Definitions of capitalism - for econ majors

1) Traditional capitalism:

- You have 2 cows.
- You sell one and buy an ox.
- Cow + ox mate => cubs; your economy if flourishing.
- Sell your cows, make a lot of money, and retire.

2) American Company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You sell one, and you expect the remaining one to give you the milk of 4 cows.
- You are surprised when your cow dies.

3) French company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You go on strike cause you want to have 3.

4) Japanese company:

- You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them, so that they are 10 times as small, and make 20 times more milk than a normal cow.
- You create intelligent animated images of the cows, and you call them CowKemons. You promote these on a global scale and make a lot of money.

5) German company:

- You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them so that they live 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

6) British company:

- You have 2 cows.
- They are both mad.

7) Italian company:

- You have 2 cows, but you have no idea where they are.
- You go to lunch break.

8) Russian company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You count them and realize they are actually 5.
- You count them again and find out you actually have 42 cows.
- You count them again and realize you actually have 12 cows.
- Blah, you stop counting, and open up another bottle of vodka.

Best Quotes Ever

Someone sent me these quotes. They are hilarious:

1) Dance = vertical frustration of a horizontal lust.

2) Diplomat = someone who tells you to go to hell in a way that makes you start your day off on a good note.

3) Team work = the opportunity to blame others.

4) Boy Scout = a kid dressed like an idiot taking orders from an idiot dressed like a kid.

Les Miserables

This post is for all those who are suffering from the flu right now. I have been sick for the past three days or so; trust me, it is the worst thing ever. I haven't been able to do anything. Laying around doing nothing was fine for the first 6 hours or so. Then it got completely annoying.
Here is a song from Romania. It makes my headache and bad mood go away right now. Enjoy!

Salmon Dance :D

Love this song. It is original and funny. Clubs in Europe love it ;-)

Just one thing about this blog

I once heard in my literature class that grammar and correctness are tools to keep writing professors employed. This statement actually came from one of the most important Realist writers in Romania.

Here's my philosophy: grammar and correctness really don't matter in a blog, or in any writing that is supposed to simply explore the personality of the writer. Grammar and correctness would only limit the expressiveness of the text. The more freedom in the use of 'formal' tools (nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc), the more interesting the connotations.

So here's the deal. Since I want to give readers the full experience of enjoying my writing, I will NOT care about spelling, grammar and all that stuff. For the sake of readability, I will use capital letters in my sentences. And that's it.

;-) enjoy!

My Kinder Egg

It's funny how the tiniest things in life can really make me happy.

Yesterday I opened a Kinder Egg. For those of you who don't know, Kinder Eggs are made of chocolate and they contain a tiny surprise-toy. You never know what awaits you inside that egg. You just know that, after you are done with that tasty milk-chocolate, the excitement still continues, because you need to find out what the surprise is.

My Kinder Egg had this tiny soccer-game, 1-by-2 inches. It had a small sphere on the inside, and you were supposed to score while avoiding some obstacles. It took me an entire half hour to figure out how to score. I was EXTATIC when I finally made it.

I wish I had a Kinder Egg every day. I wish I was able to enjoy tiny surprises like this all the time. Unfortunately, most day-to-day surprises don't come in a milk-chocolate wrapping. They are also not fun to uncover and figure out...but...I guess they are the ones responsible for making the other surprises really sweet ...

Leona Lewis - How the Corporate Music Industry Can Really Tamper with Talent

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sF84pIhP5UM = UK version
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5-ctIC65PV0&feature=user = US version

I recently went back to Europe/Romania for my winter break. While there, I discovered the amazing voice of Leona Lewis - the winner of X-Factor (well, a sort of American Idol for the UK).

Unfortunately, Leona's talent has also been noticed by the execs of the major label she has signed with. The result: a Beyonce-like image (well, we know who she is trying to compete against), and a fine-tuned marketing strategy for Europe and the US. The recipe for Europe: a LOT of pop. The recipe for the US: a blend with hip-hop and Timbaland-like beats. There are also different videos for the two continents; the common denominator is that they make use of cliches and patterns we have already seen in other music videos (notice, duh, Times Square in the US video).

Seeing Leona's debut makes me think of another singer who fell into the complex machinery of corporate entertainment: Natasha Bedingfield.
This is her now: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-t6iNXgvRXU
This is her some years ago, when she was only known in Europe: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4lFXy5bIiSA

See the difference? Beginning: complex lyrics, interesting video, new concept in the image. Present: boy-meets girl video, unbelievably naive lyrics, pairing up with hip-hop artist (in the fashion of J-Lo and Ja, Gwen and Akon, etc etc).

I really hope Leona does not end up like Natasha. Maybe after her first album she will figure out what she wants as an artist (other than money and celebrity). Until then, here's Bruce Springsteen and "Radio Nowhere": http://youtube.com/watch?v=4xH9GqNsAS0

Why I don't like Valentine's Day.

I have nothing against Valentine's Day. I think it is great to celebrate love and have a special day for the ones you care about. However, everything that Valentine's Day means is buried somewhere under a MOUNTAIN of pink hearts, 'cute' bears and puppies, and cheesy lines.

Valentine's is even worse for me than Christmas. For the latter, I have to deal with the omnipresence of Santa; the Coca-Cola Santa with his Rudolph and endless cliches about gifts and the North Pole. I take refuge from all these images by spending time with my family and celebrating Christmas in the tradition of my culture.

For Valentine's....ooh! That one is tough! The invasion of hot pink is overwhelming. So is the presence of cheesy Hallmark cards trying to make a profit out of people's sentimental impulse to spend-spend-spend for the ones they love. Oh, and hey, you know what? If you are not into this whole pinkiness, it definitely means you have no Valentine and you are a miserable, lonely person.

Valentine's Day is not about marketing love. It is about looking into the eyes of the person you care about and telling him/her how you feel. It is about being honest and open, not about hiding behind pink stuffed toys and punch-lines on cards.