#iancu asks

[psychojetcocktail]

Ask and you shall receive~~~

[officialromaniantranslatiuni]

do men become more irrationally bitchy with age?

i mentioned to my family that my partner (who is brazilian and is still learning romanian and about our culture) asked me about avram iancu and tudor vladimirescu because 2 streets next to his are named like that

and one of my uncles (whom i used to adore and was a paternal figure to me and very present in my life) asked me "were you even able to answer him? do you even know it yourself?"

and the smugness in his voice and that disgusting smirk... this is the man who took me to the history olimpiad many times, saw me my whole childhood carry conversation with my grandpa on history, was friends with my history teacher from high school and had the same history teacher i had in middle school and knows I've had one of the highest scores at bac because my other aunt (former history teacher) gave me extra material to study from

also... I occasionally teach history to my pupils...

but some middle aged man can undermine my intelligence because spending 16h in front of TV automatically makes you more intelligent

[vladdocs]

Hello!

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I would like to ask if there are any common misconceptions about Vlad that are widely accepted as fact? I have often come across historical "facts" that are untrue but are repeated often and widely spread.

Thank you, have a nice day/evening

You are welcome and it's my pleasure <3 "common misconceptions about Vlad that are widely accepted as fact?" There are quite a few of those: 1. He was in the order of the Dragon - Vlad had nothing to do with it, This whole Order of the Dragon thing and his father comes from 1 chronicle that never mention Vlad Dracul's name, but the voievode of Wallachia which at the time was Vlad's uncle Alexandru Aldea. tho Iancu de hunedoara was in it, Quite ironic. 2. Vlad was hated by boyars - This one is completely false since you simply can't be a ruler without the support of the boyars. they are the ones who lands you their armies at need, without their support Vlad couldn't be such an active voievode. 3. His first wife killed herself by jumping of Poenari - pure fiction, we don't even know her name let alone how she died. 4. Vlad was brutal even for his times. - He was quite a chill man, he didn't do anything that his successors and predecessors wouldn't have done, most of his enemies were just exiled and he NEVER impaled a boyar or someone with noble blood since it was forbidden by law to execute them in anyway except decapitation, you now also know why Vlad was so mad on the Brasov's merchants who buried alive his brother. I recommend you to search "Jacobo Pazzi" or "Georghe doja" to find out the average punishments in Vlad's time. 5. There was only 1 night attack. - The campaign of 1462 is really played down a lot, there were in between of 2 and 9 night attacks, Mehmed's aim with that campaign was to absorb Wallachia into the Ottoman empire and to kill Vlad, not to change the rulers. When an army it lead by the Sultan himself it always mean that the invaded country will become part of the ottoman empire if they manage to conquer it. And how we know the whole war started in the summer and finished in Autumn, when Matthias imprisoned Vlad. After Mehmed was defeated (He also retreated because he had another war going on) and left Radu to deal with Vlad, there were actually 3 more fights between Radu and Vlad which Vlad won of course and then he run out of men and went to Matthias. 6. Vlad introduced harsh punishments in Wallachia - Wallachia inherited a set of laws from the previous Serbian empire, Vlad didn't change them and only obey them. that's why it is funny when you hear "Vlad punished them" mf that's the law. A group of boyars and the church were usually the ones that carry out the punishments. 7. Vlad was so feared because of his brutal acts

- he was feared because of his military skills and how efficient he was in battle, also because in his raids he was targeting smaller villages to impact the income of boyars.

8. Vlad was not religious and even hurt priests

- my brother in christ, the harshest punishment in our sets of law was called "Desugubina" and it applied when you hurt a church figure, After Vlad gifted a monastery with the wealth previously owned by a boyar named Albu the great he burned that church and gather an army to fight Vlad, Vlad defeated him and as per Desugubina, his whole bloodline was wiped out. Vlad was extremely religious like every ruler and boyar.

9. Vlad was imprisoned in a dungeon filled with rats.

- People need to realize that he was of noble blood, when you hear imprisoned either in hungry or at the ottomans don't think about a cell, but a luxurious palace surrounded by servants.

10. Vlad was killed by the ottomans and his head was sent to the sultan who put it on a high stake in Constantinople

- "who put it on a high stake in Constantinople" This part is completely fiction, Anything beyond "He was sent to the sultan" can't be found in any document or chronicle. As for the head being sent to the sultan it from Antonio bonfini chronicle(Which i will put it below) i personally don't find it a trustful source but the Corpus Draculianum team do. Vlad died in Bucharest attacked by 3 armies combined of Crimean Tatars, Wallachian rivals and Ottomans when he had only Stefan's 200 men with him. The battle was so violent that almost nobody got out alive, that's why the sources are so confusing and all over the place. Bonfini's chronicle: " It was said that the king rushed to the Transalpine [parts of the empire] to free Dracula, to whom he had given a wife and also his blood relative by a lawful marriage, from the hands of the Turks.

After he went there, he captured Dracula in Transylvania, it is not known for what reason, since this was not quite known to anyone, but the other Dracula, who had been placed in the province by the Turk, he approved of, contrary to everyone's opinion. This one he led captive to Buda and punished with the dungeon for ten years. 

They recall that Dracula was of unheard cruelty and justice.  They say that when envoys of the Turks refused to take off the Phrygian caps at an audience, according to the custom of their homeland, in order to consolidate [this] their custom, he hammered three nails into their heads so that they could not be moved.

He had put innumerable Turks on stakes, and between them he had dined nobly with friends. The beggars and, moreover, all of the degenerates, idlers, and wretches of strength and fortune he took in for a very noble banquet, [and] thereupon, throwing fire into them when they were full of food and wine, he destroyed them. 

Likewise, he often flayed the skin off the feet of Turkish prisoners, rubbed them with crushed salt, and soon after led goats to lick the salted soles, which increased the torture by the roughness of their tongues. 

A Florentine merchant, worried about securing (his) money, he ordered it to be deposited in the middle of the road and, not having lied about the money counted at night, let him go safely.

In a barbaric region he applied such a great rigor that anyone could be completely safe with his fortune in the middle of the forest.  Matthias restored him to his old dignity, but he was finally killed in a Turkish war, his head was sent to Mehmed as a gift.

The king never allowed the Turkish envoys to come before him without presenting Dracula, whom he held as a prisoner, the most bitter enemy of the Turks and exceedingly terrible to them, again and again. The latter recognized the man from whom they had experienced so many inhuman tortures, as often as they had been beaten and put to flight, and looked at him askance.

And the more they were invited to the completion of the truce. But the king, to confirm their fears, refused a truce, submitting that by paternal right it was not lawful for any king of Pannonia to make truce or peace with the Turk: If he did so, his royal dignity would be immediately ruined." You have to keep in mind that there are over 50 Ottoman chronicles about Vlad and almost all are written after his death yet none ever mention something about it or his 3rd reign, as for Bonfini chronicle you decide for yourself how truthful it is. 11. Vlad lived in Sighisoara at Casa Dracul.

- He might have lived in Sighisoara but Casa Dracul was built in the mid 16th century, As for the fresco of Vlad Dracul from there, the respective fresco represents Ali Pasha from Timisoara, together with Mihaly Apafi and the mayor of Sighisoara, very probably during the first visit to the city, in 1662.

______ There is a LOT more stuff but the post is already too long, I don't think i need to say anything about Bran Castle, Katherina Siegel, German pamphlets or rural legends. My advice for you it to stay away from articles, documentaries, youtube videos, books with that title "The true story" "The real life" and for the love of god, avoid Vlad's Wikipedia at all costs. that thing is a dumpster fire. Seek professional opinions and if you can ask for a proof. In the future the Corpus Draculianum volumes will be available in English as well and people will finally have something to confirm or debunk claims but until then, you can just visit their YouTube channel or facebook page/group

[apaminerala]

First Meetup 2023

First Meetup 2023 Banjo Jack Restaurant 26 Iancu Capitanu street 07.01.2023 5 pm

First Meetup 2023 Regular networking relaxed meetups for expats, repats and locals. It is mainly about socializing and having a good time. Join us at our regular events and find out for yourself! First Meetup 2023Banjo Jack Restaurant26 Iancu Capitanu street07.01.20235 pm Tudor Seicarescu and the rest of the team Links : https://bucharestmeetup.wordpress.com/ Whatsapp chat : ask to be added…

[vladvodadracul]

Drăculeştii, by Georgina-Viorica Rogoz, 1977

Harefta

At my sight - I must have looked awful, sweaty and dusty, driven mad with the thought that I would not arrive in time and that everything was in vain - the guards made a wall of spears.

I was worn out, I couldn't shout, I only mumbled in Romanian, showing the seal ring I had from Mitri.

"His Majesty's service."

An unknown boyar invited me and took me to the Lord. He was eating some bread and steak under a half-sheet of tent, hung on the elms, to give him a little cool, for the summer sun had begun to burn since before noon.

With Vlad Dracul there were in the tent some boyars and his two sons, one of whom was very small, sleepy, with blond hair, large dark eyes, like those of a doe; the other was tall, bony, already jumped over early childhood. I only paid attention to him for a moment, and addressed my Voivode without hesitation, barely breathing:

“I'm Stepan sin Nanu, Your Majesty's man from Adrianople.”

"I know. You haven't changed. What news do you have?”

“Your Majesty may ask the honorable boyars here not to be upset, because I have to speak to you in private.”

The Lord beckoned to his companions, who pulled away, giving orders and preparing to set out. I didn't tell him anything, but I gave him the scroll with the seal of the Citadel of Giurgiu.

Vlad Dracul looked at it and his face darkened.

"What does that paper say?"

“Examine it, my Lord, it’s the seal of the Danube Fortress. If it's the same as the one on the letter handed to you in the winter by sub-pasha of Giurgiu himself, who sent you here, on the road to perdition, then I will read what is written in the letter, although it is hard for me to upset you. You still have to know the truth.”

The voivode grimaced worse, clapped his hands and shouted, "Logothete, give me the last papers in the rosewood box. Quick!”

A tall, young man I didn't know was approaching.

"And the boyar Voicu?" I murmured, astonished that I had not seen his faithful counselor near his Lord.

"He's sick in Philibe city. The sun hit him on the head, and at his age he felt sick,” murmured the young secretary, handing the voivode a few scrolls with gilded writing.

Vlad looked over the two parchments in disgust, handed me the scroll I had brought, and growled out the words:

"Read. I suspected for a long time, from the moment I looked in the yellow eyes of the bastard sub-pasha. Read it now, what are you waiting for?!”

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for the secretary and prince Vlăduţ to leave, who was now moving next to his father, chewing on some food and turning his back to me.

"If Your Majesty commands me to read it in front of the young son of the Country," I hesitated, beginning to gather my strength after the long, exhausting journey.

“Go, son.”

"I beg you, father, to allow me to stay," the answer snapped. It sounded so little like a request or politeness, it had been said with such passion and seriousness, that the Lord laughed.

"Stay, if you want. You will begin a moment earlier than I thought, or even the ruthless Murad-han himself thought, the bitter lesson that a hostage giaour prince must swallow daily at the Sublime Gate of Happiness.”

"Your Majesty," I said breathlessly, "you should turn around. Know that everything is ready for your escape. We'll hide you for a night in a caravanserai, then we'll put you in a camel driver’s clothes and we'll take you to the Arvanites in Scanderbeg’s mountains. The Castriota prince is with the Christians, although today he is in Murad's service.”

“Mitri is an idiot!” Vlad Dracul thundered. “I don't need such advice, it's too late! Come on, read.”

I coughed, ashamed, and started with the official formula:

“To our great Sultan Amurad-han, the son of the glorious Muhammad, the enlightened and ...”

“Jump over his enlightenment. Get to the core”, the Voivode ordered me.

"... And know, my blessed Sultan, that as long as Vâlkoglu (Despot Brancovici) will continue to plot with the Hungarian, Dâraku will not think of bowing with true obedience, because he is a hypocrite. And he will do to me what he did to the pasha of Silistra, three summers ago ...

Do not believe Vlad Dâraku to be a friend, even if he comes with his sons and his nobles to bow to your high chair and renew the treaty, because we have news that he has an understanding with Iancu, who is allied with the Serb and The Greek and the Pope of the Christians of the west and they will attack you from two parts, from the waters of the Danube and from the steppes of Karamanoglu, who is also allied to them to jump you from behind, through Anatolia. This is why I think, as your humble and unworthy servant, that the beglerbey of Rum has the right to say, as he said before, that it would be more useful for you here to have a pashalak with a faithful bey from among our own people who believe in the Prophet, than an unruly bearer of hilat (flag), from the sons of Mircia-Voivod.

And know, my beloved and glorious, enlightened master, that I am grieved, like the werewolf-eaten moon, at the thought that not I, but another of your servants will rejoice when he puts the chains on the unbeliever Dâraku, as You desire, glorifying Allah for His justice.”

“Hm... is there much left?”  the Voivode growled.

"All that's left is the closing formula of the letter."

"The pig of a sub-pasha!" the Voivode burst out. “I knew since before. I understood a long time ago. He handed me the Sultan's safe-conduct, pushing me into the ready-made trap.”

"Did our letters from this spring reach Your Majesty?"

"Sure, but I had  no choice. I had to come. Better I come to the wolf's lair than to wait for the wolf to come over my sheep, unprepared for his strong fangs. I need one more year. Then...”

"Your Majesty,” I tried again. "A caravan of ours awaits your decision. There is room for ten to twelve people, along with Your Majesty and the princes. You can't enter Edirne. That's where the dungeon will receive you, maybe the executioner.”

"Who knows," Vlad laughed. “The year doesn’t bring what the moment does. Murad is a righteous Sultan, he does not tarnish his signed treaties, he has no reliable evidence against me, he is also of a changeable nature when he hears certain meaningful words... And I have nowhere to go. His guards would slaughter us anyway, on the way back...”

“If not us the twelve fugitives, certainly for the other three hundred Romanians we came with!” young Vlad intervened.

I looked at his face. There was no trace of bratty arrogance on it, but a mature, thoughtful and upright tension.

"So you, son, are also saying we should stay and face the music?" old Vlad smiled under his mustache. Keep in mind: the son of a dethroned voivode is more endangered than an ignorant hostage caught in battle. You might perish.”

"I'm getting ready to die, just like I'm getting ready to win."

"What do you think about this, Stepane sin Nanu?" the Voivode asked, suddenly sounding joyful.

"I obey the command of my brave Lord and his noble son."

“Stop the teasing. It’s not empty words I want to hear, but your advice.”

“Your Majesty, we could save your life, with a little luck on both sides”, I insisted further on my plan. “Give the order...”

“Hm!” the Voivode grimaced again, darkened by some unspoken thought. “Everyone's life hangs by a thread. Even yours. Therefore, Stepan, go back to the Chancellery of the Gate, pretend that you have not seen me, that you know nothing about me, play your part well, because we will need your skill and advice! And if we don't have time to talk between ourselves, without unfriendly ears and enemy turbans in front of us, know that I want and order you to stay as close as possible to my sons... To guard them as much as possible ... Radu, because he's silly, frail, small... and Vlad...”

“Me, why?” the proud princeling got upset, staring at me with cold, green eyes, like clear sulphur, ready to ignite at the first spark.

Vlad Voda let his hand fall on his little boy's shoulder.

I noticed that he no longer wore the necklace with the large medallion that had mesmerized me as a child. His nose had become thinner, the muscles of his face glistening under sweat, as if polished on an effigy; two gray strands descended past his hollow cheeks, framing him in a sort of telluric silver. His eyes, wide open, were glowing just as strangely as before, and it seemed to me that the powers of the dragon, which was already part of the yet unwritten legend of his life, had passed from that magical necklace into his own body, gathered under the ivory eyelids of this man. wise and burdened with fate, and from there - unleashed - they bent, burned, sucked the earthly, the perishable, the small glances that rose towards him.

The Voivode then turned to his middle son and smiled softly and anxiously at the same time:

"Guard Vlad too, Stepan... because even the bravest prince needs in his youth someone to protect him from hidden enemies, and even the one he doesn't suspect to be in the depths to himself...”

"What do you mean, Dad?” said the child, trembling with spite.

"I want you to know, my son, that I have relied on Nanu, our loyal judge from the land of Lovişte, and this man's father.... Therefore, you should also place your trust in his son and don’t take him out of your heart, unless you have proof of his betrayal. And now, go and give orders that the horses be harnessed to our wagons and that they all get into saddle. Let's go to the Gate of the Sublime Duplicity!”

[maxwellyjordan]

Tuesday round-up

Yesterday the court released orders from Friday’s conference, adding a patent case to its docket for next term and declining to review two related cases involving public funding of religious institutions. Amy Howe covers the order list for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. At Jurist, Erin McCarthy Holliday covers the patent case, Iancu v. NantKwest, which asks whether a federal law allowing a patent applicant to seek review of a patent denial in district court but requiring the applicant to pay “all the expenses of the proceeding” includes expenses for Patent Office personnel, including attorneys.

At Bloomberg, Greg Stohr reports that although Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the decision not to review the religion cases, “Kavanaugh criticized a state court ruling that bars churches from getting historic-preservation grants from a New Jersey county, aligning himself with conservative justices on public funding for religious activities.” Additional coverage comes from Jessica Gresko at AP, Kevin Daley at The Daily Caller, Adam Liptak at The New York Times, Lawrence Hurley at Reuters, Ariane de Vogue at CNN, Robert Barnes for The Washington Post, and Tim Zubizaretta at Jurist. David Savage reports for the Los Angeles Times that the justices also “let stand a $4-million verdict against two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who were searching for a fugitive and mistakenly shot an innocent homeless couple sleeping in a shed,” “a rare victory for victims of mistaken police shootings.”

The court issued three opinions yesterday. In Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc., the justices ruled unanimously that the term “full costs” awarded to a prevailing party in a copyright case is limited to taxable costs and does not include nontaxable costs such as expert-witness fees. Ronald Mann analyzes the opinion for this blog. Nicholas Chan covers the opinion for Jurist. In another unanimous copyright case, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, the justices held that a copyright claimant cannot sue for infringement until after the Copyright Office has ruled on its copyright-registration application. Jessica Litman has this blog’s opinion analysis. Leanne Winkels discusses the opinion at Jurist.

And in BNSF Railway Company v. Loos, the court held 7-2 that a railroad’s payment to an employee for time lost from work is taxable compensation under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act. This blog’s opinion analysis comes from Daniel Hemel. Subscript Law provides a graphic explainer for the opinion, and Austin Koltonowski has Jurist’s coverage. Mark Walsh has a first-hand look at yesterday’s opinion announcements for this blog.

For The New York Times, Adam Liptak remarks that “Justice Clarence Thomas was busy in February[:] As usual, he asked no questions during Supreme Court arguments,” [b]ut he made up for his silence with three opinions in eight days that took issue with some of the court’s most prominent precedents,” including New York Times v. Sullivan, Roe v. Wade, and Gideon v. Wainwright. At The Interdependent Third Branch, Lawrence Friedman writes that “Thomas’s opinions preview what Chief Justice Roberts may look forward to should more justices be appointed who share not just Thomas’s interpretive approach, but his willingness to cast aside settled rules in favor of a return to the presumed original understanding of the constitution.” At the Brennan Center for Justice, Andrew Cohen warns that in questioning Gideon, in which the Supreme Court “first recognized a constitutional ‘right to counsel’ in state cases 56 years ago,” Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, is “telling us clearly where they want this court to go[:] … Back to a time when indigent defendants had no hope of being fairly represented.”

Briefly:

At AP, Mark Sherman reports that after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered two of the Supreme Court’s three opinions yesterday, “[n]ow we know what [she] was doing as she recuperated from lung cancer surgery: churning out opinions for the court at a faster clip than any of her younger colleagues.”

At his eponymous blog, Sheldon Nahmod looks at January’s opinion in City of Escondido, California v. Emmons, a “qualified immunity excessive force case, [in which] the Court summarily reversed and once more chastised the Ninth Circuit for making the clearly settled law inquiry at too high a level of generality”; he remarks on ‘”the extreme implications” of a statement in the opinion suggesting that “there can be no clearly settled law unless the Supreme Court has weighed in on the specific issue in comparable factual circumstances.”

At The Interdependent Third Branch, Jordan Singer considers what to expect when Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan testify about the Supreme Court’s budget before a House appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, noting that “[s]ubcommittee members are likely to use the rare opportunity for direct interaction with the Justices to broach a variety of unrelated subjects, including an ethics code for the Supreme Court, the introduction of courtroom cameras, and the federal court system’s new workplace conduct policies.”

We rely on our readers to send us links for our round-up. If you have or know of a recent (published in the last two or three days) article, post, podcast, or op-ed relating to the Supreme Court that you’d like us to consider for inclusion in the round-up, please send it to roundup [at] scotusblog.com. Thank you!

The post Tuesday round-up appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

from Law https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/03/tuesday-round-up-468/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[praveenwattegedara]

1. Take things at your own pace navigating our way back to 'normal' after two years of a global pandemic.

Back in the early days of the pandemic, one phrase you heard a lot was: "When this is all over…" But what exactly does "over" mean?

Lockdown restrictions were never going to stay in place forever. But anyone who imagined Covid-19 would magically disappear (and be as irrelevant the Millenium Bug had become in 2001) was indulging in an understandable, but a naive form of wishful thinking.

Two years on, we are no closer to 'Covid Zero' than we are to 'Flu Zero', 104 years after the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. But in the UK, hospital cases are stabilizing, as a weaker form of the virus becomes dominant, and vaccines are in the majority of arms.

Whether the return to normal life is happening too soon is debatable. But it undeniably is happening, and it has already happened in most parts of the country.

For much of the workforce, from bus drivers to shop workers, bar staff to police officers, the days of furlough and sheltering at home are already long forgotten. The creative professions, though, have largely moved at a different pace.

Many artists, designers, illustrators, animators, and video editors have found continued remote working not only feasible but, in many ways, preferable. As the final vestiges of lockdown laws are scrapped, though, the pressure on employees to return to the studio and freelancers to resume in-person meetings is growing.

Many of us will relish that opportunity. But what if you feel differently?

Well, for starters, let's take a reality check. No one will force you to stop self-isolating if you don't want to. As long as you're working effectively and efficiently via remote working, no sane HR department will want that fight, not this year anyway. (If your experience is different, though, we'd love to hear about it). And if a freelance client throws their toys out of the pram? Well, they probably weren't worth staying with anyway.

But what if you're broadly ready to return to the normal work routine but experiencing anxiety, stress and even fear about it? You certainly wouldn't be alone. So we asked our Twitter followers for their tips on managing the transition and looking after our mental health along the way.

1. Take things at your own pace

The first tip is that you don't have to rush into anything. The shift from self-isolation to physically interacting doesn't have to happen in one fell swoop. So take everything at a pace that suits you, and well, be kind to yourself.

"I'm trying to be self-compassionate as I navigate being anxious in groups again," says illustrator Amy Lauren. "I'm gradually adjusting to being out and about instead of expecting myself to perform to unrealistic standards. Taking things slowly helps me appreciate the day-to-day more."

Patrick Gallagher, a freelance 2D designer and animator, currently at CNN, has followed a similar strategy. "I've been switching up my routine by using a co-working space a few days a week," he says. "It helps me break away from the big home setup and just get out and about with my laptop.

"If you don't have a co-working space near you, I think a coffee shop, full of regulars you could get to know, would also do the trick," he adds. "The simple thing of being back with others is such a boost. On my first day, the space was a bit empty except for their admin staff, but I appreciated even just speaking to them."

2. Pay attention to your mental health

Even if you're gung-ho about ending your self-isolation, you may experience mental health challenges you weren't expecting. So now more than ever, it's important to pay attention to how you're feeling, acknowledge your emotions, and take steps to deal with them.

Specific techniques and activities can help, although these will vary from person to person. "Drawing a few times every day has really helped my mental health lately," says graphic designer and illustrator Iancu Barbărasă. "I carry a pocket sketchbook with me everywhere and draw either what I see or from photos I take. I've also found it helpful to use the app Freedom to limit access to news and social media for most of the day."

For author, artist and social entrepreneur Anna B Sexton, meanwhile, it's been about: "Loads of naps and keeping things simple. Booking in less work versus getting scared and overworking, when that's not helping my mental health. Meditation helps too."

Anthony Galasso, a creative strategist at Again Interactive, has found self-auditing useful. "I've been doing a lot of contemplation recently, across various topics," he says. "I'm asking myself if I'm happy with who I am, where I am, what I'm doing, etc." For more advice on mental health techniques, read our article Be Kind to Your Mind.

3. Pay attention to your physical health

Mental and physical health can't, of course, be treated in isolation. And so, looking after your physical health is key to coping with any mental health challenges you're facing right now.

"For me, it's all about balance," says artist and illustrator Carina Lindmeier. "Physical activities on a regular basis keep me both mentally and physically fit, so things don't get too overwhelming with having FOMO or things like that. I also think it's important to block out 'me-time' in my calendar, so I have enough time for the things that keep me sane."

Artist Jarvis Brookfield tells a similar story. "One thing that has helped me a lot is establishing a consistent physical exercise routine," he says. "I've gotten stronger and feel that my body looks better, which has increased my sense of confidence. So exercise has been a big help for me over the last 18 months for sure."

4. Reframe what 'normal' is to you

One of the most stressful things about ending self-isolation is the somewhat disorientating notion that things are going "back to normal". In truth, life in 2022 is still very different from what it was two-and-a-bit years ago, and it's important to acknowledge that, believes graphic designer and illustrator Jane Bowyer.

"I am no longer chasing the idea of the person I was at the start of 2020," she says. "Instead of looking back, I'm trying to move forward, carrying the weight of the experiences I've had over the last two years to the next stage of my career and life.

"One piece of advice I've followed is to ask yourself: how do you want to feel?" she continues. "Do you want to feel confident, inspired, like a part of a community again? And then set yourself a bite-size, realistic goal to help take the pressure off and stop you from overloading your plate. For example, you might say, 'I want to feel inspired to make work for myself'. So a realistic goal for you might be to visit an exhibition that's opening next month."

Freelance PR consultant Carolyn Hughes offers a similar take. "It's still hard to say what the new 'normal' is and will be," she says. "I'm certainly not out and about as much as pre-pandemic with most meetings taking place online now. While this is actually more time-efficient, it is hard to physically be alone for much of my working time."

In terms of mental health, she's found connecting with fellow freelancers and friends has been important. "They understand the challenges of what you do and your working life," she says. "Taking a break and meeting for a half-hour chat and a brew does you good."

5. Talk openly as an organisation

So far, we've focused on tips for employees or freelancers in the creative industries. But if you're a manager or agency owner, Elliott Rylands, a senior product designer based in London, has some advice for you too.

"'Back to normal' is something we hear a lot," he says. "To many, these words offer great comfort and fill us with relief that we can return to our pre-Covid lives from a social and a business perspective. Rightly so. Carrying a mental health disorder for a large majority of my life, I understand the complexities that following the ever-moving goalposts of the 'stay at home/go to work' guidelines can bring.

"While traversing mental health obstructions throughout my career has been no picnic, I've been fortunate enough to work with many folks that suffer in the same way and found some effective methods to combat the barriers my brain attempts to place on my path," he adds. "These have been especially helpful during the pandemic.

"Transparency with my peers has been helpful for my team. We've brought the conversation of mental health to the table. As a senior designer, I feel it's important we try to incorporate these conversations about any form of discomfort, be it mental health or otherwise, in our day-to-day. It's unified my team in so many ways."

Praveen Wattegedara

[psychojetcocktail]

Draw arcade draw arcade draw arcade draw arcade

Here ya go! Happy?

[apaminerala]

Wednesday Meetup @ Banjo Jack - 19 Oct 2022

"Welcome Autumn" Meetup @ Banjo Jack Wednesday 19th of October , 2022 Banjo Jack Restaurant Strada Iancu Capitanu 26 7 PM Ask for Tudor

“Welcome Autumn” Meetup @ Banjo Jack Wednesday 19th of October , 2022Banjo Jack RestaurantStrada Iancu Capitanu 267 PMAsk for Tudor FB : https://www.facebook.com/events/811708936830482/ Regular networking relaxed meetups for expats, repats and locals. It is mainly about socializing and having a good time. Join us at our regular events and find out for yourself! Tudor Seicarescu and the rest…

[aguidetointerculturaldating]

How To: be accepted into the Greek community when meeting your partner's family for the first time

By Annick Jenkin

(Photo credits: https://www.hbomax.com/feature/urn:hbo:feature:GVWIojg4qrMJtGzYJAAXw)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We have all seen it, we know what happens. Toula, a Greek woman who falls in love with Ian, a non-Greek man. They find themselves in a difficult situation of having to be accepted into the Greek community when falling into an intercultural romantic relationship. I found myself in a similar situation last year when I fell in love with a Greek boy. On our first date he told me all about his dog, Zeus, his Yiayia’s (grandma) cooking and told me who the two most important women in his life are, his Yiayia and his mother (still to this day I am third!) I knew straight away that his Greek cultural identity was a central part of who he was, and I recognised that meeting the family for the first time was going to be my acceptance day. So, is having an intercultural relationship with a Greek, really like My Big Fat Greek Wedding depicted it?

Researcher, William Gudykunst, explains that “members of collectivist cultures reportedly feel more uncertain interacting with outgroups than with ingroups.” Knowing Greek is a collectivist culture and known for their tight-knit community, I was nervous about meeting my boyfriend’s family for the first time. Here are two scenarios you will definitely get yourself into when meeting the family for the first time.

I leant a Greek family will accept you into their community by continuously offering you food and you’ll be frequently asked “are you hungry?”, “would you like some more food?”. All Greek gatherings will have food and you will be expected to eat, so make sure to arrive with an empty stomach as, “I’m not hungry”, is not taken for an answer!  For Greeks their food is a showering of love and sharing their food with others is how they bond and a huge part of their culture. Researcher, Anca- Luminita Iancu, highlights in her research that “food is one of the staples of the Greek community”.

I am British and for me this was a huge culture shock; “I am not hungry” has no other underlying connotations and is low context communication with an explicit meaning in British culture to express that you don’t want more food. In Greek culture “I am hungry” and “I am not hungry” both mean you want more food, and you are guaranteed to get another plate worth of food; this is high context communication. It is considered rude and impolite if you say no to more food or don’t finish the food you’re given. A further complication is that many Greek cooks measure “with their eyes” instead of simply measuring or weighing ingredients. The family’s Yiayia is the most important person in the family and traditionally she will do most of the cooking and when she offers you 30 olives, she expects you to eat them all! One last note, I would not suggest telling your partner's Greek family that you don’t eat meat (forget you are vegetarian on days you are with a Greek family!)

Greeks also communicate and welcome you into their community through physical contact, hugging and kissing. This took me by surprise when I walked through the door and was greeted with female and male family members, I had never met before, greeting me with hugs and kisses. Researcher, Spencer-Oatey, highlighted in her paper that greetings are often thought of as a ‘simple’ communicative act that everyone performs and that can easily be picked up and recognised. The act of greetings is universal and known in all cultures but the way it’s performed in each culture is not as universal. In British culture we are quite reserved and when meeting someone for the first time, it would be appropriate for a handshake or just a “hello”. It is known for Mediterranean countries to express their acceptance through physical contact and gestures, like in France, you would be greeted with kisses as part of their Mediterranean identity. Being a tactile community that uses affection, you should embrace hugging and kissing as part of the Greek culture and a way of expressing their warmth and love for you.

As general advice, accept all the affection with a smile, eat all the food you are given and say yes, every time you are offered a new plate of food and you should be in for a win; the family will love you! Welcome a new culture and avoid any type of miscommunication by being polite and noticing that all cultures communicate differently. As Gus said in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, “we all different, but in the end, we all fruit.”

[maxwellyjordan]

Wednesday round-up

Today the justices close out the February session with an argument in the most notable case of the term so far, The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, an establishment clause challenge to a World War I memorial shaped like a cross on public property. Amy Howe had this blog’s preview. Lauren Devendorf and Tyler Schmitt preview the case for Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. Subscript Law has a graphic explainer. [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is counsel on an amicus brief in support of the petitioners in this case.]

At NPR, Nina Totenberg reports that “over the past half-century, the high court has wrestled with the question of where to draw the line separating church and state,” and that “[t]his case offers the opportunity for a newly constituted conservative court majority to draw a new, more religion-friendly line.” Shannon Bream and Bill Mears report for Fox News that “[h]undreds of similar cross-shaped war memorials across the country, as well as other religious displays, could be affected.” Additional coverage comes from Ariane de Vogue and Geneva Sands for CNN and from Steven Mazie at The Economist’s Espresso blog. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Nelson Tebbe and others urge the court to “safeguard the principle of religious equality” by deeming the display unconstitutional. Additional commentary comes from Alvergia Guyton and Mary Laquay in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner and from the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, which argues that “a narrow ruling [allowing the cross to remain] would perpetuate the current confusion in the lower courts” and calls on the justices “to clear up their messy Establishment Clause jurisprudence.”

Yesterday the court ruled unanimously in Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert that an equitable exception cannot be used to extend the deadline for appealing an order granting or denying class certification in a class-action lawsuit. Howard Wasserman analyzes the opinion for this blog.

Amy Howe analyzes yesterday’s argument in United States v. Haymond, a constitutional challenge to a statutory provision that requires judges to impose additional prison time on sex offenders who violate the terms of their supervised release, for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. At Slate, Mark Joseph Stern concludes that “a clear majority of the court seemed prepared to rule [for the defendant], either striking down the scheme altogether or compelling the government to prove each new offense to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Briefly:

At The Economist’s Democracy in America blog, Steven Mazie writes that Monday’s oral argument in Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, which asks whether a private operator of a public-access TV channel is a “state actor” who can be sued for violations of the First Amendment, suggests that “the decision … will be limited to the analog and rather parochial world of public-access cable—and broadcasts that are fewer and tamer than those streaming on digital devices, with far smaller audiences.”

For the ABA Journal, Mark Walsh previews Iancu v. Brunetti, in which the court will consider a First Amendment challenge to the ban on registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks, noting that “[t]he case is casting light on the Patent and Trademark Office’s handling of trademark applications under the scandalous-marks provision.”

At OgletreeDeakins, Lara de Leon discusses Monday’s ruling in Yovino v. Rizo, in which the justices threw out a court of appeals ruling in a case about gender pay disparities because the decisive vote came from a judge who died before the opinion was issued.

We rely on our readers to send us links for our round-up. If you have or know of a recent (published in the last two or three days) article, post, podcast, or op-ed relating to the Supreme Court that you’d like us to consider for inclusion in the round-up, please send it to roundup [at] scotusblog.com. Thank you!

The post Wednesday round-up appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

from Law https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/02/wednesday-round-up-463/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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[thewrosper]

Talking can generate coronavirus droplets that linger in the air for around 14 minutes, says new report

Coughs or sneezes may not be the only way people transmit infectious pathogens like the novel coronavirus to one another. Talking can also launch thousands of droplets so small they can remain suspended in the air for eight to 14 minutes, according to a new study. The research, published on Wednesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help explain how people with mild or no symptoms may infect others in close quarters such as offices, nursing homes, cruise ships and other confined spaces. The study’s experimental conditions will need to be replicated in more real-world circumstances, and researchers still don’t know how much virus has to be transmitted from one person to another to cause infection. But its findings strengthen the case for wearing masks and taking other precautions in such environments to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Scientists agree that coronavirus jumps from person to person most often by hitching a ride inside tiny respiratory droplets. These droplets tend to fall to the ground within a few feet of the person who emits them. They may land on surfaces like doorknobs, where people can touch lingering virus particles and transfer them to their face. But some droplets can remain aloft, and be inhaled by others.

Representational image. Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay. Elaborate experiments have revealed how coughing or sneezing can produce a crackling burst of air mixed with saliva or mucus that can force hundreds of millions of influenza and other virus particles into the air if a person is sick. A single cough can propel about 3,000 respiratory droplets, while sneezing can generate as many as 40,000. To see how many droplets were produced during normal conversation, researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the University of Pennsylvania, who study the kinetics of biological molecules inside the human body, asked volunteers to repeat the words “stay healthy” several times. While the participants spoke into the open end of a cardboard box, the researchers illuminated its inside with green lasers, and tracked bursts of droplets produced by the speaker. The laser scans showed that about 2,600 small droplets were produced per second while talking. When researchers projected the amount and size of droplets produced at different volumes based on previous studies, they found that speaking louder could generate larger droplets, as well as greater quantities of them. Although the scientists did not record speech droplets produced by people who were sick, previous studies have calculated exactly how much coronavirus genetic material can be found in oral fluids in the average patient. Based on this knowledge, the researchers estimated that a single minute of loud speaking could generate at least 1,000 virus-containing droplets. The scientists also found that while droplets start shrinking from dehydration as soon as they leave a person’s mouth, they can still float in the air for eight to 14 minutes. “These observations confirm that there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments,” the authors wrote in the study. The researchers acknowledged that the experiment was performed in a controlled environment with stagnant air that may not reflect what happens in rooms with good ventilation. But they still had reason to believe their reported values were “conservative lower limit estimates” because some people have a higher viral load, meaning they may produce droplets with several thousand more virus particles than average. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says keeping at least six feet away from others can help people avoid contact with respiratory droplets and lower the risk of infection. But many scientists have argued that droplets can travel farther than six feet, depending on the force with which droplets are launched, the surrounding temperature, whether there are air currents that can carry them farther and other conditions. There is also debate about whether the coronavirus can also be transmitted through even smaller droplets — less than a tenth the width of a human hair — that are known as aerosols, and can remain suspended or travel through the air for longer. In another recent study, the same authors showed that just articulating certain sounds can produce significantly higher amounts of respiratory particles. The “th” sound in the word “healthy,” for example, was a very efficient generator of speech droplets. Another paper, published in January by researchers from the University of California, Davis, found the vowel sound “e” in “need” produces more droplets than the “a” in “saw,” or “o” in “mood.” What researchers don’t yet know is whether all speech, cough and sneeze droplets carrying virus particles are equally infectious, or if a specific amount of virus needs to be transmitted for a person to get sick by breathing it in. But the new study adds to the case for maintaining a physical distance from other people to help slow the spread of coronavirus, said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech who was not involved with the paper. “Based on this and other evidence, it would be wise to avoid extended face-to-face conversations with other people unless you are far apart and in a well-ventilated space, including outdoors,” Marr said. The study also highlights the importance of wearing masks during social and other interactions. “The risk of talking to one another will probably be lower than being exposed to a person who is not wearing a mask and openly coughs and sneezes,” said Dr Werner E Bischoff, the medical director of infection prevention and health system epidemiology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. “Normal talking to a person while keeping the recommended social distance will be fine. Putting on a mask will be even better.” Read the full article

[naturecoaster]

Coping with Dementia: Simple therapies to remember during Coronavirus quarantine

If caring for a loved one living at home with dementia were not difficult enough under normal circumstances, now it is further complicated by social distancing guidelines during the Coronavirus crisis.  For this trying time, you can no longer attend a support group, nor can you get respite by taking your person to daycare.  Now, you are stuck at home, which in and of itself may increase your loved one’s anxiety.  What is a care partner to do? Now is a good time to remember to try those simple therapies that will not only consume time productively but can bring comfort to your loved one.  Here a few examples: Nostalgia Therapy for Dementia It is not uncommon for individuals living with dementia to lose their recent memories, but be able to retain recollection of an earlier time in their life.  Sometimes, they “go there” and seem to live in that earlier time.  This should not be dismissed as “delusion;” rather it should be recognized as a valuable tool for effective care.  Use nostalgic artifacts or a family photo album to reminiscence about their past life to validate the reality that seems to give them comfort. Remember that their reality or recollection of the past may not quite be the same as yours.  For example, if you are sharing a photo album, don’t say, “Do you remember who this is?”  This question is a challenge to confirm what you know to be real.  Rather, just point at the photo and say, “What can you tell me about this?”  Your person with dementia may misidentify the person or the situation in the photo, but this does not matter.  Let them talk about how they see things, then praise, affirm, and validate what they have told you.

Nostalgia therapy and hug therapy are two great tools for the Dementia caregiver.Image by Dan/Kelli Oakley from Pixabay Hug Therapy Hugs are proven to work, especially for people living with brain disorders, but many of our care partners don’t practice it enough.  I saw it work with my husband Albert, so effectively that he was removed entirely from mood-altering medication.  If your loved one is not comfortable with hugs, just try a loving touch and remind them that you are there for them.  This will help them understand they are not alone. Music Therapy Music Therapy is another proven non-medical therapy that can work wonders.  Similar to Nostalgia Therapy, it seems to work best when we choose music that our loved one enjoyed between the ages of eight and 20.  To see just how effective music therapy can be, go to YouTube and watch “Alive Inside.” 

Music is an effective therapy for Dementia and Alzheimers. Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay Here are five tips for how to use music as an effective therapy for Dementia & Alzheimers: For each individual, identify the songs that evoke memories of happy times.  One hint in identifying this playlist is the fact that the music we most strongly embed in our memories are the songs we recall from ages 8 to 20.To calm a person during mealtime or the morning hygiene routine, play or sing soothing music.  You need not rely only on I-pod technology.  If you know what they like, sing to them.Avoid over-stimulation by eliminating competing noises. Shut the door. Turn off the television. If using a radio, select a station where the music is not interrupted by commercials.  NOTE: There is very little on television that is calming or suitable for an individual living with dementia, especially not televised news.  When they view a story about a fire or bombing, they don’t know whether it is in London or across the street.  Care facilities that use television as a baby sitter for individuals living with dementia are definitely not practicing enlightened, effective, or compassionate care!Encourage movement and involvement.  Encourage the individual to clap or tap their feet to the beat, to sing along, or even to dance if the environment and circumstances enable them to do so safely.Pay attention to the person’s responses.  If they like a particular song, play or sing it often.  You may get tired of it, but they will not.  If they react negatively to a particular song or style of music, make a note and eliminate it from the playlist. Doll Therapy Many times, a soft doll will become the constant companion of a person living with dementia, especially women. It seems to give them comfort and a sense of purpose.  Some people think an older person holding a doll is “demeaning.” I don’t agree.  If it gives your loved one comfort, it is not demeaning.  There’s a lesson here.  We, as care partners, must sometimes put our own opinions and feelings aside in favor of how something makes our loved one feel.

Dogs and cats provide comfort to those suffering from alzheimers and dementia. Image by Besno Pile from Pixabay Animal Therapy No need to say much about this!  Who doesn’t love a puppy or a kitty?  Many memory care communities maintain “house pets” because they know how much their residents enjoy and love them.  But if you do not own a pet, there is an alternative similar to doll therapy.  On the internet, you can purchase dog or cat “dolls” that seem to be breathing while they sleep.  Their side rises and falls while they sleep in their little bed.  You can even get cats that quietly purr while they sleep and breathe.  I once gave one of these breathing stuffed animals to a woman with dementia who was in a state of anxiety.  Her daughter said, with dismay, “But it’s dead!”  I said, “Maybe to you, but maybe not to her.”  The woman with dementia put the stuffed animal in her lap, smiled, and became calm.  This happened during a support group meeting, and for more than an hour, she sat and quietly stroked her new stuffed animal friend.  Plant Therapy Even people in later stages of dementia can love the beauty of plants.  However, if they are able, you may want to ask your person to help you tend your plants.  Sure, they may make a little mess, but working in the soil can give them long periods of joy and comfort. 

longleanna / Pixabay

Simple therapies to remember during Coronavirus quarantine for Coping with Dementia and Alzheimers

These and other simple and time-tested therapies are very effective for individuals living with dementia.  This is because, long after a person with dementia has lost the ability to think and reason, they still retain the ability to “feel.”  This is because the organs in our brain that govern our emotions – the amygdalae – survive and continue to function long after dementia has ravaged the “thinking” parts of the brain.  Consequently, the “feeling” part of our brain can be the last and only tool a care partner has to work with.  We can do this with simple therapies that have been known and used for decades; in some cases even for centuries. They are proven to work, and they can provide comfort also to you, the care partner, during these trying and unusual times when you are confined to your home. Debbie Selsavage is a Certified Trainer and Consultant in the Positive Approach to Care, and a Certified Dementia Practitioner.  Her company, Coping with Dementia LLC, is dedicated to making life better for individuals living with dementia.  Contact Debbie at deb@coping.today. Read the full article

[psychojetcocktail]

cannot stop thinking abt that pinup neo drew of arcade.... like i love the idea of him agreeing to do that for some xtra cash + bc its kinda funny and he starts getting recognized as the guy on the followers pinup poster

Yes omg, and he becomes like the hottest guy in Freeside afterwards or something, but that’s alright cuz now he’s doing better financially.

But it like backfires because now even more women think hes hot and of course nobody knows he’s gay and it becomes a whole disaster

[sciatu]

Ora ti cuntu nu fattu. C’era un paisi unni a miseria e a gnuranza ficinu veniri a guerra e a guerra puttoi timpesta i bumbi e ragnola i ghiummu. Nta stu paisi c’era na famigghia  e chi risto nto menzu da motti e du focu. U patri muriu mentri ciccava pani pi figghi, a matri finiu sutta cimentu e matuni. Prima di moriri ghiamo so figghiu ranni e ci dissi “Potta a to soru chiù nica a ciccari a filicità nta n’otru paisi unni i to cugini ti spettunu”. Iddu pigghiò so soru e ncumincioi a camminari passannu furesti e disetti, mucciannusi quannu rivavanu i figghi da motti chi vulianu mazzari o quannu c’eranu i latri di animi chi vulianu rubbari. Rivaru nta na città a riva u mari e a carusa spiò o frati u ranni “è ca a filicità?” Ma u ranni rispunniu “no è chiù avanti”. Nta stu paisi u frati ranni travagghioi e a picciridda ciccava a limosina. A fini ficiru tanti soddi e quannu u frati ranni ci mustroi a nica, chista ci spioi “è chista a felicità?” E u frati ranni ci rispunniu “no ma putemu cattari nu postu nta na bacca e annari nto paisi da filicità”. Accussi si misiru in fila pi nchianari nta na bacca cu tanta autra genti d’ogni culuri. Patteru all’abba e annaru nto mari pi nu jonnu e na notti. Poi u tempu cancioi e u mari gridava e si isava e calava. A genti nta bacca si ittava i buci pu scantu. A bacca si inchia d’acqua e u frati misi a soru nu sabbagenti che avia cattatu pi idda. A bacca leggiu leggiu stava nfunnanu. U mari si facia sempri chiù fotti e i cavadduni eranu chiu ranni da bacca, a genti gridava e ciancia. Unu i chisti visti ca a carusa avia nu I sabbagenti e cicco mi ciu scippa. So frati u visti e u firroi mi ci misca, i dui ficiru a coppa finu a chi non caderu nta l’acqua e nta nu minutu sicunu scumpareru. A carusa muta muta incuminciò a cianciri picchi so frati nun putia chiù vidiri a filicità. U sabbagenti a tiniu a galla mentri u mari pari chi si stava cammannu. Cumpariu na bacca ianca cu omini vistuti i iancu chi parravanu stranu. A pigghiaru e sa puttaru cu iddi e da bacca a puttaru nterra, nta nu postu cu tanti letti unni omini vistuti i iancu e a vaddavunu nta tutti i patti : nta bucca, nte ricchi. Idda allura ci spioi si a felicità era da. Ci dissiru di no e a puttaru nta n’otra banna e da spioi ancora si era da a felicità e ogni vota ci diciano no e a spustavanu ancora e accussi tanti voti chi piddiu u cuntu; ogni vota chi spiava si a felicità era da, ci rispunnianu di no, tantu ca fini no spioi chiù. Nu jonnu cumpariu na signura chi dissi chi era so cugina e sa puttó cu idda nta n’otru paisi luntanu. Arrivaru nta na casa unni c’eranu i figghi da signura e tutti a strinceru e baciaru e ci desiru vesti novi e tanti giucattuli. Allura a carusa spioi a signura si da c’era a felicita chi ciccava. Idda a pigghioi e a strinciu e ci spioi chi sintia e a carusa ci dissi che sintia cauddu nto cori u stissu caudu di brazza i so cugina e chi ci vinia i ridiri da cuntintizza. A signura ci dissi “ u vidi chista è a filicita, è intra i nui comi nu ciuri chiusu e quannu semu cuntenti stu ciuri si apri e ni quaddia u cori” “e picchí prima na sintia?” spioi a carusa, e a fimmina rispunniu “picchi u ciuri nasci nto cori sulu c’è paci” a carusa pinsoi a so frati a so matri, o mari e ai tanti che lassoi areti a idda e strinciu a so cugina chiù fotti picchi puru pi iddi chi nun c’eranu chiù vulia anticchia I filicità”. “Ora fa a nanna - ci dissi a cugina – chi chistu è nu fattu e tutti i fatti finisciunu ca genti che ridi cuntenta, ma cu ni leggi sapi, chi nta vita vera nun è accussi, nun è accussì”

Ora ti racconto una favola. C’era un paese dove la miseria e l’ignoranza fecero venire la guerra e la guerra portò una tempesta eterna di bomba una grandine continua di piombo. In questa paese c’era una famiglia che rimase nel mezzo della morte e del fuoco. Il padre morì mentre cercava il pane per i figli, la madre finì sotto cemento e mattoni. Prima di morire chiamò il figlio grande e gli disse “Porta tua sorella più piccola a cercare la felicità in un altro paese dove i tuoi cugini ti aspettano”. Lui prese sua sorella e incominciò a camminare passando foreste e deserti, nascondendosi quando arrivavano i figli della morte che volevano uccidere, o quando c’erano i ladri di anime che volevano rubare. Arrivarono in una grande città in riva al mare e la bambina chiese a suo fratello grande “È qui la felicità?” Ma il fratello rispose “no è più avanti”. In questo paese il fratello grande lavorò e la piccolina chiedeva l’elemosina. Alla fine raccolsero tanti soldi e il fratello grande li mostrò alla piccola e lei gli chiese “È questa la felicità?” e il grande gli rispose “No ma possiamo comprare un posto in una barca e andare nel paese della felicità” Così si misero in fila per salire su una barca con tanta altra gente di ogni colore. Partirono all’alba e andarono per mare per un giorno e una notte. Poi il tempo cambiò e il mare incominciò a gridare, a salire e scendere. La gente nella barca gridava per la paura. La barca si riempiva d’acqua e il fratello mise alla sorella un salvagente che aveva comprato per lei. La barca piano piano incominciò ad affondare. Il mare si faceva sempre più forte e i cavalloni erano più grandi della barca, la gente gridava e piangeva. Uno di questi vide la ragazza con il salvagente e cercò di prenderglielo. Suo fratello lo vide e lo afferrò i due si picchiarono fino a che non caddero in acqua e in un secondo scomparvero. La bambina in silenzio incominciò a piangere perché suo fratello non avrebbe più visto la felicità. Il salvagente la tenne a galla mentre il mare si andò calmando. Comparve una barca bianca con uomini vestiti di bianco che parlavano in modo strano. La presero e la portarono con loro sulla barca e dalla barca la portarono a terra, in un posto con tanti letti dove uomini vestiti di bianco la visitarono: nella bocca, nelle orecchie. Lei allora chiese se la felicità fosse lì. Le dissero di no e la portarono da un'altra parte e li chiese ancora se la felicità fosse li. Le dissero di no e la spostarono ancora da un'altra parte e così tante volte che perse il conto; ogni volta chiedeva se la felicità fosse li, e le rispondevano sempre di no; alla fine lei non lo chiese più. Un giorno comparve una signora che disse che era sua cugina e se la portò con lei in un paese lontano. Arrivarono in una casa dove c’erano i figli di quella signora e tutti la strinsero e la baciarono le diedero vestiti nuovi e tanti giocattoli. Allora la bambina chiese alla signora se li ci fosse la felicità che cercava. Lei la prese e la strinse forte e le chiese cosa sentisse e la bambina rispose che sentiva caldo nel cuore, lo stesso caldo che avevano le sue braccia e che le veniva da ridere per la contentezza. La signora le rispose “lo vedi questa è la felicità, è dentro di noi come un fiore chiuso e quando siamo contenti questo fiore si apre e riscalda il cuore” “perché prima non la sentivo?” chiese la bambina “Perché il fiore nasce nel cuore solo se c’è la pace” La bambina pensò a suo fratello e ai suoi genitori al mare e ai tanti che aveva lasciato indietro e strinse più forte sua cugina perché anche per loro che non c’erano voleva un po' di felicità. “Ora fai la nanna – le disse la cugina – che questa è una fiaba e come tutte le fiabe finisce con la gente che ride contenta, ma chi legge sa, che nella vita vera non è così, non è così”

Now I'm telling you a fairy tale. There was a country where misery and ignorance made war and war brought an everlasting bomb storm a steady hail of lead. In this country, there was a family that remained in the middle of death and fire. The father died while he was looking for bread for his children, and the mother due to a bomb, came under concrete and bricks. Before dying, she called his older son and said, "Bring your little sister to look for happiness in another country where your cousins are waiting for you." He took his sister and began to walk through forests and deserts, hiding when the son of the dead wanted to kill them, or when there were the thieves of souls who wanted to steal them. They came to a big city by the sea and the little girl asked her older brother, "Is happiness here?" But her brother replied, "No, it is not here" In this country, the big brother worked and the little one begged for alms. They collected so much money and the big brother showed them to the little girl and she asked him "Is this happiness?" And the big one replied, "No, but we can buy a place in a boat and go to the land of happiness." So, they got in row to go on a boat with so many other people of every color. They left at dawn and went to sea for a day and a night. Then the weather changed and the sea began to shout, to climb up and down. People in the boat screamed for fear. The boat was filled with water and his brother put a sister's life buoy he had bought for her. The boat slowly began to sink. The sea was getting stronger and the waves were bigger than the boat, people shouted and cry. One of them saw the girl with the life buoy and tried to take it. His brother saw him and grabbed the two of them banging until they fell into the water and in a second disappeared. The little girl in silence began to cry because her brother would no longer see happiness. The life buoy kept her afloat while the sea went calm. There was a white boat with men dressed in white talking strangely. They took her with them on the boat and the boat took her to the ground, in a place with so many beds where men dressed in white visited her: in the mouth, in the ears. She then asked if happiness was there. They told her of no and took her to another side and she asked them again if happiness was there. They told her of no and they moved her from another side and so many times that she missed the bill; Every time she wondered if happiness was there, and they always answered her not, so in the end she did not ask for it anymore. One day a lady appeared who said that she was her cousin and she took with her in a far country. They came to a house where there were the children of that lady and they all shuffled and kissed her and gave her new clothes and so many toys. Then the little girl asked the lady if there was the happiness she was looking for. She caught her and squeezed her tightly and asked her what she felt and the little girl said that she felt warm in her heart, the same warmth she had in her arms and that she laugh and she was happy. The lady replied, "you see this is the happiness, it's inside of us like a closed flower, and when we're happy this flower opens and warms up our heart" "Why did not I first hear it?" Asked the little girl. "Because the flower is born in heart only if there is peace "The little girl thought of her brother and her parents to the sea and the many she had left behind and squeezed her cousin stronger because even for them that they did not find, she looking for a bit of happiness. "Now you're going to sleep," said her cousin, "this is a fairy tale, and like all fairy tales end up with people who laugh happy, but whoever reads this story knows that in real life it is not so, it is not so."