Maree('s) Muses

Evening everybody, you were supposed to be getting another music compilation this weekend, but... You can see for yourself, it's not happening. However, I don't want to leave you empty handed, so I decided to do a bit of over-sharing and top it off with a poem I've written. 'coz why not?

For the second time in my life I've won something! Tickets to see Prague Symphony Orchestra in concert, conducted by none other than maestro José Cura , yes, the world famous tenor himself! Who knew that he originally studied Composition and Conducting? Anyway, this unexpected cultural pleasure left me in raptures and mesmerised, therefore I cannot contain myself and must share my delight with you. Smetana Hall, Municipal House (image from prague.eu )

It's here again! No, I haven't given up on it completely. Let's see how long it sticks this time :D If you don't know what I'm referring to, I'm talking about Music Monthly, which is a regular series I used to to here on the blog. Only then the regularity died (hence Music Irregular) and then... Somehow everytime I try to get the series back on track, it dies on me. Either I don't have music to write about or I don't have the time to do it. In spite of all the bad luck Music Monthly has been attracting, I'm trying once again to beat the odds. Here's a music taste of my January 2016.

One of my "resolutions" for 2015 (if I must call it that way) has been to read more than 5 books. Don't laugh at me. Getting out of a long term reading slump is tough. I am here to happily report that I succeeded! For the last year, I have read a whole lot of SEVEN books. Fireworks, please! Seriously though, 2 of those 7 were more than 800 pages long. That's a lot of letters when you put it together. Maybe it could have been more. I certainly thought so when I got a new job and started commuting nearly 2 hours a day. Turns out that my body prefers to sleep... But I still try my best to read on the tram for as long as my eyes are open. Well then, without further ado, here is a little run-down of what I read and some thoughts... 

We live in a world of countless literary adaptations both for the big and the small screen. Be it famous and much loved adventures, romances and thrillers or "under the radar" stories that get finally introduced to wider audiences, the film makers can't get enough of literary adaptations. And who is to blame them? Neither can we. With the amount of literature-inspired films and TV shows produced these days, it seems impossible to read all of the books. One needs to chose wisely where to invest the time, but when you make your choice and decide to both read and watch... Which do you do first? I used to be a firm believer in the book. The book comes first, the book is true. Nothing can touch the book. I still stand by that, but I have come to realize that it only works to a certain extent. Here's an explanation of my recent experience in this area and how I arrived to the conclusion that it actually is allowed / it is not always a bad idea to watch the film befo...

Dear 2015 , Thank you, you've been a good one. We've been good together, haven't we? :) We got me a job and altogether changed my life for the better. There was a lot of work, but also socializing, a lot of culture and even some holiday time. Not too bad, I would say. I will keep this short, but I must mention the couple of travellers who visitied Prague in 2015 and who kindly requested my company to walk around the city or just plainly agreed to meet up for a chat. Here is a personal thank you to Sioux , Anna :P and her friend, Viviana , and Kirsty and Mark . Meeting you and having fun with you is just one of the many things this past year that go in the trend of "a couple of years back this would have been impossible for me." And here I go doing those things and enjoying them. Now isn't that magical? :) One thing that has not worked out well is blogging. I'm sad about it. The ideas are there, but the energy and the necessary time ma...

So, it's Novemeber. One is slowly grasping the fact that Christmas is inevitably getting closer and as the air grows cold, I end up remembering last year and a very spontaneuous trip to Nuremberg in Germany. Here's a little Throwback Sunday. The premise of the trip was simple: me doing a course to be a tourist guide + my sister being a teacher overseeing a school trip to Nuremberg and having a free spot on the bus. I thought it would be fun to spy on the guide who would be taking care of us and comparing if they are doing all the necessary things we were being taught at the course :) I will try to keep this short and picture friendly.