Intellectual Debris

Does anyone still follow this?

2011-12-28T01:59:00.002+01:00

I've migrated to a Wordpress blog, but I've ended up looking for themes which look just like the one I have on this very same blog.

Internet, are you trying to tell me something?

Happy holidays, everyone.

Electioneering

2008-01-29T02:52:00.000+01:00

when the same when the same
flesh and blood flesh and blood
groups up in two groups up in two
opposing opposing
symmetrical symmetrical
lumps lumps

a valley of darkness
in between

we call it a butt,

bum,

derrière,

posterior,

sorm.

And once every 5 years, we call it politics,

or in an elegant twist on the vernacular,

Elezzjoni Ġenerali.

Happy voting, everyone.

(Don't forget to flush).

How (Not) To Disappear Completely

2007-10-29T12:59:00.000+01:00

Dear Reader,

Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive and trying to kick, and have finally started writing on a rag again, which happens to be Manic! magazine. For those of you who aren't in possession of the papery type, click here and check out "Losing our Religion?".

Re: the title of this post, it's from a Radiohead song, which I happen to love. I actually bought the CD (Kid A) just for that song.

The Internet is Dead

2007-08-19T21:14:00.000+02:00

Dear Readers,

After a long period of just thinking about doing it, I am currently trying to redesign the layout for the blog, after which I will resume posting. The thing is that I don't have as much free time as I used to have last year when I started blogging, and the free time I have I'm using out in the non-virtual world (aka "The Real World").

So, the issue is, what do the readers want?

Do they want a lot of pictures?

Some weird martian aardvark singing the Maltese national anthem in reverse?

Diagrams from an anatomy textbook?

etc..

Answers via comments please.

Re: The title- does "sex" work better as an attention grabber?

Why I'm Not Blogging

2007-08-07T21:58:00.001+02:00

I got a life.

Kidding. I'm just lazy.

Sorry liz.

A Miniature Update

2007-06-06T23:18:00.000+02:00

Dear Reader,

I'm in the middle of my exams. Should be reading Wuthering Heights, but I just spent the last 3 hours online. That would've been 5 posts at the very least.

A small update- I still am reading books, but I can't be bothered to write about them, yet.

I really should be updating this thing more often.

But then again, the difference between "should" and "is" is why stuff is rarely done the way it should be, and most of the problems in the world.

Think about it, will you?

And post your replies here.

....

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 7

2007-04-29T21:47:00.000+02:00

Clowning in Rome; Henri J.M. Nouwen; DLT

"Of the virtuosi we say, ‘How do they do it?’ Of the clowns we say, ‘They are like us.’ The clowns remind us . . . that we share the same human weaknesses."

A book about the values of "solitude, celibacy, prayer and contemplation"- I must say that these 4 topics scare loads of people off, or at least put them off; myself included.
Mostly it's because people are afraid of being alone with themselves, of seeing things as they are and of trusting a god they've known but never seen. Celibacy then, is another matter, mostly concerning people leading the religious life, to whom this book was addressed.

These activities in turn lead to a certain autonomy which makes Love genuine, coming not out of a need for affection or completion, but rather a generous outward act.

This gives seemingly insignificant activities (those to which Nouwen refers as "clowning") a value which by far surpasses the actual act.

Not a book for everyone- it's addressed at people in Christian ministry after all- but what's inside still does count.

Tut tut tut...

2007-04-01T19:09:00.000+02:00

Dear Reader,

My sincerest apologies go to you, faithful disciple of debris ™, who has been deprived of my semi-regular mental meanderings.

About the books.

I read a book called Clowning in Rome; it's very good, I should've mentioned it long ago but haven't. Work has been getting to me, so I couldn't really take time off and read.

I also happen to have acquired a motor scooter, which is making reading on the bus a tad impossible.

So at the moment I'm reading nineteen eighty-four, which is sounding incredibly naive and optimistic, in hindsight.

I have also made the move back to a Windows Xp machine after 4 sad months on a 17" iMac loaded with OS X 10.4. If you ask me, Apple should've stuck to fruit.

Happy 1st of April!

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 6

2007-02-18T16:05:00.000+01:00

Queen of the Tambourine; Jane Gardam; Abacus 1991

Sorry for this one; I read it a while ago, and by consequence forgot most of the plot.

It's about a certain Eliza Peabody, who starts writing letters to her imaginary neighbour about the latter's imaginary family's comings and goings; a very good illustration of manic delusions.

It ends nicely, much unlike this post.

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 5

2007-02-12T21:03:00.000+01:00

The Kite Runner; Khaled Hosseini; Bloomsbury 2003

The Kite Runner- I bought it off Amazon because it came recommended along with A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. As per the latter, both extremities of this book were covered in snippets of glowing reviews the book had received.

I must admit it, I'm often too lazy to check out new material for myself, rather, I let other people do it for me, and will keep on doing so until the day I run out of good, pre-reviewed, ideally multi-awarded books, films, albums and guitars. Then I'll be rummaging around bookstores and actually reading bits of the text to see if I like them or not.

Or possibly I might try to pool in myself, if inspiration strikes.

Anyway, back to the Kite Runner. This is a bloody good book, and when I say bloody I mean it. It is a tale of friendship, honour, sacrifice, and ultimately, love - not the Valentine's Day variety, sultry, sugary and sexy; rather it's the kind of love that is so unnatural to our selfish nature, sacrificial and undemanding.

Excellently written, it is basically the journey of Amir, the narrator, in trying to make up for his betrayal of Hassan, his dear friend and servant who had loved him selflessly, trying to exorcise demons which had tormented him since he was 12 years old.

The result is a book which almost left me in tears (but didn't, as usual), and which I made a point to finish within 2 days, rather like A Child Called It, by Dave Pelzer, which is similarly poignant. Indeed the emotions evoked are very similar, hearkening back to the strong bond children usually have with their parents and siblings. But I can't stress enough how good this book is without boring myself to a premature death, so I'll stop here.

Please do read it though.

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 4

2007-02-11T15:07:00.000+01:00

Nausea; Jean Paul Sartre, Robert Baldick; Penguin 2000

My Christmas present. Nausea- a diary of a certain Monsieur Roquentin, who seems to realise that he exists, finds no point in it and tries to deal with it. My summary is overly simplistic, however, that's the general spirit of the book. Ironically quite a good book, especially seeing it's philosophy, which can lose the reader at quite an early stage.

I might read it again, in the distant future, unless I find it doesn't appease the reason for our mutual existence, in that case it will languish on my bookshelf, which just has been augmented by a lovely 9 book box set which was bought at the princely sum of Lm 6 (€ 13.98).

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 3

2007-02-09T13:51:00.000+01:00

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian; Marina Lewycka; Penguin 2006

Can't be bothered to write a summary of this one. There are plenty of those online. All I can say is, it's a good read, one of those you can't let down. The narration is very personal, and I suspect there is a lot of the authoress in both of the sisters' characters, Nadia and Vera. These two have to prevent their father, a widower, from marrying a Ukrainian tart around 35 years his junior, who is evidently in it for British citizenship, and in return she lets her new found love fondle her breasts.

Can't be bothered to erase that first sentence.

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 2

2007-02-09T13:47:00.000+01:00

Scenes from the life of a Best-Selling Author; Michael Krüger, Vintage 2003
A book ridden with short, bizarre stories of writers moving to a gym to tend for a beast, poets drinking copious amounts of liquor, uncles ransacking libraries etc. A good BB (Bathroom Book) if you'd ask me, and for Lm 1 I really can't complain.

The 100 Book Mission™: Book 1

2007-01-28T16:19:00.000+01:00

Book 1- Freakonomics; (Levitt, Dubner); Penguin 2005

The book first on my hundred strong list is called Freakonomics, and the basic gist of it is that a young, rogue (I always mistake this word as rouge) economist Steven D. Levitt, laden with a PhD, goes about using his techniques to investigate other matters such as why do people cheat, what do Sumo wrestlers and Schoolteachers have in common, the truth about your real estate agent and why crime and abortion legislation are correlated.

The authors are Steven D. Levitt (the Freakonomist) and Stephen J. Dubner (the journalist).
After the book's success, they also set up a blog on freakonomics.com.

All in all, a good read, much along the lines of works such as Dude, Where's my Country? and the like.

The 100 Book Mission

2007-01-26T19:19:00.000+01:00

This year, my real New Year's Resolution is to finish reading 100 books. I already have a small list, and I would like you, dear readers, to contribute your ideas as to what I should be reading. This is the List so far:

Freakonomics (Livett, Dubner)- done
nineteen-eighty-four (Orwell)
Nausea (Sartre)
The Confessions (St. Augustine)
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of The King (J.R.R. Tolkien) - and no, I haven't watched the films, either!
The Book of Nothing
A Short History Of Tractors in Ukranian
The Kite Runner
(La Divina Commedia) - not sure about this
The Full Cupboard of Life
Basic Statistics

And that's where my list ends, and yours begins. Any suggestions would be considered, especially if recommended by a good review of yours... On my behalf I will try to write a short resume of the book just completed.

My Super Duper Cosmic Spaghetti™ Recipe

2007-01-22T21:46:00.000+01:00

Dear Readers,

I know you weren't eagerly anticipating the day when I would be writing recipes, but I'm afraid the time has come.

So, for all of you foodies out there, here's my Super Duper Cosmic Spaghetti™ Recipe!

You need:

Spaghetti (Al Dente)
1 Egg per 150g Spaghetti (The Chicken Variety)
Chicken Meat (1 Breast per Person)
A Lot Of Blue Cheese (To Taste)
Raisins/Sultanas
White Wine
Cinnamon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For The Cosmic Mixture™:

So, you cook the chicken (get someone else to do it, as I do), chop it up, add the raisins, marinate them in a saucepan in the white wine, add some olive oil if you like it, some cinnamon and finally add the blue cheese and let it melt. What's important is that the whole thing is hot.

Meanwhile, you should have the spaghetti boiling. Sieve the water out and add the egg, whisk it until it's not really liquid anymore and then add the Cosmic Mixture™.

Make sure that the Cosmic Mixture and the Spaghetti Carbonara have mingled well together, and toss the whole contents of the Spaghetti Pan into The Plate.

Then, pour out a glass of white wine, get out your favourite fork, and enjoy, like I just did.

Disclaimer: I do not take any responsibility for people contracting Salmonella, Food Poisoning or Ebola after ingesting The Super Duper Cosmic Spaghetti™.

Dear Claudia,

2007-01-15T00:02:00.000+01:00

For the benefit of my readers who are not currently enrolled at the UOM, next week is exam week.

And I, like the diligent philosophy student I am, am busy updating my pseudoblog instead of attending to matters pertaining accidents, ontological statements, forms and illumination, bathroom fittings and kitchen appliances.

(Yes, my friends, everything under the Sun (and including the latter) can prove to be the subject of your next philosophical discussion.

It was fair enough discussing the Metaphysics in Ancient Greece, but I scarcely can see the point of that since the widespread availability of the Bible, which clearly states that the world was created in seven days flat, period.

There's also no point in discussing the existence of God; otherwise, how could many people think they are someone who does not exist?

So all the discussion on God et al. being shifted to the realm of Theology, this leaves Philosophy with several lovely topics, such as what do actions consist of, what do we actually see, do we think independently or are we programmed in some obsolete form of Java? The list goes on, until every subject on earth has its own particular philosophy; we have a philosophy of science, a philosophy of religion, a philosophy of faith (look, an oxymoron!, squealed the atheist), a philosophy of rhetoric, a political philosophy, and finally, a philosophy of dishwashers.

I am not yet aware of any institutions offering the course, but I think it would prove to be an interesting enough topic for postgraduate research.)

But I digress.

This post was meant to be a treatise of the way in which study is so difficult. According to Myers and Myers, in a book which I have to consult for an extremely welcome paper I have to hand in (in APA format, please), the human mind can process over 800 words a minute, while the average speaking rate for an American is, according to my fallible memory (being called into duty by my chronic laziness), around 30 wpm.

That, my friends, is why listening effectively is so difficult.

Your brain has to cope with so much more, so please keep it in mind, perhaps it will occupy that part of your brain which is not listening, and thus providing the speaker facing you with fertile ground where to plant their word.

This statistic, coupled with various phoenomena which have plagued my life of recent (and which I shan't be publishing via this online pseudo-diary, thank you very much) is the reason why studying, as my comrade Jake Mamo would have it, is so excruciatingly difficult.

At First, I start reading. And Reading. Then I start sc_n_ing. Then i
(oops!) skip

wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext
wholechunksoftextwholechunksoftext,

and continue reading, up until the point where my mind keeps seeing words,
smiles at them and dismisses them unceremoniously and keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing text
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing text
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing text
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing text
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing text
keeps seeing words
keeps seeing words , seeing words, seeing words (!), seeing seeing words words wordswords words words Apple took out the computer now, are they gonna start selling fruit? words words words wordswordswords O love!

words words words words To attain any assured knowledge about the soul is one of the To attain any assured knowledge about the soul is one of the most difficult things in the world. most difficult things in the world. st difficult things in the world.

insert random text here <> wordskeeps seeingtextkeeps seeingkeeps seeingkeeps seeingnothing?

sibling(X,Y) :- parent(Z,X), parent(Z,Y).
parent(X,Y) :- father(X,Y).
parent(X,Y) :- mother(X,Y).
nd dismisses them unceremoniously and keeps seeing words keeps seeing
words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps
keeps seeing words keeps seeing
words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps
keeps seeing words keeps seeing

mother(trude, sally).
father(tom, sally).
father(tom, erica).
father(mike, tom).
words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps

keeps seeing words keeps seeing

words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps seeing words keeps

seeing words...

...until the exercise we refer to as reading is nothing but an organic, intramental, pathetic excuse for a screensaver.


And that, dear readers, for a student, spells out one, meaningful word.



Disatser.

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-14T19:03:00.000+01:00

Dearest Reader,

I, dejvid, solemnly promise that I will update my blog at least once weekly, except in cases of:

Paralysis;

Muscular Dystrophy;

computerlessness;

boredom;

despair;

indiscipline;

writer's block;

not being bothered to do anything, let alone finish sentenc

Wasn't That Nice Of Us?

2006-12-30T17:00:00.000+01:00

I won't tell you what happened to Saddam Hussein; we all know.

We all know the reasons for his being hung,
and one would be led to thinking that he deserved it.

The problem is, as a certain Jesus once put it, "let him who is without sin cast the first stone"; and had we to use the measure used for Saddam's execution, soon we'll be having a human salumeria, with cuts of various nationalities and rankings, starting with people who wage wars on terror while terrorizing whole nations.

The other problem is, that, as it was before, Mr. Hussein was in great debt with humanity.

Humanity, being the bright race it is, decided to imitate.

Happy New Year.

Of Bull™ and its relation to the environment

2006-11-10T22:17:00.000+01:00

So, remember I had mentioned the thing on relatives and absolutes? (If you can't remember, look down, it was on my last post).

Well, it was absolute, pure Bull™

That's a fact.

It's not a treatise- it's just some words, but not random ones.

But while that may be Bull™, your relation to the Bull™ might be different from mine.

If you're a bull (the variety God made), you might like your defecation, it may have relieved you of some undue pain, so your relationship to it is different from that of a cook, who will not want the smell of Bull™ in his kitchen, and rightly so.

If you're a fan of natural odors, you'll be enthralled, intrigued by Bull™'s smell, which, I hear, is an acquired taste many don't bother to acquire.

But the fact is, that whatever relation you may have to it, it's absolutely Bull™.

The Fruits of Education

2006-10-24T13:26:00.000+02:00

Dear Reader,

As you may well have noticed (or will notice upon a cursory glance at posts below), it's been a while. Well, I've started university, and really am not in the mood of writing anything worthwhile reading online, even though I guess I should be. I'll try to make a superhuman effort to write some more readable stuff, like a small treatise on relatives and absolutes.

Or maybe not.

P.S.
Anyone with job giving power is most welcome to offer me a part time job, or else just give me one of the following:

1) Apple MacBook Pro 2.16 GHz
2) Aprilia RS 125
3) Clothes
4) Food
5) Shelter
6) Money
7) Motu Traveller Soundcard
8) Gibson ES335 (in black, please)

Of Mice, Men and Maintenance Grants

2006-10-02T22:13:00.000+02:00

I do not mean to sound ungrateful to what Government is doing with the money my father gave it, however, the not-so-recent decision that people doing Science courses should get more money (Lm 370 yearly; 470 in the first one) via stipends and maintenance grants, could, and should, get people thinking.

First of all, one has to recognise a fact of life so clearly emphasized during a handful of SOK lectures- some people are of a scientific aptitude, others tend to be more artistic.

People who understand a washing machine manual; people who can read between the lines.

People who will dismantle a camera and rebuild it; people who will actually use it to the limits.

The issue is that, while our country is choc a bloc with a lot of brilliant and some mediocre engineers, doctors and programmers, it is also choc a bloc with charlatan designers, colourblind video editors, manglish writers and pseudopoliticians.

Although there is more career potential in the technical fields, would it be a mortal sin if people with creative leanings would be provided with a technical background to perfect their art, or at least, develop it?

No, all artists are provided is a Higher National Diploma, which takes a while to get, but in the end, counts less than a degree.

Back to the bone of contention, money, iWonder™ what these science students will be spending my father's money on. Portable labs? Possibly. MP3 players and Nike, Converse or Adidas sneakers? More likely. Oh, and maybe some books.

Profound Apologies

2006-09-26T01:56:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't get myself to really post a new one.

Not that anyone's really waiting for my verses, but I do try to maintain that illusion.

Lest We Forget

2006-09-24T23:07:00.000+02:00

Sunday, in my books, is usually blogday, where I actually have a look at the blog and post something onto it.

Today, I have decided that I'm going to post the post I should've posted today tomorrow, so you will be treated to two posts this week, today's post about tomorrow's-blog-that-had-to-come-out-today and tomorrow's-blog-that-had-to-come-out-today-which-I-just-told-you-about.

Fair enough,no?

Stop complaining, will you?

Auto Discipline™ (Patent Applied For)

2006-09-24T22:58:00.000+02:00

Auto-Discipline™, in it's various incarnations, could seem one of the most perverse, monstrous habits one could ever dream of taking up; going against what one knows one is feeling and what one knows one wants at the present instant and knowing there's the Simpsons at 2 on ItaliaUno, and chucking all that out of the proverbial window.
It will then proceed to guide the perpetrator of this gruesome act (self discipline, if you weren't following) onto a drab, bleak path which the subject had decided upon in a rare moment of enlightenment, where study and skill actually seemed a viable proposition.

The victim cum perpetrator, provided they are provided with enough talent, will then proceed to become a master at their art, profession, whatever, while the easy-going, laid back "artists" criticize the poor sod for being too perfect, too graceful etc.

Granted, they do see the bigger picture, but instead of trying to paint it, or at least trying to attempt a charcoal sketch, they keep taking notes, writing blogs, running a felt tip marker round the border until their arms are numb with pain, and they'll want to rest, and stay there.

Should the lack of Auto-Discipline™ be tormenting your poor brain, fear not, Auto-Discipline™ is not always necessary, and you will be spared the cost. In fact, many successful people have gone far without it, one cannot fail but mention developers, some periti, politicians, staff at the UOM, refuse collectors, "musicians", ""artists"" and a whole lot of other people who contribute to a place that is slowly becoming more like a disjointed collage of different opinions, tastes and moods, rather than a masterpiece, the fruit of a slow labour of love.

I shouldn't have written this sentence, as it is perfectly redundant, useless and goes against every principle that Auto-Discipline™ dictates, however, it's my blog, and I won't have some stupid plug-in dictate what I should put in it. And I do know that basic typography would suggest I write in a colour that is different to the background, but you wouldn't be chuckling quietly to yourself had it been otherwise, wise ass.

iWonder™...

2006-09-20T09:49:00.000+02:00

...who has to be saying sorry?

Thank God It's (still) Sunday

2006-09-17T14:59:00.000+02:00

Anyone familiar with current affairs will have noticed that recently the Pope has been asked to apologise in person to the whole Islamic religion for a statement pronounced in an address/lecture at the Regensburg University, a request to which he obliged.

Now the question is- is Josef Ratzinger, a doctor of Theology, dumb enough to be saying that Islam is an evil religion explicitly?

The answer, thankfully to everyone, is no.

What Pope Ratzinger did was quote an episode and an argument, and continued his informed, intellectual speech based upon the argument; it wasn't Catholics vs Islam, rather it was the context of rationality in theology. It wasn't a mass rally with placards saying that Islam is evil, it was an address at a distinguished German university, which would be a setting cold enough to store ice cream in.

What is worrying however, is that these Islamic leaders did not bother to take the quote into context, while the rest of the world is forced to see all the unusual traits in Islam in context, starting with the veiled women on to the Jihad.

In Saudi Arabia, crosses aren't allowed. In Malta, we even have a Mosque. If someone didn't allow the erection of a church in SA, it would be a normal procedure; if someone in Malta criticizes, or, of all things, cartoonises, Islam he is labelled an infidel, politically incorrect etc.

I am not against Islam, although I must say it's not really my cup of tea.

What I am against, however, is misinterpretation, and a paranoia that the world is against you.

Unless one is against the world, he should not think that vice versa is true.

pax

Bull™ or Science?

2006-09-07T22:42:00.000+02:00

Ever thought of a person and they phone? Or txt?

It has happened more than a couple of times, so much so that I actually thought about it.

Yes, it is A Big Deal. Or not.

My (underinformed) intellectual wanderings revolve around the thesis that the fields generated by communication devices, such as mobiles, could in some way affect or prepare the brain. What always puzzled me, however, was that I always thought of the person or the situation; but do microwaves carry that kind of information?

Anway, this note is because apparently now a scientist has taken this to the test, details of which can be found here.

Now I know some of you think this is pure bull™, but if you haven't seen the bull defecating, you can't say it is so. (Actually you can, and you can be right, but it's still one hell of a statement.)

Not this time anyway, sometimes the smell is too bad not to call bull™ by its name.

Horses' stinks as well though.

I know I'll be having an important call from my crush in ten minutes, so I'd better go rehearse.

Back with a ... Blog

2006-09-07T16:00:00.000+02:00

Dear Reader,

You may not know this, but when I started this blog, it wasn't meant to be a vomitorium for my raging anger towards society. Rather, it was meant to provide a glimpse of a better world and society, where consequently people do their job well and occasionally use their brains.

Which wasn't the case at my last examination. During my Pure Maths exams, usually I am always provided with:

An index number on my table;
An exam booklet with some graph paper and lined paper,
A booklet of formulae.

So I turn up at 8:45, and surprise surprise...

She's still placing the index numbers on the desks (stenna ftit ħi)
Exam booklet still needs to grow its graphs
No booklet of formulae.

You'd expect that these people, employed with our applications' money, would not have any idea of pure Mathematics.

I mean, neither do we.

But one at least would expect that these people could at least know these three basic steps, so simple that even a well-behaved 6-year old could've done it.

Not to mention the bus driver taking me home on the same fateful morning. This guy didn't even know where to go.

The customer is always right; only this time the service provider didn't have an argument...

tata!

Why??

2006-08-17T12:50:00.000+02:00

Dear Reader,

The fact that this story caused to me to wake up from my blogging turpor should be proof enough it's serious.

http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=244704

maggotheads.

Closed For Maintenance

2006-08-14T15:40:00.000+02:00

Dearest Reader,

As you may well be aware, bloggers are human beings as well. And humans NEED to study for exams in order to pass. It is with great sorrow and humiliation that I, therefore, declare that until the 6th of September I will be blogging very little or none at all.

Have a nice siesta.

Maltese Blood

2006-08-08T22:27:00.000+02:00

So, as promised, I will make amends to my previous blog.

So, to set the facts straight: Gibraltar is nice.

It has an amazing location,

lovely people (most of them of Maltese descent),

seagulls,

their droppings.

What's wrong however, as per Malta, is:

The architecture:

Drop over to Spain and you'll see why. Buildings there have character, even apartment blocks; in Gibraltar you get housing similar to government housing in Malta. That only applies for the newer buildings (50s onwards); but our Baroque buildings kick foreign butt, big time.

The new buildings aren't bad at all, bar one thing; they're being built right on the seafront, and apparently they won't be occupied as they will be bought with foreign money.

Which means the poor Gibs will have their view obstructed by empty flats that they can't afford.

And housing is EXPENSIVE.

Eventually the Rock will just succumb to the building and jackhammering, and just fall off, hollow as it is.

And well, gossip is as you'd expect, rampant.

Viva Malta!

Gibraltar Volume II

2006-08-06T00:23:00.000+02:00

Just FYI, Gibraltar isn't heaven on Earth. I will update you later on how and why, but at the moment I'm not in the mood of slaving away to Emperor Blogosephus.

What I said about the apes still stands though...

Why not?

2006-07-30T19:56:00.000+02:00

Greetings, Earthling.

Seeing that the internet gets one hooked, and seeing also the fact that I have my Sunday obligation to fulfill, I will actually be blogging once more.

The reason for this explanation is simple; I'm away.

As in, not in my bed.

not in my house

not in my village

not in malta.

I'm actually in another version of Malta: It's called Gibraltar.

If you thought Malta was small, this place will make you rethink it.

In short, the reason why I'm actually writing about this little tax-free haven is that, a country with a similar background (endless colonisations and invasions, and a British colony) yet much smaller and no university of its own, is much better presented than Malta is.

First of all, Gibs are proud of what they have. Even if it's just a rock full of tunnels someone else did for them. Even if their bastions are only colonial. Even if also Malta has a 100 ton gun. And reckless drivers, for that matter. And their main attraction, well, is a rock, which um, rocks...

Now we have the oldest temples in the world.

which we vandalise.

We (had/ve) some of the best architecture in the med.

which we demolish.

We had some good coastline, and lovely sea.

which we filled up with sand, fish farms and sub standard 5 star hotels.

Second of all, you can actually see living seagulls. Malta, an island so close to the sea, should be teeming with these gliding, squawking beauties, and their souvenirs should be deposited all along our coastlines.

But no. We shot them all.

Now I don't want people to think I'm some monarchical fiend, however, I do think that colonial artefacts such as letterboxes and telephone boxes and biscuit boxes have their own charm, and we should benefit more if we left more of those and less of the more, for want of a better word, boxy specimens. And to give more character and emphasize our independence, we could paint them a nice shade of royal blue, a' la windows xp, or the MTA website.

but no. We want to be modern, and our attempt at that is hiring some demibrained perit or a self proclaimed designer, and voila', product Malta. big hotels. very big. you don't need to go out ta madam, just stay in the hotel, unless you want to have a look at other hotels, which is basically all you'll see.

One thing Gibraltar seems to have a lot is apes. Apparently they've infested the whole rock and run it.

We're better than the Gibs at that; our apes run a thing called parliament.

Cheerio

finally cracked

2006-07-23T21:47:00.000+02:00

noooo ooooooneeee reeeeeaaddsss myyyyyy bloggg!!!!

miao

Blogligation

2006-07-23T15:55:00.000+02:00

When I sat down and started this blog of sorts, I vowed that I would not be updating it daily, but rather leave it to vent my frustrations online. Therefore, today, in yet another bout of helpless boredom, I will be fulfilling my Sunday obligation and attending to my duties as a Maltese Blogger.

What can I write about today?

Got it.

The festa, the twice yearly event where the pjazza has to be closed off, so that these devout Catholics may gently whisper their beautiful poetry at a kartapesta statue outside the church building, while the fidili inside are trying to listen to the qari. So that they can erect their strange, fire spitting contraptions while we poor people have to walk even further to a bus stage that is already in the Kingdom of Far, Far Away.

To top it all up, the driver will still want to frequent the bar that's near the venda, which means that we poor injuranti who can't drive a bus will have to wait.

And then some more waiting.

I love waiting.

Do you?

The highlight of the festa was definitely the pjancier, where the musical programme had to stop for half an hour while we were treated to the ramblings of a presenter who had to finish all, yes all of his eloquent, hollow, sentences with "Socjeta Muzikali Karmelitana Banda Queen Victoria taz-Zurrieq", or something of the sort.

The best bit was when Nejxis, the sindku, said that he had been a pilastru of the youth committee.

Yes, dear Ignatius, you may have been instrumental in the sorry history of a sorry band club, but pillars, I'm afraid, don't say they're pillars.

Pillars, dear Natius, do not speak. And I'm afraid mayors shouldn't go bouncing up and down in the Marc ta' Filghodu.

Can I go now?

why...

2006-07-14T22:11:00.000+02:00

I mean, what d'you have in your head? Maggots?

Idiots.

why?

2006-07-14T21:44:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I heard that Hasting's Gardens, fresh from a spending spree of 300 000 liri, was vandalized. I cannot help but admire the people who did that; the subtleness, the wit, the sarcasm they've shown is beyond anything my imagination could fathom.

Dearest Vandals,

Yes, the system may suck.

Down with the system! you may say. (You could also use coarser words, but this blog has it's dignity, even though no one reads it...)

Stick it up to The Man!

But when the system and its Man give you somewhere where to sit and snog, you could at least say thank you. Or better still, shut up.

But no, you spray red paint all over something new.

And if you're another disappointed contractor; find a job. The market for professional assholes is already saturated, with most people having one just as an excuse to be one themselves.

This takes me back to the rape of Mnajdra. And of Bieb il-Bombi. And that lovely pjazza the Zurrieq local council has kindly messed up. And the Wied Iz-Zurrieq Belvedere.

The Belvedere must be the contractor's desk, with cash flowing in, courtesy of the taxpayer's money. And you can't see a damn thing but the pavement and the rails, unless you're as tall as I am, and I know for a fact that many are not.

When will we learn?

Better still, when will we start dipping these people in acid and leaving them there?

Good night.

A Blog

2006-07-14T21:19:00.000+02:00

Greetings Earthling,

Seeing most of your civilized population seems to be indulging in this kind of online activity, I decided to join in and see what the blogging phenomenon is about.

To be Frank (or anyone else who says things as they are), "blogging" always reminds me of clogged drainage systems, rather than pretty rock chics typing voraciously at their beaten up iBooks. Clogging could also be good, as some blogs are really nothing more than shite in the online puddle.

What is this blog gonna be? I hope it'd be something I'd like to read myself. If not, I won't read it.

dejv