some jokes for the beginning of spring :)

Wish you a nice spring-time, everyone :)!

via Mari Eta: It's not shameful for a man to cry... It's shameful when his make-up is washed out...

Via Sanjay Shukla: INDIA:HEAVEN ON EARTH:
An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the World.

So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to China.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he Noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read '$10,000 per call'.

The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what The telephone was used for.

The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God.

The American thanked the priest and went along his way.

Next stop was in Japan. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the Same golden telephone with the same sign under it.

He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in China and
He asked a nearby nun what its purpose was.

She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000
He Could talk to God.

' O.K., thank you,' said the American.

He then traveled to Pakistan, Srilanka, Russia, Germany and France ...

In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same '$10,000 Per call' sign under it.
The American, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to up to India to See if Indians had the same phone.

He arrived in India , and again, in the first church he entered, there
Was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read

'One
Rupee per call.'

The American was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.
'Father, I've traveled all over World and I've seen this same golden Telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, But in the US the price was $10,000 per call.

Why is it so cheap here?' The priest smiled and answered, 'You're in India now, Son - it's a Local Call'.This is the only heaven on the Earth. 
KEEP SMILING 
If you are proud to be an Indian pass this on!!!

Via Mari Eta: Never wrap a GMO fish in a newspaper... The GMO bastard fills in the crossword puzzle...

And my usual quote/thought from some of my writings:

(Oftentimes) the best way toward courage is knowledge… from my Lake Mystery.

 http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://pinterest.com/allanbard/

www.allanbard.blogspot.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4159102-ivan-stoikov-allan-bard, www.shelfari.com/allanbard

Tourist fair!

If there are a few places where many corners of the world meet, then tourist fairs are one of them. Usually, in every country most of the representatives of tourist companies come from the neighbour nations, yet that's not written on stone. There always are some tourist agents from different continents too, and that makes the fairs even more interesting and magnificent.
Of course, these tourist events are totally different in the different countries. They are much more spectacular in the more developed places and respectively humbler in the ex-communist or so called third-world members. Yet, in every country there are some interesting sights and customs to be seen, so every tourist fair has its merits. Bulgaria, my native country, is no exception and even for me it's always intriguing and exciting to have a look at the annual fair in our capital, Sofia.
Unfortunately, probably because of the world financial crisis, the tourist business is in recession to some extent and this year the fair was not so splendid as it had been in the past. Of course, it doesn’t mean today it’s not worth having a good look at all the stands, beautiful brochures, good tourist offers, etc.  

Every year one could see a lot of new, incredible views, places, resorts and cities or villages in the many brochures and booklets the companies give for free. Every year any visitor could be a participant in many raffles for free, exotic excursions, or receive a good discount for some of the touristic packages and become a proud owner of some useful and peculiar souvenirs (like cool ball-point pens, luggage handle holders, book marks, etc). A part of the wonderful touristic fair experience is also the opportunity to taste some exotic drinks and meals, some of which are made by the same recepies our ancient predecessors used.

No one should forget touristic fairs are the places where we could even learn and see a lot of new and unseen facts, views and customs of our own countries. Then, I bet everyone could remember and realize what a beauty and great events could be hidden in the lands where we were born. The last touristic fair in Sofia, Bulgaria was no exception and I made some good photos of Bulgarian kukeri masks (of the kind I’d never seen before), or of some famous, ancient sights. I couldn’t also refrain from promissing to some Bulgarian tourist agents to show their magnificent cities, villages and the still more amazing nature around. Many foreign tourists would appreciate their beauty, so if you plan to visit an exotic country like Bulgaria, here are some of the sites and links you should know about:

www.tran.bg, obshtina_tran@mail.bg, www.bgregio.eu.

There are some really good touristic programs many people would like to join. Of course, even if it is a small country, Bulgaria is an ancient one too (more than 1300 years old) and has interesting history, plus many other amazing sights and places to be seen. That’s why I plan to post some other information and photos about them in some of my future posts, so stay tuned :).

 http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://pinterest.com/allanbard/

www.allanbard.blogspot.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4159102-ivan-stoikov-allan-bard, www.shelfari.com/allanbard

                              

1st March - one of the best feasts/traditions in Bulgaria/Balkan Peninsula.

Happy 1^st March, everyone! Wish you all the best luck, happiness and health possible J!

As every time at the beginning of the first month of spring, I couldn’t refrain to share some photos and some explanations about one of the most wonderful feats and customs/traditions at the Balkan Peninsula. At 1^st March, people in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Moldova, even in north Greece give one another small (or not so small) souvenirs (Marchers, or martenitsi - мартеници) made of white and red threads. According to the tradition, then we pin them on our clothes or tie them on our wrists (depends on the type of the Marcher), so that we could be lucky and healthy throughout the year. The red thread symbolizes blood, life, the white thread – purity and happiness and the ancient custom goes that the oldest woman in the family has to tie Marchers on the wrists of the children to protect them against bad luck and to help them to be healthy. Marchers are used to be tied on wedding bouquets and on the herbs that are picked on 24^th June (the day of John The Baptizer), or on the vessel in which the first milk on 6^th May is milked (the day of George The Dragon Slayer). Then, to fulfill the purpose of the Marchers, they have to be hanged and tied on a tree that gives fruit when the first stork (or in some parts the first migratory bird) comes in spring, or when the first blossom appears on such a tree. Marchers could be put under stone too and could be used to predict the future – if there are ants under that stone after a month, the year will be fruitful and prosperous. Then, the good luck and health will be present throughout the year too.

That’s why one could see Marchers on the clothes or wrists of every man, woman and child on 1^st March in Bulgaria. Later, the small red and white souvenirs hanged on the trees at many places after a month, are the same amazing view, as are all the stands on the streets and super-markets full of Marchers at the first days of March.    

The Marchers custom is at least a thousand years old. Though there are many different hypothesizes for its origin, no one is certain which one of them is the true one. According to one of these suppositions, the ancient Bulgarians were the first who used Marchers, after an important, won battle. Then, the sister of an ancient Bulgarian king sent a message to her brother in the form of a “Marcher” – two white threads, one of them dipped in the blood of the dead soldiers…   

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://pinterest.com/allanbard/

www.allanbard.blogspot.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allanbard/,

www.allanbard.wordpress.com