Poem I Love
Theres this poem I came across ages ago: you all probably know it. I personally love it very much. Im not a 'poetry' person - I studied poetry a few years ago during O-Level, and it was fun and I aced the subject, but I lost interest. Anyway, this poem isnt that deep, I suppose, no hidden meanings and not many poetic devices, I just think its beautiful. Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. (Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die!) Text by Mary Frye
Now apparently theres another version - I'm not sure how that works. Is it a song lyric or what? Strange indeed, if someone could explain to me how that works, I'd be grateful. Anyway, here it is: Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. (3) I am the song that will never end.
I am the love of family and friend.
I am the child who has come to rest
In the arms of the Father who knows him best.
(4) When you see the sunset fair,
I am the scented evening air.
I am the joy of a task well done.
I am the glow of the setting sun.
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. (Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die!)
text by Wilbur Skeels
The stuff in pink is by Wilbur Skeels. Oh, and apologies that its in pink, I cant seem to change that :s
Posted by illogicist at 4:40 AM
Fashion Designers?
I remember once, a couple of months ago, I was walking through Selfridges in London with a friend of mine. We were basically killing time while I was trying to decide whether to buy something or not. Anyway, she pointed out this godawful pair of shoes, and told me that they were the most expensive brand of shoes in the world. I looked at them, and its not like they were made of gold foil or diamond or anything. So why would a pair of shoes cost that much? Branding. I dont remember the designer's name, but I want that. I want to be able to make something thats just like everything else on the market, stamp my name on it, and voila! Its value increases by ten thousand percent. That's what this guys done. And, sneaky bugger, he gets away with it too. People actually buy these shoes. Why? Because in our capitalist society, wealth is status, money is power. Gucci wallets or sunglasses or whatever are not 'better' than others. Your Gucci wallet does not hold more money, and those Gucci sunglasses are not more protective than others. You wear them because society dictates that if you do, you're acceptable. Because it means you have money. Think Rolex. Maybe once upon a time, Rolex was quality, but now its all about status. About being a rich banker or golfer or whatever. I think every industry has its ridiculously overpriced, status-bearing brands. Thats just the way it goes. I know someone who called her pet cat Gucci. I think thats overdoing it, you know, juuuust a little. To what extremes do you have to go to feel accepted in modern society? Call your cat Gucci? You may as well call your kid Gucci - I would not be one itty bitty bit suprised. But why Gucci, why not other 'great' people? Nobody calls their cat Hosni Mubarak! Nobody calls their kid Marie Curie or Yeats! I don't understand this obsession with the material, but capitalist society seems to thrive on it. It survives because of our tendency to give importance to these things - Gucci, for example. I remember reading a book where there was this society where everybody, by law, had to spend a certain amount of their salary each month on consumer goods. I believe it was called a Corprocracy. Coffee wasn't coffee, it was Starbucks. I had a Starbucks. TV wasnt TV, it was SonyScreen. Radio was something else I think. I wish I would have said all that to her when we were looking at those shoes. Maybe she would have agreed with me. Maybe she would have given me a strange look and said 'whatever'. I dont know. I do know that I missed my chance to find out. All I said at the time was 'Uh-huh...ummm...yeah nice shoes.'
Posted by illogicist at 1:17 AM
No Posts For A While
No posts for at least a few days. I'm having this really weird problem with my internet, its been about 4 days and its driving me completely nuts. When I first connect, my browser works, MSN works, downloadin programs work - but only one of them at a time (if I'm lucky, two). After that, say I have a website open, that website works just fine, if I navigate to any links there its just fine - but I cant LEAVE that website - nothing else works. MSN will load up, but if I sign out, I cant sign back in. Its bizarre, and annoying as HELL.
Posted by illogicist at 10:06 AM
90210
4:30am. Can't sleep. Watching Beverly Hills 90210, very weird. I always hated this show. I wonder why this is. Usually I sleep quite easily. I slept a little earlier, slightly, like 1:30am and woke up about half an hour ago, wide awake. Now I'm watching TV. I think Family Guy ought to be on soon, then Simpsons. Ok its over. Lets see whats on next. Ugh, I hate this. Its not like my mind is running or anything. Its not. I hope this doesnt keep happening, I like my sleep. Its better than Family Guy or Simpsons, as good as they are. Theres an advert for 'things to do in denver when your dead'. Sounds silly, but looks interesting, strangely. Hey, this isn't family guy. wheres my family guy dammit. Argh.
Posted by illogicist at 5:26 PM
Room To Think
NP - Xavier Naidoo I went to Jabal Akhdar this weekend. Theres something about being 2km above sea level that brings a certain clarity of mind. Maybe its just that its so beautiful up there, and so quiet. Somehow, the air is stiller. When I stepped outside, to take a little walk, the air was so still, I actually got that 'its too quiet' feeling. The roads were empty, with only the occasional pick-up now and then, and even the sound of their passing was quickly dispelled, almost like a vacuum. The name is misleading. Jabal Akhdar isn't actually green. Its more like brown, with spatterings of green, with the mountain slopes layered and covered with small farms, or at least plantations. Theres a lot of goats too, mixed in with some sheep here and there. The best thing about being up there is the trekking, and the amazing views. They're simply breathtaking, absolutely stunning. I took some digishots which I'll try to upload, but they just dont do it justice, not one bit. Plus they're too big, I need to find a way to compress them (I dont have a good graphics program. Just being out there, at the mercy of nature, watching how the locals live, how their lives are so contrasting to our own, its humbling. And it gives you time to think I guess. Muscat is no metropolis, but it still has the ability to stifle you, even when you're cooped up in your own home. Maybe its the air, its thinner up there. I don't remember the exact mathematics of it, but 2 kilometers up, theres a lot less oxygen. Theres a lot less air pressure too. Clarity of thought? Maybe. Do your thinking up there under a full moon, as it was for me, and everything seems to clear. Descend back to sea-level, the flurry and hustle and bustle of city life, and well, your supposed clarity doesn't seem so absolute anymore. Anyhow, it was an amazing trip, I'll try to get those photos up soon.
Posted by illogicist at 12:09 AM
Ahh, Blessed Day...
Np - Jamiroquai - Feels Just Like It Should Today is a wonderful day! (even the weather is pretty awesome)
Posted by illogicist at 3:57 AM
The Best Auction Ever
NP - Nevermore - Acid Words http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6410585172 In case the bid goes down soon (since its over), ill paste the description here. Its basically for a particular Motorola phone the guy is selling. Motorola MPx200
I went and did it again, I got another Motorola from Orange. "Why aye man, it's much betta than the last one, these are reeealy good and don't suck at all, honest!" Old numpty here fell for it, so let me tell you a little about the phone.... It's the suckiest phone I have ever had. It sucks so much it should have been a vacuum cleaner. With it's USB interface and docking cradle it's possible to use this phone to crash any Operating System. So advanced is this horrible device it can even curse Windows XP with the dreaded B.S.O.D. One thing I did like about Motorolas was the voice recognition dialing. They decided not to include it on this model. Or a charger lead for a car ciggarette lighter socket. Or a belt clip. Another thing I liked about the previous model was the FM radio... it actually worked quite well. They've got rid of that too. Still, I could listen to some MP3s instead.... if there was enough room to store any on this rather nasty little device. But on the plus side, thanks to it's IR port you can now beam a telephone number to another phone or computer with an IR port in about 10 times the time it would take you to simply type it in (with your nose). The MPx200 boasts the Windows OS, although I think "boasts" is a poor choice of word. I can only assume that it's the fully blown version of Microsofts fattest, bloatiest Windows release to date... "Hello Moto..... Hello?..... Moto?..... Hello?..... Oh I give up!" The CPU on the phone is powerful enough to show you your only received text message in about 15 to 20 seconds. That doesn't sound like a long time does it? Wait 20 seconds before you read on. . . . . . 20 Seconds is just too long to wait. Any old Nokia will show you the message in about 20 miliseconds. The memory on the phone is expandable via a new SD or MMC memory card. This is handy as the unit does not come with enough built in memory to store a phone number and a wallpaper image. But don't let me put you off, it has some really good features like "Airplane Mode". Using Airplane Mode you can disable the phones ability to receive or make calls, texts or email whilest leaving the phone on so that you can look at the screens crappy walpaper and get hassled by the air stewardess for not turning your phone off. The added advantage of this mode is that, when you arrive at JFK, your battery is flat. Sat in the taxi, you really need to make some calls to let your business associates know that you've landed, but wait! No charger lead! Whilst you're sat there in incomunicado, you can reminisce about the bad old days where you would merely turn your phone off. The best is yet to come... How do you turn airplane mode off? I couldn't find out from the manual and had to trawl the net. I found the answer in a forum whereby some chap with a similar phone was obviously as irate as I. Apparently you have to hold the power button down for more than one and a half seconds but for less than two seconds as the latter turns the phone off. Which sick, criminally insane, Motorola B*STARD dreamed that up!? "Oh, I've turned it off again, damn!" Now another wait for about five minutes while this chunky phone boots up. "Hello Moto" it declares in a cheesy voice, yes hello again. Glad you could make it. Let's try again. No, not long enough. "yeah I'll be with you in a minute.". Not long enough again, oh sh*t, it's turned off again! "Yeah, make that five minutes" "Hello Moto" Pulling the battery doesn't work. Neither does pulling the sim card Twenty five minutes of this lunacy was what caused the crack in the outer screen. I threw it accross the room in disgust. The threat "If you don't come out of Airplane Mode right now, I'm going to kill you!" was the only thing that worked. Perhaps the speech recognition part of this phone has not been completely removed. What else can I say about it? - The earpeice is a bit intermittant so you don't know if you've connected or not, very annoying.
- Sometimes it blasts your lughole with your million decibel ringtone while your on the phone. OW!
- Using the menu to read your texts is like pulling teeth.
- The screen is crap.
- The keys bounce (when you press a key, sometimes it enters it twice so it knackers up your word).
- It doesn't learn words.
- When you open it it makes a horrible "clack" sound.
- When you close it it makes a horrible "clack" sound.
- It connects to the internet for an hour while it's closed and turned off in the swimming pool locker.. according to Orange.
- Closing it doesn't disable the keys. Really! Yes, I know!
Even the Orange tarif is crap. 30 quid a month for 60 minutes calls. That's a good night out, but not the phones' fault No need to ask yourself "Have I got my phone" while patting your pockets. You know you've got it, because the bloody great brick is pulling your trousers down! In summary: - I hate it.
- I detest every atom of it's existence.
- It's creator should be tied down and eaten by ants.
- The factory that makes them should be melted by a big laser from space.
- It doesn't have a camera
- It barely functions as a phone
Do you want it? Bid Now! You have a choice, you can bid for the phone or you can bid for a homemade DVD of it's slow demise. I plan to use a vice, a drill, possibly an angle grinder, some flamable liquids, a blowtorch and finally a sledghammer. I may even do the ultimate nasty and tell my wife it spent some money on some new computer bits. Just let me know your choice, I strongly recommend the latter. I know what your thinking, you're thinking "I could download something like that off the net". Trust me, in my video, you'll be able to f-e-e-l the hatred, it'll be worth it. Please allow a few days for me to produce the video. The phone must die.
Posted by illogicist at 11:26 PM
Tagged Again
Well, M, here goes: 1. What does 'love' mean to you? Ive always said this: a woman loves you when, and only when, you're 95 years old, senile and dribbling down your chin, this woman is willing to wipe your @ss....and do it with a SMILE. THATS my definition of love! 2. What does "marriage" mean to you? We'll see. 3. Do you believe in 'love at first sight? No. Haven't experienced it, and anyway it just doesnt seem logical. Some say otherwise - my parents claim it happened to them, but I dunno. I asked my dad once would it still be love if it turned out my mother was schitzofrenic and he was only seeing one face. He shrugged. I believe you can only love someone after you know them fairly well. 4. How many children would you like? Two boys and a girl, max. No more than three. 5. If given the opportunity, what is that one song you would sing for me on wedding day? I assume this is addressed to Mbarak, because he tagged me. I wouldnt sing anything - I'd get Dream Theater to play for you live ;) 6. What is your favorite holiday destination? Paris and Istanbul, both were absolutely amazing. 7. What are three qualities you would look for in a woman? Honesty, intelligence and compassion. 8. What are the three qualities and three bad habits that you have? Hmm. Im tall dark and handsome. =) Oh 3 bad habits too. Hmm. I tend to tell people Im tall dark and handsome, when in fact I'm none of the above... 9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Successful businessman in Oman inshallah. Maybe with one or two kids by this time. Married. OR a hermit somewhere. Seriously, both are probably equally likely. -------------------------------------- Thats it? Hmm. That wasn't too bad. :)
Posted by illogicist at 12:29 PM
Dream Theater
NP - Foo Fighters - Best Of You Dream Theater is teh best band ever. John Petrucci is the best guitarist ever. Jordan Rudess is teh best keyboardist ever. John Myung is the best bassist ever. Mike Portnoy is the best drummer ever. Labrie is ...an okay vocalist I guess. I'm warming up to him. But DAMN, Live At Budokan is IMPRESSIVE. I love it love it love it.
Posted by illogicist at 12:49 PM
Lulu Center
NP - Chagos Project - Song2 (work in progress) I went to Lulu Center today, the one in Ghubra. Not the first time, but the first time i go to the fish place - its awesome! They have fish swimming around under your feet and stuff. Well cool stuff indeed.
Posted by illogicist at 2:57 AM
Tagged!
How many books do you own? I'm lucky in that recently I didnt need to buy books. I just borrowed from my bro and sis, who are big bookworms themselves. Only when I left the house was I forced to buy my own. How many? I dont know, I buy books when I can afford to. Including textbooks...thats a different story :p Whats the last book you bought? Last book I bought was 'A Hat Full Of Sky', by Terry Pratchett. Whats the last book you read? 'Shadow Of The Wind', by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Currently reading? I prefer to read one book at a time. Currently reading 'A Hat Full Of Sky', by Terry Pratchett. A book you've been reading for a long time but never got around to finishing? I dont remember the name or the author. It was massive, massive, and talked about the creation of the modern middle east, and events that lead to it from world war one. It was interesting, but too much information for casual reading. I got about halfway through (500 or 600 pages in maybe), but stopped. Gave the book back to its owner. What 5 books have meant the most to you? - Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho - The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman - Book Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe Ok thats 12 books, but doesnt matter. Looking back, its funny that I hardly read fantasy anymore, and yet 3 of 5 can be considered fantasy...just goes to show that the stereotypical view of fantasy as simple swords and sourcery are very often wrong. Who would you like to book tag? Hmm...I dunno. Everyone's already tagged. So if you're reading this, tag: you're it :) And leave a comment leading to your blog so we can read your replies!
Posted by illogicist at 7:36 AM
