June 25th
So, thanks to the power of Facebook, I know what parties are happening in town even though I never go and don't have many friends. I don't like parties. But I LOVE photo opportunities.
This gig was in someone's barn, with hay all over the place, that's why they called it a Village Party.
June 10th
Or the fountain in the Manufaktura shopping centre, if you want to be less mysterious.
April 2nd
Pope John Paul II died six years ago at 9:37 p.m. , and every year since the anniversary is celebrated solemnly across Poland. These are graveyard votives placed at the foot of a statue of JP2 by the Lodz Archcathedral. Hundreds of people gathered there tonight to light candles and pray.
This year is particularly special as in May, the late Pope will be canonised- he will become a Saint. Saints are extremely important for Catholics as they act as a medium between the faithful and God- now people will be able to go to Church and ask John Paul II to appeal to God on their behalf. It is also comforting for many to have 'one of our own' join the saintly ranks. John Paul II was loved in Poland, not only as a Pope but as our devoted kinsman, a mentor to many generations, an accomplished poet and philosopher, and our champion in the free world. Perhaps most notably for Poland, he made great efforts to make the West aware of the situation behind the Iron Curtain, and his work helped bring an end to communism and the Soviet command in our country.
March 19th
It was cloudy when it came out, and the later it just looked normal.
March 17th
The Palace of Culture and Science. I also posted this on torc365.blogspot.com, a collaboration 365 with some Tolkien forum friends of mine. Below is a copy of what I wrote for that post:
The Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Poland, and a controversial Warsaw landmark. It was built between 1952 and 1955, the materials and 3500-strong Soviet workforce provided as a kind gift by Joseph Stalin. In hindsight, we know the true meaning of such gestures- there are several similar skyscrapers in other Eastern countries which were under Soviet control. It's like a stamp of ownership; a brand, and hated by many since the blueprints. I've heard people call it very rude things indeed, I wouldn't dream of repeating them here.
It didn't help that in order to secure space for the construction, one of the most vibrant and quickly recovering parts of the city center was torn down anew (note: Warsaw was utterly destroyed toward the end of WW2, and that is not a hyperbole). Many surviving citizens claimed the appearance of the Palace disrupted the original flow of their city.
Today, there are still people who want the Palace destroyed. But it has been with us for so many years, and has been adapted for many useful purposes. A viewing terrace, a concert hall, a cinema, several museums, theatres, youth workshops, book fairs, the Palace has seen all of these, and though its design doesn't lend itself well to any of these events, tearing it down would be a logistic nightmare. And after fifty-six years, doesn't it deserve to be left alone?
At least we no longer call it the Palace of Joseph Stalin. His name was removed from the front entrance a long time ago.
Oh, and the rainbow hues? They are part of a new illumination system set up last Christmas. Since the Palace is in the very centre of the city, and the tallest building besides, it's often used as a canvas for art, announcements, and commemorating historical events.
More about the Palace on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science,_Warsaw
and at the Official Site:
www.pkin.pl/historia
with some great archival photographs of the construction where you can see the ruins of other buildings in the background:
www.pkin.pl/historia/galeria_zdjec_historycznych
From Wikipedia:
Silent disco has become a common name for a disco where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a speaker system, music is broadcast via a FM-transmitter with the signal being picked up by wireless headphone receivers worn by the participants. Those without the headphones hear no music, giving the effect of a room full of people dancing to nothing. Often two DJs compete for listeners.
We had three DJs, one of them a friend of mine. I took some headphones but I don't dance, so I gave them to a friend who forgot his ID. I had a great laugh watching people dancing to no music, especially after midnight when everyone was drunk enough to lose all inhibitions. People made hilarious grunting noises as they danced, and some of them sang out loud and very much off key.
The photos had the exposure cranked up in Bridge, because I was shooting without a flash, relying only on the disco lights. I like the effect, though.
March 11th
Your guess is as good as mine. I think it was a ham hock. What it was doing in the street at night is not clear.
I don't have any photos for March 10th- I took some, but something strange happened. I think I got confused and instead of importing them to my computer, I edited them straight from the CF card and then formatted it, not realising the photos hadn't been copied. Shame and bother. :(
March 5th
Another attempt at keeping the very very dark hallway lit at night without having to keep the main light on.
February 5th
Phone photo. Had to run out to get some necessities. What I love about this neighbourhood are the 24h shops, if you want something in the middle of the night, you got it. Alcohol, medicine, food, flowers.
January 30th
Zulka is still a bit groggy from her operation, but she has been busy licking away at the bandage. I doubt it will stay on much longer...
January 9th
For the 19th time, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity played to save children's lives. Nineteen years ago, it was very small, just another charity event, but now the whole country takes part in the fun. It's amazing.
It works like this: for just one day every year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers head out to collect money for the organisation.This money goes to a different medical cause every year- they buy ambulances, incubators... all sorts of expensive medical equipment needed in pediatric care. This year the theme was urology and nephrology.
To get people out on the streets donating, there are concerts and events all over the country which all end in fireworks at eight pm, and the whole thing has non-stop live coverage on TVP2, one of our national TV channels. Many, many companies donate their time and equipment so that people can have fun and drop a few coins into the boxes.
When you donate, you get a heart sticker. On that day you will see people walking around covered in hearts- some donate once, some put a little into several collection boxes. Little kids save their pennies and drop them in one by one. People give jewellery, auction off valuable mementoes.
Every year, the amount collected is higher. It always takes them a week or two to count all of the cash donations, proceeds from auctions, bank transfers. In 1998, when I was one of the volunteers, we raised 3.5 million dollars total, and we thought that was pretty swell.
Yesterday's amount, as of right now, is 12.2 million dollars.
In one day.
I absolutely LOVE this charity.
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