Bira-bira kanzashi is a type of traditional Japanese hair ornament worn nowadays mostly by maiko (apprentice geisha), oiran and tayuu impersonators and other women embracing the traditional ways and have hair long enough to pin the bira-bira, or just a smaller one for short hair. Bira-bira can be stylish (and dangling) addition to your outfit, perhaps even the little thing that separates you from the crowd. Plus, they’re really cute!
this is a classic bira-bira worn most likely by a maiko (from here)
some cool bira-bira ideas
this is a maiko wearing a bira-bira among other ornaments – can you spot it? (from here)
Hope y’all like this little addition that can make the difference and make a dull hairstyle not only trendy but, as they say in some commercial – I don’t remember which, and I don’t really need/want to – with the (dangling) wow effect. I’m waiting for ideas and suggestions related to bira-bira and maybe pictures with your own ideas. 😀
Bosnia’s National Library was destroyed, thus amputating a crucial component of Sarajevo‘s (and not only!) cultural life. Books for Vijecnica is a site dedicated to the rebuilding of the library by collecting books (as donations) from all over the world. I think donating even a book or two to mend this real tragedy could be a more than noble gesture, especially now, around the Winter Holidays.
This is the letter found on the project‘s webpage homepage:
Welcome to the official site of the BOOKS4VIJECNICA action project, initiated by Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina . The purpose of this project is raising awareness about the National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina – VIJECNICA. Our initiative is to re-establish the destroyed book collection of Vijecnica. During the four-year long Serb siege of Sarajevo , from 1992 till 1995, Vijecnica was repeatedly shelled by the Yugoslav and afterward by the Serbian army. On the fatal date, the 26th of August 1992, the library building was in flame. Around 80 percent of the book collection, around 2 (two) million publications and more than 6000 valuable rare items and documents as well as the interior of the Library were completely destroyed in the fire. From April to August 1992, in an unforeseen set of events, the Library staff evacuated parts of Library collection to various locations in the city – atomic shelters, basement rooms, university buildings or other cultural centers. Inadequate and “temporary” premises, barely sufficient to accommodate retrieved publications, performed all the tasks of the national library. Not much has changed since then. There have been initiatives in repairing the Library building, though not many have been taken in restoring the book collection. Therefore, we, a group of young enthusiasts from SFN BIH, started this action. We believe it is important to restore the destroyed book collection and make Vijecnica the centre of scientific work and teaching in the institutions of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
PLEASE READ OUR LETTER, and help us in reinstating the book collection of VIJECNICA! I warmly welcome all your questions, ideas or opinions you would like to share with us.
If you think you can help, send the books to the following address:
University of Sarajevo – Campus
Nacionalna Univerzitetska Biblioteka
Zmaja od Bosne bb., 71000 Sarajevo
reference to Mr. Muris Rahmanovic, librarian
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nowadays we are taught that people should only be seen as individuals and each individual should be respected as an unique human being. We are not members of a group, we are not part of a family, each and every one of us is standing alone in front of an absurd universe (I guess Existentialism is not as obsolete in our present world as some people would like to think it is). Well, of course, we won’t admit we are alone! We will never admit the fact that we are facing an identity crisis that spreads its claws further and deeper in and on our beloved planet as we are advised to shed any type of membership to a group, community or culture.
Are we really standing alone -with a base code from the factory and no heart-to-heart connections with the world? Is it really true that I made myself what I am now? I couldn’t disagree more! I am what I am because of the experiences I’ve lived and lessons I have learnt throughout my life. I am what I am because I was born in a certain country, in a certain region, in a certain community, in a certain family. I am myself because of the help I was given. I am myself because of the obstacles I had to overcome or go round. I am myself because of all the respect, love, hate, spite I was shown. I am what I am because of all the people I’ve entered in contact with, especially those who tried to cut down my wings. Thank you, you’ve made me stronger!
Yes, we’d like to think that a life without any negative experiences, filled with rainbows, butterflies and glowing unicorns would be Heaven. But… think about this … how do you learn, how do you gain strength if everybody treats you with gloves and your road is smooth, without detours and unexpected complications. Wouldn’t that be a tad boring? Why do you want to deny and forsake everything that’s actually beautiful about life? You know, someone said thatlife’s a game … sorry, I got a little carried away – but remember that it’s not important that you get to your destination, what really matters is the road, how you get there and who you get there with and be proud of your progress and accomplishments, not on winning the great prize (what is the great prize anyway?). Don’t be a stranger!
Ever since human beings have joined in social groups, eventually forming societies and cultures, information exchange has been a key element in every-day life and not only. The archetypal need of communication and the wide variety of languages and dialects may not always go hand in hand peacefully, but, especially in a global world as the one we live in now, the messages emission and decoding has even a greater impact.
There are major languages, minor languages, languages close to extinction and dead languages. Of course, somebody coming from an Anglo-Saxon or Latin (here I include any Romance language) background will find it easier to communicate in his/her native tongue, than a person from Hawaii or Iceland. In any case, even if more and more people speak such “official” languages as English, French, German or even Chinese, that does not mean all other languages (including mine!) are doomed.
I’ve learned from my past experiences that if you want to understand people from different cultures or regions than your own, you must understand their idiom– be it a version of a known language (pidgin, creole, regional dialects, jargon, etc.) or an unique language in itself, even if there is only a handful of people actually using it in daily life.
Therefore, language acquisition is important for those who truly want to understand how the world works and efficiently communicate with people who may or may not have access or knowledge of your speech and ways.
Below I listed five of many possibilities for you to acquire and/or improve your foreign language skills. Of course, they are no rules, one could work, they all could work. Please take whatever suits your personality, but at least try them all and share the results – if applicable.
1. Learn the basics. Of course, a very important step in learning a new language is understanding the basic grammar and vocabulary. It’s not very hard, and you can build the rest from there.
2. Learn about the culture. Read about the country (or countries) that particular language is used in, read something about their history. You can watch documentaries, movies, read books, online texts, anything that is not biased (we all know that the current political situation in many areas of the planet is not exactly peachy, so it’s best to learn from neutral, objective sources) or written with obvious marketing intentions. You can watch movies, TV shows, listen to the music of the culture, etc.
3. Watch movies without subtitles. Obviously, this could be really hard if you’re new to the language, but as soon as you’ve hit the intermediate level, leave the subtitles for the ones who don’t understand it at all! You’ll see in a few years that your understanding and language skills are much improved due to this effort to adapt to more difficult situations. This is very helpful especially if you intend to travel in that respective part of the world.
4. Listen to music. Get as much local (traditional or not) music and listen to it, maybe you’ll even find a new musical interest! Even though you’re not actively learning, you’ll subconsciously digest the information and you’ll pick up the melody of that particular language. You can learn accents, better your prononciation without even noticing it!
5. Interact with natives. If you cannot actually meet natives or speakers of that particular language you’re learning, then you can use the internet. There are various pen-pal sites that have special sections dedicated to language learning (like Interpals), you can write letters, e-mails, chat, etc. It all helps.
Remember, the best way to learn a language is to understand why it is the way it is, who are the people using it, how they use it and make connections with things that you already know.
I am talking about a site I found some time ago when I had a Hawaii infatuation about something I never thought existed: the Hawaiian royal palace, ‘Iolani Palace.Throughout its history, Hawaii was first a democratized tribal society, then turned into a monarchy until the U.S.A. forcibly (no pun intended, I’m just stating historical facts, I don’t have anything against US foreign policies, or do I?) imposed their influence and abolished the monarchy. The Palace I am talking about is one of the few memories from the royal age, and it could very well be “the only official state residence of royalty in the United States“, as we read on the homepage. The palace is now a museum with various possibilities for visits, a wide range of events showing tourists the Hawaiian cultural traditions and history.What really got me going was their volonteering program, to which you can find a full description here. I am thinking of doing that sometime next year. ^^
