TV

What to say about TV.. Simply put, it's a regular and inseparable part of our lives. But what do we use it for? Entertainment? Learning? Killing time? Development of our characters? I doubt even a scientists could answer this one.

For me the TV is a source of very small pieces of general knowledge, be it a good TV series, the news full of crap on the Nova channel, or something a bit more serious (BBC / CNN, Discovery, etc.). One learns something new every day. At least I do. Probably because I prefer documentaries and serious news to some silly series. I could watch documentaries about nature or animals all day. It also helps a lot with languages, which is a big advantage of our generation. I hardly ever watch the TV, though. Usually, I just listen to it and focus on something else.

Which is another thing I use the TV for. When it's on, you have the feeling that you're not alone in the room - and that's cool. After all, who wants to have that feeling of loneliness? I don't do this as often as I did before I got my dog, but still pretty regularly.

Thinking about it, I don't really use TV for entertainment that much, just on specific occasions when I get a new movie or something and I want to watch it with my brother or the whole family. Mmm. An interesting discovery.

Lost In Translation

Well, I've watched the whole movie and I can't believe it. NOTHING HAPPENED!! Like.. nothing. I don't mean plot-wise, the plot itself was quite good, but between Bob and Charlotte! I know I know, he had a wife and two children waiting for him at home and whatnot, but still.. I have to admit I was amazed by strength of his will. Good job there.

By the way, the cleavage..umm, no, not that. What I want to talk about is a contrast between the US and Japanese cultures, which is really immense. Yes, yes, that's correct. Like in the scene where she was walking through a penny arcade or whatever it was - Charlotte looked almost as much astonished as I did. Or when Bob accepted the invitation to the show. He once again showed some nerves there, as I'd have had to punch the host had I been in Bob's position. And what kind of movie taking place in Japan it would be without karaoke, right ? It was there. Everything was there - an unhappy marriage, Japanese incompetent translators, colorful shows and Whiskey. What else can you possibly demand from a movie ?

I also liked Bob's frank opinion 'bout marriage and parenthood. I liked it to such extent that I have to quote Bob here - "It's the most terrifying day of your life the day the first one is born."

And there you go. Long story short - the movie was pretty good, but not as much as I'd expected.

3D Street Painting

DO YOU SEE IT ?! It's just freakin' awesome ! I simply cannot understand how the painter managed to do something like this. I've seen several paintings on the pavements from all around the world (unfortunately none of them personally), but this one is one of my very favourites.

How would you react if someone asked you to close your eyes, brought you right in front of it, told you to open them and, at the same moment, pushed you forward? I don't know about you, but it would scare the crap out of ME. That's how realistic it seems to me. Of course, you would have to make the person stand at the photographer's place to make the most out of it, but still.. it's one hell of a picture.

Does anyone know what kind of colors they use ? Because, you know, they cover the surface really well. I doubt it could be done with just a piece of chalk or something.

I also love the rope on the right side, which imo somehow "connects" the painting with reality. The man pretending to be holding the rope is just an icing on the cake.

Of course, when you look reeeeally carefully, you can see joints between the tiles, but you will never notice that at first glance. I would like to see one of these in person, in the future, y'know.

If you like it as I do, you can see other good ones here: http://www.heinmaas.com/3d-anamorphic-street-paintings/

Andrew out.

Size doesn't matter.. or does it ?!

(click on the picture to enlarge)

That size doesn't matter is something most of us (read men) would like to believe. Unfortunately for us, it was proved not long ago that it indeed does matter. It's not the only factor taken into account, though. What also matters is skill. But how do these two work together ? Can one be substituted by the other ? Well, let's check our graph.

The graph shows "Skill required for maximum pleasure" on the axis Y, while "Size" is measured on the axis X. As you can see in the left part of the graph, if you are skilful enough, size really doesn't matter that much. Now, as the size (or length) increases to a size most appreciated by women, the skill required for the maximum pleasure goes down, reaching the lowest point at the size generally acknowledged as the best (recent researches speak about 6"-7"). After this point, the amount of necessary skill begins to rise again, as the size starts to be just too much. The right part of the graph, which I call "superhuman sizes", has a lot in common with the left part - it's actually pretty much the same, meaning you must have certain skills to be able to handle it at least satisfactorily.

So, what did we learn ? Probably that size actually matters, but you can somehow compensate for it by acquiring "skills". So if you are not satisfied with your size and unwilling to undergo a plastic surgery, start learning ;)

Priorities

Priorities. We all have them. We don't talk about them much, but they affect every aspect of our lives. Everybody has them set individually and differently. They are one of those things that make us different from each other.

For some people, their job or being a big shot is the most important thing and the highest priority of their lives. For some, the job is replaced by having fun, no matter what. And for some, the main priority is money.

My own primary priorities are my family, my friends, having fun and the education - in this particular order I have to add, just having fun and the education are on pretty much the same level. There has never ever been anything so important to me as my family. And I really doubt it's going to change. There is nothing I wouldn't do for for my family, even if it meant difficulties, e.g. concerning my education.

My friends are on the close second place right behind the family. I know lots of people, but only few well enough to consider them my "friends". With all of them I have a close personal relationship which I'm really proud of.

As for the education and having fun - I suppose I need about the same deal of both of them as both are really important for me.

But again, that's just me.