Div: October 2003 Archives

La Pelota Vasca is a documentary movie about the situation in the Basque Country. In this movie, a lot of people involved with ---both sides of--- the situation like politicians, musicians, professors and victims are interviewed to give a view of how hopeless the situation is. Two important groups are absent: the party currently governing Spain (PP) and the ETA; exactly the two groups who could make a difference in the situation. I saw this movie last Saturday and was very impressed and decided to write about it on my site. But of course I did not have time for it, so I forgot it until I saw the news yesterday.

The PP has the opinion that the movie gives a one-sided view of the problem (mainly because they refused to participate in the first place), and is doing everything they can to prevent people from watching this movie. So when this week a British film festival decided to show the movie, Spain withdrawed their yearly support for this festival to bring the festival into financial problems. I was amazed to hear that a modern country which considers freedom of speech one of the basic human rights is trying to prevent British festival visitors from seeing another opinion than the government's.

In the same news block I heard the news that the government refuses to talk with the governor of the Basque Country about his plans for a better relation between the central government and the autonomous regions. So they do not only refuse his plans, but refuse to talk with him at all!!!! Once again, I cannot believe some of the things this government is doing, and getting away with.

If you ever get the chance to watch 'La pelota vasca', do it quickly. Though a little bit depressed, it certainly is worth your time. And you're teasing the Spanish government at the same time!!!

Ik wil geen loopbaan, ik wil een glijbaan

(Remy van Green Lizard)

I am receiving quite some spam, which fortunately gets filtered out at my mail server. And there it sits quietly in my spam folder, waiting for the moment that I will delete it forever.

Sometimes I've had the feeling that I have to do something with it, but I never knew what. Alright, once in a while I report my spam to SpamCop, but that makes that I have to spend even more time on my spam. I want to do something with my spam, without having to spend a lot of time on it. Something like this Spamblog. Brilliant! That's it! I want that too!! I am going to create another weblog, and forward all my spam to an e-mail to Movable Type gateway. Let's share my spam with the world!

There are some sites, whose content only consists of answers to Which XXXXX are you? contests. To me it looks as a very cheap way to generate content, and tell something about yourself without telling anything concrete. I never added this kind of stuff to my site, untill I found What Pixies song are you?. Of course, if they mention my favourite band, I'll have to do it:

In Heaven, everything is fine
In Heaven, everything is fine
In Heaven, everything is fine
You got your good thing, and I've got mine

In Heaven, everything is fine
In Heaven, everything is fine
In Heaven, everything is fine
You got your good thing, and you've got mine

In Heaven
You're mysterious, picky, and a bit aloof. Some people say you have a very cheery personality, but it's hard to say because you mask your emotions behind dark pretenses. You enjoy watching obscure movies and going to plays, but by the end of the day you're usually too wound-up by the ironies of your life to relax.

Mmmm.... that doesn't sound like me. Guess this will be the last post of this kind of contest results.

[Update 2004.01.21] Removed broken link

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

In het Nederlands:

Vlgones een oznrdeeok op een Eglnese uvinretsiet mkaat het neit uit in wlkee vloogdre de ltteers in een wrood saatn, het einge wat blegnaijrk is is dat de eretse en de ltaatse ltteer op de jiutse patals saatn. De rset van de ltteers mgoen wllikueirg gpletaast wdoren en je knut vrelvogens gwoeon lzeen wat er saatt. Dit kmot odmat we neit ekle ltteer op zcih lzeen maar het wrood als gheeel.

I guess everybody has received the message above, but it is not true.