Twitter is officially five years old. The first tweet was sent out on 21st March, 2006. The idea apparently grew out of SMS (Short message service) codes that people were sending each other on their mobile phones, and it is sometimes described as the internet SMS.
Subscribers are able to send short messages, no more than 140 characters long, which are relayed via the Twitter servers in the US to other users who “follow” the subscriber wherever they may be around the world. The character limit is sometimes a hurdle to be overcome and so people develop codes and abbreviations to use in their messages. Some overcome this limit by splitting what they want to say into five or six short sentences which are transmitted in quick succession. More…
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Faravahar (or Ferohar), is one of the
primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, and is
believed to be the depiction of a guardian
spirit – called a Fravashi |
I mentioned yesterday that Norus is an ancient Zoroastrian festival.
Zoroastrianism is a pre-Islam religion founded by the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster (sometime in the second millennium BC – although there is some doubt about the exact dates, I have seen references to him which range from 1700BC to 500BC (!)), and still practised by the Parsees in India. It sees the world as dualistic – Good and Evil in conflict.
It is sometimes claimed that the Wise Men who visited the infant Jesus with gifts were Zoroastrian.
More…
Norus is also known as: Noorus, Noruz, Nowruz, Nawruz, Navrus, Norouz … it is a public holiday in Kyrgyzstan. More…
I came across an interesting article on one of the local news websites the other day. It was a Op-Ed comment on the current state of a particular aspect life in the capital city, the Bishkek.
The city received the name in February 1991. Before that it has been called Frunze after the Revolutionary General of the Red Army who had masterminded the Bolshevik dominance of Central Asia during the Civil War following the 1917 Revolution and who had been born in the city to a Moldovian Doctor and his wife. I didn’t know this but, apparently, in Moldovian the word Frunze means “Green Leaf”.
Many guide books still refer to the epithet that used to be given to the city that it was considered to be the “Greenest City on Earth”. This wasn’t anything to do Mikhail Frunze, but referred to the fact that the early Russian settlers had undertaken much tree planting in the fledgling settlement, creating tree lined avenues (such as Prospects Erkindik and Chui and the Avenue of the Young Guards, Molodaya Gvardia), parks (such as: Oak Park and Panfilov park in the city center, Attaturk Park and Elm Grove further out), and even an arbetorium. Just on Prospect Erkindik there were poplar, elm, oak, birch, and apple. The arbetoreum which now forms part of the Botanical Gardens is home to over 2000 specimens of trees and shrubs. In the back yard of our building alone, I counted 78 trees and shrubs. More…
This last week has been a week of special days and anniversaries. Although they were not holidays, (they come next week), some of them helped to focus my attention on a number of issues. More…
Let me say at the outset that although I am not a skier, I happen to be the proud owner of two (almost) antique pairs of wooden skis and have a profound respect for exponents of the sport.
However, that hasn’t always been the case.
When I was a kid, watching ski events on the TV bored me. They made it look so simple. What could be simpler than bending your legs at the knees, leaning forward and then pushing off with two sticks and letting gravity do the rest. OK, I thought, twisting and turning in a slalom event looked as if it might involve some skill and excitement, but I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.
Of course, there’s a lot more to it that and the sportsmen on TV were all experienced and skilled. The fact that they fooled me by making it look so simple should be taken as a compliment. More…
This last week I have had a stream of visitors asking to see me, each of them, so it seems, with an air of shy embarrassment and hopeful expectation, and each of them clutching a piece of paper.
I know them all. We’ve before and the conversation starts with general small talk: How are you?, How’s business?, What strange weather we are experiencing and that sort of thing. Although such small talk is a common feature of any meeting, it’s especially important in Asia where conversations tend to go “all round the hills” before coming to the main point in the concluding moments of any meeting. It can be rude to try and shortcut the process or trying to speed up the discussion by trying to jump to the point prematurely, even when pleading pressures of business or some other tactic. In these particular cases, people say they understand and hurriedly present their case, but it is clear that all you have done is to have ruffled their feathers and emphasised their unease and discomfort.
Why unease and discomfort? Because the pieces of paper they are clutching are letters asking for sponsorship. They are representatives of various voluntary organizations and charities planning to organize some event and the budget exceeds their meagre finances so they have to seek out additional support. To many of the older generation, brought up in the Soviet Union where the State cared for you from cradle to grave, they feel as if they are coming “cap in hand”, begging for a handout.
In a way, of course, they are right. More…
Tuesday was the “Ides of March”.
The Romans had a very strange calendar until Caesar decided to reform it in 46BC, (adding 46 extra days in order to bring it back into line with the seasons on which it was supposed to be based, and causing chaos and disruption throughout the Roman world). His reforms, however, didn’t stretch to the ancient division of the 30-day month by the kalends, nones and ides. More…
The other day I had the occasion to call for a taxi for a friend and rang one of the many taxi firms in Bishkek. As usual, they asked for the address, where the passenger was going, and for a telephone number. I gave them the information, and they told me the taxi would arrive in about ten minutes and the fare payable would be as indicated by the taxi meter. We thanked each other and hung up.
So far, all had happened as usual, but then the problems started. More…
Although I am by no means an expert on the subject, as a former teacher I take a keen interest in questions relating to education in Kyrgyzstan.
Until recently, that was mainly an “academic” interest, (no pun intended), but, recently, it has become more pointed as the kids’ schooling has been disrupted by the events of last year and the heating crisis which closed for several weeks a few months ago. Sometimes I am impressed by the standards achieved by individuals, but at others I am surprised by certain aspects of the system. More…
