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Monday 20 February 2012

Monday; Blue Mondays?



No, today is not a blue Monday, it is a very ordinary Monday, like any Monday before and after.  In 2012 the most depressing day of the year was said to be January 23rd.
I don't think it was depressing for me. It was Chinese New Year,and this is generally a happy time. So take your calculation and throw it in the bin!





Blue Monday is a name given to a date stated, as part of a publicity campaign by Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year. It is considered pseudoscience
Perhaps I should stop here  and leave pseudoscience to the pseudo scientists!


This date was published in a press release under the name of Cliff Arnall, at the time a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Further Education centre attached to Cardiff UniversityGuardiancolumnist Dr. Ben Goldacre reported that the press release was delivered substantially pre-written to a number of academics by public relations agency Porter Novelli, who offered them money to put their names to it The Guardian later printed a statement from Cardiff University distancing themselves from Arnall: "Cardiff University has asked us to point out that Cliff Arnall... was a former part-time tutor at the university but left.


Hogwash makes the world go round and blue Mondays. 


Nearly forgot to say that most of this dribble comes from Wikipedia.




Saturday 18 February 2012

Saturday; thoughts, end of this week;


A new morning;

Things that prove a trend towards a one world government include; a rising amount of globalization, privatization of government assets which belong to the people, foreign investment, mergers, international organizations, debt, international problems that need international solutions.

Governments are forced to sell assets, lose sovereignty, and place citizens in poverty to repay their debt. 

To gain full control of the world's money would mean full control over everyone, especially those in debt. This is exactly what the international bankers conspiracy is doing. Every government is in debt to them. This debt is increasing. Personal debt is very widespread and increasing. Hence almost everyone is in debt. Wasteful spending, borrowing and debt are encouraged. Therefore people and governments are becoming increasingly in the bankers control, as they have to pay interest, which the bankers can manipulate to their will.The banks and multinationals may eventually merge together and then merge with the one world government, who will make sure almost no small businesses are left to bypass their system. Probably almost the only ones selling will be multinationals, controlled by the one world government. Therefore everyone will be forced to rely on a monopoly, which will have complete control over everyone. 

Per example the growing of food

Genetic Engineering: A giant experiment with our food and environment
The food we eat has been changed. In just a few years three multinational chemical companies have altered the genetic makeup of the world's most common food crops, by creating new life-forms that would never occur naturally.

Over millions of years of evolution, tomatoes have never crossed with fish, until now. Unlike conventional breeding or cross-pollination, geneticists have taken genes from bacteria, viruses, plants and animals and inserted them into soy, corn, canola and cotton and released them into our environment and food chain.

Unpredictable
Genetic Engineering (also known as Genetic Modification or GM) is not an exact science and experiments are frequently unsuccessful. When they do work, the effects are unknown. Already unintended side-effects of GM include:
Genetically engineering salmon caused the salmon to turn green and have deformities. 
A genetically engineered soil bacteria unexpectedly produced alcohol that killed wheat. 
A brazil nut gene when genetically engineered into a soy bean was found to cause allergies.

Super weeds
Canada is already suffering unmanageable genetic contamination where 'super weeds' resistant to three different herbicides are spreading rapidly. The problem escalates as one variety of herbicide resistant GM canola pollinates another, creating a crop that is even more resistant. When seed is spilled at harvest, it remains in the ground and sprouts later as unwanted weeds in crops of different species.


GM contamination
Agrochemical giant Aventis engineered a GM corn called StarLink to produce its own insecticide. The US authorities restricted it to animal food because of the risk of allergies from the corn . However they couldn't keep it out of the food chain resulting in widespread contamination of food, which cost Aventis over one billion dollars in compensation as products had to be taken off supermarket shelves.
Where are the brains of those people, if they feed the animals  with this contaminated corn, then sell the meat to the public, hey 1+1 = 2, stupid or just foul play.

Who benefits?
Multinational chemical companies use GM technology to increase sales of their weedkillers and increase their control over farmers. Food shoppers, the public and our environment get no benefit but are expected to carry the risks of a technology that no insurance company will cover.Canada is already suffering unmanageable genetic contamination where 'super weeds' resistant to three different herbicides are spreading rapidly. The problem escalates as one variety of herbicide resistant GM canola pollinates another, creating a crop that is even more resistant. When seed is spilled at harvest, it remains in the ground and sprouts later as unwanted weeds in crops of different species.

American farmers who grow GM foods are losing markets in Europe and Japan whilst also getting lower yields. Meanwhile organic and conventional farmers in the US have had their crops contaminated by neighbouring farms. New Zealand runs the risk of losing key export markets if GM is allowed..


Genetic engineering is the latest in a long line of industrial food practices that degrade food quality, undermine farmers and destroy our environment. Thankfully there are healthy, safe and productive alternatives. By rejecting GM food we can slow the treadmill of pesticide use and support a better way to grow food. By buying GM-free, organic and local produce more of our money goes to farmers who protect the land.

People do not want this, but Governments are in the pockets of the Multinationals,Oligarchs, don't care, don't listen!
In my view, all politicians are short term adventurers.  I

Politicans can't be controlled in a world Government. We, the people don't want it and don't need it. Globalisation for the 99%; has only brought misery, wars ,unhappiness, exploitation, debts, contaminated food, languages and traditions are changed for the worse, education has declined, healthcare has declined, whole villages, communities have disappeared.  Governments spend more and more money on wars. Wars are huge money spinners for the 1% .They  create enemies with lies and lies and lies. Where and when does it stop? 

Sunday 12 February 2012

Sunday; Cloud watching;


Watching the clouds, some merge slowly and some are swallowed up quickly;
like the days , some are gone quickly and some are lingering, leaving us --
A day, a week, a month, a year!

"Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will him about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again, and then in dreaming
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked
I cried to dream again."
- William Shakespeare, The Tempest, 3.2


  ©TS




Friday 10 February 2012

Friday; Paper and pen;



Papyrus

Papyrus  is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient EgyptChemically, papyrus is composed of 57 percent cellulose, 27 percent lignin, nine percent minerals, and seven percent water.Papyrus was first manufactured in Egypt as far back as the third millennium BCE. In the first centuries BCE and CE, papyrus scrolls gained a rival as a writing surface in the form of parchment, which was prepared from animal skins. Sheets of parchment were folded to form quires from which book-form codices were fashioned. Early Christian writers soon adopted the codex form, and in the Greco-Roman world it became common to cut sheets from papyrus rolls to form codices.
Codices were an improvement on the papyrus scroll as the papyrus was not pliable enough to fold without cracking and a long roll, or scroll, was required to create large volume texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of good quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also limited.
Papyrus was replaced in Europe by the cheaper locally-produced products parchment and vellum, of significantly higher durability in moist climates.  Its last appearance in the Merovingian chancery is with a document of 692, though it was known in Gaul until the middle of the following century. The latest certain dates for the use of papyrus are 1057 for a papal decree. All papal "bulls" were on papyrus until 1022. Its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by more inexpensive paper introduced by Arabs. Papyrus was documented as in use as late as the 12th century in the Byzantine Empire, but there are no surviving examples. Although its uses had transferred to parchment, papyrus therefore just overlapped with the use of paper in Europe, which began in the 11th century. Papyrus came in several qualities and prices; 
Until the middle of the 19th century only some isolated documents written on papyrus were known. They did not contain literary works. The first discovery of papyri rolls in modern days was made at Herculaneum in 1752. Before that date the only papyri known were a few survivals from mediaeval times.
Courtesy excerpts from Wikipedia




Macbeth:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.







Wednesday 8 February 2012

Wednesday; a happy day;



Early this morning the clouds sort of formed a heart, illuminated  by the sun.

Yesterday is mystery
Where it is Today
While we shrewdly speculate
Flutter both away

Emily Dickinson





The Logan berries are ripening rapidly now. This means freezing and using.
I cooked jam today.  Using only half  sugar and not cooking them to death. Quite a nice job to see  the black berries turn into a wonderful dark raspberry red. Some for us and some to give away.











For dinner  I made potato gnocchi; they turned out light as a feather.  Still had some  tomato sauce in the freezer . I thought I better use some of my broad leaved Basil  before the grasshoppers take it all.  I love Pesto, it just breathes  Mediterranean  cooking.











A simple tasty dinner, no meat,  potato gnocchi,  tomato sauce and pesto plus  a mixed salad of  cucumbers, tomatoes, red capsicums,
red onions, garlic olive oil and a drop of white balsamic vinegar. 



Monday 6 February 2012

BC's Birthday Lunch;



Here we are at  "Café 381" Michelin ***



The table is set, ready for the guests; in the middle a beautiful flower arrangement  made with double Alamanda blossoms, Ixora, blood grass and cats whiskers; that sounds so good and looks so pretty!!  Arranged  by Lilli.


The last touch....




Ready....It was delicious!


Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the wines and Champagne,  they were also part of  this successful meal.


Dessert, light and delicious. 
Ricotta Cheesecake with berries and fruit coulis.




...and to finish  a strong, delicious coffee.


♥HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILL♥





  

Saturday 4 February 2012

Saturday; Trivia Oddities;



The odd, fantasy, bizarre;  by Jacek Yerka;
I think it is wonderful to see paintings  that take you completely out of the ordinary everyday.

Here are a few trivia tidbits which we usually do not encounter in our every day life!

Did you know?

The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

 An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

 A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds

. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball


Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason



I wish that my room had a floor
I don't care so much for a door
But this running around  without touching the ground
Is getting to be such a bore!

Gelett Burgess  The floorless room;

If this does not make your day, I do not know what will! 

















Wednesday 7 December 2011

Wednesday; A Satire; The News Paper Man;




Satire; The News Paper Man;

Waiting at death’s door,  the news paper man said:” the good news are, there is no hell; the bad news are there is no heaven”. 
A deep sigh and  he floats softly as an atom; finally settling in a sapling... 
100 years have passed just like that. The sapling grew and grew and grew  stretching its branches to the sky. 
Ready; the chainsaw made short work and the pulp mill was waiting.
In the morning, when  turning  the pages of a News Paper  one can hear faintly a sigh…and a hiss…bloody  hell!


© TS

Monday 10 October 2011

Monday; Bookworm;




Lettah's Gift by Graham Lang.

A very tragic but still wonderful book to read. Sad though, to see a country, Zimbabwe and  its people  ruined by bad politics.
Last page;  And in this moment I see the smile beneath her veil, as warm and beautiful as it used to be.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Sepia Saturday; Happiness;



   I like this photo of my mother and her first Love. It was probably 1930.
   This is not my father. My mother and this man were not allowed to be together. So, my mother left and
   went to Switzerland where she met my father and they married later.
   Sometimes she went back to her hometown and on the photos one can see when she met H. again, that
   they  still had a soft spot for each other.
   I think it would have been nice for her to marry her first love. Alas I would not be here then!



Please visit Sepia Saturday to go back in time;


Sepia Saturday 69
Photo from my family archive.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Wednesday; fairy tales...



Jacek Yerka


"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."
— Albert Einstein

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
— G.K. Chesterton

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library."
— Jorge Luis Borges




Tuesday; out of the box...



    ....came this little porcelain Dachshund. It was given to me at Christmas 1958.
    My father died in September and we had a sad time. Christmas came along and  we spend Christmas Day
    with my aunt, the older sister of my mother, as we did not want to celebrate Christmas at home without my
    father. My aunt was not the person to make presents to her nieces. I was very surprised when she presented me with this little Dachshund. She knew I love dogs. The little dog has survived all my moves around the world. It has again its proper place and I swear sometimes it winks at me!


Monday 4 April 2011

Monday; another day to enjoy....



A visitor on the Olive tree got big and fat on the tough Olive leaves. I am not sure if it will be a very big butterfly or a very big moth. I am always thrilled when I see nature at work.






One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

Lewis Carroll

Photo TS

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Tuesday; the love of books...



Read  to your hearts desire..

Above the entrance to St Gallen Abbey Library, one of the oldest of its kind, is a Greek inscription which translates into English as "pharmacy of the soul".

The monks who founded the library considered books as medicine for the spirit. The 150,000 strong collection, now part of a Unesco World Heritage site, continues to inspire visitors and scholars today.

Monday 28 March 2011

Monday; good one...



Dance into the week...



Washington Wonderland | The Washington Ballet

Art / Books
Created in celebration of The Washington Ballet’s tenth anniversary, Washington Wonderland is a brilliant documentation of the works presented by the company. This fancy series is a creative collision of Cade Martin, Design Army and The Washington Ballet that has captured...

Saturday 26 March 2011

Sepia Saturday; Treasures from the grandmothers;


Reading glasses from my  grand mother. They might be from my great grand mother. I am not sure. Anyway, I treasure them and have  used them to do fine embroideries. The frames are silver and  yellow gold finely engraved or chased with a pattern. They fit perfectly and are very light.




Spectacles, or eye glasses as they are more commonly known today, have a rich history. As early as the 15th century, the wearing of spectacles gave the illusion of a strong intelligence among the blue-blooded nobility. By the 18th century, gentlemen wore spectacles to give the impression of intellect, although many did not know how to read.
The first spectacles made, known as 'Pince Nez', were generally of wood or leather with a center pivot and date to the 15th and 16th centuries. Old paintings and woodcuts show these types of glasses being worn. During the 17th and 18th century, the 'Nuremberg' type, made of a continuous copper wire frame with round lenses, became extremely popular due to their inexpensive price. All Pince Nez type of glasses are characterized by their lack of earpieces; they were formed to sit on the bridge of the nose. They remained popular through the 1930's under different patents and varieties.

In the 18th century, 'Temple' spectacles were invented, with arms fitted with rings, which allowed the temple pieces to be pressed against the head. They were also known as Wig spectacles as the arms were secured beneath the wigs of prominent men. Most of this type of spectacles had round lenses, although you can occasionally come upon rectangular or octagonal shapes. Bifocal lenses, usually attributed to being invented by Benjamin Franklin, also made their appearance during this period.





 The watch is silver. The back is engraved with a garland and her Initials. The back can be opened to put a small keepsake.  The front has big roman numerals and the hands are rose gold and intricately carved. I have never opened the back as it did not open and I was afraid I would damage the case if I forced it open. I wonder if there is a keepsake inside. I don't know how old this watch is, it might have been her mothers as well.







Please click here to visit Sepia Saturday

Photos TS

Friday 25 March 2011

Friday; Time;



Time of Roses by Thomas Hood

It was not in the Winter 
Our loving lot was cast; 
It was the time of roses— 
We pluck'd them as we pass'd! 

That churlish season never frown'd 
On early lovers yet: 
O no—the world was newly crown'd 
With flowers when first we met! 

'Twas twilight, and I bade you go, 
But still you held me fast; 
It was the time of roses— 
We pluck'd them as we pass'd!



Yes,I do like my Minnie Watch best; I have been a "few years" on this planet, my hair is grey but my heart still sings to the tunes of childhood.
Photo TS

Thursday 24 March 2011

Thursday; misconceptions;


Jacek Yerka;  Fantasia;

Fallacious ideas and beliefs  are documented and widespread;


Christopher Columbus's efforts to obtain support for his voyages were never hampered by a European belief that Earth was  flat.
Sailors and navigators of the time knew that  Earth was spherical. Though they, correctly, disagreed with Columbus's estimates of the distance to India, which was approximately one-sixth of the actual distance.
 If the Americas did not exist, and had Columbus continued to India, he would have run out of supplies before reaching it at the rate he was traveling.
Without the ability to determine longitude at sea, he could not have noticed that his estimate was in error in time to return. This longitude problem remained unsolved until the 18th century, when the lunar distance method emerged in parallel with efforts by inventor John Harrison to create the first marine chronometers.
The intellectual class had known that the Earth was spherical since the works of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Eratosthenes made a very good estimate of the Earth's diameter in the third century BC.

courtesy Wikipedia




Wednesday 23 March 2011

Wednesday; free to....



"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." 
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Watercolour TS

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Tuesday; an ordinary day;




"War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other."
 Paul Valery (French poet, essayist and critic, 1871-1945)

Monday 21 March 2011

Monday...sparkles;



Monday the start of a fresh, new week. Let's go....


THE FLOWER.      
  

Once in a golden hour
  I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
  The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
  Thro' my garden-bower,
And muttering discontent
  Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
  It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o'er the wall
  Stole the seed by night.

Sow'd it far and wide
  By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried
  `Splendid is the flower.'

Read my little fable:
  He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
  For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
  And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
  Call it but a weed.

Poetry by   Alfred, Lord Tennyson


Photo TS "my garden"
  

Sunday 13 March 2011

Sunday; Hope;



"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
— Marilyn Monroe


Surrealism; Vladimir Kush;

Friday 11 March 2011

Friday; Plaisir....



Chinese Painting, Zouchuanan-flowers


"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."
— Groucho Marx

Thursday 10 March 2011

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Tuesday; Exercise;


"Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away." 
— Robert Maynard Hutchins



Monday 7 March 2011

Monday...monday... blues;



To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." 
— Oscar Wilde





Photo TS



Monday 28 February 2011

What about a new Wallpaper?


Carnowski Wallpaper; add some fantasy to a room!
Dream of  very light, contemporary furniture for a sitting room, or a capricious bedroom all in white.
Wouldn't it be nice? 




Enjoy!

Saturday 12 February 2011

Sepia Saturday; Old wineglasses;



My mother's wineglasses have a  "Art Nouveau" pattern.The glasses are 80 years old. I am still using them.
when I use them I always think of the happy times we had when they were in use.


Please visit Sepia Saturday to indulge yourself  in a bit of Nostalgia.

Saturday 1 January 2011

Sepia Saturday; Franz and Emilie Stefanie;


Franz, born 1912 was my mother's brother. He and Emilie Stefanie got married in 1941.
Their life together did not last long as he was killed in 1945. He died in East Prussia, shortly after he was captured by the Russians, he stood on a mine and was killed.

Emilie Stefanie remarried much later in 1961. She died in 2005, she was 92 years old.
She never had children.

I have never met them. I think there was sort of a misunderstanding between my mother and her. I do not exactly know what happened. I know she wanted to come and live with us after Franz died and did not return from the war. All I know, my mother did not let her, she had a certain dislike against her. I do not know why and I do not know what sort of cause could have instigated this. This photo was all that was left in our house of the two.

Please visit Sepia Saturday for more stories of the past.