Ja pirms četriem gadiem būtu bijis Twitteris un blogi, tādi, kādus mēs tos esam pieraduši redzēt tagad, arī emo un pokemoni būtu bijuši nacionālajā presē. Ja tolaik būtu bijis tik viegli piekļūt valsts pirmajām personām, arī tad mūsu draugi žurnālisti tām būtu vaicājuši: vai Jūs zināt, kas ir pokemons?
Ko es ar to gribu pateikt? Hipsteri ir tāda pati subkultūra, kā visas pārējās. Tikai, iespējams, tīrīgāka. Ja kādreiz tie paši cilvēki krāsoja matus asinssarkanus, zaļus vai zilus un pie Depo ieejas nicīgi skatījās uz tiem, kuru nebija “sarakstā”, tad šobrīd glīti sasukāti pārīši ar touchscreen telefoniem rokās satiekas Vīna Studijā un ignorē kā visus pārējos, tā viens otru.
Tikko radās sajūta, ka emo un pokemoni vismaz bija patiesi. Varbūt hiperbolizēti emocionāli, tomēr – ar emocijām kā tādām.
* ieraksts tapis, plānojot doties fashionistu cienīgā pastaigā pa Kluso centru ar nodomu iegriezties vai nu Vīna Studijā, vai Illy. Un tikpat reālu plānu vakarā dzert lēto Cēsu alu.
Šis nebūs viens no tiem dusmīgajiem ierakstiem, uz kuriem jūs linkojat, lai kāds pateiktu jūsu domas. Šis būs pavisam mierīgs. Jo ir svētdienas rīts un es esmu pavisam priecīga.
Pēdējās nedēļas pagājušas visai interesanti. Kā jau esmu rakstījusi Twitterī, rakstu bakalaura darbu. Viss pamazām notiek un bīdās uz priekšu – tiek runāts ar gudriem cilvēkiem, iegūts daudz vērtīgas informācijas un sociālo mediju fenomens tiek apskatīts no visdažādākajām pusēm. Gribēju pateikt lielu paldies visiem ekspertiem, kuri bijuši ļoti atsaucīgi pēdējo nedēļu laikā – bez jums nekas nenotiktu. Etaps, kurš sāksies šodien būs ne mazāk interesants. No visu jūsu nosauktajiem piemēriem izveidošu sarakstu ar pētīšanas vērtiem uzņēmumiem un veikšu to gadījumu studijas. Par to, kas sekos tālāk, pagadām neko neteikšu.
Bet vispār. Pēdējā laikā dzirdu daudzus no jums runājam par to, ka sociālo mediju, lielākoties uzsverot Twitter, laiks ir beidzies/garām/vakardienas zupa & tā tālāk. Kaut kā negribu piekrist. Jūs noteikti esat dzirdējuši teicienu “Pastāvēs, kas pārmainīsies” – man šķiet, ka tas ir viens no iemesliem, kāpēc sociālie mediji vēl kādu laiku būs ļoti populāri un bieži izmantoti. Jo tie visu laiku mainās. Un mainās nevis tāpēc, ka Jack Dorsey izdomātu uztaisīt jaunas fīčas Twitter vai Mark Zuckerberg izdomātu pārveidot Facebook sākuma lapu (vai nu jebko, sapratāt), bet gan tāpēc, ka sociālie mediji ir tikai un vienīgi mediji, t.i., starpnieki. Tie ir tas, kas esam mēs, lietotāji. Un lietotāji mainās. Saprati saistību? 🙂 Man šķiet, par šo ļoti labu prezentāciju bija sagatavojis Zigurds Zaķis pirms kāda laika, Tweetup02, bet mana atmiņa ir kuģa katastrofa, tāpēc varu arī kļūdīties.
Jāatzīst, ka man ļoti patīk visas asās diskusijas par sociālo mediju nozīmi un pievienoto vērtību – tajās bieži vien rodas absolūti ģeniālas pērles par lietām, kurām ar soušal mīdia ļoti maza saistība. Keep up the good work.
Paldies par uzmanību, let there be love [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2bbgqlvjps&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
It’s the 6th day, since I’ve stepped on my home soil in Latvia. It has been a lot of fun, a lot of reunions and a lot of surprises. Majority of them very positive. Some of them not so positive – with recession and all. But I’ve pretty much understood that everything lies in your small and beautiful mind.
The most important thing is to walk the streets minding your own business. Get a large pair of headphones if you must. Put Belle & Sebastian on. Fantasize. Imagine. Plan. Make strategies. If you’re close to bankruptcy, use your imagination to come up with new ways of using the things you already have and don’t use. Don’t go to the clubs, make an in-house party with movies, cheap booze and clothes swapping. Play Monopoly or even hide-and-seek if you must. Even at hard times people have always somehow managed to get through. This is not a war, when you are losing the ones you love to the bullets and hatchets. No-one’s coming into your house and taking your children away, you know. It’s all in your head. Yes, the one that looks suspiciously pale today because of the reckless binge-drinking yesterday. The one that wishes that this was still Sunday. The one that possibly wishes you still had a job and money to pay your debts. Well guess what? This is not going to be a How to earn more money lesson. Because I’m no good at that. But I know one thing I’m pretty damn good at. Positive thinking. And imagination, come to that.
– Don’t talk about the crisis. Even if you’re at a pub and there is an uncomfortable silence between you and the person you want to talk pants-off. Talk about anything – refreshments (did you know that a hot tea is much more refreshing in a hot day than a cold coke?), music (well, I don’t have to give you ideas on this one, right?), Facebook (did you know that Facebook has recently launched a faster and lighter version called Facebook Lite?) or even me (did you know that I just spent the longest summer of my life? Eight months!)? Just change the subject. It’s not that difficult, I’m sure you can handle it.
– Spend more time with the kids. Even if you don’t have them. No, please don’t stalk kids on the streets, you’ll end up in jail. I’m talking visit your friends with kids and talk to them, hear their opinion kind of time-spending. You’ll find it refreshing and positive. And as Reamonn sung – this life is so complicated, until we see it through the eyes of a child.
– Watch TV shows. Sitcoms. Scrubs, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Black Books, The Big Bang Theory… These are my personal favorites, choose yours. Read books. The last really comforting book I’ve read is A Cat Called Norton: The True Story of an Extraordinary Cat and His Imperfect Human by Peter Gethers. You can borrow it, if you want. Turn the boring trolley bus rides in a world of your own. Put headphones on. Read. Don’t listen to others mumble about the sacking and hunger.
– Get out of the city. Go to the countryside. If you don’t have a countryside house of your own, invite yourself to one of your friends houses. Collect apples, plums, potatoes and camomile – it’s the right time. Make apple pies, plum jams… anything really. You’ll have a good time now and delicious treats in the winter.
– Tidy and clean your house. The poorer you are, the cleaner your house must be. Come up with new ways to make it even more personal. You have to feel at home at your home, don’t you?
– Meet old friends at weird places. Drop a line to a friend you haven’t seen for years and invite him to a picnic on the roof. To a clothes swapping party. To a gallery run. To a free concert. I’m sure you can come up with even better ideas. The main idea is – surprise people pleasantly, please! They’ve probably had enough of unpleasant surprises already. Stop drinking bad coffee at Starbucks or Double Coffee, please!
– Meet foreigners. No, I’m not talking about British stags who take a leak on the Freedom Monument. I’m talking about Couchsurfing.org, for instance. Offer them “Tea or Coffee and a show-around”. Hear their experiences. You’ll broaden your mind and have a great time. Not to mention, you’ll definitely do the possibly a bit lost traveller a favor, by showing the best places not mentioned on the tourist guides.
– Avoid reading news. I know this one is controversial, because you have to be a bit up to date, but still. If you do read them, read them as fiction novels. Don’t imagine those things happening to yourself. I’m not suggesting you to live as a Tibetan monk, or pack your bags and move to your imagination apartment, I’m telling you not to let all those bad things too close. It will do you no good.
So, anyway, the deal is – imagine, fantasize and create. Do you remember the line from Everything Is Borrowed by The Streets?
I came to this world with nothing, and I’ll leave with nothing but love. Everything else is just borrowed.
A-ha at The Roundhouse, Camden @ iTunes Live Festival, London `09 (c) Austra Javalde
Oh, dear, the last time I updated this space was erm, two months ago? It’s been too long! I promise to behave from now on. Anyway, I’ve had so much fun over these past two months. I’ve left Porto, Portugal and I’ve been in and out of London, UK, media events, concerts and pubs…
I’ve seen Newton Faulkner, Peter, Bjorn & John, Reamonn, A-ha, Ladyhawke and probably some other gigs, but I just can’t recall now.
I’ve been to exhibitions, museums, galleries, movies. I’ve kicked ass and ate ice-cream. I’ve hosted people and I’ve been a guest. I’ve loved and I’ve hated (not particularly proud of the last one).
I’ve watched Scrubs (love!) and True Blood (love even more!). I’ve cooked (the sky’s no limit for my cooking skills anymore!) and I’ve even went to grocery stores in the middle of the night to get myself more basil.
Reamonn at The Roundhouse, Camden @ iTunes Live Festival, London `09 (c) Austra Javalde
I’ve fallen in love with music even more. Remember Jamie T? He has a new Chaka Demus EP which I just can’t get out of my head. Remember Jamie Cullum? I recently found a song that he recorded with Katie Melua called Love Cats and it’s just lovable!
(me) This is how beer interacts with music (c) Marina Scukina
Thanks to the happiest bunny of all, I’ve discovered the mighty London Freeshop and it has given me a lot of amazing free dresses for my absolutely dominant feminine side.
The reason I came to London was… (confetti and fanfares!) I wanted to explore the job market and opportunities in UK. No strings attached. And well, I must say it’s quite hard to find a job in London if you don’t have any UK based job experience. So – I postponed this attraction for a year. And, in a bit more than a week, I’m returning to my beloved Latvia, Riga and in the same evening of arrival I’m packing my bags really quickly and going to Valmiera, my 2nd home, to have my first lecture in Latvian this year. All of the others have been either in Portuguese or in English. I already know I’m gonna love this.
Ladyhawke (c) Marina Scukina
But no worries, London, I’m coming back on the 29th of October for almost a week. So probably next year will be quite a travel again – between Valmiera, Riga and London.
That’s it for now, keep your eyes peeled, more coming in just a few days!
There is a beautiful small town in the North of Portugal, which just got trashed massively. As I’ve mentioned before, I have lived in Porto, Portugal for about four months now. Quite some time and yet, there is so much that I explored during these past days and so much I learned about the wonderful Portuguese people. But let’s not rush forward too fast…
Why the particular week? There are a lot of reasons why this week was The One. But the main reason is the visit of a good friend of mine, also known as the Party Chipmunk of Latvia (Almighty). He might not have £100000 fun himself, but everywhere he goes, magic just happens. If he goes over to Porto for Sao Joao, you can count on the best celebration ever. If he goes to an unknown jazz club, there most certainly will be a DVD on with one of his favorite artists. He laughs. He jumps around like a Happy Bunny and sings along. He’s not a very big fan of hammers. He’s awesome humble and shy.
What happened exactly? Well, I’m not going to tell you everything, mates! But this is just because at one point my memory just fails me. You know I’ve got nothing to hide from you. So – here goes…
Day One The best view ever: two Latvians struggling with the lack of sleep. He had spent a night in London Stansted and I was too worried that I might oversleep, that I just couldn’t sleep at all. Although, we had a lovely walk to some of the sights, like Sao Bento rail station, the bridge of Luis I and Vila Nova de Gaia. When you come to Porto, make sure you cross the bridge of Luis I (that’s the only one the tube crosses, quite easy to spot) and go a bit up to the small park on the other side of river Douru and enjoy the splendid view on the whole cidade do Porto. Some say that the only good thing in Gaia is that particular view and port wine. Not sure that I agree, but we certainly tried both and I can say that the view causes much less unbearable headache in the next morning, than the port wine.
Day Two There are quite a few Latvians in Porto. One of them is a really good friend of mine and she works at a wonderful bar at the seaside called Praia dos Ingleses (Portuguese: English Beach). Spontaneously, we decided to drop by and in the mean time check out the ocean. It turned out to be the absolutely right thing to do and we had a wicked time. Imagine – the ocean, waves, stars and cold beverages. Don’t quite remember the way home but it was very, very late. Here’s a tip: if you ever visit that bar – don’t buy rum & coke, it’s oddly expensive, choose something else. For us, the choice was gin & tonics. I think I can still taste juniper in my mouth. Ah, I almost forgot – before going to the beach, we saw one of the most awkward buildings in Portugal – Casa de Musica – the house of music. It’s the central place of the majority of the musical events – mostly Portuguese and world music. Moving forward to…
Day Three… …took my breath away. I reckon I had never seen so many people in one place doing things so incredibly odd and lovely at the same time. Why? This is the day of the midsummer festival in Portugal. It’s called Sao Joao in Porto and Braga, two small towns in the North, and Sao Antonio in the rest of the towns and Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal (well, duh!). I can only tell you about the traditions of Sao Joao – been there, done that. At the celebration day, the anticipation is in the air. You can see trade folks on the streets selling plastic hammers, basil pots and garlic blossoms (I had no idea, they were so big!). All of the things mentioned before are essential celebration attributes, apparently. I’m going to elaborate on the hammer only. Buy one, you’ll need one. Even if you don’t like them at first, you will catch yourself paying that one or two Euros for it later. All of the people just walk the streets hitting each other with those hammers. They make a cute squeaking sound that will ring in your ears long after the party. It’s a lot of fun and you just have to give in. Also, there are wonderful fireworks at the Ribeira (Riverside) part of the town and when they end, people start walking to Castelo do Queijo (The Cheese Castle). It’s located in a huge roundabout, which is the central part of Matosinhos, the part of Porto with all the surfers, fisherman and ocean lovers. After the parade to ocean, you can write off the next days, because you will simply be half paralyzed, especially in the feet area.
Day Four Waking up at about 2pm, after arriving home at about 7am, the first thought was: where are my shoes? Portuguese know how to party. They just do. This was the day that was supposed to be dull and sleepy, but it turned out that my friend had done his Googling and found a small jazzy-blues bar at the area of Sao Bento station. On our way to the club, he dragged me into a fun fair with those awful little cars with whom the biggest challenge is to hit as many other vehicles as possible. I was insanely afraid in the beginning, but surprisingly it turned out to be lots and lots of fun. When we got to the club, it turned out that there is no jam session after all, because everybody is sleeping after the yesterday’s party. We still went in to have a few beers and we ended up very pleased, because they were showing the live concert of John Mayer, which is a love we both share. Met some really nice Portuguese musicians and had an awesome time.
Day Five The lack of beauty sleep is finally beating me, so we went to the nearest Wifi spot to get some internet and have breakfast and split our roads for me to sleep, for him to keep exploring. Instead of sleeping I finally managed to clean the enormous mess my room had turned into and read some case studies on the journalism ethics, because I’ll have to do the impossible – I will have to pass an exam after a week of hardcore parties. Let’s see how it works out.
Day Six Being a good girl and skipping the amazing sightseeing ride to study for the exam. Waiting for my flat mate to wake up and plug my internet back to where it belongs. As I said I’m in Porto for about 4 months now and there is one thing that I would like to teach them, there is one tiny thing that I would never get used to, if I lived here permanently. Majority of them doesn’t understand the significance of internet. I’m pretty sure, that’s because they don’t know how to use it ways that will make a difference and help them do things better and faster. Thank god, my course mates stand beyond others. As for myself – I just need my permanent internet access. It’s not that I’m planning to use it all the time, it’s just – I need it to be there, be available. Is that so hard to understand?
Keep your eyes peeled, more details & pictures coming soon! And I’m more than sure you don’t want to miss them! By the way, if you’re fortunate enough to be one of the approx. 1,4 million Latvian speakers – check out the videocasts, that we made..
(All of the characters are fictional and if you see any connection with reality, I advice you to call your shrink immediately)
On busy nights, when then you’re engaged with so many things, but sleep is ruthlessly sitting next to you, trying to close your eyes and drizzle your mind, one might think of endless ways to stay awake.
Some might suggest drinking plenty of coffee. Coffee helps to improve alertness, attention and wakefulness and by that means it facilitates learning. In other words, coffee helps optimise the energy sources you have for learning. Yes, apparently it helps, but there’s a chance of overdosing and therefore creating the opposite effect – trembling hands and a heart flutter. And one might experience an unmistakable coffee-hangover on the next day, so, we have to keep searching for a better way.
We’re not even going to talk about energy drinks. They are awful. Take my word for it.
Cold showers every 15 minutes takes a lot more time, than the time for an actual working, so – will not do as well.
Smoking might help, but I’m not suggesting to do it. It’s a bad habbit and I will regret doing that one day.
I have heard people drinking coffee together with coke. I’ve never tried, though, but I think that must be a really important work/paper/etc. for you to do something like this to yourself.
Most probably, when working at nights, at some point there will be stress involved, right? When a person is under stress, the adrenal glands are depleted of vitamin C. At this occurrence, the blood reaches a high oxidation level which makes the adrenal glands unable to fight off toxins; therefore, to protect the body, one must consume a higher level of vitamin C. So – maybe that’s the trick.
If you’re the fittest person in the universe, you can eat a lot of chocolate. It has been proved to help a little. I think, for it to help in visible ways, you have to eat a lot of it & most probably, before the actual effect, you’ll be fed up with it.
For me, personally, there are three things that usually help me not to fall asleep and keep some attention level. Coffee, strong green tea and pollen. You have to be a bit careful with the first ones, but the last one is a real miracle worker. Don’t take it, if you have the pollen allergies, though.
Stay tuned! I promise to keep exploring and searching for better ways to stay awake. Sleep is for the weak!
us EP which I just can’t get out of my head. Remember Jamie Cullum? I recently found a song that he recorded with Katie Melua called Love Cats and it’s just lovable!
might think of endless ways to stay awake.