Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Life is Too Short! - George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), Irish playwright, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925,  twenty years before that decided that he and his wife settle in a small village Ayot St. Lawrence in Hertfordshire. He later explained why he decided to do that:

-We visited the local cemetery and saw a nice tombstone on which was written: "Mary Ann South. Born 1805. Died 1895. Her time in this world was unfortunately too short." I figured, if this is a place where people believe that ninety years is too short, then it is the right place for the two of us!

And he was right. George Bernard Shaw lived for 94 years.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #62: Andy Garcia !

 
 
Actor Andy Garcia was born as a Siamese twin!
read more...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

I Hear Again - Lajos Esterhazy!

In his castle in Hungary sat already an aging nobleman Lajos Esterhazy. He was almost totally deaf, and he did not even know that the First World War raged around him.

When strong detonation sounded near of his castle, Esterhazy, referring to a knock on the door, shouted with joy:

- Please, come in!

At first, he was surprised thinking that he can hear again. However, he was disappointed when he saw that all windows in the castle were broken...
read more...

Zuma Fact: #61: Fleece of a Sheep !



Fleece of a sheep can have 26 million fibers.
read more...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Crime Story for Mom - Quentin Tarantino!

Quentin Tarantino, American film director ("Pulp Fiction", “Kill Bill”, “Inglourious Basterds”) born in 1963, in his childhood was obsessed with crime and horror movies.

He watched them every day and wrote screenplays in which there were many murders and even more blood. Just as in his films later.

This worried Quentin‘s mother, so she asked him to write some story about her.

-OK, Mom - agreed little Quentin.

Since then, every year for Mother's Day, he wrote and gave her a story. Each had the same end: his mother is a victim of crime and dies in the most dreadful agony.

This worried even more Ms. Tarantino.

-Don’t get excited Mom. You should know that I truly feel sorry when bad guys kill you - explained the future director.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #60: The Oldest Nobel Prize Winner!


Doris Lessing (born 22 October 1919), British writer, is the eleventh woman and the oldest person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She won this prize in 2007 at the age of 88.
read more...

Fear - Arnold Schoenberg!

Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) suffered from triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number thirteen.

This artist (father of atonal music, as he was called) was convinced that he would die on the thirteenth day of the month, so on each such day he stayed at home, taking care of what he drank and what he eats, and sometimes he did not even get up out of bed...

 
This was the case and on 13 July 1951.

Convinced that his end was near, Schoenberg was just loafing on that day. Late that night, his wife finally said that the clock struck midnight and that it was 14 July, and went to bring him some tea.  When she returned to the room, she found her husband dead.

He died, however, on 13 July. The clock in the bedroom was not accurate. When she found him, it was 5 minutes until midnight.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #59: Meaning of Spain!

 
 
"Spain" literally means "land of conies".
read more...

Monday, November 22, 2010

Criterion: Ludwig van Beethoven!

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer, fired his house cleaner, without thinking twice, when he learned that she had lied to him.

A friend who recommended this maid, tried to persuade the composer that he is making a big mistake and that that woman was fair and worthy, and that she did not lie to him with the intention to harm him.

 
 
-He who lies does not have a pure heart - Beethoven explained to his friend. -And he, who does not have a pure heart, cannot make a pure soup!

Otherwise, Beethoven's diary was full of notes about cooks who fled from his home like a devil from a cross ...
read more...

Zuma Fact: #58: The Youngest Pope!


The youngest pope was Pope Benedict IX (c. 1012 – c. 1056). He became pope at the age of 11.
read more...

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Good Man: Gregor Piatigorsky!

Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976), the celebrated Russian cellist, was also an outstanding teacher.

However, he had difficulties with a young cellist who somehow could not progress. Despite the efforts of his teacher, to show him how to play, he was constantly making mistakes.  Instead of progressing, the student played even worse.

Thinking that maybe his perfect playing is discouraging his student, Piatigorsky himself started making mistakes while playing in front of him.

- You see, it can happen to anyone - he said to his student while playing the wrong notes.

This attempt proved to be effective, and the student eventually graduated. After graduation exam, congratulations went to both of them.  

- There is no need to congratulate to Professor - disdainfully said the young cellist. - He is really a nice man, but as far as playing, the poor guy has no idea – he is constantly mistaking!
read more...

Zuma Fact: #57: Vampire!



Vampire” is the only Serbian word that is used throughout the world.
read more...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Woof! Woof! = Help!

After persistent knocking and ringing, Sylvia D'Antonio managed to awaken and open the door. What are the police doing at the door of her house at five o'clock in the morning?

Apparently, someone from her house consistently dialed their number and all they could hear was breathing. With the help of tracer, they managed to discover from which address the calls were coming.

Sylvia was unable to reassure the guardians of law and order that she did not called them.  

If this forty-six-year old woman from New Jersey has not dialed the phone number of the police, who from her house could have done it, police officers asked themselves.

As if he understood that him they are looking, from the room rushed German shepherd and began happily wagging his tail and barking. Only then, Sylvia D'Antonio realized who dialed three times in a row 911, and in front of her door brought three police patrols.

Sylvia then explained that she lives alone and that she is frequently ill, so she taught her faithful dog how to knock the phone down on the floor and with his paw press certain numbers on the dial and call for help.

The story certainly is - unbelievable.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #56: Napoleon and Hitler!


Napoleon and Hitler had only one testicle.
read more...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

"In Search of Lost Time"

French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was desperate when he got a letter in which well-known publisher Mark Humboldt refuses to publish his life's work, a novel "In Search of Lost Time."

"My dear friend," the publisher’s letter began, "maybe I am completely without a brain, but I do not see why anyone would be interested to read thirty pages just to find out how the narrator rolls in bed because he can not sleep!"

Gallimard” later published the novel and this is one of the most celebrated works of French literature.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #55: Golf Ball!



Golf ball has 336 dimples.
read more...

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Young Cousin!

The famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1893-1971) once received an invitation to attend lunch with a wealthy family Rothschild, just at the time when she had a visit from a young cousin, a boy from the provinces.

Coco decided to take him with her into a luxurious mansion Rothschild. But the boy didn’t like the house of a rich man at all.

 
At first, he refused to sit at separate table where other children sat because, according to him, the boys were dressed - as girls. Therefore, they put him at the table where grownups sat. 

When the servants brought silver bowl with water, in which they were was supposed to wash their hands before lunch, the little boy, with undisguised disgust, exclaimed:

- What will I not see in this house! Remove this bowl in front of me! There is no force that can make me to drink water in which you washed your hands.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #54: How Many Words Do We Say Every Day?



Average persons say about 31,500 words per day.
read more...

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Imagine Tomorrow!

 
German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a devotee of good food. Once a slender young man, in mature years he had turned into a fat man. But, his health was becoming weaker.

When he went to a doctor to examine him, doctor immediately ordered him the strictest diet.

- But, doctor, don’t be like that! Tonight Strauss invites me to dinner. We are supposed to eat ourselves out with chicken stew, which is my favorite meal!

- Out of the question! - Replied doctor.

- As you say doctor. - Shrugged with his shoulders the famous composer. - In that case, imagine that I didn’t visited you today, and that I will do that tomorrow!
read more...

Zuma Fact: #53: The Smallest Measure of Time!

 
 
The smallest known measure of time is called yocto-second.
read more...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Kindness to the Last Breath!

When Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) gave birth to a daughter, Mary, and not a son, to Henry VIII (1491-1547), the king asked from the Pope to annul their marriage. That happened in the year 1516.

The Pope refused to do so, but Henry eventually managed to get a divorce.

 

Catherine was thrown into prison, deprived of all royal and other rights. She was even forbidden to see her own child for whose life she was constantly praying.  

Bearing in mind the hellish nature of her former husband, Catherine of Aragon, until the last day of her life, wrote love letters to Henry asking him to spare their only child.

In 1536, already near death, Catherine sent her last letter to , VIII. She wrote:
"Oculi mei te solum desiderant." (My eyes only for you crave.)

Catherine's daughter Mary, later called "Bloody Mary" eventually became the first was Queen of England, Wales and Ireland.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #52: Animals not Mentioned in The Bible!


Cats and rats are not mentioned in the Bible.
read more...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Life-threatening Sport!

In May 1995, on the golf course in Lyon, France, Mr. Jean Potevan, losing the game from his friend, angrily threw a bag of golf sticks in to the lake. The very next moment he remembered that his car keys were in that bag. Dressed, he jumped into the lake after the bag that had sunk to the bottom. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Potevan drowned. What were his last words?

 "Here's the keys!"

Something similar happened to Al Capone, the famous American gangster, on the golf course "Olympia Fields” in Chicago. Annoyed with the way he hit the ball, Al Capone (1899-1947) threw a stick on his bag, in which he carried his other sticks. A shot was heard and Capone realized that he was wounded. How?

In the bag, for his own protection, he always carried a gun.
read more...

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Zuma Fact: #51: The first personal computer!

The first personal computer (PC) was made in January 1975 by the company MITS from New Mexico. It cost 439 U.S. dollars, and buyers had to assembled it themselves since it was shipped from the company as a build-it-yourself kit. It was called Altair 8800.
read more...

Monday, November 08, 2010

12 Secrets of Better Orgasm!

If you cannot experience climax in sex, you should know that you are not the only one and that there is help. These are some tips that can help you improve your sex life and increase your sex experience.





If you have problems to reach orgasm, you should know that you are not the only one and that this problem brings misery to many men, and especially women.  Before you start to think you have some health problems, you should first consider several things. The reasons are sometimes cultural or psychological. That is why many people consider sex a taboo subject, while some have problems with orgasm because in the past they had negative sexual experiences or because they are ashamed of their bodies. The first step in solving this problem is to try to better know yourself and discover what excites you. Here are some 12 tips that can help you reach climax during sex.

1. Hit the hot spots. A position that allows friction can help you reach orgasm during sexual intercourse. Try the on top position so that the top of the clitoris is rubbing directly the pubic bone of your partner. Or lie on your back with a pillow under your buttocks. You can also try using a vibrator during intercourse.

2. Discuss about it. Men really want from you to guide them. Let your partner know if he is on the right track, either by telling him or by “showing” him with your moans.

3. Find out what excites you. You cannot guide your partner if you do not know what excites you. To train your body to reach orgasm, you need to masturbate. This is the most common advice of sex coaches.

4. Train your orgasmic muscles. Kegel exercises are classic exercises for women who want to transform weak orgasm into phenomenal. These pelvic muscles you can find yourself. They are the muscles of the pelvic or vaginal part. Tighten and relax them. Do Kegel exercises every day, several times a day.

5. The risk is exciting.  Researches show that common pursuit of excitement, whether is it hiking or watching a horror movie, stimulates dopamine in the brain that triggers sexual arousal.

6. Delay the satisfaction. The longer you are piling up the excitement, the bigger explosion you get. Bring yourself close to orgasm, and then delay it or "simmer". Repeat this several times before you experience climax.

7. Focus on your breathing. Tantric sex may sound like something new, but its basic principle is focusing on your breathing, and that increases the pleasure. You can use your breath to channel sexual energy. Partners who breathe in tandem can delay orgasm, and create greater accumulation, which increases satisfaction.

8. Explore the erotic. Hard-core pornography is not the definition of erotic. Erotic movies and books can be very good for awakening passion, which increases the chances for better orgasm. Some erotic movies are full of erotic charge, and they have a plot. Literature is also recommended, as well as erotic series in which women are main protagonists.

9. Creative foreplay. If you need more time than your partner to warm up, start the foreplay by sending emails or sexy SMS, but without being too graphic, since emails do not ensure privacy.

10. Check your medications. Women are, more likely than men, taking antidepressants, which, as is known, may adversely affect sexual life. If you have problems because of these medications, talk to your doctor so that he changes your therapy.

11. Get help from the expert. If you are not among those who easily reach orgasm, expert’s advice may be useful. Nerve damage or low testosterone levels may create a problem. Your doctor can do a medical examination and determine which factors are causing this. You can also look for help from sex therapist.

12. Relax. In a recent French study, in which 500 women took part, it was discovered that in more than 70 percent of them, stress threatens their sex drive. Low libido obviously decreases the chances of orgasm. Because of this, all that disturbs you leave it in front of your bedroom door.

Female orgasm lasts longer. The average male orgasm lasts about six seconds, while female orgasm lasts about twenty seconds. This difference in duration can be viewed as some kind of compensation because women need much longer foreplay. Of course, length and intensity of orgasm vary from person to person and from day to day.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #50: Population in 2050!

Statistics are predicting that in 2050 the majority of people will live in India: one billion six hundred and twenty eight million people. In second place will be China with one billion four hundred and thirty-seven million inhabitants, while in the third place will be the United States with four hundred and twenty million people.
read more...

Sunday, November 07, 2010

War of Goddesses!

Angry because Themistocles demanded of them to pay taxes, allies of Athens once refused to do so. Themistocles was furious and sent envoys on the island of his allies in order to deliver them a threatening message.

Two powerful goddesses, the goddess of power, and the goddess of persuasion, will force the allies to comply and pay the tax to Athens - threatened the Athenian statesman.

Islanders, however, answered with the same measure.

We are unable to pay - the people answered to Themistocles. Two goddesses that are more powerful do not allow us: the goddess of the poverty and the goddess of despair.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #49: Peach and Calories!

Peach of 100 grams has about 65 calories.
read more...

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Gold from Vending Machine!

When you are tired and hungry in the middle of the night on some empty station platform, vending machine with hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, chocolate and crisps is more than welcome. But in the world lately there seem to exist some pretty bizarre, but extremely practical machines, that offer bikes, fresh eggs, shoes, umbrellas, books, and even bullion. 

After being successfully tested in Frankfurt, in 2009, machine that sells gold as of May of this year, won the airports in Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Bergamo, Italy and Moscow, and German company, "Ex Oriente Lux" few days ago set it up in a hotel with five-stars, "Emirates Palace", in the United Arab Emirates.

Along with the usual pieces of gold, the machine sells South African golden coins, Canadian golden maple leaves, and even Australian golden kangaroo, nugget worth one hundred dollars.  "Gold To Go" vending machine sells 24-carat bars, weighing 1.5 to 10 grams. A gram of gold plate costs $ 50, and with it goes a precious gift box.

In a country where rice is sold in vending machines, it is no wonder that they, in the same way, offered eggs. Local farmers near Santa Cruz in California figured out this new way of offering their products, so that they have nothing to do with supermarkets. For three dollars, door of one of two dozen miniature tanks will unlock and you're ready to prepare scrambled eggs. Something similar to this applied farmers in Slovenia, where is possible to buy fresh milk from recently milked cows just by putting a coin in to a vending machine.


Huge machines full of bicycles exist in Netherlands. They have really perfected their love for this mean of transportation. Distribution machines with bikes are currently available on railway stations in Arnhem and Nijmegen, and one coming soon in Delft, Duiven, and a dozen other locations throughout the Netherlands. Bicycles can be rented for a maximum of 20 hours and then you must return them. When you use this service for the first time, price is 16 Euros, but each subsequent time, only four Euros. 

You are standing for hours on high heels, your legs are falling off, your joints hurt, and you don’t know what to do... Well, if you are in London or Liverpool, the solution is vending machine with shoes. The company "Asiks" set up in these two towns machines with sneakers that you can buy for just a few pounds. Vending machines with sneakers "Rollasoul" are mainly located in nightclubs, and the company got the idea after they realized that women are not feeling comfortable at all dancing all night in high heels. You can choose from three sizes - S, M and L, in black or silver color, and the price is just 5 pounds. They are planning to set up these machines and at railway stations and airports in the UK, but also to conquer the American market.

Vending machines in some places in America are trying to facilitate the life of fishermen, so that they would not go themselves and seek for live baits. Several options are offered in Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin and Illinois. The owner of a chain of these bizarre machines, Gary Harsel, says that earthworms are the best selling product, but they also offer minnows (small fish), crayfish and leeches. A handful of earthworm costs three dollars. And if you are out of items without which fishing would not be possible, you can choose from various angles, motor oil for boats and so be fully equipped for fishing.

Good titles at affordable prices!

Since the cigarettes in most European countries are banned, innovative idea is coming from England. Why should we be bored in various waiting rooms, at dentists or at the airport, when waiting can be contracted with something interesting to read? This is why the London Heathrow airport for some time now is offering busy travelers to cover the waiting time with a book from the machine, and this example was adopted and by some hotels.  To avoid any confusion, here it is not about newsstand literature, this is a variety of titles that should please even the intellectually demanding travelers. Of course, the best commercials are popular authors such as James Patterson, but there is more than this, including children's literature. British plan spread these vending machines to Asia and Australia. Price of a book is about 4 Euros.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #48: Pet Adoption!



On average, people adopt stray dogs (30 percent) more often  than cats (25 percent).
read more...

Friday, November 05, 2010

Silly Nobel Leads to Real Nobel!

Every year in the U.S. anti-Nobel prizes are awarded for meaningless scientific discoveries that make us laugh. However, it appears that the discovery of false Nobel winner can finally lead to the "original" Nobel Prize.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel Prize, announced that this year's winners in physics are Russians Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for "revolutionary experiments with two-dimensional material, graphene." Awareness of the importance of their achievement lives in a small number of people who do have the idea what it is graphene, but this news has  intrigued connoisseurs of science, mainly because the scientist Andre Geim was until now known as laureate of another Nobel...  The one for the funniest inventions, which is awarded since 1991 in the United States, few days before the announcement of the winners in Stockholm, and which carries a variety of nicknames, from  anti - to silly Nobel. The Russian scientist, in 2000, received a parody of the most significant prize for science because he performed an experiment in which, with the help of magnetic fields, was able to raise a frog into a state of levitation.

The award is officially known as Ig Nobel, and it is given by satiric-scientific magazine “Annals of Improbable Research”. The prize is awarded each year in Sanders Theatre at Harvard. When the "team" from the magazine, in 1991, awarded the first series of prizes, winners have been scientists whose findings were meaningless, but soon this choice grew into award for discoveries that first make people laugh, and then make them think. 

- Our goal is to make people laugh, but then to make them to think. We encourage curiosity in people, but we also raise a question, how do we decide what is it that is important for humanity, both in science and in other areas - say the organizers of the false Nobel .

That is why anti-Nobel is awarded, just as the real one, in all social areas. In physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, but also, for peace. As the organizers say, the rewards are sometimes a social critic, sometimes pure satire, and sometimes are intended only to make people laugh. This year’s prize for medicine was for the discovery that toboggans ride reduces symptoms of asthma, for peace that swearing increases resistance to pain, for physics that wearing socks over shoes reduces skating on ice, and for the economy, prize was given to all banks for their role in economic crisis. Prize for biology, in 1992, won a certain doctor Cecil Jacobson, relentlessly generous sperm donor, and prolific patriarch of sperm banking, for devising a simple, single-handed method of quality control. A year later, among others, for mathematics was awarded Robert Faid because he exactly calculated the possibility that Mikhail Gorbachev was, in fact, the Antichrist. According to his calculations, the chances of this are 1:710.609.175.188.282.000. Anti-Nobel for peace has received and The Taiwan National Parliament, for demonstrating that politicians gain more by punching, kicking and gouging each other than by waging war against other nations. George Goble, in 1996, received the prize for chemistry, since he found a way to ignite a barbeque grill for just three seconds, and former French President Jacques Chirac won the prize for peace for commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Hiroshima with atomic bomb tests in the Pacific.

Later, awards received and Dr. Bosland for biology, for breeding a spiceless jalapeno chili pepper, and The British Standards Institution for literature,  for its six-page specification (BS-6008) of the proper way to make a cup of tea. Chris Niswander invented software that detects a cat walking on the keyboard, which earned him an Ig Nobel Prize for computer science in 2000. Anti-Nobel for public health received a report of Scottish scientists on "the collapse of toilets in Glasgow." Without reward did not remain and Yoshiro  Nakamats for his research in which he photographed and retrospectively analyzed every meal he had consumed during a period of 34 years, as well as mathematicians Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes, for calculating the number of photographs you must take to (almost) ensure that nobody in a group photo will have their eyes closed.  And doctor Dan Meyer has become a laureate for medicine because he explored the side effects of swallowing swords.


Robert May, Baron of Oxford, who was science adviser to the British government, has asked the organizers not to award Ig Nobel awards to British scientists, since this kind of award includes a risk that some real achievements may become public ridicule. However, many British scientists did not support this request. On several occasions, it was shown that scientific discoveries that were candidates for the Ig Nobel, after a while, turned out to be a significant contribution to humankind.  That was the case in 2006, when the award was given to the discovery that mosquitoes are equally attracted to the smell of “Limburger” cheese and human foot odor.  It is this discovery that has contributed to the creation of special traps for mosquitoes, which are used in the fight against malaria in Africa. 

Certainly, the most interesting Ig Nobels went to the Australian John Keogh and the Australian Patent Office for granting him Innovation of, believe it or not – wheel, in 2001. Then, the biology prize for the discovery that herrings apparently communicate by farting, and medicine prize for the scientific report on "the effect of country music on suicide." Also, according to organizers of false Nobel, a significant contribution to world peace gave Daisuke Inoue from Japan, the man who invented karaoke, because he “found an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other."
read more...

Zuma Fact: #47: Older Brothers are Smarter!

Research that scientists from the University of Oslo did, and which included more than two hundred and fifty thousand young men, showed that the IQ of older brothers in comparison with younger,  is higher, on average, two and a half points.
read more...

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

10 Methods of Self-Defense against Depression!

Because of economic crisis, people have more reason to be depressed and less money for treatment of depression. Costs for medication and therapy are very high, even if they are covered with social insurance.

There are many things you can do yourself to help yourself feeling better, and they do not cost a dime. Here are ten ways of self-help.



1. Do not blame yourself

This is the most important thing you can do, to beat the depression. Feelings of guilt can only be a barrier on your way to recovery. Dealing with depression requires a practical, proactive approach and patience. You must be able to treat depression just as any other diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

2. Talk about it

It is not easy, but telling people about your condition is much better than keeping it secret. Of course, not all of them will understand you and be supportive. Because, if you have a headache, anyone who had it, will understand, but with a mental illness it is not so. But even if one does not fully understand what you are going through, from friends, family and other people you trust you can get emotional support and help to find the best option for treatment. Do not allow yourself to isolate.

3. Exercise regularly

This may be the last thing you do when you are depressed, but running or going to the gym can actually make you feel better. In one study, patients that regularly exercised on a treadmill or bike, in 12 weeks reduced the severity of symptoms by nearly 50 percent.

4. Postpone important decisions

Depression can affect judgment, so it is wise to postpone important decisions about relationships or career until you feel better. One of the symptoms of depression is a negative prognosis for many things that are happening in your life. It changes your view on almost everything, and you may not even be aware of it. If there is some important decision you must make, do not be impulsive. Before making a decision, consult the people around you whom you trust, such as, family, friends or even a therapist.

5. Stay healthy

If you feel depressed, lack of care about your overall health may worsen symptoms of depression. The relationship between depression and illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease is similar to the phenomenon: what is older - the chicken or the egg.  Studies show that depression can worsen these diseases and vice versa. People who have diabetes are more likely to be depressed, and there is evidence that heart disease contributes to depression, especially after heart attack.

6. Maintain a daily routine

Keeping up regular routines is very important for people who struggle with depression. Try to perform all your daily activities at the same time. Routines can help you to avoid staying in the house, the so-called pajama syndrome, which can make things worse. With routine, you show yourself and others that, if you are able to get through the day, you are able to recover.

7. Eat healthy

Everything you eat affects the brain, so if you feel depressed, it is important to eat healthy and have a balanced diet rich in grains, fruits, vegetables and proteins. Food will not do a miracle in the fight against depression, but some foods can affect your mood more than others can. For example, carbohydrates and foods that contain vitamin D increase the level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is associated with mood. And some researches suggest that omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and fish oil, help in fight against depression.

8. Avoid alcohol and drugs


Although it may be tempting to drink or use drugs, do not do that. People who suffer from depression and anxiety often turn to alcohol and drugs to relieve symptoms, but this strategy is detrimental in the long run. Alcohol and drugs affect the brain, which can cause problems in relationships, at work, as well as in other aspects of life.

9. Try to sleep well

Depression and lack of sleep often go hand in hand. Insomnia is common thing, and in many people the lack of sleep worsens mood. This does not apply to everyone, because, lack of sleep is in some people is uplifting the mood, but not in the long run. It can also trigger mania in people with bipolar disorder. Much remains unknown about the relationship between depression and sleep, because everyone has different needs when it comes to sleep, but experts recommend enough sleep and maintaining a regular schedule of sleep and wakefulness.

10. No overload

Following a strict schedule can be a trigger for depression. If you struggle with depression, it is important not to overload and not to accept more obligations than you can handle. If you have complicated tasks at work or at home, take breaks. And remember that it's OK to slow down a little because maybe you can not do everything with a hundred percent capacity. If you really can not work, you must be compassionate with yourself. You deserve a break because you are sick.
read more...

Zuma Fact: #46: Common (European) Tree Frogs!


The usual skin color of common (European) tree frogs or Hyla arborea, is green, but under certain conditions, these frogs are changing color. During overcast, rainy days, it is grayish or blue.
read more...

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

The Best Gay Football Club in the World!

British Stonewall F.C. exists almost twenty years. It is considered as the most successful team in the world in which only gays are allowed to play. The road to success was difficult. The team came together in 1991, by responding to a classified ad in gay magazine.


The British managed to combine two things that sometimes sound incompatible - football and homosexuals. Stonewall F.C. is the most successful football club in the world in which homosexual players play, exclusively, and it exists for almost twenty years.

The road to success was difficult, with insults and discrimination all the way. It all began in 1991, when in certain London’s men gay magazine, an ad was published: "I'm looking for like-minded people with whom I could play football."  Although the author himself did not believe that so many gay men who wanted to play football will answer to his ad, this short article marked the beginning of establishing a football club for those of different sexual orientations. Just a few days after the publication, a dozen young men began to train on the court, in the eastern part of London.

Some of them have, for the first time, ran after the ball, but most of them have already, in the past, played this sport – of course, before the public acknowledgment of their sexual orientation.

- It was difficult in the beginning... We have all been, several times, faced with offensive chants at the expense of homosexuals, which are heard from the football stands and which, unfortunately, are an integral part of fan culture, so, it was extremely difficult for us. We had to, literally, rise above ourselves and gather enormous courage, to be able to play on a football field - recalls Eric Armanazi, the present coach and goalkeeper of Stonewall F.C. 

Their fears were not unjustified. Only two years earlier, near their club, in a garage, Justin Fashanu hung himself – he is, until now, the only professional footballer who, in public, spoke openly about his homosexual orientation. But, the pressure, insults, discrimination and death threats, which, after his public appearances, followed, nonetheless, made him do what he did.

- During training, we often talked about it. Most of us feared for our own lives, although, in fact, we were not famous nor popular - Armanazi says, and adds that, on the start of every game they perceived humiliation of all kinds: and from the audience and from the rival team. Even the referees often judged openly at their expense.

But the courage and persistence have paid off in the end. Ten years ago, Stonewall F.C. started playing in the Middlesex County Premier Division and since then it is playing in the league just below semi-professional clubs.  They have won numerous championships, and this year in Cologne they won, for the third time, the “Gay Games", and thus, they became, the most successful gay football club in the world. Among their sponsors is an English bank Barclays, and of this financial support even a large number of English professional clubs is dreaming.

- Despite success, we are still subjected to prejudice and abuse. Football was, and still is, a typical "male" sport, reserved exclusively for heterosexuals.  The media themselves play important role in this – says Eric, and adds that homophobia is one of the rare types of discrimination in the UK that is still "normal."

Changes

They still curse them, but it is much better situation than 10 years ago.


Coach and goalkeeper of this gay team, Eric Armanazi, says that, when we compare the situation today with the one 10 or 20 years before, the difference is like heaven and earth.

The society has changed, opened, and although there is still much that is wrong, a great progress is been made.  Today, on the stadium, we can still hear the offensive words and insults at the expense of homosexuals, but it is not like before. And, if a player of the opposing team, during a match, offends us with a sentence like: "Get up, faggot!", after the game he apologizes, while before it would have been unthinkableArmanazi said.
read more...
Related Posts with Thumbnails