What's that movie again? "What Lies Beneath"? Answer: a ton of hippo. 07:44

This strange stripe has been on Tuisku's forehead for more than a week now. It is a complete mystery to us. It is no cut - the skin is not broken. Just the hairs have been shaved off in a very narrow area. Could it be an angry dog, whose teeth or claws Tuisku narrowly escaped? Or just someone with a tiny razor and an unorthodox sense of humour? 10:25

Students have been rioting at Makerere for a few days, and the day before yesterday things heated up some more when the FDC presidential candidate Kizza Besigye was arrested and reportedly taken to Luzira prison. His supporters showed their frustration in the city centre, and traffic was completely jammed. Some property was destroyed, the police used tear gas, and someone got killed. Kaija told me that the Garden City mall, normally full of people at that hour, was virtually deserted at about six p.m. Information was scant, radio channels initially offered practically no comment from the government. Suddenly this country felt slightly – just slightly, for now – more like the Uganda I saw in the news as a child. I’m actually not a good source of information regarding the events. See the Monitor for updates.

A few blocks from the centre of things everything is calm. The good side of the unrest is that the traffic jams are temporarily gone. This morning, the streets were emptier than usual as I walked to this internet café, and the blurb for today’s paper said "Besigye hasn’t eaten since arrest". I wonder if his court case is the first time in history that anyone is charged for "treason and rape". 08:36

Kampalassa taas. Alkaa pikku hiljaa tuntua siltä, että kykenen asumaan henkisesti parissa paikassa ikään kuin yhtä aikaa. Nopeat maisemanvaihdokset mantereelta toiselle auttavat moisessa. Kulttuurishokit ja uutuudenviehätykset laimenevat nopeasti, kun ei ole kyse ihan puhtaan tuoreista kokemuksista.

Autoomme murtauduttiin toissapäivänä. Kakkoskuskin puolen lukko hajotettiin sisääntuloa puuhatessa, mutta sisältä vietiin vain ikkunoiden avaamiseen käytettävät kytkimet paneeleineen. Korjaamolta soitettiin juuri, että korvaavien osien saamiseen menee muutama päivä, koska itseään kunnioittava mekaanikko ei viitsi ostaa varastettuja osia (joita ilmeisesti tarjotaan koko ajan - markkinoiden kauttahan tarve varkauksille syntyy). Ei ole ilmeisesti lainkaan harvinaista, että ihmiset ostavat takaisin itseltään varastettuja osia. Jotenkin sinänsä absurdissa järjestelmässä näkyy kapitalismi puhtaimmillaan: moraalia ja myytävien esineiden lähihistoriaa on turha pohtia. Kaikki tiivistyy vaihto- ja käyttöarvoon. Kun objekti vaihtaa haltijaa (omistaja ei jotenkin tunnu enää oikealta sanalta), sen esinekohtainen menneisyys lakkaa olemasta. Lähdetään puhtaalta pöydältä.

Systeemiä yritetään vastustaa polttomerkitsemällä esineitä: kaivertamalla auton peilejä rekisteritunnuksin, leimaamalla sarjanumeroita tavaroiden alakulmiin. Vastarinta ei kuitenkaan välttämättä saavuta tavoitteitaan: meiltä on viety kaiverretutkin peilit kahdesti. 11:09

... and then I was James Stewart in a "classic leading man" test. Perhaps he is considered slightly too "nice," at least if remembered from the Frank Capra movies where he is almost sickeningly flexible and jovial. I prefer the ones by Hitchcock, Vertigo (I don't like heights myself) and Rear Window. He may be vulnerable - very concretely handicapped in both films - but gets the job done anyway. Most importantly, nice can't be too bad if Grace Kelly and Kim Novak like it. 13:40

You are a Social Liberal (78% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (11% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test

12:51

I stole this picture from a blog called Finland for Thought, whose host stole it from elsewhere. The signs, from top to bottom, point at a pet cemetery, a dog park, and an archery range. Everyone is free to draw their own conclusions as to the narrative implied. 13:04

The day before yesterday, a heard from colleague Y that a certain internationally well-known guru of postmodern literature, shall we call him Professor Smith, is likely to be the opponent when I defend my dissertation in public next year. The info, I understand, originally came from Z, who is in charge of the selection. What you might call a report from a reliable source.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with Z. He had received an initial positive response from someone, a professor X, whose name he preferred not to mention. He is waiting for final confirmation now. Both of us knew that X is Professor Smith, but Z didn't know that I knew, and I did not reveal the "leak". Earlier, we had agreed that everything will be done by the book: that I should have nothing to do with the process.

This morning, I talked to W, the leading professor in the department. He immediately said that Professor Smith may well become my opponent and asked my opinion on the choice. I told him what I thought and also mentioned in passing that I had heard about this but Z did not want me to know yet. Amused, W said he was glad he was not the first one to leak it. I understood that the information had probably spread well beyond W, Y, and Z. Whoever said that those whom an issue concerns are usually the last to hear about it?

I understand it is not my job to speculate on names, and despite some common and understandable practices that compromise the principle, it is best that the doctoral candidate plays no role in the selection of the opponent. One just has to trust the expertise of others. So this caution does not bother me at all; I only hate secrecy when it serves no honest purpose, when it is a form of pretension (disguised as tact) or arrogance. Of course, it helps that this time the secret got out. 10:44