The Definition of Cool

It's been in my mind for days now.
What is the definition of cool?
What are the properties of being cool, the properties of coolness?
For me it's something that exhumes in your posture, your body language and the way you behave. Something mellow, mature, easy-going, calm, sophisticated, attractive all put together.  Something that shows you are successful but you are o.k. with it.  Something that other people see and want to be, to follow, to become associated with.
Something quite difficult to describe. You know something or someone is cool the minute you see them.
Being cool and trying to be cool are two completely different things...

Who is cool? Quentin Tarantino is cool. Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson. James Franco has become trendy and cool. Noel Gallagher (not Liam) from Oasis is Brit cool...

Can a woman be cool without being described as cold?
Uma Thurman is quite cool.

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's was the epitome of coolness...

Here's some other persons and things I think they are cool:

• Robert De Niro
• Al Pacino
• Grace Kelly 
• The way some men light their cigarettes is cool (and sexy!)
• Soho in London is very cool
• Mods were and always are cool
• Some tattoos are cool
• Calling instead of texting is cool
• Modesty is cool
• A good sense of humour is very cool
• A Mini is cool
• Nerds and geeks are the new cool thanks to shows like Chuck
• The utter coolness for me: Johnny Depp!

I am very curious to find out what and who do you think is cool.
I will post and discuss your views in my next post.

Murder most horrid

Life is not all about ha ha hee hee, let's rant about music and the tortures at work.  When something really horrible happens it brings a shock to the system and you stop and think.  Then you realise you're nothing but a grain of sand that at any moment you'll be swept away by the wind and nothing else matters any more...

Last Saturday night my nephew was at the centre of London and he was going to take the last train and come at my house to stay for the weekend.  He called me at around 11 pm and told me that he was going to a party instead and he would stay at a friend's house in Waterloo.  He was going to come to my house on Sunday.  On Sunday morning, he called me and told me that there were no trains coming to my station, because on Saturday night there was a murder near my station.


I was horrified.  My first thought was that it's not safe anywhere anymore and my second thought was how lucky that my nephew didn't come last night or, and I cringe to the thought, it might have been him...
While I explained an alternative route to my nephew, I went closer to the station to see what's going on.
There were at least two police cars blocking the road, the bus stop was not working and the whole block with the little shops was surrounded by police ribbons.  The feeling seeing this can only be described as chilling.

This is a photo I picked on the web
showing the cars on the crime scene

I went back home waiting for my nephew and googled the event. Here's what I learned:

Samuel Guidera

Samuel Guidera was a young teacher living just few blocks down from where I live and studying History and Politics at the University of Greenwich.  Last Saturday night he was watching football with friends and when he took the train back to our area, went to our local "corner" shop, bought maybe a couple of beers and was going to visit a friend who lived in a small road 200 metres away from the station.  On the way to his friend's house he was stabbed.  The police attribute the murder to a robbery.  


The whole thing freaked me out.
This didn't happen somewhere far away from where I live.  This happened exactly where I live. I go to that corner shop almost every day.  The murder spot is only a few metres from my station and from my house.  Most terribly, last night I finished work late and took the train at 21:25 and I was at my station at around 21:45.  If that had happened a week from yesterday I may have been a witness to the crime, or if I was the unlucky one, it could have been me.

Our local corner shop where I go almost every day.
Samuel can be seen shopping from the CCTV cameras.

Last night when I came out of the train there were many police officers handing out flyers about the murder and asking each and every one of us if we were on the same train last Saturday.  It was then I realised how early this murder happened, it wasn't at midnight or at 2 o'clock in the morning, it was at a time where a lot of people are coming back from work, or the pub and walk around the area.  I spoke to a policeman and said that I heard about the case but unfortunately I didn't see anything as I was at home.

My area in general is not considered one of the best in London.  I bought my flat here because the street I live in is full of beautiful houses, with middle class families as residents, and a church opposite my block of flats.  The station is five minutes walk and it has great connection with London.  Most importantly, my best friend lives a ten minute drive away. I knew it was kind of a dodgy area, but I've been living here for ten years and I was never disturbed except the usual teenagers hanging about the station and asking for a cigarette.  I was once slapped on the head in succession by four children on bikes, but I was never scared or worried. 

After last week I am quite scared and horrified.

I am also thinking Samuel's family and the poor lad himself, a young man who just started to have a good job and was probably full of ambitions, wanting to finish his studies and succeed in London, the city in so many people's dreams for a good life.  He was going to a friend's house to spend a few pleasant hours, unaware that his life would be cut short.

Flowers at the crime scene
where the young teacher lost his life.
R.I.P. Samuel

You can read the whole story in this article from BBC News and in a more recent article from a Local News website.

Please, if you know something help the police investigations by calling 
020 8345 3734 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

Pet (Sound) Hates pt. II

Here is part II of my Pet Sound Hates. Oh, so help me God!!!

5.  Continuous canned applause in game shows.

Presenter: Let's play Wheel of Torture!!

Canned Applause

Presenter: Here is your first contestant: Sally from Buckinghamshire

Canned Applause

Sally turns the Wheel

Canned Applause

Sally: I would like an S please

Canned Applause

Presenter: Yes! There is one S.

Canned Applause.

Sally turns the Wheel again

Canned Applause

Sally: I would like an R please

Canned Applause

Presenter: Yes! There are two R's

Canned Applause machine explodes from overload.

*ZAP!*

4.  Speaking loudly on mobile phones. 

This is something that I believe everybody hates.  Among the various annoying mobile users I would distinguish two categories who are mobile exhibitionists:

a.  The businessmen who make all their business plans in the morning rush hour so everybody knows they are important with phrases such as "Send me an email with the spreadsheet", "Sell, sell, SELL", "Could we move the meeting at 11:00?" and other crap like that.

b. The girl who describes her shenanigans of the drunken night to her friend with phrases such as "So I was completely hammered and then we went to this other club and HE was there and he bought me another drink and we went to his place and I was wearing my strappy sandals so I said 'In yer dreams mate' and he rang me today and wants to meet again and I'm like 'duh' and he said ...." and on and on and on and in the speed of a machine gun, laughing out loud and speaking so loudly that the whole train/bus has turned around and is looking at them.  And for some reason they get angry if people listen to their stupid conversation.

I get such an immense pleasure when just one stop before my station we go into a huge tunnel for a minute and a half and these bozos start saying "Hello, hello?" and  stare at their phones, because the reception disappears just before we reach the previous station. He he he he!!!

3. My noisy neighbours

After a tiring day at work and travel full of unbearable noises I come home to relax.  Yeah, right.

I live in a block of flats and although most of the times it is very quiet, there is a devilish possibility that the noises may continue due to my noisy neighbours.

These consist of:

The 14-year-old girl right above me who just before midnight decides to crank up the karaoke machine and sing with her tone-deaf voice songs like "Bad Romance", "Papa Don't Preach", "Love Is All Around" and lo and behold "My Heart Will Go On".

Her parents have a fight almost every night while the daughter sings on Karaoke and sometimes the mother joins in after the fight to sing "I Will Survive"

On the flat next to the Karaoke Killers there is the crazy aerobics lady, who stomps on the floor while she thrusts her bum. I want to slip a note under her door and let her now that the 80's ended 20 years ago, do some Pilates, it's quieter.

There are occasional builders who will definitely ruin my days off at home.

There is a sculptor next door who bangs the chisel and the hammer, again during my days off when I try to relax.

I once started banging on the wall and shouted outside the window "STOP THE NOISE!"  It stopped for about five minutes and then started again.

Oh, will I ever find peace and quiet?

2. Rap Crap and Hip-Hop Flop

Don't get me started....The charts are full of them, the bars play them, cars pass by with their speakers in full blast and the bass making the houses tremble and my nephew listens to them religiously and tells me off for not liking them.  I think this music is full of stupid, horribly unmelodious, sample-filled, with lyrics full of swear words or words the artists invented to kill the English language, emetic videos, insulting titles (such as "F@#k the Police" by N.W.A.) and disgusting way to 'sing' erm... 'songs'.

And what's with the silly names of the artists? 2 Pac, Snoop Doggy Dog, Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah, Mos Def, Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Jay-Z, T.I.... I, I, I!!! 

And by the way, how dare they call this shit R'n'B? Rhythm and Blues is the purest kind of music, deriving from the late 40's with shinning stars such as Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Sam Cooke and Percy Sledge and also developed to be the best kind of music this earth has ever heard, the Motown music.

The crap that today's artists compose, or shall I say just "produce" and play should be called S'n'R (Shit and Rubbish).

I could go on and on about them but I will finish by saying that when back in 1979 Sugarhill Gang released Rappers Delight it was a novelty and the song had melody, great lyrics and it rocked!!! After the end of the 80's most of the stuff that rappers released have been and continue to be pure trash.  This kind of insulting-our-ears music has made millionaires of the artist, producers (and their hos) and has created the gangsta culture which I also hate (although I have to admit that Gangsta's Paradise is a great song but I think that this may be attributed to the Stevie Wonder melody).

Honestly, if you want to see me become a nervous wreck play me any song of this genre.  I have left parties of good friends because the dj started playing crap music. 

1. Screaming children

And here we are at my number 1 pet sound hate.  The otherwise adorable children who will scream from the moment they wake up until they go to bed.

You know the ones, you've all seen them and heard them.  You are in a restaurant, on the train in the bus and there will be at least one screaming kid to ruin your day out. I'm not talking about a child talking, laughing, playing. These are sounds that are somewhat pleasurable to the ear if kept in a reasonable volume.  I am talking about the moan, the scream, the cry, the I-will-make-you-regret-you-took-me-out-of-the-house shriek, which would make Mother Theresa become like King Herod.

Sometimes the child is the devil's spawn, and the poor parents can't do anything about it, but sometimes it's also the parents' fault, because they don't give a damn if their child is uncomfortable about something and cry.

I have numerous examples, because as it is I am so lucky that I will meet one or two lovely cherubs every day on my way to work and back, but I will give you the one I remember most vividly.

I was at work on my desk and there was a queue of customers.  Second one was a mother with a girl of about 3 or 4 years old who was SCREAMING her lungs out as the mother had her standing and waiting in the line.  I remember myself as a child, I hated standing up and walking long distances I was getting very tired (by the way I never screamed, I was an angel!) so I sort of sympathised with the little girl, but I couldn't stand her shrieks.  The whole floor could hear her screaming and I thought the mother was being selfish and rude for allowing her daughter to be such a nuisance to everybody.

After I finished with my customer, who was tutting and sighing due to the fact that she couldn't hear herself think (none of us could), I immediately stood up from my desk and invited the woman with the daughter to come and sit in one of the other desks. Forgot to tell you, the friggin' woman was on the phone!!! (how could she hear?) So they sat down at the desk behind me and I gave the girl a paper and a pen to draw something and I also gave her one of our loyalty cards telling her that she could keep it and play with it.  I think the girl just fell in love with me because she shut up immediately, she started to draw and play with the card and we never heard her little voice again until they left.  So I believe the children need a bit of attention, a bit of manipulating in the good sense and a bit of love and understanding and they will be ok. It's not difficult and the parents will be making a huge favour to the rest of us who suffer by their angels' squeals.

My absolute nightmare is on the plane, it is by a rule that there would be at least one screaming child for the whole three and a half hours of my trip to Athens and back to London every summer. Rule!

Thank you Steve Jobs for the ipod! 

Concluding, I have a double message: the top part I have to repeat to myself and the bottom part is for all the noisy, annoying people with their rap 'music', screaming children, mobile phones, chisels, clicks and bleeps, karaoke machines and extra crunchy crisps:

WHAT IS YOUR PET (SOUND) HATE?

Pet (Sound) Hates pt. I

I always wanted to write rant about the noises that annoy me and now that I have a couple of minutes to spare, I thought it would be the perfect subject.

Because it's going to be quite a long post, here is the first top five from 10 to 6.
I am waiting for your own Pet Sound Hates too!

10. Snoring 

You are tired, you hit the pillow and two seconds after you are in the loving arms of Morpheus, the person next to you starts snoring.  Honestly, who thought snoring is a good thing?  It is irritating for those who try to sleep and embarrassing for those who have it.  Cure it, already!

9. People eating crisps at the Cinema

The bag makes noise, the picking up the crisps makes noise and eating the crisps makes noise.  Need I say more?  Buy pop corn, it is quieter!

8.  The gzgzgz coming from other people's headphones.

Yes, I believe the devil has invented headphones with no noise reduction to destroy me!  I'm sitting on my train, reading my book and suddenly, it comes...from two seats away: Gzzgzzgzz-gzzgzzgzz.  It can drive me mad, especially when I have no battery left on my ipod so I can listen to my own music - which I keep in moderate volume so I don't get hateful stares from my fellow travelers.  

I know what I'm talking about.  I grew up in the 80's and the Walkman was the craze of that decade... I was a wild teenager, listening to my Madonna and Depeche Mode in full blast on those old headphones that barely touched my ears and all I can remember is my mom looking at me with wide eyes full of disapprovement.

I'm all grown up now and I can totally feel her.  I hate listening to other people's gzgzgzgz through their headphones.

7.  Mobile phone key clicks and beeps.

There was a girl sitting next to me at our staff area where we go to relax and all she did for the whole damn break was to text like a maniac and she had the key sound ON!!! Honestly, I wanted to take her mobile off her hand and shove it in her mouth.

It's very simple: you go to Settings-->Sounds-->Key Sounds--> and you select NONE! Otherwise everybody is going to hate you.

6.  Mobile phone music players

What is worse than the music coming from headphones and mobile phone clicks?  The devilish combination of both: the mobile phone music players.

A very frequent phenomenon in London buses - especially where I live in South East London. The "youffs" who usually put their music through their phones should all be banned from public transport.  They put on some awful hip-hop, dubstep, shitty kind of "music" (using the term extremely loosely) in full volume, which sounds even more terrible through the little speaker of their mobiles.  I got in a fight with one of them once but I reluctantly backed off as I was scared that he would pull out a knife and stab me or something similar.

Part II coming soon...

An update for this blog.

Hello World!

Sorry I haven't been around for such a long time. I've been really busy and I had very little time to blog, to my dismay. I have to find the time, even to write a small paragraph and rant about something, LOL.

Weeell, have a look at the page.  I've added a Facebook page so you can ''all'' (!!!) go and like this blog, a Networked Blogs link to follow on Facebook and a nifty little gadget that shows my visitors from around the world.  Take it easy guys, one by one, you'll all get a piece.
You can also add me as a friend on Facebook, if you dig to read my outbursts during my crazy days.

Just to make things clear: I am not an unsociable saddo that has no friends. This is a brand new FB profile and page, hopefully it will accrue more followers and friends soon.

I love the whole social networking thing, all I wish is that I had more time to dedicate to it, as I am in awe of what some fellow bloggers have accomplished.

So here we go, I will be more consistent with my posts and hopefully it will escalate into something beautiful and I will meet lots of interesting people to share my ideas and rants with.

For the moment, I bid you goodnight and have a great rest of the week until we meet again.