POCITELJ - Bosnia & Herzegovina

"This unique settlement, listed as a UNESCO heritage site was heavily damaged during and sadly even after the war but recent reconstruction has returned the town to its original form. The 1992-1995 war meant the destruction and looting of Pocitelj's mix of Mediterranean and Turkish architecture and the magnificent examples of the world's architectural treasury have been trashed. Today Pocitelj hosts again the longest operating art colony in southeast Europe.Artists from around the world gather here to paint, among other things but importantly, the shiny red pomegranates and figs." Click POCITELJ

A LIFE IN MARBLE : Work of Thierry Moingeon

Click GALLERY

ISLAND OF STAFFA, SCOTLAND - A Unique Geological Wonder

The Island of Staffa (Island of Pillars) is a tiny uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides, W.Scotland. It is famous for its basaltic formations that are the result of volcanic eruptions - a lava flow that has solidified into characteristic hexagonal columns - 60 millions years ago. The most impressive feature is /click/Fingal's Cave. It is inundated by the sea. It is breathtaking, according to those who visited it. Walter Scott describes it as: "…one of the most extraordinary places I ever beheld. It exceeded, in my mind, every description I had heard of it …composed entirely of basaltic pillars as high as the roof of a cathedral, and running deep into the rock, eternally swept by a deep and swelling sea, and paved, as it were, with ruddy marble, baffles all description." Those who like Mendelssohn might know that the/click/"Hebrides Overture/Fingal's Cave" was inspired by his visit to this place. In 1832 Joseph Turner made a painting called Staffa, Fingal's Cave.
The island is not easy to get to. It is only possible to land in small boats from the island of Mull or Iona. Click IONA

ROME IS RULED BY CATS

"Rome is ruled by cats, and in some instances they have more rights than people. Good for them. They deserve it. If you are lucky enough to have a kitten born on your doorstep, by law it has the right to live on your property. You don't necessarily have to care for it, but if it wants to watch Big Brother, or some other quite inane television program, let it. Life will be easier.Where did all these cats come from? Egypt. When the ancient Egyptian empire fell, the felines boarded sailing vessels and scattered themselves around the world. Lucky for Rome, some of them ended up here to help maintain the rat problem, which was good during the 1300's when the bubonic plague arrived in Italy.Today in the Coliseum area alone there are about 200 cats, but the real Roman cat sanctuary is Torre Argentina. It is one of the older temples in Rome (400-300 B.C.) and the historic site where Julius Ceasar was stabbed by his rival Brutus in 44 B.C. Since then, 250-300 stray cats have found shelter here from chaos and traffic. They are fed, spayed, pet and given medicine by an international group of volunteers."

MARIO KOPIC: "The Unhealable Wound of the World"

MARIO KOPIC was born in 1965 in Dubrovnik. He studied Philosophy and Comparative Literature in Zagreb; Philosophy (Phenomenology) and Political Anthropology in Ljubljana; Political History and History of Ideas in Berlin (Prof. Ernst Nolte); and Comparative Religiology in Rome (Prof.Ida Magli).He published many texts among which the books:"Iskusavanje rubova smisla"(1991);" S Nietzscheom o Europi" (2001); "Nietzche e Evola" (2001); "Izazovi post-metafizike" (2007); "Proces Zapadu" (2003); His work includes translations from Italian, German, French and Slovenian language. Within a week his new book " The Unhealable Wound of the World" ("Nezacjeljiva rana svijeta") will see the light of day. This book explores the Phenomenology of Domination.

The NETHERLANDS: A Floating Country

"God created the earth," says an old Dutch saying "but the Dutch created the Netherlands." Indeed, precious few nations share the distinction of having forged much of their land from the sea...Today the Dutch are gearing up for climate change with amphibious floating houses. If rivers rise above their banks, the houses simply rise upwards as well. But are water lovers prepared to live on swimming family arks?" Click FLOATING HOME

HONEY, DON'T BE A BEE

Anticki grcki pjesnik Simonid napisao je seriju opisa tipskih zena, i svaka potice od neke zivotinje. Jedna od kobile, druga od majmunice, treca od kuje - svaka gora od one prethodne, odredjena svojim tijelom. Jedina koja je "dobra", koja se preporucuje za brak, jest zena nastala od pcele: skoro nevidljiva, dakle bestjelesna, ona radi li radi, i primjetna je samo po tihom zujanju - i medu, naravno. Maro.
Click MAJA

OLIVE GALLERY

Click GALLERY

A FIGURE REDUCED TO EYES (Maro)

Vrijedi analizirati ovaj lik, uokviren crnim, bojom tuge. Pokriveno je sve, osim lica - znamenitog bijelog tena. Zenska figura svedena je na pogled, univerzalni ljudski pogled nedavne patnje. Smrt je upisana u aluzivna znacenja. Zenska privlacnost svedena je na oci i glas, dubok i provokativan, glumacki i pjevacki. Drhtaj ozbiljnog i odgovornog u zabavi i uzivanju.Click GRECO Click Bio

Mili MILAN, MIREILLE, LA MER...

Click MILAN click La Mer

TERAN & MALVASIA, MALVOISIE, MALVAZIJA

CHEERS from our dear friend Drazen, Istria, Croatia

Maro's Film Review :MEDITERRANEAN WOMAN IN BLACK

click Anna Magnani

Maro's Film Review: "NEVER ON SUNDAY" (1960)

Sigurno si gledala /click>/Never on Sunday. Eto danas, u nedjelju, sjetio sam se tog filma i posljednje grcke bozice, Meline Mercouri. U filmu je fiksiran taj nezaboravni zenski lik – mediteranska prostitutka dobra srca. Zaneseni americki ljubitelj anticke Grcke dolazi u stvarnu Grcku, i svojim deplasiranim naporima da kulturno uzdigne zavodljivu lucku prostitutku, pravi probleme njoj, njezinom stalnom ljubavniku, pristalom mornaru, i svakome drugome u blizini. Duhovita poduka o kulturnom kolonijalizmu i o nasilnoj „vezi“ izmedju anticke proslosti i lokalne svakodnevice imala je sjajnog tumaca u Melini – toj sasvim ne-tipskoj Grkinji, visokoj, vitkoj, dugih nogu, plave kose. Njen glas zvuci promuklo od cigareta, njezino pjevanje je bez napora, skoro saputanje, njezin bosonogi ples zanosan. Na pitanje kako je razumjela kraj tragedije (vrlo tragican, jer je rijec o Medeji), ona u filmu odgovara legendarnom recenicom: „I onda su svi otisli na more!“.

THE ATLANTIC, Sargasso Sea

The SARGASSO SEA is located between the Caribbean and the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is known as “the floating desert” and a meeting place for eels. It is exceptionally salty, clear and blue. It is also known as the "Sea of Lost Ships", being a part of the “BermudaTriangle “ myth. A widespread growth of seaweed is found here…

INDIAN OCEAN, La Réunion, Bourbon Vanilla

BOURBON VANILLA FROM REUNION – Vanilla is the only edible orchid. Its flavour has been known and used for a long time. As early as in the 14th century, the Aztecs from Mexico used it to flavour their favorite drink of cacao. Vanilla first left Mexico in the early 1500s on ships bound for Spain.
In 19th century some lianas of Vanilla Planifolia were introduced to the plantations of Réunion( formerly Bourbon). In 1841, young slave Edmond Albius invented the technique of artificial pollination of vanilla. The cultivation of vanilla spreads all over the island. Today the Bourbon Vanilla is considered to be the best on the world market.

The word vanilla derived from the Spanish name of the spice, vainilla, which is a diminutive of vaina “sheath". Perhaps motivated by the sheath-like shape of the fruit. Word vaina is of Latin origin vagina.
Réunion, (French: Île de la Réunion or La Réunion, formerly Île Bourbon), is an island, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. Réunion is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.

THE CARIBBEAN, The Arecibo Telescope, Puerto Rico

THE LARGEST TELESCOPE IN THE WORLD - The Arecibo telescope is distinguished by its enormous size. The dish is the largest curved focusing dish on Earth, giving Arecibo the largest electromagnetic-wave gathering capacity. Arecibo Observatory is uniquely suited to search for signals from extraterrestrial life, by focusing on thousands of star systems in the 1,000MHz to 3,000 MHz range. No such signals have been found.
Arecibo Observatory has provided a unique setting for Hollywood filmmakers. The observatory was the setting for the climatic scenes in the James Bond movie Goldeneye, and a good portion of the movie Contact, based on a novel by Carl Sagan and starring Jodie Foster, takes place at Arecibo. Another science fiction movie called Survivor was filmed on observatory grounds. Use of the Arecibo Observatory is available on an equal, competitive basis to all scientists from throughout the world to pursue research in astronomy, planetary studies and space and atmospheric sciences.

THE MEDITERRANEAN, Agave Americana

AGAVE AMERICANA, also known as MAGUEY or the Century plant - It was introduced into Europe about the middle of the 16th century and is now widely cultivated for its nice appearance. It matures very slowly and dies after flowering. This is a kind of Sisal Plant* that likes very poor and rocky grounds, near the sea, where the air is salty. It is of Mexican origin, but it adapted very well to the Mediterranean climate. It is the base for several Mexican drinks: the tequila, the pulque and the mezcal.A very strong fibre obtained from the leaves of the plant is used for making rope and coarse fabrics./Enlarge Photo: Trsteno, Dubrovnik, Adriatic/
*Sisal is a seaport town in the state of Yucatán, Mexico

THE CARIBBEAN - El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico

EL YUNQUE RAINFOREST - The indigenous Taino people believed the tallest peak of the rainforest, El Yunque, to be the cloud-covered throne of Yuquiyu, the god of creation.Yuquiyu also meant a natural place so beautiful they could feel the presence of their god. With over 240 species (26 species are found nowhere else) of trees and plants, give reason to the government of Puerto Rico to spend a great deal of moneymaking to preserve floral species and animals - such as the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot- that are on the verge of extinction. The Eastern side of the Luquillo Mountains, which has the El Yunque rainforest at the top elevations, gets most of the rain. The winds must rise when they meet the mountains. This rising of the air mass causes the air to cool and release rain on the windward side. There is a wonderful book about the El Yunque Rainforest written by Kathryn Robinson called "Where Dwarfs Reign".

THE ATLANTIC, Islands

ATLANTIC OCEAN-The Atlantic has relatively few islands, with the greatest concentration found in the Caribbean region. Most of the islands are structurally part of the continents, such as the British Isles, Falkland Islands, Canary Islands, and Newfoundland. Iceland, the Azores, the islands of Cape Verde, Ascension, the South Sandwich Islands, the West Indies, and Bermuda are exposed tops of submarine ridges. The Bahamas are low coral islands that sit on the Blake Plateau, while the Madeiras are high volcanic islands.

THE MEDITERRANEAN, The Adriatic Sea Winds

ADRIATIC SEA - An arm of the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. It extends from the Gulf of Venice southward to the Strait of Otranto, which links it to the Ionian Sea. The Italian coast is relatively straight and continuous, having no islands, but the Croatian coast is full of islands, generally running parallel to the shore.

The northeast wind called bora (Italian) or bura (Croatian), and the prevalence of sudden squalls, are dangers to navigation in winter. The bura is known for its "capriciousness" as well as sudden and often unexpected beginning. The gushes of wind can be accompanied by rumbling and exchange with calm or weak wind in periods of one or more minutes.

Also notable is the scirocco/jugo (southern wind).It belongs to the group of spring-fall winds that are accompanied by rain and humidity, the jugo does not blow often in the summer. When it does, you can recognize it by the following characteristics: the wind blows with a gradual increase without interruptions, creating very beautiful, long waves without noise and foam.

Maestral is a typical Adriatic summer northwestern wind and one of those winds that are characteristic for beautiful and stable weather. After the morning calm, almost always around noon during summer begins its pleasant circulation that can last, with increases, to dusk.

Nevera is a stormy wind on the sea, without constant direction, it is a passing and very strong wind.

Tramuntana ( ;">Tramontana) - The name tramontana comes from the Italian word 'tramonto' which means sunset. It is a northern thermal wind (usually it is a little bit colder) and blows in the evening when the weather is stable. The Tramontana is also a wind that comes after rain or a storm and then it can be very dangerous and strong.

Many consider the Adriatic Sea the most beautiful in the world.

THE PACIFIC, Seastar/Starfish

SEASTAR-What makes a seastar/starfish go? It is "water vascular or ambulacral system"... a series of interconnected channels, tubes, valves and pumps that coordinate to move the animal, some with such strength that they can pries shellfish apart....The northern Pacific seastars usually have huge appetites and prefer shellfish, particularly oysters and mussels. In 1954, they ate 400 million yen worth of marketable shellfish in Tokyo Bay. Because of their preference for commercial shellfish, the arrival of northern Pacific seastars in Australia caused great concern. In Tasmania, these fears were largely unrealised because the seastars were not found near shellfish leases. But early in 1998, hundreds of young seastars were discovered on commercial mussel ropes in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. These seastars could have devastated the mussel crop. According to genetic tests, the northern Pacific seastars found in Victoria probably came from Tasmania. Not surprising, considering that in 1995, the numbers of seastar young in the Derwent estuary were the highest found anywhere in the world (up to 1100 per cubic metre of water).