Will there be another Star Trek series spin-off ?

I think that Star Trek is simply awesome. It has got the message, it has got well developed characters with background stories, and it is based on a plausible scientific conceptions. And yet that is not enough for the Hollywood guys to develop a new spin off series. I think they are afraid of

The Original crew

not being able to deliver anything new to the franchise; moreover we very well know that ST is all about tackling an important questions. True, all the messages and ideas were already penned down in Star Trek universe; they did talk about homosexuality, racism, politics, the Cold war... About family values, about greed, and even about the everyday life in the future... there was even the series about the beginning of the space exploration… is there anything more the great minds of LA could add into the picture?

Star Trek is a cult. And I do not think it is far fetched if I say it is a way of life for some. Hence to fulfill the potential of this great franchise (ST is a whole and vast fictional universe, with its six spin-offs, and thirteen movies...) it is indeed a challenging concept.

The TOS crew after decades

You might say: But hey, there are all the new Star Trek movies coming out every three years, so it is indeed continuing. Well, here is my simple answer: first, JJ Abrams' Star Trek (2009 and 2013 movies) is set in a mirror universe (basically he took the very same people and stories from The Original Series and made them tackle the problems differently. ) and secondly, the last three movies are only sort of a glue for the audience, blockbusters to attract the paying viewers. Besides, I would love to witness a creation of a new series which will push the franchise forward.

But now I am being a bit too harsh. Don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful for ANY new Star Trek, even the movies. And frankly, these new movies are not THAT bad!

Here is my review of the new Star Trek Beyond

And Beyond we go...

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

I really enjoyed the movie. Could have been the fact that I was waiting for it for over two years, or the fact that I finally went to the cinema instead of watching it in low resolution, on my tiny laptop screen which is the size of a postage stamp and has got the quality of 60 pixels (I mean it, I really do!!) …

Anyway, yes I was impressed by the great 3D effects (pun intended.. I often find the 3D cinema meaningless) but hey, the movie was good. Not great, but it lived up to my expectations-which were awfully low...

Story of Adam and Eve

 

If Eve is supposedly created from the rib of Adam, isn't he the one who should take care of her when she needs it? How come men were never able to watch women dying in the battles… (that is in fact the sole reason why women are not allowed to combat-not that they would be weak, far from that! But because the men are not able to look at a bleeding women.)

I remember all those times of being sick as hell (menstruation cramps, diarrhoea, you name it… or, well maybe that's just it), and the only thing the men around me have done was to shout at me, slap me or cry out for the ambulance. And yet sometimes just holding my hand would suffice.

Buying electronics in Kuala Lumpur- is it safe?

            The biggest challenge of this year was to buy my new camera. While I spend three months in Malaysia, and most of that time in Kuala Lumpur, it was only logical to purchase a DSLR there.

I was going for Canon, but basically my story applies to most of the other brands too.
If you happen to live in Asia the best place to buy any new electronic device would certainly be Kuala Lumpur.

Why only? or Fuck it all !

Why is my blog called Two Giraffes, and not some other meaningless name? Why we cry if we have full bellies and no one died, why is it raining if I want to go trekking, why are friends not sold on ebay, why are magic mushrooms magic, and why men's feet smell more than women's?

A normal (not!!) day

'Fuck, don't you take a picture of me!' :)

I really felt like writing. Then I thought I have no idea what to write about.. then I thought that there is nothing interesting to write about...  and then I realized that that is just plain bullshit! Of course I have a lot of things to write about. So I am just going to tell you about my day.

Good bad book- Redshirts

Redshirts by John Scalzi

In case you like Star Trek, you are going to laugh so much reading this book. If you like Star Wars, you are going to laugh also, because the story is mocking Star Trek. If you don't like sci fi at all you will laugh anyway, only will have to use a lot of your imagination!

The modern city- Singapore

Singapore is only 137km North of the equator (damn, still not there…). It's both a city and a country and it spreads over an island (with more than 60 tiny islands which belongs to Singapore, but there is really nothing on them.)
I traveled to Singapore from Malaysia by bus. What is quite convenient, because the flights to Malaysia – especially to Kuala Lumpur- are way much cheaper than anywhere to South East Asia.   

You can take a bus, or a train, to Singapore from many different cities, but probably the easiest are to go from Kuala Lumpur (around 6 hours drive), Melaka (4 hours drive) or Johor Bahru, which is on the border with Singapore. I went from Melaka, and the bus journey took around 7 hours. It really depends what time of the day it is, since it is just crazy on the borders during the rush hours. So don't plan too much ahead and don't be surprised if the bus takes twice longer than what was advertised.

Train ride

Traveling in India can be challenging. Especially if you did not reserve the train ticket (obviously that would be challenging everywhere!)
But of course, I am now going to tell you about two ways how to be able to take the train anyway.
You can either buy an unreserved ticket directly at the train station (so called chalu ticket) and either sit where you are supposed to (if you manage to sit at all!) into the crowded general class. Or

How I adopted a puppy. And then killed it

     Sitting on the stairs outside of our hotel I saw a little, tiny ball of fur on the road. It was clumsy, with its petite legs not being able to hold the body stable. The puppy did not have more than two months, was scared and when it turned its head- I saw a huge blood stain all over its neck and upper body. I got scared the puppy is going to die right there right then! And then a bike came from the other street, and I thought I am seeing it running over the doggy.

Nothing funny here

Fun Fact: Some male octopuses detach their tentacle and give it to the female for the purpose of reproducing. And I got a flower today from my other half.

Fun Fact Two: Pigs have a 30 minute orgasm. I mean, I know this is an old fact and I am pretty sure all of you know it. But it's still fun. And I love it. And it's my favourite. I want to be a pig…

Fun Fact Three: People can fart in their sleep. No, really! It happens! The worst is when you actually awake to your own fart… (from own experience? Naaah…)

What brings me to the Fun Fact Four: Garlic and spicy food heats up your body (and makes you fart at night…) . Okay, maybe not so much of a fun fact, BUT ! It really does heat up your body.. And your blood. Therefore if you tend to be hot-headed, violent, or otherwise fucked up, try to stay out of garlic and hot food. Just sayin'

The diversity of Indian cities- Pondicherry

Puducherry or Pondicherry resembles a French village. That's because it actually used to be a French colony until 1954.
Located in the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India, it lays near the sea. I enjoy the city for its cleanliness, for its wide choices- not only you could find here French bakeries, croissants, cozy bars with all kind of wines, but also the city offers cheep alcohol in government shops, street food, and even the slums and homeless.

Fear

The love letter

Face from the window

The face in the window
fragile, sad and so empty.

Follow the signs. Always

Once I met a man who found his happiness. He lived in Morocco. I think he was originally from Saudi Arabia. He was a Muslim alright, but didn't look like one. The man had his own mind and didn't need to follow someone's else's ideas. And religion is someone's else idea.

The man was tall, handsome and very strong. He spoke to people in a warm voice. When he talked, he always touched me with his hands. Always reaching out to me. I didn't like it. I don't like people touching me and I loathe when man do that. There is only one reason why man do it to me. But then I noticed that while talking this man was touching Tomas too. I asked Tom what he thought about it. Tom said he disliked to be touched in this manner as well, but he too noticed that the man touched everyone while talking. Then I felt alright.
But this is not what I wanted to tell you about the young Arab. 

The new journey

The big waves on Hikaduwa beach. The best place for surfers

at Galle Fort

I think I was totally unprepared for this journey. Indeed I had heard that Sri Lanka is more expensive, and definitely not a place for backpackers. I also heard Sri Lankans escape their homeland through the dangerous waters to India, to find a better life.
What we found on this little island though is far from what I had known before about this island.

Music from the heart

Sitting in a restaurant while Tom is playing the guitar, and watching the people around me. There is an Indian couple in the mid forties who I believe to be lovers. They smoke their joint, laugh coquettishly at each others stupid jokes and occasionally clap to Tom's songs. There is the Darjeeling band – a couple who will go on stage soon. They are both skinny, tall, young, and enjoying their fame as musicians. Now it seems like too much work for them and they do not like too much work which, of course, comes only naturally with a fate of rich and famous (I doubt about the rich part though...). The girl has developed crazy manners as a real rockstar; she says she is too tired  to sing, she does not want this and she does not want that. I am wondering if they are indeed going to play tonight since they seem like having a huge fight for whatever reason. 
There is a table with Americans who I have known from before. They are enjoying Tom's music.
And then, there is my dear Tom. He is always a bit nervous before a gig, as each of us would be. However, as soon as he sat at the mic tonight, and realized the sound is a total crap and moreover nothing could be done about it (while the owner of the venue was running helplessly around, fiddling with this and that, not realizing the whole equipment would be best if just thrown into the bin) I think Tom had no other choice only to loosen up since nothing else can get worse. So he started enjoying himself, playing, singing and then suddenly, all that nervousness I was sensing from the whole place, just disappeared. I could feel the energy from him entering our souls... Even I want to keep listening to the songs I've heard him singing for the Nth time. I feel a strength, almost a divine power inside me mixed with a feeling of joy. Joy for whatever reason and no reason at all. I want to keep singing with him, I smile idiotically and do nothing .. well, I gotta go now, I want to listen to him more and more and more...

At least the bottle was saved...

An update on our journey in India.

When I thought nothing else could surprise me in India I learned a new lesson- yes, there could always be a surprise. Like the heavy rain on Goa when it was supposed to be the best weather. Unfortunately, this little surprise resulted in even much bigger one - the room we are staying in was completely flooded.

Eeeeeverything was wet... Btw this was a last pic I could do on my  full SD card :) what a coincidence

Too much money

It's the last day of October and we are about to leave Gorakphur, the biggest intersection for people traveling to and from Nepal.
AND we are shorter of 72 US dollars !!!??? Ace! :(

At this very moment I am sitting in a packed train in a general class, as usual. However due to a few police officers feeling sorry for us we got the best seats; the most comfortable ones, in the aisle by the windows. Millions of Indians are pushing each other around me but I am in the safe zone. I feel as if the luck was coming back to us. But let's start from the very beginning, shall we?

After three months of making, selling,saving up money, and budgeting in Pokhara, it was time for us to leave the place. The last three days of our stay was decided to be spent as holidays. In the end, we did really deserve some time off. We rented a bike and went to see the lakes around the city. We went for the pizza anytime we felt like it, and we stopped counting our daily budget. Funnily enough the budget had not changed anyway- apart from the expenses for the bike. 

Looks cool, huh? But in fact it isn't much.. All gone now

On the last day I was supposed to change all the money we saved up to Indian rupees. I didn't have a lot of cash and yet it was so difficult to find places where they would have an Indian currency.  I checked the money changers- no Indian rupees available. Only in one kiosk, however they gave me a very bad rate (Nepali rupee to Indian is fixed at 1:1.6 since 1994, but these people want 'commission' from literally everything). I went to the bank. No Indian currency either- why anyway, since the rate is pegged therefore it is not profitable for the Nepalese banks to have stock in that currency. Rastra National Bank offered to change only 2000 rupees per person. Well, we would need A LOT of persons to do it this way.

My story of Kathmandu

The one about how I got cooties, how I forgot my contacts, how I found true bugs on my bedsheets in two different hotels, how I bought the most expensive crystals in a place where they should give it out for free and how, in the end of my journey, I met the most amazing people.