Quote of the Day

Wealth I ask not, hope nor love
Nor a friend to know me
All I seek, the heaven above
And the road below me.
- Robert Louis Stevenson


Happy New Year, fans!

I'm first! Me, me me!

An historical event happened at the airport today. I was the first to check in! When I arrived the Wizz Air counter hadn't opened yet, so I hung around, lurking in the shadows. When a middleaged woman walked up to an empty counter and started punching in on the computer, I made an educated guess and got in line. Lo and behold, it was Wizz Air and yours truly made it as numero uno. Wheee!

Also, this free internet thingy they have at the airport is pretty nifty - I'm typing these words at a cafe table in the terminal. It's just too stupid that you normally have to pay through the nose for something that ought to be normal courtesy in 2009 for any business of size & repute. Hrmph.

Lest I jinx this trip, let me close by cursing the effin parking house at the airport. Since it's bloody cold and there's lots of snow all over, I thought I'd splurge and park indoors. The sign outside the parking house said there were still a few open spots, so I drove in. Sadly there was not a fuckin space to be fuckin had on account of all the fuckin cunts doubleparked liked fuckin twats all over the fuckin place. I had to park way the fuck up at the back of the outdoors area and drag my way through the snow to the terminal. Curses.

Quote of the Day

I'm off to Prague in a few minutes... smell ya later!

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.
- Franz Kafka

London IV

I spent a few happy hours at the Imperial War Museum yesterday, as my flight didn't leave until the evening. The museum has a magnificent audio guide and I highly recommend it (£3.50). The main hall has various assorted goodies, there's a submarine expo (mainly for children, which means I loved it), there's a WW1 and WW2 exhibit and also a little tribute to Monty - Bernard Montgomery, the Field Marshal who turned the tide of the war at El Alamein. The man was stark raving mad in some respects, but a brilliant leader of soldiers.

Another exhibition I spent some time at was titled "The Children's War" and focused on the war experience through the eyes of children. An essential element was the relocation of tens of thousands of children from the major cities to the countryside, and even to other English-speaking nations. The experience was diverse in the extreme. Some were poor, dirty, uneducated, often came from homes were abuse was common - and they came to the rich English countryside with space, fresh air, good material living - a long, blissful holiday, really. Others came from good homes and were treated badly - "a rotting matress in a room filled with rat droppings" was one line I remember. Often, children who returned home didn't recognize their parents. Some were sent overseas to South Africa, Canada and the US. As the exhibition makes clear, not all ships made it - some were sunk by submarines. There were also tons of info on everything from school to play, clothes, food, propaganda posters, etc, and of course lots and lots of old pictures (which I love). Highly recommended.

The V-2 and a Russian T-34. Piece of junk made by the Czechs in '55, captured by the Israelis, no doubt never fired a shot. Hehe.


The Sherman tank. Not the best, but easily mass produced by the allies.


Little Boy, the Hiroshima nuke. Sweet Jesus, I was tempted to sneak up behind the Asian guy and pop a paper bag.


Propaganda posters from the Children's War exhibition.


See here, children actually had to fuckin' WORK!


All pics here.

Quote of the Day

Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.
- E. Joseph Cossman

Quote of the Day

School teachers, taking them by and large, are probably the most ignorant and stupid class of men in the whole group of mental workers.
- H. L. Mencken

London III

Christmas Day I spent two hours on a brisk walk through the center of London, on a "London Walks" tour called "Samuel Pepys' London". We met in Trafalgar Square, by the Norwegian Christmas tree. The rest of the day as well as all of Saturday I spent in my room, except for brief forays to hunt down food (there's an Indian restaurant round one corner and a McDonalds around the other).

Today I've spent a few delicious hours at the National Gallery, then I went and saw Sherlock Holmes at a theatre in Leicester Square. It sucked. Not hard, but not worth the time and money either. The worst part is, they show scenes in the trailer that isn't even in the fuckin' movie and that pisses me off.

On the bright side, things have picked up at the hotel. The room is tiny, but since the plumber came on Wednesday the water in the shower has been ok and I think I might stay here again next time I'm in London. It's difficult finding decent, cheap accomodation in this city but this is as close as I've ever come.

The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square and the placard accompanying it:




The obscenely good dessert at the Ciao cafe...

Quote of the Day

The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.
- Lloyd Jones

Quote of the Day

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
- Kahlil Gibran

Quote of the Day

Hell is an outrage on humanity. When you tell me that your deity made you in his image, I reply that he must have been very ugly.
- Victor Hugo

Dinosaurs

Here are some pics I took at the Natural History Museum yesterday... all pics here.

Black & White. Lookin' purdy good.


The T-Rex. Mean mo'fo'.


Eggs. Awwwwww.

Quote of the Day

I find that we all get more legendary as time goes by. "Legend" means, basically, "bullshit".
- Joel Rosenberg

London II

Today I spent a few lazy, pleasurable hours at the Natural History Museum, mainly looking at DINOSAURS cuz they're COOL. Also looked at the mammals section.

Then I went back to the hotel for a little rest - such as could be had when there was a plumber fixing stuff and a receptionist knockin over the cupboard so it fell on the bed (good thing I wasn't on it). Hrmph.

In the evening I had a highly (lowly? middling?) mediocre dinner at Garfunkels, then popped next door to The Dominion and saw the musical "We will rock you". Great show, great cast, great tunes.

Quote of the Day

Happiness: An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.
- Ambrose Bierce

London I

The flight over yesterday was pure hell. We first sat for almost three hours on the tarmac in Oslo, waiting for fuckin Gatwick to fuckin open. Then my hotel turned out to be a cramped little hole, where the water in the shower really came with only one option: Scalding hot.

Today has picked up considerably. I first went and spent some wonderful hours at the National Portrait Gallery, this time mainly the Victorians. Then I had a good lunch at the Ciao, the Italian cafe behind the gallery. In the evening I went out to Hammersmith and saw Jimmy Carr savage a couple of hecklers (he did a lot of other stuff too, but the hecklers were the best part).

Quote of the Day

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
- Horace Walpole

Numbers

This morning I weighed in at 115,5 kg - down 0,6 kg in a week. I still rock, but I fear what will happen during my upcoming 8 days in London. I'm bringing one manual with me and I intend to walk to my greedy little heart's desire, but the food is also very, very good in that city... sigh.

Quote of the Day

I'm off to London today. Buh-bye!

If it doesn't burn fuel or make a lot of noise, what good is it?
- Jim Byers

Quote of the Day

Eternal damnation awaits anyone who questions God's unconditional love.
- Bill Hicks

Happy Festivus

Soon (Dec 23) we shall enter that joyful holiday, Festivus - the holiday for the rest of us. As usual I don't give a flying fuck about Christmas, seasonal greetings, presents and decorations and intend to spend the day watching DVDs and maybe working out once or twice. But this year I thought I'd give Festivus a shot, more specifically the "airing of grievances". This is where I let you all know how much you've disappointed me over the past 12 months. Here goes:

- My family. You still haven't become rich and died, leaving me a vast fortune to squander as I please. I shall never forgive you.

- My colleagues. I have a stroke, and all you guys can think of is joking about my loss of a driver's license for two months! You've been mean to me, and one day I will come with a shotgun and explain to you exactly how I feel.

- My pupils. Dumb, ignorant, uninterested, ungrateful little bastards you are! Whining just because you have to interpret an English poem or write an essay of more than two paragraphs. Also, the next one of you to spell "with" as "whit" will have your fingers cut off.

- The CIA. You fuckers STILL haven't passed me a suitcase full of unmarked 20-dollar bills, despite all I've done for you. I'm giving fair warning, if an offer comes from the Russkies, I'll contemplate it.

- Mossad. I keep defending Israel, and you kikes STILL haven't given me a pair of über-cool sunglasses and a set of super secretive assassination weapons to use on my pupils. I'm warming to the Arabs is all I can say.

- My readers. You've not kept up the pressure in the comments section on my exercising scheme. I had to go ahead and have a STROKE before I started losing weight. I'm sorely disappointed in you, I had expected better (=worse).

- Barack Obama. Nuff said.

Quote of the Day

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.
- W. D. Howells

Quote of the Day

Nonsense is so good only because common sense is so limited.
- George Santayana

Quote of the Day

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
- Edmund Burke

Up, up and awaaaaaay

I've done it again. I've gone and challenged fate by purchasing a trip to England Dec 21-28. Bet I'll be coming down with swine flu on Sunday evening... I'm flying to Gatwick with Norwegian Air and planning on a week's quick trip to see the sights of southeastern England - Surrey, Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex and possibly Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Then on to Prague from Torp Airport in the south on Wednesday the 30th...

Update Thursday: Meh. All of Southeast England is CLOSED for Christmas, so I'm taking a week in London instead.

Quote of the Day

It's better to be quotable than to be honest.
- Tom Stoppard

Quote of the Day

"There's someone out there for everyone - even if you need a pickaxe, a compass, and night goggles to find them."
- Steve Martin in "LA Story"

Numbers

This morning: 116,1 kg. Lost 1,3 kg since last week. I rock.

Quote of the Day

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.
- Calvin Coolidge

Idiocy all round

A new study by PEW shows that Democrats, even more so than their supposedly more religious counterparts the Republicans, are braindead. The prevalence of ghosts, fortunetellers, communicating with the dead and other such rubbish is about twice as high amongst Democrats as Republicans.

Not surprisingly, "women are also twice as likely to have consulted a fortuneteller or psychic". This fits with personal experience, which is that women are more into fuzzy, feel-good, new age drivel, while men go more for the institutionalized, impersonal major religions. Regardless, it is a sad fact that Democrats, albeit perceived as more "secular" in their policies, are at least as irrational, ignorant and just plain DUMB as the Republicans in their world view.

Quote of the Day

Be not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels, but they live like men.
- Samuel Johnson

Quote of the Day

"Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts."
- Leslie Nilsen in "Naked Gun 2 1/2"

Quote of the Day

Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change.
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Quote of the Day

Freedom is on the march!
- George W. Bush

Quote of the Day

We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm.
- Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be self-sufficient.
- Michel De Montaigne

Quote of the Day

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.
- Erich Fromm

Numbers

Weighed in at 117,4 kg this morning - 1.3 kg less than last week. Wheee!

Quote of the Day

Little prigs and three-quarter madmen may have the conceit that the laws of nature are constantly broken for their sakes.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, on prayer

Quote of the Day

Revolutions are not made with rosewater.
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton

I can fly, I can fly, I can flyyyyyyy

Well, not really. But I can DRIVE again! Since my last trip to the hospital on September 29, I have had a ban on driving. Today I finally had a test of my cognitive abilites and I completely and utterly aced it. I circled the right numbers, I put the right pics in the right place and so on and so forth. No more buses, no more driving with family members, and most important of all: No more harassment from colleagues! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Quote of the Day

The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains that I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time.
- George Bernhard Shaw

Quote of the Day

A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you.
- Bert Leston Taylor

Quote of the Day

When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep.
- Ursula LeGuin

Quote of the Day

The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.
- Mikhail Gorbachev