Champagne and Campania

Champagne and Campania

I wanted to know why the 'sparkling white wine' is called Champagne; and did some research and found the following interesting information. 

   Champagne, France

The name 'Champagne' comes from the Latin word 'Campania'.  It is referred to the similarities between the rolling hills of the province of Champagne, located in northeast France and the Italian countryside of Campania located south of Rome.

   Champagne, France

Both Champagne and Campania are historic provinces and locations in both France and Italy, respectively.  

   Campania, Italy

However, now Champagne is best known for the 'sparkling white wine' that bears its name; instead of history packed locations.  

   Campania, Italy

I have included a few pictures of both Champagne and Campania; beautiful places to visit/live.  

   Campania, Italy

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Rest in Peace Tito

Rest in Peace Tito

Today, is a sad day, we have lost a gentleman to 'cancer'.   

Rest in Peace, Tito Vilanova.  

(Allah'tan rahmet diliyorum).

          Tito Vilanova 

Sincerely, 

Ben

😥

Smooth Playmaker of Mesut Ozil

Smooth Playmaker of Mesut Ozil

Arsenal Soccer Club's best player and recent addition from Real Madrid FC, the one and only Mesut Ozil is reportedly set to be the target of a bid from Barcelona FC over the summer season. 

     Arsenal's Mesut O

The former Real Madrid playmaker, who arrived at Arsenal for a club record transfer fee of 42.5 Million Pound, could be the subject of a 30 Million Pound bid, plus a couple of players from the Catalan powerhouse.  

My opinion of the move would make sense for Barcelona FC, and here is my explanation. 

Barcelona's current midfield players are aging, plus they are a team built on passing the ball.  Anyone who watches soccer knows that one of best, if not the best passer and playmaker out there currently, is Mesut Ozil.  He would be a perfect fit for Barcelona's reliance of the ball eventually ending on Lionel Messi's foot, then the back of the net, but first the pass needs to get to Messi.  

Also, throughout the season, it became clearly obvious that aging playmakers mentioned in the above paragraph were relied upon to heavily this season, with no clear option to interchange them throughout the season at Barcelona FC. 

     Real Madrid's Mesut O

According to BTV’s ‘La Porteria’ program Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta is looking to ensure the long-term success of the club by making waves in the summer transfer market, with Mesut Ozil being their top priority. 

It is unlikely that Arsenal would sell Mesut Ozil after only one season with the club; however there are clear signs of Barcelona wanting to spend money to continue their success in European Football.  Barcelona FC have 'money' and 'ambition' and no trophies after the end of 2013-2014 Football season. 

Sincerely,

Ben

🤓

The Deadline

The Deadline 

The deadline for filing your income taxes for the 2013 taxation year, has been extended to May 5, 2014, this year, instead of the April 30, 2014 deadline.  

If you owe income tax, plus you file your income tax return after the stated deadline, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will charge you a penalty and compound interest, per day, on the unpaid amount owing.  

To file a 'paper format' of your taxes, you need an income tax package.  

The package includes a return, plus all the forms and schedules necessary to file your income tax return. 

You can pickup the package to file your return at all 'Canada Post' and 'Service Canada' outlets. 

If you want to file your taxes online, the tax package comes can be purchased from most retailers.  Be sure you get the version of software that meets your tax situation.  

Finally, make sure you have given CRA your current address.  This ensures that you will receive refunds and benefit payments, as well as important notices, without interruption. 

I will leave it at that, if you require assistance, please contact CRA.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Marvellous Scenic and Busy Banff

Marvellous Scenic and Busy Banff

I had the opportunity to visit the city of Banff, in the province of Alberta, this past Eastern Weekend. 

As always, Banff is majestically beautiful in every corner, not a bad spot in deed, in this touristic 'hot spot '. 

Here are about a dozen pictures driving to Banff, and finally walking on the main road.  

   50 km's away, 

   25 km's away, 

   5 km's away,

   1 km away, 

   Banff, 

   Main road 1, 

   Main road 2, 

   Main road 3, 

   Main road 4, 

   Main road 5, 

   Main road 6, 

   Main road 7, 

   Main road 8, 

   Main road 9, 

Have you made it to this marvellous place yet?

Thank you for visiting. 

Ben

🤓

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire 

Today, I would like to bring attention to the income earned within the Ottoman Empire.  

First of all, let us write about the Sultan's Earning.  

     Blue Mosque

The income of the Sultan were of the following ways: 

It came from a percentage of the booty obtained in war, &

the collection of taxes from all corners within the Empire.  

Other high level officials within the Empire were not salaried individualizes.  These officials would be assigned the revenue of various estates and/or villages.  The estates and/or villages would be returned to the Treasury when the officials left their positions or died.  

The Janissary Corps were the soldiers of the Empire, and they were treated much the same way.  The amount of money each soldier was to receive would be weighed and sealed in a bag by the Grand Vizier before they were handed out.  

     Beylerbeyi neighbourhood in Istanbul 

This 'Income Allocation' within the Ottoman Empire worked well until the 19th century.  This changed for the worse after this century as after loosing large territories and obviously income loss due to less Taxation the Empire crumbled. 

The Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1923, the cause was income loss and 'old ways' of running a 'sick Empire'.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Will There Be An Accident?

Will There Be An Accident?

Here are three pictures that really makes you wonder what these individuals were thinking, and if an eventual accident waiting to happen. 

Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

My answer, is yes, there will be an accident.

Sincerely, 

Ben 

Our Only The Brave Emblem

Our 'Only The Brave' Emblem

Final version of our emblem. 

The mission of  'Only the Brave' are:

- Help disadvantaged youth with social inequality',

- Provide support and help to youth in and around the city of Edmonton, Alberta,

- Relief of poverty, in underprivileged families with children/youth, &

- Contribute to the sustainable development of less advantage areas and people around Mesopotamia (Eastern Turkey, Northern Syria/Irak) (Tigris & Euphrates River System Area).

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben 

Galatasaray Basketball Team

Galatasaray Basketball Team

'Galatasaray Odeabank' became the first Turkish female basketball team to win a European title, after a big victory over arch rival of Fenerbahce on April 13, 2014. 

       the champions 

Amazing achievement for Turkish Women's Basketball as two teams from the city of Istanbul, played in the European Final.  

Galatasaray played to a 69 - 58 victory over Fenerbahce in a game played in the city of Ekaterinburg, Russia, to claim the Euro-league Women's title in a historic match for Turkish basketball. 

Alba Torrens of Galatasaray scored nine points along with her four rebounds and six assists in the final, and therefore was named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Eight, in the Euro-league. 

“This is a team victory,” Coach Memnun said.  

Galatasaray shocked overwhelming title favorite UMMC Ekaterinburg in the semifinal on April 11, 2014, while Fenerbahce beat Tango Bourges for a place in the final game. 

Incredible achievement in Turkish basketball. 

Congratulations to both clubs. 

The Brilliant Sergio Leone

The Brilliant Sergio Leone

The 'Briliant' man, who created his own movie-making brand of epic films, with rich characters, plus who went on to create a hand full of films in the 1960's, so very exceptional, that the films earned their own generic moniker;

'Spaghetti Westerns'

         Brilliant man directing the legend

The films listed below were initially deemed as nihilistic and violent; 

A Fistful of Dollars 

For a Few Dollars More

and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 

However, they galvanized the genre of 'Spaghetti Westerns', turning Mr Leone into an international directorial star, and earning the films religious following by viewers from every corner of our universe. 

Films by Mr Leone

        Beautiful picture 

1959, The Last Days of Pompeii (Mario Bonnard is the credited director; Sergio Leone served as assistant director and reportedly, however took over completion of the film when Mr Bonnard became severely ill during production)

1961, The Colossus of Rhodes (Mr Leone's first film)

1964, A Fistful of Dollars (1st part of the Dollars Trilogy)

1965, For a Few Dollars More (2nd part of the Dollars Trilogy)

1966, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Final part of the Dollars Trilogy)

      Another graet picture

1968, Once Upon a Time in the West

1971, Duck, You Sucker!

1973, My Name is Nobody (Producer, uncredited co-director)

1975, A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (Uncredited producer, co-director)

1984, Once Upon a Time in America

My sincere respect goes out to this man. 

Thank you for visiting,

Ben 

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in a Catafalque

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in a Catafalque 

The founder of the 'Republic of Turkey' passed away on November 10, 1938, in Istanbul.  

Ataturk's body was put in a zinc-lined mahogany casket of walnut wood; and placed on a catafalque.  

       Galata area of Istanbul 

The catafalque was used to move the body from 'Dolmabahce Palace' to 'SarayBurnu' neighbourhood and placed on the ship 'Ertugrul' to leave Istanbul.  

          Karakoy area of Istanbul 

Here are two historical and heartbreaking pictures of thousands of mourning Istanbul'ians paying their respects of the passing catafalque. 

Amazing pictures don't you think?

Thank you for visiting our site,

Ben

Last four of the UEFA Champions League

Last four of the UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League for the 2013 - 2014 season has proceeded to the Quarter-Finals (Last 4).  The following are the remaining teams left:

     Chelsea

     Bayern Munich

(No picture)

Real Madrid

(No picture)

Athletico Madrid

There were a couple of upsets in my opinion. 

Athletico Madrid eliminating Barcelona was a shocker. 

And

Chelsea FC coming back from a 3-1 first game loss, to win the second game 2-0. 

I'm very interested to see which teams will be matched against one another.  

What is your prediction for the 'last two'?

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

🤓

The Deer Hunter

The Deer Hunter 

What a movie? 

Have you watched it?

I'll describe the plot of this culturally rich movie.  

         the buddies

The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American film about the social troubles associated with soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.  

This is a drama film directed by Michael Cimino.  

      Robert de Niro and his friends

The film is about a trio of Russian American steelworkers and their troubles in the Vietnam War. 

The film stars: 

Robert De Niro, 

Christopher Walken, 

John Savage, 

John Cazale, 

Meryl Streep, and 

George Dzundza. 

The director Mr Cimino's bold and powerful 'epic movie' goes from a blue-collar small town outside of Pittsburg to the 'hell' resembling Vietnam, in just one night.  

          the look

Ribert De Niro holds it together powerfully.  

Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep and John Savage are absolutely unforgettable.

I watched this movie again and was surprised how much I enjoyed this entertaining and sophisticated movie.  

I completed some research and come by the below information. 

' In 1996, 'The Deer Hunter' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" '

A classical film that should be watched again to witness the change in 'men' after returning home from 'War'

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

🤓

Keep Calm and Only The Brave On

Keep Calm and Only The Brave On

Ben

The Mission of Bandirma Ship

The Mission of Bandirma Ship

The 'Bandırma' was an Ottoman ship, which became famous for the historical role in taking Mustafa Kemal Ataturk from the city of Constantinople to the northern city of Samsun on May 16, 1919.  This journey marked the start of the Turkish National Movement against the Imperial powers.  

     Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

The 'Bardirma' became famous, when it sailed with the important guest of Mr Kemalr, to the city of Samsun.   Mr Kemal was the Inspector of the 'Ninth Army Troops' of the Ottoman Empire.  

Mr Kemal was sent to Anatolia by Vahdeddin Sultan's Decree to oversee the 'Turkish National Movement' to free the Ottoman lands from Imperial powers of England and France; to name a couple of ambitious and opportunistic powers.  

Mr Kemal was accompanied with 22 officers, 25 soldiers and 8 administrative staff.  The crew sailed on the old ship named 'Bandirma' with an un-functioning compass and set foot on land in Samsun, 3 days later, on May 19, 1919. 

     Bandirma Ship

Upon landing, Mr Kemal started the movement that resulted in the declaration of the 'Republic of Turkey' a short 4 years later.

Thank you for reading,

Ben

Only The Brave YEA

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

     Second Attempt at the Logo

     Help our children

Sincerely, 

Ben

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

I read the below article, and wanted to share with everyone.  

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/world/middleeast/syrian-refugees-one-million.html?_r=0&referrer=

It is devastating to read that the number of registered Syrian Refugees who have entered into Lebanon, has exceeded one million; this number is given by the United Nations. 

There is a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon as this small country is overwhelmed and severely taxed with this many people, now living there.  

Lebanon now has the highest concentration of refugees as a percentage of population in the world, with about one Syrian for every three Lebanese. 

These are staggering figures and the World needs to join together to conclude this conflict and end the suffering.  

As a World Citizen, I am appalled at the nonchalant attitude and non-action by our Leaders. 

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here 

Importance of Water

Importance of Water

I would like to bring attention to the following statistics regarding 'Clean Drinking Water'. 

          Banff Alberta 

- 70-75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water,

- 97.5% of the Earth's water is salt water,

- 2.8 billion people live in areas of high water scarcity,

- 2.2 million people die every year, from unsafe water and poor sanitation reasons,

- 2 elements make up water: hydrogen & oxygen,

- 96% of a cucumber is made up of water, 

- 65% of an adult human's body is made up of water,

- The same water that existed on the Earth millions of years ago, is still present today,

Water is the life of all living things, every living creature depends on water to survive.  

Last statistic:

- Of all the water on Earth, humans can only use about 1% of it.  Usable water is only found in groundwater aquifers, rivers and freshwater lakes. 

Please be cognizant of the importance of this liquid, and use it wisely.  

Sincerely, 

Ben here ehh,