The hike around Ljubljana on May 12th is now officialy on! So pack a spare pair of socks, clean up your sneakers or hiking boots, run out to buy a couple of bottles of water, a chocolate bar and some bateries for your camera.
Details will be forthcoming some time next week – no later than next Saturday. In the mean time, applications are welcome!
For those of you who have missed it: a follow-up on this post…
It’s the same scenario all over again…
The Po-lice have concluded that it was two junkies who stole the two laptops belonging to the Movement for Justice and development. Even more, they apparently already recovered both laptops.
Convenient, isn’t it? I’d almost believe it if I hadn’t seen that particular scenario unravel five years ago – different target, different cirumstances, but the same M.O.
The Prez has already retorted. Just a quick translation of two most important paragraphs of his latest blog entry:
Bad people can never find their inner peace. They’re alway driven by wanting more for themselves. They toss and turn but can never achieve fulfilment and inner peace. They cannot achieve that not by means of position nor money. They’re alway worried, restless, affraid of losing what they’ve got. Worries, fear, anger, jelaousy, greed and vanity create negative energy, which is the opposite of good energy, as bad is the opposite of good
(…)
Poor bad guys are so afraid of losing their positions, power and glory. They are so attached to them. Their fear of losing these things makes them vunerable. They are petty as material beings, but they neither know or understand anything else. And that which they don’t understand begins beyond their awarenes, it begins where all good beings. And that is where peace begins, peace which they will never know.
Dear bad guys! Your mud will turn to gold. Once things become bad enough, changes occur. And you’ve made things bad enough.
(complete post here, only in Slovene)
The Prez has signed the post with his full name Janez Drnovšek for the very first time. Until now he signed his posts merely by Janez D. The different signature seems to imply that the President is much more serious about it this time around.
And on a related issue: According to Dnevnik daily, an unauthorised entry by PM’s advisor compromised SOVA’s safe house in Ljubljana. While SOVA denies the claim, the paper goes on to say that as a result an entire network of operatives was cut loose, fearing their cover was blown.
So much for national security… Any chance we can rent Dick Cheney for 10 days? I promise we’d give him back… Oh shit… I forgot… He had his advisor blow the cover of a CIA agent for political purposes… Oops 😳
I wonder if Janša and Cheney are sharing notes…
One of the peculiar things about Slovenes (apart from wearing copate) is the urge to have their own speck of land. Most of us would like to have a speck of land somewhere in Croatia, prefferably close to sea, but during the off-season Slovenes (and Ljubljanchans are no exception) tend to have their own garden – prefferably in the middle of an urban area.
Be it just a reflex (the fact is that most Ljubljanchans have peasant/farmer ancestry), a need to be somewhat self-sufficient, or just trying to make ends meet… the habit has grown waaaay out of proportion in the last decade or so. Those, who will join me for the hike around Ljubljana on Liberation day, will have the unique opportunity to see just how many of these small gardens (vrtički) are there around Ljubljana. In fact there are so many, that people who own them, are commonly called vrtičkarji, or The Gardeners… (Sounds like The Klingons 😀 )
The Mayor has recently decided to put a stop to it (for which I applaud him loudly). Being as gentle as a T-34 tank on a bad day, he issued “a request” that The Gardeners tear down all the shacks they illegally errected during the years. Now these shacks are a curious thing… They usually start as nothing more than a storage facility for tools and some fertilizer, but pretty soon – seemingly out of nowhere – they start sporting electricity, tap water, an occasional refridgerator, a porch and a grill. They become a home away from home… And as a rule they look ugly… Really ugly.
Thus Zoki “requested” (meaning: ordered) that owners tear them down – otherwise he’ll do it for them and send them the bill. Some have heeded his calls without further a-do, others have done so reluctantly, whereas still others flipped him the bird.
And when I say “tore down”, I don’t mean “disassemble and take the material to the junk yard”… No, sir. For this is Slovenia! Nay, this is Ljubljana! Who the fuck is this mayor character to tell us what to do?!? OK, we’ll do it, but we’ll send a message! Like Vinetou we’ll send smoke signals to Zoki saying that he can go stick his head in the lavatory for this….
Ljubljana burning
We send message to big white warrior: you burn our huts, we burn your hut
Those of you who are somewhat familiar with medevial Slovene history know of peasant rebellions… And of course you know of last week’s City Hall Brawl… The problem is that the last time around the protesters were armed with walking canes, whereas The Gardeners, when they stage a protest, will be armed with stick and shovels.
ARF has seriously outdone himself… A small “thank you” from me is in order 😀
Just a little something I put together
There is relatively little information on Kasteel beer available, so this will have to do.
ARF, thanks a million! 😀
On May 9, 1945 Ljubljana was liberated by Slovene Partisan Forces. In celebration of this there is an annual event “Po poteh spominov in tovarištva” – basically a hike around Ljubljana, more or less where barbed wire was installed by the Italian occupator. I go on this hike every year and am planning to go this year as well. And I have a question.
Would anyone else like to go to? I’m planning on doing some “live blogging” as I installed a nice little plugin for posting via mobile phone, or I may even take my laptop, camcoder and wireless card and do some video-blogging.
This is just an initial “sounding of the terrain” and I’m not confirming a mass event just yet. But if there’s enough of you who’d like to partake in this celebration of liberty and Partisan music, we can have a lot of fun.
It’s an approximately 6-7 hour hike, mostly flat terrain (just one hill to overcome) and it takes place on Saturday, May 12th. Unless I fall ill, I’ll do it regardless of the weather.
Prof. Godler in TLP show (photo by TLP website)
The (in)famous Jure Godler has joined the ranks of bloggers. To be more exact: he will officially start blogging on Saturday, but you can already get a sneak preview now…
Just a couple of days ago Jure Godler won a Viktor (Slovene Oscar-wannabe) for a “rising media personality”, but the list of his artistic and media exploits is long and distinguished. And most of all, he’s got class.
Hats off to you, professor Godler! 😀
Photo of RW via The Scotsman – photo of mayor Janković via The Firm™
Now you know where Robbie will end up when his career is over…
