BBC: A "molecular condom" to protect women against HIV is being developed by US scientists.

"The liquid formulated by a University of Utah team turns into a gel-like coating when inserted into the vagina."

"SpIFF to open with a feel for Kosovo". KUKUMI is scheduled to open the 2007 Spokane International Film Festival. Read it from spokane7.com/movies

Costume party at SPRAY.

Banksy's Wall and Piece

Such a controversial/provoking/simple book. Thank you Partin for this great gift. You are a great friend.

Semaine du Cinéma Français

The film french week came to a close on Saturday. There were a total of eight movies and i saw only a measly one movie. The movie however turned out not to be measly at all, but quite frustrating and nerve-wrecking in the beginning and then it gradually moved into a mellow state and then there was real drama and movement in the end. French movies do that to you: beat you up real good in the beginning and then they feed you crossants and wine in the end, and i still love them. The movie was called TRAVAUX: on sain quand ca commence or Housewarming.

It's good that ABC Cinema in here throws a couple of foreign movie weeks in a year.

A bit of London runs around

Vala900 Revamped!

This is the new VALA logo (previously known as VALA900). The whole VALA corporate image change was done by Ogilvy Kosova, part of the Ogilvy&Mather Worldwide.

Gurrakoc the Great!

Once again, it is the time that i embark on my frivulous journeys in Kosova. I somehow feel a bit of pride because i've been to so many places that i never knew existed, places that were so sharply contrasted with Prishtina, that you thought you were actually traveling to some other place. I was in Gurrakoc this time round, because we are with a local chips producing company "LuKo Chips" (would advise you to try one, but at your own risk). First, Gurrakoc is a village on the road from Peja to Istog. Second, it is like any other village: poor, almost no infrastructure and the locals can barely survive. Still, the more you see these things, the better picture you can build of what is the real situation of the place you are living in. Sure, the government comes up with all these figures of economic development, but when you see how are things on the ground, the "economic development" sort of dissapears from your mind. Gurrakoc the Great, a small village where a struggling patato chips producer from Switzerland is located. LukoChips gave us a basket of chips. That's something.

Polonium-210

Got it from www.dronecorp.com

polonium-craze!

An ex-KGB spy died of polonium, this mysterious yet so famous poisoning chemical substance. It was sad, but it happened. I thought that this story might die out with the ex-KGB spy's death, but on the contrary, the wheel of mystery just keeps on spinning. Check the headlines I read today from a BBC article:
"Polonium affects four in Germany"
"A car, understood to be used by Mr Kovtun, has tested positive for the radioactive substance polonium-210."
"Airplanes contaminated with polonium-210"
"Traces were also discovered in his ex-wife's Hamburg flat and the home of Mr Kovtun's former mother-in-law in the town of Haselau, west of Hamburg"

I also read that they will make a documentary series with Mr.Litvinenko's polonium-210 affair. And this story keeps on growing and changing countries and people. I don't mind this, because it is turning up to be THE story of the year, but i think (subjective) that there are massive cover-ups taking place for stuff that some people don't want to be shown. Politics.

North-sided.

Since i've started working for MDA, i had the chance to travel to many places within Kosova. I was in Artane (formerly known as Novobrdo), and traveled through Gracanica and some other villages. Now, I had to go to Shtrpce, Lypjan, and passed through a lot of grass/gravel, cars and cows as i made my way through my destination. It usually involves some kind of survey that brings me this opportunity to travel accros Kosova and meet new people from the regions. The reason i get picked for conducting these surveys is that my serbian is better than the serbian anyone at the office speaks: mine sucks, and their sucks even worse. So, chosing the less-worse serbian speaker was done, and i was the one that had to go do two surveys in the northern part of Kosova: Leposavic, Zvecane and Mitrovica. I'll admit that i did not feel comfortable when they told me that i had to go all by myself in those parts. Initially. I knew nothing about this part of Kosova, except the things i got from watching the news, or reading something on newspapers. So yes, i had reasons to be afraid from this unkown yet invisible/mysterious threat.

The driver that drove me to Mitrovica was a Bosnian, who spoke albanian and serbian, who lived in the northern part of Mitrovica and who's 8 year old child considered himself an albanian. His name was Adnan. We talked a lot during the road, about almost the universal stuff that preocupies us as inhabitants of this place: work, school, leisure time. Drivers changed and Bane (a serb from the northeren part of Mitrovica) drove me to Zvecane and Leposavic where i meet local inhabitants and utilized my rusted serbian-speaking skills to explain the questionnaires and ask questions to selected individuals.

After all were done, Adnan and I set back to Prishtina. It is strange to see those parts where you have to remove your KS license plates to move around. A lot of cars had old license plates and most had no plates at all. I did not feel threatened in any way, but was cautioned not to speak in albanian or i might risk putting everyone in danger. That was a threat, but i did ingore it a bit. I got scared about another thing: when you cross the Mahalla e Boshnjakve, everything we call "institutions" and the small "law and order" that we have created here, falls apart like a lego building. There is almost no rule of law (the law that the kosovar parliament passes), the police are just puppets, and the whole atmosphere gives you the impression that you are not in Kosova. That is when i got really scared and puzzled at the same time: why can't this part be like any other part? why are the serbs doing this? Without dwelling into our rich historical part, I came to understand the words North-Mitrovica and South-Mitrovica. I felt really sad for a city devided like that. The northern part was a part of serbia. Yes, people really struggle in these parts (barely survive), but seeing how they ignored the fact that they live in Kosova and not Kosova i Metohija as they used to call us, really pissed me off. I do not see how Mitrovica's ends will be together again. Nor i do not see how Leposavic or Zvecan or any other northern village can come to respect the Kosovar government and it's red-painted institutions. For them, they live in a place that is part of serbia (with all the posters of the ultra-nationalist tried in the Hague for Crimes agains humanity Vojislav Sheshel glued all around the places). They show not a single sing that they want to integrate within our "democratic" institutions.

On thing that really united them and us here, is trade. Albanian firms have started creating partnerships with some construction firms in Leposavic and Zvecan to help build roads and stuff. The conclusion is not that simple, but this might work: Only jobs and work will make us whole again, as Adnan was trying to say. The people in these places were just surviving, and need immediate help. However, they keep on ignoring the real facts on the ground. They are not to blame because they have shuffled their brains from Belgrade and now they are blinded by a situation whose purpose is not to make their lives better, but only for political reasons. As i was talking with Adnan, he told me this sentence that made my prospects a bit bright for the future of these parts: When the 8 year old boy asked Adnan (father) to buy him a silver eagle, Adnan joked and asked him: Aren't you bosnian? Why do you need the eagle? The child (Benjamin) responded: We might be Bosnian, but we all live in Kosova.

I'M series presents sleepfairy.

I'M so sleepy right now, I wouldn't mind even if you put cow-skin on top of me as a blanket; I would not even mind all the ants and tiny multi-legged creatures that live on the meadows where i lay, the long shards of grass might make my senses all tingly if they find their way into my nose;

I'M so sleepy that I would not mind even if a glass of wine is spilled on my face: It'd just make my face warm and my tongue red; I would not even mind the bread crumbles from you sandwich, really; I'M so full of sleep that I would probably fall asleep while trying to go across a wire with the pole on my hand;

I'M so sleepy that I right now that I would do as the bed does and lie down flat; I wish I was a bed, a black bed;

I'M so sleepy that I would not mind even if your basket ball landed on my face; but i wouldn't be able to throw it back, so sorry. pick it up yourself;

I'M so sleepy and I like it. I hate it though because i can't sleep. So, i'm kinda stuck;

I'M so thinking that i've been poisoned by the sleep-fairy with sleeponium212;

I'M so sleepy that my thoughts have sleepy-sacks attached to them;

I'M so sleepy that my breaths ready to be shipped out, stay inside;

I'M so sleepy that i would skip the intro and go straight to dream-land;

I'M so sleepy for the phone and emails, you can have them;

I'M so sleepy that I'll ask rudolph to distribute the presents himself;

I'M so sleepy that would leave my shoe-laces untied like i always do but then trip over;

decisions, decisions.

Snapped a photo of this traffic-light. It's not the sunlight that makes its lights look bright. The traffic-light actually had the orange light and the bright light on. It perfectly resembles the traffic patern in the city: driver's have unlimited choices on the road, and if they pick one of them, they damn sure are right. No wrong decision answer here because as you can see from the traffic-light, all decisions are good decisions. Shooting the President of the United States is not a good one. I guess this is the only time when we are allowed to make our own decision: stop, get ready or just go straigh ahead. So nice of the traffic-light to give us that opportunity. Of course, the problem is that we might just collide all together and get ourselves into a mess for making our own choices. But hey, it's just a traffic-light. A very bright/colorfull one indeed.

wheelbarrow.

After these two weeks of relative peace, without school's hassle, but with daily work and some other untriffling matters that needed attention. This week was also November 28th, our very own flag day. And yes, there were minor shattered windows on govt. buildings, red-painted walls and large crowds of people that roamed the streets that day. I did not feel like celebrating anything, so I just snuk behind the sofa, drank my carrot and other-than-carrot juice, and watched as events unfold. I was very keen on following the protesters with my camera around, but i couldn't, since that day was work day for me. Anyway that is all a thing of the past. Or is it?

The national flag-race is definitely on. I just saw a couple of more terribly, pointless and meaningless flag proposals for our national flag today from individuals i will not name, for thou i shall spare them the humiliation. Personally, I don't like the proposed flag by our late President Rugova. It has always gone wrong when politicians interfere with these things, (like the head of the Albanian American National leage, DioGuardi, who's proposed american/albanian hybrid flag was even posted on the local KOHA DITORE newspaper), because simply put, they don't even have the slightest clue of how should a national flag should look like. I might have an idea about the flag, but I am not capable of making such a paramount decision. There are other far more qualified individuals that can be trusted with this task. I hope.

Tomorrow my classes resume, and the winter quarter will be in full swing. Almost, since some classes start a week later. Oh and yes, if you have the time, please watch Al Gore's documentary on global warming: An Inconvenient Truth. Such a great presenter. Nothing important to do today, so i'll just watch a couple of movies, stretch my legs and let the day pass by. I can rent part of the day to anyone in need.

arap moi.

If they say that we should "strive" to be a multi-ethnic society, does this coin really answer that? I mean, how much more multi-ethnic can you get than this: You live in Prishtina, Kosova, and a taxi cab driver gives you 10 Kenyan schillings by "mistake". I'm keeping this coin as a souvenir. I might think twice if there are coin collectors out there.

suckered.

can you spot the difference?

novobrd/artane ii

I took these shots today. It was sunnier, and i had a frog in my pocket.

novobrd/artane i

It's my first time that i've traveled to NovoBrdo/Artane. Can't remember the last time i left Prishtina. It felt good to see the parts of Kosova that you don't often see. I can say that it was beautiful. It was so good that i went there twice.

no comment.

jazzfest.

I just could not go to a single night of the jazz-festival. We went on the last night, when the entrance was free. Eremira did her share.

water Rugove.

Teff just handed me this bottled water that i've never seen before. It is the new type of bottled water that will hit the market very soon, and it's named after the source from where the water comes from: mountains of Rugove, in Peja, Kosova. They say that the water comes directly from the springs in those mountains, and according to my taste buds, i'd have to agree to that because the water has no funny smell. Other types of bottled water that i drank here had this smell. I know, water is not suppose to taste, but it's because of the minerals that they add that the water smells funny. Here is a taste of what will hit the markets very soon, a quick sneak peak:

you never knew.

I never thought i'd find Shyhrete Behluli at that pile of records. It is amazing on the sheer types of records that man had.

hidden treasures.

Me, nii and anita were walking toward eluise, and at this minimarket, anita spoted these vinyls:

Imagine, this guy was selling bread, butter, coke and other stuff, and there, in this cupboard he had a collection of these. It is hard to imagine how a store that you go in a buy milk, bread and the newspaper also has some music material that dates back 25 years ago. This truly is a treasure chest of old vinyls. And it was under a bread-shelve of this store selling milk and butter. The owner was a passionate fan, and that's why he collected them. If anyone's interestend, he is willing to sell them. All of them.

annonymous comments.

I have ignored it once, but i cannot continue doing that again. Some prick is sending me annonymous comments on some of my posts. The nerve of this guy sending annonymous comments! And i do not get it why this guy hates me, because i know he or she does. I mean, come on, it's just a blog. Can you judge a blog? Or why do you even try to give some comments about my subjective posts. You might not like some of them, so just close your eyes and ignore them. Or at least write in the right and proper manner and I might delete any of my posts that are deemed as offensive to someone. And yeah, please state your name the next time you make a comment. I state mine, so be fair and state yours too. Here is the comment i was given:

"Why do you ignore your own "intellectual" background, probably you still eat on the floor and ajvar is your favourite dish, and you still look at it like country food or refer to it like something old-stylish? C`mon face your reality, cheers, eat your "krelan me duça" and spice it with a little bit ajvar..."

Trying to overcome my perplexity about this comment, i do not have the slightest idea how can a picture of ajvar (which i love) attract this sort of comment? Was i trying to say that ajvar sucks and that it is a delicacy for cave-men? I am sorry but you are very mistaken to even think that way! I love ajvar, and that's why i put the picture on my blog! Anyways, i do not know why i even bother explaining the situation to that annonimous guy. But i had enough. And for your information, i have no clue what "krelan me duca" is. I'd be glad to taste it though, if you offer me some. If you want some ajvar, just tell me and i'd be pleased to give you some of the special ajvar that my grandmother makes every year.

sore-throat day

It is awfull when you wake up and find out that your throat has been invaded and is now inhabited by sting bees, who for some reason put a lot of nails down your throat. Yes, I have a sore throat. I do not know why, but I will put the blame on those Iraqi insurgents, Kim Jong-ill, Iran, the instant temperature drop by 20degrees (celsius) or smokers. I was out last night with nii and virtual-girl, and cigarette smoke & heat was killing us. So, the culprit of my sore-throat day I think is the cold&cigarette smoke. You cannot go to a decent place without having smoke fill your clothes, hair, and skin. I hate that, because I smell like a cigarette. I have some tablets and a lot of cups of tea at my premises, and I'll keep using them until those nails & bees leave my throat alone. I should also get in shape for the radioshow tonight. Leutrim, a great friend of mine, will be my guest.

Shoemakers make shoes. Does the snowmaker make snow?And who is the snowmaker anyway?

shiver/snowedge.

It's official. The first snowflakes have finally arrived in Prishtina. As soon as you put your foot outside of the office building, cafe, your car, or your house, your face will be frozen: rock+solid. I don't mind. I like snow+cold. You get the feeling that you are on top of some mountains, battling all the mother nature's fierce elements, and you are about to descend. People scramble in the streets to get to their homes. It has not snowed that much, and much of it has dried up. Let there be more snow on our streets to: cover our trash and give us a bright sight.

If the mailman deliveres mail, does the snowman deliver snow?

during class.

Evilbottledwater: What do we have here?
HarmlessLabelostick: Errm, nothing bottledwater sir.

Evilbottled water: I am gonna water-solubl-ize you and dissolve your ugly face.
HarmlessLabelostick: Please mister bottledwater sir, i did nothing to you.

PassingbyStudbottledwater: Hey you! Pick somebottle of your own size!
EvilbottledwaterTurnedsmall: I was just asking for gum.

PassingbyStudbottledwater: I suggest you to get out of my sight! you prick!
EvilbottledwaterTurnedsmall: eeerm... deal.

The message of the story: never sit bottledwater and labello next to each other at a dinner party.

starpower.

This Friday, professors Irwe Metzger (New Venture Development), and Besnik Bislimi (Micro/MacroEconomy) invited a group of students to participate in an "experiment". I had no idea what was that about, but accepted their invitation. We played a game called STARPOWER, a game that examines the pros and cons of how leaders can apply power for maximum effectiveness in the government.

orbitedge.

I don't know why, but i keep finding Wrigley's Orbit chewing gum pieces on my bed. Strange, but they keep appearing. I don't remember any dreams with chewing gum, or me grabbin a piece late in the night. But i found the third one today. in two days, three pieces of gum. Maybe my bed is sitting under an unexplored chewing-gum mine. I could sell them at $34 per chewing-gum barrell. Or maybe the chewing-gum fairy is deliberately putting them on my bed. Thanks.

blankedge.

i've just figured out that i am sitting near the laptop, listening as i exhale/inhale, staring blankly at it. i know that i had to do something. oh well. i hope that by writing something i will unravel the deep blankness that has covered my memory.

It was thursday and i was at this Job Fair that the American Chamber of Kosovo organized. it was supposed to be all about students looking for possible jobs. it turned up that these companies had nothing to offer, except expose their new products and fancy accesories for the cameras. it sucked. But i walked around and talked with people, took pictures, and it was fun for me. but i feel pitty for those lost souls who came to look for jobs at a place where nothing is offered. Or wait, yes, they might offer you a pen and brochures with their company's logo splashed around it. If it was up to me, i'd never organize this kind of Job fair again.

Friday was a school day because we had Bajram on Monday, so we had to make for the lost class. i also had the radioshow from 7PM. so i had to skip class, make an 'intelligent' excuse, and leave for the radio station. anita and nita came, which was nice. really enjoyed having them around, taking pictures of everything. i present anita as my "virtual" co-host, and think of many stories around her imaginative character, and i adopt those stories around the show. it happens that some people really thought that anita was 'virtual'. i wanted them to believe that that was true, but in the end i told them she was made from flesh and bone. nita was the photographer. this reminds me: create a blog for the show! i'm doing it right now. cannot wait anymore.

Still trying to work things out for the EdgeSoup magazine. The quarter is nearly over and we are not near to the quarter of the work that should have been put in. It might be that i was pretty busy with work/classes, but edgesoup is behind. Don't know why but i just imagined Gael Garcia Bernal telling me that edgesoup is late in his accent. cool.

Last night me and nita were at ariana's birthday party (nita's friend). it was a house party. the house was nice, the drinks were mixed, there was live music (played by Shpat, he also played live on the show), and the whole atmosphere was warm and comfy. I did not regularly hang out with that company, but it was find nonetheless. end result: everyone got drunk and headed to SprayClub (or so they said). I grabbed a night owl, me and nita sat on its soft-feathery skin, and flew away into the night. That was it.

Oh another thing. The whole daylight saving time thing cought me off-guard. I thought it was 10:30, and woke up, only to find out that it was 9:30. ahh. But i got to see the day as she woke up in the morning.

edgesoup.

Just received news that i have to be at 8AM at the Grand Hotel. i don't know why they call it "Grand" anyway. it is a shitty hotel with even shittier personnel. but i have to be there. so i must sleep some time soon. i also received news that the indieshow on urbanFM will stil run at the same time/day. that's cool, and me and anita should open a blog for the show. podcasting would be also cool. not as cool as provoPODCASTing, but to some degree. anyways, i'm thinking about the content of the new edition of the EDGESOUP, the auk student newspaper. i have to think of people that can write and help contribute at the newspaper. or wait. i'd like EDGESOUP to be a mag. i'd also like to have a lollypop right now. but that's different. really, i put the mag idea aside, but now i'm kind of thrown into it. it's exciting! well, it's not that easy to manage all those things, since there are only three of us (teff, eedn, and me). there are some that want to help us (students), so that's good. but i have this feeling ... plus nita has offered to help me do the design/layout, which is a tremendous help. we'll work this weekend on the cover and throw some ideas on the design. still, i have to drag people and 'incite' them to write something. i can't believe why won't they: they are not restricted to anything! their writing can contain foul words, and they can say almost anything about anything! (well, there never actually is an "everything"). but it's okay. as long as the excitement level keeps building up in my nostrils and hair, that's good.

i totally had something else in my mind, but so totally forgot. ah yes. this guy at work, he started arguing about a story in the daily Express. he kept pointing at the writer for saying that "clubbing" is something that we do, and that the author should have not said: "girls chose tallava/turbo-folk music and totally boycotted the clubbing scene that was on display that night at SPRAY in the form of DJ Dzierzek (i think). he continued: why should we like to become something that we are not, we should not pretend that we enjoy the clubbing scene when in fact we are just faking it. i got angry and "raised my voice" because we ARE for any kind of music, because we ARE like anyone in this doomed world, and we can and SHOULD be exposed to any kind of music. not just stick to the same old same old. it's frustrating because it's like someone telling you that you cannot reach the jar on top of the cupboard. it's not fair and short-sighted. i don't blame him. he is not that much 'exposed' to some things. anyways, i thought this should be a great topic of discussion in the next radio show ... maybe this friday.

how can anyone say that "we should not listen to some sort of music, because we are not 'built' for it." i find that offensive and scary at the same time. clash/clash. slash/slash. violence is not the answer. talk. grab your hands under the cherry tree, hop on a unicorn and fly to the bright multicolored rainbow where you lick the crystal rays. have some edgesoup.

kaleidoscopish

What a night. a vodka-schweppes and a 1 1/5 glasses of wine ago ... naah. it sounds too Jack Sparrowish. there were a couple of sparks tonight that made it so special. okay, first, lets start with #1: bajram! well, since it is her night, bajram (a girl, hate it why everything has to be male, that's why Bajram is a "female") deserves the applause and all those women/men that went to burst their ears off with that loud turbo/folk music. disguisting, but none the less, the first spot! second: i want to congratulate nita and her new hairstyle. she looked gorgeous tonight. third: anita! how could i forget my dear anita! she was wonderful as always, but that mini-skirt made here even more wonderful. it took me a while to spot the skirt that was mini-in-size. but she looked nice. eremira was full-of-laughs as always. she liked eluise. so, that made me like her even more. then at #6 comes the police patrol. yep, the crawl like cockroaches at night, stopping almost everyone, flashin their flashlight, sounding so sober and awake, their faces wrinkled as though the sun was splashin its rays upon their faces. but all of this passed. not to mention of friends from Belgrade with whom we spoke in Serbian! that was neat.

have work tomorrow. sorry emir kosturica, could not watch one of your movies. better luck next time. i'm a bit drunk, half-baked and much-loved. it was a night-out to remember. it had every flavor you could ever wanted. plus the extra-special that the cooks give you when you tell them that the steak is not like you ordered it. kaleidoscopish.

lovemondaymovie.

damn. i missed my blog. nearly forgot that i have one! but people kept reminding me to update my blog. so here i am: ready to push that Publish Post button (as soon as i'm done writing). i just love this monday. this however, does not coincide with the fact that today is Bajram (a muslim holiday, marking the end of Ramadan), but because time came to an almost actual stop. really. i thought that today time will fly away (as my parents did today: flocking from cousin to cousin, wishin them a happy bajram). But i was thrilled that time was 'on my side' for once, although i sense it creeping away from me. big deal. i had enough of it.

Today was day 2 of the my rare movie-days. Last night i stayed up until 3pm watchin The King (gael garcia bernal plays in it), which was great. i regret watching the movie Waiting, which was supposed to be funny considering the cast it had. but i was not surprised i ended up dissapointed in the end. The King is great. Next i watched Everything is Illuminated (Elijah Wood), and the french movie God is great, i'm not (with Audrey Tuatou), which was equally good. I have yet to watch another movie left, the one from emir kusturica: when father was on a business trip. i'll watch that later. Yes. 4 movies in 1.5 days. that should satisfy my thirst for movies, because i was dehydrating from not seeing movies in these couple of months. ahhh. much beetteeer.

so, today i was sandwiched with movies and my pillow. i tried to be as lazy as humanly possible. could not do it, but i managed pretty good. i'll do some reading because >FINALS< (i marked it this way intetionally... to signify the importance) week is coming and it will soon be here. beirut is here by the way.
hate tuesdaynomoremovies.

what makes me*ME

just a few minutes ago, Bardh asked me a question about this project that he is working on. the question was plain and simple. Bardh: "What makes you a Kosovar?". For someone that considers himself a Kosovar, you'd think that i could answer this in an instant. but my brain went into overdrive and locked itself ... no idea, no thought, no nothing! Man, Bardh's question really stalled my brain. and you're hearing this from someone that says that he's a kosovar. neat. but i can't tell you how happy i am on finding the answer to this question: dokuFEST makes me a kosovar! yes, the annual Documentary Festival that is held in the beautiful city of Prizren, Kosova, makes me a KOSOVAR! The answer to this question came after 6minutes of brain-cell and kosovar history crunching ... then i spat dokuFEST.

just wanted to express my happines about this. thanks Bardh. you're great. i'll be a test subject if you need any for you project. you can't imagine how happy i am about this. yes, you can't imagine. and stop trying to imagine it. dokuFEST.

apples, photocopied papers

Time flies. Sure, flies fly too (fly fly fly ...high). Especially when there's a big photocopy machine in front of you. I can say that i was to some extent a photocopy-boy (if there's a notion like this). The smell of paper coming out of it made my stomach like a bag of bees. I guess Mates of State wouldn't have mind if they played next to that photocopy machine. The space where the photocopy machine is it's spacious, and their organ and drum could fit in perfectly. I'd have to stop the photocopy machine though: the noise would have made it difficult to hear their soft voices that overlap each other. i could have given a bunch of papers to Kori, so she could do all the photocopying, while me and Jason would have played with little Magnolia. After I've done all the photocopying and prepared a bunch of documents, i was ready for my reward: a bloodish red sweet apple. I savored it, and got my senses re-acquainted with that flavour that i thought i lost. Man, i haven't eaten fruit in a long time. However eager I was to set my teeth into that juicy apple, i'd trade it to have Mates of State by my side, perform. I'd even go as far as sharing pieces of that apple with them.

Yes, i am in love with Mates of State. Not in love as in "i love your shoes", but rather as in "i love you". You should have probably figured that out by now. I've got love written all over me. wait, i think they're ready to play in the office here. i should go unplug the photocopy machine and chop down every apple tree. go ahead Mates of State. play at will.

webcam idea

Yes, this is the webcame i got. Well, my grandpa got one for himself, and called me in the middle of class to check if i wanted one too. Sure, i said yes. He got two webcams yesterday (after which i gave him the money for the webcams and he could not remember why i was giving him the money). That's right, my grandpa, a 74 year old man. He just won't settle down, but keeps on asking about some software applications (mostly about typing). My uncle is in London and my granpa wants to talk with him now and then about stuff (politics mainly). The cheapest way to go around this was to use Skype. I had to install Skype in my grandpa's PC and told him that he needed a webcam. I also said that it will then be easier if we both had webcams, so that i can speak to you about the problems or computer-related questions you might have. Or he might want to ask me to help him find his glasses. The result: me and my granpa are now webcam-and-mic equipped and ready to try them out (first i have to install the webcam for him).

Hope that this marks a new wave of communication between us, and a quick solution to all of his computer-related problems. Let's hope so. goGrandad!

fall fashion

wet cops.

The only time that i don't have my camera around, something worth taking pictures of, happens. I just witnessed a fight between some men, and someone that these men considered "lesser" men. I felt really sorry for that. Some girls were screaming and they must have called the police, because the police car almost squashed me, as its tires came to a screaming stop. The moment they stepped out of the car, the police looked at me as if i was the suspect. Luckily, the girls that were with those guys that were involved in the fight, pointed out the men that were walking away. Still shocked from the rapid response from the police, i was in for an even better surprise: The police actually ran like in one of those cop movies, and 'apprehended' the bad guys. It was so cool to see the police run like that in a rainy day and catch the bad guys. One of the guys that was involved in a fight is a hairdresser. I do not know but I think he is gay, and him being gay was the problem. I feel sorry for the fella. The two guys that the police chased after were arrested and sent to the police station.

This was the only action i got out of this rainy day. It's 1:51 AM, and i should go to bed.

technologySucka - goAmish

After two of my colleagues paniced that one's laptop might have crashed/burned, because the laptop suddenly died. I went and checked what happened. This is what I found. This was the reason why the laptop suddenly died and did not respond.

telephonestand.

stencils! emerge!

A friend of mine - Rasha - made the stencil in the first pic. I don't know who did the second, but i'd like to see more of these stencils 'emerge' around the city. Not just bus stops.

Fly Route66

Printing Machine Day

Yesterday, I visited a printing press. I had to conduct a "Quality Check" of some booklets that we were printing. Could not stand the smell of printed paper.

decentralized pizza.

after plasticelastic.

-radiot.

That was it. It was a full 4 radio shows that i co-hosted together with Lok. This week he's going to Thessaloniki for his studies.

listen live, listen good.

It's official! You can now listen URBAN FM live online. Just log onto www.radiourbanfm.com, click on the ListenLIVE! button, and hear the soundwaves travel to you eardrum. We just hope that we are able to keep it as technical-problem free as possible. When you cannot hear it, check your internet connection or just wait a couple of seconds. Or just have some grape juice.

7Stories high mushrooms

It's another day. Another peppermint-flavoured tea. Yesterday, we were at this USAID sponsored workshop - something that has to do with local governance. We were the moderators/notetakers during this 1day workshop. Anyways, what i managed to get out of that workshop while quickly moving my fingertips - as albanian municipality leaders were sprint-speaking - is that there's a lot of talk in the air, and that talk will probably just have evaporated by now in the beautifully arranged rooms of the Gorenje Complex, Prishtina; thoughts that our beloved municipality leaders just forgot to pick up, like they picked up their check for participating in the workshop. Well, sure. This is no surprise at all. The atmosphere was good, and knowing that you were 7floors above ground, made you feel higher. Or so it seemed. The lunch part of this was one observation that should have been watched more closely: everyone was ordering everything that they never would have ordered - if they were paying from their own wallet. Again, this is a basic human instinct and it's "nothing" wrong with that. I ordered a cream-mushroom soup (tried it earlier), and Pasta De La Casa (had not tried it earlier). The cream-mushroom soup was ... well ... just cream. It blocked my throat, and i had to leave it aside. Then the pasta came: the main course. Just thinking about that makes my tummy woozy. I had not eaten for 12 hours, and then I had to eat fast (something i'm not used to), and something that was not destined to be eaten fast! With that done, the fruit salad came. That was the only part that was probably enjoyable to eat. A spoon-full of icream from another plate, and a cake from another plate, and i just about had it. Man, i haven't eaten this much since ... well, i cannot remember, but it's been a long while.

All i know is that i was not feeling that well after a couple of hours. i had to drink mineral-water to neutralize the mushrooms (badly cooked) still in my intestines. yuuk! Mineral-water and Coca-Cola seemed to do the trick, and i was relieved. Talk about a day of boring/mind-numbing presentations, fingertip exercises, mushrooms gone wild and me walking straight into the womens' rest-room. Huh.

AJVAR Sample#1: Glass Container

Seasons(ajvar)Greetings

I've been out for a couple of days, due to a bad case of non-internet connectivicitus. It's scary. Anyways, the rash from my last week's blood(sucking) donation is changing colors and I had some chilling thoughts as I saw it progress from a light blue/green, to a more dark tone. But i think it's nothing serious. Man, the weather is getting quite cold down here. It's like we are encapsulated by these motionless clouds, bringing only rain and winds. But i sort of like it. It makes you stay indoors (for a change), and with exams on the horizon, i wish it will stay like this for a couple of more days.

Ajvar has landed. Yes, it's the season where everyone is out buying papprikas, churn them into their meat grinding machines and after 5 hours of constant mixing that red/papprika ingredient (while the big pan sits on a hot stove), the miracleous product that keeps bellies full all winter is ready! Well, you still have to put it in small glass conatiners and then ship it to your final destination (cellars). My grandmother still keeps this ajvar-making tradition alive, but their daughters are not keen on seeing another ajvar-season next year. It's enough. It takes a lot to go through this ajvar-making process. Usually, someone one ends up feeling sick (grandmother), and the others suffer from fatigue (the rest).

Ramadan has landed as well, and with it, this huge fiery dragon that scares people away from the streets (huge fiery dragons don't exist). Everything is quiet, and it's not because of the weather. People are on hibernation mode and do not do much. The reason being: Ramadan. This is where we get it all wrong: Ramadan does not mean that we should hibernate or tha we should stay up until 5, eat, then sleep until 2-3PM, wake up, wait for another 3 hours and then eat again! Argh. I don't not much about Islam (eventhough I was born one), but i know this: This month is a month that should not be characterized by huge feasts, huge dinners (Iftars) or anything out of the ordinary. Instead, people should follow the same life pattern, and not eat more than they usually do just because they don't eat for a very long time. Anyways, this was just me expressing myself about this.

Seasons(ajvar)Greetings to all! (of you that know what ajvar is). I'll post some pics of this special Balkan treat. haha.

www.radiourbanfm.com

Urban Radio Station URBAN FM 103.5 is online. After a year and a half, the webpage is up and running. Of course, you'll find nothing that will inform you about the radio shows because the sites main components/info are missing. We'll put things up, hang them there for you to see. Hopefully. It took a year and a half for a website (a new world record), but i'm sure it will take less to put things up. www.radiourbanfm.com

bloodsucker.

There is me. Lying. Waiting for the needle to tear my vein open at an exact random point. Yes, this is my first time that I've done this and i actually feel "filtered" - 100g out blood out, and in come the other 100g in the form of: food. Giving blood was not such a big deal. Seeing the huge needle in your arm was bit of a deal. But that passed. My mother kept screaming at me about the possible infections that might have entered my "fragile" body. And i was angry a bit, for she did not see the positive signs of this. Of course, things like that happen, but I feel good that i was part of something like this. It was scary to see that plastic blood-bag filling and filling and filling ... and i thought they were going to suck me dry. But naah. Haven't seen a needle in me for a long time. Had to try it. Even if it meant giving blood.

Preview: "TRIBUTE TO MY PUMA's"

In the next coming days, I'll post some pics of me and my PUMA's during our happy times. "TRIBUTE TO MY PUMA's" will be open soon. I'm really sad that I won't be wearing them all the time. The reason why i'm doing this is because i really love them, and together we've walked through many things.