The Elephants

Quote from: “David Braun`s article on National Geographic Magazine”

   In this article the author talks about Daphne Sheldrick talks about her experience living and working with elephants. She says that scientific studies have led to the acceptance of abilities that we didn`t think the elephants have. Elephants share the same emotions as we do. They have a strong sense of family and a strong sense of death. The most surprising is that elephants mourn the loss of loved once. Each elephant has individual personality lust like the people. They can be mischievous, playful, hold a grudge or feel slighted.

   The author also talks about their ability to communicate over distance using low range sound hidden to human ears. According the article they also have telepathic capabilities, as well as being sensitive to seismic sound through their feet. Yet for all the worldly reverence for elephants, they are today being hunted and killed at catastrophic rate for something as simple as a tooth.

Reading the story made me realize that elephants are very intelligent and sensible animals and it reminds me of a story I read recently about a baby elephant born in Chinese zoo which was abandoned by his mother right after its birth and the baby elephant spent 6 hours crying for his mom. The most impressive thing was that there was a photo posted with the article and the elephant`s face was wet of crying under the eyes!

My question to the author is: Do elephants have a feeling for people? Like who has a good personality and who has bad personality.


CAPABILITIES - power of ability, being able to do something.
SEISMIC - relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust.
REVERENCE - deep respect for someone or something.

The Expedition Of A Lifetime

Quote of Andrew Evans of National Geographic

In this article the author tells us about his great job as a photographer working with National Geographic. He describes his assignments as spectacular and too special. Andrew Evans tells us about the last few years spent in travelling, chasing penguins, sightseeing in London, the cultural capital of the world, being kissed by pandas in China, etc.

The most important for the author is the opportunity to travel and see some of the most desired places in the world, and the excitement of living on foot and today being in London and tomorrow waking up in Antarctica.

I would like to ask the author did he feel any fear during his trips and being close to exotic animals?

I have personally experienced the magic of travelling being employed by a magazine and travelling for work to Paris, Istanbul, Greece.

LIFETIME - the duration of a person's life.
MERELY - only.
EMBARK - go on board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.

After The Hurricane Sandy

Quote of Marianne Lavelle for National Geographic

   In her article the author describes the consequences of the Hurricane Sandy and the difficulties which the local residents met. One of the stories Marianne tells is for  Ligia Siguencia who used a generator providing power only to cook some dinner using candlelight to serve the food and to feed friends of her who gathered in her home several days after losing thir homes in the hurricane.

   My question for the author is: What she felt when seeing the homes of so many people destroyed by the hurricane?

I have never experienced something like this but floods and earthquakes happen  in my country and many Bulgarian people aslo had lost their homes.

I remember the series of earthquakes near the city of Sofia that started in May 2012 and continued for more than 2 months causing damages to some people`s homes and at the same time earthquakes happened in Greece and Italy where the damages were more serious.


GENERATOR - a thing that generates something, in particular.
CANDLELIGHT - dim light provided by a candle or candles.
GATHER - come together.

Chicago Museums

Quote from: Jason Foumberg and Elly Fishman

In this article the authors give us the best idea about the best exhibitions we can see in the museums of Chicago. One of the exhibitions is in the Art Institute of Chicago where the artist Zarina Hashmi sculpts pulp into three-dimensional forms and uses it as a support for her abstract prints and drawings, which contain imagery reminiscent of hand-built structures and hardscrabble existence, all spun into modestly beautiful shapes. Other interesting event is the exhibition in DePaul Art Museum where the photographer Paul D`Amato doesn’t sugarcoat his subject matter: the lives of the socially dispossessed trapped in a wasteland—specifically, African Americans on Chicago’s West Side, whom D’Amato has been photographing for a decade.

I would like to ask the authors do they practice any art-related activities or they are just interested in exploring and analyzing art exhibitions?

I would like to add to this review that everyone who lives in the City of Chicago and has a card for the public library can take free passess for all museums in Chicago.

SCULPT - create or represent (something) by carving, casting, or other shaping techniques.
ABSTRACT - existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence.
SUGARCOAT - to make something seem better than it is.  

Iconic Places For Food

• Quote By Marina Koren, Smithsonian.com,

   Some of the most iconic places for food are presented to us by Marina Koren. What you may like to try is The Union Oyster House in Boston where customers can get a taste of history and New England oysters by sliding into the upstairs booth John F. Kennedy once preferred to eat his lobster soup in while reading the newspaper as a congressman. A century before that, the “Great Orator” Daniel Webster regularly enjoyed several plates of raw oysters, washing them down with brandy, at the U-shaped raw bar downstairs
   Other interesting place to eat is Joe`s Stone Crab. The eatery has been serving its signature dish of stone crab legs, a Floridian delicacy, since its real estate boasted only a few picnic tables in 1913 (today, the high-ceilinged restaurant seats 475). The legs are served chilled with mustard sauce and come in four sizes, from medium to jumbo. But the restaurant’s best-kept secret isn’t surf or turf—it’s a surprisingly cheap fried chicken (half a chicken costs $5.95), which loyal customers know to follow with Joe’s original homemade key lime pie.
   My question to the author is: What would you prefer - asteakhouse or a seafoor restaurant?

   In my opinion, even the pickiest person would love to eat at some of those places and I even would try all of them no matter that I prefer mostly vegetarian dishes.

ICONIC - significant.
RAW - uncooked.
LOBSTER - a large marine crustacean with a cylindrical body, stalked eyes, and the first of its five pairs of limbs modified as pincers.

The story continues...

   Ok, sorry for the long absence from blogger but I had some issues with an old injury that I got during my last mission in Afghanistan. So, as I already  mentioned I was shot in a battle with the talibans near Kandahar. It was a cold morning when we got the emergency call from the base. They notified us for a suicide bomb explosion and shooting outside a school in Kandahar. An SUV with talibans attacked the school targeting the young female students in trying to kill as much as possible in order to make the Afghans stop their women of getting education and more rights in their country. So right after the attack our military combats responded the shooting and the talibans run away toward our watch base in a suburban area near Kandahar. We were ready to face them and as soon as they approached us, an intensive battle started. No matter the primitive conditions for living in this country the talibans were well prepared and equipped. Our squad knew this and we fought with the whole power we had. I`ll skip the detailes about the battle but my parther and I got shot. I was seriously bleeding and taken to the military hospital in the base. The doctors said that the bullet went through my leg and came out but still a surgery was needed to fix the torn arthery and to desinfect the wound in order to prevent a gangrene. I spent few weeks in the hospital recovering from my wounds but thank God I got recovered fast and was able to go back to my military duties.
   My leg is fine now and allows me to stay on duty but with the weather getting cold it reminds me of the injury and I need to have a rehab sessions to fight with the pain caused by the cold weather. My doctor perscribed me some pain relivers and warm tissues for the legs... he he, honestly I think that the pills I took messed up my memory for a while and I forgot my username and password for blogger (that`s the reason for my absense from blogger) but a week later when I stopped taking the perscription I got my memory back and now I am able to log into my blogger account. So, yeah.. if you have any questions or want to know deatails about the battle and how I was shot you can text me and I will be more than happy to tell you the whole story... unless I don`t lose my memory one more time :P

My Intro

Hey! I`m 36 years old male and just came back from my last mission in Afghanistan.
When I was a kid I was spending a lot of time in the attic looking at my grandpa`s photos from the military, trying his old military uniform, and dreaming of becoming a real soldier like him some day. With few words, he was my hero! So, as soon as I graduated the high school I enrolled in the military academy and started working on my dream coming true. Soon after I graduated I was deployed to Afghanistan for a year. As I already mentiond I just came back from my last mission. This was my third mission there and I would say the thoughest. I got shot in a battle and I hardly survived after a bomb explosion while searching for bombs with my K-9 military dog but that`s a long story. All in all, I can say about myself that I am proud to serve to my country and being in the military is a very important part of my life. I can talk a lot about my military adventures and have plenty of stories to say - funny, scary or sad but you will have to e-mail me if you want to get more info :) Looking forward to hear from you!