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KindredAfter nearly breaking my ankle little over few weeks ago, I have spent a lot of time on my sofa, watching TV. Mostly I've been watching movies and old shows on DVDs, but I've come across a few new gems as well. I figured I'd mention them in passing, but after I started writing, I realised I would have to make separate posts for them all. Sorry, I are geek.Kindred - The Embraced, was a shortlived show which aired originally in 1996, and only had 7 episodes + an long hour pilot. Despite it's short lifespan, I will always rate it as one of the best shows of the nineties. The show followed the lives of vampires, mostly focusing on Julian Luna, the Prince of San Francisco. As Prince, Julian's duties were mostly to keep the peace between various vampire clans, and uphold the laws of the Masquerade, the ancient set of laws which had protected the existence of vampires since the middle ages. While keeping the peace and the Kindred hidden was always Julian's greatest concern, he was also shown to be able to dispense immense brutality when need be. In the world of Kindred, vampires had been divided in to five clans, all different not only by their philosophies, but also by their physical characteristics. The Brujah are a warlike clan, closely resembling the mafia, seeking power via physical brutality and breaking the rules. The Gangrel are a nomadic tribe, descendant of gypsy blood, often appearing as free spirited and rebellious, but extremely honourable. The Toreador are artists. They are hedonistic, taking full advantage of immortality, embracing all life has to offer. Physically, they are the most beautiful of the Kindred. A strict contrast to the Toreador clan are the Nosferatu, monstrous beasts combining all images people have of vampires. Their appearance makes them mostly unable to live among humans, some seeking refuge literally underground. But, despite their appearance, the Nosferatu are revered and feared, both for their great wisdom and their physical strength. The Ventrue are in many ways the lords of all Kindred. They are aristocratic, noble and intelligent. Almost all Kindred Camarillas are governed by a Ventrue, and their power usually extends far beyond the Kindred world. As in the case of Julian Luna who, aside from being the Prince, was one of San Francisco's wealthiest men, and considered by many to be a Godfather like character, with ties to the mafia and a finger in every pie. [INDENT][I]"You exist... only because I allow it." [/I]- Julian Luna[/INDENT] One of the key themes in the series was the effects of immortality, the difficulty of watching the world change and human relatives pass on, while you remain unchanged. This was especially true in the case of Luna falling in love with a mortal, and wrestling with the knowledge that someday she would either grow old and die, or he would have to embrace her, and curse her with immortality. The strongest source of action was the everlasting powerstruggle between Brujah leader Eddie Fiori and Luna. Fiori's continuous attempts to supplant Luna once almost started a full blown clan war. An ongoing storyline was also the tension between Luna and SFPD detective Frank Kohanek who, through his obsession with taking down Luna, learnt of the existence of the Kindred in the series pilot. Normally the laws of the Masquerade would have called for Frank's immediate death, but his life was spared due to events in the pilot, leaving Luna honourbound to protect Frank's life. Showtime had just renewed the series for a second season, when lead actor Mark Frankel died in a motorcycle accident, while visiting his home in England. And despite having an ensemble cast and storylines designed for each character, the show really revolved almost entirely around the enigmatic and ruthless Julian Luna. With Frankel's death, Showtime permanently cancelled Kindred, and the show was lost to oblivion. Apart from a great story and intriguing characters, the show had one of the most haunting themes I have ever heard. [CENTER][/CENTER] 09:09 - 2008-Jul-23 - comments {5} - post commentWar And XPsAs Zykon's massive army prepares for battle, the Order Of The Stick is taking a short and well deserved respit in Azure City, before continuing their quest to defeat Zykon, not knowing that the evil lich is almost at the gates.[CENTER][IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/kristian0209/OOTSWarandXPs.gif?t=1216767864[/IMG][/CENTER] Continuing right after the events of the previous OOTS book, War And XPs chronicles the epic battle of Azure City, effects of which are still rippling through the world of OOTS. On top of strips 302-484, the book has 30 pages of bonus material, including 15 new strips to expand the story, two-page tourist's guide to Azure City, valuable money-saving coupons, and a preface by Elan the Bard, War And XPs is a must buy for all OOTS fans. Originally scheduled for release much earlier this year, the book was in limbo for several months, but will finally see daylight on August 27th 02:06 - 2008-Jul-23 - comments {3} - post commentWaking Up Is Nasty Business[URL="http://lh6.ggpht.com/bitzky/SISVghr3-vI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ZkhKkDDMY70/ferry.jpg"][CENTER][IMG]http://lh6.ggpht.com/bitzky/SISVghr3-vI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ZkhKkDDMY70/s144/ferry.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/URL][I][CENTER]This is probably the best HDR picture I have ever taken.[/CENTER][/I] When my eyes open, they close immediately. In fact I am not even sure if I am awake or not. It takes my mind some time to decide. And I don't mean seconds, I mean minutes. Sometimes even half an hour, during which I am not sure where I am or what my name is. It feels harder to breath. And then there is the headache that kicks in immediately. It's the type of headache that you get from oxygene deprivation, except that I was sleeping on the sofa with all windows and balcony doors open. It feels absolutely paralyzing. It feels like I munched on sleeping pills the evening before but I haven't. It feels like both my mind and my body are several decades older than they are. Even without glancing at the clock, I know that I've slept through both of my alarms. The clock shows that I have been sleeping for twelve hours. And yet I feel more tired than when I went to bed. Maybe I should give up sleep altogether? Nah, it would mean abandoning the dreams. They are so much better than the reality. In fact, I remember dreaming about our blogging community last night, but the only blogger that I could name was KingofAnkh. Heh... And this, my friends, is a story of all my mornings. I like the dreams because they allow me to be somewhere else. Maybe that's why I like MMO games. I am not much for accomplishing goals in them, I just want to... be somewhere else. And maybe that's why my booklust has come back. When I read I am somewhere else. Heck, the same probably goes for blog reading. In all those cases I get transformed to another worlds, with rules and motivations that are more understandable than in reality surrounding me. Some would say that I long for simplicity only found in stories, but I would say that it is the reality, with its simplistic and misplaced rules, that is in need of more complexity. Or maybe not. How am I supposed to trust my brain in this state? It's ennui, melancholy and fatalism to the max during summer days. Maybe I am turning into a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikkikomori"]hikikomori[/URL], if I am not already. I certainly understand them. Hey, speaking about Japan... how about a DVD with [URL="http://clast.diamondagency.jp/en/?p=124"]women staring at you [/URL]for hours? Just staring. And occasionally saying "hello". Nothing more. Only in Japan... On the other hand I am discovering more and more cool applications. Or rather, new functions in the applications I was already using. Take [URL="http://picasa.google.com/"]Picasa[/URL], for example. A great program for viewing and altering your photos. But it now have have Web Albums function, hosted free on Google. So what?, you say, Flickr is better. I'm sure it has more functions but the ease of uploading from Picasa is just staggering. Not to mention that it does all the necessary resizing, cropping and converting RAW to JPG automatically. And it's connected to Gmail accounts. So ladies and gentlemen, please feel free to check out [URL="http://picasaweb.google.com/bitzky"]my Picasa Web gallery[/URL]. Some albums are restricted so if you want to see pics including more people, you will have to mail me your Google username, so I can grant you access. 09:17 PM - 22 July 2008 - comments {3} - post commentCurrent Status of EFX2Please join the discussion that's happening over here:[URL="http://welshpixie.efx2blogs.com/40675/#c114159"]http://welshpixie.efx2blogs.com/40675/#c114159[/URL] Thank ya much! :) 10:03 PM - Monday, July 21, 2008Back?So seems these blogs are back up again. To late though I guess as it seems some now found refuge at more stable blogs.Anyway I ain't that active anyway on the blog so I just waited to see if it came back on which it did. Now things to write about. Enough things passed by I guess. Work has been stresfull last week. Simply because I have to do to workload of at least two people mostly alone now. And this for four weeks. But I survived one week now. So just three more to go. I say mostly alone because I do get some assistance from a collegue in the afternoons. To bad though I let her keep me off my work with random chatter. I let her cause it's nice to chat during work sometimes to reduce the stress boiling up inside. But it also keeps me off my work forcing me to do overtime and getting behind with work. So I guess I will have to be more strict for myself upcoming three weeks and perhaps being slightly rude towards my collegue by shortcutting the friendly chatter. Especially because these weeks are also used by my manager to determine if I am capable to step up the ladder and take over from my collegue who will be leaving eventually (the one who now is on holiday). And I rather instruct a new collegue then having to assist one as I am familiar with most tasks now and the company itself. Also on a side note I don't mind my current collegue leaving. He isn't a bad guy and he works hard enough. But he and I arent always on the same line which sometimes result in frustration and annoyance. Anyway that's mostly all about work. Now I wanted to write about more stuff but I changed my mind as it became late and I am becoming tired. Perhaps another time. For anyone who has just read this entry, Take care ^^ 12:45 - 21-Jul-2008 - comments {0} - post commentOneThis here be the Acer Aspire One.[CENTER][IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/kristian0209/AspireOne1.jpg?t=1216486180[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/kristian0209/AspireOne2.jpg?t=1216486180[/IMG][/CENTER] And isn't it just the most gorgeous piece of gadgetry you have ever seen? It's a subnotebook, also known as a netbook. The screen is 8.9 inches, it has a 1.6mhz processor, 512 RAM and instead of a conventional hard drive, it uses a 8gb flashmemory. So not exactly a highpowered computer, but on the plus side, it only weighs 2 pounds and has a battery life all the way up to 7 hours. And I'm so getting one as soon as I get some spare cash... which would be on September 2nd. 08:03 - 2008-Jul-19 - comments {7} - post commentLet's not forget about others.After writing the post last night, and reading through all the comments, and pm'ing folks, I'm thinking that all it was on my part, impeccable timing.Pixie had tried the same thing I did, and it didn't work for her, but it worked for me. So she and I believe that perhaps it is server people working on stuff. II suppose we'll never know. There is a lack of communication between community leaders, and so one doesn't know when the other is doing something. I'm not the only one who has helped in this, let's not forget Pixie, and all the other CL's here. Even all the people, ya'll stuck together like glue out there in the big bad internet world away from your home's here at EFX2. Please don't praise me, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I just got excited last night and posted about it. Even had help from Juan, Moth, and Cam to notify the masses. :) Anyhoo here are some helpful things that Pixie said in case you missed it. ""I'm pretty sure the server people are fiddling with the site as we speak. There are still some glitches here - embedded HTML not working, and the 'templates' page has defaulted, removing all th CL-made designs."" "I'd strongly suggest everyone take this opportunity to back up their blogs. Change the 'blog entries per page' to a few hundred, load your blog, select all, copy, paste into a notepad file (you can try MS Word but it might crash). There are still some bugs and issues going on here that aren't fixed." so there's that, the floor is open to ya'll now. In the meantime, keep all those other blogs, and I'll get everyone linked accordingly. Write all your usernames and passwords on a piece of paper so ya won't forget it and have to start over again with the blogs you just created. **Edit** I'd also like to point out the [URL="http://libertine.efx2blogs.com/40611/"]great post that Libertine just made[/URL]. Please go on and read it and contribute to the conversation please. 6:55 PM - Saturday, July 19, 2008Bounces on comfy overstuffed chairYEA! We're back!YEA CHICA!!!!! Oh, yeah, btw, if it goes down again, http://treasa.vox.com/ http://treasa.livejournal.com/ http://treasasramblings.blogspot.com/ I should put this in my profile or something, shouldn't I? [COLOR="Blue"][SIZE="3"]KEITH!!! MISS YOU, MAN![/SIZE][/COLOR] 04:43 - Sat-19-Jul-2008 - comments {4}Home*sits down on the ground, smiling widely*Home... 11:00 - 2008-Jul-19 - comments {35} - post commentWelcome back EFXers....So I've finally figured out the problem, I've dabbled about in the control panel off and on this whole time debating and trying to figure out what the hell went wrong.It was the IP addresses. I'm not sure what made it different, or if anyone added an IP address to the list (the CL's with access to the main CP) That's the only scenario I can paint with that, because I can't figure out why else it would have done that. There were several wildcard IPs too, which block a whole range of IP's. So I removed ALL banned IP address's, and then came back to check things out and it let me login. So, it's back alive, and wow what a pain in all of our asses. I am worried though that the spam that was blocked via IP (dunno why) will come back, so the CL's need to stay on their toes with that. I'd suggest not banning any more IP address's at all, but rahter painfully delete every setup that spam makes here. So yeah, that's about it, and welcome back folks. 7:15 AM - Saturday, July 19, 2008Stargate ContinuumSpace travel, time travel, massive space battles and lots of science jargon. No, it's not Doctor Who, it's the long awaited Stargate Continuum.[CENTER][IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/kristian0209/Continuum.jpg?t=1215178078[/IMG][/CENTER] After Ba'al rewrites the timeline, what is left of SG-1 are left on their own, with little time to correct what Ba'al has done, before Earth and all of the galaxy will fall. Oh, and Jack is back. The story is one that has been visited many times in the Stargate universe. Altered timelines and repairing them. However, this time there is a twist. Is it morally right to alter a timeline which is the wrong one for a few, but the correct one for billions of others? In a way, it's a new take on the old Star Trek philosophy, with the Vulcan phrase "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" pitted against captain Kirk's "Sometimes the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many, or the few". The movie itself is like one big fan service. It is as if the writers and producers all went in to a big room and someone, probably Martin Wood went "ok guys, this may be the last SG-1 movie we ever make, and we need to make it perfect". And then Brad Wright said something like "how about we resurrect every single character ever written out of the series". And then they just built on that idea. The amazing thing is, it worked. It's a massive fan service, with a proper plot, great dialogue, actual drama and thrilling action sequnces. If this is to be the last Stargate SG-1 movie, they really did not go quietly in to that good night. They went in a roar of thunder and fire. [I][RIGHT]We get rid of the last bad guy... and then there's cake.[/RIGHT][/I] [I][RIGHT]General Jack O'Neill[/RIGHT][/I] 04:34 - 2008-Jul-4 - comments {5} - post commentBASTARDS!!!!!!!I just read on the news, that some cock has stolen the headstone from the grave of Ian Curtis. Is nothing sacred anymore?Curtis, who committed suicide in the May of 1980, was one of the most influential punk musicians of the original punk era. He fronted the now legendary band Joy Division, which today is considered by many to be on level with Sex Pistols, if not even superior, as the original kings of punk. Following Curtis' death, Joy Division was reformed in to New Order which went on to become a monumental success. But they would never record anything as big as [I]Love Will Tear Us Apart[/I], the heart wrenching punk anthem which was released only a month before Curtis' death. [CENTER][/CENTER] 02:25 - 2008-Jul-4 - comments {4} - post commentSanctuarySci Fi Channel has confirmed the premiere date of Amanda Tapping's new series, Sanctuary, for October 3rd.11 year veteran of the Stargate franchise, Tapping teamed up with Stargate writers and producers Damian Kindler and Martin Wood to make an online miniseries last year. The show garnered much attention and soon after Sci Fi bought it's rights and greenlighted it's production for a 13 episode season. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.gateworld.net/news/graphics/sanctuary4.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] The show tells the story of Helen Magnus, an immortal born in the Victorian era England, who now leads a secret organisation known only as the Sanctuary, which both tracks and protects monsters and "unique" individuals. While the online series was made with a shoestring budget, the new Sanctuary will have a proper budget and full use of Sci Fi Channel's resources. It will also be the first one hour drama to be filmed entirely on green screen with all environments added later using top of the line CGI rendering. The show will kick off with a two hour pilot, but no word yet whether or not the show will continue after the events of the miniseries, or if the story will be remade and improved. 01:17 - 2008-Jul-4 - comments {10} - post commentSummer Is The Time For Changes[CENTER][IMG]http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/4166/3202ig5.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]Summer always gets to me. It's hardest time of the year. Dunno why, I should feel better because of all the light. But I don't. It's "make it or break it" time. A time for changes. So in the spirit of summer I have finally made the move from Opera to Firefox! That's right, I admit: Firefox 3 is just too damn cool. It now matches Opera when it comes to customization and it has scores of useful addons. Although it took me a while to customize everything according to my needs, I am very happy with the result. Just a word of warning. Do NOT install an addon called StumbleUpon! It is highly addictive and the surest way to die of hunger just a few steps from your fridge. But it is also an amazing way to find cool sites on the web. In my wallet is a gym membership card. How many times have I used it in the past three months? Don't ask. My mind just isn't in a right place for it. However, I wonder if it's not time to become a bit less... moomin-shaped. In accordance with clever advice found at Lifehack.org (recommended!) I analyzed my situation. I don't go to the gym because I do not like being outside my humble abode, exposed to people, wasting time to commuting. How about a training device at home? It could work, but there is simply other stuff I'd rather be doing (and no, it's not all gaming!). So let's take advantage of my mind. From now on I will only keep fruits and vegetables at home. See, thanks to my reluctance to go outside I will be stuck with them and eat healthy at home. At the same time I will allow myself whatever food I want whenever I'm outside (which is not often). Hopefully it will also coax me into going out more. I can't fail! *cringes at the thoughts of vegetables* Anyway, here are some cool links that I have discovered through StumbleUpon: - [URL="http://music.populair.eu/"]Music.populair.eu[/URL] - you won't need any music links ever again - [URL="http://hubpages.com/hub/Most_Difficult_Languages_-_Polish"]Why Polish is the most difficult language to learn[/URL] - [URL="http://www.onesentence.org/"]One Sentence[/URL] - gripping stories told in one sentence - [URL="http://www.opensourcewindows.org/"]Open Source Windows[/URL] - power applications, open source, completely free, total geekage! 07:24 PM - 3 July 2008 - comments {5} - post commentGreenChristGonna rant now, there may be casualties.First off, environmentalists. Greenpeace. The Finnish branch of Greenpeace, to be exact. Cocks. Fucking idiots. It's not so much their ideals that I hate, it's the people pushing it and the way they do it. So, when me and a friend were walking from one shop to the other today, we had to bypass their lunacy booth. And sure enough, one of them approached us with a handful of leaflets and screamed; "Can you spare a moment for animal rights!" *sigh* "Fine... what are you on about today?" "We are reminding people that animals are our friends, and we have no right to abuse them." "You... you what? You have signs saying 'human rights for animals', 'stop animal holocaust' and 'animal rights = human rights', and your point is to remind people that animals are our friends? You got a whole booth, and that's the message of the day?" "Well, today we are also talking about animal tests. Leiras recently opened a new pharmaceutical development facility in Turku, and they have refused to stop testing on animals." "No, see, that's bullshit." "I'm sorry?" "I said, that's bullshit. What Leiras has agreed to, is reduce the number of animals used in testing and do tests only on mice, rats and fish. And they have agreed to pursue other means of research. They were aso willing to invest in to a research center designed to study new forms of medical research, but the government bailed out on the last moment, against their promise to both Leiras and EU. They keep the rats around on the off chance you might get sick, and need medication to, you know, keep breathing." "Yeah, but they haven't stopped animal testing completely." "You people scored a massive moral victory over a huge pharmaceutical company, and you're not happy? Grow the fuck up. Besides... most animal testing in Finland today is done at universities... like the one you go to, am I right? Ok, can I ask you something?" *a bit wary at this point* "Ok." "How many whales did the japanese catch last year for 'research' purposes?" "Umm..." "Ok, something easier. What is the target level of CO2 the EU has set for 2010?" "Umm..." "See, this is what I hate about you and your lot. You wave your signs around, shout and chant protests, and demand people give you a moment and some coin, but in reality you know fuck all outside that leaflet you have made for today, and the white little lies you add to spice your story up a bit. You are like barbary apes. At a distance, quite humanish. Two legs, two arms, four fingers and you even got pretty little thumbs. But then you open your mouths and I am instantly reminded that evolution hasn't quite hit you yet. *starts walking away* Oh, and you would be hell of a lot more credible if you weren't wearing that fake hemp jacket from H&M, considering how many times they've been caught using child labor." Few seconds later my friend said to me; "Have you ever considered using your powers for other than evil?" I hate people like that cunt. I really fucking do. Privliged, educated and still dumb as a bag of hammers. The thing that really gets me is that they lie. Or more accurately, they intentionally mislead. I'm sure somewhere in that organization someone has to know that Leiras is reducing animal trials, and that they were onboard to build a fancy new research center. But the people on the street, the footsoldiers of Greenpeace, they rave the exact same vitriol against pharmaceutical companies they did a decade ago. They really do. And even worse, they use proganda like pictures of farmanimal being beaten or something. That shit is already illegal, and largely thanks to Greenpeace and other animal rights groups. Animal cruelty is being policed, very much so, in this country. Yet they continue to use that shock tactic to get people in to donating money. And at the same time, a whole lot of them are going to Turku University, which is just a stone's throw from a brand new (and big) bio research facility, which they helped to fund, and which does all sorts of testing. Oddly enough, Greenpeace has never protested outside that facility. CUNTS!!! YOU FUCKING MINDLESS DRONES!!!!!! Any person who receives their information from a leaflet, and goes to war on that alone, is an idiot. Next up... religious folk. Yeah, not really a surprise I'm going after those whackos. But today, they have really pissed me off. After leaving my friend, I met my mom and niece. We were at the city square, decided to get ice cream before going home, and as we sat down, I heard a disturbing noise. In the middle of the square, a young woman was standing next to a cross, holding a microfone, and making a lot of noise about Jesus this and Jesus that. Around her there was a group of other men and women handing out leaflets, and I recognised the T-shirts some of them were wearing, a local Christian youth group, mostly harmless. Now, I'm not a fan of that superstition, but I'm not really that bothered if someone wants to blather on about it. Honestly, it's the noise that's more annoying, the idiots doing it are just amusing. But then they went to a whole new place. And now I was ready to pelt them with tomatos. And kiwis. And potatos. And rocks. And small cars. And SUVs. Middle of the day, in the middle of the fucking town square, these lugnuts decide to stage a short play of the crucifixion, including some yobbo wearing a white dress drenched in blood with a cross tied to his back. And all the while the same bitch is shouting passages from the Bible, as the Jesus yobbo is walking around looking like he's been hit on the head with a cold cod, trying to hug people. Yeah, sure, why not, who wouldn't want to be hugged by a creepy dude in a bloody toga. Somehow, I think their message of love and peace was lost on my five year old niece, who only saw Jesus on LSD, wearing this season's masterpiece, Versace's [I]Cloth In Pig's Blood[/I]. Penn Jillette once said, that the best way to condemn the Bible, is to read the Bible. I think these fuckers actually managed to turn more people away from Christ. There are days when I honestly think that mankind should be wiped off this planet in one swift stroke of a brush. I really do. Thus ended the sermon. Go make love and be nice to each other. 11:55 - 2008-Jul-2 - comments {22} - post commentBankingThere are two pubs in my town I have to talk about. They are called The Old Bank and Konttori (Finnish, meaning simply Office). They are both built in to old banks, and have kept up the appearance.[CENTER][IMG]http://www.oldbank.fi/images/galleria/ulkovi.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Old Bank is, as the name says, an old bank. Built in to a former prestigious bank, the owners have kept as much of the old decor as possible. Hard wood and marble floors, mahogany walls and decorated windows, and luxurious leather seats and couches. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.oldbank.fi/images/galleria/porras.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://www.oldbank.fi/images/galleria/kirjasto.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] It's a classy place, and it's a bit expensive, but it has one thing that appeals to me. Age limit of 25, which makes sure there are no annoying teens shouting. In fact, there is no shouting. Upstairs has live music on weekends, but the downstairs has only light ambient music, so you can just sit with friends and have a nice conversation over some drinks. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.oldbank.fi/images/galleria/hanoja.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] And speaking of drinks, last time I was there the bartender asked me what would I have. I wasn't thinking straight and just said "what ever's on tap". The bartender then coughed, quite politely, and said "we have 27 beers on tap at the moment, would you like the menu". Aside for the 27 beers on tap, they have around 100 beers and 40 whiskeys on the menu. Adding a bit of humor in to the high class surroundings are several old signs around the place, taken directly from the old bank. For instance, above the bar there are signs such as "Withdraws", "Credit and Loan" and "Banking Advisor". But perhaps the best bit is the sign leading to the toilets. It says "Deposits". The Konttori is a different fish altogether. Where as The Old Bank has been around since the dawn of time, the Konttori is a new place which opened just six months ago. So their style of decoration is a bit different. There is the marble floors, and some mahogany, but that's where the similarities end. Above the main bar is a big painting of a 50 euro note. The chandelier in the main bar is hanging from a giant 2 euro coin. Tables are numbered not in the usual one-to-what ever, but with bank note serial numbers. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.pankkiravintolat.fi/konttori/images/stories/nettikuva_yleinen_08.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] On the surface the pub appears to be quite tamed, though well decorated, but as soon as you walk beyond the main bar area, you are encountered with something that left me speechless. The old vault of the bar, a quite large vault, has been altered in to a private cabinet. The massive vault door is still in place, but the really great feature is that the back wall of the vault has been "blown open", and the jagged edges are encased in wood and glass, making the entrance perfectly safe, but inside the glass there are flickering amber lights, giving the appearance that the wall is still kindling after the explosion (I know concrete doesn't kindle, but the effect is quite amazing). [CENTER][IMG]http://www.pankkiravintolat.fi/konttori/images/stories/nettikuva_yleinen_04.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] There are several dining areas around the pub, including thee more cabinets upstairs. Most of the rooms and cabinets have been named after different functions they used to have, such as "Options and Futures" and "Board Room". Haven't eaten anything there yet, but the menu did look promising, and another quaint feature is that some of the dishes are served in old fashion cashier's boxes. The attention to details in this place is amazing. Sadly, it just doesn't have that air of gravitas that you get at The Old Bank. Having said that, I am going there this Friday to try out something off the menu and have a closer look at their bar. 11:03 - 2008-Jul-1 - comments {10} - post commentDon S. Davis 1942-2008Actor [I]Don S. Davis[/I] has passed away on June 29th, at age 65.Davis, whose acting career started in the early 80's, finally rose to greater fame as General George Hammond, the commander of SGC in [B]Stargate SG-1[/B]. [CENTER][IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/LTG_George_Hammond_Scifi_Stargate_Continuum_Gateworld.JPG[/IMG][/CENTER] His character, designed to be a strict and "dickish" commander in the series premiere, became one loved by fans when Davis took the character and forged it in to the paternal leader who could be firm when needed, but would go to hell and back to protect those who served under him. In one memorable scene it was revealed that on Hammond's red phone (hot line to the president) the president is number two on his speed dial. Number one was the grandkids. After seven years in SG-1, Davis left the show to pursue other interests, but would make guest appearances on the show even later. His final performance as General Hammond will be seen in the upcoming [B]Stargate Continuum[/B], set to be released on July 29th. [I][RIGHT]You'll forgive me for holding out hope a little longer. SG-1 has a surprisingly good habit for beating the odds![/RIGHT][/I] [RIGHT]Major General George S. Hammond[/RIGHT] 07:07 - 2008-Jul-1 - comments {11} - post commentToast*studies palm**wiggles fingers* Whoooaaaa... 11:14 - 2008-Jun-27 - comments {3} - post commentThey're Baa-aack[CENTER][/CENTER]And yes, I did indeed discard the Stargate SG-1 dvds and started watching Top Gear. 08:14 - 2008-Jun-27 - comments {5} - post commentSolid PlansGiant mega bag of nachos.*check* Spicy cheese dip. *check* Two bottles of cola. *check* Marley/Hendrix mixed cd. *check* *Stargate SG-1 season 6* *check* *scratches head* Where is it? *rummages around the closet* I know I left it here. *investigates kitchen cupboards* Ah! Black ceramic bong. *check* Yeah, so I um... I'm gonna go watch some telly now... yup. Oh, and dry season is over, apparently. 06:44 - 2008-Jun-27 - comments {11} - post comment
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