One evening I slipped into contemplation on the topic of "spending time usefully". I could not say I had heard such a phrase for the first time, but I had never thought through to the very core about the meaning of this verbal pun, nor about what it truly means to spend time usefully. Usefully for whom? For oneself?
Another good film watched, which I want to recommend to iinuu.lv readers. It is a 2010 French-Belgian co-production "Sans laisser de trace" (in English "Traceless", in Russian "Без улик"). The film's central insight: every person has three keys that open the doors to success. They are talent, work and luck.
Wool roving is a rewarding material from which, much like clay or any other equally pliable substance, you can create little keepsakes in any shape. This time I am using the dry felting technique to make a plump rabbit with a special significance, which I will reveal in the near future - to keep a little air of suspense.
It is a collection of individual stories, each based on some observation, insight or reflection. Reading it, I noticed that the stories included in the book also appear as fragments incorporated into Paulo Coelho's novels, including the recently published "Aleph".
The recently published Latvian edition of Paulo Coelho's book "Aleph" (2011) is the author's message about the relativity of time, for everything is happening right now - there is no past, nor a predetermined future. Essentially the entire central idea is expressed in the book's very title. The Aleph is a point where absolutely everything exists simultaneously in one place.
The plot of the book is built around Matilda's retrospective look at a life that has been filled with pain and loneliness. It seems she herself consciously chose this difficult path, for otherwise the life her parents were prepared to provide for her in her youth could have been quite orderly and peaceful. The dominant feeling when reading the book is sadness...
I have just read the only novel by the Catalan artist and Surrealist Salvador Dalí, "Hidden Faces" (published in Latvian, 2011). He "paints" every smallest detail in nature, in the expressions of a human face, in associations and in the waking dreams characteristic of the author, using a fine, high-quality brush (so as not to smudge).
I was moved by Emilio Estevez's feature film "The Way" (2010), which I watched yesterday - based on the story of a man who has lost his son and walks the Camino de Santiago in his place, from France to the north-western Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of St. James rest. The Camino de Santiago is more than 800 km long, to be covered on foot, and it is each person's individual journey of discovery, forgiveness or dedication.
Having read yet another wise vision from G. Rungainis (Prudentia) on the future of state pensions - namely that in future the state will only be able to provide accommodation in a social-type home and a minimal daily allowance - as well as the similar opinions of several other bankers or ex-bankers glorifying private savings, an irresistible desire arose to put the numbers on paper and draw one's own conclusions.
A year ago, when I purchased this book by Radislav Gandapas, it never even occurred to me that this year I would have the good fortune to attend a training session led by him in Moscow. Back then it was the book's subtitle that spoke to me - "Ten chapters on how to gain and provide maximum pleasure and delight when speaking in public"; now I was fascinated by the author's ability to hold an entire audience at the peak of interest for a whole day.