Sunday, 28 December 2008

Scary walk (dramatized)

It was cold, late and getting dark. Perfect time for a long route in the forest. The air was cristaline and the sun was setting. There was some snow on the souh slope of the mountain.
After climbing up the trail I found a disturbing dead sheep: something ate itss eyes, ears and stomach... the chupacabra (better, the cupaoveja) is out there!
There were big dog tracks wich means it could be a wolf, but that will be unusual, they live 50 km on the north.
Watever, the sun was falling, making the snow and frozen cristals growing on the vegetation shine like gold, and I reached a village.
The village was still with no dogs or any sign of life on it. Just few bliking christmas lights, marking the gates of the living, while the rest of the houses stood dead, doors shut, blinds closed. At the end, some frightened sheep looked at me from a fenced garage. They made no noise, just stared as I passed in front of them.
Soon the light dissapeared as I sank into the valley, but I knew my way. It was a very pleasant walk, after it got dark and I realized it could get later but not darker, so I stoped to enjoy stars.
The forest made the weather warmer but the trail was more difficult to see. I was singing and then, typical forest craks made me feel observed and vulnerable. The night was pitch black, no moon or any light, and when walking among the low trees, I had to imagine the path rather than seeing it... It runs along a very steep mountain, so if I had to run I would totally lost the path and probably fall few meters. The river sounded far at the bottom.
The unnerving feeling was increasing as I walked among the trees, darker than black... something grabbed my face and I discovered it was just a spiny bush... but in my mind, every bush was like a skeleton hand trying to catch me. My breath was becoming heavier. I looked back. The problem of turning back is not the fact the fact that you are actually so scared that you are suspicius, is letting the fear flood your heart and numb your brain, so the only thing you expect to see is a pair of eyes glowing in the dark, right behind you, and even more unnerving is to see nothing.
The town was not even close when I twisted my ankle. It didn't seemed serious, but it was a warning. I had to be careful. But every legend from this mountain, every superstitious belief, every strage story I've heard and every horror I have ever imagine were chasing, me a stream of nightmares with invisible hands and glowing eyes. Once the horrow has clamped your brain, it doesn't leave it easily.

Of course I arrived safe and nothing happened and it was cool (well, I twisted my ankle other time), but just to point that in the forest, or in the jungle... the night does not belong to the humans! And that monsters live inside you!

Happy winter solstice!

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Greatest youtube hits!

The following links have been choosen under strict criteria and after a deep screening of about 1200 hours that took place by few voluteers mainly during their most productive working time. Maybe we are helping the crisis (the economic one) with this research but it was worth it! There are also some other great videos but these were selected merely as a sample. I hope you will enjoy them!

The flight of the Choncords

Tenacious D

Weird Al

Zlad!

The best 5 seconds of the internet

Friday, 31 October 2008

bed time story

When we moved into our house in Ghent (now more than 10 years ago) the house wasn't finished at all. We shared it with five to ten painters, electricians (does that word exist?), carpenters and whatever else. I missed my friends, and so I enjoyed their company. Especially the carpenters were very nice. They were two brothers, working together in a family firm. They always had a chat with me when we met. It seemed to me that they enjoyed their work and did their job with much care and love.

When i started violin making, sometimes i thought of them. I imagined it would make them happy to know that someone (anyone) had discovered how nice it is to work with wood. I decided to tell them, if i would meet one of them again. But i didn't.

Until today...
I was working at school, making the sides of my very first violin, when Angelo (class mate) guided someone into the workshop. It was Lieven, the eldest brother. His daughter plays the violin, and he decided to study violinmaking to make a nice instrument for her. He's in his second year now, and finishing his first violin. Angelo tells me it's a very nice instrument... and i don't have any doubts.


This made me feel so very happy. The more i think about it, the more it sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale. All day i have been imagining how it will end...

Saturday, 27 September 2008

I-ham

It is a fact that nowdays things whose name starts with "I" are becoming increasingly popular, like I-pods, I-tunes, I-Ching, I-taly... The new I-product is made-in-espain: the I-ham. Don't forget to take the tour and check all the peripherics available.

And as an open question do discuss about, will the I-pods conquer the Earth and make all humans slaves? Matt Groening thinks they indeed will.

Tuesday, 16 September 2008

End of the world (again)

There is some collective hysteria about the Large Hadron Collider built in Switzerland destroying the world. It's a pity the accelerator wasn't ready on the 1st of January 2000, that would have been awesome!
In any case, to cope with an exalted public opinion a website was created in order to answer everybody's question when the machine was turned on: has the Hadron Collider has destroyed the Earth yet?.

So to clear everybody's doubts, here is the website. Don't forget to check it from time to time, just in case:

http://hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/

Saturday, 23 August 2008

Houserule 01: Posting hat


Article 1: the use of a posting hat (p.h.) is obligatory for all the users (u.) of this webspace and should be worn during the whole process of posting.
Article 2: conditions required by the p. h. in order to be a valid p.h.:
Condition 1: should be a hat or similar.
Condition 2: should b worn on the head or similar.
Condition 3: should exist on this time and on one or more dimensions of this universe. Hats existing on a parallel universe or in a different time are not considered valid posting hats.
Condition 3.1: multidimensional hats or multiple time hats will only be accepted as posting hats if they acomplish the conditions mentioned on Condition 3.
Article 3: this rule is accepted and decreted by the comitee of all the u. members of this website.
Article 4: punishments and use verification of the p.h. by the u. have not been decided yet.
Article 5: end of Decrete "Houserule 01: Posting hat".

Friday, 22 August 2008

My dog can sing better than your cat!


Not the most beautiful but definitely one of the funniest pictures found on Sensitive light (wonderful photoblog!! http://sensitivelight.com/blog/)