diotimah reminded me of this from Beppo:

'Tis known, at least it should be, that throughout
All countries of the Catholic persuasion,
Some weeks before Shrove Tuesday comes about,
The people take their fill of recreation,
And buy repentance, ere they grow devout,
However high their rank, or low their station,
With fiddling, feasting, dancing, drinking, masking,
And other things which may be had for asking.;)“


(See: I told you Byron can be terrific fun to read and is anything but a "Byronic" writer in the usual sense.) Now I tend to avoid Carnival, or Fasching, as it's called in Southern Germany, but there were two exceptions. You might say I've had the two perfect Carnival experiences already: Venice and Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards, anything else can be only an anticlimax.




For further proof, I'll link you to my old pic spams and descriptions.

Venice I

Venice II


Dancing through the Sambadrome in Rio

It's Carnival over here, and while I mostly hide from it - due to being busy with work - I'm not immune to the splendour and excitement it can have - elsewhere. I was lucky and able to attend the two most famous carnivals in years past, once in Rio de Janeiro, twice in Venice. Out of nostalgia and because I've gained some new readers since then, here are links to the photos and reports from these occasions:

Carnival in Venice I

Carnival in Venice II

Carnival in Rio

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artaxastra, check this out! First trailer for AGORA, a movie about female philosopher Hypatia, and the reconstruction of fourth century Alexandria looks amazing. The trailer starts with the lighthouse which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world...


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In case you missed the Oscars or just want to watch this particular bit again: Hugh Jackman's opening number, complete with Frost/Nixon duet co-starring Anne Hathaway.

Speaking of the ever useful YouTube: ever since the BBC named the actress who'll play the companion in this year's second Doctor Who special, I've been thrilled for two particular reasons:

( Casting spoiler )