Balkan Youth and Sport Forum 2009

Dear friends ,

I’ve received an invitation to an interesting event and I’m now spreading the word !

The Balkan Youth and Sport Forum 2009 is a collaborative event giving its bid for a sustainable future for youth in South-East Europe. It is taking place btw. September 7-13 2009, in the beautiful surroundings of Bosnian capital city, Sarajevo. The Forum is set for an inspirational learning experience with participation of youth from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, as well as other European countries. Built around the current youth agenda in South-East Europe, the forum will put forward its perspectives on the role of youth in sport. BYSF ‘09 will focus on issues such as: youth participation, democratic citizenship and non-formal education through sport.

The Balkan Youth & Sport Forum will result in a declaration, by which the participants shall forward ideas, actions and recommendations on developing the youth and sport policies in the southeast Europe region. Relevant political stakeholders are to receive the declaration on the final day of the forum.

The forum is organized by the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), a Copenhagen-based organization internationally active in fields such as sports, non-formal education, youth participation. By its activities, ISCA supports cross-border understanding through sport and culture, it promotes sport as a bearer of cultural identity and it encourages the broadest possible participation in sports and cultural activities for affiliated members.

Would you like to take part in an exciting event,  and at the same time be inspired by 45 young people – all gathered to raise a collective voice to decision makers on what is important to youth? Then submit your application for this forum before July 31. Your participation will be appreciated and will make a real difference!

Timeline: September 7-13 2009

Venue: Sarajevo, Bosnia

Application deadline: July 31, 2009

Selection notification:  August 4, 2009

Participant profile: young people (18-30) involved in sports clubs and other types of organizations

Financial conditions: no participation fee, accomodation and meals provided by organizers, travel costs reimbursed according to a set framework.

Further details and application form:  ISCA website

Rest in peace, Jacko…

Such a sad day. Michael Jackson died today just one month before turning 51 and little before embarking on a world comeback tour. The greatest performer of all times, leaving an immense legacy for the generations to come. An amazing entertainer, known for both his unsurpassed talent and fiery performances, and for his controversial life and awkward personality.  His career was marked by countless achievements, among which: entering the Guinness world records as the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”, 13 Grammies, also 13 number one singles in his solo career — more than any other male artist,  five albums going platinum, over 750 million records sold throughout the world and probably more fans than any other celebrity. Besides his “ShowMan” part, Michael was also a “CharityMan” as he donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes. His humanitarian nature has always been expressed through his music too, turning him into a model for us all.

He stays an icon of my childhood years. To me it’s not only the death of a “greater-than-life” individual, but indirectly also the death of something I associate with myself…a long-forgotten period, probably the best in my life. The death of an icon symbolic for that age once more reminds me of time’s ruthless flow. Childhood passed, the world changed, I am different, the ones around me are not the same  anymore and some are gone forever. Everything’s so fast-paced and transformations are so painful. Living seems a struggle to forget about the inevitable end .

MJ was not a mere singer, he was a phenomenon that will remain imprinted in the history of music, in our culture and in our hearts. Probably the most widely beloved artist ever, uniting an entire world through his music. Whenever I listen to MJ’s songs I feel life. A passion, strength, dynamism that can only make you think of life. Now he’s gone and it seems surreal. Tears are sliding down my cheeks…

Influence on other artists:

Suicide Squirrels strike back

Squirrels Worldwide > an extensive collection of squirrel-related news. Funny, bizarre, tragic…stay tuned!

Brand new goodies from the Suicide Squirrels series. Enjoy the blood dripping, enjoy the bushy tail decomposing, enjoy a loving squirrel heart torn apart – literally

Check:  Suicide Squirrel TV

Maxwell – Submerge/Drowndeep…

Two songs I adore from an album I adore by an artist I adore 

It’s not my thing to use big words, but these are just exceptional.

Both from Maxwell’s second album – “Embrya” (1998) > “Drowndeep: Hula” and “Submerge: Til We Become The Sun“. Turn the lights off and feel. Breathtaking vocal range seemingly embracing you in a sensual elevation.  Hot, vintage soul blended with the chilling, ambiental beats. Hypnotic falsettos. Fluid grooves. Sleek lyricism. Deep. Serene. Emotional. Mysterious. Spiritual. Lush. Versatile.

Some critics complained about the substance-less or chaotic lyrics and the overly extravagant concept behind “Embrya”. Titles and lyrics might indeed seem so, but exactly this music’s eccentric, eclectic, sophisticated nature is what magnetizes me completely. An artist’s guts to push his limits and to push listeners out of  their comfort zone by introducing something opulent, that’ll surely not fit everyone’s tastes. That might also be the reason for Maxwell’s being underrated: he’s just not accessible to masses. Too deep to enter the mainstream, though highly acclaimed among soul, neo soul, R&B and quiet storm lovers. Instead, commercial garbage is usually getting the attention and when a tune like Maxwell’s emerges, critics try cut its potential by picking on lyrics, names or concepts. As for me, when I listen to music what comes first is its sound, not its lyrics. If I need something deep, I’ll open a philosophy anthology. Conversely, there’r loads of smart messages embedded in tracks I couldn’t call anything but noise. So when non-noise and especially complex non-noise is there to be enjoyed, I guess we should be thankful and praise those few true artists.

Actually these two tunes are nothing less than deep, but it takes a little while to feel’em. The maybe incoherent and incomplete message in these tracks’ lyrics is actually empowering the tunes, as it creates a state of exaltation, a serene and emotional trance. Here words and ideas are secondary and charm derives exactly from their being dispersed and unpolished. They’r letting the sound shine. Maxwell is just what I call true music. The kind that sets a vibration in your mind and soul, takes you by storm, coalesces unexplainable emotions, caresses your ears and thoughts, embraces you in warmth. Keeps the musicality in music, a feature long forgotten nowadays…

Maxwell – Submerge: Til We Become The Sun

Over to under

Enter your wonder baby

Submerge into me baby

And take me to higher

Submerge within the light

Illuminate my night

And let your atmosphere surround me

Submerge within the light all night

Till we become the sun

See if I’m breathing

Because I’m not sure

Tonight if I’m alive

Words are demeaning

They can’t describe

Submerge within the light

Til we become the sun

Maxwell- Drowndeep: Hula

Confusing as this is

I hope my kiss can rectify

The lack of part time bliss

A weightlessness inside

Your life, Your life, your life…

(Oohh waah) let’s drown deep in us

(Oohh waah) make no fight, no fuss

(Oohh waah) come drown deep in us

In us, in us, in us, in us…

I’ll wear your liquid kiss

And watch as if inside

Dispel the negative

As if a myth alive

Why should I let you go

How could I let you go

When we be up here all alone

Hula hula baby

(Oohh waah) let’s drown deep in us

(Oohh waah) make no fight, no fuss

(Oohh waah) come drown deep in us

In us, in us, in us, in us…

First 2 months of the Blogging (still agnostic) Squirrel

June 24 > two months since the Agnostic Squirrel delved into the pleasures of online soliloquies !

Here’r some stats since my first post on April 24th:

Total views – 1.191

Top 3 posts/pages:

Demotivational Posters (148 views)

Fragility of being (137 views)

FAQ (53 views)

First impressions of my performance as a junior blogger: it’s demotivating to see the “demotivational posters” ranking first. For real. Other posts were much more interesting or so I hope. But it seems there’s a trend these days around. Over 200 people were directed by search engines at my blog when looking for terms like: Gunter Brus, demotivational posters, motivation etc. So I have to wait a bit till the afore-mentioned will get out of fashion, so I can catch readers’ eyes with other stuff.