February 2012
13 posts
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Meet Brás - On the Day of His Death
Meet Brás de Olivias Dominguez, who spends his days writing other people’s obituaries for a newspaper and dreams of becoming a famous writer like his father. Learn about Brás’ hopes and dreams, about his complicated relationship with his parents, his friends and lovers - and watch him die. Only to meet him again in the next chapter.
The story of Daytripper is not explained easily. It...
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“You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that...”
– Paul Auster
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Doing Grounded Theory
What comes into your mind when you are reading the following lines?
“How are you doing? I’m doing. Just do it. Let’s do it. Do it because it is meant to be. Do it because it is there to be done. Do it because it WORKS. Grounded theory works and many people are doing it!” (Barney G. Glaser: Doing Grounded Theory. Issues and Discussions)
Well, it gets me thinking about crazy preachers, maybe an...
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“One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.”
– Oscar Wilde: A Woman of No Importance
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Beware of the Dark Side of the Moon!
Yesterday I was at the premiere screening of Iron Sky at the Berlinale. What can I say? I loved it!
What’s so special about that movie? Well, it has space Nazis in it – but it was also crowdfunded and created in close collaboration with the web community.
The story: In 2018, the president of the United States (who bears a strong resemblance to Sarah Palin) is launching a new moon mission...
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“Winter is nature’s way of saying: Up yours.”
– Robert Byrne
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“It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that...”
– Stephen Fry
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Let’s celebrate – Lady Jany actually are on...
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Artists and Marketing
An absolutely awesome band has been recommended to me on Twitter: Lady Jane. I’m blown away and want to share their music with you, especially a certain song: my turn. If just there was a tool to embed their song into my blog post! Wait…
Actually, there is! Tumblr provides it for me. Sadly, it isn’t compatible with the obscure widgets and the website Lady Jane are promoting...
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“Silence has been destroyed, but also the idea that it’s important to learn how...”
– Gary Shteyngart
January 2012
19 posts
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Happy Open in Public Day!
Are you afraid of what your boss might think about you if he discovers your party pics? Or your colleagues, should they spot your house on Google Streetview? Or what your relatives would say if they saw a picture of you wearing that really short dress? Don’t be.
We are so anxious to lose control over our data (a control, which doesn’t really exist anyway) that we tend to hide from the...
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A Short Follow-Up on the Kindle Touch
Following up on a comment I got yesterday I wanted to add one thing to my review. The Kindle Touch can easily be operated with one hand, because the touchscreen has tap zones:
(pictures from the Kindle Touch User’s Guide)
I think it’s quite handy ;-)
By the way: do you give your electronic devices names? Or is it just like “Nelli’s MacBook” or...
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Peace, Love and a Kindle Touch
This year I got a Kindle Touch for Christmas (imported from the USA with lots of effort and love) and having tested it for a while I finally got down to writing a review. In short: It’s love!
I had a chance to try out an older model, the Kindle 3, and the Kindle Touch is much more comfortable to use. The display is fine, I like the touchscreen and the search is actually working (something I...
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“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on...”
– Terry Pratchett: Diggers
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From Waynesboro to Woodbury - How Philip Blake...
He’s Philip Blake. He’s the Governor. He’s one of the most fascinating and scary villains of all times. Now we get to explore his back-story.
Rise of the Governor is a spin-off of the Walking Dead graphic novels. Unlike the original series, Rise of the Governor is not a comic but a novel. The story follows Philip Blake, his little daughter Penny, his brother Brian and his two...
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“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s...”
– Oscar Wilde: The Soul of Man Under Socialism
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We Find Ourselves... Waiting
I finally got down to reading We Find Ourselves, the 15th volume of The Walking Dead. As I wrote here, I was really looking forward to having it under my Christmas tree as my little personal zombie treat, but the date of publication has been postponed several times. Strangely, Amazon is still listing the book as “not yet published”, but well, I have it right here :-)
But what about...
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More music – Chinawoman and her fabulous single...
Anonymous asked: Hi, I'd like to respond to your blog on sexism@23c3 and couldn't find another medium. But I guess this works. While I'm of the opinion that there has been a decrease in sexism since 18c3 (my first event), I do feel the broad discussion on sexism at the congress is way overdue. I was happy to see some talks on queer this year, but like the early discussions they where never very...
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Listen up folks and put your sombreros on – here...
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0. Spackeriade – I'll Be Back For More Datalove!
There can be no reasonable discussion about data privacy without also talking about post privacy. For several reasons however there was no place for that at the 28C3, so I fled the Congress on the third day and went to the 0. Spackeriade, a meeting point for people interested in discussing freedom of information and the loss of control over our own data.
I didn’t have time to listen to...
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28C3 - a Short and Very Subjective Review
As you know I spent the last week at the 28C3, the annual Chaos Communication Congress organized by the Chaos Computer Club. Sadly, my impressions are mixed at the best. I’m only writing down my very personal point of view, so feel free to disagree.
It was my third Congress and I have the feeling some things have changed in a negative way.
First of all I was shocked by the attitude...
December 2011
13 posts
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CCCP - Chaos Communication Congress Pictures
As you know, I’m at the 28C3, the Chaos Communication Congress. Here are some impressions from day one.
The bcc (Berliner Congress Center), where the 28C3 takes place:
This year’s theme:
Some posters:
That’s a clear statement - beer called “Beer”:
A new flavor of Club Mate:
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Why Zombies Are the Most Christmassy Thing Ever
Horrible monsters gorging themselves on human flesh and the celebration of love, friends and family? What could they possibly have in common? Well, in fact, very much!
(picture by Zombie Cards)
Christmas is supposed to be the time you take extra good care of your loved ones. So what could you do? Talk to them, sit together and have a holiday dinner, exchange presents… Is that all?...
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New Reading Stuff
I just discovered an awesome Finnish author: Arto Paasilinna. His novels are like a mix between Franz Kafka and Nick Hornby, with a hint of Douglas Adams. It’s so hilarious! Unfortunately, only a few of his novels are available in English, but at least read the few :-) If you speak German you have more choice.
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“If cats looked like frogs we’d realize what nasty, cruel little bastards...”
– Terry Pratchett: Lords and Ladies
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“The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use...”
– Oscar Wilde
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I’m going away for the weekend to visit some...
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“Our universities are still essentially artifacts from the Renaissance period,...”
– Jeff Howe: Crowdsourcing. Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business
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The Curious Incident of the Mermaid in the Tree
Well, how was it possible for the mermaid to climb a tree? Don’t they have a fishtail? And what’s a tree doing in the middle of the ocean, where mermaids are supposed to live?
The problem is, that when it comes to Russian, mermaids are often confused with rusalkas. There is no proper Russian word for mermaid, so it is often translated as rusalka and the other way round.
The Disney...
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Ruslan and Ludmila
One of the most famous Russian authors is Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. He’s sort of responsible for all the Alexanders who are named after him generation after generation.
You might be familiar with his verse novel Eugene Onegin, it was turned into an opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. As a child I loved Pushkin’s epic fairy tale Ruslan and Ludmila, I still know the prologue by...
Anonymous asked: Which language is the Moldovan language?
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“He hoped and prayed that there wasn’t an afterlife. Then he realized there...”
– Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
November 2011
28 posts
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The Future is Already Here – Curious Soviet...
Chișinău, the Moldovan city where I was born, strongly expanded during the Soviet time and shows some signs of the typical Soviet architecture. I collected the most remarkable examples for the architecture nerds among you ;-)
Chișinău as seen when entering the city from the direction of the airport:
(by Serhio, cc by)
The Chișinău greeting monument at the entrance of the city:
(by Guttorm...
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Here Comes Everybody →
I read Here comes Everybody by Clay Shirky for my master thesis, but I probably would have read it anyway. It’s a must-read if you are interested in group dynamics and how the Internet affects them. The book is also very amusing and well-written and provides a welcome change to the otherwise quite uninspiring university reading.
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Happy Advent Season, Merry Christmas!
Being born and raised in the Soviet Union I have an ambivalent relationship with Christmas. Religion was barely tolerated by the communist party, so Christmas was not celebrated because of its origin as a religious festivity. But you cannot deprive the people of a party and some presents at the end of the year. So instead of Christmas there was New Year.
(by Smithsonian Institution, cc-by)
New...
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LOL Science
During my time at the university (and especially when looking for literature for my master thesis) I came across several weird, funny or otherwise remarkable books. Here’s the list – enjoy and feel the academical spirit!
LARP (Live Action Role Playing) finally found its way into media science! As an experienced LARPer I’m understandably very proud and will continue contributing to...
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