Month: March 2012

One. Light a candle for the Earth. This year marks the fifth anniversary of Earth Hour in Canada- Saturday, March 31. Earth Hour is one hour where the world unites and turns off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time to send a powerful message in support of action on climate change.

More than 5,200 cities and 135 different countries participated in Earth Hour in 2011. Russia participated also in support of the Earth Hour movement.

Two. The First of April is the Funny day. Watch on you tube how the Russian reporter talks about funny village names in Russia: NTV news-Russia-funny village names as popki etc.

Happy April’s Day to you, folks!

Three. Never too late. Once-Illiterate Man Published his Book of Essays at age 93.

The Portuguese-born James Arruda Henry had plenty to be proud of as a U.S. lobster-boat captain who managed to build his own house and raise a family. But he kept a secret into his ’90s, one that forced him to bluff his way through life. Henry was illiterate. He couldn’t even read the restaurant menus. Now he’s 98, and his self-published collection of autobiographical essays is being read at elementary schools. I a fisherman’s language details his barefoot beginnings in Portugal, life in a tenement in Rhode Island, boxing as a young man and his adventures at sea.

Source: The Associated Press.

Four. Siberian Express: The Siberian Express sounds like it might be a real line, but, in fact, it’s a really cold, cyclonic storm that starts in northern Canada and Alaska and sweeps down to the United States.

Five. Not funny: The funny bone is not funny, nor is it a bone. It is part of the ulnar nerve located at the back of the elbow and it can really tingle when it gets bumped.

Yes, indeed. It’s nice to have a friend like Max Brod (1884-1968) who is best known for his historical novels, written in German and as the editor of Kafka’s writings.

Watch video: Max Brod-“Paradies” (Words:Franz Kafka)

To the left is his book and below is the photo show dedicated to this book.

Here is an extract from it on page 39:

“For him nothing was ordinary, always and everywhere he expressed himself with his own peculiar gift of pregnant observation and simile. And this he did in a completely unforced manner without preciosity, with the most charming naturalness. At first sight Kafka was a healthy young man, admittedly remarkably quiet, observant, reserved. His spiritual bent was not in the direction of the morbidly interesting, the bizarre or the grotesque, but in that of the greatness of the nature, the curative, health-giving, sound, firmly established, simple things.

I have experienced over and over again that admirers of Kafka who know him only from his books have a completely false picture of him. They think he must have made a sad, even desperate impression in company too. The opposite is the case. One felt well when one was with him. The richness of his thoughts, which he generally uttered in a cheerful tone, made him, to put it on the lowest level, one of the most amusing of men I ever met, in spite of his shyness, in spite of his quietness. He talked very little…He could be enthusiastic and carried away and knew how to make his friends laugh, too. More than that, if one were in a tight corner, one could unhesitatingly rely on his knowledge of the world, his tact, his advice which hardly ever faild to be right. He was a wonderfully helpful friend.”

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Few writers have been subject to the fate which was Kafka’s: to remain almost utterly unknown during life, after death to be rapidly lifted to world fame.

In the case of Franz Kafka, this fate cannot be considered so cruel, since he was a man utterly indifferent to fame. Writing was for him “a form of prayer” (as he put it in one of his diaries). His efforts were directed toward inner perfection, toward a stainless life. It was not that he did not care what the world thought of him; rather, he simply had not time to worry about it. For he was wholly occupied with the striving for the highest ethical pinnacle a man can attain-a pinnacle which in truth scarcely can be attained. He was filled with a drive, intensified to the point of pain and semi-madness, not to brook any vice in himself, any lie, any self-deception, nor any offence against his fellow men-this passion for perfection often took the form of self-humiliation, since Kafka saw his own weaknesses as though under a microscope, magnified to many times their size. How he despaired of himself on account of these weaknesses, longing as he did for intimate fusion with the Pure, the Divine, which in his aphorisms he described as the “Indestructible”. Yhis ideal preoccupied him throughout his life. In this sense, Kafka of all modern writers, is the one most closely akin to Tolstoy. “Man cannot live without a lasting trust in something indetructible within himself”-in this sentence Kafka formulated  his religious position.

Nice to have a friend like Max Brod who understands you through.

Watch video: Franz Kafka-Mini Documentary

To better attune yourself into Kafka’s world, listen to:“Vi iz dus gesehen?-Where is the Village?”, performing the Barry Sisters

To read and enjoy Kafka’s works one needs a huge imagination. Who has it and loves it, that kind of stuff is for her/him.

The front and back covers of this book are presented here.

Below are the illustrationa to his “Metamorphosis” done by the girl Julia.

I am opening the book on page 13.

The story reads :” The Excursion into the Mountains”

“I don’t know”, I cried in a toneless voice, “I really don’t know. If nobody comes, then nobody comes. I’ve done nobody any harm, nobody ever did me any harm, yet nobody wants to come to my aid. Nobody upon nobody. But that’s not it either. Only nobody comes to help me – nobody upon nobody would be fine. I would quite like – and why wouldn’t I? -to go on an excursion with a crowd of nobodies. Into the mountains, of course, where else? The way those nobodies would crowd together, all their crossed and linked arms, their many feet, separated by minute steps! Naturally, they’re all in tailcoats. We’re walking along without a care in the world, the wind is pushing through gaps between us and our various limbs. Our throats feel free in the mountains! It’s a miracle we haven’t burst into song!”

Franz Kafka wrote in German although at his home they spoke in Chez,

this English version was executed wonderfully by Michael Hofmann.

My interpretation was done from Hofmann’s into Russian and it will be presented on the Russian page.

“The Excursion into the Mountains” from Contemplation by Kafka was an art-project of one Moscow group “Shepot”. Authors: Anatoliy Ryassov “Kaftan Smeha” and Anna Chekassina (Moscow, 20.12.2008).

Watch their video:“The Excursion into the Mountains”

Franz Kafka is an icon of dark existentialist and absurdness literature. He considers philosophy “a way of relearning to look at the world…” Goethe generates a lot of noise, an iconic artist adored by Kafka. Franz Kafka presents a grotesque vision of the world in which alienated the imaginary from the reality. Nevertheless there are the fragile ties between them. Open your eyes, heart and ears and you can catch them. They belong to the moment, and it’s a beauty.

The photo show: ” Kafka’s Readings”

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This is why I am interested in the Czech legion (1914-20) because my father Viktor Holly had many friends from the Czech legion who told him the fascinating stories about how they made their way home. And Dad passed them on to me. One can see the book  cover”The Czech Legion 1914-20″ to the left.

Listen to:“Czech Legion” video story

It was not easy for these men at that time, they had to adapt to a new world order: the empire was gone, Hungary and Austria were resentful for having lost so much territory and prestige. They were having to live with this new reality. On having arrived home in their new Czechoslovak Republic, life was not easy. These men who fought  in a war, they felt was not theirs, and who had lost friends and family members, they must have wondered “where is this going to lead us”. Will this new nation survive and for how long.

How would they have felt if they knew in a few short years another war more terrible than what they lived through would destroy this young nation-Nazi Germany, the Hlinka Guard and other Nazi Allies would leave names like Lidice, Treblinka, Sered forever in the memories of these people.

The world of my father he told me so much about it was in stories about events in his life, tales of a friend who having come back from that war became a station master in Delson which is now only in the mists of memories. This man’s name I do not remember. He was one of many who survived to tell about those times. Unfortunately, there were those who did not return. Many of them were from my family. Their names are etched on the monument of the cemetery in Male Levare where I have been twice, fulfilling my father’s dream to return.

Gone forever is the world of old Vienna, the marching bands of soldiers on the way to the First World War for the Emperor/ Kaiser Franz Joseph. Listen to:“Preobrazhensky March”

My grandfather Joseph Holly on seeing these young men said to my father:”Many will never come home”. The sounds of heavy guns firing in the distance were heard from my father’s village.

Stories of my great uncle Frantishek who was a riding artillery officer saw so much horror in Albania and lost an arm in the combat in the service for the Austrian Army. Some of my father’s friends fought on the Russian front and saw how terribly defeated was the Russian Army. This was to lead to the Revolution and the beginning of the Czech Legion in Russia. Watch the show “The Czech Legion 1914-20”:

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Like I said, the memories of my father’s stories as a young man are fading in my memory. But I am putting this in writing which is only the beginning as there are many tales to be told later for those who wish to listen.

This is the end for now.

Listen to:Siberian Riflemen’s March (White Army)

One. Russia votes in presidential election. Prime Minister Vladinir Putin won Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, March 4th, 2012, according to exit polls cited by state television, but the vote was tainted by widespread violations claimed by the opposition and independent observers. “The Globe and Mail”, Sunday, March 4, 2012.

Two. Canada’s actor Christopher Plummer, at 82, became the oldest actor in history to win an Oscar Academy Award, taking the best supporting actor prize. We know him well for his role as Leo Tolstoy in “The Last Station”.

Looking proudly at his award, he said:”You’re only two years older than me, darling. Where have you been  all my life?”

Last night, he was victorious, winning best actor for “Beginners”. “The Globe and Mail”, February 27, 2012.

Three. Choir sings baroque concert. March 17 is usually considered an occasion to celebrate all things Irish. This year, however, Calgary’s Spiritus Chamber Choir has chosen the day to focus on the French baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, who was born in the mid-17th century. Several baroque musicians, some who are coming from afar afield as Vancouver, will accompany the choir. “The Calgary Herald”, March 1, 2012.

Four. Ask the family doctor. Such a column is in the “Globe and Mail” newspaper. Question: Is my brother autistic? He’s 23 years old and socially very dense, missing out on even the most blatant cues. My Mom says that maybe he is mildly autistic or has Asperger’s syndrome. After doing some of my own research, I’m inclined to agree with her. How can we tell? Answer: Diagnosis should be confirmed by a mental health professionals who specialize in spectrum disorders. While there is no cure, intervention such as behavioral therapy can improve symptoms, social skills training and face challenges that may arise with knowledge and better understanding.

Five. Self-talk is a tool that can enhance performance in terms of making the right decisions and achieving goals. Research at the University of Illinois, USA, showed that those who asked themselves if they could do a task did better than those who told themselves that they could do it. “The Globe and Mail?, February 27, 2012.