springtime

These days, while I'm not reading the entries to Jason's contest, I'm translating two texts. One is the summarized, English version of a PhD-thesis. It is 8 pages and about spiders and Bt-corn. I translate that from Hungarian. The other is a collection of case studies about successful agricultural ventures all over the world. Enough said. No questions will be left unanswered.

-

Spring might be here. Here are my proofs:

Exhibit One:

Hajas has been sitting on eggs for hours on. She definitely wants to have chicken. I was so thrilled by the idea that I hurried to the nearest animal farm to get eggs. It's not that our eggs are unfertile, but this way I bought Turken eggs!

Exhibit Two:

My daughter was at home with some light illness the day before and we sowed carrots and parsley.

Exhibit Three:

we are planning the order of vegetable rows in the small vegetable garden we have.

Below are some photos of our garden, taken in 2007.

Fresh, lush green. What else? From front to back: salads, two rows of carrots and a double line of garden peas.

Irrigation pipes. Water comes from our well, so it's free, if you do not mind the charge for the electric pump. There are 10 pipes with plants on both sides of the lines. This means 20 lines alltogether. Here, there's parsley on the left and celeriac on the right. It turned out to be a nasty combo. Celeriac overgrew parsley, of which we hardly had any. We'll do it better this time!

-

And someone else seems to be dreaming of spring, too - who else than KDLang? It is a slideshow made by a fan, to one of KD's latest song.

Whispers - My entry

This is my entry for Jason's contest. It is number 33.

You can leave a comment over there and/or here.

*****
Whispers

I want you both to report.
The place we visited consisted of two types of life. We investigated them without getting too close.
One was similar to ours, but the other was not.
Tell me about the similarities.
Those have quite different forms of appearance.
They communicate the way we do – by means of whispering.
Are they articulate?
Yes, their intelligence is quite high.
I would say some of them might be as much intelligent or higher than we are.
What makes you think so?
They convey complex messages.
No, there’s more to it. They live in many dimensions and can travel time.
How many of them are there?
As I have said there are many forms of them.
Their number keeps decreasing.
Is it some illness, perhaps, or lack of resources?
No, it’s the other form of life.
The unintelligent one.
Are there many of those?
Their number keeps growing.
And they destroy all the other form of intelligence. They have no senses to communicate with the other form of life.
What type do you think these lower forms of life belong to?
I think they belong to some bacteria.
They resemble the operation of cancer bodies.
And they seem to be overpowering the planet.
That’s right.
They are convinced they are the leaders.
Do they not know the Law?
Well they have not the intelligence.
They make their owns.
Are those of use?
No.
Not really.
Suggestions for action?
Destroy.
For the sake of the whisperers, destroy.
**********************

Contest time, UPDATED

Second update.

My entry is done and sent.

I will post it here as soon as Jason does over there.

----

Jason's doing it again. With a wonderful, inspiring photo of a solitary tree on a meadow, it's contest time again.
Go over to see all the entries - or enter yourself.

Visit the fun and excitement HERE. Even if you do not enter yourself, the variety an quality of entries is amazing.

I'm planning to enter too, as soon as the Muse finds me, as soon as I am left alone with my thoughts...

Also, Christine's also holding a four-part competition. The entries are quite interesting over there, too!

I have written Part One and Two and it's time I wrote Part Three as well.

- - -

Music for all those Metallica lovers out there: Wherever I may roam. Enjoy.

Seven brothers

There were seven of them
Seven brothers, coming one after another
They would come and go

Pearls on a chain
The upcoming pale stream of the morning light
Mirrors of a sequence
Fallen on the floor, dispersed in disorder

A silk floating across and out into ripples of grass

Those seven came and stepped onto sand
They let them fall on their knees and see
Dewdrops rolling with the
Skies above
Panting depth and heat
And the waves melt into one single will
Below and far away

They were lost for the day
And so they stayed watching
Beholder decomposed slowly turning into
The power withheld, giving in

The seven churned foams and became one
Sweep over reefs

Beads of silver
Light
Pain

Constant pain

The seven are one
Constant pain

They keep watching as one
Single wave of
Do not say
Wash yourself away
Do not remember
Melt into the waves
Do not dream of
One constant pain

How would you?

They are coming one after another
In waves
In one constant wave of -

ice

It's going to be just another ordinary weekend
with actful mornings and lazy afternoons
we'll get to play board games
and although we won't let the kids win, they'll still do
they do it all the time
and the evening will be warm with all the logs I chopped -
but the sheets will be cold
and so will be the next Monday morning
when time's always up
and noone's home and noone's laughing
alone
facing the world yet never really talking -
freedom has lost its meaning
I don't reach out
and you don't sway
how did you -
why do I -
where are we?

and the time has come to see that something's gone

sometimes I wish you would not listen to me
but were holding my hands
it's when I demand attention is when I don't want you anymore
strange, isn't it?
does it take us anywhere?

Another 'Six words'

Following the footsteps of Hemingway and Wired, Steve Malley at Full Throttle and ... re-stages the six word challenge.
I have already come accross the very same fun more than a year ago, but now I did not stop until I wrote 6 versions.

I liked writing them, whatever they might be. You be the judge. But before a severe punishment, I dare you my kind reader, to write your own version(s).

You can throw them at me among the comments.
Six words : too much to ask?
-
Below are my attempts:

1.
Forward. Aim. Shoot. Die another day.
-
2.
His palm bounces off my cheek.
-
3.
Panting, tired, trembling; summit under me.
-
4.
Seeds, feathers scattered. Furry devil dislodged.
-
5.
Friday was a woman. Robinson stayed.
-
6.
I want my life back. Again.

-

Whoo-hooo.

There are many other six words out there. For example HERE.

***

This is what I'm listening these days... It's movement 1, movement 2 is not up yet, movement 3 is available, if you're interested in.

Bruch: Violin concerto, with Kyung Wha Chung as a soloist.

If I was a flower...how about you? - UPDATED

I am an Echinacea What Flower Are You?

-
See also a nice article about religious intolerance in modern times.
-
All right. Some of you might remember the joke that not everyone got. Here's another one, which will be explained at Monday 11 February, 11,00 AM, GMT. It is a sort of a Brit sense of humor - the one that no everyone likes. I think I like it very much - here we go:

SPOILER AHEAD:

Time's up - Here's the explanation:
The joke is that there's no joke.
The man wanted money, and got it.
He wanted to have a date with a famous lady and he got that one too.
Finally, he wanted a lampshade as a head.
All his 3 wishes were fulfilled.
It is as simple as that.

The listener expects that something funky has happened to the man with the lampshade. But there was no funky at all.
He got what he wanted.
All the 3 times.

We expect an unexpected and then a most ordinary thing happens.

And there's also a twist:
Wishes are also fulfilled in dreams/movies/jokes.
And now, this wish is quite extraordinary - but in a joke it just happens as if it was nothing special.

Well, that's about that.

Projects of the present

I have works to do: translating EU documents. I might as well feel needed and helpful, because my work will directly help people to get information about proposals and payments for their important projects. Without the texts I translate they would be in difficulties understanding the way the method of payment works. They would be confused as to what sort of projects are supported. The project this particular program supports is about the use of renewable energy sources, educating people about the intelligent use of energy.

So, my environmentally conscious side can have a break and relax, saying 'Come on you're doing the right thing - You're not involved in projects that are harmful to the Earth. Plus, your are involved in projects that are actually good to Earth.

LIAR.

-

Also I'm working on providing a Hungarian site with information about the season's vegetables. The link I'm giving here takes you tot the English-language pages. The Hungarian version is much more diverse and updated. I'm writing small articles about vegetables: their origin, nutritive and healing value (on a side note: I am surprised to find that even the most nondescript veggies have something very important to add to the normal operation of the human body.

-

Also I'm working on a fun-project which will be a little surprise for you. There will be ten (10) parts, just as much as the Take a closer look contest used to have. I hope it will be just as much fun for you. As I'm preparing each bit, it is a definite fun for me. I hope you will like it when it comes out. Not more of the project at this point, though.

-

Photo made by husband on 3 Febr 2008. Evening falls at River Tisza.

Writing exercise - Grandma's French Toast

Chris, the former Church Lady is running a writing exercise HERE.
This one below is my entry:
- - -
Grandma's French Toast

I heard Mom coming home from the visit. She kept her voice low so as not to disturb me - but I was awake.

She greeted me with a warm hug:Honey, are you feeling better now?
Mom, not really. I cough all the time.
Oh, poor dear. See, what Grandma has packed just for you?
I jumped with delight, and shouted out in anticipation the name of my favourite food. She made it so great. The trouble was that I felt full.
Mom, is it okay to save it for dinner? I can't eat it right now.
All right dear. Just get back to rest, please.
I wanted to get hungry so I waited some and fell asleep. By dinner I got worse and was hardly able to shove down anything. I slept a lot, well into the following day.
It was nearly lunch time when I recalled having placed the package on the radiator. I put it there to keep the warmth, to keep it fine.
Now I unpacked the foil.
I expected the exciting smell, the crunchiness. Saliva started to gather in my mouth. There you go...
Or would you rather not?
What I revealed was a multi-coloured, slightly deformed damp flat object. It was pleasingly warm all right, but the surface was all hairy with tiny strings of mould gorwing in blots of various sizes and forms.
A patchwork of disgust.
I re-wrapped it and tried to hide the result of my stupidity into the garbage bin.

- - -

- - -

At the same time, I am busy.

It's either chopping firewood, or doing some gladiator fitness, mwah-hah-hah, or translating, or, when I feel inspired, guess what, I write.

Following upon Vesper's experiences about brushing away blue feelings I have returned to writing the long version of Halo.

Halo was the name of my first-ever contest entry and I had some struggle to put it within the limits of 250 words. Some people suggested that the story deserves to be expanded, and that is exactly what I have been doing since mid November 2007.

My other blog deals with some details about the progress.

Right now I'm at about 3300 words.