To honour the International Women's Day five hours past I gathered a short list of female artists or vocalists I love.
The amazing Simone Simons (Epica):
Tori Amos:
The diverse and angry Candece Clot (Eths):
Speaks for herself.. Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil):
What a voice! Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever):
The angelic Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation):
JESSI FREY!!! (Velcra):
Apparently nothing's been going on in my life in the past weeks. Well... really, nothing useful. The most important thing is that I managed to uncloister today by sleeping approximately 16 hours and got up at five. A bit early for someone with lectures starting at noon but at least I'll be attending the class and I won't be late. And I'm going to need some caffeine to stay up.
Post scriptum: Yes, I'm pretty sure no one cares about my sleeping rhythm but I had to think of something to write as the previous entry was getting boring.
Oh, I did get the "personal" astrological reading. Bullocks, just like I thought. Apparently they just fill in the name in every second name to make it personal. Not to mention that it was over-positive. Another thing is that it repeated same phrases and sentences and paragraphs all the time. The 3-page thing can be reduced into less that 1 ½ pages when deleting all the repetition. At least it didn't make the mistake of "predicting" my love life which undoubtedly would have been straight. Bullshit. Does someone actually fall for that?!
For the second time in three months I'm contacted by a firm that wants me to consider saving/investing/whatever with their system. First was the poor guy who tried to sell me the pensions system, now I was called to a meeting with a firm (I did some background checking: it's another savings/investment bank) to discuss my finances with an expert. I'll do it just for the fun of it, and maybe I'll learn something new.
But... getting calls about pension, working, savings and investments. Does this make me officially an adult?
In a rather odd place (Pharyngula) Google positioned an ad for an astrologer who will do a reading for free. So of course I had to submit a request. Now don't get me wrong: I'm open-minded. Sceptic but open-minded. If she manages (or any of her numerous assistants which she must have to respond to all the requests) to give a detailed, passing-my-linguistic-analysis reading that has no self-fulfilling prophecies and these actually happen, I'm willing to give her some credit. This is my personal Randi test.
I should have a response in a couple of days. Then comes the part 2. Stay tuned.
Oh.. wow...!!! Now that's the type of society structure I want!
Just watched Evgeni Plushenko's short performance from last night. Fantastic. It seems that every time he skates I keep watching. In the case of the Sex Bomb classic I'm laughing out loud with tears in my eyes and have shivers running up and down my arms. That guy is the only one EVER to make me wish I could ice skate.
Which made me think: Final Fantasy's one specific song would make one hell of a free performance. This one to be exact:
One-winged Angel, Sephiroth's theme song. I can already imagine; his amazing foot work, techinical knowledge, performance abilities, and getting the risk factor a couple of notches higher by including Sephiroth's katana in the act. Whohoa!!!
Post scriptum: you can find a somewhat good quality video of the Sex Bomb performance here:
This time in Britain. There will be a bill proposed soon on libel (=slander). Basically it is similar to Finland's blasphemy law (think of Halla-Aho); an arcaic remnant in the legal code that has not been removed but instead reinforced! The problem with this is of course that no state is an island. Furthermore, Britain is in the European Union. We all have criticised Romania's human rights issues and now Greece's political mayhem, wondering why these states were allowed to participate a union, the purpose of which was to create international law based on equality, peace, freedom of speech and debate. This also means that whatever happens in the UK, also is possible to have effect on us.
Thus far the British law has been used by foreigners who do not like what some British people have to say and this law allows them to be taken seriously, unlike in the case of the Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali whose criticism of Islam conjured Saudi, Pakistani etc. politicians to attempt to get her off the parliament, the *DUTCH* parliament, as if they had any right to do so. Luckily, the Dutch MPs and Hirsi Ali's party leaders just laughed the attempt off since there was no law these self-righteous dickheads could cling on. Which is exactly what is happening in the UK.
The online petition was launched by Simon Singh, a writer whose book on alternative medicine frauds is being fought in courtrooms. Yes, it indeed is SOOOOO unfair that someone gets to say my alternative medicine treatment of rubbing human feces on other people's bodies does not cure HIV like I say it does!
Bullocks!
Join Stephen Fry and others and sign the petition online on the site given below. All signatures around the world are allowed and encouraged as the law has international impact.
http://libelreform.org/index.php
P.S. If you wish to see Singh's original petition speech, go to this site at RichardDawkins.net:
Bloody Valnetine's day! At least it's on a Sunday so I can just shut all the doors and windows and pack food for the day so I don't have to step outside for a minute.
Valentine's day is otherwise a nice idea, but do you have any idea what the day is like for someone like me? I have no friends, no girlfriend (duh!), no nothing. I rather stay home, in bed, and read books, the only "friends" I've ever had.
It's a fucking Valentine's day 364 days a year already. Every day I go outside I see couples holding hands, kissing, friends talking laughing prepairing to go out in the evening. Is it really necessary to twist the knife? Would you like a some salt to rub to the wound, too?!
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I think I'll go and get HIM's latest and listen to it all Sunday. The name of the album is quite interesting, and so are the name of the songs. "The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness"... "In Venere Veritas"... "Acoustic Funeral (For Love in Limbo)"... "Ode to Solitude"... ;)
I, the undersigned, have managed to come up with a relatively satisfying thesis topic, with a little inspiration from a certain woman. I'm otherwise fine with it.. but there's just one big problem. The instructor will be one of the male teachers, one in particular who gives me the creeps. I don't know what it is but I really do not trust him or want to spend any more time with him as I have to.
This is one of the drawbacks of a small department.
Fuck.
In yet another attempt to be social, I volunteered to help with organising and executing the student union's anniversary festivities.
.... It ain't working. It seems that all the others are close friends and activists and I'm just an extra pair of hands. There really is no getting in the inner circle when one is already formed. Perhaps I should just leave these attempts alone next time one presents itself to me, since they're clearly not working.