Life & People

Albania and Albanian

Albania and Albanian

Albania

Albania (i/ælˈbeɪniə/ al-bay-nee-ə, Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipni/Shqipnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë pronouncedAlbanian pronunciation: [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo (Disputed) to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009.[11]

The modern-day territory of Albania was at various points in history part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia (southern Illyricum), Macedonia (particularly Epirus Nova), and Moesia Superior. The modern Republic became independent after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe following the Balkan Wars.[12] Albanians had for almost five centuries been at the heart of a sprawling empire in which they enjoyed a privileged position as administrators and generals.[13] Albania declared independence in 1912 (to be recognised in 1913), becoming a Principality, Republic, and Kingdom until being invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, which in turn became a Nazi protectorate in 1943.[14] In 1944, a socialist People's Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. In 1991, the Socialist republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established.

Albania is a parliamentary democracy with a transition economy. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to 421,286 of the country's 2,831,741 people.[15] Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure.[16][17][18] Albania was chosen as the No.1 Destination in Lonely Planet's list of ten top countries to visit for 2011.[19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania

Albanian Proverbs

Advice

¶ Asnjëri nuk mund ti shërbejë dy zotërinj.
One cannot serve two conflicting causes simultaneously. If this is attempted neither will be served properly.

Work

¶ Kur s'ke punë luaj derën.
Translation: When you have nothing to do, rattle the door.

References

Albania

[1]^ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ligji_8926_22.07.2002.pdf
[2]^ a b c d CIA World Factbook: AlbaniaArchived 16 January 2010 at WebCite
[3]^ Europa Publications (24 June 2008). The Europa World Year Book 2008. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-85743-452-1. Retrieved 22 December 2012. "...and Greece formally annulled claims to North Epirus (southern Albania), where there is a sizeable Greek minority. ... strained by concerns relating to the treatment of ethnic Greeks residing in Albania (numbering an estimated 300,000) ..."
[4]^ Author No; Europa Publications Staff (6 September 2007). The Europa World Year Book: 2007. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85743-413-2. Retrieved 22 December 2012. "During the early 1990s, however, bilateral relations were severely strained by concerns relating to the treatment of ethnic Greeks residing in Albania (numbering an estimated 300,000) and to ..."
[5]^ RFE/RL Research Report: Weekly Analyses from the RFE/RL Research Institute. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated. 1993. Retrieved 22 December 2012. "Albanian officials alleged that the priest was promoting irredentist sentiments among Albania's Greek minority — estimated at between 60,000 and 300,000."
[6]^ United States, Committee on Armed Services, General Accounting Office, Congress, National Security and International Affairs Division, House. Balkans security : current and projected factors affecting regional stability : briefing report to the Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives. DIANE Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-4289-7030-4. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
[7]^ a b c "Population and Housing Census 2011". INSTAT (Albanian Institute of Statistics).
[8]^ a b c d "Albania". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
[9]^ "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
[10]^ "Human Development Report 2010". United Nations. 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
[11]^ "Albania applies for EU membership". BBC News. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
[12]^ "Introduction ::Albania".
[13]^ Clayer, Nathalie. " Albania ." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online , 2012. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/albania-COM_23054
[14]^ Zolo, D. Invoking Humanity: War, Law and Global Order, Continuum International Publishing Group, Aug 27, 2002, 224 pages. p. 180 [1]
[15]^ "Population and Housing Census in Albania". Institute of Statistics of Albania. 2011.
[16]^ Reports: Poverty Decreases In Albania After Years Of Growth.Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-5500 201-938-5500 201-938-5500.Nasdaq.com
[17]^ Albania plans to build three hydropower plants.People's Daily
[18]^ Strong GDP growth reduces poverty in Albania-study. Reuters.Forbes.com
[19]^ "Lonely Planet’s top 10 countries for 2011 – travel tips and articles – Lonely Planet". Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania

Alan Watts (1915-1973)

Alan Watts (1915-1973)

Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master's degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest but left the ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Asian Studies.

Living on the West Coast, Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not just a religion. Like Aldous Huxley before him, he explored human consciousness in the essay, "The New Alchemy" (1958), and in the book, The Joyous Cosmology (1962).

Towards the end of his life, he divided his time between a houseboat in Sausalito and a cabin on Mount Tamalpais. His legacy has been kept alive by his son, Mark Watts, and by many of his recorded talks and lectures that have found new life on the Internet. Critic Erik Davis notes the freshness, longevity, and continuing relevance of Watts's work today, observing that his "writings and recorded talks still shimmer with a profound and galvanizing lucidity."

Quotes·Quotations by Alan Watts

Advice

@ Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your teeth.

Myth

¶ A myth is an image in terms of which we try to make sense of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts

Alan Hollinghurst (1954- )

Alan Hollinghurst (1954- )

Alan J. Hollinghurst FRSL (born 26 May 1954) is a British novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize.

Quotes·Quotations by Alan Hollinghurst

Beauty

¶ The worse they are the more they see beauty in each other.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hollinghurst

Alan Ashley-Pitt

Alan Ashley-Pitt

Quotes·Quotations by Alan Ashley-Pitt

Advice

¶ You have two choices in life: You can dissolve into the mainstream or you can be distinct... To be distinct, you must be different, you must strive to be what no one else but you can be.

Al Jolson (1886-1950)

Al Jolson (1886-1950)

Al Jolson (May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was an American singer, comedian, and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer".

His performing style was brash and extroverted, and he popularized a large number of songs that benefited from his "shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach". Numerous well-known singers were influenced by his music, including Bing Crosby Judy Garland, rock and country entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan, who once referred to him as "somebody whose life I can feel". Broadway critic Gilbert Seldes compared him to "the Greek God Pan", claiming that Jolson represented "the concentration of our national health and gaiety."

In the 1930s, he was America's most famous and highest paid entertainer. Between 1911 and 1928, Jolson had nine sell-out Winter Garden shows in a row, more than 80 hit records, and 16 national and international tours. Although he's best remembered today as the star in the first (full length) talking movie, The Jazz Singer in 1927, he later starred in a series of successful musical films throughout the 1930s. After a period of inactivity, his stardom returned with the 1946 Oscar-winning biographical film, The Jolson Story. Larry Parks played Jolson with the songs dubbed in with Jolson’s real voice. A sequel, Jolson Sings Again, was released in 1949, and was nominated for three Oscars. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jolson became the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II, and again in 1950 became the first star to perform for G.I.s in Korea, doing 42 shows in 16 days. He died just weeks after returning to the U.S., partly due to the physical exertion of performing. Defense Secretary George Marshall afterward awarded the Medal of Merit to Jolson's family.

According to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, "Jolson was to jazz, blues, and ragtime what Elvis Presley was to rock 'n' roll". Being the first popular singer to make a spectacular "event" out of singing a song, he became a “rock star” before the dawn of rock music. His specialty was building stage runways extending out into the audience. He would run up and down the runway and across the stage, "teasing, cajoling, and thrilling the audience", often stopping to sing to individual members, all the while the "perspiration would be pouring from his face, and the entire audience would get caught up in the ecstasy of his performance". According to music historian Larry Stempel, "No one had heard anything quite like it before on Broadway." Author Stephen Banfield agrees, writing that Jolson's style was "arguably the single most important factor in defining the modern musical…"

He enjoyed performing in blackface makeup—a theatrical convention since the mid-19th century. With his unique and dynamic style of singing black music, like jazz and blues, he was later credited with single-handedly introducing African-American music to white audiences. As early as 1911 he became known for fighting against anti-black discrimination on Broadway. Jolson's well-known theatrics and his promotion of equality on Broadway helped pave the way for many black performers, playwrights, and songwriters, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and Ethel Waters.

Quotes·Quotations by Al Jolson

Al Jolson as Jakie Rabinowitz from The Jazz Singer (1927)

¶ Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet! Wait a minute, I tell ya! You ain't heard nothin'! You wanna hear "Toot, Toot, Tootsie"? All right, hold on, hold on...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson

Al Gore (1948- )

Al Gore (1948- )

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) served as the 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001), under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

Gore is currently an author and environmental activist. He has founded a number of non-profit organizations, including the Alliance for Climate Protection, and has received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change activism.

Al Gore was previously an elected official for 24 years, representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977–85), and later in the U.S. Senate (1985–93), and finally becoming Vice President in 1993. In the 2000 presidential election, Gore won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes. However, he ultimately lost the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush when the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy over the Florida vote recount by ruling 5-4 in favor of Bush. It was the only time in history that the Supreme Court has determined the outcome of a presidential election.

Al Gore is the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior adviser to Google. Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading its climate change solutions group. He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize (joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007), a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2009) for his book An Inconvenient Truth, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV (2007), and a Webby Award (2005). Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning (2007) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. In 2007 he was named a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year.

Quotes·Quotation

Appearance

¶ Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore

Al Bundy (Married with Children)

Al Bundy from Married with Children

Al Bundy is a fictional character from the U.S. television series Married... with Children, played by Ed O'Neill.

Quotes·Quotations by Al Bundy

Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy from Married with Children

¶ Once a boy becomes a man, he's a man all his life, but a woman is only sexy until she becomes your wife.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Bundy

Akiba Itsuki (I''s)

Itsuki Akiba (秋葉いつき, Akiba Itsuki)

Itsuki Akiba was born October 20, 1981. Loud, reckless, and shameless, and seems to be a complete opposite of Iori, including her affinity towards wearing boyish clothing and having a short haircut. Itsuki and Ichitaka had been friends since grade school, with Itsuki (although a year younger) often being an emotional coach to Ichitaka, particularly regarding girls. The two seemed to become closer than friends in their young life, a relationship that was suddenly interrupted when Itsuki moved away to America four years before the series begins. Just as abruptly, Itsuki returns to Ichitaka's life soon after the series starts, now a fully grown young lady, but still with real feelings for Ichitaka. Halfway through the series, she goes back to America to work with a world-renowned sculptor and is further unseen. After she's gone, she seems to occasionally appear in Ichitaka's mind to scold him during his bouts of self-pity, though these manifestations are really just Ichitaka's subconscious trying to tell him something important.

Quotes·Quotations by Akiba Itsuki from I''s

Love

¶ If you really like her, put your heart and soul into it and never give up! [Vol 001 Ch 001]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%22s

Ritsuko Akagi (Evangelion)

Ritsuko Akagi (Evangelion)

Quotes·Quotations by Ritsuko Akagi

Optimist

¶ [The Beast [1.2]]
Misato Katsuragi: If Eva and this city both operate at their full potential we might make it through this.
Ritsuko Akagi: You’re such an optimist.
Misato Katsuragi: Hey, Sometimes you need a little wishful thinking to keep on living.
Ritsuko Akagi: I see your point. It’s nice to hear a positive attitude. I’ll see you later
Misato Katsuragi: Okay., see ya.

Archibald Alexander (1772-1851)

Archibald Alexander

Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 27 years as that institution's first principal from 1812 to 1840.

Theology

@ All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass — "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."
As quoted in Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 580.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Archibald_Alexander

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