Thursday 3 May 2007

Rose

Another odd article I found on the BBC website.
Well, shit happens...

Sudan's famous goat 'wife' dies
Charles Tombe
Charles Tombe is refusing to comment on the affair
The best-known goat in Sudan has died months after being "married" to a man in the South Sudan capital, Juba, the BBC has learned.

Local elders ordered a man found having sex with the goat, later called Rose, to "marry" her last February.

"The idea was to publicly embarrass the man," says Tom Rhodes, editor of the Juba Post, which first ran the story.

The BBC's story of the "wedding" caught the public imagination and became one of the most read internet stories.

Rose, black and white, is believed to have died after choking on a plastic bag she swallowed as she was eating scraps on the streets of Juba.

'Sense of humour'

After the marriage, Rose had a male kid - but "not a human one" - Mr Rhodes said, hastily.

The "husband", Charles Tombe, said he was drunk at the time but has since refused to comment on the issue. The kid is owned by Mr Tombe.

More than a year after the BBC story was first published, it is still picked up by various web forums and being emailed across the world. Recently it got more than 100,000 page views for five successive days.

Over time, it has received several million hits - making it historically one of the biggest-hitting stories the BBC News website has published.

A Google search uncovers more than 1m different web pages, based on the same story.

Mr Rhodes, a Briton who helped found the Juba Post in 2004, was shocked when he learned how many people around the world had read the story his newspaper had originally published as a short, light-hearted account and not even bothered to publish on its website.

map

"Wow - what have we done? We have triggered a monster," he said.

He said that he had seen that it occasionally returned in the BBC's "Most read stories" and was worried that he would have trouble with South Sudanese, accusing his paper of tarnishing the image of the region - now trying to rebuild after 21 years of war.

But he says he has not come across any such anger.

"It doesn't portray Sudan in a bad light - it shows the Sudanese have a sense of humour," he says, referring to the elders' original punishment.

He has, however, had people come up and say to him: "Oh, you're the goat man."

Mr Rhodes explains that South Sudan remains a conservative society.

If a man is caught sleeping with a girl, he is ordered to marry her immediately in order to save her honour and that of her family, he says.

This was the basis for Mr Tombe's punishment, after the goat's owner found him with his animal and complained to local elders.

They ordered him to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50, at the time) and also named the goat Rose.

Afterwards, he left with the goat, not quite hand-in-hand, more hand-in-hoof, to his home in the Hai Malakal suburb of Juba - and not in Upper Nile State as we originally reported.

Tuesday 20 March 2007

"Mała Brytania"

So here we are... Finally we could watch Little Britain on the Polish telly. Last Friday on TVP2 [Polish TV, Channel 2] there was the first episode of Mała Brytania. Together with couple of my friends we were waiting for this moment for quite a long time. But after we've seen it, we're not as enthusiastic as before. Why? Simply because the Polish translation of the film leaves a lot to be desired. Especially the moment at the beginning when Vicky speaks - the very famous "no but yeah but". Polish "voice" is much too slow for Vicky's pace. And of course Andy ("want that one") who's just one of a kind. I also didn't like it so much cos the speaker did it with no emotions and without even changing the tone of voice, pity. I think it would be better if there were also English subtitles cos the language these two guys use and how they use it is the essence of the comedy. But on the other hand, it's almost impossible to translate it faithfully. Just watch the original and you'll know what I mean. But it doesn't discourage me though, to watch it every week because I love these two crazy guys phenomenally exaggerating the reality.

Here's the official BBC website for Little Britain: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/littlebritain/

Monday 12 March 2007

Monks vs. Ants

I've just been browsing the BBC News website and I came across this a little bit funny article. Have a look

Malaysian monks face ant dilemma
By Jonathan Kent
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

Buddhist temple in Penang, Malaysia
Penang's wildlife have been known to make temples their homes
A group of Buddhist monks in Malaysia is appealing for help to solve a problem with ants.

Buddhism forbids devotees from harming any living creature.

So the monks are looking for a creative and non-violent solution to deal with the insects, which are biting worshippers.

The monks at the Ang Hock Si Temple, also known as the Hong Hock See temple, in Georgetown on Penang Island have had to learn to live with nature.

Some years ago they shared their temple compound with a cobra.

The chief monk, the Venerable Boon Keng, told the BBC that they had become used to meditating alongside the snake but eventually decided to catch it and take it away to a nearby forest.

Now he says the cobra's place has been taken by a colony of fire ants.

Vacuum cleaner

But the ants are dropping from the temple's sacred bodhi tree onto people meditating below - and when they bite it causes painful swelling.

The Venerable Boon Keng practises what he calls "letting go" meditation - so he "lets go" of the pain.

But out of consideration for worshippers less far along the path to enlightenment the monks are looking for ways to persuade the ants to go.

An attempt to remove them using a vacuum cleaner failed, so the Buddhist community is appealing for help.

They cannot encourage anyone to harm the ants, but the chief monk says that if someone turns up unbidden and deals with them without the monks' involvement then that is the will of the universe.

Saturday 3 March 2007

Spring?

Mmmm... Isn't it wonderful that spring is already giving us first signs of its presence? I can smell the fresh air, the trees and when I get up to school in the mornings, which is rather early, sometimes have to get up at 6.00, I hear the birds singing, ahhh...

So it's Saturday... from the very morning I can see and hear my dad and few other guys tiding up the backyard, preparing the ground to sow new grass on the lawn, raking up etc.
Wunderbar! I love autumn and winter for real, but after having it for half a year or so I'm just enough of it.

Just to keep you in this spring mood I highly recommend u listen to these few songs. Whenever I listen to them it makes me wanna dance, really.
So here u go:
Fatboy Slim - I See You Baby; Right Here Right Now; The Rockefeller Skank; Cuba Club - Cuba; and of course my beloved haba haba Andre TanneBerger - Let You Go.
Enjoy!

Tuesday 6 February 2007

Good news

Just a small amendment to the previous post - fortunately, Mr Sikorski IS going to stay in the government. Lucky us ;-) But it doesn't change the fact that the Ministry of Defence won't be governed by the most appropriate (currently in Poland) person for this post. Shade schade schade...

Monday 5 February 2007

Bad news

This post won't be extremely creative, I'm just bored with writing my thesis or rather trying to do it :-/ I reached an impasse and I'm too lazy to get down to writing again... Maybe because I've had quite a hectic day, don't know. After few hours of driving from one place to the other and getting pissed off by 'Warsaw drivers' (call them whatever u like) I got home really knackered. I thought that if I sit in a comfy armchair and see what's on telly I'll relax. Nothing more wrong! I watched the news and, frankly, it wasn't a good idea coz I got even more frustrated than before... When I heard that they got rid of Minister of Defence, haba-haba Radek Sikorski, I thought: 'what the bloody hell is going on in here?!' Highly skilled, experienced and internationally respected persona is not in the government anymore. Will they ever stop being preoccupied only with their own egos and start taking seriously the future of our country? Damn it! Sikorski is one of my favourites. What a great loss...

Sunday 28 January 2007

Memories

It's been a long time since I posted anything new so I though it's high time I shared some bits & bobs... Today I don't know why but I thought about my violin. Yes, I have a violin. Only some of you might know that I used to play the violin a bit. Or I should rather say - I attempted to play (if you can call it playing ) this 'mysterious' instrument. Anyway, here's the story... It's all started about 2 years ago when my grandpa (a great guy, really!) gave me his very very old violin. It's hard to believe but his father found it somewhere in a trench during the WW II. Unbelievable, I know. So when he passed it on to me, I knew that I was obliged in a way to learn how to play it and I knew my grandpa wanted it too. But I have to admit that I was very eager myself. So I took some lessons and, believe it or not, I learned few tricks. Impossible is nothing! I really enjoyed practicing it and I was proud of myself that I can actually play something because it's bloody difficult, believe me. But even more satisfactory was the moment when I saw the unbelievably happy face of my grandpa when I was playing 'Happy Birthday' for him. Unfortunately, after a year or so I quit... Sometimes I regret it all end up and I think to myself that I wasted my chance and that it could be a germ of a new hobby... Well, maybe at some point in my life I'll get myself and start again. Hopefully it won't be too late

Thursday 14 December 2006

Everyday thoughts...

Here're some nice thoughts to read. Feel free to comment on them and to ADD your favourite ones! Just write it as a comment and I'll then post it.

"For success, attitude is equally as important as ability" Sir Walter Scott

"Anyone who keeps learning stays young" Henry Ford

"Fortune befriends the bold" John Dryden

"Trust yourself, then you will know how to live" Goethe

"A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder" Thomas Carlyle

"Not by age but by capacity is wisdom acquired" Plautus

"Union is strength" - proverb [Unfortunately, that's what Polish people lack...]

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" Anais Nin

"Progress has little to do with speed, but much to do with direction" Anonymous

"From small beginnings come great things" - proverb

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware" Henry Miller

"If we can dream it we can do it" Anonymous

"There is always room at the top" Daniel Webster

"Architecture is frozen music" Goethe

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction" Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Saturday 25 November 2006

The first, though late post...

In all the fervour of creating this blog (I was so absorbed that I started posting things straight away) I totally forgot to publish my First Official Post… So let’s do it now, shall we?
I wasn’t actually planning to set it up now. So what happened? For those who don’t know how my blog came into existence --> it was a school assignment. Yep, that’s true. Thanks to Mr. Raf, whose blog address you can find on this website, I’ve got MY own blog now and can share my thoughts with you ;)
I used to think that the idea of blogging is a complete waste of time… but maybe I was wrong…? Time will show ;)

Wednesday 22 November 2006

Brits, do we like them?

I was so eager to go to Britain that I finally managed to do it this summer. Mission accomplished, so to speak. I came back much more experienced and with better knowledge of English culture. But what stroke me most was the exaggerated politeness of English people (or maybe it only seems to be so coz in Poland it's 'a little bit' different, if you know what I mean...). Let me give you an example. A bus. People who want to get on the bus patiently wait till everybody gets off. Nobody shoulders and even elderly people let the young first. Can you imagine the same situation in Poland? Never!

I've also noticed that they thank for everything, literally. And to express it they mostly use: 'cheers (mate)!' or 'ta!' Oh, I just love these two phrases! Whenever I hear it, it reminds me of the wonderful holidays I had

I'd even risk calling it "a business language." Why? Because of its politeness. It makes it very diplomatic...

At first you think: 'wow, they're so polite and cheerful!' Unfortunately, it's often only "a cover." I know from experience that they can call you darling, love etc. and then gossip behind your back. Of course not everyone does it, but I think it's quite common.

But then again, how can I not love English people, their culture, and their b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l (sometimes even sexy ) accent!


Cheers!

Tuesday 21 November 2006

Haven't got a clue where to go for your summer holidays?

How about Edinburgh, Scotland? I'm planning to go there myself next summer. I'm really fascinated with Edinburgh, and generally Scotland.
Edinburgh is one of the most picturesque cities of the northern part of Great Britain. Magnificent castles and ruins, breath-taking views. But that's just a very general description of what you can see and 'what your eyes can experience' in Scotland. If you want to find out more I recommend these websites: http://www.edinburgh.org/ and http://www.visitscotland.com/.

But what fascinates me most and makes me just dying to go there is the annual Edinburgh Festival. It's just amazing! Artists from all around the world (!), starting with Europeans and ending with Asians, Americans or Indians, come to Edinburgh to perform their shows. There're several major festivals, e.g. Book, Art Festivals, Jazz & Blues Festival and many other. However, the most spectacular event is the Fringe Festival. Believe it or not, it's thought to be the largest showcase on earth!

You can check it out here: http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/.

So what you recon? Don't know how about you but I fancy going there

[picture: Military Tattoo]

Logical games & quizzes

I’m keen on puzzling out quizzes and mathematical tasks, really. I’ve always loved maths and I like to test myself in various logical games. About two years ago I came across SUDOKU. You’ve probably heard about it. When I first saw it, I thought: Stupid. Why’s everybody so crazy about it?! But when I tried, I got involved very quickly

So if you want to test your skills then here u go!
www.sudoku.com