Lay monuments pointing at the sky [Monumente laice arătând către cer]

Isn’t is fascinating to witness that most (if not all) secular societies’ monuments are still pointing at the sky?

Even after scrapping the idea of divine authority over the earth and distancing themselves from the very concept of God (deemed as obsolete, backward, useless today etc) people are looking up to the visible skies and beyond.

Fewer and fewer are those drawn to Christ’s love, while more and more are those eager to welcome aliens descending from UFOs.

Nevertheless, all people (religious or self-worshipping irreligious), from all places and all ages, have always been secretly yearning for some kind of salvation from a world whose progress has only put and tightened a noose around our necks.

Cathedrals and churches are still towering cities in many countries of the Old Continent (most of which is part of the secular EU).

Some are abandoned ruins (see pics from Scotland here or here), others are turned into cafés or stores, however, they are still here with us, getting in the way of those who banished from God their minds and reject His natural laws.

People can’t live without a certain innate aspiration to verticality, can they? Hardly any monumental work of art could express greatness horizontally. 

Followed either legitimately (“I am the Way, the Truth, the Life”) or illegitimately (through an anthropocentric Tower of Babel), this upward aspiration is inherent in human nature. 

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

Witty bits from what I learned in the UK (17) [Vorbe de duh din ce am învăţat în UK]

Here’s another bit of sad truth, not only about Britain, but concerning any other ‘civilised nation’ in the EU.

I would come across it at HM Treasury, on Horse Guards Road, Westminster, close to Whitehall, the famous London street packed with British government offices running from the UK Parliament to Trafalgar Square.

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The following message was written on a wall in the men’s toilet inside the Treasury building:

“Are you water wise? In the UK, every person uses on average 155 liters of water a day, compared to developing countries that only use 20 liters.”

Do such wise people, as I assume those working for Her Majesty’s Treasury are, need such pieces of advice that the photoholic I couldn’t miss?

And if even they are ‘water unwise’ what about the rest of us?! I wonder who truly understands that these ‘little mistakes’ we make, such as leaving the tap running for a minutes at a time, are costlier than our ‘carbon footprint’.

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It is it pretty hypocritical that people everywhere are concerned with global problems, yet remain unable to solve ‘little problems’ like saving water.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

UK’s motor vanity fair (18) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

I hadn’t heard anything about this Panther Kallista (made by Panther Westwinds) before going to the UK, nor have I ever seen another apart from this one, that I photographed somewhere near Trafalgar Square.

Nevertheless, I can undoubtely say that this is one of the most beautiful cars I have seen in my life, and – to my utmost surprise! – second hand versions are not prohibitely expensive.

Some evidence: £ 5, 750 (production: 1983/ mileage: 64,000); £ 6,950 (1984/78,726); £ 7,800 (1988/50,000), plus a not-so-cheap one – £ 16,500 (1979/7,100).

Like any respectable brand, Panther also has several car clubs (here, here, here), and all I can say it is pretty likeable… as an expensive toy :-)

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

Chestii d-astea, numai la britanici (8) [Things like these, only at the Brits]

Nici nu ştii cum să numeşti lucrul acesta, excentricitate britanică sau mercantilism, dar iată o imagine din interiorul aşa-numitei Cafenele din Criptă, situată în celebra Trafalgar Square din Londra. Locul nu are nimic special, nici măcar decoraţiuni de film de groază, iar calitatea mâncării, diversitatea limitată a meniului şi preţurile nu trec de nivelul a ceea ce aş numi eu o cantină populară.

Singurul lucru bizar este că în incinta asta, parte din complexul de clădiri al bisericii anglicane St. Martin-in-the-Fields, chiar au fost îngropaţi oameni vreme de sute de ani, în vreme ce acum se poate lua un prânz la preţuri rezonabile ori să se asiste la un concert de jazz.

De mâncat, am mâncat eu fără probleme, dar la cât nu-mi place jazz-ul, jazz într-o criptă – asta chiar ar fi o experienţă extremă pe care nu veau să o încerc :-) N-aş cuteza să rostesc sentinţe despre cât de tipic britanic este localul ăsta.

Dar, în mod cert, e tipic lumii capitaliste de azi. Să laşi bunătate de criptă, cu aşa vad comercial, ca simplu loc unde strămoşii să-şi odihnească oasele ori ca muzeu şi să nu-l transformi într-o afacere profitabilă – aşa ceva nu se face!

[Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la/For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to: Contents/Cuprins]