Beware Of The Didgeridoo!

**As you can probably tell, I am still trying to random save a few more of my Multiply old Blogs. The following is one of them, written in Dec. 2008.**

Nicole Kidman broke the Aboriginal tradition, playing the Didgeridoo, an ancient musical instrument, by custom and firm tradition only men should play. According to the long established aboriginal belief in Australia, any woman having touched the didgeridoo would lose her fertility.

Last week in Germany in a TV programme 'Wetten das ....?', the German version of the Spanish 'Que apostamos ....?', in English it means: ' what do you bet ....?', Thomas Gottschalk, the TV presenter wanted to test the protagonists of the new film 'Australia', Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman of their knowledge of aboriginal culture, and requested Kidman to play the didgeridoo which she did, while Jackman danced to the tune happily, delighting all present.

When it was shown, the Australian aboriginals raised the alarm, warning all women who might be ignorant of the fatal consequence of the loss of her capacity to ever conceive. It was too late for Kidman to apologise or undo the deed, so she issued a statement from London in which she said she had always supported the Australian aboriginals and had great respect for their culture and tradition. She wouldn't have touched the instrument had she known about the prohibition beforehand.

Only very recently she had announced that she might consider giving up her acting career, at least for a while, to dedicate herself to be a mother. At 41, she had not too long ago had her first biological daughter, Sunday Rose, with her 2nd husband, the country singer Keith Urban (2 adopted children while she was Mrs. Tom Cruise). Just as well now that she might not be able to have any more offsprings.

Tags:kidman,aboriginal

• Current Mood: Artistic

Why Do I Write?

I have been asked this question many, many times: why do I write? Heck, I have asked myself this same question many times too. It's just something I do. Like some people have a habit of early morning run in the park, or others a late afternoon cocktail in a pub, or the Saturday night cinema or the Sunday morning goIf session; I write. Other than that I don't have a logical answer.

Throughout history there's infinity of men and women, asking themselves the same question while putting down lines and lines of words. I don't know what others do, I write even when I don't have pen and paper, or a computer.

I write in my head first, accumulating unconnected words and jumbled up ideas. These get shuffled about in the most disorderly manner, in my mind, and those seem best represent my vague idea of a certain subject would come to my finger tips and onto the keyboard. Now I begin to know what the article is about and quickly put in a temporary title, before I forget what I am supposed to be writing about!

It doesn't always work! Most illogically, the subject matter is not always the determining factor. I might start off for instance, trying to follow a particular theme I had in mind, but somehow, the few lines I got down on the screen show me that they suit far better a different theme all together. In that case, I wouldn't argue, but let my thoughts follow the new theme and simply change the title!!

I know, all this sounds rather chaotic. It is. But the strongest instinct, or the words, or the ideas would automatically win through. The weaker idea, in other word, what to me the less interesting idea, would disappear for not being competitive enough to gain my effort to turn it into an article.

As to the other question I also get asked often: how do I find so many different subjects to write about. Well I don't go about finding them. It's more like they find me. What I mean is that we are all surrounded by people, or daily happenings, important or trivial, significant or frivolous; things are always happening all round us. We, whether conscious of them or not, absorb and retain some of it in our subconscious minds, and may have even formed a few of our own opinions about them, though we don't necessarily reveal them, talk about them, or write them down.

These will show up though in our mind, if we got a few minutes to review the day and decide to do just that, write some of them down ... I do, most days.

Tags:writing

• Current Mood: Accomplished

God's Answer ...

Two friends are discussing whether God is black or white, without agreeing on one or the other. Finally one says to the other: "Maybe the best way to find out is to ask God Himself."

The next day the one who had asked God the question says to his friend that he still doesn't know the answer.

"Didn't God answered your question?"

"Yes."

"What did God say exactly?"

"He said - I am what I am."

"Then God is white."

"How do you know that?"

"Had he been black, he would have said - I is what I is."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"The car won't start." said the woman to her husband, "I think there's water in the carburettor."

"How do you know?" said the husband, "You don't even know what a carburettor is!"

"I am telling you," repeated the wife, "I am sure there is water in the carburettor."

"We will see then," mocked the exasperated husband. "Let me check it out. Where is the car?"

"In the swimming pool."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What is the little animal that looks just like an elephant?

A baby elephant.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What is worse, being ignorant or being uninterested?

I don't know, and I don't care.

Tags:elephant,god

• Current Mood: Amused

The Man With A Thousand Hearts

There had been dozens of TV programmes about hearts. How it works, how to keep it healthy, what makes it malfunction, what to do when that happens, etc. One programme shown last night on Spanish Channel 33 was the most amazing and informative I have ever seen.

It's a reconstruction of a scientific discovery accomplished by the Spanish medical scientist Paco Torrent Guasp who died 3 years ago, but his name will now ascend onto the manuals of cardiography, medicine, and history of human anatomy. Dr. Torrent had worked, totally on his own, for half a century, boiling and dissecting human hearts, recording all his studies, investigations and experiments, revealing what has been an enigma for the last 500 years, that of the science of human anatomy.

The structure of our heart, an organ made up of muscles stuck together in the form of a spiral, coiled itself helicoidally. He patiently uncoiled heart after heart, like one blows one of those so called party-blowers (the Spanish call it 'matasuegras - mather-in-law killers!!), that silly looking tube-like thingy they put on the table for each person attending a celebration party to blow, usually after the feast. with a coiled up end. When blown, it makes a squeaky noise and some silly pieces of trinkets fall out). The heart squeezes itself rhythmically, twisting in spirals, so as to push out the blood to reach every corner of the whole organism, then sucks it up again from the furthest point of your toes. None of his colleagues knew about his find until the eve of his death (quite significantly during an international congress of cardiology in Madrid)! As the title says: The man who unfolds thousand hearts.

Just occasionally, TV does surprise us with some real gems: showing you clearly what you are made of while universities spend weeks and months trying to explain it.

Tags:heart,medicalscience

• Current Mood: Accomplished