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Everything has been figured out, except how to live.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Quote

The first contrivance of Madonna and the subsequent contrivance of Lady Gaga exhibits the absolute best qualities of Karl Marx's quote in the The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, that history repeats itself, "the first as tragedy, then as farce."

Julian Ammirante, Prof. of Politics at Laurentian University @ Georgian College, Canada, October 2009

Heavy again.

I feel heavy and tired. Again. I never thought I would get here again. And I saw myself slippping downhill, yet I could not stop it. It's scary, it's suffocating. It's sad, it's tiring. / Today I saw myself in the mirror, the same way I saw myself few years ago. Believe it or not, I did not recognize the person in the reflection. It was a complete stranger. Even the eyes have lost their sparkle./ I can't do anything. I don't want to do anything. I struggle breathing and walking up the stairs. I do not see a point in my life at the moment. I dream of the future when this would be gone. The only thing that makes me alive is listening to Nina Simone at the moment./ How do I rise up the hill? How do I find inspiration to fly again? I have so many things to do - obligations, work, applications, letters awaiting eagerly. All I want to do is stay in bed and listen to music. Please help me. Where do I start? How do I get rid of all this? Where do I get the energy from? I feel somebody sucked the life out of my veins. It really feels that way. Yet, I have it all. Help!

Most Banned Books

Gay penguins book is most banned

Authors, artists and musicians are due to gather at a library in San Francisco to protest against the banning of books in schools and libraries in the US.

The event, part of the 27th annual Banned Books Week, has been organised by the American Library Association.

Since 2001 bans on 3,736 books and other materials have been requested.

In recent years, And Tango Makes Three - based on a true story and centring on gay penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo - has had the most ban requests.

The book's authors are Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.

Reasons given by organisations and individuals for their requests to get it removed from public shelves, include "anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group".

Other works featuring in the most-challenged books list for 2008 include Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner.

Parents' concern

Pullman told Britain's Guardian newspaper that he was glad to be on the list.

However he added: "Of course it's a worry when anybody takes it upon themselves to dictate what people should or should not read."

The association said the aim of the annual awareness week, which ends on Saturday, is to remind US citizens not to take their freedom for granted.

Among those at the San Francisco Public Library event will be authors and musicians Ben Fong-Torres, Richie Unterberger and Roy Zimmerman.

They plan to stage a number of performances and defend controversial books.

In 2008 the American Library Association recorded 517 ban requests. Seventy-four were successful.

The organisation recorded that the most common reason given was that contents were too "sexually explicit".

Other classic literature subjected to complaints include JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling also feature on the list.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on the Presidential Medal of Freedom because some US politicians believed she "encouraged witchcraft".

Top 10 Banned Books:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper

Фантастично списание

Скоро ще публикувам отвореното си писмо до главния редактор на списанието. Междувременно, разгледайте уебсайт-а им. Благодаря за вниманието. :)

Shock and horror

Did you know that the leading cause of death in young males under 25 in the UK is suicide?

Настроение

Препъна се във облака небето
и падна като купола на храм.
Извика нещо с писък самолетен.
А после аз видях, сърдит и ням,

как нощен дъжд приведен подковава
на облака изрязания ръб.
И синя радост в мене разклонява
короната си, мощна като дъб,


защото като палава минута,
внезапно грабната от дълъг ден,
живея аз от никого нечута,
а цялото небе живее в мен.

Петя Дубарова

P.S. - I was driving home from work after an exhausting day of 16 h of work and travelling. It had just stoped raining. The sun was setting. The feeling was peaceful, happy and majestic. Awe filled my soul. As if I wasn't there, I was just the observer. No fatigue, no negativity.

I wanted to capture the moment. I came home, randomnly checked a site, on which a friend of mine had posted the above poem. It depicted my mood perfectly.

I sit and smile now. And I love life.