Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
Taken from Gibran's "Garden of the Prophet"
Saturday
Conference of the Birds: The Story of Peter Brook in Africa
Book about a theatre troupe in the 70s going through Africa trying to get to the basics of a universal understanding and recognition of theatre arts. Trialing their improvisation ideas out on unsuspecting African villagers. Sometimes failing, sometimes learning from others, a few times succeeding in grasping "it".
On Happiness...
"By the middle of the 19th Century, social critics were already noticing how happiness was losing its social, spiritual, moral and intellectual anchors and becoming a form of emotional masturbation ".
The greatest irony in the search for happiness is that it is never strictly personal. For happiness to be mature and heartfelt, it must be shared...".
John F Schumaker
The greatest irony in the search for happiness is that it is never strictly personal. For happiness to be mature and heartfelt, it must be shared...".
John F Schumaker
Excerpt from Rules of the Wild
In a way everything here is always secondhand. You will inherit a car from someone who has decided to leave the country, which you will then sell on to one of your friends. You will move into a new house where you have already been when someone else lived there and had great parties at which you got incredibly drunk, and someone you know will move in when you decide to move out. You will make love to someone who has slept with all your friends.
There will never be anything brand new in your life.
Tuesday
Message out of Lebanon...
Dear all,
I wish to relay a message to as many people as possible around the world.
Lebanon & the Lebanese need your help, you should forward this message to as many people as you know. THE POWER OF THE WEB IS UNLIMITED, IT IS OUR DUTY TO USE IT. We should communicate to the world what is really happening in Lebanon , maybe they can help stop this manslaughter and the complete destruction of Lebanon ’s infrastructure. As I am writing this E-mail, I can hear the missiles hitting Beirut city…
LEBANON IS IN REAL DANGER! It is being shattered to pieces!
From now until you finish reading this e-mail, several innocent Lebanese citizens & children would BE LYING ON THE GROUND killed or wounded by missiles of the Israeli army!
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Bush says that Israel has the right to defend itself??!!!
??!!!Self-defense according to Bush & Israel: !!!??
2 Israeli soldiers get captured and taken to Lebanon
IN AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE:
→Israel kills over 100 & wounds several hundreds of Lebanese civilians within 2 days
→Israel destroys Beirut airport & the 3 other airports of Lebanon
→Israel destroys major bridges across Lebanon & cuts any connection between Lebanese regions
→Israel hits Lebanese ports & all international roads, cutting off Lebanon from the world & preventing all rescue aid from reaching inhabitants. Lebanon is completely choked. No food, fuel & medications can enter Lebanon where electricity & water are cut in most regions.
→Israel asks for the evacuation of the town of Merwaheen (South of Lebanon) & soon after hits a van fleeing the town, slaughterING 21 innocent WOMEN & children.
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, CRUEL & CRIMINAL!!!
IF THIS IS NOT TERRORISM, THEN WHAT IS????
WHAT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS??? THE GENEVA CONVENTION??? THE CONSCIENCE OF WORLD LEADERS???
HOW CAN THE WORLD REMAIN SILENT & NOT REACT???
HOW MANY WAR CRIMES MUST ISRAEL CARRY OUT BEFORE THE WORLD WAKES UP???
Israel says it wants to finish up with the Hezbollah:
-Were the 20 innocent passengers & children killed in the van members of the Hezbollah?
-Is Beirut airport a property of Hezbollah? Or that of the Lebanese tax payers?
-What does the destruction of bridges have to do with Hezbollah? I am sure that the minute the 2 Israeli soldiers were captured, they were transported to a safe place, many hours before bridges were bombarded.
Lebanon is a helpless country militarily; it has no fighter jets, no war ships and only 3 or 4 old military helicopters. The media is over inflating the size of Hezbollah, what is their strength compared to that of Israel ?
Since the clashes started, the damages suffered by the Israelis are almost nothing compared to the damages suffered by the Lebanese. 2 Israelis were killed & a few buildings slightly damaged, compared to over 100 Lebanese civilians killed, all Lebanese airports ruined, all sea ports and radars destroyed, all major bridges and tunnels shattered, several Lebanese villages and towns destroyed, as well as parts of Beirut almost completely destroyed & refugees barely finding a place to stay or something to eat…
THIS MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!
EVERYONE READING THIS E-MAIL MUST ACT!
SHOW THE WORLD THAT YOU CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ABOUT A JUST CAUSE…
CONTACT INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE, ORGANIZE SIT-INS IN MAJOR WORLD CAPITALS,MAKE YOURSELF HEARD,MAKE ARAB & INTERNATIONAL LEADERS FEEL ASHAMED & COWARDLY…
THEIR SILENCE AGAINST THIS CARNAGE IS A CRIME IN ITSELF.
LEBANON NEEDS YOU!!
Long-live Lebanon !
Long-live human rights!
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS ALL GOOD PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH!
CS Beirut , 15/7/06
I wish to relay a message to as many people as possible around the world.
Lebanon & the Lebanese need your help, you should forward this message to as many people as you know. THE POWER OF THE WEB IS UNLIMITED, IT IS OUR DUTY TO USE IT. We should communicate to the world what is really happening in Lebanon , maybe they can help stop this manslaughter and the complete destruction of Lebanon ’s infrastructure. As I am writing this E-mail, I can hear the missiles hitting Beirut city…
LEBANON IS IN REAL DANGER! It is being shattered to pieces!
From now until you finish reading this e-mail, several innocent Lebanese citizens & children would BE LYING ON THE GROUND killed or wounded by missiles of the Israeli army!
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Bush says that Israel has the right to defend itself??!!!
??!!!Self-defense according to Bush & Israel: !!!??
2 Israeli soldiers get captured and taken to Lebanon
IN AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE:
→Israel kills over 100 & wounds several hundreds of Lebanese civilians within 2 days
→Israel destroys Beirut airport & the 3 other airports of Lebanon
→Israel destroys major bridges across Lebanon & cuts any connection between Lebanese regions
→Israel hits Lebanese ports & all international roads, cutting off Lebanon from the world & preventing all rescue aid from reaching inhabitants. Lebanon is completely choked. No food, fuel & medications can enter Lebanon where electricity & water are cut in most regions.
→Israel asks for the evacuation of the town of Merwaheen (South of Lebanon) & soon after hits a van fleeing the town, slaughterING 21 innocent WOMEN & children.
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, CRUEL & CRIMINAL!!!
IF THIS IS NOT TERRORISM, THEN WHAT IS????
WHAT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS??? THE GENEVA CONVENTION??? THE CONSCIENCE OF WORLD LEADERS???
HOW CAN THE WORLD REMAIN SILENT & NOT REACT???
HOW MANY WAR CRIMES MUST ISRAEL CARRY OUT BEFORE THE WORLD WAKES UP???
Israel says it wants to finish up with the Hezbollah:
-Were the 20 innocent passengers & children killed in the van members of the Hezbollah?
-Is Beirut airport a property of Hezbollah? Or that of the Lebanese tax payers?
-What does the destruction of bridges have to do with Hezbollah? I am sure that the minute the 2 Israeli soldiers were captured, they were transported to a safe place, many hours before bridges were bombarded.
Lebanon is a helpless country militarily; it has no fighter jets, no war ships and only 3 or 4 old military helicopters. The media is over inflating the size of Hezbollah, what is their strength compared to that of Israel ?
Since the clashes started, the damages suffered by the Israelis are almost nothing compared to the damages suffered by the Lebanese. 2 Israelis were killed & a few buildings slightly damaged, compared to over 100 Lebanese civilians killed, all Lebanese airports ruined, all sea ports and radars destroyed, all major bridges and tunnels shattered, several Lebanese villages and towns destroyed, as well as parts of Beirut almost completely destroyed & refugees barely finding a place to stay or something to eat…
THIS MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!
EVERYONE READING THIS E-MAIL MUST ACT!
SHOW THE WORLD THAT YOU CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ABOUT A JUST CAUSE…
CONTACT INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE, ORGANIZE SIT-INS IN MAJOR WORLD CAPITALS,MAKE YOURSELF HEARD,MAKE ARAB & INTERNATIONAL LEADERS FEEL ASHAMED & COWARDLY…
THEIR SILENCE AGAINST THIS CARNAGE IS A CRIME IN ITSELF.
LEBANON NEEDS YOU!!
Long-live Lebanon !
Long-live human rights!
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS ALL GOOD PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH!
CS Beirut , 15/7/06
Thursday
Books in Conversation...
Click on titles for links
True Crime>
Welcome to Hell: One Man's Fight for Life Inside the Bangkok Hilton by Colin Martin
Mafia Wife: My Story of Love, Murder and Madness by Lynda Milito
Lynda's personal story about her own life: her disturbing and painful childhood, her attraction to danger and power, spousal abuse, mental illness, and her continuing search for peace and reconciliation.
Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case by Marion Collins
How could Robert Durst degenerate from a powerful New York City businessman to a cross-dressing fugitive wanted in a murder investigation?
The Society Murders by Hilary Bonney
Murders of husband and wife millionaire socialites in Melbourne by their son in 2002.
Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
The USA and the death penalty.
Still reading>
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Poetry>
Gioconda Belli
Nicaraguan Poet: "My poems then were a mixture--often chaotic--of the erotic and the patriotic, two things that reflected the experiences of my everyday life."
Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar
Persian Sufi Poetry
Murder Mystery>
Promise Me by Harlan Coben
Others>
The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia by Peter Hopkirk
Historical - Political book on Central Asia
Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano
Novel of Italian woman in Kenya and the ex-pat set there.
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Allende at her best
Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A wonderful tale in magic-realism mode.
True Crime>
Welcome to Hell: One Man's Fight for Life Inside the Bangkok Hilton by Colin Martin
Mafia Wife: My Story of Love, Murder and Madness by Lynda Milito
Lynda's personal story about her own life: her disturbing and painful childhood, her attraction to danger and power, spousal abuse, mental illness, and her continuing search for peace and reconciliation.
Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case by Marion Collins
How could Robert Durst degenerate from a powerful New York City businessman to a cross-dressing fugitive wanted in a murder investigation?
The Society Murders by Hilary Bonney
Murders of husband and wife millionaire socialites in Melbourne by their son in 2002.
Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
The USA and the death penalty.
Still reading>
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Poetry>
Gioconda Belli
Nicaraguan Poet: "My poems then were a mixture--often chaotic--of the erotic and the patriotic, two things that reflected the experiences of my everyday life."
Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar
Persian Sufi Poetry
Murder Mystery>
Promise Me by Harlan Coben
Others>
The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia by Peter Hopkirk
Historical - Political book on Central Asia
Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano
Novel of Italian woman in Kenya and the ex-pat set there.
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Allende at her best
Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A wonderful tale in magic-realism mode.
Our Mills and Boon MiniFest...
Marriage on the Rebound by Michelle Reid
Sunset Country by Dorothy Cork
Set around the Australian Outback - Alice Springs
Mother of the Bride by Carole Mortimer
A Husband's Revenge by Lee Wilkinson
A Happy Meeting by Betty Neels
Wednesday
Tuesday
Butter Dance
Suryodarmo accepts that some audiences are disturbed by her repeated falling, but her own interpretation borders on whimsical. "You never know which direction I will fall, the butter gives me no control. It's about how slippery life can be. You see something goes wrong with your life and what you are doing and just continue on."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/its-art-imitating-life-smeared-in-butter/2006/07/10/1152383678519.html
Saturday
Tuesday
Before the Dawn
Before the Dawn: Recovering the History of our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade
Drawing on the exciting results from a branch of science that is in its relative infancy, the veteran journalist weaves together a fascinating story, pulling in such other areas of research as anthropology, archeology, linguistics and social science.
Taken from:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19459828-5003900,00.html
Drawing on the exciting results from a branch of science that is in its relative infancy, the veteran journalist weaves together a fascinating story, pulling in such other areas of research as anthropology, archeology, linguistics and social science.
Taken from:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19459828-5003900,00.html
Michelangelo's Moses
The relevance of each detail of body and drapery in forcing up the psychic temperature can be appreciated by closely studying the work — the muscles bulge, the veins swell, the great legs begin slowly to move. If this titan ever rose to his feet, says one writer, the world would fly apart. The holy rage of Moses mounts to the bursting point, yet must be contained, for the free release of energies in action is forbidden forever to Michelangelo's passion-stricken beings.
Michelangelo felt that this was his most life-like creation. Legend has it that upon its completion he struck the right knee commanding, "now speak!" as he felt that life was the only thing left inside the marble. There is a scar on the knee thought to be the mark of Michelangelo's hammer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo's_Moses
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