Start of Big Freeze in Germany

December 2009. Heavy snowfall affected most countries of Middle Europe. These are impressions from norther Germany during the first day. The pictures speak of tranquility and calmness, just as the snowflakes floated down, slowly and silently.

Henry James about New York

Henry James writes in his book The Wings of the Dove (1902) about New York:
"New York is vast, New York was startling, with strange histories, with wild cosmopolite backward generations that accounted for anything; [...]" (p79, David Campbell Publishers, London, 1997)

Christmas Tree Curiosity and New York

Curiosity drove me to check what the Christmas Tree looks like in New York City? According to the news, the most popular is the Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center. The Rockefeller Center has been putting up a Christmas tree since 1931, some years in a more spectacular way than in others. In 1951, a special Christmas tree Lighting Ceremony was added to mark the opening of the Christmas season. Ever since, thousands of New Yorkers and visitors follow the buzz either life or in front of their TV screens. It is an exhilarating ritual to open the Christmas season, don't you think so. This year's Rockefeller Christmas tree comes from Connecticut. It is massive, 10 tons heavy, which is still 5 tons less the weight of Vladivostok's Christmas tree. Cost? Unknown. (Photo by Bryan Bedder) View full article here

Christmas Cracker Buster

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes?"
Kid: No idea.--->giggle!

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes and legs?"
PhD student: Still no idea.--->lol !!

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes, legs and tail?
PhD student: still no fucking idea!---->guffaw!!

Christmas Tree in German Countryside

And this is what the Christmas tree looks like in Kyritz, my hometown in Germany. A modestly sized Scotch pine from the vast, surrounding forest. (source photo: http://www.kyritz.de/)
Location of Kyritz, Germany

Massive Christmas Tree

My first impressive Christmas tree this season I saw in Dresden. It's probably 6-7 metres high, set in the main hall of Dresden Central Station. The buzzy  atmosphere attracted large numbers of people; it was cosy and "Christmassy".

Russia's Most Expensive Christmas Tree...

...nope, it is not the one in the picture. The most expensive Christmas tree, yes,will be erected in Vladivostok. The Russian online newsmagazine Novostivl.ru compares the cost of Christmas trees selected for different Russian cities; that means for cities which are willing to invest some of their budget money for the 'New Year Wonder'. St Petersburg is spending  2,7 million rubles (app. 53,000 Euros), Nizhnij Novgorod and Tula are buying a tree worth 2,4 million rubles (app 48,000 Euros), and Yekaterinburg - east of the Ural mountains where the the last Tsar Nicholas II and all members of his family were executed by the Bolsheviks - sacrifieses 2,5 million rubles (app. 50,000 Euros) of its budget. Moscow is the luckiest amongst the Russian host cities for Christmas trees: 'Yelka' comes completely free from the nearby Moscow forest.
Now, how much will the Christmas tree in Vladivostok then be if it is said to be the most expensive throughout Russia?? Well, the city pays a whopping 5,28 rubles (app. 105,000 Euros) for an artificial version, weighing 15 tons AND another 5,2 million (app. 104,000 Euros) for installation, decoration and dismantling. Last year Christmas trees were around 1,2 million rubles (app. 24,000 Euros). (http://novostivl.ru/msg/9544.htm) 
Russians love their Christmas trees and will enjoy it every second. On January 7th, 2010, they will go out in the night, no matter what the temperature is like, and will gather around their 'Yelkas' perhaps dance and sing. (The picture shows the Christmas tree of the season 2008-2009 in Moscow, near the Kremlin Wall and Spassky Tower; by www.englishrussia.com)

2. Advent Quote

"....from the Eleventh chapter of Hebrews. It begins, 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (from Clinton's My Life, page 878)

Who knows Vladivostok?

I have always wanted to see Russia east of the Ural Mountains. This is the geographical line where the 'European part' of Russia separates from the 'Asian part' as learnt at school in the 1980s. Anyway, what does it look like? Does it look more like Russia or more like Asia? Do people there enjoy modern life as much as we do? What are the people concerned with? What do the people deal with? Loads of questions...(Map by RusNet).

Fortunately, the Internet makes it easy to access information to start with. The last time 'Vladivostok' was on the BBC News was almost exactly 6 years ago, in November 2003, when BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg published a diary about his travels through Siberia and Far East Russia. He reported, amongst other things, that back in 2003 Vladivostok struggled to produce enough water. It was routine for the people to fill containers, buckets, bowls, jars, cans and bottles with water once it came on in order to bridge the days no water came out of the taps. Local hospitals feared an outbreak of typhoid or other diseases similar to their experience made 30 years ago when thay had the last water shortage. Explanations were sought by examining nature and the man-made structure. Eventually, people got entangled in the "blame-game" when summer drought as well as the old water system were 'held responsible'. The water system was said to be outworn and in desperate need of updating, but officials were slow at responding and allocating the money. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3234568.stm) Now this sounds like Russia to me: People struggling with the most basic issues. (Picture: Vladivostok Station by Tripadvisor)

In recent months, Vladivostok has been in the news for different headlines. In 2008, German Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that people complain about corruption. They said that corruption amongst government officials has grown immensely. Along these lines, a brave Russian journalist described how 'apparatchiks' had luxury mansions erected and schools demolished for that. In another small city near Vladivostok called "New Moscow", locals demonstrated against massive deforestation. The timber is sent directly to furniture factories or to China. Workers at sites always have an official document at hand, confirming approval.

In October 2009, Yezhednevnye Novosti Vladivostoka reported that a bilaterial agreement between Russia and China has been signed against 'Bioterrorism'. By this, the newspaper was referring to the illegal border crossings and poaching on Fareastern Leopards from the Chinese side. Russia now is also pursuing a special programme to save the Amur Tiger or Siberian Tiger as Frankfurter Allgemeine reports in November 2009. Tigers are continuously killed for their pelts and body parts and the worldwide population is estimated to be only 3,200 Tigers, according to WWF. 450 adult tigers are Amur Tigers in the Far East. The plan seeks to double the Tiger population by 2022 by protecting its habitat and food source (deer & boar).

Right: Siberian or Amur Tiger (Picture by zls.org); Left: Amur Leopard (Picture by Wikipedia.org)

Change of Focus: Vast Russia!

This is a quotation from Die Fluechtlinge von Sachalin (The Fugitives of Sakhalin) written in 1888 by Vladimir Korolenko, a writer and humanist who was concerned with the rights of the defenseless and came to be regarded as "Russia's Conscience".

"Die Flucht ist im Grunde genommen nicht schwierig. 'Du kannst gehen, wohin du willst', sagte der Alte, 'wenn du zu Tode kommen willst. Die Insel ist gross und besteht nur aus oeden Gegenden; selbst die Einheimischen, die an Entbehrungen gewoehnt sind, koennen sich nicht ueberhall halten. Gehst du gen Osten, verirrst du dich in den Felsen und dich fressen entweder die hungrigen Tiere des Waldes, oder du kannst zu Winter selbst zurueck. Gehst du nach Sueden, so kommst du ans Ende der Insel, [...]. Wir haben also lediglich einen Weg; den nach Norden, immer am Ufer entlang'."

[Translation: "Escaping is not difficult, at its heart. 'You can go wherever you like', the old man said, 'if you want to die. The island is big and has only wasteland; even the natives who are used to deprivation cannot quite buoy up everywhere. Go east and you will get lost in the cliffs and either the wild beasts will eat you or you can just return to Winter (fugitive camp). If you go south, you will come to the end of the island, [...]. There is only one way out left for us then; the way north, always following the shoreline'."] Source image: Sakhalin.ru

Source map: Wikipedia

Quotation from Bill Clinton's "My Life"

"[...] there are things in life we cannot control and mysteries we cannot understand; that I wanted them to take more care with themselves, their friends, and their families; and that we could not "deaden our sensitivities by working too hard". That last bit of advice had been always easier for me to give than to take." (p 532)

Bill Clinton after the suicide death of Vince Foster, a life-long friend of the Clinton's, lawyer and later member of the White House Office Council.

Quotation from "My Life" by Bill Clinton (2004)

"My mother has raised me to look for the good in everybody."

Who Calls You 'Sweetie'?

On a Monday I went to my Salsa club as usual. Seeing and greeting many familiar faces, I found myself being called 'sweetie' by a guy who I know, but whom I am not any close to. He never called be 'sweetie' before that. I was surprised, a little unpleasantly, but did not object. After all, having lived in England for four years now, I should be used to being addressed by 'darling', 'love' or 'gorgeous', should I not. Indeed, this was amongst the first cultural differences I noticed when I came to London four years ago. Strangers, people I had never met, man or women, called me 'darling'. When men called me like this, I thought, 'wow, they must like me', when women did, 'what is this all about'? Well, it goes without saying that I learnt very quickly that this was nothing but common.

Sweetie seems to be the new darling. Now it is more often that I am being addressed using the word sweetie, whereas just a few years ago it was more the word darling. Even Barack Obama admitted having the bad habit of calling people sweetie and apologized for it to a female reporter whom he had addressed saying, "Hold on one second, sweetie." That was just in 2008 when he was still Senator. (Chicago Tribune) Anyhow, sweetie is supposed to be a term of endearment, as darling is, it developed from the adjective sweet by adding the suffix -ie, becoming a noun, and is a synonym of sweetheart. It refers to a person who is dear to and loved by another person. Other words along the constellation of diminutives meant for loved people are darling, honey, sugar, sweetie pie etc. (Merriam Webster) According to linguists, all can be used as vocatives, which means addressing people by their or any name. Now we know the theory behind it.

What about the practice? There is nothing wrong with the word sweetie by all means. It feels great to be called 'sweetie' by my sweetheart, even in public. However, I am not prepared to be called 'sweetie' or 'sugar' or 'love' by people I hardly know, publicly or not. The example of Obama having used it in public showed that society is still coming to terms with it and is perhaps trying to re-define the context. American newspapers were discussing this incident, mulling over potential underlying meanings such as offense, dismissal and condescension, especially when men refer to women using diminutives. So, why not continuing to use it in the historically and traditionally known context only - as an endearing word, relating to people one loves and cares for. What other words are out there to use to make loved ones feel special instead? When I say then, 'Hold on one second, sweetie' to my sweetheart, he will know what I mean.

Quotation from "My Life" by Bill Clinton (2004)

"And to the memory of my grandfather, who taught me to look up to people others look down on, because we are not so different after all." (Intro-note)
(Source image: www.amazon.co.uk)

Sasha Makhmutov - Wanted!

Introducing: Alexander Emmanuel Makhmutov, my maternal grandfather. Sadly, I have never met him. In fact, talking about him when I was young just did not happen. I would not exist without him, right, so I have been looking for him...He was born in Baku, Azerbaijan and a senior officer in the Red Army in the 1940s.

Quotation from "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde (1891)

Lord Henry says: "We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible."

Courage & Dignified End

One day in August 2009 I received an email from my friend A. Her email was sad and encouraging at the same time. She wanted her friends to know that a relative of her passed away after having lived with breast cancer for 5 years. She was only at the beginning of her fifties, a teacher. My friend writes: "Just before midnight yesterday, she began to have excruciating pain, checked into the hospital and was administered morphine for her pain. She passed a few hours later.The cancer had taken its toll quickly [...]." Those are the sad facts.

As my friend puts it, we certainly do not expect to face the end when we know that life expectancy pushes towards 80 years and more, and that we all can have active, full lives despite experiencing first "unavoidable age related health matters, such as weakening eyesight and hearing, joints aches, cholesterol level, cysts/fibroids etc...and of course superficial greys and wrinkles" in our forties, which would be middle age.

The encouraging side of this story is that a human being is able to live a dignified life till the end by making a bold, conscious choice. This was such with my friend's relative. She was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago,  but opted against chemo and surgery. Everybody would be curious to know as to why she chose this path as having cancer and not treating it means certain death? One explanation A. found was that she had cared for her mom for many years who was bedridden after a severe stroke. So she had seen the pain and suffering first hand and must have developed the wish and conviction not to do this to anyone. In the end, not wanting a "repetition of that for herself and her siblings, she chose not to go down that path and pass on with dignity and minimal suffering." And she suffered minimal pain before the end, apart from occasional fatigue, and lived a good life by her standards. "And pass on she did as she had wished. It is for those left with behind to deal with the loss and grief....make peace with it ...and find the courage to carry on with life." Further to my friend, the family is in shock despite knowing she had cancer. Death, indeed, is hard to cope with, may it come sudden or with warnings.

To many, this woman was brave. She made a brave choice and gave herself a life without suffering and agony, which cancer treatment in hospital would have certainly meant for her. My friend and I find ourselves reminded of our luck to be healthy and in a position to do what we love in our lives. We will certainly continue to make the most of our days on Earth. She goes to her annual screenings and check-ups; I have been a bit more careless, realising that I have not had a test in four years, but will certainly make up for it.

Quotation from "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866)

“All women are like that. Even the proudest of them become abject slaves where marriage is concerned.”  (Chapter VIII)  Source Image: www.ruslania.com

Quotation from "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Dr Urbino says: "Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability." Source image: The Washington Post.

Lunch Talk about Marriage

Whilst having lunch with an Egyptian man, I heard more about his personal life as he marked the cornerstones on his way to marriage and having a family. As a young man in his twenties he lived in Alexandria, a modern Egyptian city where young people, especially young women, lead an independent life, enjoying themselves while developing a career, going out and dating according to western style. So he dated women and loved the idea of just doing things together such as travelling without the final commitment. However, there seem to be more conservative women. He met one, admired her for her beauty and enjoyed her company. He had reached the end of his twenties by now. They could not date for long without clarifying their intensions, his intensions in fact. They got married. Eight years into marriage, he is happy to have her, to have her as the mother of his children. He is oftentimes feeling the immense pressure of responsibility…yet accepting and handling it well. On few occasions he misses the careless time of dating. Source photograph: National Geographic

Quotation from "Dubrowski" by Aleksander Pushkin (1832)

"Was es fuer ein Unglueck ist?, entgegnete die boese Gattin. Weisst du denn nicht, was das fuer eine Vorbedeutung hat? Eine Vorbedeutung? Dass das Pfeiffen das Geld aus dem Hause lockt?" (Chapter XI)

Quotation from "Dubrovski" by Aleksander Pushkin (1832)

"Luxus kann nur die Armut troesten, und auch das nur kurze Zeit, solange er neu ist;" (Chapter XV)

From "Dubrovski" by Aleksander Pushkin (1832)

"[...] und der Sekretaer verlas mit heller Stimme den Entscheid des Gerichts, der bewies, wie leicht jemand in Russland ein Besitztum verlieren kann, auf das er unbestreitbare Rechte zu haben glaubt..." (Chapter I)

Quotation from "Vanina Vanini" by Frédéric de Stendhal

Vanina Vanini ist eine Kurzgeschichte, die im oesterreichisch besetzten Italien in den 1830er spielt. Die italienische Aristokratin verliebt sich in den jungen Revolutionaer Pietro. Um ihn ganz fuer sich zu gewinnen, verraet sie den revolutionaeren Ring, dem er angehoert. Daraufhin wird Pietro verhaftet. Vanina besucht ihm im Gefaengnis, was ihn so aufregt, dass er sie zu toeten versucht. Spaeter wird er hingerichtet und sie kehrt zu ihrem dekanten Leben zurueck.

Die ausgesuchte Phrase gibt einen Hinweis auf die Lage Italiens am Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts:

"Unser Vaterland ist keine Insel wie das glueckliche England; wir brauchen Soldaten, um den Einmischungen der Koenige Europas zu widerstehen." Foto of Stendhal: Quelle www.wikipedia.org

Weisheit von E.T.A. Hoffmann

Aus Der unheimliche Gast (1819/21)
"Jeder hat es wohl erfahren, dass in der Nacht das kleinste Geraeusch, was in abgemessenen Pausen wiederkehrt, allen Schlaf verjagt und die innerliche Angst steigert und steigert bis zur Verstoertheit aller Sinne." Indeed, indeed, if there is noise at night around, to be awake the soundest sleeper is bound.

What China Bought

China is big, China is colourful, China is attractive, China is booming and China has been THE nation sought after by nations seeking economic stimulation themselves in the first decade of the 21st century.


How rich China has become during the new millenia shows the following list of purchases:
-2009: $770 million: Chinese steelmaker Hunan Valin bought 16.5% of the Australian iron-ore mining company Fortescue Metals.
-2007: $ 3 billion: China Investment Corp bought 10% of shares of a New York-based private equity firm.
-2007: $ 5 billion: China Investment Corp bought 9.9% of shares of Morgan Stanley.
-2009: $ 19.5 billion: Aluminium Corp of China bought 18% of Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world.
-2009: $390 million: China National Petroleum Corp bought the Canadian company Verenex Energy.
-2009: $10 billion: China Development Bank and China Petroleum  & Oil Corp invested in Petrobras, Brazil's oil company.
-2009: $15 billion: China's loan to Russia's Rosneft, the oil magnate.
-2009: $10 billion: China's loan to Transneft, Russia's pipeline company.


Total: $ 59.16 billion

Better Late than Never

Now, eventually, I could not resist anymore starting my own blog since the whole world seems to be Tweeting, Facebook'ing, and MySpace'ing, and....Blogging.