162/365: Equality Parade / Parada Równości

162/365: Equality Parade / Parada Równości, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

June 11th

Warsaw. Like Pride, but a little bit different. Postulates:

-civil partnership rights for gay and lesbian couples
-the introduction of a fair and neutral educational programme concerning life in a diverse society, with diverse sexualities
-government action against discrimination of LGBTs and other minorities
-expansion of the law concerning hate crimes to protect gender identity and sexual orientation
-a review of the laws concerning the protection of animals

148/365: Flowers at the Green Market

148/365: Flowers at the Green Market, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 28th

Tinted marguerites, and my neighbourhood beyond them.

76/365: Rainbow rocket

76/365: Rainbow rocket, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

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

170/365: Pinwheel, again

170/365: Pinwheel, again, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

Jue 19th

It is nice to come home to sparkles and glitter.

115/365: Poor man's yo-yos

115/365: Poor man's yo-yos, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 25th

Sawdust, candy wrappers, a bit of rubber...nostalgic for those of us who grew up behind the Iron Curtain. They're a rarity now, only appearing at fairs and carnivals. In this case, the Feast of St Wojciech, an opportunity for Catholic believers to gain indulgence, and for all and sundry to ride a carousel and buy cork guns and firecrackers.

It's a bit of a tradition for our core group to go to this fair. Here's last year's set.

And some more photos from this year:

The church is decorated with ribbons and flags:



We always play the garden gnome lottery and win terrible, terrible junk:





I bought many pinwheels. Here is Bartek holding them all and showing off his brand new cowboy hat:



Oh, and here is one way of playing with the eponymous poor man's yo-yos, as demonstrated by Maciek:



It was a good day.

71/365: Favourite box and bottle

71/365: Favourite box and bottle, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 12th

I abuse the Graphigum, oh how I abuse it, but I guess it is just part of my style. The box of watercolours is this one from the Royal Talens Van Gogh brand. I've tried Winsor and Newton, Yarka, and a couple of nameless boxes, but the ones I kept coming back to were Van Gogh. I love these paints.

I had started out with a smaller, 12 colour plastic box, but for my birthday last year I treated myself to this 24 colour set. The box is blue and it still makes me squee.

In other words, I've been painting today. I might show you later when I'm done ;).

59/365: The shoelace peddler

59/365: The shoelace peddler, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 28th

Today was a very good day- probably because it felt like spring, at long last. I love winter, but seasons are supposed to change. Today was sunny and warm, and when I went to town to buy candles for my dad's birthday cake, I saw this man selling shoelaces by the subway station. I could have framed this photo better, but I was trying to be discreet. A lot of these street vendors have no permits, so I wasn't sure whether he'd appreciate having the photo taken. In any case all I really wanted were the rainbowy laces...