A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness – a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild…

[...]

It was like a trap, and all his instinct resented it and revolted against it. It was a mad revolt. For several minutes he was to all intents insane. The basic life that was in him took charge of him. The will to exist of his body surged over him. He was dominated by this mere flesh-love of life. All intelligence was gone. It was as though he had no brain. His reason was unseated by the blind yearning of the flesh to exist and move, at all hazards to move, to continue to move, for movement was the expression of its existence.

(Jack London – White Fang)

I present a time of destruction. There is misfortune in the stars, the sky is lost and the sea is frozen over. The circles of life which allowed both man and nature to flourish have all but stopped. The main players of our story have long since left the stage. We hang in anticipation for the inevitable final curtain. And yet, even at this late hour, traces of the great circle remain – the circle of life only continues because you exist. We wait to see the fate of the last survivors of this world for, if you perish, perception is removed and existence comes to an end. An universe without perception is much like an enormous stack of books, forever unopened and unread. To survive this darkness, the universe has thrust itself into the next phase of its life cycle. Can’t you hear the pulse of the awakening?

The white noise that beats within the white darkness is the rhythm of life, it is that pulse which never truly left the stage…

Ergo Proxy

In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small, and its rocking-horse stands as many hands high, according to scale, as a big-boned Irish hunter. Within myself, I had sustained, from my babyhood, a perpetual conflict with injustice.

(Charles Dickens – Great Expectations)

You know how, once in a while, you’re stuck in traffic.

Then suddenly you remember a dream you’ve forgotten. And, for a few moments, you’re not quite sure if it was a dream or not… because the dream feels just as real.

Some say the line between reality and fantasy is razor thin. Some say the hardest thing to see is right in front of you. But what do you do when reality begins to feel more like your own imagination?

(Charlie Jade)

From here.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a summer solstice to celebrate today! In Romania, the exact time that marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and that of the winter in the southern hemisphere is 20:06.

Not only did they have a captivating story, they also enticed me with the way they were drawn – every colour, every detail, every combination of static and dynamic imagery. And, somehow, a few of them reminded me of the magnificent world of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, the RPG that I can no doubt call my favourite game of all times, with the same intriguing combination of emerging technology and powerful yet hidden magic.

Perfect PetZzz sells some pretty toy dogs and cats that look quite realistic and even breathe (thanks to a battery, of course).

Sooo… meet the “translated” Foxkeh, the blog featuring the Firefox mascot made by the Japanese fans out there.

Last September Foxkeh was born and we collected ideas for his name from over 7,000 community members. He was named Foxkeh after FIREFOX and SUKE, the suffix of common boys’ name in Japan.

In the Downloads section, you’ll be able to find neat illustration of the history of Firefox, wallpapers and other lovely images with Foxkeh.

I have a new small and sexy backpack which I’ve begun carrying around with me everywhere I go. That implies, of course, that I always have around tons of useless things, books, a bottle of water (finally!), my mp3 player and my digicam. Oh, and it also has a shiny Ursus Urban Music Party trinket.

I won’t get 10 in the calculus test paper I had last week. But there’s more ahead. Must learn, learn, learn, learn, learn. Yes, I want to finish this year w/o having to go to the exams sessions – for the ARTMania fest, of course.

On the same topic, Jen & I finally managed to go to Diverta Plaza and get ourselves tickets for the Tori Amos concert on the 13th of July. On this occasion, I noticed how pretty that place is – they have painted roads with marks for lanes and crossings, as well as shiny street lanterns.

And talking about Plaza, I also managed to go there with DarkWidow and have a delicious Frappucinno Vanilla and a muffin at Starbucks. Adorable.

Too bad I haven’t managed to see any of their performances yet, but I sure hope I’ll be able to, in the near future. They really seem to be something I’d definitely enjoy for a change.

More details (plus music and a clip) can be found on the page that the band has on MySpace.