Wednesday, December 31, 2008
at the very end of 2008...
a., s. and r. on the way to pick up y. at schipol airport. more news soon.
Monday, November 3, 2008
in Amsterdam
Dear gangsters,
Another partial Gang reunion has occurred! Rui and I met Reut in Amsterdam! First we met her at her place (a very nice and cozy one, I must say) and then we had lunch nearby. It is such a good feeling to see another member of the Gang and put the conversation up-to-date!
Reut suggested a New Year's Eve party at her place. Rui and I will be in the Netherlands by then. Who's in?... This is serious!
Love and miss you all,
Su
Another partial Gang reunion has occurred! Rui and I met Reut in Amsterdam! First we met her at her place (a very nice and cozy one, I must say) and then we had lunch nearby. It is such a good feeling to see another member of the Gang and put the conversation up-to-date!
Reut suggested a New Year's Eve party at her place. Rui and I will be in the Netherlands by then. Who's in?... This is serious!
Love and miss you all,
Su
Thursday, September 18, 2008
not gone or out.
Hello Everyone,
No I have not forgotten about you, my sweet friends. This has been a rough few months for me. Classes start back up next week so I'm ready finish up and make some money. That way I can come see all of you.
The summer got off to a good start until the end of June when my sister (who is also my roommate) was in a terrible horseback riding accident. She was riding along when the horse spooked, reared up and fell backwards on top of her! Alison shattered her pelvis in ten places and cracked the ball part at the top of the femur (thigh bone). She was had surgery and was in the hospital for two weeks. Afterwards she moved to a nursing home for eight weeks. She has come home and is now nearly back to normal. Now she can walk without crutches, drive her car, and ride her bike! (Though, as an older brother I was not happy about the bike riding.)
In the mean time, I have been trying to find a job. Which, it seems, is nearly impossible for people like me. Apparently, a lot of people are out of work...
Hope to hear from you all soon, my friends. I miss you all dearly.
-G
No I have not forgotten about you, my sweet friends. This has been a rough few months for me. Classes start back up next week so I'm ready finish up and make some money. That way I can come see all of you.
The summer got off to a good start until the end of June when my sister (who is also my roommate) was in a terrible horseback riding accident. She was riding along when the horse spooked, reared up and fell backwards on top of her! Alison shattered her pelvis in ten places and cracked the ball part at the top of the femur (thigh bone). She was had surgery and was in the hospital for two weeks. Afterwards she moved to a nursing home for eight weeks. She has come home and is now nearly back to normal. Now she can walk without crutches, drive her car, and ride her bike! (Though, as an older brother I was not happy about the bike riding.)
In the mean time, I have been trying to find a job. Which, it seems, is nearly impossible for people like me. Apparently, a lot of people are out of work...
Hope to hear from you all soon, my friends. I miss you all dearly.
-G
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My Lisboa!
(this was long overdue.)
While everyone blogged about their adventures *in* Lisboa, mine started even before I got there (and not in a good way). It began with, of course, my usual conundrums of getting a visa, as I discovered there is no Portuguese embassy in Dhaka and in order to get a visa I would have to fly to Delhi. Let's just say that didn't suit my schedule. :) Now the way to circumvent that is to get a visa from any other of the schengen state embassies, namely dutch, french or italian. The italian is supposed to be the most lenient (don't know why), so I applied there (which involved heaps and heaps of paperwork) and waited with bated breath and crossed fingers. now that's only the visa, then began travel problems of getting flights and connections. if I get an italian visa then italy has to be my port of entry, and I couldn't get a connection to lisbon, at least not from Dhaka. and when I finally did get something online, the stupid site wouldn't accept my amercian credit card even though it's Visa. seriously, I was running across the strangest problems, and in the meantime driving all my friends (Bengali and Portuguese) up the wall with my travel planning and qualms therein. I'm actually so accustomed to traveling with every single detail planned out beforehand that this was a good experience for me. So with my halfbaked plans I finally flew on the 2nd of June (I think), and I actually had a presentation that morning, ran home, de-'saari'ed, grabbed my suitcase and passport and rushed to the airport. after a 7 hour layover in dubai and another 7 hour layover in milan, I finally FINALLY reached lisboa, and all my troubles and stress melted away to Ana's beautiful smile, her gorgeous apartment on rua do saco, Rui and Su's warm welcoming hugs, beautiful and unusual tiled architecture, vivid mirradouros, the amazing neighbourhood of alfama, a bright fuchsia bougainvillea tree, vintage trams that go up and down, the stunning view from rui and su's apartment, the amazingly steep staircases, church bells that won't let you lose track of time, ana's enchanting marionettes that hang over the doorway and lovely little stories, su's superb parking skills and a fabulous new haircut, rui forever in stripes, warm dinner with friends and yummy bacalhau à brás, the best port wine I've ever tasted, requejão with honey and groselha, decorating the patio for santa antonia, fado music wafting here and there, the most delicious grilled sardines with sangria on a warm afternoon, driving to and fro from expo(parque das nacões) and nearly losing Mac the Ripper (goodness) in rushing to the feira do livro, watching little pidgeons dunk their heads into the waterspouts at praça martim moniz, meeting an interesting painter at castelo são jorge whose boyfriend can speak Bengali, menus that start with fish items, fat fluffy cats sitting contentedly under every hedge or bush, beautiful red-roofed houses spread out at hitherto heights reflecting the funky terrain, the amazingly ornate terrreira do paço, exploring belém and visiting le corbusier's mesmerising exhibition, taking a wonderful nap on the sunlit grass in jardim gulbenkian, rushing to Sisimbra and then rushing back to cheer for Portugal and watch them win against turkey:), failing to read the map and getting lost only to find fellow bangladeshis and indians at every corner ready to help, sweet conversations with ana, a breathtaking half molten church, taking the train to Sintra to get lost in the grottoes and secret passages of Quinta da Regaleira, and my favourites - talking the night away with Ana, going to sleep in Rui and Su's place staring into the stars, and of course Pastéis de Belém. :) :) :)
While everyone blogged about their adventures *in* Lisboa, mine started even before I got there (and not in a good way). It began with, of course, my usual conundrums of getting a visa, as I discovered there is no Portuguese embassy in Dhaka and in order to get a visa I would have to fly to Delhi. Let's just say that didn't suit my schedule. :) Now the way to circumvent that is to get a visa from any other of the schengen state embassies, namely dutch, french or italian. The italian is supposed to be the most lenient (don't know why), so I applied there (which involved heaps and heaps of paperwork) and waited with bated breath and crossed fingers. now that's only the visa, then began travel problems of getting flights and connections. if I get an italian visa then italy has to be my port of entry, and I couldn't get a connection to lisbon, at least not from Dhaka. and when I finally did get something online, the stupid site wouldn't accept my amercian credit card even though it's Visa. seriously, I was running across the strangest problems, and in the meantime driving all my friends (Bengali and Portuguese) up the wall with my travel planning and qualms therein. I'm actually so accustomed to traveling with every single detail planned out beforehand that this was a good experience for me. So with my halfbaked plans I finally flew on the 2nd of June (I think), and I actually had a presentation that morning, ran home, de-'saari'ed, grabbed my suitcase and passport and rushed to the airport. after a 7 hour layover in dubai and another 7 hour layover in milan, I finally FINALLY reached lisboa, and all my troubles and stress melted away to Ana's beautiful smile, her gorgeous apartment on rua do saco, Rui and Su's warm welcoming hugs, beautiful and unusual tiled architecture, vivid mirradouros, the amazing neighbourhood of alfama, a bright fuchsia bougainvillea tree, vintage trams that go up and down, the stunning view from rui and su's apartment, the amazingly steep staircases, church bells that won't let you lose track of time, ana's enchanting marionettes that hang over the doorway and lovely little stories, su's superb parking skills and a fabulous new haircut, rui forever in stripes, warm dinner with friends and yummy bacalhau à brás, the best port wine I've ever tasted, requejão with honey and groselha, decorating the patio for santa antonia, fado music wafting here and there, the most delicious grilled sardines with sangria on a warm afternoon, driving to and fro from expo(parque das nacões) and nearly losing Mac the Ripper (goodness) in rushing to the feira do livro, watching little pidgeons dunk their heads into the waterspouts at praça martim moniz, meeting an interesting painter at castelo são jorge whose boyfriend can speak Bengali, menus that start with fish items, fat fluffy cats sitting contentedly under every hedge or bush, beautiful red-roofed houses spread out at hitherto heights reflecting the funky terrain, the amazingly ornate terrreira do paço, exploring belém and visiting le corbusier's mesmerising exhibition, taking a wonderful nap on the sunlit grass in jardim gulbenkian, rushing to Sisimbra and then rushing back to cheer for Portugal and watch them win against turkey:), failing to read the map and getting lost only to find fellow bangladeshis and indians at every corner ready to help, sweet conversations with ana, a breathtaking half molten church, taking the train to Sintra to get lost in the grottoes and secret passages of Quinta da Regaleira, and my favourites - talking the night away with Ana, going to sleep in Rui and Su's place staring into the stars, and of course Pastéis de Belém. :) :) :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Gmail
Ever notice that people you sent emails to eons ago suddently appear on your contact list?
Well in the last 24 hours Dan Klein is on my buddy list.
He is ALWAYS online.
Well in the last 24 hours Dan Klein is on my buddy list.
He is ALWAYS online.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
You will never guess
who I just saw here in CogSci 2008:
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FERMIN MOSCOSO PRADO DEL MARTIN
needless to say I almost fainted
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FERMIN MOSCOSO PRADO DEL MARTIN
needless to say I almost fainted
Monday, July 14, 2008
Happy Anniversary!! :)
It really has been a year since we met! I think I met Jette first and then Jonathan and Geoff and then Ana and then Rui & Su and Reut. It's joss that we're in touch and that some of us have also met up intermittently within this one year. Love you all. Beijinhos and lots of ador.
Friday, July 4, 2008
How about a 23 day conference-free adventure...
If all goes well in the coming months, then this is being labeled as "The World's Greatest Journey by Rail" where the journey begins in London and ends in Dhaka.
"An intrepid traveler will soon be able to leave London for Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Bucharest, Istanbul, Tehran, Quetta, Lahore, Amritsar, Delhi and Calcutta before reaching the end of the line in Dhaka."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Lisboa!!
I'm in Lisboa! It's raining and I'm tired and busy (everyone is) - but I'm in Lisboa!!!! :D
A&S&R picked me up from the airport and it almost made me cry to see them all standing there and waving. I don't think I've been picked up by that many people from an airport since the first time I came home from Lisbon for Christmas 1998 when my whole family turned up.
Everything is just as ever, only Su's hair is shorter - and looks great! ;) Ana has a great big flat, I'm really impressed, especially compared to other people's houses I've seen in Lisbon. Well, I guess that makes her a bit more grown-up... but really I'm only jealous. It's crazy to think that it's already almost a year ago since we all met!
Now I'm going to crawl into Ana's bed and tomorrow I'll see how much I remember of my favourite city.
A&S&R picked me up from the airport and it almost made me cry to see them all standing there and waving. I don't think I've been picked up by that many people from an airport since the first time I came home from Lisbon for Christmas 1998 when my whole family turned up.
Everything is just as ever, only Su's hair is shorter - and looks great! ;) Ana has a great big flat, I'm really impressed, especially compared to other people's houses I've seen in Lisbon. Well, I guess that makes her a bit more grown-up... but really I'm only jealous. It's crazy to think that it's already almost a year ago since we all met!
Now I'm going to crawl into Ana's bed and tomorrow I'll see how much I remember of my favourite city.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Songs of death
Today is 'Yom Hazikaron' (day of remembrance) - The day of commemoration for soldiers who died in Israeli wars in the last 60 years. I am sitting at home listening the radio playing mourning songs and watching movies on young men and women who died prematurely.
http://www.zemereshet.co.il/song.asp?id=435
Tonight Yom Hazikaron will end and our independence day will begin.
http://www.zemereshet.co.il/song.asp?id=435
Tonight Yom Hazikaron will end and our independence day will begin.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Shubho Nobo Borsho: Happy (Bengali) New Year! 1415.
Shubho Noboborsho for the Bengali year of 1415!
love you all. miss you dearly.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Lisboa - day 4
.Hello once again - day 4.
Well, since in this very packed vacation there is no mercy for the guests, we woke up at 900 although we went to bed at 0300. R and S picked A and I in their car and we headed East!!!
We drove to Monsaraz. We got to Monte do Limpo and met Simao, Su's brother. Monte do Limpo is a vineyard and a ranch, and Simao and Claudia, his wife run it. I think it's originally owned by Claudia's family but I am not sure. We met there Su's niece, Carolina, what a gorgeous baby! and so smiley and friendly!!! We also met more family of Su. First Simao took us to eat lunch since we were starving. We went to a gorgoues reataurant in Tilheiro the nearby town where the houses are painted white and blue and everything is filled with serenity. Oh, the countryside is just marvelous. The restaurant is in this place they used to make oil in, there is a lot of art hung and it is absolutely an amazing place to eat. We had a very big 4 course lunch there and we were very very very happy.
We got back to the ranch and hung out there for a few ours again having some coffee and drinks. Simao gave a a tour of the wine factory which is ultra interesting. The process of making wine is fascinating. We saw where you make the wine, where it is stored to age, in barrels where it is later brought and where it is bottled. Of course we tasted different wines from the harvest that is still not even bottled. You can imagine this is quite a unique experience. So after being fed and getting drunk and resting and meeting family and talking and buying bottles for family and friends we drove up to the castle of Monsaraz which has another beautiful town in it and there are ruins from the Roman times I guess, the ancient walls protecting this town. We climbed on the wall and saw the amazing view of Alentejo - just vast vast open space of green and fields and an artificial lake that was formed when they build a dam 60 kms from there 5 years ago. So the views are amazing the atmoshpere peaceful, oh what a day what a day!!!
We drove from there to Evora a small town where Simao lives. We walked in the very well kept clean and beatiful city. Saw Diana's temple. A temple from the 2C for probably Diana, walked the streets, saw the Castle that dates to the 12-13c. saw the chapel of bones and went to a wonderful garden to rest. of course we had some coffee and eaten... Oh, all this was done also with Ana the friend of the gang who I met the day before in Bairro Alto.
We went to the new beautiful apartment of Simao and had dinner with them... Simao is quite a Chef.... From there we drove home and got home around 0130. What a long and exciting day!!!!
That's day 4!
Well, since in this very packed vacation there is no mercy for the guests, we woke up at 900 although we went to bed at 0300. R and S picked A and I in their car and we headed East!!!
We drove to Monsaraz. We got to Monte do Limpo and met Simao, Su's brother. Monte do Limpo is a vineyard and a ranch, and Simao and Claudia, his wife run it. I think it's originally owned by Claudia's family but I am not sure. We met there Su's niece, Carolina, what a gorgeous baby! and so smiley and friendly!!! We also met more family of Su. First Simao took us to eat lunch since we were starving. We went to a gorgoues reataurant in Tilheiro the nearby town where the houses are painted white and blue and everything is filled with serenity. Oh, the countryside is just marvelous. The restaurant is in this place they used to make oil in, there is a lot of art hung and it is absolutely an amazing place to eat. We had a very big 4 course lunch there and we were very very very happy.
We got back to the ranch and hung out there for a few ours again having some coffee and drinks. Simao gave a a tour of the wine factory which is ultra interesting. The process of making wine is fascinating. We saw where you make the wine, where it is stored to age, in barrels where it is later brought and where it is bottled. Of course we tasted different wines from the harvest that is still not even bottled. You can imagine this is quite a unique experience. So after being fed and getting drunk and resting and meeting family and talking and buying bottles for family and friends we drove up to the castle of Monsaraz which has another beautiful town in it and there are ruins from the Roman times I guess, the ancient walls protecting this town. We climbed on the wall and saw the amazing view of Alentejo - just vast vast open space of green and fields and an artificial lake that was formed when they build a dam 60 kms from there 5 years ago. So the views are amazing the atmoshpere peaceful, oh what a day what a day!!!
We drove from there to Evora a small town where Simao lives. We walked in the very well kept clean and beatiful city. Saw Diana's temple. A temple from the 2C for probably Diana, walked the streets, saw the Castle that dates to the 12-13c. saw the chapel of bones and went to a wonderful garden to rest. of course we had some coffee and eaten... Oh, all this was done also with Ana the friend of the gang who I met the day before in Bairro Alto.
We went to the new beautiful apartment of Simao and had dinner with them... Simao is quite a Chef.... From there we drove home and got home around 0130. What a long and exciting day!!!!
That's day 4!
Lisboa - day 3
Hello! day 3.
Ana and I went for a trip in the outskirts of Lisbon this day.
We woke up around 900 and took her car. we drove along the cost until we got to Cascais. it's a city on the Atlantic very very very picturesque and beautifu. with painted buildings and small alleys and a really good vibe all around.
First we had breakfast at this bakery place - had some bread and cheese and Croissants. Yummy. Then we walked in the alleys. I got a present for my sis - filigrana. it's silver earings that are covered with gold made of little threads of metal. really delicate and beautiful work. Then we had the best ice cream in Santini and walked more in the small town.
From there we went to Boca do inferno (mouth of hell) where the Atlantic meets a rocky cliff and sometimes it's scary apparently the way that the waves hit the cliff but the ocean was quite calm that day (great weather, did I mention?). So we sat and watched the ocean what could possibly be better than that?
We continued our journey along the Atlantic and got to a nice beach with a lot of kids and people skipping school apparently and walked a long walk along the beach. Ana spent the entire day teaching me about portuguese culture and slang it was great....
From there we went to the most western point in Europe and watched the ocean once more (Roca... I can't rem the name). Then we drove through a valley and got to an enchanting fish restaurant by a lovely beach and had lunch there. A tried to feed me weird stuff. That's all I am willing to say.
Later we went to Sintra another very colorful and lovely town surrounded my mountains. we saw the palace but didn't have time to go to the castle. We did have time to walk in the narrow alleys and nice streets, see the colorful houses and of course eat some queijadas. We really are suckers for sweets!
Then we headed back and met R and S who came back from Algarve. we had only 15 minutes to meet them but it was still enough time for a drink. We were in Chapito which is a very nice restaurant with yet again an amazing view of Lisbon. Apparently there is a circus there and the stars are all children that didn't have homes and they train then and put shows on. Nice!
Then A and I went to the amazing show of the diva Adriana Calcanhotto. it was in this antique classic concert. This was a closed concert and the opening for the new album of Adriana but somehow A got tickets and we were lucky enough to attend it. we are humming it all week it was just a once in a lifetime experience.
We later met R and A with two new friends, Vasco and Ana. We went to the clubbing scene of Lisbon which is weirdly enough outside. we stood at the corner of a street with many bars and clubs in Bairro Alto the clubbing area apparently. the street was absolutely packed with people and we hung around there and also in another corner for a few hours. There is a great atmoshpere there so many yound and beautiful people out in the street drinking and having fun. The only problem as always was that every night I am SOOO tired from the very long day I had....
We walked home from there.
And that's day 3.
Ana and I went for a trip in the outskirts of Lisbon this day.
We woke up around 900 and took her car. we drove along the cost until we got to Cascais. it's a city on the Atlantic very very very picturesque and beautifu. with painted buildings and small alleys and a really good vibe all around.
First we had breakfast at this bakery place - had some bread and cheese and Croissants. Yummy. Then we walked in the alleys. I got a present for my sis - filigrana. it's silver earings that are covered with gold made of little threads of metal. really delicate and beautiful work. Then we had the best ice cream in Santini and walked more in the small town.
From there we went to Boca do inferno (mouth of hell) where the Atlantic meets a rocky cliff and sometimes it's scary apparently the way that the waves hit the cliff but the ocean was quite calm that day (great weather, did I mention?). So we sat and watched the ocean what could possibly be better than that?
We continued our journey along the Atlantic and got to a nice beach with a lot of kids and people skipping school apparently and walked a long walk along the beach. Ana spent the entire day teaching me about portuguese culture and slang it was great....
From there we went to the most western point in Europe and watched the ocean once more (Roca... I can't rem the name). Then we drove through a valley and got to an enchanting fish restaurant by a lovely beach and had lunch there. A tried to feed me weird stuff. That's all I am willing to say.
Later we went to Sintra another very colorful and lovely town surrounded my mountains. we saw the palace but didn't have time to go to the castle. We did have time to walk in the narrow alleys and nice streets, see the colorful houses and of course eat some queijadas. We really are suckers for sweets!
Then we headed back and met R and S who came back from Algarve. we had only 15 minutes to meet them but it was still enough time for a drink. We were in Chapito which is a very nice restaurant with yet again an amazing view of Lisbon. Apparently there is a circus there and the stars are all children that didn't have homes and they train then and put shows on. Nice!
Then A and I went to the amazing show of the diva Adriana Calcanhotto. it was in this antique classic concert. This was a closed concert and the opening for the new album of Adriana but somehow A got tickets and we were lucky enough to attend it. we are humming it all week it was just a once in a lifetime experience.
We later met R and A with two new friends, Vasco and Ana. We went to the clubbing scene of Lisbon which is weirdly enough outside. we stood at the corner of a street with many bars and clubs in Bairro Alto the clubbing area apparently. the street was absolutely packed with people and we hung around there and also in another corner for a few hours. There is a great atmoshpere there so many yound and beautiful people out in the street drinking and having fun. The only problem as always was that every night I am SOOO tired from the very long day I had....
We walked home from there.
And that's day 3.
Lisboa - day 2
So on Thu I woke up and R and A both had stuff to do. Su was still in Algarve.
So following A's advice I took the tram 15 to Belem from praca da Figueira (btw - if I didn't mention it of course I am very settled with a local mobile phone a public transportation ticket. We got everything on day 1).
Belem is a really really beautiful place. Again following advice I immediately went to eat pasteis de Belem which are kind of cream cakes that are very very famous. So two cakes and a coffee and I was good to go. I went up a very high monument shaped like a ship commemorating the great portuguese expeditions that started in Belem. it's really high and you get great view from there of the city and "the golden gate" bridge. afterwards I went to the chuch and monestary of Jeronimos that are really interesting architectually. Vasco de Gama and Camoes the poet are put to rest there and the whole place is made of carved stone, the ceilings are really high all in the 16th century manueline style.
Later I went to the museum of modern art where I saw a photo exhibition by a friend of Ana's - Daniel. There is some nice surreal exhibition. Of course there were a lot of kids there. I climbed the tower of belem which also gives good view and a perspective about life here 500 years ago nad then I took the tram back to have lunch with Rui
We had lunch in a hip cafe called Noo Bai in a very nice neighborhood. it was really tasty and the company was great as always. I think we talked mainly politics that day... after lunch we went to Chiado to see an exhibition by a friend of Rui. it's interactive art - a really cool thing - this guy built the Pong video game using a camera, some printer cartridges, a hair dryer and all kinds of stuff. really cool. So Rui and I played against each other.
From there we walked to R's place which is also in a very beautiful neighborhood and is really really beautiful, amazing view. They do know how to live our friends here in Lisbon. We hung out a bit and then met Ana at her place. They had to work a bit so I just read and stuff. then afterwards we had dinner together at Ana's and went to sleep since we were so tired!!!!
And that was day 2.
So following A's advice I took the tram 15 to Belem from praca da Figueira (btw - if I didn't mention it of course I am very settled with a local mobile phone a public transportation ticket. We got everything on day 1).
Belem is a really really beautiful place. Again following advice I immediately went to eat pasteis de Belem which are kind of cream cakes that are very very famous. So two cakes and a coffee and I was good to go. I went up a very high monument shaped like a ship commemorating the great portuguese expeditions that started in Belem. it's really high and you get great view from there of the city and "the golden gate" bridge. afterwards I went to the chuch and monestary of Jeronimos that are really interesting architectually. Vasco de Gama and Camoes the poet are put to rest there and the whole place is made of carved stone, the ceilings are really high all in the 16th century manueline style.
Later I went to the museum of modern art where I saw a photo exhibition by a friend of Ana's - Daniel. There is some nice surreal exhibition. Of course there were a lot of kids there. I climbed the tower of belem which also gives good view and a perspective about life here 500 years ago nad then I took the tram back to have lunch with Rui
We had lunch in a hip cafe called Noo Bai in a very nice neighborhood. it was really tasty and the company was great as always. I think we talked mainly politics that day... after lunch we went to Chiado to see an exhibition by a friend of Rui. it's interactive art - a really cool thing - this guy built the Pong video game using a camera, some printer cartridges, a hair dryer and all kinds of stuff. really cool. So Rui and I played against each other.
From there we walked to R's place which is also in a very beautiful neighborhood and is really really beautiful, amazing view. They do know how to live our friends here in Lisbon. We hung out a bit and then met Ana at her place. They had to work a bit so I just read and stuff. then afterwards we had dinner together at Ana's and went to sleep since we were so tired!!!!
And that was day 2.
Lisboa - day 1
I thought I would like to remember my days here, and Rui suggested I would do it on the blog, so hey why not? I will be not very elaborate though. sorry....
I landed in Lisbon on Tuesday night. Not very surprisingly S, R and A were there to welcome me. Su got a new haircut, very movie star from the 20's looks great on her. R on the other hand grew her on the front of his head and not just the back of his head and is not homo-hairyus - a very intelligent but still wild form of life.
So you know we don't like to waste time and we immediately went for a drive in Lisbon to a few observation points from which we saw the river, the bridges the nice neighborhood of Alfama and some more I don't remember the names of, the center etc. Lisbon is kind of a hilly chaotic maze on hills with a river a lot of tiled roofs etc. very beautiful.
I am staying at A's place. which a gorgeous apartment here in the center, everything about the place is so Ana. it's just beautiful. On Wed Su had to go to Algarve to teach untul Fri. A had to go to a meeting at uni so I walked with her and she left me at the Galubenkian foundation where I went to a museum with quite an impressive collection of art from all periods. I liked the Egyptian and European rooms.
At noon I met Rui for lunch at the patio of the museum. It has a really nice garden and it was such a sunny and glorious day and we sat and talk endlessly (which is our most prominent talent undoubtedly). An hour later R had to leave but A took his place and we kept on talking. As always I had desert before the meal. Yes!
When we were done with sitting in the warming sun of the garden A and I went to the modertnart museum which had some nice exhibitions, noth video and paintings. There were many kids at the museum. I find it marvelous that there are so many young children taken to all these cultural activities. I find Portuguese people quite cultural. later A and I took a walk in Lisbon, sadly I can' t remember the names of all the places but we started more or less in a monument for the 70's revolution, walked down the gardens until Avenida de Liberdade, went through Baixa until the Praca do Comercio, and got to the river. We had a great ice cream and visited Chiado which is a fancy place where we picked up our Adriana Calcanhotto tickets. woohoo!!!!!
We kept walking home and I took a nap. then we went out for dinner downtown in this big old building like an old palace that serves food from alentego! it was really great! very nice atmoshpere and food.
After that R joined us and we went to Maxime to see a concert by Walter Benjamin a yound Portugeuse underground artist. the place is really nice (it is also a Cabaret some nights) and we sat in a booth. the music was kind of American, David Bowey, Lou Reed vibe to it. it was really a very authentic experience.
Then we went home to sleep!
And that was day 1.
I landed in Lisbon on Tuesday night. Not very surprisingly S, R and A were there to welcome me. Su got a new haircut, very movie star from the 20's looks great on her. R on the other hand grew her on the front of his head and not just the back of his head and is not homo-hairyus - a very intelligent but still wild form of life.
So you know we don't like to waste time and we immediately went for a drive in Lisbon to a few observation points from which we saw the river, the bridges the nice neighborhood of Alfama and some more I don't remember the names of, the center etc. Lisbon is kind of a hilly chaotic maze on hills with a river a lot of tiled roofs etc. very beautiful.
I am staying at A's place. which a gorgeous apartment here in the center, everything about the place is so Ana. it's just beautiful. On Wed Su had to go to Algarve to teach untul Fri. A had to go to a meeting at uni so I walked with her and she left me at the Galubenkian foundation where I went to a museum with quite an impressive collection of art from all periods. I liked the Egyptian and European rooms.
At noon I met Rui for lunch at the patio of the museum. It has a really nice garden and it was such a sunny and glorious day and we sat and talk endlessly (which is our most prominent talent undoubtedly). An hour later R had to leave but A took his place and we kept on talking. As always I had desert before the meal. Yes!
When we were done with sitting in the warming sun of the garden A and I went to the modertnart museum which had some nice exhibitions, noth video and paintings. There were many kids at the museum. I find it marvelous that there are so many young children taken to all these cultural activities. I find Portuguese people quite cultural. later A and I took a walk in Lisbon, sadly I can' t remember the names of all the places but we started more or less in a monument for the 70's revolution, walked down the gardens until Avenida de Liberdade, went through Baixa until the Praca do Comercio, and got to the river. We had a great ice cream and visited Chiado which is a fancy place where we picked up our Adriana Calcanhotto tickets. woohoo!!!!!
We kept walking home and I took a nap. then we went out for dinner downtown in this big old building like an old palace that serves food from alentego! it was really great! very nice atmoshpere and food.
After that R joined us and we went to Maxime to see a concert by Walter Benjamin a yound Portugeuse underground artist. the place is really nice (it is also a Cabaret some nights) and we sat in a booth. the music was kind of American, David Bowey, Lou Reed vibe to it. it was really a very authentic experience.
Then we went home to sleep!
And that was day 1.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I'm gonig craaaaazy
Yonatansito, it sounds as if Israeli telly is lots of fun. I'm jealous because Aussie telly sucks, but ours is always on, so I watch way to much of it. Luckily, we get a few decent British shows and this cool Danish detective show where all the detectives are cheating on their (life not police) partners and it's totally normal, no big deal. Ah, the Scandinavians... so cool and relaxed.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going CRAZY because I'm running web experiments and writing papers and all at the very last second as always and Easter is coming up and I should be going to Narrandera and just hang out and a childhood friend of mine is coming on Saturday who I haven't seen in 11 years or so but I'll have no time for her because work just doesn't stop anymore for the next few weeks.
And also, I miss you all. Lots. I'm so jealous that you guys are close together and can just visit each other for a weekend and chat all day, while I'm asleep (sorry, Geoff, I know I know).
How about you all come over to Australia for my 30th birthday in December? I think that's an excellent plan! Come on!!!
Ok, I better run and get some sleep before another 14 hour work day.
Kisses, jxx
Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going CRAZY because I'm running web experiments and writing papers and all at the very last second as always and Easter is coming up and I should be going to Narrandera and just hang out and a childhood friend of mine is coming on Saturday who I haven't seen in 11 years or so but I'll have no time for her because work just doesn't stop anymore for the next few weeks.
And also, I miss you all. Lots. I'm so jealous that you guys are close together and can just visit each other for a weekend and chat all day, while I'm asleep (sorry, Geoff, I know I know).
How about you all come over to Australia for my 30th birthday in December? I think that's an excellent plan! Come on!!!
Ok, I better run and get some sleep before another 14 hour work day.
Kisses, jxx
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
I'm with stupid
Sometimes I think I should get a blog just to write random thoughts, but hey I have you guys! Too bad you don't speak Heb and I have to translate everything in my mind. So this will basically be a lot of bla bla bla.
So today I had to give a talk, therefore I became tired, therefore I went home early, therefore I didn't feel like doing anything (i.e. drink beer with friends), therefore I laid down horizontally in my bed and watched the stupidity box (well I actually do that every time I am tired from the day and don't eel like getting pissed/social so my long apology may be a bit deceptive, so let's just assume that you don't think I am an idiot for watching the teli for hours).
So I watched two shows that cracked me up and had something in common - and I will not hold you in suspense - the key to the success is this: the world is filled with idiots! ( I assume someone will google this and use this against me at some point, hopefully I will be rich and famous and just not care by then).
So the first is the Israeli version for Survivors. I think it's season gazillion in the US but here in Israel it's season 1 and no one has ever heard of it until a few months ago but now it is a MASSIVE hit. And because no one has heard of it is a bit different than in the US. I mean, the thing about americans is that they have a system. Despite the economical crisis I still believe in you guys!!! though I hate you for the dollar going down and my scholarship losing 20%!!!!!!
So, Americans make a show, the show has a system and the system works - you know, American idol, survivors etc. etc. the people change but the system remains. Well, here in the heated Mid-East things are different. We are not about being organized and having a system. We are about people, so while in the US survivors is a bunch of ugly people trying to survive on an island and having strategic battles. In Israel they just gathered a bunch of well-tanned chicks with 300cc of you know what in their pair of you know what, and the fact that they have the intelligence of an ape (95% percent genetically identical to humans mind you) is irrelevant - Hey, they are wearing a bikini for 58 days!!!!
So what actually happens on the show is that everyone is really stupid except for this one really smart guy, and basically the entire show is seeing them being dumb-asses and him manipulating them and doing what he wants. And it's amazing - how stupid can they be. Of course they become celebs, but is being a celeb really worth the entire nation seeing that you are brainless? I am confused.
Anyway this is the first show - a massive hit. The second show is called "money cab" I don't know where the format is from. And the point is that there is this taxy driver picking up people on the street and having a game show with then - you know trivia and stuff like that. So it's a regular trivia game show only with random people from the streets. And again - it's so successful I guess because you are absolutely stunned by what type of weird ass creepos exist all around us. what is wrong with the world? why are all these weird people everywhere? So the host is basically asking the passengers questions while making fun with/of them.
So like you see I found the formula for successful tv (and very high quality as you may have noticed) - just have one smart person with a lot of weird/stupid/creepy ones and they will be happy to be famous despite being presented as stupid and everybody is entertained.
Hey! I just spent 10 minutes writing this! Yay me!
PS - I am in Lisbon too in 2 weeks moo-ha-ha-ha-ha.
So today I had to give a talk, therefore I became tired, therefore I went home early, therefore I didn't feel like doing anything (i.e. drink beer with friends), therefore I laid down horizontally in my bed and watched the stupidity box (well I actually do that every time I am tired from the day and don't eel like getting pissed/social so my long apology may be a bit deceptive, so let's just assume that you don't think I am an idiot for watching the teli for hours).
So I watched two shows that cracked me up and had something in common - and I will not hold you in suspense - the key to the success is this: the world is filled with idiots! ( I assume someone will google this and use this against me at some point, hopefully I will be rich and famous and just not care by then).
So the first is the Israeli version for Survivors. I think it's season gazillion in the US but here in Israel it's season 1 and no one has ever heard of it until a few months ago but now it is a MASSIVE hit. And because no one has heard of it is a bit different than in the US. I mean, the thing about americans is that they have a system. Despite the economical crisis I still believe in you guys!!! though I hate you for the dollar going down and my scholarship losing 20%!!!!!!
So, Americans make a show, the show has a system and the system works - you know, American idol, survivors etc. etc. the people change but the system remains. Well, here in the heated Mid-East things are different. We are not about being organized and having a system. We are about people, so while in the US survivors is a bunch of ugly people trying to survive on an island and having strategic battles. In Israel they just gathered a bunch of well-tanned chicks with 300cc of you know what in their pair of you know what, and the fact that they have the intelligence of an ape (95% percent genetically identical to humans mind you) is irrelevant - Hey, they are wearing a bikini for 58 days!!!!
So what actually happens on the show is that everyone is really stupid except for this one really smart guy, and basically the entire show is seeing them being dumb-asses and him manipulating them and doing what he wants. And it's amazing - how stupid can they be. Of course they become celebs, but is being a celeb really worth the entire nation seeing that you are brainless? I am confused.
Anyway this is the first show - a massive hit. The second show is called "money cab" I don't know where the format is from. And the point is that there is this taxy driver picking up people on the street and having a game show with then - you know trivia and stuff like that. So it's a regular trivia game show only with random people from the streets. And again - it's so successful I guess because you are absolutely stunned by what type of weird ass creepos exist all around us. what is wrong with the world? why are all these weird people everywhere? So the host is basically asking the passengers questions while making fun with/of them.
So like you see I found the formula for successful tv (and very high quality as you may have noticed) - just have one smart person with a lot of weird/stupid/creepy ones and they will be happy to be famous despite being presented as stupid and everybody is entertained.
Hey! I just spent 10 minutes writing this! Yay me!
PS - I am in Lisbon too in 2 weeks moo-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Lisboa!
I'm coming! I'm coming!
The ticket isn't paid yet, but I'm so pissed of with the uni admin bullshit combined with travel booking complications I had to deal with all morning that I decided to take half an hour to paddle to the surface of the work flood that is trying to drown me and instead write to you guys. By Monday it should be all watertight. And guess what: the Lisbon trip costs me a whole AUD$85 extra on top of the university travel that they hopefully will pay for! Even I can afford that!
Ah, Lisboa! If everything goes to plan, I'll be arriving on Thursday, 22 May, leaving Sunday, 25 May. I know, it sucks that there is only one full weekend day, but it was so hard to get flights anyway and there are so many other places I have to go to. Like Marrakech... poor me!
This also means that I won't be able to spend any time in Amsterdam, although I will be flying out of there to Lisbon. But Reut, we'll be seeing each other in Marrakech. Now that the flight is almost booked we should start looking for accommodation. It seems as if LREC is the reason why flights in and out of Marrakech are getting so expensive, so maybe accommodation will become a problem too.
I suppose any real blogger would be appalled by this entry which should much rather be an email, but hey... we need to get something up here once in a while.
Lots of kisses to all of you! jxx
The ticket isn't paid yet, but I'm so pissed of with the uni admin bullshit combined with travel booking complications I had to deal with all morning that I decided to take half an hour to paddle to the surface of the work flood that is trying to drown me and instead write to you guys. By Monday it should be all watertight. And guess what: the Lisbon trip costs me a whole AUD$85 extra on top of the university travel that they hopefully will pay for! Even I can afford that!
Ah, Lisboa! If everything goes to plan, I'll be arriving on Thursday, 22 May, leaving Sunday, 25 May. I know, it sucks that there is only one full weekend day, but it was so hard to get flights anyway and there are so many other places I have to go to. Like Marrakech... poor me!
This also means that I won't be able to spend any time in Amsterdam, although I will be flying out of there to Lisbon. But Reut, we'll be seeing each other in Marrakech. Now that the flight is almost booked we should start looking for accommodation. It seems as if LREC is the reason why flights in and out of Marrakech are getting so expensive, so maybe accommodation will become a problem too.
I suppose any real blogger would be appalled by this entry which should much rather be an email, but hey... we need to get something up here once in a while.
Lots of kisses to all of you! jxx
Monday, February 11, 2008
CompLing conferences and journals
Hello CompSci geeks I need your help!
For some political reasons I am unable to publish in the ACL (boring you don't want to hear it). I was wondering if you could recommend: which is better COLING or CoNLL? I know one is much more specific but maybe there is some prestige issue as well.
In addition, journals you recommend? I know that most CompLing stuff is in conferences but there are some journals as well so do tell me.
Thanks!
hope you are all happy happy happy
For some political reasons I am unable to publish in the ACL (boring you don't want to hear it). I was wondering if you could recommend: which is better COLING or CoNLL? I know one is much more specific but maybe there is some prestige issue as well.
In addition, journals you recommend? I know that most CompLing stuff is in conferences but there are some journals as well so do tell me.
Thanks!
hope you are all happy happy happy
Thursday, January 31, 2008
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