#bulgarian blogger

[letmesleepinsummertime]

Аз и компанията сме буквално птичките от последната дума

[iamthetruenhaz]

So Bulgaria's (russian) nationalist party again proposed a "foreign agents" law fashioned after the one russia has, designed to use any foreign funding legally received by a Bulgarian citizen to crack down on them for political reasons. Of course, russian "funding" is not received legally so it's not object of that law. That means that any academic, journalist, artist, blogger etc. who is, say, working on a project funded by a foreign entity (which is how anything gets done in this country) can and will be targeted. And guess what, those will be the pro-western, liberal, progressive people. Which has happened in Georgia (not the state, the country, Sakartvelo 🇬🇪) accepted such a law earlier this year. Not to mention the original law in russia itself.

This comes two days - TWO. After a law to ban "LGBTI propaganda" (read: any mention or discussion of LGBTI people and their rights) in schools proposed by the same party got accepted, in a country with classically Eastern European homophobia.

https://www.euronews.com/2024/08/09/protesters-rally-outside-bulgaria-parliament-to-denounce-ban-on-lgbtq-propaganda-in-school

And don't give me that "but we're in the EU, it's fine". Russian-funded national-populists have been at work for decades to turn us into a russian fifth column in the EU and/or bully us into dropping out of the EU and NATO. They openly tried in December 2021, just before Ukraine was invaded, to tell us to leave. But their more insidious propaganda machine is working to ensure that they don't have to.

[mariacallous]

In the wake of Alexei Navalny’s sudden death in a remote Arctic penal colony last week, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has emerged as the new face of Russia’s opposition movement. A widespread, coordinated, and misogynistic disinformation campaign has emerged online to tarnish her reputation.

Lies about Navalnaya having affairs and abortions and not caring about her husband’s death are being shared widely on Telegram channels, Russian state-run media, and social media accounts controlled by groups with close ties to the Kremlin. The campaign, which features fake videos and doctored images, continues to gain momentum as Navalnaya speaks out about Navalny’s death and criticizes Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to details of the campaign shared with WIRED by researchers at Reset, a London-based nonprofit that tracks disinformation campaigns, and Antibot4Navalny, a group of anonymous Russian researchers who track the online activity of Kremlin-linked trolls.

The main focus of the campaign is designed to make Navalnaya appear disloyal to her husband by claiming she is having multiple affairs with prominent businessmen and journalists.

“The Kremlin is using gendered disinformation campaigns to crush dissent at home and to undermine democracy world over,” Kristina Wilfore, director of innovation and global projects at Reset, tells WIRED. “Rather than stand up to Vladimir Putin, social media platforms continue to provide the means for massive amplification of deeply harmful and defamatory rhetoric that puts women at risk and weaponizes gender.”

The campaign to undermine Navalnaya actually began weeks before her husband died. At the beginning of February, a a German-language website published an article alleging an affair between Navalnaya and Bulgarian journalist Hristo Grozev, based on a video that was supposedly produced by a former employee at Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. The allegations were based on images purportedly from Booking.com that featured Navalnaya’s and Grozev’s names.

The video was posted by an Instagram account that no longer exists, and no users with that username exist on any social media platform, the researchers at Reset concluded. “No public information or any social media profiles appear with the face of the woman from the video, which likely means the video was AI-generated,” the researcher wrote in a report on the campaign. “The video was likely posted on a newly created Instagram account, which was deleted immediately after the video was downloaded, and used only to prove that the account is an actual profile using the interface of the platform.”

Within hours, the same video was being used on an English-language website called Clear Story News, which is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation network. Meanwhile, the German-language website where the story first appeared lists a Russian publisher with a Moscow address.

At the time, the stories did not reach a large audience and did not attract the attention of fact-checkers. Within hours of Navalny’s death being announced on February 16, links to the articles were spread widely on Russian-language Telegram channels as well as on Telegram accounts and blogs in other languages such as Finnish, Dutch, German, Italian, and English. One of the biggest accounts to spread the disinformation was Russian TV personality turned pro-Kremlin blogger Vladimir Solovyov, who has almost 1.3 million followers on Telegram.

Over the next couple of days after news of Navalny’s death, Solovyov shared more content designed to suggest Navalnaya was having an affair, including a doctored image that appeared to show Navalnaya embracing Russian entrepreneur Evgeny Chichvarkin, who in the past has financed Navalny’s work.

The original image, taken in 2013, shows Navalnaya embracing her husband after he was released from jail. The doctored image has been in circulation for several years, with Reset’s researchers finding examples of it being shared online in 2021. The fake image has been widely debunked by fact-checkers.

In the wake of Navalny’s death, however, the image has taken on a new life and has been shared widely on X, where it has been viewed well over a million times, and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as on Russian social media platform Vkontakte. It has also been used on many Russian blogs and websites that amplify pro-Kremlin disinformation in multiple European languages.

A non-fake image, showing Navalnaya standing alongside Chichvarkin on a beach, is also being shared to support the false claim that the pair are having an affair.

Navalnaya, who has also said she was happy to be a politician’s wife rather than a politician, was thrust onto the world stage in the wake of her husband’s death, and within hours of his death being announced, she spoke at the highly influential Munich Security Conference. Last week, she spoke with EU leaders before jetting to San Francisco where she met with US president Joe Biden.

Global recognition came with some issues. Her X account, which she created last week, was suspended when the platform’s automated systems triggered an alert after Navalnaya amassed 100,000 followers in the space of just three days. As she struggled to recover her account, others on the platforms were seeking to undermine her campaign to get justice for her husband by sharing a video that claimed Navalnaya was faking her grief over her husband’s death..

The fake video was branded with the logo of the American Psychological Association (APA) and featured footage of US psychologist Paul Ekman, who wrote the bestselling book How to Tell if Someone Is Lying. The video, which looks like it was taken from the Instagram stories of the official APA account, attributes a statement to Ekman that Navalnaya’s grief for her husband’s death is simulated. However, no such video exists on the organization’s social media profiles or its website. A spokesperson for Ekman subsequently told an independent Russian news outlet that his work “does not include consultation on personal, legal, or political matters.”

Also on X, accounts linked to the Matryoshka influence campaign, which targets journalists and fact-checking organizations and was exposed earlier this year by the Antibot4Navalny researchers. Accounts that have been linked to this group have been posting videos claiming that Navalnaya had an abortion last month.

One account reviewed by WIRED that is part of this campaign responded to dozens of posts on X by news organizations in Europe and America by embedding the same fake video and making the same comment: “Yulia Navalnaya had an abortion in January 2024 at a private German clinic.” None of which is true.

[that-is-who-you-are]

Why do I, like many other Ukrainians, don't like the Czech band "Vesna" and their song "My sister's crown".

I write this purely for informative purposes, because I see how much people like their song and many Ukrainians do not even see the problem and thanking them for their support of Ukraine.

I wouldn't have a problem with this song if it was purely about feminism and women supporting each other. But not when they brought Ukraine here, "supporting" it with a verse in Ukrainian, seriously, is that enough?Because they also sing in the Bulgarian and English language. Why don't we consider this as support for these countries?

Because apart from that, all I see in the clip are some matryoshka dolls, one of which is being fed propaganda,by some bad man/shadow ,the other two are zombified by the TV .I don't know how it is for someone, but it all reminds me of the justification of the russians, who are not guilty of anything, it's all the fault of some evil people from above.

And the biggest problem of course,I have with fucking russian woman (Olesya Ochepovská)in the group,that sings to me about sisterhood between Slavic countries :

«Once upon a time in a Slavic Kingdom. There was love and sisterhood. Until one day,shadows crept in ,and everything was forgotten.»

Hmm,what an interesting message, where else have I heard that? What do they mean by these "shadows", maybe NATO or evil Americans,that destroyed this beautiful Slavic paradise? Surely not one of the sisters attacking another)

Or was I supposed to catch some other thoughts when what I was trying to understand these images in the clip?

I heard that one of the girls justified herself in some interview and said that they did not mean anything bad by this "Slavic sisterhood", because for them this word does not have a negative meaning, but then I have a question for the Ukrainian woman in this group, and if you go all the way ,to this "good russian ", they have never heard of this problem either?Seriously?

And he main appeal of the song “choose love over power” ,in theory, there is nothing wrong with it, but if they appealed to russians, well,it doesn't work, but against the background of the critically needed arms supply to Ukraine it can be very harmful if it gets into the heads of Europeans. So thanks for nothing.

One of the final thoughts about this, I saw it from another blogger, but I don't remember where, but she asked an interesting question about which "sister's crown" we are talking about, because Ukraine does not have any crowns on its coat of arms, unlike Poland, the Czech Republic/Czechia, and russia .Or is this part was just about feminism? Because then they took too much on and combined two topics very poorly.

In summary, I would still have a problem with this band, because there is a russian woman there. But if they did not brougt in support for Ukraine and the sisterhood of the Slavs, then it would be a normal song about feminism. And it is clear that I will not convince anyone to dislike this song/band, but the problem exists for me, as well as in the obvious completely inappropriate theme of the song from Switzerland.

I think Ukraine will give the Czech Republic some points, as well as to Nepo baby from Poland, because Eurovision is still about politics, no matter what some people say, and I will be disappointed by this, but what can you do.

[brookston]

Holidays 5.2

Holidays

Astronomy Day

Ba Ba Ba Booo Day

Baby Day

Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)

Bird L.A. Day (California)

Brothers and Sisters Day

Childhood Depression Awareness Day

Coarse Fishing Season begins (Medieval UK)

Day of Madrid (Spain)

Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)

Fire Day

Flag Day (Poland)

Good Housekeeping Day

Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)

International Harry Potter Day

International Loch Ness Monster Day

International Market Research Day

King James Bible Day

Mad Festival

National Babies Day

National Byron Day

National Curly Hair Day (UK)

National Day of Hiring

National Education Day (Indonesia)

National Fire Day

National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day

National Life Insurance Day

National Play Your Ukulele Day

National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day

National Sandra Day

Natural Joy Day

Peasant's Day (Burma)

Placebo Day

Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day

Robert's Rules of Order Day

Rowdy Friends Day

Sam Winchester Day (Supernatural)

Sappho Asteroid Day

Scurvy Awareness Day

Sibling Appreciation Day

Take a Baby to Lunch Day

Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)

Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)

Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)

Wallflower Day (French Republic)

World Bloggers Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Green Tea Day (Japan)

National Matcha Day

National Truffle Day

World Tuna Day (UN)

1st Thursday in May

Idaho Gives Day (Idaho) [1st Thursday]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

Make-a-Book Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

Martin Z. Mollusk Day [1st Thursday]

Mom's Night Out [Thursday before Mother's Day]

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

National Day of Prayer [1st Thursday]

National Day of Reason [1st Thursday]

National Student Nurse Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

Thank a Dance Teacher [1st Thursday]

Thank a Youth Worker Day [1st Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

World Password Day [1st Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 2 (1st Week)

Children’s Book Week (thru 5.8)

Screen Free Week (thru 5.8)

Independence & Related Days

Hudson Bay Company (Founded; 1670)

Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning May 2, 2024

Earth Frequency Festival (Queensland, Australia) [thru 5.6]

Festival Accès Asie (Montreal, Canada) [thru 6.2]

LSR Wine Stroll (Chicago, Illinois)

Mushroom Festival (Richmond, Missouri) [thru 5.4]

Strawberry Festival (Cabot, Arkansas) [thru 5.4]

UK Asian Film Festival (London, UK) [thru 5.12]

Vinton County Wild Turkey Festival (McArthur, Ohio) [thru 5.5]

World Art Dubai (Dubai, UAE) [thru 5.5]

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).

Alexandre Antigua (Artology)

Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius  the Great; Western Christianity)

Blessing of the Deosil (a.k.a. Sunwise; Celtic Book of Days)

Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

Conrad of Seldenbüren (Christian; Saint)

Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)

Eve of the Finding of the True Cross

Exsuperius and Zoe (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)

Feast of Ysahodhara (Consort of Buddha)

Fertility Festival featuring a Man wearing a hobbyhorse costume, a devil’s mask, and pointed hat (UK; Everyday Wicca)

Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)

Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (Artology)

Humane Day

Jerome K. Jerome (Writerism)

Junior (Muppetism)

Listen to Your Heart Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Mafalda (Christian; Saint)

Media Ver I (Pagan)

Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ramen Day (Pastafarian)

Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)

Ultan (Christian; Saint)

Waldebert (Christian; Saint)

Wiborada (Christian; Martyr & Virgin)

Zoe (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]

Premieres

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)

The Awful Tooth (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1952)

Ballyhooey (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1960)

Bulldog Drummond (Film; 1929)

The Cute Recruit (Phantasies Cartoon; 1941)

Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)

Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)

A Dog’s Dream (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)

The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)

The Holy Bible, King James Version (Religious Book; 1611)

Iron Man (Film; 2008)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), by Whitney Houston (Song; 1987)

The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)

Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)

Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)

Made of Honor (Film; 2008)

The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis (Novel; 1955) [The Chronicles of Narnia #6]

Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)

Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)

My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)

No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)

The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)

The Old House (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1936)

Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)

Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (DePatie-Freleng Animated TV Special; 1980)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (Film; 1946)

Ragtime Romeo (Ub Iwerks Cartoon; 1931)

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis (Novel; 1942)

Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)

Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)

10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)

Triplanetary, by E.E. "Doc" Smith (Novel; 1948) [Lensman #1]

The Vanishing Duck (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1958)

The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)

Waitress (Film; 2007)

Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)

X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)

Today’s Name Days

Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)

Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)

Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)

Zikmund (Czech Republic)

Athanasius (Denmark)

Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)

Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)

Boris, Zoé (France)

Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)

Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)

Zsigmond (Hungary)

Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)

Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)

Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)

Åsa, Åse (Norway)

Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)

Atanasie (Romania)

Tamara (Russia)

Žigmund (Slovakia)

Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)

Filip, Filippa (Sweden)

Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 123 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 18 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 24 (Bing-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 24 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 23 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 3 Magenta; Threesday [23 of 30]

Julian: 19 April 2024

Moon: 37%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 11 Caesar (5th Month) [Ptolemy Lagus]

Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 45 of 92)

Week: 1st Week of May

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.2

Holidays

Astronomy Day

Ba Ba Ba Booo Day

Baby Day

Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)

Bird L.A. Day (California)

Brothers and Sisters Day

Childhood Depression Awareness Day

Coarse Fishing Season begins (Medieval UK)

Day of Madrid (Spain)

Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)

Fire Day

Flag Day (Poland)

Good Housekeeping Day

Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)

International Harry Potter Day

International Loch Ness Monster Day

International Market Research Day

King James Bible Day

Mad Festival

National Babies Day

National Byron Day

National Curly Hair Day (UK)

National Day of Hiring

National Education Day (Indonesia)

National Fire Day

National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day

National Life Insurance Day

National Play Your Ukulele Day

National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day

National Sandra Day

Natural Joy Day

Peasant's Day (Burma)

Placebo Day

Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day

Robert's Rules of Order Day

Rowdy Friends Day

Sam Winchester Day (Supernatural)

Sappho Asteroid Day

Scurvy Awareness Day

Sibling Appreciation Day

Take a Baby to Lunch Day

Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)

Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)

Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)

Wallflower Day (French Republic)

World Bloggers Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Green Tea Day (Japan)

National Matcha Day

National Truffle Day

World Tuna Day (UN)

1st Thursday in May

Idaho Gives Day (Idaho) [1st Thursday]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

Make-a-Book Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

Martin Z. Mollusk Day [1st Thursday]

Mom's Night Out [Thursday before Mother's Day]

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

National Day of Prayer [1st Thursday]

National Day of Reason [1st Thursday]

National Student Nurse Day [Thursday of 1st Full Week]

Thank a Dance Teacher [1st Thursday]

Thank a Youth Worker Day [1st Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

World Password Day [1st Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 2 (1st Week)

Children’s Book Week (thru 5.8)

Screen Free Week (thru 5.8)

Independence & Related Days

Hudson Bay Company (Founded; 1670)

Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning May 2, 2024

Earth Frequency Festival (Queensland, Australia) [thru 5.6]

Festival Accès Asie (Montreal, Canada) [thru 6.2]

LSR Wine Stroll (Chicago, Illinois)

Mushroom Festival (Richmond, Missouri) [thru 5.4]

Strawberry Festival (Cabot, Arkansas) [thru 5.4]

UK Asian Film Festival (London, UK) [thru 5.12]

Vinton County Wild Turkey Festival (McArthur, Ohio) [thru 5.5]

World Art Dubai (Dubai, UAE) [thru 5.5]

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).

Alexandre Antigua (Artology)

Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius  the Great; Western Christianity)

Blessing of the Deosil (a.k.a. Sunwise; Celtic Book of Days)

Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

Conrad of Seldenbüren (Christian; Saint)

Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)

Eve of the Finding of the True Cross

Exsuperius and Zoe (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)

Feast of Ysahodhara (Consort of Buddha)

Fertility Festival featuring a Man wearing a hobbyhorse costume, a devil’s mask, and pointed hat (UK; Everyday Wicca)

Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)

Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (Artology)

Humane Day

Jerome K. Jerome (Writerism)

Junior (Muppetism)

Listen to Your Heart Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Mafalda (Christian; Saint)

Media Ver I (Pagan)

Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ramen Day (Pastafarian)

Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)

Ultan (Christian; Saint)

Waldebert (Christian; Saint)

Wiborada (Christian; Martyr & Virgin)

Zoe (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]

Premieres

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)

The Awful Tooth (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1952)

Ballyhooey (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1960)

Bulldog Drummond (Film; 1929)

The Cute Recruit (Phantasies Cartoon; 1941)

Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)

Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)

A Dog’s Dream (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)

The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)

The Holy Bible, King James Version (Religious Book; 1611)

Iron Man (Film; 2008)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), by Whitney Houston (Song; 1987)

The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)

Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)

Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)

Made of Honor (Film; 2008)

The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis (Novel; 1955) [The Chronicles of Narnia #6]

Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)

Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)

My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)

No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)

The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)

The Old House (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1936)

Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)

Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (DePatie-Freleng Animated TV Special; 1980)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (Film; 1946)

Ragtime Romeo (Ub Iwerks Cartoon; 1931)

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis (Novel; 1942)

Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)

Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)

10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)

Triplanetary, by E.E. "Doc" Smith (Novel; 1948) [Lensman #1]

The Vanishing Duck (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1958)

The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)

Waitress (Film; 2007)

Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)

X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)

Today’s Name Days

Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)

Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)

Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)

Zikmund (Czech Republic)

Athanasius (Denmark)

Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)

Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)

Boris, Zoé (France)

Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)

Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)

Zsigmond (Hungary)

Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)

Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)

Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)

Åsa, Åse (Norway)

Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)

Atanasie (Romania)

Tamara (Russia)

Žigmund (Slovakia)

Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)

Filip, Filippa (Sweden)

Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 123 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 18 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 24 (Bing-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 24 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 23 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 3 Magenta; Threesday [23 of 30]

Julian: 19 April 2024

Moon: 37%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 11 Caesar (5th Month) [Ptolemy Lagus]

Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 45 of 92)

Week: 1st Week of May

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 31)

[superhealthylifestyletips]

Living a healthy life is something that most of us desire but often find difficult to maintain. We all know that exercise is essential to a healthy lifestyle, but finding the time and motivation to work out can be challenging.

[fahadventure]

In my free time, I read about a lot of random things happening around me related to either fitness, sports or music mostly. So, from my personal realization and experience, I can firmly say that Legs workouts are simultaneously the most underrated, executed but most important exercises for maintaining the balance of our fitness. We can flex a lot by showing our pumped up chest, shoulder, arms (upper body to sum up) but it’s of no use if your legs look like those of chicken 🐔. Look at my YouTube video on legs workout at first, if you want to have an idea on today’s Blogger article .

A good workout routine consists of hitting every portion of your body, just like I have as above. You can also combine your workouts for shoulder and traps, back and biceps and chest and triceps as I mentioned in these articles but I've always kept my legs days separate, as without building your lower body seriously, you can't have your dream-desired body shape! When it comes to creating an effective home leg workout plan, continue with simpler plans like squats, hip hinges (deadlifts) and lunges which focus on major muscle groups of the legs like glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves and then gear up according to your capacity. Let's begin!

1. Glute Bridge: You can do this workout on flat surface/ floor or even keeping your legs elevated from a platform like I did with my pillows! Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the platform and your arms down at your sides. Now push through your feet, engaging your core, glutes and hamstrings to press your hips upwards. Pause at the top, then slowly release back to the initial position. You can do the exact opposite thing, i.e hanging from the elevated position, keeping your feet at ground and push your hips in the similar way which is known as Hip Thrust.

2. Stiff-leg Deadlift: There can be a lot of variations of this item known as Romanian, single-leg. normal deadlift but I have customized it for the maximum pressure and tension in your hamstrings, specially for footballers like me! Just hold the dumbbells in front of you like you're almost touching your grips and keep your feet close together. Now bend your hips a little but keep your knees straight while you lower the dumbbells along your shins like you're touching your toes until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Keep your lower back in its natural ached position throughout. 

3. Dumbbells Squats: You might remember that I mentioned about 2 kings of workout in my Back workout plan, with Deadlift being the first one. Now, I welcome you to the second one on the list as Squats! There can be so many variations for it like front, back, side squats but I'll now write about the simple one with dumbbells. Simply hold the dumbbells at shoulder level and stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes turned slightly outwards. Now get down a low and straight as you can without losing the arch in your lower back and continue.

4. Bulgarian Split-squat: Another variation for squat, also known as Split-squat might be mistaken for lunges but be careful about that! Simply hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand about a foot in front of a bench. Place one foot down and the other on an elevated platform. Tighten your core and squat down until both of your legs bend to 90 degrees. You can squat down a little further, but don't let your knee touch the floor. Hold this position for few seconds and then get up slowly.

5. Lunges: This is another very common and effective legs exercise with variations like alternate, reverse, sideways, walking lunges etc. My choice is the simplest one where you need to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms down at your sides holding dumbbells. Step backward or forward with one foot, lunging until your other leg forms a 90-degree angle keeping your torso upright. Push back up through your other leg's heel to the starting position and continue.

6. Leg Curl: This one's another good exercise for hamstrings which is usually done with a machine in gyms. But as we're doing it home. we'll imagine a pressure on our legs and feel the tension to execute this workout. Simply get on any surface, lying flat on your stomach keeping your body straight. You can grab that platform for extra support and then engage your core and lift your feet towards your hips as if you're pushing it against an imaginary obstacle. Pause at the top, then return to the starting position in a controlled manner.

7. Leg extension: This item could be a harmful one if you do it in gyms, as it puts excessive force on the knee. But again, for working out at home conveniently, we'll make it easier and create imaginary resistances to execute on your quads. Just keep your back straight and sit on an elevated platform and star by extending your knee as if you're moving some weight upwards, then accelerate into the rep until you reach the end rage of the knee extension. Ensure your ankles are forward, keeping toes pointed straight ahead or slightly up and slowly get your legs down back with control. You can pause according to your capacity at top. for maximum gains.

8. Calf Raise: This one is often an overlooked exercise, but as I said earlier, if you want to have maximum overall gain with minimum efforts, you need to hit every major portion rather than hitting the same spot for looking good. Calf raises can also come in seated, machine, standing forms and I'll put the latter one here. With your dumbbells at your sides, stand up straight and slowly lift your heels as high as possible, squeezing your calves at the top, pause a little and slowly lower down and repeat. You stand at the edge of a box or any small object to create maximum tension here.

So, that's it. It basically is the second last article on my home workout series with the routines and plans for now. Follow my YouTube legs workout video for extended demonstration. I'll periodically keep updating the contents to enrich your knowledge and enlighten your future path towards fitness! If you haven't read my previous articles on home workout yet, find those below:

1. My Home Workout Journey so far

2. Home workout plan for Chest and Triceps with and without equipment

3. My Home workout plan for Shoulder and Traps

4. My Home Workout Plan for Back and Biceps

#Legworkoutsathome #Legworkoutswithweights #legdayworkout #bestlegexercisesathome #bestlegexercisesnoequipment #homeworkoutplan #fitness #homeworkout

I’ll get back with my last article of this series with Abs workouts! Enjoy your day & time once you’re done with working out! Find the same article in my original website here. Till then, KEEP RAISING!

[indiaimagine]

Rila monastery is absolutely a stunning structure to visit. Around the 10th century, a hermit named St John of Rila built this massive monastery structure.Read More... https://bit.ly/3CuPUQK

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[weirdparadox]

След две вина, не чувствам вина.

[boundlesssoul]

Good morning, people! 🥰 That's me back from @nusscotland conference and just about to start getting ready to go to work at @dailygrind_dundee 🥰 Being a part of a movement such as #NUS is so inspiring and energising. I can't wait to get more organised and get involved in more campaigns 😻✊ Until then, I miss this bed of clouds in @doubletreedunblane but I certainly don't miss their #vegan options. 😂 #anotherbulgarianinscotland #bulgarian #scotland #bulgarianvegan #spa #getaway #nusscotland #studentpolitics #unbound #blogger #ihavethisthingwithdreaming #veganuk #bodypositive #българскиблог #българскиблогър #българивчужбина #българскивеган #веган #почивка #спа #студентскиживот #всчктчн (at Dundee) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvV-7nAnSuf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1emn9aq1qrh5a

[brookston]

Holidays 5.2

Holidays

Astronomy Day

Ba Ba Ba Booo Day

Baby Day

Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)

Bird L.A. Day (California)

Brothers and Sisters Day

Childhood Depression Awareness Day

Community Day (Spain)

Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)

Fire Day

Flag Day (Poland)

Good Housekeeping Day

Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)

International Harry Potter Day

International Loch Ness Monster Day

International Market Research Day

King James Bible Day

Mad Festival

National Babies Day

National Byron Day

National Curly Hair Day (UK)

National Day of Hiring

National Education Day (Indonesia)

National Fire Day

National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day

National Life Insurance Day

National Play Your Ukulele Day

National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day

National Sandra Day

Peasant's Day (Burma)

Placebo Day

Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day

Robert's Rules of Order Day

Rowdy Friends Day

Scurvy Awareness Day

Sibling Appreciation Day

Take a Baby to Lunch Day

Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)

Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)

Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)

World Bloggers Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Green Tea Day (Japan)

National Matcha Day

National Truffles Day

World Tuna Day (UN)

1st Tuesday in May

National Concert Day [1st Tuesday]

National Foster Care Day [1st Tuesday]

National Golf Day [1st Tuesday]

National Teacher Day [Tuesday of 1st full week]

Poem on Your Pillow Day [1st Tuesday]

University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day (Australia) [1st Tuesday]

World Asthma Day [1st Tuesday]

Independence Days

Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).

Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius  the Great; Western Christianity)

Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)

Eve of the Finding of the True Cross

Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)

Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)

Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)

Humane Day

Junior (Muppetism)

Media Ver I (Pagan)

Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ramen Day (Pastafarian)

Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)

Zoe (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]

Premieres

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)

Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)

Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)

The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)

Iron Man (Film; 2008)

The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)

Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)

Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)

Made of Honor (Film; 2008)

Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)

Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)

My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)

No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)

The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)

Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)

Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)

Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)

10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)

The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)

Waitress (Film; 2007)

Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)

X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)

Today’s Name Days

Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)

Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)

Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)

Zikmund (Czech Republic)

Athanasius (Denmark)

Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)

Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)

Boris, Zoé (France)

Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)

Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)

Zsigmond (Hungary)

Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)

Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)

Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)

Åsa, Åse (Norway)

Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)

Atanasie (Romania)

Tamara (Russia)

Žigmund (Slovakia)

Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)

Filip, Filippa (Sweden)

Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 122 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 18 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 17 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 13 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 11 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 11 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 1 Bīja; Oneday [1 of 30]

Julian: 19 April 2023

Moon: 90%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Caesar (5th Month) [Demosthenes]

Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 44 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Bīja (J Calendar) [Month 5 of 12]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.2

Holidays

Astronomy Day

Ba Ba Ba Booo Day

Baby Day

Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)

Bird L.A. Day (California)

Brothers and Sisters Day

Childhood Depression Awareness Day

Community Day (Spain)

Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)

Fire Day

Flag Day (Poland)

Good Housekeeping Day

Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)

International Harry Potter Day

International Loch Ness Monster Day

International Market Research Day

King James Bible Day

Mad Festival

National Babies Day

National Byron Day

National Curly Hair Day (UK)

National Day of Hiring

National Education Day (Indonesia)

National Fire Day

National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day

National Life Insurance Day

National Play Your Ukulele Day

National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day

National Sandra Day

Peasant's Day (Burma)

Placebo Day

Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day

Robert's Rules of Order Day

Rowdy Friends Day

Scurvy Awareness Day

Sibling Appreciation Day

Take a Baby to Lunch Day

Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)

Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)

Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)

World Bloggers Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Green Tea Day (Japan)

National Matcha Day

National Truffles Day

World Tuna Day (UN)

1st Tuesday in May

National Concert Day [1st Tuesday]

National Foster Care Day [1st Tuesday]

National Golf Day [1st Tuesday]

National Teacher Day [Tuesday of 1st full week]

Poem on Your Pillow Day [1st Tuesday]

University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day (Australia) [1st Tuesday]

World Asthma Day [1st Tuesday]

Independence Days

Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).

Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius  the Great; Western Christianity)

Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)

Eve of the Finding of the True Cross

Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)

Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)

Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)

Humane Day

Junior (Muppetism)

Media Ver I (Pagan)

Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ramen Day (Pastafarian)

Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)

Zoe (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]

Premieres

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)

Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)

Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)

The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)

Iron Man (Film; 2008)

The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)

Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)

Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)

Made of Honor (Film; 2008)

Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)

Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)

My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)

No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)

The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)

Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)

Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)

Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)

10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)

The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)

Waitress (Film; 2007)

Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)

X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)

Today’s Name Days

Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)

Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)

Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)

Zikmund (Czech Republic)

Athanasius (Denmark)

Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)

Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)

Boris, Zoé (France)

Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)

Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)

Zsigmond (Hungary)

Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)

Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)

Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)

Åsa, Åse (Norway)

Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)

Atanasie (Romania)

Tamara (Russia)

Žigmund (Slovakia)

Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)

Filip, Filippa (Sweden)

Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 122 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 18 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 17 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 13 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 11 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 11 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 1 Bīja; Oneday [1 of 30]

Julian: 19 April 2023

Moon: 90%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Caesar (5th Month) [Demosthenes]

Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 44 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Bīja (J Calendar) [Month 5 of 12]