Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Discovered: A Turkish Seanachie

As everyone would know my closest friend Tetrapilotomos, a writer who - although a fascinating storyteller - would not dare to write, is one of those stern members of the human family who would hardly get being caught laughing, even if one would follow him into the deepest cellar.

Mostly he'd be busy with scientific research, such as pre-assyrian philately, architecture of the Tuareg, Aztecan horsemanship etc. and, as an ardent advocate for interdisciplinary cooperation, of course, he has got friends and colleagues in almost every village on this globe who are working on the same respectively completely different subjects.
But I am running the risk of digressing a bit.

Where was I? Ah, yes ...
he would hardly get being caught laughing, even if one would follow him into the deepest cellar.

Smiling here and then, yes. But that's all.
The more surprised I was while tonight preparing spaghetti in a spicy mozzarella-tomato sauce and a delicious salad (champignons, red and yellow paprika, bush tomatoes and feta), hearing him chuckle again and again in front of the PC.

At dinner, raising my glass of vintage Ulysses, a marvellous Aetna vine, asked I: Any joyeous news according Kemal
Kerinçsiz?

Spake Tetrapilotomos:
No.

Said I: Last time I heard you laughing while we were having some pints of black gold with Calvagh and he was telling the story about O'Loughlins last order, which as you might remember happened to be a very long story.

Spake Tetrapilotomos: Ah, Calvagh O'Seanacháin, Professor for antediluvian fishing methods and philosophy and Erin's finest seanachie. Indeed, indeed. Must visit him again some day. Could you check, if there's a flight to Shannon tomorrow morning?

Said I: Sure, as soon as you've told what made you chuckling for almost half an hour.

Spake Tetrapilotomos: Well, I stumbled upon a Turkish seanachie.

Said I: That's extremely funny, indeed. Next you will tell, that Irish is a Turkish dialect and the first seanachie was a Turkish poteen producer near Knocknamuck, which - by the way - means the hill of the pigs.

Spake Tetrapilotomos: Stop nitpicking, Sean. Let's enjoy this delicious meal - by the way, will we have ice-cream à la Welshcakes Limoncello for dessert? - and then let me introduce you to my Turkish seanachie and his devine interventions.


Poetry at its peak

As I am just told by my dear friend McSeanagall,
in Colin Campbell's Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe
today you'd find

Poetry at its peak,
each word of praise
would be too weak.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Justice or insulting Kerinçsizness?

Smiling like a Cheshire cat from one ear to the other, today Tetrapilotomos asked me to read the following:

Turkish police arrested 33 persons who were actively involved in ultranationalist activities. Some of them are quite high profile. Retired general Veli Küçük, who has been in the news since the Susurluk case, some mafia leaders, the notarious lawyer Mr. Kerincsiz, Aksam columnist Güler Kömürcü, Sevgi Erenerol, spokeswoman for the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate - one opposed to the Fener Greek Patriarchate- are among the arrested ones...


I did and said: Interesting. And what's the amusing part about?

Spake Tetrapilotomos:

"I cannot remember that - and if so when - it happened in past decades that by reading a news I thought I were dreaming.
Therefore, I have been visiting this entry of Erkan's blog, at least twice every day, since.
Not that I wouldn't rely on Erkan who is the best journalistic source one can find in Turkey; no, it's just that I was anxious the good news could emerge as one of my daydreams, that I had become victim of my wishful thinking.

Now, after seven days I have decided to believe my eyes

The infamous Kemal Kerinçsiz arrested. What a pleasure, what a delight! Once again, filled with joy my heart is rising like a falcon up to the sky!
The neurotic who would fill complaints
against dozens of Turkish journalists and authors inculpating them of insulting Turkishness, the pettifogging moron who'd sue the moon if only he could, whenever this planet's celestial neighbour dares to not appear exactly in the shape as is determinated in the Turkish flag, facing a trial himself! Ah, I wish him good health so that he may be able to enjoy the rest of his life behind bars."

Said I:

"Aside from that I remember that once you wished him to lose all his teeth except one for permanent toothache, as an admirer of Mr Kerinçsiz you will be aware of that the honourable gentleman heads the Büyük Hukukçular Birliği (Great Union of Jurists), which is responsible for most article 301-trials. One if not all of his approximately 700 dear colleagues and brothers in mind will do their best to turn the table and file a complaint against the prosecutors for insulting Kerinçsizness.

By the way, my dear Tetrapilotomos, I do start to understand why you would never write what you are thinking."


And here, for the beginning, a bit more about Operation Ergenekon.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Sudorific science

The secret of science is to ask the right question, and it is the choice of problem more than anything else that marks the man of genius in the scientific world.
Sir Henry Tizard

Ouod erat demonstrandum. :)

Jams O'Donnell did by offering a very heavy and sudorific evidence.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Casting out the devil by 70 Beelzebubs?

'The European Union has announced plans to increase the use of gas and diesel produced from plants. But the critique against biofuels is mounting. Many say they are even more harmful than conventional fossil fuels.'

Indeed. Trying to fight carbon oxide with laughing gas seems as if trying to cast out the devil by 70 beelzebubs.

Therefore, reading this article might be of interest, the more when keeping at the back of one's mind what has been thematized in previous posts.

Friday, January 25, 2008

In mood for meatless food? III

Having read the links commended in the previous post(s), the following will perhaps sound more reasonable.
Personally, I am not thoroughly convinced.
It's is not easy to convince an agnostic. :)

But when even those few German TV-stations I do consider slightly reliable are getting interested in the issue*, Mr Engdahl who makes himself ring a bit hollow by sensation mongering titles as
BUY FEED CORN: THEY'RE ABOUT TO STOP MAKING IT ...
might be at least not completely wrong.

Judge for yourself.


* There will (hopefully) soon a post covering this