Elusive, lost Love

Play this music whilst reading it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HCvyJvqpqY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fpages%2FAttard%2DMalta%2FDmaxtv%2F14281068665%3Fref%3Ds&feature=player_embedded



I am happy
Thrilled
So full of life
Yet inept
And so bizarre in my fetish muse
That dictates my testosterone driven vibe
In this chess game
In the dark…


She left
Killed the warmth
That engulfed my abyss
Setting alight Wrath so hellish
…at the Maker’s standalone whims

My Useless howling
In the wind…

Tear drenched eyes

Alone, yet in a crowd of pseudo-passion
Like flashes
In the dark

Not even a twinkling candle

Just a puff of light
Micro seconds
Quick-and-go..

Chilled heart
In gay hilarity
White wine thrash
Dripping

Lousy mornings…
How many more
Yet to come?

Pathetic pretentious
Scribbles of mine…



Ray de Bono
Monday, July 20, 2009

Why the trees disappeared from Sacred Island of Malta...

Yes, folks. Malta was full of trees. It is reported in history books by many travelers that heralded to our shores, some willingly, like Al Himyari (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbi_al-Himyari), others accidentally, like St. Paul, the bearded chap in robes, you remember him? They all reported on how green the island was, covered with woods, and inhabited by a relentless humanoid species, which our patron saint aptly referred to as Barbarians (grazzi ta Sur San Pawl, ey!).

In the year 6,250BC, in Bir Lonzu, limits of where today we have Bubaqra, at the time when there was a temple construction boom (yes, it started much earlier...), Dudu and Duda, with their little boy Dudinu, started cutting trees, more and more...

Until there were NONE left... or almost...

Dudinu grew and formed the Malta Logging Company, that boomed for some time but went in liquidation, centuries later as the last Balluta tree fell over Sciberras Hill, in circa 1530AD. And do you want to know the latest? Why was there another power cut today?



And why did we have a POWER CUT today?

I am sure it was the blizzard! Or was it an alien mother ship that beamed x-rays at the solar powered Marsa station? Or was it the newly set up wind turbines in Delimara, they got clogged with bird droppings? Or...was it the solar panels on top of all public buildings, they got darkened with soil-filled rain....Hmmm let me see...It must be an energy saving initiative...Yeah. It makes sense. In Berlin this week 1 minute black-out made the headlines...

Malta, dear Malta. You deserve MUCH better...

Ray de Bono

Drivers’ Tales. We reached a stage where it stopped being funny…

Driving my way from Mellieha is no mere undertaking. Keeping aside the driving habits of most of us Maltesers, the roads we drive our battered vehicles upon are not exactly the epitome of perfection.



I wonder if there is an authority in charge which actually checks, I mean, literally investigates the quality of the asphalt or tarmac, the realistic location of signage, the consistence of road surfaces, the legibility and visibility of street markings, the street lighting, and so on.

Just off the former (now derelict) Belleview site, one reaches a huge roundabout, or what a tourist may describe as a ‘garden-like circular structure’.


Pay double attention as the traffic island leading down to this roundabout, from Mellieha centre, is high and bushy. Its shrubs obstruct your view of any oncoming traffic swerving around the circus - if not for a bus or truck - as the latter are high so slowing down at this stage helps. It is obvious one will need to give way but if driving to work late and in a hurry, you may easily snap the occasion and drive forth into a surprising crash…


Down towards Mistra, you driving by a hideous structure, an Enemalta room or store, situated on the left at the foot of what used to be the road leading to Selmun. This structure has now an ominous cement field all around it, as some genius decided to flatten the green patch of field that adorned its perimeter for future BBQ's, perhaps. Very ugly site indeed. A round of applause goes to MEPA for their stroke of genius, or blindness.

At the Mistra valley we drive over a bridge, albeit few may realize it actually is a bridge. This is an old structure, must be over 40 years old (is it?), or so I reckon. If you drive this road for over 10 years you grow familiar to the cracks alongside this little treacherous stretch. I hope and pray these are nor the tell tale signs of a bridge in distress, and that the regular cement and tarmac resurfacings are not a cosmetic touch-up to hide its advanced dilapidation…

So yes, it seems we are driving through a 'risky' road…and we haven’t yet crossed half the journey to Attard…Xemxija. What a sight! Sporadic structures that look more Middle Eastern than Sounthern European or Mediterranean adorn the hills, boringly designed apartment blocks, especially on the site formerly occupied by the graceful Mistra Village complex. I am not sure but they all seem vacant and so dull.

It shows trucks are very common on these roads. Cement and paint trails along the surface can be seen from as near as the notorious St. Paul’s’ Bay by-pass. What a pity. Recently launched, this road was potentially a cut above the rest on the island. It used to be smooth, pacenzja, as we say in Maltese…it is now peppered with dried cement that give you an annoying vibration on your steering wheel as you drive – making sure you wake up well in the morning…



This by-pass boasts other tricky features, as its partially collapsed part, just overlooking Xemxija bay. A long standing saga of the first part of the road that collapsed, and was never repaired has reached tragicomic state as driving up this stretch of road, just leaving Xemxija, become a duel as the two lane carriage way narrows down instantly in one narrow lane, partially barred by shabby metal barriers.



It takes remarkable driving skills if you happen to be at logger heads with another car on your left, one has to give way…

To be continued…unfortunately, this is just 10 minutes of driving, not the complete trip. Seriously, considering what we pay in road taxes we deserve better, don’t we?


Ray de Bono

The shooting goes on...and on...who's next?

BirdLife demands tough action after ranger's shooting (Times of Malta 14.04.09)

....................................

Dmax Comment after the shooting of the hapless ranger:

...or maybe a gust of wind that blew over the fields of L-Ahrax tal-Mellieha so fierecly earlier this week, extracted the lead pallets deep from within the fertile red soils of Torri-L-Ahmar hill and scattered them across Ray Vella's face in revenge for his Land Rover trespassing former free-for-all hunting grounds...Or perhaps he was shot by alien invaders looking for the spirits of fallen trees (thousand were hacked to pieces by wondering spirits very recently)..or perhaps this wass a cleverly planned plot by our world leading road planners eager to stretch tarmac over the area to help Gozitans in their desperate haste to reach their distant shores by cutting their trip by a good 5 minutes drive!! Or ....perhaps...Was it self-inflicted? Did he also set his farm recently on fire, too? Maybe he likes to play with sulfarini (matches)?...Naughty boy, Ray...slap on the wrist!! Pastaz...

Surely there is no one else to blame in this island of virgins....: )

....................................

BirdLife Malta and Din L-Art Helwa have called for tough action by the authorities following the shooting this morning of the ranger of the Foresta 2000 afforestation project.
The ranger, Ray Vella, suffered slight head injuries and was released from hospital after treatment. The incident happened just after 6 a.m. as Mr Vella came out of his Land Rover at the afforestation site near the Red Tower in Mellieha.

Foresta 2000 is jointly managed by DLH, BirdLife and the Parks Department.
DLH President Martin Galea and BirdLife President Joseph Mangion condemned the incident and pointed out that this was the latest in a string of incidents against BirdLife. It was also the third violent attack against Mr Vella.

In all such cases, they said, no one was ever taken to court and unless there was tough action to find who the aggressors were, the situation could get worse.

The latest attack, they said, was unlikely to have been a mistake, given that Mr Vella was coming out of his Land Rover with the lights still on.

"We need a strong message from the authorities that they are in control," Mr Mangion said. He added that security at Foresta 2000 would be reviewed.
Mr Vella was previously shot at two years ago, suffering facial injuries. His small farm was torched last year.

Lino Farrugia, secretary of the Hunters' Federation (FKNK) said when contacted that he did not know the circumstances of the case, but the FKNK condemned any incident of this nature.
The Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika issued statements to condemn the incident.
The PL said this was an evil attack which could have had grave consequences.It expressed solidarity with Mr Vella, his family and BirdLife, who, with much sacrifice, maintain the woodland at Mellieha.

AD Chairman Arnold Cassola said some people could not accept that there were people and organisations who worked to preserve and take care of the natural heritage and that there were areas, of which there should be more, where priority was given to nature protection.
"We hope that those who resort to firearms and extreme violence are brought to justice as quickly as possible."

PS: Taken from: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090414/local/foresta-2000-warden-shot-injured

Joke of the Year: Welcome to Malta of the Middle Ages...

Speaking of the Danish Cartoon Crisis, Malta's Law is no way short of OUTDATED!

Read on...Man gets suspended sentence for ridiculing religion
Source: http://www.maltamediaonline.com/?p=5719

A 26-year-old man from Zejtun, Melvin Barbara, has been given a suspended sentence by the Gozo Courts after pleading guilty to ridiculing and making fun of the Roman Catholic religion.Melvin Barbara was accused that on the night between 21st and 22nd February 2009, he offended Roman Catholics or the ministers of this religion during the Nadur carnival.
He was accused of wearing a sacred habit without permission, or against the prohibition of the respective authorities.

The Maltese: Reflecting the Continents' Rich Cultural & Linguistic Diversity

This article is written in reply to the Times of Malta article published 1st March 2009 - 'Malta... where Saudi makes its money - literally'.

See: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090302/local/malta-where-saudi-makes-its-money-literally


Malta is a Southern European Island, not just politically but also ethnically, and has been so for centuries. It has been occupied by the Arabs, which de-populated it and populated it for some time. This happened between the 8th and the 11th century. It is good to note that the population was small with around 10-20,000 inhabitants overall, consisting of people classified as Islamic, Christian and Jewish, in order of prevailing numbers. One must add, Arab rulers allowed other faiths to flourish given they paid the 'harag' tax, a subtle incentive for many to change faith. Al Qimyari , a respected Arab traveller of the time (read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbi_al-Himyari ), wrote that many Christians that inhabited Malta BEFORE the Arab conquest from the Byzantines, left at their own free will. This is recorded in history.

Your article here has an inherent fallacy, which I trust has good intentions. Nonetheless, saying Maltese people are Arabs, simply because the Maltese islands happened to have been conquered by the Arabs (like Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, etc.), or simply because they speak a language with strong Arabic influence, is historically incorrect. The article erroneously refers to the Maltese as Catholic Arabs. With the same argument one can say that during the Arab period many Maltese were former Christian converts into Islam, as is likely to have been the case. But the logic in both observations when used as an argument to proof our ethnicity is simplistic and verywrong. The fact that locals evidently accepted Islam as their faith of choice at the time does not in any way mean they became Arabs as ethnicity is not determined by faith.

One cannot deny the Maltese are a mixture of Mediterranean peoples and others, including the Arabs, but this itself does not define our ethnicity. A quick look to the telephone directory presents a rough but indicative clue to our ethnical mix, with a strong body of surnames emanating from Italian/Sicilian, French, Sicilian, Arabic/North African, and also English and French names.

Prominent researchers on this topic, like Professor Godfrey Hull, in his seminal study 'The Maltese Language Problem' addresses these issues thoroughly. Ethnicity and language can be related, but this is not the case in Malta.

When the Normans arrived, some say, ‘liberated’ Malta from the Arabs in circa 1030, they did not send all the local people of Islamic faith (note the difference, not Arabs, but people of Islamic faith) out. They simply sent out the rulers and their associates. Islam still reigned for some time, and was tolerated until Malta gradually took into hordes of people from the Norman territories that entailed most of Italy and these were Christians. So much so that the population more than tripled over the subsequent few centuries, and this was far from a natural growth trend. One can only assume that many people from the small population which still professed Islamic faith either converted to Christianity thus were absorbed in the new prevailing population or are likely to have left for North Africa close-by.

One can argue that topography has survived centuries and we still have many villages and towns with words of Arabic origin as is the case in Sicily and Spain. But the same as language, topography is just a reflection of Malta’s colourful history, with a multifaceted identity morphed throughout the years, nothing more.

One can also argue that we are Arabic speaking, though this argument will not necessarily hold linguistically from a scientific (i.e. objective) academic perspective, but this point – with all due respect to Arabic (which is a prominent, rich language) – does not make us Arabs.

Before making any sweeping amateurish statements, one needs to study historical evidence, and learn the truth about the Maltese peoples' origin. The Southern European identity, with a mix of Mediterranean and European ancestry - irrespective of the local vernacular, and its Semitic/Arabic/Italian & Sicilian undertones is the one that defines the average Maltese. We have a rich ethnical heritage that, yes, to some extent naturally includes North African elements, as well as it does include French, English, and Spanish and to a larger extent Sicolo-Italian traits.

This is what makes the Maltese so interesting, and I like to say, somewhat ‘unique’ as people. They share so much with so many people around their tiny group of islands. This mix makes them richer and potentially so instinctively open to people hailing from diverse cultures yet with whom they share historic and cultural affinities, irrespective of their origin. The Maltese are old Europeans, forming a fascinating link in the regional historical evolution and their complex identity cannot but highlight the likely future of Europe as a society that ought to be more tolerant, understanding, yet more appreciative of the diversities that embellish its rich overall tapestry.

Ray de Bono

Dmax is Expanding: Additional Graphic Designers Needed. Full Time.

Dmax is one of Malta’s leading branding companies serving mostly international clients in Malta, Germany & the UK. Read about us at dmaxstudios.co.uk


We are looking for experienced pre-press designers with knowledge of desktop publishing and corporate identity design. Being able to work within a multinational team of branding & studio professionals, developing innovative concepts for international clients is an integral
part of this post.


Applicants must be conversant in the use of mainstream studio design software (such as Freehand, In-design, Page Maker and Photoshop).


Having a drive for outstanding ideas, a distinctive sense of style and related work experience will be considered as assets. Excellent command of English is a must.


Above average conditions commensurate with experience will be offered to the chosen candidate(s).


Send Application, CV plus a portfolio of industry-related works which you have created (in pdf format) by email to ceo@dmax.tv. Closing date: 6th December 2007.

Our Studios in Malta are at Dmax House, (Branding Dept.) No. 5 Saviour Street, Attard. Malta EU