Today's extraordinary events

There are major news today that cover the whole range of bad and good on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.

The unrelenting tornadoes in the south of the United states have created havoc for several days and the devastation is incredible. The death count is raising daily into the hundreds, and entire areas have been pulverized. One of the states mostly affected is Alabama with more than 200 lives lost.

The last launch of NASA shuttle Endeavours, scheduled for today in the presence also of Pres. Obama, was postponed a few days due to a mechanical glitch. The delay must have been quite a disappointment for Gabrielle Gifford, the Arizona Congresswoman who, although still recuperating from a gunshot wound to her head last January, was flown to the Space center in Florida to watch the launch, as the wife of one of the astronauts on board.

Across the Atlantic instead the Royal wedding of Queen Elizabeth's grandchild William to Kate Middleton took place among great fanfare, which was watched, according to estimates, by over 2 billion people around the world.

Joyous Holidays

From New York, now in full blooming cycle.

PASSOVER GREETINGS and HAPPY EASTER to one and all!

National Volunteer Week

By Monday, April 18th, in the U.S. we are celebrating National Volunteer Week, therefore, special thanks should be broadcast to volunteers all around the world!

A volunteer myself for a cause very dear to my heart, I wish to publicly acknowledge the help of others that have supported, and continue to support the projects I have embarked upon, which, hopefully, will benefit young people in the country of my origin: Albania. They work with me in virtual mode ,and are spread in more than one state, and nation.

Since I cannot physically celebrate with them progress and accomplishments, and verbalize in person my appreciation for their valuable contributions, I use this communication media to express : A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL (and you know who you are!) for sharing with me the work toward these goals.

As per VolunteerMatch blog: it's all about relationships.....

Much can be accomplished when working as a team; thus, onward we go and together we look to the future!!

Springtime in NY

Finally here! Even the last sprinkle of snow earlier this month is forgotten......

Lots of activities are ongoing here, but it's time to finalize travel plans for the next trip to Albania, where meetings, and projects are expecting me there!

Advertising

Somehow, someone in Albania got hold of one of my email ids and must have spread it around because for the past few months I have been receiving unsolicited advertisements of all  sorts. This fact has prompted me to make a couple of observations.

The first is that Albanians are very much up-to-date in using online facilities, which is really no news to me, but  now I notice that even Albania's Council of Ministers is on board blogging in view of the upcoming elections that will take place in the country on May 8th.  

As it happens in Albania, and, I might add from my experience, also in Italy, official rules are not usually strictly followed, if you get my drift. Thus, unsolicited messages do not show at the bottom the sophisticated netiquette standard of giving the receiver choices, such as 'opting out' or 'managing preferences'. In their simplicity, however, as marketing virtual pages that are similar to their equals in printed form in magazines or flyers, they attract attention for their creativeness. 

The variety of ads is also quite interesting to me. I have received ads from companies dealing with tv/media, communications, constructions, travel, auto/vehicles, furniture, clothing, electronics, education, medical/hospitals, web and financial services, as well as restaurants and supermarkets, and so on.  One authorized reseller of Apple, without infringing any copyrights, even named their company "Molla", which is the Albanian word for an apple.

The latest marketing message, received today, really got my attention due to its address, which is located around the corner from my apartment when I am in Tirana. It's a place that prepares and delivers complete 'healthy' meals at home. It offers a variety of plans including one for meals delivered six days a week for a total amount of about $250.00 per month!  It's something to think about!!

New family member

This is the latest arrival in my cousins' family in Montenegro......

A big welcome to ELIZA depicted here in the arms of mom Nora and daddy Vilson on the day of her christening, and best wishes to the whole family!