ST. VALENTINE'S STORY

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St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

VALENTINE'S DAY

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WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?

 
Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14 February.It's the day when people show their affection for another person (or people!) by sending anonymous cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
And traditionally on Valentine's Day in a leap year - every four years - women can propose marriage to their lovers!
WHY IS IT CALLED VALENTINE'S DAY?
The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.The most popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.When Claudius found out, Valentine was sentenced to death and thrown in jail. There, he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter.His love and belief in God cured her blindness, and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "From your Valentine".
WHEN DID CARD SENDING START?
The first Valentine message (apart from the one St Valentine wrote himself!) is thought to be a poem from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415.He was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and was imprisoned in the Tower of London to await execution.But Valentine's Day didn't become popular in the UK until the 17th century. By the 18th century it was traditional for people to swap handwritten messages of affection.Printed cards soon replaced these, making it easier for people to say "I love you" secretly.

PRESIDENTS' DAY - 20TH FEBRUARY

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Presidents' Day is celebrated in February to honor two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February. 
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12 in 1809. Things were different then. When Abe was a boy, he lived in a log cabin. A log cabin is a small house made out of logs cut from trees. His father cut down the trees and made the cabin.

There were no electric lights in the cabin. Young Abe read books by firelight and drew with charcoal on a shovel. Abe's family was poor. Often he went barefoot because he didn't have any shoes.
When Abraham Lincoln grew up, he studied hard and became a lawyer. Then he was elected to be a law-maker. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States. Visit the White House - Information on Abraham Lincoln
Information about the 16th president of the United States directly from the White House.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. When he was born, America was not a nation yet. It belonged to England, a country across the ocean. People in America didn't want to belong to England so they fought a war to become a separate country.  George Washington was an American general in the war. America won the war and picked a new name for itself: The United States of America. George Washington was elected to be its first President.

Click on the link to see the alphabetical and chronological list of U.S. Presidents:

U.S. PRESIDENTS
Nowadays the President's Day is said to commemorate all US Presidents.

OSCARS 2013 _ "ARGO" WINS FOR BEST PICTURE

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ARGO
 Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers

FILM SYNOPSIS
When six Americans take refuge in the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis, U.S. government agent Tony Mendez turns to Hollywood for help.  Working with a producer and a makeup artist, he devises a rescue mission that centers on the creation of a fake film production company scouting locations in Iran.

OSCARS 2013: ADELE WINS BEST ORIGINAL SONG

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG: SKYFALL
A clearly emotional Adele thanked songwriting partner Paul 
Epworth for "believing in me all the 
time.” She also gave a shoutout to husband Simon Konecki 
between sobs, saying “my man, I love 
you baby.”

Adele, the first female singer in history to top the Billboard 
artist, album and singles list in the same 
year, already took home a Golden Globe for the title track 
from the James Bond film earlier this 
year.






Adele had performed the song on stage earlier in the evening - part of an Oscar telecast heavily 
honoring music in movies.

VALENTINE'S DAY

To contact us Click HERE
WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?

 
Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14 February.It's the day when people show their affection for another person (or people!) by sending anonymous cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
And traditionally on Valentine's Day in a leap year - every four years - women can propose marriage to their lovers!
WHY IS IT CALLED VALENTINE'S DAY?
The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.The most popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.When Claudius found out, Valentine was sentenced to death and thrown in jail. There, he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter.His love and belief in God cured her blindness, and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "From your Valentine".
WHEN DID CARD SENDING START?
The first Valentine message (apart from the one St Valentine wrote himself!) is thought to be a poem from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415.He was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and was imprisoned in the Tower of London to await execution.But Valentine's Day didn't become popular in the UK until the 17th century. By the 18th century it was traditional for people to swap handwritten messages of affection.Printed cards soon replaced these, making it easier for people to say "I love you" secretly.

PRESIDENTS' DAY - 20TH FEBRUARY

To contact us Click HERE
Presidents' Day is celebrated in February to honor two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February. 
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12 in 1809. Things were different then. When Abe was a boy, he lived in a log cabin. A log cabin is a small house made out of logs cut from trees. His father cut down the trees and made the cabin.

There were no electric lights in the cabin. Young Abe read books by firelight and drew with charcoal on a shovel. Abe's family was poor. Often he went barefoot because he didn't have any shoes.
When Abraham Lincoln grew up, he studied hard and became a lawyer. Then he was elected to be a law-maker. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States. Visit the White House - Information on Abraham Lincoln
Information about the 16th president of the United States directly from the White House.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. When he was born, America was not a nation yet. It belonged to England, a country across the ocean. People in America didn't want to belong to England so they fought a war to become a separate country.  George Washington was an American general in the war. America won the war and picked a new name for itself: The United States of America. George Washington was elected to be its first President.

Click on the link to see the alphabetical and chronological list of U.S. Presidents:

U.S. PRESIDENTS
Nowadays the President's Day is said to commemorate all US Presidents.

INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

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2013 International Mother Language Day: Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999 (30C/62).
On 16 May 2009 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.

International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

WORLD THINKING DAY - 22nd FEBRUARY

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Each year on 22 February, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts all over the world celebrate World Thinking Day. It’s a day when Girl Guides and Girl Scouts think of each other and give thanks and appreciation for the international friendship they find in our Movement.
The theme for World Thinking Day 2013 is “Together we can save children's lives"”, " Every motherr's life and health is precious"

ENGLISH IS NOT PHONETIC

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Some languages are "phonetic". That means you can look at a written word and know how to pronounce it. Or you can hear a word and know how to spell it. With phonetic languages, there is a direct relationship between the spelling and the sound.It is important to understand that English is not a phonetic language. So we often do not say a word the same way it is spelled.Some words can have the same spelling but different pronunciation, for example:

• I like to read [ri:d].
• I have read [red] that book.

Some words have different spelling but the same pronunciation, for example:

• I have read [red] that book.
• My favourite colour is red [red].

You can listen to these four sentences here.Students sometimes ask: "Why is English so difficult to pronounce?" This is really the wrong question. The right question would be: "Why is English so difficult to spell?"All languages are spoken first and written second. If you only speak English, it is very easy to pronounce. The difficulty comes when you write English and then try to speak it the same way as you write it. When you practise pronunciation, try to forget about written English. Think only about the sound of the words.
To illustrate this point, we say that the spelling "ough" can be pronounced with seven different sounds. But this is the wrong way to put it. It would be better to say that the seven different sounds can be represented in writing by the same spelling. So you see that it cannot help at all to think about "ough". It's much more helpful to think about the seven sounds:

1. though (like o in go)
2. through (like oo in too)
3. cough (like off in offer)
4. rough (like uff in suffer)
5. plough (like ow in flower)
6. ought (like aw in saw)
7. borough (like a in above)*

Think and practise the sounds of English. Afterwards, you can say how silly the spelling is. It is English spelling that causes the difficulty, not English pronunciation! By Josef Essberger

Library Construction Update

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As previously announced, a large-scale library construction project is slated to begin in the spring of 2013 and continue through August 2013. This construction project will move throughout much of the library, and at different times will affect access to most collections and services. The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections have tentatively been scheduled for closure toward the end of this project, and may be unavailable for up to eight weeks in the summer. Exact dates have not yet been set for this closure. In the meantime, during the spring the construction has the potential to drastically decrease the number of teaching spaces available throughout the library. Faculty who include Hawai'i- or Pacific-related library instruction in their course syllabi are urged to contact Hawaiian and Pacific Collection librarians as soon as possible to schedule those sessions in order to ensure that a space is available in the library. Those who anticipate using materials located in floors 1 through 4 of "phase II" of Hamilton Library--i.e., the wing of the library that includes the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections--are urged to check those materials out of the library as soon as possible to ensure access to them during the construction. 
The library has set up an online site, where updates will be posted: https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/hamilton-air-handler-project/home?pli=1
Updates as they specifically relate to the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections will be posted here as they become available.

Bidding a fond Aloha to Joan Hori

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Hawaiian Collection curator Joan Hori retired on December 28, after 44 years of service at the University of Hawai'i. In addition to her position as curator, at the time of her retirement Joan also served as department head of the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. 
Joan began working at UHM's Sinclair Library in 1968, eventually taking on responsibility as head of Sinclair. In 1993 she transferred to Hamilton Library, and in 1995 she joined the Hawaiian Collection. She became curator of the collection after Chieko Tachihata's retirement in 1999. 
Joan's better known projects include Hawai'i's first Hawaiian language digitization project in the late 1990s, and the English language digitization project which has brought us free online access to pre-1923 issues of the Hawaiian Gazette, Garden Island, Maui News, parts of Hilo Tribune, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and its predecessors, and a number of other titles. The project is ongoing and through it we hope to see the Hilo Tribune expanded, and we expect to see the Honolulu Advertiser and its predecessors online in the future. 
As anyone who has worked with Joan knows, she is a true professional, dedicated to building collections and making those collections available to researchers and students. She has a broad intellectual curiosity, and she is philosophically egalitarian. She trusts in the processes of education and learning, and believes that the collections and the processes serve and benefit each other. We are grateful to have been able to work with her and we will miss her. 
For the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections,Dore Minatodani

The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections in 2013

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The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections will beundergoing some transitions in 2013. With the retirement of Hawaiian Collectioncurator Joan Hori, the following librarians will remain in the department:
Dore Minatodani, senior librarian, HawaiianCollection
Jodie Mattos, librarian, Hawaiian Collection
Stu Dawrs, senior librarian, Pacific Collection
Eleanor Kleiber, librarian, Pacific Collection
At the time of her retirement, Joan Hori wasalso serving as department head for the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. StuDawrs will serve as department head for the next two years.
Regarding a replacement for Joan, thedepartment has submitted a proposal for the position, and we are awaiting thehiring and the arrival of a new University Librarian for further action. Due tobudget concerns and to preserve the incoming University Librarian's opportunityto allocate resources as he or she thinks best serves the institution, ourinterim University Librarian is deferring decisions on returning positions todepartments and hiring replacements. 
Also in 2013, the Hawaiian and PacificCollections will be closed for part of the summer, due to an extensiveconstruction project that will affect much of Hamilton Library throughout thespring and summer of this year. We do not have exact dates yet, but we expectthat during some part of the summer, the Hawaiianand Pacific Collections will be closed for approximately 6 weeks. Duringthis period we will not have access to our collections. Please see http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/about/air_handler.html for more information on theconstruction project. We will also post information specific to ourcollections on this site as it becomes available.

Pacific Connections seminar series

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The below message is quoted from an email circulated by the UH-M Center for Pacific Islands Studies:

Aloha k�kou,

Please join us at 12pm on Thursday (2/14) for the first Pacific Connections Seminar of the semester. Bruno Saura, University of French Polynesia, will present “Pulotu, Hawaiki, Kahiki: Remembrance of Ancestral Lands in Pre-European Polynesia” from Tahiti via videoconference.

Pulotu, Hawaiki, Kahiki: Remembrance of Ancestral Lands in Pre-European Polynesia
Hawaiian people have kept the memory of the land of origin of their ancestors: Kahiki. They have also adopted for one of their islands the designation HawaiÊ»i, which throughout Eastern Polynesia and Aotearoa refers to a land of origin as well as to the final destination of the deceased spirits: Hawaiki. Dr Saura will analyze Hawaiians’ inclusion of Raiatea in the concept of “Kahiki,” while the Tahitians call that island HavaiÊ»i. After considering another concept, Pulotu, which in Western Polynesia corresponds to what is called Hawaiki in Eastern Polynesia, Saura will deal with the traditional links between HawaiÊ»i and “Kahiki.”

Here is an updated list of upcoming events:

February 14      Thursday 12:00pm at John Burns Hall room 3121/3125, EWC
Pacific Connections Seminar Series Pulotu, Hawaiki, Kahiki: Remembrance of Ancestral Lands in Pre-European Polynesia Bruno Saura, University of French Polynesia, cosponsored by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, the Pacific Islands Development Program, EWC, and the University of French Polynesia.

February 19      Tuesday 4:30pm KamakakÅ«okalani Center for Hawaiian StudiesMana Wahine Mix with Sia Figel, Alice Te Punga Somerville, Mehanaokala Hind, and Fata Simanu Klutz

February 20      Wednesday 2:30pm Center for Korean Studies Auditorium
LLL Film Series Boy (Aotearoa/New Zealand) 2010 introduced by Alice Te Punga Somerville

February 22      Friday 2:00pm Tokioka room, Moore 319
Waves of Change: Climate Change Tok Stori A Social Science Perspective on Climate Change in the Pacific Region Melissa Finucane (East-West Center)

February 27      Wednesday 2:30pm Center for Korean Studies Auditorium
LLL Film Series presents Waka Huia–Kahohi Kitea (Aotearoa/New Zealand) 2008 introduced by Te Raukura Roa

February 26      Tuesday 3:00pm location TBD
Sociology Colloquium Adria Imada, Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego

February 28      Thursday 12:00pm Henke Hall 325
Biography Brown Bag “Life Writing and Pacific Island Studies: Student Perspectives” Jesi Lujan Bennett, Ken Gofigan Kuper, Leonard Leon from the Center for Pacific Island Studies

March 1           Friday 5:00pm KamakakÅ«okalani Center for Hawaiian StudiesOceania Rising event in honor of Nuclear Survivors Day cosponsored by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies and KamakakÅ«okalani Center for Hawaiian Studies

March 7           Thursday 12:00pm at John Burns Hall room 3121/3125, EWC
Pacific Connections Seminar Series with Alice Te Punga Somerville

March 14         Thursday 5:00pm Crawford 105
Waves of Change: Climate Change Tok Stori film presentation cosponsored by Center for Pacific Islands Studies, Academy for Creative Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and Pan Pacific Association.

March 22         Friday 2:00pm at John Burns Hall room 3121/3125, EWC
Waves of Change: Climate Change Tok Stori Climate Change, Migration, and Education: Perspectives from the Federated States of Micronesia Margarita Cholymay, Jojo Peter, and LJ Rayphand (UHM College of Education)

April 4               Thursday 9am–3pm John Burns Hall room 3121/3125, EWC
Student Conference “Oceania Rises” organized by CPIS graduate students

April 4-6          Thursday–Saturday at EWC and KamakakÅ«okalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
Conference “Waves of Change: Climate Change in the Pacific Islands and Implications for HawaiÊ»i”

April 16-20      Tuesday–Saturday UHM various locations
Pacific Islanders in the Arts Showcase including TamaÊ»itaÊ»i Sa theatre production, poetry, films, and other creative presentations organized by Fata Simanu-Klutz and the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures.

April 18           Thursday 12:00pm at John Burns Hall room 3015/3019, EWC
Pacific Connections Seminar Series Speaker TBD (from UPF Tahiti), cosponsored by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, the Pacific Islands Development Program, EWC, and the University of French Polynesia.

April 25-26      Thursday and Friday
Taukaea M�ori Symposium

All events are free and open to the public.

Faculty Lecture Series: "Hawai'i on Film"

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The below is quoted directly from an email circulated by UH-M Library Events & Communications Coordinator Teri L. Skillman:


Contact: Teri L Skillman, (808) 956-8688 Events & Communications Coordinator, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The second lecture in the Spring 2013 Faculty Lecture Series, Hawai'i on Film: Storytelling on Screen Beyond Stereotypes, by Lisette Marie Flanary from the Academy of Creative Media, will be held on on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. in Hamilton 301. Admission is free and refreshments will be provided. There have been many films shot in and about HawaiÊ»i, but few have been stories that are told from the point of view of the “inside out” rather than the outside looking in. The diversity and individuality of Indigenous films made in HawaiÊ»i challenge stereotypical understandings of Native Hawaiians and are important tools for cultural expression. Through her documentary films about hula and Hawaiian culture, filmmaker Flanary offers windows into our community, culture, beliefs, traditions and history with emphasis on issues of representation, protocols, and cultural integrity for a global audience. Her films American Aloha: Hula Beyond HawaiÊ»i, NÄ� Kamalei: The Men of Hula, ONE VOICE, and her current film project entitled Tokyo Hula will be used to illustrate contemporary storytelling in HawaiÊ»i. As an independent filmmaker and a hula dancer, Flanary creates documentary films that celebrate a modern renaissance of the hula dance and Hawaiian culture. She is the writer, producer and director of Lehua Films and her award-winning documentaries, “AMERICAN ALOHA: Hula Beyond Hawai’i”, “NÄ� Kamalei: The Men of Hula”, and “ONE VOICE” have broadcast nationally on public television and shown in film festivals around the world.  Flanary is currently directing and producing a documentary entitled “Tokyo Hula” which explores the explosive popularity of hula in Japan. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Film and Television Production and received her MFA in Creative Writing at the New School University. Having lived in New York City for over twenty years, Flanary recently joined the faculty at the University of Hawai’i at MÄ�noa as the Assistant Professor of Indigenous/Native Creative Media at the Academy for Creative Media in the Fall of 2011. The Faculty Lecture Series is presented by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Education, the Office of Research Relations and UH MÄ�noa Library.

SONG: WHAT MAKES YOU BEATIFUL _ ONE DIRECTION

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Liam:
You're insecure
Don't know what for
You're turning heads when you walk through the door
Don't need make up
To cover up
Being the way that you are is enough

Harry:
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you-ou-ou

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
That's what makes you beautiful!

Zayn:
So c-come on
You got it wrong
To prove I'm right I put it in a so-o-ong
I don't why
You're being shy
And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes

Harry:
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
That's what makes you beautiful

Bridge:
Nana (chant)

Harry:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But you when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)

Harry:
That's what makes you beautiful!

ST. VALENTINE'S STORY

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St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

VALENTINE'S DAY

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WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?

 
Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14 February.It's the day when people show their affection for another person (or people!) by sending anonymous cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
And traditionally on Valentine's Day in a leap year - every four years - women can propose marriage to their lovers!
WHY IS IT CALLED VALENTINE'S DAY?
The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.The most popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.When Claudius found out, Valentine was sentenced to death and thrown in jail. There, he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter.His love and belief in God cured her blindness, and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "From your Valentine".
WHEN DID CARD SENDING START?
The first Valentine message (apart from the one St Valentine wrote himself!) is thought to be a poem from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415.He was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and was imprisoned in the Tower of London to await execution.But Valentine's Day didn't become popular in the UK until the 17th century. By the 18th century it was traditional for people to swap handwritten messages of affection.Printed cards soon replaced these, making it easier for people to say "I love you" secretly.

LECTURE: The Power of 'Open': Collective Intelligence, Crowdsourcing and Co-Creation - by Tanja Aitamurto FREEThurs 10/18 @ Stanford

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Tanja Aitamurto

Welcome to my talk at Stanford on Thursday afternoon at 4.30pm! It is an open event, so anybody can come! http://liberationtechnology.stanford.edu/events/the_power_of_open_collective_intelligence_crowdsourcing_and_cocreation/

The Power of 'Open': Collective Intelligence, Crowdsourcing and Co-creation - Program on Liberation. liberationtechnology.stanford.eduAbstractThe manifestations of 'open' are permeating the society enabled by the rise of participatory culture and

Siitonen's Sports Report for January

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FARSPORTSJAN

Finland’s men’s Salibandy (Floor Ball) team moved smoothly through several challengers in the
Salibandy World Championships in Zurich until it ran into powerful Sweden in the finals on Dec. 9
when the blue and gold team from next door totally scalped the blue and white boys by a score of 11-
5. Sweden led 3-0 at the end of the first period, and 9-1 in the second. So Finland finally picked up its
5 goals too little and too late. Before this disastrous climax, Finland had swamped Canada, 29-3; beat
Czech Republic, 4-1; and host Switzerland in the semis, 4-3, in overtime. Zurich provided Sweden with its seventh floor ball gold, and Finland with its fifth silver. Finland has been tops three times. Switzerland easily subdued Germany for the bronze, 8-0. Salibandy is a kind of indoor floor hockey developed in Sweden in the 1970s.

Tampere’s Kiira Korpi, 25, became the first Finnish woman to qualify in the World Cup’s season’s figure skating final held at Sochi, Russia, Dec. 7-8, which is limited to the top six women in the season’s WC series. Korpi had gained the honor by winning the Moscow World Cup on Nov. 10, with a personal best 177.49 points. However, she injured her back at Moscow and was later plagued by stomach flu which forced her a week’s layoff from training before the Sochi final. So she didn’t expect to perform miracles. As it was, Korpi skated a PR of 63.42 points in her short program for fourth place. She was fifth in her free skate but had enough points to maintain her fourth place at the end, with 174.94 points. Mao Asada of Japan won with an excellent 196.80, USA’s Ashley Wagner was second with 181.93, and Japan’s Akiko Suzuki bronzed with 180.77.

Edis Tatli, 25, of Helsinki TKOed Italy’s Paolo Gassan in the first round to gain the European Union
lightweight (61K) boxing title at Espoo’s Leppävaara on Dec. 8. A native of Prizaen, Kosovo, Tatli now boxing for Finland, is considered a quick and skillful boxer with no lethal punch but he proved
differently against Gassan, when a sharp left hook in Round 1 preceded a heavy bombardment which
only ended with the referee’s decision to end the fight. Tatli has 19 pro wins without a loss, including 2 TKOs and 17 decisions.

In the European shot course swimming championships in Chartres, France on Nov. 22, Finnish women set a national record of 1:38.43 in the 4x50 free style relays to finish second to Denmark only by 0.39 seconds. The team included: Emilia Pikkarainen, Lotta Nevalainen, Laura Kurki and Hanna-Maria Seppälä. They also won a bronze in ther mixed gender 4x50 relays on Nov. 24 with Seppälä, Kurki, Andrei Tuomala and Ari-Pekka Liukkonen. France won with Russia second. Jenna Laukkanen set a Finnish record of 2:22.76 in the 200m breastroke in which she placed fifth.

Pekka Koskela skated to World cup speedskating win in his season’s opener in Heerenves,
Holland on Nov. 18 in a time of 34.46 in 500 meters, and scored second in the 1000m to Canadian
Denny Morrison’s 1:09.43. The next day Koskela injured his thigh at the start of the 500 and pulled
out, saying “it doesn’t look good. “ But Koskela’s fears were short lived as, he came back on Dec. 8 at Nagano, Japan to win both the 500 in 34.64 and the 1000 in 1.09.52. He now leads the World Cup in both events.

In World Cup cross country skiing, Mona Liisa Malvilehto was second and Anne Kyllönen third to Polish ace Justyna Kowalczyk s win in the sprint at Muonio, Finland on Nov. 16. Kowalczyk also won the 10K freestyle the next day at Muonio, with Riitta Liisa Roponen fifth. Matti Heikkinen trumped the mens 15K freestyle in 34.50.5.

Kaisa Mäkäräinen, 2008 Olympic champion, did her seasons best effort in the World Cup biathlon
pursuit at Hochfilzen on Dec. 8 with third place. Synnöve Solemdol was the winner. Peetu Piirainen was second in Beijings big air TTR circuit invitational snowboarding. He was edged by Yuki Kadono of Japan.

Few words about ... Russian rock and rock'n'roll music

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ChaifA song which has become a 'must-sing' during every kitchen-party with a guitar 
ZemfiraA genius woman who 'opened' a new current in our music - 'female rock'. Fresh strong music, extravagant words, excentric appearance and divine voice - this is all about her

Bi-2His strange voice can irritate, but as once you listen to their song, you will fall in love with some mystery they bring with them
Nochnie snaiperiEmotional female rock music, interesting videos and men-like ladies

Splean 
DDTLegend of Russian rock, authority and harisma of their leader Jury Schevchuk, and more than 20 year of truimph 

'Against the current'

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There is a very interesing project created by a photographer Alla Solovskaya. In Russian it is entitles 'Против течениÑ�' ('Protiv techeniya') which literally means 'Against the current'.  The idea of the project name is Noncomformism. Some people still want to be who they are, who they were born, follow the forefathers style of life no matter how the contemporary world opresses their free will and right to be themselves. (pinterest)

 

 



 


some more photos here 
the photos are taken from the group in www.vk.com

Russian-speaking world in 52 weeks. 1\52

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It has become fashionable to create and follow projects like a photo a day or 'my shoes' life from day to day' etc
And we thought - why not?

1\

Lady reading a book in the Moscow metro
photo by Victoria Ivleva from bigpicture.ru


Every day almost one million of muscovites and 'the guests of Moscow' uses the metro. It so happened that many people live in one art of the city but direct to another art for work or studies. It means that every day you have to spend at least 40 minutes under ground. 
People who use metro every day don't like just to look at each other, besides it might be not convenient especially if it's the rush hour. So you have to DO smth otherwise you feel that you lose time. The best and the most interesting way is to read. People read morning newspapers, books, magazines, textbooks... They read real paprebooks, they use i-pads or readers... People read modern literature, Russian classic books, cheap detective stories that 'kill time', as we say, people learn languages and prepare for exams. All this happens in the metro, twice per day...every single day... Are you still surprised that Russian are most well-read people? 

Russian-speaking world in 52 weeks. 2\52

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a dog standing on the bank of the river Yenisei in 40 km from Krasnoyarsk (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

See it on the map 

Yenisei is the great river in Russian, the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob River and the Lena River). Rising in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course to the Yenisei Gulf in the Kara Sea, draining a large part of central Siberia, the longest stream following the Yenisei-Angara-Selenga-Ider river system. 

One of the largest rivers in the world: the length of the river from the confluence of the Big and Little Yenisei Yenisei - 3487 km, from the effluent of the Lesser Yenisei - 4287 km, from the effluent of the Big Yenisey - 4092 (4123) [7] km. The length of the waterway: Ider - Selenge - Lake Baikal - Angara - Yenisei River is 5075 km. On the area of ​​the basin (2580 thousand km ²) Yenisei in 2nd place among the rivers of Russia (after Obi) and 7 th among the world's rivers. The Yenisei basin is characterized by sharp asymmetry: its right-bank part is 5.6 times higher than the left bank.

872 days or What is 'The Siege of Leningrad' - блокада Ленинграда

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In the history of Russia there were many wars... Sounds too simple and too banal.
Let's change a bit.

The Russian history is a golden book of deeds acts of bravery, fine collection of brave personalities, outstanding people.

The other day we remembered one of these pages, from the chapter 'The 20 century'. On the 27 of January we remember the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad, which happened exactly on this day in 1944. This is a great example of people's bravery, courage, strong will and unity...

***

• The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade (блокада Ленинграда) was a prolonged military operation undertaken by the German Army Group North against Leningrad-historically and currently known as Saint Petersburg-in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. The siege started on 8 September 1941, when the last land connection to the city was severed. Although the Soviets managed to open a narrow land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943, lifting of the siege took place on 27 January 1944, 872 days after it began. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history and overwhelmingly the most costly in terms of casualties.

• From the In the vortex of congealed time By Oleg Yuriev
  

According to Hitler's secret orders No. Ia 1601/41 from 22 September 1941 on "The Future of the city of Petersburg": 
1."The Führer has decided to erase the city of Petersburgfrom the face of the earth. After victory over the Soviet Union there will not be the least reason for the continued existence of this large city. Finland has also announced that it has no interest in the continued existence of this city, which lies on its new borders. (…)
3. It has been suggested that the city be surrounded securely and levelled with continual air raids and artillery of every calibre. If this results in the city's capitulation, should it be rejected?" On 8 November 1941 Hitler explained in a speech that the enemy would be "starved out" in Leningrad. The report registers "thundering applause". 

• Just figures and facts from RIA-novosti

• 'Road of life'

"Road of Life" - the name of the road over ice across Lake Ladoga in winters of 1941-42 and 1942-43, after the ice became thick enough, allowing the transport bring the goods of any weight. The road of life has actually been the only means of communication for Leningrad with the 'mainland'.

Totally, the Navy provided the functioning of "Road of Life" and the water communication with the Ladoga Flotilla. In autumn 1941, the navigation delivered 60 tons of cargo, including 45 tons of food, the city had evacuated over 30,000 people; In the navigation of 1942 (May 20, 1942 - January 8, 1943) was delivered to the city of 790 thousand tons (almost half of the cargo was food),  540 thousand people and 310 thousand tons of cargo were taken from Leningrad. In the navigation in 1943 was transported 208 thousand tons and 93 thousand people.

• The Siege from the German documents 

• 35 (!!!!) volumes of 'The Book of memory' with the names of those who passed away during these days, find at Returned names 

• Tania Savicheva

Tanya was a Soviet child diarist who endured the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. Tanya and her diary have become an iconic image of the victims of the siege of Leningrad in the postwar Soviet Union.

The diary's display (from Wiki) 


Visit the panoramic memorial 'The diary of Tanya Savicheva' to get a wider idea of it at the Panorami

• Watch the program about the Blockade