I pro nemaminky...

Nemusím být feministka, abych doporučila
(nemají vlastní webovky :-( )
Ta kavárna

A Tomáš Valášek podruhé...

V klubu Paměť, amatérský záznam ze setkání 13. 5. 2009
s kamarádem Markem Shallisem (to je ten Anglán, co sází stromy ve Francii).

...to slíbené zahájení

provedené mým a Terčiným učitelem na kytaru.
Zde ovšem hraje na další ze svých oblíbených hudebních nástrojů.
(Když jsem ho před X lety poprvé viděla, právě se na ně učil. Tím způsobem, že kudy chodil, tudy na ně hrál. Dokonce mi je na chvilku sám půjčil, ale já se ho tehdy tak bála...)



My mother's exhibition was introduced by several musical pieces by my former guitar teacher.
Here however he proves his proficiency at playing a wholly different instrument.
(When I first met him, years ago, he was in the process of learning to play it. Determined to master it, he would be clutching the clappers at any one time, silently rattling them... He showed me how to play them, and offered to lent me his own for the afternoon. But I was too scared of him then.)

Jana Švábová - pastely

V GVUN je výstava
a ta měla zahájení.

(Pro zvědavce a mecenáše:
maminčiny obrázky jsou k mání za 4-9 tisíc korun českých, "jak kerej".
To jen, že jste se ptali - jestli zjistí, že jsem to sem plácla, zaživa mne... no, něco hroznýho mi provede.)

A poem by Jan Skácel

Mothers ain't silly.
Mine gave me
a hand-written copy
of this poem
for my birthday.
It's by Jan Skácel (1922-1989):

Co radí princezna Čau The Advice of Tchao the Princess

Tohle je moudrá rada čínské princezny Čau This is the wise advice of princess Tchao from China
křehká jak lomikámen v dešti delicate as saxifrage in the rainfall
a chytřejší and brighter
než mladší bratr s první vráskou na čele. than a younger brother with the first wrinkle on his brow.

A princeznino jméno dodnes připomíná And the princess' name reminds us even today
italský film a sbohem na ulici, of an Italian movie and a greeting in the street
když auta rozžíhají světla when the cars lit up their lights
a na nebi je čistě zametené místo and the sky has swept clear
pro druhou hvězdu: the place for a second star:

Možná vám řekne, že vás miluje He might tell you that he loves you
nad všecko na světě. above all else in the world.

Odvraťte hlavu Turn your head away
a pečlivě, and slowly
pomalu rukou, with care
upravte si vlasy. straighten your hair with your hand.

A možná prohlásí, že miluje vás víc And he might claim that he loves you even more
než bůžka v chrámu. than a god in the temple.
(Řekne zlatého.) (He'll say 'a golden one'.)

Uhlaďte volný záhyb šatu Smoothen a loosened fold of your robe
a se smíchem and with laughter
kárejte jeho bezbožnost. rebuke him for his impiety.

Kdyby snad na bílém koni přijel pod okno, If he should come riding under your window on his snow-white steed
aby se s vámi rozloučil, to bid you farewell,
protože dává smrti přednost před zoufalstvím, preferring death to desperation

dejte mu květinu give him a flower
a popřejte mu nahlas mnoho štěstí. and say aloud you wish him good luck.

Avšak sedí-li před vámi mlčky Yet if he is sitting in front of you in silence
jako ústřice před guvernérem as an oyster in front of a governor
(a tak nemotorně, (and so clumsily
že po ubruse leje čaj), that he keeps spilling tea all over the tablecloth)

usmějte se neskonale něžně. smile at him with tenderness infinite.

Jako na někoho, As at someone
koho chcete učinit svým druhem whom you want to become your companion
na celý život. for life.

---

A to je moudrá rada princezny Čau. And this is the wise advice of Tchao the Princess.
Byla určena It was meant
dívkám a čtenářům veršů. for young girls, and those who read poetry.

Give me five words and I will move my world.

Citáty slavných,
třebas "Dejte mi pevný bod a pohnu zemí",
či věty pronesené po dosažení nějakého cíle (dobytí nebeského tělesa, vítězství ve válce či volbách...)
jsou docela známé.
Zkoušela jsem dnes vygooglovat věty pronesené na počátku nějakých takových podniků.
Znáte nějaké?

Nedivila bych se, jestli se žádné pořádně nedochovaly.
Nejspíš byly příliš nenápadné,
snadno přehlédnutelné v záplavě jiných.

Ráda bych tento nedostatek napravila, a podělila se s vámi o jednu větu stojící na počátku čehosi.
Na první pohled se nejedná o nic světoborného,
ovšem ve skutečnosti těchhle pár slov způsobilo, že se můj svět téměř do posledního detailu změní.

Famous quotations, e.g. "Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world”
or sentences uttered at the successful achievement of a goal (conquering a celestial body, winning a war...)
are fairly well-known.
Today I tried to google some phrases which had stood at the beginning of such events.
You know some?

I wouldn't wonder if there were hardly any preserved.
Most likely they were too inconspicuous, too easy to overlook among all the rest.

I'd like to make up for this lack by sharing with you
one sentence which stands at the beginning of something.
At first sight it's nothing exactly world-shaking.
The truth is that due to those few words my world is going to shake basically to its very foundations.

Jedna věta / One sentence
Pět slov / Five words

"Kristof won't be moving in."

To, přátelé drazí, znamená, že se do toho volného pokoje v domečku se zahrádkou v satelitní vesničce na okraji Bruselu nastěhuji já. Za dva měsíce.

This, my dear friends, means that it is me who will be moving in that spare room in the semi-detached house (with a bit of garden of its own) in a village near Brussels. In two months' time.

This
is a link to the first blog post of this guy I met last year at the English Camp.

Teacher of English at a high school in California,
exceptionally talented musician,
lovely wife,
two sweet kids.

Not the most light-hearted reading,
but worth it.
Remember,
the ending remains open...

More to it than meets the eye?

Antroposofové
(ne, že bych se za nějakého počítala)
mají takovou vtipnou teorii
o sedmiletých cyklech, v nichž se vše všechny buňky našeho těla obmění,
ale nejen to, prý se tím dostáváme i na zcela nový stupeň našeho mentálního a spirituálního vývoje.
Kolem bodu přelomu se často dějí nečekané události, které tento přechod ještě umocňují...

Zítra mi bude 28.
Náhoda...?

Link to a webpage with details about the cycles

Antroposophists
(though I do not count myself as one of them)
have this funny theory
about seven-year cycles, in which all the cells in our bodies change completely,
but along with them, our personality achieves a higher degree of mental and spiritual development too.
Around the breakpoint, unexpected events often happen which enhance the transition even more...

I am 28 tomorrow.
Coincidence...?

A week of naught but rhythm

Tahle fotka od Jirky (který si čtvrtý den definitivně "zrakvil" nohu a od té doby o to usilovněji fotil) je snad ještě více horkým kandidátem na "tady mi to docela sluší" tohoto léta než Šlino foto mne za stromem v Carnacu...

This picture (taken by Jirka who, unable to dance from the 4th day on, compensated for the activity by taking as many photos as he could) may well got ahead in my imaginary top ten of this summer's pictures where "I actually don't look too bad" of even Šle's picture of me behind the tree at Carnac...

Mé vlastní reportážní fotografie jsou pak k nalezení na http://picasaweb.google.cz/onetrickpony.m/BernardSSummerSchool2009#

My Own Obit / Vlastní Nekrolog

The other day I went through my old Uni papers and found this one.
Mark Farrel, our lecturer in Practical Language and Writing courses at the English department Faculty of Education, is a Canadian, and a fairly wierd personality - but I liked him from the start. Indeed, this is what he started the Creative Writing course (2003) with:
"I don't know you, and I'd like to learn something about you - from your own obituaries..."

Na fakultě nás angličtinu a "psaní" učil jeden ulítlý Kanaďan. Měla jsem ho jako učitele moc ráda, a získal si mne hned úvodním úkolem:
"Moc vás neznám, a tak bych chtěl, abyste mi o sobě něco napsali. Přineste mi příště svůj vlastní nekrolog..."

In the stormy events of the past days few people noticed the decease of Mary Preclik-Wyseman. Indeed, the last days of her life, until she passed away last Thursday at the age of 63, she spent in retirement, away from the limelight. But her life wasn’t always as it was in the last four years, when she was fighting with a severe illness. As one of her closest friends observes:

‘Mary was a truly versatile woman. Just imagine all her interests – art, literature, drama, charity - and at the same time taking care of such an enormous family! I cannot think of anyone else like her.’

Some, however, point out she would be hardly able to perform any of these, hadn't it been for her husband, the famous cameraman and script-writer Sam Wyseman. But while their opinion may be right in one point, it thoroughly fails to take into consideration what Mary had to go through before she could settle down in the arms of her beloved. After graduating from Charles University in Prague she went to work as a teacher, helping her income by occasional interpreting. This way she also met her future husband, who was at the time working on his new motion picture. This is how he described their first meeting:

‘She didn’t attract any particular attention. And yet under a humble surface there was hidden a most congenial personality, a devout soul, a constant supporter in whatever I did – and a thoughtful commentator and critic at the same time. It took me so long to realise that I had no need of glamorous show-offs dressed up in the latest fashion, that this little unobtrusive girl was all I was looking for. Mary’d both understand perfectly the intricacies of my job and make my house a place of bliss. But for her I‘d have never finished any of my major projects.’

It took them both a long time to find out they were meant for each other; actually it wasn’t until some five years later that Sam finally proposed to her and the couple moved to their new house in Wales. Mary spent most of her time at home now and looked after their six children, but even there she did not forget her native language and both wrote and illustrated charming children’s books as well as helped to introduce several poets (e.g. Paul Simon) to the Czech audience by translating most of their lyrics and poems. Then came the days of her fame, her works were published all around the world and seven of them turned into movies (three by Sam Wyseman himself). She also proved a good organiser, being the founder of MERA (the Middle-Earth Relived Association) and the leader of the international Kids Counteracting Covetousness Campaign (KCCC), to name just one of the many philantropic activities the took part in.

‘All who knew her well will surely miss her,’ says Mary’s youngest son Christopher. ‘But I know Mum hasn’t died. She lives in her books, in her ideas – in our hearts.’