Crni Dijamant - Knjiga o nama i vremenu ispred nas

Crni Dijamant u Delfi Knjizarama

Ne znam koliko vam se često dešava da pročitate knjigu koja vas prosto raspameti, koja probudi u vama želju za napretkom ali ne onim materijalnim već baš duhovnim i intelektualnim, koja vam izazove želju za shvatanjem, tolerancijom, prihvatanjem. Sve to uz dozu dubokog razmišljanja o našem postojanju i svrsi kroz prisustvo vanzemaljske vrste. 

E, pa dragi moji Crni dijamant to sve poseduje i jos više.Upravo iz tog razloga nisam mogla da odolim prilici da razgovaram sa autorkom ovog dela i saznam nesto više o knjizi i osobi iz čijeg uma je proizašlo ovo remek delo koje je izdala Kovačnica Priča.

Ksenija Pešić rođena je 5. 7. 1988. u Beogradu. Završila je Filološku gimnaziju, osnovne studije na Pravnom fakultetu Univerziteta u Beogradu, zatim poslediplomske studije na Kriminalističko-policijskoj akademiji u Zemunu.

Nagrađivana je na pesničkim takmičenjima širom regiona, kao finalista Limskih večeri poezije, i nosilac je nagrade Borislav Pekić za poeziju.

Roman Crni dijamant je njeno prvo prozno delo u žanru naučne fantastike sa izraženim elementima epske fantastike, kojim se upušta u još mlado i neistraženo polje literarnog stvaralaštva na našim prostorima.

J: Šta te inspirisalo da napišeš knjigu i odakle si vukla ideje?

KP: Iskreno, najveca inspiracija je bila moja depresija. Pre dve godine bila sam u jako lošem stanju zato što nije bilo posla nakon zavrsenih studija, a ja sam veoma vredna osoba, navikla da sam stalno u pokretu. 

Završila sam jedan faks pa posle postdipomske. Jednostavno, bilo mi je dosadno i nedovoljno da samo budem žena-domaćica. Oduvek sam želela da napišem knjigu, ali sam pisala samo poeziju i mislila sam da proza nije za mene. I nikada mi nije palo na pamet da ću napisati knjigu „iz prve“, koja ce biti toliko obimna. Nisam čak nikada u životu napisala ni kraću priču. 

Prvo sam dobila jednu ideju koja je bila mnogo drugačija od glavne teme koja je u knjizi, ali je zaplet u početku bio sličan i imao je neke od likova koji postoje u finalnoj verziji.
Počela sam prvo da pišem to, sa namerom da napišem priču, malo dužu.
E tu sam se zapetljala, stala sam nakon malo više od 10 strana. Nikako mi to nije išlo. Zatim sam pokušala da napisanu priču veštački produžim u roman, i to je bila potpuna katastrofa. Mesecima je tako stajalo, nedovršeno i usiljeno.
Jednog  dana sam odlučila i sela da prepravim tu priču, želela sam da je objavim negde makar kao takvu. Čitajući iznova početak koji sam napisala dobila sam mnogo novih, drugih, ideja i potpuno sam rasturila radnju. Tako je počelo stvaranje mog prvog romana. 

Crni Dijamant Citati

J: Da li imaš neke uzore u drugim autorima, knjige koje si čitala ranije?

KP: Što je najsmešnije ja ne čitam uopšte epsku fantastiku, naučnu vrlo retko.

Jedino što mogu da kažem da je približno tome je da sam fan Hari Potera. Odrasla sam uz taj svet. Čak su mi pojedini ljudi rekli da ih neki likovi asociraju po nekim karakteristikama na likove iz Hari Potera, naravno ne u bukvalnom smislu. Postoji uticaj, nije bio nameran, u svakom slučaju.

Kažu da si zapravo postao pisac kada te  tvoji sopstveni likovi iznenade svojim postupcima i razvojem. Isprva nisam uopšte razumela to, ali sam u svom iskustvu doživela. Kada sam počela da pišem, nisam imala tačnu ideju kakvi će moji likovi biti do kraja. Sve to je veoma čudesan proces. Što se tempa tiče, takođe nije bilo pravilnosti, jednog dana bih mogla da napisem poglavlje ili 25 strana, a nelada bi danima papiri ostajali prazni. Kada sam zagazila dublje u priču, onda sam zapravo počela da radim istraživanje oko pojedinih motiva i zapleta, da vidim kako se ko pozabavio kom idejom. Naišla sam na mnogo toga što je već bilo izmišljeno, ispričano, ali ne baš na taj način na koji sam ja zamislia. Oduševilo me je saznanje koliko su neki drugi mudri i učeni ljudi otkrivali i pitali se oko istih stvari. Očigledno da je to neka zajednička svest, zajednička ideja o bitnim pitanjima koje muče čovečanstvo. Pitanja postojanja duše  koja svi nosimo u sebi usađena, pre nego negde naučena ili čitanjem usvojena. Dakle, nisam otkrila toplu vodu, ali svakako jaka doza originalnosti je prisutna u mom radu.

J:  Ne možeš izmisliti baš sve.

J: Kada si radila istraživanje, da li si pratila neke naučne članke, da li si radila istaživanje u smislu mehanike kako tela funkcionišu u svemiru?

KP: Da, pogotovo u poljima koje uopšte ne poznajem- nebesku mehaniku i fizičke zakone koji važe na planeti Zemlji. Ja sam stvarala jedan svet koji funkcioniše slično kao naša planeta. Planetu koja ima gravitaciju, Sunce, smenu godišnjih doba, smenu dana i noći. Htela sam da vidim koliko je objektivno moguće  da u kosmosu postoji još jedan sistem sličan našem Sunčevom sistemu i da postoji jedna planeta koja će imati ekosistem poput onog na Zemlji. Razovarala sa ljdima koji se time bave. Od fizike do genetskog inženjeringa, želela sam da moji opisi  budu što precizniji, ukoliko bih u tom delu imala rupu, izgubila bih 2/3 cele priče.

J:  Sam naziv Crni Dijamant da li je uzet iz knjige?

KP:  Crni cijamant je pojam koji se provlači kroz celu prvu i drugu knjigu. U pitanju je vrsta mehanizma koju koristi vanzemljska rasa da zaštti svoju planetu. Ne bih otkrivala više jer ću pokvariti zanimljive detalje budućim čitaocima.

Crni Dijamant Citati

J: Da li u tvojoj knjizi postoje obrisi tvog detinjstva, iskusta iz mladosti?

KP:  

Odraz mene kao osobe u delu je upadljiva ljubav prema megalomaniji, monarhiji i strogom društvenom uređenju. Dakle sve je pompezno, sve je raskošno, zlatno sa detaljima, estetski lepo, ipak sam ja žena. Sa druge strane, svi likovi su izuzetno jaki, što mentalno, što fizički, deluju skoro nedodirljivo. Ličniji momenti  potekli su iz lične priče, moji roditelji su se razveli kada sam bila mala, tako da sam odrasla uz snažnu majku  i uz nedostatak  jake očinske figure u ranom periodu. U knjizi su stoga likovi koji su očevi veoma važni, oni su pokretači priče i njeni naratori. 

J: Planiraš li da knjiga ima još nastavaka i da li imaš već neke ideje za njih?

KP: Knjiga će biti trilogija, već radim na drugom delu  i imam već sasvim razrađenu ideju, a što se tiče trećeg dela ideje za njega se naziru.Veoma je komplikovano izabrati put kojim da nastavim kada treba da oduičim o sudbini ljudskog roda.

Moj lični utisak je da Crni Dijamant je nesvakidašnja knjiga, koja bogatošću svojih likova pleni i tera na samosvest i pažnju ka drugima u realnom životu. Preporučujem svakome ko želi da bude odnešen na krilima mašte i sasečen surovom realnošću naše vrste. Crni Dijamant je jedna od onih knjiga čija priča će Vas učiniti da poželite da živite u tom svetu i da se ta divna priča nikad ne završi. Sećate se kako je naša draga spisateljica na početku intervjua rekla da se plašila da "ne ume", o draga, itekako umeš. U iščekivanju drugog dela...

Knjigu možete naći u knjižarama Delfi i Laguna:

http://www.delfi.rs/knjige/107536_crni_dijamant_knjiga_delfi_knjizare.html

Crni Dijamant Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/crnidijamantknjiga/

Why coffee is like life, you need to taste it.

A group of ex students, who now are already achieved businessman, gathered and visited one old college professor. The conversation they had soon grown into complaining about tardiness, exhaustion, stress at work, in a family or in everyday life.

Professor listened to them with a full attention and compassion.

"It looks to me that you need a good cup of coffee", he said and went into the kitchen.

He came back with a large pot off smelling coffee and the whole assortment of mugs. Each mug was different. There were porcelain, plastic, glass, paper and crystal mugs. Some of them looked expensive as as they were from a court the last Chinese Emperor, others looked quite ordinary, some of them were even chipped…

"Help yourselves."he said.

When all the ex students had a a mug in their hand professor noticed:

Nice and expensive mugs went away immediately, left behind were untouched, ugly, plain cups. Your wish all the best for yourself which at the same time is the source of your stress, yet however the look of the cup doesn't contribute the taste. Usually a nicer mug is just more expensive and it sometimes covers what we drink. You all actually need just good coffee not a mug. Yet, you reached for the best, and then continued to compare with others mugs.

When you are caught up in stress and dissatisfaction vortex, remember that coffee is just like life. And work, money and social class... like the mug. Mug doesn't define us, nor does change the quality of life we live. Sometimes by focusing only on the mug, we miss out enjoying the coffee.

Drink the coffee, not the mug.

The happiest people don't have all the best, they make the best out of everything. Live simple, talk kindly, love genuinely.

I don't know where you are, but I'm sure it isn't boring Ziggy

Today's tweet woke me up.

It stated:

"If you're ever sad, just remember the world is 4.543  billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie."

As on his birthday three days ago the Blackstar album came out by now it became clear that this was his parting gift to us and a carefully planned finale.

I had been listening to this music all day and reflecting on Bowie's unquenchable thirst to find new modes of expression. Which is no mean feat given the enormous amount of ground he covered during his life, but still he always found a way to stay one step ahead of what everyone else wanted him to do. You could never predict where he would go next. I loved that about him. He thrived on this pioneering forward motion, and was one of the very few artists of any discipline who continued to stay vital and produce such seminal works across six decades! So, while this is a very sad day, surely his spirit, his life and work are something to be celebrated.

You will be missed as you were/are/will always be incomparable!

PS I know I haven't written a blog post in a while, but you sure are worth it. 

Drink wine for it will save your life

A glass of wine

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. And those who don't and are always seen with a bottle of water in their hand.

As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, 

in beer there is freedom and in water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of E. Coli bacteria found in faeces. In other words, we are consuming

1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a

purification process of boiling,filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop,Wine = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit..

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service.

#FilmAndChips Festival

#FilmAndChips

For the first time in Serbia organized by the British Council and the Youth Center of Belgrade, under the auspices of the British Embassy in Belgrade.


The domestic audience was able to see the latest British movie realizations. Films that are bold, emotionally challenging and certainly inspiriting, with themes that are unconventional were simultaneously presented this weekend to the people in ten different cities (Belgrade, Pancevo, Kragujevac, Cacak, Vrnjacka Banja, Kikinda, Zrenjanin, Vrsac, Valjevo) across the country.

British Ambassador Denis Keefe opened the ceremony with a speech. 

"This is an exceptional week for all film lovers. Nominations for BAFTA and Oscars are published, Golden Globes  were handed for the 72nd time . We are proud that British cinema, our actors, directors, films confirmed their important global role. We want to convey part of this exciting  atmosphere and passion for cinema this weekend  in theatres in Serbia. We hope that the festival 'Film and Chips' will rebuild a strong relationship that already long exists between  local audiences and British cinematography, but also that their innovative approach wins new viewers. "

Short films were first on the festival's program to warm things up.

 "X + Y" by Morgan Matthews opened the festival that was presented at the London Film Festival this fall. The film producer Laura Hastings-Smith along with Tony O'Brien British Council director for West Balkan made an introduction for the movie.
This is personally my favourite from the festival. The characters are so realistic  and the fusion of acting, scenery and great plot charms your pants off in a teary- eyed emotional roller coaster full of life's stirring profundities. 

Besides X+Y, audience enjoyed  four more films,

Copyright British Council Serbia

The second day of the festival had a great turn out."Pride" by Matthew Warchus which was named the best film of the British independent film was SOLD OUT! It is an extraordinary true story, proving that no good deed goes undone. Pride manages to present the awful situation (in which mine workers were crushed by the Iron Lady) and turn it into a heartwarming and hopeful tale of social cooperation and human empathy. Actors gave very dignifying, uplifting performance, actually uplifting is the adjective I would use to describe the whole movie together. 

But not to forget the second movie of the second day. This intimate and life-affirming tale of rediscovery shown in  'Possibilities are endless' will give you a whole new perspective of what's it like when the content of your mind is effectively deleted after experiencing a stroke. The movie embarks you on a remarkable return journey from the brink of death with help of love, music and language.   

I had the honour to do a small interview about the festival and the idea behind it with Tony O'Brien. 

J: Good Evening Mr. O'Brien.

Could you please tell me a bit more about the Film and Chips movie festival and the idea behind it?

T:Yeah, we wanted to do something with film and we wanted to do something that was obviously distinctively British  and contemporary because we know that a lot of people in Serbia don't have the chance to see other than Hollywood type stuff. We wanted to bring some top quality recent things, plus our desire was to make it accessible  to the whole country not just in Belgrade or Novi Sad.
Film and Chips the idea is as a title it's very evocative of Britain's "Fish&Chips", but also the chips, this what the cinema is all about, about accessibility, it's popular, anyone can come and we wanted it really to be accessible to everybody, so Belgrade plus nine other towns around the country and then a range of very different kind of movies. And we hope that they will all appeal to someone, but the main thing for us is just to develop a wider audience, different audience. That's really the idea behind the festival.

J: It is a very good idea to organize the festival in several towns all over Serbia and not just the capital. I have a friend in Cacak and she is very happy to  be  able to see the movies in her hometown rather than having to travel to Belgrade.

Do you think that the festival should become an ongoing thing here in the future?

T: That's too early to say we're only half way through it. As with everything we will always review and see what feedback we get but so far we're delighted with the response and what we know is that we want to do more with film, but exactly what we do, will depend on the number of factors, but we are really encouraged. I would like to encourage people who read your blog to give their feedback, It is hard in this country to get a really quality feedback. We would like to know what people liked and didn't like, and why?

Do you have a favourite on the festival?

T: Well, I haven't seen them all yet so I can't answer that, but what I can tell you now is I've seen the shorts and as always with  short film there's some really good and some less good. X+Y last night I thought that it was absolutely magical, a wonderful story, really well told, great ensemble acting. And Laura the producer was right when she said they wanted to make a film that will make people laugh and cry.
[As for 'The Possibilities are Endless'] this was a really unusual film, with fantastic scenery, fantastic photography. The images are just amazing. They make me want go and live by the sea in this area and go to Helmsdale. In this film we see a guy who has had a stroke and what it does to him and his wife; then coming back from it, picking up from where he was. It's not an easy topic. But my goodness it's so powerful, so moving. So there's a very different film.
Then there's this next one 'Pride', I haven't seen it yet but I read about it, I read so much that is really good and although it's a film set in 1980's the topic is really relevant for today, so I'm really looking forward to  that one. So you know, so far it's a fantastic, fantastic festival.

What's it like to work for the British Council in the Balkans?

T: I've been working for the British Council for  nearly 37 years, now. So roughly every four years I go to a different country. Everyone brings something different, there's so much to learn and to see. And, one of the things about the Balkans is that there are some wonderful people here. Working here is a mix of fun and frustration and then you just hope that there's more fun than frustration and when there is, it's absolutely great, lovely.

And how do you get around the Belgrade are you familiar with it already?

T: Yes, we live near the city centre so we walk everywhere. The great thing about Belgrade is that it is so accessible. We love walking to Kalemegdan and down by the river, it's really, really attractive. And the 'kafana' culture I love that. One of the things I love especially in the summer I have an alternative office in a cafe near by, because it is really nice to meet people in a cafe. I love this aspect of live, it's really nice. 

I  will use this line to express my gratitude to Mr. O'Brien and to thank him for taking the time to do this interview. As he said, I would also like to get your feedback dear reader about the festival and things that you loved or the things that you would improve. Don't hesitate to leave a comment below.

The last day of the festival was intended for hardcore drama lovers. Especially of the slow developing plot.

The fist on the line up was 'You (us) Me' in which a fledgling serial killer falls in love with a suicidal girl who, unbeknown to him in the beginning , is only hanging around because she wants him to bump her off. It a tragic movie and how the British would say not my cup of tea.

The second movie that closed the festival is Lilting. Unlike the You (us) Me this film Lilting tells the story of a mother's attempt at understanding who her son is after his untimely death. Her world is suddenly disrupted by the presence of his lover. Together, they attempt to overcome their grief whilst struggling against not having a shared language. It's a great touching story of grief, language barriers and even the differences that are brought to light when people finally understand each other - which gives rise to some very humorous moments - although it also avoids going deeper in its emotions.

In conclusion I will give my feedback. This weekend's #FilmAndChips festival was one of the best things I visited and watched in last few years. I just loved that it wasn't Belgrade oriented event and that the entrance in other towns outside the capital was free of charge. I also liked the location of the festival. Youth Center of Belgrade should host more events like this. I just hope that this festival will continue to live in years to come.

Copyright British Council Serbia

If you can read this poem all at once out loud, you rock at English language!

Dearest creature in creation
Studying English pronunciation,
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse
I will keep you, Susy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye your dress you'll tear,
So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer,
Pray, console your loving poet,
Make my coat look new, dear, sew it!
Just compare heart, beard and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written).
Made has not the sound of bade,
Say said, pay-paid, laid, but plaid.
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as vague and ague,
But be careful how you speak,
Say break, steak, but bleak and streak.
Previous, precious, fuchsia, via,
Pipe, snipe, recipe and choir,
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, shoe, poem, toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery:
Daughter, laughter and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles.
Exiles, similes, reviles.
Wholly, holly, signal, signing.
Thames, examining, combining
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war, and far.
From "desire": desirable--admirable from "admire."
Lumber, plumber, bier, but brier.
Chatham, brougham, renown, but known.
Knowledge, done, but gone and tone,
One, anemone. Balmoral.
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel,
Gertrude, German, wind, and mind.
Scene, Melpomene, mankind,
Tortoise, turquoise, chamois-leather,
Reading, reading, heathen, heather.
This phonetic labyrinth
Gives moss, gross, brook, brooch, ninth, plinth.
Billet does not end like ballet;
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet;
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Banquet is not nearly parquet,
Which is said to rime with "darky."
Viscous, Viscount, load, and broad.
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's O.K.,
When you say correctly: croquet.
Rounded, wounded, grieve, and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive, and live,
Liberty, library, heave, and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven,
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the difference, moreover,
Between mover, plover, Dover,
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police, and lice.
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label,
Petal, penal, and canal,
Wait, surmise, plait, promise, pal.
Suit, suite, ruin, circuit, conduit,
Rime with "shirk it" and "beyond it."
But it is not hard to tell,
Why it's pall, mall, but Pall Mall.
Muscle, muscular, gaol, iron,
Timber, climber, bullion, lion,
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, and chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor,
Ivy, privy, famous, clamour
And enamour rime with hammer.
Pussy, hussy, and possess,
Desert, but dessert, address.
Golf, wolf, countenance, lieutenants.
Hoist, in lieu of flags, left pennants.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rime with anger.
Neither does devour with clangour.
Soul, but foul and gaunt but aunt.
Font, front, won't, want, grand, and grant.
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say: finger.
And then: singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, age.
Query does not rime with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post; and doth, cloth, loth;
Job, Job; blossom, bosom, oath.
Though the difference seems little,
We say actual, but victual.
Seat, sweat; chaste, caste.; Leigh, eight, height;
Put, nut; granite, and unite.
Reefer does not rime with deafer,
Feoffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Dull, bull, Geoffrey, George, ate, late,
Hint, pint, Senate, but sedate.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific,
Tour, but our and succour, four,
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, guinea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria,
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean,
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion with battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, key, quay.
Say aver, but ever, fever.
Neither, leisure, skein, receiver.
Never guess--it is not safe:
We say calves, valves, half, but Ralph.
Heron, granary, canary,
Crevice and device, and eyrie,
Face but preface, but efface,
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust, and scour, but scourging,
Ear but earn, and wear and bear
Do not rime with here, but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew, Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, clerk, and jerk,
Asp, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation--think of psyche--!
Is a paling, stout and spikey,
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing "groats" and saying "grits"?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel,
Strewn with stones, like rowlock, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict, and indict!
Don't you think so, reader, rather,
Saying lather, bather, father?
Finally: which rimes with "enough"
Though, through, plough, cough, hough, or tough?
Hiccough has the sound of "cup."

An Elf On A Shelf

Can you believe it is already the end of the year? November sneaked up way too fast on me! This is a time of year that people are doing a lot of searching online. They are looking for the perfect gift, fun activities and traditions for their family, scrumptious dinner recipes, and fun party ideas. I am the same I just love December's festiveness and call me childish but I am still such a sucker for all the gifts and Christmas magic.

My JOY!

Seasonal Greetings :)

 This is the time of the year that we can enjoy the things we work so hard for each day... family, food and good health. So forget all your worries for awhile and just de-stress and have fun in life with people you love, cherish and respect. Give a smile to the passing unknown man, tell someone you love them out of the blue, give small tokens of thought to friends and loved ones. This year had so many ups and downs for me, but in the ends I'm happy with what I got and grateful that I get to say goodbye to it with joy in my heart. I have met so many great people, have loving friends and family, great colleagues and my kittens with me what else could I ask for and this is just the beginning of the story :)
I wish you the same joy as I have and to use this time for building your inner peace. 

 Then get back to what ever you worked on to achieve - romance, career, diet. Refreshed, re-motivated and ready to kill it.

A decoupaging cat :)

I would like to share one of my favourite Christmas poems with you.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

Merry Christmas!

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

Happy New year!

He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Inc., 1983)

Hummingbirds's Heart

My heart is a buzz,

Like a hummingbird does.
It can't be still,
And it was my will
To make everything so,
Because how will I know
The outer limits of my essence
Without spiritual lessons?
Self-taught, fear not,
Happiness is sought
Through a curious burn.
The lessons I learn
From engaging my mind,
Is that I am not blind
To tuning into frequencies, 
And avoiding delinquencies
With each new experience,
Learning to control deliverance.
My inner being thirstsFor a gift labelled a curse.
I want to break these chains,
Be more than insane.
I want to be free To be the real me.
Every great individual
Has ideas that are sensational.
So say what you will,
I will have these spiritual spills,
That shakes where I dwell,
And brings me out of my shell.
I have the right to engage 
With my mind, unchained. 
Don't you know that
Hummingbirds die
If they are caged inside.

Books - Brain Food that compliments the soul

What do books do for the Human Soul?

1. IT SAVES YOU TIME
It looks like it’s wasting time, but literature is actually the ultimate time-saver — because it gives us access to a range of emotions and events that it would take you years, decades, millennia to try to experience directly. Literature is the greatest reality simulator — a machine that puts you through infinitely more situations than you can ever directly witness.
2. IT MAKES YOU NICER
Literature performs the basic magic of what things look like though someone else’s point of view; it allows us to consider the consequences of our actions on others in a way we otherwise wouldn’t; and it shows us examples of kindly, generous, sympathetic people.

Literature deeply stands opposed to the dominant value system — the one that rewards money and power. Writers are on the other side — they make us sympathetic to ideas and feelings that are of deep importance but can’t afford airtime in a commercialized, status-conscious, and cynical world.
3. IT’S A CURE FOR LONELINESS
We’re weirder than we like to admit. We often can’t say what’s really on our minds. But in books we find descriptions of who we genuinely are and what events, described with an honesty quite different from what ordinary conversation allows for. In the best books, it’s as if the writer knows us better than we know ourselves — they find the words to describe the fragile, weird, special experiences of our inner lives… Writers open our hearts and minds, and give us maps to our own selves, so that we can travel in them more reliably and with less of a feeling of paranoia or persecution…
4. IT PREPARES YOU FOR FAILURE
All of our lives, one of our greatest fears is of failure, of messing up, of becoming, as the tabloids put it, “a loser.” Every day, the media takes us into stories of failure. Interestingly, a lot of literature is also about failure — in one way or another, a great many novels, plays, poems are about people who messed up… Great books don’t judge as harshly or as one-dimensional as the media…

Literature deserves its prestige for one reason above all others — because it’s a tool to help us live and die with a little bit more wisdom, goodness, and sanity.

Photo Copyrights ThyagoHills.