God's Will Be Done...

*Hindu government cracked down on the rustling of "sacred" cattle by issuing ID cards with photos of individual cows, to help guards at the Bangladesh border halt the illegal trade.
*In Atlanta, televangelist Thomas Weeks was arrested for allegedly beating up and threatening to kill his estranged wife, televangelist Juanita Bynum, in a hotel parking lot before a bellman rescued her. (Weeks blamed Satan for the incident.)
*Pastor Walter Steen pleaded guilty in Detroit to tax fraud and was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He had started the God Will Provide Tax Service in 2005, but prosecutors said 1,573 out of the 1,578 returns he prepared for clients claimed tax refunds.

How it all started

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?
A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called "pygg". When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as "pygg banks." When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig. And it caught on.
Q: Why dimes, quarters and half dollars have notches, while pennies and nickels do not?
A: The US Mint began putting notches on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals Dimes, quarters and half dollars are notched because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren't notched because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave..
Q: Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?
A: In the Middle ages people unable to read or write signed documents using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document, The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.
Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called "passing the buck"?
A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility, he would "pass the buck" to the next player.
Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
A: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would then just touch or clink the host's glass with his own.
Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be "in the limelight"?
A: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and stage lighting by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, performers on stage "in the limelight" were seen by the audience to be the center of attention.
Q: Why do ships and aircraft in trouble use "mayday"as their call for help?
A: This comes from the French word m'aidez -meaning "help me" -- and is pronounced "mayday,"
Q: Why is someone who is feeling great "on cloud nine"?
A: Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares..
Q: Why are zero scores in tennis called "love"?
A: In France , where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on scoreboard looked like an egg and was called "l'oeuf," which is French for "egg." When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans pronounced it "love."

Good thing future is in our hands...right?

Najveca tajna na svijetu

Smijacu se svijetu.
Nijedno zivo bice ne moze da se smije osim covjeka. Drvece moze da krvari kad je ranjeno, i zivotinje placu od bola ili gladi, ali ja imam dar smijanja i mogu da ga koristim kad god zazelim. Ubuduce cu njegovati obicaj smijanja. Smijacu se i probava ce mi biti bolja; smijacu se i olaksacu sebi teret; smijacu se i zivot ce mi se produziti, jer je to tajna dugog zivota koju ja sada posjedujem.
Smijacu se svijetu.
Najvise od svega, smijacu se sebi, jer je covek najsmjesniji kad sebe uzima suvise ozbiljno. Nikada necu upasti u tu klopku uma. Jer iako sam ja najvece cudo prirode, zar nisam ipak samo obicno zrnce koje bacaju vjetrovi vremena? Da li ja stvarno znam odakle dolazim i kuda idem? Nece li moja briga za ovaj dan izgledati budalasta za deset godina? Zasto bih dozvolio da me danas uznemiravaju sitni dogadjaji? Sta moze da se do zalaska sunca desi sto ne bi izgledalo beznacajno po rijeci vijekova?
Smijacu se svijetu.
A kako da se smijem kad se suocim sa covjekom ili djelom koje me toliko vrijedja da mi tjera suze na oci ili mami psovke? Vjezbacu sebe da izgovaram cetiri rijeci sve dok one ne postanu navika tako jaka da ce se one javljati u mom umu kada god dobro raspolozenje prijeti da me napusti. Ove rijeci, prenosene od davnina, nosice me kroz svaku nevolju i odrzati mi zivot u ravnotezi. Ove cetiri rijeci jesu: "I to ce proci."
Smijacu se svijetu.
Sve zemaljske stvari ce proci. Kad mi srce oteza od patnje, tjesicu se da ce i to proci; kada sam ushicen uspjehom, upozoricu sebe da ce i to proci. Kad me davi neimastina, reci cu sebi da ce i to proci; kada me optereti bogatstvo, reci cu sebi da ce i to proci. Da, zacijelo, gde je onaj sto je
gradio piramide? Zar nije i on pokopan u njenom kamenju? Nece li i piramida jednog dana isto biti zakopana ispod pijeska? Ako sve stvari prolaze, zasto bih se ja brinuo za danasnji dan?
Smijacu se svijetu.
Obojicu ovaj dan smijehom, uramicu ovu noc pjesmom. Nikada necu raditi da bih bio srecan. Bolje da budem suvise zaposlen da bih imao vremena za tugu. Uzivacu danasnju srecu danas. To nije zrno da se drzi u kutiji. To nije vino da se cuva u flasi. Ona se ne moze sacuvati za sutra. Ona se mora sijati i ubrati istog dana, i ja cu to raditi, od danas pa nadalje.
Smijacu se svijetu.
Mojim smijehom sve ce stvari biti smanjene na svoju pravu velicinu. Smijacu se svojim neuspjesima i oni ce nestati u oblacima novih snova. Smijacu se svojim uspjesima i oni ce se skupiti do njihove tacne vrijednosti. Smijacu se zlu i ono ce umrijeti neoprobano. Smijacu se dobroti i ona ce uspijevati u izobilju. Svaki dan bice trijumf samo ako moji osmijesi izmame osmijehe od drugih, a ja to radim iz sebicnosti, jer oni na koje se mrstim jesu oni koji ne kupuju moju robu.
Smijacu se svijetu.
Od sada cu liti samo suze od znoja, jer suze od zalosti ili kajanja, ili razocarenja nemaju vrijednost na trzistu, dok svaki osmijeh moze da se zamijeni za zlato i svaka ljubazna rijec, izgovorena iz mog srca, moze da sagradi dvorac. Nikada necu dozvoliti sebi da postanem tako nestrpljiv, toliko mudar, toliko dostojanstven, toliko mocan, pa da zaboravim kako da se smijem sebi i svom svijetu. U ovome cu uvijek ostati kao dijete, jer jedino mi je kao djetetu data sposobnost da gledam navise u nekoga. Nikada necu prerasti svoj krevet.
Smijacu se svijetu.
I sve dok mogu da se smijem necu biti siromasan. Ovo je, dakle, jedan od najvecih poklona prirode, ja ga necu traciti. Samo smijehom i srecom mogu postati istinski uspijesan. Samo uz smijeh i srecu mogu da uzivam plodove svoga rada. Da nije tako, bolje bi bilo ne uspjeti, jer je sreca vino koje pojacava ukus jelu. Da bih uzivao u uspjehu moram imati srecu, a smijeh ce
biti djevojka koja me sluzi.
Bicu srecan.
Bicu uspijesan.

Og Mandino

Pearl Jam

Animal news

*Ada Barak's spa in the northern Israeli town of Talmey El'Azar features a "snake massage" for the equivalent of $70, for which six king snakes or milk snakes slither over the client's body (a therapy said not to be stress-increasing, but stress-reducing, according to a January Reuters dispatch).
*Veterinarians in Tallahassee, Fla., were enthralled in January when a duck, "killed" by a hunter and placed in his freezer for two days, suddenly sprang to life and was rushed into surgery at Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary to repair its leg and wing. Then, on the operating table, the duck (named "Perky" by that time) once again flat-lined, only to spring back to life a second time.
*American researchers in West Africa believe they've found the first instance of an animal (other than humans) building a multi-step weapon, after observing wild chimpanzees grab sticks from 1 to 4 feet long, sharpen the ends with their teeth, and murderously jab them into deep tree hollows where delicious bush babies may be nesting. Writing in the journal Current Biology, the team even reported observing the chimps tasting the tips after the stabs, to ascertain whether they had actually located a prey. (One of the researchers said the ferocity of the jabbing reminded her of the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho.")

Spirit

El Greco

Athens is hosting Exhibition El Greco and His Workshop.Museum visitors will be able to see 45 oil paintings of the great master of 17th ct Spanish art. Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) works and woks of his students, son Manuel Theotocopouli, Luis Tristan and other unsigned works attributed to his workshop will be presented.

LEGENDE BH & EX-YU SPORTA, Part 17

Malo i one ruznije strane posredno (ili ne) vezano za nas sport:
*U pedesetim - otmica Milosa Milutinovica (Partizan)
*U sezdesetim - otmica Stevana Ostojica (Zveda)-with a little help from UDBA
*U devedesetim - u Banjaluci je u kafiću ranjen olimpijski šampion u boksu (LA 1984) Ante Josipović, koji je napustio Banjaluku tokom rata u B&H, a kada je došao u obilazak prijatelja umalo nije skupo platio.
*Otmica Stefana Živojinovića, sina Lepe Brene i Bobe Živojinovića završila se, naizgled, happy-endom: osmogodišnji Stefan vraćen je roditeljima koji su platili 2.5 miliona maraka, i sutradan spakovali stvari i otišli za Ameriku zauvijek.
*Haris Brkić je prvi sportista sa prostora cijele bivše Yu koji je ubijen od početka raspada nekada zajedničke države. Otac Idriz i majka Rada napustili su Sarajevo 1992 zeleci da njihov sin nastavi kosarkasku karijeru. Haris je dogurao i do kapitena Partizana,a i do reprezentacije, da bi ga ispred Pionira ubili nepoznati pocinioci...
*Ne-politicki su stradali Matija Ljubek (ubio ga je zet zbog svadje u porodici); Rok Petrovic (udavio se kod Korcule); Drazen Petrovic, Dragan Mance (saobracajne nesrece)...

Oldfield

It just never stops...

*Kenya, in addition to the usual problems of a developing African nation (poverty, tribal frictions), has recently endured the rise in power of the Mungiki, which is a secret society that is "part Sicilian Mafia, part Chicago street gang, with a little of the occult sprinkled in." Police say the members aim to destabilize the country in the midst of the current political campaign by devil-worshipping acts of violence (skinning heads, drinking human blood from jerrycans). A district commissioner in Nairobi said the Mungiki had threatened her with genital mutilation. The gang originated in the 1990s much as organized crime in the U.S. did, by taking over such urban enterprises as bus transit and garbage collection.
*Once-classified reports obtained by the Associated Press in May revealed that three times in late 2005 and early 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense issued espionage alerts regarding newly designed Canadian 25-cent pieces, which the Pentagon warned may contain embedded transmitters capable of eavesdropping, and which perhaps were given purposely to U.S. contractors working in Canada. Some time later, according to the reports, the Pentagon learned that the coin's coating was not a film-and-mesh transmitter but merely a covering to preserve the limited-issue coin's unique design.!!!!!

Nektar

Oh, my...

A blue diamond, artificially manufactured by the LifeGem company, perhaps would not be that interesting at first sight, apart from its price of a million dollars, if it were not made from Ludwig van Beethoven`s lock of hair. LifeGem specialises in producing artificial diamonds from carbon of a deceased person`s body and customers can wear it as decoration (!). They obtained hair from the dead composer through John Reznikoff, a collectionaire of celebrity locks of hair, who has the largest collection in the world, according to the Guinness book of records. Apart from Beethoven`s hair, Reznikoff possesses with hair which belonged to other celebrities, including Albert Einstein, George Harrison and many others.The blue diamond is placed on auction at eBay !!!

Student nije zapalio...

The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.
The Templars, whose full name was Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, were founded in 1119 by knights sworn to protecting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099. They amassed enormous wealth and helped finance wars of some European monarchs. Legends of their hidden treasures, secret rituals and power have figured over the years in films and bestsellers such as "The Da Vinci Code". The Knights have also been portrayed as guardians of the legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
The Templars went into decline after Muslims re-conquered the Holy Land at the end of the 13th century and were accused of heresy by King Philip IV of France, their foremost persecutor. Their alleged offences included denying Christ and secretly worshipping idols. Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip's agents after they made confessions that most historians believe were given under duress. Templars helped Philip finance his wars, and getting rid of them was a convenient way of cancelling his debts.
Their initiation ceremony is believed to have included spitting on the cross, but Frale said they justified this as a ritual of obedience in preparation for possible capture by Muslims. They were also said to have practised sodomy.Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, in 1312 Pope Clement ordered the Templars disbanded for what Frale called "the good of the Church" following his repeated clashes with the French king.

Vangelis

FASCINATING PEOPLE, Part 17.

Religious thinker, philosopher and reformer, Jan Hus was burned at the steak in 1415, in the German city of Konstanzi. The Catholic church pronounced Hus a heretic, and excommunicated him in 1411. After five centuries, Pope John Paul II voiced “a deep regret for his cruel death”, and proposed an investigation to see if Hus can be freed from the charge of being a heretic.
Hus played a key role in the Protestant movement, and his teachings strongly effected European countries, and especially Martin Luther. He is responsible for many written works of Czech literature. He implemented diacritic symbols into the Czech language, according to which one symbol is added to one letter in the aim of easier reading. Despite the secular trend in the Czech republic, Jan Hus is considered to be a national hero today.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

*A Japanese clothing manufacturer, Kochou-fuku, announced a line of air-conditioned shirts, with two tiny battery-operated fans inside to evaporate perspiration ($95). (One drawback: The shirt billows out, suggesting that the wearer is overweight.)
*New product - a $60,000 mattress from the Swedish manufacturer Hastens, introduced to the US for people who "might believe that they're so special that they're entitled to a luxuriously rejuvenating night's sleep"
*Wayne Enterprises of Linden, Calif., is selling Holy Drinking Water in half-liter bottles, which supposedly obtained blessings from Catholic and Anglican priests for the ordinary purified water.

Jimmy Dean

The annual James Dean memorial service brings people from all around the world to Back Creek Friends Church. During the service, more than 100 motorcycles passes by the church and cemetery where Dean is buried to visit his grave. The legendary Nicky Bazooka said he drives around on his 1950s motorcycle while dressed in a 1943 Harley-Davidson jacket, a scarf signed by Dean, black aviator sunglasses with a picture of Dean in the lenses and a black-and-white cap. Bazooka said he only celebrates two holidays: Elvis' birthday on Jan. 8, and the day Dean died, Sept. 30, 1955 in a car wreck in Cholame, Calif., at age 24. Dean did a road traffic commercial where they asked him if he had any advice for kids, and he said drive safely because the life you save could be mine. Then he died in a car crash.

Royal Flush

87-year-old British novelist Doris Lessing said she was delighted at winning the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature:"I've won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one. I'm delighted to win them all, the whole lot...It's a royal flush."
Her body of work delved into human relationships and inspired a generation of female writers. The academy called her an "epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".
Lessing debuted as a novelist with "The Grass is Singing" in 1950, a book that examined the relationship between a white farmer's wife and her black servant.
Her 1962 novel "The Golden Notebook" was widely considered her breakthrough work.
She was born to British parents in what was then known as Persia and is now Iran.

Looking for a good excuse?

*British physician Stuart Brown, 37, was sentenced in August only to a small fine after a conviction for brutally beating his wife. Brown had explained the fight by saying that a "red mist" had descended on the room, causing him to lose control.
*Helene de Gier filed a lawsuit against the National Postcode Lottery of the Netherlands, claiming emotional distress from not winning, even though she never entered. That particular lottery picks a geographic postal code at random and awards prizes to all of its residents who have entered that lottery. Since so many of her neighbors were flaunting prizes, she felt particularly humiliated, she says. (Seven people on her street won the equivalent of about $18 million each.
*The largest school district in Montreal, Quebec, was ordered by an arbitrator to rehire a teacher whom it had fired in 2004 for illegally failing to disclose a conviction for killing his wife. The arbitrator ruled the firing improper, in that homicide is unrelated to the teacher's classroom work.