Nothing Particularly Spectacular...

[lupestripe]

I've spent most of the weekend working my tail off. The new football season has started which means that I am back to my six day, sixty hour weeks again, which is having a massive impact on my social life. Still, mustn't grumble, I guess work can be quite fun and a Boro win is a Boro win (Spurs can break into the top four?! You're having a laugh!! :D).

Despite the work, that doesn't mean that stuff hasn't happened. I bought a new mobile phone today as my old one was knackered. Not only was there a massive crack in the screen but the keys were stuck together meaning I couldn't type a text message with the letters t, u or v in it. Big Bird was very pissed off as Sesame Street had to be brought to you today by other letters, and more than once. The big yellow bastard hates it when you cramp his style...

Anyway, I thought I would treat myself so I got a cool new phone that has MP3, camera, video and internet capabilities. This is new for me considering I live in the technological dark ages. It's a Sony Ericsson C702 and I must admit I am extremely pleased with it. It's a million times better than my old phone and is worth every penny (which is handy as I also got £48 off the handset for trade-in and other loyalty schemes) as I now don't have to buy a proper camera, an I Pod or the various other things I had intended on getting. The only issue is that the SIMs need migrating so for the next 48 hours, I may not be as responsive as usual.

After this (and missing my train), I eventually made it to York to meet up with Mikepaws (balto_mike). It was great to catch up with him for the first time since ConFuzzled. We spent a lot of time talking about film editing and photography, with him showing me BBF's and his own videos of the Manchester con. It was all very impressive stuff and I learned a lot about digital manipulation and recording, particularly regarding the importance of good camera angles and the power of editing.

Seeing the videos of the con for the first time also made me tremendously excited about EF, which is now a mere week and a half away!! ConFuzzled was excellent and it was fantastic to see so many people having such a good time. The videos and pictures brought back great memories and there were even some excellent pics of Lupe!! Yeys!!

A big paws-up go to Mike and BBF for preserving the con so professionally and lovingly. It is a true testament to the fun furry times that we had and the videos are something that I will be able to look at forever more in order to bring back a sense of warmth and happiness. I am sure EF is going to be as immense :-)

In the toilet at Mike's Place I also discovered a pornographic magazine lying (suspiciously) next to the toilet. The magazine belonged to one of his flatmates and all I can is, my God isn't the vagina an ugly thing. Still, the articles weren't much better: "I'm sure you'll agree that Cindi has a great tan". Well, to be honest, she is spreadeagled on page seven of a smutty magazine - her tan is the last thing I am looking at. It's like going to a strip club and complementing the stripper on how her thong matches the tasteful interior lighting they have going on.

P.S. I got some of those new 1p coins today, with the heraldic arms on the front. I don't quite see the point in changing the design on the coins but I must admit that I do like the new look. Plus the pennies were shiny *wags* :D

P.P.S. One of the best bands going at the moment - Oomph!! - released their tenth album, Monster, on MySpace last Friday. It is absolutely amazing and I cannot wait for the album to hit the shops this Friday. It's definitely something I will be picking up in Hamburg once I land there a week on Tuesday. I haven't been this excited about an album for ages.

Beim Ersten Mal Tuts Immer Weh (The First Time Always Hurts) has a brutal video that matches the brutal riff whilst Labyrinth, Lass Mich Raus (Leave Me Out) and Wer Schoen Sein Will Muss Leid (Those Who Are Beautiful Must Want Sorrow) are as good as anything they have put their name to in the past. Indeed the latter song is about Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf :-)

Comments

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I do hope that you can fit me into your schedule in mid-October :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I will see what I can do - I am sure I can have a few days off but I may have to work part of the time you are here *hugs*

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

If you only can get the weekend free, that would be great. I'm sure we can work around your job obligations on the Friday and Monday, though :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I ended up working 11 hours last Friday and 11 hours today with no breaks. I will try and rearrange work commitments but Friday is a day I will almost definitely have to work my tail off. I am sure we can arrange something though, it would be cool to have you stay :)

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I could arrive in the late evening or something, or perhaps I could stay Saturday-Tuesday? :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

That could potentially work. Realities are that I will almost certainly have to work until about 8pm Friday and then Saturday morning until about noon. Apart from that, can probably get until Tuesday off. I'll see what I can do :)

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Great. I'm sure that we'll be able to work something out :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Hope so - it would be cool if you can stay again :)

[fen-ra.livejournal.com]

"my God isn't the vagina an ugly thing."

It could be worse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeth_(film)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I have recurring nightmares about that film. It's why I am gay, the thought of having sex with a woman and my dick being ripped off mid-coitus is really offputting. And yes I have thought about it during the act *shudder*

And the thought of it biting off my tongue...

[schnee.livejournal.com]

"Lass mich raus" means "let me out", actually, not "leave me out". :) And "Wer schön sein will, muß leiden" means "those who want to be beautiful have to suffer", literally - that is, "beauty knows no pain".

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Thanks for highlighting that to me, I must admit I had difficulty with the last one as there were so many verbs in there.

I so need to improve my German :(

[schnee.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. *scritches* And don't worry about it... nobody's perfect. :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I would like to improve though. For the last few years I have always felt that I am almost there when it comes to German but frustratingly not quite. I need to get out the old books and study it a little more I guess.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* I think what you really need to do is get practice... immerse yourself. Studying books etc. can be helpful, but in the end, just learning grammar rules by heart will only get you so far.

Do you get any German TV stations, for example? If yes, I'd suggest trying to watch German news (the Tagesschau, for example); or you could also read German books, or subscribe to a German magazine or newspaper or check if your local library has any (I'd recommend the Spiegel and the Zeit, respectively, although they may not be the easiest in terms of language).

That's pretty much what I did to improve my English after dropping my English classes in school, too. :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I think that's the only way, the problem is finding the time. I have just finished work now (it's 8:58pm) having started at 9am. I really want to be fluent in German (and indeed do loads of things) but time is the major commodity.

Sadly, I don't get any German TV shows, my best chance is the Internet and the German music I listen to. It's not a bad start though, I already know far more than I did. The thing is that nothing beats practice, and the only way I am really going to do that, is by going to Germany and talking to people. Next week is the one of the only weeks (I may be back in Koeln in November) where I will be in Germany and can improve my German. It's frustrating to know that if I lived in Germany for three months or so, I probably would be fluent.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles and snugs* Hmm, that's a lot of work, then. x.x Maybe streaming radio would help? I know NDR Info (a talk radio station mostly featuring news, reports and the like) used to have a stream, at least (not sure if they still do - my bookmarked stream URL isn't working anymore), for example, and I imagine that the Deutsche Welle would have one, too. It might be something to listen to while working, too - even if it's just in the background, it may help, simply by exposing you to what the language sounds like, its natural flow and all that.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I am a massive fan of German music so I am immersed in the language a fair bit. As you say though, familiarity is the best course of action. I have listened to German sports broadcasts in the past and it went quite well, I should probably take that up again.

The thing is it's easier for foreigners to learn English than vice versa as you get all the American and British music, films and TV. These are often subtitled so you can immerse yourself with English pretty easily (and indeed it's hard to avoid in most European countries). Here, all we get to hear is English. It's annoying.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

You're right as far as music is concerned, but TV and movies are never subtitled here (in Germany, that is) - they're always dubbed. :P

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It's an odd thing with Germany, as in most countries it's subtitled. I have heard the Germans are big on dubbing and what I have seen, suggests the same. I admit it's odd watching well-known actors speaking German - I just find it interesting why you dub instead of subtitle.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's weird when you're not used to it, but to me, it's normal - it's subtitled movies that are weird. :) Originals are fine, of course, and so are dubbed versions, but subtitled versions are just strange to me.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I do find myself focusing more on the subtitles than the movie itself. This often makes the movie harder to follow as you constantly have to look in two places at once.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, same for me.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

And what's worse is that I often catch myself trying to work out how a language works by comparing the English with the subtitles. That normally takes up most of the film or programme. I guess I am easily distracted...

[whitelion26.livejournal.com]

:P, snobby husky going through peoples thinsg hehe

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It was just lying on the floor hun, right in front of the toilet. I couldn't miss it. To be honest, I was more disturbed than anything else but as it was just lying there, I thought it would be rude of me if I didn't take a quick peek. I wish I hadn't :P

[whitelion26.livejournal.com]

LOL right you were snopping and just don't want to admit it hehe :P

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It was just there hun, lying on the floor. I swear!! It was scary and horrible and the pages were crusty. It scared me *sobs*

[actively-lazy.livejournal.com]

Vodafone sent me the C702 as an upgrade to start with, but i just didn't like it from the get go, the buttons are far too small for my clunky thumbs, and getting the back off to get to the battery was just far too much effort, i think mine was probably faulty come to think of it.

So i complained and got a Samsung Soul instead :3

I've seen a few of those new pennies at work, and on friday, saw the new 2p aswell, looks even better than the penny :D

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

The buttons are rather small but I think I have more dainty fingers than your clonking great members. I have the delicate touch so I can use mine with no problems :P

The battery thing is a little annoying but when do I ever need to take the battery out? Still, the Samsung Soul sounds cool and James Bond like. Although it could be a government spy device for controlling your thoughts...

I get the impression that the new 2ps are going to be far more impressive than the 1ps. I can't wait to get my paws on them :)