~~~ химн ~~~

Chestito, Bulgaria!

We're fast approaching the 150th Anniversary of this...!

The Day Of The Unification!

When two separated lands 

became one again - circa 1865

(click the picture for a magnificent 5-second video 

that totally recaps the re-unification!)

Честит празник!

Da!

OSTAVKATA !!!

Another dream come true...!

The corrupt government that we have beseeched 

ceaselessly -for many, many months now- 

to step down and resign 

has finally abdicated power!

Let us rejoice! 

For now...

(because we never know who or what 

the people may be foolish enough to vote for, 

next time - this coming November!)

Here's to the future...!

(Gulping down a shot of rakia -

choking and coughing optional!)

Ironically enough, however, the word ''победа'' delineates everything, if not at once, according to the specifics of each situation: it can therefore signify victory but also defeat; battle; even a ''coup''...

Only in Bulgaria...!

So... is this the end for Ostavka-Man? 

Nay - we think not! 

For there is much more Resignation here, 

looming on the horizon! 

Resignation that things are doomed to repeat: 

mistakes to be made, over and over again; 

the need for an ostavka periodic, then...! 

For, in the final estimation, 

there is much to say 

about the things that we have got in common, 

Bulgarians and I...

They should surely have an expression, 

already in ancient use, 

that goes along the same way 

my good old motto goes: 

''Hope For The Best

Expect The Worst 

That Way, Nothing Will Surprise Thee!''

One more time...

OSTAVKA... TA!

;-)

The Day Is Almost Here!!!

#оставка

July Morning - AND Canada Day! Da!

Bulgarians who double up as Canadian-Bulgarian (in the same vein as Canadiens-Français - sort of) can enjoy two songs rather just one on this day of moving, among other things...

First and foremost, there is Uriah Heep's unforgettable anthem...

And then, there is the Canadian anthem, of course (duh!) of which we have found an alternate version, further ''alternated'' by someone who  undeniably thought of inserting a familiar face into the whole thing, for the utmost pleasure of all Bulgarians who love... Russia.

Hey, it could have been worse: it could have been Boiko and his clowns! 

Ha!  OSTAVKA!

But that's another story...!

It Is Time

Aye, Bulgaria - you have to wake up...



so that your fabled land can become, once again, one of those...



and even this...




Força, Bulgaria!
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Bulgarians Dream... of better luck!

Especially on Friday The 13th...

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Bulgarians Dream Of... Patriotism!

They always do - they always will!  And, on this day in which Cyril and Methodius are celebrated, one could add that the dream extends towards patriotic pride... the pride of having one's own alphabet, one's own language, one's own culture! And one's own identity, therefore...

Bulgarians Dream Of... Fitness!

You, too, can do
the Bulgarian Split Squat! 
We disengage from any responsability 
if you hurt yourself, though!

Happy Baba Marta Day!

Chestita Baba Marta -  by Tanya Bartel

On this wondrous day, 

Bulgarians gift each other martenitsas 

- whether they are simple strings 

or cutefied figurines; the important thing is 

that they are red and white!

(Hey - like Santa! But, surely, 

that is just a mere coincidence...)

It's all about heralding spring coming 

-at long last- after the depressing 

winter temperatures...

(Ha - they didn't know 

how cozy they got it 

until they saw minus 35 degrees 

-Celsius, but still- 

in La Canada...! 

But that is another story...)

Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Happy Baba Marta Day, 

Bulgaria!

Old Man Winter is about to croak - 

thanks, in part, to an old cranky granny...! 

My, oh my; this Baba Marta here 

is mightier than even one Baba Iaga

or that other baba, Baba Dochia...! 

Take that, Russia and Romania! 

;-)

Whether it is a stork, swallow or crane you see, 

or the first sign of a soon-to-be blossomed tree 

good times are just around the corner 

which will find you luckier and healthier! 

(For warmer...!) 

Though as heartwarming as any account can be, 

this particular retelling of those olden days 

back in the ''old country'' (as some extradited souls 

would say today) while being a tad too 

sentimental and nostalgic 

cannot avoid making us remark 

that their white martenista there 

looks so much like 

le Bonhomme Carnaval 

alas...!

:-(

We're in a state of shock over this -

courtesy, ironically, of Shutterstock!

Although, in their more generic forms, 

neither one should evoke 

any goofish creation 

several centuries younger...! 

In fact, the two dolls made of strings 

have a name:

it's Pizho and Penda;

Pizho the male in white (?) 

and Penda the female in red 

(ah, hence 

The Lady In Red...

no? Oh - okay.)

Anyway... Once again... 

Честита Баба Марта!

Upside down you turn me...?

Must be that Bulgarian ingenuity at work again -

that which makes them compulsively 

pull each other down the ladder...? 

Unless it's just Blogger Boogery again.

But that's another story!

Bulgarians Dream Of... Sainthood?

A special lugubrious blog simulpost... this time! 

Миските от конкурс за красота, наречен "Мис Южна перла", 

организиран от Киро Скалата, 

строени за снимка до паметник на баба ви Ванга! Ето:

MISKO of a beauty pageant called "Miss South Pearl", organized by Kiro 

- scale built for a photo memorial to your grandmother Vanga!

The granny in question is up for Sainthood indeed 

for many view her as a saintly grannie that helped so many 

(sort of like a Frère André, Padre Pio or Padre Cruz)

while others view her merely as some sort of a witch

who dabbled with, communed with and talked to the dead...

The saintliness of a prophetess and sainthood sound much better.

Let's see how many of these ''beauties'' here 

truly aspire to such a thing, now...

She knows for sure...!

Now, THIS monument should have been the site 

that Kiro there should have taken the girls to...!

Maybe next year...

;)

Barbarians Have Bulgarian Dreams Too!

Barbarians with good taste (like a certain Canadian Barbarian... er, moi for instance! Or lower-lifeform barbarians such as Jasons - like that Momoa guy, keen on mimicking the Ah-Nolds of this world...!)

Here is the evidence: when Conan The Barbarian himself cannot contain his troglodytic enthusiasm and neanderthalish bewilderment regarding Bulgarian women baring it all...



Other known barbarians recognized as fine connaisseurs (not ''connoisseurs'' you silly Americans!) of Bulgarian cleavage include all 57 Expendables, Val Kilmer, Vin Diesel and several Greek creeps nobody knows really... But that's another story...

Viva Bulgaria... in the buff!  *lol*

Another Bulgarian Dream Come True

Bulgaria making the news - 

on German TV. 

Nein, fraulein... NEIN!!!

Sagen, es ist nicht so...?!?

:-!

Bulgarian Dream Match-Up!

The oddest party leader to have come down the pike in a long, long time, he who is half-way between The Che and Adolf, as for his salute goes (throw in a bit of Il Duce, too) - he who is Volen, not Bolen... but still...  After his many misadventures which saw him throw sandwiches at waitresses, challenge all of Brussels (hey - he heard of the Belfast Bruiser so he wanted to be the Brussels Brawler?) and, finally (last night, in fact, on the shortest of flights there is: Sofia to Varna - 35 minutes - he managed to, once again, drink rakia and make trouble all at once - his brand of multi-tasking, see...?) callously invoke his status as Parliamentary in order to calumniate another passenger on-board that flight; one who couldn't speak Bulgarian to defend herself...! (He even stole her passport!) He topped his night by punching a police officer in uniform who had the misfortune of telling him (in Bulgarian!) that he was a moron! (So our sources say: and they are offnews.bg, so they know!) Well, after all that, the name that seems perfect for him is, indeed... the inedible, ignoble, gnomish for he is diminished... Ataka-Man!

Opposite him, who better than someone with verve and as virulent as that little man tries to be? Who better than someone who can take on all comers - and still ask for more in his spare time? Well, isn't there this charismatic Protestite leader (he who first said ''az stoya zad protestite!'' back in May... maybe!) hailing from the proverbial ''parts unknown'' and weighing in with... well, a few extra pounds than that dwarf named Volen, that is for sure! (We knew Huckepack, Purzelbaum and Rumplebold... but not ''Volen'' we must admit?)  Now, his faits d'armes are not as publicized as the former one's (soon, quite literally former... well, former everything that he allegedly is, really! But that is another story...) however, if one was to recount all the exploits of this luminous individual... well... it would fill-up at least one book... er, right?  For he craves vindication and justice (in reverse order, of course) and never backs down from anything! Perseverance and resilience - with luminescence from up above! That's *our guy* here! The clear-cut favourite in any altercation (whether with the aforementioned dwarf or any other violent dwarf there can be: from Gourgen to Toe-Ninny to countless others - they're as numerous as the pecks of sand, verily... But that's another story; from one (or many) of our other blogs out there...!) - for Ostavka-Man's uncanny powers of persuasion (which are, truly, powers of dissuasion) making them all abdicate, down to their knees full of (fake?) remorse... eventually! Thus, aye, the winner always is... the ubiquitous Ostavka-Man! (Which might still sound as sort of an oxymoron; but that's not the point!)

Hence, imagine it here and now: the battle of the decade... 

If not merely the day, indeed!

Aye, who better, as special celebrity guest-referee for this contest, than the one, the only Opera Man himself...?!? Volen's defeats are being recounted as libretto, anyway...

Alas, forces are conspiring to make this marquee match-up never happen: skinheads with political clout, baseball bats and balls-and-chains too (among other troglodytes) are waiting the green light to openly hunt down Ataka-Man on the streets of Sofia (for ''campaign promises gone unfulfilled'' allegedly: we've seen that before! Only, other -smarter- politicians don't make it possible for the outrage to degenerate into full-fledged, fist-pumping, hard-hitting backlash as this one has, with his succession of ridiculous very public meltdowns all over the place...!)

Meanwhile, Ostavka-Man has his own enemies: he knows them (he knows where they live!) and they know him (too) and both camps could (also) ''atacar'' at the slightest provocation (sort of like Ataka-Man; minus the demented, dejected outbursts when he's not being given what he thinks to be his due: still, as we've just stated, he's in line to get his due very shortly... For the commie family does not always protect their own: now, where Ostavka-Man comes from, it's totally the opposite! But they're not commies there, either...)

And what of Opera-Man in all this, you ask? He's just doing his best...

But that's another story...

OSTAVKA!!!

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Bulgarians Dream Of... Voda, in 2014...?

Epiphany celebration is divided into three parts:

Starts January 5th night when midnight "secretive added" 

heavens opened and God alone stands at the gate and "fulfill the desire."

This is the night of silent water: The exported container with clean water that night "silent" under the stars. And anyone who wants a "fulfillment" at midnight, until this water utters the greatest and eager. Water and God heard him and "true"! They call it BE! January 6th is Epiphany Men. Young men jump into the river for health and "manpower" and male offspring one year bathe in cold water to become men. Throwing the Cross is very old, pre-Christian tradition that symbolizes the return of the life-giving water start. For at this day it heals and strengthens and everyone wants to wash away sin and sickness of living water! January 7 Women's Epiphany! On this day, bathe young women and female offspring within a year. Since the female womb brings the power of creation, women tolerate living water boilers of "bathing" rivers and sprinkle them with health and prosperity. Women are Vodicharki, Sovoynitsi. In some areas of this day again speculate and predict love and procreation. On January 7 cum all the Christmas holidays and feminine and masculine combine the water and Creation. Wedding period begins!

****************

January 5th to 7th 

is 
well, basically, Water Day in BG! 
So drink a lot of H2O for three days in a row
(Especially on the 6th, I say!)
and don't forget to listen to 
this magnificent aquatic anthem
all throughout...

Er ...
Dobrei ...
But not nearly good enough!
For January 6th
is, most specifically,
the day of the baptism of Jesus
in the river Jordan
by his cousin, John The Baptist.
The Orthodox church priest
then blesses the cross
and throws it in a river
(Or whatever body of water you have got!)
where it is retrieved
by one of several
competing good swimmers:
the winner is, of course,
blessed for the year!

Gotta love Voda!
:-)

Bulgarians Dream Of... Futebol, in 2014?

Ah...! Da... Da! 

Another Masterful 

Luminous Production! 

Many Thanks to the crowds there, 

VIDEO NEWS.bg 

and the same two 

musical muses 

as well as my local muse 

for the inspiration -

as always!  

Sempre Por O Melhor!

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Bulgarians Dream Of... Faith, in 2014...?

"Because it is fragile Bulgarian people, gifted and patient, 
lied to and robbed of worlds and interests, 
by foreign advisers and their Godless kins.
Inside each of us there is so much phosphorus 
that it can make 2000 matchsticks. 
Can you imagine what a fire it would be?
Unreliable is this world, gentlemen, 
for people are fake, 
and most unreliable is time. 
 But when there is no faith, then it is terrible...''.

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