Monthly Archive for November, 2006

In which I rave about two hymns

Descriptive titles! They are back, and are indeed the new black!

The advantage? No need for introductory paragraphs. The downside? I can’t stop raving about them. So, to be precise, the real title to this posting should be: “In which I rave about two hymns and descriptive titles”. Oh well.

Muse, an all-time favourite band (considered by some as glam-rock reborn, only with better quality of recordings and less humour) will be releasing their newest single “Knights of Cydonia” off of their album “Black holes and revelations” on the 27th of November. As hyperbole is not one of my stylistic-devices (I’d never use it in a thousand years), you can rest assured that the following statement is heartfelt, thus true: The song is pure genius. It sounds like three songs in one, and was probably thought up after a hard night of drinking, coupled with a few sugar-cubes laced with acid, but it’s still just one great adventure. Sure, the cynics among you will hear a few hundred influences of other bands which undoubtedly have done it all much better, but the the good thing is that you’re not writing this entry. I am, and cynicism is so last year. Not the new black at all.

Another great hymn released this year, a few weeks ago actually, is “Welcome to the Black Parade” off of “The Black Parade”, by Emo superstars and suicidal teenagers’ heroes My Chemical Romance. While the song sounds like an amalgamation of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and any other Blink 182 song, I still like it. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve actually listened to it repeatedly during the last few weeks.

Now, on to the point of this entry. I actually wanted to write some sort of comparison, mainly because I like to compare things. But unfortunately, I’m really too lazy to bother today. So, to sum up, here are links to the videos of both songs. Please note that the video to “Kings of Cydonia” is in fact a work of genius as well. The other video isn’t half bad either. It features, apart from the band, an actor with large ears:

Welcome to the Black Parade

Kings of Cydonia

How to get rid of old computer equipment in five easy steps

Due to the decadent affluence our society hails as “consumerism”, many things, sooner or later, tend to become superfluous. One of these things is my computer monitor, which, with the advent of a new toy replacing the old one, suddenly saw itself without a job. Old, heavy and not exactly in prime condition, nobody would want to take it upon them to give it something to do. After spending idle time next to it’s successor for a couple of months, my girlfriend now suggested to simply let the people decide whether it was still a worthy piece of equipment or not. And so we did.

Since I’m quite sure that I’m not the only one confronted with this most pressing of problems, I’ve devised this little five-step tutorial on how to get rid of your old computer equipment. Here goes:

# Live in a neighborhood that adheres to the motto:”It’s on the street, it’s mine to take!”
# Write a note:”Functional _______ (insert item description)! Free to take!”
# Attach to item.
# Take outside.
# Wait. For a very short time.

It took about two hours for our monitor to be picked up. I deposited the monitor outside at 6:30 AM, and at around 8 AM it was gone.
I really don’t think there’s a more hassle-free way to get rid of your old computer equipment.

It may be possible to do this with other old things as well (Sombreros, cats), but don’t take my word for it.

That time of the year again

I don’t know about you, but I’d be hard pressed to find better things to do on the 1st of November than hanging out with friends at the cemetery and then devouring a gargantuan Schnitzel at one of the best places for that sort of activity here in Vienna.

So, that’s why I’m again posting pictures of gravestones and tombs, so you too can see that Vienna’s central cemetery holds enough photo ops for a lifetime (looming pun intended).

Click here for the whole set of pictures.




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