Caught by the torrent of life

So, I've recently joined FAA just to see what reactions people have to my photographs.
Therefore, just to have a bit of visibility, I'll be sponsoring (posting links to different galleries) from time to time.

Well, 'nuff said, here's a link to some nice watermelon photos, watermelon art.

'Njoy!

Există bătălii pe care e bine să le ocoleşti; nu din teamă că le-ai putea pierde, ci pentru că ai deveni ridicol câştigându-le.

În altă ordine de idei, un remix de care îmi era dor...

Ok, nu-mi sta in fire sa dau copy-paste din alta parte, dar asta merita.
Sursa: mioritice.com

Urmatoarele intrebari despre Australia provin (sau ar putea) de la potentiali vizitatori. Raspunsurile sunt cele oferite in realitate de catre oficialii site-ului care au, in mod evident, simtul umorului...

I: Bate vreodata vantul in Australia? Nu am vazut niciodata la televizor ca ar ploua, deci cum cresc plantele? (intrebare venita de la cineva din UK)
R: Importam toate plantele gata crescute iar dupa aceea doar stam prin preajma privindu-le cum mor

I: Voi putea vedea canguri pe strada? (intrebare venita din USA)
R: Depinde cat de mult alcool veti bea.

I: As vrea sa merg pe jos de la Perth la Sydney - pot urma sinele de cale ferata? (intrebare venita din Suedia)
R: Sigur, sunt numai trei mii de mile, luati multa apa cu dvs.

I: Este periculos sa umbli prin tufisuri in Australia? (Suedia)
R: Deci este adevarat ce se spune despre suedezi.

I: Exista ATM-uri in Australia? Imi puteti trimite o lista a locurilor unde se afla acestea in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville si Hervey Bay ? (UK)
R: Cumva ultimul dvs. sclav a murit?

I: Imi puteti da cateva informatii despre cursele de hipopotami in Australia? (USA)
R: A-fri-ca este continentul acela in forma de triunghi la sud de Europa. AUSTRALIA este insula aceea mare din mijlocul Pacificului care nu are.....sau mai bine nu. Sigur, hipopotamii se intrec in fiecare marti noapte in Kings Cross. Veniti dezbracat.

I: In care directie este nordul in Australia? (USA)
R: Stati cu fata la Sud apoi rasuciti-va cu 180 grade. Contactati-ne cand sositi si va vom da si restul detaliilor.

I: Pot aduce cu mine tacamuri in Astralia? (UK)
R: De ce? Folositi-va degetele cum facem si noi.

I: Imi puteti trimite programul Corului de baieti din Viena (Vienna Boys' Choir)? (USA)
R: Austria este tara aceea micuta invecinata cu Germania , a carei......sau mai bine nu. Sigur, Vienna Boys Choir canta in fiecare marti noaptea in Kings Cross, imediat dupa cursa de hipopotami. Veniti dezbracat.

I: Pot purta tocuri inalte in Australia? (UK)
R: Sunteti politician britanic, nu-i asa?

I: Exista supermarket in Sidney si laptele se gaseste pe tot parcursul anului? (Germania) R: Nu, noi suntem o civilizatie pasnica de vanatori/taietori de lemne. Laptele este ilegal.

I: Va rog trimiteti o lista a tuturor medicilor din Australia care pot distribui ser impotriva veninului de sarpe cu clopotei. (USA)
R: Serpii cu clopotei traiesc in America, care este locul de unde veniti dvs. Toti serpii australieni sunt perfect inofensiv, pot fi prinsi in siguranta si tranformati in animale de casa.

I: Am o intrebare despre un animal faimos in Australia dar i-am uitat numele. Este un fel de urs si traieste in copaci. (USA)
R: Se numeste urs cazator (Drop Bear). Se numeste astfel pentru ca pica din arborii de cauciuc si mananca creierul oricui trece pe sub acestia. Ii puteti speria stropindu-va cu urina umana inainte de a iesi la plimbare.

Tonight, I was supposed to be at a concert. Totally slipped off my mind, for various reasons, but this got me around to finishing reading my first Gaiman book.

I've heard not long ago of Neil Gaiman, brought to my attention by a fellow reader who mentioned "American Gods". Thought that would be interesting, never got around to actually buying and reading it. And then I realised Gaiman also wrote Stardust, which I had previousely watched in cinema, and... liked...

Third time's a charm, they say. And when Romanian Publishing House NEMIRA announced they were preparing 2009 Hugo Award winning The Graveyard Book, I finally decided I had to read something by Neil Gaiman. Enters Bookdepository, a recently discovered friend in terms of books, and here we are.

That's the story behind getting to read indeed one of the best piecese of fantasy I've read in a while. I'm not going to tell you much details about the story inside the book, as I am sure Gaiman fans already know about it. Ok, maybe just a little, just a teasing hint of what macabres awaits you in the shadows...

For some personal reasons, my most favourite writing for children (and grown-ups, even) has been Kippling's The Jungle Books. Have you read it? It's a fascinating story of a boy grown by a wolves' family, somewhere in the Indian jungle. Well, the story in The Graveyard Book is... the story of an orphaned boy that ends up in a graveyard and is raised, exactly, by its inhabitants.

The chapters are written in the tone of short stories and introduce the reader to a fascinating world of the dead, the living, and the inbetween: you've got the regular inhabitants of graveyards, and then there's Silas. You've got ghouls, and then there's Miss Lupescu. You've got the living that dance with the dead, the drowned and burned witch of the potter's field, the poet, the architect, the doctor, the Roman,... and then there's the Jacks-of-all-trades, the ones that killed the boy's family in the first act.

Years pass-by and our protagonist gets to learn the ways of the dead, the ways of the living, what it's like to live among the dead and what it's like to feel the envy of the living.

Each chapter has its own charm, every phrase lets you wondering what's he going to do next, and every character fits into the scene as a piece of the puzzle. Even if the story is chronologically linear, it's only in the end that you get to see all pieces of the graveyard puzzle come into place, to succumb to the alert writing, to want more, to hope, to fear, to wish, to long, to dispair and to finally accept.

Of all characters, brilliantly presented by the author, my favourites (and probably not only mine), were obviousely Silas, the boy's Guardian, neither dead nor living, and Miss Lupescu, the boy's teacher. Silas is a member of the Honour Guard and it is hinted at that he is a vampire, but never out-right stated in the book (yet Gaiman has confirmed Silas as a vampire in interviews). In regards of Miss Lupescu, I will only tell my non-Romanian readers that her name is Romanian and comes from Lup (= wolf) and escu (common Romanian name suffix). Now go figure what she can do... :D

Hmm... looks like I haven't said much of the main character, the baby that survives the killing... Oh well, that's because he's just... Nobody... :D


Ok, enough is enough, I should rest here and not spoil the goods for you guys out there wanting to read the book. It's a great children's fantasy novel and I definitely recommend it for lecture, for your child, or for the child in you...