Undiscovered Thracian Treasures

The Thracian treasures were discovered right after World War Two. There were hundreds of places which were suspected to hide tombs and treasures, but there were no more consistent searches. In 1992, archaeologist Georgi Kitov from Bulgaria planned a large campaign, but only got a little money and couldn't afford to dig only for one week. Also, he had a choice: to dig randomly, hoping to find sometimes which would convince the authorities to give him more money or to give up on the idea and try to get more funds for the future. He chose the first option.

He searched the Malkata tumulus, but the first three days only brought disappointment. Then, the gold started to appear as the tomb was revealed. However, the peace of the one buried also had to suffer. There was a sudden rain and strong winds all of a sudden, the archaeological camp being destroyed. Kitov moved on. He got funds and led the expedition for seven years. He discovered fabulous treasures those years, as well as incredible funerary constructions, impressive wall paintings, symbols and indecipherable mysteries. In other words, a lost world seemed to be lost forever. This is how the Valley of the Thracian Kings was discovered. Most of the royal tombs of the Thracian kings are only a few miles away from Kazanlak.

Today, the tombs are included in the UNESCO patrimony and they are extremely well preserved. There is even an imitation of the tomb in Kazanlak, which tourists can visit so that the original tomb is exposed as rarely as possible. There are paths leading to those tombs, ventilation systems, preservation conditions, indicators and tourist guides. The Bulgarians have developed an incredible tourism based on the Thracian legacy. They talk about the Thracian people all the time, this having become a sort of print on the Bulgarian civilization we know today.

Rubbish Disposal

People don't like getting their hands dirty. Rubbish disposal has always been left to society's lower ranks, with an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude from people who are not directly involved. Today, however, both the increase in the amount and the complexity of waste produced are threatening human health and the environment as never before. The composition of waste has altered, the most dramatic change being in the number of chemicals we dump. Chemicals in the form of pills, pesticide or paint are an essential part of our lives. The disposal of waste from these chemicals has increased the problems in the way we treat rubbish, forcing us to face what we would rather throw away. Pollution of water, air and soil is widespread. Lead in the air affects our brains. Heavy metals in the soil are taken up by plants and passed on to us when we eat them. The environment is seriously affected as well. Trees are dying from acid rain. Rivers run black with pollution. Mysterious green waste from petro-chemical factories spoil fields where children play.

The increase in complexity of waste has caught disposal authorities by surprise and today's dangerous waste is showing up the shortcomings of the disposal systems. The most common form of waste disposal is the "tip", nowadays called a landfill. Landfills are holes in the ground in which rubbish is deposited. The rubbish settles and then decomposes. Liquids leak slowly through into the earth and down into the groundwater, into the water which we drink and use. Nature is able to deal with a little such abuse but the quantity of waste has increased to such an extent that Nature cannot deal with it anymore. In order to cope with the problem of containing poisonous waste, modern landfill sites are lined with plastic or clay which can prevent their contents from leaking into the surrounding soil. But this is still a short-term measure: landfills will eventually leak.

Some rubbish is disposed of by burning. The effectiveness of this depends on what you are burning, at what temperature and where the smoke-borne waste finally lands. Black smoke means that whatever is in the furnace is not burning thoroughly. This can increase the danger to the environment, as in the case with certain chemicals found in lubricants, electrical transformers and many other things that we use every day. These chemicals are among the most poisonous ever produced, and are very difficult to get rid of. High-temperature burning is thought to destroy them, but if they are burned at a lower temperature, harmful poisons are released. High-temperature burning, however, requires expert handling and special furnaces, so it is expensive.

Dumping waste straight into the sea is especially popular with island nations such as Britain. The UK treats the seas around it as a personal garbage can, emptying most of its sewage there and allowing industries to dump their waste into the ocean waters. Britain 's dumping of nuclear waste in the Atlantic has caused a storm of outrage and the practice has halted for the time being. But Britain is now asking other countries for permission to dump waste in their territorial waters, far away from the angry voters at home with their "not in my backyard" attitude to waste.

Another way of dealing with waste is to recycle it. Industry is beginning to see the benefits in making use of its waste. Nothing, however, is better than prevention and we all have our parts to play. We only have to look in our garbage cans. Plastic containers, fluorescent light tubes, nail polish, fly sprays and garden chemicals all add to the problems of poisonous waste. Households don't produce as much waste as industry, yet it can be just as harmful.

The Treasures in Tintignac - France

The architectonic ensemble in Tintignac, France was first cited in 1838 by Prosper Merimee, who did this in his travel notes. This ensemble or temple consists of four monumental edifices, one of the buildings being called "a tribunal" and having an undetermined role. Then, there is also a theatre and another building which is ninety metres long and which has the walls covered in marble.

The diggings in Tintignac started in 2001 and they have allowed the specialists to study half of the ensemble and to discover six different stages of occupation of the temple. The first stage coincides with the Welsh period and dating from the first century BC. In that period, the temple looked like a vast space with a square base in the middle of which there was a round building with a diameter of twenty meters, the building being supported by wooden poles. The specialists only discovered a few silver coins in that building, coins which had been hit with the hammer during a ritual which took place before the Roman conquest.

2004 was the year which brought a new discovery on that sacred platform. We are talking about a deposit of metal furniture, which could also be found in other sanctuaries dating from that period. There were also iron swords with handles covered in wood, four iron spears, a piece of shield, nine bronze helmets and animal heads made from bronze, the eye of which were probably made from glass. These were supposed to serve as flags mounted on wooden or metal spears and to be worn around during the warriors' avant-garde fights. Musical instruments were also discovered, such as a war trumpet. These trumpets were recognized on different bronze coins and on the triumphal monuments in Roman Gaule.

Colorful Things - Understanding Cultural Differences

Why are bright, colorful things so cheerful and why is America so afraid of them? I've spent my whole life becoming fascinated by color and its combinations, from finger-paintings to oil paintings to colorful gemstone jewelry. I've often wondered why so many cultures embrace and celebrate color while my own seems to suppress and marginalize it. In Mexico, colorful living is standard practice, a way of releasing control over their lives and giving it back to God. In America, only rebels live colorfully: artists, bohemians, hippies. Here, a colorful outfit is a sign of a dangerous mind, of an impulsive rule-breaker, of someone living on the fringe of society.

My mom had us playing with color as far back as I can remember. She'd set us up at the kitchen table with watercolors or crayons and we'd just go to town for hours! I remember that new boxes of sharp crayons or pristine, unmuddied watercolor sets were the most exciting presents. I used to get so distressed when, in my haste, I'd muddied up a once bright yellow pan of watercolor. Mom would always swoop in with a napkin and resuscitate my sunny friend. I suppose that this early training predisposed me to a love of colorful things.

I know that color exists in America, but the "adult" and the "professional" and the normal rhythm of our society lean toward quiet, somber, dignified colors. The next time you're in a crowd - look around - most outfits are composed of dark blues, grays, blacks, white, beige, khaki and forest and olive greens with the occasional red accent thrown in. Take a look at all those cars out on our roads - they paint the same picture. In the next neighborhood you drive around - check out the house colors - equally drab. A culture of people who, by and large, play it safe and follow the rules and believe in protocol and proper conduct. Good news for personal safety, bad news for beauty.

By contrast, in Mexico (not the only colorful country, but it's the one I know best,) color runs rampant. There are just as many pink or green houses as white ones. There are even houses painted all three of those colors! Color is everywhere, even the normally boring plastic housewares are a riot of pink, purple, orange, red, blue, yellow and green. I read somewhere that this flagrant use of color in Mexico started as a way of living closer to God. "Let go and let God," if you will. It's a letting go of control over your environment, an act of recognizing that existence is, ultimately, out of our hands. The wonderful colors found everywhere in Mexican society are a natural extension of their whole cultural attitude of freedom and taking chances.

It's strange to me, how in America, "colorful" is at once marginalized and admired. When children say they want to grow up to be artists, most parents try to steer them toward something more "respectable" with tales of the starving artist and of doing something with your life. (Thank goodness my parents aren't like that, because they would have been awfully disappointed!) People in really colorful outfits are seen as eccentric at best, freaks at worst. While at the same time, works of art are bought for millions of dollars and people lament their inability to be artistic (as if it was the exclusive dominion of a few gifted souls.)

Boy am I glad I married someone from Mexico so I could be closer to such a colorful culture. I need color like other people need T.V. or heroin. Funny thing is that my Mexican is actually quite fond of subdued colors for big things like walls and vehicles and for his own outfits. His American wife is always sprinkling the house with orange afghans and lime-green pillows and pinning magenta silk flowers to his nice, brown, deer head. Poor guy.

How do you all feel about the cultural color divide? Am I completely off my rocker, do you think that America is plenty colorful thank-you-very-much? I don't mean to say that America is devoid of color or of lovers of color. I'm simply suggesting that the whole of our society tends to lean toward a more homogeneous and safe color palette, and maybe that's an indication of our underlying societal rules and expectations. Brighten up, America!

Cell Phone Texting Etiquette

As a cell phone user and common text message sender and receiver for several years now, I've observed several traits, traditions, and routines that people tend to follow in using them. One increasingly more common habit that people seem to be implementing is texting. There are several reasons why cell phone texting is sometimes preferred as opposed to making an actual call. Possibly from convenience due to the ever growing makes, models, and manufactures of cell phones equipped with features that make texting all the more easy. Another possibility is the fact that people have come to realize they don't have to run the risk of getting inadvertently engrossed in an unnecessarily long phone call conversation. In today's world, people find it much easier to simply send a quick message to someone and wait for a response. This allows the person texting to communicate 'on the side', if you will, instead of completely disrupting what they are doing to make a phone call. In these texting situations is when a few simple cell phone texting etiquette guidelines should be practiced.

Primarily, and this guideline also applies to phone calls as well, the time of day the text messaging occurs. Many a night I have gotten text messages that are not important, irrelevant, or of little to no concern at the time that I received them. Texting someone late at night about issues that are unimportant at the current time is not only annoying, but can also be rude and disrespectful. A obvious solution to this would be to simply turn your cell phone off at night. However, the situation for many people including myself, do not have a land line phone and their cell phone is their only phone. This can be especially true for those that live alone. Should there be an important issue or possibly even an emergency, their cell phone is their main source of communication. If it is turned off, those that need to know about the issue or emergency immediately cannot easily be contacted, or possibly not even reached at all. Therefore, leaving their cell phone on at all times is important, and people should be respectful of the person by not sending unimportant messages to them, especially late at night. People desire uninterrupted sleep during the night and it can be very irritating and frustrating to get text messages while trying to sleep.

Another courteous guideline to follow is the length of the text message. Not everyone has the newer, high-tech cell phones of today, therefore their particular cell phone may not display the entire message of a text sent by a person with a more modern cell phone. Also, the message may not be displayed properly on an older or more basic model, mainly when using special characters in the text. This also varies according to the particular wireless carrier and even the plan that the individual may have. People don't want to read excessively lengthy text messages, especially those that are over multiple pages. Some advice to follow in this case is to keep your messages short, simple, and to the point. An entire discussion or long conversation should not take place over a series of several text messages as this is when calling the person is much more appropriate.

The issues that people text about are also a factor when it come to etiquette. One should not inform someone about an important issue, especially an emergency via a text message. This is another situation when an actual phone call, or even a person-to-person meeting depending on the situation, should definitely prevail as opposed to a text message. One also has to consider the personality of the particular person receiving the text as well. This is especially true when sending jokes, forwardings, and even picture messages, as this is something that can be greatly affected by the particular type of phone, wireless carrier, and plan that person has.

Another guideline to consider is who you are texting. This is also something greatly dictated by the personality of the particular individual receiving the text. For example, unless you have a more close relationship with your boss, you shouldn't necessarily be texting him or her, but calling instead, especially when it comes to small talk or unimportant issues. Some people get charged per text and texting something unimportant or irrelevant, particularly with picture messages, can be not only irritating but also costly to that person.

A final guideline to follow is when and in what situation you are texting. An obvious and ever increasingly more illegal and dangerous example is texting while driving. In many areas, it is illegal to text and drive, something becoming illegal in more and more locations as time goes on. This is extremely dangerous to yourself, not to mention those driving around you. Another obvious no-texting situation is while you're at work. Unless your job requires communication with those that aren't conveniently near you, texting should not take place while you're working. Even in such a situation, texting is most likely not the most efficient form of communication at the workplace. In jobs such as these, workers are commonly given 2-way radios or similar equipment that is less cumbersome to use other than taking the time to type out a text message.

In closing, the next time you are considering text messaging someone, please consider these simple guidelines and ask yourself the following questions: Is it the right time of day? Is this something too long to be sent in a text message? Is this too important for a text or too irrelevant to even be sent at all? Is the person I'm texting an appropriate person to communicate with through a text message? Is this an appropriate situation that I should be texting right now? Remember that we live in a society and that we should be respectful of others in every way. Technology is advancing rapidly. With these new technologies comes new responsibilities that should be practiced by all of us. Working together, we can all make the world and the society we live in just that much better to be a part of.

The Insidious Effects of Darwin's Evolution

In 1889 Charles Darwin the English naturalist published what he called The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life".

Darwin argued that animal species did not originate in the divine act of creation as portrayed in the Bible. According to Darwin animal species evolved as results of natural change over time or missing the opportunity to adapt to an environment which also changed.

In another book, before he wrote The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life", called The Descent Of Man, Darwin linked human evolution explicitly to the higher primates specifically and shockingly to hairy quadruplets which have pointed tails and long ears. Darwin with these discoveries wanted to back up his idea that Life is a competitive struggle for existence. And creatures that possess useful characteristics or that developed such characteristics by evolution are favored in the struggle. And he concluded that what goes for other animals goes for the human animal as well.

And such notions are expressed by Darwin and subsequently his supporters, who followed after him pounding these ideas into people's minds, such notions, are expressed in connotations that catch the public's imagination and then apply the philosophy (or biology/anthropology?) of evolution to everything.

This means that people who achieve in life and become superior in external things - driving luxury cars, swanking around with high tech mobile phones, living in luxury houses, are millionaires are favored by nature, they adapted in the struggle for life, they are the winners, they are the favored races. And what about the weak poor nations in this analysis? They are left for scorn - to be laughed at because they fail to adapt. It is interesting to read the subtitle of Darwin's book; The Preservation of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life. Darwin's ideas spread wildly because he also studied to be a lawyer and was effective in arguing his case for the philosophy of evolution.

Darwin went to church like all other gentlemen did. But Darwin was an agonistic, probably because he had studied to be a clergyman at Cambridge University. He saw no more higher moral or religious ends in life than chance and necessity. Meaning that everything here in our lives happens by chance and necessity, there is no superior force up there to refer to. In doing this Darwin literally cut off God in the lives and psyche of people - and allowed people to fight and kill each other in struggle for survival.

Foreign Accents

Section One

As far as I'm concerned, I do tend to judge people I meet by their accents. I don't mean that I'm a sort of snob, and only like people with upper-class accents, but I never feel comfortable with a new person until I've been able to place them from the way they speak. If it's an English person, I feel much more at ease if I can say "Ah, he comes from Liverpool", or "He's probably been to a public school". I suppose then I know what to talk about and what to expect from the other person.

The same is true of foreigners. Personally, I prefer a foreigner to speak with a recognizable foreign accent, so that I know that I'm talking to a Frenchman, a Ghanaian, a Pole, and so on. So for me, it seems a bit pointless for foreigners to try desperately hard to get rid of their national accents and try to speak BBC English. If someone is clearly French, I know there's no point in talking about cricket or making jokes about the Irish. And frankly, I think it even sounds more attractive. I can't really explain why, but if people have foreign accents, they seem to be more interesting, even if they are saying the most ordinary things. 

Section Two

Mind you, there is a limit to intelligibility. If the accent is so strong that you have a struggle to understand what they are trying to say, then that gets in the way of the conversation, and the flow is broken while you try to sort out the sounds into meaningful bits. I don't mean an accent as strong as that. I'm talking about the kind of accents whereby you can tell immediately which countries people come from, but which don't prevent you from following what they are saying. I suppose it's the kind of accent most foreigners have, really. To be honest, it's only a very few who have such a good ear that they produce more or less genuine British English, and even then it can be quite amusing because they may have picked up a clearly regional accent, or even a very upper-class accent which doesn't fit in with their character at all. But most foreigners who learn English are desperately keen to get rid of their foreign accents and waste a lot of time trying to do so.

Section Three

On the other hand, I've got to sympathize with them and even admire them, because I speak quite reasonable French myself, and I'm always very pleased when I'm taken for a Frenchman and feel quite discouraged when someone immediately spots that I'm English. But there again, to my ear, French spoken with an English accent sounds really ugly, and I feel uncomfortable when I hear a fellow countryman murdering the language. So I suppose foreigners feel the same way when they hear compatriots doing the same to English. However, I have been told by French friends that French spoken with a certain degree of English accent doesn't offend their ears at all, and in fact sounds quite charming. I've been told that Petula Clark was a successful singer in France partly because of her English accent, and I suppose that one of the most celebrated French speakers of English was that actor, Maurice Chevalier, who made a career out of sounding French and who could probably have spoken it with much less of an accent if he had really wanted to.

I contrast him with a French friend of mine who obviously had a gift for languages, and was always being taken for a well-educated Englishman when I was with him in England. Because of the way he spoke, my English friends assumed he knew all about certain facets of English life which you can only learn by living in the country for years. So he often had to ask me to explain things to him after an evening in the pub. I don't know how much time he had spent getting his accent right, but perhaps he could have spent his time better broadening his vocabulary and knowledge of the country. Now that English is such an international language, I think we should accept a wider range of accents and learners should concentrate more on structure and vocabulary than accent.