questmark

change

2012-01-07T01:47:00.001+02:00

You walk by a man and he asks you for some change.
You go to a fancy restaurant with your friends and hear them how they want to change.
You see people talk about it on tv, radio, the internet, even on the random street corner.

Everybody wants it!

So here I am, standing proud and tall on the porch of 2012, looking with hope and gleam at the horizon.
I'm not on a horse but I believe I have some change in my pocket. I'm not sure how much though...

What I do know is that each coin is shiny, new and bearing an evil looking grinning man on one side, and a question mark on the other.
"In you we trust." says the message imprinted on the side.

I guess it's up to me to figure out how much change I really have. More so, how much I really need.
Then again... the best things in life are said to be free, so I'll probably keep some change for a coffee.

Deep serious shit, I know.

BAC 2011

2011-07-03T17:45:00.000+03:00

In 2011 you don't fail bacu', bacu' fails you.

tomb raided

2011-03-05T19:53:00.001+02:00

I've always been a big fan of the games, and when I saw this figure I knew I had to have one.
Now I do, and this be the photo review of said figure, Tomb: Raider: Lara Croft, by NECA.

The packaging was fairly what you might expect, with everything neatly tied in place.

Out of the box, the contents are pretty diverse. Lara comes with quite a nifty array of weapons: her iconic twin pistols that can be holstered in her hip holders; a pump-action shotgun; a grenade launcher and a very funky sword of some sort.

The figure of miss Lara Croft is surprisingly detailed, from the articulated torso, neck and arms, down to the brown boots. The colors are great, and most important: the face is realistic. This usually is a major issue with action figures, as they tend not to look like the character they were made after.
This is not the case here, as Lara's action figure looks gorgeous.

Hit the road, Jack!

She's a blast. :)

Due to the high level of detail, close-ups of miss Croft were possible, and not only that, they also looks amazing. More so, one can improve upon the original images and create some surreal pieces of art.

And here's where she stands.

Now, one might ask: do Batman & Spider-Man guard Lara, or is it the other way around? Hmm...

the tinkerer

2010-12-01T01:41:00.001+02:00

As a kid I've been fascinated by pocket knives. I had one I used to fiddle around with sticks and to carve my name in trees and such. I still have it. It's old and needed resharpening a few times, but it's still there, in a box somewhere.

Today I got that which I wanted for a long time, a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, the Tinker model.
I feel like saying more about this whole obsession, but I'll just post some funky pictures instead. :P

snail

2010-08-29T17:00:00.001+03:00

It rained today, slightly more than one might have expected for this time of the year.
And yes, that's a snail.

mqotd.com

2010-08-17T17:06:00.006+03:00

My most recent project. :)

the elf's self is watching himself doing the same thing

2010-07-30T00:30:00.000+03:00

If you look in the mirror you see yourself. Does yourself see it's self? Does yourself's self see it's self, or an elf? Or was that you?

Is the world we live in real or just a reflection of one of it's many selfs? And where is the mirror?
I know, the elf must have it! Or was it himself who had it all along?
Hidden in plain sight, under our very noses, shiny noses. So shiny that one may see the elf behind him holding the very glass object in which he resides. A shiny object so clean and without flaw that one may mistake himself with another, due to the perfection of his very own reflection.

Am I on a horse?

cookie chaos

2010-07-14T23:02:00.000+03:00

"Most people like cookies, with milk." That apparently is not the same as saying "People associate cookies and ominously arranged paper clips with chaos."
Ah well, I tried. :)

80s burglar mopping

2010-06-11T23:53:00.001+03:00

Listen to song, relax in home. Calm dusk. Blue-ish light fills the
room. Red-to-orange sunset window view.
Cue burglar entrance scene.
Camera panning by: bad guy's head as head looks behind corner. The
same bad guy's head at end of shotgun barrel.
Foot tapping on song rhythm; guitar solo starts. [bass boom]
Mopping up on the beat of remaining song.
Precious moment. :)

Adam's apple

2010-06-05T00:25:00.003+03:00

Adam's apple

From the tree
to the woman
to the man
to the bitter knife,
it was bitten.

Cue in humanity,
stuck with heavenly glue to it's mortality.

model

2010-06-03T00:29:00.002+03:00

Or how a small car can make a big difference.
From someone who apparently cares and listens.
Thanks, D. ;)

cvartet

2010-05-25T01:14:00.017+03:00

The sun was up, the day was hot;
All the lilies were in the pot, baking
golden threads of joy and happiness.
Ah, humbug...

As I looked up, into the great blue yonder,
I took a moment and began to wonder:
Truly magnificent things
these... bridges over water.

Walk across the wall guided by the light,
See the pretty pictures, glowing oh so bright.
They'd be really neat, if not in black and white.

Carved in wood... engraved in stone...
It will chill you to the bone
And your soul will shape and turn,
As you both by then have learned
to love.

Humbug?!

servers crashing

2010-04-15T23:18:00.001+03:00

I was walking home one evening.
And it was quiet; there were not many people around.
As I passed a coffee shop I overheard 2 guys talking about computers.
One of them was apparently very upset because "le-o cazut astora niste servere" [translation: some of their servers crashed]. The other guy was laughing.
I also find this kind of situation funny, since my imagination [being very active by nature] tends to take things literally. So that brief moment was the inspiration for the following doodle.
More to come. :)

avatar aftermath

2010-04-10T11:36:00.008+03:00

My 2 cents:
This is not a review of the movie. There are plenty of those out there, lots of which are more in-depth than I could ever write. Still, if you just landed on Earth [Welcome!] or if you simply do not follow any of the media phenomenons and you wish to know a pertinent opinion regarding the movie, here's one: The movie sucks!
Note that I said that the "movie" sucks; I haven't seen it in 3D, since I consider all of that stuff to be just a silly and distracting nuisance.
So, this article is going to try and explain why the movie sucks, not by detailing the scenes or anything closely related to the movie itself.
Since I first heard about the movie and that it was going to be made using "revolutionary" 3D technology, I had a bad feeling that it was going to suck, from an artistic point of view. And, of course, I was right.

Now, I am quite a fan of James Cameron and of his early sci-fi movies like: Terminator 2, The abyss and Aliens. Heck, I even liked Titanic.
But, and this is a big "but", when those were made, the sci-fi cinema industry was still in it's experimental phase; computer generated images were rarely used, and they had to improvise a lot in order to create the envisioned concept. So the concept was very important, and it was reiterated until it looked good.
Also, I cannot explain why this is so, but back then [the pre '00-ish era], the plots had a habit of being good. They addressed a "mature" public; and by mature I don't mean p0rn.
Avatar not only sucks story wise [true, the story is ok-ish, but not even close to the alien encounter of Aliens or from that of the Abyss] but it also sucks because it comes out as a kids movie. That would have been ok, if they would have stuck with this idea, but they mixed in some would-be "mature" scenes; and yes, this time I do mean p0rn, and other things that are the main ingredients in almost all Hollywood productions today.
The movie also has striking resemblance to some other flicks you may have seen. Again, there are a lot of articles out there detailing this idea; I found the movie almost identical to Terra, story-wise. One would think: has JC spent all those years to write a simple oppressor-vs-oppressed struggle, with some inter-species romance? Aren't we sick of that from watching Star Trek?! I mean, you get all the drama and action from Avatar in one episode from the above mentioned franchise.
Now, my opinion is that James Cameron gave the public what it wanted. Much as Caesar did when he gave bread and blood to the roman people. That didn't make him a lesser military genius, nor a lesser leader.
So, should we blame it on the public? Yes, mostly.
For some years now standard movie quality has decreased at a frighting rate. Sure, there were always bad movies. But now-a-days, the so called "good ones" are beginning to get bad, or... not so good. Or am I getting to be a tough critic?!
Anyway, I feel we shouldn't blame James for what he did. Maybe he wanted Avatar to be just a money making kids movie.

Timmy: Maybe he's getting old?!
Mr. Reviewer: Who, Cameron?
Timmy: Yup.
Mr. Reviewer: Well, Timmy, you might be right. Just like George Lucas, right?
Timmy: Yup. Or... or, maybe he'll pull a rabbit out of the hat in his next movie?
Mr. Reviewer: You mean Avatar 2, Timmy?
Timmy: Oh...

regarding Easter eggs

2010-04-03T20:31:00.000+03:00

from the series: grab an egg and eat it while it's still unaware of it's fate :P

portal

2010-04-02T23:03:00.001+03:00

the passage between two worlds
[mall opening day]

ants

2010-03-29T20:37:00.000+03:00

day 5
They sent me out again.
For food.
More food.
They said they need it
for the new arrivals.
I do not believe them.
I went out to gather food.

day 6
I brought back extra food yesterday.
I got to keep some.
"For meritory achievements" they said.
I was just hungry.

day 9
ergo day 5

day 10
It is hot today.
We have lost some of us out there today.
They were looking for more food.
I'm not hungry anymore.

day 11
The new arrivals are here.
We are all tired.
They are not happy.
They told us to leave.
there was not enough food

day 300
They sent me out again.
For food.
More food.
She said that we need it.
I believe her.
I went out to gather food. :)

end of log.

descent to madness

2010-03-11T20:31:00.000+02:00

Random stuff, really!

2010-03-11T16:31:00.001+02:00

Holy Blog Of Doom, Batman! I just got slapped with a wet salmon - really - I have not updated this since they let me out!... You would not believe the amount of people that are totally stalking me. Apologies to my regular readers! Even the little blue ones!.

I am lost in a sea of pseudo-olde-english with work, a ticking crocodile, just generally being a nuisance to society in general, my day drifts aimlessly from dawn to whenever. I am convinced that I absolutely deserve this after all my hard work. maybe tomorrow.

I won't promise anything to you but that when the weather turns bad, I will blog more often. No, really! What do you mean you don't believe me?

http://www.aussiebloggers.com.au/blogpost.html

batman

2010-03-01T22:18:00.004+02:00

I'm Batman!

regarding fear

2010-02-22T18:49:00.000+02:00

Brave men fear all, and conquer all fear; for one cannot conquer that which he does not fear, and cannot fear that which he cannot conquer.
Pretty nifty. 2 at the price of 1. Weekday sale!

Inspired by the ponderings of a friend.

The Omega Man, movie review

2010-02-20T01:00:00.004+02:00

Short version: It sucked!
In the long version I'm going to emphasize why it sucked, tough after watching it, you don't really feel like it. I'm just bored and I like post-apocalyptic movies, so I guess I had high hopes for it.
Here we go.
************** Spoilers!
The movie starts out quite promising, with our main character driving in a convertible in a supposedly abandoned town. Though this impression isn't very well shown, we do need to keep in mind that it's a 1971 movie.
But, that nice calm picture is suddenly f****d up when the actor gets up and fires his tiny SMG at a shadowy figure which quickly disappears.
Ok, so that's a minor thing you would say, but the whole movie, as you watch it, starts to bear resemblance with The Last Man on Earth. When the weird "family" members first appear, all vampiric in their ways, and also not very bright, the coin really drops down the shaft, with that oh-so familiar ca-ching sound.
The story is also told very badly, using flashbacks. Very badly done flashbacks. There was one scene, a helicopter scene, in which the damn thing was supposed to be crashing, and you can clearly see the reflection of immobile trees in the window. It was quite funny actually, as the actor was trying to be as dramatic as he could about it.
Then the movie goes about the characters' daily routines, as he would change clothes in abandoned shops, as he would swap cars like old newspapers, etc.. Now this part of the movie if quite nice, but it ends too quickly with a pew-pew scene in which 3 of the "family" vampiric guys get shot trying to kill our hero. Of course, they fail by a few wooden-bat swings, because they did not believe in technology. At one point they resume to a flaming-ball throwing catapult, and again fail and get scarred off by a few sniper rifle shots.
Then, in a true non-liniar fashion, a vampire dude tries to kill the character, interupting him just before he could kiss the woman of the movie, and thus having him rush down to deal with the problem, and leaving her with the tiny SMG. Of course, the vampire dude cheats and has a pistol, but misses after firing about 3 shots. The falling scene and pale red fake blood was pretty nice though.
Nothing really bad until this point. Sure, the movie is more like a remake after the above mentioned 1964 motion picture, sure, it has ~~lots~~ only cliche moments in it, and a few inexplicable situations regarding how and why did that virus spread worldwide, but it didn't affect a group of kids [they said it didn't affect younger people, and I doubt there were only under 20 kids in the whole city].

And now, about the ending. Also, by this point you should know that the hero dies in one way or another, because that's what happened in the old 1964 movie. And, surprise! He does die, after dodging dozens of angry vampiric guys and their oh-so middle-aged weapons. He dies after a "Heads up!" warning from the main bad guy, impaled by a thrown spear from about 3 stories high.
We again see the fake pale blood, and one of the worst dying scenes in Hollywood history. He manages to pull the spear just after getting hit. Amazingly it got only an inch or so in, but it stood in there like it pierced to the other side. "Ah well, he might be okay afterall." - you think, and he is. The bad vampiric-guys leave him there, as if they knew he would eventually die.
Then, the next morning (because all of the impaling took place just before dawn), the band of kids find him, and manage to get the oh-so famous final words from him before he bit the dust. They also got a chunky vial of serum. Now at this point I'm thinking that those kids will grow up and f**k like crazy to repopulate the Earth, but that's just me. Most of you were just impressed by how translucent the red serum was, and how translucent the red water was. [the hero died in a water fountain, waist deep in pale-red bloody water]
Then the movie ends.
Did I say that it sucked? Oh wait, I did. :)
Oh, and what's up with the big round thingy on top of the sniper rifle? [we're supposed to think it's for night vision, but c'mon, you could eat soup from that thing]

cursors

2010-02-16T21:29:00.001+02:00

I've been postponing this for a while now. Finally today I got the time, and courage, to create and upload my first video to YouTube. Yay!

V-Day

2010-02-13T14:14:00.000+02:00

Vader Day tomorrow!

up close

2010-02-09T23:49:00.001+02:00

What people really need in a time of crisis.

Lego toys! :)

Mass Effect

2010-01-21T01:33:00.002+02:00

I like good games, especially RPGs. Few caught my eye lately, and even fewer my attention.
Mass Effect caught both.

snow

2010-01-20T21:43:00.004+02:00

On a comet, one can always make snowmen.

the new year

2009-12-31T22:20:00.005+02:00

Another 365 days gone by just like that. Oh, snap!
Anyway, enough about that...
There are another 365 days ahead in the new year. Oh, the joy!
So, get your matches at the ready, firecrackers at the stand-by, first aid kit as well, because it's fun to blow up stuff and cause fear in the hearts of little children. With all those loud bangs and semi-drunk cheers...

2010 is a nice round number, so make it special.
Now go blow up stuff!

2 months

2009-12-19T19:45:00.002+02:00

The traditional unwritten blog rules dictate that I tell you how busy I've been for the past 2 moths, in an attempt to set to ease all the worries that accompanied this absence.
2 photos, each taken during these 2 months of absence. Enjoy, all you imaginary readers.

flower fall

2009-10-03T15:09:00.001+03:00

typical colors for the season

workout

2009-09-30T00:42:00.005+03:00

I've gotten used to working out now. For a few weeks it's almost part of my "once every 2 days" routine.

I just love to sweat it out while listening to some metal rock.

Who doesn't? :D

noir

2009-09-21T22:26:00.002+03:00

Black & white
cute eyes and smile,
Contorted bulb of light
shining
all but for a while.

noisy milk

2009-09-13T18:44:00.002+03:00

Twinkle-twinkle...
Quick, make a wish!

obvious truth

2009-09-09T23:36:00.002+03:00

Wildlife photographer extraordinaire at work.

up and over

2009-09-08T14:49:00.000+03:00

Billy woke up.
Billy had breakfast.
Billy went to school. He took his camera.
It was a beautiful day. Birds singing, sun shining, people ignoring it all.
Billy took some photos.

pitch black

2009-09-03T13:37:00.004+03:00

I can see you through my camera.

heck

2009-08-27T15:29:00.008+03:00

hell v.4
eternal damnation
-work in progress-

Some believe it is a place of unrest, fiery bottomless pits filling the scenery while never stopping moans haunt your every thought.
Things have been slightly exaggerated.

What you see here is not, it never was and simply can never be. Here everything becomes what you might think it is, thus you are mistaken.
...
At some point, fiery pits and loud moaning would provide for everyone's... eternal accommodation. Everything was dull, agonizingly painful and everyone complained about it. Perfect as it was, it became insufficient for some.
Some stopped moaning; pitiful smiles of gratification cranked out on their faces, and the minority became a majority. Their smiles turned, from a sick representation of false hope, into actual content.
They had lost track of their purpose of becoming.
My smile faded.
...
But it did not last, as nothing does here.
The pits of fire cooled down, the moaning all but stopped.
It became cold and silent.
Smiles froze in place as every head bowed to see it's reflection in the solid cold ice. Mouths cracked as smiles got rejected by faces all around. Blood broke free from the cracks and froze in place. It became beautifully painful once more.
My smile did as well.
...
Nothing lasts here. Eternal damnation is the only constant. Everything binds and twists around it.
Once enough understand that, changes begin to happen.
"Why should I be eternally damned when all others are the same. I'll be damned once more if I will not change that."
And they do change.
Wounds heal, blood is slowly washed away, cold numbness is tolerated; all because of some, but for many to follow.
Thus rarely happens, and it takes so long that when it does, it seems as if took an instant.
So many new, yet familiar, smiles appear; so few fade. Mine.
...
I cannot help but smile when I think of this; I know it will change, soon, to some twisted, macabre form of torture; as it should be.
And it did. It became something new, that which you see today.
Ice melted, water drained, and those pathetic smiles dripped away.
And from it all, a great flood that swept everything.
It became nothing.
Nor fire, nor ice. Nothing. :)
...
"Lose all hope of rising, those who sleep in the ever rocking cradle."
I say that to all new comers.
I say that often.
I said it just now to one new resident. He was smiling.
...
I cannot help but not to smile when I think of this; I know it will change once more, not soon; from what it became to some perverted form of self-accepted misery, self induced controlled pain. One more short lived plague of happiness.
And another, then another; always sure to be short, always sure to happen.

No bad deed goes unrewarded. An eternal accommodation which doesn't always make me smile. :|

toy car

2009-08-14T18:22:00.006+03:00

I found one of my old toy cars. One of my very old toy cars, which is the subject of some of my earliest memories, predating even self awareness.
It's almost as old as I am, minus a few ears.
half a pair of scratched glassesand a match box miniature hanging platform

pattern

2009-08-01T20:14:00.004+03:00

You buy a hand fan from a street vendor. On the note hanging from it you read:

Follow the rainbow until you see a fork in the hand of a purple-striped gnome.
Greet him, then follow the bloody red stains on the road.
You will reach butcher Pete and have your right arm hatched off.
Greet butcher Pete.
Should you survive, you will then see that the bloody red stains are your own, small drops dripping away and adding to the already growing puddles.
Now clean them up!

nature stuff

2009-07-24T15:07:00.013+03:00

Well, it's summer, it's hot.
Plants are bloomed, fruits are ripe. Bugs and bees are moving about... people too.

I just love ants. The social aspect of the hive and the way they carry bread crumbs way bigger that themselves.
Also, you find them virtually anywhere.Spiders, they creep and crawl, or so people think. Mostly they just sit around and wait for lunch.
I don't really like to take pictures of flowers. It's so... common. Still, macro shots are always interesting. Yeah, it's pink. I hate pink! [The color. The singer is actually pretty good.]
This flower caught my eye because of the petals, which look so fresh and pulpy.
I've played with fire a lot as a kid. It's fun and dangerous, well, it's not dangerous anymore once you get burned a few times. But it's still fun. :)
Here we have a twisted flame. The tip does look a bit like a dragon head, or an eagle head.
This little guy actually stood still allowing me to take several good pictures of him.
Here he is from the side.And here is his tongue, or proboscis.
Oh, and here's a cat.

dim light

2009-07-21T00:20:00.004+03:00

When the sun goes down, shadows go up on the wall.

water pump

2009-07-13T15:42:00.005+03:00

I went back to the park today, not being happy about the way the water pump images came out.

I'm still not happy about this image, but it does seem better. I'll have to revisit this one soon. I also have to find a new water pump, since this model has a too irregular water jet.
I'm happy about this one though. :)

Saturday

2009-07-12T15:27:00.009+03:00

It was a sunny day yesterday, so I went to the park with my camera.

see through trees
water pumppartially shaded flower patchlog chairsmall artificial islandbarely visible spider webcloud watermark, literallypartial symmetrycone splasheerie sunken branchyellow brick road?! pretty closetrees let light pass through small breach

hot summer nights

2009-07-09T12:09:00.003+03:00

I've always been a non-smoker and a bit of a pyromaniac.

cloudy day

2009-06-30T01:11:00.004+03:00

A cloudy day?

Formicidae

2009-06-28T14:12:00.004+03:00

Yesterday, as I was eating some peaches, a few ants sprung out from the cracked and exposed core of one of the peaches. I caught one under some old lens and took a few photos.
The little ant was anything but cooperative, moving about and scouting for a way out. It did stop a few times, moving the antennas, giving me the precious few seconds required to focus the camera and press the button.
More about ants.

pale on red

2009-06-22T20:52:00.002+03:00

Stumbled upon a rose while at a wedding. Quite a common happening actually.
PS: I updated my previously abandoned deviantart account: adevland
Enjoy! :)

a shady character

2009-06-18T21:12:00.002+03:00

and a penny for your thoughts

train station

2009-06-13T17:58:00.005+03:00

at dawn41reflectionsthe screwtracked morningwindows

of darkness and light

2009-06-01T00:05:00.002+03:00

By the candlelight.

glass and steel

2009-05-31T23:24:00.004+03:00

sleepy ipod
sleepy ipod tossing and turning

sunshine

2009-05-25T00:19:00.002+03:00

along the avenue of hope
footsteps falter, fingers grope
and the days stretch out
beneath the sun

calm cold

2009-05-22T20:24:00.003+03:00

I cleaned an old fridge. While waiting for the freezer to unfreeze I took these photos.
I should also have recorded the sound of dripping water inside the fridge.
There was a calm cold inside, slowly fading away.

hello

2009-05-20T00:07:00.001+03:00

Anyone there?

qwerty

2009-05-18T23:40:00.003+03:00

or how one's job can turn into art, when one is not working.

cold fusion
in the shades

luna amara

2009-05-15T22:40:00.010+03:00

I got at the concert by pure chance. A friend told me about it 1 hour before it started so naturally I forgot to take my camera.
The photos bellow are taken with the my phone's camera and blurred a bit to eliminate some of the pixelization due to poor lightning.
The concert itself was awesome, and I can say this even if the sound quality was poor.
Side note: why do all night clubs turn the volume to the max knowing that it will only tear the sound? Wouldn't it be better if you could actually understand the lyrics? Sure, the bass could easily be felt inside everyone's lungs, and at some point my pants where slightly moving to the beat of the song. :|

Overall it was a great experience. Also, I got the new album that the concert launched, "Don't let your dreams fall asleep".
Check out luna-amara.ro.

knots and drops

2009-05-11T23:55:00.001+03:00

life's twists and knots

last drop of joy

sunny day

2009-05-10T00:40:00.002+03:00

Reach out and grab someone.

experiment

2009-05-07T22:17:00.004+03:00

Another post processing experiment done in gimp.
The first is a revisited post processed image; the flame is now in grayscale.
The second has suffered only 2 color transformations: invert and desaturate.

PS: Of the two, which one do you think is better?

How about this one?

still

2009-05-05T22:32:00.004+03:00

still looking out the window
still smiling

still alive?

geamul lasa lumina sa intre

2009-05-02T00:46:00.002+03:00

si se uita la mine, cu capul intors pe spate
era liniste si picura apa din tavan
mirosea a hartie mucegaita

un cutit pe masa, firimituri de paine si branza
un cui in tocul usii, o oglinda agatata
radioul scos din priza, perdeaua data la o parte

si se stinse becul
era cald
fierbinte
nu era ars

facturi neplatite meticulos asezate pe masa de langa perete
un pahar murdar si o cutie de chibrituri
le fixez sfidator, zambind
geamul lasa lumina sa intre
-------------------------------------------------
Translation:

and she was looking at me, her head turned
it was quiet and water was dripping from the ceiling
a smell of moldy paper

a knife on the table, bread crumbs and cheese
a nail hammered in the door, a mirror hanging
the radio unplugged, the curtain pulled away

and the light bulb went off
it was warm
hot
it was not burned

unpayed bills carefully stacked on the table near the wall
a dirty glass and a box of matches
I look at them with defiance, smiling
the window let light in

e frig inauntru, si nu e nimeni afara

2009-04-30T01:03:00.012+03:00

but with jolliness, in binary mode... pe marginea tastaturii, pe intuneric, la lumina stroboscopica a ledului. e frig inauntru, si nu e nimeni afara. si nu mai stiu ce-am vrut sa zic.
un melc mort
habar n-ai cat de rari sunt;
desi dupa ploaie calci pe ei
si-ti spui in sinea ta: it was a branch. no need to get emotional... [breath in, breath out...]
si dup-aia mai calci pe unul
grija la melci!!!
---------------------------------------
The translation:

but with jolliness, in binary mode... on the edge of the keyboard, in the dark, at the stroboscopic light of the led. it is cold inside, and there is no one outside. and I can't remember what I wanted to say.
a dead snail
you have no idea how rare they are;
though after rain you literally step on them
and you tell yourself: it was a branch. no need to get emotional... [breath in, breath out...]
you then step on another
watch out for the snails!!!

spring sprang sprung

2009-04-22T18:09:00.001+03:00

Spring sprang not long ago.
It has sprung out of dead trees,
in the middle of the night
in the dim orange light,
of street lamps... when you were sleeping.

Here's the proof.

regarding eggs

2009-04-17T00:36:00.002+03:00

They crack way too easy. And I don't mean your garden variety eggs. Actually, I'm not referring to eggs at all.
Anyhow, you don't need to be particularly wise to figure out that sanity is a valuable commodity these days. And I'm not referring to the global financial crisis.

Let me illustrate.

before the events that led to the so called "loss of sanity"

and after...

You might say the egg is faring pretty well. That would be so if it hadn't been eaten by now.
So that smile isn't as "cracked" up as it would seem. It actually reflects the inability to do something when faced with situations that are out of the range of "doing" due to various circumstances.
Though how much can you expect from one egg? Be it your garden variety or not. Really now, why do you think it got those cracks in the first place?
hint: It didn't fell off a wall.

So why does the egg smile?
Because it is all but shattered, and it would not have itself be in any other way. :)

queen takes knight's heart

2009-04-10T14:34:00.002+03:00

afternoon

2009-03-30T20:20:00.005+03:00

I look out the window and this is what I see: a rock and one rusty nail hammered in a piece of wood.
The frying pan isn't doing bad, though the cranes seem a bit stiff.
The scenery is pretty nice as well.

small talk

2009-03-28T20:48:00.005+02:00

Joe: Is this cool, or is this cool? I say it's cool.
Seymour: Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?
Joe: You're right.
Seymour: So?
Joe: Come on, man. I gave you two options, and you knew my first option. And since I changed my mind that would leave only one viable choice. So, in case you haven't figured it out yet, now I say it's "cool".
Seymour: Have you been drinking?
Joe: Yeah, isn't it cool?

the metal box

2009-03-20T20:53:00.002+02:00

I sometimes find myself looking around for no particular reason. That is when I see the objects around me for what they really are, be there a pen or a dusty metal box.

pen and paper

2009-03-18T18:30:00.004+02:00

A friend asked me for a photograph of a pen on a notebook for a student free magazine.
Since I did not have any around, I took a few. One of them caught my eye. I played with it in GIMP a bit. Next you'll see what I've managed to obtain. The first one is the original.

macro

2009-02-20T15:13:00.002+02:00

A few macro photographs I've made a while back.
You've probably figured out by now that I like to take macro shots.

4 strings

2009-02-10T10:40:00.005+02:00

What has 4 strings, a maple neck and makes low frequency sounds?
Here are some pictures to help you out:

ink fire

2009-01-29T13:51:00.004+02:00

... and a dog.

observation

2009-01-23T11:52:00.002+02:00

If she looks at you and you look at her reflection, you don't see each other.

still experimenting

2009-01-21T14:19:00.006+02:00

Well, the d40 has proven to be an awesome camera. Manual calibration is fun. You can get some really interesting effects out of mixing the exposure time, aperture size, white balance and the right angles.

Here are some of my latest captures:

nikon d40

2008-12-21T13:15:00.012+02:00

I've been planning to get a dslr camera for some time now. I've done some researching about the available models and I eventually decided to buy a nikon d40.

Now that the introduction is over, here are some pictures of the camera which I made with my mobile phone's camera:

And here are some photos I made with the d40:

The last three I made by holding additional lens in front of the camera [kinda corny but it worked :P ], since the d40 standard kit has 18-55 mm lens which cannot focus on objects closer than 6 cm or so.

students & localhosts

2008-12-16T18:12:00.007+02:00

I'm a fan of linux based OSs. I don't actually use linux due to the lack of interest in it from the big PC entertainment companies.
Still, it's great for work.
Here's a nice screenshot showing off Kate's [text editor from the fedora distribution] terminal.

fallout

2008-12-16T01:00:00.003+02:00

After a bit of waiting [about 1.5 months] I finally got my copy of Fallout 3.
Although many didn't expect it, Fallout 3 lives up to the series offering quality post apocalyptic entertainment to the masses.

death coil nights

2008-11-25T00:38:00.004+02:00

Always open. Bring a friend.

lunch break

2008-10-30T12:43:00.016+02:00

"So, there I was, minding my own business and having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich my wife made..."
"She still makes you those?"
"Hell yeah! They're the best! Anyway, there I was enjoying lunch when all of a sudden this man comes running into the construction site. He was really scared and was always looking back as if someone was following him."
"Did he say anything?"
"Not much. He babbled something about an experiment that went wrong and that he wasn't safe anymore."
"Yeah. I remember now. Me and the boys were coming back from the 7/11 when we saw you talking to him. So, what happened next?"
"Well, it was like I told you. He was babbling on about that experiment. Then he suddenly looked back and just froze. Like he'd seen a ghost or somethin'. I went to look but there was nothing there. When I came back, he was gone."
"Weird."
"And that's not the half of it. The next day the police came looking for a man that apparently matched his description. A short brown haired man, with a mustache and small glasses. He was gone missing from his home a few days back."
"Did you tell them about the experiment?"
"What experiment?"
"The one he was babbling about..."
"No. I guess they didn't ask. They just wanted to know if he passed by."
"And?"
"And I told them that he passed by."
"The foreman was right, you do have 'worker potential'." [laughs]
"Laugh all you want, but that man wasn't running from a ghost. He had a look on his face... I don't know... like death had stared him in the eye."
"And how would you know that? Did the foreman show you?"[laughs]
"I saw it in a movie once. This man was hunted by an assassin. The assassin gave up on him, but he still was paranoid about everyone. I can borrow you the DVD if you want?"
"No thanks."

A whistle blew.

"That's it men, back to work."
"Ah, rats! I never get to finish my sandwich in time."
"That's because you talk too much. See you near the cement truck."
"Will do. After I finish my sandwich."

The other man left.

"Hey, Frankie! C'mon man, the boss is mad again. He sent me for you. How many of those things are you gonna eat?
Oh no..."

The air vibrated slightly as the second bullet hit it's target.

Slim and Sam

2008-10-13T01:24:00.006+03:00

This be the story of two children, Slim and Sam; Sam was slim, Slim was not.

Going into the forest one day, Slim found a dead bird in his way. He came home crying for the small feathered being.
Going into the forest one day, Sam found a dead fox in his way. He came home crying for the small furry being.
Going into the forest one day, Slim and Sam didn’t find a dead bear in their way. They ran home crying.
Not going into the forest one day, nobody found Slim and/or Sam in any way. They didn’t come home crying.

Torn paper fills the sky as does it on a wedding. Some are on the ground[looking at the sky], some are in the sky[looking all over]; some are watching, others are just curious. Most don’t know a thing.
From above, from the chopper in the air, sun light is seen flashing down below, from the thousands pieces of broken glass, like stars on the pavement.
Black smoke rushes out and up, away from the broken window. The fire truck is here, splashing about hoses and gallons of foamy water; with no use for there is no fire left to burn.
Wet policemen strap the whole building in long yellow tape, making knots as they go past each corner.

A news van has just arrived into the area and the underpaid crew gets ready for a cheap satellite connection with no guarantee of a raise or of their own safety.
The local barbershop is still open and some clients with foam on their faces and/or half shaved heads, have gathered round to see why the barber is shouting in the middle of the street that “The end is near!”. A wet fireman gets him out of the way of the incoming ambulance.
Blue and red light flashes everywhere.
Soon the whole scene is empty, only torn paper on the streets, rubble as well, and the yellow plastic barrier. You would have though that people can be more considering for such an undocumented tragedy. They can be.

A bouncing ball crosses the street, past the barrier, into the ruined building. He gets the ball and goes not back. He goes up the stairs, driven by curiosity, and the thrill of being found and punished for being “a bad boy”.
The first floor looks normal[his father worked here and often took him along].
The second floor didn’t look as normal as the first. It was more than different: a huge hole in the wall made for a nice view of the city. On the opposite side a door was missing. He went in.
The same: torn paper, broken glass.

There was blood on the floor.

He went home running, crying his way down the stairs, under the yellow barrier, past the street and into an apartment building nearby; leaving his ball in the room, beside the place where a human figure lay drawn on the floor.

This be the story of two bald men. Their names are of little importance, though we shall refer to them as Slim and Sam. Sam was smart, so was Slim.
Sam went to work every day, as did Slim.
They went to work to earn their pay, and came home on the very same day [they were both good at what they did].
Going to work one day, Sam met Slim on his way. They both went home that day, early.
Going to work the next day, Slim sought to meet Sam on his way. It didn’t happen.
Working his way to the end of the day, Slim met Sam, who came to say hello.

Going to work every day, Sam never met Slim.

still a cold day

2008-10-09T23:09:00.011+03:00

... in the subway people were waiting in the sounds of garbled newspapers, loud steps, casual talk about the weather and the faint hiss of the ventilation shafts.
The clock on the wall shows the time, 07:30. Men and women going to their workplaces to earn a decent living. At least most of them.

Within the crowd he could see how others got pick pocketed, how they still were laughing at dirty jokes while their hard earned money got swapped away; along with the small pieces of plastic and paper that represented their very identity.

Despicable as it was, he couldn't care less. Others saw it as well, not many, that is true, but enough to have been able to prevent it. They would simply look away.

The train lights appeared at the far end of the tunnel. Shortly after they all went silent. [the pickpocket had earned his pay]
The clock on the wall ticked away slowly, while some tapped their feet on the floor, impatient as they were.
It reached the station, blazing by them not 20 cm away, screeching as it stopped.
The doors open. A crowd exits from every door, while another was eager to enter.

Attention. Doors closing.

Inside, people weren't as eager to talk as they were before. Some were reading, others were listening to music in small hidden earphones. Some were standing, holding themselves to the metal poles around and near every exit and above their heads. Some were sitting, doing mostly the same things.

They all had a grim look on their faces, starring into the void of the long compartment as it turned and casually wobbled.

The train stopped at the next station, not 3 minutes after departure.

Doors opening.

A crowd exits from every door, while another was eager to enter.
He got out near an intersection.

It was still cold outside.

a cold day

2008-10-03T23:37:00.009+03:00

While walking down the street, he came by two men. They were talking near the corner store, each holding one donut.

"Cold day isn't it?"
"Yup."

"Hasn't been this cold since... last year."
"Yup."

"I mean think of it... three days ago the sun was shining all day long, you were out in your t-shirt, and now what? My wife has me wearing winter socks to work so that I don't catch a cold. Nasty one this year! she says. There's no justice in this world."
"Yup."

"It's not fair. The weather forecast said today would be a relat... relativ... relativelily warm day. What does 'relativelily' mean anyway? Do you know?!"
"Yup."

"So how are the wife and kids? Everything ok?"
"Yup."

He passes by the two men.

"Good day to you mister. Cold day isn't it?"
[No answer.]

"Now there's one heck of a loud mouth."
"Yup."

REM sleep

2008-09-28T22:48:00.007+03:00

He got home late at night, tired and hungry.
Got around to some yogurt and fell asleep.
This is what he dreamt...

The town is beautiful at night.

The sound of steam hissing through sewer lid holes...
distant police cars echoes and sometimes, plain wonderful quiet.
It seems like it all stands still. But it doesn't.

The smell of the cold air...
the invigorating feeling of it spreading in your lungs. You exhale.
The tiny vapors dissipate like unheard screams in a dark alley.

Lights...
colors on a black canvas, in small flickering dots or in large, almost vulgar ads hung on buildings.
Seeing them all reminds me of my job.

weekend

2008-09-27T11:25:00.001+03:00

He was finishing his tea while he began drawing on the back of the menu.
It was a nice place. They had a 20s' theme, even in the waiters' outfits.
The music was played live by a small but very good jazz band.
Top that with the fresh morning air of the suburbs and you get a very relaxing way to end the week.
Everybody needs to relax now and then.

Déjà vu

2008-09-25T14:27:00.000+03:00

A thread of dust floats in the air; it is the only one. Faint light reflects white walls on the shiny, solid gray floor. Sometimes it’s a bit blue, not always; the light source is broken and it flickers back and forth, from light to darkness, slowly drifting between colors. It is before us, a long corridor, with only walls, one solid floor and a ceiling; with only bad lit walls. From time to time few things emerge from darkness; see the door, one of two. This one is well lit, with a small light bulb dangling from the ceiling. The shadow flows down, dangling about the wall, coming from the ceiling. The light source flickers no more; the marble has a dead glow; the corridor is still; the thread of dust levitates in the warm air, rotating randomly. It stops. Slowly it moves again, faster and faster, diving toward the floor; it touches it while standing still. Apparently the draft stopped when the key was inserted into the door lock. With a gentle click it starts to turn and twist, violently screeching in the steel lock. The key is removed and the door is ready to open. The dust thread crawls on the solid floor, away from the door, and closer to the other. It opens. It busts open and it smashes against the wall, remaining open beside the white wonderful wall. A dust thread is what is once again in the air, carried by the powerful draft. It floats in the same position as before, it twists and turns; it is no longer alone. He enters with pressing noise and walks the corridor to reach the other door, the one still locked. He enters with loud black shiny shoe steps, and with him, many other dust threads. He is a man in a dark suit, white red striped shirt and a red plain looking tie, with no stripes. He enters, walks and stops two centimeters from the dust thread, which now is just standing in mid air near his right eye. He blinks, turns back and closes the door. The walk in the rectangular corridor continues; the stroboscopic light of the unknown light source is going on and off, randomly showing one end of the small tunnel. Hid deformed shadow (at the meeting point of the wall and the floor) comes and goes moving as he does, always blinking from and into its existence. The rhythm of the steps and their echo make the air vibrate. The warm air is now all between the door and the man, for he has stopped, near the second door (the locked one). A hand stretches a key. The sleeve is garbled where the elbow is; it makes some noise as the arm turns the key in the lock; the tie shifts its position leaning in one side. The noise stops, and the sounds of the other side are now growing. It rains. Left as it was, the key moves with the door as it opens. The key stops not far from the wall as does the door, leaving the cold air to replace the warm atmosphere from inside. It was raining for some time now, striking down from heaven with small drops of crystal clear water. The suit was getting wet as the rapid steps followed each other, all heading toward a black car across the street. He stops before opening the car door and looks up. Behind, left as it was, the corridor shined away all the light from outside. The light bulbs have shorted out and only the moon lit sky made some features visible; it was long, as all worthy corridors are. The car disappeared into the dark rainy night. A dust thread flies in the air, dodging rain drops, carried away by gentle cold wind.

foreword

2008-09-23T15:16:00.000+03:00

The mobile phone rang in a Star Trek theme song.
He woke up before captain Picard had a chance to begin his famous speech. It was 08:00.
Thus begins a new day.