Phoning in search of an honest man

"If Diogenes today tried to repeat his search for an honest man, he might want to trade his lantern for a cell phone. And, instead of looking in Athens, he'd do better heading to Ljubljana, Slovenia. And staying away from Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur.

Reader's Digest decided to test the honesty of people around the world, so they had reporters in the largest cities in 32 countries 'lose' 30 cell phones in each location. The reporters then called each phone, and if a passerby picked up the phone and answered, asked if the person would return the phone. If the passerby picked up the phone without answering, they waited to see if the person would call one of the numbers programmed into the phone directory to try to find its owner.

In Ljubljana, smallest of the cities, with a population of about 267,000, 29 of the 30 phones were returned. In Hong Kong and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, there were a meager 13 returns."

Source: chicagotribune.com

Queen Elizabeth II visiting Slovenia

This just in... according to sources at the British Embassy in Ljubljana, "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is visiting Slovenia today for two days. She will visit Lipica, Ljubljana castle, attend a Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony at the Philharmonic and will go on a walk about Ljubljana at 14.30 tomorrow (Wednesday 22 October). For all those Brits and other expats who like to see her please feel free to come along, together with your friends and family, to Preseren Square for 14.30."

Days of European Cultural Heritage

The 2008 edition of The Days of European Cultural Heritage, organized under the initiative of the European Council and European Union, will be taking place from 20 to 27 September. This year the event will be dedicated to the life and work of Primož Trubar, one of Slovenia's most famous poets, father of the written Slovenian language, and leader of the Protestant movement in Slovenia

"Each year, the Slovenian Days of European Cultural Heritage feature a wide and varied programme of events organised by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia in collaboration with numerous institutions, societies and individuals."

Via Ljubljana.si

Summer Event Gap :-o)

Well, we missed a good bit of reporting on summer activities (everything actually) including the granddaddy of events, the Ljubljana Summer Festival. We will try to make it up, however, with more attentive coverage of events happening this fall, and there will be a good number of them.

Druga godba alternative music festival

Ljubljana's "Druga godba" (alternative music) festival is now underway until May 28th at Cankarjev dom, Križanke, and other local venues.

According to Ljubljana Life magazine, "the festival presents a variety of ethno and other styles, including new jazz, that generally do not appear at traditional music events in Slovenia. It has been on Ljubljana's music scene for over twenty years, and attracts a good number of musicians from around the world to the stages of Ljubljana's local venues, including Križanke, Cankarjev dom, and various city streets and squares. They acts may not all be well known, but the consensus is that the music is usually first rate."

More info at www.drugagodba.si

Tivoli Park Photo Exhibition

Am outdoor photographic exhibition by the world-renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand is currently on display until May 29 at the Jakopič promenade in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park. The photographic exhibition, prepared by members of his international photographic foundation GoodPlanet.org, is titled Alive and features "wildlife photographs accompanied by facts and figures on human intervention in nature and issues related to the survival of animal species".

Ljubljana Carnival Festivities

This year's carnival celebration will kick off in Ljubljana tomorrow with a lively procession that will include traditional Slovenian themed carnival figures as well as figures from other countries. The procession will start at 11am at Krek square and proceed to Slovenska street via Prešeren square, with festivities winding up at about 4pm.