...a sword that appeared in the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a jewelry store in Athens. I didnt ask but it seems like an original copy and not a bad imitation although I am not 100% sure.

Here is a picture of it:

Its Hadhafang, Haldir's sword (the blond Elf that was the leader of the Elves that helped the Rohirrim in the battle of Helm's Deep in the Two Towers). I think Arwen held the same when the Ringwraiths were chasing her in the Fellowship of the Ring.

Now the sword I always wanted to have was this:

This is the standard sword of the Elven army, both in the Prologue of the Fellowship of the Ring (the Last Alliance battle) and the Battle of Helm's Deep. And it looks goooooooorgeous. But its not the same length as Hadhafang. Nooooo; its blade is actually as long as Hadhafang's but its hilt is as long as its blade!!! You actually put one hand at the bottom part of the hilt and one at the top. Feels a bit like a spear I guess. But its so awesome and elegant.

But I dont think I will find that one (except for some online store I suppose; second hand/used).

Now the one I found isnt bad at all. Its a very beautiful sword too. It cost 80 euros I think in the store I saw it.

I dont know... I may buy it, maybe I wont. =/

But if I will, I'll post pictures!

I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away, you don't feel me, here anymore

The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away
You don't feel me here anymore

Riots make Athens a very interesting place. It breaks the monotony.

Today there was a riot on Syntagma and tomorrow all workers will go on strike.

That means no uni cIasses for me tomorrow!

And thats great because tomorrow I have two boring cIasses; both Latin Literature.

I dont hate Latin per se, but the -unfair- grade I got in that cIass in the Panhellenic exams left a bad taste in my mouth on the certain issue, I suppose. But its not that I liked it either.

But I also have an interesting cIass tomorrow, which is Generative Syntaxis. And we have a very pleasant and young professor on this one. But its ok. I may miss one good cIass but I wont have to go to two awful ones.

On this note, this semester we have very good professors for the Linguistic cIasses. Very pleasant, talkative, with a sense of humor etc. They are both young so I bet that helps a bit.

So this semester I tried my luck in 3 cIasses.

I made it in two of them.

So here are my scores:

1) Morphology - Vocabulary (Lexicology) - Phonology (of Greek): 8/10

2) Linguistic Schools of Thought (Structuralism) - Semantics: 7/10

and...

3) History of Philosophy: 3/10

So yeah, but I hadnt studied well for philosophy and for the other 2 I hadnt studied a lot either.

PS: SOme of you may wonder why in one cIass there are two or three lessons. Well thats how the system is here. When you attend the cIasses you are taught about them separately but in the exams they are tested as one cIass, and the grade of 10 is divided according to how many lessons are in a cIass. So for instance in number 2, 5 points come from the lesson of Structuralism and 5 from Semantics. The teachers (one for Structuralism and one for Semantics) grade their respective lesson and then the score adds up to the scale of 10.

So I finally found an English translation of the poem I translated in my previous blog.

Here it is:

_______________________________

The aging of my body and my beauty
is a wound from a merciless knife.
I'm not resigned to it at all.
I turn to you, Art of Poetry,
because you have a kind of knowledge about drugs:
attempts to numb the pain, in Imagination and Language.

It is a wound from a merciless knife.
Bring your drugs, Art of Poetry—
they numb the wound at least for a little while.

________________________________

At some points I like this one better but at others I prefer mine. Especially where I use the word "remedies" in stead of "drugs" used here.

But anyway, if you want, tell me which one you like best. :P

Or if you feel like it tell me specifically which parts of this poem you prefer over mine and vice versa. That would be wonderful. I'd like some constructive criticism.

Here is the link to the source of the English Translation: Link

ΜΕΛΑΓΧΟΛΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΙΑΣΩΝΟΣ ΚΛΕΑΝΔΡΟΥ· ΠΟΙΗΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΚΟΜΜΑΓΗΝΗ·
595 Μ. Χ.

Τό γήρασμα τοῦ σώματος καί τῆς μορφῆς μου
Εἶναι πληγή ἀπό φρικτό μαχαίρι.
Δέν ἔχω εγκαρτέρηση καμιά.
Εἰς σέ προστρέχω Τέχνη τῆς Ποιήσεως,
Πού κάπως ξέρεις ἀπό φάρμακα·
Νάρκης τοῦ άλγους δοκιμές, ἐν Φαντασία καί Λόγω.

Εἶναι πληγή ἀπό φρικτό μαχαίρι.-
Τά φάρμακά σου φέρε Τέχνη τῆς Ποιήσεως,
Πού κάμνουνε – γιά λίγο – νά μή νοιώθεται ἡ πληγή.

~Κ. Καβάφης

~K. Kavafis

_______________________

My Translation:

The passing of years through my body and shape

Wound from a horrible knife it is.

There are no means for me to escape.

To you, Art of Poetry, I resort,

You somewhat know of remedies;

To mellow the ache trying, through Fantasy and Words.

.

Wound from a horrible knife it is.-

Bring your remedies, Art of Poetry,

That render the wound – for a while – sufferable.

_______________________

In the translation perhaps what is more suitable (in terms of what the poet is referring to) in stead of "Words" I should have put "Logos". But to me it doesnt fit with the mood of the poem.

I still have some doubts about some of the words I used such as "shape" and "render", because the first is not that much of an accurate translation (other words would have been more suitable such as "form" or "figure" but somehow they dont fit with the rhythm imo) and the second to my perception is a word with a more formal sound to it, while the language of the original poem is very simple, casual and inornate.

Also the difference of tone between the imperative as I used it in English and with the imperative as it was used by Kavafis in the second part of the poem.

Furthermore, I am really troubled with the exact meaning of the third line of the poem and I really dont remember, when I translated it, if I aimed in transferring the exact meaning or just translate it into something similar/equivalent in that case.

And lastly the interference of the line between the dashes/hyphens (?) and how it cuts the flow in the Greek version in contrast to the English version.

And now that I look at it again the last line isnt a 100% accurate translation either. The poem in Greek actually says "that make - for a while - the wound stop hurting". Of course that translation sounds awful in English but right now I cant think of another way to translate the Greek verb "νοιωθεται" and its bizarre diction.

Anyway I gave that a go a couple of years ago and here it is.

PS: If the Greek text isnt visible, let me know.

*sigh*

That was supposed to be a blog but it got too lengthy and stupid so I erased it.

But I am bored so I will hit submit anyway.

*continues procrastinating*

EDIT: Maybe I'll do what Bianca does.

In a few weeks when there wont be people around my blog I will edit it with what it was supposed to be and so it will go unnoticed. XD =|

So here's what I bought today:

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins

Here's the track list. I will highlight the tracks that I especially like.

Disk 1:

1. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

2. Tonight, Tonight

3. Jellybelly

4. Zero

5. Here Is No Why

6. Bullet With Butterfly Wings

7. To Forgive

8. **** You (An Ode To No One)

9. Love

10. Cupid De Locke

11. Galapogos

12. Muzzle

13. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans

14. Take Me Down

Disk 2:

1. Where Boys Fear To Tread

2. Bodies

3. Thirty-Three

4. In the Arms of Sleep

5. 1979

6. Tales of a Scorched Earth

7. Thru the Eyes of Ruby

8. Stumbleine

9. X.Y.U.

10. We Only Come Out at Night

11. Beautiful

12. Lily (My One and Only)

13. By Starlight

14. Farewell and Goodnight

______________________________________

I was a bit disappointed by the packaging of the album. I expected a thicker and bigger case; in stead it was a simple one-cd case which had a two-faced plastic sheet in it for the two disks.

Does anyone else own the album? Was the packaging "special" for any of you guys?

Anyway the music and the album though, as well as the cover art, the booklet and the several paintings the case has inside, are absolutely beautiful.

Here are some shots I took with my camera. Enjoy (I guess).

Front

Inside 1

Inside 2

Back

Hi there. This is the folow up to my previous Scorpions blog where I tried to "educate" you on my favourite band.

Last time I covered almost all of the 70's era.

This time I will show you my two favourite albums of the Scorpions.

1979's "Lovedrive" and 1980's "Animal Magnetism".

"Lovedrive" was the band's first album without Uli Jon Roth as the lead guitarist (replaced by Matthias Jabs - member of the band even up until now!). To me the sound is more "solid" and more full.

On with the links:

Loving You Sunday Morning (from Lovedrive)

This song is so relaxed and laid-back, with a steady rhythm and a wonderful opening track for the album.

Coast To Coast (from Lovedrive)

Epic. Thats all I will say.

Lovedrive (from Lovedrive)

The title track. Hard-rocking song. I love Klaus Meine's vocals here.

Holiday (from Lovedrive)

This is kind of a known ballad from the Scorpions. Good song - melancholic. Especially the one and only chorus.

_____________________________________________________________________

Hold Me Tight (from Animal Magnetism)

This song has the most simple riff there is, and its so awesome!

Lady Starlight (from Animal Magnetism)

A very "peaceful" ballad. No tears to be shed but its a sweet song.

Falling In Love (from Animal Magnetism)

Again a very groovy riff and just an overall great Scorpions song.

The Zoo (from Animal Magnetism)

The Zoo. Nuf said. :P

Animal Magnetism (from Animal Magnetism)

The heaviest track of the album.

___________________________________________________

I hope you enjoy and DO tell me your impressions/opinions etc. :D

So using this thread as an excuse I would like to point out something for discussion.

Here I recite the threads OP. And here is the full article.

As Sen. John McCain recently remarked, "elections have consequences." President Barack Obama signed the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" into law on Thursday, fulfilling a campaign promise and handing the gay rights community one of its most sought-after achievements.

The bill, named for two men killed in vicious attacks, extends the definition of federal hates crimes to include attacks "based on a person's race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or mental or physical disability."

Threads_Article

Right so... let me get in the mood... *clears throat*.....

.

OMG, I mean thats so wrong! More support for gay people! Why would we want to prevent someone from killing them due to their sexual orientation?!?! Seriously why?!?! Why should they be allowed to have extra protection when clearly they should be considering taking some therapy to get over the demons of homosexuality? If anything, crimes against them are there to show them that they should not be gay so why should we take away the reasons many homosexuals hate themselves for who they are? I mean they should hate themselves, right?

.

/sarcasm

:|

Possibly some people dont want gay people to feel comfortable with themselves, at least not through added measures, and that things had best stay the way they are in order to not change the rigid worldview they have adopted.

So we can all see that somehow, added protection for a very well known hate crime, has "(negative) consequenses". To whom, and in what way is still a mystery to me.

____________________________________________________

I havent read the whole article, and if someone will and sees that there are parts in it that show that this part I am quoting is taken out of context then please inform me. I dont wanna be whining in the wrong.