You can shot it, you can ride it and you can eat it. With some technology you can even use it’s antlers for TV and WiFi reception. Try that with a bald eagle!

*This one is dedicated to Shitao – you deserve it!*

You sure know winter is coming when the Cows come down from the Alps in Bavaria and Austria. This is called Almabtrieb.

It’s a nice tradition (some images here), but still more than just a tourist attraction like the Oktoberfest.

BBC News: Is The Big Lebowski a cultural milestone?

Well, it’s a bloody great movie if you ask me and thankfully it has developed quite a following over the years (read the BBC article for all the details and many great comments).

The Big Lebowki has this rare kind of humor that is rooted in reality and surrealism at the same time. Most of all it’s not the usual slapstick kind of humor.

And all of it’s characters are very trivial as well, that makes them so endearing and loveable.

Since computers have become lifestyle products instead of tools many companies have started to pander to very different types of consumers.

Pink Tech is already causing me eye cancer every time I encounter it in shops (Video 1 and Video 2).

But this pink keyboard from Greybusters with a mirror really takes the cake. And don’t miss all their other great offerings!

Could anyone please stop these people? It hurts.

BBC News: Fisheries waste ‘costs billions’

The Oceans are the last frontier on this planet. They basically are unprotected – and therefore nobody really cares what’s happening there.

If you fish inside a nations maritime border you can run into serious trouble for over-fishing, but on the wide Oceans nobody cares.

So over-fishing is slowly killing one species after another and creating so called deadzones, where there is nothing in the water, because the circle of life has been eaten by us.

It is almost to late to establish better rules and technologies for industrial fishing. And recognize that the vast oceans are not so vast and plentiful they once were.

Slashdot: YouTube Passes Yahoo As #2 Search Engine 

This is truly sad: Yahoo is slowly disappearing in the mists of insignificance. I have always loved Yahoo – and it’s (too) many free services were often far ahead of anyone else (including Google’s great free stuff).

Yahoo for example had free eMail and Calendar – and a  great Desktop Synching Tool long before GMail was even on the drawing board. The same is true for Yahoo Groups in comparison to Google Groups.

But Yahoo has also the strange talent of fucking itself up.

The interfaces were often overdone – and there was always too much advertising as well. And there was always a serious lack of “cooleness” and “buzz” surrounding Yahoo’s tools.

It’s now just a matter of time before they die, since all desperate attempts to fix itself haven’t helped.

BBC News: Iceland: Britain’s unlikely new enemy 

The current financial crises sparks the most ridicules situations: under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 the British Government has seized Icelandic assets in the UK.

You can call the lovely people from Iceland many things, but terrorists?

The Icelanders are not amused (see article above).

It once again proves that governments are only to willing to twist any law and regulation to suit their agenda.

The best car in the world can’t protect from your own or other people’s stupid driving.

BBC News Special: Global financial crises

So all the rescue packages are a done deal, the credit crunch can hopefully “healed” before it gets even worse. Everybody is a state of shock, repentance or high alert.

But have we learnt anything? And are we all to blame?

Read the rest of this entry »

www.humanrightsactioncenter.org
Created by Seth Brau
Produce by Amy Poncher
Music by Rumspringa courtesy Cantora Records

Once again a good insight what’s happening in the Middle East – and how it is affected by the Financial Crises.

Good thing I am European – and therefore I can enjoy politically incorrect TV shows …

One of the many great songs by Fatboy Slim. I just love the groove – it just makes me want to dance and have sex …

Yo-Yo Ma

Mstislav Rostropovich

Paul Tortelier (Masterclass)

Mischa Maisky

When people try to “get into” classical music they have to cope with so many different interpretations of the same piece.

Sometimes it takes some training to become a good listener and know your favorite piece of Bach or Mozart so well that you can “judge” different interpretations.

But don’t make the mistake looking for the perfect interpretation, look for the one that touches your soul. That’s the right one for you …

Here are four different interpretations of one of my favorite Bach pieces. Which one do you like best?

Since I am a city creature and sometimes even a romantic person therefore I love this song.

Once I thought this is cool. I was such a moron.

But at least I can boast that I bought my first Beethoven record the same year I went bonker over break dancing.

One day sex toys will evolve into full sized pleasure robots – and one day these will rebel against that boring job of pleasing gorgeous sci-fi chicks all night …

Click image for a even cooler chameleon.

Aren’t these creatures amazing? They can climb trees, change color at will and look at different directions at the same time.

Wow!

Political debates are hardly a modern invention – I think it started already with Caveman arguing who will lead the clan.

In Athens all males could simply join the political debate themselves, by simply turning up and speaking.

With ever bigger Kingdoms and Nation States being there personally didn’t work anymore. Sure you could visit your national parliment and maybe listen to the talks.

With the invention of the newspaper and journals political speeches were once again accessible to the masses. If you read some of Abraham Lincoln oral masterpieces you would be surprised who eloquent, deep and highly educated these speeches were. Simply amazing – I bet most modern journalists are hardly able to write the way Lincoln could simply speak to his voters.

But most importantly: speeches were reduced to words. What the candidates said was more important than their looks, gestures and personality.

Even with the advent of radio this didn’t change much – apart that you could ‘read’ more the personality of each candidate by listening closely.

Today the debates are no longer debates anyway – because the format has devolved into a simple phrase exchange.

But the candidate himself is the message today – not what he / she is saying. It’s all about image, not about content.

I have tested many tools and websites that promised to stream TV perfectly. I think I finally found one that works: Livestream.

It’s cross platform, small, easy on your systems resources and delivers good quality. As usual with new contenders in the field the variety of GOOD channels is a bit weak. But I am very happy with the small number of news channel – which suit me perfectly (Al-Jazera, BBC World News, CNN and C-SPAN).

Since I download all other TV shows either via iTunes or Bittorrent I only need news (as it happens) anyway. Why wait till something I like is broadcast at a certain time – I want to control my video consumption and not follow the linear programming of a TV station.

So it’s highly recommended for news junkies.

www.livestream.com

Most guys who own a phone also own a penis – and are happy to use both.

Each time I test some shiny new phone in a cell phone shop I am appalled by it’s stupidity and lack of ‘usability’.

Most of these ’smartphones’ have mutated in almost unusable cell phones. The menus are too complicated, the battery time is bad, sound quality is often mediocre and call handling was too cumbersome.

But developers and gadget vendors can’t help themselves stuffing ever more function into these gadgets. But for whom?

Most people simply want a phone with a simple address book and texting capabilities.

The number of iPhone or Smartphone user who really use ALL the functions of their gizmos is rather limited, but companies insist of giving as all these additional ‘distractions’ even when we don’t want them.

Most annoying of all: the touch screens and pygmy keyboards are often hard to operate and unusable for some real work. Most of them are overpriced data peep holes, where you can lookup something on the web or have a peek at an important email (because you are addicted to that always-on lifestyle).

Go into any cell phone shop and ask for a simple phone – and you will be amazed how limited the selection is. And most simple phone are build for the elderly with big displays and keyboards.

If I want to take a notebook with me – I’ll take my notebook with me. A mutant cell phone / smartphone is not suitable to replace a notebook.

There has never been so much wealth around than in our days. Today’s wealth is for more complex and eloquent than simply owning some land, some gold, slaves, a mine or a factory.

Since the 1960’s the financial markets have seen an explosion of new “products” and ways to make and most of all loose money.

Especially in the Decade of Greed (called the 1980’s) the stock broker is the new hero and villain at the same time. Getting rich quickly has gotten a new meaning when you literally can shift billions of Dollars in a split second and make a healthy profit.

But some financial “products” have become almost surreal how they work – even so called experts seem to have a harder and harder time to understand how they work. And even harder to regulate.

The Banks and the Brokers have moved far away from the most important aspect of the financial system: investment. So many “games” on the financial markets are only about the markets themselves – not about investing in companies, people, property, ideas or resources.

I don’t mind these people making fat profit – as long as they help the rest of us building healthy economies, houses, companies and production lines.

Money shouldn’t play ping pong with itself – it needs to create real assets. Virtual money can easily be lost, but a factory or a house are not that easily “lost”.

This crises is a big chance to rebuild the financial markets and force those greedy bastards to funnel their money into “proper” investments.

The death of heroes is always celebrated with grandeur and excitement in classical paintings. Sure there are many pieces of canvas that try to cope with pain as well. But there are only a few pieces of art that deal with those left behind.

Maestro Bouguereau presents to us these two women mourning the death of a loved one. But instead of loads of drama and hysteria he leaves us to observe the silent suffering of these two graces. There is no story, there is no name on the grave.

The scene is set in an autumn setting – and no season is more symbolic for the mortality of life.

Everything has to die …

Confusion seems to be a pretty natural state of mind for most people. Isn’t it great that our own mind can confuse itself?

But let’s look at the “confusion” from another perspective: Why does our mind (therefore you yourself) decide to confuse itself instead of operating in clarity and good spirit?

Unless the outside “stresses” us to act – there is no need to cloud our minds ourselves. 

So why do we choose to fuck ourselves up?

Is it just a simple excuse not to get things done? Do we love to be drama queens? Are we avoiding to face the real problems and make up neurotic small ones to keep us from the real ones?

Today’s elections are fought in real life as well as in cyberspace. Campaign websites and special applications are as important as old school posters and TV ads for the candidates.

But the Obama iPhone Application really takes the cake.

First you have to own an overpriced gadget from a really snobby company called Apple.

Second you have to be computer literate and well educated to handle the bloody thing.

And third you need to willingly seek out and download that application via the Intranets.

Hardly something for your average red neck or these small town value Americans?

When a person becomes part of your life out of habit – than love has died a long time ago.

There is always a turning point in each relationship, when the first excitement makes way for a bit more mutual understanding and trust. The understanding grows into knowing each other very well. This is followed by a stage of mutual assimilation – port of you is now part of me and vice versa.

But slowly and eerily the force of habit creeps in.

Never forget to add evolve as a person, friend and lover in ANY relationship. We humans are being that need to change and always will change. It’s up to us to live the change and act according to it – and not suppress it, just because we are used to something we loved ten years ago …

Click image for more forbidden dreams in black.

How dare you fantasizing about le Présidents wife?

Those time are over – she is a respectable woman now, only selling her raunchy tunes to ensure world peace and feed the children …

There is simply too much frontal nudity and sex in most modern (erotic) photography. Most artist no longer know how to provoke imagination by intelligently showing nothing – and therefore revealing everything.

Please leave some space for my own fantasies – if I want it all I still can watch porn.

Once machines have eradicated all human life – will they create their own myths about their creation?

The ATV was a very successful mission for ESA. Well done!  Maybe we can expand the program to bring not just cargo, but also Astronauts into space?

The Space Shuttle program is kinda old and no replacement is in sight. And we can’t rely on the Russians forever …

The Glyptothek is one of the great treasures of Munich. I love to go there and enjoy these old Greek and Roman statues.

Here are some snaps and videos I made of the Statue of the God Apollo. Don’t be fooled by his feminine looks …

Sorry – but my blogging is very irregular these days. I have been very busy finding a new place to live. Finally I can report that I have found a charming place here in Munich – and I will move soon. After settling down my blogging should be speedier and more regular again …

Telegrapgh.co.uk: Photographing meals ‘could help weight loss’

Slimmers began to eat healthier food when they were asked to take a picture of what they were eating, scientists found.

The pictures appear to have concentrated the dieters’s mind at just the right time, before they were about to eat, the researchers who carried out the study believe.

Photographs were also more effective at encouraging volunteers to watch what they ate than traditional written food diaries.

To test if encouraging slimmers to photograph everything they eat might also encourage them to change their diet, scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked

43 people to record what they ate for one week in pictures as well as in words.

When the volunteers were later quizzed the photo diary appeared more effective at encouraging them to change their eating habits to more healthy alternatives.

The photographs also acted as a powerful reminder of any snacking binges, the researchers found.

If this helps I’ll make even TWO snaps of every bite I’ll take.

By the way: the Mousse and the Sacher Torte were brilliant – but so far I have experienced no weightloss from the photos I have taken.

Steven Hill has created an amazing collection of movie title screens, especially old school typographic ones.

And I am loving it!

If you are interested than bring A LOT OF TIME with you to explore all the great designs.

Thanks a lot Steven!

When a door with a new room open up for you – are you willing to enter it and explore it?

Sure: we can’t be everywhere and we can’t do everything at once in our lifes, but you still have to deal with new “rooms” in your life.

And not every room is really interesting to lure you in. Some rooms might even be scary or dangerous. But do we always know a new rooms full potential? Or maybe this room is just a gateway to a really really really great room?

Exploration is important, but so is setting priorities in life. But at least you should seriously look at new “room” before moving on – maybe the door at the other side of it might be just the one you are really looking for?

Photographer: Iguana Jo

Money.uk:  ‘Sexist’ Men Earn £4722 ($8,800) More Than ‘The Modern Man’

New Scientist: Bad boys can blame behaviour on their hormones

Sometimes I wonder how little we know about ourselves – or how little we integrate scientific insights into our daily lives?

Instead we are more influenced by simple urges and chemistry we like to admit or like to deal with. Aggressive and anti-social behavior is often tolerated or brutally suppressed with even more violence.

Emotional Intelligence should be as normal as treatment for “bad chemistry”. We do treat depressions much more willing than aggression, because we still consider aggression a “good” character trait in boys and good canon fodder for the military.

There is no such thing as a “relaxed day at the airport”. Traveling is mostly stress these days. Especially all these security checks can drive you nuts.

Airports are modern torture chambers and no fun at all.

I never understood the fascination of oversized glasses. They make you look like a clown and distort the proportions of your face.

Most of all: they tell everyone that you are willing to do anything to belong to the hip crowd – which is a crime by itself.

In the Age of Mass Exhibitionism via the Intranets everybody deserves to be a star for 15 milliseconds.

So get this great Hollywoods USB-Webcam-Kit and prepare for your few moments of fame and YouTube glory.