Turning the page on history

Bye-bye Tempelhof! (English)

¡Adiós Tempelhof! (Español)

Tschüß Tempelhof! (Deutsch)

HAPPY DIWALI!

Diwali Meaning & Significance

Deepavali is a festival where people from all age groups participate. They give expression to their happiness by lighting earthen 'diyas' (lamps), decorating the houses, bursting firecrackers and inviting near and dear ones to their households for partaking in a sumptuous feast. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to god for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace, valor and fame.

It is one time in the whole year that children volunteer to leave their beds long before the day begins. In fact, the traditional oil bath at 3 a.m, is the only chore that stands between them and the pre-dawn adventures. They emerge, scrubbed clean to get into their festive attire, and light up little oil lamps, candles and scented sticks(agarbathis), the wherewithal for setting alight crackers and sparklers.

On Diwali night, little clay lamps are lit in Hindus homes, but now a days colored electric lamps are also used. What is the significance of lighting a lamp? There is a logical answer to this question. It is through the light that the beauty of this world is revealed or experienced. Most civilizations of the world recognize the importance of light as a gift of God. It has always been a symbol of whatever is positive in our world of experience. To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is a metaphor for knowledge.

Therefore, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces- wickedness, violence, lust, anger, envy, greed, bigotry, fear, injustice, oppression and suffering, etc. Competition is stiff, and even the little girl in silk frocks and their finery are watching out for the best sparklers and flowerpots, the rockets and Vishnuchakras, which light-up the night sky like a thousand stars. Grown-ups are the soul of generosity. Festive bonhomie abounds.

(Source)

I am NOT impressed...

...with the services of consulates / embassies. I never have....!

I want more grass!

Today's dinner menu was:

-Grilled chicken
-white rice
-spinach sauce

Fabian helped me cook. While he was eating he said: "Yo quiero más zacate!" (zacate en Costa Rica: grama, césped).

The 10 Commandments...of Godblogging

Gracias, Wal!

1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity.
2. You shall not make an idol of your blog.
3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.
5. Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.
6. You shall not murder someone else's honour, reputation or feelings.
7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.
8. You shall not steal another person's content.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour's blog ranking. Be content with your own content.

Apparently some believe He said "go forth and blog."

Laughing Out Loud

I have several posts in mind...and I've been wanting to blog since a couple of days, but I have a confession to make. I've been "busy" doing other things like reading the news and following the USA presidential election 2008, which is not just about politics (it's also about entertainment).

I'm not going to go into any level of detail about my opinions here. This post is just meant to show you what made me laugh out loud today (especially min. 2:33 of the video)...to a point where I just had to share it with you - besides, I wanted to post an Anderson Cooper video, too ;)



This just goes to show you that despite hard times in the economic and political history, we're allowed to have fun also. (Actually, it's also kind of sad how people are able to get so easily distracted from the real problems).