News... from Tatsi ;)

Video about Minsk

2010-11-08T00:11:00.001+02:00

This is a very interesting video about Minsk with some shotes from Navahrudak and countryside.

Minsk/Belarus Motion TimeLapse from zweizwei on Vimeo.

Suddenly I see

2009-10-05T21:35:00.003+03:00

I see that I still have lost of things to discover. In fact every day there is something new I have never heard about. Like now, I've discovered a new singer ;) "She is a beautiful girl", yes indeed she is and her song is also really positive and ispiring :)

You can listen and watch it here, a song "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall.

When you get what you want

2009-10-03T01:49:00.002+03:00

I wish I would always want only what I really need. At least, if the statement that people get whatever they want is true. There were many interesting things happening in the past few months. Bad and good, mostly challenging... But that's life. Today, I inspected a pair of old shoes which I loved a lot, but now they are old and I can't ware them anymore. What should I do? Should I simply get out of my flat with a pair of shoes in my hand and leave them on the street. I try not to get attached towards things, but some of them bring nice memories, especially shoes :D News... I found out that my good friend got married, I am so happy for her.

New website to download my photos

2009-08-04T13:37:00.003+03:00

My most popular images for sale at Shutterstock:

One can download and submit photos at ShutterStock! Check out My Gallery Here!

I am happy to live in this country

2009-04-12T23:09:00.005+03:00

No, not because this is the centre of Europe (still dusputed between several countries :D), no. I like people who live here, despite the political situation we have. Some people think and I would agree with it, that nature dermines the character of the nation...

I went to a photo exhibition today. It is named The Planet Belarus by Siarhei Plytkevich. One can read more about him here (in Russian). All this photos were taken from helicopter.

Which country is named after tractor

2009-04-08T02:34:00.003+03:00

There is this joke about Belarus. Before Belarus got independent after collaps of the USSR, the brand Belarus was already known. But it was not the name of the country (in Belarusian it was, but in English it used to be BSSR or Byelorussia - transliteration from Russian). This was the name of tractor :D Yeah, sometimes it's really not easy to explain, that Belarus existed before with the name of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Litva) in XIII-XVI and then as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (XVI-XVIII)... The later was partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria. The modern Belarusian lands were under Russian Empire for over a century. For the first time the name Belarus officialy was used in 25 March 1918, when the Belarusian Democratic Republic was created. It did not exist for a long time, but it forced Bolsheviks to establish BSSR later... Well, back to tractor :) Getty Images have ve recently teamed up with Time Inc. to re-launch the venerable LIFE brand. And I found some interesting photos of Belarus there :) One of them is this one, The Minsk Tractor Factory, 1960.

An update

2009-04-05T22:15:00.002+03:00

Some of my friends are not aware what is going on in my life job wise. Well, I did not survived the restaurant busines experiment. I worked for 40 days and was fired for not having experience in this field :) Thus, I can decide myself again when to work and when to rest :)

Lithuanian cheese

2009-02-24T14:29:00.008+02:00

While writing this title I kept smiling. Why? Because the photographers usually say: "Say cheese", so one would pretend smiling :D But this time there is no need to pretend. I actually smile since I love different kinds of cheese. Therefore, this time I am especially happy to find out the one (actually two) I really love. In fact, I love Parmigiano aka Parmesan, but it's really expensive, especially when it's imported to your country. Yesterday I was in Vilnius and I went to a store to buy some cheese. Guess what I found? Right, the "Lithuanian Parmesan" or rather its substitutes: Rokiškio Kietasis and Džiugas. They are really tasty and I would recommend it for sure.

Turning myself into waitress

2008-12-28T03:01:00.004+02:00

I wanted to name this post using phrases like 'exploring restaurant business' but the current title fits better. Many times I was saying that I would not work as a waitress since the period of such a job of me is over (without ever happening). But now it is actually happening. Well, most of my friends will be surprised (I am surprised too!) and would wonder why? Wait a sec, I will explain it.

Ok, the world crises is not the reason. However, it a way it might be. For the past 6 months I was looking for a job of my dream in international organisations (I still do to tell you the truth), meanwhile workind on different small things. And then a week ago I got a message on Skype from my friend asking if I am looking for a job. My answer was YES. My CV was right for the job description, I like the promised salary, but I was not very excited about the job title. In short, the candidate was expected to be an adminstrator/manager in a restaurant. But, since I like aventures and new things, I said YES and had an interview which I passed. Though with one condition: ...I had to work for two weeks as a waitress. Here I am, I did work for three days already! It's difficult to explain in detail how it was (as can write a long article, I guess). And I don't want to name the restaurant for the moment. I will simply write some funny things from my three days.

My friends know that I hate when I am called 'babe' or 'baby'. And imagine, one girl who is much younger, smaller and thiner than me told be yesterday: baby, would you help me with...? I was laughing for the next ten minutes. It's sooo funny.

My boss did not tell anyone except for my direct superviser that I am not actually a waitress, but will have some other functions. Thus I was asked for the time being to keep it in a secret. But people ask questions and I dont like to lie. The last questions was: So where do you study? I did not say that I have a master degree, but I had to say something. So I named my home university. Then I was confronted with the next question: Did you do a correspondance course? Whad did I have to say? I said, no, I was a day student. Other questions were: So how old are you (read aren't you 20)? Why do you work here (read couldn't you find something better)? Have you ever worked as a waiter (this one is the most popular)?

By the way, working day for a waiter is 12 hours with no breaks. One works 2 days and then 2 days off.

To be continued... P.S. Since it's my first experience as a waitress, any tips (in both meanings) are welcome!

Finding the best price for books

2008-12-28T02:24:00.002+02:00

It's been a while since I use one website to find books I want to be. It seems to be very efficient. Basically what happens is: you type the name and/or author and/or ISBN and press the button. There you go, you have prices for the brand new books as well as used ones. It's soooo easy and convinient! The website is: www.bookfinder.com. Thank you, guys for you excellent job!

Good bye PPP

2008-12-28T02:21:00.003+02:00

I am writing this post to let you know, that this blog is no longer participating the PayPerPost system. Therefore there will be no paid posts here. The message on the left will remain here for a month and then I will delete it. I will still keep some of the paid posts, because all of them I wrote not just because they were paid, but also I wanted to promote the websites I wrote about. I've written about myself in those post as well. Thus, that's all about PPP.

Vote for me :)

2008-12-19T00:57:00.001+02:00

Eyeglasses with Stylish Frames

2008-12-18T14:30:00.005+02:00

One who wears glasses knows how expensive their can be. Sometimes it costs fortune to get quite simple ones. Nowadays, Internet and on-line stores make it much easier. Your glasses are just few click away from you!

If you search on-line, I bet you will find many options. To save your time, I would advice to visit Optical4less, an on-line store with eyeglasses. They have many different models, what I like, there are many classic models - simple and elegant. The big plus of the store is the possibility to buy glasses starting from 15$ and the free delivery worldwide when you order 2 pairs and more. Cool, isn't it?

Of course, the on-line store can not make prescriptions for you. Thus, before ordering glasses on-line one should visit a doctor to be sure what are the necessary parameters of the glasses. So, keep it in mind! This is actually what stops me from ordering right now.

The demanding customer will also have different options of glasses. The store sells very different glasses: complete prescription eyeglasses (include Anti-reflective coating for free), tinted sunglasses, bifocal reading glasses, progressive reading eyeglasses, photochromic sunglasses. In my opinion, it's not an easy choice, but again it's an advantage for you as a customer.

Well, there are so many other things to write about, but I think that one should visit the store and see what their have. Pictures say much more than words!

P.S. This post is brought to you thanks to Optical4less.

JPGmag

2008-12-14T02:22:00.001+02:00

In this month I uploaded a new picture for the JPGmag. You can vote for my photos on the website. And you votes are very much appreciated! :)

Comme Toi / Like You

2008-12-08T01:22:00.003+02:00

I do discover "new" artists and songs thanks to Radio and Internet (Youtube of course) - both from capital letters;). Today I was going home through a park listening to radio and I heard the song Comme Toi by Jean-Jacques Goldman (also on Youtube). Apparently it was written in 1982 (it's very important year:D), so it's the same age as I am. But it's really catching and one wants to sing it along. The funny thing is that after reading the lyrics carefully, they are simply ok, nothing really great. But lyrics are not to read but to listen:) So, just enjoy it!

Belarus is missing a tourist trick with Chagall

2008-12-03T03:19:00.002+02:00

This the title of the Independent in which this article appeared. I love Chagall's works and I like Viciebsk (the spelling is wrong according the transliteration rules of the Belarusian Geo names), so I am happy that there are people who promote tourism to Belarus to the place where Chagall was born. It's pity though that the author (Mark Rowe) does not pay attention that "Belarusian" should be spelt with one "s". It seems to be a small thing, but it's important for a serious journalist ;)

The OSCE ODIHR report

2008-12-03T03:11:00.002+02:00

The OSCE ODIHR issued its final report on the last parliamentary elections. For now it's only in English. I've scanned the media section and there was no surprise, in short: the media are controlled by the state and serve "the state interest" in their understanding. I.e. those who pay are in focus, the opponents of those are not and even when they are the image is negative. the independent media are sometimes also biased, but it's not so obvious when their circulation is really small in comparison with the state run media.

Nevertheless, I bought my copy of the Narodnaya Volya issue last Thursday in a usual kiok. Thus I can say that Narodnaya Volya is back. Personally, I hope that this particular newspaper will be less biased (UCP party was mentioned in the ODIHR report in relation to this paper) and more objective. Then it will have all chances that people will read it!

NN and NV are back to kiosks

2008-11-23T03:34:00.003+02:00

Today I was very much surprised when I was told that two independent newspapers, Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya, which have been struggling since 2006 (the year of the presidential elections, when those newspapers lost their channels of distribution by order from the presidential administration) to get normal way of distribution via kiosk, will make it through. And now it's happening, hopefully, starting from the next week I can buy those newpapers in a kiosk nearby my house. Is it a miracle? No, this are the acts of real politik: Belarus wants to sell goods to the EU --> Belarus needs to improve democracy --> The government and the presidential administration weaken their repressions of the independent actors. C'est la vie, as French people say. I am happy that this steps are in the right direction. Though, so far really small steps. God bless Belarus paraphrasing the US president ;)

'Military Equipment'

2008-11-23T03:09:00.002+02:00

There are women who like men in uniform, it brings some romanticism and charm they say. Though I am not one of those, it was interesting for me to browse through a website named 5.11 Tactical Jacket and selling as they say 'Military Equipment'. From the first look for me it did not look like military at all, rather normal cloths which people were in this country, mainly different types of men's jackets. However, I also liked one travel mug (it looks very useful, but it is only a part of a deal with jackets;)), and I was impressed by special jackets of bright colors. If my mom would wear one of those on her bike in the evening time (especially on the countryside roads) she would be visible long time before some car would aproach her. This is why, I guess, it's named Tactical Reflective Vest, and 'tactical' is the key word here. Another interesting item (the one to impress girls or women mentioned in the first line of this post) is a Police jacket, it is actually relatively cheap, so almost everybody can afford it. Basically, what I want to say: if one has some imagination how to use it or one might need it for the work (this is addressing men first of all), the collection is definitely worth looking through.

P.S. This post is brought here thanks to La Police Gear.

Day with the first snow

2008-11-23T02:41:00.002+02:00

Today, or it's rather yesterday, was the day with the first snow this winter (?) or autumn :) So I looked out from my window and saw this picture which (of course!) I took immediately :) I used to love winter the most. It's a fun time for kids.

Geo names translation

2008-11-12T23:37:00.003+02:00

Working for international institutions and for international projects I have to write in English some Belarusian geographic names. I used to be a nightmare to think of the best transliteration. But it is not the case any more. There are two documents which give the guidelines. First one is issued by several Belarusian ministries (see here - in Russian) and another one is the Belarusian document submitted to the UN (see here - in English). Sometimes there are good improvements ;)

US elections all around

2008-11-04T21:54:00.002+02:00

I was amazed today when I wanted to log on Facebook. I was this picture and ones againg was reminded that Facebook is an American product. :D

Looking for new glasses

2008-11-04T21:07:00.005+02:00

When people discuss what is better glasses or contact lenses, I always think for myself it is worth to have both. One needs them for different situations, so it is even necessary to have both. And at the moment I am thinking which glasses to buy. Remembering that the economic crisis is around, I will definitely look for a reasonable price as well. The best way to cut off you spending is to plan in advance what you want and need to buy. In my honest opinion, the wise shopping is useful even in the situation of the financial crisis;)

Thus the goal for the moment is to buy soem nice glasses. As the Internet addicted person I've looked online and I've found out that it's possible to buy theeyeglasses for $8 for example from Zenni Optical. It is really reasonable price and I like the design as well. They also have such strong aspects as Anti Scratch Coating and Hard Case for them (this is really important as otherwise your eyeglasses can transform and it can be even harming your eyes).

My next step is to calculate the cost and decide if I will buy them. Lets see. If I choose the simplest ones, then it is $8. Plus I might add Anti reflection coating as I love computers :) Then it is for extra prices - $4.95. Ok, to find out the delivery price to Europe requires to fill in the form and check out... Hmm, maybe I could find it out before I place the order? Sometimes shipping is expensive. Well, I guess then I will get it sorted later. Thus the simple option with delivery costs for the US would be $12.95 which is quite good. As for Europe, I will let you know when I find out! Happy shopping!

P.S. This post is written thanks to Zenni Optical.

History revision

2008-11-02T00:46:00.003+02:00

Today I was back to school, not literally but still. I was helping my little cousin with the preparation for history exam. He needs to know the history of Belarus starting from the Stone Age. So we studied books for a while, but then I came up with a clever idea to go to a history museum. It was not that easy to make him go on Saturday during vacations. But at the end we did (after I promised to go to cinema afterwords, those little tricks;)). And it was very demonstrative, one sees all those bones, stones and different tools and the difference between historical periods becomes more obvious:)

Gifts from Nikon

2008-10-31T22:07:00.004+02:00

Today I discovered that Nikon is not just the photo camera producers, it also has very nice binoculars!

People like free gifts and Nikon decided to make some. Nikon is currently giving out Gift cards for Nikon Pro Gear (value of 50$), when you buy Nikon All Terrain Binocular (ATB) Binocular. Nikon Monarch and Trailblazer Binoculars are very much valued by hunters. I wonder could one use them for photo hunting, eh? This offer is valid till the end of the year. Nikon Pro Gear also offers a variety of high-quality men’s and women’s outdoor and casual garments, optics accessories and other high performance gear. Thus it might be a very good deal.

P.S. Just two days ago I read an article about a Belarusian woman who lives in the US and has a website with information about coupons which people use for their purchases. She is a nominee in one competition of young business people. I do hope that information of this kind is really helpful for people.
P.S. This post is posted thanks to Nickon Hunting.

Economic crisis?

2008-10-31T21:58:00.002+02:00

It seems that even in this country the government realises that it is coming... Before the argument was that our economy is state controlled and therefore there will be no crisis here (not taking into consideration the exporters). But now they want to get money from the IMF and guess what? Apparently from now on our econmy IS the open one. Isn't it a miracle? And then on 8 November there will be investment forume (read PR action of the Belarusian government) in London. I wonder how many contracts they will get... Anyway, good luck!

CAÓTICA ANA

2008-10-18T00:26:00.004+03:00

Once a month one can see really wonderful fims in the 4 cinemas for 4 days, one movie in one cinema only one day. This is called cinema format 4x4. Today I watched a wonderful Spanish film Caotica Ana, it was even in Spanish with subtitels (this is really rear to see a film in original language in this country, they double basically everything). So, I am really impressed and advice everyone to see it! As somebody wrote at YouTube "Adoro esta canción y me encanta esta película", thus here is the song:

P.S. After all life is chaotic for all of us :)

Heating up

2008-10-16T17:12:00.002+03:00

Today they test heating system, at least I heard some strange sounds in the pipes... well, we'll see.
So today is another day of autumn, a bit grey and rainy. But there is some good news - it's a day of boss :) or former boss in my case :D Well, well, I wonder if I will get any lines from my colleagues ;) On the other hand, it's a wonderful day to do stuff and I might even work on my foreign languages :)

Kazulin on Dutch TV

2008-09-19T15:50:00.001+03:00

Junior Eurovision

2008-09-13T11:45:00.001+03:00

Yesterday, Belarus had a final of the national selections process and these three girls will represent Belarus in Cyprus:

Belarusian Solidarity

2008-08-22T23:38:00.001+03:00

This is a sculpture front wall of one of the buildings in Minsk:) I noticed that there is the world Solidarity on it only two days ago :D

Point of view

2008-08-05T22:38:00.002+03:00

I would love to share some other pics, in fact a photo story I posted few days ago.

Sometimes you work hard and do not notice things around. And then you open your door and meet a miracle. This is exactly what happened to me that day. I opened my door and saw it. It was a colourful sing on the floor, it was a tiny rainbow sign. I looked carefully and realised that it was all around: on the lift cage, on the stairs, on the walls. It did look like a miracle, though this miracle is base on a very simple optical effect of light dispersion through a glass prism in the window. This rainbow inspired me, I fell in love and took these photos. Keep your eyes open and camera ready :)

Taking pics

2008-08-05T22:32:00.003+03:00

This summer i plan to take many different and hopefuly exciting pics. Some of those I will post here, some on the stock sites. I went to Lithuania few weeks ago at took this picture of Trakai castle:

I love trips to Lithuania, as Vilnius and Trakai inspire me a lot :)
Next trip was to the South of Belarus. Photos are coming soon ;)

My favorite commercial on TV right now

2008-07-28T22:33:00.001+03:00

It's mainly basey on the play of words in Russian. The product is juce named Jucy. You need to know Russian to understand this:)

Piesniary/Песняры

2008-07-28T22:01:00.002+03:00

Pesnyary, or Piesniary, was the band, which made revolution in the USSR. Its leader Mulyavin was not from Belarus, but he created a real Belarusian bomb. This band was the best known band in the USSR, it was the Soviet Beatles. Here is one of my favourit songs, it was recorded in 1772. I ever rememember that in 1992 in a summber camp we, as kids, made a performance about this Jas about whom Pesnyary sing:

Last submission for today:)

2008-07-19T04:10:00.001+03:00

One more submission

2008-07-19T04:03:00.000+03:00

2008-07-18T22:49:00.000+03:00

I got involved into new adventure:)

Skoda - the real commercial

2008-06-27T02:02:00.002+03:00

Today while watching a football match we were discussing Skoda and it's new commercial. I came home and found it on YouTube. I could not possibly stop myself from posting it, because this is the quality commercial. So here is the story about the commercial:

and then the commercial itself:

It's really great! Keep up the good work!

While writing about Pilsudski...

2008-06-09T01:15:00.002+03:00

I found an interview of Milinkevich in which he gives answers to questions of a Polish newspaper [in August 2006]. Here is one very important comment, which a bit explains why Belarusians are so much afraid of wars.
"Question: Belarusians are considered to be quite people, which don't like to protest and demonstrate, they repeat "just not to have a war". Where does this idea come from? Is it a fear?

- Not many nations in Europe have experienced the same losses in the wars as us. Polish-Russian war of the 16th century - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost more than half of its population. In the times of Napoleon - one quater was lost; during WWI - one quater again; after WWII - one third. Plus add Stalin's repressions. That's why one should not be surprised that people in Belarus want not to have a war and dream to survive."

Mon amour

2008-06-07T01:25:00.000+03:00

I've just watched "La vie en rose" about Edite Piaf, it's very intersting woman. Although in real life I think she was really beautiful and in the film they showed her as a funny woman:) I really love this song:

Belarusian bear in Poland

2008-06-04T01:50:00.003+03:00

Belarusian online community is discussing who created this bear and why it is so strange/funny? :D Personally, I like it, it's not too sophisticated, but it's fun. Photos from pilecki.livejournal.com

Lost, or delayed...

2008-05-31T22:57:00.003+03:00

Guess what I am doing right now! Uff, it's not so easy to imagine:( Well, I am on the floor in the Bucharest-Baneasa International Airport. Why? Good question! Because my Skyeurope flight was delayed, 2.15 hours. It was scheduled for 10 pm, now it's almost 11 pm, and the forecast :) of the departure is 0.15. I am missing all trains in Vienna and don't really know what will do there, will consider a taxi option I guess. So, Romania, International Airport, delayed flight, me on the floor with my old laptop plugged to charge near a bank machine, people staring and romantic music... Not fun, though, giving a second though, it could be worse. Now at least I have some slow WiFi, my computre is charging, I can write this and be less bored. Meanwhile, my friends from EYCA are parting back in the hotel, and my friends from the DA are parting also, but in Vienna. And I am hoping for a miracle to happen...

Milinkevich at EuroNews

2008-05-11T02:26:00.001+03:00

Hundertwarsser's house from the top

2008-05-10T14:20:00.001+03:00

It was published in online media as an example of weird houses:)

Slutsk sashes return home, i.e. Belarus :)

2008-05-09T21:13:00.004+03:00

The famous collection of Slutsk sashes, which demonstrated the originality and skilful artistry of the Belarusian people, was lost during the war. These ones returned from Moscow's collection. Belarus owns only fragmenst of the Slutsk sashes and is trying to return as many as possible. Of course, Moscow wants to get something valuable in exchange, the outcome to be seen. At the moment the Slutsk sashes are presenten in the Belarusian National Art Museum where they will stay at least for a year.
A friend of mine took pictures of them: All pictures you can see on blog of Hleb Labadzenka.

New clip

2008-05-09T15:54:00.003+03:00

Despire all the stories about her, I like this woman - Anzhalika Agurbash or Lika Yalinskaya. She is strong, beautiful and loves Belarus. I met her twice, both times I was participating in press conferences. I still remember her phrase, not in exact wording, but something like Belarus is my country and I don't need anybody's permission to return here. Now she is married to a Russian businessman and lives in Moscow.

and this one as a bonus or long live Belarus:)

Canadian supporter of Alehno at Eurovision

2008-05-07T19:38:00.001+03:00

I found this video a month ago. This girl really wants Ruslan to win:)

Yes! I found this video

2008-04-07T20:14:00.003+03:00

Few days ago I have read in the news that the Free Theater of Bearus was working together with Brittish actors and they recorded a video message to Belarusian people. Today I found this video on YouTube, so I can post it and comment on it! First the video:

The most emotional part for me was the last phrase: Zhyvie Belarus - Long live Belarus, a slogan used a lot for patriotic people here and not very welcome but the current government :D The names of the actors: Diana Quick, Tobias Menzies, Henry Goodman, Jocelyn Gee, Kim Cattrall, Richard Wilson, Andrea Riseborough and Alan Rickman. My favorite part of the video in quotes:
Alan Rickman: "I wanna come to your country, and just to seat down and drink wine with you."
Henry Goodman (his family was from Belarus): "I am very pleased to see that you are able to fight for free [Belarus]"
"Everyone is ready to say this piece? Жыве Беларусь! One more time! Жыве Беларусь!"
Some photos can be found here.

Manon at Wiener Staatsoper

2008-04-07T19:44:00.004+03:00

I was lucky yesterday to get a ticket for opera Manon with Anna Netrebko. Well, it was not planned, but I am really happy I went there. So many people are facinated about Netrebko and her voice and I have to admit that her voice in very powerful and beautiful indeed. I also liked how Massimo Giordano sang his part. The best review I found here, written by the Associated Press Writer GEORGE JAHN. It was the first time I've seen Manon, so it was really interesting for me also to follow the plot (it was in French). The costumes and decoration are worth being mentioned, they are quite modern (some are in style of Viennese balls, dont take me wrongly but they are!) and a bit provocative as they, I guess, are supposed to be. And almost naked Massimo is worth seeing also! Viennese opera is one of the best in the world, so if you have chance to go there, I definitely recommend to do so.
I will also post a video I found on YouTube from the last year performance with Netrebko in Manon, but with another partner (I don't have time to look up his name now):

Funny commercial

2008-04-07T18:22:00.003+03:00

This one made me laugh today!

Jab Club

2008-03-31T10:34:00.003+03:00

Today I've started my day with music of my friends! Apparentlly, my friend Yauhen Valoshyn, who I knew was singing, has a new song which he recorded with his friends. The name of the band is Jab Club. You can listen to this song here. Photo from music.fromby.net.

Latest events

2008-03-27T19:38:00.002+02:00

These days I am posting many videos, because videos say a lot, people talk to you directly with their messages. That's is why, today I will post a video of an activist of Austrian Student Union, which is going to protest against the participation of Mr. Shimov, the rector of Belarusian State Economic University, in the conference about Belarus, here in Vienna. The reason is simple, he was expelling students for political reasons, so he should not be surprised that he is not welcome by politically active Austrian students. There you go:

Video by Tatsiana Khoma for Generation.by.

There is one more event I want to blog about. My friend, a photographer of Nasha Niva, an independent newpaper, was arrested on March 25, 2008 during the demonstration on the Independence Day. It's another story. Here is his interview, today in the court, he spent one day in jail, yesterday he was released and another meeting in the court for today was scheduled. But today, it took only 1.5 min for the trial. His case is sent back to Police "for investigation", normaly he should have being released immediately. Andrei Liankevich (in Belarusian):

Video by NN.by.

March 25, 1918 - 90 years after

2008-03-25T14:12:00.005+02:00

Today is the Day of Independence for many Belarusian, it's the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918. That's why today, I will post the words by Ivonka Survilla, current president of The BNR Rada in exile. This statement was made in Prague, on March 22 at the conference "Past, Present and Future of the Belarusian Statehood":

"The proclamation of independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic on March, 25 1918 is maybe the most important event in modern Belarusian history. Without the proclamation of independence the BSSR would not be allowed to exist and there would not be an independent republic of Belarus now. In fact, there would not be many Belarusians left after 90 years of russification. But despite the importance of BNR is also one of the well kept secrets of Europe, it has been particularly well-kept in Belarus, for obvious reasons. Even after 90 years the very mention of the BNR looks dangerous for the dictatorship in power. In exile, however, the BNR has kept idea of March 25, 1918 to this day. […]

This is why, it is so important to celebrate this day for every Belarusian in the world. I wish you all a beautiful celebration. "

And here comes her call to Belarusian young people (in Belarusian):

Video by Tatsiana Khoma for Generation.by

My heart sings with Danchyk!

2008-03-24T04:40:00.001+02:00

I came back from Prague where I met many interesting people, amazing people, those who change the story of my Belarus;) Danchyk is one of them, he was singing for the first time after 12 years of no concerts... And here is video of "Moj rodny kut" by Danchyk:

Budget airlines

2008-03-20T15:57:00.003+02:00

I am really disappointed with SkyEurope today, I got an email saying that 3 reservations I had for this summer have beed cancelled. They basically cancelled whole destination Vienna-Warsaw. I guess this is one more reasone to move away from Vienna, eh? Well, I have to say that an operator I talked to was really nice and promised to send me money back in two weeks time... But now I have a trouble to look for new solutions.

Rap music

2008-03-19T22:34:00.003+02:00

I was never a fun of rap music, but I was told to have a look at this site. The site is primary and only about rap, you can see every (in my opinion) rap artist and the ranking of them. I was a bit confused in the beginning as Google ads are just under the navigation menue and it had "a link to mps" (I already thought: I would listen to some rap music), but it was just an ad. Well, site it interesting, I guess those who like rap will find there useful information and news. So, good luck to the site to develop as they are just in the beginning of their road.

P.S. This post is brought to you thanks to RapArtists.com.

Lord Bell and Belarus

2008-03-18T21:37:00.002+02:00

Quote from Times:

"— Lord Bell, the PR guru, has been in Belarus looking at how it might improve its image. Not an easy task in a country where the President once said: “Not everything connected with Hitler was bad.” “I’ve just stepped off a plane,” says Bell, when we call to confirm. From Belarus? “From Geneva,” he quips. “That’s where I stashed the money.” "

Well, nothing else to add at the moment, there are just rumours.

Belarus at Eurovision 2008

2008-03-16T01:31:00.003+02:00

Since the Eurovision Song Contest is approaching I will post here a clip by Ruslan Alehno, who represents Belarus this year. Hasta la vista!

Belarusian week in the EP

2008-03-13T02:03:00.004+02:00

Here is a news block from today (in Belarusian), the EP part starts from 1.42:

Here "citizens of BieloRUSSIA belong to the european family" accroding to the EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering. My God, this guy should really know the name of the country he speaks about...
P.S. Today was a day of freedom in Internet...

Kiss by Chagall and Ko

2008-03-11T01:53:00.001+02:00

A short cartoon about the KISS, using the motives of Chagall work.

Photography

2008-03-08T14:33:00.003+02:00

I've came across some photos of a guy from my high school. He works in Paris and therefore I have chosen Paris photos to post here. His name is Sasha (Aliaksandr) Paskanoi. Check out his website: www.paskanoi.com.

French style?

2008-03-05T22:22:00.006+02:00

Today I found out something new. Now I know what are French Beds! No jokes, I am serious. Before I had no clue and now I've seen so many of them online. I guess, the main idea is to have something romantic in the design. Beds in general, it a touchy issue for me, every time I see some nice and comfortable beds I thing about two things: First, one day I will have one; and second, I still do not have one. Yeah, I know, the eternal consumption trend, but not only this. It is so important to sleep well if we have to sleep 1/3 of our life. Ok, some people sleep less, but there are those who sleep even more! So no doubt, it is extremelly important and also romantic...

Meanwhile I am still browsing through that website. I've picked up one I like! (Dreams, dreams!) Right, it is nothing extraordinary, it big, white and very nice. The name is a bit odd for me though - french belgravia, does it actually mean something? I must be really bad in Western names;) Althoug, for such a bed I would need a huge room, definitely not the one I have now:D Well, again and again, one day...

P.S. This post is brought thanks to Time4Sleep.

Marriage stats

2008-03-05T21:55:00.004+02:00

Continuing the topic of population growth. I've just read some statistics about marriages of Belarusian citizens to foreigners in 2007. The total number is 4588 marriages registered in Belarus. I guess there are others registered outside the country. It makes every 20th marriage, hmm, this sounds more impressive:D And then the ranking, Belarusian girls choose (every 20th one):

1. Russians - 1019
2. Ukrainians - 385
3. Other CIS countries - 386
I guess the main factors here were language (most of them can still speak Russian) and freedom of movement.
4. Germans - 133. For me it an interesting figure, I am not quite sure if it is a result of different agencies work, or just people to people contact.
5. Israeli - 65. My guess is that many immigrants from Belarus to Israel come back to marry:)
6. Polish - 44. Again, language is similar and country is close.
7. American (US) - 33.
8. Canadian - 17.
Well, number is not that big after all, but one more argument for the statement that borders do not matter.
9. Turkish - 15.
10. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania together brought 110 Baltic men to those marriages. Again, neighbours!

For Belarusian men stats are a bit different, less of them marry foreigners. There you go, countries where they wives come from:
1. Russia - 1020. Almost 0 balance in comparison with Russian men above.
2. Ukraine - 362.
3. Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) - 80.
So Belarusian men are less eager to go far away to search for future wives:)

I have to admit that the picture is quite interesting. I would be fun to see statistics next year.

Modern world of economics

2008-03-05T21:30:00.002+02:00

I had an interesting seminar on migration today. We spoke about European trends, population aging and costs of it. We even discussed Slovakian case study, well a bit. But it is actually quite true that one of the problems of the aging is in social security. Every citizen of every state expects its government to provide certain level of social security including the period of your life when you can not do it yourself. Some systems are better, others are worse. For over a decade in my country there is a debate if an insurance can be substitute to pension. Some people opt for it, but again the problem is that you have to think about those things before it happens, so in case of aging - when you are still young.

In fact, it is amazing how important the whole insurance market became for most of us. From my birth my parents were worried about my insurance (even or especially in the old times!). Human beings are ready to pay every month a bit in order to ensure that in a trouble situation there is a way out. I think it was a brilliant idea to creat this market. Just look around: health insurance, house insurance, travel insurance, car insurance, courier insurance, commercial insurance after all. There is huge, just immense market. Every economist knows that demand is a driving force of any market economy, so it means that people need it. Why? It is easier, it helps, it brings money when you need it, it is secure and this is the only thing we have. As simple or complex as it is. After all, insurance have more advantages than disadvantages. There is no doubt that insurance is good as long as you can efford it:)

At the same time, I still find it a bit weird that most of the rational actions are driven by economic interest. Behind the politics are economic interests. All around, almost no exeptions. I know I have studied it in so many courses, but it still strikes.

P.S. This post is brought to you thanks to Autonetinsurance.

Defiance

2008-03-05T02:18:00.003+02:00

A film with this title is currently in the postproduction and will be presented to the public at the end of 2008. Film director is Edward Zwick. Here is the description of the IMDB:

"Three Jewish brothers (Craig, Schreiber and Bell) escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger."

This movie was filmed in Lithuania (I bet they even did not try to do it in Belarus:)). And people in Belarusian blogs have already started discussion about this story. The contraversion of the story is so called MASSACRE IN NALIBOKI (May 8-9, 1943). The problem with all partisans is that the whole truth is somethere inbetween. Yes, some of them were heroic and brave, but there were also those who were cruel and hostile towards paisants. I googled this title and found a website with quite resonable explanation of the situation and desription of Bielski brothers as well. According to this source:

"On 8 May 1943, two months before the Nazis obliterated the town, the Soviet partisans massacred 128 gentile men of Naliboki in a surprise night attack. They were members of the local self-defense force. Many of them also participated in the Polish underground Home Army"

It does not link Bielski to this massacre though in this source, but speaks about other murders by them.

I don't want to take any side here. To find the truth, if there is any, is the task of historians. I just know that any idea, like the idea of this film, should be taken in a critical manner.
For now, I will just post a trailer here:

Belarusian realities

2008-02-27T21:54:00.003+02:00

There is one thing I can not anderstand, in this country there are so many educated and interligent people, but it is still a dictatorship. Why?

Kazulin, the ex-candidate for the president post in 2006, the one who was sentenced to stay in jail for 5.5 years term, has just burried his wife. He was allowed to join his family only for 3 days and now despite the international and national calls to the "president" he has to return to jail. Is there any justice? Is there any court? Who are the judges?

Photo by NN.BY photographer Julia Darashkevich.

Political prisoners

2008-02-25T17:36:00.002+02:00

Meanwhile, some terrible things happen in Belarus. Two wellknown people died last weekend. One is the wife of Alaksand Kazulin (http://kozylin.com/), Kazulin was one of the candidates in the presidential elections 2006. Now he is imprisoned and not allowed to say good bye to his wife... It's really sad.

KP journalist was found dead in the forest, it's not clear what happened there. Few weeks ago there was another journalist found dead of the main "independent" info agency Belapan. For me, it's a bit weird. And of course it's really sad...

Lukashenka interview

2008-02-25T17:33:00.002+02:00

Here is the "commercial" I was looking for. This interview was given by Lukashenka to Russian RIA Novosti and Russia Today. It's rather long (about 25 min), but I guess it's worth to see how propaganda works:) There you go:

The ghosts of the WWII

2008-02-16T19:19:00.004+02:00

Some people say that the WWII is over, others use it the speeches and ideological rhetoric. Both are wrong. It's is over, but it's impact is not. It still causes many deep unconscious difficulties in communication between nations (read states) and withing the nations. I remember how much I was surprised when people in Germany told me that they still feel guilty for the WWII and Hitler. Well, they should be aware what happened but people of my generation have nothing to do with it, they should be free from this gilt as it is not helping, it is an extra obstacle on the way of the intercultural dialogue.

I've just read in the news that a Nazi criminal was extradited from Canada to Italy, 60 years later... And I feed sad, sad that in the first place he could escape and sad because it is not changing anything now. Now he is an old man, who lived his life and to imprison him is probably the right thing to do, but it's just weird.

I saw a monument to the Soviet soldier in Vienna today. Every time I see it I think of those people who though they would liberate Europe, but instead they imprisoned themselves in the Soviet era for the rest of their lives. It's sad, it was not for nothing, but it was for so little appreciation. Nowadays, politicians in the EU and esp. in the countries who were on the other side tend to blame the Soviet for occupation of Europe, but they don't take into consideration those solders, each of them, who being a little part of the Soviet system still were human beings. My God, when I think of the 20th century, I am less enthusiastic about politicians. People have to remember that the world and human life are fragile and have to be appreciated...

Boris Tadić - the president of Serbia

2008-02-04T23:08:00.000+02:00

I've head a very wise idea today about the Serbian elections. One doesn't need any observers there since no side claims that the other side falcified the elections. And I have to agree with that. If everyone is happy, why outside observers would be needed. But then I have another question, how many people in Serbia are not happy about the outcome? and will Kosovo declare independence?
I was looking for Boris Tadić on YouTube and found this video:

eBay

2008-02-01T22:21:00.000+02:00

Why do I love eBay? It makes my days and it realises my dreams:))) Well, it's fun also, here is the last "pearl" I've read: "PHILIPS mini keychain digital camera. I am not sure how it works or if it does so I sell it as is." LOL!

Top Model of the World

2008-01-21T01:07:00.000+02:00

Hmm, I am surprised to find out that a Belarusian girl got a second place in Top Model of the World in Egipt. It's nice of course, just a certain point one starts to get used to it and to expect more from Belarusian girls :D Here are some photos of Alena Aladka:

All photos are taken from etoday.ru.

Few words about tombola

2008-01-21T00:09:00.000+02:00

Tombola is a word I've leaned in Austria, as it is an integral part of any Viennese ball:) It's should be also a part of ours. So what is it? Basically, this is a lottery among the people who bought special tickets. And in order to make it fun and successful every ball committee has to prepare nice prices.

What can it be? whatever people would love to have, even small things but still nice ones. Yesterday we made our first effort to find some presents. The strategy was simple, we just went from store to store asking for things. Before this adventure local people told me that every third (!) shop would give us sth. I thougt, wow, it would be nice.

The first I thing 10 stores were not fun at all, with the exception of one where woman told us not just that she has nothing for us, but also that her 3 daughters need her money all the time... In fact, she was strange. Then we found finally one shop where we got stuff! hmmm, a mirrow, a small bag, some cosmetics... Well, guys, despite the fact what we didn't really do it well, I am still optimistic as always:) We got lots of phone numbers of bosses of different stores and even one guy was really nice and promised to help! So, wish us good luck and I hope it will be fun!

The old camera died, long live the new second-hand camera?

2008-01-13T22:01:00.000+02:00

I was really sad last two days, as my camera, after I dropped it, is not workin any more. I took thousands of pics with it, it's almost part of me, but... I had to spend few hours on ebay looking for a new and I hope to get it soon. So, guys, keep you fingers crossed for me.

To see or not to see?

2008-01-13T02:40:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I look around and I think that I am really lucky to live in these times. There are so many things which did not exist, lets say, 50 years ago! I am speaking about Internet here, but also about contact lenses for instance! However, from time to time I still prefer to wear glasses and it is not that easy to find nice ones and cheap at the same time. And here is my great discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com, they sell nice glasses for 8$ with a very low delivery fee in the US. I haven't known this brand ZENNI before, but who knows, maybe new technologies will bring them lots of customers and success?

This post is written thanks to ZENNI!

latest news

2008-01-13T02:25:00.000+02:00

Well, it's a new year indeed. I have to say that the beginning was nice, so I hope the whole year will be too! I haven't been writing much as I had nice holidays:)

Actually, I have some good news, according to PPP my Google PageRank is 2 now! I am happy, it took me some two year to achieve this:)

Next good news, this month two of my friends got babies (actually there were even 4 babies over the last month), but this two are special as they were born on my birthday!

Well, I am back to my friends, my studies and my internship. And I have to start looking for a job, seriously! :)

Christmas song

2007-12-23T01:27:00.001+02:00

Have yourself a merry little Christmas by Katie Melua:

I cried for you...

2007-12-23T01:01:00.000+02:00

When one more year is going to its end, I start thinking what I managed to do that year and what I lost... This year I lost a very close person, she passed away, but she will stay with me in my memory. It's always about life and death, people are born, others pass away. But it is just not easy to accept the second part... Although, life goes on, I can not change what has happened, I just want to post something for her here, for her and all others. And this is the song by Katie Melua for them, and, first of all, to my father:

Best season greetings!

2007-12-22T23:45:00.000+02:00

Belsat and my photo

2007-12-10T20:55:00.000+02:00

Today is the first day when Belsat, the alternative TV run by Polish TV company start working. I've decided to see the website of it and was surised in a positive way, as I saw my photo there! It's nice!
And here is the original:

Katie Melua from Georgia...

2007-12-09T03:32:00.000+02:00

Today I've rediscovered about Katie Melua thanks to Junior Eurovision where she was invited to. I've found out that she is from Gergia, that she is only 22 and she is really brilliant. I found this video of her filmed in Nov 2007, she speaks about the UK, immigrants and her familly. She is a brave and gifted girl:) P.S. I've already ordered two CDs of her!

We are the winners!

2007-12-09T00:29:00.000+02:00

I am so happy to announce that today for the second time in the history Belarusian participant won Junior Eurovision Song Contest! Congratulations Aliaksei Zhyhalkovich! Here is the winner of 2007:
And just to remind you the winner of 2005 - Kseniya Sitnik

Relaxation and massage

2007-12-08T22:38:00.000+02:00

After sitting for hours in front of the computer one feels really tired, eyes, neck and generally whole body needs some exercises. And when I read information about different clever devices which help to relax, I feel really in the mood to buy them strait away! Although, I don't have all money of the world so I really have to be selective.

For example, just look at this Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair! It has everything I need right now:) The chair for sensual body massage for relaxation. As the ad on the website of the producer says: "there's a way to escape the soreness, tension and fatigue caused by the effects of Earth's gravity constantly pulling the back." I don't think one would start flying strait away, like without any gravity (even in the ad the company says it's not possible), but I am quite sure that the relieve from the back pain and neck pain will be.

P.S. This is a sponsored post.

Viacorka vs Michalevic

2007-12-08T20:12:00.000+02:00

A two-day congress of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), a major opposition party in Belarus, began at the culture palace of the Minsk Automobile Factory on December 8. - Naviny.by reported

It's an interesting even, because this congress will elect a new chairperson of this oppositional party. At the moment the two leading canditates Viacorka and Michalevic (on the photo) got almost equal results, 118 and 110 votes correspondingly. Both are less than 50% + 1 vote, therefore there will be one more voting round tomorrow. I just hope that this voting tomorrow will change something in the country to the better.

So sweet!

2007-12-08T18:32:00.000+02:00

Charity organisations of one of the German cities (Friedrichshafen) help to Polatsk. One more thing I found really funny and kind, Karl Frenkel (I hope I spelled it correctly) bouth chocolates to every citizen of the city, one chocolate for one person:)!

View Larger Map

Junior Eurovision

2007-12-07T17:36:00.000+02:00

I cann't stop myself from writting about it:))) Tomorrow there will be this year Junior Eurovision 2007 and there will be our boy present:) Here on the main page of the official website one can watch last years winners and Ksieniya Sitnik among them:)

LOL: Belarus joins Asia

2007-12-07T14:17:00.000+02:00

I've just found it on Amazon.ca, so my guess is that people in Canada don't really know where Belarus and Asia are:D

The Lukashenka and El Pais

2007-12-03T21:12:00.000+02:00

When economy at the background is in stagnation, the president is giving interviews to foreign mass media. This time it was El Pais. Click on the title to see the article in Spanish. In short, he wants some compromise with the EU, but he does not like the language of ultimatum. My question was and is, can we trust him? And what are the other options? It's not so easy to answer if you look deeper into the Belarusian politics. The following few months will be really challenging and maybe, I say maybe, changing something in Belarusian economy and in the long term perspective Belarusian politics. God bless Belarus, give its people some wisdom and strength.

Last week in the news

2007-12-03T20:08:00.000+02:00

I've read the overview of the last week news and one phrase captured my attention:

"резкое снижение цен на рынке недвижимости происходит только при экономических и политических катаклизмах" what means "sudden drop down in the prices at the real estate market happens only when there are economic and politic cataclysms"

The indicator is not a good one in my opinion. I am really afraid of the economic catastrophy in Belarus next year, but hopefully it will be somehow good for the people. Some shocks bring people back to the reality.

Chernobyl is not over yet

2007-11-27T02:00:00.000+02:00

This is the message I am trying to bring to people around since I've started my research of this topic. The explosion of Chernobyl Atomic Power Plant in 1986 changed lifes of millions... Many people died, even more are ill and nobody knows what can happen later.

At the same time the organisation which could bring this issue to the public and not really doing it... The background of this story of Conflicts of Interest(see full article):

"In 1959, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization(WHO) entered into an working agreement which is out-of-date and conflicts with the research of the WHO to determine the effects of ionizing radiation exposure on human health. We are concerned that the language of this agreement (WHA 12.40 approved by the 12th World Health Assembly on 28 May 1959) mingles promotion of nuclear technology, including nuclear power, with the WHOs mandate to undertake international health research work on people exposed to ionizing radiation-a product of this same nuclear technology."

There are already many films about the consequences of Chernobyl, for example, here there 18 fims in French, check especially those which are marked as "A voir absolument". I've just watched "Le soleil et la mort: Tchernobyl, et après..." or "Sun and Death: Chernobyl and After". The film was made last year by a French director. Also, I would recomment to watch films by Wladimir Tcherkoff (for example, check this 2 min summary in French). One more very imortant fiml is Chernobyl Heart, which I think I have mentioned in my previous posts (you can watch it on YouTube in 4 parts). And also check out the book by a photographer Pierpaolo Mittica "Chernobyl - hidden legacy" (you can try to find it cheaper here).
Thanks for reading this and spreading the word!

Models vs Wives

2007-11-26T00:05:00.000+02:00

On the 14th of Nov Belarus was choosing best model for Ford SuperModel competions. The attention is very hight since in the last two competions of the Supermodel of the World Belarusian girls were taking top places.

This year it was Viktoryia Makhota, the First runner-up, some people even say that she did not get the Supermodel of the World 2007 title because of her age, she was 14 then.

Last year it was Katsiaryna Damankova, who is the Supermodel of the World 2006. So, of course, the public wants more victories.

And the winner in Belarus this year is Daria Aniskova. You can see the photoshooting here. But, what is funny , it turned out, that Belarusian men don't like our models! LOL! They are too skinny for them:)

Speaking about men's wives. There was an information action today, organised by an NGO to show that familly life is not always nice and some men beat they wives. Three girl in the wedding dresses were going around the city and giving out some matherials. They had also very colourful make up with bruises.

Music, politics and voting

2007-11-25T23:27:00.000+02:00

I've been watching Russian Star Factory where they have a belarusian singer this year again. Last one, who won the contest, was Dzima Kaldun (or Dima Koldun in Russian), then he went to Eurovision 2007 and got the 6th (?) place hoping that Belarus would be finally in the final for the next year. As we know now, Eurovistion 2008 will be with new rules. Therefore, Belarus is again in the one of two semifinals...
Here is his performance at Eurovision with Spanish intro:)
Well, before Kaldun, it was Nata Padolskaya, who wanted to sing for Belarus in the year 2004 I think (or 2003), she didn't make it and went to Star Factory (she was the first one from Belarus, as I remember now). Then in 2005 she performed finally at Eurovision, but representing Russia. I was then in Kyiv to see the consert, I would recomment to everyone to visit it! :) Returning to Nata, she got the unlucky 11th place and Russia had to be in the semifinal in 2006. But still I think she is really gifted girl:) here is her clip for the Eurovision: So, speaking about these two, I've just read that they had a concert in Russia in October to support Edinaya Rossia, the Putin party. Kaldun says he doesn't care about the politics... It's sad, it's really sad, as I thing he should be responsible for his actions, same for Nata. But if they support Putin, as Belarusian citizens though, that's their choice.

In Belarus over the last week there was a big public resonnace over the meeting of the artists from the so called black list with Aleh Pralaskouski, who is the head of the ideological department (yeah, it exists!) of the President Administraion. There were told that the list will disappear if they will stay away from politics... This is the over side of the medal, you can be promoting politicians, but the right ones.
NRM, for example, quite often sings in Poland instead, especially at actions to support Belarus, like Solidar with Belarus:
Speaking about Eurovision 2008, some people say that Ruslan Alekhno will be representing Belarus, I would be happy actually:) He is also one the products of the Russian Show Business. He one one of the Russian Pop Idols (Narodnyj Artist).
I love this performance of him on Slavianski Bazar:
And now I've just realised what made me think of posting this info. Dakota, or Marharyta Herasimovich, is one the participants of the current the 7th Star Factory and today she went to the final:) She write her own songs, including both lirycs and music. Good luck, girl! Some videos of her:

Fun clip

2007-11-24T23:08:00.000+02:00

I love this video. First moments, cafe, like so many in vienna, dances... love, hate, relationship story. And, Meladze, he is a good singer imho:) I guess due to his Georgian background, very often in his clips he has Georgian looking girls, which are very nice:)

GDP as a key factor?

2007-11-21T18:53:00.000+02:00

After my class of Economic applications of EU integration and a group work on econometrics of EU stats from 1970s I've just watched this video. It shows an example of Canada, how the industry can collapse if it's based on natural resources and also discusses if it's really important to look at the GDP numbers all the time. Basically, social, economic and environmental progress shoulb be also measured - this is the main idea of the video.

Strong power ---> strong economy???

2007-11-21T18:41:00.001+02:00

Prakapovich, the head of National Bank of Belarus, says:

"We have the strongest power in the world, therefore we must have the best conditions for economy as well."

Here is video in Russian:

The world is really going mad...

2007-11-20T01:56:00.000+02:00

I've just read a news about statistics, but not just usual staff, the numbers of people who died for several reasons in Belarus over the last 9 months. I could never think of those numbers and now I see them and I am shocked. It's not a secrete that the number of people who have died from cancer is somehow hidden behind the other illnesses, but there are other very important ones. Just think of it, over the last 9 months 2,127 commited suicide!!! That's not normal, I mean, of course it depends on the perseption, but it's just not OK at all. In the country with the population of about 10mln you can not have 2 thousand of suicides in 9 months, do people loose any hope for peace and harmony in this life? I AM shocked! Next number - 1,767 died from alcohol poisoning... No comments, really I have nothing else to add.
And the population of this country is shrinking...

Mad people in general and perseption of them

2007-11-18T22:52:00.000+02:00

I've got an email from a friend today with this story. In short, the pseudoartist from Costa Rica, his name is Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, exposed an old dog in the Managui gallery (Nicaragua). This dog had no food and no water and died. The visitors did not care. Moreover, the guy was promoted for the "dying exponate" to participate in the Bienal Centroamericana Hondura 2008. If you think it's cruel, please, sign a petition against it here: www.petitiononline.com. Personally, I can not understand how it could happen.

Garage looking like a kitchen!

2007-11-18T15:11:00.000+02:00

You might be surprised when you see this title, but this is what I though of when I saw the website dealing with the different solutions for garages, including garage floors and different colours. It looks amazing, it's really room where one could live. I've never seen something like that before, maybe in the Holliwood movies:) All the garages I saw would have just have some cement floor with several shelves on the walls, it is rather minimalistic approach, but most of the people are like that. However, I really like the idea to make it cosy;)

P.S. This post is brough to you by Carguygarage.com.

Sunday morning

2007-11-18T14:51:00.000+02:00

Today, I woke up early, meaning at 10 a.m., it's really rather early for the morning. One can ask why? Hmm, we started a new tradition to wake up early on Sundays and to have breakfast together in a nice place where they have lots of options! And it was tasty, fun and cheap. And I could not just pass the Christmas market on the way back, so I have more nice and cute things now! Well, I will better work now.