Loneliness on the net

About 2 years ago I read a book by a Polish author Janusz L. Wisniewski "Loneliness on the net". It starts with a young woman sending an email to a complete stranger, b/c she was feeling very sad and lonely and wanted to share all her thoughts with someone who didn't know her true identity in real life. Stranger turns out to be a Polish scientist working in a renowned Munich lab. From that moment on the two start talking online, sharing all their thoughts, memories, and dreams. I wouldn't tell what happens to them afterwards though, in case you're curious enough to read the book.

So I remember staying up till 3am just to finish the last pages. I found the book fresh and original; and even though I was disappointed with the ending (it was too sad), I loved it. I probably learned about the DNA from that book more than from my biology classes :) In general, there were so many interesting (and maybe a bit random) facts about the world in the dialogs between the characters, that I even got curious enough to read up on some of those topics later on.

Anyway, so last week I got my hands on the movie that was made a few years ago based on this book. I was truly amazed with the quality of the Polish cinematography :) Here are some extracts from the movie:

It was very sensual and touching, but sad again :( The soundtrack was incredible too. So in case any of you were curious in seeing something from East Europe, I would highly recommend. Although, one disclaimer: the movie is quite slow and talks are prevalent to action, so if you have no tolerance for such things, then don't watch it.

Remember those pre hi-tech times?

Lately I've been thinking how much different our lives are now compared to say 10 years ago, communication wise mostly. It's incredible!

In pre-email era, we used to write letters on paper and mail them via regular post, waiting sometimes for weeks for the envelope to reach its destination. Now we just send emails! And paper letters are luxury, like flowers. 

If we were going with some friends to the movies, we would arrange in advance the time and exact place, b/c there were no cell phones and we couldn't just call and ask "Where are you standing now?"

There was just no possible way of telling all our friends something at once in a random point in time. I could shout out of a window to tell something to numerous strangers, but you didn't get much more than that. Now there's facebook with walls/status updates/...

Remember the times when we brought photo albums to school to show how great our summer break was? Now again - there's facebook. Everyone can look at our pictures whenever and wherever they please.

Remember the times when we didn't have Internet at home? If we wanted to go to a theater play or even to the movies, we had to buy a special magazine that listed all the cultural events in the city, their times, places, and prices. Then you had to physically go somewhere and purchase the tickets with real money. No online shops.

If we heard a song on the radio that we liked, we rushed to write down its name and the name of the artist. Otherwise, there was no way we could ever get a hold of that song again. I wouldn't even mention that cassettes and CD's were the only ways of getting your hands on music.

News? Oh yeah, that's what newspapers and magazines were for.

Had a question about something? No google, no themed forums. Yes, you had to ask your friends, relatives, go to the library, or even write a letter to a newspaper/magazine! 

And what about those old times, when you could see your tv show only if you rushed home and was in front of the tv in the right time? No TiVo, no DVD/VHS-recorders. 

Oh, and then there were times when you had to ask people how to get somewhere, because there were no google maps, no iPhones, and no android phones. Hehe, and your friends had to draw you maps of how to get to their place with all the streets, turns, and reference points marked.

Seems so long ago! And how would I even have shared these thoughts with you then, 10 years ago? If I wasn't a journalist or a writer, I just simply couldn't. For better or for worse :P

Use your fan to blow up matress

Yup, just learned today that you can actually use your hair fan to fill a blow up mattress with air. Works incredibly well and fast!