April 27 - National Resistance Day in Slovenia

Posted on April 27, 2018

 A resistance movement can spring up in response to a corrupt government...in response to a government that treats some people badly and only seems to care about the richest and most powerful people...in response to a government that isn't responsive to requests, complaints, and suggestions.


It is even more important for a resistance movement to form when a government is outright fascist... authoritarian... racist... and especially when such a government is engaging in wars of conquest and genocides (the killing of an entire people).

Of course, one of the most famous of the fascist / authoritarian / racist / genocidal governments is Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. From 1938 on, Nazi Germany annexed, invaded, and/or occupied one European country after another.

On this date in 1941, just two weeks after Nazis began to occupy Slovenia, a man named Josip Vidmar started a resistance force.
Who do you suppose Vidmar was, to be so courageous to start a group to stand up against the Nazis? Do you think he was Slovenia's former president? Or an important general in the military?

If you DID think that, you'd be wrong. Vidmar was a writer and a literary critic.

But he knew the importance of liberty!
These are just a few of the resistance forces in Slovenia.
I assume that the ratio of women to men wasn't
typical for the entire resistance?
While we celebrate the Slovene Resistance during World War II, let's also enjoy the beauties of modern-day Slovenia:









Also on this date:


































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April 26 - When an Artist Spills Some Coffee...

Posted on April 26, 2018

What happens if you spill some coffee?

 Do you grumble or yell as you clean it up?

 Or do you make art?

 On this date in 2014, Italian artist Giulia Bernardelli started to share with the world the art she makes...out of spilled coffee! 


Her way of sharing her art is Instagram, which is an easy photo- and short-video-sharing form of social media. 

I gather that Bernardelli gets up every morning, makes a cup of coffee, and like so many other people in the world, she sips and enjoys the hot beverage... The difference is that, instead of finishing every last drop, Bernardelli spills the last bit of coffee across her white kitchen table. And then she looks for inspiration in the shapes the coffee makes...



And she uses paintbrushes, spoons, leaves - whatever she sees around her! - to create a picture in the spill. When she is done "painting" with coffee, she snaps a photo and uploads it to Instagram.





Notice that Bernardelli usually leaves a cup or spoon or SOMEthing in the photo to highlight the substance and method of her artworks!

 Like so many other artists I feature here, Bernardelli's art is "ephemeral," temporary, in existence for just a short while and then only in a photo.

 If you want to see more coffee-spill photos, check out this article or follow "@bernulia" on Instagram.

 It's not JUST spilled coffee. Bernardelli also "paints" and makes art with coffee grounds, wine, honey, jam, chocolate, and other sorts of food. Yep, she is always playing with her food...


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April 25 – National Flag Day in Swaziland

(Edited to say that, around the same time I was writing this post, unbeknownst to me, the absolute ruler of Swaziland, King Mswati III, decided to rename the country. A few days before I actually posted this, he made his announcement that the nation would change its name to eSwatini. I missed the publicity around this change; apologies!)

 Posted on April 25, 2018

Waaaaaaay back in 1881, the British government signed a declaration that said that Swaziland was an independent nation. This was a period of time when there was such a lot of hurried effort by European nations to divvy up and control various parts of Africa, historians call this period "the Scramble for Africa." Against the trend of grabbing control from the locals, in this case the Brits said, "This is THEIR nation."

See that red dot near the southern end of Africa?
That's Swaziland!

Except....year after year...(after year!) the British and Dutch weighed in on mineral rights and land ownership, and they formed three-way governments with Brits, Dutch, and Swazi officials, and then they formed protectorates through the Republic of South Africa. And it turned out that Swaziland really wasn't fully independent. Despite that signed piece of paper...

Finally, almost a century later, Swaziland got its independence. On this date in 1967, the flag was flown for the first time. Actual independence was achieved in September 1968.


The symbolism of the flag is:

Red for past battles
Blue for peace and prosperity
Yellow for Swaziland's resources

The Nguni shield is black and white to show that black and white people can live in harmony in Swaziland. The shield and two spears also recall Swaziland's history.

Take a look at Swaziland's land:








Also on this date:
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