Time for an updated granddaughter Mila (MEE-la) photo. Here she is at 6 1/2 months. Mila is a great book lover. She squeals and does this funny little excited shake when she gets one. I could even say she gets so excited that her hair stands on end, but it's always like that, since she sleeps first on one side, then the other.
Laza Kostić (1841-1910) was a Serbian poet, prose writer, lawyer, philosopher, polyglot, publicist, and politician, considered to be one of the greatest minds of Serbian literature. I do not think he ever picked up a paintbrush, but I do think this bust of him is reminiscent of the eccentric Surrealist Painter, Salvador Dali.
According to Wikipedia, Laza Kostić was characterized as an eccentric but had a spark of genius all his own. His writings abound in coined words, and in devious turns and twists of expression. He was the first to introduce iambic meter into the dramatic poetry, and the first translator of Shakespeare into Serbian. At a European authors' convention at the turn of the century he once tried to explain the relationship between the culture of Serbia and those of major Western European cultures using the scenario of a phone conversation, in which the speaker in Belgrade keeps repeating, “Can you hear us? We hear you. Can you hear us?” with the other end of the line not responding whatsoever. His scenario accurately expressed the frustration the smaller European cultures at not being heard, or not being understood.
There exists a Laza Kostić Fund, with offices in Belgrade and London.
See other D's on ABC WEDNESDAY.
Radoje Domanović (RAH-do-yeh Do-MAHN-o-veetch) (1873 - 1908) was a Serbian writer and teacher, most famous for his satirical short stories. He died of tuberculosis. This illness, along with the affection he inspired in all who knew him, surrounded his work with a romantic, sentimental aura.
During his short literary career he developed the great powers of the satirical novel, although some of his stories are distorted by pessimism. Below are two examples:
The Suffering, an allegory in which he castigated the ruthlessness of the authority and submissiveness of its subjects.
The Leader, a story about incompetent leadership: people who chose a person they'd never seen before to lead them to a better place. After suffering through a long trip, they realize that their leader is blind.
American comedian Groucho Marx (1895-1977) once said, "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Back to Sunday Bridges for me, totally by accident. With Tash of PALOS VERDES DAILY PHOTO, I visited a library book sale. 
I did not take this photo myself. I downloaded it from the Internet right here where you can read more about this Nobel Prize-winning novel by Ivo Andric. We have this book in our library at school, but I was unable to take my own photo, since I've been downed by a flu bug this past week. I hate to be sick.
Since Tuesday evening I have set foot outside just once, and that was yesterday, when I went down to get my visa renewed at the police station. It was pantomime at several points, since I've been laid up (or down, actually) with a major cold, cough, aches, and....laryngitis, and I was and still am to some extent, voiceless! I hurried home and went back to bed. Here is what I've been spending my time with the last few days. I am especially thankful for my little ASUS computer that is so handy. (How did you think I was visiting your blogs?) Only Bibi, who was lying beside me the whole time, is absent from this photo. Thank goodness my son is around to walk her.
This fountain in front of the Cervantes Institute on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's pedestrian street, is often a place where people sell books or odds and ends. Kids sometimes sell their old toys, too. This takes place pretty much year-round, but yesterday it seemed as if some folks wanted to make some extra money before the holidays. Nicely displayed books!
One of my best-loved books is Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author and philosopher. Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and simplicity and self-reliance were Thoreau's goals. He made clear in this book that his cabin was not in the wilderness, but at the edge of town, not far from his family home. Mama Thoreau undoubtedly often brought him goodies, but that’s what mothers are for, after all! Thoreau did not intend to live as a hermit, but rather to live at a distance from society in order to raise his awareness of how one's life is lived, materially and otherwise, and how one might choose to live it more deliberately, mindful of the present moment. He put into practice the Transcendentalist belief that one can best transcend normality and experience the Divine through nature. Some say he was the precursor of American Buddhism, since he was perhaps the first American to explore the nontheistic mode of contemplation which is the distinguishing mark of Buddhism. One of my favorite quotes of his is: “Our life is frittered away by detail—simplify, simplify!” 
Here's another way people here avoid paying fees or rent for a real stand or little shop: they lay out all their wares on the hood (bonnet for you Brits!) and roof of their car! This person, who is from out of Belgrade as you can tell by the GL (Gnjilane, a small town in Eastern Kosovo) on his license plate, has quite a selection for young and old. He can also hightail it when the inspectors come, but I think he'd better remove the books from his windshield....
Well, you can't keep a good blooger down. Said I wouldn't be posting for a while since I am 'out of town, ' but here I am.....
