Holocaust Remembrance Day

Yom HaShoah is the Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day falls on the 27th of Nisan. The Gregorian equivalent, though, corresponds to tomorrow: May 5th, 2016.

The Holocaust or Shoah, which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II.

The Holocaust, from the Greek word meaning sacrifice by fire, was initiated by the members of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, which seized power in Germany in 1933. The Nazis believed in a doctrine of racial superiority, centering around the idea that people of Northern European descent were somehow better than members of all other races – especially the Jews, who were "unworthy of life."

After taking power, the Nazis gradually restricted the rights of German Jewish citizens and encouraged their followers to commit acts of violence and destruction against Jews and their property. During World War II (1939-1945), the Nazis implemented their "final solution," which was a plan to concentrate and annihilate all European Jews.

Jews were first crammed together in ghettoes and slave-labor camps, where disease, brutality, and malnutrition ran rampant. Eventually, they were sent to death camps, where millions were murdered in special facilities designed to kill a tremendous number of people over a brief period of time.

In addition to the six million Jews who died - two-thirds of the European Jewish population – the Nazis also killed millions of others, including Roma (Gypsies) and Slavs, political and religious dissidents, the handicapped, and gays and lesbians.

Yom HaShoah is a memorial day for those who died in the Holocaust. In Israel, it starts at sundown in a state ceremony held in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes Authority, in Jerusalem. Flags on public buildings are flown at half mast. At 10 AM, an air raid siren sounds throughout the country and Israelis are expected to observe two minutes of solemn reflection:

Penrose Steps

The Penrose Steps is a visual illusion that falls in the category of impossible objects, since it cannot be possible in three dimensions.

It is a two-dimensional depiction of a staircase in which the stairs make four 90-degree turns as they ascend or descend, yet form a continuous loop.

Along with the Kanizsa's Triangle and many more, I have always been a lover of optical illusions and impossible figures; not only because of their beauty, but also due to the interpretations one can make.
For instance, I believe the Penrose Steps represent how people sometimes get stuck in a loop, and fail to realize that one of the corners is closer to the ground, so one could actually jump, be safe and break a pattern.

Smoke Free For Two Years

I said I would do it some months ago, so here I am... writing this article to commemorate my second anniversary as an ex-smoker!!!

It is funny that I was writing about still "smoking in my dreams" some time earlier this year, because I do not recall that happening anymore since then.

Yes: it is possible to stay smoke-free. I have never felt, more alive and kicking! Indeed, I spoke about it on an interview by Tabex. Although I chose to quit cold turkey, I also believe in assisted ways to stop smoking.

On April 25th, 2014, I lit my last cigarette at 7 PM. I don't even recall finishing it. I remember, though, making a small pyre in which I burned all the items that were related to smoking, as well as the remaining cigarettes I still had.

The first month after quitting was the hardest one: I became Mr. Wild Mood Swings for a while. It was also the time in which the physical addiction was at its peak. I recall having trouble to focus my attention properly. From then on, the cravings started to happen less frequently. I wish I could tell you when was the last time I felt one, but I do not remember... so I am sorry about it! =)

On a positive note, I can tell that as soon as three days had passed since I quit, I had already started to feel more alive and less stressed. My body started to ask me to do physical exercise. For instance, I had always loved walking, but I started to do it every day: I would walk four miles from work to home.

I also started to enjoy a more satisfactory sexual life, as well as feeling cleaner and healthier overall. Furthermore, I have also felt how my body has been healing itself: less colds, less wrinkles, better looking skin, and more energy.