Tuesday, December 17, 2013

THE FOOD OF THE WEEK


BAKED BEANS - PREBRANAC


There are various ways to prepare beans. If you come to Serbia, you definitely have to try prebranac.


Source:   http://forum.krstarica.com/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=1043&pp=10&page=6


The ingredients are: beans, salt, pepper, ground pimento, and the rest of the spices vary depending on whether you're preparing lean bean, or you are adding meat.


Source:   http://www.forum-srbija.com/viewtopic.php?f=272&t=10462

You'll love it. I guarantee. :-)

 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

THE MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Today I feel like watching comedies, so I decided that the movie of the week is one of my favorite Serbian comedies: 


                                               BARKING AT THE STARS
                                                                      or
                                                  LAJANJE NA ZVEZDE


Source: http://www.crosatelite.com/threads/34599-Lajanje-na-zvezde-DVDrip

It may seem that it is only about romance, because of the cover of the DVD. However, it tells a story about High school graduates back in the old good 1963 days and all the great adventures that they had to go through before graduation. 


Source:http://serbianforum.org/domaci-filmovi/354915-
lajanje-na-zvezde-aka-barking-stars-1998-a.html

I don't want to be a spoiler, so all you need to know before watching the movie is that it includes great and intelligent students, 


Source: http://serbianforum.org/domaci-filmovi/354915-
lajanje-na-zvezde-aka-barking-stars-1998-a.html

crazy and interesting (hilarious) professors, a trip, a boxer, the first love, practical (and all other kinds of) jokes, music of the 60's, hope and a lot of love among people. 


Source:http://serbianforum.org/domaci-filmovi/354915-
lajanje-na-zvezde-aka-barking-stars-1998-a.html


Oh, and it is painfully funny. I suppose something can be lost in translation, but in this movie there is a universal language that we all understand, we all were (or are) students, and we all were (or are) young.
Enjoy! :-)


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

SERBIAN CITY OF THE WEEK



                                                         SUBOTICA




Source:http://www.listofimages.com/subotica-architecture-
beautiful-buildings-city-colorful-lights-nature.html


 The City Library

Source: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/
Serbia/North/Vojvodina/Subotica/photo928177.htm

The entrance to the library. Don't you think it's amazing?

Source: http://peratravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/subotica.html


 The City Hall and Synagogue

Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1345851

The City Hall

Source: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/
Serbia/North/Vojvodina/Subotica/photo760357.htm

The City Hall at night

Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=62237995

Raichle House, today a modern art gallery

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Subotica10.jpg

The close up of the Raichle House

Source: http://peratravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/subotica.html

This is the former building of the National Theater

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Theatre_in_subotica.jpg

The look from above. You can see an extraordinary artwork even at the roofs.

Source: http://www.suinfo.net/subotica/

Wonderful balance of nature and architecture

Source: http://www.suinfo.net/subotica/

Elementary School Ivan Goran Kovačić
 
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:O%C5%A0_
Ivan_Goran_Kova%C4%8Di%C4%87_-_Subotica.jpg

Technical Secondary School

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tehni
%C4%8Dka_%C5%A0kola_-_Subotica.jpg


The Franciscan Church

Source: http://www.suinfo.net/subotica/

The sunset

Source: http://www.suinfo.net/subotica/

Bear in mind that this is just a sneak peek. :-)


Check out the awesome sources of these pictures:

http://peratravel.blogspot.com/
http://www.trekearth.com/
http://www.suinfo.net/subotica/
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/
and Wikipedia, of course :-)



A WEEKLY SIGHTSEEING 



                                                         THE SKULL TOWER
                                                                (ĆELE KULA)

                                                                         In Niš


Source: http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-581713/the-6-creepiest-places-on-earth?pg=5

This monument is placed on the old Constantinople Road to Sofia. After the Battle of Čegar (1809), the order of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II used the skulls of killed Serbs to make this monument.



Source: http://www.flyingoranges.com/entries/2007-03-27-Nis.html

It gained status of Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia.


Source: http://tekstovi-pesama.com/cele-kula/0/124908

Source: http://www.panacomp.net/business_tourism?mesto=ehf-euro-nis


THE BOOK OF THE WEEK

             
                          ''Dictionary of the Khazars'' by Milorad Pavić


Source: http://thegatesofdamascus.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/dictionary-of-the-khazars-female-edition/


A wonderful novel with archaic soul, full of majestic descriptions that enrich the story of Khazars, placed in the late 8th and early 9th century. Another interesting and unusual thing about this book is that it comes in two different editions: ''male'' and ''female''. The difference is made by one passage in a single paragraph. Symbolically, as the author himself stated, Khazars represent Serbian people. Pavić was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

                                                         Milorad Pavić
Source: http://blog.dnevnik.hr/print/id/1627066740/in-memoriam-milorad-pavi.html


THE PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK




Karl Malden, born as Mladen Djordje Sekulović, (Mladen George Sekulovich)

Source: http://celebslists.com/4839-karl-malden@imagekarl-malden-06.jpg.html



He was a Serbian American actor. He won the Academy Award for The Best Supporting Actor in a classic movie ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Streetcar_original.jpg


Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/71285/Karl-Malden-and-Vivien-Leigh-in-A-Streetcar-Named-Desire






SERBIAN MUSIC OF THE WEEK 

Biljana Krstić, Serbian singer has one of the greatest voices ever. This song "Petlovi pojev" or "Roosters singing" is an emotional song which depicts life in the ''Heart" of Serbia. Serbian people consider the region Šumadija as the Heart of Serbia. However, in my personal opinion, "Heart" spreads from Šumadija to Pomoravlje.

This song tells about how roosters are singing in the morning, in the Serbian village near river Morava. A man wants to get up but his darling tells him that roosters are lying, that dawn is still far away, and that he should come back to bed and her arms. 

There are many version of this song, but I will present you the two versions, one sung by Bilja Krstić, the other sung by Staniša Stošić, who was also a great Serbian singer.


                                            Bilja Krstić





                                         Staniša Stošić



SERBIAN ALPHABETS

Serbs have two official letters: ĆIRILICA (Cyrillic script) and GLAGOLJICA (Glagolitic or Gaj's Latin script). Serbian (also Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin) Glagolitic alphabet is similar to English apart from a couple of letters that Serbs do not have and vice verse.

Gaj's Latin Script

Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA
A, a /a/ G, g /ɡ/ O, o /o/
B, b /b/ H, h /x/ P, p /p/
C, c /ts/ I, i /i/ R, r /r/
Č, č /tʃ/ J, j /j/ S, s /s/
Ć, ć /tɕ/ K, k /k/ Š, š /ʃ/
D, d /d/ L, l /l/ T, t /t/
, dž /dʒ/ Lj, lj /ʎ/ U, u /u/
Đ, đ or Dj,dj /dʑ/ M, m /m/ V, v /ʋ/
E, e /e/ N, n /n/ Z, z /z/
F, f /f/ Nj, nj /ɲ/ Ž, ž /ʒ/
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaj%27s_Latin_alphabet


Serbian Cyrillic Script


Cyrillic alphabet
IPA value
А а
/a/
Б б
/b/
В в
/ʋ/
Г г
/ɡ/
Д д
/d/
Ђ ђ
/dʑ/
Е е
/ɛ/
Ж ж
/ʒ/
З з
/z/
И и
/i/
Ј ј
/j/
К к
/k/
Л л
/l/
Љ љ
/ʎ/
М м
/m/
Н н
/n/
Њ њ
/ɲ/
О о
/ɔ/
П п
/p/
Р р
/r/
С с
/s/
Т т
/t/
Ћ ћ
/tɕ/
У у
/u/
Ф ф
/f/
Х х
/x/
Ц ц
/ts/
Ч ч
/tʃ/
Џ џ
/dʒ/
Ш ш
/ʃ/
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Cyrillic_alphabet


Cursive Gaj's letters are also similar to English, but Serbian cursive Cyrillic letters look like this:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Serbian_Cyrillic_Cursive.png





























































































































SERBIAN FOOD OF THE WEEK

GIBANICA

Source: http://www.coolinarika.com/recept/cool-gibanica/

This is a famous Serbian dish. It is a kind of salty pie and the ingredients are eggs, cheese, salt, yoghurt, baking powder, oil. The pie crust can be homemade or bought at a store where they keep it cold or frozen.  There are variations of the gibanica recipe, but these are the basic ingredients. 


It can also look like this:


Source: http://www.panacomp.net/serbia?s=srpska_kuhinja

In the sources of these pictures you can find a lot of information about Serbian gastronomy. The second source is written in English.
WHERE IS SERBIA?

Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=627493


 You see the booth? That's Italy, of course. Here is another close up.



Source: http://geography.howstuffworks.com/oceans-and-seas/the-adriatic-sea.htm


The Adriatic Sea divides Italy from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. On the right of these three countries is Serbia. Belgrade (Beograd) is the capital.



Source: http://www.ezilon.com/maps/europe/serbia-road-maps.htm


People often mix up Serbian and Russian flags. Serbian flag has the same three colors as the Russian one. However, the Serbian flag consists of the three vertical stripes that go in this order: red, blue, and white.


Source: http://www.mycity-military.com/Vojne-uniforme-heraldika-oznake-odlikovanja/Novi-grb-Srbije_45.html
 
Russian flag also consists of the three vertical stripes in the same three colors, but they go in a different order: white, blue and red.


Source: http://bongmendoza.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/the-political-economy-of-electoral-over-investment/

Serbian coat of arms is similar to the Russian one (how often do you see a bird with two heads?) They both have a two headed eagle, however there are some obvious differences in design and color. The Serbian eagle is white, the Russian is gold. The Serbian eagle has one crown above its heads, the Russian has three little crowns. Another version of Serbian coat of arms is this one which has two crowns:


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Serbia.jpg

Now, notice the distance between Serbia and Russia.


Source: http://www.worldmonitor.info/regions/europe.html


People often mix up Serbia and Siberia. Siberia is a part of Russia, and Russia is a country in northern Eurasia.


Source: http://www.baikalcomplex.com/transsibmap.htm

And here you can hear the Serbian National Anthem:



THE BEGINNING

It's the easiest thing to find something negative in people. To dislike a nation, the color of a skin, the language, culture, or somebody's existence. I refuse that. I refuse to be the seed of hatred and intolerance.

I want happiness. Not wealth, not fame, or even success. Just happiness. Not just for me, but for others. Sometimes happiness seems to be the hardest thing to achieve...

My country is a part of me. It is a part of my identity that can reach into past where my ancestors dwell. They speak through the earth and stone. It's hard to hear them sometimes. But I try very hard. The message is usually: "Live now! Live fully and without hesitation!" It's a good message.

This blog is created in the honor of my country. Everything that is good, positive and loveable about Serbia will find it's place here.

I wish you all a welcome with an open heart...