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Showing posts from February, 2010

Watch the Olympics

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Please, please, please watch the Olympics. Watch Alpine skiing, if you wanna see athletic abilities couple with courage... Watch Ski Jumping, if you wanna see how mankind invented to fly without motors... Watch Skeleton, if you wanna see jet fighter pilots maneuvering without their jets... Watch Ski Cross, if you wanna see motor cross riders racing neck to neck without their bikes... Watch Biathlon, if you are into guns and ammunition... But most of all, watch Olympics to experience sportsmanship. The sportsmanship which makes the one who comes second runs to the first to share their joy... Professional sports? They can -at least during Olympics- kiss my a..

My first cheese

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My first shot at German Harzer Käse. It is a sour milk cheese, which means all you need is Lactobacteria, which are abundant in milk already. One drains low fat, and I mean low fat %1, quark or cottage cheese, mixes with salt and baking soda, and wait 7 days for the bacteria to work their magic. Not bad for a first try. The salt was a little too much, still it was edible with walnuts, and would have made an excellent grating on Pasta alla Norma.

Two New Albums

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The disappointment I had after listening to my old favorites Massive Attack's new album Heligoland is beyond description. Take some oriental beats from Mezzanine, add a little bit industrial sounds from 100th Window, add a lot of popish tunes and you get this album. The only thing interesting about the album is the island that gives the name of the album. Check out the Wiki page . My other old-time, and as a matter of fact still one of my all-time, favorites Autechre are also back with a new album. Haven't yet listened to it. The sad thing is that they will have a concert in Berghain on the first day of my military service in Turkey...

Dr. Ahmadinejad or How I stopped worrying about and started loving the bomb

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Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored He was tryin' to create a next world war He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before But yes I think it can be very easily done We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun And have it on Highway 61. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 - 1965

Running on water

Jesus was a sailor, When he walked upon water...

The nerd in the kitchen

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There has been some talk in the secular/humanist blogosphere about the need for bringing the two great "magisteria" of human culture, namely the arts and sciences closer in the 21st century. I am not sure how possible this will be, especially after the usurpation of scientific methods by racist/fascist ideologies in the first half of the 20th century and the the reactionary "post-modern" zeitgeist prevailing in the arts world. What I know is possible is that an alternative set of two great "magisteria" can be brought together. I am talking about the culinary art and science. The French Chemist Hervé This has already taken few big steps in this direction. It all started one day when he was preparing cheese suffle. The recipe told one should add 4 eggs one by one. The Chemist in him told him that putting all at one should not be a problem. In the end, his hastiness spoiled the suffle. As a scientist, he set out to discover the scientific explanations for suc...

Turkey to Europe's Rescue

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The biggest farce in the modern history, Copenhagen, also showed how little strength Europe has in the international arena. French/American International Economics professor has published a piece in Project Syndicate , which describes my point about European-Turkish relations very nicely. He argues that Europe needs Turkey, in order to be heard once more in the international stage. This article matches very well with this article published by Von Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of liberal wing in the European Parliament. He argued in his piece, again in the aftermath of Copenhagen, that Europe is bound to become the Switzerland of the world, if it continues on the track that it is going now.