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    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/18/an-excursion-to-a-foreign-world">

        <rss:title>An excursion to a foreign world</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/18/an-excursion-to-a-foreign-world</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>An unplanned trip to London became a full blown trip to a land closed by curtains of dream dust.</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;As far as the stereotype about urban gay men approaching their forties goes, &lt;a href="http://images.google.nl/images?q=Viktor%20and%20Rolf"&gt;Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren&lt;/a&gt; do not deceive while adding a pinch of seriousness to their &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_designer"&gt;worldly concerns&lt;/a&gt; by means of glasses with thick black frames.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have never been a &lt;em&gt;fashionista&lt;/em&gt; myself, and will probably not become one. The thought of spending any significant amount of my time hunting new designs and attending &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_show"&gt;the mass&lt;/a&gt; leaves me totally unphased. Yet, a one hour excursion on &lt;a href="http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=7272"&gt;the third floor&lt;/a&gt; of the &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbican_Arts_Centre"&gt;Barbican Arts Centre&lt;/a&gt; in London proved to be both a refreshing and enlightening experience.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A friend, dear among the dearest, brought me to a fashion exhibition in the City of London. He intended this experiment both as an initiation and as a test for my taste &amp;mdash; I would hear “I wonder if you will like it” at least thrice before we eventually squeezed the last hours of our trip together in the Barbican Centre.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The key works of Dutch fashion designers &lt;a href="http://www.viktor-rolf.com/"&gt;Viktor and Rolf&lt;/a&gt; were on display in a two-floor exhibition hall. Visitors are there invited to follow a sequence of rooms around a central doll house, where each of the hall's rooms would match a room in the doll house and contain a couple models and a projection screen.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Describing the collection and its qualities would far exceed my vocabulary skills, so I will not dwelve into details here. However, the purpose of this note today is to stay as a reminder of how touched I was by the amount of creative work and creative diversity that was concentrated in these fifty-something models. Unexpected in a fashion exhibit, I felt more respect and admiration for these tailors than I have for many painters in art musea.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Add this to the &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbican_Estate"&gt;brutal style of the estate&lt;/a&gt; of which the Barbican Centre is part, its stained grey ragged concrete walls and columns contrasting with the lush and lively yet constrained small lake that it contains, and you get a picture of a foreign urban world of sorts &amp;mdash; obscurely pure and devoid of irregularities, where nature is enclosed, and where the only form of art is worn somptuously as unique and breathtaking clothes. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I discovered a world of dreams, made for and by them. London is a city of many surprises.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-08-18T14:07:57+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-08-18T14:07:57+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>travels</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>culture</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>dreams</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/14/the-new-question-of-visibility">

        <rss:title>The new question of visibility</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/14/the-new-question-of-visibility</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;The ability of social networking sites such as FB, Plaxo or Hyves to display information from RSS feeds is an easy way to broadcast to many people. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But then comes the question of where should more personal stuff stay and how can it be communicated. Obviously it cannot be broadcasted in the same way — even if it stays publicly reachable.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The solution: &lt;a href="riddle" rel="nofollow"&gt;a simple gateway&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-08-14T16:20:00+00:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-08-14T00:54:53+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        


    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/04/knowledge-pain-and-ignorance">

        <rss:title>Knowledge, pain and ignorance</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/08/04/knowledge-pain-and-ignorance</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Imagine.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Imagine you meet someone. This person wears an eye mask on both eyes, and uses a white cane to find their way around. It does not take long for you to figure out that this person is blind.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Then this person comes up to you, knowing that you have a keen ear for others. This person explains: “I have never seen a picture in my life. Recently, I acquired this camera and I wanted to take pictures of the world around me. Unfortunately, I cannot see the pictures taken by this camera. I am very sad.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;As a kind hearted person, what would be your reaction?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A colleague of mine wisely suggested: it is important to be kind, but this person could be explained clearly and easily that their expectations were not set properly. A camera does not make a blind person able to see pictures, and there is not much more to be said about the situation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;End of round one.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To your other self, now imagine. Imagine you witness the following situation, as an external observer. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is day in a featureful neighborhood in a friendly city. The day is bright and sunny. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You see a person, otherwise healthy and without unusal traits, holding a camera to take a picture of the scenery. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You notice that the flash is activated as indicated by the pulsing LED indicator. However you can see also that the flash is oriented incorrectly, i.e. pointing in the direction of the person holding the camera instead of the direction of the scenery. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The person actionates the trigger, and receives the light in the face. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After a few minutes it appears clear that the person recovers their sight but expresses their inconfort with the situation to a another passer-by also interested in the situation. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The person and the passer-by talk for a while, apparently discussing the features of the camera. You overhear the passer-by suggesting confidently: “your eyes have expressed pain when you took the picture. Our shared common sense recommends that you mutilate them.” &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You observe (with no means to interfere) that the person agrees and dutifully blinds themselves permanently. For the purpose of this “dream” you can let yourself imagine that the mutiliation completed quickly and was relatively painless.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Then this person comes up to you, knowing that you have a keen ear for others. This person explains: “I have never seen a picture in my life. Recently, I acquired this camera and I wanted to take pictures of the world around me. Unfortunately, I cannot see the pictures taken by this camera. I am very sad.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;As a kind hearted person, what would be your reaction?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;End of round two.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Statements:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;knowledge and wisdom can help avoid complex situations.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;knowledge makes it more difficult to deal with complex situations.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;lack of curiosity and painful narrow-mindedness can be interchangeable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;ignorance makes people weak.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-08-04T13:18:17+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-08-04T13:18:17+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>philosophy</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/21/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-carbon-dioxide">

        <rss:title>So long, and thanks for all the carbon dioxide</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/21/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-carbon-dioxide</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Did they not forget something?</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Today a friend pointed me to the documentary &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthlings_%28documentary%29"&gt;Earthlings&lt;/a&gt; which seems to be already known of everyone but me. A half-enlightening experience: while I was already aware of the issues, and I already knew some facts, the images made my understanding more vivid; an unpleasant but refreshing enhancement.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But still, something in this documentary was bothering me all the way. Now I can see it: the title.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“ &lt;em&gt;Earthlings&lt;/em&gt; ”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And the documentary goes over animals, about how humans relate to (and use) other animals. Did they not forget something?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What about &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantae"&gt;the&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungi"&gt;other&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life"&gt;earthlings&lt;/a&gt;?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Turning vegetarian after watching such a documentary completely misses the point. All in all, any human has to learn to deal with fellow living beings. That always involves killing to survive, often in nasty ways for convenience. We should just choose how to minimize the amount of inconvenience for our community of earthlings as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Topic for this week's discussions: if you were to get a mental picture (or a perception) of each living thing that is used or killed to sustain your own life, where each being would be expressing their opinion by speaking in their own distinct voice (possibly a little squeaky), how would you deal with the situation? Imagine, for example, the opinion of that branch of parsley on the cutting board if it was expressing human-like feelings and consciousness about its fate…&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Life is tough.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;One day, we will wake up in the morning and see a world devoid of plants. &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long%2C_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Fish"&gt;Like the dolphins&lt;/a&gt;, they will have left us to our own device.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-07-21T02:34:16+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-07-21T02:34:16+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>culture</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>philosophy</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/14/questions-for-a-mundane-conversation">

        <rss:title>Questions for a mundane conversation</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/14/questions-for-a-mundane-conversation</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Every Monday, my Dutch teacher tells me about the world around us…</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Today's conversation added to the list of concerns evolving around my mind at the moment:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;will China invade Siberia when oil becomes scarce? or Iran?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;what will be the form of the next conflict between Japan and China?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;who will end up controlling North Korea?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;why doesn't the &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank"&gt;ECB&lt;/a&gt; propose to invest in a deep and far-fetching solution for the American mortgage crisis? Why doesn't China propose either?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How is the obligation to carry identity documents helping against “terrorism”? &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;what will be the long term evolution of the current tendency of governments to alienate citizens into criminals and “protect” them against themselves?&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-07-14T23:21:31+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-07-14T23:21:31+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>politics</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>future</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>civilization</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>economics</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/04/impertinent-irresponsibility">

        <rss:title>Impertinent irresponsibility</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/07/04/impertinent-irresponsibility</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Evidence &lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6108414.stm"&gt;shows clearly&lt;/a&gt; that we will not be able to eat fish in the future unless strong global policing action is taken &lt;em&gt;now&lt;/em&gt;. We &lt;a href="http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=13051"&gt;know already&lt;/a&gt; that future generations will never enjoy &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod"&gt;cod&lt;/a&gt; as a popular and usual dish. Still, even so-called “developed” countries make &lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7469109.stm"&gt;irrational political moves&lt;/a&gt; about fishing and &lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7485839.stm"&gt;short-sightedness combined with global disinterest&lt;/a&gt; runs rampant. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overfishing"&gt;Overfishing&lt;/a&gt; is a canonical example of a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons"&gt;tragedy of the commons&lt;/a&gt;. In other words, everyone is responsible, and nobody cares.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A topic I was debating the other day with a new colleague was: &lt;em&gt;why should we care?&lt;/em&gt; Another I was debating longer ago with an older friend was: &lt;em&gt;should we take responsibility for other people's actions&lt;/em&gt; and reduce our demand for fish to induce a decrease in production?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The conclusion was straightforward: any purely rational approach based on a fundamentally individualistic philosophy (where everyone should be only responsible for their own actions) dictates unsustainable behaviors. This is a logical conclusion, leaving choices to be made:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;not be rational: let God dictate what is “good for you,” possibly reducing your environmental footprint. Possibly effective, but unpredictable.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;empathize with fellow humans worldwide &lt;em&gt;and time-wide&lt;/em&gt; (of the future), then take responsibility for other people's actions and act. Likely effective, but equally unlikely to happen within current morals and value systems.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;not do anything.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Choose your future.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-07-04T08:56:24+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-07-04T08:56:24+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>idiocy</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>civilization</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>economics</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/23/business-values-and-ethics-mix-in-strange-ways">

        <rss:title>Business values and ethics mix in strange ways</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/23/business-values-and-ethics-mix-in-strange-ways</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Once again many people miss an occasion to just shut up and say nothing.</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;In a blog entry a &lt;a href="http://rising.blackstar.com/will-photographing-same-sex-ceremonies-hurt-or-help-your-wedding-photography-busi.html"&gt;professional photographer from Colorado wonders how same-sex weddings impact his business&lt;/a&gt;. The author crams his foot in his mouth very effectively:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Put aside for a moment your own values. Would it hurt or help your business to photograph same-sex commitment ceremonies or weddings?&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Regardless of the issue at hand, the &lt;a href="http://www.metafilter.com/72661/Photographing-gay-weddings-a-moral-quandry"&gt;storm of comments that followed on MeFi&lt;/a&gt; attracted my attention by the sheer number of &lt;a href="http://www.vandruff.com/art_converse.html"&gt;fallacies&lt;/a&gt; and ill-chosen analogies:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;“Should a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KKK"&gt;KKK&lt;/a&gt; photographer refuse or accept to photograph black commitment ceremonies or weddings?”&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;“Should a black photographer refuse or accept to photograph KKK commitment ceremonies or weddings?”&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;“Should a vegetarian photographer have the right to refuse to photograph a wedding reception where &lt;em&gt;fois gras&lt;/em&gt; is served?”&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Some comments sent me giggling, but I admit my patience was not enough to read past this insightful thought: “Should they have to choose between pissing off God and pissing off a potential client?”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ethics and businesses? With religion in the middle? Makes me giggle. and sad.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-06-23T09:34:21+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-06-23T09:34:21+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>idiocy</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>civilization</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>religion</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/21/unlikely-201cshort201d-itineraries">

        <rss:title>Unlikely “short” itineraries</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/21/unlikely-201cshort201d-itineraries</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;One of my favorites pastimes when procrastinating: looking up unusual ways to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport"&gt;travel by train&lt;/a&gt;. Using the &lt;a href="http://plannerint.b-rail.be/"&gt;journey planner with the largest database&lt;/a&gt; that I know of, I set myself imaginary goals and I search:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;the longest journey that can be achieved within a day: Marseille-Malmö&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;the longest journey in a single night train: Hamburg-Villach, Paris-Barcelona, Amsterdam-Milano&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;the longest journey that can be achieved at high speed within a day: Marseille-Berlin via Brussels and Köln&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;the longest journey that can be achieved without changing trains: Amsterdam-Moscow&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;the longest journey with only one change: Amsterdam-Beijing via Moscow&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #eee" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:High_Speed_Railroad_Map_Europe_2008.gif"&gt;&lt;img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/High_Speed_Railroad_Map_Europe_2008.gif/360px-High_Speed_Railroad_Map_Europe_2008.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-06-21T16:42:13+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-06-21T16:48:22+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>info</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>dreams</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/21/updating-links">

        <rss:title>Updating links</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/06/21/updating-links</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Removed from the daily reads: &lt;a href="http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/"&gt;Dilbert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://thedailywtf.com/"&gt;Daily WTF&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.userfriendly.org/"&gt;UF&lt;/a&gt;. Added: &lt;a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/"&gt;PhD Comics&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-06-21T09:53:30+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-06-21T09:53:30+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>info</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>lifestyle</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/05/27/scale-of-meaning">

        <rss:title>Scale of meaning</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/05/27/scale-of-meaning</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;An interesting feature of several languages is the impact of negation on the meaning of verbs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Technically, a negation makes true things false, and vice-versa. This is different from a change in meaning.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;More specifically: many verbs reflects concepts that can be put on a scale of meaning, ranging from a meaning to its opposite going through the absence of meaning. Compare:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to feel cold&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to not feel cold&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to feel warm&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Or a single verb:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to swallow&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to not swallow&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to regurgitate&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As exemplified here, negation does not (and technically should not) imply opposition. The truth value of an action or a description (or any other kind of verb) is about whether the positive meaning of the verb is asserted, or not. From a grammar standpoint, the opposite value of the verb is not summoned by the use of negation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That said, several verbs are often assumed to have their meaning changed to their opposite when negated. Or, rather, the absence of another verb with the opposite meaning invites the use of negation to express that opposite meaning. This is unfortunate, as such uses of negation introduce ambiguity about what is the intended meaning of the resulting construct. Compare:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to like: I like potatoes&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to not like: I do not like potatoes&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The latter case is often understood (and intended to be understood) as a rejection, whereas technically it should merely mean absence of interest. Two scales of understanding are thus possible:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to like
- to not like (lack of approval)
- to dislike (aversion, antipathy)&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;or&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;to like
- ??? (lack of approval)
- to not like / to dislike (aversion, antipathy)&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Incidentally, "dislike" is often understood to have two possible meanings, reflecting this ambiguity from the other side of the scale; as per &lt;a href="http://www.onelook.com/:"&gt;Onelook&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;dl&gt;
&lt;dt&gt;dislike&lt;/dt&gt;
&lt;dd&gt;a feeling of aversion or antipathy&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;dt&gt;dislike&lt;/dt&gt;
&lt;dd&gt;an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;/dl&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the case of like / dislike, a lengthy and wordy construct is sometimes used to clarify the position on the scale: “I do not like potatoes, but I don't dislike them either,” or “I do not like potatoes, I mean, I would rather not have them.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now, as clear as this idea of a scale of meaning is — from an asserted meaning to its opposite, going through its negated truth value — there are some verbs where the distinction is much less clear. For a few examples, most language users (in several languages, not only English) often do not distinguish negation and opposites. To illustrate the point, take the verb "want" as a case study:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;“I want to love you”&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;“I do not want to love you”&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the latter sentence, what is the intended meaning? Technically, the negation changes the truth value, and should only remove the "intention" carried by the verb. However, in this archetypical example the most common use is to carry the opposite meaning: “I want to not love you.” &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On the same line of thought, which of the following are intended to carry opposites, and which are merely negated?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I do not like chocolate&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I do not like my mother&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I am not happy&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I am not unhappy&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Language is tricky. Semantics are even worse.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Any suggestion for additional "tricky negations" is welcome!&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-05-27T09:22:03+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-05-27T09:22:03+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>language</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/30/crystal-of-stupidity">

        <rss:title>Crystal of stupidity</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/30/crystal-of-stupidity</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Behold! Observe and enjoy this gem from a popular social networking site</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;But before we go there,  a reminder:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;dl&gt;
&lt;dt&gt;stupid, adj&lt;/dt&gt;
&lt;dd&gt;lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;/dl&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now, enjoy:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;if homosexuality is such a sin, why did god make them that way? believe it or not, sexual orientation is not just a matter of preference, it is biologically proved to be a genetic mutation, and actually, the heterosexual gene is the mutated gene.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(reference not given to protect the anonymity of the idiot)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And another reminder:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;dl&gt;
&lt;dt&gt;idiot, noun&lt;/dt&gt;
&lt;dd&gt;a person of subnormal intelligence&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;/dl&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In case someone misses the point: past my opinion that mixing "god" and "genetic mutation" in the same train of thought borders on intellectual incorrectness, I find it interesting to notice here that god would have created homosexual beings initially (with their homosexual genes), intending genetic evolution to take care of introducing heterosexuality later — &lt;em&gt;although homosexuality would prevent reproduction in the first place, and therefore genetic evolution.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Bleh.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-04-30T16:06:49+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-30T16:26:36+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>idiocy</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/20/the-healer">

        <rss:title>The Healer</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/20/the-healer</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;blockquote&gt;You scored 36% I to E, 10% N to S, 23% F to T, and 52% J to P!&lt;br /&gt;
You are more introverted than extroverted. You are more intuitive than observant, you are more feeling based than thinking based, and you prefer to go with the flow rather than having a plan. Your type can best be summarized by the word "Healer", which belongs to the larger group of idealists. You have a capacity for caring that is deeper than most. You strive for unity, are fascinated by the battles between good and evil, and can be something of an idealist. Only 1% of the population shares your type.&lt;br /&gt;
As a romantic partner, you are usually supportive and nuturing, however, you have a high need for individuality. Harmony is extremely important to you as you are very affected by conflict and tension, which also makes you resist confronting your partner directly about problems. When you get angry, you usually blame yourself, rather than your partner. You can also be stubborn and unyielding when you feel you are being criticized or mistreated. You feel the most appreciated when your partner listens to you carefully. You need to be understood. You need to hear your partner express their feelings, the more often, the better.
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;(from &lt;a href="http://www.okcupid.com/tests/16567335035599898597/LONG-Scientific-Personality"&gt;okcupid&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;


          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-04-20T16:56:46+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-20T16:56:46+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>info</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/14/irreductible-verbs">

        <rss:title>Irreductible verbs</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/14/irreductible-verbs</rss:link>       

        

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;Here is an exercise for the linguistically-inclined — try to find in your native language a &lt;em&gt;single&lt;/em&gt; word that carries the following meanings:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;em&gt;menen&lt;/em&gt;: to give one's opinion about something (&lt;em&gt;ik meen dat dit waar is&lt;/em&gt; = I give my opinion that this is true)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;em&gt;opvallen&lt;/em&gt;: to make oneself easily noticeable (&lt;em&gt;deze student valt niet op&lt;/em&gt; = this student does not make himself easily noticeable)&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The broader topic being: what does it mean for you when you cannot find a simple construct in your native language for something that has a basic &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexeme"&gt;lexeme&lt;/a&gt; (word) as semantic &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28linguistics%29"&gt;root&lt;/a&gt; in another language?&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-04-14T23:23:14+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-14T23:23:14+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>language</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/13/stappen-naar-onzichtbaarheid">

        <rss:title>Stappen naar onzichtbaarheid</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/13/stappen-naar-onzichtbaarheid</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>“Steps to invisibility”</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt; surprise, curiousity: “oh, you can speak Dutch? How nice!” Hidden meaning: &lt;em&gt;it's surprising; unusual for foreigners to be interested in our language; but I really can't understand a word of what you're saying.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; condescension: replying in English. Hidden meaning: &lt;em&gt;ok, you've shown you can make yourself understood, now stop annoying us with your broken grammar and unusual vocabulary, let's switch back to English please!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; tolerance: “ik vind je franse accent écht mooi!” Hidden meaning: &lt;em&gt;we can communicate well, but remember that you're still a foreigner.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What's next?&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-04-13T19:16:32+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-13T19:17:06+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>relationships</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>education</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>language</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    
    

    <rss:item rdf:about="http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/12/the-secret-of-enlargement-pills">

        <rss:title>The secret of enlargement pills</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://vodka-pomme.net/glop-blog/archive/2008/04/12/the-secret-of-enlargement-pills</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>… and the chemistry of love^H^H^H^H non-pharmaceutical herbs on the male body</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;p&gt;&lt;div style="float:right;border:1px solid #ccc; padding: 4px"&gt;&lt;a href="/wiki/Image:FlattenedRoundPills.jpg" class="image" title="FlattenedRoundPills.jpg"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/FlattenedRoundPills.jpg/90px-FlattenedRoundPills.jpg" width="90" height="68" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A thought emerged from the conjunction of several pieces:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt; reading &lt;a href="http://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/expanding-digital-universe.htm"&gt;a study about our expanding digital universe&lt;/a&gt; (via &lt;a href="http://www.userfriendly.org/"&gt;UF&lt;/a&gt;),&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; considering our daily &lt;a href="http://acme.com/mail_filtering/stats.html#filtered_percentage"&gt;amount of spam e-mail received and processed&lt;/a&gt; by spam filters,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; decaying a mixture of thoughts about &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme"&gt;memes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.snopes.com/"&gt;urban legends&lt;/a&gt;, and so-called &lt;a href="http://pranks.com/category/the-world-of-the-prank/not-for-kids/"&gt;not-for-kinds pranks&lt;/a&gt; ,&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;and the thought was: given the multitude of offers for penis enlargement pills, there must be at least some offers that fool men into absorbing chemicals with unexpected or humorous side-effects, on top of taking their money without any &lt;em&gt;measurable&lt;/em&gt; return on investment — and because they are buried in an ever-growing pile of crap, nobody notices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And so I searched. I looked at the web sites, selecting those that actually advertise the list of chemicals they use, focusing on those that do not also clarify the role of each chemical. I came short of finding anything worth of a laugh, but the following offer caught my attention: "herbal pills" at $200 (for 6 months). &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(I will leave the exact brand and web site address undisclosed so as to not bring them more attention than they deserve.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When looking up its "active ingredients" on other sources we can find:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_E"&gt;Vitamin E&lt;/a&gt; : effects not well-known,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_protein"&gt;Soya protein&lt;/a&gt; concentrate : variable effects effecs on male testosterone, contains a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimicry"&gt;mimicry&lt;/a&gt; for estrogens with poorly-understood effects,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucuna_pruriens"&gt;Mucuna pruriens&lt;/a&gt; (a tropical legume also called "velvet bean") : increases libido in men and women, cures Parkinson's disease,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Asteracantha longifolia (= &lt;a href="http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/H/Hygrophila_auriculata.asp"&gt;Hygrophila auriculata&lt;/a&gt; according to &lt;a href="http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?13488"&gt;GRIN&lt;/a&gt;) : used in India as a diuretics and to cure liver diseases (sometimes also as an ingredient for &lt;a href="http://www.mdidea.com/products/proper/proper052.html"&gt;love potions&lt;/a&gt; : &lt;em&gt; If a man mixes the powder of the milk hedge plant, and the Kantaka plant with the excrement of a monkey and the powdered root of the lanjalika plant, and throws this mixture on a woman, she will not love anybody else afterwards&lt;/em&gt; ),&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pueraria tuberosa (a vine also called &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu"&gt;Kudzu&lt;/a&gt;) : reduces both hangovers and alcohol cravings, cures migraine, enjoyed by livestock as forage,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withania_somnifera"&gt;Withania somnifera&lt;/a&gt; : used as aphrodisiacs, diuretics and for treating memory loss, also used as a sedative,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris"&gt;Tribulus terrestris&lt;/a&gt; (also known as "goathead") : used to boost sex drive through mild increases in testosterone levels,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albizia_lebbeck"&gt;Albizia Lebbeck&lt;/a&gt; (a tree also called "siris") : used as an astringent, to treat boils, cough, to treat the eye, flu, gingivitis, lung problems, pectoral problems, also used as a tonic, to treat abdominal tumors; the bark is used medicinally to treat inflammation and the tree has known psychoactive effects,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;seeds of Argyrerin speciosa (= "Argyrerin nervosa", also known as &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_baby_woodrose"&gt;Hawaiian baby woodrose&lt;/a&gt; ) : known psychoactive effects&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Valeriana wallichii (a sub-species of &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeriana"&gt;Valeriana&lt;/a&gt;) : shares effects with &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeriana_officinalis"&gt;valeriana officinalis&lt;/a&gt; as a sedative, can also be used as antispasmodic and tranquilliser (some &lt;a href="http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Valeriana+jatamansii"&gt;other usage information&lt;/a&gt; is also available).&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A long story made short? We can see here psychoactive pills that increase testosterone and libido while decreasing anxiety, and possibly act as sedatives… and that are probably addictive:  the ideal love pill for women (and possibly men) who want to transform their male partner in an amenable sex toy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;(warning: humor follows)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Conclusion 1: a group of women fed up with the male focus on the size of the penis created a business profitable to them, profitable to women in general, and that would give them a good laugh about how credulous their customers are.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Conclusion 2: under the cover of a fishy pseudo-pharmaceutical industry that uses a canonical male anxiety to drive its business, the whole "enlargement pill enterprise" may be an initiative of the Global Female Conspiracy to drive the male population under their control. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/YMMV"&gt;YMMV&lt;/a&gt;, but for sure &lt;em&gt;there is no enlargement&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2008-04-12T13:46:48+02:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-12T13:58:43+02:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>Kena</dc:creator>

        

        
            <dc:subject>fun</dc:subject>
        
        
            <dc:subject>idiocy</dc:subject>
        

    </rss:item>

    

</rdf:RDF>
