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At the end of October, it is Naturelich time for a new desktop background. Of course I had to decide for something with a wonderful but simple message (not a massage). And today we have one that drives today's world. Capitalism, here we go: Veer's Wallpaper site offers the More wallpaper. A motto which naturelich applies to a lot of things... What more do you want?
Bensberg, a village close to Cologne holds one of the most beautiful wellness and sauna facilities in Germany: Mediterana. Open at an affordable price, this venue is decorated with five sauna pearls. Mediterana also holds a gym and a pool area. Being there is like being on holiday in Tunesia or Morocco. The decoration is marvelous, the relaxation experience wonderful, the variety of saunas huge. All rooms and decoration are kept in mediterranean style. A restaurant caters to your needs for Arab nourishment. Five pearls very well earned...
I just got a wonderful present from Raven & Shelak: a hand-made Advents-Calendar. Each day during December , I will let you know that day's details...
For my new notebook, I have downloaded the Little Bird from Veer's site in 1920x1200. Naturelich Lorem Ipsum -- I can tell you...
Have you seen the movie I, Robot recently? Sony research has now developed a robot called QRIO [Kirio] that/who can walk on two legs (even on different surfaces), climb stairs, recognize people's faces and carry on conversations. When falling, he protects himself from negative impacts by trying to absorb the energy with his arms. Sony has some great - but marketing-oriented - movies on their webpage. QRIO knows body language and tries to cheer humans up. He shows his own emotions. He wants to be friends with people.
Or so they claim... Still, one can or should be doubtful: what does being friends mean? He is programmed to be "friendly", i.e. behave in a way that his programmer considered to be friendly. I am not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just not sure trying to atribute these very human emotions onto a machine is sensible. Maybe it is: QRIO is a great toy, it may even be fun (a lot of people - including Naturelich - play The Sims, right?) and is definitely a technical masterpiece that I would really love to get a hold on. After all, it has conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra! Look 4 yourself...
Naturelich missed his return flight from Basel! What a joke! 2 minutes too late! The guy at the gate (Swiss) was unfortunately not very helpful.
My baggage had already been unloaded. Congratulations and a nice weekend.
So I had to run through the airport back and forth - again and again - to hunt down my suitcase. After 45 minutes: I was lost but the baggage found. Then, I decided to take a rental car back to Düsseldorf. It was already 19:30 when I was getting off in a black BMW 320 Diesel. Beam me to Düsseldorf, Scotty. The weather was not all too good, so I had to drive carefully. The beamer is limited to go not faster than 220 km/h. On the way, I picked up my photo camera's power cord which a colleague of mine had forgotten at a hotel nearby. I reached home sweet home at around 23:30 hrs, brought my suitcase upstairs (still with "Carry on baggage", "Swiss priority" and "DUS"-stickers on it) and would have loved to go to bed.
As you can imagine Basel weeks are always rather exhausting so I had far too little sleep. But the car had to get to the airport.
So I refueled the horse. Accidently took Shell V-Power for EUR 1.109 a liter. Today is a good day to die.
Then I drove to the airport - being a little envious at all the tourists arriving, who had 2 weeks of holidays - where I dropped the keys off.
Well, a taxi. A very friendly driver. But taking me along the more expensive way. Thank you, Oh Mighty Lord, for this wonderful day!
Now, at around 1:20 a.m. (after having unpacked and repacked for tomorrow's trip to Osnabrück) I am writing this blog entry, knowing that next time I read it, it will all sound better than it does right now... Good night!
Have you ever wondered what a rock band requires from the venues they are playing at? The Smoking Gun has the answer and displays the official insurance requirements, dressing room, security and catering needs of Metallica's 2004 US arena tour. Here's the highlights:
Should you ever get to Bonn a definite dinner recommendation is Karawane in Oberkassel. This restaurant's speciality is a culinary tour through the orient. In an AYCE style you can pick from a selection of nine different dishes served in groups of three. Enjoy...
I have now changed my desktop wallpaper again. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Special Edition DVD is ready for pre-order. The witchking with his flaming sword will have to entertain me until then...
Germany's Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn shows a great Tutanchamun exhibition
from November 4th, 2004 - May 1st, 2005. Until last Sunday, the same exhibition was on display in Basel. I had the chance to enjoy it on August 15th where you can see a small review. In Basel, the exhibition was overrun by about 600,000 visitors in 180 days. The original plan was to bring the exhibition to the United States, but since no museum was able to take it that quickly, the exhibition is moving to Bonn, instead.
I have now added a new category to this Blog which will give you an overview of my Desktop Wallpapers over time. I am happy for any suggestions (just click on Comments below...)
A documentary about Metallica. Well, we have certainly seen some of those:
Some Kind of Monster is another one. And it is not just a-nother one. It is certainly among the longest, as the movie runs about 2 hrs and 45 min. It also spans several years - from 2001 to 2003. A time period in which a lot of distressful events hit Metallica as a band:
The movie takes you through these years and through the process. The good news is: Metallica came back stronger than ever and work better as a unit. What the movie makes terribly clear is the fact that the people behind Metallica have grown up. They are no longer just a heavy metal band. They are older than the metal cliché. They have settled a lot of their previous differences. They have changed the way they work with each other. They now function as a team. More or less with equal rights. Ironic, that this was exactly the reason why Jason Newsted left-some of the other band members did not let him be as creative as he would have liked to be.
The story of the movie brings us closer to Metallica's psyche. This being the collective as the band had been earlier but also the psyche of the three or four individuals the band consisted of earlier.
Most notably:
I am just glad, the movie has a happy ending. Naturelich, one can expect loads of Metallica music in the movie. Even some unreleased song pieces can be seen...
Thanks to filmmakers Berlinger and Sinofsky for showing more details of what rock music is all about!
The time has come to go and see Some Kind of Monster - a documentary about Metallica - in the movies. Stay tuned for a full review...