Mission Impossible

I'm attempting the impossible. Due to new airline fees and restrictions, I'm attempting to pack for a year abroad using one suitcase, one carry-on, and a satchel bag. Nothing else. It's well-documented that I hate packing, but this is just ridiculous.

If it were just clothes, that would be one thing. Clothes can be left behind or replaced. But then add in a year's worth of medications, contact solution, and other heavy items, many of which are liquid and thus need packed in the checked bag. 44lb. 22kg. Seems like I'm only started to pack, and I've already passed the weight limit.

All my winter clothes will be shipped, but that only scrapes the surface of this packing monster.

We have a Verdict

Looks like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was a bit more clear-cut regarding the Kosovo ruling than expected: World Court Rules Kosovo Independence was Legal (also: the NYT initial release)

China, Spain, Russia, and others fear that such a ruling might encourage their own secessionist movements. However, though the media often forgets about this small European nation that is still rebuilding, lessons can also be learned from the long nation-building process in Kosovo.

Twittering Diplomats

I tend to usually fall into the category that mocks all the fuss and "twouble" with Twitters, but the antics of Jared Cohen and Alec Ross might make me rethink this position. As highlighted recently by the NYT, Cohen and Ross are policy advisers to Secretary Hilary Clinton, and they're personally bringing old-fashioned diplomacy into the new digital age. DoS has had an offical blog and official Twitter for a couple years now, but the tweets of 140 characters or less directly from the policy advisers seem to have a fresher, more candid or direct take. Not to mention that the official Twitter has only a fraction of the followers of Cohen or Ross.

Street pianos

Here's a beautiful project by artist Luke Jerram to bring a little more music into our everyday lives. Recently installed in New York City, Jerram and his piano concept have been traveling the world and enabling ordinary people to sit down and create music amidst the city cacophony. Artists decorated over 60 pianos and placed them in public places across the five boroughs--and don't worry, music enthusiasts, I can personally testify that the pianos were covered during rainy weather (which sadly prevented me from playing). After the installation, the pianos were donated to local schools and community groups.

Next up, Belfast, Pécs, Cincinnati, San Jose, and Grand Rapids will get to enjoy this communal masterpiece.

Bookmark Dump

1000 Awesome Things: For when you're feeling down and want reminded of the amazing little things of life.

What English sounds like to foreigners: An Italian's imitation of American English prosody through rock music; I can't help trying to understand the words, even though it's all gibberish.

Paris in 26 gigapixels: Enjoy a detailed, zoom-able panorama of the city of love as if you were there.

Kodak's blog: Filled with beautiful pictures. Also see National Geographic's Daily Dozen Your Shot submissions. Beautiful images of the world!

Antique Photo Generator: Have your photos instantly turned into antique-style prints! This is quite fun to play with.

Last World Cup post (for this year)

The World Cup has been quite a ride this year, and soon this largest sporting event in the world will be over until 2014. Well done, South Africa.

With the first half of the final well under way, the question on everyone's mind is not only who will claim this year's title, but will the octopus remain undefeated?

Unless you've been living in a box, you've probably heard of Paul the Octopus by now. This "psychic" cephalopod lives in an aquarium in southern Germany, and he has a knack for determining the winner in German matches. His fame skyrocketed when he correctly predicted the upset victory of Germany toppling Argentina in the semis. The octopus makes his selection by choosing a tasty mussel treat from one of two boxes, each with a national flag on it. His record is currently 7 for 7, correctly predicting each winner in every match Germany played.

Now he'll try his knack with other teams. Paul's picked Spain as today's winner. Experts have carefully calculated that Paul has a 50% chance of being correct, so let's see how it goes.

If my team is out (though bronze again is better than nothing, I suppose), I guess I'll cheer for the German octopus instead.