Czech Lesson. . . One

Well, today I wanted to review my Czech so I can keep up fluency. Due to this, I want to teach you a few words and phrases:

• Hello - Dobrý Den (Dough-bree Den)
  
• Hi, Bye - Čau (Ciao - same as Italian)
  
• Good Bye - Na Shledáno (Nah Sled-a-no)

***

• How are you? - Jak se Máš? (Jahk seh Mah-sh)
  
• I am well. - Mám se dobře. (Mahm se Dober-zhe) zh makes a sound like the si in vision.

Note: In reality, the ř makes a combined sound of a rolled R and a ZH. It is very difficult for beginners and even natives. This is why I divide it up into two seperate syllables instead of one, this makes it understandable yet pronouncable, at least until you get the hang of it.

***

• Thank You. - Děkují. (d-yeh-ku-yee)
  
• Thanks. - Díky. (d-yee-kee)

***

Well, that's it for today, I hope you enjoyed, please get me some feedback, I would love to continue this.

JB

My Idea. . .

I have done a lot of thinking about this over the past month: How can I revolutionize journalism for the twenty-first century? Recently I read an article which inspired me to this idea. The article may or may not have been talking directly about what I got out of it, but that is okay. It called for an untainted source of news for the masses, or in other words, a NON-PROFIT NEWS ORGANIZATION. As soon as I figure out the details of what I have to do in order to make this happen, I will get to work, it is now a new dream of mine and I feel really good about it. At first I will have to say that it will be on the internet before it is ever in print as it is cheaper online and I can still spread it to a large audience, provided I have help and motivation to do so. Alas, I must finish school before I can fully realize this dream. This does not mean I will not start with baby steps. After all, I created The Daily Drain for the purpose of getting the facts out, as soon as I learn them.

A Sunset. . .

Over the past few months, I've been working at night. Not until recently did I realize exactly what my job had taken from me. For example, every day I catch a glimpse of the sun as it is setting, unfortunately I am busy vacuuming at the same time. The aestetic apeal is gone at that very moment. Oh how I miss the days when I would sit on the back porch and watch the sunset. I would think about life and just enjoy a purely aestetic moment, on a daily basis. Where did all those moments go? I certainly hope they are still out there waiting to be found. . . and not inside my vacuum. So the next chance you get, watch the sun as it sets, I know I will.

Beards. . .

I said that I had fun shaving, here are four pictures of me, with four different beards.
Full Beard
Greek Beard
Goatee
Handlebar Mustache

(This one's for my brother Rob, I thought he'd get a kick out of it.)

This what five days of not shaving will do to me. Unfortunately, I like shaving every day. Thus, you probably will not see me sporting any of these styles on the street very often.

Happy Holidays!

Review -- Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of its Enemies

This is my first book review, so I hope that it does justice to the book.

Today I finished (and started) reading a book entitled Occidentalism by Ian Buruma & Avishai Margalit. I found this book very interesting, especially since I enjoy dabbling in philosophy and ethics. The entire basis of the book is what opponents of Western Thought find so offensive and also why they would choose to attack any nation or culture that falls into the category of the West. The book explains several major parties in history including Shinto in Japan, Nazi ideals, Islamic radicals today, as well as the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. I found it to be very informative and well-structured with an index in the back so one could easily find a specific subject or topic. Quoting from the book: "The dehumanizing of the West painted by its enemies is what we have called Occidentalism." (page 5) The professionalism and clarity with which this subject was presented earns a 4.5 out of 5. However, I recommend this book only to those who enjoy a philosophic discussion or those who would wish to empathize (not to be confused with sympathizing) with Occidentalist enemies: past, present, and future.

JB

My Absence. . .

I'm sorry that I have not written in the past few days, I have been very busy. This Thanksgiving holiday has been absolutely amazing, I enjoyed a night at my brother's apartment in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, we spent some time playing the Wii. On Thursday, I drove down in the morning to my house in Payson to help my Dad finish a room in our basement, then the feast began. Friday, we went to breakfast at IHOP, it was quite delicious, when we got home I decided to have some fun while shaving -- I have not posted pictures yet but soon will. Then I hosted some friends as we practiced to sing Christmas Carols at Peteetneet School in Payson for their program when they turned their lights on. After that, the highlight of my day, Mexican Food with the most interesting person in the world, I am still figuring out what makes Ali so interesting. Well that is a discussion for another time, I am still finding my thoughts on that subject.

Dilemma. . . What To Do?

I thik it is safe to say that life is full of twists and turns. The other day I was asked to sing in a vocal quartet and I would have to say that I was honored. A few days later, I found out that two of the people wouldn't be able to participate, so now I'm singing in a duet. Well, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. . .it's turned into a good opportunity to become better acquainted with a good friend, so I definitely can't frown at it. I'm so grateful for the twists and turns of life.

JB

How Do You Survive When It's Cold Outside?

Today, I was walking to my classes and I realized that it was pretty cold outside and I was just wondering, why didn't I have a better jacket. I would like to say that I did something about it, but no, I froze for the few minutes I was outside. I am so glad that the school is nice and warm inside. I realize how random this may seem, but I deem it sufficient for me to write today, seeing as I have no other things which I am willing to discuss at this moment. I am very happy to be finished with classes this week and I am also very happy to almost be done with work as well. Here's some food for thought with this being Thanksgiving week: "What are you thankful for?"

JB

Do Not Murmur. . .God Will Hear

This experience come from a simpler time: during my LDS mission in the Czech Republic -- One day, about a year ago in November 2006, we had been out on the street for hours trying to get people to talk to us. About this time it started to rain and I will have to admit, I was not very happy with this new development. As we walked to a tram stop in order to catch a ride home, I remember commenting on the rain to myself in a sarcastic manner, I only said one word -- "Thanks!" Immediately the rain began to pour down harder than before. I realized my error and immediately apologized "I'm sorry." At once the rain let up to a light drizzle. In that moment I learned a valuable lesson -- Do Not Murmur. . . God Will Hear.

JB

Well, I finally have a blog. . .

Recently I've been thinking a lot about life. I then realized that if I was going to be journalist, I must have a blog. I hope this will suffice. When school calms down I actually want to start writing a series of posts about Czech National History, My Experiences from Life, and a Spotlight on my Family and Friends. Until then I'll do my best to give you the news as it happens.

JB