Thanks to Masha... 8)

1. Rhythm is a fundamental ingredient of music: without rhythm music would be no more than pleasant, rhythm makes it hypnotic and sensuous. Listeners surrender to rhythmical music easily, it is a kind of enchantment.
2. Concept of rhythm lies in heart-beating, our first sensation of pulse is our mother's heartbeat in the womb. But only humans, unlike other mammals, like to dance or play the castanets. So it would be natural to suppose that the key moment was when homo sapience started to walk upright on their feet. Thus was established basic beat with two feet, which people could speed up or slow down.
3. In music rhythm has an Italian name - 'tempo' (andante, allegro, largo, presto).
4. Swing - a genre of music which appeared in the US in the early 1930s. Swing is based on a strong drum-and-beat section, the main line in swing 'looses' itself from the rhythm of the pulse as melody unfolds. 

My short-story. 8)

 ‘Flower Power’, ‘Maker love, not war!’ and ‘Give peace a chance’. These slogans are still well-known, though they were advanced by hippies in the 60s. But do hippies exist nowadays? They do, though most of the people tend to think that their epoch was over at least thirty years ago. I was lucky to meet them.

I first read the word ‘hippy’ in a dog-eared magazine dated 1974. The article told about dreamy young people, who believed in peace and universal fellowship, who sought enlightenment, who rebelled against Vietnam War and put flowers into barrels of policemen’s guns. Who left America for India, their ‘Land of Promise’. Who met tragic and premature end there. I was about ten years old, and that article astounded me beyond words. I was eager to meet those mysterious people. And I did one day.

I spent in ‘system’ (that’s how hippies call themselves) about a year, and it was an outstanding, though a rather nutty period. Once I took part in the festival called Rainbow and spent three months in a row away in forests near Pskov, walking barefoot, gathering blueberry, carrying on philosophical conversations and watching shooting stars at night. Another time I lived stone-broke for two weeks in St.-Petersburg. I hitchhiked from Moscow to the Crimea, from the Crimea to the Ukraine, Moldova, Byelorussia and then back again to Moscow. I wore heaps of bracelets and clinking beads, Hindu clothes and torn jeans – the very gear that old article described. But it was not clothes that mattered. I experienced incomparable sense of freedom – no rules to follow, no tasks to fulfill, no problems to worry about, only never-ending travels, and friendship, and music. Of course, I was very young, and this one-year-long riot could have been merely a game, I assume. But still, I don’t regret anything. 

My debt

You won't take my rabbit!

The Metropolitan Museum

Artist: Bartolomeo Montagna (Bartolomeo Cincani)

Tiltle: Saint Justina of Padua

Date: 1490s

Medium: Oil on wood

Size: Overall, with added strips, 19 1/2 x 15 1/8 in. (49.5 x 38.4 cm); painted surface 19 1/8 x 14 3/4 in. (48.6 x 37.5 cm)

Country of Origin: Italy

Current Location: The Metropolitan Museum

I've always been interested in history, and the Renaissance is the latest passion of mine. It is quite unnecessary to say that the painting of this epoch creates a profound impression, and this picture is no exception, it does impress me. Any images of Catholic saints, unlike Orthodox icons, seem to be rather carnal than spiritual. And St. Justine is a very beautiful girl (at least, according to the tastes of those times – and mine). She has an aristocratic bearing, delicate features and golden hair. Her dress and jewelry are painted in a very detailed manner, every pearl in her necklace, every piece of embroidery is seen, and the green fabric looks as if we could touch it. St. Justine is depicted as bright and full of live young Venetian. Isn’t it an alluring image? I doubt whether it put pious thoughts into somebody’s minds, but I can easily imagine knights and noblemen, who could have fallen in love with such a beautiful saint… Dreams apart, this picture is one of the most tempting ones I’ve ever seen.

Glogster: Autobiography

Glogster: Breakfast at Tiffany's

1. Have you read the book? Have you seen the movie?
2. Which of them do you like most?
3. Do you agree that Audrey Hepburn was a miscast for the part of Holly?

Click!

Failure is an option. But fear is not. © J. Cameron

1. In his childhood, James Cameron was a kind of explorer with an 'insatiable sense of curiosity'. He was 'a science geek' according to his own words. He did like to read sci-fi and was often absorbed in a book, in some imaginary worlds, but it seems to me he was rather lonely in the real one. I can hardly imagine that a boy from this mould could be popular with his peers, he's a black sheep as a rule. As for me, I would have been much more pleased with my school life if I had had such a friend, we would have got on with each other perfectly.

2. & 3. The 60s was a period of numerous epoch-making discoveries and achievements, exploring of both depths and heights. Progress influenced world generally and young Cameron in particular. Thanks to Jacques Cousteau shows he knew, that there was a 'rich and exotic' alien world right here on Earth, in the ocean. Thus he decided to become a scuba-diver when he was fifteen. He was as well keen on drawing characters of sci-fi books he read - thus he could give an outlet to his imagination. But diving was something different; it allowed to see 'alien world' de visu.

Personally, I can't say my time influences me greatly, I'd rather say I try to avoid its influence by all means. :) There are some periods I've been verily enraptured with - from crusades up to 1970s - but the time I live in has never impressed me very much. As for important activities, I've had a number of them, but there are a couple of enduring values - reading, writing, learning foreign languages and dreaming, of course.

4. I haven't seen these films and it's very unlikely I will see them sometime. Unfortunately, I can't even watch the trailer up to the end. While working at 'The Abyss', Cameron used computer generated animation, and although the film wasn't very successful, he was inspired with the reaction of the audience. People were mesmerized, because such special effects resembled magic.

5. Although Cameron says, that your imagination can create a reality, it seems to me that he was really captured with the process of exploring. It was really amazing to watch this gray-haired man telling about the expeditions, about the wrecks of Titanic, etc. with such enthusiasm. He looked like a boy playing his favorite game. It seems to me his childhood dreams have come true at last.

6. All these experiments and expeditions helped him to form a philosophical view on life, I think. He’s learned to do something not for money or glory, but for the process as such, for the difficulties to overcome and ‘the thrill of discovery’ to feel (one of the acutest pleasures, to my mind), for the sense of fellowship and mutual respect. There are some Cameron’s statements which are worth taking into consideration:
- curiosity is the most powerful thing you own;
- imagination can manifest a reality;
- the respect of you team is much more important than all the laurels in the world;
- don’t put limitations on yourself and take risks.
These words can be printed out and hung over my desk. And followed, of course. :)

My map

Questions & answers

1. Honestly speaking, I can hardly imagine how allowing cameras inside the Supreme Court might influence news coverage. But still, I'd prefer cameras to be forbidden there. The progress is driving forward at a breathtaking pace, there are few tradinions left, and, I think, they should be treated with deeper respect than ever before. Moreover, drawings are much more amusing, than formal pictures.
2. To my great emberassment, I can't make up the answer to this question (and doubt I would be able to do it even if it were a question of our country. I'm absolutely helpless in everything dealing with domestic politics). I can only agree with the judges who think it would be better to discuss the issue later. Two years is a long period, there certainly are some urgent matters.
3. This crowd waiting for Pope Benedict XVI in Mexico impressed me very much. I know that many Mexicans are strong Catholics, but I've never seen how passionate they are. Although Pope's sermon was not very original (for South-American countries have been struggling with grug trafficking for many decades and no end to it is seen), it's vitally important for people to see the symbol they believe in. 
4. I usually memoraze new words like this: read them aloud five times, then try to write them down from memory. Then check them and correct mistakes, and then try to write them down again in some hours. If the words still slip my mind, I repeted the operation the next day, and, finally, I repeat it in three days time, thus the words usually take roots and remain in my memory forever. One of the most useful tips I've heard of is learning poetry by heart, especially poetry in an unknown language. It really helps to make memory reliable as a clock.  

Another cartoon

Мультик-2

Cartoon

Мультик

Crossword

click here

Beauty

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Cards-2

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Lesson

PicLits is really pleasant to deal with. Though drag-and-drop was a demanding task for me, I managed to fulfill it somehow, so I'm pardonably proud of myself. :)

Fitness Instructors

1. Stamina - the ability to work hard or make a lot of effort over a long period of time without getting tired. 2. Digestive system - the organs in your body that deal with the food you eat 3. Fatigue - a feeling of being extremely tired, either physically or mentally 4. Nausea - the feeling that you are going to vomit 5. Treadmill - a piece of exercise equipment with a flat moving surfase that you walk or run on while staying in the same place. 6. Cardiovascular - connected with with the heart and the blood vessels 7. Softball - a game similar to baseball, but played on a smaller field with a larger softer ball 8. Sporadic - not regular or frequent 9. Workout - an occasion when you do physical exercise 10. Munchies- small things to eat.

Drag-n-drop

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Owl

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Cards

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Cheesy

- Do you like Twilight Saga? It's such a romantic and breathtaking story!
- You must be kidding. It's really cheesy to my taste.
- What do you mean?
- I mean it's a really predictable and dull film.

Консервная банка-долгожитель.

В конце 40-х годов 20го века Соединенные Штаты помогали Германии преодолеть трудности послевоенного времени. Пищевые пайки были неотъемлемой частью программы восстановления, а безвкусный жир Свифта - отнюдь не самым  аппетитным продуктом. Однако он был, бесспорно, продуктом длительного пользования. Консервная банка с красно-бело-синей этикеткой сохранилась нетронутой до наших дней в буфете Ганса Фельдмайера. И 87-летний химик на пенсии решил проверить её содержимое на съедобность.
(Цитата Ганса Фельдмайера, продублированная на английском): - Я не открыл её, потому что думал, что положение может стать ещё хуже. Несмотря на финансовый кризис, с которым мы столкнулись, я надеюсь, что мы не вернёмся к суровым временам, пережитым после Второй мировой войны.
И эксперимент увенчался успехом. Исследования, проведённые учеными в родном городе Ганса, Ростоке, показали, что жир был совершенно съедобен и сохранил мистеру Фельдмайеру драгоценные несколько евро. Однако он потратился на буханку черного хлеба, которую ученые на его глазах намазали упомянутым жиром и съели. Так каков же он был на вкус?
(Цитата служащей Управления сельского хозяйства, пищевой безопасности и рыболовства, продублированная на английском): - Я думала, он будет отдавать прогорклым, но ничего подобного. Я совершенно изумлена тем, что у продукта нет ни малейшего признака прогорклости.
Консервная банка продемонстрировала отсутствие срока годности, так что, говоря словами старой пословицы: если не обед, то жир точно узнаешь по кушанью.

Hobbit: The unexpected Journey

На декабрь 2012 года запланирован выход первой части долгожданной и многострадальной экранизации одноимённой повести Дж. Р.Р. Толкиена, живописующей знаменитое путешествие Бильбо Бэггинса за 60 лет до событий «Властелина колец» — «Хоббит: неожиданное путешествие». Судьба проекта долгое время находилась под вопросом и в результате разрешилась наилучшим образом — режиссёром экранизации выступил Питер Джексон. В ролях: Мартин Фриман (Бильбо), Йен Маккеллен, Энди Сёркис, Кейт Бланшетт, Сирша Ронан и другие.

 It seems to me that the director is a bit too creative in comparison with J.R.R. Tolkien. Though the cast is brilliant, I think Peter Jackson will make many things up in his screen-versions - perhaps, he even add a love story in this fairy-tale.