dreams of a happy-go-lucky childhood – plans of a play to relive childhood memories and happiness because others share my dreams and plans – and i am sure i need not mention that this is exactly my dream of eternal happiness – running through the woods, carefree and yelling out to welcome spring:
after my senior citizen christmas – three over seventy, two around fifty and little mid-twenty me, leading to an age average of sixty – we excelled at eating, sleeping and telling stories of long forgotten past events – it is now time for a tweeny new year’s – tweenies are the years between teens and twens and i’ll be spending new year’s with five others, all younger than myself – i am kind of scared, but it’ll still be fun – we’ll most likely be discussing our outfits, our weight and guys – ah well, it could be worse and really, life’s not all that different from five years ago – i’m none the wiser in respect to guys – i might be a little nonchalant about my weight and ever so much more stylish in my outfits, but either i never change or guys never do – those troubles are still the same as ever and will probably be for life – so, here’s to new year’s eve and a splendid new year ahead of us
and here are my results for the day
caro took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!“Seeks luxury, sensuous comfort, and the indulgence…” Click here to read the rest of the results.
hm, not sure i really am forced to forgo all joys and pleasures for the time being – but the general tone is very true – a little scary, huh?
take five minutes and you’ll know exactly how you’re feeling just right now – go to http://www.colorquiz.com/
some last photos to say goodbye, sniff, snuff, sigh – being a corbie was fun and i miss my wings
every year, just before christmas, i get together with a group of friends, to watch “nightmare before christmas” and “the muppets christmas carol” – despite various disagreements, fights and harsh words throughout the year, we never ever fail at this – to me, that is the true spirit of christmas and songs like these give me a warm, fuzzy, happy christmas feeling inside – no matter what and how i feel, now i know, it really is christmas all around
The prince found the fountain easily and discovered nearby a table on which many bottles of different color and shape stood. Losing no time in admiring these pieces of wonder, he reached for the nearest and ventured over to the fountain, leading Arrow by the reins. Both, the horse and the rider satisfied their thirst, before the prince filled the bottle. As soon as he had completed this and pulled away from the fountain, he heard a strange rushing and hissing sound, that seemed to become louder and louder every moment. The prince had indeed forgotten about the evil sprits the old man had warned him about. He barely had enough time to pull out the Magos Meros, jump on his horse and safely escape. Panting, he returned to the crossroads. There he rested for a while and gave the golden horn and the bottle of water of life to the old man, begging him to take these to his bride if he would not return from this last task.
This time it took the prince much longer to get to the place the old man had described to him. After five days he finally got to the ruined castle. He arrived right before sunset and just had time to find a sheltered spot where he could spend the night. Watching the spectacular sunset, he lighted a fire, cooked some food and soon got rather comfortable. He did not forget about the dangers ahead, but as he did not know what was expecting him, he couldn’t really get scared and therefore enjoyed the picturesque scenery in front of him. The deserted castle lay in the middle of rolling hills, which gently sloped down to a river, rushing along in the valley below. The prince was sitting where the dining hall of the castle must have been. The roof had fallen in, so he could lean back and watch the stars come up. After a short while, exhausted from all his previous adventures, the prince fell asleep. He woke the next morning, perfectly refreshed and ready to face any upcoming perils. Being slightly puzzled that nothing had come up during the night, he expected the days to be the real danger. He was yet again disappointed. The day was as peaceful as the previous night. The prince enjoyed the beautiful landscape around the castle and admired how perfectly the old ruin fitted into its surroundings. Thus he spent the following days and nights, until he was suddenly roused at midnight of his third night there. He heard voices singing in strange tongues. Following the sound, he came to were his faithful horse Arrow had been grazing peacefully. The horse was gone. In his place was a beautiful white stallion, surrounded by many men. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, hailed him as their true savior. Seeing the confusion on the prince’s face, he invited him to join the merry group and listen to their tale.
“Many years ago, we lived in this castle as a band of robber knights. We did many cruel and bad deeds and were not even aware of our faults, till we dared to assault the fairy king and queen. Having killed the queen and taken the king hostage, we gloried in our success. The fairy king took advantage of our carelessness during the feast. He managed to escape and lay a curse on us and the castle. We would have to haunt every person that dared to come to this place. Reenacting our own cruel deeds again and again till we had realized how bad we had been and till someone dared to stay three nights and not be scared away. In the beginning it seemed like fun to us to be able to keep on doing what we had done all our lives without any true peril. Long since, we have seen this as a punishment because we have realized how detestable our lives have been. No one has ever had the courage to stay here longer than one night…till now! You are truly brave and our rightful savior.”
The prince was still not satisfied with this explanation: “But I never felt any danger in this place and I had no reason to be brave. Can you explain why so?”
“It has been a puzzle to us as well. But we were never a folk to ask tedious questions. Come, let us be merry! To express our thanks, we have used an ancient and deeply secret magic to transform your horse into the most beautiful and swiftest of its race. It will carry you wherever you wish in an instant.”
Our dear prince was rejoiced to hear that. He celebrated with these merry people till the sun dawned. Then he mounted his magically transformed horse and wished to be back at home. Arrow started galloping and a second later reached the gates of the castle grounds. Here the prince found the old man, who not only had the two other gifts with him, but had also greatly changed in his appearance. He indeed looked much younger now, the wrinkles in his face gone and his dress not ragged, but richly adorned with gems and golden filaments. The prince halted his horse and dismounted. He and the old men entered the castle grounds together, leading Arrow between them.
When they had reached the castle itself, the girl, who had missed her handsome companion very much indeed, rushed up to him and declared: “Whatever you have brought, I will marry you anyways. I do love you so very much.”
The prince was overjoyed and the wedding was set for the next day. That night, the prince, his mother, his bride and the old man sat comfortably around the fireplace in the sitting room where the girl had first beheld her prince. He recounted his adventures and also what great wonders had befallen him at the ruined castle of the robber knights. Here the old man spoke up and declared to be the very fairy king who had cursed the robbers. He apparently also was the girl’s fairy godfather, who had performed a lucky charm upon her on the day of her birth. Therefore the ring of her hair, the prince had worn on his finger, had protected him from any harm during his stay at the ruins. They were greatly surprised at these news and anew welcomed the fairy king into their family.
The next day brought the wedding. A glorious and two-week lasting celebration, during which the golden horn was repeatedly blown to make everyone even happier than they already were, followed. The couple went on a honeymoon, visiting the giants of the island and soon returning to their castle to live happily – due to long travels on Arrow – and peacefully – due to the golden horn – ever after – due to the water of live.
PS: If you want to imagine that the old queen and the fairy king became rather attracted to each other during their time as castle sitters in the princess and prince’s long vacations, feel free to do so. It makes a nice story!
just one more christmas song to sing along – carol of the bells
when feeling sad and blue, i look at this picture – a little drawing by a good friend to make me feel better – and it really, really, really works
The prince took the Magos Meros, thanked the old man and rode along the first road. He found everything as he had told him and was soon preparing to land on the island. However, he waited for night to fall and chose a remote little bay to maneuver his boat to shore. He wandered a long time across the island till he suddenly saw a huge fire not too far off. As he sneaked closer, he could distinguish gruff voices.
“Heyya, old friend, who’s on watch this week,” one giant asked his neighbor. This one, an especially large of his kind, answered in a loud growl: “Jakmakran is on watch. I felt the danger of someone’s interfering soon, so I wanted to best man there.”
“How’s he better than any of the others?” the first one asked.
“He is smarter, stronger and cannot be wounded but on the tiny spot behind his right ear. Have you never wondered why he wears this hideous hat? It is to cover up this vulnerable spot.”
“I did indeed wonder. He is so vain otherwise. Why doe he not get himself a decent hat?”
“O, that is quite a story. Have you never heard about it? The old hat was once pretty and given to him by Jojona.”
“Jojona of the Great Island far out in the sea? Why did she do that?”
“She really is a daughter of our island. She and Jakmakran were madly in love as youngsters, some four hundred years ago. Her parents didn’t like that and she was married off to the Lord of the Great Island far out in the sea. Jakmakran still bears great love for her, even though he has never heard from her again. Apparently he tried to get to her, but her parents had paid an old witch to cast a spell upon him, so he can never leave the island again. And he was such a great sailor in his younger years.”
It was getting late and day would soon arrive. The prince had heard enough and left. He busied himself with gathering leaves and flowers before finding a hiding place for the day. By the following night, he had finished what he had been working on: a beautiful new giant hat, which left uncovered both ears. He had also written a note, saying:
My sweet Jakmakran,
I have not forgotten you. My love for you is still unbroken. I have been treated badly not only by my own parents, but also by my husband, who knows I will never love him as I love you. He has prevented me from contacting you, which would have been consoling to me, as it would soothe the pain of never seeing you again. Until now I have been prevented from writing to you. By chance, a traveling storyteller came by our summer castle and has taken a fancy towards me which he has cunningly hidden from my husband. He has promised me to take this note and a new hat, which I made with all my love for you, to you. He wishes however to be unknown. I advise you therefore not to inquire who he is. I remain yours for ever,
Jojona
When night had fallen, the prince crept close to the place, where the giant Jakmakran sat, leaning against the hollow tree. He watched the giant for a good while and studied his manner. After some time, he used the moment of the giant’s drinking from his water bottle to throw over the package to the giant’s feet. As the giant opened it and stared at the note in wonder, the prince tiptoed around behind the old tree. Just as he had assumed, Jakmakran took of his old hat and tried on the new one, forgetting over the joy of having heard from Jojona, about his vulnerable spot. This the prince had been waiting for and now pierced the place behind Jakmakran’s right era with a poisoned needle, which did not kill but set Jakmakran to immediate sleep. The prince reached into the tree and pulled out a beautiful golden horn. ‘Ah, this is my fiancée’s second wish.’ he thought. ‘I will see how it works.’ He blew the horn and soon enough many giants were rushing up, eager to find the source of this delightful music. Their hatred of intruders had vanished and they became fast friends with the prince, asking him to name anything and they would help him to fulfill his wish. As the prince desired nothing better than to leave his new friends, they accompanied him back to the shore, wishing him luck on his quest and making him promise to visit again with his wife during their honeymoon. If you are interested in the end of Jakmakran’s and Jojona’s story, you will have to read the chronicles of the giant islands.
As soon as the giants had left to return to their island, the prince mounted his horse, took out the Magos Meros and asked to be returned to the wicked crossroads, where he greeted the old man and quickly rode of to his second adventure.
o my, i am sad, sad, sad, sad, sad – my latest stage adventure is all over and there is this huge black hole, where there were loads of great fun and wonderful people only just yesterday – life seems empty and strange and it does not make sense – i am lost and lonely, dazed and confused and really, really, really want it to start all over again – i know, i know there’ll always be a next play, but seriously, nothing can top this experience and wonderful time i had over the past few weeks
so, i’ll keep on being sad and drive home tomorrow – for christmas – that should be nice and after a long hot bubble bath and some turkey dinner, the world will seem a lot brighter than today – so, always look on the bright side of life…
“Do not be afraid,” he said, “it is I, your faithful friend.” With a yelp of surprise she rushed up to him, looked into his eyes and found that he had been telling the truth. They sat on the sofa and the prince, which he of course was, told her his story.
After his father’s death, a distant aunt had come to the castle and asked him to give up the crown to her or she would curse him and his mother badly. The prince had refused and had been transformed into a fox, his mother into a vixen, the castle had sunk underground and all his subjects had been changed to resemble trees and make up the large forest. He had been allowed to merely live in the forest und could never leave it. The only cure for the curse would be to find a girl, willing to follow him through the forest to his home and trusting him completely.
“I have been rummaging the forest for many a year now and succeeded in scaring away many pretty girls. You were the first one that trusted me and therefore I will not only ask you to stay with me in my castle, but also to marry me,” he concluded his tale.
The girl could not have been more surprised, but was anxious as she could not believe this lad to really adore her and as her mother had always told her that only fools marry without true affection. She therefore asked the youth to bring her three proofs of affection: a white horse, that carried its rider to every possible destination in an instant, a golden horn, that made everyone who heard it blown happy and peaceful, and last a bottle of the water from the fountain of life that assured the drinkers would not only life for ever, but also find their true love. As soon as the prince had heard the girl’s task, he prepared to leave. He was eager to prove his love, which indeed was great. Before his departure he only asked to be allowed to take a string of her hair, which he formed into a ring and wore around his left middle finger. “This way you will always be with me and I will be sure to return to you. Stay in the castle and feel yourself to be at home. I will return soon.” With these words he mounted his faithful horse Arrow and rode off.
Soon he had left his kingdom, which was indeed rather small. He rode on and not much later the road ahead parted in three directions. The prince was unsure which he should take and sat on a large rock to think about this new situation. ‘If I go the wrong way, it will take me a long time to come back here and take another one. I would loose too much time. I also cannot go back. My sweet girl would never agree to marry me if I came without her gifts. I will just have to sit here and wait for some kind person to help me. If no one comes I shall be miserable forever.’
He did not have to be patient for long. A very old and wrinkled man came by and asked him, what he would be doing there, all alone and with such a sad face.
“Alas, dear grandfather,” cried the prince. “I am in such a miserable situation. I need to find a white horse, that carries its rider to every possible destination in an instant, a golden horn, that makes everyone who hears it blown happy and peaceful, and last a bottle of the water from the fountain of life that assures the drinkers would not only life for ever, but also find their true love. If I cannot bring these things home, my sweetheart will not marry me.”
The old man laughed and answered: “Son, if that is your only problem, it is not such a great misery at all. I can help you.”
“How so?”
“Easily, if you will just promise me one thing, I can provide you with the means of accomplishing your task very soon.”
“Anything, my dear friend!”
“Invite me to your wedding and let me sit next to your lovely bride in her father’s stead.”
“I will give you my whole-hearted promise to let you come to my wedding and I am sure my bride, who is an orphan, will gladly love you as a father.”
“Then I will help you in an instant. Just know that you will have to be tremendously brave and not give way to your fears.”
“I will do anything you ask of me, if I can just get these gifts and bring them home as soon as possible.”
The old man searched his carpet handbag and pulled out a curiously shaped object. It was of indefinable color, shining greenish-blue one moment and changing to reddish the next. There were glittering stones set all over it and it seemed to shift its shape very, very slowly.
“What is this?” asked the prince, prying the object.
The old man replied: “This is what will help you on your further travels. It is a Magos Meros, a magical time reverser. Take the first road, which will lead you towards the sea. You will have to take a boat and row out to an island off the shore. Mark that this island is inhabited by vicious giants. You have to outsmart them and get to an old hollow tree exactly in the middle of the island. There you will find something, of which the giants do not know what it is, but what they nevertheless guard carefully. It will help you get safely off the island. Once back on the shore take the Magos Meros and ask to be returned to the wicked crossroad, for that is the name of this place. You will be back here at the same moment at which you left. You can now take the second road, which will lead you to the fountain of life. There is no immediate danger involved in getting the water. You need however hurry to use the Magos Meros once you have the water safely in a bottle for there are evil spirits close by, who cannot themselves fetch the water, but would kill you to get by it. At last, you can go the third path, which will lead you to the most dangerous part of your journey. You will come to the ruin of an old robber-knight castle. There you will have to spend three nights and not fear anything you will meet. When the third night is over, you will be rewarded and can instantly return home. You will have lost no time.”
this is a fairy tale i wrote for children in an orphanage in sri lanka after the tsunami hit in 2005 – part 1
Once upon a time a girl was left all alone in the world. Her parents had died and she had no home, no food and no clothes to wear, but the old dress, she was presently wearing. She was strolling around in the woods, singing to herself, when she came across a fox, who – to her surprise – addressed her thus: “My dear girl, where might you be going?”
The girl was not the least bit scared and told him her sad story. The fox showed himself very compassionate. He invited the girl to accompany him to his house, deep in the woods. “My old mother will take good care of you and I will make sure, you get enough food.”
“But, dear fox, I couldn’t possibly live in a burrow,” the girl answered. “My burrow is spacious and I will gladly give you the best room available.”
They went on for three long days to the middle of the forest. During this long and perilous journey, the fox not only protected the girl, but also provided food and curled up next to her at night to keep her warm and comfortable. As the third day drew to a close, they reached a wide open space, in the middle of which a large single maple tree stood. “This is my home,” the fox proudly announced. The girl saw the tree and the narrow entrance in the ground. She worried about her size and thought to herself: ‘I’ll never be able to fit in comfortably, but I will be content to settle on this wonderful glade with my new friend as a neighbor.’
To her infinite surprise, she could easily fit through the hole in the ground and found herself in a large entrance hall. “Did I promise too much, now?” the fox asked. She was soon put into a spacious apartment and provided with beautiful dresses. The surprises did not end with that. After bathing and dressing herself in fine silken clothes, she went to find the fox and be introduced to his mother. She had not gone long, when she found herself in a comfortable sitting room. The walls were adorned with paintings of beautiful people. She assumed that they were of one family and amused herself for some time with looking at each picture. In the end, she came across the picture of a handsome youth with a melancholic look on his face. The girl could not help, but stare at this picture for a long time. She was however disturbed by someone opening the door, swung around and saw herself faced with the same handsome lad.
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Gary Becker Thinks the Most Addictive Thing Is …
By Steven D. Levitt
Over 600 blog readers took a shot at guessing what Gary Becker thinks the most addictive thing on Earth is.
Lots of folks threw out things like crack and caffeine, but do you really think I’m going to offer a blog quiz with an obvious answer?
While not the answer I was looking for, there was something poetic about Deb’s guess:
A yawn. A smile. Salt.
Before I give the answer, it is worth thinking about what it means for a good to be addictive. At least the way I think about it, an addictive thing has the following characteristics:
1) Once you start consuming it, you want to consume more and more of it.
2) Over time you build up a tolerance to it, i.e. you get less enjoyment out of consuming a fixed amount of it.
3) Pursuit of that good leads you to sacrifice everything else in your life to get it, potentially leading you to do ridiculous things to try to get the good.
4) There is a period of withdrawal when you stop consuming the good.
No doubt alcohol and crack cocaine fit that description well. In Becker’s view, however, there is something even more addictive than substances: people.
When he first said this, it sounded kind of crazy to me. What does it mean to say that people are addictive?
Then I thought more about it, and I think he is right. Falling in love is the ultimate addiction. There is no question that in the early stages of attraction, spending a little bit of time with someone makes you desperately want more. Infatuation can be all-encompassing, and people will do anything to make a relationship blossom. They will risk everything and often end up looking utterly foolish. Once in a relationship, however, the utility one derives from time with the beloved diminishes. The heady excitement of courtship gives way to something much more mundane. Even if a relationship isn’t that good, for at least one of the parties there is a painful withdrawal period.
To get the exact answer I was looking for took until comment number 343, when Bobo responded “Other People.” Many others were close. Jeff (comment 13) said “Society or human companionship.” Laura (comment 47) said “Love.”
I’ll declare all three of them winners.
So what do you think? Is Gary Becker right or wrong?
i am not sure, i want to believe that being addicted to falling in love is the biggest addiction of them all – i sure know, i like to fall in love, so it’s an interesting notion – but that does not mean i have to be happy with the explanation – ah well, someone very nice and dear has sent me this article and promised to mail me something to help me with my love troubles - i am excited!
oh, just a tiny little bit of that – you probably know, what i’m talking about – this feeling, that you’re kind of happy, but also sort of missing something important – i’ve been told, ever so subtly by a good friend, that someone likes me – not that i hadn’t noticed before, but once it was said out aloud, everything changed – he can’t like me, he has a girlfriend! – that is not how things are supposed to work
i am not even sure, if i like that someone – i mean, it’s been kind of obvious he’s smitten with me, but i’ve just enjoyed the attention, not really thinking anything else would happen – now i really am confused and i’ve even stopped sleeping well, which really worries me because i always sleep well
sure, i do like attention and to be in love would be ever so nice, but is all that worth to have someone else’s heart broken or possibly even mine in the end? – there are those, who tell you, love is worth it all, but then there’s little scared me, too afraid to go that one last step, which will lead me whence there is no return – to get involved will mean to become vulnerable and i don’t need another heartbreak just yet
a simple kiss can change the way you see the world – http://www.bestkisses.com/
