Snellios, Retreat!

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:08:45 GMT

I'm probably going to stop watching Glee. The music on it has gone from superb choral arrangements of good songs, to substandard covers of shit songs. And it's not like I was watching for the depth or originality of the characters, nor the gripping plot. How disappointing !

SPN 5x01

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:30:15 GMT

'So the fandom decided to celebrate the premiere by making #luciferiscoming a Tweet trend, or whatever the hell you call it. And it worked, too, except P. Diddy (OF ALL PEOPLE) thought Satanists were taking over Twitter or something and organized his followers to take it down by tweeting #GODISALIVE or whatever. And #luciferiscoming got taken down.' -apocalypsos

Not watched yet but it's on the dl. SO EXCITED. I'm not even into SPN that much. Must be the wonky effect.

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:25:38 GMT

I'm back from Indiaaa. A couple of weeks ago actually. I got a business class upgrade, which was absolutely awesome. I think they felt sorry for me or something.

With regards to that French missing person...it still fucks me up. I phoned the French embassies and they couldnt really do anything. Anyway, yesterday I decided I'd type his name into google...and omfg he has a site. At which point I almost burst into tears, because it seems like he is still missing. I just want to phone his family and tell them I've seen him. But I can't get through. The numbers either don't work or go to voicemail. I've left so many voicemails now. And when I look at the photo, it's him, I know it. I fucking KNOW IT. I can't help thinking he's got anterograde amnesia. It would explain so much. Part of the reason why it kills me, is because if I'd been more friendly i would have realised. One of the first things I would have asked him is WHO HE IS - where he's from, what he's doing etc. God, I feel so shit about it. And now the one thing I can do - contact his family - I can't even do. Here's his missing poster, btw.

I saw leprosy in the end, whey! Although, it's kind of uninteresting. Apparently 95% of people are immune to it. I don't know whether this means they have hereditary immunological defences or whether they can just mount a good immunological response to it. It was India, so no-one seemed to know. I was told only 10% of people are infectious too. Hmmm, dubious. Apart from loss of sensation, it's a bit of a boring disease. It's practically eradicated in India anyway, so I'm glad I saw it now.

Start at University College London on Tuesday. Despite the fact I have no identification because everything got stolen in India? Did I mention that I was stranded three hours from a city with no cards or cash? Yeah, well that's another story...

Rockslides

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:00:14 GMT

Oh, I forgot to mention in my first India entry, that the slums house 55% of Mumbai - which is a city of 21 million. CRAZY !!

There have been rockslides right. outside. our. house for the past three nights. A couple of large boulders claim close to coming through the walls. One smashed through the fencing and one is precariously outside our gate. A bit worrying to us but NO-ONE ELSE SEEMS TO CARE. In a nearby village, someone's house was destroyed by rockslides eek! The monsoon has eased up a bit, so fingers crossed OK.

The project I'm on is fruitful but a bit lacking. I'm halfway through and haven't been to any leprosy clinics. I keep mentioning it, but information never materialises. THis is one thing I really want to do grrr. I would be more ragey, but this was all sponsored by University foundations so not that maddening.

Pictures of everything I talk about are all going to be on facebook when I get back. Will link then!

Mumbai

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:31:42 GMT

Staying about 3 hours outside of Mumbai, in a place called Pen. Every day we travel about 30 minutes out to reach the tribal villages. They're even worse and pretty medieval. Since it's monsoon season, it pours most days for most of the time. Rivers of mud and god knows what stream down the street.

Highlights: offerred role in Bollywood movie, visiting Slumdog Millionaire slum.

Went to Mumbai this weekend. Despite pleas from the girl next door to stay to avoid the coming 'tsunami' we went anyway. Luckily it didn't flood. Despite it being one of the biggest cities and an international business hub, other whities were scarcely seen. This worked in our favour however, as we were scouted to appear in a bollywood movie. They needed young westerners for some speaking roles. Unfortunately we didn't have time as it would take a whole day and we had to get back to Pen.

We spent a day hanging out in Dharavi, Mumbai, the biggest slum in Asia. It's the one that Slumdog Millionaire is set and partially filmed in. A greater literary skill than mine is required to describe the conditions. In fact, geographers have come up with a new word to describe it - 'superdensecrushload'. With a density of 115,000 people per km squared, the highest in the World, Mexico City pales in comparison with their 8,000. A local we know used to live there, so he took us, showed us around, and introduced us to people. We didnt take cameras or phones, to prevent any undue attention. There were no other white people there - apparently people are advised not to go. This is an unfair portrayal of the slums though. The people were genuinely really friendly. But that doesn't alter the stark images of children playing in rubbish tips, massive lakes of stagnant cholera-breeding water and piles of excrement. Buildings precariously 'built', often literally on top of other buildings, making towering three storey dwellings, with these houses built only a foot away from each other. Moving through these alleys all you can see is fluttering shadows as humans, rats and dogs scutter around.

What makes it amazing is that the slums are not just residential, with an economic output of 665million US$. Prada, D&G etc source products from there. As a corollary of this many people walk around really well dressed. Plus the US sends its recycling there. A coke can you use may be shipped there, recycled then shipped back to Coca-Cola to make more cans. Of course these companies claim to have no idea about this, as they outsource all the contracts.

Other Mumbai highlights include getting up at 5am to brave the fish markets, going to the Parsi ritual site (where their dead are literally strung up to be eaten by crows and rats) and coming a breath away from solving an international missing persons case.

I met a westerner in the street in Mumbai, which was strange enough as it was. Moreover, he was barefoot and completely dirty. After he approached me it turned out he didn't really know where he was, didnt have a map or a guide book and was alone. After I gave him some directions he headed to the local synagogue. It was a pretty weird experience, and although I didn't really dwell on it too much, I could tell something wasn't quite right. The next day, however, we were walking through Mumbai and I saw this old faded poster. It had a picture of him on it and said he was a French cyclist who had been missing since December 2007 ! I immediately got a taxi to the synagogue, where I had a hard time explaining the story to the people there. Turned out he had never arrived at the synagogue. I went to the police station, but they told me they couldnt do anything. I tried to ring the contact numbers on the poster, but one didnt work and the other didnt answer. I'm going to contact the French embassy today hopefully.

Have decided am going to stay in India another 5 days, to see the Taj Mahal at Agra and spend some days in Delhi. My sponsors will actually pay me 250 GBP if I go there, pay for a hotel of my choice and train travel.

Tc x!

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:51 GMT

Holla,

I'm going to India todayy for 3 weeks. It should be pretty sweet, esp since cambridge paid for me to go. I'm going to be working outside mumbai treating lepers and children with AIDS. UGH cliche but it's the truth. Lots of last minute packing to do. xx

P.S. Will be updating by tweet: http://twitter.com/snellios

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:20:44 GMT

Some woman got mauled after climbing into a bear enclosure.

GIF. UGH, check it out.
Story. "It's unclear why the woman entered the bear habitat, but police issued her a citation for trespassing." HAHA
Video. LMAO OMGGGGGGG in the video when the she falls back in and the bear bites her ass.

Got this from Beth? or Rose.

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:56:41 GMT

Office Season 4:
I wish Jan would go away. Mood killer.

Watching 'Local Ad'. I really, really hope this ad is amazing! That would be so awesome.

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:11:06 GMT

Wired UK has published an article about fake online deaths, featuring LiveJournal and limeybean. It is a holy lol, but surprisingly well written.

Should also declare I'm in that article. Hate those particular quotes.

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:25:21 GMT

When people die needlessly it makes me feel sick, like I'm going to vomit out of my eyeballs. I've never had anyone I know die young.

It makes me angry we don't fight harder. For better healthcare, aid and the environment. When a soldier dies I think about why I didn't march. At the time I wasn't sure if I agreed with the War. I will never make that mistake again.

Fuck this. & pathetic middle class, white, male rage. Why don't you get off your ass and do something.

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:11:42 GMT

Watching BSG right now. This is going to be monumental !

Anyone else notice Anastasia (Dee) Dualla cameo?

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:56:27 GMT

I've been waiting for the new Battlestar Gallactica for such a long time. I'm so excited!

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:16:55 GMT

EhEh what do i do with my live long days.

Getting up late, it takes an hour for the fog to lift. Munch munch meat. Become resident in my dining room and flit. Between papers, internet, tv, wii, music, call will.

It looks like my University College London (UCL) application got lost somewhere. I'm going to kick my bitch of a tutor. If it was late or didn't get there because he failed to submit it I am going to huff and puff and blow his house down. I'm going to steal his grandmas nightie and gobble him up.

Palestinian territories etc

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:33:51 GMT

Why is there so much violence in Israeli and Palestinian territories? I do not accept that Jewish authorities are willing to make peace under acceptable terms. Here's why:

The repatriation of Arabs is a mandatory requirement of a UN resolution (194, 1948). Instead there is a situation where Palestinians are being denied their land.

Resolves 11:"...that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so"

Lest we forget that the Palestinian exodus even prior to the formation of Israel was due to both unsanctioned Zionist terrorism (100,000) and sanctioned clearance areas around Qisarya (7,000). This was admitted by Zionist forces at the time.

As 1/3 of the total number of Palestinians of the time were evicted before Israel declared independence, it is likely that many more were evicted forcibly after independence. Indeed, 15% are thought to have been expelled by Israeli military, whilst inhabitants of another 25% report leaving due to the impending threat. Evidence that Arab authorities ordered an exodus is sparse, and furthermore does it seem likely? Leave the land you are fighting to hold on to, to go where?

Reclamation of the vacant land by Israel was made legal by land reform laws. Indeed, the formation of a Transfer Committee and the Plan Dalet in 1948 shows it wasn't only vacant Palestinian lands that were claimed.

No matter who is to blame for the exodus of Palestinians, there is currently an estimated 4.5 million refugees. Indeed, the breakdown of 2001 talks, which are widely recognised to be the closest to an agreement ever reached, were rejected as Arafat wanted eventual right of return for all Palestinians. Although it is claimed that this would create a majority of Arabs in Israel, this is probably not true, as a huge majority of Palestinians would've been housed in the new Palestinian state.

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But where does this information take us? We have an Israel which will not meet demands of the Partition Plan, subsequent resolutions or common decency. An Israel which, instead of dealing with the problem, embarks on operations on an almost annual basis which leads to huge loss of civilian life in a disproportionate manner.

Both a failure to address the problem and actions which make it worse can lead us to two conclusions. Israel is naive and does not appreciate the situation. Or, Israel has a disregard for Palestinian worries, rights and life.

To be honest, if I can appreciate the situation why can't they? Is it because they view the land as theirs by birth? Such a callous view is reprehensible. The fact that Israeli's are now entering their 2nd and 3rd generations makes the situation worryingly more complex, as surely these people will rightly view the land as theirs by birth, and we should not punish people for their ancestors mistakes.

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:51:24 GMT

x. 21 today! I'm older than I want to be and younger than I feel. & I don't know why people keep congratulating me, I'm only as old as I'm supposed to be. :].

x. I'm moving back to London! So excited. Applied to do my hospital training in london, rather than cambridge. Mainly because there are GUNSHOTS and STABBINGS and TUBERCULOSIS in london!

x. My life right now sucks and consists on doing my dissertation and then other study for the next 5 months. I can't wait for this degree to be fucking over. 5 months omgg

x. stupid super mario galaxy download keeps stalling and the fuck is it so slowww.

#1173 Question my morals; they question me

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:59:59 GMT

If someone said and could prove that they'd seen the future, and all your progressive thinking was wrong;

abortion led to social decay and the slippery slope to infanticide and involuntary euthanasia
gay marriage destroyed families and made kids depressed
banning guns and removing the death penalty led to soaring crime levels
banning all nukes and decreasing spending on weapons led to the USA losing sizable territory and an increase in loss of life
etc

would you change your progressive opinion? Would you move to a conservative, far right position?

I suppose answering this question depends on multiple factors.

do you believe in moral imperatives (strict right/wrongs) or are you a consequentialist (the end result is what matters)
therefore, it also depends on your religion
whether you believe the consequences i've mentioned do indeed lead to a decrease in happiness (not actually as clear as it appears)
whether you believe your personal happiness is more important than others ( basic example: you having an abortion might be great for you, but suck for the foetus etc)

#1172 > & now i'm here waiting for what will

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:49:58 GMT

Broke my toe, guys. I was trying to get through the door. But I missed UGH. This is the first bone I've broken, so quite exciting and worthy of photo documentation!

Bought lukeberry.net. Made a graphic to go on it.

I'm learning how to photoshop, slowly but surely. It's fun

I don't know if people are aware, but it's common knowledge that I cannot draw. A thing. I can't draw a dot. I figured i wanted to try and learn, inspired by people like bisou, spicylemon and elvea. Deviantart had some pretty good tutorials. Here are some scans of what I've been doing!

They are really basic but idk they make me soo happy!! I'd always resigned myself to the fate of never being able to draw, but now there is hope!

Take a picture of yourself NOW. Post with NO editing. OK.

This is pointless, we're all friends on facebook. That blurry bright thing in the corner is my other hand, weird.

Hilarious Oprah/4chan battle. I got in wank. Oops.

i'm totally done with your epic hypocrisy, contrived & perceived morality. Power through with your precious moral code, it might even make you happy!

T: SCC

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:44:23 GMT

I'm joining in and telling everyone that they've got to start watching Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. It is magnificent!!

The plot is so ferocious etc. and there's actual character and plot progression, unlike the myriad of other shows where the characters and plot take forever to advance.

And you're only 10 episodes behind! & it's sci fi. You all LOVE SCI FI. Time travel is immense, it gives so much opportunity to alter the plot, change characters, scenarios etc. DO IT.

Watch!!

plus thomas dekker is so HOTTTT.

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:59:53 GMT

Can you guys give me help on which sounds better? xx

For other ideas we're going for stuff to do with berrys, cows, beef and luke.

View Poll: #1254939

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:02:41 GMT

My design tastes have gone crazy recently. hopefully it's transitory.

I dislike carpet. I hate things on walls. I have contempt for overhead lighting. I hate socks. I don't want any furniture without a function i value - including ornaments.

I wish I could just live in a minimalist kitchen? lmao what.

This house would suit me. I wonder if they get internet...

Nostalgia

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:06:15 GMT

the first personal computer i ever saw was one my mother brought. it was a family christmas present, i think in 1992. To me it was like having a robot in the family.

what was yours like?

i was about 4 years old and i loved it so much omg ♥ We had Lemmings and a cute dinosaur colouring game. I can't remember it's name and that makes me sad.

it ran Windows 3.0. So basic, not even 3.1x! We didn't even upgrade till Windows 98, hehe.

this all happened around the time computer prices fell about 40%. Before this no-one in the UK really had a personal computer, especially not families.

i really want to see what technology will be like in 50 years. I hope I'm still around. Technology really does make life easier, better. Increased information communication and a reduction in manual work and labour. ilu tech.

i miss my windows 3.0. he's dead now :[ i remember when he survived the millenium bug. i turned him on for the first time in years and he had switched to 1900, it was so cute!

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:10:33 GMT

So Google's Chrome Browser doesn't seem that revolutionary - yet.

It's designed to provide for web applications as a basic function, rather than the applications stretching browsers to the limit as they do now.

It allows you to rearrange tabs better, but doesn't really do much else in terms of features
Sleek & fast, though.
deals with pop-ups well & innovatively
I guess the point is it handles the web better because it was designed for the web today?

Google talk about how it has separate processes for each page
and handles scripts better
Basically to optimise performance

its design makes it a lot safer, too.
ugly check &radio buttons, no way to distinguish the two
streaming wma does not work

I can see myself changing just because it's not as sluggish for me. I need TwitterFox tho :[

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:14:56 GMT

If Obama loses now, let it be remembered that he probably had a better chance of winning with Hillary as vice !!

Or so say the 25% of Hillary supporters (3 million?) who are not sure who they will vote for. I hope her speech was enough...

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:05:03 GMT

New generation browsing from Mozilla; Web 3.0, semantic web etc. We're moving away from a static computer based system of browsing to a more person-centric concept; you interact with the internet via your technology as you would the real World. This explains why Windows is becoming obsolete - the need to improve capabilities of the machine is unecessary, now we just need to be able to access the Internet as a hub of information. We see the temporality and location of data in relation to use becoming relevant.
America is in decline - I have sympathy for this view. I recently heard via the Economist podcast that the USA has become a net exporter of equity rather than the massive importer of equity it used to be. Furthermore, they said that the reason gasoline is so expensive is not really due to the increase in oil price, but due to the relative devaluing and inflation of the $ compared to other currencies. If the $ was as strong as it was in the 70s, a barrel of oil would only cost $50 rather than £104

I think these both may have bee from mefi over 9000 years ago, i cant remember

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:29:21 GMT

YOU HAVE MY BOW

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Yeah I got that from /b/, donut cri.