my dear planet

2007-04-27T13:31:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone!! This post will be something new...for the first time I am putting a video. It's a short documentary, from You Tube, about dolphins made in Egypt. I love dolphins. They're are wonderful animals. I once read that dolphins can move their eyes independently from each other. That way dolphins are able to see from different angles at the same time which helps them to notice predators. Dolphins also sleep with one eye open, so they are always on alert for predators. Oh yes, authors of documentary made a good thing presenting the video with only natural sounds...I hope you'll enjoy it. Have a wonderful weekend. Bye, bye!!

2007-04-17T16:05:00.000+02:00

Hello!! I am back. I decided to continue writing posts in my blog. I know that my favourite reader will say....finally. Basic idea is still the same..to write about all those things that make our planet so nice, so interesting.
Today I am writing about sea...I love sea. Sea, or ocean as some call it, is beautiful. It is amazing for so many of us. But due to global economic activity sea is in danger more than ever.
As to the article published on the 17th of June 2006 in the UK newspapers The Guardian, in 2005 some 85 million tonnes of wild fish were pulled from the global oceans, 100 million sharks and related species were butchered for their fins, some 250,000 turtles became tangled in fishing gear, and 300,000 seabirds, including 100,000 albatrosses, were killed by illegal longline fishing.
Because of global climate changes the water temperature is rising. Projections made public by climate scientists are not optimistic at all. Sea temperature rise of 1.5 degrees until 2050 could destroy 95 per cent of living coral on the Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It is located along northwestern coast of Australia. It is more than 2,300 km long. It includes 2,900 unconnected coral reefs and some 900 islands. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the richest ecosystems on our planet. Among others the Reef is a home of more than 1,500 species of fish and 400 species of corals.
The rise in sea temperature is not the only factor that affect the health of coral reefs. They are also in danger because of constant changes in sea level, elevated storm frequency and intensity, altered ocean circulation, variation in precipitation and land runoff, and increasing ocean acidification.
Because of rise in level of atmospheric carbon dioxide more and more of this gas is absorbed by world oceans. Level of sea water acidity is rising. Because of lower concentration of carbonate ion sea organisms have problems in creation of their shells. That way they easier became food of predators and environmental conditon can threat them more.
Mass extinctions of marine life due to rise of acidtiy of sea water have already happened in the past. The worst of such extinctions was Permian one which happened some 250 million years ago when 95% of all ocean life disappeared.
Dr. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the Queensland Centre for Marine Studies thinks that if sea temperature stabilizes until 2100 corals can regenerate between one and five centuries. Well, let's hope for the best.
That's it. Have a wonderful day. Take care.

2006-11-09T13:12:00.000+01:00

Greetings

Hello!!! Each day we meet many persons. We greet each other either by spoken greeting or some kind of gesture. There are many differences between cultures and within social system.
Let's start with general greetings. In English those greetings are „hi“, „hello“ or „hey“. Informal greetings are "How do you do?", "What's up?" etc. There are also greetings depending on the time of day…"good morning", "good afternoon", "good evening".
In my Croatia most popular greeting is “bok". It sounds that way but actually it is “Bog” or
God (be with you).
The most common greetings in other langauges and cultures are Marhaba (Arabic), Salut (French), Hola (Spanish), Shalom (Hebrew), Namaste (Hindu), Ni Hao (Mandarin), Oi or Ola (Portugese), Ciao or Salve (Italian) etc.
In a handshake two people grasp their right or not so often left hands. Everything is done with short shake of grasped hands. In some cultures people shake both hands. Some secret societies or organizations often have special kinds of handshake. In recent years some variations of handshake have been created. Good example is “Gimme Five” with an exchange of facing palm slaps.
Cheek kissing is in some situation part of greetings. It is more common in Europe (especially in its southern regions) and Latin America than in North America (exception is Quebec). Depending on culture cheek kissing is acceptable between a man and a woman, a parent and a child, two women…Cheek kissing between two men usually bring association with homosexuality. But it is present in Russia and the Middle East.
Hand kissing is kind of greeting but also a way to show respect. This way of greeting became quite rare and it mainly appears in conservative upper class, diplomatic world or in some religions…Good example for it is kissing the ring of the Pope or cardinals…
Rather special way of greeting is present in New Zealand. It is called Hongi. It is preformed by pressing one's nose to another person at an encounter. Hongi is present among Maori people and among all New Zealanders at public celebrations.
Bowing is the act of lowering the head, or sometimes the entire upper body from the waist, as a social gesture. It is especially present in Asian countries like for example Japan. In Europe it is only preformed by a male in front of a woman.
Bows, called “o-jigi”, “o-rei” or “rei”, are the traditional greeting and way of showing respect in Japan. There are all sort of bows. Different bows are used for apologies and gratitude, to express different emotions, humility, sincerity, remorse, or deference, and in various traditional arts and religious ceremonies. Bows can be generally divided into three main types: informal, formal, and very formal. Informal bows are made at about a fifteen degree angle and more formal bows at about thirty degrees. Very formal bows are deeper. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that bows are present in martial arts like Kung Fu, Kendo, Taekwondo and Karate.
Namaste or Namaskar is a greeting of South Asia. A literal translation of namah te is "reverential salutation to your inner." It is commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with the hands pressed together, palms touching, in front of the chest. The bow is a symbolic bow of love and respect.
Let me finish this post with yet another way of greeting…wawing…So, bye, bye dear reader, wherever you are. See you soon…Have a great weekend.

2006-11-05T09:12:00.000+01:00

Sunday blues

Hello!!! It seems that I caught a cold. I feel tired...I must admit that of all parts of year this is the worst part of the year. I am listening to some music by Dutch jazz singer Laura Fygi...She has great voice. So, if you have a chance to listen to some of her stuff....go for it...I recommend it.
As I already mentioned in my last post, here in Croatia we have nice names for months of the year...As I saw on the internet some other nations have it too...I am mentioning Japan...
January - mutsuki, affection month
February - (kisaragi or kinusaragi, changing clothes)
March - (yayoi, new life; the beginning of spring)
April - (uzuki, hare month)
May - (satsuki, fast month)
June - (minatsuki or minazuki, month of water)
July - (fumizuki, book month)
August - (hazuki, leaf month)
September - (nagatsuki, long month)
October - (kaminazuki or kan'nazuki, month of the gods), (kamiarizuki, month of the gods – used only in Izumo province, where all the gods are believed to gather in October for an annual meeting at the Izumo Shrine
November - (shimotsuki, frost month)
December - (shiwasu, priests run; it is named so because priests are busy making end of the year prayers and blessings.)
That's all for today. Have a wonderful week. See you soon. Bye!!

2006-11-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

Back again

Hello!! It's me again. I had some serious problems with my pc. Problems were caused my that stupid adware software that sometimes get installed on your pc while using the internet. First of those „masterpieces“ did not allow me to use the internet...as kind of punishment for the fact that I erased it. And the second one created true chaos in opening folders on my pc. Luckily, after several hours, I managed to find two programmes that solved my problems.
New month has started. Here in Croatia the name for November is „studeni“. Word „studeni“ means a cold one. In next few posts I'll write about different calendars that exist today or used to exist in the past.
Mayas are members of indigenous nation who live in southeast Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Mayan civilization reached its highest level around A.D. 300–900. The population of Mayan nation today is over 4 million.
Mayan ritual calendar had 260 days. There were 20 names for days of the week. Let me mention just few examples....Imix (waterlilly), Chikchan (snake), Ix (jaguar), Ok (dog), Men (eagle) etc. Each name had a special symbol. The days were numbered from 1 to 13. After the count of thirteen was reached, the next day was numbered 1 again.
Mayas also followed a vague solar year in which they counted 365 days per year. The 365 day year had months which also had different names like for example Pohp, Wo, Sip, Keh, Mak etc. They had 18 regular months and 1 extra month. This special five-day month was called Wayeb. These days were considered unnamed and unlucky.
One more detail. Mayas also used special glyphs (symbols, characters) for certain time periods. For example „kin“ represented one day, „winal“ is a period of 20 days etc.
That's all for today. See you next time. Have a wonderful weekend. Take care.

2006-10-26T14:20:00.000+02:00

This and that

Hello!! Today I'll write about some things that I found interesting in past 24 hours or so. Let me start with a great book. It's called „A House for Mr. Biswas“ by V. S. Naipaul. The book was first published in 1961. It is the tragicomic story of the search for independence and identity of a Brahmin Indian living in Trinidad. Main character Mohun Biswas struggles in variety of jobs, from sign painter to journalist. His dream comes true when he manages to buy a house of his own. Mohun Biswas, was partly modelled after the writer's father.
This not the first book by V. S. Naipaul. He's awarded with the Noble Prize for literature in 2001. I like his style a lot. He's a great storyteller. Reading of his books is a good way for someone to learn about local culture.
Hooliganism is a big problem of our society. Violence is so stupid, so bad. I think that modern media culture glorify violence. That's a sad fact. Two cities in Finland tried to fight hooliganism with music. In Tampere they put some classical music at places known for hooliganism...In Lojhi they used church music.
Because of climate changes draught is a huge problem. Water will soon get value similar to that oil or gold have today. Australian farmer have big water tanks at their fields...In town of Guandaroo (not far from Canberra) group of criminals started to steal water.
Let me end this post with very, very strange drink which is becoming quite popular in China. I hope you won't get sick...To prepare this drink...which is tought to be a very powerful aphrodisiac...you need a frog!!!! First you have to take its skin of....Put the skin in a blender and prepare a juice...Oh my God...how can someone drink this...
Well, that's all for today. See you next time. Bye!!!

2006-10-23T14:44:00.000+02:00

Taboo in cuisine

Let me start this week with yet another post about cuisine. Not every food or drink is excepted in all cultures, religions. In Judaism there is set of rules called Kashrut which defines what food can or cannot be eaten. In Islam there are also similar rules called Haram and Halal. Hindus apply the concept of "ahimsa" (non-violence) in their cuisine. For them all meat is considered taboo except mutton, fish and chicken.
Religion is not the only reason why certain food is a taboo in some parts of world. Due to role horses and horse races have in the UK and USA horse meat is rarely eaten there. Dog meat is never consumed in Europe or North America but it is one of dishes in certain Asian countries, like for example Korea.
Some sort of meat can be found unacceptable because of the fact that its aroma or flavor are strange to local society.
The fact that quite many animals are endangered species put them on a list of taboo food.
As to Hinduism, it is a sin to kill a cow, to be involved in its slaughter, and to eat its meat. There are certain doubts whether it is because of religious rules or because of the fact cow still plays a very important role in life of most of Hindus.
Eating of pig’s meat is forbidden among Muslims, Jews, some Christian communities etc. Why? Well, there are several opinions. Some say that climate of Middle East is not suitable for keeping pigs. Quite common is the opinion that pigs are disliked in that areas because it is omnivorous. The other reason is that pigs eat their own feces and the feces of other animals.
Both Judaism and Islam forbid eating of frogs, snakes or crocodiles. Frogs are very popular in France, China etc. Snake meat is often eaten in Thailand and China. Crocodile is offered in some Australian, Thai and Southaftrican restaurants.
Birds are group of animals which is least present as taboo food. Still some birds are typical for certain regions.
I would definitely refuse to taste cat's meat. Still, cat's meat is eaten in parts of China. Some claim that in Guangdong, China there is a dish called "The Dragon and the Tiger”. It consists of cat’s and snake’s meat.
Let’s move to drinks. Alcoholic beverages are taboo in Islam, Sikhism, some Christian communities, Mahayanna Buddhism etc. Drinking blood is a very strong taboo in most countries. It is often connected with vampires. Still blood is used in preparation of certain dishes…Good example is Blood pudding or Black pudding. It is kind of sausage which exists here in my Croatia, the UK etc. The Maasai and Batemi people of Tanzania drink cow's blood mixed with milk. In Kenya, camel blood is drunk.
However it may sound strange coffee and tea are taboos for some communities. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not drink these beverages.
I hope you liked this post. I would appreciate more comments. Do not be shy. Write few words. Have a lovely week. Bye!!

2006-10-20T15:16:00.000+02:00

Laughter

Hi!!! What is laughter? Why do we laugh? Laughter Laughter is the biological reaction of humans to moments or occasions of humor. It is an outward expression of amusement.
There are several kind of laughter depending on upon the extent and pitch of the laughter. Let me just mention giggles. Some think that smiling is mild, silent laughter.
Laughter is very good for our health. “When we laugh, natural killer cells which destroy tumours and viruses increase, along with Gamma-interferon (a disease-fighting protein), T-cells (important for our immune system) and B-cells (which make disease-fighting antibodies). As well as lowering blood pressure, laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which also encourages healing.” "Science of Laughter” - health.discovery.com
Humor and laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement, as well as set off a number of positive physical effects. A good hearty laugh can help to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, elevate mood, boost immune system , improve brain functioning, protect the heart, connect you to others, foster instant relaxation, and make you feel good.
Every thing stated in today's blog will cetainly encourage you to laugh very often. Laugh, laugh...keep the sunshine in your heart.
Let me finish this post with a quote by Woody Allen...great actor and director. I like his films.
„I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.“
Have a lovely weekend. See you on monday...if not before. Bye!!

2006-10-18T14:58:00.000+02:00

Baby & Brith in China

Hello!!! It's me again. Let me today write couple of lines about having baby and birth in China. Working with glue or other similar substances may cause complications at birth and hammering nails is thought to cause deformation in the fetus. The use of ofensive language must be avoided as this may cause the baby to be cursed. So may torturing, striking or killing an animal. It is expected of the woman to continue to work during pregnancy, as it is believed that this will ease labour and birth itself.
Nutritious foods and herbal soups should be eaten, and „sharp“ foods such as pineapple and some other fruits must be avoided as they may cause miscarriage. Overeating may cause an overlarge baby and thus a difficult labour and delivery. A pregnant woman should not walk around barefoot. Rubbing the abdomen too often is thought to result in a spoilt and overdemanding child.
Old traditions believe that the sex of a baby can be determined by the shape of the pregnant woman’s abdomen, especially after the first three months. If the appearance of the belly is pointed, then the child will be male, if rounded, female.
From my point of view it does not matter what sex the baby is going to be...Birth of a boy would make me happy just the same as the one of a girl...In China there is a superstition that a couple should eat certain types of food for the seven days leading up to conception to conceive a certain sex baby: tofu, mushrooms, carrots and lettuce for a male child, pickles, meat and fish for a female.
When a Chinese baby is born, he/she is already considered to be a year old. Age is calculated from the date of conception not the date of birth.
After birth, the mother is expected to pass a 40 day period of confinement. During this period, she must not eat food considered ‘cold’ or have cold baths: keeping warm, by the wearing of thick clothes for example, is considered very important. If possible, a special helper - responsible for both mother and child - is hired for at least two weeks.
A month after the birth, a small celebration to celebrate the arrival of a new family member is organized. Guests give presents such as baby clothes or chicken essence (for the mother...I must admit I do not know what exactly it is...but it is often consumed in Asia) and receive a small, round, red and yellow cake with a peanut-based filling and some hard-boiled eggs painted red.
Chinese personal name has three words. These are the family name, a name indicating the child’s generation and a personal name. This second part is not often included. Naming a child must take into consideration five principles: the name must have a favourable meaning (for example meanings reflecting wealth or well-being) and names with negative possibilities should be avoided, the name must sound pleasant when spoken, the name must reflect favourable mathematical calculations, it must be harmonious with regard to yin and yang, and it must include one of the five elements of metal, water, wood, fire and wood.
When written, each Chinese name has a certain number of brush strokes, and each character’s number of brush strokes corresponds to a certain element. A two stroke character is associated with wood, three and four stroke fire, five and six strokes earth and nine and ten strokes water. The total number of strokes in a name can determine a persons fortune: for example twelve strokes bespeaks a life of illness and failure, while 81 strokes presages prosperity and a happy future.
I used text on www.4panda.com to make today's post.
Well, that's it. Have a lovely day. See you soon. Bye!!

2006-10-16T12:05:00.001+02:00

Honey

I'll start this week with a post about honey. Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. Honey contains different sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose and meletizose), water and about 0,17 of ash.
It has been used for food, drinks (for example mead), medicine, gifts for gods, barter, cosmetics, cooking, food preservation etc. It has been used in religion, art, mythology, legends and literature as well as studied by scientists.
The oldest written reference to the use of honey is thought to be Egyptian, of about 5500BC. At that time Lower Egypt was called Bee Land while Upper Egypt was Reed Land. In Ancient Egypt honey was the most popular medicament. It is mentioned some 500 times in the 900 remedies that were known then.
The Old Testament mentions honey as as a symbol for all that is pleasant and desirable. For example, the book of Exodus describes the Promised Land as a 'land flowing with milk and honey' (33:3). In Islam, the Qur’an mentions rivers of honey in Paradise (Qur’an 47:15).
Honey is important in Buddhist festival of Modhu Purnima, which is celebrated in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates Buddha's making peace among his disciples by retreating into the wilderness. The story goes that while he was there, a monkey brought him honey to eat. On Modhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by giving honey to monks.
Honey if treated and stored properly can stay in good condition for hundreds of years. Some archaelogists working in Egypt found a large jar of honey. They opened it and found that it tasted perfect even though it was thousands of years old. In the Agricultural museum at Dokki in Egypt there are two honey pots from New Kingdom tombs (c. 1400BC) which still have honey inside.
Not every honey is good for us. There are certain types of honey which are toxic. There is one known as Mad Honey which is produced from the flowers of rhododendrons, mountain laurels and azaleas. The nectar of these plants may contain grayanotoxin, a substance which is poisonous to people but can not harm bees.
Honey and other natural sweeteners are a potential and acute threat to infants. Botulinum spores are among the few bacteria that can survive in honey. It is harmless to adults because of a mature person's stomach acidity.
Well, this post has been kind of sweet...I hope that your week will also be nice, „sweet“. Bye!!

2006-10-12T14:23:00.000+02:00

Blue

Hello!! Most of us have a favourite colour. My favourite colour is blue. So, I've been thinking why not write a post about that colour. Blue, as colour, has several variation. In its pure sense it has wave length of 420–490 nanometers.
It is interesting to mention that in certain languages terms for blue an green are the same. For example, in Vietnamese both tree leaves and the sky are xanh (to distinguish, one may use xanh lá cây "leaf grue" for green and xanh nuoc "water grue" for blue). In Swedish, blå, the modern word for blue, was also used to describe black until the early 20th century.
We use the term blue sky on a bright sunny day because of scattering of light from the Sun.
Because blue is a colour of bruise it often symbolizes injury. It is also a symbol of sad, melancholy state...
Blessed Virgin is presented on pictures wearing blue dress. In Hinduism, persons of a transcedental or divine nature are displayed as being blue in colour to indicate their dark complexion. To the ancient Egyptians, blue was the color of truth. Blue is important to many Jews, because of its association with religious tradition, popular folklore, and the modern Israel.
Everyone who has ever watched a map noticed that oceans, lakes, rivers and streams are presented with blue colour.
Because of the association of blue with water and sky it is also symbol calm, peace...
There is lot of blue in football. Certain national teams are associated with that colour for example French team is called Les Blues and Italian team is called Azzurri.
In politics blue is a symbol of conservatism, and red, as you know, is symbol of left wing parties.
To create image of honesty, thrustworthiness busniess people, bank officers often wear blue clothes. Because of blue colour of working clothes this colour is also symbol of workers.
Blue is also the colour of navy and air force
Oh yes, children clothes....Blue is associated with boys and pink with girls.
Let me finish with touch of music...After all there is blues. It is one of my favourite music styles.
I'll stop now. Have a nice day. See you soon. Bye!!

2006-10-10T09:55:00.000+02:00

A cup of coffee

Coffee is very popular beverage. But I am one of that minority who does not drink it. Still I find its smell quite nice. Just type the word coffee in Google and you'll get 285 million results. Coffee has a long history. It's estimated that coffee growing started in the 9th century in the southwestern Ethiopian province of Kefa, from which it may have got its name. Later it spread to Egypt, Europe and further in the world. Word coffee comes from Arabic Qah'va and old Turkish Kahve which originally meant wine or liquors. That is why it's first known in Europe as „Arab wine“.
Around 6.7 million tonnes of coffee are produced each year. Coffee is grown commercially in over 45 countries Brazil is the biggest producer of coffee.
Coffee is a main source of caffeine, a stimulant. A typical cup (about 207 ml) of coffee contains 80-140 milligrams of caffeine. For all those athletes who maybe read this post it could be useful to know that caffeine is on the International Olympic Committee list of prohibited substances. Athletes who test positive for more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per milliliter of urine may be banned from the Olympic Games. This level may be reached after drinking about 5 cups of coffee.
Coffee and health. There is no definitive opinion wheather coffee benefits our health. Still some scientific reports have been made. As to the University of California steam rising from a cup of coffee contains the same amounts of antioxidants as three oranges. By the way, antioxidants are substances which prevents cancer and heart disease. Some scientists claim that especially decaffeinated coffee helps in fight with some kind of diabetes.
How to prepare a good cup of coffee? In Turkey they have a proverb about it. It's said that "Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and as sweet as love."
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family's pot filled with coffee.
Most people add some sugar in their cup of coffee. This tradition has started in the 18th century in court of French King Louis the14th.
Many famous persons loved coffee. Great composer Ludwig Van Beethoven had a strange habit about it. He insisted that his coffee has to be made of exactly 60 coffee beans... Oh yes, listen to this...The 18th century emperor Frederick II of Prussia, or Frederick the Great as he's alsow know, had his coffee made with champagne and a bit of mustard.
Raw coffee beans, soaked in water and spices, are chewed like candy in many parts of Africa.
One of the most popular coffee beverages is Italian espresso. Espresso is made by forcing very hot, but not boiling, water under high pressure through coffee that has been ground to a consistency between extremely fine and powder.
I hope you found this post interesting. See you tomorrow. Have a lovely day. Bye!!!

2006-10-08T09:08:00.000+02:00

Kings and Queens

What a wonderful sunny sunday. Everything is still quiet. Remember, I live in a village. Today it's the Independence Day in Croatia. Like most of world countries Croatia is a republic. Still, there are some countries who are still kingdoms. The most famous kingdoms are the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden etc. Throughout history all kind of kings and queens appeared. Some were...if texts I read are true...a bit strange...I hope you'll find the following lines interesting and....funny.
Alexander the Great ordered his entire army to shave their faces and heads. He believed that beards and long hair made it easy for the enemy to grab and cut off his soldiers’ heads.
Ivan the Terrible of Russia was so pleased with the newly built Moscow church of St Basil that he blinded the two architects so that they would never be able to come up with anything better.
Cheating in marriage can be very dangerous. Listen to this...When Russian ruler Peter the Great discovered that his wife Catherine had been unfaithful, he had the head of her lover, William Morris, chopped off and placed in a large jar of alcohol. Peter insisted that the jar remain on Catherine’s bedside table to remind her of her adultery.
King Almotamid of Seville, Spain, once arranged for an entire hillside near Cordoba to be planted with almond trees so that in the spring when the falling petals turned the slopes white it would look like snow, something that his wife Itimad had never seen.
Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia, Africa once used to eat the pages out of the Bible, believing that they would cure him of all illnesses.
British King George II sold tickets to his subjects so that they could watch him and his family eating Sunday dinner.
King Mongut of Siam had a total of 9,000 wives and concubines.
Many kings in the history had kind of nicknames...There were King Louis VI of France (1367 to 1383) - "The Fat“, King Charles VI of France (1380 to 1422) - "The Mad" etc. Some had nice, positive nicknames...for example King William II of Sicily (1166 to 1189) - "The Good" or which is certainly more famous King Richard I of England (1189 to 1199) - "The Lionheart".
And now little bit about queens... Queen Victoria insisted that her late husband Albert's clothes had to be laid out every day, even after he had been dead for 40 years. I think that's stupid....kind of sick. You can not express love for someone whose died with objects. Love and memory of someone should be in your heart.
Some flowers were important in lives of queens... Queen Elizabeth I of England had a phobia about roses. Catherine the Great of Russia liked primroses. She even ordered a group of soldiers to guard the plant day and night.
More from Russia...and Catherine the Great. One day she discovered dandruff on her collar. She's so angry and she imprisoned her hairdresser for three years.
Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar ordered that any of her subjects who appeared in her dreams had to be executed.
Well, that's enough for today. Have a wonderful day. See you next time. Bye, bye!!

2006-10-06T15:41:00.000+02:00

Birds

Hello!! It's lovely friday afternoon. Birds are facinating animals. I believe it is a nice feeling to fly...There are all kind of birds...big, small... The smallest bird is the bee humming bird with healthy adults weighing only 1.6 grams. Its length from beak tip to tail tip is 5.72 cm. This tiny bird has wingspan of little over 10 cm. The biggest bird is The African Ostrich. Males can be 2.7 m tall. Their weight is around 150 kg. Even bigger birds used to live long, long time ago. Just imagine this...There was a bird called Dromornis stirtoni of Australia who had weight of 454 kg and was 3 m tall. New Zealand's giant Moa was even taller. Its height was about 3.7 m.
Most birds fly. They usually fly at 1500 m. The highest altitute at which a bird has been noticed is 11 270 m. In 1973 Rippells griffon vulture collided with an airplane flying over west Africa.
The biggest wingspan has wandering Albatros...It is up to 3.63 m. Birds move their wings at different speed. Some hummingbirds (amethyst woodstar and horned sungem) move thier wings 90 times per second. It is not easy to imagine but hummingbirds can fly backwards too.
Birds are covered with feathers. Humming birds have fewest, less than 1000. Some swans have more than 25,000 feathers.
The speed record holder among birds who can not fly is Ostrich. It can easily run at about 48 km/h for 20 minutes and 70 km/h in short intervals. The fastest moving bird is Pergrine falcon who when diving in the air can reach speed of 188 km/h.
Some birds spend large parts of their life in water. Penguins are 75% of their lives in a sea.
Certain birds are kept as pets. I used to have a budgerigar when I was a kid. His name was Kiki. But I was forced to give him to my grandparents because of my mum's allergy. My Kiki knew only few words. African gray parrots have a vocabulary of 800 words.
Birds lay their eggs in nests. Some nests are quite big...for example the one used by Dusky Scrubfowl is 11 m wide...On the other side the smallest ones are those made by Cuban bee and Vervain hummingbirds. They're only 1.98 cm from side to side.
Finally, few detalils about eggs. They appear in many colours and sizes. The biggest egg is the one of ostrich measuring 17.8 by 14 cm. West Indian vervain humming bird has the smallest egg measuring 10 mm in length and 0.375 g in weight.
That's it. Have a lovely weekend. See you....well, next time. Bye!!!

2006-10-05T15:56:00.000+02:00

This and that

I wondered what to write today. Well, I'll write about little details about human body.
Just put one of your hands on your heart...You can feel your heartbeat. Each day your heart beats about 100 000 times. For the heart to pump blood to other parts of our body we need system of blood vessels. It is over 96600 kilometers long. That's long enough to go around the world more than twice!
Anyone having a cold? Well, then it's interesting to know that a sneeze travels out of your mouth at speed of over 160 kmh. Oh yes, you can not sneeze with you eyes open.
Now...say a word...any word. While doing it you had to move over 70 muscles.
Like so many people all over the world from time to time I have problems with my allergy. So many things in our daily life can cause an allergy...Let's take for example dust. Dust is everywhere...just one exmple...a typical bed usually houses over 6 billion dust mites.
All people loose hair every single day...some more, some less...An average human loses about 200 head hairs per day.
I could never be a doctor. I could not stand seeing blood...larger amounts of it. Doctors are doing a great job. I admire them. In some periods of history it's quite difficult to be a doctor.
If a surgeon in Ancient Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off.
Well, that's it. See you tomorrow. Bye, bye!!!

2006-10-04T11:21:00.000+02:00

Art is...

Hello!! It's me again. It has been raining whole morning. My family is an artistic one. My father is teaching art in the elementary school and my brother Kresimir is now at postgraduation study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland.
I love art. I often read about it, watch tv shows... As in everything I am trying to „build“ my own criteria what is good, what I like... Expert opinions are certainly helpful but definitely decisive...
What is Art? Definitely not is to exlplain. It is easier to describe it as the way something is done - "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others" (Britannica Online, www.eb.com) - rather than what it is.
When I see what is today treated as art I often wonder what lays in the future...Will everything turn into some sort of madness? Or the problem is maybe in wish of many of today's artist that they just have to make something different...no matter what...Not in the sense that their work will express their personality...but in the sense that they easier sell their work...
Oh yes...I also think that part of the problem is the fact that everything counts. I mean really all kind of crap is treated as art. There is no quality criteria... If someone says something against it...he or she is treated as olfashioned, conservative....
Let me now mention just two cases when artists or just some weirdos who call themselves artists went to far.... August Los Angeles exhibition by photographer Jill Greenberg featured 27 2- and 3-years old kids crying, scenes that Greenberg provoked by offering each one a lollipop and then snatching it away. She admitted that the photos were "upsetting" but denied critics' accusations of child abuse. Oh God.....
Also in August of this year performance artist Kira O'Reilly organized a show in Penzance, England. Her show "Inthewrongplaceness" included a naked woman cradling a dead pig for four hours at a time. Kira even has explaination...On her web site she wrote „"The work left me with an undercurrent of pigginess (and) unexpected fantasies of mergence and interspecies metamorphoses began to flicker into my consciousness."...What can I say to those „wise“ words? Maybe, saying nothing at all is the best comment...
I'll close this post. Have a nice day. Bye, bye!!!

2006-10-02T14:32:00.000+02:00

Bad luck in the Land of Rising Sun

I'll start this week with a post about superstitions. I do not believe in such things. But I find interesting to read about what people in different cultures find bad sign or something like that.
I'll write something what I read about Japan. It seems that certain numbers play important role in life of ordinary Japanese...If you are planning to send a present to someone from Japan avoid sending 4 pieces of something. Why? Well, The number "four" in Japanese is shi. "Death in Japanese is also pronounced shi.That is why most Japanese try to avoid that sound. That is why some Japanese hospitals or hotels do not have a room number four.
There are some other „dangerous“ numbers... Number 9 is pronounced ku in Japanese rhyming with a different word which means pain or worry. Number 42 is pronounced shi-ni meaning to die. Number 420 is shi-ni-rei which means a dead spirit, and number 24 is ni-shi or double death. Especially in the maternity ward, some hospitals refrain from using the number 43, shi-zan, because it means still-birth.
Now something really silly...from my point of view...It is not good to cut your nails at night because you won't be present when your parents die.
On the 3rd of February (start of Spring in the ancient calendar) dried soya beans are thrown out of the house while saying fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto - "good luck is inside, the devil is outside". This brings good luck for the coming year.
When you buy a new pair of shoes, you must wear them for the first time in the morning. Wearing them in the afternoon or evening will bring bad luck.
Your pillow should never point north. This is the position of a body of a dead person at a Buddhist funeral.
And now little info for those who have a cold and sneeze a lot...If you sneeze once, you're being spoken of well. If you sneeze twice, people are saying bad things about you.
That's all for today. Have a wonderful day. See you tomorrow. Bye!!!

2006-10-01T11:21:00.000+02:00

Poems

Hello everyone!!! Sorry for not being able to write yesterday. I spent almost whole day in Croatian capital of Zagreb. And at 7.00 p.m. I had to take my 96 years old grandfather to church. He usually goes to church on Saturday when there is less people attending the mass. When I finally arrived home I was to tired to write.
New month has started. Here in Croatia we call it Listopad or „a month of falling leaves“. It is a nice month, I think. Leaves are changing their colour. Everything is beautiful.
In my post of September 20 I wrote about my favourite writers. Today let me write few lines about poetry. I must admit that I do not read poems that often. Still, poems which will always stay in my heart are those by great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973). Here is one of his poems I especially like.

I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair

DON'T GO FAR OFF, NOT EVEN FOR A DAY
Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don't leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you'll have gone so far
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?

For some time in the past I tried to write some poems myself. But everything finished on trying...Maybe, it's a pity...Who knows...
I also like Haiku poetry...these little gems of poetry from Japan. Here is one interesting example of Haiku by the 17th century poet Matsuo Basho.

an old pond -
the sound of a frog jumping
into water

I have to stop here. See you tomorrow...Well, I hope. I'll try to write as often as possible.
Have a beautiful week. Bye!!

2006-09-29T17:24:00.000+02:00

Proverbs

Today I am in a hurry, so this post will maybe be a bit shorter. This time I'll write about proverbs. How to define them? Well, at wordnet.princeton.edu it is defined as a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people.
The study of proverbs is called paremiology (Greek word paremia - proverb) and can be dated back to time of Aristotle.
Proverbs have certain basic stylistic features. As to The Perception of Proverbiality (1984) by Shirley Arora those features are:
alliteration (Forgive and forget)
parallelism (Nothing ventured, nothing gained)
rhyme (When the cat is away, the mice will play)
ellipsis (Once bitten, twice shy)
It is quite common that same or similar proverbs appear in different nations and cultures.
There is a huge number of different proverbs in my Croatia. Here are only few of them...
A good friend is worth more than a bad brother.
An empty barrel sings in the wind.
Check before you bite if it is bread or a stone.
Polite words open iron gates.
To follow everyone is wrong, to follow no one is worse.
Let me finish today's post with proverbs from several parts of the World.
A fog cannot be dispelled by a fan. (Japan)
A blind cat catches only a dead rat. (China)
A book holds a house of gold. (China)
A beetle is a beauty in the eyes of his mother. (Italy)
Do not drink from a well and throw a stone into it. (Palestine)
A bad hair cut is two people's shame. (Denmark)
Well, that's it. Have a pleasant weekend. See you tomorrow. Bye!!!

2006-09-28T14:37:00.001+02:00

Left hand – right hand

I am a left-handed person. I write with my left hand. Between and 8 and 15% of all adults are left-handed. Scientist can not agree on what causes left-handedness. Some mention exposure to higher rates of testosterone before birth. Others talk about stress at birth. There are also those who think that children whose mothers were exposed to ultrasound scans are more likely to be left-handed.
Almost all devices and tools were design for right-handed persons. Let’s just take for example scissors…Left-handed person using it can not see the line being cut along. My experience is that the mentioned line should be left of me…I think so.
My parents never forced me to become right-handed person. I did not have problems in school. My mother was my teacher. Left-handedness was treated bad throughout history. For example in Japan a man could divorce his wife if he discovered that she was left-handed.
Many famous personalities are or were left handed. I’ll just name….well, only 10 of them.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Gandhi,
Napoleon Bonaparte, Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Leo Tolstoy,
David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Paul McCartney.
By the way, Adolf Hitler was also left-handed. But he’s an evil man…
Scientific studies have certain small positive correlation between left-handedness and creativity, intelligence.
In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and John Hopkins University (the USA) in a study found that left-handed men are 15% richer than right-handed men for those who attended college, and 26% richer if they graduated. The wage difference is still unexplainable and does not appear to apply to women. (source en.wikipedia.org)
There are more left-handed persons amoung younger population. This is mainly because pressure on person to become right-handed person is not so strong like it used to be.
I must go now. See you tomorrow. Have a lovey day wherever you are. Bye!!

2006-09-27T11:16:00.000+02:00

Insects

95 % of all animal species on our planet are insects. Scientists estimate that between 1 and even 10 million spieces of insects exist. It is estimated that there are around 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects flying, crawling all over our planet.
One of the biggest or maybe better longest insect species is the West Malaysian Pharnacia Serratipes which is some 55 cm long. The world's smallest winged insect, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, is smaller than the eye of a housefly. Wow, that's really small...
Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects. They can fly at speed of about 100 kmh.
I saw many documentaries about ants. They are really fascinating. They live in colonies. Some colonies are very big and include more than 500 000 ants. Ants do not sleep. When ants find food, they create a chemical trail which is called a pheromone. That way other ants can come to the source of food. How do ants eat? Well, they move their jaws from one side to another like some sort of scissors and that way extract juices from food they found.
I think it is right to talk about elements of natural architecture. Here I for example mean those termite communities. This kind of „buildings“ are some 6 meters high and more than 30 meters wide.
Fleas strongly infulenced our human history. More people died of illness caused by fleas than in all wars that have ever been fought. Here for example I mean bubonic plague which killed about one-third of the population of Europe in the 14th century.
I certainly do not like mosquitoes...Their bites create me lot of problems... Only female mosquitoes bite. Females need the protein from blood to produce their eggs.
Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria, which is actually caused by parasite of the Plasmodium gentus. Each year 350-500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over 1 million people die, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
Well, I'd better stop now. See you tomorrow. Bye, bye!!!

2006-09-26T12:57:00.001+02:00

Bon apetite...

Hello!!! I love to cook. I especially like to prepare dishes with fish, tomatoes, garlic, chicken meat etc. I do not know to prepare that many dishes but you wouldn't die with me...ha, ha....
Yesterday I mentioned that dog meat is eaten in Korea. Today I'll write about really strange things....well, at least from my point of view...which are being served as food in some parts of the world. I just hope you won't get sick....But on the other side try to understand that different cultures have different customs. I am always ready to taste new kind of food, but like everyone else I have certain limitations...
I just hope that you won't get sick by the end of this post. Let's start with a soup. In some parts of Chine it is quite common that locals have soups made of owls or a particular kind of cave/cliff swallow.
I do not like fat in food. So, I always remove it before cooking. Still some people find it quite tasty. Russian Jews prepare Schmaltz. It is a dark brown crust that remains once the chicken fat melted away. Kind of a chicken bacon. It is used as a spice.
People fry all kind of things. Fried chicken, fish is very good. In Indonesia fried monkey legs are being served too.
Now something really disggusting for me...In parts of the USA people eat squirrels. Everything is eaten...brain too. Those who tried it say it tastes something like mushrooms.
Insects are the most numerous group of animals on the planet, so it is not strange that many cultures have insects...bugs...on their daily menu...Just two examples...Huhu is a name of some bug larvae that are eaten by the Maori people of New Zealand. People in southern parts of Africa prepare catepillars called Mopane.
Fugu is kind of fish very popular in Japan despite the fact that one part of its body contains a toxin so deadly that only specially licensed chefs are allowed to prepare it. Several hundred persons die each year because of this toxin.
I'd better finish this post...I have a headache. Even some minerals substances are used as food. In part of the USA and Africa people eat kind of clay. It's treated as source of minerals, thing that my each stomack trouble etc.
I'll go now. Have a pleasant day. See you tomorrow. Bye!!!

2006-09-25T17:09:00.000+02:00

Dogs

I have never had a dog. I would love to have one....probably the Golden Retriver. I do not like those violent breeds. As I saw on tv two Rotweilers killed a baby in the UK. I heard opinions that behaviour of a dog is strongly influenced by its owner...Perhaps that's true. Many people are getting more and more violent due to glorification of violence in media, especially in films or some music styles like heavy metal....
Well, let me turn back to main topic of my today's post. While browsing through internet I manage to find couple of interesting facts about dogs.
At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog.
The dog is placed at the feet of women in monuments to symbolise affection and fidelity, as a lion is placed at the feet of men to signify courage and magnanimity. Many of the Crusaders are represented with their feet on a dog, to show that they followed the standard of the Lord as faithfully as a dog follows the footsteps of his master.
I love to taste different food but believe me I could never eat a dog. Oh yes, people in Korea eat dog meat. There is kind of soup called „poshintang“. It is believed that this soup cures summer heat ailments, improves male virility, and improves women's complexions. Oh God, how could they eat it...
Pekingese dogs were sacred to the emperors of China for more than 2,000 years. They are one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world.
I suppose you heard of the Dalmatian dog. You know, white dog with black spots. It was made famous by Walt Disney cartoons and films. This dog breed was named after Croatian coastal region of Dalmatia.
Scientists have discovered that dogs can smell the presence of autism in children.
There are claims that dogs can alert their owners up to an hour before the onset of an epileptic seizure.
Spanish Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."
Moving their ears like radars, experiments have shown that dogs can locate the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second.
Let me end this post with a Polish proverb... The greatest love is a mother's; then a dog's; then a sweetheart's.
See you tomorrow. Bye, bye!!!

2006-09-24T09:40:00.000+02:00

A, B, C, D...

It's Sunday. Firts let me return to my last post. For those who find it interesting here is the full name of city of Los Angles. Its full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula".
Today I'll write facts about languages and all those words making them.
Let's start with the alphabet. English one has 26 letters. The one in Croatian language has 30.
The world's largest alphabet is Cambodian, with 74 letters. On the other side there are those with quite small ones. There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet.
There are languages like for example Chinese and Japanese who do not have letters in classical sense of word. They use ideograms...or pictographs. For example the Chinese ideogram for "trouble" symbolizes "two women living under one roof". Well, well....
Words with no vowels. In Croatian language, for example, there are words like „crv“ (a worm) or „krv“ (blood). English language has also a world without vowels. It's rythm.
Check it for yourself...but all numbers in English from 0 to 999 do not have letter „a“ in them.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is „uncopyrightable“.
As to the Oxford English Dictionary, the longest word in English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. It is a a pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.
The language Malayalam, spoken in parts of India, is the only language whose name is a palindrome. Palindrome is a word read the same in both directions.
And here is the last language fact for today. This one is from the world of plants. Couple of days ago I ate avocado. I prepared it with some tomoatoes, garlic as salad. It's good, a bit unusual for me. Word avocado is derived from the Spanish word „aguacate“ which is derived from „ahuacatl“ meaning a testicle.
That's it. Have a wonderful Sunday. See you all tomorrow. Bye, bye!!

2006-09-23T11:00:00.000+02:00

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Hello everyone!!! Today I'll write few lines about names of towns, villages, cities etc. There is a whole science who investigates this topic. It is called toponymy. Places get their names because of characteristics of local landscape, historical reasons, ancient mytholgy, famous persons...or I'd say just human imagination.
Here are some examples of places in my Croatia...Gacice („panties“), Stakorovac („stakor“ is a rat), Ograde („fences“), Misi („mice“), Lisac („male fox“), Kupina („blackberry“) etc.
There are places named Bug (Kentucky), Cut and Shoot (Texas), Hot Coffee (Mississippi), Pee Pee (Ohio)...I wonder who gave such names.
Some town names have very different meaning in different languages. Perfect example is Austrian town called F**king....If I remember right the article in our papers it was named after local noble family Fuck...well, something like that....
Absolutely the longest official palace name is used for most of the world calls Bangkok, Thailand. Locals call it Krung Thep or Krung Thep Mahankhon. But here is city's official name...I doubt anyone will be able to read it Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajatha
niburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit
In Croatia people often call my country „Lijepa nasa“ or „Our beautiful one“. Asian country of Bhutan has interesting official name. It is „Druk Yul“ or in English „Land of the Thunder Dragon“. I once heard that Spain is sometimes mentioned as „La piel de toro“ or „The Bull's Skin“. It's called that way because of country's shape.
Let me finish today's post. See you tomorrow. Bye!!

2006-09-22T13:01:00.000+02:00

WONDER OF LANGUAGE

Languages fascinate me. I speak Croatian as my mother tongue and English. I understand Slovenian and some German, Italian which I learned by watching satellite tv channels. I would definitely like to learn few more languages. I like vibrant sound of Spanish and smoothness...if that's the proper word...of Brazilian Portugese.
It's a pity that so many beautiful languages spoken in small nations will surely die because of dominance of so called big world languages...or just powerty of people in those small communities, nations...
Personal names and surnames are very interesting part through which one can see culture of certain country, nation.... Some names or surnames have origin in ancient time...for example prechristian period....others have religious history...There are names who describe certain aspects of human personality, their occupation, geographical features etc.
Let me mention few examples of personal names and its origin.. Michael (hebrew – „gift from God“), Sophia (greek – „wisdom“), David (hebrew – „dearly loved).
If one is interested good web site with explaination of orgin of personal names is
www.namecentral.com
Believe it or not here in my Croatia there are surnames of Margarin (Margarine) or Musica (little fly). They rare, but they exist. Some surnames sound kind of strange in certain situations for example imagine Mr. or Mrs. Sparks or Burns who sell fire insurance...
In some cultures surname did not appeart until the 17th or even 19th century. There are cultures where surname is not used for example in Tibet. In Iceland family names does not exist in traditional form. Family names are actually created by adding word „sson“ for men and dottir for women to the name of father. So, surname Karlsson can be translated as „son of Karl“. Male and female forms of surnames also exist in countries like Russia or Czech Republic. For example, male in Russia can have surname Ivanov („son of Ivan“) and female Ivanova („daughter of Ivan).
There are countries like Spain or those Portugese speaking where a person has several surnames. In the Netherlands surnames became obligatory when it's occupaed by French at the beginning of 19th century. Some Dutch tought official use of surnames won't survive so they chose funny surnames like for example Rotmensen („rotten people“) or Naaktgeboren („born naked“). I wonder if such surnames still exist.
Finally let me mention that most countries put name before surname, but there are those where surname is put first. Some of such countries are China, Japan, Hungary and Vietnam.
That's all from me today. Bye, bye!!

2006-09-21T13:13:00.000+02:00

TEARS AND LAUGHTER

On the 4th September this year my grandmother Stefanija died. She's 84. I loved her a lot. She loved me too. She died piecefully in her sleep. That's the best...I would love to die that way. She died at about 10.00 p.m. I could not sleep that night. So many memories appeard in my mind... She was burried two days later. It's nice, simple...like all her life. She is in heaven. I know it. Hopefully God will give her a small garden to take care of. She had a beautiful garden next to her house.
In my Croatia people usually do not write epitaphs on graves. Put it's common all over the world. Some are a little bit weird, funny... Here is one I found on the internet.
A lawyer's epitaph in England:
Sir John StrangeHere lies an honest lawyer,And that is Strange
If carefully read, it is quite lovely...You know, an honest lawyer....and his surname.
Let me finish today's entry with some laughter. In the United States of America some rather strange laws still exist...I believe they are not put into practise...They are remains from the past...But I wonder why authorities do not declare them not valid... Here are some rather funny example of laws, I found at http://www.crazylaws.com/
1) You cannot chain your alligator to a fire hydrant. (Alabama)
2) You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time. (Alabama)
3) Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs. (Arizona)
4) Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. (Baldwin Park, California)
5) You are not allowed to walk across a street on your hands. (Connecticut)
I could go on and on...But I'll go now. See you all tomorrow. Take care.

2006-09-20T15:49:00.000+02:00

LET'S GO...

Here is my first post...what should I write. Well, I love books. I read quite a lot...Well, 3 or 4 books each month. I almost always finish my day with a book in my hand...Book is a good lullaby (?)...even for us grown-ups...or something that helps us to grow inside...When I was in elementary school or high school I read mainly stuff what my teacher asked...You know, famous writers...Nowdays, I am trying to build my own taste in literature. I love the fact when I "discover" a good writer. Whenever possible I try to read works of writers from small countries...I do not like cultural or any other domination of so called "big" nations...
Who is my favourite writer? Oh God, that's a difficult question...Well, well, let me think...I love Agatha Christie...especially that special British touch...who knows if that's the proper word...I have when I read her books. Oh yes, a wonderful storyteller Gabriel Garcia Marquez is certaily one of those whose works I love. One of the most beautiful style of writing has Southafrican writer John Maxwell Coetzee. Stories in his books are quite bitter, describing racial and other problems in a society....Someone may dislike such topics, but whoever starts to read a book by Coetzee will soon realize the magic of his words... My favourite Coetzee's work is "Age of Iron" (1990). It is a story about violence in Southafrican society...but also a story about lonely Mrs. Curren who is slowly dying of cancer, bad relation with her daughter and gentle friendship with homeless man Vercueil.
What am I reading now? I am reading a detective story titled "100th Man" by American writer Jack Kerley...The story is good... Some serial killer cuts of his victims' heads and write some strange messages on their bodies... It is a good stuff to read, but not a masterpiece...
Well...that's all for today. Have a nice day wherever you are. Keep smiling!! Keep the sunshine in your hearts!!! See you tomorrow...