There were a bunch of ska, reggea, alternative, whatever folks at the Sziget Monday.
Apparently, at one point they got bored - nothing on stage to catch their fancy, I guess.
Is what we concluded when we wandered from Natascha Atlas to Placebo and passed the Roma tent.
Nine-men Roma band on stage, playing cheerful, bouncy and elated gypsy music. As the bands there are wont to do. For normally a crowd of a hundred or two, the place half-filled with polite people and some dancing in the middle.
This time, the place was packed, and going wild. Something of a mosh pit had actually formed in the middle, and everywhere else people were kicking their feet up like at a ska concert, the guys with their blue flag with the yellow EU stars replaced by weed leaves were waving it high above, and someone actually crowdsurfed across.
Never seen such a visibly nonplussed band - happily obliged with roaringly approved solos tho.
I went to ride my bicycle, I went to ride my bike...
In Holland, if I needed a bike I would mostly just buy one off a junk for a tenner, like everyone. Wasnt worth spending more money on it cos it only gets stolen anyway. (Yes, no need to point out the vicious cycle, we are well aware of it.)
That dont work here. Bikes are a big thing apparently, theyre hip and tough and all the cool guys have one. Its like a statement. People take it seriously too - its an issue, they got like twice-yearly bicycle demos that are enormous and shut down traffic down the main boulevards for hours. Anyway, the bottom line is that everyone's got mountainbikes. Those are expensive.
I dont like mountainbikes but I saw a kind of hybrid bike - the big tires of a mountainbike but a high steer so you dont have to bend over your bike like some racing madman, and it got a sleek frame.. it looked cool. I fell in love with it. Like, over a year ago already, shortly after I came here.
Now, after 14 months of hemming and hawing, b/c I dont really have the money, I finally splurged the day before yesterday, and bought the bike.
Its way cool.
Course, if I knew that the day after I would lose my glasses in the mosh pit at the Exploited, I wouldnt have bought it because I really dont have the money for both.
But there you go.
Out of work today, I just found myself riding down random streets up beyond Andrassy. The single streetlights hanging on cables across the street, the sultry summer evening heat, people hanging outside on the streetcorner, avoiding the potholes and enjoying the ride.
Very nice. <smiles>
I hope you don't have one of those stupid helmets, nimh.
Good. Otherwise I would have lost all respect for you.
We're still buddies.
OK, coupla last Sziget items. (Yesterday was the last day). They're all a bit nerdy, but whatever.
First, I think its really cool that HVG - which is like the Hungarian Economist - has its own place on Sziget, and it features a DJ booth above an open box where you can have your hair cut, and the DJ plays jungle, dancehall and breakbeat and stuff. Somehow I dont see Newsweek do that.
Second, I confess that I got a bit bored during the Tiken Jah Fakoly concert - and I'd really looked forward to it too - and set off a lame game of SMS tag. Cos they got these giant screens on either side of the stage with a close-up of whats happening, but you can also send texts that appear at the bottom. So with all those artists making their audiences cheer for the obligatory bromides on "freedom for Africa" and "peace in Lebanon", I felt flippant and sent a text saying, Vrij Friesland, Liberate Frysia. Not suspecting there were enough Dutch in the crowd to trigger a small series of messages popping up now and again for the next 10 mins from others for or against Frysia, Groningen and The Hague.
OK, # 3 in the observations about tiny things mode: one of those things I really dont like is when the DJ's playing, everybody's dancing, but like, all in small groups kinda. It seems like a throbbing mass but close up you see people only dancing with their friends. Lame. I like it better when its really like a collective groove and people are kinda grinning at each other, or echoing when they look up or whatever - ok, like at raves.
At Sziget I got a bit para about people in their small groups, probly cos I'd already been feeling kinda invisible recently. So it can be little things that make me smile. Like at the MokkaCukka tent yesterday they had drum n bass and this kid next to me is tripping out on the same beat - the DJ mixes in these three breaks from a classic track and we both jump up YEAH that one at the same time - funny; when he went away ten minutes later he stopped me, shook my hand before he left. Cute.
There was also a girl behind a t-shirt stand who waved at me when I was looking their way from the path, a bar girl who started dancing, some cute guy who appeared out of nowhere when I was absent-mindedly yawning, while waiting for my friends to come from the toilets, and did a whole "no no no dont yawn" stint, no good, have fun! - and of course the standard French guy looking for E. Dunno, even tho I was with a group of people this time I like that kind of randomness.
This is such a pretty city. Its as lovely in summer as it was imposing in winter.
<cruising around after work again, down along the river underneath the lights of the Castle Hill, over Freedom Bridge>
So much more beautiful than Utrecht. (iaintnevergoingback)
CNN reports about reactions to the astronomy conference in Prag at which some attendants argued for revoking Pluto's status as a planet. Apparently, astronomers these days are getting flooded with mail from school kids pleading to keep Pluto in the planet family. I especially liked one letter by a nine-year-old girl. She argued that Pluto should remain a planet "because size doesn't matter".
I didn't know
that when I was nine.
You should have met him in person in Chicago, as I did, Mame. He kept me in stitches the whole time!
I'll have to make sure I go next time, Eva... it sounded good
Today? You're asking me what made me smile TODAY? ****, today SUCKED! Nothing made me smile today! What are you, some kind of a jerk? Asking me a question like that...I oughtta bust you one in the mouth! Asking me a question like that...
Hey, kicky, nice to see you.
Nice to see you too, littlek.
Don't recall smiling ONCE today (yesterday). Maybe today will be better.
x
I was on the phone at work, listening to someone blather about something ... and then ... on the other side of the wall ...
Hi, it's R***. I'm calling from M****, and I need to touch you.
err, get in contact, touch. Uh. I need to get in touch with you.
~~~~~~~~~
You know that lawyer's gonna call her back.
~~~~~~~~~
Seems she got flustered by his bilingual voicemail message.
~~~~~~~~~
I couldn't laugh out loud as I was on the phone, so I kinda had to hold in a snort. It was painful. In a good way.
<hugs Kicky fast, runs away>
Good today? Well, I got the trash out to the street in time...
kickycan wrote:Today? You're asking me what made me smile TODAY? ****, today SUCKED! Nothing made me smile today! What are you, some kind of a jerk? Asking me a question like that...I oughtta bust you one in the mouth! Asking me a question like that...
Nice to see you again, Mr Grump!
(That made me smile!)
Was having a bite at the Indian restaurant in my work's street, flashy place, looks really cool. Food varies widely in quality, so does service, but it looks really nice in this mix of hip, brash, over the top and comfy.
Music they have on is some Asian Underground mixed in with more Bollywood-type pop and some general mellow house. I'm eating, suddenly listen again, its this jazz singer and band, track from Ella's and Billie's time. The woman singer trilling on an elongated note -- "maaaaariiijuaaaannaaa"...
-----------------------
OK, so I go to Farger the other week, the waiter smiles, says hello again, brings me the card and says, "there was this girl looking for you", and hands me this note. Has a Hungarian name, phone number, and says, "from the [..] shop".
I'm all, unhuh. Dont know this name, wasnt in such a shop. Some mishtake. I ask the waiter when he comes back, you sure this is for me? Cause I dont know anyone by this name. He, yes, she was here, said she was looking for a Dutch guy, described you. Uhm, ok.
So, I forgot about it but called tonight after all. Of course it wasnt me she was looking for - Danish guy actually, who was making a book about the design of a newly to be reopened classic shop. (Danish guy, if you read this, homegirl wants to work on that book after all! Go back to that shop!)
Endearing story, really. She told me about it, I asked and commiserated, and we chatted for a while. Really nice girl actually. Ended up asking what my number was too. She also does Hungarian classes .. said I'd call her about those some time.
<smiles>
Kicky where you been man? Place wasnt whole without you. Womens been taking over. Go kick some ass.
