Author: Paul

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Life is sometimes pretty ironic

..And it is very funny (or sad, depending on how you like to put it), in how unexpectedly creative ways life sometimes foils one’s plans and intentions, both vaingloriously small and sincerely grand. Like a grand-master chess move, if not crossing out irrevocably but then checking so many opportunities – all at once.

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft a-gley
…

I remember having a conversation with one of my bright colleagues at work, who, at an age of thirty, was still working under this so dearly youthful notion that it will always continue going upwards, that the energy and time is abundant and that only good – and then better – things are just around the corner in this bright, exciting and undoubtedly benevolent future.

Well, I told him, whichever is the exact trajectory of a someones life, there is always a point where the aggregated growth grinds down to a halt, and then the derivative changes the sign.

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(Per Aspera) “Ad Astra”…

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

…

I think Netflix guessed my foible for Interstellar-like flicks. What can be more dramatic than people affections divided by infinite grandeur of space. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if at all, to ever have even a chance to meet again; like a pair of Vermont ants one of which accidentally got hitched on a plane to South Asia. I think thats the thrill of it, to expect something to happen against all possible (and realistic) odds.

Really like this movie despite its very flexible approach to science, and an equally stretched story.

The picture and the sound, but also Mr Pitt, compensate for the lack of above well enough for me.

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“Into The Wild” OMG

What a strong movie and story – its impossible to forget. The film is perfect.

I think I understand Alexander.
A few years back I trekked and hitchhiked in Iceland feeling really like a homeless bum, I felt how some people looked at me, after 200km of walking, but it took me only two weeks of that to really be done with “freedom” and just want to get back home to the family.

Its a funny thing though to be really dependent only on oneself, but simultaneously also on the kindness of strangers.

On several occasions I lost my way in the rainy Icelandic landscape and on one day ended up walking up a wrong mountain. As I was scrambling to find the way down some unknown gorge a heavy and cold rain set in, so as I finally managed to come down having broken one of my walking poles I put up a tent and spent 3 days in some huge valley, full of water, rivers and mist until the rain was gone. I lied on my back in satisfaction, looking at the grey tent heavy with moisture, now and them wobbling under the wind and letting drops fall down, my spriritus heater on slow burn warming up the air inside real comfortably. I wrapped myself in all the clothes I had, put the sleeping bag over and mostly slept, rested and did nothing until ultimately the sky dried up and I decided it was a time to go. It took me another day to walk to the ring road, and a bus next day early morning brought me back to Rejkjavik.

I’ve had enough of adventures for that time.

And this guy did it for .. 2 years. He must have had a lot to let go.

“Happiness only real when shared”
How true.
If only he could have crossed that river…
..or had a map..

What a sad thing, really.

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“Another Earth” – they said its science fiction🤣

I wonder sometimes what kind of people write plot summaries and classify movies into genres. Are they, as a principle, on some misguided quest to mislead the reader in the most aggravating way possible? Is this what they are after? Why are they doing it?!

As I was writing about IO, another equally badly-billed movie crossed my mind. I watched that one a long time ago. Its name was “Another Earth”, and it was billed as a science fiction (🤣🤣🤣 this fact never fails to make me smile) and its summary on imdb is: “On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.”.

The person who wrote the summary probably saw the “duplicate earth” photoshopped on the sky and thought oh it just must be kinda science fiction stuff, what else right..

Anyways.. The another earth in “Another Earth” serves exactly the same purpose as the Io in the “IO”, and is almost equally present (that is, almost not at all).

Another similarity for me, btw, is the equally strong performance of the lead actress.

..

And since I am writing about it, I need to mention this little story.

Guess what movie is this?

“A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.”

So.. so what? Its hard to write a less motivating line than that, its my honest opinion. I watched this film anyways and I’m still in awe.

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I watched an IMBD score 4.8 movie (“IO”)

Thats funny. Now and then I use to click on the random flick on Netflix, and mostly I just stop after a few minutes in a state of an all-encompassing boredom. “Man ive seen this.. like hundreds of times .. “.. But I do this nevertheless, and sometimes I stumble upon something with a soul.

I read the IMDB reviews this time. Hmm..

Thanks to the 7/10 review I still went ahead 🙂

Its an unbalanced movie: stellar acting that really kept me hooked throughout, but less than perfect attention to detail of the world. I enjoyed the movie nevertheless. It would have been a 10 if it would try to be a bit more realistic.

Margaret Qualley was amazing. I really liked her – and her partner’s (Anthony Mackie) performance.
Update 2024: Ha! I found out by accident that her mom is pretty famous actress too

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I was listening to this weird nutrition podcast

I was complaining about my bad eating habits (like everythings meh) to an old acquaintance of mine. At some point he grew tired and sent me a link to some weird Russian’s guy podcast about nutrition. That guy’s style was pretty unpleasant so I discarded that back then.

But its time has come!

This week I was visiting our R&D in the south of Germany, and having 1.5h of driving and my noise-cancelling Sony headset by me, I put that thing on. Urgghh..

A short summary for my own amusement:

  • If your shit sticks to sink wall it means too much residual fat
    (Looking for a stock pic to illustrate)

    This thing really struck me as an amazing insight.
  • The best thing to eat before bed is fried egg whites
  • The worst thing of all is sugar.. and bananas.. and grapes
  • Fats are good, all sorts of, also animal fats
  • Drinking is not that important. Either or, or after, or during – noone cares

    But sugar is definitely bad.

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Ah, finally a one good mocumentary / “Cunk on Earth”

Since the glorious days of “Drop Dead Gorgeous” [and “Kath & Kim”, Australian one] Ive been a huge fan of a good mockumentary. How many a good laugh I’ve had watching “The Office” [US one], ah the good old days, the cheerful rock tune layered on winterly Scranton and the dull office life makes it so comfortingly warm in its routine.

As our eldest was born, it was winter. I took a long parental “leave” under completely unrealistic, in hindsight, expectations that this would really look more like a vacation and not more like some sophisticated form of torture.

My days back then looked like that:

02:00AM fall finally in uneasy sleep
03:00-06:00 wake up a number of times as luck may have it – with a very heavy head
07:00 stumble out of bed, disoriented, nauseous, drink a cup of tea
08:00 bring the Child over to the childcare lady, remains of my energy spent to dress up and to walk 800m
08:30-12:00 binge The Office on my laptop in the kitchen, and drink tea, eat minced meat straight out of packaging
12:30 pick up the Child from the childcare
12:30-12:00AM endure a seemingly never-ending struggle with a tantrum-throwing toddler rarely interrupted by short periods of easily disturbed sleep
12:00AM-2AM The Office!!

This all improved after a year or so, and the tantrums are long gone – but my love for Dunder Mifflin Scranton team is there to stay forever!

Anyways, imagine my amazement and disbelief as I stumbled upon the in-the-good-sense weirdo lady in the “Cunk on Earth” on Netflix a couple of days ago.. Jesus Christ she IS good.. Pitch-perfect delivery. Funny wordplay.. “My mate Paul” OMG.

And of course this gem of mockumentary humor:

Getting up close indeed.. 😀

NB: Pump up the Jam ahahah
I was rolling on the floor first three times this thing appeared out of the blue, but then it kind of stopped being hysterically funny.
A very smart decision to keep it all to 5 episodes 😉