lithuania

trustycoffeemug
one of the baltic nations alongside latvia and lithuania. came out of nowhere in the foggy annals of history when those uncouth crusaders from prussia decided to attack it. after that it spent a lot of time getting roughed up by prussians, nazis, and soviets, and now presumably wishes it could go back to obscurity

holy week

trustycoffeemug
a week that commemorates the week jesus christ returned to jerusalem, which ended with his betrayal, crucifixion and eventual resurrection. for catholic people this week marks the end of lent. for everyone else, it is simply the week leading up to discount chocolate at the grocery store.

* palm sunday: supposedly represents the day jesus returned to jerusalem
* holy monday: represents the day jesus cursed at a fig tree (or something)
* holy tuesday: represents the day jesus received the vision of his own impending death
* spy wednesday: represents the day judas iscariot arranged for jesus' betrayal. does not involve james bond.
* maundy thursday: no idea what a maundy is, but this supposedly represents the day of the last supper jesus enjoyed with his disciples
* good friday: represents the day of the crucifixion
* black saturday: represents jesus chilling while being dead
* easter

it can be assumed all of these involve some kind of praying or something.

new york

douglas adams
(n.) a city
In the winter time the temperature falls well below the legal minimum, or rather it would do if anybody had the common sense to set a legal minimum. The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79.

In the summer it's too darn hot. It's one thing to be the sort of life form that thrives on heat and finds, as the Frastrans do, that the temperature range between 40,000 and 40,004 is very equable, but it's quite another to be the sort of animal that has to wrap itself up in lots of other animals at one point in your planet's orbit, and then find, half an orbit later, that your skin's bubbling.

Spring is over-rated. A lot of the inhabitants of New York will honk on mightily about the pleasures of spring, but if they actually knew the first thing about the pleasures of spring they would know of at least five thousand nine hundred and eighty three better places to spend it than New York, and that's just on the same latitude.

Fall, though, is the worst. Few things are worse than fall in New York. Some of the things that live in the lower intestines of rats would disagree, but most of the things that live in the lower intestines of rats are highly disagreeable anyway, so their opinion can and should be discounted. When it's fall in New York, the air smells as if someone's been frying goats in it, and if you are keen to breathe, the best plan is to open a window and stick your head in a building.

(also: new orleans)

potato

trustycoffeemug
(n.) a particularly seditious form of vegetable; unlike corn, which is dutifully regimented in rows of stalks, potatoes tend to dwell underground, where they might be up to any kind of subversive activity

still, they can be served a lot of ways and most of them taste pretty good.

medical tourism

medical tourist
average costs of medical procedures abroad

Dental Procedures:

Dental Implants:
Turkey: $1,200 - $2,000
Mexico: $1,500 - $2,500
India: $800 - $1,500

Teeth Whitening:
Turkey: $240 - $400
Mexico: $400 - $600
India: $100 - $300

Dental Crowns:
Turkey: $400 - $640
Mexico: $500 - $800
India: $300 - $500


Plastic Surgery:

Liposuction:
Turkey: $2,400 - $4,000
Mexico: $3,000 - $5,000
India: $2,000 - $4,000

Rhinoplasty (Nose Job):
Turkey: $2,400 - $4,000
Mexico: $3,000 - $5,000
India: $2,000 - $4,000

Breast Augmentation:
Turkey: $3,200 - $4,800
Mexico: $4,000 - $6,000
India: $2,500 - $4,500

Tummy Tuck:
Turkey: $4,000 - $5,600
Mexico: $5,000 - $7,000
India: $3,500 - $5,500

Facelift:
Turkey: $4,000 - $5,600
Mexico: $5,000 - $7,000
India: $3,500 - $5,500



Orthopedic Procedures:

Joint Replacement (Hip or Knee):
Turkey: $8,000 - $12,000
Mexico: $10,000 - $15,000
India: $5,000 - $8,000

Spinal Surgery:
Turkey: $10,000 - $15,000
Mexico: $12,000 - $18,000
India: $6,000 - $10,000

Cardiology Procedures:

Angioplasty:
Turkey: $7,000 - $11,000
Mexico: $9,000 - $13,000
India: $5,000 - $8,000

Heart Bypass Surgery:
Turkey: $10,000 - $15,000
Mexico: $12,000 - $18,000
India: $6,000 - $10,000

Cancer Treatment:

Chemotherapy:
Turkey: $5,000 - $8,000
Mexico: $6,000 - $10,000
India: $3,000 - $5,000

Radiation Therapy:
Turkey: $7,000 - $11,000
Mexico: $9,000 - $13,000
India: $5,000 - $8,000

Eye Procedures:

LASIK Eye Surgery:
Turkey: $2,000 - $3,000
Mexico: $2,500 - $3,500
India: $1,500 - $2,500

Cataract Surgery:
Turkey: $2,000 - $3,000
Mexico: $2,500 - $3,500
India: $1,500 - $2,500



Accommodation Costs:

Turkey: $30 - $80 per day
Mexico: $30 - $70 per day
India: $20 - $50 per day


Flight Costs:

From USA:
Turkey: $800 - $1,200
Mexico: $400 - $800
India: $800 - $1,200


From West Europe:
Turkey: $300 - $600
Mexico: $200 - $400
India: $500 - $800

black madonna

orikami
(n.) a madonna who is depicted with dark skin. found from Italy to France, to Spain, to Philippines, to South America. a patron saint of outsiders, often.
"Research into the Black Madonna phenomenon is limited due to a wide consensus among scholars that the dark-skinned aspect was unintentional." something in art, something on the outskirts of mainstream religion, found across *many* instances -- unintentional? the silliest thing I've read in some time now! it may be metaphorical & symbolic, or it may be literal, or (most definitely) it may vary across the cities and centuries, but it sure is intentional. and that outskirts/ outsider thing -- yea, you bet it is addressing an otherwise-unfulfilled need of the community.

Guadalupe, Spain (crying olive oil):
black madonna
Poland:
black madonna
Prague:
black madonna

https://www.matthewfox.org/blog/the-return-of-the-black-madonna-a-sign-of-our-times-or-how-the-black-madonna-is-shaking-us-up-for-the-twenty-first-century
https://podcastaddict.com/episode/123051483
https://www.missmelindasmetaphysicalservices.com/blog/cult-black-madonna-our-lady-guadalupe
http://libgen.rs/search.php?req=black+madonna&lg_topic=libgen&open=0&view=simple&res=25&phrase=1&column=def
https://www.goodreads.com/search?page=1&q=black+madonna&qid=WPqLt3m3OA&tab=books

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/793242.Longing_for_Darkness
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1197067.The_Black_Madonna_In_Latin_America_And_Europe
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28648036-faces-of-the-black-madonna

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