Vodni stolp/Water tower, Maribor

One of Maribor's famous towers

Photo from 25th August, 2010.

Vodni stolp or the Water tower is one of the 4 remaining fortified towers of the old medieval wall around Maribor. There were more towers in the past. The current form dates back in the year 1555, before there was a smaller oval tower in the area. The Water tower stood at the southeast part of the old Maribor, but today it's located on the eastern part of Lent. It was connected with the Jewish tower by a wall with a famous gate named Vodna vrata (meaning Water gate) located right next to it. In 1967 the tower was almost removed due to the rise of the river Drava, because a hydroelectric power plant was built near Maribor. A lot of historic buildings were destroyed in that time and the local communist government didn't care about it. Luckily, there was a brave engineer named Jože Požauk, who was engaged in lifting the whole tower 2.6m higher. Although his idea wasn't popular, he eventually succeeded, but it took 7 months to make it. After that, the tower was empty for 20 years. In the late 1980s renovations begun and a wine shop found its new home in the tower. It's named Vinoteka Lent. You can taste exquisite wine from the region, sit outside and enjoy the views.

The Water tower in early 20th century. This photo is found near the tower today.

A photo of the Water tower taken in Spring, on May 18th 2006.

Another one from May 18th, 2006.

August 25th, 2010, taken from the other side of the river Drava.

Taken at dawn, August 25th, 2010.

The small harbor near the Water tower, August 2010.

Water tower closeup, the old stone facade.

This one is from November 4th, 2010. Taken from the Jewish quarter.

[My SLOVENIA page][My MARIBOR page][All photos by MKL, 2006-2010]
[See also: JUDGEMENT TOWER][Info source: Narodni Dom]

Read also: [Maribor: City of towers]

This is how I'm perfecting my Korean......

My Korean teacher actually used this for one of her lectures today!! Isn't that funny? She's sooo cute. I love her!! (even though I may not be her favorite teacher...otto kay??)

This guy is hilarious! Check him out- http://www.youtube.com/user/trueheart101

More kpop

I haven't been on top of my kpop game lately. Unfortunately I don't get extra credit for watching it in my Korean class, so that leads me to studying....*cough* .....sometimes. But these are the recent ones I have seen and enjoy----

2NE1- It Hurts

I LOVE the makeup and the backdrop designs. I like the gothic doll look too.

2NE1- Can't Nobody

I just want to be their friends. They always make it look so fun to be in the videos all dressed up..... :( So sassy....go girls!

SHINee- Lucifer

Their choreographer should maybe think of dance moves that don't seem so uh, feminine? Just a side note.

miss A- Breathe

The choreography is great in this video and the colors are bright!! I love eye popping colors!

JYJ (feat Kanye West)- Ayyy girl

Slow-mo effects make anything look good...*^_-*

Fall is here pt 2

Fall is so beautiful.......................I wish it could stay like this awhile....

 I'm loving these McQueen shoes!

My mom's tea kettle....

My coworker's flower cake she received on her birthday. How cute!

I love my Schlotzsky's!

 A bright sunny day.

Mc"Rib"

Although I've completely given up on ever putting McDonald's anywhere near my mouth, Anthony couldn't resist getting a McRib while it was in town "for a limited time." As he was chomping down on this mystery meat creation I noticed something.......................... something different...........................

 Why is the chicken not a real chicken??? It's some origami looking thing!! Then it hit me. Ah, McDonald's is being somewhat truthful to the customers. They realized that advertising their meat as real would be deceiving......*applaud* So, I figured out their secret ingredient solution with the given facts- 
chicken- over processed "meat", cheese- cheese to cover the flavoring, tomato- vegetable......oil, mystery stuff in the bag-cornmeal and corn starch. Whip these all together and it = McDonald's for our obese growing people. :D

That's right, "created" just for you! *wink*

P.S. Have you ever seen the movie Food Inc? If not.....................you better!!!

JYJ who??

Trivia question: Who's the biggest boy band in the world? Backstreet Boys? *NSYNC? New Kids? Hanson? Take That? Menudo? Nope. According to reliable source Guinness World Records, it's JYJ.
Never heard of JYJ? Well, obviously you haven't been to Korea lately, where the group's singers, Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun, and Kim Junsu, are bigger than Justin Timberlake. Their popularity in their homeland landed them in Guinness in 2008 and 2009 for having the world's largest official fanclub (more than 800,000 members in Seoul alone) and for being the most photographed celebrities on the planet (they've been snapped professionally approximately 500 million times).
And now JYJ are going global, as they release their first English-language album, The Beginning, on Atlantic Records. The disc features production on two tracks, "Empty" and "Be My Girl," by superstar studio guru Rodney Jerkins (Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige), and the album's lead single, "Ayyy Girl," actually boasts vocals and production by a little American artist named Kanye West.


While the members of JYJ started performing together in 2003 in the Korean boy band TVXQ (who released four successful albums in Korea and four in Japan), the new album title The Beginning is apt here, since JYJ is a rebirth for them--and not just because they're finally launching their careers in America. It took a long and arduous journey for JYJ to reach this point. Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu, while still in TVXQ, had to sue their record label, SM Entertainment, in order to get out of what was basically a ludicrously unfair 13-year "slave" contract. Despite having sold millions of units and breaking world records in Asia, until they successfully extricated themselves from SM Entertainment, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu were literally broke.
But things are looking up for JYJ now. A recent issue of Billboard with JYJ on the cover sold out in 24 hours, for instance, and their record label actually had to halt all pre-orders for the limited luxury edition of The Beginning due to too much demand. And obviously, JYJ's Western-friendly R&B sound has already earned them some very high-profile U.S. supporters.


"I'm really glad to work with JYJ on their debut album," says Jerkins. "It's all about the East meeting the West these days, and the world is becoming a melting pot of various cultures. To have Kanye and myself champion the cause of unifying the world through the international language of music and introducing top artists from one end of the globe to this end in America makes this a very special project to us." And JYJ add: "It was a great new experience that we are really privileged to have. We felt the pressure of working with such superstars initially, but our anxieties were allayed when Kanye/Rodney showed us great support. We were able to have a really good time working with them and exchanging ideas about music with one another."
Prepare to witness JYJ set a whole bunch of other Guinness records in the near future.




This is my first time hearing about them! Maybe I'm a little late on the kpop wagon? But I'm glad they made it to the American mainstream music! Yeah......Kpop is getting more recognition! *claps hands*




**source-
http://new.music.yahoo.com/programs/the-new-now/13417/jyj-the-biggest-boy-band-in-the-world-youve-never-heard-of

Jampong time!!

We went out to eat at one of the Korean restaurants in town. It's been a long time since we've had jampong! The girls were craving for some good ol' Korean food to remind them of home. ^_^ This might make your mouth drool!!

 Mmmm, I love this sauce!!

Remember to vote for me!!!! Yay-

www.koreataste.org/lang/en/en/blogging-en/jampong