meows

i went to around 6 book shops in my area and they all have the same bloody wall calendars. there are exactly 2 themes; Atatürk and Istanbul. seriously. and as said, they all have the same ones, i think there is probably one or two companies printing them and thats where they all buy from. even the very "modern" and big book stores have these ugly f*cking calendars. looking at the calendar section makes me feel like im in Iraq (although thats probably rude, their selection could be more varied). ok, so then i asked around and heard a rumor that a few D&R book stores  (not the one in my area of course...) have cat and dog calendars. 1 cat and 1 dog calendar, and then 1 street animal calendar, the sales profits going to a local animal org. while nice photos, the street animal calendar was not for me. and im not into dogs. so those were my options...     Hanna was going to a D&R on the european side and got me the cat calendar and and brought it to me today as we met for lunch. i am quite happy with it actually, not only does every month have a kitty pic, but every DAY! and the kittys name is included, i kinda like that :)

lately im reading a bit more. by a bit i do mean just a little. mostly i read articles from Long reads, but also books, but im not able to finish any, its just bits and pieces. although I keep going back to Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow. i love it and like going back and reading some parts again. i dont read fiction but i will make an exception, or try at least. i read so much praise about Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, i decided to give it a go. ok a lot of novels are praised but apparently this one has a more philosophical or thoughtful tone to it (i reckon kind of like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? not that i ever finished that one either. not sure i even started). its 1000 pages though... uff. but ill try. i left my books in Finland, including The Red Queen (by Matt Ridley), but im thinking i could browse through it again now in digital form. and maybe read his other book; The Origins of Virtue. also im thinking of;
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Thaler & Sunstein. horrible name though, im not too optimistic. Dan Ariely's books are bit too "generic", readily processed and somehow "too obvious" maybe, but im thinking of reading one or two more - i think i already read one earlier, hence the opinion. but not sure which one...  maybe Predictably Irrational? i should check, start reading and see if it sounds familiar, if not, maybe its something id actually like, seems similar to Thinking fast and Slow.


a kitty sitting on a railing in a bar.

just realized there IS one thing i wont eat: foie gras. well, im assuming there is no ethically produced foie gras...  perhaps im wrong. there might be some other parts of animals that i would not eat if i was aware but right now i cannot think of any. from cows to dogs, if its ethicaly produced, im ok with it. i dont believe animals are aware that they will die, so if they have a good life, i think its fair. its is problematic though as it is hard to trust the "free range" claim that a lot of products and packages have, from country to country there was ways to circumvent the laws. in turkey i have very little trust that so-called "village eggs" are really village eggs. i know there are plenty of free range eggs, its just a matter of really knowing... buying from the bazaar doesnt guarantee it.

ive found another great reality show; The Undateables. a british show about individuals who have hard time finding a date/partner and it follows them being set up by a dating agency and so on. their dating difficulties stem from issues like autism, stuttering, physical disabilities etc. i could definitely be a match maker if i wasnt doing anything else, i think i would be good at it.