Modern Plasztikai Sebészet
The philosophy and technics of the operative procedure was developed only a few years ago, but our experiences on more than one thousand ears revealed the fact, that the operation is safe and well-tolerated by patients. We perform the operation as a one-day-surgery, mostly under local anaesthesia.
The procedure itself means a very careful dissection of the structures at the upper pole of the earlobe. The required reshaping is achieved by modellation of a specially designed chondro-cutaneous flap (a flap containing the own cartilage and skin of the patient). The new shape is fixed by means of absorbable sutures, skin closure is made with unabsorbable uninterrupted sutures.
Postoperative care is very important. The bandage protects the new ear for one week. Suture removal is performed after the second postoperative week. The result is seen immediately after the removal of the bandage, but total resoption of the soft tissue swelling and appearance of the very final shape usually needs three or four weeks.
I’ll be participating in a LARP conference this weekend. Upon researching the subject I found out that some people have actually commissioned pointy elf-style ears as a cosmetic surgery. This is a totally novel and exciting genre of body modification.
My own personal experiences with larping are limited to a few games of Steve Jackson’s Killer in the 1980’s. At the kick-off party I learned that there are still groups actively playing it.
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To create truly striking digital art images, it is often necessary to combine computer procesesses with various analog source material. It’s difficult the resist the abstract beauty of the digitally colored incense smoke photographs. I think the whole concept and production method was invented more or less single handedly by Graham Jeffery. He shared his method at his Sensitive Light site. The Flickr group Art Smoke now has more than 500 photographs.
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American Chariot
… the American Chariot is a dynamic personal transportation vehicle that will significantly enhance productivity and increase profitability.
The Americans seem to be obsessed about not having to walk anywhere. The horizontal escalators at the airports, Segways, drive-in weddings… the list goes on and on.
I found this while browsing through a Strange vehicles gallery.
The American Chariot is powered by an electric motor. It is certainly a bit more.. uhh… bulky.. compared to say, the new 2007 line of Schwinn electric bikes. It is a pity that the European regulations limit the power of electric bikes to 200W. Some manufacturers used to make bikes that go up to 1000 Watts (See an earlier entry).
In the end of June we’ll be riding down the Donau river on one of Austria’s most popular bike routes with rental bikes. One of them will be an electric bike and the other one will be a regular touring bike.
Posted by api at 09:25 - 2 Comments »
Life Ball
Life Ball is Europe’s largest AIDS charity event. Begun in 1993, it takes place annually at the city hall in Vienna, Austria. The event is organized by Gery Keszler and it is the only AIDS charity event that takes place in a political building.
Life Ball consists of two parts: a grand opening ceremony including a fashion show performed on a giant catwalk at Rathausplatz, the square in front of the city hall, which is free for everyone, and a fancy dress party inside the city hall hosted by Vienna’s mayor, Michael Häupl, for which a limited number of tickets (c. 4,000) is available.
Check out the Style Bible for the event. The medieval robocop pictured above is from that site. It’s like Eurovision on acid.
EDIT: Sharon Stone and Bill Clinton appeared at the party to thank for the donations. Ms. Stone had troubles articulating correctly. It is my theory that it was due to recently injected botox which may cause slight facial paralyzation. We didn’t make it to the actual ball, but we did manage to get to the party at Volksgarten. See my bodyguard impression. We were not quite as well dressed up as most of the others over there. The after-party started at 6 am.
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It’s a plastic straw, it’s a post-it note… it’s the ingenious Gedankenstütze!
Object art. There’s plenty more at Atelier V.
I also like the tissue paper tea bag and the window sleeping support goggle.
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Last night I tasted one of the best Riojas I have ever tasted. There’s a little Tapas joint down the street called El Español. They have a non-smoking buffet night on Tuesdays. I can’t remember the vintage, but the 25 centiliters of Marqués de Riscal Grand Reserva I had was simply divine. The Tapas were super delicious as well.
The grand reserva was being served from miniature half liter bottles. That is actually a really convenient size for fine wines like this.
Here’s what an australian wine site had to say about Marqués de Riscal Reserva 2001.
Tasting notes
Strong dark colour. It smells of black and red fruits but mainly the black ones - blackberries, cherries. There’s also coffee, mineral, earth and spicy vanilla oak that is beautifully applied to the lush dark fruit. On the palate medium to full bodied and still pretty tight. There are flavours of blackberry, spice and again those earthy minerally flavours. The oak adds a layer of cedar and vanillin flavour. The tannins are really what I like here though - mouthcoating layers of powdery firm tannins that reach into every corner. Long finish that makes you think -’ooo this really is a most excellent wine’. At the moment this is a Reserva showing some reserve so give it a few more years if you are lucky (or smart) enough to own a few bottles.
EDIT: The small bottles are actually 0,375 liter ones. I managed to get the last two from their current batch.
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M.A.NUMMINEN & DJ SANE - THE STORY SO FAR
M.A.Numminen, the legendary figure in Finnish underground (and also popular) music and culture since the 60’s, is known for his need and ability to always move forward and seek new dimensions and ways for expression.
In 2003 he came up with an idea for a new band: M.A.N. Scratch Band, which consisted of keyboardist Pedro Hietanen (his long term accompanion and a member of the legendary prog rockers Wigwam), young jazz cats Olavi Louhivuori (Ilmiliekki Quartet, Oddarrang…) on drums and Lasse Lindgren (Severi Pyysalo Band etc.) on bass and Santeri Vuosara as Dj Sane on turntables. M.A.N. Scratch Band played Numminen’s greatest hits with a groovy, jazzy and sometimes quite strange touch. Sane had a stack of original M.A.N. vinyl records that he used to add scratches and effects on top of the band’s playing.
The friendly neighbourhood club Musik Kiosk had a night of Finnish Tango on Sunday. As a strange conincidence I stumbled upon Myspace page of another Finnish gift to the music lovers of the world… M.A. Numminen. Needless to say, I am not surprised at all that he has recently released an album of poems by Heinrich Heine.
Other recent cultural delights include a Mozart concert at Musik Verein and a visit to the Spanish Riding School. To ensure an overdose of high culture, we booked tickets to Wagner’s last music opera, Parsifal.
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Drawball.com is one of the collaborative art creation sites. You can zoom in on the ball and draw on any part of it. The beauty of it is that anyone else can do the same. Have a look at the playback of the project to get an overview how spaces like this evolve over time.
I find the Marilyn Monroe spot especially fascinating. It is not just the subject that reminds me of Andy Warhol here.
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The Macallan Elegancia
The Macallan Elegancia is selected from a unique combination of sherry casks, which have previously contained both fino and Oloroso sherries.
This expression is an exclusive release through Duty free and travel retail stores round the world.
Colour:
Bright Gold.
Nose:
Light citrus with vanilla, sweet toffee, spice and oak.
Palate:
Spice and citrus, balanced with a nutty maltiness.
Finish:
Sweet toffee, with spice and light oak.
I’m almost pathologically jealous of my friend Philipp for many, many things: he speaks several languages fluently, he is a doctor of philosophy, he can play drums quite well, his wife looks a bit like Claudia Schiffer, he has a family signet ring and he has a great collection of 80’s heavy metal albums.
He also has a formidable collection of single malt whiskies. It was his birthday yesterday and, as always, a treasure chest of these rare liquid treats was opened around midnight. After tasting a couple them (including the hard to find Redbreast) I still thought that the sherry oak Macallan Elegancia was simply supreme. It was rather light and delicate, but it had a citric kick that made it just perfect. I’m not really even a whisky aficionado, but I plan to get a bottle as soon as I see one for sale.
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Dreamhelmet
The amazing one-piece multi-function Dreamhelmet, like the Swiss Army Knife before it, is a traveler’s dream come true!
As an added bonus, the Dreamhelmet sleep mask can be used two different ways as a muff (hand warmer), or you can tuck the eye mask and chin strap inside the cover and make a simple pillow to sit on cold surfaces or for back support while driving. Among the many benefits of the Dreamhelmet is that sleeping in a sleeping bag can now be a much nicer experience; your pillow is attached to your head - not all over the ground, your ears stay warm, and the large eye mask and pillow protect most of your head from voracious insects. Camping can actually be fun! You will have the energy to enjoy nature because you got a good night’s sleep.
Most ordinary sleep masks fit tightly around the head, in an attempt to block all the light. This causes irritation, perspiration, and makes your hair look funny. the Dreamhelmet sleep mask is designed with a large eye mask which is meant to be worn loosely, and only soft 100% cotton touches the user’s face. A loose-fitting chin strap keeps the Dreamhelmet sleep mask from sliding off the face while sleeping, eliminating another problem of ordinary sleep masks. The Dreamhelmet sleep mask pillow eliminates the problem of the irritation and hair tangle problems caused by sleep masks with thin straps and Velcro around the back of the head.
There was a rather similar sensory deprivation device in an episode of a business reality tv series: Inside the Dragon’s Den. For some reason the investors didn’t quite believe in the commercial potential of this marvelous invention.
I found this by accident while we were discussing a friend’s friend who reportedly wears cup style hearing protectors every single night. She has four dogs.
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Richard Dean Anderson Web Site
He studied drama at St. Cloud State University and at Ohio University, though he left just short of completing his degree. His travels took him briefly to New York City, and he spent some time experiencing the cultural revolution of the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, before finally settling in Los Angeles. There he worked as a street mime and juggler, and as a jester-singer at a Renaissance-style cabaret. He also worked for a time at Marineland, where he wrote, directed, and performed in the marine mammal shows. His job included holding fish in his mouth for the killer whales to leap up and snatch, and he tells of the powerful whack to the face he took while rehearsing his routine with an orca. He appeared in plays and live theater as well, including landing a role in Superman in the Bones at the Pilgrimage Theatre. During his early years he also joined his friend Carl Dante, and for a time sang and played guitar as part of Carl’s rock band under the name “Ricky Dean and Dante”.
Intrigued by a Wikipedia entry entitled List of problems solved by MacGyver, I decided to explore the life and achievements of Richard Dean Anderson in more detail. The front page of his web site looked quite promising and sure enough, after reading the biography and checking out the astonishing photo galleries (Early years, A Life in Pictures), I realized that here is a much underrated and multitalented artist. I think that he really belongs up there in the same league with The Hoff.
Posted by api at 10:19 - 2 Comments »
english cut: bespoke savile row tailors
In an ideal world you’ve got yourself a good week’s supply of bespoke clothing. I say this not to keep tailors like me in beer money, but to let you know how to get the very best from your bespoke wardrobe. If you’re new to bespoke and have recently got your first suit, this often when caring problems arise.
You see, if your tailor has done a good job, your first bespoke will now be your favourite in the wardrobe, and you’ll want to wear it all the time. Wonderful, but the problem is you’ll end up wanting to wear it too much. As I’ve said before, a proper bespoke suit can easily last ten or fifteen years. But they need a rest, just like the rest of us. So the most important key to success is to rotate your wardrobe.
English Cut is a refreshingly personal blog by one of the tailors on the legendary Savile Row.
I’ll be visiting London for the next week or so. If I have the time, I’ll try to squeeze in a visit to Savile Row. I like the idea of tailored clothes (or bespoke clothing as it is usually referred to), but unfortunately bespoke clothing is often automatically associated with a certain very traditional style that I haven’t always felt comfortable with.
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The photo above is in the Flick Mid Air pool. I found it via DanielN’s brilliant Flight Center set.
As you may notice, I’m getting slightly restless as the Winter is approaching.. just like Snufkin in the Moomin books. The song of the sirens is echoing through the mountains.
Van Halen: Jump (Lyrics):
Owwww!
I get up, and nothin’ gets me down
You got it tough, I’ve seen the toughest around
And I know, baby, just how you feel
You got to roll with the punches and get to what’s real
Ah, can’t ya see me standin’ here
I got my back against the record machine
I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen
Ah, can’t ya see what I mean?
Ah, might as well jump. Jump!
Might as well jump
Go ahead an’ jump. Jump!
Go ahead and jump
Ow-oh! Hey, you! Who said that? Baby, how you been?
You say you don’t know, you won’t know until you begin
So can’t ya see me standing here
I got my back against the record machine
I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen
Ah, can’t ya see what I mean?
Ah, might as well jump. Jump!
Go ahead and jump
Might as well jump. Jump!
Go ahead and jump
Jump!
(Guitar Solo)
Might as well jump. Jump!
Go ahead and jump
Get it in, jump. Jump!
Go ahead and jump
Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!
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Superdollar - Wikipedia entry
A superdollar is an almost perfect counterfeit of a United States banknote believed to be produced in North Korea. The United States government has outlined two reasons behind the North Korean distribution scheme: as a source of income and to undermine the U.S. economy. They have been circulating since the late 1980s.
North Korea calls the accusations “sheer lies” and accuses the U.S. of using the issue as a pretext to war.[1][2] Recently, North Korea accused the CIA of manufacturing the superdollar themselves to undermine the North Korean government.
The notes
The notes are made with the highest quality ink and paper, designed to recreate the various security features of United States currency, such as the red and blue security fibers; the security thread; and the watermark; even experts need to study a note intensively before determining if it is a forgery. Officially they are known as the PN-14342 family, after the classification system the Secret Service uses. The notes are printed using the intaglio and typographic printing processes.
Remember To Live and Die in L.A.? Ahh, I never knew that I would reminisce the 80’s as the good old times. Michael Mann sued the director William Friedkin for plagiarism of Miami Vice, by the way.
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I’ve been experimenting a bit with Google Adwords and Adsense. They are both clever concepts, but the million dollar home page is pure genius.
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