Oh my Czechness!

Would your toothpaste smell as minty if it didn't have that slick little leaf logo on the box? In an image-driven society, it seems everything needs a boost in the form of an eye-catching slogan or snappy design.

Countries are no exception.

That's why the Czech Republic has come up with a brand-new logo with the aim of presenting itself as a modern and multifaceted member of the European Union.
From now on, a colorful field of speech bubbles that can be filled with Czech images will help shape the image that people abroad create of the Czech Republic. In one prototype, the images range from hockey star Jaromír Jágr to Pilsner Urquell to contact lenses (a Czech invention). (The Prague Post)

So the winner of the new country logo competition launched by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in 2005 is a field of cartoonish speech bubbles which has inspired a lively discussion cross the country, but no matter what it’s going to show up in various occasions as the new brand of the Czech Republic. Drum roll…


Find out the various ways, officially recommended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that this logo is going to be used here; and the other four designs in the final list here.

And since those bubbles "serve as a template with ever-changing content", 'tis time to try it out…


The Slogan? "Come drink us up." – Hell yah, you bet your ass we will!

Haha! I've broken into the system!! No more sole Jenny blogs>:) Well, I've already written about my adventures in Austria in my blog, so I won't repeat that, but I will repeat the poem I wrote on Aruna's blog:

2. On the Brain

Flipped a disk when I saw the size of that hard-drive.
Wasn’t long before I was logging on, pinging repeatedly,
Making the software spin, you know what I mean?
Opened windows
And gave it a little more RAM--
For memory’s sake
Apologized for crashing the operating system
Prematurely
All the inside acceleron, you know what I mean?
But then I got given the blue screen.

On that note: welcome to Anděl's newest family member-- Gianni!! (Giovanni, from Naples, Italy).
P.S. If you want to know what "Michela illesa" means, you have to read the first entry of my blog-- or ask Gianni.

Street sign of the day

Slogan of the day: Love and beer both make us happy, but beer is cheaper.

Prahahahaha~

The number of Andel "permanent" residents in town reached the lowest record – 3, during the past weekend, but the three of us still managed to maintain our Andel spirit on a very high level, thanks to the help from people who came all the way from Brno, Amsterdam, Austria, and Denmark to Praha just to party.

Shisha at Siva: Siva has a shisha supply shop inside the restaurant/bar, regular belly dance performances at night, a “secret” shisha room down in the cellar, good salop and yerbe mate, and on top of everything it only cost us 25 kc each for the shisha which was enough to get everyone lung cancer and a man (or manlier for guys) voice the next morning. Can it be even more DOBŘE?! DOBŘE?! DOBŘE?!





John Lennon Wall: The Lennon Wall, down to the south of Charles Bridge, opposite the French embassy, was initially only an ordinary wall in Prague, but since the 1980s it’s been a platform filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and young people’s voices which they want to have heard by the public. Find out more about the Wall here.





[All the lonely people… Where do they all come from?]
(The expression on the passers-bys' faces when we were taking this photo was priceless!)


[Love and Peace!]

We also contributed to the wall with a message to the world from Andel.

[Come play with us, forever, and ever, and ever… Prosim! -Andel 11.2.06]

Norwegian housewarming: A blast. Gokki had everyone see their kick-ass sexy shower and successfully managed to make every trainee hate them. But anyway it’s always good to know that within a two block range Andel doesn’t only have the Staropramen Brewery, but now also a fun trainee apartment to drop by. Thanks for the party guys and welcome to the neighborhood!


Prosim, this is the funniest weekend ever!

Halting the Royal Way

“Reconstruction may shut down Charles Bridge this summer

“Even a hard-boiled bridge needs periodic structural repairs, and one planned soon will likely challenge Prague at the height of the summer tourist crush — though City Hall seems eager to downplay to what extent.

“The city is at odds with itself over a massive restoration of the span that could begin as early as next month. Jiří Toman, director of Prague City Hall's investment department, says if he has his way, the bridge would to be closed to foot traffic during at least some of the repairs, which are expected to stretch over 16 months during the next two years. … He says that parts of the bridge will have limited access during construction.” (more)

I’m curious to see how they would limit the access to “part of” the bridge.

In other news, personally I may start boycotting Charles Bridge, due to the legend mentioned in the same article as above:

“Legend has it that when Emperor Charles IV decided to build Charles Bridge in 1357, he asked Czech villages to send eggs to Prague to mix into the mortar and make the foundations stronger. One overzealous village misunderstood and sent hard-boiled eggs. That's why, as the story goes, the bridge is so sturdy and has lasted so long.”

A bridge of eggs… Creepy.

It’s getting warmer so the queue in the Foreign Police Office in the early morning gets longer, and therefore an extended note (to our previous post about the endless waiting in the FPO) for all new comers to the Czech Republic: Bring a book that you most want to read and then you’ll have enough time to finish it, even all volumes of Harry Potter.

Aruna, I’m beating your record in the Olympics of Waiting – From 7 am to infinity. But I’m not proud of it. I’m done with this game.

Red meat cancer risk clue found

Eating lots of red meat is linked with DNA damage which raises the risk of bowel cancer, researchers suggest. (more)

Now, I decided not to tolerate any more. Tonight when I come home I’d better not smell any red meat from any of the kitchens. You hear me, kids?

News from the north

Hello everybody!

Hope you are doing well.

This is my new mobile number (at least for next few months):
+44 778 496 44 00

Love u,

Hanna