Let there be hope

The year to start, 2010 namely, is gonna be a good one or it's not going to be at all.
Peace and hope!
God bless ye all!

The Sultanate of Oman

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the south eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula - 300,000 sq. km boasting some 1,700 km of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf. It is the second largest country in Arabia, and has the most diverse landscape including fjord-like rugged mountains in the far north, magnificent tracts of desert and a lush south.
Oman's history can be traced back to 12,000 BC. The country is strategically located on the crossroads of several trade routes that linked the ancient world. It became a centre of power in the 17th century with Omani rule extending from Zanzibar in East Africa to parts of Persia and Pakistan.
Evidence of a glorious ancient past is spread all over the country which boasts more than 500 forts, castles, and towers. Their diversity and numbers reflect the high standards achieved by Omanis in architecture.
Oman enjoys many unique features including an unspoiled culture and lifestyle traditional in almost every aspect. The people are friendly and offer incomparable hospitality. A rich variety of flora and fauna abound, together with panoramic beauty witnessed in its mountain ranges, deserts and sand dunes.
Today, His Majesty Said Bin Sultan Qaboos rules the country and Oman is considered a safe and secure destination with many modern amenities and facilities

Climate: The hottest months are June through August when temperatures are in the 40’s. However, modern AC and sea breezes make this more than bearable. The most pleasant months to visit Oman are mid October through March when daytime temperatures fall into the lower 30s and below.

Dress: The dress code is fairly liberal in Muscat, although decency is still expected. Women should wear, for example, tops with sleeves, and long skirts or trousers. Men are required to wear trousers and shirts with sleeves. Swimwear should be restricted to the beach or pools.

Language: Arabic, English and Swahili are widely spoken.

Time Zone Difference: Oman is GMT+4

Currency: The unit of currency is the Rial Omani (RO) consisting of 1,000 baizas. ($1USD = 0.384 OMR 22.5.06)

Jede Zelle

Ice Egg vs Ice Age

More than funny and more than once in a lifetime opportunity to see what is really going on during a cast...

And now the result of that cast. It seems they prefered the squirrel.

I couldn't help myself laughing for the 1000th time when seeing this...

Canada Day - 1st of July

Background

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's (queen Victoria) loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1^st.

The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.

There is no record of organized ceremonies after this first anniversary, except for the 50^th anniversary of Confederation in 1917, at which time the new Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, under construction, was dedicated as a memorial to the Fathers of Confederation and to the valour of Canadians fighting in the First World War in Europe.

The next celebration was held in 1927 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation. It was highlighted by the laying of the cornerstone by the Governor General of the Confederation Building on Wellington Street and the inauguration of the Carillon in the Peace Tower.

Since 1958, the government has arranged for an annual observance of Canada's national day with the Secretary of State of Canada in charge of the coordination. The format provided for a Trooping the Colours ceremony on the lawn of Parliament Hill in the afternoon, a sunset ceremony in the evening followed by a mass band concert and fireworks display.

Another highlight was Canada's Centennial in 1967 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the celebrations with Parliament Hill again being the backdrop for a large scale official ceremony.

The format changed in 1968 with the addition of multicultural and professional concerts held on Parliament Hill including a nationally televised show. Up until 1975, the focus of the celebrations, under the name "Festival Canada", was held in the National Capital Region during the whole month of July and involved numerous cultural, artistic and sport activities, as well as municipalities and voluntary organizations. The celebration was cancelled in 1976 but was reactivated in 1977.

A new formula was developed in 1980 whereby the National Committee (the federal government organization charged with planning Canada's Birthday celebrations) stressed and sponsored the development of local celebrations all across Canada. "Seed money" was distributed to promote popular and amateur activities organized by volunteer groups in hundreds of local communities. The same approach was also followed for the 1981 celebrations with the addition of fireworks displays in 15 major cities across the nation.

On October 27, 1982, July 1^st which was known as "Dominion Day" became "Canada Day".

Since 1985, Canada Day Committees are established in each province and territory to plan, organize and coordinate the Canada Day celebrations locally. Grants are provided by the Department to those committees.

(source here)

London Icons. Things to Do and Visit.

London is a city located in the south-eastern part of the UK. The old city has a lot of interesting things to offer the interested tourists. Here there are only a few of them.

Tower Bridge

It's a spectacular bridge built in the late Victorian era. Tower Bridge is truly magnificent! It's great to see the bridge open to let ships through, which happens more often than you'd think; around 900 times a year. Walking across the bridge, you see the amazing views of London, although it can get quite windy. It really gives you a sense of old London – for me it's the ultimate London icon.

The British Airways London Eye

I love the big wheel at a fair ground, so I think The BA London Eye is a fantastic way of getting a bird's-eye view of the city. On a good day you can see for miles and miles – at the peak the whole of London is laid out for you, almost like a game of Monopoly. A friend hired a private capsule for her birthday, so we were up there with all of our mates, oohing and ahhing. It was fantastic!"

Covent Garden

It's a bit of continental Europe right in the middle of London, with tables from restaurants and eateries spilling out onto the piazza. Covent Garden is also where you'll find London's best street performers, from singers belting out arias to mime artists performing crowd-pleasing stunts. Whenever my family comes to London, this is where I take them.

Piccadilly Circus

There's always a real buzz in Piccadilly Circus – the buildings are lit up with dazzling electric signs, and there are always people standing by the Statue of Eros, waiting for friends. Piccadilly Circus leads you into Soho, Chinatown and Leicester Square, areas where you'll find restaurants, pubs, clubs, theatres and cinemas. It's where I spend my Friday nights!"

St Paul's Cathedral

I was only 10 when I watched Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding on the television. I remember the 25-foot-long (7.6m) dress train trailing behind her as she walked up the aisle in St. Paul's – it looked so dramatic! I've been a fan of the cathedral ever since. You can walk around the whole of the ground floor, visit the crypt, and climb all 530 steps to the top of the dome.

Westminster Abbey

For me, Westminster Abbey is more of a historic site than a religious one. It's where every King and Queen has been crowned since 1066, and it's also the final resting place for many sovereigns, politicians and artists. I also love the choral concerts they hold here. Last Christmas Eve I went Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve – it was amazing.

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

The Houses of Parliament stand on the site of the old Palace of Westminster, the main London residence of Kings and Queens. It's a really stunning riverside building. The clock tower is the main timepiece of the nation and home to Big Ben (the bell). I took my son on a tour around Parliament during the summer opening and he loved it! We even managed to climb all the stairs to the top of Big Ben.

Fossils Challenge Old Evolution Theory

Surprising research based on two African fossils suggests our family tree is more like a wayward bush with stubby branches, challenging what had been common thinking on how early humans evolved.

The discovery by Meave Leakey, a member of a famous family of paleontologists, shows that two species of early human ancestors lived at the same time in Kenya. That pokes holes in the chief theory of man's early evolution that one of those species evolved from the other.

And it further discredits that iconic illustration of human evolution that begins with a knuckle-dragging ape and ends with a briefcase-carrying man.

The old theory is that the first and oldest species in our family tree, Homo habilis, evolved into Homo erectus, which then became human, Homo sapiens. But Leakey's find suggests those two earlier species lived side-by-side about 1.5 million years ago in parts of Kenya for at least half a million years. She and her research colleagues report the discovery in a paper published in Thursday's journal Nature.

The paper is based on fossilized bones found in 2000. The complete skull of Homo erectus (the man who stands) was found within walking distance of an upper jaw of Homo habilis (the skillful man), and both dated from the same general time period. That makes it unlikely that Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis, researchers said.

It's the equivalent of finding that your grandmother and great-grandmother were sisters rather than mother-daughter, said study co-author Fred Spoor, a professor of evolutionary anatomy at the University College in London.

The two species lived near each other, but probably didn't interact, each having its own "ecological niche," Spoor said. Homo habilis was likely more vegetarian while Homo erectus ate some meat, he said. Like chimps and apes, "they'd just avoid each other, they don't feel comfortable in each other's company," he said.

There remains some still-undiscovered common ancestor that probably lived 2 million to 3 million years ago, a time that has not left much fossil record, Spoor said.

Overall what it paints for human evolution is a "chaotic kind of looking evolutionary tree rather than this heroic march that you see with the cartoons of an early ancestor evolving into some intermediate and eventually unto us," Spoor said in a phone interview from a field office of the Koobi Fora Research Project in northern Kenya.

That old evolutionary cartoon, while popular with the general public, is just too simple and keeps getting revised, said Bill Kimbel , who praised the latest findings. He is science director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University and wasn't part of the Leakey team.

"The more we know, the more complex the story gets," he said. Scientists used to think Homo sapiens evolved from Neanderthals, he said. But now we know that both species lived during the same time period and that we did not come from Neanderthals.

Now a similar discovery applies further back in time.

Susan Anton, a New York University anthropologist and co-author of the Leakey work, said she expects anti-evolution proponents to seize on the new research, but said it would be a mistake to try to use the new work to show flaws in evolution theory.

"This is not questioning the idea at all of evolution; it is refining some of the specific points," Anton said. "This is a great example of what science does and religion doesn't do. It's a continous self-testing process."

For the past few years there has been growing doubt and debate about whether Homo habilis evolved into Homo erectus. One of the major proponents of the more linear, or ladder-like evolution that this evidence weakens, called Leakey's findings important, but he wasn't ready to concede defeat.

Dr. Bernard Wood, a surgeon-turned-professor of human origins at George Washington University, said in an e-mail Wednesday that "this is only a skirmish in the protracted 'war' between the people who like a bushy interpretation and those who like a more ladder-like interpretation of early human evolution."

Leakey's team spent seven years analyzing the fossils before announcing it was time to redraw the family tree — and rethink other ideas about human evolutionary history. That's especially true of most immediate ancestor, Homo erectus.

Because the Homo erectus skull Leakey recovered was much smaller than others, scientists had to first prove that it was erectus and not another species nor a genetic freak. The jaw, probably from an 18- or 19-year-old female, was adult and showed no signs of malformation or genetic mutations, Spoor said. The scientists also know it isn't Homo habilis from several distinct features on the jaw.

That caused researchers to re-examine the 30 other erectus skulls they have and the dozens of partial fossils. They realized that the females of that species are much smaller than the males something different from modern man, but similar to other animals, said Anton. Scientists hadn't looked carefully enough before to see that there was a distinct difference in males and females.

Difference in size between males and females seem to be related to monogamy, the researchers said. Primates that have same-sized males and females, such as gibbons, tend to be more monogamous. Species that are not monogamous, such as gorillas and baboons, have much bigger males.

This suggests that our ancestor Homo erectus reproduced with multiple partners.

The Homo habilis jaw was dated at 1.44 million years ago. That is the youngest ever found from a species that scientists originally figured died off somewhere between 1.7 and 2 million years ago, Spoor said. It enabled scientists to say that Homo erectus and Homo habilis lived at the same time.
(source AP via yahoo)

The Big BANG Theory For All

Here it is a short documentary that explains in short the theory of the Big Bang - the initial phenomenon that triggered the expansion of the Universe.
part 1


part 2


'Hope the materials are pretty useful and will help you get an idea about what happened and how did the Universe started "to function".

Big Ben versus Big Bang

Most people take one of these phrases for the other one. Here are some information about each of them, which I hope are of interest

THE STORY OF BIG BEN

At 9'-0" diameter, 7'-6" high, and weighing in at 13 tons 10 cwts 3 qtrs 15lbs (13,760 Kg), the hour bell of the Great Clock of Westminster (the Houses of the Parliament in London, on the Thames bank) - known worldwide as 'Big Ben' - is the most famous bell ever cast at Whitechapel.
On 16th October 1834, fire succeeded where Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters had failed on 5th November 1605, and destroyed the Palace of Westminster, long the seat of the British government. Those few bits of the Old Palace that survived the fire - most notably Westminster Hall, which was built between 1097 and 1099 by William Rufus - were incorporated into the new buildings we know today, along with many new features.
In 1844, Parliament decided that the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament, by then under construction, should incorporate a tower and clock. The commission for this work was awarded to the architect Charles Barry, who initially invited just one clockmaker to produce a design and quotation. The rest of the trade objected to this, demanding the job be put out to competitive tender. The Astronomer Royal, George Airy was appointed to draft a specification for the clock. One of his requirements was that:
"the first stroke of the hour bell should register the time, correct to within one second per day, and furthermore that it should telegraph its performance twice a day to Greenwich Observatory, where a record would be kept."
Most clockmakers of the day considered such accuracy unnattainable for a large tower clock driving striking mechanisms and heavy hands exposed to wind and weather and lobbied for a lesser specification. However, Airy was adamant that the first specification be adhered to. Due to this impasse, Parliament appointed barrister Edmund Beckett Denison as co-referee with Airy. Edmund Beckett Denison, later Sir Edmund Beckett, the first Baron Grimthorpe, was a difficult man. He was described by one writer as:
"zealous but unpopular, self-accredited expert on clocks, locks, bells, buildings, as well as many branches of law, Denison was one of those people who are almost impossible as colleagues, being perfectly convinced that they know more than anybody about everything - as unhappily they often do."
Denison decided to apply himself to the problem of the clock. It was 1851 before he came up with a design which could meet the exacting specification. The clock Denison designed was built by Messrs E.J. Dent & Co., and completed in 1854. The tower was not ready until 1859, so the clock was kept on test at Dent's works for over five years.
Next came the bells, and Denison discovered that Barry, now Sir Charles Barry, had specified a 14 ton hour bell but had made no provision for its production or for that of the four smaller smaller quarter chime bells. Denison's studies of clocks had included bells and he had developed his own ideas as to how they should be designed and made.
The largest bell ever cast in Britain up to that time had been 'Great Peter' at York Minster. This weighed just 10¾ tons, so it is not surprising the bellfounders were wary of bidding for the contract to produce the new bell, particularly since Denison insisted on his own design for the shape of the bell as well as his own recipe for the bellmetal. In both respects his requirements varied significantly from traditional custom and practice. Eventually, a bell was made to his specification, albeit somewhat oversize at 16 tons, by John Warner & Sons at Stockton-on-Tees on 6th August 1856, but this cracked irreparably while under test in the Palace Yard at Westminster. It was then that Denison, who now had QC after his name, turned to the Whitechapel foundry....
George Mears, then the master bellfounder and owner of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, undertook the casting. According to foundry records, Mears originally quoted a price of £2401 for casting the bell, but this was offset to the sum of £1829 by the metal he was able to reclaim from the first bell so that the actual invoice tendered, on 28th May 1858, was in the sum of £572. It took a week to break up the old bell, three furnaces were required to melt the metal, and the mould was heated all day before the actual casting, the first time this had been done in British bell-founding. It took 20 minutes to fill the mould with molten metal, and 20 days for the metal to solidify and cool. After the bell had been tested in every way by Mears, Denison approved it before it left the foundry.
Transporting the bell the few miles from the foundry to the Houses of Parliament was a major event. Traffic stopped as the bell, mounted on a trolley drawn by sixteen brightly beribboned horses, made its way over London Bridge, along Borough Road, and over Westminster Bridge. The streets had been decorated for the occasion and enthusiastic crowds cheered the bell along the route.
The bells of the Great Clock of Westmister rang across London for the first time on 31st May 1859, and Parliament had a special sitting to decide on a suitable name for the great hour bell. During the course of the debate, and amid the many suggestions that were made, Chief Lord of the Woods and Forests, Sir Benjamin Hall, a large and ponderous man known affectionately in the House as "Big Ben", rose and gave an impressively long speech on the subject. When, at the end of this oratorical marathon, Sir Benjamin sank back into his seat, a wag in the chamber shouted out: "Why not call him Big Ben and have done with it?" The house erupted in laughter; Big Ben had been named. This, at least, is the most commonly accepted story. However, according to the booklet written for the old Ministry of Works by Alan Phillips:
"Like other nice stories, this has no documentary support; Hansard failed to record the interjection. The Times had been alluding to 'Big Ben of Westminster' aince 1856. Probably, the derivation must be sought more remotely. The current champion of the prize ring was Benjamin Caunt, who had fought terrific battles with Bendigo, and who in 1857 lasted sixty rounds of a drawn contest in his final appearance at the age of 42. As Caunt at one period scaled 17 stone (238 lbs, or 108 kilogrammes), his nickname was Big Ben, and that was readily bestowed by the populace on any object the heaviest of its class. So the anonymous MP may have snatched at what was already a catchphrase."
In September, a mere two months after it officially went into service, Big Ben cracked. Once again Denison's belief that he knew more about bells than the experts was to blame for he had used a hammer more than twice the maximum weight specified by George Mears. Big Ben was taken out of service and for the next three years the hours were struck on the largest of the quarter-bells. Eventually, a lighter hammer was fitted, a square piece of metal chipped out of the soundbow, and the bell given an eighth of a turn to present an undamaged section to the hammer. This is the bell as we hear it today, the crack giving it its distinctive but less-than-perfect tone.
Not prepared to admit any error on his part, Denison befriended one of the Foundry's moulders, plied him with drink, and got him to bear false witness that it was poor casting, disguised with filler, that had caused the cracking. (A close examination of Big Ben in 2002 failed to find a trace of filler, incidentally.) With reputations at stake this led to a court case, which Denison rightly lost. Nor was this the end of the story. Denison, obviously aggrieved at having lost the court case, continued to badmouth the Foundry. Twenty years later he was unwise enough to do so in print and this led to a second libel trial. And he lost that case, too.
In mid-2002, we uncovered a dusty old boxfile bearing a label that read "Stainbank v Beckett 1881". It contained a complete transcript of the second trial between the Foundry - this time in the person of founder Robert Stainbank - and Sir Edmund Beckett Denison. Initially, we thought we'd discovered a transcript of the original, Big Ben trial. While it's a shame we don't possess a transcript of the first trial (at least, none we've yet found) there is apparently a copy still extant at the Palace of Westminster. This may, however, be the only existing transcript of the later trial. That original, handwritten transcript will be lodged in the Foundry library after a typed record has been made.
One final point of interest is that the transcript mentions the lawyer for the Foundry using a small model to demonstrate the principles of bell-casting. This would almost certainly have been the same small, exquisitely crafted model currently on display in the Foundry's lobby museum area.
Big Ben remains the largest bell ever cast at Whitechapel. Visitors to the foundry pass through a full size profile of the bell that frames the main entrance as they enter the building. The original moulding gauge employed to form the mould used to cast Big Ben hangs on the end wall of the foundry above the furnaces to this very day.
Among the gift items available from Whitechapel Bell Foundry are a finely detailed miniature of the bell itself and an illustrated booklet about Big Ben. These can both be found on our merchandising page. (source http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/bigben.htm)

THE BIG BANG THEORY
The Big Bang Theory is the dominant scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to the big bang, the universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter and in all directions.
In 1927, the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître was the first to propose that the universe began with the explosion of a primeval atom. His proposal came after observing the red shift in distant nebulas by astronomers to a model of the universe based on relativity. Years later, Edwin Powell Hubble found experimental evidence to help justify Lemaître's theory. He found that distant galaxies in every direction are going away from us with speeds proportional to their distance.
The big bang was initially suggested because it explains why distant galaxies are traveling away from us at great speeds. The theory also predicts the existence of cosmic background radiation (the glow left over from the explosion itself). The Big Bang Theory received its strongest confirmation when this radiation was discovered in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who later won the Nobel Prize for this discovery.
Although the Big Bang Theory is widely accepted, it probably will never be proved; consequentially, leaving a number of tough, unanswered questions.

iPhone and I Talk

On the 29th of June 2007 Apple launched the new iPhone and immediately after its official releasing it became a huge success with the consumers and the pros worldwide. During the last few years Apple developed and started selling high tech devices such as Apple iPod Nano and iPod Video that integrate some of the latest technologies available in the IT domain. iPhone is not just a cell phone it is also a music player, video player, internet device and camera. The dimensions of the iPhone are: 11.6mm thick, 2.4-inches wide and 4.5-inches tall. The screen is a generous 3.5-inch, 320x480 pixels at 160 ppi touchscreen display with multitouch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it is close to your face. The iPhone has storage capacity of 4GB or 8GB supported by an internal flash memory. The mobile network connectivity offers a wide range of options: GPRS/EDGE, 2.5G GSM Quad band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), data speed up to 384kbit/s. iPhone from Apple uses a 30-pin iPod dock connector, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 to connect to a Mac or a PC.
Apple says that the battery lasts up to 5 hours for video and talk with 16 hours in music mode. There is no data available about the standby time yet.
Apple officials are confident in the new iPhone and intend to sell more over 10 million units by the end of 2008 in USA, EU and Asia. The most optimistic previsions of the professionals in the field of telecommunications and IT say that they will actually sell more than 10 million units in the next 6 months. The fame and the strong brand of Apple and the fact that the iPhone has been long time now waited for and rumored about will definitely lead to unexpected rates of market shares.
Apple is launching iPhone in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2007 and in Asia in 2008. The fact is that not all the Europeans can buy the new device as Apple intends to sell it only in the UK, France and Germany.
Hopefully we shall not wait for too long to enjoy the latest technologies in the domain of mobile phones with integrated functions.

Strange Phenomena Up in the Sky

A NASA satellite has captured the first occurrence of mysterious shiny polar clouds that form 50 miles above Earth's surface. The AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) spacecraft returned some of the first data on these noctilucent or "night shining" clouds on June 11, 2007. In this image of the Arctic regions of Europe and North America, white and light blue represent noctilucent cloud structures. Black indicates areas where no data is available.
The clouds form in an upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere called the mesosphere during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season which began in mid-May and extends through the end of August and are being seen by AIM’s instruments more frequently as the season progresses. They are also seen in the high latitudes during the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere.
Very little is known about how these clouds form over the poles, why they are being seen more frequently and at lower latitudes than ever before, or why they have been growing brighter. AIM will observe two complete cloud seasons over both poles, documenting an entire life cycle of the shiny clouds for the first time.
AIM is providing scientists with information about how many of these clouds there are around the world and how different they are including the sizes and shapes of the tiny particles that make them up. Scientists believe that the shining clouds form at high latitudes early in the season and then move to lower latitudes as time progresses. The AIM science team is studying this new data to understand why these clouds form and vary, and if they may be related to global change.


(source www.nasa.gov)

LEVI STRAUSS and the Blue Jeans

The company and the world famous "blue jeans" traces its origin to Levi Strauss (1829–1902), a Bavarian immigrant who sold dry goods to miners during the California gold rush in the late 1800's. Hearing of the miners' need for durable trousers, he hired a tailor, Jacob Davis, to make garments out of tent canvas, later substituting denim (a cotton cloth from France called "serge de Nimes," which became known as denim). On May 20, 1873, the two men received patent #139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We consider that day to be the official "birthday" of blue jeans. The company's most spectacular growth occurred after 1946, with the decision to concentrate wholly on manufacturing clothing under its own label. In 1959 it began exporting, and during the 1960's Levi's jeans became enormously popular worldwide. The company went public in 1971 and was returned to private control (by Strauss's descendants) in 1985.

Jeans - where does the name come from?

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe.
The material, called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy,
because they wore clothes made from it. The earliest cite is from 1495. The modern spelling has existed since at least 1622.

History and evolution of Jeans

The 1930's: westerns
- cowboys - who often wore jeans in the movies-became very popular.
The 1950's: rebels
- ìn the 1950's, denim became popular with young people. ìt was the
symbol of the teenage rebel in tv programmes and movies
The 1960-70's: hippies and the cold war
- different styles of jeans were made, to match the 60's fashions. In many non-western countries, jeans became a symbol of ' western decadence' and were very hard to get.
The 1980's: designer jeans
- in the 1980's jeans became high fashion clothing, when famous
designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them.
sales of jeans went up and up.
The 1990's: recession
- although denim is never completely out of style, it certainly goes out of
'fashion' from time to time

Life Is Priceless

Vatican - the Holy See, the official residence of the Pope, spiritual leader of the Catholic Church - has given drivers Ten Commandments to obey. In the Old Testament Moses received the ten divine Commandments directly form God but this time it seems He works through His mortal subjects to guide the sheep.
So here it is the series of commandments the Catholic Church has just passed.
Life is more precious than any other matter and it's worth protecting it by all means.

1. You shall not kill.

2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7. Support the families of accident victims.

8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10. Feel responsible toward others.

New Age in Politics

I have just come across news about two world leaders acting quite strange in different situations in two EUropean countries.

The first is the newly appointed president of France Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy. After an official dinner with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, Mr. Sarkozy was supposed to answer the journalists' questions but it seems he was a little ... tired and too happy. The French news channel claim he was simply too tired and that he had only water during the meeting with Mr. Putin. And yet it seems that highly effective Russian persuasive arguments determined Mr. Sarkozy lose his control.
Just watch this short film



Other "interesting" episode is the one that demonstrates Mr. George Bush, the president of the USA does not really know how to talk to a Pope in Vatican, namely Pope Benedict XVI. Instead of addressing the Pope by the formal name of his office he used the words "Yes, sir".




Oh there is something more. On a visit to Albania (in the Balkans, southern Europe) Mr. Bush lost his watch, some say it has been stolen by a sincerly appreciative supporter. Perhaps some citizens there lost their Soviet made Pobeda watches.

Why should you go/should not go today to vote in Romania?

Here there are 2 reasons to:

1) go/do not go to vote

2)go/do not go to vote


How do foreigners see this poll?
EURONEWS
BBC - this is a must-read
Le Figaro - French
ANSA - Italian

Best wishes and thoughts.
It's up to you.

Importanta Libertatii

Probabil ca multi dintre cei ce citesc asta inca nu pot intelege pe deplin importanta faptului ca sunt LIBERI sa vorbeasca, liberi sa se exprime pe sine de o maniera decenta, liberi sa decida si sa poata controla aspectele care ii privesc direct. Se spune ca cei care nu inteleg valoarea libertatii lor sunt de fapt prizonerii propriei ignorante si a incapacitatii lor de a actiona independent potrivit vointei lor. De multe ori nu toti putem fi liberi cand vrem sau suntem fortati sa nu fim liberi. In fiecare zi aflu cu surprindere cum multora le place sa fie neliberi dintr-un soi de masochism ciudat, tipic romanesc. E interesant ca la noi la romani cei care nu au fost liberi inainte de 89 nu se pot elibera nici acum.
E ca si in cazul acelor puscariasi care timp de 50 de ani au impartit aceeasi celula si au supravietuit ca niste legume intre patru pereti si liberi fiind in fata inchisorii sufera de agorafobie si mai stau ore in sir la povesti sau se gandesc ce sa faca sa se intoarca in nelibertate.
Romania de astazi este una dintre cele 27 de tari membre ale UE. Primul lucru pe care l-au realizat romanii dupa aderarea la UE a fost ca erau liberi sa calatoreasca peste granita, sa mearga in Italia sau Spania pentru a munci si a trai acolo. Deja am spus multora ca Romania este inca o tara ‘naspa’, ca unii oameni traiesc inca in trecut si ca … imi iubesc TARA cu disperare.
Nu suntem liberi sa mergem in strainatate, nu suntem liberi sa traim decent ca cetateni egali in toate tarile UE, nu suntem liberi ca castigam la fel de mult ca oricare alt european. Avem libertatea de a fi ACASA, de a nu vorbi propria limba, de a cosntrui ceva mai bun pentru viitor, aici, ACASA. Poate ca unii tinerii care inca mai traiesc aici, ACASA, nu mai cred in libertatea lor dar va spun ca trebuie sa credem in ea si nu ne va dezamagi in mod sigur. Este peste tot, chiar aici, chiar acum cand cititi gandurile astea ale mele pe blogul asta. Este unicul lucru pe care nu ni-l poate lua nimeni niciodata cu nici un chip – libertatea cugetului, a mintii si a vointei. Avem minunata libertate de a fi onesti cu noi insine si de a spune ce ne place si ce nu ne place.
A fi liber nu inseamna ca poti calatori peste granita . A fi liber inseamna a trai si a-ti castiga existenta ca om liber si cinstit. A fi liber inseamna a-ti exprima parerea si a-ti construi viitorul, libertatea e posibilitatea de a fi fidel propriilor idei si principii. A fi liber este cel mai minunat lucru pe care umanitatea isi permite sa ti-l dea.
Asa ca fii atent ca asta s-ar putea sa fie ultimul lucru pe care ti-l da … pe gratis.


daca nu incep sa mearga lucrurile cu adevarat bine si aici ACASA nu stiu cat mai pot sustine opiniile astea - imi trebui motive ... pozitive

GREECE - THE LAND WHERE MODERN CULTURE ORIGINATED FROM

Nothing else has made me recently exclaiming "How beautiful is that" or "Oh, look at that". Nothing else but the astonishing monuments one can admire and visit in Greece (Ελλάς - Ellas in Latin letters), in Athens to be more precise. After leaving home with a little concern about the trip - which was indeed very long (27 hours)- I arrived in Athens in the morning. I cannot describe how did I feel when entering this city.
Narrow streets, orange trees - a magic smell that somehow resembles the jasmin -, people everywhere, sun, beautiful people (the Greeks are really beautiful and very elegant people) and above all the feeling that I step on thousands of years of history and civilisation.
I heard stories about the Mediterranean sun, I heard stories about the people of Athens, I heard stories about the monuments but nothing can really describe Greece as it is. One should go there and discover it in his or her own way.
The Acropolis with its temples and the Agora made me feel, you know, small in front of one of the greatest achievements of the humankind. Stepping on the Sacred Rock of the old gods and seeing Athens in its full splendour is simply breathtaking.
Lycavittos - the hill at the centre of the city that is thought to be a rock dropped by the goddess Athena from the sky - is the other landmark on the horizon of Athens.
I have seen with my own eyes the famous Evzones - the guards in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier - in Syntagma Square. In summer it must be a tough job to stay in the sun but at least the guard is changed every one hour.
The tavernas couldn't have missed from my visit to Athens. Small but intimate and comfortable they offered me the chance to see the Greeks and not only having a cup of coffee or just chatting with friends. I cannot forget mentioning the Greek food - I recommend those who are visiting Greece 'souvlaki' and 'gyros' and of course some salad.
Do not imagine that Athens is a place where people just look at the ruins and do nothing else. The Greeks are very proud of the past but at the same time they value the present. The Greeks are Orthodox and they are very proud of that. The national flag consists of a cross and orizontal blue and white stripes.

As far as the public transport is concerned I can tell you it is very civilized and it works perfectly. Modern buses, trolleybuses and trams take the locals and the tourists in all the four corners of the city. The metro is ... perfect, it shines with cleanliness - I thought it may be transformed into a hospital one day :)). A tip - buy a 10 euro ticket that is valid one week on all means of transport and on all lines, except the express lines to the international airport.

Visiting Athens even if the time was too short has been the best decision I have made lately. It's been a unique occasion to see with my own eyes the place where the modern western culture originated from.

Pastele asta

Bai nene hai ca inca e Pastele!

Voi nu aveti senzatia ca parca anul asta nu mai e ca in ceilalti ani?! Sau asa mi se pare doar mie? Am mai vorbit cu unii si altii si ei au spus cam acelasi lucru adica au simtit o disipare a senzatiilor de anii trecuti.
O fi de la intergrarea asta in UE? MANipulare? Suntem mai europeni ca anul trecut?! Habar nu am!!!!! Dar parca la TV si pe radio suntem prea 'ancorati in sinergiile prezentului'. :))))
Ideea e ca totusi trebuie sa ne simtim mai buni si sa fim ceva mai dispusi spre a face binele daca nu in sensul biblic macar in asta modern, adica sa fim cariatbili si 'user friendly'.
Dar nu ca Gigi.

Hai sa traim!!!!

Transylvania - Romania

Romania's Fabulous Spirit
Transylvania

The Land Beyond the Forest

Landmarks in the history of Transylvania

Ask someone in the western world to tell you what or where is Transylvania and they answer for sure that it is a land of mystery and legend, somewhere in the southern Europe. I am a Romanian and I can tell you that Transylvania, or Ardeal as it is also called, was in the Middle Ages a principality inhabited by Romanians and it still preserves its identity as a region of modern Romania, with hard working and hospitable people.
In its early history, the territory of the present day Transylvania belonged to Dacia, a proud nation at the borders of the Roman Empire that came under the Roman rule in the 2nd century a.Ch. As a political entity, Transylvania is mentioned from the 11th century. Meanwhile this territory was under the administration of Romanian rulers or “cnezi” who fought against different peoples who wanted to occupy the territories that belonged to their ancestors, the Dacians.
The next centuries were marked by a long series of conflicts and the struggle of the Romanians to resist the Hungarian pressure. Hungarian and German noblemen and settlers claimed the land that belonged by right to the Romanian majority population. Even if there were hard times one cannot say that the inhabitants of the principality did not live in peace and tolerance of course with some misunderstandings in the course of history. The various foreign settlers that were encouraged to come and establish here by the foreign rulers of Ardeal brought with them a significant western influence, as we shall see in this paper, that transformed the region into a unique meeting place of the Eastern and the Western civilizations.
One moment is worth mentioning here when talking about the Middle Ages in Transylvania. Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) gained control of Transylvania in 1599 after the Battle of Şelimbăr and succeeded in uniting the three principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania (the three main parts of present-day Romania). The union did not last long, however, as Michael the Brave was assassinated by mercenaries under the command of general Basta in August 1601. No matter how short it last this union proved the unity of the Romanians and their will to be one single nation.
On the 1st of December 1918 the Great Union from Alba Iulia brought together in a single national state the historic principalities of Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.
Today Transylvania is a prosperous region of Romania where different nations live together as equal citizens of a modern European state. According to the 2002 census, Transylvania has a population of 7,221,733 inhabitants, with a large Romanian majority (74.7%). In addition, there are also sizeable Hungarian (19.6%), Roma (3.4%) and German (0.7%) communities.

Cities and Historic Places in Transylvania

Transylvania still preserves today many of the historical places and cities that have significantly influenced the evolution of this region and at the same time it proudly offers the visitors the opportunity to enjoy a trip in a modern and prosperous region of Romania. Among the most important towns and cities that that one can visit in Ardeal we mention here Braşov, Sibiu, Cluj, Sighişoara or Alba Iulia.
Many of these centers date back to the time of the Roman occupation of Dacia and continued to be inhabited until today. German or Hungarian settlers came here and started a new life bringing with them their culture and way of life. Well preserved monuments such as famous castles, citadels and fortified churches and the mentality of the people testify to the intense changes between different peoples.
Considered by the foreign and Romanian tourists one of the most beautiful cities in Romania and even in Europe, Sibiu was designated the European Capital of Culture in 2007. This nomination comes to certify its importance as a European city that proves that both history and modern realities can harmoniously co-exist. The city is the administrative center of Sibiu county, in the Depression of Sibiu, near the geographical center of Romania. It has a population of 171,535 and the existing German minority (3.3%) still reminds of the former glory of the medieval Saxon fortress.
The city was founded in 1190 by German settlers, the so called Transylvanian Saxons. It was probably built near an ancient Roman settlement, one that would have come to be known during early Middle Ages as Caedonia. The German settlers called the town Hermannstadt and they paid much attention to fortifying it as it was situated on important commercial routes and was self administrating.
At the end of the 17th century, the fortified town Sibiu was one of the most powerful in Transylvania. The precint, protected by high walls, had a surface of 83 ha. The length of the walls overpassed 4 km. Four portals strongly fortified - Cisnadie, Turn, Ocna, Gusterita - five bastions, five artillery rondels and 39 towers of defense turned the ancient mediaeval town into an almost undefeatable bastion. An important part of these vestiges are still very well preserved.
It is worth mentioning some of the milestones in the history of Sibiu. In 1292 was opened the first hospital in present-day Romania. In 1896 is became the first city to use electricity in Romania. In 1989 it was the second city to take part in the Romanian Revolution that started in Timisoara.
Nowadays the city of Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania. It holds some of the best preserved historical sites in the country, many of its medieval fortifications being kept in excellent state. Its historic center is under a process of reconstruction and refurbishment. There are 39 buildings is Sibiu that are declared historic monuments and are under the direct protection of the Romanian government. Sibiu and its surrounding area have many significant museums, with 12 institutions housing art collections, paintings and exhibits in decorative arts, archaeology, anthropology, history (Astra Museum), industrial archeology and history of technology (The Steam Engine Museum) and natural sciences (The Museum of Natural History).
Among the museums and places of interest some are very important as they offer the visitors the chance to have a first contact with the past of the city and of Transylvania. Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important Baroque monuments in Romania, lies on the north-western corner of the Large Square, in the Upper Town. It was erected between 1777 and 1787 as the main residence for the Governor of Transylvania, Samuel von Brukenthal. It houses the main part of the National Brukenthal Museum, opened in 1817. The founder of the museum left it to the Evangelical Church and it has been recently returned to its former owner. Valuable art works were taken by the communist regime to Bucharest but they are now back in Sibiu for the enjoyment of the tourists and the pride of the inhabitants of Sibiu.

The Bridge of Liars is the oldest metallic bridge in Romania. Officially named Liegende Brucke it was built in 1859 replacing an older construction called the Bridge of the Liars. People keep calling the new construction as the old one.
Many centennial churches dating back from the medieval times are other monuments that offer the tourists the opportunity to admire the genuine medieval religious art and architecture.
The Evangelical Cathedral preserves many of the elements that decorated it but many changes can be traced back by an interested professional.
Its unique position near the Fagaras Mountains and the mild climate make of Sibiu county an enjoyable destination. Paltinis is a resort situated at 32 km north-west from Sibiu. It is situated at 1442 m altitude, in a firtree forest, in the Cindrel Mountains. It was founded by the Transylvanian Carpathian Society (S.K.V.) in the last decade of the 19th century. From the initial nucleus of villas, the resort still preserves The House of the Tourists, The House of the Doctors, Sala Monaco and another villa and historic monuments.
The mountainous climate, with a strong ozone concentration, makes the resort an important place to cure asthenia, Basedow illness, lungs illness consequences, over - working, benign hyperthyroidism.The layer of snow resists about six months a year, recommending Paltinis as an ideal holiday destination for winter sports lovers. The skiing track on Oncesti Mountain has a telechair, a teleski, a baby-lift. The resort can accommodate tourists in villas, hotels, and provides tourists with high quality services in restaurants, bars and clubs. At Schit (Hermitage), near the wooden church, was buried Constantin Noica, the famous Romanian philosopher who gathered in Paltinis the elite of the philosophical domain that influenced the evolution of the thinking systems in our country.
No voyage to Transylvania is complete without a visit to Sighişoara, the last inhabited medieval citadel in Europe. The nowadays Sighisoara is a town on the Tarnava River, in Mures county.
A Dacian settlement near Sighişoara known as Sandova dates as far back as the 3rd century B.C. During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants, known as the Transylvanian Saxons, settled in this region. By 1280 the citadel was known by its Latin name of Castrum Sex (Fort Six). The chronicles in the following centuries referred to the town of Sighişoara using its German or Hungarian names. The city played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighişoara became one of the most important and prosperous cities of Transylvania. The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th and the 17th centuries Sighişoara had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. The Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Ţepeş) also known as Dracula, who was probably born near Sighişoara in 1431, minted coins in the city and issued the first document listing the city's Romanian name. The house where it is thought he was born is now an important site to visit in the old citadel. Modern times did not destroyed the old part of the town so the central part of Sighişoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified city, it has been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Each year, a Medieval Festival that brings together people from all over Romania and not only, takes place in the old citadel in July.
Among the wonderfully preserved monuments and cultural-tourist attractions is the Clock Tower, also known under the name of the Council Tower, because it functioned as such between the 14th -16th centuries. The Clock Tower is 64 m high; it has four turrets and a wood covered wall walk for watching from the top floor. The figurines of the clock – which was replaced with a modern mechanism bought from Switzerland -stand for various mythological or symbolical characters, such as the Goddess of Peace with the olive branch, the Goddess of Justice with the scales. Starting from 1899, the Clock Tower has housed the Museum of History, which mirrors the evolution of crafts in Transylvania. The Museum holds also a medieval pharmacy from 1670, interesting artifacts of ethnography, a section of fine arts and a collection of clocks. The solid and variously coloured houses line up along narrow lanes; around them stands a 1 km long defence wall initially provided with 14 towers, of which only nine have been preserved to the day. The most impressive are the hexagonal Shoemakers’ Tower, the Tailors’ Tower and the Tinsmiths’ Tower.
On December 1st 1918 the National Assembly held in Alba Iulia decided the unification of the three historic regions of Romania into one single state. This town remains in the history of the Romanian people al the town of the Great Union and today, many Romanians consider Alba Iulia to be the spiritual capital city of Romania. This is not a coincidence because Alba Iulia was chosen the second time as town of the unificationa. In 1600 Michael the Brave, Voievode of Wallachia, entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the Battle of Şelimbăr and became the ruler of Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.
The city was an important Roman political, economic and social centre. During the Middle Ages it played an important role in the history of Transylvania, being an important city. Between 1541-1690 was the capital of the principality of Transylvania. Nowadays one has many interesting monuments and sights to visit. A landmark in the historic past of the city is represented by the 3rd gate of the medieval fortifications that is particularly important for the Romanians in Transylvania. In this building was imprisoned Horea, the leader of a popular revolt against the Habsburg domination. This revolt proved again the unity of the majority Romanian population and marked the beginning of a period of intense efforts to achieve national independence.
The population of 66,369 is predominantly of Romanian origin. The minorities that live together here a have a powerful identity. Many monuments in the city such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Orthodox Cathedral of the Reunification remind visitors that Transylvania is a meeting place for peoples that share the common values of peace and tolerance.
Every year on the 1st of December Alba Iulia hosts the ceremonies and the special events occasioned by the Romania’s National Day. It is an occasion for people from all over the country to come together and share the joy of being citizens of a proud and modern country.
This brief presentation of Transylvania and of some places and cities of interest can give the reader an idea about the beauty and the historic importance of this region of Romania. Ancient towns and medieval citadels recommend it as an ideal tourist destination. The people of Ardeal are hospitable and friendly. Guests are welcome in an area that accommodated many settlers during the millennia. The nowadays Transylvania proves its European vocation and harmoniously mixes the glorious past with the prosperous future.