Ever since JK Rowling first published her account of the “boy who lived”, theories about the inspirations for Harry Potter – and the magical world he inhabits – have abounded. Cafés and landmarks everywhere from Scotland to Portugal display signs claiming to have played host to the author while she wrote the novels – or, more boldly, to be the basis for the likes of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade. Fortunately, one muggle plucked up the courage to ask Rowling about it on Twitter, and she obliged with a lengthy response. “If you define the birthplace of Harry Potter as the moment when I had the initial idea, then it was a Manchester-London train,” she wrote. “But I’m perennially amused by the idea that Hogwarts was directly inspired by beautiful places I saw or visited, because it’s so far from the truth.” She then contradicted assertions that she had used a 14th-century street known as the Shambles in York as a model for Diagon Alley, and that any of Edinburgh’s landmarks really shaped her conception of Hogwarts. “A truthful tour of HP ‘inspirations’ would involve a stationery guide pointing a stick at a picture of my head, which would be zero fun and nobody would buy tickets,” she quipped. “If I’d genuinely been inspired by every old building, creepy alleyway, pub, graveyard and underpass that’s claimed, I’d have spent my late twenties on a non-stop road trip between locations, and I promise I didn’t. I was mostly sitting in places I could get a cheap coffee/could afford the rent and making it all up.” As for where she wrote the first lines of The Philosopher’s Stone? “The first bricks of Hogwarts were laid in a flat in Clapham Junction,” she revealed, along with a photograph of the building where she was “renting a room” over “what was then a sports shop”. Slightly more romantically, she penned the chapter in which Harry gets his first wand from Ollivanders under a tree – even posting a photograph of it, although she neglected to reveal its exact location. “I can’t absolutely guarantee they haven’t taken away the old tree & planted a new one in the same corner of the field. I haven’t been there for nearly 30 years. But I think it’s this one.” #harrypotter #jkrowling #hpfuns #harrypottermovies Tbilisi

После рождения сына Арчи принц Гарри с особым удовольствием присоединяется к созданию детских проектов. Как сообщает Daily Mail, он анонсировал выход в свет специального эпизода детского анимационного фильма "Томас и его друзья", посвященного 75-летию книги "Паровозик Томас", которая и легла в основу экранизации. Премьера спецсерии мультфильма состоится уже в начале мая этого года. В нем появятся королева Елизавета II и маленький принц Чарльз, а события будут разворачиваться в Букингемском дворце. Видеообращение к общественности принц Гарри записал еще будучи членом королевской семьи в январе этого года в Лондоне. Он не стал скрывать, что паровозик Томас был его любимым персонажем в детстве. Паровозик Томас за последние 75 лет смог стать родным и любимым персонажем для многих семей. Он развлекал, учил детей и поднимал для них важные темы с помощью увлекательных историй и интересных персонажей. У меня тоже накопилось достаточно воспоминаний, связанных с этим героем. Я вырос на этих мультфильмах, – признался принц Гарри. Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram ’ For the 75th anniversary, Thomas & Friends has created a special edition episode titled ‘The Royal Engine’, featuring the Queen of England, Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, her eldest child as characters, which is set to be released on Friday, May 1st, 2020 via Netflix. The episode will also be aired on Channel 5’s ‘Milkshake’ show in the UK on May 2nd, and will be broadcast later in May in Canada and Australia. The occasion was marked by Prince Harry introducing the special edition which was recorded in January 2020 before his move to California. He is seen reading from one of the Thomas The Tank Engine books, seated in an armchair. When talking about the character and the books, Prince Harry said he has “fond memories of growing up with Thomas and Friends and being transported to new places through his adventures.” (@Time). #princeharry #introduction #thomasthetankengine #theroyalengine #queenelizabethii #princecharles #royaluk #milkshake #show #tvshow #channel5 #netflix #specialepisode Публикация от Media Quotient Inc. (@mediaquotientinc_) 28 Апр 2020 в 2:10 PDT По этому случаю в сети появились архивные фото маленького принца Гарри, которые быстро разлетелись в прессе. Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram Good Morning Beautiful People and Happy Tuesday! . . . #ThomasandFriends are celebrating their 75th Anniversary and #PrinceHarry will make an appearance to help with the celebration ( This was Pre recorded in January and The #PeoplesPrince has also made a donation to #ThomasandFriends)He said : " Thomas the Tank Engine has been a comforting, familiar face to so many families over the last 75 years - entertaining,educating and inspiring children on important issues through exciting stories and characters. " I certainly have fond memories of growing up with #ThomasandFriends and being transported to new places through his adventures. " I am very proud to have been asked to take a part in this special episode.I wish Thomas and Friends a very happy anniversary. " I can only imagine how #PrinceHarry can't wait to share these fond memories with his son #KingArchie who turns a year old in less than six days.( What are your childhood favourites? Comment below and interact with your fellow #sussexsquad #meghanist or #visitor !) . . . We wish you all an amazing and healthy week! Please take care and stay safe and stay home ( if you have to)Check on your loved ones, your families and your neighbours. Публикация от Meghanpedia (@meghanpedia) 28 Апр 2020 в 5:39 PDT "Реальный мир Гарри и Меган": в свет выйдет книга о секретах королевской семьи На них королевский наследник впервые в сентябре 1987 года идет в детский сад Ноттинг Хилл. В этот знаковый день он не забыл прихватить с собой небольшую сумку в форме любимого паровозика Томаса. Невозможно остаться равнодушным к таким чувственным фотографиям из галереи британской монаршей семьи.

Here's our compilation of the best quotes from "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, complete with valuable life lessons for all. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” “It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom." "What matters most are the simple pleasures so abundant that we can all enjoy them...Happiness doesn't lie in the objects we gather around us. To find it, all we need to do is open our eyes.” “All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems... But all these stars are silent. You-You alone will have stars as no one else has them." “Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.” “It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important...People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose.” “But the conceited man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything but praise.” “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” “All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.” “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”#littleprince #quotes #AntoinedeSaintExupéry #art Tbilisi

Sorry tourists, Amsterdam doesn't want you anymore❌👇🏻 (CNN) — Famous for its tolerance as much as its narrow houses and broad canals, Amsterdam is undergoing a radical change of attitude when it comes to the millions of tourists that flock to see it each year. Tolerance, it seems, has reached its limits in the Dutch capital, which is now actively urging visitors to head elsewhere as frustrated locals complain of feeling besieged by visitors using the city's bicycle-thronged streets as a travel playground. "The pressure is very high," says Ellen van Loon, a partner at Dutch architectural firm OMA who is involved in adapting the city for the future. "We don't want to turn into a Venice. The problem we are currently facing is that Amsterdam is so loved by tourists, we just have so many coming to the city." While Van Loon acknowledges the positive aspects of tourism, which earns the Dutch economy around 82 billion euros ($91.5 billion) a year, like many locals she's worried that soaring visitor numbers are destroying the soul of this vibrant cosmopolitan city. Like Venice and other destinations across Europe, Amsterdam has become a byword for overtourism -- a phenomenon closely linked to the rise in cheaper air travel that has seen visitors flood certain places, often spoiling the very spot they came to enjoy. While some cities are still formulating ways to cope, Amsterdam -- where a decade-long surge in visitor numbers is forecast to continue, rising from 18 million in 2018 to 42 million in 2030, or more than 50 times the current population -- has simply decided it's had enough. CNN Travel's Richard Quest meets Reinier Sijpkens on board his musical boat. Netherlands tourist officials recently took the bold decision to stop advertising the country as a tourist destination. Their "Perspective 2030″ report, published earlier this year, stated that the focus will now be on "destination management" rather than "destination promotion." The document also outlines the country's future strategy, acknowledging that Amsterdam's livability will be severely impacted by "visitor overload" if action isn't taken. Solutions listed include working to dissuade groups of "nuisance" visitors by either limiting or completely shutting down "accommodation and entertainment products" aimed at them, as well as spreading visitors to other parts of the Netherlands. Some of these measures have already come into play. Last year, the famous "I amsterdam" sign was removed from outside the Rijksmuseum, the city's main art gallery, at the request of the city of Amsterdam, as it was "drawing too big of a crowd to an already limited space. Measures have also been taken to discourage travelers from visiting some of Amsterdam's seedier tourist hotspots. Earlier this year, the city government announced it will end tours of the Red Light District in central Amsterdam, citing concerns that sex workers are being treated as a tourist attraction. One of Amsterdam's most famous residents, Anne died in a concentration camp in 1945 at the age of 15. "We pride ourselves on being a city which is tolerant. A city where people can be themselves, which is true," says museum director Ronald Leopold, one of the guardians of Anne's diary and legacy. "But we also have these dark pages, and these are probably the darkest." According to Leopald, around half of the 1.3 million people who visit the Anne Frank House each year are under the age of 30. "I think it's increasingly important to learn about what happened here during World War II and the Holocaust," he adds. Like many other locals, architect Van Loon fears that Amsterdam, which came in 23rd place on Euromonitor International's report on the Top 100 City Destinations in 2018, is dangerously close to losing its unique allure forever. "The reason tourists come here is because there's something in the character of Amsterdam they love," she explains. "But at a certain point, when the amount of tourists is increasing and increasing, they actually kill what they loved in the first place."

"I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times." 🎬 Before Sunset (2004) / dir. Richard Linklate#movies #quotes #art Tbilisi #ხელოვნება

The acclaimed Italian novelist Francesca Melandri, who has been under lockdown in Rome for almost three weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak, has written a letter to fellow Europeans “from your future”, laying out the range of emotions people are likely to go through over the coming weeks. I am writing to you from Italy, which means I am writing from your future. We are now where you will be in a few days. The epidemic’s charts show us all entwined in a parallel dance. We are but a few steps ahead of you in the path of time, just like Wuhan was a few weeks ahead of us. We watch you as you behave just as we did. You hold the same arguments we did until a short time ago, between those who still say “it’s only a flu, why all the fuss?” and those who have already understood. Coronavirus: the week explained - sign up for our email newsletter Read more As we watch you from here, from your future, we know that many of you, as you were told to lock yourselves up into your homes, quoted Orwell, some even Hobbes. But soon you’ll be too busy for that. First of all, you’ll eat. Not just because it will be one of the few last things that you can still do. You’ll find dozens of social networking groups with tutorials on how to spend your free time in fruitful ways. You will join them all, then ignore them completely after a few days. You’ll pull apocalyptic literature out of your bookshelves, but will soon find you don’t really feel like reading any of it. You’ll eat again. You will not sleep well. You will ask yourselves what is happening to democracy. You’ll have an unstoppable online social life – on Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom… Advertisement You will miss your adult children like you never have before; the realisation that you have no idea when you will ever see them again will hit you like a punch in the chest. Old resentments and falling-outs will seem irrelevant. You will call people you had sworn never to talk to ever again, so as to ask them: “How are you doing?” Many women will be beaten in their homes. You will wonder what is happening to all those who can’t stay home because they don’t have one. You will feel vulnerable when going out shopping in the deserted streets, especially if you are a woman. You will ask yourselves if this is how societies collapse. Does it really happen so fast? You’ll block out these thoughts and when you get back home you’ll eat again. You will put on weight. You’ll look for online fitness training. You’ll laugh. You’ll laugh a lot. You’ll flaunt a gallows humour you never had before. Even people who’ve always taken everything dead seriously will contemplate the absurdity of life, of the universe and of it all. You will make appointments in the supermarket queues with your friends and lovers, so as to briefly see them in person, all the while abiding by the social distancing rules. You will count all the things you do not need. The true nature of the people around you will be revealed with total clarity. You will have confirmations and surprises. Literati who had been omnipresent in the news will disappear, their opinions suddenly irrelevant; some will take refuge in rationalisations which will be so totally lacking in empathy that people will stop listening to them. People whom you had overlooked, instead, will turn out to be reassuring, generous, reliable, pragmatic and clairvoyant. Those who invite you to see all this mess as an opportunity for planetary renewal will help you to put things in a larger perspective. You will also find them terribly annoying: nice, the planet is breathing better because of the halved CO2 emissions, but how will you pay your bills next month? You will not understand if witnessing the birth of a new world is more a grandiose or a miserable affair. You will play music from your windows and lawns. When you saw us singing opera from our balconies, you thought “ah, those Italians”. But we know you will sing uplifting songs to each other too. And when you blast I Will Survive from your windows, we’ll watch you and nod just like the people of Wuhan, who sung from their windows in February, nodded while watching us.#Many of you will fall asleep vowing that the very first thing you’ll do as soon as lockdown is over is file for divorce. Many children will be conceived. Your children will be schooled online. They’ll be horrible nuisances; they’ll give you joy. Elderly people will disobey you like rowdy teenagers: you’ll have to fight with them in order to forbid them from going out, to get infected and die. You will try not to think about the lonely deaths inside the ICU. You’ll want to cover with rose petals all medical workers’ steps. You will be told that society is united in a communal effort, that you are all in the same boat. It will be true. This experience will change for good how you perceive yourself as an individual part of a larger whole.#italyItaly

დღესდღეობით ქართული ჰორორ ისტორიების ერთ-ერთი ნაწილი, სწორედ ჰარი პოტერის სერიების ”სატანისტურ საწამლავად” და”ახალგაზრდობის გამფუჭებელ” წიგნად შერაცხვაა. საბედნიეროდ, მე როულინგის წაკითხვა თავისუფალ გარემოში, თავისუფალ სკოლაში და თავისუფლად მოაზროვნე მეგობრებთან თუ უფროსებთან მომიწია. ამიტომაც საშუალება მომეცა ჩემით განმესაჯა, რასაც ვკითხულობდი ცუდი იყო თუ კარგი. სამწუხაროდ, ჩვენი სოციუმის დიდი ნაწილი სხვა ბავშვებს არჩევანის საშუალებას ართმევს და წიგნზე სრულიად აბსურდული, უარგუმენტო, ცოტათი სასაცილო ინფორმაციის გავრცელებით, პატარებს და უმთავრესად, პატარების მშობლებს, უნერგავს ისეთ იდეას, რომელსაც ისინი ისე იჯერებენ, რომ გადამოწმებასაც არ ცდილობენ. ეს ყოველთვის ასე იყო – ადამიანს ხშირად ფიქრი ეზარება და იმის ნაცვლად, რომ საკუთარი აზრი ჩამოიყალიბოს გარკვეულ საკითხზე, თავის შეუწუხებლად სხვას მიენდობა. ამაზე დიდი კატასტროფა კი ისაა, რომ, კიდევ უფრო სამწუხაროდ, სოციალურ ქსელთან თავისუფალი წვდომა აქვთ 8-10 წლის ბავშვებს, რომლებსაც არ გააჩნიათ უნარი ირონია, სარკაზმი, მცდარი თუ მართალი, ერთმანეთისგან გაარჩიონ. შესაბიმისად, ქართული, უაღრესად სულელური გვერდებისგან გავრცელებულ ინფორმაციას, ისინიც მარტივად იჯერებენ და ამის შემდეგ მორჩა – მათთვის, ყველა, ვისაც “ჰარი პოტერი” უჭირავს, ხელიდან წასულია. მგონი, აჯობებს დამოუკიდებლად წავიკითხოთ წიგნი, დავუფიქრდეთ და შემდეგ ვილაპარაკოთ, მაინც როგორ რყვნის ამ თაობას, ეს უზნეო, სათვალიანი ბიჭი,სახელად -ჰარი პოტერი. აგერ უკვე მეასედ ჩავამთავრე შვიდივე წიგნი და თამამად გეტყვით, რომ რეალურად, ეს არის ისტორია სიყვარულზე, სიმამაცეზე, თავგანწირვაზე, მეგობრობაზე, ერთგულებაზე, სამართლიანობასა და ძალაუფლებაზე. ეს არის ისტორია, სადაც სიკეთე და ბოროტება, სიყვარული და სიძულვილი, ჯადოსნურ სამყაროში ერთმანეთს უპირსპირდებიან და ცდილობენ, სამყაროს მბრძანებლები გახდნენ. ამ პოსტში კი გთავაზობთ წიგნში წამოჭრილ მთავარ თემებს და მათ განხილვას (ციტატები დანომრილია გვერდების მიხედვით. ეს გვერდები ემთხვევა წიგნის ბოლოდროინდელ ტირაჟს): სიყვარულის თემა “ჰარი პოტერში” ყველაზე მთავარი ფაქტია ესაა: ჰარი პოტერი სასიკვდილო წყევლისგან დედის თავგანწირვამ იხსნა. როდესაც, მთავარი ანტაგონისტი, ლორდი ვოლდემორი, აღმოაჩენს, რომ სიკვდილზე გამარჯვების გზაზე შეიძლება, პატარა ბიჭმა, ჰარი პოტერმა შეუშალოს ხელი, მის მოკვლას გადაწყვეტს. თუმცა ბიჭი მომაკვდინებელ წყელვას გადაურჩა, მხოლოდ იმიტომ, რომ დედა მას გადაეფარა. დედის სიყვარულმა და თავგანწირვამ კი მის წინაშე დამცავი ფარი აღმართა, რის გამოც წყელვა ყველა დროის უძლიერეს ჯადოქარს – ლორდ ვოლდემორს მიუბრუნდა და დაასუსტა, ხოლო ბიჭს ვერაფერი ავნო – მხოლოდ შუბლზე, დაკლაკნილი ნაიარევი დაუტოვა. “დედაშენმა თავი გაწირა შენთვის. ერთადერთი, რაც ვოლდემორს არაფრით არ შეუძლია გაიგოს, ეს სიყვარულია. დედის სიყვარული ძლიერია, არ კვდება, ჰარი. ეს არც ნაიარევია და არც რაიმე თვალით ხილული ნიშანი. როცა, ამ ქვეყნიდან მიდის ადამიანი, ჩვენში სამუდამოდ ტოვებს თავის სიყვარულს, რომელიც გვიცავს…” -ალბუს დამბლდორი, “ჰარი პოტერი და ფილოსოფიური ქვა”(გვ230) ზოგადად წიგნში სიყვარულის თემა ყველაზე მნიშვნელოვანია. ჰარი მშობლების მიერ დატოვებულმა ფარმა სიკვდილისგან არაერთხელ იხსნა. სიყვარულის სიძლიერეს განუმეორებელი ალბუს დამბლდორი უამრავჯერ აღნიშნავს და თვითონ სიყვარულს, ყველა ჯადოქრობაზე უფრო ძლიერ, სიკვდილის დამმამარცხებელ ძალად მოიხსენიებს: “აქ ინახება ძალა, ერთდროულად უფრო საოცარი და უფრო საშინელი, ვიდრე სიკვდილია, ვიდრე ადამიანის გონებაა, ვიდრე ბუნების ძალაა… ამ იდუმალი და საოცარი ძალის სახელი სიყვარულია.” -ალბუს დამბლდორი, “ჰარი პოტერი და ფენიქსის ორდენი”(გვ 717) ასევე, შეგვიძლია გავიხსენოთ სევერუს სნეიპის ამბავი – მან ჰარის დედის, ლილის, სიყვარულის გამო დამბლდორისთვის ჯაშუშობა დაიწყო. ის ყოველდღე თავს საფრთხეში იგდებდა, მაგრამ ამას არ უფრთხოდა, რადგან ბავშვობის სიყვარული არასდროს განელებია. მისმა მოტანილმა ინფორმაციამ, არაერთხელ იხსნა ადამიანები სიკვდილისგან."It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." ბოლოს კი არ შემიძლია, დამბლდორის რჩევა არ გადმოვიტანო და არ აღვნიშნო ყველაფრის მიუხედავად, როგორ მოუწოდებს ალბუსი ჰარის, მიუტევოს და შეიცოდოს, მისი მშობლების, მეგობრების და საყვარელი ადამიანების მკვლელი – ლორდი ვოლდემორი: “მკვდრები ნუ გეცოდება, ჰარი. ცოცხლები შეიცოდე, ყველაზე მეტად კი ისინი, ვინც უსიყვარულოდ ცხოვრობს” -ალბუს დამბლდორი, “ჰარი პოტერი და სიკვდილის საჩუქრები” (გვ 535)#harrypotter#loveofmylife#childhood#favbook

On that story, the little prince, fell in love instantly with a rose in his asteroid. The little prince care so much to the rose. The rose with its thorns seems defenseless and susceptible- and yet, she shows off her thorns and puts on a superior attitude. But the rose’s vanity and demands cause the heartbreak of the little prince. And thus, he decided to leave its asteroid and the rose. “She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her… I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her…” Just before the prince leaves, the rose said to it’s prince : “Of course I love you,” the flower said to him. “It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you — you have been just as foolish as I. Try to be happy…” On his voyage to the earth, he come across a huge rose garden, and he realised that his roses were not the only one in the universe. “There might be millions of roses in the whole world, but you’re my only one, unique rose.” On the movie adaptation, the rose is the reason why the prince come back to its asteroid even though it’s too late that the rose has dead. “. . . One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. . . . It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. . . . You become responsible for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose. . . .” The story was telling a beautiful story of love. As the rose, we may take the love that’s being given as granted, and thus, we forgot to ’taking care’ of the love itself. And as a little prince, we may need to go around the world to realise that our rose is the only one because ‘anything essential is invisible to the eyes…’ Even though the rose is being portrayed in the story as a vain, foolish, frail, and naïve creature, the little prince loves that rose. Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.#littleprince #rose #fox #art #love Tbilisi