PICTURE PERFECT: INFINITE

Definitions on INFINITE:
“Unlimited or boundless, in time or space;
as, infinite duration or distance.”

Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant is over there in the distance. It was there where it was discovered that the Chernobyl accident had happened in 1986, for the Swedes thought that they had a ‘leak’ or whatever at first. I took this photo in the summer of 2002 during very hot weather.

On April 27, 1986, unusually high levels of radiation were detected in workers’ clothing at this plant, prompting concerns of a radiation leak. No leak was found, however, and the radiation was determined to have originated from Chernobyl, where a reactor had exploded the previous day. Chernobyl is approximately 1,100 km from this power plant.

Because of the sensitive instruments located in the nuclear power plant for the purpose of detecting local leaks, Forsmark was, on April 27, 1986, the first place outside the Soviet Union where the signs of the Chernobyl accident became apparent. When workers at the plant were found to carry radioactive particles, the origin of the leak was investigated and it eventually became clear that the contamination came from the atmosphere rather than from the Forsmark plant itself. (Wikipedia)

© All photos Riihele. All rights reserved

Nuclear accidents affect infinitely into the lives of all the people on the globe; even though, the usual presumption is that the effects are only local… Chernobyl still has its mark on the water we drink and bathe in, our soil where everything grows, and the air we breathe in, and will for a very long time yet to come!

This is my contribution on the Picture Perfect theme INFINITE.

Don’t use words too big for the subject.
Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”;
otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. (C. S. Lewis)

Do have a grand weekend and do keep so well. Rii xx

The nuclear meltdown provoked a radioactive cloud that floated not over just Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova,
but
the European part of the Turkey,
Republic of Macedonia,
Croatia,
Bulgaria,
Greece,
Romania,
Lithuania,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Finland,
Denmark,
Norway,
Sweden,
Austria,
Hungary,
the Czech Republic
and the Slovak Republic,
The Netherlands,
Belgium,
Slovenia,
Poland,
Switzerland,
Germany,
Italy,
Ireland,
France (including Corsica)
and the United Kingdom as well. (Wikipedia)

COMEDY: DINNER for ONE

The Menu

Mulligatawny Soup (with sherry)
Haddock (with white wine)
Chicken (with Champagne)
Fruit (with port)

– Little drop of soup, Miss Sophie?
– I am particularly fond of mulligatawny soup*, James…I think we’ll have sherry with the soup.
– Sherry with the soup? Yes… oh, by the way, the same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?
– Same procedure as every year, James.

Dinner for one also known as The 90th Birthday, or by its corresponding German title, Der 90. Geburtstag, is a comedy sketch written by British author Lauri Wylie for the theatre in the 1920s. German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) recorded a performance of the piece in 1963, in its original English language. This short comical play subsequently went on to become the most frequently repeated TV programme ever (according to the Guinness Book of Records, 1988-1995 eds.; later editions no longer have the category). Wikipedia

The 18 minute black-and-white 1963 TV recording features the British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden. In many countries New Year, without Dinner for One, would be like Christmas without It’s A Wonderful Life! The German airline LTU shows it on all its New Year flights, and Dinner for One recently ventured across the border to Austria, where it has become compulsive annual viewing. (The Daily Telegraph online)

Everywhere where it is regularly televised, it has become a cult, and translated into many languages, including Latin:

Ceterum, domina, iubesne me sequi eandem rationem procedendi atque anno superiore? – Same procedure as last year, milady? (BBC online)?

This sketch is absolutely hysterically funny, methinks. Rii

* Recipe for the Mulligatawny Soup is in this link.

“Literally meaning pepper water. Mulligatawny Soup is an Anglo-Indian invention. Created by servants for the English Raj who demanded a soup course from a cuisine that had never produced one. You can make this soup a day ahead and you can add chicken pieces in the soup as well.” (All Recipes online)

Haddock and other fish pictures.
Dinner for One BBC link.
Transcript for the dialogue between Miss Sophie and James.
Even a Quizz on the Dinner for One.

Travelogue from Dublin: Today in Ireland

This one of the Travelogues that I wrote last year this time while over there.

Today is the day in Ireland when there is the state funeral for one of the most controversial people in the Irish politics, Charles J. Haughey, who died a few days ago at the age of 80. When I arrived in Ireland in 1980, this man was at the height of his political clout and influence. Here is another link to life of Mr Haughey.

Before arriving here all those 26-years ago I knew the following things about the Emerald Isle: IRA, Guinness and Dublin, nothing else until I spruced up my knowledge of the history, politics, geography and who-is-who in the land. It is always wise and foresighted to prepare oneself if one is changing country and culture to find out about these things as much as is possible as it most certainly will hasten the adjusting to the new life and living.

Having been around a few places these last few days while here, one thing is for sure: the country is even more full of the foreigners than ever before that I can recall anyway. My daughter finds it amusing that I ask the people working in the shops and cafes where they do come from. I am also quick to reply that I am a foreigner myself here. Heli, my daughter’s, comment to me was that in her opinion it would have been easier for me to feel at home in here if it had been so international then as it is now. I tend to agree with her on this.

The new EU states, such as Poland and Hungary, seems to be well represented in Ireland at present. Funny, in a way, because Ireland is one of the few countries that did not sign the Schengen Agreement of the passport-less travel between the EU countries. Yet it is to here the crowds gather to work and to live. Although, Ireland is very expensive to live in everyway, the housing, the medical, the transport all are high and the level of the salaries does not match these for many.

Poland and the other new states in the happy family of the European Union were given a ‘quarantine’ time, ie., restricted entry to the ‘old’ EU countries when they joined in May 2004. It was a bit like ‘Welcome to The Family, but do not call on us’. Here is what I wrote on an earlier entry about the EU.

It is a very handy and practical thing to have the same currency as one moves from one country to the other in the EU; though, some of the old EU countries as in Sweden, Denmark and the UK did not join the common currency of the euro. The Euro has made it dead simple for the populace to compare the prices on the very same products and so on in other EU countries and to realize that they differ vastly from one country to the other. We are being had as the saying goes!

Tis for now. Riihele xx.

PS.
The photograph is one taken by yours truly a few days ago. It is one my favourite scenes in Ireland, the Sugarloaf Mountain in County Wicklow which is just a few miles south of Dublin.

For Your Vision – EUROVISION

I wrote last year and I am quoting: ”Would you believe that Finland is taking part in the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest* this year with a song – read: a show – that could actually get somewhere? I am not a fan of this kind of performing, but nevertheless, I am going to follow to see how the show develops. What I am going to sorely miss – as I always do when not in the British Isles this time of the year – is the hilarious and sharp BBC commentary of Terry Wogan – that verbally able Irishman – on the competition. His comments really are priceless making the viewing of the show more bearable in spite all the gaudiness and the tack of the performances.”

Finland won the competition, so that this year the circus is in Helsinki. And Da Blonde is not there to enjoy it.

The lead singer of this band comes from the town in Lapland called, Rovaniemi, which is also the birth town of my mother. I am originally from another part of Lapland, The Tornio Valley. Lovely places, so they are. What I am left wondering, pondering is this:

1. Was it the white nights during the Polar Day or

2. Was it the endless darkness during the Polar Night that got to him in the end?

According to an article that I read about this man is that he used to make extra cash during the Christmas times dressing as a santa. So, it seems to be in his blood to dress-up in fancy costumes impersonating somebody else while he himself remains in the background. Hmm… I saw a picture in another newspaper that made me think: “Oh, it is your man!” But actually it was the mummy that was found in Peru quite recently. The alikeness of the two is rather astonishing, really.

Tis for now. Riihele xx.

HAVE A BRILLIANT WEEKEND.

PS. Did you know that The Monty Python has their version of the Eurovision Song Contest?

* Explanation to the non-Europeans: This competition is BIG as in HUGE. Over 100 million people watch the Eurovision Song Contest. To win it is BIG. There was also a large media presence there of 2000 journalists doing the coverage worldwide. Compare that to the American Idol that has only 30+ million viewers.

WANTED: Europeans Union

Wanted, desperately, wanted the Europeans Unity! Europe got its name from a mythological figure of the same name and in some languages the continent is called, Europa, exactly as the namesake. Here is the official gateway to The European Union. The link to The Council of Europe is here. The Council of Europe page on the symbols is in this link. Another great and informative site is in here where the US events are reported. Yet another link with all kinds of information for and about the teachers and schools that took part in the celebrations on the Europe Day. And The European Parliament is in this link. – Take your pick on the language of your choice to view the pages, there’s plenty to choose from! – I know, info galore!! Yet another great and handy link into the European Union Commission pages is in this link.

The 9th of May, is the Europe Day and on March 25 there will be the 50th anniversary of the signing of The Treaty of Rome. In this link there is an array of colourful posters on the theme. The EU flag is shown in this link and here is the 50-year history of the European flag. The new proposed flag used officially in Austria in 2006 for the first time and it is called the ‘Barcode.’ You will see that it is just that, as you look at it. I say that if you do not know what the migraine is, you will most certainly after only a look at that flag!

“In the current European flag, there is a fixed number of stars. In the barcode however, new Member States of the EU can be added without space constraints. Originally, the barcode displayed 15 EU countries. In 2oo4, the symbol was adapted to include the ten new Member States.” (Wikipedia)

Here is an across-the-pond view on the Europe Day and things European. I don’t necessarily endorse all his views, but in the spirit of ‘unity in diversity’ it is an interesting point of view. Indeed, that is the motto of the European Union, in Latin, In varietate concordia, “UNITY IN DIVERSITY.” – The emphasis in this slogan is on the word ‘unity’ in this wording. The new proposed motto is this, “United in Diversity.” The emphasis in this expression is on the word ‘diversity’, in my mind. The Irish take on the diversity of the opinions and the platform provided for the same is in here.

The European Union anthem is the Ode to Joy by Beethoven. There in the previous link you can listen to it as well as sing along to it and get all kinds of background information on the same. There is also a Hip-Hop version of the Ode to Joy available in The Council of Europe link which is here on the top of the page. Interesting. This site has the notes, the cords and the words given of the anthem in Latin* :

Hymnus Latinus Europae

Est Europa nunc unita
et unita maneat;
una in diversitate
pacem mundi augeat.

Semper regant in Europa
fides et iustitia
et libertas populorum
in maiore patria.

Cives, floreat Europa,
opus magnum vocat vos.
Stellae signa sunt in caelo
aureae, quae iungant nos.

© Peter Roland, Peter Diem
musica scripta: Doblinger 44 781
(ISMN M-012-19562-7)

The speech entitled “Unity and Diversity: Europe’s Approaches to Culture and Languages“ on February 7, 2006 is that which the Commissioner Jan Figel held in Washington on a variety of topics among them on the European Culture and Cultural diversity. The newspapers called the EUobserver and EurActiv.com have online reports on all things EU.

HAVE A GRAND WEEKEND.
Tis for now. Riihele xx.

 

(*Latin dictionary)
The Economist.com quiz on The European Union at 50.

 

The Perfect European Should Be…

The Perfect European – which nationality in The Happy Family that makes the European Union has got the ‘it’. That question does arise every now and then.

I did an earlier entry some time ago called: ‘Wanted: Europeans Unity.’ Here is a map with all the countries listed. Europe got its name from a mythological figure of the same name and in some languages the continent is called, Europa, exactly as the namesake. Here is the official gateway to The European Union. The link to The Council of Europe is here. The Council of Europe page on the symbols is in this link. Another great and informative site is in here where the US events are reported. Yet another link with all kinds of information for and about the teachers and schools that took part in the celebrations on the Europe Day. And The European Parliament is in this link. – Take your pick on the language of your choice to view the pages, there’s plenty to choose from! – I know, info galore!! Yet another great and handy link into the European Union Commission pages is in this link.

I got this card featured one year from Becki, as she was heading off to the far-off shores in one of her travels, she saw this card in Gatwick Airport in London. It was the Finn bit in the card that made her think of me; the ‘oh, so quiet and shy mother of hers!

The Perfect European Should Be…

Cooking …. Like a Brit

Available…. As a Belgian

Flexible… As a Swede

Sober…. As the Irish

Talkative…. As a Finn

Famous….As a Luxembourger

Humble…. As a Spaniard

Generous…. As a Dutchman

Humorous….As a German

Patient…. As an Austrian

Organised….As a Greek

Driving…. Like the French

Technical….As a Portuguese

Controlled…. As an Italian

Discreet….As a Dane

The motto of the European Union, in Latin, In varietate concordia, “UNITY IN DIVERSITY.” – The emphasis in this slogan is on the word ‘unity’ in this wording. The new proposed motto is this, “United in Diversity.” The emphasis in this expression is on the word ‘diversity’, in my mind. The Irish take on the diversity of the opinions and the platform provided for the same is in here. This is BBC’s take on today’s news on Bulgaria and Romania joining The Happy Family in January 2007. And here is more on the rest of the queue banging at the Fortress Europe to open the gates for them.

The very first blog that I read regularly was that of Margot Wallström – who that? Well, she is the Vice-President of The European Commission and here is her personal profile in this link. Tis for now on the The Perfect European.

Riihele xx.

PS.
The card is by:
WPI WhitewayPublications Ltd.
J.N.HUGHES-WILSON W262