Whistleblowers

Dear Readers,

As we are all in the midst of the finals, it gets harder to find the time for a post. Although, I see that many of you manage it and that gives me the power to go on. I don't really feel a change in the intensity because for me the end of the semester is at least as hard as the it was in the beginning. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 4 more weeks and a couple of homework more and we are over it. But this is not the actual topic that I want to write about. Today I stumbled over a video about "whistleblowers". Actually it was two. 

One guy who's name is Bradley Manning was a US Army soldier who passed classified materiel (top secret information) to "Wikileaks". This was in 2010 and his case is still under discussion. For the Government he is a traitor, but for many people he is a hero. Standing up against authority takes a lot of courage if you ask me. His opinion is that  everyone should have the right to know what is really going on, even if this means life sentence for himself. For the Government he is a terrorist who tried to pass information to the enemy, but he just tried to enlighten the people. If you ask me, a few more weeks and no one will remember him.

The other whistleblower is Edward Snowden. He works/worked for the NSA (National Security Agency). He was in a very high position, earning tons of money and enjoying life on Hawaii. He had access to authorized information and, as you may have guessed, leaked the info. It is interesting to see that people in high positions who's interest is that this system of corruption and surveillance should work forever, change their mind and expose themselves to the world. This must mean something.

(This is a very interesting interview with Edward Snowden)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video?CMP=twt_fd

Maybe it’s because I read too much George Orwell or I'm just growing up, but it seems to me that we are somehow fooled. For example, there is a revolution going on in Turkey. Even though people died by the hands of the police (who are supposed to protect us), the media did not broadcast anything about it for days. We know just what the government wants us to know and even if they introduce certain news they introduce them in the light they want the viewer to see them. So they achieve that the most people are loyal.

I hope I did not offend anyone by this post. Sometimes I have this unbearable intention to spread the word, which cannot be heard or seen in the news.

Take Care,
Harald

MAKE ME DANCE!!!:)

Hello,

Time for a break. The culture paper is a hard task and we need to rest every once a while. So I started browsing the internet and I realized that of all the reasons why the internet is great, maybe having fun is the most important. Since the World is online, everyone can express himself by making GIFs or using MEMEs to make a comic story. Everyone can share their humor with everyone. Isn't that great?

I volunteered and hope that you will laugh at least little bit, even though we have to face hard times.

http://theuglydance.com/?v=teznfpkifm

Have FUN!!!:)

CROSSFIT

Hello everyone,

As I am slowly but surely running out of topics (or better said  which I think are interesting for other than me), I decided to write again about sports, but this time it has also something to do with the USA. I want to introduce you to CROSSFIT.

It has its roots in the USA where it already built out a very big fan base. Competitions and Crossfit Gyms open up all around the World, especially in America. In the last 3 years over 600 crossfit gyms opened up in the US. It spreads continuously and it starts to reach the public too. For the US this means another national sport.

Crossfit is a Sport that combines basically every kind of exercise you can imagine. From weightlifting to rope climbing to chin-ups. The best in the whole thing is that anyone can do it and it is not even hard to set up a workout plan. It only requires some imagination and endurance. The workout is splited into WODs which look like this:

-21 pull ups

-21 toes to bar

-21 sit ups

- 15 pull ups

- 15 toes to bar

- 15 sit ups

-9 pull ups

-9 toes to bar

-9 sit ups

WOD means Workout of the Day, though this does not mean that you can’t do more of them  within a workout session.         

The goal is to accomplish this set as fast as possible. But you can also set your alarm for 7 minutes and do as many rounds as possible. Here you can see that it has many variations and everyone can find his/her favorite. It is pretty easy to set up a crossfit gym. Basically the only fixed equipment is the pull up bar, everything else requires only space.

The competitions are structured as to give every competitor the same chances because there are no weight groups. This is the tricky part in it. Every competitor is different in weight and size and all of them have workouts in which they are better than the other, but the question is: who is the fittest among all of them.

Some days ago the Crossfit Regionals took place all over the World. In Europe it was in Denmark. To participate in this competition is already a great honor for the most of them. To my surprise, my favorite crossfitter  Kovács Lacee from  Hungary won the Regionals and with this he qualified for the World Championship in America.

On the picture you can see Lacee, the Hungarian  who won the Crossfit Regionals in Europe.

Nine Inch Nails experience

Hello!
I have to confess I wasn't very active in the past few weeks concerning my blog. Things start to overwhelm me as we are coming closer to the end of the semester. However, I can give the best out of me when I'm under pressure, so I have to keep my chin up and chew myself through this. Still the worst thing is that because the semester goes till 5th July, I will miss the show I was waiting for since I was 15 years old. Queens Of The Stone Age is touring with their new album and they are going to play in Sopron and I will sit here in my room probably studying for the oral exam. What can I do?! I have to cope with it that I again miss one of my favorite rock bands. Now we get to the actual topic, Rock'n Roll now.

We all know that America and Great Britain gave birth to the biggest rock bands in history. Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Ozzy Osbourne, Nirvana, David Bowie just to name a few. I now they may not fit in to the traditional Rock'n Roll category, but they all emerged from it. Without them, my life would be totally different. I mean I grew up on these albums and listened them over and over again, till I knew every song by heart. I realized that now that the internet gives us unlimited access to basically everything, younger generations like my brother, don't really appreciate a real CD or a Vinyl. I can remember myself looking on the Vinyls on my father's shelf with astonishment, and even though I was very young at that time and I did not really understand what it all is about (also because I could not understand English), but the music filled me with passion and contributed much to the person who I'm now.

 I'm still discovering the endless alternatives of this music and with endless I mean endless. From underground powerviolence to industrial noise to real Hip-Hop I really like to listen to everything. The band that still has the biggest impact on me is Nine Inch Nails. The leader of NIN (Trent Reznor) is a very talented musician who composed music for movies and games and his label helped many bands in their career. He collaborated on many projects with members of TOOL or David Bowie etc. Seeing him working together with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) gives me a feeling of enchantment. Since all of them are the giants of 21 Century Rock music, seeing them play together and collaborating in projects is for me still unbelievable.

Take Care,
Harald

The new pioneer: New Zealand

Hey,

The 17th April of 2013 was a great day for New Zealand. They joined the ranks of the more developed countries and legalized same sex marriage. It’s just a small step, but nowadays we have to be happy if that step goes forward and not backwards. Since it is still a big issue and in many countries even a taboo, I’m happy that New Zealand got to be a striking example of human progress. 

After I made some research I found out that more than 50 percent of the Americans support same sex marriage. Still it is banned in 38 states of the 50. 9 states legalized it and so gave a new meaning to the word marriage and made it open for everyone. 6 states allow civil unions between couples, but not marriage. Let’s hope this will change soon, and that the other more conservative states open their eyes and stop holding back progress.

What's your opionion on this? Do you think it is profane to allow same sex marriage? If yes why?

Here is a video of the great moment:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/17/new-zealand-spectators-sing-spectators-gay-marriage_n_3100992.html

Crossroads: labor pains of a new worldview

The other day I got to see a movie called crossroads-labor pains of a new worldview. It's a movie about the current world and the tiny little creatures called Humans. I'm fascinated by the world and its complexity. Just think of the many worldviews the people create and the realities they construct themselves. Everyone sees the world different (or should I say "sees a different world"?).But we all accustom to the society. We all differ from each other still we somehow have effect on each other, whether we accept it or not. Often without even realizing we imitate people we admire, taking off their gestures and laughing like them, especially when we are children. We learn to live in a Society. We are creatures that need relations. It is explained in the movie: We are all part of one "system" that is interconnected. We develop simultaneously, at least to some extent.

Let's take Smartphone for example. 3 years ago I never would have guessed that a Smartphone will be an essential accessory for life. I know it isn't an essential accessory, but still many of us use it on a daily base. It is easier to manage your messages and your appointments, but we could manage our appointments without a Smartphone. We just created a need for it. 

This is just one example of many that make our life easier and should spare us some time, yet I don't really feel that I would have more free-time. It doesn't really matter how much free-time we have. Life seems to get faster day by day. My parents always complain how hasty a day is now, even though they have lots of equipments that should make life more convenient and complete. Actually, we just rush through life to then, at the end, realize that we had not lived yet, just worked. There is a phrase in Hungarian (I don't know whether there is an English equivalent for it) that says: You have as much time as much you take yourself. 

I kind of drifted off the topic, but I think this is strongly related to it. It made me think what needs to happen to change the world. Now it is hanging on a thin thread. More and more revelations and confrontations arise against the economic system. The current world in the situation it is now, benefits only a small group of leaders. I know it was always like this. The only difference was that back then they called the authority the king. With this word you were allowed to exploit everyone.

 It sounds promising that we are going to evolve and get better, like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. I know it's just a theory, but I won't be the one who prevents it from happening. Anyway, watch the movie. It's one hour long and made me think for 3 days.

Take care, 

Harald

Kettlebell

Time for a new post. 

Actually I didn’t write too much yet, maybe because I didn't really know what to write about. So after 2 days of hunting for a new topic, I decided to write about something that changed my lifestyle and had a very big effect on my attitude towards every aspect of life. 

It all started 2 years ago when a friend of mine told me about that sport he is doing and that he wants to achieve the trainer’s license. I thought that I have to give it a try. I had this often that I started a sport like basketball, karate or volleyball and after a few months I just gave up because it did not enjoy it anymore. So I decided to go to my friend's first session and try this new sport called Kettlebell. What happened was that I actually got addicted to it. Since then I just can't stop, even though I often feel like a car crash victim after the work out.

The word Kettlebell refers not only to the sport, but

to the weight itself. It is simple thing, a cannonball with a handle on it. J

Kettlebell wasn't always a sport. Originally it was used as measure weight in agriculture. Later in the 17th century the Soviet army used it as physical training equipment. Who else than the Russian.:)

So it was used in the army for a long time, but the man who made it one of the most famous sports of the 21 century was Pavel Tsatsouline. He not just popularized it over the world, but he also contributed to it and standardized the whole system to bring out the best of this seemingly simple iron ball with a handle. 

Basically it uses the rules of weightlifting, but it goes further. There are an infinitive number of exercises that can be done with the kettlebell. It is used to perform cardio exercises as well as ballistic exercises and strength training. A training session combines kettlebell exercises and own-body-weight exercises to make the torment more interesting and varied.:)

In the last few years kettlebell conquered the world and nowadays you won't really find a fitness centre where there is no kettlebell training offered or at least a few kettlebell's standing in the corner. They also refer to it as the fitness revolution. Just type in kettlebell in to the youtube search box and you will find tons of videos explaining how to do it. Be careful though the most of the people in the videos don't really have the knowledge to give instructions. The real masters of kettlebell are called RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge). This means that they accomplished the training tests lead and controlled by Pavel Tsatsouline and learned everything that is to know about the basics of kettlebell. Last year Pavel founded a new system called strong first. Basically it is the same as RKC just the name is different.

Even though it is just a weight, the exercises are pretty complex and need much practice in order to make them properly, because without instructions of a professional trainer these exercises can be very dangerous. After a few month of training the progress is astonishing. I could do things with my body that I never thought I could. It gave me a much better control of my body. What’s more it helped me with my back problems and it had effect on my lifestyle too. Before I started the sport I was shy to try things. I always thought that this is too much for me or that I am not able to do this because blablabla. Since I train regularly I got much more active not just physically but also mentally. It motivates me, or better said it taught me how to motivate myself.:)

I linked some further videos at the bottom if you are interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IzNfoXsOWs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifSUbSv9KRE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpFL_q_Zemw

Have you ever heard about VSAUCE?

Have you ever heard about VSAUCE?

My flat-mate from China showed it to me, last semester. Since then I watch at least 2 videos a week. I'm getting kind of addicted to it. Actually if I don't hear Michael's voice in a week at least once, I feel like I would have forgotten to eat for days.:)

A group of devoted people with a mega-mind behind it all: Michael Stevens.

They introduce you to fairly difficult and scientific topics, but the narrator (Michael) is explaining everything in a totally understandable and funny way. In about 10 minutes Vsauce broadens your horizon and teaches you facts you may forget 1 minute later, but it is still very interesting to watch. And who knows, maybe some of the facts get stuck in your brain without you noticing it. 

With everything I really mean everything. From topics like "What is the most dangerous place on earth?" to "ENGLISH" and "What is Déjá vu?". They really answer all kinds of questions which you always asked yourself, but never found a good explanation for it. All this, in a very clean and intelligible English. Very instructive and entertaining.

and as always: Thank's for reading :)

Introduction

Hello and Welcome to my new blog. Yes it's new because like the most of my fellow students, I also took the SUK1 course where we already had the opportunity to more or less get into the habit of blogging. I may not took it serious last semester ,but I definitely want to spend more time with free writing now. Writing is not my strength. It was always the part of learning which I did not really enjoy. I hope this will change, at least I try my best.

What will I write about? (I love to ask myself questions:))
Hmm, actually I have a few ideas, but I think that blogging is also important because it gives me the opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to write down my own, free thought, without thinking about them too much. On the other hand it's better to be careful with writing down everything before letting it go through my mental censorship.:)

actual introduction:
I'm Harald, but you can call me as you wish. Considering the fact that I mainly grew up in Hungary I got used to it if someone misspells my name. I study (as you may have guessed it) English, German and Hungarian. I love angry, fast music and occasionally fast food. I love cycling, wall-climbing, Kettlebell and Crossfit. I'm vegetarian, but not proud of it. I like movies and I read much and anything . Sure I have favorite authors ,but this is not constant. I specially admire Tolkien, Vonnegut, Palahniuk, and  Russian, Hungarian writers. I really like to go on concerts of any kind and I also help organizing shows in my hometown. As the most people who study languages I also love traveling and discovering the unknown. I could go on like this ,but you should read my posts and not my introduction.:)
Good night and good luck.
H.