Introducing ourselves.

[Morticia NL.]

OY- I guess BC-A will feel at home in Beirut, since he hails from the Cote D'Azur in France. It seems we can go far speaking French with all of those French names for clubs. But I'm sorry to say, it sounds a bit too superficial to me. And a lot like nightlife in Tel Aviv, only with even more glitter and money blowing in the wind. Cannes and St Tropez are the right reference here it seems.
But surely there are some more quiet places in town as well. And believe me when I say I will visit!
I guess I need to bring a wallet that is bigger and heavier than the size of my suitcase???

 

[Postmodernist]

Now, hey! You do them Ruskie classics justice, even in Scandibrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnavia! Mother Russian songs are good; spasiva! I've got a CD with Russian folk-songs that I like tons; I play it every time I remember something about maternal-gramps. I was thinking of arranging them tunes for hard rock or heavier, though...picture that, Anton! Homes, did you have a few pints prior to your recording session? What's the fav brew up yer way?

Now go and puke into the Volga if you don't like the pic of Russian folk-metal.

Scandinavia is in fact not that cold, but rather gloomy, esp. the capitals.
I equally adore Russian, Congolese, Macedonian, Bolivar, Chinese, Sami, Sudanese, Australian, Inuet, Austrian and any other folk music, so next time I may sing some Siberian throat singing or smthng.

C'mon, al cohol is not kosher, not halal, bad for karma and not a part of straightedge lifestyle. If you read my first post in the Introducing Ourselves thread you can find out what straightedge is.
Besides, alcohol (and tobacco) are objectively more evil than even XTC or LSD: http://antonsaysdotcom.livejournal.com/6245.html

My favorite drink may sound exotic to you - that's birch tree juice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_sap
We had a lot of it in the whole of USSR from Estonia to Mongolia.

So, puking into Volga is not something I do. Moreover, I tend to have a rather negative attitude about those who do such things. I enjoy parties and can be crazy enough when I feel like that, I do not depent on alcohol for socializing, for singing or for whatever.

I got some Russian folk-metal BTW. Unfortunately it's often connected with nationalism, however there are also some art-for-the-sake-of-art-not-ideology Russian metal bands as well.

 

[Morticia NL.]

I enjoy parties and can be crazy enough when I feel like that, I do not depent on alcohol for socializing, for singing or for whatever.

I support that lifestyle as well. Do you get weird questions about not drinking and still being as crazy as you want to be? :Smug:I get those a lot of times. Like: WHAT? You like metal and you don't drink??
But I also don't preach to people when it comes to drinking, it is their responsability as long as they don't get in the way of other people.

I guess your Russian roots works a bit against you when talking about drinking. Russians have a reputation when it comes to that.

 

[Postmodernist]

I actually have no Russian roots, I have Kenyan roots.

Anyway, alcohol is a global evil - I can see that Scandinavia, Germany, Baltic States, Central Europe, France, USA, Canada, South Africa etc. drink almost as much as East Europe or Central Asia, at least the youth. And it's a socially acquired habit, has nothing to do with whatever "roots".

I tend to stick to scientific research when speaking about alcohol rather than to morals or to religions. And the research facts are creepy enough for my friends to drink more to wipe these facts (http://antonsaysdotcom.livejournal.com/9785.html) out of their consciousness

Social pressure is something I like to oppose, standing on the principles of my own rather than some tendencies within a culture or subculture.

 

[FiveString]

Anyway, alcohol is a global evil....I tend to stick to scientific research when speaking about alcohol rather than to morals or to religions. And the research facts are creepy enough for my friends to drink more to wipe these facts (http://antonsaysdotcom.livejournal.com/9785.html) out of their consciousness

Social pressure is something I like to oppose, standing on the principles of my own rather than some tendencies within a culture or subculture.

I agree with you Re alcohol, just taking a small exception in that it has medicinal value in very small quantities...for some. Stay away from it. Had I not worked with 95%-relapse-rate alcoholics/other-substance-abusers, I'd probably be just another good ol' Joe Six Pack. So I'll shut up. And I concur with you about the absolute merit of standing one's ground when it's predicated on a sense of what's right rather than what "the other people do."

We're good, Anton, we're good.

I've said "farewell to arms" years ago.

It's cloud-covered and below freezing here and we're not even getting the snow to play in: It's veering to the North.

Can I move to Scandinavia? Will they take an English-speaking professor? What kind of questions are these? Whimsical....

Later. I love y'all. And I even agree with most of what you've got to say. Now that's rare. I suppose that I'm enjoying this forum because it's not a herd but rather a loose association of people with minds of their own.

Come to AmeriKKKa and see how rare that is. Or perhaps you need not travel that far.

Hill

P.S.: Yo, Nathalie. Russian roots? My maternal side. They don't flirt with vodka-death, however.

 

[mrwizard]

scandinacia is nice !! im more of a winter person .....

 

[FiveString]

scandinacia is nice !! im more of a winter person .....

I like snow, wow do I. It fascinates me as much as it did when I was a child. I like iced-over trees, although the roads become death-traps during ice-storms (so I stay @ home).

But the Weather Gods are mocking me today: It's well below freezing, but the big snowstorm I was anticipating with great glee has veered to the north.

So all I get is gray....

At least I don't get Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). But I'm afraid I might suffer from "Snow Deprivation Affective Reaction." Well, now, that's merely an acute condition, and it's yet to be added to the diagnostic-manuals, 'cause I made it up. As you folks in the northern latitudes know (and in the southern latitudes during your winter), SAD is a pernicious form of depression.

Well, I'm working @ home today. I've got a book to read and an article to write. Not that I expect it to get published, but I love trying....

 

[Postmodernist]

Scandinavia is good. It used to be the best in the 70s-80s, when the governments were true socialist (not totalitarian pseudo-socialist militarist crap like China, North Korea are or like USSR, Viet Nam or Cambodia used to be). IMHO.
As for the climate, it's normally boring and dark (for 6 months a year) at the capitals - minimum -10 or -15 Celsius, normally around zero - that's because of the Gulf Stream's warm breath, rainy and windy. It's colder and more snowy in the northern parts.

Welcome to come Scandinavia FS - I know an English teacher (and a great environmental protection activist) who's working in Norway - he fled from the USA because he hated the government, the corporations and the common "We don't care what happens after we are gone." attitude about environmental issues there.

Wonderful nature, nice (rather unemotional and individualist but very supportive and respecting at the same time) society, remains of true socialism, [rather segregated] multiculturalism, some good extent of gender equality and cross-ethnic tolerance, high salaries and great living prices, great art and architecture, ...

Also some quality metal music: http://www.swedenintouch.se/Anton-K/Blog/?entryid=1285

 

[FiveString]

Scandinavia is good. It used to be the best in the 70s-80s, when the governments were true socialist (not totalitarian pseudo-socialist militarist crap like China, North Korea are or like USSR, Viet Nam or Cambodia used to be). IMHO.
As for the climate, it's normally boring and dark (for 6 months a year) at the capitals - minimum -10 or -15 Celsius, normally around zero - that's because of the Gulf Stream's warm breath, rainy and windy. It's colder and more snowy in the northern parts.

Welcome to come Scandinavia FS - I know an English teacher (and a great environmental protection activist) who's working in Norway - he fled from the USA because he hated the government, the corporations and the common "We don't care what happens after we are gone." attitude about environmental issues there.

Wonderful nature, nice (rather unemotional and individualist but very supportive and respecting at the same time) society, remains of true socialism, [rather segregated] multiculturalism, some good extent of gender equality and cross-ethnic tolerance, high salaries and great living prices, great art and architecture, ...

Also some quality metal music: http://www.swedenintouch.se/Anton-K/Blog/?entryid=1285

Whoa: As bad as N Korea and China?! I am hoping that you are referring to some commonalities, not equal ugliness? Are you? Because the USA has many commonalities with the "Evil Empires;" how precious.

Yes, "we" (and Mexico) "give" you and the rest of Western Europe the Gulf Stream's balmy waters but you can't escape the extremely short days associated with your extremely northerly latitude. Me? I wouldn't want to escape those days, and the climate sounds perfect to me: Even though more "southerly" in latitude compared to northern Europe, eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota, say, are far colder, because of their immense distance from any significant moderating body of water or buffering mountain range. I like north. Your description of the "unemotional...individualist" social style is very reminiscent of the far Upper Midwest here: northern Minnesota, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, North Dakota.... And, lo, the climate and terrain in those regions are so similar to those in the Old Country (just worse) that mainly Scandinavians settled there.

You know, I'm sure, though, that the bubbly "Southern Hospitality" myth is just that. It jest ain't thar, 'cept superficially.

"Rather segregated" multiculturalism....what's that like? It seems like a contradiction. I can try to take a stab at understanding how it's not, perhaps because there are people from all over with many different ethnic/religious/etc. backgrounds, but they don't mingle across groups much.

Is that what you meant, Anton?

I'm active in wolf conservation here. There's lots of work now that a brave Alaskan, uh, woman, is gunning these noble (and ecologically indispensable) animals from the comfort of her accursed helicopter. Why does it stay aloft? Where's justice? Palin :zombie:

Pardon my ignorance, but you're saying that there are universities in Norway, Sweden, or Finland that offer all-English classes in non-language courses, such as neuroscience, cognitive-science, clinical psychology, etc.? Could it be so?

Hill

 

[Chanakya]

^

You got that wrong mate. You missed the part where he said that N. Korea/China, etc are Pseudo-Socialist. Scandinavia was quite interesting when I went there. But of course, I was with my parents so there were elements of the whole 'tourist' thing, which I honestly despise. It was much much warmer and pleasant than I thought it would be, though I went in summer. But the lack of vegetarian food confounded me !

 

[Postmodernist]

Whoa: As bad as N Korea and China?!

I meant true socialism = totally different than NK and C bullsh!t.

"Rather segregated" multiculturalism....what's that like?

Perhaps like the USA. Every big Scandinavian city has "immigrants areas" where apartments are cheaper and where Diasporas live sticking together.

These are poor areas, and because of relative poverty in these areas you may have 5 bicycles stolen during 5 months (that happened to my Polish Jewish acquaintance) or you can be pickpocketed really easily on trams/buses; I also do my food shopping at oriental markets in these areas as food prices are the lowest there, and the diversity of products is endless. In Oslo you are also offered weed at every big bus/train station and pickpockets are everywhere; even your bank card's pin can be stolen. Sounds like Harlem?

At that, Scandinavian states do many things against discrimination and for integration of immigrants (who are >90% refugees). BTW, a stunning fact: one small city in Sweden is hosting way more Iraqi refugees than THE WHOLE USA, who had this bloody war for oil in Iraq.

Also, I have Scandinavian friends of Afghani, Bosnian, Chili, Greek, Indonesian, Iranian, Iraqi, Jewish, Nigerian, Kosovian, Kurdish, Pakistani, Phillipinean, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Somalian, South African etc. etc. background who are completely assimilated and share the traditional Scandinavian norms and values, manner of communication etc. At the same time they may keep the traditional religion (the most liberal forms) and the language (Swerussian or Norweurdu sounds special).

Spatially there is a considerably segregation, at that (open) xenophobia is completely unacceptable and the common position among the majority is treating everyone equally regardless of the background and allowing an individual any kind of religious or other practices and self-expression as long as it does not harm. For example, you can spot more women wearing fully closed burkas during one week in Oslo than during a lifetime in Tatarstan or Kazakhstan.


And yes, you can certainly find a position for you in Scandinavia - I met many USA citizens working here as professors. I also had lecturers from South Africa, Uganda, Cuba, Poland etc. - that's part of the local education system. Besides, in Scandinavia there are many international programmes taught in English, incl. neuro science and "hard" psychology for sure.

I'm active in wolf conservation here. There's lots of work now that a brave Alaskan, uh, woman, is gunning these noble (and ecologically indispensable) animals:zombie:

I really believe that politicians and the rich people deserved some serious butt-kicking globally. The world awaits many Marvin Heemeyers to discipline them. Nice that you are also into these matters. USA is one of the most horrible killers of nature, along with China.


PS: oh my gods, I started to write as massive posts as FiveString. That's contagious!

PPS: Finland is not Scandinavia, it is Nordic.

 

[FiveString]

I meant true socialism = totally different than NK and C bullsh!t.

Alas, true socialism didn't serve the selfish interests of those who thought it would....

Perhaps like the USA. Every big Scandinavian city has "immigrants areas" where apartments are cheaper and where Diasporas live sticking together.

These are poor areas, and because of relative poverty in these areas you may have 5 bicycles stolen during 5 months (that happened to my Polish Jewish acquaintance) or you can be pickpocketed really easily on trams/buses; I also do my food shopping at oriental markets in these areas as food prices are the lowest there, and the diversity of products is endless. In Oslo you are also offered weed at every big bus/train station and pickpockets are everywhere; even your bank card's pin can be stolen. Sounds like Harlem?

Smells like Harlem! Man, this is so familiar, so similar to my experiences living on-the-cheap in various big US cities. But I'll tell you this much: They don't offer you weed (even for pay) that much in this KKKountry. You know why, right? You do some drugs, you get put away for decades, even though you're hurting only yourself. You destroy someone's life financially? You beat her within an inch of her life? Oh, you might get a couple of years' probation.

At that, Scandinavian states do many things against discrimination and for integration of immigrants (who are >90% refugees). BTW, a stunning fact: one small city in Sweden is hosting way more Iraqi refugees than THE WHOLE USA, who had this bloody war for oil in Iraq.

Meanwhile, here in Statue of Libertyville, you've got armed psychopaths (all of 'em Anglo cretins) roaming the Mexican border for those real dangerous "illegals." Refugees? Here, we've got a large Bosnian and Vietnamese refugee community (sure, uh, we helped create the second), and when I lived up north in Chicago, there were many more from across the globe. Ah, the US isn't totally self-absorbed! This is a good thing.

Also, I have Scandinavian friends of Afghani, Bosnian, Chili, Greek, Indonesian, Iranian, Iraqi, Jewish, Nigerian, Kosovian, Kurdish, Pakistani, Phillipinean, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Somalian, South African etc. etc. background who are completely assimilated and share the traditional Scandinavian norms and values, manner of communication etc. At the same time they may keep the traditional religion (the most liberal forms) and the language (Swerussian or Norweurdu sounds special).

You strike me as a very gregarious person (now that took lots of training to notice). Is that why you have friends from so many places/ethic-origins and so on, or is it because any semi-decent person in ol' Oslo is bound to find h'self in a diverse friendship situation like yours? Because it jest ain't like that here. Actually, there is one n'hood a couple of miles from me that might offer s/t similar, on a smaller scale. I'm fairly new here; I need to check this out. I'm friendly: Why shouldn't this work for me? IDK. Yeah, those two languages are keepers for sure. I like the sound of "Norweurdu" very much.

Spatially there is a considerably segregation, at that (open) xenophobia is completely unacceptable and the common position among the majority is treating everyone equally regardless of the background and allowing an individual any kind of religious or other practices and self-expression as long as it does not harm. For example, you can spot more women wearing fully closed burkas during one week in Oslo than during a lifetime in Tatarstan or Kazakhstan.

Open xenophobia is completely unacceptable?! That's the common position, you say?! What, are you guys total nuts? Where's the good old hateful ugliness.... I like what I'm reading, man. Y'all might have trouble on your hands in a little while. This just really "looks" nearly dreamlike, and meanwhile, so many people think that it's a dream here. Whatever.

And yes, you can certainly find a position for you in Scandinavia - I met many USA citizens working here as professors. I also had lecturers from South Africa, Uganda, Cuba, Poland etc. - that's part of the local education system. Besides, in Scandinavia there are many international programmes taught in English, incl. neuro science and "hard" psychology for sure.

Marvel! Then I will look into it, given that I am getting somewhat disillusioned with the way our gov MANHANDLES healthcare. We've got such good hospitals, such cutting edge clinics etc. Except that they're reserved for those with mucho $. How absolutely sick: Gomorrah! Yes, and I have read that the doctoral training in psychology is superb up in your northerly 'tudes. Seriously swear to Molech. That's not something one can take for granted w/respect to any field in any country, "Western" or not.

I really believe that politicians and the rich people deserved some serious butt-kicking globally. The world awaits many Marvin Heemeyers to discipline them. Nice that you are also into these matters. USA is one of the most horrible killers of nature, along with China.

I despise what my country does to nature. You might be aware of the immense activism going on in the US to fight this cancer. But gov is infinitely more powerful. My friggin gov: It wouldn't even enter the Kyoto Treaty. How...not arrogant...rather...how evil of our pols. They don't even care about their own future spawn. Swine.

PS: oh my gods, I started to write as massive posts as FiveString. That's contagious!

PPS: Finland is not Scandinavia, it is Nordic.

I hate to break the sad news, but, dude, the sickness is virulently contagious. It makes ol' SARS look like a benign rash. So, to paraphrase the great Nancy Reagan "Just Say No!" That'll do it.

Oh. Thanks w/Re to the Scand./Nord. distinction. I'll look that up. Ignorance irks me.

 

[mrwizard]

Hey hey !! ...i enjoyed reading both SUPER POSTS ....

well ....isnt it a global think now ?! ...i mean diversity !! and every city is seeking to be more cosmopolitan .....

anyway i used to work in ABU DHABI AND DUBAI ....in the UAE .... it was like 75 % indians/pakistanis and other asians 10 % Lebanese( of course all manager and CEO's ) 10%( English same positions as lebanese) 2 % other arab nationalities 3 % emirati or nationals
they got like expats for Police !! that was shoking !! ...... and pakistanis are known for their lake of driving skills and yet they monitor you during driving license test .

anyway ...its different in Lebanon ...and ppl are not treated equally ( i guess thats how we survived it ) .....i know its wrong !.... its like we have asians for house keeping ( philipine and sri lanka and nepal basicaly )

egyptians for gaz stations
syrians for construction and cleaning streets and all this ...

this happens because of the high rate of education in lebanon ....every1 have a degree and it either working in lebanon or abroad .... but ofcourse we have poor ppl that they couldnt go to college ( which costs alot here) they work in restaurant , taxi drivers ...etc ...

and we lebanese we have this thing ...we are arrogant ...we speak 3 languages and now the trend is 4 ( spanish or italian) we have to go out EVERYDAY ...we dont drive cars less than 2004-2005 model ! ....

but yet ...we have areas where they dont know about all this !! ... you'l be a bit lost trying to understand lebanese community .

 

[FiveString]

^

You got that wrong mate. You missed the part where he said that N. Korea/China, etc are Pseudo-Socialist.!

Yeah, blood, you got me on that one alright.

But Anton gave me a boatload of info that will surely rectify (well, it's a start) my ignorance of most matters, including the social climate in Scandinavian/Nordic lands. Oh, heck yeah, dude: I'm a veritable PhD on the subject now. Right. Got to start somewhere.

Ah, yes, Oh Ananth, Forgive Me For I Have Sinned! Nah, I like to sin and, anyhow, ignorance is embraced hardily in the USA and is thus considered a virtue. Doggit to hell: I'll find some more sins to commit today; t'wont be hard. But, nonetheless, I confess that I possess very little knowledge in Re Socialism. I'm American! They burn "Commies" here, Sweet Lords of Perdition! I know that Socialists aren't Communists at all, but try explaining that to Bubba in the backwoods. I invite you, any time, Ananth, give it a shot. Please don't.

Take Care of Yourself. How's the weather in your part of the world?

Hill

 

[mrwizard]

Dear FiveString,

How the storm going ?! ...

 

[FiveString]

Dear FiveString,

How the storm going ?! ...

How's life, mrwizard?

I'm still amazed that people across the Pond read about our little Blizzard. A friend from the UK also wrote me; he read all about it.

The storm gave my area all of the grief without the fun. The temps dropped to, oh, around minus 20 Celsius (nothing for our northern European friends) with insane winds (so windchill was around minus 35), but the snow decided to loop around us and hit places to the southwest and northeast. That's weather in the USA...it makes less sense than everything else, which doesn't make much sense either .

Yeah, so now it's just a gray frozen wasteland without the beautiful white-stuff. BUMMER.

It's the snow I like! Man, the news made it all the way to Beirut? Well, talking about the weather sure beats talking about war.

It keeps the news-jackals away from the Middle East for a little while, huh?

Enjoy the weekend!

Hill

 

[mrwizard]

Yea sure weather is universal i guess !

we got like bits ...a couple of seconds about snow and airports and cars all around on highway ....accidents this kind of things....

other than that .....i guess 40 % of my family lives in US and CANADA ! ....

here its raining since yesterday .....temps are like 15 to 17 max (Celcius)

have a nice warm WE

 

[FiveString]

Yea sure weather is universal i guess !

we got like bits ...a couple of seconds about snow and airports and cars all around on highway ....accidents this kind of things....

other than that .....i guess 40 % of my family lives in US and CANADA ! ....

here its raining since yesterday .....temps are like 15 to 17 max (Celcius)

have a nice warm WE

Really, good one!

Weather unites, like music. We all experience it, and it interests most of us. So we forget about all the bullcrud that divides us artificially. Wouldn't it be nice if we could ALWAYS talk about things that unite us? Well, we can. Just check out the lyrics to one of my fav songs, John Lennon's Imagine. 39 years old, and still just as relevant. So it's a classic. It's never going to grow old.

Heheheheh: I remember living in the subtropics, where 15 Celsius was "warm coat weather." People adjust.

You've got family in the US and Canada, though, so you know how ridiculous it can get here. I live in the middle of the USA, pretty much, in what we call a Border State (half North, half South; that goes back to the "Civil" War).

So the weather here is always interesting, situated between the subarctic and the Gulf of Mexico. We always get, oh (trying to think metric, man ), around one meter of snow per winter. We get the traditional, if you will, Four Seasons. Our summer is just as hot and humid as any Mediterranean one, but our trees are mostly deciduous (they change colors), so in the fall it's like God painted the entire outdoors with a magic paintbrush. And the spring, when it arrives, is amazing, as the trees slowly come alive with everything else.

I used to live much farther to the north, where we got four meters of snow per winter, and really, winter was the longest season. The other three went by very quickly. I like the "arrangement" we've got here. Something of everything.

Dude, I can just picture the folks out your way flipping out (literally) with a few snowflakes I saw that when I lived in the Deep South here in the US (you know, Mississippi--and the southern part @ that). Again, I like it here. Culturally, weather-wise, there's a better mix. But it's not insanely hectic like the more populated states. Our biggest cities, Saint Louis and Kansas City, are darn big, but they're midgets next to NYC, Chicago, etc. That's just fine with me: We've got e/t we need.

All the best,

Hill

 

[Morticia NL.]

BRRRR- stop talking about ice, snow and winter: I hate it! One of the things I miss the most from the South of France is the soft winters. Here in Holland you get those icy winds that blow through the skin and rattle the bones. And there is no snow, only rain. And me fighting the weather on my bike....
Today we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon in town. It was cold, but sunny. Gives some good light for pictures. Here is the famous Utrecht Dom tower:

 

[FiveString]

BRRRR- stop talking about ice, snow and winter: I hate it! One of the things I miss the most from the South of France is the soft winters. Here in Holland you get those icy winds that blow through the skin and rattle the bones. And there is no snow, only rain. And me fighting the weather on my bike....

No problem, hey: He started it; yeah, my bro' MrWizard from Lebanon started it And I joined, perfectly enjoying it, so we're both accessories in this hideous crime. You can take us to the Hague, it's not that far from you, eh? But the Court won't find us guilty. Nah, can't blame us: We were bored, what with nobody posting anything here, right, MrWizard? But I'll stop. After the next three brief paragraphs:

I know about Dutch weather. Right; I lived there as a small kid, in Eindhoven. I still remember. You have a marine northern climate, sort of like coastal Scotland (not the snowy Highlands). Icy rain and winds: Awwww ! I also know that it varies even in the NL, so that the closer you get to the water, the milder it tends to get, with some notable exceptions. Riding in that stuff on a bike must be sheer icy hell, though . I can't argue with that.

We're having such a storm right now, precisely just like the ones you hate, complete with thunder and lightning. It's just two degrees Celcius and it won't drop that tiny bit to zero, so no snow I'd take snow over this bone-chilling damp-hell crud any time. Snow is peaceful, pretty, and it insulates. Winter rain creates a muddy mess and, after the storm, everything's just as gray as it was...unless you live in, oh, say Nice, or another Mediterranean town where plants don't hibernate b/c even they laugh at the joke winters there. Ah, and it doesn't rain during Med. summers. I like our summer rain: It's refreshing.

I love how peeps in southern Mediterranean Israel wear winter coats when it goes below twenty Celcius . It's no different in the other Mediterranean countries: "Oooh, so cold, it's going down to five degrees (Celcius) tonight; I am buying three extra space-heaters...." I remember hearing variations on this often, from Egypt to the south of France. Po' lil' babies .

And thanks for the pics: Can I right-click 'em? I promise not to make any commercial use of the beauties.

Girl, you're living in the wrong climate-zone. I know you must and I won't pry for the reasons. But some day, I'm sure you'll be able to live exactly where the weather and the company suits you 100%.

One week closer to the album release! Nice wallpapers: Thanks! I'm using the red one. Amazing how the three languages are integrated. Such art! There's yet another area that sets OL apart from other metal acts. Forget the usual suspects like Cannibal Corpse with their :zombie: high-quality, deeply meaningful (BS, childish horror movie trash) album art. I mean, metal is just so full of album art that's intensely meaningful. NOT! It could be, because there are starving artists everywhere looking for work, but, no. Demons, gore, dead stuff, garbage, that's mostly what you see.

Orphaned Land defies all labels and rises over the hordes. Now if the stupid world would start listening and buying the new release right away so that it goes PLATINUM, that would be a sign that the New Jerusalem is at hand...or whatever you wanna call it.

Happy Channukah,

Hill