Facebook virus?! what is this shit?

Oh, just opened my Facebook index and found this:


My ass might not be too bad...still...considering Arnaud is my friend's husband (we do not correspond) and I did not take any videos of my ass AT ALL, I think it's a shitty virus. Did anyone receive something similar? It's not the first time I struggle with this social network and I see traffic decreasing there. Maybe we should all move on? If so, where to? To Twitter and Friendfeed+it's developments? To mobile blogging? To Flickr and YouTube?

I might do...Facebook begins to annoy me with unnecessary issues.

UPDATE: Yep, all of his friends got it! Be aware!

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Source: Buzzsugar

'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' is first film I decided to buy to my DVD collection since ages. I have heard quite good opinions about this one, so for a few moneyz it really was a good move:) I do not know why but the older I get the more sensitive I become and I really need to take it easy with intense images! This one is really well done, and I think I would like it less if living in Hungary still. There must be a hidden feeling of charm of the local history behind the fact that I spent 2 hours last night staring into my laptop putting my evening coffee away...
Kate Blanchett always seems to be a symbol if innocent beauty - please do not ask me why - but it's not the only striking thing about this one - she basically showed the ful process of development of that key figure of British history, in few uncertain gestures, glimpses, in simplicity and clear mind...I like seing strong personalities - even if in fictive creations.

I shifted from buying music, so I WILL bore you with a few more classics, hehe...

Image via Wikipedia

It's really good to see how developped the world of news is and that reporters are brave to be in hot spots of the world. I might be shocked by the events in South Ossetia, but I am happy to be able to see the events day-by-day and understand the conflict better. Check BBC site for great report here. Ah, wonders of the web!:)

Flock 2 in beta

Those of you who follow me on Twitter might know that few days ago I gave up waiting on feedback to my e-mail to Flock guys and decided to use Firefox 3. Actually, I still think it's a great browser, BUT! The very same Flock person picked up my mentioned tweet and responded immediately - which something bloggers like:) and deserves appraisal. I was given a chance to try out the beta 2 version of Flock and must admit that it works better on my Vista now. I am still trying it out (I really like the blog posting options on Flock - mainly when my xx wifi provider is shit and the connection dies every few seconds and I need to post quickly on few servers), but I noticed two reasons against using it on an on-going basis.
1. Flock does not allow me to upload a pic to the posting window directly - for me it's pain in the neck, since I am a photographer and I like posting my own s....hizzle:)
2. I have just discovered Zemanta Firefox add-on which is simply very, very cool and I am still enojying using it for tagging!

I am impressed by the outreach of Flock guys, so I will keep using both for a while (Flock from home probably, due to my shitty connection) and keep an eye on Flock's improvements. It has potential, so let's see.

Two important readings

I have not mentioned two important books I have read lately, I believe. Both were written by novelists born in Afghanistan, both books became quite famous. I usually tend to be quite careful about 'the bests', this time nonetheless I was forced to buy something on a  way to Budapest, so here is what I think.


'Samir and Samira' is a novel written by Siba Shakib, a woman and I would love to know opinions of male readers about the story and values. For me personally it was pretty straitforward for see decision process happening int he head of a girl who was raised as a boy and came to the point when she had to choose. Did she really choos? Did she choose right? For me this is not the part that really matters - it's the reasons behind each step of her life; the moments of discoveries (you know very well when the personality slaps you and it's not really measurable in tears or silences, but in the heaviness of the discovery!); the unbearable reality of the book and brittiant language of a woman who knows what she is writing about. Just as mistique as women's world, and as cruel and tense as men's world can be...

'The Kite Runner' - if you haven't read it yet - is a book written by a man who also is fully aware of Afghan reality and his approach is quite realistic. Instead of mystique explanations he is using emotional set ups and triggers to make you cry! Seriously, I cried like a baby! (the Hungarian lady on the train must think that foreigners are bizarre..)  And I do read the news, I see the pictures, I KNOW what is happening in Afghanistan. I did not understand though, and this book opened my eyes slightly thanks to brilliant structure, symbolism and craft of Khaled Hosseini's writing. It's more than worth reading, it's worth keeping on the shelf - just in case if my poetic soul carries me away from every day life. This book will bring me back on the surface of earth with a huge bang!

So, if you want to more about a place where you probably will not travel to for a while, try those out!

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what the f@@@ is going on!?!

(Source article here)
I've been following the events in Georgia for a while, took part in discussions on InterNations (opinions of expatriates seem very broad and in depth to me, very valuable) and still, I cannot f@@@ing believe it is happening! Check the source article for more...I'd rather not start, it makes me sick even to think about it...

Amnesty news

Dear Amnesty Supporter

This month we have an exciting event coming up at the Human Rights Action Centre with readings from the play 'Life on the Borderline'. We also urge you to take action in the case of Shamameh Ghorbani who has been sentenced to 100 lashes by the Iranian authorities

Activism Team
Amnesty International UK

Event

Life on the Borderline. Writer Hoshiar has spent 8 years as an asylum seeker. Set at a border crossing, this play incorporates both his own experiences, and some of the many stories told to him by other asylum seekers. Book this event

The event takes place at the Human Rights Action Centre on Tuesday 9 September. For more information please click on the flyer:

Actions

Iran: Fear of flogging Shamameh Ghorbani has been sentenced to 100 lashes, after being found guilty of adultery at a retrial. Her sentence could be carried out at any time. Take action

News

Suspension of stoning executions a welcome step if carried out. Amnesty International has welcomed the recent announcement by the spokesperson for Iran's Judiciary that execution by stoning has been suspended Read the report

You can always find out more on these and other issues on the Women's Action Network pages of our website.

Blondies more successful?

Photographs: AFP/ AP

Just checked my new Twitter followers and discovered Hong Kong Wong blog post about the opening on Beijing Olympics, this one here..
Let me quote the source as well: 'The little girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer was not considered attractive enough, the show's musical director said."
Now, remember my post about me staying consciously blond? And you think I was joking?
Check what Hong Kong Wong mentions and the Guardian write about the looks related to the successfulness of women in China and the UK and think about it? Personally I have experienced more positive responses to my enquiries both at work as well as in private life - that in the UK and Hungary. I wonder how it works in other parts of the world.

I will not go into the details of how ethical the opening situation of Olympics was, it's quite obvious:/

Twitter again!

Just decided to sit back in front of my pc - tried not to, just to enjoy last hours of my holidays but checking my mail I realised that while I was away in Budapest I have received an invite to Twitterfone - a Twitter tool based on voice recognition allowing you to update the Twitter account via voice call. Cool, easy to use and really working;) -in Budapest I actually enjoyed keeping in touch with my friends and readers via Twitter last week - NOT browsing, blogging, checking my mail:) which is why I am getting so exited about a tool that for some of you might be boring already, hehe.

Happy Second Anniversary to Lolly btw!:)

#080808

I like the date, I like the day - last day of work before my holiday trip to Budapest:)
China is celebrating, Chinese Twitter users are celebrating too. Check this article, and their blog for more info.

I joined, so follow me on Twitter:)

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Amnesty (again) and Google...and blogging ethics!

There is an interesting article on Amnesty's activities (mainly in Australia) before Beijing here. It also links to something that we all think about nowadays and touches upon privacy issues - Google Street Mapping. (see Stilgherrian's post). I would be very interested to hear what you think. On Twitter opinions are skeptical, still I personally have nothing against it - we do live in CCTV age and if I need to loose a bit of my own privacy but gain on my security - I would agree - I think I agreed long time ago, actually. The thought of having on-line view of my flat windows available doesn't scare me - mine faces one of the main squares of our little town, other one of the main paths. (I would be interested to know what EU and UK law states about privacy in Google's case though. Any lawyers around?)Browsing around all those Amnesty sites I have found an interesting guide to blogging (fresh, March 2008, great graphics btw) including few notes on ethics written by Dan Gillmor (interested in privacy issues, as far as I can see) , who finds basis for blogging ethics in journalism: 'There are pillars of good journalism: thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, transparency and independence.'I thing it's a valid point - according to Fromm, there are two types of ethics - modern ethics (due to the commercialism and tolerance based development of societies this set of rules is based on our subjective judgments, i.e. code of ethics must be agreed on by majority of us) or traditional ethics (set of rules given by superior 'powers' - however we define those - always objective). If we want to follow modern approach, we still need traditional (journalistic) point of view at least to start developing our own codes of blogging ethics.

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Beijing and Social Media

OK, I have moaned about it and how skeptical I am but the more I read about the Olympics web coverage the friendlier the idea becomes. Today Lolly drooped me a link to Buzz Attitude article describing Lenovo team of bloggers and their WOM activities covering Olympics. Check out the Voices of the Olympic Games site - it really looks impressive, and I am surely going to keep my eyes open for more info there, mainly on their interactive guide. At the same time Read Write Web posted great article about other sponsors and their involvement here. McDonald's The Lost Ring made me stop for a sec - that's how far I get involved in gaming:) - since it doesn't look bad. More on-line, just do a good Google search:)


I can't wait to see the result of Chinese web surveys in few moths time, but I was told already today by someone experienced in Asian marketing that Chinese audience will escape the challenging really and start using web more (this might be a simple personal opinion though, wouldn't make a bet). Let's see...

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Beijing will get YouTube coverage

The Guardian is just informing that Olympics will get a YouTube channel coverage. This makes me slightly confused - maybe I am just grumpy today and didn't have enough coffee, but...can we please give Chinese audience full access to YouTube service instead?

Update: here we go, US reacts differently this time? hm...

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Amnesty news today

Check out what is happening in Texas today:/ :

José Medellín, a Mexican national, is scheduled to be executed on August 5th in Texas, despite not having been informed of his right to seek assistance from Mexican consular officials. Mexican nationals have often been sentenced to death in the US despite being denied this right, yet the US is obligated by Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) to inform foreign nationals of their right to seek consular assistance. The US Supreme Court, the State of Texas and the US Government all agree that there is a binding legal obligation to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering “review and reconsideration” of the consular treaty violation in José Medellín’s case, and the US Congress is currently reviewing legislation that would implement the ICJ decision. Urge Texas officials to honor US treaty commitments by granting clemency for José Medellín.'

source and more here

No comments...

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London - the way I like it

Is there:


I am glad I've discovered it all by myself. And I will continue visiting it - there...:)

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King Lear, Globe

Once again I trembled out of...happiness, sorrow, joy, compassion and finally mourning the death of the author himself. If you watch 'King Lear' in the Globe in London you cannot not think about Shakespeare and his times. And as in those times there was stupid people in the audience (only that this time they forgot to switch their mobile off) and like in his times they deserved obvious shush from more cultured members of the crowd. Like in his times there was blood on stage, rain and sunshine...Like in his days there was a dove flying down to walk on the stage just when the old King was about to wake up to see Cornelia again.

Only for few seconds did I remember my times - when a plane flew over the roofs of the theater.

But most of the time - time which I cannot stop thinking off - my soul was stolen and drifted over to well crafted fable about an unhappy King and his three daughters.

'Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither;
Ripeness is all.'

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Being blond pays off...

..even if men think you are stupid, hehe...I got to take an earlier bus, than the booked one. I got to have my bag carried in London (hellou? I never thought this would happen!) and I got served properly and quickly in a fast food...all this with a silly blond smile!
Worked!

I decided to keep the hair color and use this tactics more often from now on! Hell yes, why not!

(BTW - why? can someone tell me why??? maybe an educated feminist, please?;))

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My photos from Spain! Finally

Here:

Montilla

and here:

Tuna music

and here:

Spanish wedding

and here:

Cordoba

Uff...done. Budapest next!

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NY Times and Women Bloggers - BlogHer

(source: NY Times)

B.L.Ochman's strong opinion about NY Times article on BlogHer Conference struck me in todays morning readings (I like to check it out time to time)...I wish I could see some stats of female blogging, because as a part of that community I do not really feel left out or less appreciated than my fellow male bloggers. Still, I do not do it for living, just for fun  - I guess it might be and must be an issue if there is a conference on the topic. BTW I see nothing wrong in gathering and sharing ideas using any excuse - as long as it't not a bunch of women looking for excuse to complain and do nothing about it (sorry ladies, I am basing it on my experience of Eastern-European feminist gatherings...) - I cannot stand those.

Let's see...BlogHer site is OK, I see women addressing hte very same issues as all bloggers around the world - so why is that wrong?

Men have their cars and football, women can have their 'You are perfect' messages - what on earth is the difference?:)

Just relax and enjoy being who you are and if you are mistreated or misjudged - do something about it, damn right!

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Amnesty website in China

Dear Sylwia,

In China, you're banned from looking at the Amnesty International web site - even if you're a journalist covering the Olympic Games!

Yesterday, we wrote to you asking you to join Amnesty in urging President Bush to publicly condemn China's human rights violations before the Summer Games begin on August 8^th.


Today, I'm asking you to make a donation to support Amnesty's work to fight these abuses and draw worldwide attention to China's broken promises.

Now, we've learned that a day after Amnesty International issued a comprehensive report on how the Chinese government was failing to live up to its promises on human rights, the Chinese government shut down access to our web site - even for foreign reporters in Beijing to cover the Olympics.

Internet censorship for the people of China is nothing new, but the Olympics were supposed to be different. When China bid for the Olympics in 2001, it declared that it would "give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China" if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Beijing to host the Games.


With your financial support, Amnesty International will continue to call for an end to media censorship, work to free those wrongly detained for acts of peaceful self-expression, and speak on behalf of China's citizens who have been silenced against their will.

Failure to speak out now is to miss the unique opportunity to push for positive human rights change in China.

With your help, Amnesty will continue to pressure Chinese authorities to grant foreign and local journalists alike the freedom to report on the news as they see fit - and honor their commitments as Olympic host.

Update: and look what's happening...

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Amnesty News...

Dear Sylwia , 

Torture. Long-term detentions without charge or trial. Censorship of the internet and media. Does this sound like a country that’s trying to improve its human rights record? 

Ye Guozhu, a human rights defender in Beijing, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for taking action against forced evictions related to the Olympics. Amnesty International fears he has been tortured while in detention. He was due to be released on Saturday, July 26 but will now remain imprisoned until October, after the end of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Chinese authorities have stepped up their repression of human rights defenders in order to “clean up” Beijing. With the Olympics only 10 days away, take action and urge China to create a positive human rights legacy. 

In 2001 China made a promise to improve its human rights record if given the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. Instead, China has become increasingly repressive with crackdowns on dissent and the rounding up and arrest of human rights defenders. Citing "security", China has imprisoned individuals for doing nothing more than drawing international attention to ongoing human rights violations.

President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Games on August 8. Before he leaves for Beijing, tell President Bush to make a public statement condemning the human rights violations perpetrated in preparation for the Olympics.

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Adidas Women Challenge in Amnesty News

Actions

Yemen: Fatima Hussein al-Badi After an unfair trial which was exacerbated by interference from Parliament and the President of Yemen, Fatima Hussein al-Badi is at risk of execution. Take action

South Africa: Rural women living with HIV face discrimination. Treatment for HIV and AIDS requires regular visits to hospitals and clinics. Rural women living in poverty and unemployment often cannot afford the transportation. Take action

South Africa: Inadequate care and support for rural victims of sexual assault.The South African government is obliged by law to provide a means of preventing HIV infection after sexual assault. However, poverty and distance create barriers to the access of treatment. Take action

Events

Adidas Women's Challenge: 7 September 2008. The Adidas Women's Challenge is one of the UK's biggest women-only races. It takes place in London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and over 30,000 women enter. Join them as part of Team Amnnesty

You can always find out more on these and other issues on the Women's Action Network pages of our website.

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Life changing books

I started reading Fromm's Man for Himself and I feel bizarre! The book is changing me...you know the feeling when you live chaos and suddenly everything starts to fall in its place? The puzzles start to show a shape and you sit back and relax? That's what Fromm did and still does to me....but there were others too. Last weekend was quite relaxed and even though I still had no time to write down my trip to Spain (due to the fact I have 500 pix to go through and no time at all!), I decided to write down a list of books that changed my life.

1. Bible - born in a Catholic family I was raised with it, had it always around, studied it...It gave me basics for my own values, later on sadly made me realize I cannot represent Catholic Church. Nonetheless I still live most of what I've learned from it, but very much incorporated it in modern reality:)
2. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice - I remember the scene and the day when I realized the paradox of human life and longing for eternity. I was upset for a few weeks, that life was given to be taken away and art, music, architecture will survive when I will be gone. (or those who do not know me I AM and egocentric person). I kept the copy I received form a friend from Egypt as one of my little treasures:)
3. The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco - thought me to smile and appreciate what I have and the education I was given; thought me to love books and libraries.
4. Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women by Anne Moir and David Jessel - great study of female and male biology, brain structure, growing up and socialization as well as everyday behavior. I was a feminist when I read it - and stopped being one, hehe, it kinda put all sex differences in order and I learned to appreciate that men think and behave differently and it all works quite well;)
5. The Sane Society by Erich Fromm - well writer critique or a study of Western society, extremely improved my relationship with my family, opened my eyes to all the mechanisms below the surface, helps me to manage my relationship with my parents and later on with my son.
6. Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo helped me to find a balance between my Catholic background, post-modern nature and Zen philosophy - if that makes sense...
7. The Letters of Vincent van Gogh by Vincent Van Gogh, Ronald de Leeuw, and Arnold J. Pomerans - increased my sensitivity in photography and pushed me to achieve more - I always go back to this book, whenever I feel I am stuck.
8. Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz - once finished studies I went back to this - cherished in my house, since my dad comes from Lithuania - book on Lithuanian Poles during Napoleon times. I realized I miss old times, and even though I am a fan of post-modern myself I do think back on my ancestors' traditions and long for those delicious meals, huntings and picking mushrooms and blueberries in the forests that are endless and beautiful or in Hungary for example: sipping a coffeee and enjoying a gorgeous cake in one of Budapest 'cukraszdas' - any of those traditions that are gone forever .... ech...
9. Polka and Tarot Paryski by Manuela Gretkowska - first one guided my through pregnancy, second one developed my laid back attitude! I love her writing!
10. 11 Minutes by Coelho - one of those simple stories that quite you trough hard times - really helped me out of my horrible marriage:)
11. Girl with One Track Mind by Abby Lee - this will sound bizarre, I know, but the way she wrote her diary down brought back the magic to my life lately - maybe simply because she was so honest and so feminine...
11. Mental Fight by Ben Okri - sooo right about the times we live in!!!!

Well, and there is Fromm and his view on ethics now...let's see how it shapes me.

In the meantime I do follow others. Rice, Coelho and Abby Lee blog, Ben Okri was in Oxford lately and the rest...well, I guess I need to go to the local library. There were others too, but I guess I have no more lunch brake left to list them:)

How about you? Did you read a book that affected you so much that it changed our actions?

Update: good to see that Big Bloggers, like Loic Le Meur write about this traditional medium as well:)

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Mamma Mia!

Once again a little bit of entertainment - I think I have decided to see more ambitious movies on DVD at home;) nevertheless I did enjoy this one! Made me cry, made me laugh, almost made me clap - oh, well, I WAS in a good mood, hehe...but seriously - Mamma Mia! is worth watching simply because it's well done and extremely feminist...I would be interested to see, what male audience think of it...

BTW - something a lovely American lady (met on Tube to London) said about older generation educating younger Americans was very transparent in this one, so thank you for that info, Susan - it was a pleasure to meet you and your Other Half! Please stay in touch!

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Motivation

It's great to go to Hyde Park for a short walk (waiting for the Tube to Oxford) and to see so many people running - purely for their own pleasure! It's so motivating!
I spent half of my day traveling. I met few friends, made my son happy with few presents, and talk to my parents  - feel quite fulfilled - still, the best part of my day became the evening when I went for a run - and did 1.5 km!!! And it's just the third day of my proper training. (It's true - taking a day off to let my muscles recover proved to be more effective than running every day!). Shocking how you can stretch yourself if you see a good example and basically decide to do it!

I will enjoy it even more once I start running with music. I bet Orishas will give me a good kick;)

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Carla Bruni - Sziget Festival

OK, since I have the tickets and places to sleep sorted and I know my friends will be around in Budapest to spend few moments with me I started checking program of the Sziget Festival.

By coincidence I managed to get hold of Carla Bruni's CD as well...well, honestly I am slightly confused - my first impression was 'boring, monotone, flat voice'...still, as I listen to it all over again - still cannot decide if it's so bad, or so good I cannot make a proper statement:/ - I think I might be changing my mind...


I think I will go to see R.E.M., Kispál és a Borz (oh, how I miss them!), Goran Bregovic and definetly Anima Sounds System (boys whom I remember from underground clubs), I am not sure I will go to see her...

Savage chickens - why I hate TV

Exactly:

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Simon's Cat - new episode

just give me a smile

I always used to do that - count daily amount of smiles random people would share with me. There is something magical in that facial expression which originally happened to be a warning sign! How bizarre. As a little girl I would have this thought at the back of my head and wait for the first person - complete strangers or friends, family members - to smile at me unconditionally. There is a way to do it, actually - all you need is the intention, the atmosphere of suspense, light look into their eyes showing encouragement...and there it is - pure, uncontrolled smile. They pass you by and do not even realize why it happened.
I still consider a day successful if I get at least one of those smiles!

Tonight the run was a torture - second time is always worst than the first one. Tomorrow will be easier, I guess. But, my efforts were rewarded - a complete stranger smiled at me - pleasantly, not in a mocking way. It gave me a good kick of energy and calmed my poor heart down. I survived!

The day was successful.

:)

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I need audience, but I'm not killing for it;)

Please do not make me do that! I appreciate blogging for fun, but do not make me read your stuff if it's boring or simply if I have no idea who you are...two much info=bad info...

from Doug Savage's site.

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Podcast on WOM Marketing

Just decided to browse for some audio shizzle (no Colin, not STUFF, but SHIZZLE;)) found interview with Walter Carl, buzz marketing specialist, as a podcast - you can listen to it here, but only if you are interested in the definition and basics of WOM Marketing - very top line shizzle...

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First run

...was awful! I do not want to write about it...I hate myself for being big, clumsy, and weak. Looser... you know, I bet you know what comes to my mind - what the f@@@ have I been doing for the last 2.5 years? Raising a kid, going though hell marriage and ..FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF, FEELING MISERABLE instead of moving my ass. Looking for excuses not to do anything about my health! Ah, I was happy for a sec, now I am going mad from my own stupidity. 30 years old, and so dumb...

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WOM in Polish - terminology of World Of Mouth marketing

I finally managed to find a good Polish blog on WOM Marketing, actually via this viral posted on YouTube...

Dawid Trzeciak just tought me the Polish expression for it: 'marketing szeptany' which is 'whispering marketing'...cute:) Apart from videos, worth checking is the link to Dave Balter's 'The Word of Mouth Manual Volume II' .

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Not long to go

...and I am still not running! It freaks me out, but I am just trying to get out of bronchitis I managed to get last weekend, so I think I should be patient with myself. I am worried though - I did not swimming for two weeks, and skipped few home trainings last weeks too:@ Bad, bad girl. I still believe that I can make it, but I might decide to walk the 5k and shift to writing about chocolate even more often:P

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Compromise: Flock and Firefox 3

I am forced to compromise. After long weekend away from my laptop I finally managed to grab my dongle and test a few browsers. I must admit my sentiment towards blogging with Flock stays the same, so I am leaving it purely for those and social networking purposes. I decided to use Firefox 3 for work and serious browsing, since this software seems to be most developed and reliable so far. Let me know if I made a good choice, or shall I look for more options still...tempted to get them both in Polish though.

Update: I have just been contacted by Evan from Flock, who asked me about my issues with their browser - appologies, but it is private communication via comment, so I deleted it, and responded to him via e-mail. It's good to know Flock guys are interested in our problems and willing to potentially sort them out. Thanks, Evan!

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Twinkle Brothers & Trebunie-Tutki

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Emergency chocolate...

lengis something that I have found in my local store today...together with other useful ideas. I got it and I will keep it until September. By then the collection will probably grow and I will have a nice box of chocolate to feed on after those few weeks of starvation:/






and stylish?


Good night, SWEET dreams!

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Sworn Virgin

Pic by DAN BILEFSKY, published here.
I am amazed by few things. Photos, blogs linking to it but first of all by the brilliant tradition of sworn virgins - society lacking men allows women to step into their roles! I swear to never have sex again, so I can have a gun and sit next to men at the wedding. My social sexuality is so well established that I make other women shy!
I must admit I am impressed. It's much better than to be a nun...
Sorry, I do not want to be sarcastic, NOT AT ALL! It really is more practical, and follows the same commitment, doesn't?

I was searching Twitter for feminist users tonight to find a few links - simply because nowadays I think about gender roles in the UK, Hungary, Poland. (for those who do not know me, I do not consider myself a feminist, but...living in the UK is easier than in Hungary for a woman - that is where my thinking comes from).
Hungary is a bizarre place - women cook, raise kids, work, men - work; nonetheless it's women who control the family life...women who historically have been obsessively independent - first kind appointed a woman (St. Mary) to be eternal queen of the country; Hungarian queen had her own residential town, library, her signature on state correspondence! Men were out fighting wars, she was raising next generations. Today men are dependent, women lack independent men (sorry, very shallow, and harshly general conclusion!) Hungarian feminists are sophisticated and scary.
Poland? I have no idea anymore. I know that with my experience of domestic abuse in my homeland I would be stygmatised, my son too. For some reason even my family assumes I have gone back to my maiden name - 'as if nothing had happened'! - which almost angers me.
UK? High rate of 30 year old males committing suicide...makes me wonder: would I like to be born a man in this country? I am more than happy to be a woman, but if I were to reverse my own experience...no, I would not. Polish feminist are activists.
I cannot see clearly what is the male model in the UK - I have not lived here long enough - but I can see already that being polite to women does not pay off: they get offended if I want to help them carrying their heavy bags or let the older ones on the bus! UK feminists seem to move towards girl power, but I do not like the stereotype of the British girl, so...

Me - as happy as I am - still miss male male model - and I think I will continue searching and appreciating those who sometimes want to take over the lead - just for a while, just to feel more useful, more masculine.

See, again...I am confident I am strong enough to let the man make his choices, to compromise. And I do have the choice. It's sad to think some women in other regions of the world do not:/

Good to browse a bit to learn more - I assume those things do not happen - if I do not read about it, I think it doesn't exist, blondie...

(shit, no matter how I tried, it all came down quite feminist, not that I care:P)

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Carpe Diem...

Oh, how I do miss men!,...men who stand for their values; who are mentally strong - strong enough not to complain but to admit their true weaknesses, and men who know how to fight and what is worth fighting for in those very dangerous and lonely times. I know so few of them...and even fewer women who appreciate that. Eh...apologies, I am decadent tonight...(Carne Tremula, Almodovar)

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Spain winning, Spanish too

Tonight is the night of Spanish victory (what a coincidence!), but my evening is quite. I am celebrating watching my favorite Spanish film again. I wanted to be alone tonight, and it happened to be so. I started to write my Hungarian blog, so I can pull my new thoughts together, but I think I managed quite well. I like those times when soul comes first, few free moments squeezed in between the lines of work, motherhood, friendship:)
Last week I dreamed about love - physical, emotional, spiritual. I saw a man and a woman, I saw nature and the unnatural, I saw darkness and I saw the eternal, the endless whiteness.
Yes, JJv was right, I do have a secret. I can live on my own, and with keep it just for myself. Or I can share it and become more than one person.
As for now, me is more than enough.

I am happy though that Jv and my colleagues will celebrate their victory tonight. They have football int heir blood. They deserve it.

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Beth Rowley

Indiana Jones faster, louder than his website;)

We decided to see something light…and the only light film was Indiana Jones. Although I have moved away from that type of movies, I wanted to see the next film from the series – just to have my opinion about it. Well, well done yes. Perfect…for US market.

It’s a curse to be a graduate of American Studies, you end up watching all the Hollywood movies with one eye closed…sixties in the US, communist, actors speaking English with Russian accent with English accent (you know what I mean), famous faces, famous tricks, fast, loud, and…predictable And of course…there must be the superior power, UFO or God, or board of wise men…no, UFO is great for US and UK market, since the UK government released UFO files on-line. Just on time. And, as Jv fairly noticed – forces of nature  - the eternal enemy of puritans…well, water was ok, but the ants a bit too much (I like the idea, I just know a bit about those ants, happened to study them in primary school, and they do not attack – they simply marsh and eat whatever is trapped and cannot run, cannot imagine them running after a Russian soldier, because they are hungry…quite hilarious thought actually: he is Russian/Ukrainian, he is big and strong and BAD, let’s get him! Ha, food for whole month for well, few of us:))

But putting all this aside I am happy to see Harrison Ford again. I am happy to enjoy the film innocently, as if it were a cartoon for my son, with few additional tricks and visual effect. Happy to see it be quite similar to previous films, as well, I think it’s a good film for a weekend afternoon. And no, not a waste of money, because it still looks better on the big screen.

Quick note on the website – apart form wallpapers and buddy icons, you can download and share a widget – good PR thinking, but site could be faster...

 

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charming morning

My usually peaceful, charming morning in London was almost completely destroyed by stupidity and genuine anger of the girl from my favorite bar in Nothing Hill...
With perspective of a long day in London (my son is off to Plymouth for a few days to see his granny) I decided to kick-off the day with few coffees. Started with Starbucks - only place opened before 10AM! Shocking...
Managed to read a bit.
Moved on to walk around the Gothic church and stumbled upon a lovely, tiny park hidden behind it, where I could sit down in the sunshine and write my heart out in Hungarian, language which somehow due to its structure and sensuality helps me to deal with my emotions.
Satsfied went over to my favorite bar to post it and have another coffee - the very needed second kick..entered, ordered cappuccino, sat down next to the plug,  made myself comfortable and as I received my coffee I  got almost shouted at for using electricity.
Tell you what - I did  use my laptop there once already, so I was shocked but this girl seems to be the owner's kid, so who knows what's the problem...anyway I was more than upset to see here standing above me with a stiff face asking me to switch IT off at once'. I think the fact I needed to shot the laptop down before unplugging it made her even more angry, but for heaven's sake - how am I supposed to know she has her period, hates working on Sunday morning and the place has high electricity bills (only few reasons I could come up with to justify her behavior). Few months ago I would apologize, pay and leave. Today I could calmly explain what I am doing, that I will not pay for the coffee and that she just lost a customer, and leave without saying goodbye to show how unfair she was.
How much of the message did she get I have no idea, but she was lucky I DECIDED to have a nice morning:) She almost made me feel stupid though.

Learnings: always ASK if you can use a laptop. Always stay calm when talking to working people on Sunday morning. And always explain your point of view RATIONALLY to psychotic women:P You will have a chance to leave without Police being called  (based on the level of her anger I think she was at the verge of calling them!)
Oh well, I will have a nicer day then her - I decided;)

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Sometime, right? I feel like this since I started falling...:P

Cluetrain Manifesto - Old Testament of Blogging

'We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.'

- the most striking, since very, very true for our times, statement closes 95 Thesis of Cluetrain Manifesto. All of those are available (together with the whole book on-line for free - I love the idea!) on Manifesto site.
It's interesting to see how nothing has changed since the times it was written. We know Scoble's Naked Conversations, we see the lists of Social Media Marketing references. Still, those 95 points remain the same and ethics behind them seems to be grounded in basic blogging experience. I think every one of us, bloggers should have this book on the shelf.

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Spam, no comments

Chinese way...

My Dragon is on fire! I am very, very happy I had to work my a@@ off this week and forget, ignore it. Now, it takes over...I need to go to bed:/ Oh, poor me!

Model Village

..is a lovely place to take kids, but also to hang around...

Model Village

and to watch water football:) even if one tries to avoid football in general just for a few hours;P

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Quick one for Polish readers - web ethics and law again

Just found a few interesting posts on the TMT.Communities'08 conference in Warsaw. This one is about the legal issues connected to social networking, and the future of web law. Very, very interesting to see traditional, i.e. legally precise approach to such a modern community, very often fair and true. (for non speakers - check the translation mode on my sidebar). More here.

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Not serious...

Just to motivate myself to put 'just a little bit of work' aside and live MY life, and try to use mynew gadget - fisheye cam from lomography.com (I will post about it once I have pix developed) I had a quick peak at Dark Roasted Blend - a blog with brilliant photography, and always something light, thematically attractive...funny?Well, check the rest of the pix out...me, I am considering changing my plans for the Spanish weekend in July..slightly;)

Radio Bagdad, and why I listen to British Rock;)

and for Polish Londoners...

How to win...

How on earth are we supposed to win if even the head of the country fails. Check how he was cheering his boys up! (pic from Wyborcza)

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how I felt today...

Smth I wanted to post on Sunday

I apologize, my work takes us all my time, you probably all know the feeling, so I hope you will understand.

'I have discovered a cute little 'my kind of a place' in London now - just behind a corner for Jv so I can have my breakfast here whenever on a way home. Yes, I actually LOVE to have it on my own. I admire Jv for his ability to stay silent and still mark the space with his presence. But silence is not equal with solitude, which I very often seek. I always did.

I think the slowly weekend mornings should kick off gradually...if I need to rest properly, I need to boot slowly...Even now, I am sitting in this place opposite the mirror, seeing as the shadows from below my eyes gradually fade away as I sip my morning coffee. I cannot eat my croissant yet...

First time I saw this place, I was already happy. You can see them, like little spots hidden in between giants of consumer life - huge shops and offices. They stand still, and bring joy to those Londoners, who still remember the times of morning coffees and newspaper read in the local coffee shop. This one used to be an antique shop and looks really extravagant and slightly disturbing. No, I cannot call it eclectic - it's just bizarre, warm, friendly, and I bet most of the posh locals would hate it just seeing the worn out chairs and floor (old, wooden floor with paint coming off it! - where do you see that?). But, where do you get to see the smile of the serving girl, read morning newspaper or a philosophy book (just because it was left there) or listen to French chanson - quite surprisingly matching with the pictures of Chinese aristocracy on the walls!

Reminds me of Szimpla in Budapest so much! Every village, town, city has its 'Szimpla's. In Budapest it is a down to earth, slightly alternative coffeeshop-pub located int he heart of the Jewish quarter. I used to live in the same street, and spend all summer evenings, and weekend mornings (note: ehm, as a student morning started at 11AM!) there. There were other places too. There were the summer gardens set up each year in a different empty house not to disturb the neighbors(Hungarians are nuts about noise - your neighbors will call police at 10AM sharp if you have a house party, even though you have left them a note about it a week earlier in their postbox, police will arrive and ask you to lower the volume and smile saying 'well, we know, but we need to do that:)) And we are talking about really cultural level of 'noise'). There are the seasonal pubs opened usually by of the Boheme foreigners. I used to like to go to those, even if I disliked getting involved in the whole Boheme life - simply because of my origin I was a part of it anyway. All this was the SPACE of my writing, and I enjoyed the unconditional nature of it all very, very much...
Today, even though my life has run a few circles, I discover that I am still the same.:)
And even though I love UK, I miss Budapest, like I miss Mexico and few people from both of those places who left a mark on my personality...

Yes, it's another side of me. Not the gadget lover, not much of a blogger or photographer, just the quiet Sylwia. Oh well, la donna e mobile.'

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