the missing link?

i have non-opposable thumbs. my thumb can lie flat on the table, perfectly aligned with the other four fingers, but it does not lie flat against the middle finger when i press them against each other.
some primates have the same feature.
am i the missing link?
the funny thing is that i only found this out about two years ago, although i had always thought that my thumbs look funny somehow. my massage school instructor, bhavesh of body basics, told me, while i was effleurageing my classmate's calf, that *i had massage hands*. aha. i did not know what he meant then (*i bet you say that to all your students, joshi!*), but i do now.
i'm glad my disfigurement is good for something. i wonder where it comes from. noone in my family has the same feature. so i hope it's not genetic. if it is... well, my offspring will be clumsy with needle and thread (like me) but they will give great neck and shoulder massages (like me).

question of the day

last night we had dinner in the waterway of maida vale. one of the pet shop boys (the one that people recognise) and a group of other b to d list celebs, as they are called here by their own employers, the media, sat next to us. and i wondered:
who invented the difference in button lines for men (to the right) and women (to the left)? and why??

diy fatwas

my research for the seminar in hydra is taking me to wondrous websites. for example, request a fatwa here.

poise and dignity

i have to comment on this.
this is a 26 year old woman who violated parole for drink-driving and was duly sentenced to 45 days in jail. rather than say sorry for putting people at risk, and feel grateful for the treatment she gets in a minimum security prison, visitors allowed, her human rights intact (guantanamo inmates aren't so lucky), she cries in public, screams in court and displays no sign of maturity that you can expect from a public figure of her age.
stomping and crying may work for a 4 year old, but this adult tantrum is just disgraceful to watch.
and gets on my nerves. big time.
switch it off, brat.

the perps, the vic and me

i was a good citizen last week. i witnessed a robbery. in st john's wood, in one of the wealthiest streets here, in broad day light. the shock!
i was out jogging (i wouldn't call it running) and saw 2 black guys in the distance. as i ran closer, slooowly, a woman shot past me screaming *help*, *help*. another woman behind her asked me to call the police. which i did. i told them to come quickly, robbery, woman in distress, street chase, help!
what had happened? the lady was on her way home and had almost reached her (safe) house, when 2 guys attacked her, pushed her to the ground, stole her purse and her ring. she was quick and adrenalin-pumped enough to chase straight after them, which must have surprised the little bastards. so she almost caught up with them and saw them get into a car. and they were gone.
there were about 4 or 5 people witnessing the event with me. and i assume all of us would give a different account of what had happened. were the guys tall or medium-built? did they run fast or slow? were their shirts blue or white?

the next day, i found an article in the area newsletter (which i normally ignore) about a robbery a few weeks ago.

fassbinders geburtstag

die zusammenfassung des interviews beckmann-fassbinder zu dessen 62. geburtstag.
nicht in der deutschen eiche gefeiert.
skandalfrei und genial.

2012 update

now the london olympics logo animation causes epilepsy, and doctors in the uk are reporting cases where the tv broadcast triggered a fit.
kind of spooky. comes with the territory?

the last word on the logo (sorry, BRAND, as design guru sebastian *we don't do bland* coe keeps lecturing... brand, bland, and a chinese accent... does he KNOW the difference?) here. before the style curve swings the other way and we all find the logo *brilliant* and *inspired*.
it's just a matter of time!

hydra

i'm going to a seminar in hydra.
the seminar is on *islam in europe*. i'm presenting there (don't know what yet, but inspiration will come to me) and will have to write an essay afterwards. do they do that to keep other people and themselves busy?
anyway, i'm thinking greek island, sun, see, great wine... mmmmmh!
flights to athens for july seem hideously expensive. i'm hoping to find an alternative (and cheaper!) route.

2012

the new london olympics logo is out.
some comments i heard say it looks like a deformed swastika, others see lisa simpson giving bart a blowjob.
everyone's talking about it, mainly because it cost 400,000 pounds.
i say: mission accomplished!
the logo will apparently *evolve over time*, i.e. will probably look completely different by 2012. that kind of statement means everyone involved in its creation is already distancing themselves from it. nice!
incidentally, the agency who designed the logo, wolff olins (never ever forget the double-f!) is the same that created the logo for my ex-company simpay. which no longer exists.

question of the day

why do men not wake up from the noise of their own snoring?

correction!

a person close to my heart and bed just told me about the result of some research he did into german traditions. apparently, german women don't like to be given diamonds to their engagement, but prefer instead a plain band which changes hands from left to right when they get married.
well, that's just plain bullshit.
german women like rocks just like the next girl. the bigger the better, though style does matter. my mother got an engagement ring that she is still wearing.
what we do not want (and i am talking my own mind here, using the royal *we*) is much fuss with vows of eternal love etc. after all, that goes without saying, doesn't it! we also don't seem to have the competitive mind of, for example, english girls, who make a sport of comparing diamond sizes and clearly see a correlation between love and budget.
also, engagements have gone out of fashion over the past decades (again, no statistical proof, just my impression), with a mere hint of a comeback in the past few years. we propose (though mainly it's a mutual decision), we set the date, we do it. basta.
it's not unromantic, just pragmatic. nothing wrong with that.
personally though, i'd insist on a ring. he'd get one from me, too.

proust's questionnaire

still shaken today from the events of yesterday, when i witnessed a robbery. while this brave helper in need recovers, please amuse yourself with proust's infamous petit questionnaire. vintage!
feel free to send back your answers, but better still, keep them to yourself and do the q. with your friends (and enemies!).

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Where would you like to live?

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?

Who are your favorite characters in history?

Who are your favorite heroines in real life?

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?

Your favorite painter?

Your favorite musician?

The quality you most admire in a man?

The quality you most admire in a woman?

Your favorite virtue?

Your favorite occupation?

Who would you have liked to be?