Friday, January 21, 2011

On Men

Men will only bring ideas (large or small) to life when they come up with them themselves - or are convinced the have done so.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

On Childbirth

What's your picture of such an event? How about this:
Hospital bed, tears of joy running down the exhausted mother's cheeks, the father with an irreplaceable smile.
Fresh grandmas and grandpas eager to see the new family member.
Tons of cards from friends and relatives.
A room painted either blue or pink... or any other happy color, with a crib, loads of toys and a brand new pram.
And, most important of all, the lively and healthy newborn.
Satisfied?

Well, then there is the second possibility.
The one in which the newborn is missing the last adjective.
The one when the baby is physically and / or mentally challenged.

I have been to their wedding, I know both of the parents for some time. He is unbelievably kind and loves kids, she is not only loving, but also very efficient and could have handled the household one handed. They could have been a prototype family.

Dear God, why does Down Syndrome even exist? My only hope is You. I hope You have a good plan. A friggin' awesome plan.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

On Cars

Okay, this post is going to make some people angry, but frankly, at this very moment, I don't care all that much.

Girlfriends are like cars.

As soon as you find out about them, you really want one. And when I say really, I mean A LOT. So you take the first one you come across. It doesn't take all that long to realize it's just a piece of ****. So you get rid of it, and start thinking about the ideal one, the one you would really want. And, what a surprise, you do find one that quite fits your requirements, and so you go for it. But after some time, you find out that you still forgot about many things you would like to have in it. So, once again, you get rid of it and create a new, somewhat more precise image of what you are looking for. And so on.

To add some hope, I should mention that at any stage of the cycle, including the very first one, you may be as lucky as to find the perfect one, the one that you actually really want, even though you did not know it beforehand. But, as I said, you'd have to be lucky.

And I was not. Not for the first time, and neither for the second time. Let's see what the future brings us, for the time being, I do not need a car.


P. S.: ✈↓

Saturday, February 6, 2010

On Racism and Immigration

Not exactly an easy topic, right? Well, let's get started.

The European Union (most of it) has adopted an immigration policy which, from my point of view, lets practically anybody enter and stay in European countries. I think this policy is flawed, given that we expect Europe to keep not only the "way of life", but also the development status it currently enjoys. My stance would probably be regarded as racist or at least nationalist by the politicians (and the masses), but I want people to think again about their own stances, and, if possible, find mistakes in my argumentation or perhaps plainly disagree, but with reason - let's really think this through.

The essential point of my argumentation is the following: I do believe that only people who do not wish to destroy a country's typical way of life should live in that country. It would be ideal if all of them would support and adopt it, but those who do not are sometimes a very inspirational source of criticism and provide momentum needed for change and development. But I think there needs to be a line between (constructive) criticism and destructive movements.

I have no problems with people of any descent, as long as they don't force me to change my lifestyle. On the other hand, I do enter conflicts with people who force me to unwillingly modify it, but that is a problem independent of race. Unfortunately, but also naturally, the concentration of such people is higher among immigrants. They bring their own lifestyle with them, which can't be criticized - but the question is, why do they come? Do they want to be economically better off? Well, then they should start assimilating as soon as possible, because it's what we know and do and they don't that makes the difference that drove them here. Are they politically pursued and are seeking asylum? Very well, I don't see a problem with that - but again, why would they want to keep their old ways, which not only may have somehow, indirectly, led to their persecution, but also (apparently) isolate them in the new society and this time make them not politically pursued, but frowned upon by the general public. This could be changed - the general public needn't frown upon foreigners, and the immigrants sure could stick with what they did up to know - as long as they do not force anybody else to change their lifestyle, as was mentioned before. And, behold, those are people we should definitely pay more attention to, because they are a source of inspiration for us. Every nation is in danger of not having the distance from our own actions, which is necessary to evaluate them, as opposed to foreigners. Foreigners are not "bad", only people who live in a country and wish to destroy it's principles (or act as if they do) are "bad" - as I said, unfortunately, most of these people are immigrants.

Two things are still left to mention. One - how do we define our "way of life"? Part of the answer is not all that hard to find: European society has been formed by it's climate. Nowadays metaphorically, we need to grow and protect crops in the summer in order to survive the winter. We are "planners", we learn from our history and carefully create elaborate plans for our future, taking into account everything we can think of that might happen, however improbable it may be. That's why we are so keen on education - to guarantee a better future. That's why we have all sorts of insurance - to secure the worst case. That's why we gather, (usually) take pretty good care of and keep our belongings for quite a long time - we might need them in the future. That's why we set an alarm clock and go to work every weekday, even though our bank account currently holds enough money to feed us and the whole family for more than a year (Okay, we might not have that much money, or we actually go to work because we enjoy it, but you know what I'm saying).
The rest of the answer is a bit more complicated. In Europe, we are not used to minarets. In Europe, we do not have cows in the streets - we eat them. In Europe, women usually don't wear burqas. On a non religious note, we seldom haggle in shops. We are not used to cooking on an open fire. And so on - things that are probably noticeable, but in most cases don't directly limit our own life. Despite this, they can be a source of heated political discussions and public demonstrations. I say, let's just apply common sense - when someone finds a place where he can make a fire without destroying someone else's lawn, or feels that a burqa is the appropriate thing, then why not - but again, only until it doesn't get in the way of the typical lifestyle of the country.

And the other thing, perhaps the more important one - as you might have noticed, this kind of approach does, in a way, lead to preservation of our current society and it's lifestyle. And as we have learned from history, for an at least partial survival of a culture, sacrifices were often necessary. But I'm willing to risk it - I dare say European (and North American) society is the most developed in the world, and if we manage to elude the fate of the Roman Empire, which was destroyed by a less developed culture (but Rome was already at its decline at that time), I think we stand a pretty fair chance of surviving.

GIANT NOTE at the end: all ciritcism is accepted. Please feel free to disagree and to contact me. This is my current "state of mind", I'm still working on it - are you working on yours?

P. S.: ✈☝

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

On Weddings and Wedding Parties

This weekend, I have attended a wedding of my former Cub Scout leader and a Girl Guide leader - both of them very nice and kind people, and frankly, essential to keeping our 35. Scout Group afloat.

I wanted to share some thoughts on what happened, even though I am afraid there isn't anyone who is actually reading this. Nevertheless:

Friday: I met up with three friends, one of them being a driver and a car owner, who offered to drive us there. A traffic jam on the D1 highway had us stop in a shopping mall, but waiting didn't help. Luckily, the jam was not very long. It grew darker and after some time we got lost. No problem, we noticed it and found a way to get back on the right track. But due to many factors, the driver didn't quite make the turn and we ended up in the field instead of being on the road, luckily unhurt but shaken. The car was damaged, and because we weren't sure what was wrong with it, we tried to stop passing vehicles to help us. Somebody did notice us after a while, and helped us get the car to a gas station, from where we phoned another wedding guest who was able to arrange a free pickup for us. But there was more to come.

Saturday: long sleep, lazy preparations, wedding start at 1 P. M. Nice venue - the castle in Jindřichův Hradec is lovely and their wedding hall is quite adequate for the occasion. The speech was a little strange, but who cares, really - I can hardly imagine that couples ever concentrate on what the celebrant is saying. Then, they had a family-only wedding reception, while us (=friends) continued to the pub where the full reception with everyone was to take place. There were loads and loads an loads of food in all shapes and sizes, and it was our job to actually transfer it to plates and dishes in order to create a decent celebration. This party started at 7 P. M. It included all the food, loud music, dancing - you name it. You might know I'm not exactly the party type. But after some time, my activities also included dancing, talking to people and drinking - but no alcohol, just 3 litres of Kofola. And then the list got even longer, quite to my disappointment, because the majority of the guests was drunk. So, I did things like removing a friend of mine from the dance-simulating grasp of a local alcoholic (of course I was far too late to claim any merit whatsoever, but she thanked me anyway - I guess she really didn't like it), watching people pass out, wake up and drink again, and at about 4 A. M. I carried two drunk people out of the pub and could finally fall asleep myself.

Sunday - most of it was mentioned under Saturday, but all of my activities were strictly mechanical - walking to the bus stop, changing trains now and then, sleeping, eating.

Overall, I have had one hell of an eventful weekend, and however happy I am for the newly-weds, I still can't quite forget the other parts which sort of spoiled the fun.

Maybe you are used to things like this, but for me it was a bit of "Kulutrschock" - that's basically why I'm writing about it.

WTYL.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

On Holidays

Here it comes - another boring post with nothing to say... whatever

A brief summary of my summer holiday activities, if you are interested:

Scout Camp - two weeks, cool thing. Weather so-so, mild nerve stimulation - Some of the Boy Scouts - whom I found myself leading - can get annoying. Really annoying. And I don't remember, and neither does my leader - a scout actually leaving the camp because he didn't like it (...)

"Orko Camp" - officially titled In Watermelon Sugar - 10 days, organized by our Religion teacher Marek Orko Vácha (mentioned in one of my older posts) and friends (Probably more by his friends, he really doesn't have that much free time, but what do I know). Perfect. Cool people, much better than I expected, cool program - games, talks, religious things. And, of course, nature. I feel like it would deserve much more describing, but it somehow doesn't form into words. Sorry. But it was really great.

Family vacation - Four days driving through France - to O Cebreiro, Spain (border of Galicia state). Stops on the way - Strassbourg, Equisheim, Lyon, Vienne, Avignon, Carcasonne, Some Pyrenees, Burgos, Leon. Hihlights - Strassbourg: lovely town centre; Equisheim - village, probably even better than Strassbourg, perfect houses, compact center; Avignon - the papal palace; Pyrenees - nature, views, mountains; Burgos - nice large cathedral with attached monastery.
Seven days of walking to Santiago de Compostela - 20-26 km a day, done usually between 6 AM and noon, to avoid the sun and secure a free space in the pilgrim shelters. Best thing: people. All sorts, but somehow set to be friendly - There is something indescribably positive about the pilgrimage.
One day trip to Cape Finisterrae - "end of the world" - a nice place, worth a visit. Some people carry on and walk here from Santiago.
Four days return drive to Prague - stops - Bilbao, Bordeaux, Tours, Chartres, Troyes, Metz.
Highlights - Bilbao: Guggenheim museum in the evening sun; Tours: quite a nice city centre, similar to Strassbourg; Chartres: BIG cathedral; Metz - Early morning empty cathedral

Happy BackToSchool everyone!

Friday, July 24, 2009

On Silence

I love silence.

I miss it when I don't have it. That's one of the reasons why I always look forward the summer holidays, and especially the summer boy scout camp.
This year, I arrived on site (near Jindrichuv Hradec) a few days early, and the place was completely free of people (except for one other Scout), cars and sounds I am used to from the city.
And only there, other things come to replace city life.
Birds and sunlight wake you up instead of an alarm clock.
A creek flowing behind our log cabin (not exactly made of logs, but what word would you use?) is the last thing you hear before you fall asleep - instead of cars, buses, trams and trains.
The sound of rain on the roof, which passes unheard in an apartment building, is suddenly a reliable weather forecast (the more it rains, the sooner the sun comes back).
Wind playing with trees all around reminds you of our planet's lungs.
I know silence is near.

And then, the birds take a nap, the winds quiet down, the rain stops - and there comes Silence, my beloved.

We enjoy ourselves. I sit down and Silence is right next to me. I close my eyes and let Silence surround me.

Nobody disturbs us. Peaceful moments pass, one by one. Every one is worth remembering.

Then, without warning, Silence disappears - with a little breeze in the birch trees or a gentle bird song.

My day continues, but now it can't be spoiled - I met Silence in all of her beauty.


Have you ever met Silence?

'Silence is sexy' - Blixa Bargeld, leader of Einstuerzende Neubauten