What's Making You Happy Right Now ?

May I hereby make a solemn promise to lay off lollipops except for twice a year on weekends

(Sorry, Ivana, we're just kidding around. Thanks for the concern, but I don't follow Ramadan, though have been known to fast at other times. Very occasionally, and it's no big deal if you know what you're doing. Christians traditionally follow a very similar procedure around Carnival/Lent, no, and the two are no doubt related, although it seems largely forgotten now and I can't say that's my particular tradition either.)

I am sometimes naive.

I've often wondered about Muslims living in the far north of Scandinavia, Canada, Russia or Alaska. Surely there must be some, right? Since in certain places the sun barely sets at all during the summer months, surely some sort of transgressions are permissible, as they are for children, the sick, travelers, etc. Conversely, when Ramadan falls in the winter months, it's barely a challenge at all!

Anyway, nice article here about Ramadan in Ottoman times - Ottoman Ramadan through foreigners’ eyes

(Edit): A quick google gives these two interesting recent articles:

Arctic Muslims' unique dilemma in Ramadan: The Sun never sets here

Canada’s geographic quirks pose challenges for fasting Muslims

that the 90+ temperatures and high humidity have finally broke and I can turn off the AC and open the doors and windows to fresh air! YAY!

Woke up happy following last night's opening ceremony of the Olympics, well done Danny Doyle. I can't imagine it gripped the world but I loved it, especially the fact that it celebrated the much-bashed NHS.

Loved the opening ceremony, great fun and always a sense of atmosphere.

I loved the part with Mr Bean playing Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire". Crying with laughter.

The very beginning was quite rousing with the singing of "Jerusalem".

But a lot of the rest I found in poor taste. Danny Boyle should stick to films.

Couldn't disagree more about that. He managed to capture so many things about our nation, our history, our culture, our people, our comedy. I'd rather that than the normal dancing and fireworks only shows.

I wanted fireworks and dancing ...and got a tedious history lesson, much of which was obscure.

I'm in the Grr thread on this one!

Woohoo. I was mentioning elsewhere how it's been hot here, with heavy thunderstorms predicted.

I'm now looking again at a clear sky the one way, crazy black the other. Call me crazy, but I think I can smell the ozone even.

I don't like to have my stuff on in a thunderstorm, so, see you later. (As I log off here, it's starting to thunder.)

That's not the ozone; that's your PC's power supply dying

I'm happy as I'm off down Cornwall for a couple of weeks R+R, camping, surfing (badly), cycling, bbq-ing and meeting up with old friends.

Your Cornwall trip sounds just splendid, Ocean. Have fun!

The storm btw was impressive alright, but passed by I reckon a few kilometers away, it never really broke overhead. Oh well, maybe for the better. Temps. much more agreeable now, whilst still sunny. Kind of like y'r classical Dutch skies, nice cloud formations 'n' all. Bit of a wind, too.

I am happy to have just completed an intensive modern dance seminar taught here in Crete by my old dance teacher from Paris. Our summer guests are having a wonderful time and our gang will revert back to two from twelve by the end of the week.

Temperatures almost forty degrees again. Good for late night cinema in the open air.

What part[s] of Cornwall, OT?

wow. that a woman from New York City -- I live near Chicago! -- took time out of her day to call me to thank me personally for comments I had made on a yoga blog about racial diversity, or the lack of it, in the modern American yoga scene. she's black, I'm not.


[real] yoga connects.