Bin endlich mit der deutschen Uebersetzung von 'Methods of Suicide' fertig geworden.
War ein ganzes Stueck Arbeit, hoffentlich wird sich das auch lohnen. Jetzt bin ich dabei, das Marokko Buch zu uebersetzen, aber das wird dauern. Patience, patience....
Methoden des Suizids
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
F1
So the Grand Prix took place this weekend here in rainy Montreal... i used to watch F1 religiously, when I was a kid. I'd spend the whole 2 hours glued to our tiny 14" TV, hoping that my hero, Alain Prost, would win. Which he did frequently
Nowadays though, I don't really care. Races are decided solely by pit strategies and tire wear, and driving skill seems to have become meaningless. There is so much aerodynamic downforce and so little mechanical grip that all cars take the exact same line through each corner, and passing or even -gasp- long battles for position have long been a thing of the past. Gone are the days of Prost-Senna battles, never to return. Well, unless the FIA finally get a clue and return to cars that have small wings and wide tires, to give the more importance to driving skill than to a team's aerodynamicist. But I'm not holding my breath...
For those of you who want to see what F1 used to be like, way back when, here's a nice clip featuring Montreal's own Gilles Villeneuve (in the Ferrari), fighting for second place with Rene Arnoux (in the yellow Renault). Enjoy.
Villeneuve vs Arnoux
Nowadays though, I don't really care. Races are decided solely by pit strategies and tire wear, and driving skill seems to have become meaningless. There is so much aerodynamic downforce and so little mechanical grip that all cars take the exact same line through each corner, and passing or even -gasp- long battles for position have long been a thing of the past. Gone are the days of Prost-Senna battles, never to return. Well, unless the FIA finally get a clue and return to cars that have small wings and wide tires, to give the more importance to driving skill than to a team's aerodynamicist. But I'm not holding my breath...
For those of you who want to see what F1 used to be like, way back when, here's a nice clip featuring Montreal's own Gilles Villeneuve (in the Ferrari), fighting for second place with Rene Arnoux (in the yellow Renault). Enjoy.
Villeneuve vs Arnoux
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Idols
I have to admit, as annoying as those "American Idol"-type shows are, I admire the idea behind them.
I do. Stop laughing.
You see, with people like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, a record company must invest enormous amounts of money into the public image that it wants to create for their star, and there's no guarantee -in spite of all the market analysis that they undoubtedly perform- that the public will buy into it.
But with these so-called talent shows (on which only losers compete), the audience itself chooses which tone-deaf retard it prefers. Once the popular phone-in vote has established a winner in this loser contest, the media promote that person as if he or she were the second coming of Buddha, and the population at large embraces him. The producers of the show then quickly throw an album of inoffensive shmaltz together for him to, uh, 'sing' on; and everyone rushes out to buy it. It's brilliant, you make money off of the idiotic masses who cannot decide for themselves what kind of music they like, and you have to make virtually no investment of your own.
And on top of that, you actually get paid to sit in a TV studio and insult your guests. I'd do that for free (well, I already do that now, except I don't sit in a TV studio). The show itself isn't free (there's money from advertisers), the hosts receive a salary... and for what? Exactly, nothing.
It really was and remains a great idea, and the only thing that bugs me about it (aside from the god-awful 'music' and the insufferable 'stars' these shows create) is the fact that I didn't come up with this myself.
I do. Stop laughing.
You see, with people like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, a record company must invest enormous amounts of money into the public image that it wants to create for their star, and there's no guarantee -in spite of all the market analysis that they undoubtedly perform- that the public will buy into it.
But with these so-called talent shows (on which only losers compete), the audience itself chooses which tone-deaf retard it prefers. Once the popular phone-in vote has established a winner in this loser contest, the media promote that person as if he or she were the second coming of Buddha, and the population at large embraces him. The producers of the show then quickly throw an album of inoffensive shmaltz together for him to, uh, 'sing' on; and everyone rushes out to buy it. It's brilliant, you make money off of the idiotic masses who cannot decide for themselves what kind of music they like, and you have to make virtually no investment of your own.
And on top of that, you actually get paid to sit in a TV studio and insult your guests. I'd do that for free (well, I already do that now, except I don't sit in a TV studio). The show itself isn't free (there's money from advertisers), the hosts receive a salary... and for what? Exactly, nothing.
It really was and remains a great idea, and the only thing that bugs me about it (aside from the god-awful 'music' and the insufferable 'stars' these shows create) is the fact that I didn't come up with this myself.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Just testing
I'm just testing to see how this works. I used to have two blogs on a site called weebly, but I shut them down after moving to a pay-site for my business. So now I'm experimenting with blogger.
I will mostly be posting random thoughts and ramblings, I don't think my posts will be making all that much sense; but I need an outlet for the bullshit that accumulates in my head.
You can find my books here:
amazon.com
and they are also available on amazon's international sites, directly through Apple's iBookstore, or from your Sony Reader. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
I will mostly be posting random thoughts and ramblings, I don't think my posts will be making all that much sense; but I need an outlet for the bullshit that accumulates in my head.
You can find my books here:
amazon.com
and they are also available on amazon's international sites, directly through Apple's iBookstore, or from your Sony Reader. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
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