Music or noise pollution?

Nowadays artists.. Ooops, I mean singers… No, one can’t even call them singers.. Ok, let’s call them pseudo-singers. What do they do? Or better: What can they afford?
Most of them were rescued thanks to the great invention called video clips. Why? Because you don’t have to sing any more but just have a great body and if you don’t you get some chicks, let them ‘dance’ and there you go with millions of dollars.
Starting from Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake to Fergie, 50 Cent and Paris Hilton.. They are ‘not exactly using their voice’ to get famous..
And then people wonder why I don’t watch music channels any more…
You may listen to their songs because of the beat or maybe it gets you in a dancing mood but after a couple of days/weeks you find yourself listening to something/someone else.
So, what can we say about most of the pseudo-singers we have right now? It’s rubbish what they’re presenting. In other words: Noise pollution.

Now a nice comparison..
If you listen to the songs of cartoons like “The Little Mermaid”, “Thumbelina” or “The Prince of Egypt” you’ll just get fascinated by the songs and the voices. The composers and the singers of the soundtracks are really admirable.
So, in movies, especially cartoons you get to hear better music than the rubbish which the music channels offers you.

Here you go with: “The Little Mermaid – Part Of Your World”

(First press play then pause and leave it until it has finished loading, so it doesn't buffer and you can enjoy it in spades.)

And now compare it with the one by Jessica Simpson (she ruined the song): (I really wonder what she was doing while singing.. Running amok?!)

What do you do when ...

… you are about to explode?
You wait until it is dark so that the people around you can enjoy a nice firework.

… you are about to commit suicide because some people make you feel miserable?
You just go and kill them so after it everything’s alright again.

… a giant wasp is in your room and there’s no one at home who can take care of it?
You have the perfect excuse to go and watch TV in your grandmother’s room as the wasp is sitting on your books and you’re too afraid to draw near.

… someone asks you why you can’t be quiet for a while?
You explain to him that you don’t have an absolute refractory period (Refrektärzeit).

… someone pities the person you will marry someday?
You tell him as he seem to be such a generous and good person you will marry him (the person who just said that) so no one else has to suffer.

… someone says that he wants to cut off your tongue so you finally shut up and can’t talk any more?
You tell him that it is useless because it will regenerate again like the lost limbs of a salamander.
And if he continues and says that he wants to cut off your head then you can refer to Hercules’ hydra and that each time he’ll cut off a head there will be three growing back. So, he’d better think about it again.

… you are about to fall asleep and someone comes in and asks you if you’re still awake?
You simply say no.

… someone who is not even your friend and asks you if you’re in love with someone or not?
You tell him that it’s him (the person who asks) and that it’s funny because you just noticed it.

… someone is getting on your nerves?
First you should warn him that he’s about to exceed your value of threshold (Schwellenwert) and that it can get quite dangerous and uncomfortable if he made you reach your action potential (Aktionspotential).

… someone is asking all the time: Does someone have a pencil for meeee? (emphasis on the ‘e’) (It’s usually the idiots you have in class.)
You tell him that you’d have one for everyone else except him.

Ok then, I guess that’s enough for now..

Fantasy keeps us alive!

The people who get in touch with me in real life know how this word affects me.
Especially in fights (not serious ones) I start arguing with this crazy philosophy which drives everyone mad. (Sorry about that! :$)
How I see it? I think if your arguments during silly fights are so serious and realistic it gets quite boring and they can turn into real fights later. (I have to admit they do anyways but it takes a longer while that way...)

Concerning being realistic…

The world is unfair. For example it’s a joke that some stupid football player gets much more money than a teacher or an architect whose works are times more useful than shooting some ball. Also this whole bunch of rich singers who ‘aren’t exactly just using their voice’ to get famous are not worth a rush compared to craftspeople or intellectuals.
So, if you’re aware of all these unjustifiable things you can get quite deceived, depressed and pessimistic.
Coevally living in your own fancy world where almost everything is done for you and there’s nothing you have to worry about, makes you indeed relieved and content but then you’re regarded as superficial and self-seeking.

So, where’s the mid-line? Or in other words: How can you keep this mid-line?

One of the things could be taking good care of the fantasy of your childhood.
And I neither mean the dreams that you might find a white horse with wings that will fly with you above all the clouds nor that you’d be able to turn into Superman but I’m referring to the dream of a better world. A world where you can achieve anything you want. A world where there are justice and sympathy. Without the hope that someday things will be better it’s very possible that one may fall in this underworld full of desperation and despair.

But fantasy has two pros: On the one hand it cheers you up and remains the childish feelings inside of you and on the other hand it gives you the strength to carry on with the anticipation for a better world, in which creation you want to take part.
And the will that makes you try over and over again keeps you alive because there will always be something you seek or want to improve and by that you feel alive.

Some may also call it optimism… Optimism is connected to fantasy because if you look on the bride side although it’s bad what you see or you do not even know what it is going to be like you are in need of some imagination. And this positive imagination is linked to fantasy.

So: Fantasy keeps the childishness in us alive! (Or at least mine!)

Accepting changes

Well, achieving this took me almost two years.
I usually hold on to memories and the people I grew up with. But during the last years I had to face the fact that things change and that one simply can’t change that.
For example I never thought that anything could cause real problems between me and my friends and I always believed we’d stay friends at least until we graduate from school.
The last thing I imagined was being forced to give up these friendships thanks to a few guys. And that’s what happened later. But it turned out that it wasn’t the new people who had entered our lives but something which had a bigger influence. Our characters had changed. Our moral principles had changed, the way of thinking and seeing things had changed, simply everything.
I kept struggling for two years not able to accept that (which was very stupid, I know) but in the end I finally understood that you can’t always change what’s going on in your surroundings.
Sometimes all you can do is either to withdraw from it or to be capable of dealing with it.
At the beginning I was sad that things turned out the way they did. Now I’m glad about it because changes mean new things, new experiences.

I guess that’s part of being alive.
As a matter of fact, that what makes every moment so special because you have no idea how long it will last.

What do you do with your last presentation?

This was my last presentation (around 90 minutes) for school. The small coloured papers are my notes.

Didn't know what to do after being done with it. So, that's the result:

And that's my attiude (see smiley in the middle):

Guys and girls at school

What I learnt about guys and girls at school..

If you want to be a cool, popular guy you will have to:
Say swearwords, smoke, have a girlfriend and act in a superficial, cold way.

If you want to be a cool, popular girl you will have to:
Know millions of guys, have no limits towards guys, have a boyfriend and act in a superficial, “cute” (=stupid, honourless) way.

In my whole life I only met 4 girls who are not affected by this mindset and if I forget about the swearwords maybe only 2 guys but I really respected these people and I guess they were one of the reasons that made me get disgusted by this whole “I want attention, be cool and I’m ready to do anything to achieve that!” attitude while the “swimming against this current” attitude took over my life.

"What's your true colour?"

My true colour is Black!

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.

What's Your True Color? Brought to you by Tickle

"I absorb every shock, except that of defeat."

I took this picture in an airport in 2006 and noticed that it describes my attitude in life quite well.

By defeat I don't mean when you lose in chess or a swimming competition but not being able to beat certain weaknesses or shady sides of your personality.
Especially when the self-control isn't doing its job as well as it should any more. I hate that! And I'm not really patient regarding such things.
Some say that everything comes and goes and it’s just a matter of time but who said that I’m willing to wait until Ms Weakness decides to get lost?!

You find lots of people saying one's main purpose in life is to enjoy it as much as he can. Things like self-control or self-discipline are seen as killjoys and are rather neglected than strengthened. Maybe leading such a life could be regarded as much easier and comfortable but also as hollow, in my opinion.
Defeating your own shady sides is one of the most difficult things in life but coevally an incomparable and unique feeling when you succeed.
I personally consider it as the maximum of gratification when you prove that you’re stronger than the ordinary weaknesses of human nature and that you can achieve everything you want.
That also explains why I execrate dealing with one shady side for too long. I neither have the patience nor anything else to get along with the same stupid weakness.
And the longer it takes to get rid of it the more I can’t stand myself.

Such a life might not look bright but it bears a meaning because you’re not just living to sleep, eat and try to survive (humans: by making money, animals: get yourself a biology book) but there’s something that differs you, as a human being, from all the other creatures: The ability of analysing your character and not just getting along with your weaknesses but taking it as a challenge to defeat them.
The main aim is accomplishing perfection. And although you know that achieving this perfection is impossible you keep striving and don’t give up which guarantees you a life full of provocations and spares you any feelings of hollowness or meaninglessness.

Some people say that there are certain things e.g. the stupid weird feelings one has to experience in adolescence which take time and you can’t just smooth them out at a moment’s notice.
Guess what? I believe one can. It truly takes a tremendous volition and one may fail a few times at the beginning but … Who knows? Maybe it just depends on the courage of facing the problem and then being determined to solve it.

And where there’s a will, there’s also a way! =)

Mi Tierra - Gloria Estefan

Quality of sound isn't perfect but that's the most "modest" video I could find.. So, whoever likes latin music: enjoy! =)

(First press play then pause and leave it until it has finished loading, so it doesn't buffer and you can enjoy it in spades.)

Watch a falling star... Noooo, a falling tree!

So much for Spring!

Egyptian taxi drivers and Egyptian football

People usually say ''Egyptian taxi drivers are so annoying and stupid.''
Not at all, in my opinion. It's even the contrary. These people are quite clever and they know what is going on in their country though the good news we get to hear on the radio and the Egyptian channels. They listen to the news, to the upcoming new projects which are supposed to help the Egyptian economy to grow and know that there aren't even plans for these projects. They listen to the great achievements of our beloved president and know that the country will run out of it.
Then you wonder, why don't they do anything? It's quite simple: If you spend every day not knowing if you'll make enough money to have something for dinner it's hard to expect anything from you. People are so busy with their own problems that they can't/don't want to think of solving other problems.

Another thing Egyptians don't seem to have seen through (yet) is the football policy.
The two most popular football teams in Egypt are Al Ahly and Al Zamalek. The government has achieved turning these two teams into the biggest two enemies. Al Ahly fans regard Al Zamalek fans as enemies and it comes to quite brutal arguments sometimes.
It's also unbelievable when you read the newspapers of each group and see all the excuses and hints. Once they even accused one of having a connection to Israel etc. ... Unbelievable!
But one has to admit that the government really succeeded in grabbing the people's attention to this imbecility called football to prescind them from what's happening in the country.

I guess after getting rid of this regime one will have to ban Egyptian football for at least 5 years because the people have gotten so addicted to it that there's nothing else in their mind but how the beloved team will win 6:1 in the next match.

Let's see what will happen during the next months (years)...

I wonder... (Part 1)

• ... why do people always have to scream and shout in concerts? They don't get to hear what the ''artists'' on stage are singing/playing (for what they've payed so much money) and all what they end up with is a headache.
• ... why do teachers forget that they were students themselves someday? That would help them to understand what we students have to go through.
• ... why do grown-ups forget that they were teenagers themselves someday? That would make it easier for their children to tell them everything and to avoid any secrets in a family.

Torn

Being a teenager has its pros and cons...

Pros:

• not too many responsibilities

Cons:

• mood swings
• uncontrollable thoughts and dreams
• stupid and more than stupid emotions and feelings which turn your world upside down
• immaturity
• superficiality
• stupid problems which seem so big and are actually so small

As you have noticed I see more cons regarding my age than pros and therefor I can't really enjoy this phase of my life. Knowing that some of the things I do right now are based on a lack of careful consideration drives me crazy because I know I will change my mind about them later or maybe I will even have to apologize for them. Or for example being aware of that there are huge problems in this world (just watch the news) while one has nothing better to do than focusing on his stupid meaningless problems and making a mountain out of a moleghill makes me feel pathetic. And then these annoying and superfluous emotions one has to experience in this age. They are a pure waste of time! But it's part of being a teenager.. So, what do you do?
I personally can't stand it and my main problem is: There's this huge gap between what I’m meant to be as a teenager and what I want to be as a grown-up. I don’t enjoy the life of an ordinary teenager and at the same time I can’t be a grown-up yet.

So, I’m torn between these two worlds until ...