Note: The older the entry, the unlikelier outside links are to work.

Sadly for everyone, it looks as if Kekkuli will shut down shop for the next few weeks. You see, I'm off on one of my trips again (this time to the Caucasus) and Tero seems to be having problems accessing Kekkuli over there in Mexico, not to mention problems with time-management. So unless his situation improves (or I'm really bored in Tbilisi), then it might be that there won't be anything new on these pages until Oct. 19th or so. Try to survive this shock. As a way to lessen the withdrawal symptoms, I suggest you read our archives and see what we wrote on a particular date a year or two ago. Chances are the subjects are pretty similar, so you might not even notice us missing. Or you might participate in our highly scientific poll and vent your feelings in the comments section. But even if you do enjoy your life without Kekkuli for a few weeks, I hope you'll check up on us again later. Until then, happy travels. To me, that is.

Ok, I couldn't leave you all without a single link to entertain you. So, for several days or even weeks of fun, why don't you play some classics, like Pac Man, or, for even more retro-fun, have a go at the Atari classic Adventure, the mother, father and big brother of all adventure games. So what if you control a square and it takes about 15 minutes to finish the game? I'd just be curious to know how much they could charge for a game like this when it came out? Anything beyond a few bucks would be a total rip-off, yet I have a feeling it was quite a bit more at the time.

Many of you must have heard the saying that a people has the leader they deserve. Well, it certainly seems to be the case in the US, as the clerk fooled by this counterfeit banknote proves. Never underestimate the stupidity of... people.

Pirate day came and went (anyone notice), so now it's time to come up with something else to look forward to (?). And that something is Nokia Game. As some of you might remember, I won a phone from that game last year, so there's nothing stopping me from participating this year as well, although I suspect the chances of winning twice in a row are pretty slim. But still, winning last year felt so easy that it's definitely worth taking a shot at. Oh, it starts on November 19th, so don't start holding your breath, but if you want to try it out, better to sign up right away: last year the maximum number of players was reached weeks before the game started, and this year will probably be no different. The prize this time is that new N-Gage game console / phone / microwave oven. My last year's prize phone is starting to have all kinds of problems, so it's about time to get a new one...

Oh, and it seems like those shuttle photos weren't the only bogus ones in that list of space images I put up some time ago (Aug. 26, to be precise). Turns out that blackout is a fake too. Pretty obviously so too, once you start thinking about it, which I wasn't bothered to do previously. Still true: anything too good to be true probably isn't, especially on the internet. Like these friendly updates that Microsoft keeps sending me from email addresses like ifdguretgmfgvioe@yahoo.com. Sadly, that's probably an excellent way to spread viruses.

I went to see the Pirates of the Carribean yesterday, and I have to admit it's the best movie I've seen based on an amusement park ride. You just have to laugh at the end when the credits say "based on Walt Disney's Pirates of the Carribean" or something. An entertaining movie provided you're in the right mood for such light entertainment.
Unbeknowst to me, I watched that movie at a perfect time. You see, this Friday is the Talk Like a Pirate day, which is obviously celebrated hugely throughout the world. Just pull one "Arrrr!!" at your work and spread the message. Who said the internet only exists to spread inane, moronic trends? Drink up, me hearties!

So my summer job ended today, and I'm back to wondering what reasons I have to get up in the morning. No fear: the Internet to the rescue. The answer to the question Why should I get up in the morning? is included as a part of the Meaning of Life FAQ, although it doesn't make much sense unless you read some of the previous answers too. And yes, 42 has a part to play as well.

Seems like lately I've been falling deeper and deeper into American political discourse, and I keep popping into characters like Bill O'Reilly, Al Franken, Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh everywhere I surf or in everything I read. It really does seem like there's a "culture war" going on between these people on what the US is, or should be. And it's damn difficult to make out who's telling the truth. For example, some of you may have seen Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine, which is highly entertaining. Unfortunately, it seems he hasn't stuck to reality all through the movie, as pointed out by (among others) this website. You'd think that he wouldn't do such things in a documentary movie, knowing that someone's bound to check up on them, but it seems like lying and misrepresantion are a lot more common than could be explained rationally. Just look at the recent revelations around Iraq. People often seem to be willing and are even eager to make shortcuts if it helps them make a point. And often it's successful, of course, since people who do check up and reveal a fraud may not get as much publicity, making the original, false point more widely known. Who reads all those "corrections" columns in newspapers, even if sometimes they contain total reversals of a previous day's main newsitem?
Anyway, I'm just glad I live in an insignificant country where politics doesn't really have an impact on the world in general so no one gives a crap. Then again, it is scary that politics in the US do have an impact on the rest of the world and all I can do is watch it from the sidelines keeping my thumbs up. Let's just give everyone a right to vote in US elections, shall we?

If I've stressed you out with my talk of politics, here's something to help you relieve all that pressure.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien's death. I just reread the Hobbitt a few week's back, and will probably see the Two Towers again now that a friend of mine is bound to have the new dvd. And it's just a few short months to the release of the last film in the trilogy. It's now been 66 years since the publication of the Hobbitt, and it seems obvious that Tolkien's popularity isn't going to fade anytime soon. I wonder if studens hundreds of years from now will be forced to read the Lord of the Rings at school, which they can't enjoy since they can't comprehend the archaic language. I still can't get people who are all excited about Shakespeare: sure, it's entertaining when someone explains to you what he means when writing that, but those kind of revelations are in short supply when you try to decipher it yourself.

Moving on (and down) my literary commentary, remember that book by Al Franken I mentioned a few weeks ago? Well, here's a rather amusing coverage of the court case against him for using the trademarked slogan "Fair and Balanced".