Gorilla vs. Bear has published their list of top 2009 LPs and, let’s face it, this is when the But You Forgot…! legions will start mobilizing en masse. So for our first top ten list of the year, let’s publish the top ten “But You Forgot” LPs from that comments section:

1. Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
2. Song of Shame by Woods
3. Hospice by The Antlers
4. Wavvves by Wavves
5. (self-titled) by Real Estate
6. Tarot Sport by Fuck Buttons
7. Continent by CFCF
8. Tambourine by Little Girls
9. Two Suns by Bat For Lashes
10. Embryonic by The Flaming Lips

Of course my favorite of these LPs are the last two, but I confess that Hospice is pretty amazing. I mean, yeesh. Go give it a spin at Lala or something.

E plictisitor, plictisitor de moarte, fiind deci cazul s-o luam din loc. A fost concluzia lui Roy Keane despre reactia unei intregi Irlande, mai putin a sa, of course, la hentul lui Henry, parere exprimata la nici doua zile dupa jocul de la Paris.

Sunt perfect de-acord cu Keane c-ar fi timpul sa scriem si de-altceva. Dar, intr-o ultima radiografiere a tonelor de hartie consumate in Albion pe marginea meciului intre vecinii de peste Canalul Manecii si Marea Irlandei, m-am izbit de editorialul unuia dintre cele mai reputate peneluri din Regatul Unit, al carui comentariu m-a facut sa pricem ca, in ciuda deceniilor petrecute de la distanta ori de la fata locului cu ochii pe fotbalul insular, nu deprinsesem o piatra de temelie a etosului jocului inventatorilor sai.

Intr-o stranie coincidenta in privinta nationalitatii eroilor fazei aduse in discutie de jurnalist, se intampla cu doar 9 zile inaintea henturilor de pe Stade de France ca un mulatru atacant francez sa obtina un penalty nemeritat, plonjand in careu ca in bazin, in preajma unui mijlocas irlandez ce se lansase intr-o deposedare prin alunecare, fara insa a-l fi atins. Faza s-a derulat in ultimul joc al etapei dinaintea meciurilor intertari, mai exact Liverpool – Birmingham City, intr-o luni seara.

David Ngog a patruns pe flancul stang, a cazut neobstructionat in careu, arbitrul a acordat penalty iar irlandezul Lee Carsley s-a facut foc si para pe francez si oficial. Acest incident, si nu mult discutatul dublu hent de la Paris, a fost subiectul randurilor ce mi-au dezvaluit un fapt esential despre crezul iubitorilor de fotbal din Regat.

Am aflat astfel ca, la conferinta de presa dinaintea recentei partide Liverpool – Manchester City, un alt 2-2, ca si cu City din Birmingham, Rafael Benitez s-ar fi exprimat ca plonjonul lui Ngog s-a constituit intr-o mai mica ofensa la adresa fotbalului decat un tackling periculos. La care, atragandu-i-se atentia ca auditoriul englez are o perceptie inversata in aceasta privinta, spanionul a solicitat presarilor sa incerce furnizarea unei ordini mai umane a prioritatilor.

E posibil ca, influentat de numarul accidentatilor din lot in cursul acestei toamne, incluzand piese cheie ca Gerrard si Torres, antrenorul Benitez sa fi incercat diminuarea oprobiului iscat la adresa oportunismului tanarului sau atacant prin a-i aseza plonjonul in lumina unor “rele” pe care le considera mai mari, exemplificand tacklingurile ce pun in pericol ori chiar accidenteaza adversari.

Benitez nu si-a gasit insa cu acest punct de vedere aliati intre ziaristi. Dintre care, editorialistul a dezvaluit consensul sincer al breslei ca, amintind de-un plonjon similar din vara al lui Eduardo, in jocul Arsenal – Celtic, gestul brazilianului-croat a fost mai grav decat incidentul in care ii era rupt piciorul, intr-un tackling considerat accidental, comis acum 20 de luni, coincidenta, de un fundas de la… Birmingham City, Martin Taylor. Faultul de maidan din preajma centrului terenului, in primele minute ale acelei partide, e probabil inca intiparit pe retina multor telespectatori, cu tibia lui Eduardo franta ca o grisina si cu Wenger explodand imediat dupa fluierul final, cum ca Taylor ar trebui suspendat pe viata din fotbal. Sentinta pe care si-a renegat-o in aceeasi seara.

Ei bine, dintotdeauna am admirat fair-playul britanic si, mai mult, am detestat copios trucurile de tot felul ale fotbalului in general de sorginte latina, contrast care m-a determinat cu si mai mare usurinta sa simpatizez abordarea insularilor. Dar n-am intuit ca britanicilor le repugna intr-asemenea masura teatralitatea ori micile farse ale jocului latin incat sa imbratiseze ca pe un mai mic rau o incercare de deposedare generand oase rupte. In fiecare zi invatam cate ceva si abia acum am priceput ordinea lucrurilor, pe un subiect de principiu mai mult decat important in privinta fotbalului insular.

Benitez, dupa 6 ani in Albion, de o parte a faliei, iar presarii de cealalta, cand vine vorba de merele stricate ale fotbalului. Plonjonul in speranta unui penalty ori tacklingul primejdios. Falia e probabil extinsa in aceasta privinta, existand in general intre jocul din Marea Britanie si cel continental ori macar latin.

Iar pentru a-si fortifica argumentul, comentatorul a exemplificat atacul lui Guthrie, in primavara inca in elita cu Newcastle, care a sprintat la tinta, scotandu-l din joc pe Fagan, de la Hull City, dar nu pentru restul partidei, ci pe cateva luni de zile, considerand ca faultul sau, desi in mod evident premeditat, ar atrage mai putine critici decat plonjonul teatral al lui Ngog.

Aici consider ca este o fortare a notei, o exagerare, ori  – din contra – tocmai dovada absoluta a spiritului de lupta al bulldogului britanic, “fibra” esentiala a jocului in insula. Jos palaria daca determinarea respectivilor jucatori, oricat de amenintator ar parea tacklingul, ar rezulta intr-o deposedare curata prin alunecare, mingea si nu adversarul. Insa in cazul in care atacurile s-au lasat, in cazurile amintite, cu fracturi si multe luni prin sali de recuperare si pe tusa, imi cer iertare, dar n-ar putea avea mai multa trecere in fata incercarii unui Ngog de a obtine pe nedrept penalty.

In motricitatea lui Ngog nu s-a deslusit ca ar cauta penaltyul cu lumanarea, doar “saniuta” lui Carsley determinandu-l sa incerce in ultima clipa marea cu sarea, pe cand acel hei-rup al lui Guthrie, lansat la rupere, a fost cu premeditare. Acestea au fost exemplele alese de ziarist pentru a-si reliefa punctul de vedere, creand implicit o falie intre perceptia sa si probabil nu doar a lui Benitez, ci a destulor exponenti ai fotbalului non-insular.

Articolul mi-a pus in alta lumina marja acceptabilitatii deposedarii in fotbalul insular, placandu-mi mult tacklingurile desavarsite dar gasindu-le uneori mai mult decat la limita chiar si pe cele ale lui Paul Scholes, altfel deloc un jucator “murdar”.  

Mai jos, faultul asupra lui Eduardo si plonjonul sau contra lui Celtic, unii presari considerand a doua infractiune ca fiind mai grava. Va las pe Dumneavoastra sa decideti. Gusturile nu se discuta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qryjPi4KEek

E pe ritmuri sud-americane. Si zau ca mi s-ar face inima cat un purice, sa-mi mai sara cineva la picioare, dupa atacul de mai sus. Dar de-aceea nu-s fotbalist si scrijelesc in lumea virtuala.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL5G6eAsfgY  

We have to understand the geographical features of our continent, about 5000 yeas ago, to understand what happened at that time.

 The Himalayas have been growing up all the while, and it is safe to assume that in those days, travellers could easily cross the region either way. The sentimental attachment of Hindus, towards Kailash and Manasarover is proof of my statement. If we have not seen the place, there will be no love for it. The description of the area as a green forest, in the Bhagavat Puran too confirms this view. Therefore, migration of people across the Himalayas is a distict possibility.

 The most intimate charactoristic of a people, is their language. Early Aryans had Samskrutam as their mother tongue. If today it is a dead language, it is because, those people were in a minority and were forced by circumstances, to forget it and use whatever was the language of the people, among whom they lived. The fact that European Aryans do not know vedas, shows that, they migrated before we composed vedic sutras. 

My children do not know Malayalam. Of course, they can talk in our language. Talking is not literature. To write in Malayalam, it is necessary to learn the script. So Aryans in India, forced their children to learn Samskrutam, in order to preserve their heritage and identity. Their early literature was the Vedas which, enen now, we learn by heart. All debates and writings were in Samskrutam. A poet who wrote in Malayalam was rediculed as half poet !

The Aryans who migrated towards the north and north west, were not so lucky, as we were in India.The fact that several Samskrutam words are transformed into the local language of the area only proves the Aryan ancestry of these people. Maximum similarity is in Hindi, even spoken Hindi. Samskrutham     Hindi            English

 ekam                     ek                   one

 dwayam             doh                  two

 thrayam             theen              three ( here the English word too is similar) dasham                dus                  ten (“decimal” is derived from Samskrutam) mathr                     matha          mother (derived from Samskrutam)

bhradru                  bhai              brother ( do )

Russian and German languages have many Samskrutam words. It was a German scholar who wrote Malayalam grammar!

 During second world war, a German scholar  met the King of Cochin, who was a scholar in Samskrutam, They started chit chatting in Samskrutam; the English Resident was scared. The King was asked to abdicate.

 Those Aryans who migrated to the peninsular India, accepted the local language, but continued to patronise Samskkrutam ,as there were no books in local languages.  Thus the conclusion is inevitable. Aryan migration is from India towards Europe. Why they did not go towards Tibet and China, is a mystery.

Sexual contact with the local people was inevitable. Hence, the Aryan features are dimmed and local charactoristics became prominent.

 Theoretically, we may say that north Indians are Aryans and others are non Aryans. In this, we ignore the people living in the hills, including the north east.

Davidians are a mystery. Unlike others, they have body hair, jet black complexion, teeth pushing the lips outwards, heavy jaws and stocky, short body. There is not a single Samskrutam word in Tamil which has only 26 letters. Malayalam too had no Samskrutam words. The numbers onnu, randu, moonnu, nalu, anchu, aru, ezhu, ettu, onpathu and pathu (one to ten) of Malayalam can be understood by people of all states in the south. It is a proof that Dravidian people are a distinct group. They are even earlier than the civilisation of the north.

Hanuman was impressed bythe grandeur of the Lankan capital, which seemed to be paradise in this world!

 Tamil literature was highly developed, even before English education spread in the country.

 Every day we read about new archeological discoveries in Tamilnadu.

The problem when you’re me, is that:

People get to look at me all day, and I only get glimpses…
…LOL! (that was a quote from Hannah Montana)

Anyway, to be totally honest, when you’re a shock jock like me, you can say “been there; done that; got the tee shirt” for a lot of different things.
You see, when I was young, I drew up a “to do” list, and I basically strategically executed everything on that list!

So like I told all earlier, I was inspired from the Phineas & Ferb opening sequence:

• Building a rocket
• Fighting a mommy
• Climbing up the Eiffel tower
• Discovering something that doesn’t exist
• Giving a monkey a shower
• Surfing tidal waves
• Creating nanobots
• Locating Frankenstein’s brain
• Finding a dodo bird
• Painting a continent
• Driving your sister insane

So translating that to Jeremy language, this would mean:
(And this will be my 2010 Vision)

• Developing my educational video series
• Developing “cool” electronic devices
• Acing mathematics and physics/chemistry
• Dating a hot Christian celebrity =)
• Study medicine (ok maybe this will come later)
• Graduate law (yay!)
• Finding a cure for cancer (ok maybe a bit early lol!)

As they Phineas & Ferb

“PHINEAS AND FERB (NOT THEM; JEREMY LOL!) IS GOING TO DO IT ALL WOOOOOOOOPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Message me if you think I have missed anything out!

UPDATE: PLEASE do not email me “losing your virginity” since this is a very .. well weird lol, thing to say!  Particularly if you’re a girl!  It is NOT very princess like!  But I am a Christian virgin with model looks **makes a stunner Zac Efron look to get the ladies** LOL!

Ok tell me whos hotter:

Peace out suckazzz!!!

Click Here for all the info on the HO Scale Models!

The Canadian National Railway acquired 123 of the SD40-2W locomotives, numbered 5241-5363.  The InterMountain Railway Co. is announcing the HO scale model, manufactured with the 4-window safety cab, the snow shields over the air inlets and the distinctive stairwells and handrails, just as announced previously in N scale. Both scales feature laser sharp painting and lettering, etched metal details and wire grab irons  Non-Sound models will have a factory installed DCC decoder capable of operating on analog DC or DCC.  Sound models will have a factory installed SoundTraxx® Tsunami® DCC decoder. It will have operable ditchlights and is equipped with Kadee ® couplers.

This year Golf World published a top-100 list of ‘Continental’ golfcourses. A list like this is very subjective, but any course on the list is worth playing. At no. 1 Les Bordes (great website by the way). On the former hunting estate of Baron Bich you are one a half hours – and an entire world – away from Paris. Lübker Golf Resort (Denmark) is a new entry at the top of the list. See for yourself which courses are missing:

01. Les Bordes (fr)
02. Morfontaine Golf Club (fr)
03. Club de Golf Valderrama (es)
04. Le Golf National (fr)
05. Royal Zoute Golf Club (be)
06. Noordwijkse Golfclub (nl)
07. PGA Golf de Catalunya (es)
08. Golf de Chantilly (fr)
09. Campo de Golf El Saler (es)
10. Sporting Club Berlin Scharmützelsee (de)
11. Golf de Fontainebleau (fr)
12. Bro Hof Slott Golf Club (se)
13. Praia d`el Rey Golf and Beach Resort (pt)
14. Lübker Golf Resort (dk)
15. Halmstad Golfklubb (se)
16. Koninklijke Haagsche Golf and Country Club (nl)
17. PGA of Sweden National (se)
18. Le Prince de Provence (fr)
19. Barsebäck Golf and Country Club (se)
20. Troia Golf (pt)
21. Kennemer Golf and Country Club (nl)
22. Spérone Golf Club (fr)
23. Golf Santander (es)
24. Falsterbo Golfklubb (se)
25. Oitavos Golfe (pt)

Download the complete list here.

CFCF tries to make a disco album, but doesn't remember what made disco great in the first place.

PREVIEW: VISIT CFCF’s MySpace
WE GIVE IT: 13/20

Disco gets a bad rap.  And with John Travolta in that horrible white suit, the incessant playing of the Bee Gees “Staying Alive” and those terrible, terrible dance moves, it’s easy to see why.  But hey, if Bon Jovi and Poison were the first things that came to mind when people thought of rock music, people would consign rock and roll to the same level of musical hell they now attribute to disco.

So, to defend a reviled genre, but not to bring leisure suits back, let it now be said that disco could, at times, be pretty awesome.  Seriously, listen to some Amanda Lear, Miko Mission, Donna Summer or Sylvester if you’re still questioning it.

One artist that feels similarly is Canadian producer and remixer CFCF.  On his new album, Continent, CFCF tries to both pay tribute to, and update classic disco.  The listener certainly won’t hear anthems in the vein of the aforementioned Summer, or the Bee Gees. But instead, CFCF explores disco’s darker, more contemplative side, while still trying to find a danceable groove.

The album’s standout track, “Monolith” sounds like the results of a rave held in a darkened alleyway, while “Invitation to Love”, with its cheesy synths and drumbeats, is the perfect song for when you’re just about to enter a dance club.  Unfortunately, this leads to the album’s two main problems.

For one, save for the songs just mentioned, none of the tracks are particularly memorable.  CFCF definitely creates a mood on Continent. However, he just doesn’t create many noteworthy songs, which brings about the second and most important problem – Continent isn’t really danceable.  For an album that borrows much of its vernacular from disco, CFCF forgets that most of what made the genre so great was the sense of motion inherent in all of its great singles.  Now, chillout records are fine, but Continent is trying to be a dance record, and on that standard, it fails.

Still though, it’s a fairly nice chillout record.  It works as background music and has some admirable grooves.  In the end though, CFCF tried to make a disco album, but forgot what made disco so great in the first place.

– Marc Sollinger

.. in Islanda. Tara grav afectata de criza economica a privit neputincioasa cum bancile sale au sucombat in decurs de doar o saptamana din octombrie 2008. Caderea bancilor a sapat adanc in increderea in economia Islandei ceea ce a dus la prabusirea monedei nationale, coroana.

Cum operatiunile McDonald’s in Islanda se bazau pe alimente importate de pe continent managerii s-au trezit in imposibilitatea de a sustine costurile. Ultima zi in care Big Mac a ajuns pe tejghea a fost sambata 31 octombrie.

Anuntul privind inchiderea s-a facut cu cateva zile inainte iar compania s-a trezit la usa cu zeci de mii de clienti dornici sa apuce un ultim hamburger pentru o perioada nu se stie cat de lunga. Mai ales pentru ca McDonald’s au declarat ca nu s-ar mai intoarce in Islanda.

Standul World Harmony Run ne propune o stafeta pornind in februarie de la Dublin si trecand in iulie si prin Romania...

Ce-am mai vazut la Dublin, la maraton? Standuri luminate cu nenumarati organizatori promovandu-si competitiile. Dintre care una va trece in iulie 2010 si prin Romania.

Dar forfota si babilonia lingvistica din centrul expo organizatoric de la Dublin mi-a amintit de unul din siturile ce concentreaza sutele de curse din lume. Si care site iti recomanda 101 distante pe care sa le alergi before you die. (Or you break your knees). Inainte sa mori ori pana-ti rupi genunchii.

Una dintre alergarile in strainatate, din suta plus una, ar fi ultramaratonul gazduit de amfitrioana Cupei Mondiale, Africa de Sud, cu chiar o saptamana inaintea inceperii ostilitatilor la 2010 World Cup. Se numeste Comrades Marathon, e la editia a 85-a, este caracterizata drept The Ultimate Human Race si masoara 89 de kilometri, de la primaria din Pietermaritzburg pana pe Sahara Stadium din Durban. Ca un ultim amanunt, startul se da la 5 si jumatate dimineata, iar de-acolo cu Domnul. Cu alte cuvinte numele de maraton e bland, Comrades masurand mai bine de doua maratoane cap la cap. Pentru cine se incumeta.

In aceeasi zi, din cate-am aflat la Dublin, undeva in centrul Europei va “curge” cea mai lunga stafeta, purtand flacara World Harmony Run de-a lungul a 20.000 kilometri, timp de 7 luni. Startul se va da in 25 februarie la Dublin, capitala europeana a sportului in 2010, iar cursa armoniei mondiale va strabate intreaga primavara batranul continent, ajungand in luna iulie si pe teritoriul Romaniei. Mai apoi, destinatia Asia, si tot asa…

Fondator al World Harmony Run, Sri Chinmoy a pus pe picioare numeroase curse si cluburi amatoare de alergari. La una dintre aceste competitii, de 10 mile pe circumferinta parcului londonez Battersea, in organizarea clubului Run and Become, o alta inventie a pionierului Sri, decedat in 2001, am alergat in primavara acestui an. S-a dat startul devreme, la opt fara un sfert intr-o sambata, dar entuziasmul ne-a purtat pasii in cele sase ture.

Aceasta stafeta, care neindoios va reuni puhoi de participanti, va ridica alergarile la un rang de sport de masa intr-o mult mai mare masura decat o fac sutele de maratoane si miile de mai scurte curse de pe intinderea pamantului. Curand, mult mai multi vom alerga, asa cum candva biscuiam sau fandam, la Daciada.

Alergarile vor deveni populare, pentru mase, si ne vom calca in picioare ori accederea la competitii se va face in baza unor criterii si timpi calificatorii. Cum e de exemplu cazul Maratonului Boston, ajuns la a 114-a editie, si care s-ar balona in pas cu renumele si traditia sa, daca n-ar impune anumiti timpi pentru prezenta la start, in functie de categoria de varsta.

Intr-o tot mai evidenta stratificare sociala, sporturi mai putin accesibile maselor, pe criterii economice, vor fi practicate doar de cetatenii din salonul de lux. Un golf, navigatia oceanica, o maslina. Si-atunci de ce sa nu alergam mon cher cot la cot, in aceasta aiuritoare globalizare!?! Uite, programa partidului ce ne vrea binele si traseaza palierele de sarcina cincinale, plus cursele rasarite aidoma ciupercilor dupa ploaie, ne ofera sansa, si in plus nu mai e nici o rusine sa iesi in pantaloni scurti la sosea, daca si Marghioala din curtea invecinata a fost dusa cu zaharelul…

Si-ajung la Bucuresti. Dupa ce caravana armoniei va trece prin capitala, a treia editie a Bucharest City Marathon va spera la mai multi clienti in toamna urmatoare, decat cei peste 150 la maraton, din 18 octombrie. Ca nu-i usor sa atragi participanti, mai ales la inceput, e de la sine inteles. Ca alte curse consacrate isi desfasoara linia de start in aceeasi zi, e un dezavantaj in plus.

Bucurestiul a fost concurat la miez de octombrie, dintre maratoanele Europei, de Amsterdam, Istanbul si Mediterraneo, undeva in Spania, altele ca Amman, Toronto, Guadalajara ori in China respectiv Coreea neconstituind rivale pentru cel din capitala Romaniei, fiind pe alte continente.

Ideea e ca ai de unde alege. Restul tine de atractivitatea ofertei, de magnetismul locului. La modul in care Romania nu exceleaza deloc in privinta turismului si in ciuda potentialului evident, Bucurestiului s-ar putea sa-i vina greu sa-si croiasca un nume de rezonanta pe harta maratoanelor lumii. Numai accesati calendarul http://aimsworldrunning.org si veti intelege cat de multe sunt optiunile.

Cea mai buna sansa ar fi ca multi sa fie stimulati de trecerea caravanei World Harmony Run pe strada lor si a doua zi, la trezire, sa se inscrie intre participantii la cursa din orasul lor. Fie el Maratonul Timisoarei, al Bucurestiului, de la Sighisoara la Medias ori cel din Piatra Craiului. Si nu se lasa cu genunchi rupti. Pot sa confim c-am vazut intre participantii la Dublin maratonisti in tricouri verzi, dar nu ale Irlandei, ci din 100 Marathon Club, alergatori trecuti de suta in privinta curselor de 42,2 kilometri alergate. Pe unele era adaugat Manic. Dar nu trebuie sa fii maniac, nici sa alergi pana la moarte.

Vorba versurilor unei balade rock aleasa drept coloana sonora pe imaginile de arhiva ale Maratonului Stockholm. Poti alerga cat de mult vrei si dupa toate cele, fericire, glorie, dragoste si tot curcubeul existentelor noastre, dar finalmente nu poti fugi de tine insuti.

The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle.

After a carbohydrate meal I went to bed and tried not to think about the next morning so that I could get as much sleep as possible. Another week of work completed but I was not looking at another usual weekend. Last time I went to bed on a Friday night at 8 pm goes back to my childhood. The room at the lodge in the village at the foot of Mount Cameroon was humid and warm.
The AC was noisy but after a while the room chilled down. I came totally unprepared and was not sure if I could deal with the physical strain I was about to endure the next two days.
I thought about how I had gotten myself into this and how the hike would be and I finally managed to fall asleep.

We were stretching our lazy muscles in the early morning sun outside in the garden of the lodge for a good 30 minutes and at 5.30 am we started our hike. Soon we left the paved roads of Buea and entered a path that marked the start of a climb that would go on for the rest of the day. My guide was a cheerful sporty guy who did not have one gram of fat on his body, only solid muscles. While he wasn’t a body builder, he was strong like a horse. He explained how he often climbed the mountain as we made our first attempts up. We started a conversation about the surroundings and the local customs of the people of West Cameroon the region where people speak English instead of French as they do in the rest of the country.

Trees of the tropical rain forest gave us comfortable shadow to protect us from the immediate impact of the burning sun, the humidity was intense and I was trying to find a pace that allowed me to keep my breath. After a good hour’s walk up the steep and winding path I had found my rhythm and began to feel more at ease to respond to the questions of my guide who wanted to know everything about Europe. Like many people in Africa he had a glorified image of the place similar to the way many people in Europe have an underrated view of Africa.
The rain forest was just an amazing place and as we were getting deeper into it I was fascinated by the way the sunbeams colored the place one moment while thick branches of trees provided deep dark shadows the next moment. We were walking under an enormous umbrella where the sun managed to shine through only from time to time.

We were making slow but steady progress up and at around 10 am we reached the first camp on the trail.

Mount Cameroon’s summit has two peaks one at 4070 and one at 4095  meters above sea level and the trail we used had two camps. Like Kilimanjaro, Mount Cameroon is a volcano, the most active on the West coast of Africa and the climb does not require any specific climbing techniques like one would need to climb some of the mountains in say the Alps. I recommend however to come prepared because the climb is a steep and long walk in humid terrain and warm temperatures.

As we all gathered together to have a rest, I decided not to sit down, but to stay on my feet. I walked around the camp’s grounds and had chats with some of my fellow climbers.
A friend of mine, chairman of a sports club, was responsible for organizing the climb and in total we were about 25 people. We decided not to stop too long to benefit from the relative cool temperatures of the morning and before long we were on our way to the second camp.

About a good hour after we left the first camp, the tropical rain forest gradually changed into a savanna landscape, and another two hours later were walking under clouds this time, that gave us some protection against the sun. The terrain became rougher and I needed to pay close attention where I placed my feet, in order not to slip and make a nasty fall. Short plants with sharp spines were all over the place and you could easily hurt yourself if you were not careful.

We reached the second camp around 3 in the afternoon. All this time we had been living off chocolate bars and water and as we reached the second camp ground a nice smell of food was coming our way. Porters had reached the camp earlier and had started to prepare food for the group. We sat together and were joking about the hardships making it this far up while we were waiting for the food to be served. After the meal, I went straight to sleep to regain energy for the final climb to the summit.

There was a small hut that consisted of four walls with a tin roof, a small door and the entire place was divided into two layers by wooden planks. I decided to put my sleeping sack on top of the planks and fitted myself between two of my friends and fell asleep almost instantly. When I woke up I saw that the place had filled up and underneath us people were still sleeping and snoring.

At 3 am we prepared ourselves for the final part of the climb and with torches we started our walk in an otherwise pitch dark space. Clouds were between the stars and us and since it was half moon the light was very dim. We were at about 3300 meters altitude and the outside temperature was down to about 18 degrees Celsius. Although initially I felt cold, soon I started to sweat again like I had done the entire previous day because of the strain this final part of the climb was putting on me. Walking rough terrain required my attention but trying to walk this terrain in the dark with only a very small light coming from my torch added another challenge to it. Every step required concentration and by now I started to feel the effects of the altitude and increasingly I realized that I had come totally unprepared.
My guide had not shown any sign of fatigue and was walking calmly and steady as if he was strolling in a park. He kept telling me that we were almost there. He started to tell me this at the beginning of the hike and kept on telling me the same thing to encourage me to keep going.

Although the last stage of the climb only took us up another 900 meters, I felt it was worse than the entire first two stages, until just before 6 am the sun came up and I could see more clearly where to place my feet. We reached the summit by 7 am and I had difficulty not to through up. I was clearly suffering from the altitude and from the fact that I had not trained at all in preparation to the climb. After drinking some water I sat down this time to enjoy a magnificent view that was unfolding itself all around me. Slowly I started to regain my breath and to forget my fatigue and I was taken by the way the sun placed a golden layer over this top of the world. We were lucky that there was not too much wind. My guide came and sat next to me and for about 20 minutes we just stared in the distance without really talking much. The morning silence was so loud that we did not want to break it afraid to spoil the serene and peaceful scene.

After a good final look we decided to start the descent and after two hours we joined some of the fellow climbers who had decided to stay at the second camp. Now we walked with bended knees downhill using a walking stick to keep our balance. After hours of walking this way my thighs were getting more and more painful. It was 6 in the evening when we reached the village again and on return to the lodge I took a shower that I still remember years later.

Once cleaned up, I got myself a good massage before getting ready to celebrate with the rest of the group. Africa would not be Africa without music and dance. While food was served people from the village came to share the moment of fulfillment with us and with my complete soar legs I pulled myself together to join the dancing crowd. Not sure where the energy came from but for a few moments I forgot about my soar legs.

At 9 pm my friend told me that the car was ready to take me back to the airport. On arrival in Paris the next morning at 6 am, I was checked twice since I was carrying rucksacks, climbing boots while at the same time I was carrying a suit bag and brief case. I did not have the energy to argue much which probably was better anyway. I made it just in time to catch a flight to Montpellier in the south of France, where I had to host a Nigerian customer delegation that wanted to visit our competency center.

The customer asked me if I was feeling alright since I made funny faces when walking. I told the customer that I had overdone the morning exercises a bit. Nobody would have believed my story and I just wanted to get through the day and to my bed as soon as possible. It took me another good week before I managed to walk normally again.

If you go hiking mountains please take your time to prepare and take your time to hike so that you can adjust to altitude effects. If you want an out of body experience that you will remember for as long as you live just get on a plane and get off somewhere near a mountain and start hiking!

© Desi Lopez Fafié

Oostende este un orasel de aproape 70.000 de locuitori, fix in marginea Belgiei, la malul Marii Nordului. cladirile din jurul garii sunt suficient de darapanate ca sa crezi ca este un orasel sarac. la iesirea din gara, in schimb, ti se lipeste de ochi canalul pe care sunt ancorate zeci de ambarcatiuni deloc ieftine. treptat, mergand de-a lungul portului, printre pescarusi, vezi ca orasul numai sarac nu e. plin de hoteluri si carciumi, multe tearooms (n-am inteles exact ce inseamna; am mancat la un astfel de local care este bistro, tearoom si fast food in acelasi timp. in niciun caz, nu arata ca un fast food. e restaurant elegant, cu terasa).

cand am fost eu, era plin si de balciuri. octombrie este luna balciurilor, orasul este efectiv plin. si ma refer chiar la balciuri din acelea cu carusel, roata, sute de jucarii de plus etc. si cu muzica data tare, cu luminite de-ti joaca ochii in cap… toti sunt satui; imi spunea un nene ca sunt foarte scumpe si daca ai 3 copii, s-a dus salariul pe o luna.

oamenii… pe strada nu prea i-am vazut, ca erau pe la carciumi. unde am mancat, chiar langa mine era o gasca de vreo 7-8 oameni in varsta (super relaxati, veseli… si sunt sigura ca erau mai batrani decat aratau) care iesisera, intr-o dupa-amiaza ploioasa, cu prietenii la bere. am aflat ca orasul este un loc preferat de cei batrani si ceva mai bogati pentru petrecerea batranetii. cat despre cei tineri, la tearoom-ul asta erau 3 chelneri si pe cuvant ca erau toti 3 draguti foc. nu mai zic de florarul de la care am cumparat o begonie rosie. nu zic nici de faptul ca orasul este recunoscut ca fiind foarte prietenos cu homosexualii. si stiu eu ca cei mai multi barbati misto ori sunt luati, ori sunt gay . dar mi-am clatit ochii cu placere .

plaja pe care am vazut-o este, zic ei, cea mica, Little Beach, dar care e mai mare decat plaja de la Mamaia. data viitoare, merg direct la plaja mare, sa vad ce inseamna ‘mare’ pentru ei. nisipul era roscat, scoicile maro, apa nu era rece, caci am bagat o mana, dar am si simtit-o in cizme, cand a venit un val mai puternic in timp ce filmam. asta dupa ce eram oricum murata de ploaie (chiar, cata ploaie poate suporta o tara? dupa vacanta in Belgia, am devenit imuna).

I love this video, it shows how a mere thought scribbled on paper can evolve into something oh so amazing. Fact: WHATZGOODMUSIC started out as a random thought and then some random drawings in a notebook. Doesn’t this video make you wanna just follow your Dreams? Who’s with me? Cool, of course I know YOU are!

WHATZGOODMUSIC.?

Love This!WHATZGOODMUSIC.?

This project began with me anticipating being able to field 52 teams – 44 representing the U.S., and eight international squads.

The international contingent, in my mind anyway, consisted of Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Japan, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

The problem with that was that we were leaving out a major portion of the world. Not a ton of baseball players, of course, but I wanted to make this project as inclusive as possible. Unaccounted for: the rest of Asia aside from Japan … the players from smaller countries in South and Central America … and the whole of Europe.

So I’ve bumped it up to 54 teams, including a team from Europe and a team from Asia (not including Japan), and we’ll add some guys to Panama’s crew to make them stronger. We’ll try Europe first.

It’s an interesting mix, with guys who were born on Air Force bases (like Glenn Hubbard) and a lot of 19th Century guys. We have England, France, Germany, West Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia (Elmer Valo) and Austria-Hungary (longtime baseball man Jack Quinn). Bobby Thomson was, of course, the Staten Island Scot, living in New York but born in Glasgow. His 86th birthday is tomorrow, Oct. 25. No one from Italy though, as Reno Bertoia didn’t quite make it here.

The featured guy is from the Netherlands, perhaps you’ve heard of him, a pitcher named Bert Blyleven. Much has been written elsewhere about whether or not he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I say yes, he does. All those strikeouts and shutouts may not put him at the very top of the pitching lists, but certainly well within the Hall of Fame’s range. Another guy who isn’t in the Hall is left-hander Tony Mullane, born in Ireland and known as “The Apollo of the Box.” He had just three fewer wins than Blyleven (287 to 284) and occasionally threw right-handed, which was actually his natural side before he suffered an arm injury.

Harry Wright is the manager, as he was for the legendary 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He was a pioneer in strategies such as positioning fielders by who was batting. Born in England, his background of course was in cricket, and he was a fine player himself though his career was interrupted by the war … the Civil War. The odds are stacked against him with this team, but it looks like a fun one to manage.

EUROPE EUROS

OF John Anderson
CA Jimmy Archer
UT Jeff Baker
1B Heinz Becker
3B Mike Blowers
RH Bert Blyleven
RH Tommy Bond
3B Dave Brain
1B Ed Cogswell
OF Patsy Donovan
UT Jack Doyle
RH Moe Drabowsky
2B Hobe Ferris
UT Jocko Fields
SS Jimmy Hallinan
LH Otto Hess
CA Dick Higham
2B Glenn Hubbard
SS Steve Jeltz
RH Charlie Lea
LH Craig Lefferts
RH Ted Lewis
2B Reddy Mack
RH Jim McCormick
RH Tony Mullane
RH Jack Quinn
OF Bobby Thomson
OF Elmer Valo

Next: Central America and a few more.

Sessions at 73 - 73 St Paul St - St Catharines - Ontario - Canada

Just got a posting in Facebook from Shayne Tyrer about a music concert playing in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada on Sunday November 15th, 2009.

Michelle Bellerose  - The Warrior of Tenderness has also played in Toronto and at the Fine Grind Cafe in St Catharines, where she was a featured artist there.

Stephanie Vicat, who was visiting St Catharines for a year from Paris, France, is also featured in an article from The St Catharines Standard, talking about how the cafe’s are in Paris, France with live music playing while you enjoy your lunch or dinner.

It creates a nice atmosphere.

I’ll be going to check out the Sessions at 73 and bringing more pictures and youtube videos from the bands that will be playing there.

A Jazz Singer who wants to promote Cultural Activities in St Catharines Downtown Core.

Sessions at 73

73 St. Paul St

St Catharines, Ontario

$10 Cover Charge  - 8 pm

I AM COMMITTING A SIN (The best band in Canada) - http://www.myspace.com/iamcommittingasin

A SIGHT FOR SEWN EYES (Halifax Technical Metal Chaos) - http://www.myspace.com/asightforsewneyes

COUNTERPARTS (Hamilton Melodic Metalcore) - http://www.myspace.com/counterparts

CONTINENT (Niagara Heavy) - http://www.myspace.com/continentmetal

i am committing sin

Continent

sessions at 73 michelle bellerose

Warrior of Tenderness – Myspace

*Jakarta Globe, 14 October 2009

Tour groups are usually a no-no. These small communities with a schedule, unpredictable characters and a bus evoke in me a tightening of emotions similar to what I feel in an airport departure hall with its amalgamation of tears, fears and stress.

Except on guided tours the tears usually come from laughing too much, the fears from getting lost in an unknown city and the stress stems from finding the best restaurant that isn’t already packed for lunch because of its famous slices of original Sacher torte chocolate cakes.

Conventional group travel — where my time is not my own — is no cup of tea for a habitual loner on perpetually itchy feet, but I thought I’d give it a go. Just for a week.

As a traveler I savor solitude. So much so that I once left a traveling companion on the beaches of Dubrovnik when her loquaciousness on the subject of her sexual prowess – or lack thereof — proved more than I could bear.

So when I joined a pack of Indonesian women on tour in Slovakia, the effect was quite jostling for this lone wolf. After quiet days of traveling solo and speaking to only a smattering of souls, entering a city and conversation again took some getting accustomed to.

Holding a good conversation is similar to a long tennis rally. It flows. The ball doesn’t drop and the talk falls in elegant strokes. There isn’t the need to start over again with a serve (or a new topic) each time in order to keep momentum going. But after weeks of self-imposed solitude, with the extent of my conversation being, “Where is this train going to?” my conversational skills were no longer on the Nadal-Federer level they were when I was a journalist in Jakarta, bouncing the conversational ball effortlessly with dozens of people a day. This time, my returns kept hitting the net and dropping.

Tour groups are generally loud and being with a bus load of excitable ladies could likely do damage to one’s ears as they chat and cackle over children, chores, credit cards and consumer goods. Silence, I conceded, was not going to be on the tour bus’s repertoire this week. But it was hard to resist joining these fun-loving ladies in their babble as we shuttled around Europe, giving new meaning to the term “bus-setter” — breakfast in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, dinner in the Austrian cultural hot spot of Vienna and lunch somewhere in between.

Riding a tour bus is basically a compact commute through a country. Commonly crisscrossing a nation in less than a week, tours for Asians are as speedy as the turnaround of tables in a busy Chinese restaurant, more a sprint than a cross-country run. As we crossed borderless borders from Slovakia into Austria, we passed wind farms that resembled graceful snow-white ballerinas in a landscape of agricultural green and stout houses with sloping red tile roofs that ran rampant across Slavic suburbia.

We acknowledged statues of national heroes wearing military suits, standing proud in white stone, and envied the old men sleepily sitting on benches in the shade, the sun casting shadows on strong hawk-like noses. I found myself gazing at elderly women wearing over-the-knee skirts in pale colors over thick ankles, and wondering if they were prostitutes during the wars; if their dresses were shorter, in bolder colors, and if they, sporting slimmer ankles, enticed armies of men into their chambers.

Along the way, the click of our tourist cameras followed us as adamantly as a stubborn stray that shadows you home. We paused in front of beautiful objects because they were listed in the guidebook, not really seeing or absorbing what was there — a mere photo opportunity. In countless photographs, our beaming faces with dried lips from holding a smile too long remained the same. Only the backgrounds changed.

On tours, which in Europe tend to visit resplendent buildings of ages past, one is bound to learn new things, for the castles and palaces of the Continent hold riveting stories within their cracking stone walls and dried up moats. At Cerveny Kamen Castle in the Slovakian countryside, our young guide, Maciej, showed us a sealed air shaft. It was closed, he confided, after a thief clambered in like an upside down Santa one day and stole castle relics — royal bows and arrows that long ago aimed at the stags whose heads pepper the castle walls, and rusted spears and swords that once drew blood.

Then he led us down to copper cellars that took more than two decades to construct. They lay deep under the castle grounds with lofty ceilings, connected to the towers that had housed generations of sovereigns since the 13th century, where without wars and princes running down their shrouded snaking pathways, their cloaked dungeons and secret passages had long been forgotten.

The hush that fell within the echoing walls lasted but for a fleeting second before someone said, “Line up, ladies, photo op!”

Tonight I will be giving live updates of the game on this site.  Remember it’s at 7 PM on CBC.