Animal Review

I am an NPR fan. I laugh out loud at "Wait, wait, don't tell me..." This can be embarrassing when I am in my car in a parking lot by myself and can't get out in the middle of an episode because I am visibly doubled over with laughter. I didn't hear the review on Animal Review, but I laughed out loud at the blog. If you are feeling blue, read Animal Review.

Ten Most Dangerous Cities...

The world's top 10 most dangerous cities according to Real Clear World :

10. London, U.K.

9. Saskatoon, Canada

8. Norilsk, Russia (in Siberia)

7. Johannesburg, South Africa

6. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

5. Detroit, U.S.A.

4. Caracas, Venezuela

3. Linfen, China

2. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

1. Mogadishu, Somalia

Art in Patzcuaro

Visit a masterpiece by Mexican muralist Juan O'Gorman:
The History of Michoacan

Click on link: Live in Patzcuaro

For the Birds

Magnificent Hummingbird - And it is magnificent!

Birder?

Aspiring birder?

No clue as to those UFOs?

These sites are for you:

Patzcuaro Birder (posts by an Audubon Master Birder who resides in the Lake Pátzcuaro area)

Birding in Pátzcuaro & Michoacán, Mexico (and more?)

Sicily

Today we fly to Catania, the second largest city in Sicily. Catania is located on Sicily's east coast and faces the Ionian Sea.

Floating off the toe of the Italian mainland, the island of Sicily is noticeably distinct from the rest of Italy. Here Europe takes on the flavors of Greece and North Africa. The unique history of Sicily, much invaded and an ancient centre of 'Magna Graecia' has given it a unique, hybrid culture. Sicily also has its own language, Sicilianu, a close cousin of Italian, painted with tones of Greek, Arabic and other languages. It's the first language of the island, although standard Italian (and indeed English) is spoken in shops and hotels.

The Trinacria, symbol of Sicily, is reminiscent of the island's shape.

The flag of Sicily.

Throughout much of its history, Sicily has been considered a strategic location due in large part to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes. The area was highly regarded as part of Magna Graecia, with Cicero describing Siracusa as the greatest and most beautiful city of all Ancient Greece. The city of Siracusa guarded the Strait of Messina. The Greeks arrived around 750BC to displace the ancient inhabitants: the Sicani, the Elymians and the Ligures. The Greeks were in turn overthrown by the rise of Rome in the late pre-Christian era. Christianity arrived around 200 AD, and then began of a procession of invaders including Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Spaniards, Persians, Aragonese and others. As late as the 19th century, raiders crossed from North Africa to capture men as slaves for their galleys and women for their brothels.

Sicily is an autonomous region of Italy and currently has five million inhabitants. It is also the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, though several much smaller islands surrounding it are also considered part of Sicily.

Southern Sicily is much closer to Tunisia than to the rest of Italy and Europe.

The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory…" The Mafia is purported to be alive and well in Sicily today.

Think Sicily: Online Travel Guide to Sicily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia
http://www.knowital.com/sicily/

Tu or Usted?

People often wonder just when they should use tu and when they should use Usted to address a person as “you” in Mexico. For an explanation, see http://culturespan.blogspot.com/.

On Cultural Time

© Tracy Novinger 2008

American culture teaches its members to “save time”... In Mexico one “spends” time…

Go to http://culturespan.blogspot.com

How Culture Affects Communication

Go to http://culturespan.blogspot.com

The Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea lies between Italy and Croatia. Along the Dalmatian Coast on its east side, there are thousands of islands. This coast is renowned for its beauty.

Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast

Tomorrow, 13Aug07, we leave for Croatia and a trip by boat along the Dalmatian Coast. We will combine birding, history and culture from 16-26 August with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. Then we will island hop and return to Austin on 7 Sept.

Croatia - Statistics:
Capital City: Zagreb;
Population: 4,493,312;
GDP: $60,260,000,000 (USD);
Total Area: 56,542 (sq km) 21,831 (sq mi);
Currency: kuna (HRK);
Controls 1,185 islands in the Adriatic Sea, 67 of which are inhabited; Government: Presidential/parliamentary democracy.

Geography

Croatia is a former Yugoslav republic on the Adriatic Sea. It is about the size of West Virginia. Part of Croatia is a barren, rocky region lying in the Dinaric Alps. The Zagorje region north of the capital, Zagreb, is a land of rolling hills, and the fertile agricultural region of the Pannonian Plain is bordered by the Drava, Danube, and Sava Rivers in the east. Over one-third of Croatia is forested.

Recent History

Croatians declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Conflict between Serbs and Croats in Croatia escalated, and one month after Croatia declared independence, civil war erupted. After wars over territory with regional factions and three broken cease-fire agreements, in December 1995, Croatia signed the Dayton peace agreement, committing itself to a permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees. Current President Mesic was inaugurated for a second term on February 18, 2005. Presidential elections will next be held in January 2010.

www.infoplease.com/country/profiles/croatia.html

Safety & Security

Although hostilities in all parts of the country ended in 1995, de-mining of areas along former confrontation lines is not complete. It is estimated that de-mining operations will continue at least until 2010. Mine-affected areas are well-marked with the Croatian-language warning signs using the international symbol for mines. Travelers in former conflict areas... [such as the] more remote areas of the Plitvice Lakes National Park should exercise caution and not stray from known safe roads and areas.

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1095.html

Language versus Usage

We were driving on fumes of gas after a long unexpected detour. We finally reached a bourg with two gas stations. But they had both just closed at noon for lunch. One would reopen at 2:30 and the other at 3:00. "But you can buy gas on a few pumps if you have a Blue Card." We don't have a Blue Card for gas. We found the next day that a Blue Card just means a credit card, because the first cards issued were blue, so theoretically we could have gotten gas. It doesn't matter, though, because the man we talked to at the gas station tried to use his Blue Card and the card reader wasn't working. We had a long lunch that day.

Le Cyber

We are at Le Cyber in Brantome to access the internet at this excellent facility. We are getting better at coming when they are open. Le Cyber is always closed all day Sunday and from 12:00 to 14:00 on all other days. It is open once on Monday from 14:00-17:00. It is open twice on Tuesday from 9-12:00 and 14:00-17:30. It is open twice a day Wednesday through Friday from 10-12.00 and from 14:00-17:30, and twice on Saturday the same hours as Tuesday--but I may be confused. This way Le Cyber is not open more than the maximum 35 hour work week in France. If employees worked shifts, could Le Cyber be open more than 35 hours?

Internet Center in Brantome

Every few days, we drive 24 kms to Brantome to an internet center with good facilities to check email and keep you posted. We also hike on trails out of Brantome. Of course, then we have to stop for a cafe along the river and also go by one of the ubiquitous boulangeries to check out the fresh bread and pastries. Tough duty, but someone has to do it. *****PS - The internet center is open a few afternoon hours Monday, a few hours each morning and afternoon Tuesday through Friday, and a few hours Saturday mornings. On walking out today, I need to check to see if the hours correspond to the legislated 35 hour work week in France.

L'Etiquette des Toilettes

Along major highways in France one finds frequent service areas for gas, food and les WC. The bathrooms are nice, large with many cubicles, and very clean. Male janitorial personnel wander in and out of the Femmes and the Hommes facilities at will. The entrance doors are kept wide open and one walks by a view of men lined up to the wall, obviously busy. One can view les femmes lined up as well, but washing hands or combing hair. Men feel free to walk into the Femmes facilities if they can't access facilities in their bathroom, or to wash their hands at a free sink. In some places the facilities for men and women are not separated. In all, this works quite well and speeds up the flow, so to speak, rather than queuing where no facility is available or leaving available facilites unused.

Then there is the toilette arabe in more modest public places. Condition those quads. It is best to have thighs of steel. (This facility is not recommended when wearing a long skirt with both hands full of purse and packages. )

Our Car Was Burgled in Sintra

We parked one block from the main street in the Historic Center of Sintra and had lunch. Our Peugeot has only one keyed lock on the driver's door. When we returned to the car there was no longer a key hole but rather a slot where a screwdriver had been inserted. The only thing that now allows us to lock and unlock the car is one electronic remote.
The thief(ves) left all the car doors unlocked and our binoculars were stolen out of the back where they had been tucked away out of sight in our backpacks. The car would have been burgled even if they had not been in it because nothing was visible. There must have been at least two thieves~~one look-out and one to cooly go through the car and pick and choose. They left the backpacks and my gortex jacket. This has never happened to Glen or me in our lives. Tough luck. Guess we won't be looking at any Spring birds soon. :-(

Euro $hock!

We have a Peugeot 307 Station Wagon on a purchase/sell-back program. The car rides beautifully and only had 2 kilometers on the odometer when we took delivery. We went to fill the car up with gas. It took 46.92 liters and cost Euros 64.70--at an exchange rate of 1.36 the tank of gas cost us U.S.$87.99. Gasp. We had braced ourselves for Euro Shock, but it still was a shock.

Portugal

Portugal. Slightly smaller than the state of Indiana in the United States, population just under 11 million. The climate is maritime temperate and the reported annual average temperature is 61F, the latter information being of no practical use. We look forward to a variety of good seafood which will certainly include cod (the Portuguese must fix cod at least 365 different ways). We plan to abandon ourselves to the maudlin yearning and longing provoked by the beautifully plaintive fado singers. Que saudade já tenho.

Portugal juts out into the Atlantic. The lure of the ocean must have been strong, causing Portugal to spawn intrepid seafarers. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the unknown world and the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa.