

• souburro.blogspot.com (headshot with almost every post)
• axpegix.blogspot.com
• a casa do maluco
• exactamente (thanks Mary Jane)
• and last but not least sopanobide (where I got some of'em from)

cya,

the-n-that-wishes-he-would-be-funnier

Ladies enjoy Lederhosen (some say...)

The MTV EMA 2007 are held in Munich and their poster is just soooo Munich!

Believe it or not, Snoop Dogg, is NOT the only black dude with Lederhosen! Ozzie, my friend the tour guide also has the major bavarian look and gets some serious glaring eyes around here!

Well, some guys just look good in leather!

n.-

sin and enjoy

Music
Jes** Christ, I sinned!
The latest 50Cent single (Ayo Technology) is killing me in the best way possible. The high-tech video adds quality to the tune. I admit (for a log while now), I am less of a snob music appreciator than I act like. I look at my library and I see Timberlake, Gwen, some HipHop... I used to be an Eminem fan and still think Britney's Toxic is just too good.
Another Wow, Kenya's Stronger's video is... aweeee.... just... a beautifully mashed "Akira-Daft Punk-Tron-cyberpunk-manga" video. Let me keep a link to story of its making. The song is pretty good too!

Travel
Another weekend came and went, it rushed by like a warm and fast imaginary southern wind. Lyon was cold, not as cold as Munich, but enough to make us (me and the over-french-sweet Marie) shiver more than once. The City is really gorgeous and again more time (on another trip) is needed to see and live more of the place. Traversed by 2 rivers, there is an "almost-island" (presqu'ile) in the middle. It's a good place to cross by foot. Food is excellent, french people are... french (I just love'em) and the city is bright, old and broad. Being in France, I saw the usual extra amount of cops and security folks everywhere and even got the chance to walk past a demonstration (they cultivate them like flowers).

Breathing from the whole ambiance and inspired by Marie's taste, I decided upon a new hair style... the scruffy hair-up mess. It could also be called... the pseudo-artist look.
For real, I will keep the memories and what I felt during those 3 days for ever. I was cracking and enjoying every damn single moment of it. You got a special place in me Marie!

Looks like CS is saving our ass and Bron has got a place for us in Brunei! We shall not stay long at that guy's place but at least we have a little base to start from.

I am so eager to leave for 2 months. Travel with friends, see a whole new continent and country, meet new people... but then very nervous about leaving my appartment, afraid of forgetting to deal with a little bureaucratic detail, afraid that someone I rent this place to does some stupid shit.
My excellent experiences have effectively been possible because of the people I meet, or better, I am introduced to.
Not being the very outward talking guy I would not just go to someone and chit-chat. I'd rather meet friends of friends. If not through friends then through opportunities like CS meetings or even CS itself. I admit it is a capacity I lack, the one to just talk up to folks, but I have not been able to overcome it, sorry.
I wish, but I don't believe that this great upcoming trip will be much different from any previous one. I already know some folks in Aussie-land, in Perth at least, and will rely on them to expand the mesh of my very fresh and ephemeral network.
Sometimes I ask myself, if I was really in a really lonely situation, would I change my behavior? Rewinding the 2 last years back, I reckon I won friends by establishing connections after having them introduced to me. From Susan, my crazy landlady, to Hazel, to Babsi, Manu, Couchsurfing, Ilka, Bron, Beth...
Coming to think of it, the only person I know from 1st contact is Barth, the groovy french dude I met at the LCD Soundsystem concert.
Oh well, I will survive. If I wouldn't, I would not be here now.

Ina Marie, my current CSer went out to visit a room to rent. A very friendly girl, she's been quite busy for the last 2 nights looking for a place to stay for her 6-month internship!

I'm feeling a very happy bunny (booooooooooooooring I know). I'll keep on remembering last weekend for a while (it's amazing the things a girl can do). The Little Miss Sunshine OST is playing in the stereo and I got back home with my hair cut.
I'll try not to be a night-owl tonight, I'll just check out the anime Whisper of the heart (Mimi Wo Sumaseba) and try to find out why it has such a high quality rating.
Allez hop, posting, closing and putting the blasted computer to sleep.

n.-

stitch the world a little bit tighter

Australia
My big trip to Aussie-land is getting closer and closer, there are still so many (little) things left to do.

• Having somebody stay at my place (and pay the rent) while I am away would free me from that nasty bill - let the search begin!
• The last banking and legal details should be setup in order to not become an issue while I'm on the other side of the globe - It's awful to have so many dependencies...

Meanwhile, some other details are clearing up. I recently met through Ozzie, our favorite Munich Tour guide, an aussie from Perth. He's currently crashing at my place until I leave to Lyon. This fellow, although being loaded with cash, prefers to backpack and stay at hostels and actually meet people and get to know the city. He kindly offered to host me in that aussie western city, this way I will not be abusing of Bron's folks' hospitality and will also avoid having us (me and her) from getting on each other's nerves.
As a sidenote, it's really funny to see how people think we and Bron are a couple. We just get along really well, which does not mean we don't get pissed off at each other:) That situation type can be a fuck-blocker, but after clearing up that detail, the individual runways are back to a clear and open state.
Even with available places to stay, Couchsurfing and/or hostels are not out of the scheme, at all!!!
Before reaching Perth, we're staying 9 days in Brunei, which will be a great opportunity to get some tropical fun and organize a CS meeting with the half-dozen members living there!

Music
Radar was playing a decent musical choice this morning (quite usual for Lisbon's best radio station) but I am currently looking for a stream of Smashing Pumpkin's latest Zeitgeist.

Techie
Yoohooh!!!... MacOSX's Leopard is so much secure, or as we could call it "HOWTO: use long-worn keywords to fill out Security Bullshit Bingo". It's an effort anyway, I am not complaining. Let's just say that marketing people use whatever they can put their polished hands on to pack a webpage with juicy details.

Techie II
I can't stop looking at the OLPC XO laptop. There's a fun review (direct link: Geeksugar -> New York Times) from a well known tech reporter. Here's the video:


n.-

It's too positive to be true... but it is!

I woke up, identified the room and quickly jumped out of bed. I wasn't running away, but looking for my cellphone to check the time. One curse (because the blasted thing turned itself off again) and after a few seconds I notice I am kind of late. Well, not really, it's just that I am waking up 40mins past the target time.

After a quick brushup, a rapid packing of my stuff in my little travel case and there I go (after kissing Mary Jane goodbye) to catch my plane out of Lisbon.
Sitting in the cab, I am allowed to contemplate how happy and fulfilled I felt. The week I just spent in Lisbon was a blast, something to light fire to the love for this city. I can only confirm that it's due to what people brought to it. There is no way to feel how I did without having been with the friends I was with.
I want to thank them all, the whole time deeply marked my heart, I will keep those memories and eventually pick and appreciate single ones out of the collection of good times.

How fabulous can it just be to wake up on a sunny saturday and have a short coffee to then shortly after leaving home, have lunch at a nice restaurant on one of lisbon's hills. While we're sitting in the sun, having those glorious rays heat our faces, the flavours of the meal flourishing in our mouths, the very enjoyable company keeping the mood up and the view over the city with the river constantly attracting and distracting.
Right after that, a coffee with another glorious sight over the city, almost as if there is nothing else to appreciate that day... but there is, we just did not want to take much more, what we had was already so good and enough.
The day continues until the night takes its place, which then goes on until we get back home at the very common 2, 3 or 4 o'clock (I don't remember) in the morning.

Describing the initial part of the week would take ages. It was an all Portugal-dedicated time, made out of the city, food, drinks, friends, the sea and sun. I haven'd had an all-positive week for a long time. How often can I say that? How often can anybody say that? It was almost a vacation week, but not all only free time and fun. Taking care of 12 people does have its challenges:)

My return back home to Munich was spent as I expected, sleeping for 3hrs in the plane (have I mentioned that I HATE flying alone?). Another 3 hours after arriving and sorting my things out at home, there I was (again) on the Wies'n (Oktoberfest) for a last drink at the last day of the festival. I was glad that this event came to an end.

The following day, a new week started, this one would have as an interlude a little trip to Berlin. I do not know what is going on, but in those 2 days and 1 night I was charmed and amazed!
Sidenote: Work went perfectly well (despite only sleeping 2 hours before flying there in the morning) and I met a great girl from work. We immediately clicked and I will keep take care of keeping in touch with her. I reckon this is how friendships or at least good relationships are built.
In a 2-week period, I fell in love with a second city! This was my second time ever and my eyes could not believe what I just missed during the first visit.
The buildings, the colors, people (girls) on the street, well, the whole feeling, the mood made me feel at home. I took great joy during this little time up there (it's "only" 600kms away from Munich) visiting a good friend of mine that I already hosted twice. Could it have been the mild/cold temperature, the autumn-ish colours, the nostalgia of people saying goodbye to the summer?
It hit me so much that I would consider moving up there. Not just for the kicks, but at this moment, and again in my life, I have not much holding me back except for friends.

Again, this year has been my CouchSurfing year during which I met fabulous souls. Susi was the most superb host and she set me the hospitality bar pretty high! I learned that after a long night having (red) wine (and excellent italian food), Grappa is NOT welcome:S
This week will be shorter, I am taking a couple of days off to visit a friend from France I made while hosting. A long time has passed since my last art classes and I am taking my markers with me and practice some more on ourselves.

I am Ice-man, a man who can freeze his heart stone cold and burry it very deep out of reach of anybody. I feel so good lately, people and simple things have contributed to this warming up. At this moment, it's out of the box, thumping and thawing. I am hoping for the winter coldness to just freeze my nosetip and nothing else, I am enjoying myself too much, I have the feeling that some untold promises are looking around the corner (not trying to be optimistic, just keeping on wishing and trying to stay normal).

n.-

PS: again, Zero7 is a great soundtrack to finish the weekend under a dim light.

I really need to swipe the dust away

Several things are in my head but not in an orderly way, all perfectly stored and organized in a nice shelf. No! They're spinning around like the neutrons and electrons around an atom.

First, I want/need to update my blog, blow some dust away, open and polish it up.
Second, last week I had the best time in lisbon! There is no way I can forget it and the people I met.
Third, a header picture is needed... I am still looking out (when I remember) for a picture representing the theme I want it to have.
Forth, ...

This still is and will remain a blog with a very limited audience, basically only friends of mine know about it. But I know it's publicly posted on the internet, thus there are no restrictions to its access and theoretically the *whole* online community can view it. 99.99999% of the online community has more to do than to read my stuff, so I am pretty sure that the audience will keep on being the people I actually know/met.
If I am wrong, DO let me know!!

Pursuing to polishing up in a slightly geek way... Today I took a little moment to add a ClustrMaps map. While in the office, between effectively working and handling non-work related sites, this was a very short and simple project. (believe me, writing this post took a hell lot more time... sorry about that boss!)

I cannot handle the description of my week in lisbon as of now, my brain cells need to be whipped back in order and the slave master just happens to be on holiday. I will keep that for later on.

I will take this chance to add some items I got in touch with in the course of last week:

• part of the SugarInc website (quote: "Our vision is to be the definitive online media company for trendsetting, passionate women ages 18-44"), geeksugar.com is a very nice feminine way of being and behaving like a geek;
• the ultimate gossip perezhilton;
• Just like a memory of a moment I wish I experienced, David Fonseca (check out the "80's" song on his myspace) is playing on my radio, it's the "Our Heart Will Beat As One" album;
• (ADDED) Minuscule, the *funniest* mini-clips with 3d insects on real sceneries. Youtube for "minuscule" and choose "insect race";

A big, big hug and a huge, huge kiss to Mary Jane.

over and out, I have work to do!

n.-