first snow

It’s early in the morning now, about 5 am, and whole night it was snowing here in Belgrade. To be quite frank, yesterday’s evening I had no idea that it was going to snow. And you know what – we believe that when there is first snow outside, well, one has to make a wish!

And what to wish now? I wish that my friends are now with me so that we can all enjoy beautiful sight – not just I alone. I cannot see the snowflakes, it is dark outside, but I can see them around the street lights. They are falling down in thick clouds, but look at their peace and elegance! What is there more beautiful than the snowy morning – it is too early for the cars in small streets around, and everything is so pure and white and silent, even parking space has new august garments.

I see some people walking. Someone is joyful, and jumping around in the street. And there is one lady, walking very nervously – but I don’t believe that even she does not feel joy somewhere deep inside – it is just cold and I guess she wants to go home as soon as possible, yet whole neighbourhood looks so beautiful, like from a fairytale.

Peace of these snowflakes is leaving me speechless. Snow blanket is fairly thick now. I may try to make little snowman later on my balcony. Now there are no more people in the streets, and everything is returning to perfect calmness.

And you can do two things now to get a joy of snow – make a snowflake, if you are in creative mood or enjoy in good ole snowball warefare. Or you can make a wish!

(Photo above I found on internet, it is how snow in the morning looks like in Swiss)

Especially for G

My good friend G has recently celebrated 30th anniversary of her marriage, so I want to send her and her husband my greetings here on my blog too. I want to thank you for emanating the positive energy from your blog, and must say that I developed a great admiration for your writing style ever since I read the post about incident with Storioni violin :)

My dear friend, I want to offer you few songs in your native language as a present. I don’t have idea how often do you speak or hear Hungarian language, but I reckoned you would be delighted to hear some songs. They are all sung by my favourite singer Magdolna Ruzsa, I don’t understand the words, but I fell deeply in love with the colour of her singing.

Magdolna Rúzsa – Felix Lajko – Még azt mondják

This one is folk song. Lajko Felix, the famous violin virtuoso, is playing on zither.

Magdolna Ruzsa – Végső vallomás

Beautiful ballad, I wish I could know the words :)

Magdi Ruzsa – Máté Péter – Most elsz

Translation by Zadia75:
Time is melting like a pale iceflower
and evanescent happiness will come to the end.
You are standing there alone, like a leaf on the top of the hill
sleepy moonlight greets you, and the wind blows you away.

But in the meantime there is hope, every minute celebrates
for there is always hope, you must believe, so believe it.
refr:
You are living NOW, take care to do it well
because your smallest mistake will avange itself.
You are living now, be happy for the summer is beautiful
and that you have somebody who’s waiting for you
and embraces you.

And finally here is the first song I ever heard of her. It was Hungarian entry of ESC competition this year. When I heard the song Unsubstantial Blues, it won me over so much, that I immediately took the mobile phone and voted for her. Song is in English so everybody can understand. Here it is, enjoy!

Eurovision SC Final 2007 – Hungary – Magdi Ruzsa

sparrow

Who will love a little Sparrow?
Who’s traveled far and cries for rest?
“Not I,” said the Oak Tree,
“I won’t share my branches with
no sparrow’s nest,
And my blanket of leaves won’t warm
her cold breast.”

Who will love a little Sparrow
And who will speak a kindly word?
“Not I,” said the Swan,
“The entire idea is utterly absurd,
I’d be laughed at and scorned if the
other Swans heard.”

Who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving sparrow?
“Not I,” said the Golden Wheat,
“I would if I could but I cannot I know,
I need all my grain to prosper and grow.”

Who will love a little Sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
“I will,” said the Earth,
“For all I’ve created returns unto me,
From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be.”

Simon & Garfunkel – Sparrow

Hello All, I was making a pause in writing for some time, so I am back here again. Sparrow is one of the mascots of Belgrade, city that I live in. There are a lot of sparrows here, and they are always very cute. Especially the way they jump around full of enthusiasm! There is always enough to learn from a sparrow, if you look attentively enough.

I bought these days mp3 player, and now I am listening all the day Simon & Garfunkel, and also I am searching for interesting podcasts on the net to download (there are many of them which are very educational, I am pleasantly surprised)

envoys of beauty

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature

I am into astronomy these days. Downloaded and installed free Astro Planner on my PC, and also installed Planetarium on my handheld. But nights are cloudy in Belgrade, I have no luck. As soon as stars become visible again I am determined to find Orion Nebula on the sky. Approximately I know where it should be located.

For those who are not accustomed with using telescopes, good start is to observe the sky with binoculars. And if you watch through telescope, first thing you should see is the surface of the Moon (it always takes my breath away), then you can try to find Jupiter and see its 4 bigger satelites (if you draw down their positions over time axis you will get sinusoidal waves). Of course, never ever watch directly to the Sun, do not try that even with special filters either. If you want to see spots on Sun surface, project the image from telescope to paper, and there you will see it very well. And you can try to see Saturn rings too.

I have at home some older russian telescope, I think that diameter of mirror is about 6 cm. But let me tell you these modern computerised telescopes are really something. They have so called GoTo option, which means that there are memorized coordinates of stellar objects and computer controlls moving mechanism which directs the telescope right to the desired object. All you have to do is just look and enjoy.

Problem with using telescopes in cities is light pollution. I wonder if Suburbia likes to watch the stars since she lives in the suburban area of the big city, and I guess the night sky is much more clear there. Nowdays there are many telescopes on the market, I saw even those with 10 inches diameter (I think that with them you can see even that red spot on Jupiter’s surface). Actually I found very nice booklet from Meade telescopes and you can download it here. There are interesting stories in it, like one when a man found new supernova (exploded star) with his home telescope.

I remember I liked to read in my primary school about comet hunters. That is so cool to try to find new comet.

Astrophotography is also something breathtaking. That art combines calculation and photography. You have to be very precise if you want to catch the photo of “diamond ring” in total solar eclipse.

We always stand in awe under the starry sky. I hope tonight there will be no clouds in Belgrade. I am already browsing the catalogs in software to choose what I will (and can) observe. Wish me good luck with the weather. And you can join me with exploring the space.

favourite magazine

Ah yes, I like to read magazines. In early 80ties I was a still a kid, and in those times computers were much expensive, but I was so obsessed with computers – so you guess, I was not merely reading, but learning computer magazines by heart :)

Even today I like to read computer magazines, but they are much different now. The best ones are business oriented, and frankly I don’t care about business. For me science was always like a poetry, and I am always more eager to read interesting article about something theoretical or even about good computer game, than to read boring article about some database or something that will help someone improve his business, and earn a lot of money.

This is the reason, perhaps, why I am always silently quarreling with my wallet. But I remain a poet.

And today, it is so difficult to find good scientific magazine. Back in 80ties in Yugoslavia there was famous magazine Galaksija (Galaxy). It was about popular science. You could read there how to solve Rubik’s cube or how to build a solar house or a wind turbine. And articles about cosmos, which were so not business related. Remember the TV series about Cosmos by famous Carl Sagan. We loved to watch him here.

I bought few days ago National Geographic in serbian language. And it is great. Articles are well written. And on NG site you can find video material related to those articles. I wish to see good magazine about science here one day. Some of the articles in National Geographic Magazine you can read here, they are in section Features.

In the meantime I read Nature and New Scientist sometimes, in English. They are really good.

And I like to read about expensive things I cannot buy – like magazines about yachts, or good hi-fi and hi-end magazines.

What is your favourite magazine and what do you like to read?

Happy St. Valentine’s Day Everybody!!!

I gotta a girl who’s always late
Anytime we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her

I’m gonna walk up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
‘Cause I want her
I’m gonna ask her
Is you is, or is you ain’t, my baby
The way you’re acting lately makes me doubt
You is still my baby, baby
Seems my flame in your heart’s done gone out

A woman is a creature
That has always been strange
Just when you’re sure of one you find
She’s gone and made a change

Is you is, or is you ain’t my baby
Maybe baby’s found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true

Love knows no fear. Tom is not afraid of a big dog (with various dental prostheses :) when he is in love. I wish you all, dear friends, lots of love in following year (and in all those years after that, too!)

Love is a greatest power in Universe. We are beings of habit, but love does not let us form a habit – it is ever new opening of visions and unexpected horizons. Love is showing us our cosmic dimension, for true love is always selfless.

Love is not success, and it is not failure (Tom doesn’t have to worry because of the end of the cartoon) – it is far above both. Love has nothing to do with mathematics and combinatorics. Love does not count with numbers but with fulness. Love is beyond intellect.

Love is unspeakable, it is often beyond words, but it is not beyond deeds. I know you cannot always tell people who you love what you feel, but you can show them your love, and you can pray for their happiness.

Even if your love is not returned, do not expect anything. Love dresses us in garments of emperors of the universe. So we must act generously like true princes or princesses, and leave expectation to those who want to act like beggars.

I heartily recommend all of you to read Quo Vadis (by Henryk Sienkiewicz) which is in my humble opinion the greatest love story ever written (and it won Nobel prize in 1905). Dear friends, please find time to read that book – only a deeply inspired person can write like that.

Happy holiday dear friends! Let us offer our gratitude for Love that transforms our human hearts, and shows us Infinite in our finiteness, and Eternal in our transitoriness. Let us always be grateful for that cosmic dimension. Let us sing and dance with planets and the stars!

Let us write poetry (with our paintbrushes and musical instruments too!). If Angels have their language, I believe it is spoken in verses.

random access brainmory

If my brain was to transform into a flash memory card – oh well, I am completely sure – nobody would be interested to buy it!

I am not trying to say that I am all plain stupid. It is just that I forget things very easily and on large scale. Yesterday I went to buy big ceramic fuse for my boiler, I still don’t use electromagnetic ones. And while I was walking I saw someone in bus who looked somewhat familiar to me but I thought that is a coincidence, until he waved at me – I then waved at him back, and spent the rest of my walking time to figure out who was that. Of course, I am still thinking who was that and still cannot remember.

It happens to me always. Someone approaches me on the street, we handshake and chit-chat like a good ole friends, but at the end he goes, we say goodbye, and I still don’t have slightest idea who was he. And I feel embarassed to ask -excuse me, who are you?- when someone is so happy to see me. Sometimes beautiful women say hello to me on the street (this especially was happening while I was still in a primary school, I don’t know who they were but my friends were amazed – they wanted me to tell them who that was, and to introduce them too) But how could I do it when I have no idea who that had been (I guess neighbours from the hood). Few months ago someone approached me and said hello, but I was determined to ask him from where do we know each other, and I asked. He said that I was bying comics from him. Now that cannot be true, I do not buy comics. Yet he wanted to give me his pass for free entering in Book Fair. Crazy is this world!

O yes, and if I see you for the first time – and you tell me you name while we handshake, well, don’t expect me to remember it afterwards. It is the most difficult for me. Uh huh.

There is one more phenomenon connected with me. I can talk about “business” on the phone while I am sleeping! Once I was about to sell some bigger amount of paper to a friend, and when I woke up, I had impression that we have already talked about that. It felt like I just had a dream. So I was not sure, and I took the phone and called him. And I asked him did I by any chance have talked with him – he said yes, and I explained that I was sleeping then. He told me that my voice was very serious, and that he thought I am angry or something. But he said that I told him very precisely about the money and the place where we were about to meet, and I was asleep. Go figure!

I feel like Wile E. Coyote is my brother. Like him, I desperately want to be intelligent, and like him I will never stop trying.

reading thrillers

On January 30th, this year, my favourite novel writer Sidney Sheldon passed away in his 90th year. From my childhood I was reading much. One can say that reading books is my passion. My father is a collector of old books, we have more than 1400 I guess, and also my aunt worked in a big bookshop, which had many books and most importantly all the new titles. I used to sit there on a chair for hours and reading books. So, I remember, when I was 14 year old – I read my first novel written by mr. Sheldon – Master of the Game, in that bookshop. I remember that it was so interesting that I always held my breath in suspense to see what will happen next. I never read so interesting and attention catching novel before that. Later on, I read many of his books. Perhaps most interesting one for me was his novel about Spain – The Sands of Time. His writing style is unique. And in the novel Tell me your dreams, there is most unexpected ending ever. Yesterday I was mentioning autobiographies, and last novel that mr. Sheldon wrote is actually his autobiography – The Other Side of Me, which was published in 2005.

I have never read it yet, but I am look forward to reading it. It starts with his being 17 years old and since those were the years after great depression in USA (in 1929, and then it was 1934) he was totally disappointed and wanted to commit suicide. I am so glad that he did not do it. Such talented author, his writing style always in present tense, his playing with italic font to create distinction between thinking world and objective world. I have impression that Dan Brown copied that technique from him, but in my opinion not with the same success. Sheldon used it better.

Who else writes novels that you read with your mouth open. Victor Hugo of course. Les Miserables are fantastic, I could only think what could happen if mr. Hugo was movie director – what kind of deep thrillers he would make. Few weeks ago I watched movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Sir Anthony Hopkins playing Quasimodo (he played the role so good, I was amazed). I fancy that the book is even more thrilling than the movie. Nobel prize winning novel Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz is also a thriller when you are nearing end of the novel, but at the same time it is novel that embodies highest spiritual feelings and superb hedonistical style of describing Petronius (in positive way) and emperor Nero (in negative, hedonism-degrading way), and perhaps it is the best love story (Vinitius and Lygia) ever written – all in all, it is probably the deepest novel I have ever read.

In yesterdays comment Barbara recommended to me reading the autobiography of Vittorio Alfieri. I browsed project Gutenberg and found autobiography of one also interesting and famous Italian – and documentary of that autobiography I saw on Viasat History TV Channel. And we can certainly say that Giacomo Casanova led pretty interesting life. His autobiography was very famous at that time.

Somewhere I read that Victor Hugo’s dream was that Paris would be called after his name. If that had become the reality – we would have now Une Romaine a Hugo blogging instead :)

Rita Moreno & Animal – “Fever”

I remember last year on Belgrade Marathon while I was waiting for my friends at the finish line, one jazz band was playing, among all other stuff, opening theme from Muppet Show. You know the song; It’s time to put on makeup..It’s time to dress up right..It’s time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight :) Oh well, at the middle of the song, one man from that band said to the microphone -People, Animal couldn’t stand it anymore- and then all instruments went silent, so the drummer was drumming like crazy I am sure not less than 10 minutes! Then they continued with the song. I was laughing and laughing, that really brightened my day :)

Rita Moreno won Emmy award for appearance in this episode of Muppet Show. The above clip was filmed in 1977. I loved Muppets so much, and this is my appeal to all TV people in charge – please give us Muppets back! They were the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational – this is what we call the Muppet Show!

how to put NO FUR sticker on your WordPress blog

It is easy. If you wish to do it, here is how it can be done.

First you need text widget. WordPress allows you to have 9 text widgets. Kindly go to Presentation -> Sidebar Widgets. Take text widget with your mouse, left click and hold, and drag and drop it into the sidebar – on place you wish. If you do not have enough text widgets you can increase their availability from drop down menu beside question How many text widgets would you like?

Click on the right side of text widget and text box will open with title and body for HTML. I thought it would be nice if this sticker hyperlinks to the homepage of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Now in title you can write your message about not using fur. In the main text window write this code

Then close window by clicking anywhere outside it, and Save Changes.

I have already done that in my blog so you can see how it looks like. This is easy and everyone can do it. If you do not want to put this sticker on your blog, you can print it on printer and make interesting badge. All in all, be creative, there are many ways to say to other people that you do not feel like that animals should be killed because of someone’s notions of fashion. Let us join to appeal of people who make new fashion – fashion that says fur is out. There is no aesthetics in killing animals for fashion – let us all say what we think and really prove that we are civilised. No fur!

And one more thing – you may find it difficult to become vegetarian at this moment. I hope you will reconsider that option in the future someday, but when it comes to wearing fur – it is very, very easy to renounce wearing it. Just say no, and help higher and more humane taste in fashion to evolve. It is easy. We can do it!

Address of NO FUR sticker, if you want to print it out on paper is
http://www.petacatalog.org/images/200-BU171.jpg
Note, it is address that you have to put in img src tag in text widget, see code example above.