"Ahhoz, hogy egy kivételes ember adottságai teljes valójukban megmutatkozhassanak, az a szerencse kell, hogy munkálkodását évek hosszú során át figyelemmel kísérhessük. Ha tevékenysége minden önzéstől mentes, ha mozgatórugója a példa nélküli nagylelkűség, ha cselekedeteiért egészen bizonyosan nem vár semmilyen jutalmat,  csupán annyit, hogy látható jelet hagyjon a világban, akkor nem tévedhetünk: felejthetetlen emberre találtunk."


An exceptional man born 116 years ago, Jean Giono is one of those authors the literary world's prevailing elite prefers to forget about. At first I would have say I wonder why but it's rather obvious: his clear, sharp voice is pointing too much light on topics which are labeled awkward or inappropiate by the same elite. His tangible portrayals of nature, complex yet concise personifications of its elements make you feel being part of the plot, being one of the rocks a shepherd is taking a rest on or the breeze that wakes up people in the village... His 1951 novel The Horseman on the Roof (Le Hussard sur le toit) is good for premiere reading, Ennemond: A Novel (Ennemond et Autres Caractères, 1968) has been translated to several languages so it's widely available as well as The Song of the World (Le Chant du monde, 1934). His short story The Man Who Planted Trees (L'homme qui plantait des arbres, 1953) should be a required reading, in my opinion, for children aged 10 through 14 all around the world. English version here. Canadian director Frédéric Back produced an animated film out of it, you can watch it on Vimeo.

March 26th, Saturday at 8:30 PM please switch off your lights! It's just for one hour.

Március 26-án, szombaton este fél kilenckor kérlek, kapcsold le a villanyt! Csak egyetlen órára.

There are a plenty of things to do instead of lightaholic activities. You can make babies (or at least pretend to). You can sit down and chat with a good friend you haven't had the opportunity to meet lately. You can go out to somewhere near your city and listen to the nature. Looks like it's going to rain tomorrow? A chance to take a walk in the rain. Singing, optionally.

Rengeteg mindent lehet a fényfüggő tevékenységek helyett csinálni. Például gyereket (vagy úgy csinálni, mintha...). Vagy le lehet ülni egy rég látott baráttal beszélgetni. Ki lehet menni valahova a város közelébe és hallgatni a természetet. Esőt mondanak holnapra? Hát akkor lehet sétálni az esőben. Énekelve, ha épp arra van igény.

World Water Day today. All related events are listed on the WWD site. I'm quite disappointed there are only two minor events registered from Hungary. ¡Ostras! With all the water resources we are blessed with. Not to mention those silly tourism promotion campaigns emphasizing Hungary's spa culture.