The ancient Dominicant church in Maastricht believed to be already more than 800 year old is finally renovated as a bookstore, much to the delight of the book lovers. Prior to this, the Selexyz Dominicanen was converted into a parking lot for bicycles. Until very recently, the upper floors were not accessible to public. The bookstore offers a wide selection of books in English. Interestingly, the beauty and the charm of the church created centuries ago are still in tact.

There is a cafeteria at the back of the bookstore where visitors can sit and relax and indulge themselves over some beverage and snacks. The architecture of the renovation process has been done by Merkx + Girod. So far, the design has won the Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize. In 2008, The Guardian called it “the best bookstore in the world.”

The books are arranged in a three storey black steel book stack that stretches up to the stone vaults. The highest shelves can be reached by lift or by the set of chairs within the sleek. The place looks very appealing and salubrious.

Via: CrossRoadsMag\Merkx-Girod\Guardian

The usual 10 second English message which Madonna sends out to the fans of the country where her concert is due has put Bulgarian Darik Radio in a real spot. Bulgaria’s Council for Electronic Media has slammed a hefty fine for airing the message in English. According to the country’s Radio and Television Act, all advertisements should be in native Bulgarian.

Madonna is expected to perform on August 29th in Bulgaria. The organizers of the concert, Sofia Music Enterprise, followed the regular procedure and sent out her usual English message to her Bulgarian fans on Darik Radio station. The radio station has been asked to pay a penalty which will be doubled if the message is aired again. The programme manager of Darik Station has even issued apology for Madonna not being proficient in Bulgarian.

It is so bemusing to see nations becoming chauvinistic and nationalistic over country’s language. Madonna is not going to perform in Bulgarian language. Language barriers are the silliest barriers of all in this globalised world. English should be declared official global language. No other language can transcend borders more easily than English.

Via Sofiaecho

Christopher B. Bajala is a student in one of the poorest public elementary schools in deepest, darkest Third World. He had his worst stage of cerebral palsy in early 2005. He showed difficulty with his fine motor tasks such as holding the pencil and using scissors, maintaining his balance, and even walking. He also had difficulty in his gross motor skills such as catching the ball and carrying his school bag. He had an obvious speech impairment and could not utter words. Occasionally, he drooled.

In June 2005, Brain Gym therapy was conducted on the child for the further development of movement and cognitive stimulation.

The child had an evaluating monitoring session in September 2005 where he was found to be able to write his name and utter two syllables. He would now pass by the school principal’s office during breaks and greet the principal and teachers. During lunch breaks, he would join other students in reading books as part of the school’s Child-to-Child Program.

By the child’s third monitoring session in February 2006, Christopher was observed to have improved his penmanship, and have been able to write and read words by syllables. He was also now able to perform basic mathematical operations and solve simple math problems. He became very active in all his class activities.

The principal has also been tutoring the child. Principal and adviser both helped the child become what he is now. Christopher’s post-test results in Math, English, and Science were admirable. He was able to pass each school level on first try. Christopher enters fifth grade in school year 2009-2010 which opens on June 1. He has grown to be a typical precocious little boy.

Gone was the little helpless boy who could hardly walk and did not talk years ago. Christopher is a child who has been raised by his village, and raised well.

Via The Skeptic’s Dictionary/massagetherapy.com/Developmental Delay Resources

It would be interesting to question the significance of writing in English and if it really did help some of these writers to break from the social shackles. One could discuss Kancha Illaiah’s Why I’m not a Hindu and also ‘Introduction’ by Kamala Das. For both of the mentioned writers, English, in my opinion served as an instrument to voice their angst and also to break from the norms.

English gave them the voice which otherwise was not possible. It also gave them the audience and also the platform to make themselves be heard. English really has given writers the freedom which would otherwise not have been possible. One must consider the socio-cultural contexts and also study the writers’ life history.

This would, in my opinion, help one to understanding how English has given many people a voice and served also as a weapon to break free. Many tragedies in India could have been averted if Indians had access to western literature. These tragedies could be economic, religious, and even societal. Nevertheless, it is still not late and one could encourage the learning of English.

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Deva Kumarasiri is what a real immigrant should be like. His love for his adopted country and culture is something that other immigrants in Britain must take notice of. British Asians especially have been lax about learning English and conversing in the country’s language in spite of using the country’s resources and infrastructure to lead a life that would otherwise have not been possible in their native countries.

Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis have been quite careless and arrogant about learning English and mixing with the locals and adopting a British way of life. The immigrants however are quick to point out any perceived misdeeds or mistreatments meted out to them by the British people.

This sort of hypocrisy led Deva Kumarasiri, a true patriot, to refuse services to those who did not speak English. Immigrants in Nottingham were surprised to be turned away by the Sri Lankan origin postmaster at the post office if they did not or could not speak English. Mr. Deva Kumarasiri has already been fired from his job, unfortunately. If the same action was taken by a white guy, he would have been arrested on charges of being racist.

It is indeed sad that Britain and British people have been so lenient and welcoming towards immigrants from Indian and neighboring countries who refuse to speak English, a language that is not only the official language of their adopted country, but also their own countries. English is an official language of India, along with Hindi. Perhaps, the British authorities should make it mandatory for immigrants to respect British language and culture, if they want to remain in Britain, instead of firing a patriotic immigrant who sought to set an example to other ungrateful immigrants.

Via: TimesOnline

If you have wanted to know the latest slang in town, I bet you have tried to search for such words on Google. Well, I did the same thing too and I was surprised to know that my surname meant ‘heroin’ in Portuguese, when spelled Cavalo and an escape, when just spelt Cavale. However, at home I have been told my surname is derived from ancient horsemen and there is even an aunt who claims Italian ancestry. I can safely say that we were a group of people in and around Punjab in North-West India, who immigrated to Bombay area many hundreds of years ago and collaborated with the Portuguese colonizers.

So, we did a ‘Cavale’ from Punjab when things went wrong there. Now I am making my own words. Likewise, many would have made their own words and I wonder what the number of terms formulated by so many smart alecs like me is. These are the kind of people who do not have a better way to spend time and make their own words. After making and creating words, you would need to use it and ask others to use them too, and what better way than allow the net to do the job for you! And that is where Addictionary, a freaky new website which is less weird and vulgar than Urban Dictionary but users can submit made up words and let others know about the additions.

Perhaps you must add the word you and your friend created, you never know because the dictionary guys at Oxford may just add your word in theirs. So go ahead, and add words to the world’s richest language, which many have even claimed to be a ‘bastard language’ (courtesy Khushwant Singh). It sure is an ego booster when you see your word being used by complete strangers. So go ahead, and make your own words or twist and abuse existing words and add it up in Addictionary, if not anything, it sure is F-U-N.

Via: Neatorama/PopURLs