Chocolate Health Trivia

I've nicked this from Domori's page:

Cocoa butter and cardiovascular health
Cocoa butter, comprises essentially stearic and oleic acids, together with a smaller percentage of palmitic acid and a few traces of several other fatty acids. The data show consistently that fats with a high content of stearic acid are consistently less cholesterolemic and atherogenic than are fats containing the other common long-chain fatty acids, namely lauric, myristic and palmitic. The research studies also suggest that absorbability of cocoa butter is reduced, probably due to its high stearic acid content.Stearic acid boasts a unique position in the saturated fatty acids class, resulting from its neutral cholesterolemic effect; it does not affect total or lipoprotein cholesterol levels even when absorbed at very high levels. With respect to thrombosis, stearic acid does not have an adverse effect on platelet function and it seems to play no role in thrombogenic events.

Antioxidants
Many people think that at least some of the protective effects of plants depend upon these antioxidant compounds. We know already from early work on cocoa, both raw and fermented, that it has a high content of antioxidants. Cocoa is a treasure chest of compounds with potentially beneficial effects on human health. It will be very interesting to watch the development of the field of phytochemicals, and to learn its implications for cocoa products.

Minerals
Cocoa and chocolate have a very high percentage of minerals, definitely more than almost any other food. However, it is still unknown to what extent these minerals are actually used by the human body.

Methylxanthines
The contribution of cocoa and chocolate foods to the average daily intake of caffeine in both children and adults is very low. While the theobromine content of chocolate foods is at least ten times higher than that of caffeine, the physiological effects of the former are generally weak. Recent scientific studies have shown that moderate consumption of methylxanthines from any food source does not cause adverse physiological or health effects.

Obesity
There is no available evidence proving that the consumption of chocolate causes obesity. However, chocolate could contribute to weight maintenance in the obese, by providing a highly palatable, readily available and energy-dense snack food.

Diabetes
Chocolate products are usually very energy-dense foods and should therefore play a minor and yet pleasurable and guilt-free role in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes.
Active individuals with type 1 diabetes can afford a larger consumption of chocolate as long as blood glucose and lipid control remain within desirable levels.

Dental health
Chocolate causes moderate caries, and this is probably related to the cocoa fraction of chocolate, which contains chemicals inhibitory to oral bacteria.

Headache
The research studies suggest that chocolate probably doesn't cause headaches in the majority of suffering from headache.

Craving
Chocolate is by far the most commonly reported food item that is craved. What is its secret? Definitely its taste. Sweet, fatty food items have a pleasant taste; chocolate approaches the ideal combination of sweetness and fat content. Pleasant-tasting foods induce the release of endorphins in the brain.

Acne
There is no link between chocolate and acne.

Liver
Chocolate does not affect liver and kidney. Only on patients who are susceptible to reflux esophagitis chocolate leads to serious heartburn, such as smoking, alcohol, caffeine and high-fat products.

Cacao Cult

Max Küng, an author of Das Magazin, has searched for the best chocolate manufacturer in the entire world:

• It's not the French Valrhona, which started the trend of dark chocolate in Europe.
• It's not Amedei in the Toscana, which secured the complete production of a mystique plantation in Venezuela.
• It's Domori from the Fiat city Turin. Domori's mission is the Cacao Cult.

Swiss Chocolate Trivia

• Switzerland uses more milk to fabricate chocolate than to produce yogurt.
• The Swiss consume 12 kg of chocolate per head and year.
• In 2004, 47.1% of Swiss chocolate was sold in Switzerland and 52.9% was exported to more than 130 countries.
• Switzerland imports only 1% of the world's cocoa beans harvest.
• Swiss doctors recommend up to 50 g of milk chocolate or 25 g of dark chocolate per day, because chocolate contains a lot of polyphenols. Polyphenols have been shown to be strong antioxidants, which prevent cardiovascular diseases.
• Two major inventions in the 19th century set the cornerstones of the Switzerland's chocolate industry:
• In 1875, milk chocolate was invented by Daniel Peter, a butcher's son. He succeeded in combining chocolate with milk, an obvious but difficult move.
• In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt developed "conching", a process which created the world’s first "melting chocolate". Conching involves heating and rolling chocolate, a refining step designed to break up large particles to produce a smooth creamy cocoa mass that will melt on the tongue.
• In 1980 a story of chocolate espionage hit the world press when an apprentice of the Swiss company of Suchard-Tobler unsuccessfully attempted to sell secret chocolate recipes to Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
• In 1982, I worked for one week in a chocolate factory. Because I still liked chocolate after this week, I've decided to pursue for another "career".

Serendipitously Discovered Serendipity

One of the highest wattles the English have built is the rich vocabulary of their language (English approx. 500'000 words, German 185'000). This makes it exceptionally hard to master the English language (besides of my lousy spelling abilities). On account of the affluent word-hoard, the English language is also a source of fortunate discoveries by accident. My serendipitous discovery of today is Serendipity.

The English are indebted to the author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity:

". . . this discovery indeed is almost of that kind which I call serendipity, a very expressive word, which as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall endeavor to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travel led the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right--now do you understand serendipity?"

Some serendipitous discoveries and inventions:

• Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin
• The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation
• Alfred Nobel's discovery of blasting gelatin
• The discovery of polyethylene
• The invention of Silly Putty
• The invention of Post-it notes
• The discovery of the psychedelic effects of LSD by Dr. Albert Hofmann
• Archimedes' Principle.

Do you know more examples of serendipitous discoveries?

Deriously Loved Up

Somebody might call me obviously deriously loved up, however these were the happiest Easter in my whole life. Just a dozen of the things happened:

1. I had the best langouste ever
2. I learned something dramatically new about my father
3. I met some really nice Australians (no irony)
4. I drunk the best Bordeaux of my life (Chateau Talbot, 1999)
5. I learned a lot about the processes of cleaning grain in order to mill it
6. I wandered through the impressive Masoala hall for the first time
7. I made my best tomato soup
8. I made two dünnle (rhubarb & apple)
9. I never spent so much time with my flatmate since we're living together
10. I've never been so much in love in my whole life (I might sound like a teenager, but it's the truth and nothing but the truth)
11. I've been eating all but my own Easter bunny so far.
12. We drunk some Chinggis Khan (best Mongolian vodka).

Hard Decisions

I was lying on the settee, munching crackers and flicking through a magazine when I discovered an article featuring abs. I was told that perfect abs would improve my sex life, besides of distracting from the worn out speedos:

• Increased Stamina
  The thrusting power I have to generate during sex has to come from the core. Strong abdominal and lower-back muscles give the necessary strength
• Better Erections
  Increased fat equals decreased bloodflow, decreased bloodflow equals softer (or no) erections. Avoid this downspin.
• Increased Length
  The fat at the base of a man's abdomen cover up the base of his penis. Losing fat will add up length.

Unfortunately, my father did not inherit all of his features to me. He's in his eighties and has been told by his doctor that he's got still more muscles than most twenty year old blokes.

Sounds like a lot of work is waiting. No more cracker munching and lying around on settees. Or shall I just give up the magazine flicking.

Alemannic By Chance

Without knowing that I'll rediscover my Alemannic identity, I baked something truly Alemannic for lunch: Dünnle.

There are a lot of different names for the same dish (Wähe, Waie, Waije, Dünne, Fladen or Kuchen). If it can be compared with a dish from another couture, it would be quiche). There are salty or sweet variants. I made a sweet dünnle.

At first, one needs a dough:
* 400 g flower
* 125 g butter
* 125 g soft curd cheese
* salt
* some white wine or water
mix well, cover with a towel and put at a cool place for an hour.

I did it the easy way and bought the dough ready made in the shop.

Then one has to butter a baking tray, roll out the dough and put it onto the tray. With a fork, one has to make some small holes in the dough. Depending on the juiciness of the filling one should to scatter grounded hazelnuts onto the dough.

This time I uses fresh Rhubarb for the filling (800 g, chopped to small pieces). Actually, the rhubarb season is April to June. This one came from Holland, probably grown in a green house with huge amounts of natural gas from Russia. I compensated this ecological nightmare by using KAG eggs (from extremely happy chicken) for the cream to be added (2 eggs, 1/4 l of cream, 2 pinches of sugar, vanilla sugar & cinnamon). Baking takes 30 minutes at 250 °C in the preheated oven.

I prefer tea to accompany my slice of dünnle.

Finding Identity

Wikipedia is truly a surprise package. I've discovered that Wikipedia does also exist in an Alemannic version - that is, my mother tongue.



This excellent service brought also to light that I'm actually speaking High Alemannic. This is the version mostly spoken in Switzerland, Vorarlberg, and in the southern parts of the Black Forest in Germany). But there are further variants of this language:

• Highest Alemannic (e.g. Walser German in the Canton of Wallis or dialects of the Bernese Highlands (Berner Oberland) and of Fribourg).
• Low Alemannic dialects, among which are also:
  
• Alsatian (in Alsace, France)
  
• Alemán Coloneiro (in Venezuela - therefore not on the map)
• Swabian (mostly in Schwaben, in Germany)

All this has happened, because I try to find out the gestation length of cattle (it's 285 day, e.g. bit more than 9 months).

Struggling With Art

My lovely flatmate is planing to enrich Gomad Mansion with additional art. This is truly a intention, which deserves encouragement. Nevertheless, there is a problem. One of the shortlisted pictures displays a dog.

I have a problem with dogs since Fido snatched my nose when I was about five years old (I had been throwing wooden building-bricks at him for half an hour - Fido was probably the most patient dog ever). Dogs are far to slavish and have a despicable odour. Cats are an example of grace and dignity. Why does it have to be a dog? Of course, a cat would not work at all, that's far to rolfknieish...

Ms.Mac For Ever And Ever

There are strange competitions going on, like blog of the month or whateva. What an ephemeral contest! We should crave for eternal excellence, nothing less. Luckily, wonderful things exist that are made for eternity and can't be beaten.

One of which is ms.mac's meanderings. In my humble opinion, this is the most inspiring and wittiest blog ever. Ms.Mac is not one of those heartless blog machines, who write only to satisfy a despicable narcissistic urge. Ms.Mac is a loving mother and wife, living in an alien environment (chapeau for anyone who can survive in Bäretswil). Of course, there are frictions in this universe. However, Ms.Mac handles these with charm and knows to write about them with wit and repartee.

I reckon, you know these centre of afflatus and I'm carrying owls to Athens, as we say in German. Hence, I stop my gabbling and reveal the award:

I Confess

I think it's better when I confess it right at the beginning: "I went into a fair trade shop and bought something from Vietnam handmade by adults."

The are some points I dare to state in my defence:

• If one buys vases oneself or as a present, one tends to buy tall ones that look nice on the shop's shelf
• There are several tall vases at Gomad Mansion
• Not all flowers have long stems.
• There are rarely any small and medium vases at Gomad Mansion
• I was deluded by a flower shop into buying a bunch of daisies (in my greed, I bought all on display)
• Daises have small to medium stems.
• I was walking home not knowing where to put them and there were only two shops on my way: a bakery and the fair trade shop.
• The mean fair trade shop had the perfect vase in the window.

I know, I'm weak. In addition, I confess that I bought some bars of this delicious Compañera chocolate with honey as well. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone!

The Big Not Yet Read Pile

A weakness of mine is to not resist the temptation to buy books. As a rule of thumb, I say that I have got a constant pile of 3000 unread pages. I'm going to list now the books on the Not Yet Read But Ambition to Read Pile to check this figure:

• Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson [927 pages]
• The Confusion by Neal Stephenson [815]
• The System of the World by Neal Stephenson [892]
• The Face of Battle by John Keegan [336]
• The Mask of Command by John Keegan [351]
• Battle at Sea by John Keegan [281]
• Intelligence in War by John Keegan [368]
• Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman [145]
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck [578]
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald [148]
• Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray [743]
• I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe [676]
• The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst [501]
• War and Peace (Original Version) by Leo Tolstoy [1223], German
• Wie man sich ins Leben verliebt by Wolf von Bremgarten [306]
• Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban [598], German
• Past the Headlands by Garry Disher [381], German
• Close to Home by Peter Robinson [462], German
• Очередь by Владимир Сорокин [245], German
• Обелиск by Владимир Сорокин [223], German
• Роман by Владимир Сорокин [704], German
• Голубое Сало by Владимир Сорокин [439], German

The sum is 11342 pages! I should not trust my rule of thumb, though.

Personal Trainer

My job might go to blazes and I'm filling my home with new interior furnishing, but this is far from enough. Today, I had a lesson with a Personal Trainer, generally thought to be a commodity afforded only to the rich and famous.

Thursdays, I go to a swimming class, which is devoted to crawl, the rapid swimming stroke consisting of alternating overarm strokes and a flutter kick. Sometimes, we have to perform exercises involving other swimming styles like breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly. These exercises brought to light that my breaststroke's leg movement is an absolute disaster. The only cure was a private lesson with our trainer (my butterfly is considered incurable).

Private lesson means no hiding in the masses. Every tiny little movement of my precious body was under constant scrutiny. No excuses allowed, but exhaustion guaranteed. However, for one hour I could feel how it is to be rich and famous.

Word Du Jour

The word du jour was ¡A otro perro con ese hueso! (to another dog with this bone). This is a Mexican expression and means "I don't believe you". I will try hard not to provoke this line again (no fingers crossed).

Perfect Trinity

It is a wisdom among my friends that this trinity can not simultaneously exist:

• perfect apartment
  
• perfect boy friend
  
• perfect job.

Apartment: There might be better flats than Gomad Mansion, but I feel pretty comfortable and my flatmate is almost perfect (greasy grating the other day!). Boy friend: I've never been so much in love in my whole life as with Gatín. I'm praying hard not to mess it up.

However, it's the job where the Sword of Damocles might be dangling over me. The job is almost perfect. Of course, there is some work involved but the wage/pressure ratio was never better and I'm not as bored as some of my colleagues. It takes only ten minutes to commute (which is bad for tax discount) and there are several swimming pools close to the premises. The bosses are complete wankers. Whatev, that seems to be the definition of management.

But my caring employer has BIG problems. The Art of War might be almost as old as mankind's memory but it's the means that change. The means provided by my employer seem to be outdated big time. We are still great at what we do [overstatement], nevertheless, no army (our dear customers) seems to care. Last year, we received only about 25% of the orders we should have to maintain the workforce (never hire any of our sales reps, they are not good at what they do [understatement]). In addition, some work had been moved to other subsidiaries, which are better at it or/and have (more) customers in these fields.

Rumors say that something big will happen by the end of month. Everything is hush-hush. Even the employees' reps are kept in the dark (you have not read this here, ¡comprenda!). I'm expecting a big job chopping.

April 1st was supposed to be a party day (Kylie in Switzerland). I hope that I'm completely wrong. It's not Beware The Ides Of March but the end of March. Bugger! I'm on holiday. I don't wont to think about work, or even worse about not to work. All I want is the perfect trinity. Do I ask for to much?

Омуль For Me?

There are few things besides of Gatín that increase my heart beat as much as Siberia - well, it happened again.

On Monday, Hausi sent me an offer for a pioneer white water rafting trip to the river Омулёвка. (transcripted: Omuliovka). The name of the river is derived from the word Омуль, a whitefish. The river is also known as самой красивой и сложной реке северо-восточной Сибири (the most beautiful and most complex river of northeastern Siberia).

The trip would start in the middle of July, which is known as the peak of the mosquito season. But I'm still highly tempted. I've got goose bumps due to the excitement while I'm typing this...

We Add Nuts & Bolts

Again, Ms.Mac was right, Gatín & I are in a domestic bliss. Today, we saw the following items being installed:

• 1 socket
• 1 shelf
• 1 kitchen cupboard
• 2 ceiling lamps
• 1 towel bar
• 1 mirror
• 1 new plant

... and there was another shopping round - this time at Interio. We went there for new bed sheets. Proudly, we can add nuts & bolts to the screwing...

Roaring Back

On recommendation of my caring boss, I'm reading The Roaring Nineties by Joseph Stiglitz, an account of the boom/bust economy of the 1990s. By coincidence, I had a related experience with Swiss bank UBS the other day.

I tried to sell my shares of a mutual fund. Back in the roaring nineties this was done by a simple phone call to my assets manager, not lasting more than a couple of minutes. This time I was put on hold three times and I had to identify myself four times to different bank clerks. The last of which told me that I can't do this via phone. It must be in writing.

I wrote the requested letter but did not only list the one mutual fund but all my assets on UBS accounts. UBS is history for me, they can me whatev...

Boosting The Economy

I've reckoned that it was high time to be a good citizen and do something for the struggling Swiss economy:

1. I've reserved a Mobility car. Mobility is the Swiss car sharing system. Mobility cars can be booked via the Internet at least half an hour before they are requested. The central computer sends the reservation to the car of choice via GSM. After that, I can access "my" car with the Mobility card. There are 1'700 cars at 950 locations in 400 municipalities. I've realised that I've not needed a car for more than a year. Poor fellow drivers on the street.
2. Gatín has helped me to load all the bulky household refuse into the Mobility station wagon in order to drive it to the incinerating plant.
3. From there, we drove straight to IKEA for an extended shopping to fill all the empty space at Gomad Mansion.

We're still screwing... but it's supposed to be good for the economy, I've been told.

The Groove Of Holiday

Since yesterday, I'm on holiday and right in the morning I made an impulsive but in retrospect wise decision to switch my radio to Couleur 3. Although, this is a radio station of the Romandy and I hardly understand any of the DJ's comments in French, Couleur 3 sends an intelligent but groovy sound into the Aether. I think, I stay on this wavelenght. Right now it's in perfect harmony with my own vibes.

Blossom Time

Forget about the meteorology or astronomical definition. Last night, Spring began at the Night Of The Flowers party. This was and is the ultimate millstone.

Originally, this night had been produced by æra which, unfortunately, closed it's doors last summer. But the crew know what they owe to mankind. They brought truckloads of flowers to the Dachkantine and one of the longer queues in recent times showed that clubbing is not dead at all. Spring still does start with a good sweat, so that we can blossom for the rest of the year.

Style Watch

This week's issue of Das Magazin run a feature about the FREITAG® saga. The feature brought no new aspects, only a new term. And this already in the opening sequence. The journalist used the term Proletensolidaritäts-Look to describe the must apply dress style of the young Central European males. I've heard this the first time and it does not sound nice at all.

As quite usual in German, this new substantive is constructed by connecting other substantives together. In this case Prolet, Solidarität and Look.

• Look is already English and stands in this case for a distinctive, unified manner of dress or fashion.
• Solidarität is solidarity in English.
• Prolet is a bit difficult to translate due to it's connotation. It is derived from the term proletarian but is better translated as cad or twerp, but then it looses the lefty connotation.

Is this a hint not to try to be hip and young anymore and to dress a bit more distinguished?

Don't Beware The Ides Of March

On this date 2050 years ago*, Julius Caesar was said to have been assassinated. Again according to William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar received the warning "Beware the Ides of March!" from a fortuneteller in the play Julius Caesar. Later in the play, he is assassinated on the ides of March (March 15).

Neither I'm Caesar nor do I consult fortunetellers. Hence, I' reckon that this day bears no harm to me.

* There might be an error in this figure due to the mix up between the Gregorian and Julian calendar.

It's Time For A Time Theme

I try to start the new and hopefully entirely spring like sunny week with a theme, which I reckon is appropriate. I hope it's not to pretentious to chose a quote by Albert Einstein: "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

Облако-рай

What a wonderful Sunday and to be in love with Gatín makes it even better. An hour ago he gave me a foot massage and since then I'm like walking on clouds. My whole body is kind of enchanted, my mind is clear and I feel safe and sound like a child in his mother's arms.

But life is still not just a frosted cake. Right now, there are two things about me that are going on my nerves:

1. Things piss me off that are not worth it. I should start to ponder the thoughts of Cicero, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus a bit more. Calmness is a virtue, which I admire. But to live it is not as easy as it seems.
2. My back is aching. I guess, that's due to a combination of to much work and to little sport. I have to find the balance again.

Señor Manzana

Because of my fruit charts, Gatín calls me now Señor Manzana. In addition, he disclosed to me that le gustan mucho los kiwis y los mangos. But I'm confident that our love is strong enough and will come through this test without a scratch.

Call Me Mr. Fruit Machine

A thing, I can't grasp, is that there are obviously people out there who have a problem with fruits. I can't live without fruits! The lack of fruits is probably the only thing, I don't like when I'm in Siberia (besides of the mosquitos in summer). Here are my personal fruit charts:
Note: Please consider that a) I live in Switzerland, b) there are seasonal fruit limitations, and c) long distant transport impairs taste & texture and is just un ecological

1. Apples
   I was brought up on a farm in a area that is called Cider India. A life without apples would be cruel. I suffer in July and August, when last season's apples are not good any more and the new one's can't yet be picked. Consumption: 2-4 kg/week
2. Bananas
   Although imported, the cornerstone of my breakfast. It's the PowerBar of the fruits, delivered in the perfect wrapping. (there are Max Havelaar version available - just for the conscience). 1.2 kg/week
3. Oranges and Mandarins
   Citrus fruits are the reason why winter is a lovely season. Especially, I like the white stuff on the inner side of the rind. 2-4 kg/week (winter only)
4. Grapes
   My favorite dinner in September and October. I wash a big bunch, lay on the couch and eat it along with a Gold Bürli (Zürich's best bread roll with a hard crust that makes the jaw hurt). Did you know that grapes constitute approximately 50% of all fruit grown in the world? 5-6 kg/week in Autumn
5. Pineapples
   Probably the most delightful fruit at all. Forget the canned version. They are dawned in sirup. Unfortunately, the unwrapping is tedious and really good ones are exceptionally expensive. 1 per month.
6. Peaches
   So sweet, so delicious, but I can hardly manage to bring them home from the shop without squashing them. If I mange to do it without, they are neither sweet nor delicious. I try sometimes
   
7. Grapefruit
   I would like to eat more of it. They are deliciously sour. But my body says stop after one piece. 1 per month in winter
8. Lemon
   I eat every slice I (or my friends) get with a drink. Consumption depends on my bar visits (fluctuating).
9. Kiwis
   I can't understand what supposed to be so special about Kiwis. They taste like water and are tedious to peel. Consumption almost 0.
10. Mangos
    Unfortunately, my taste for Mangos has been tainted for good. In 1980, Swiss retail giant Migros used a national scout jamboree for a add campaign and distributed tons of Mango juice to the camp. I drunk to much of it and can't stand the taste of it anymore. Please, don't eat mangos in my vicinity. Consumption is 0.

703 Years Ago...

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

According to William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet were married on this date in 1302. Children, don't try all of this at home.

Men Of The Day

My man of the day is the postman. He brought me three brilliant CDs of three extraordinary men & musicians, which I ordered on recommendation only. And I can tell you, man, all three are already shortlisted for discovery of the year after their first time on my B&O:

• Miguel Bosè: por vos muero
• Rufus Wainwright: Want Two
• Antony and the Johnsons: I Am a Bird Now

By the way, Miguel Bosè knows what to do with flowers if one is short of vases:



And now my man forever is requesting a bit more of my attention.

PS: The new one by Jack Johnson (In Between Dreams) is a must have as well. But that one arrived earlier this week and is not a new discovery, though.

Targeted

Warning! Working for a weapon systems manufacturer can bring one into the line of fire.



This post, as well as many other things in life, may offend you. Note that no electrons were harmed in the creation of this post. It is made from 100% recycled bits. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Hand wash only, tumble dry on low heat, do not iron.

A Lesson In Box Design

My cordless phone had stopped to provide me with any telephone service at all. Hence, I've decided to replace it with a more willing model and went to one of these expensive Swisscom shop in order to buy a new one.

At home, I've opened the flashy box. The sight was impressive. Every tiny little piece was properly stored in individual holes and slices of a complex cardboard structure. But I couldn't find the charger in any of the places and there was an empty one.

This morning, I went back to store and asked for the missing charger. The shop girl opened the box and removed the complex cardboard structure. There it was.

A Lesson In Humility

This weekend, my loved ones showed me that it's not enough to be handsome, attractive and intelligent. It's also important to stand by each other and help with the little things in life to get along just a little bit better. Now, one has not only be willing to learn but to be taught as well.

I Prefer To Be Galvanized

Inspired by an American commemoration of working women, the German socialist Klara Zetkin organized International Women's Day in 1911. Women's Day founders Zetkin and Kollontai took part in the most famous International Women's Day - the March 8, 1917, strike "for bread and peace" led by Russian women in St. Petersburg. The February Revolution, as it became known, forced the Czar Nicholas II to abdicate.

Nowadays, the March 8 is the most important public holiday in Russia. It's also the only day of the year, when the Russian men treat their women like they are supposed to the whole year. In Switzerland we are far from celebrating this day. Even the demonstration is preponed to today (14h, Hechtplatz, Zürich).

Tigresa, my poor flatmate, is forced to participate by her employer. I'm lucky to be born with a pecker. I can stay home and keep Chemical Brother's new and hypnotising Galvanize on heavy rotation.

Hard at Work

I have to admit that I've nicked this strip from Stoipi. But it's Friday and the day to look back on another week devoted to creative, efficient, effective and hard work for the benefits of our caring employer. Does he really value our work as he is supposed to?

Please click on the strip to see it in full size:


Or should I consider Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's words a bit more: "Who has less than he desires, should know that he has more than he is worth."

Stop Breathing - Start Smoking

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the low temperatures in Switzerland (they are rising). On the other hand, Malaysia is facing a heat wave.

Word has come through from my friend Jackson Lim that Malaysia now is covered with haze (thin layer of smoke from the forest fires around Malaysia and Indonesia). Now its more healthy to smoke than to breathe in Malaysia. (see article)

Update at noon:
Jackson Lim: "Well, unfortunately for the smokers, some rain got through and now the haze is much lesser now, almost back to the normal level ( then again what's the normal level???? ) Back to paying RM 5.50 to get a fix again....."

Tough Language

I've always been under the impression that Spanish is a romantic language. Today's Spanish class definitely opened my eyes and it seems that I have to face the brutal reality: Spanish does not belief in eternal love!

If it would, one could say soy enamorado. But love will go to blazes, eventually - hence, one has to say estoy enamorado.

There are spoilsports everywhere, who have to rub it in your face as soon as you're able to grab just a tiny little bit of happiness. Ёб! as the Russians say... I guess that asks for a special session of Doctor Zhivago.

Black Foot Discovered

Yesterday, Gatín received 24 bottles of Pata Negra Gran Reserva 1997 from Valdepeñas in Spain. 1997 was not the best Spanish wine year. However, this wine is an exception. The first couple of bottles are already gone.

We've discovered this wine in a Chinese restaurant in Zurich. Sometimes, things have to go around the world to be discovered.



The restaurant:
香港 Hong Kong
Seefeldstrasse 60, 8008 Zürich
+41 44 251 82 02

Flowery Overkill Leads to Crises

A couple of months ago. I mentioned that one of the biggest changes in my life this year are bunches of flowers all over the place. Yesterday evening, we reached a new climax. I did the numbers:

• 41 red roses
• 6 orange roses
• 20 tulips
• 19 flowers of unknown kind.

We're running short of vases!

Cosy Shell

It's quite cold in Switzerland. Minus 12°C are forecasted for this night. That's not as cold as in Ojmjakon, where I've been a couple of years ago at this time of year.



But it's not only the weather that's cold. One brief look at a newspaper (I've got no telly - thank God) and one is reminded that it's a cold new world out there.

Lucky for me, a company in sunny California provides mankind with a nice little device that maintains a cosy shell for protection. It's not a cure against the coldness. Far from it. But nothing can harm me out there, when I switch on my iPod and select the right tune.

gnireenignE esreveR

Uff, I've just have been relived from an evil spell. This was not a flow day so far.

There was something wrong with the output of a recording software, which I maintain but not had designed in the first place. I started with the debugging this morning. Eventually, I guessed that the problem does not resid in the recording but in the analysing software. Hence, I started to search in that code as well.

Finally, a half an hour ago, I returned from the loo and said to my colleagues: Today, I did not make 1 mm of progress. Then, I changed a limitation from 16 to 17 and everything worked just fine.

I's just like with abdominal pains. The cause is never where it hurts. Damn, I hate reverse engineering.

Experiencing Sorokin

Gatín and I spent a couple of days in Munich. We took the opportunity and saw the play A Month in Dachau by the Russian author Vadimir Sorokin. The play was a rather shocking experience for Gatín, who did not know the work of Sorokin.

Let's give a short summery of what we were presented: In 1990, the author Sorokin travels from Moscow via Braunau to Dachau. He is welcomed by three polite SS men and their German Shepherds. At the side of his guards Margarethe and Gretchen, he goes through 26 cells of the concentrations camp. It is a unrestrained, brutal, cannibalistic and pornographic nightmare, looking into the abyss of German and Soviet totalitarianism. In a grotesque eternal triangle, which ends with a romantic marriage, the past and the present are mixed to a unbridled journey through language and time.

Of course, we could not just walk out of the theatre in the Haus der Kunst (built on Hitler's request), without discussing the play. Our discussion ended in a hip bar on a disagreement, whether Nihilism is of French or Russian origin.

For once, I was right. The Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev popularised the term in his novel Fathers and Sons (1862). But what's the point of being right, when the world, and especially human existence, is without meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value.

Fetish Desert

This evening, Gatín surprised my flatmate and me with an excellent dinner. For the main course he presented a delicious Lasaña Tolteca.

After the fruit salad it was time to have a first breeze through the new Speedo catalogue, which arrived today. Now it's full of post it tags marking all must haves. Unfortunately the most desirable ones are not available until May. That will give some extra time to get rid of the wintry love handles.

La vie est un long fleuve tranquille

Wow! Today, I'm in the flow. It's exactly like Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi had defined it:

• I'm up to the activity.
• I'm able to concentrate on the activity.
• The activity has clear goals.
• The activity has direct feedback.
• I feel that I control the activity.
• My worries and concerns disappear.
• My subjective experience of time is altered.

Let's see, whether I can keep up this complete and energized focus with its high level of enjoyment and fulfillment.

Besos y Abrazos

It might be that I'm going on your bloody nerves, but I'm head over heels in love and I keep blogging about my personal thoughts (blog: a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links).

I know, clinically, this state is just marked by a decrease of serotonin neurotransmitter, which leads to increase in emotional sensitivity and instability. I also know that "true love" must involve an understanding of a person on a fundamental level, which is unlikely to reside in the fantasy of a crush unless one postulates an empathic connection or accepts Plato's concept of God-given right opinion. I'm getting quite theoretical here - sorry, never give a keyboard to an engineer. However, right now, Gatín is one of the best ever happened to me and I'm enjoying the present and don't worry about what might and might not be.

Two of the best things that are happening in the present are kissing and hugging. There is the great song Besame Mucho about the kissing part. But I can't think of one about the hugging. Please help.

Besame Mucho
Besame, besame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez
Besame, besame mucho,
Que tengo miedo perderte, perderte despues.
Quiero mirarme en tus ojos,
Tenerte muy cerca, verte junto a mi.
Piensa que tal vez mañana
Yo ya estare lejos, Muy lejos de aqui. Besame, besame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez.
Besame, besame mucho, Que tengo miedo perderte, perderte despues.

Four Minutes for Eternity

A single song can save the day or open the world. Last week, the Wochenzeitung (WOZ) presented a list of 50 songs that changed their lives:

• 1955 Johnny Cash: I Walk the Line
• 1956 Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel
• 1957 Screamin' Jay Hawkings: I Put a Spell on You
• 1958 Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Good
• 1959 The Crickets: I Fought the Law
• 1960 Carla Thomas: I'll Bring It All Home to You
• 1961 Ray Charles: Hit the Road Jack
• 1962 Beatles: Love Me Do
• 1963 Soeur Sourire: Doiminique
• 1964 The Shangri La's: Remember (Walking in the Sand))
• 1965 Sam the Sham & the Pharaos: Wooly Bully
• 1966 Mani Matter: I han en Uhr erfunde
• 1967 Serge Gainsbourg: Comic Strip
• 1968 Mary Hopkin: Those Were the Days
• 1969 The Incredible String Band: Creation
• 1970 Anton Bruhin: Läck du mir am Arsch
• 1971 Led Zeppelin: Stairway to Heaven
• 1972 T.Rex: Telegram Sam
• 1973 Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water
• 1974 Bob Dylan: Idiot Wind
• 1975 Sailor: Girls Girls Girls
• 1976 Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK
• 1977 Barclay James Harvest: Hymn
• 1978 Johnny Hill: Ruf Teddybär Eins-Vier
• 1979 Ludwig Hirsch: Die gottverdammte Pleite
• 1980 Lio: Amoureux Solitaires
• 1981 Black Flag: Louie Louie
• 1982 Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska
• 1983 The Fall: The Man Whose Head Expanded
• 1984 Depeche Mode: Master and Servent
• 1985 The Ramones: Howling at the Moon
• 1986 Marshall Jefferson: Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem)
• 1987 Fito Paez: Dando vueltas en el aire
• 1988 Fugazi: Waiting Room
• 1989 Tone Loc: Funky Cold Medina
• 1990 They Might Be Giants: Dead
• 1991 Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
• 1992 Robert Wyatt: A Short Break
• 1993 Shrimp Boat: What Do You Think of Love Baby
• 1994 Jovanotti: Penso Positivo
• 1995 PJ Harvey: Down by the Water
• 1996 Tinderstick: Petites Gouttes d'Eau
• 1997 Daft Punk: Around the World
• 1998 Absolute Beginner: Rock on
• 1999 Aphex Twin: Windowlicker
• 2000 Radiohead: Idiotheque
• 2001 Bonnie "Prince" Billy: Break of Day
• 2002 Bill Wells Octet: Wiltz
• 2003 Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: Silver and Gold
• 2004 Wilco: Spiders/Kidsmoke

Why did these songs changed there lives? Well, you shoud have read WOZ Number 7/2005.

Solitude & Passion

Life for my beloved Gatín is not easy, because there are some aspect of my character that are not made for a passionate relationship:

• I'm an engineer (think analytical, think rational, think emotionally retarded).
• I'm comfortable with solitude.
• I'm a reader (at least two daily & three weekly newspapers, tons of books).
• The only sports I like are cycling and swimming - both are not designed for a lot of company.
• I'm not likely to smile a lot.
• I can be extremely grumpy, especially when I'm tired.
• I can be mute for days.
• I'm not used to talk about feelings.
  

Lucky me, Gatín has stamina and seems not to give up shaking me out of my secluding shell. I hope, his endurance lasts. I'm sure that we are made for each other.

Solitude
by Alexander Pope

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield shade,
In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years, slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mixed; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

3 Step Rule

During today's post lunch coffee break, I learned the three steps of a discussion as taught by my caring boss:

1. Indisputable statement
2. Flat-footed refusal
3. Violence.

Somehow, we managed to stop between 2 and 3.

Your Absence...

I'm in the middle of an emotional rollercoaster. While I was pondering Goethe's Glück und Traum, I received a tender poem by my beloved Gatín. He named it "Your Absence..."

Tu Ausencia...
En tu ausencia aprendí a amarte más aún
en ella encontré otras formas de quererte
y encontré también grandes algrias
sabiendote añorandome en las lejanías
y así descubría mas amor aún.
Sin recibir una palabra por escrito
no se si lo hubiese sobrevivido,
lo que si se es que fue eterno
el no ver tu rostro tierno
sabiendote en los mares
y yo aca en profundo inverno
ese tiempo eterno, lo sobreviví
pero ahora que estas aquí
no puedo estar un segundo más sin tí
Tu gatin enamorado

Bliss & Dream

Today, the poem Glück und Traum by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe kind of made me lose my Un Año De Amor footing, especially this line: "What does it help that I enjoy? The warmest kisses escape like dreams, and all joy like a kiss".

Glück und Traum

Du hast uns oft im Traum gesehen
Zusammen zum Altare gehen,
Und dich als Frau, und mich als Mann.
Oft nahm ich wachend deinem Munde
In einer unbewachten Stunde,
So viel man Küsse nehmen kann.

Das reinste Glück, das wir empfunden,
Die Wollust mancher reichen Stunden
Floh wie die Zeit mit dem Genuß.
Was hilft es mir, daß ich genieße?
Wie Träume fliehn die wärmsten Küsse,
Und alle Freude wie ein Kuß.

One Year Of Love

Tonight, I'm really a lucky boy. Un Año De Amor is not only on heavy rotation at gomad mansion, I've also experience a passionate topless strip dance to this tune and touching was permitted. I'm curios about the taste of the kisses, which is described in this song. Soon, I will find out if it's really that memorable... (actually it is, or so far everyone has been).

Between Melting & Boiling

The human body needs a regular supply of drinks. But not all substances in the liquid state are potable:

Not my drinks:

• Baileys
  The Irish cream liqueur, which was launched on November 26, 1974. If marketing folks want to delude me into drinking anything, they should try it with a bit more wit. One of the most boring drinks ever brought to market.
• Vodka mixed
  Stick to high quality vodka which is produced in countries of the former Soviet Union and you will never make the mistake of adding anything to vodka at all. Forget Smirnov, Absolute, and all that lousy crap they try to sell you. Make a trip to Moscow.
• Alcopops
  Something for the Teletubby generation, far beyond my coordinate system of comprehension.
• Coke
  The symbol of American imperialism. Who wants to be known as a friend of a lost case? Only useful to sort out a disturbed stomach.
• British Lager
  or any lager that is not brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.
• Root Vegetable Juice
  I doubt that I will ever be ill enough be able to enjoy any of this healthy drinks.
• Multi Vitamin Drinks
  All taste the same and all taste like a detergent

My drinks:

• Zürich's Tap Water
  Extremely soft water (low calcium level). Its purity is monitored by a trout swimming in the stream of water. If the fish stops swimming, it triggers a light barrier alarm.
• Vine
  Any chosen by my Gatín is a wise choice.
• Citrus Fruit Juice
  Any is good as far as no sugar is added.
• Coffee
  keeps my engine running - hence, decaf is considered barbaric (must be an American invention, though).
• Belgian Beer
  It can be anything (excluding Stella Artois): Lambic, Gueuze, Faro, Double, Triple, name it...

Un Año De Amor

Sometimes, I involuntarily fall for songs that have been around for ages. Suddenly they catch me - for no apparent reason - and I have to put them on high rotation on every sound device available.

Right now, this song is Un Año De Amor as it has been performed by Luz Casal in Pedro Almodóvar's Tacones lejanos (High Heels) - one of the few movies by this genius that I haven't seen *shame*. Originally the song was written by Nino Ferrer in French as "Pour oublier qu'on s'est aimé".

Un Año De Amor
Lo nuestro se acabó
y te arrepentirás de haberle puesto fin
a un año de amor.
Si ahora tú te vas
pronto descubrirás
que los días son eternos y vacios sin mí.
Y de noche, por la noche,
por no sentirte solo
recordarás
nuestros días felices,
recordarás el sabor de mis besos
y entenderás
en un solo momento
qué significa
un año de amor.
Te has parado a pensar
lo que sucederá,
todo lo que perdemos
y lo que sufrirás?.
Si ahora tú te vas no recuperarás
los momento felices que te hice vivir.
Y de noche, por la noche,
por no sentirte solo
recordarás el sabor de mis besos
y entenderás
en un solo momento
qué significa
un año de amor.
Y entenderás
en un solo momento
qué significa
un año de amor.

Tripped

My business trip to Malaysia is over. As announced, it was a trip to festivities. Especially the Chinese New Year was an experience.

I can't survive without a frequent fruit supply. Hence, I've loved the mandarin oranges which were available and handed out as presents everywhere. They are a symbol of wealth and good fortune. The Cantonese word for these oranges is a homonym for gold.

Another thing I've learned is that if Adam & Eve were Chinese, we still would live in Paradise. A Chinese Eve would have chosen the serpent.

Smooching For The Cause

Today, I did my first undercover smooching in a shopping centre. A certain person (I dare not to mention the person's name in this blog) asked me to assist while doing some labour action work at a this shopping centre (neither dare I to mention the centre's name), which does not treat its employees as a caring employer is supposed to. Somehow this included cuddling and snogging in the ladies underwear section and while queuing at the register. How I'm supposed to tell this my beloved Gatín? I hope the capitalistic pigs come to their senses and spare me such ordeal.

Gong Xi Fa Chai (2)

The Chinese really know what is important in life. Today, I saw this:

This Chinese New Year let us open our doors to opportunities, to fulfilling our potential, to making our lives richer and more prosperous.

Let's go for it...

Gong Xi Fa Chai

For the upcoming year of the rooster, I wish you prosperity, happiness and eternal grooviness.

It's time to hang out the lanterns and dust the dragon costume. Hurry up.

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

This morning at work, I had to blow off steam (some peers can privately be nice, charming and witty - but professionally, they behave like complete morin, wanker, c**** - name it!). That is - I had to close my office door and to select The Smith on my iPod. And *huh* again, Morrissey hit the nail on the head.

Travel Preparations

This is a follow up of Business Trip To Holidays.
Eddie has usually enough trouble to get the money, ticket and passport triplet together whenever she's traveling abroad. We all now that we should prefer ourselves more thoroughly. Right now, one cannot travel to Southeast Asia without giving Tsunamis - those series of very long waves generated by any rapid, large-scale disturbance of the sea - some thoughts. At least for a geeky engineer it's comforting that the Mathematics of Tsunamis are being researched.

Business Trip To Holidays

I'm supposed to go on a business trip to Malaysia for three weeks, starting on Monday. I've just realized that there will be 5 public holidays on weekdays in this period. I reckon, getting some work done will not be easy:

• January 25: Thaipusam - Celebrated by Hindus on the tenth month of the Hindus calendar. It is believed on this day the stars, Pusan and Brihaspati are united into one. It is a celebration of the birthday of Lord Subramaniam, also known as Lord Muruga, the youngest son of Lord Shiva. Before this day, Hindus usually prepare themselves by fasting, dieting on certain food and maintaining self-discipline. A huge procession of penitents in an atmosphere electric with drumming and chanting. Skewers fastened metal hooks, spikes on their body including tongues, cheeks and nipples defying all sense of pain. A fire walking ceremony is also demonstrated in some temples.
• February 1: Federal Territory Day
• February 9-10: Chinese New Year - 4702 will be the year of the rooster.
• February 10: Awal Muharram Maal Hijrah - The start of Muslim year or calendar, Muharram, which coincides with Prophet Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina on the first of Muharram in 622AD. Because this day is already a public holiday, it will be forwarded to February 11!
  

Sweeping Changes

I've started 2005 without any new year's resolutions. However, the last three weeks brought some radical changes into my life - besides of a tender, handsome and charming boyfriend and a devoted flatmate:

• My fridge doesn't resemble a desert anymore. There is usually enough food on stock to prepare a decent dinner.
• My kitchen is used for cooking on a regular basis.
• The serviettes are made of cloth.
• A fine selection of wine is at hand (with a high turnover rate, though)
• Bunches of flowers are all over the place.

Mental Wine Note

This is a mental note in order to remember this evening's choice of wine. And I can tell you, it's worth to remember. This red wine is called Bendicò. It's a product of Sicily made of Nero d'Avola, Merlot and Syrah. This wine is the harmonic result of very antic and modern wine making techniques. The fine taste and the bouquet are based on skilfully ageing in barrels. Gatito says that the simplicity of this smooth and well balanced wine makes it the perfect everyday wine with the special touch for spontaneous cooking. This wine turns an ordinary meal into something really special.

Pining For April

Yesterday, I learnt that our department will be split and shifted to different places within the company by April 1st. However, there are at least three events which make me longing for April:

• April 1: Kylie will entertain me in Basel
• April 4: U.K. release of the 3rd Season of Six Feet Under on DVD
• April 5: U.S. release of the 4th Season of Queer as Folk on DVD.

Another One Did It

Nowadays, it seems popular among Swiss students to study some semesters at a university abroad. Somehow, I've been quite stupid, because I haven't done this.

The latest, I've heard about, is Caracol. If you want to keep track of her stay at Hong Kong, you should read her blog.

Percepción - My Life As A Muse

This morning, Gatito wrote me a poem. It's the first time that something like this has happened to me.

Percepción
.. y confuso mi corazón estaba,
perturbado, desesperado.
De repente te miraba,
y sin más, me sentí atrapado,
embelezado por tu mirada,
eh ahí entonces que percibí su llegada,
y sin más le dí a su llegada en mí morada...
Sí, así es ese ruiseñor,
que se llama amor,
sí, así es su llegada.

Hard To Swallow

This morning, Gatito (as I call the most important person in my life) said: "I'm to skinny. I have to try to eat chocolate again." He gave up sweets and chocolate a couple of years ago, because they caused heartburn. I hope he will not suffer to much when he's going to put his intention into action.

No Blogger's Block

There was not much blogging on this blog, recently. I don't have blogger's block. There were just two major things going on in my life, which have kept me from writing:

• I had been living by myself since April 18, 1983. This state ended on December 31, 2004 when a lovely and charming flatmate moved in. This did not lead to as much emotional disturbance as you probably assume, but to a major rearrangement of my apartment and how things are done at my - sorry, our place.
• I've fallen in love (which does not correlation with the first reason).

Salsa Mexicana

Yesterday, I was told how to make a proper Mexican Salsa:

Blanch 2 tomatoes and 3 green chili peppers. Peel the tomatoes and get rid of the chili pepper's stalks. Put both with some onions, a pinch of salt and a gulp of beer in a blender. Mix well and serve with tacos.

Fat Chance Without Chutzpah

This is a follow up of Chutzpah Does The Trick.
On of the biggest traveller's problem is, how to get to know the hottest club in town. The local equivalent of Time Out or züritipp is good but local knowledge is better. I share here and now Georgieboy's fail-safe trick with you:

• Search a restaurant with customers you could imagine to party with
• Enjoy dinner and keep looking for the group which knows to enjoy the savours of life best.
• Go over (here, chutzpah is required)
• Ask for the best places to party
• Let them note name & address of the venue (must for cap rides) and the best time to be there (there are few things worse than to be in the right club at the wrong time).

Chutzpah Does The Trick

Last Saturday, I joined, together with my lovely flatmate to be, the traditional pre Xmas party of Georgieboy (his real name is Albin, but I've once decided to call him Georgieboy). Georgieboy is the person with the most chutzpah I know. Many many years ago, we spent the New Year holidays in Brussels. On New Year's Eve (technically it was already New Year) we were queuing in front of the hottest club in town. We were still quite far from the door, when the bouncer opened the door slightly and Georgieboy called "We're from Switzerland". The bouncer looked at us and waved us in. The club was absolutely fabulous. I spent six hours straight on the floor. Actually, Georgieboy is Austrian. But who wants to be picky.

Must Haves

A short list of truly must haves, which I propably will not recive this Christmas:

• G shape ice trays. set of two made of black rubber for £40
• iPod case with web strap for £115 (waitlist!)
• christmas stocking. 38 x 51 cm. white fox with white braided leather cord for £1080 (this is more to present the presents, though)

see www.gucci.com

Sounds! Awards 2004

The Sounds! listeners have decided. Definetely, the bests of 2004:

• Song: «Everything Is Everything» by Phoenix
• Dead Man: Ray Charles
• Record: «Franz Ferdinand» by Franz Ferdinand
• Comeback: «Check It Out» by Beastie Boys
• Swiss Song: «Show Me What You Got» by Baschi & The Fucking Beautiful
• Cover Version: «Comfortably Numb» by Scissor Sisters
• Trend: Post Punk with Trendsetter «Evil» by Interpol

Workbench Extension

1. I'm full of admiration for those who can get some decent work done by means of a pen and a notepad;
2. I don't want to imply that anything I do has something to do with decent work; and
3. you can call me pretentious,

... but I had to add computer #5 to my workbench.


One is an embedded PowerPC, hidden behind the one on the left side, having no dedicated screen.

Angel Trivia

Back in November, Ms.Mac wrote about the huge Guardian Angel, which dangles from the ceiling in Zürich's Main Station. Yesterday, Das Magazin, the weekend supplement of the Tages Anzeiger, published some trivia about this angels:

• Weight: 1.5 tons
• Artist: Niki de Saint Phalle
• Place of Birth: California
• Year of Birth: 1997
• Route to Dangling Place: California - Panama Canal - Rotterdam - Rhine - Basel - Zürich.
• Type: Nana
• Symbolic: The light between the hands symbolises a liquid that flows from one receptacle to another. This stands for the reconciling nature of angels.

As any good housewife, Ms.Mac must have asked herself, how a huge nana angel like this has to be cleaned. This must be done very carefully, because the matt blue surface and the gold leaf of the wings have no varnishing. So far, this happened four times per year after 1 am (it's a busy place, though) by means of pressurized air and feather dusters. Of course, this was never good enough to get rid off all the dust and dirt. Unfortunately, the SBB (the angle's owner) has lost the procedures for the wet cleaning and are quite hopeless. Maybe an angel might help.

More Luck Than Skills

If I lack one skill, it's to tie up my shoelaces properly. I still remember my struggles to learn the trick back then in kindergarten. Nonetheless, after all these years of hard practice, they never seems to be secured for more than a couple of hours and I have to bend down and tie them again and again... I'm surprised that I've never had a serious accident caused by stepping on my own shoelaces - touch wood.

Savours of Life

This is a follow up of Perfect Xmas Jam.
Some weeks a ago, Jeanpi and I made 80 liters of carrot jam, which we filled in 400 glasses (see recipe). This week, Jeanpi made the final touches and shipped them to 400 customers and friends of Elektro Basa AG. If you will not receive one before Christmas, you did not fulfil the requirements of the recipient list and should consider Elektro Basa AG a bit more. They are brilliant in creating connections.



By the way, Elektro Basa AG wishes you for 2005 more time to enjoy the savours of life.

...sino también bailar

This is a follow up of Ensalada de Navidad.
A friend has sent me a note, saying that indeed la navidad en España, como en Latinoamerica es muy alegre. En México no tan solo cantamos sino también bailamos. We have a lot to learn in Central Europe. Christmas in Mexico does not only include blithely singing but dancing as well!

Ensalada de Navidad

This summer, I started taking Spanish classes. Today, we had the last class before the Christmas holidays and our teacher took the opportunity to introduce us into some Spanish Christmas customs. One was singing villancicos. Contrary to the slow and deep Swiss Christmas carols, the Spanish versions have a lively tempo and the lyrics have to rhyme, not to make sense. They are made to celebrate with verve. ¡Viva la alegría de vivir!

You're lucky that this blog is without sound or you would not have made it to this point. I'm a horrible singer. Therefore, I stop with the carols and share a Christmas Salad recipe with you, which we also received in class today:

• 1 big endive
• 1 big pomegranate
• Sherry vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt
• caraway

Defoliate the endive, cut it into small pieces and wash them well. Shell the pomegranate and get rid off the yellow skin. Put both endive and pomegranate into a salad bowl and mix well. Prepare the dressing, consisting of the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and caraway. Mix everything together. Serve with meat, roast lamp, piglet or turkey.

Praise for Mestization

Yesterday, I was given a bottle of Mestizaje (2002). This Spanish wine, which I could enjoy with the donor, is the intoxicating blend of more grapes varieties than I can name on the top of my head: Bobal, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Syrah, Tempranillo & Merlot. It's much like discovering a new universe.
I reckon, only one person will decipher the double entendres, but I don't care at all.

No Competition - But Worst So Far

This is a follow up of Slave of the Codex.
I've just thought that nothing can shock me now. The other day, I explained why I don't send Christmas cards. Today, I received kind of a revenge. This is the worst Christmas card I ever received. I hope nobody ever tries to beat it.

Ready for Christmas

This is a follow up of No Kylie - Screwed by Amazon.
Danilo did a far better job than f*ing Amazon - that is, they actually did the job. Today, the Kylie Calendar 2005 arrived. Hurray! Now, I'm mentally ready for all the Christmas stuff. Bring it all in. Nothing can shock me now.

Tree Shock

Yesterday, I was shocked by strange things happening at Ms.Mac castle. They set up the Christmas tree (made of plastic) & put some electric lighting on. This revealed to me that the same events are handled in so many different ways and, at first, only the own way seems to be the right one.

My personal Christmas tree tradition is, that the tree is set up on Christmas Eve. It has to be a real tree, preferable grown in the area. Personally, I prefer spruce, because the pine needles are evenly arrange around the twigs. But any pine tree does the job. Nature is never flawless and somebody might have been faster and the perfect tree went to another home. Nature can be improved - ask any plastic surgeon. Improving the shape of a tree can be done by adding twigs (drill & glue).

Now, one has to open a window and leave the room. Decorating the tree is the job of the Christkind, which also brings the presents at the same time. If the Christkind is nice, it puts candles made of beeswax on. When it has finished decorating and arranging presents underneath, it lights the candles, rings a bell and disappears into the night, and sometimes, leaves just a wisp of hair at the window frame.

The tree will stay in the living room until the feast of Epiphany. However, It's not recommended to light the candles after New Year's Eve.

I don't belief in the Christkind anymore. Hence, you will not find a Christmas tree at gomad mansion.

Memorable 2004

The countdown has started. 2004 is almost over. I don't want to count the chickens before they're hatched, but I've already found twelve personal reasons, why 2004 is a memorable year:

1. Favourite Word: rock. Yeah ms.mac, without shit, you're right about that one.
2. Favourite Country: España. Thank you, Tina, Anigna & Thomas, for dragging me to this amazing place.
3. Favourite Album: Morrissey, you are the Quarry. Especially & still after a trillion times, I'm Not Sorry For gives me goose pimples. This album's led me in a breeze to...
4. Favourite Rediscovery: the oeuvre of The Smiths & Morrissey. How can people talk about comeback. Morrissey has never been away.
5. Favourite Pop Act: beyond the shadow of a doubt Scissor Sisters. Filthy passion has returned to music.
6. Favourite Rock Act: The Libertines. Who would've thought that anything could ever live up to Up the Bracket. The Libertines did it a f*ing second time and they did it even rocking better.
7. Favourite Remixes: Depeche Mode 81...04. The 37 tracks have been occupying my stereo set & iPod (Favourite Toy) for more than a month.
8. Favourite Live Act: The Darkness at Openair St. Gallen. I did shake my boots & backside to a 70s long music loud hair act and I'm not even ashamed of. Justin Hawkins knows how to rock a crowd.
9. Favourite Film: The Raspberry Reich by Bruce LaBruce. Agitprop meets porn. Tops also in the category Favourite Laugh.
10. Favourite Challenge: after 21 years, giving up solitude living on December 31.
11. Favourite Blog: ms.mac's meanderings. Keep meandering, rocking lady.
12. Favourite New Friend: He knows. Guapo, you definitely rock me.

Advantageous Nut Piles

I'm the responsible person for the Xmas cookie production in my family (the cookie bitch as ABS calls it). My favourite recipe goes back to my great-grandmothers. It fulfils five important requirements of cookie baking: (1) resourceful, (2) fast, (3) easy, (4) cookies taste good, (5) contains booze. Unfortunately, they don't look very pretty. But who cares, when the recipes has so many advantages. Let's start:

• 500 g of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 250 g of ground walnuts
• 250 g of ground hazelnuts
• Kirsch

Mix sugar and eggs. Add nuts and Kirsch. Make small piles. Bake for 1 hour with approx. 120°C. Hard to mess up, init?

Scissor Sisters In Frankie's Footsteps?

Scissor Sisters' forthcoming single Filthy Gorgeous is supposed to be promoted by a video clip in which band members are being spanked, ridden by a midget, and exposed to a vast array of breasts and sex toys. Will this finally be filthy enough to be banned from music televisions' playlists? [article]

Talking about Scissor Sisters: the single I Believe in You, which they have written for Kylie, was released two days ago.

Last Call For Sounds!

I guess, you've almost missed the poll of the year. So hurry up and vote for the Sounds! Awards 2004! [select Musik > Sound!.. > Sounds Awards]

Don't Mess With Lefties

I've thought, the only advantage of being left-handed is to have the zipper on the right side when you're peeling your partner during petting. But thanks to scientists of the University of Montpellier, we now know that left-handers often have the upper hand in a fight [article]. Therefore, I highly recommend not to mess with a lefty (i.e. me).

Slushy Memory

Somehow a post by Ms.Mac has reminded me of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. But, it's Imagine Day anyway...

Canned Excitement

Legions of marketing folks are working hard on finding needs which haven't been satisfied yet. The good news is that there is one less to find. Get Sofia Coppola's sparkling & canned wine beverage Sofia Mini as fast as you can.

Wine Soup

This is a follow up of Hot Cider.
Another South Tyrolean discovery was Wine Soup, which surprised me with its terrific flavour and creamy texture. It does not take a lot of time to cook it:

• ½ litre of well seasoned meat stock
• 5 egg yolks
• ¼ litre of cream
• ¼ litre of Chardonnay
• cubes of a stale bread roll
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• cinnamon

Roast the bread cubes in butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Mix stock, yolk, cream and wine in a thick bottomed pan. Bring mixture to a boil while whisking. Boil and whisk until the mixture is creamy. Fill in pre-heated soup bowls. Add bread cubes and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve & enjoy.

Hot Cider

I spent the last weekend with some Rover friends in Bozen. It's a perfect place for a pre-Xmas trip. One of the things I did not know was that the South Tyrol is the biggest apple-growing region of Europe. About 10% of all apples produced in the European Union are from this area.

We were welcomed by South Tyrolean rovers with a new drink (at least for me): Hot Cider.

Use unfermented cider and cook it like mulled wine (just make a bit less use of spices) - that is, bring to a boil with some pinches of cinnamon, cloves and a bit of lemon juice.

Perfect Xmas Jam

Christmas is approaching fast and it's about time that I publish the recipe for the Perfect Xmas Jam. Xmas because it tastes like & perfect because is contains only half as much sugar as standard jam. Let's start with the ingredients:

• 500 g carrots (no joke)
  
• ½ litre of cider (unfermented)
• 300 g sugar
• 2 pinches of cinnamon
• 100 g almonds, ground
• 8 g agar-agar

Steam the carrots and mix them in a blender. Fill the carrots with the cider in a pan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and keep boiling until the sugar is dissolved. Dissolve agar-agar in cold water or cider and add to the mixture. Keep boiling for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add cinnamon and almonds.

Fill the jam to the brim into glasses. Put the covers on and turn the glasses on the top until they are cool.

Three weeks ago, together with Jeanpi I made 80 litres (or 400 glasses). It's great. Try it.

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

At Ms.Mac castle, I've seen a pile of Instant Barbecues, which they've bought in Scotland. These are disposable barbecues. Unwrapping and lighting with a match is all it takes. If the job is done, one can throw it in the trash bin (just allow to cool).

I've told my friend Jeanpi about this item and he responded: "Of course, how would they ever have a chance to have a barbeque between showers without it".

Slave of the Codex

Today, I received a Christmas card (thank you very much, Ms.Mac). Unfortunately, I'm Swiss and Swiss don't do Christmas cards (neither Valentine cards). In addition, we have to fight weird Anglo-Saxon cultural indoctrination (e.g. Santa Claus, Halloween, paper hats). Hence, I can't send Christmas cards to anyone. It may happen that you catch Swiss folks doing anything of the mentioned above. This just shows that there are spineless slobs among us. I do apologize in advance. (PS: I have nothing against receiving Christmas cards - that's not prohibeted by the unwritten codex of Swiss cultur)

Caught by Vibes?

My precious bodily fluids are in heavy circulation and it seems that I'm not the only one. Is this caused by Xmas vibes as some of us suspect?

Ceci n'est pas un chat

Ahmed Bin Salad has called the animal on the flashy new icon and the photo in my profile cat. That's not correct. It shows a marten.

Marten (actually the German Marder) was the name given to me by the Boy Scouts. It is a tradition among guides and scouts in the German speaking part of Switzerland to baptize new members. The idea is to give a name that reflects the characteristics and qualities of person. I have now idea, which of my qualities supposed to be reflected in a marten.

Cultural reference for non art geeks: René Magritte.

Geeky Thursday

Today, I'm sporting a Think Geek T-shirt with the phrase /(bb|[^b]{2})/ ^*. I picked this garment, because yesterday, a colleague called me Geek.

I'm still not sure whether I should be pleased or offended. Traditionally and as I understood, a geek is person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy, who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept. My colleague pointed out that this has shifted and a geek is now a person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. I'm still not totally convinced and sure how to put it. But maybe, buying stuff from Think Geek makes denial pointless anyway.

^* hint: coded in Perl, written by a limey during the English Renaissance.

Wax Raider

There's not enough hours in the day for me right now. Hence, this quote is appropriate: "Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends, tell me where to get more wax."

By the way, Madame Tussaud, who was an expert at wax modelling and brought the Wax Museum to London, was born on Dezember 1^st, 1761.