Trivia you most likely haven't heard of

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington
showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others
showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not
based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs
were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them
would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you
an arm and a leg."
**************************************************************
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a
year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved
their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men
could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to
clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the
shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big
and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here
comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and
wealthy.
**************************************************************
In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only
one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was
used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair
while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest,
who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a
meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They
called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we
use the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."
**************************************************************
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many
women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would
spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their
complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at
another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should
the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile."
In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt
. .
. therefore, the expression "losing face."
**************************************************************
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and
dignified woman . as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied
lace.
**************************************************************
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a
tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace
of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards
instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to
be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
**************************************************************
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what
the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's
or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns,
pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched
at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two
words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local
opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."
**************************************************************
At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and
quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and
keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember
who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the
term "minding your "P's and Q's."
**************************************************************
One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters
carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls..
It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to
prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method
devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on
four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon
balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding
or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called
a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations.
However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would
quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass
Monkeys.." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and
much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the
temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the
iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite
literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All
this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)
You must send this fabulous bit of historic knowledge to
unsuspecting friends. If you don't, your floppy is going to fall off your hard
drive and kill your mouse. "If you can read this, thank a teacher"
"If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier."
 

ZRAKOPLOVNA KOMPANIJA TRANS MERIDIAN AIRLINES OD LIPNJA
POVEZUJE HRVATSKU I SAD
Iz Splita i Zagreba prvi put izravno
do Chicaga i New Yorka

Od 1. lipnja do 5. rujna svakog će se tjedna petkom letjeti iz Chicaga za Zagreb, a nedjeljom za Split, dok će povratak biti idućega dana. Iz New Yorka će, s aerodroma JFK, letovi za Split biti svakog petka, a za Zagreb svake nedjelje. Povratak je također idućeg dana
SPLIT - Split i Zagreb od lipnja će dobiti dvije izravne sezonske zrakoplovne veze sa Sjedinjenim DrĹžavama. Kompanija Trans Meridian Airlines svakog će tjedna povezivati New York i Chicago s dva najveća hrvatska grada.
Potvrdila nam je to Ingrid Zupicich iz newyorĹĄke putničke agencije Croatia Travel, koja će prodavati karte za letove Trans Meridian Airlinesa iz New Yorka prema Hrvatskoj.
— Čini nam se da je zanimanje američkih turista za Hrvatsku ove godine povećano i to je dobar znak i za letove Trans Meridian Airlinesa. Oni će letove iz New Yorka i Chicaga prema Splitu, odnosno Zagrebu obavljati s dva zrakoplova boeing 757-200. To su udobne letjelice kapaciteta 210 putnika — kazala nam je Ingrid Zupicich u telefonskom razgovoru iz New Yorka. Potvrdila nam je i to da će Croatia Travel već od idućeg tjedna početi primati rezervacije za letove prema Hrvatskoj.
Od istog izvora doznajemo kako će povratna karta iz New Yorka do Splita stajati oko 1000 dolara, a na naĹĄe pitanje je li moguće da karte kupljene u Splitu za izravni let do New Yorka i Chicaga ipak budu jeftinije, agentica Croatia Travela je odgovorila:
— Da, razmatramo takvu mogućnost, a viĹĄe ćemo znati za tjedan dana.
Kako doznajemo, zrakoplovi Trans Meridian Airlinesa od 1. lipnja do 5. rujna svakog će tjedna petkom letjeti iz Chicaga za Zagreb, a nedjeljom za Split, dok će povratak biti idućega dana. Iz New Yorka će, s aerodroma JFK, letovi za Split biti svakog petka, a za Zagreb svake nedjelje. Povratak je također idućeg dana.
— Zrakoplovi će iz tehničkih razloga na putu od New Yorka ili Chicaga prema Splitu ili Zagrebu nakratko slijetati u Reykjaviku na Islandu — dodala je Ingrid Zupicich.
Na splitskom aerodromu joĹĄ nisu dobili sluĹžbenu najavu za prekooceanske letove Trans Meridian Airlinesa, no voditelj sluĹžbe marketinga Mateo Boljat nam je kazao kako za to joĹĄ ima dovoljno vremena.
— Ako letove planiraju od 1. lipnja, onda joĹĄ nije kasno za najavu. Koliko je meni poznato, to bi bile prve izravne linije iz Sjedinjenih DrĹžava prema Splitu od samostalnosti Hrvatske — izjavio je Mateo Boljat. Dodao je usput da je ovoga tjedna ĹĄest ljetnih čarter letova između Toronta i Splita najavila kanadska kompanija Skyservice Airlines.

Ivo Ĺ ĆEPANOVIĆ

http://www.slobodnadalmacija.com/20050316/novosti07.asp

MUSIC'S INTELLECTUAL HISTORY:

FOUNDERS, FOLLOWERS & FADS
First Conference of the RĂŠpertoire International de LitĂŠrature Musicale, 16-19 March 2005

 

THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GRADUATE CENTER
365 Fifth Avenue, New York


Wednesday 16 March 2005 - Lobby of the Harold M. Proshansky Auditorium
(elevator to the concourse level) Registration

Harold M. Proshansky Auditorium / 3-3:30 pm

Ennio Stipcevic(Odjel za Povijest Hrvatske Glazbe, Hrvatska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti, Zagreb), Musical historiography and terra incognita: The case of Dragan Plamenac

Conference Room C.202C.203 / 3-3:30 pm

Tatjana Markovic(Fakultet Muzicke Umetnosti, Belgrade), Serbian and Viennese writings about music: Intertextual relations

4:30 pm

Sanja Majer-Bobetko (Odsjek za Povijest Hrvatske Glazbe, Hrvatska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti, Zagreb), The founders of Croatian music historiography: Music, history, politics and ideology

5 - 5:30 pm

Zdravko Blazekovic (RĂŠpertoire International de LittĂŠrature Musicale, New York), Franjo Ksaver Kuhac
(1834-1911) among the founders of ethno/musicology

Thursday, 17 March 2005

Harold M. Proschansky Auditorium 7:30-8:30


U POTRAZI ZA LUKACICEM / SEARCHING FOR LUKACIC

A film about the Croatian-American musicologist Dragan Plamenac (1895-1983)
and his research of the Croatian Baroque composer Ivan Lukacic (ca. 1585-1648)

Production: Digital film (Sibenik) and Glazbena skola Ivana Lukacica (Sibenik)

Script: ENNIO STIPCEVIC and IVAN VIDIC
Director and cinematography: DAVOR SARIC
In Croatian with English subtitles

Saturday, 19 March 2005

Conference Room C.202C.203 / 11:00-12:00

Gorana Doliner (Odsjek za Povijest Hrvatske Glazbe, Hrvatska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti, Zagreb), Does folk music have its own history? The experiences gained from studying 19th-century Croatian music historiography

Harold M. Proshansky Auditorium / 2:00-4:00

Melita Milin (Institut za muzikologiju, Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, Belgrade), The place of small musical cultures in reference books

Pavle Balenovic

Pavle Balenovic is known for his deep insight into the behavior of wild animals in Croatia, in particular of wolves. He studied them during many years in the region of the Velebit mountain. See his beautiful web pages White Paw. He prepared an amazing documentary The Wolf Man - the Diary of Paul Balenovic, about his friendship with the wolf Lik. It was shown by the BBC throughout the world with great success. The name of Lik is derived from LIKA, a Croatian region on the north of Velebit, known for its beauty, its extremely difficult history, and its wolves.

http://croatianhistory.net/etf/et22.html#balenovic
 

Direct Flights to Croatia from USA

From June 3rd to September 5th

New York - Zagreb
New York - Split
Chicago - Zagreb
Chicago - Split
 

ASTADA Group Inc. entered a Commercial Agreement with TRANS MERIDIAN
AIRLINES, Inc. to fly seasonal direct flights form USA to Croatia and Ukraine.

The flight program will start June 1, 2005 and finish September 5, 2005.
TMA will fly from Chicago( ORD ) every week to Zagreb ( on Friday ), Split ( on Sunday  ) and Kiev ( on Wednesday ), returning the next day back.
The flights from New York ( JFK ) will depart every week to Split ( on Friday ) and
Zagreb ( on Sunday ), returning the next day back.
 

TMA will operate this program with two B 757-200 ER aircrafts.
www.transmeridian-airlines.com

The consolidator for flights from Chicago (ORD) is:

VEGA International
Travel Services, Inc.
Phone: 800- FLY THERE (359-8437)
www.vegatravel.net

The consolidator for flights from New York (JFK) is:

CROATIA TRAVEL AGENCY, Inc.
Phone: 800-662-7628
www.CroatiaTravel.com

Please contact your travel agent for more information.

Oblivion—
And the Tiamat
[Sonnet of the Tiamat]
Her mouth sunken with undying black blood—
    The same, King Belphegor in Hell sips.
    Silent—at night—about the halls of Sheol,
Unnoticed, she walks dribbling the cursed blood;
The Tiamat has found her pacing-place, divine
    Where she sneers in jest, at Belphegor’s whims.
    O Hades and your relentless cryptic sides!
The fallen demigod has mockery eyes!
Ah! I hear her echoes from walls of stone
    From pre-history—, to dawn’s eternal—.
    She bellows—from Arch kingdoms, far below.
As I stand here in wonderment and stare
    A sad gaze; who feels his soul eternal
    I hear her blind echoes, echoes, echoes… !

#512 [3/1/05] by dlsiluk
 

You want to be a Flight Attendant? You speakCroatian and English?
 

Now you remember how your parents insisted on talking Croatian around the table?
I know you hate to admit that, but parents were right.

Here is your opportunity

Transmeridian Airlines are hiring a number of bilingual (Croatian/English)
flight attendants for a seasonal flights from Chicago & New York to
Croatia between June 3rd and September 5th.

All interested please email your resumes to mz@vegatravel.net 

US work permit necessary

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that
something else is more important than fear.

Ambrose Redmoon
 

Croatian Exclusive

www.croatiaexclusive.com

Britain's one and only Magazine about Croatia

Srdacan pozdrav iz poprilicno kisovite monarhije,

Denis Polovina
Publisher
Croatia Exclusive Ltd.
-
denis.polovina@croatiaexclusive.com
www.croatiaexclusive.com
-
Dir. Tel: +44 (0)20 8815 0909
Mob: +44 (0)7940 872 018

Italian Student doing PhD Thesis on Croatian Cinema - Help her

Dear Nenad
really thank you for your reply. I study foreign languages and cinema at the Univerisity of Naples, Italy. After a vacation to Croatia I fell in love with the place and the people, and decided part of my Ph. .D Thesis on European cinema would be devoted to the Croatian cinema. Surfing through the internet I found out Mr Vrdoljak's name as one of the most prominent directors in Croatia today. Unfortunately I couldn't find any info at my university library and not many others on the internet. What I was looking for are mostly info on Mr Vrdoljak's career as both a politician and a director and maybe some interviews ( in italian, english,f rench or german, these are the only language I speak, I'm trying hard to learn Croatian, but it's a long long way ) in which Mr Vrdoljak gives some insight on his work and share some opinions on his country
Your effort is MUCH appreciated from me thanks from the bottom of my heart
love, Sybille

PS I love your country :)

soleil_rimbe@yahoo.com