Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

I wake up earlier than planned and see a world that is shining brightly. Everything around me is bathed in shades of purple, orange, red and pink. High above, the clouds stand out in a sky that seems to be on fire. Far below my balcony the wet streets reflect the fire-like colours above. I wonder - Is the world celebrating? Is the Source of All showing off just a bit? Is the sky dressed up in anticipation of a celebration? Is today special somehow, unique or amazing? I ponder the possibilities as slowly reality sets in. Before going to bed I heard the news from Paris. Forty people dead. Perhaps a hundred held hostage. Panic and mayhem and men with guns on the streets. I stand on my balcony listening to the silence. The pit-pat of rain coming down on the near-empty streets. Birds soaring past greeting the dawn of another day. It is peaceful and quiet where I stand. And yet. Only hours away chaos and terror reign. Only hours ago, over a hundred people died. The news tells me the deat...

Today, the news is full of violence, death and destruction. At a Shiite mosque in Kuwait, at a factory in France , a coastal resort in Tunisia. In Israel, in Kobani in Kurdistan. People are dead or dying, people are wounded, people are crying, people are hurting. And why? Because some believe that they are more right than others? Because some believe that their truths are more valid than others? Because some believe their interpretation of religion or God's laws are more correct than another's? Because some believe that it is up to them to terrorise, kill and destroy? At least 27 28 are dead and 36 wounded in Tunisia . In Kobani in Kurdistan , 150 or more dead and many wounded. In Kuwait , last death toll I read mentioned 5 24 dead and 15 wounded. In Israel too, people have been attacked, people die. Not by the dozens usually, so the news doesn't speak about it. Or perhaps the news simply doesn't care as much about innocent Israelis as about innocent British or F...

The Day The World Disappeared | Nimavenl After enjoying the latest episode of The Walking Dead tonight, the world beyond the living room windows suddenly seemed to disappear.  As the fog rolled in and the footpath and houses across the street turned invisible, I couldn't resist the spectacle outside and - of course - took a gazillion photos. It isn't every day that the world practically vanishes, after all!  The street and the footpath below, the windows of houses across the street, trees beyond those houses and buildings in the distance - all gone. All that could be seen was what the photo shows - vague shapes nearby with lights behind them; the shapes only clearly recognisable as trees due to the brightness of the lights. With so much of the 'known world' suddenly missing, we wondered - What would we do if a Walker [a zombie] suddenly appeared out of the mysterious haze? How would we respond to such a strange sight? Would we even react to flesh-e...

Two days ago, there was the horrible attack on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Yesterday there were reports of another attack in France and a policewoman killed. Today I'm watching live images of a small village north of Paris on television, I understand I'm watching a possible hostage situation. New reports are now coming in that there's been a shooting, at least one injured, possibly as much as five or six people held hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, likely linked to the other attacks. Two hostage situations going on relatively close to each other in France. The latest reports indicate two hostages at the kosher supermarket may have died already. How many more will be killed today? Will there be another terrorist attack tomorrow and if so, where will it be? How many more lives will be disrupted and torn apart by terror?  "The goal of the attack on the office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was not to frighten newspap...

I don't have the words to condemn attacks against people who express themselves peacefully. Whether one agrees or disagrees with another, to murder them for their opinion means murdering them for who they are. How many more need to die before we realise that violence and terror will not make the world a better place?  "Terrorism Turns My World Upside Down" "Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like,  when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost.”  ~ Neil Gaiman

Vanmorgen is er in Parijs door meerdere daders een aanslag gepleegd op de redactie van satirisch weekblad Charlie Hebdo . De daders zijn nog steeds spoorloos. Er zijn meerdere gewonden en minstens twaalf doden. De aanslag is volgens ooggetuigen opgeëist door Al Qaida Jemen; de daders riepen 'Allah Akbar' en gaven aan de aanslag te plegen om de profeet Mohammed te wreken. Het satirisch weekblad publiceert spotprenten, onder andere over de islam. Charlie Hebdo is al vaker door moslimextremisten bedreigd, bijvoorbeeld in 2006, 2011 en 2012. De Volkskrant meldt: "De gedode journalisten zijn tekenaars Cabu, Charb, Tignous en Wolinski en econoom Bernard Maris, zei [openbaar aanklager van Parijs] Molins. Van de drie andere vermoorde journalisten zijn de namen nog niet bekend. De twee agenten zijn Franck D. en Ahmed Merabet. De laatste werd buiten het gebouw gedood. De gedode receptionist is Michel Renaud, de identiteit van de genodigde is niet bekend."   ~ Twaalf doden...

As part of my recovery from surgery, I've been daydreaming a lot about happier times to come. It is now six weeks since surgery and while I am by no means all better again (far from it, sadly), I am definitely noticing a lot of improvements in how I'm doing emotionally, mentally and physically. Daydreaming is one thing that keeps me going even when I'm sore or feeling depressed or wondering if my leg will ever get better. One thing I am daydreaming about is our next holiday. While it looks like that holiday will be months away yet, I am enjoying dreaming about where I want to go and what we'll do there. We've both been to France several times and would like to go again. I've been to Euro Disney and to Normandy so would like to see a different part of France next. As I love the sea and am looking forward to enjoying swimming and sunshine, my vote goes to the south-east of France. The French Riviera aka the part of France that borders the Mediterranean Sea...