Meat market

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, trying to make people stop eating meat.

Naked women trapped in giant meat trays on the street in Dublin. If nothing else, it will at least get PETA some attention.

I wonder if this would fall in the category of...Offence against public decency?

Friendship

I received a story in my email. A type of email I normally would have deleted and classified as spam, but I read it anyway and took the liberty of translating it to english, because it has a good morale and a message I want to send on. Since I'm not a big fan of chainletters I decided to put it here.

One day in 7th grade I saw a kid on my way home. His name was Morten. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself: "Why carry all his books with him home on a friday?. He must be a geek".
My weekend was planned, party at night and soccer with my friends the next afternoon. I shrugged and continue to walk. Then I saw a bunch of kids running towards him. Then ran into him, kicked and pushed him so he dropped his books and fell on the ground. His glasses fell off and landed in the grass 3-4 meters away. He looked up and he looked so sad, there was no life in his eyes.
I felt bad for him, so I went over to where he was crawling around and looking for his glasses. He had tears in his eyes. I gave him his glasses and said "Those kids were just idiots, they need to get a life!". He looked at me and said: "Hey, thanks!". He was smiling. It was a smile of pure gratitude. I helped him pick up his books and asked where he lived. He lived close to me, so I asked why I had never seen him before. He told me he had gone to a private school. Normally I would never have been hanging out with someone from a private school.
We talked all the way home. He seemed like a great guy, so I asked if he wanted to come play soccer with me and my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know him, the more I liked him. My friends felt the same way.

Monday morning came and there was Morten again, with his load of books. I stopped him and said "Man, you must be getting really strong carrying all those books everyday!". He laughed and handed me half of the books.

Through the next three years, Morten and I became close friends. When we were in 9th grade we all had to start thinking about further education. Morten decided to go to Århus and I to København. I knew we would always be best friends - despite the distance.
He wanted to be a doctor and I wanted to be a salesman.

At the school-leaving ceremony, Morten was to hold a short speech. I was ribbing him about being a geek. I was happy it wasn't me who was going to be speaking in front of a large crowd.

School-leaving ceremony - I saw Morten, he looked so great. He was one of those guys who really learned to feel good about themselves. He had grown and looked awesome with his glasses. He was dating more than I was. All the girls loved him. Man, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.
I could tell he was nervous about his speech. I patted his back and say "It'll be great!" he looked at me, said "Thanks" and smiled that grateful smile.
He went up and started his speech...

"School-leaving is a time to thank those who helped through the rough years. Your parents, your teachers, your brother and sisters, trainer and most of all your friends...
I'm here to tell you, that being a friend for somebody is the best gift you can give them. I want to tell you a story." I looked at my friend in disbelief as he was telling the story about the first time we met.
He had planned to kill himself that weekend. He talked about how he had emptied his locker in school so that he mom wouldn't have to that later, and that he was carrying all his books home.
His eyes cought mine and he kept looking at me, smiled and said "Luckily, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the worst imagineable. "
I heard the crowd gasping as this handsome, popular young man was telling us all about his life's most vulnerable moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me, smiling, that same smile full of gratitude that Morten had sent me that day.

Not until that moment, did I realize the value of it... Never underestimate the effect of your actions. A simple gesture can turn another persons life around. For better or for worse. We're all here to put our mark in the world, influence each other in one way or the other.
Always look for the good in others.

Anniversary

Time sure flies. Yesterday, October 29th, was our wedding anniversary. My husband and I have been married for one year. We've known each other for much longer, but that is beside the point.
Yesterday was a day I had looked forward to for at least half a year. It had grown so big in my head, what a celebration.
But we had absolutely nothing planned and my dear SO had let me know that he hadn't bought me a gift because ... wait for it ...
He was busy! and of course I apparently am not an easy person to buy a gift for. Makes me wonder, who is an easy person, in his world, to buy a gift for?

I have known for months what to buy him, and it was nothing particularly romantic or extrordinary. But it was something that he really wanted, could easily have bought, but just never got around to. For whatever reason, the slacker gene maybe.
A minimaglite, wrapped up in a neat giftbox, nice paper with roses and all, put on his pillow overnight for him to see when he woke up - to make up for the less romantic part, the gift itself.
I told him, now everytime you light up that flashlight, you'll think of me. The light of your life.

He was absolutely elated when he opened it. And so was I.

He let me believe for a few hours that he really hadn't gotten me a gift, we watched a movie and I got used to the thought that, well maybe this day just wasn't as special to him as it was to me.

Untill he turned on a plate, blindfolded me and slowly - of course - unwrapped something. I was dying with curiousity by now. (I can see why he had to have me convinced he hadn't bought anything, or I would probably have bugged him about what it was.) He finally got whatever it was out of the box and I then felt hundreds of tiny cool drops with the most fantastic scent being sprayed on the top of my bared chest. Then his finger sliding from where he had sprayed this scent of dreams up to my neck, making the scent stronger.
He took off the blindfold, grinning. Satisfied that his little trick had worked.
What happens next must not be told. But it was a great day with awesome food, lots of laughter and good movies.


I am still convinced though, despite him saying he's had the perfume hidden in the car for 2 weeks, that it was a last minute thing - since he was in a rush to go shopping, ALONE, the day before the anniversary.
But who cares, his original way of presenting the gift makes up for it, tenfold.

Womens new best friend

It's not even a joke. It's chocolate with real gold sprinkles, and yes it's edible!

I always knew the Swiss made extraordinary chocolate, but this is just too much!
The box of chocolate in the picture costs 98.40 dollars.

Men, there's your inspiration for when you just don't know what to buy for the woman you love.

Official site

Storm

Every now and then I turn my head and look out the window, watching the trees waving in the wind, shaking, bending over, some of them willingly touching the ground like slaves of the wind. One snapped and broke in two pieces. I'm surprised that the wind is strong enough to break a tree in two, yet it hasn't stripped the trees of their leaves.

I fell asleep, listening to this sound. The rumbling of the wind across the roof, the wind shaking the trees, sometimes it actually sounds like waves slamming onto the beach. I imagine the wind as a huge hand lightly grasping at the roof, stroking it, threatening to pull it off and send it flying, leaving me with the perfect view of the dark sky and all my hope blown away with the wind.

But it doesn't. And I fall asleep as I'm being taken back in time, back to the storm I was afraid was returning this night.
Roofs blown off buildings, wires on the streets, burst dams and floods. I remember seing fields, that once was a small, growing forest. All trees broke in half and it reminds me of a field of crops that has just been harvested - except the crops were only cut in half and never picked up and this is in supersize.
All the trees are on their knees, dying.
A mallroof collapsing, the relocation of a churh roof.

Will that be what I wake up to?

It's still storming when I wake up, but the roof seems intact, at least I don't see the sky. Something flies by the window, looked like paper, other than the one tree the rest seems fine, unfortunately I can't say that about the garage door which has been ripped out of its hinges and is now lying on the ground, only a few feet from the car.

The first storm of the fall, I have a feeling this fall won't be boring.

I guess one advantage to living where I live is that usually the weather doesn't get very extreme.

Photo: Storm December 1999. by: Arne Rasmussen

RESS PLZ!!

Nuff said.

(If you share with others, don't forget to include a link ;) )

The Broth!

This is just cool :)

The Broth

Pun intended

1. A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.

2. A will is a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

7. If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.

13. You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

15. He broke into song because he couldn’t find the key.

16. A calendar’s days are numbered.

17. A lot of money is tainted: ‘Taint yours, and ‘taint mine.

18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.

22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.

24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

25. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye.

26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

27. Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.

29. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.

Note: No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

Life's major questions

Do fish ever get thirsty?

Is it a success if a book about failure sells well?

Is sterility hereditary?

Have you ever imagined a world without hypothetical questions?

What does two goldfish in one bowl do if they fall out with each other?

Who was the first person to see a cow and say "Hm, I think I'll pull these and drink what comes out"?

If your knees were on the other side of your leg, how would a chair look?

If you try to prove murphy's law, will you fail?

If you strangle a smurf, what color will it be in it's face?

If swimming is so healthy, how come whales look like they do?

If the universe is endless, how can it expand?

Where does the white go when the snow melts?

How does the guy driving the snow plough get to work in the morning?

How come you have to press "Start" to turn off Windows?

How come you don't smash into the wall if you jump in a train thats going 70 miles per hour?

If a person with split personality disorder threatens to kill himself, is a hostage situation then?

Can you trust a statistic saying that 83% of all statistics are made up?

If you're driving 70 miles per hour on the highway and you can't see the sign, why do you lean forward?

When the police arrests a mute, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

If it's zero degrees today and it will be double as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

How do you know when you run out of invisible ink?

Why is it the nose running and the feet smelling?

Why do you never see the headline "Psychic wins the lottery" ?

The ultimate test

Yesterday I woke up feeling out of it, the feeling slowly increased throughout the day. The drowsiness, the nausea and the cramps, that I have been going through for a while, of course did nothing else than to add to this low feeling.
Today, I fear, will be the same way. I can't seem to find beauty in anything. I'm tempted to go downstairs, put on a pair of shoes, march out on the field and throw rocks at the tractor till the farmer gets out of it, then I feel like cussing the poor guy out.

I've lulled myself into a somewhat steady rythm, that I feel I can live with, or survive with rather. The problem is the rest of the world does not agree. I need to do this and I need to do that. I guess I can see the truth in "You gotta get out of this house once in a while" and "You need to work" and "You need to more independant". All meant well, but I feel like I'm the mole being chased out with smoke. Big fat choking smoke!

So, after a complete meltdown this weekend and a long discussion with my SO, I ended up telling him that I want to run away. Far away. Preferably US. But that, since I'm unskilled, I can't even get a friggin Au Pair job. And God knows, I love kids, I'd sacrifice my life to save a child.

But anyway, I can go to the US for upto 90 days as a tourist. I wonder if I could get a job at McDonalds or something...

He likes the idea actually, he says it would be great for me to become more independant. I guess you could say, I took the advices to the extremes if I manage to actually find work in the US.
I know that even if I stayed longer than expected, he would choose his job rather than me - what a horrible thought that is.
I was never a big fan of intentionally putting your relationship to the test, but I think we need it.

I was talking briefly with a friend earlier today about it and I said "I guess, it would be the ultimate test of our love" and he said "No, the only thing that would do for sure, is break your love"
If he's right, then what does our love mean? If it can't last that.

I don't even know if it will work out that way, but I wish, I really wish I had options for a job in the US.

Whatever happens, I will come to the US. Soon. At least as a tourist.

Back to the middle age - thief burned alive!

This guy will hardly steal again, ever! Apparently he was cought stealing and locals decided it was time to stop it. They tied him up to a cross and burned his legs.

A priest and some villagers freed him and brought him to the hospital where his burns were treated.

Source

I'd say that punishment might be a little over the top for a simple thief.

Actually I wonder how far they would have taken it if the priest and villagers hadn't stopped it.

That having been said, I'm known to be the first to suggest middle aged torture methods of punishments for people that I think deserve it. Such as murderers, child molestors, kidnappers, people mistreating animals. Peo... things in that category.

A thief? I don't know. Take a finger and steal his clothes and have him run around naked for a while. That should be enough.

Over the sea

A friend that I love and care for needs me, now more than ever.
There is nothing in the world I want more, than to be able to help, but I'm powerless. I feel like I'm watching someone drown while my hands are tied on my back. I can do nothing, but watch as it happens.

I'm calling from my spot on the shore, hoping that my voice will keep him fighting, keep his head above water.

He'll make it, I know, cause he's strong and he has the willpower!

I just wish I could hold and hug him. Watch him fall asleep and drift off to dreamland in peace and quiet. Listening to the calm sounds of his breathing.
I would sit right next to him for as long as he slept, making sure that the first thing he'd see, when he once again opened his eyes, would be me. My voice would be the first sound he heard.

The urge to protect is so strong, it's pulsating through my veins, beating in pace with my heart. It's making my fingers tremor the same way too much caffeine would.

Why does that ocean have to keep us apart?

I feel restless.

Real life

Traffic chaos, nothing new, drivers running through red lights, cyclists crossing the road without looking back. The pedestrians look like zombies, it's friday afternoon and they're doing their shopping before the weekend.
Shopping bags, crying, begging kids, oh there's a parking lot free ri... nevermind, the Landrover snatched it. It's bigger.

Tax office closed, and it's been for 3 hours, they're rebuilding too. It's nice to see they can spend some of all the money well, but can't afford proper signs so people wouldn't get lost in the big building. It's funny, it smells just like the doctors office inhere..
Some other time maybe, no rush.

Buzzing, busy little bees with their busy little lives, no that's not a free parking lot, you can't park there, it's for Taxis, read the sign!
Racing through the inner city, too fast, another red light. Found a spot.

I remember this place from when I was just a kid...
Cigarettes for him.
Nothing for me, just want to get out.
I liked the doctors office smell better, this place smells so... deadly. Inhale, exhale. I wonder if the cute little shop assistant likes this place? I bet the old men that come here to buy their cigars like her... She's radiant, unlike the rest of the place with it's dirt colored walls and darkwood counters.

On the road again, headed for the supermarket.
What were we supposed to buy? I hope he remembers, I've had enough of "real life" for one day, my mind is on standby now.
Chocolate, let's buy some of that.
Kids crying again, it's like their brains were preprogrammed for "beg-mode" as soon as they see a store.

So, that's real life?

Collapsing on the couch, falling asleep halfway through "Cast Away".

I guess.

Why am I crying...

Why am I crying, you have no clue?

Why do I cry myself to sleep at night,
Because, your eyes are distant, your smile is vague.
My heart is filled with a dark, dark fright
Devours my life, my soul, with plague.


Why am I crying, what is wrong?

I ask so often, do you really love me?
You say you do, forever and always, of course you do.
I want to run, I want to break free.
But I tell myself, we’ll work it through.


Why am I crying, what can you do?

I feel nothing, when you touch my skin
Your job is your passion, your mistress to adore,
I am no match, I can’t ever win,
I’m afraid you want her more.


Why am I crying, and for so long?

This is the reason for all my tears,
I wish I could show you this poem, and open my heart,
Show you my sorrow and all my fears,
Instead I’ll rip this paper apart…

Wow. Just wow.

I like different forms of art; sculptures, light art, interactive art, performance art, surrealism and realism too. I'm not a big fan of piecing junk together or putting gold fish in a blender and calling it art. But anyway, I found something that impresses me.

His name is Julian Beever. He makes pavement drawings. Not just pavement drawings though! 3d pavement drawings. It's impressive.

Judge for yourself.

Rembrandts crayons?

The guy has a point.

Mmmm... is this a new way of advertizement?

His homepage is here if you want to see more.

The funny things kids say and do...

Yesterday I was at my grandma's birthday party and where the family is, so is the memories. The talk about old times lasted for a good while. My mom told us a funny story, that neither I nor my cousin has any memory of anymore, we must have been around 5 and 6 at the time.

See, my aunt, she has a temper, she can scream and yell and make herself so red in the face that a tomato pales in comparison.
The day this incident happened, she had been working nights and were asleep on the couch, when she woke up to what she thought were us kids killing each other. She rushed to the room we were having our match to the death and screamed "What are you doing??? Stop it!"
To her surprise and emberrassment we answered: "But, we were just pretending to be you..."
Downcast and more red in the face than before, she went back to sleep on the couch.

I found some quotes of what children say and thought I'd share a few.
Christmas is only 2 months away, so here's a couple of christmas related ones first.

"I don't believe in santa. But I have seen his reindeer"

"I believe in santa, it's dad"

"I know santa lives on the north pole, but I don't believe in him"

Some children's logic....

"In a family you can say exactly what you want, without worrying that anybody should have the same opinion"

"Think about the biggest number you can imagine, now add 5. Imagine you have just as many bags of candy. Wow, that is 5 more than the biggest number you can imagine!"

And I'd like to share with you, a bit about the country I live in, Denmark, through the eyes of the children.

"There is no war in Denmark. Nobody wants us"

"Denmark is a nice country because there's lots of water and no war"

"Denmark is nice to live in, but Legoland is better"

Day of smiles

- A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home.

Smile. Today is the international day of smiling. World Smile Day was started by Harvey Ball in 1999, yes, that is the same guy that invented Smiley Face in 1963.

It's a funny thing with smiles. They can be sincere, fake, polite, weak, strong, happy.

And the quote above, makes me wonder about the many people that use smiles just like that. Just like it's used in the quote.
People leave the lights on in their house to let others know they're home - even if they aren't home. A sort of protection against intruders.
Think about it, do you do the same? Do you leave the lights on when you're not home? Do you smile when you have no reason to?

It might be world smile day, but is it a day for all kinds of smiles?
Probably. On one hand a fake smile is a sad thing, on the other hand, smiles are heart warming. Who knows, you might brighten up somebody's day with the light in your windows, even if you aren't home.