Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The Google search engine was created for a purpose. To search. Seek and you shall find. The two blokes who created this billion-dollar company are among the top five richest businessmen in the world. Who would have thought such a simple idea could turn into a money-crapping megacorporation. We turn to Google for everything - from searching for facts about the making of peanut butter to current events - OR in my case, my own name: AIDA.
3) The Aida Sushi Bar for crying out loud! Boy would I get a discount ...
4) The Aida Dance Academy! Unfortunately I'm not so graceful.
5) Golly! There is the Aida Vineyard in Napa Valley in California.
6) Do you think I can be the GM of the Aida Resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland?
The Google search engine was created for a purpose. To search. Seek and you shall find. The two blokes who created this billion-dollar company are among the top five richest businessmen in the world. Who would have thought such a simple idea could turn into a money-crapping megacorporation. We turn to Google for everything - from searching for facts about the making of peanut butter to current events - OR in my case, my own name: AIDA.
Needless to say I got more than I bargained for. It did not occur to me that my name was so ... well-known! I knew I shared the name with the famous broadway show and opera, but the rest came as quite a shocker. Here's what turned up.
1) Apparently, there is the Aida Golf Club in Denmark. Ya ha!
2) The cast from Aida - The Musical. Set in the time of Ancient Egypt, Aida is the exciting and passionate tale of a captured Nubian princess who falls in love with her conqueror, the Egyptian captain, Radames. Aida becomes the handmaiden to the daughter of the Pharaoh, Princess Amneris, who is betrothed to Radames. Aida is a story of love, devotion and betrayal spanning lifetimes, featuring a score by two of music's most extraordinary and revered artists, composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, who won Oscar and Grammy awards for their score to The Lion King.
3) The Aida Sushi Bar for crying out loud! Boy would I get a discount ...
4) The Aida Dance Academy! Unfortunately I'm not so graceful.
5) Golly! There is the Aida Vineyard in Napa Valley in California.
6) Do you think I can be the GM of the Aida Resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland?
(Picture cannot fit) 7) Did you know that there is a famous espresso bar-cum-pastry shop called ermm ... AIDA in Vienna, Austria. Aida (sometimes spelled Aïda, with a diaeresis) is a chain of 26 espresso bar-cum-pastry shops (Café-Konditorei) in Austria. They have a devoted clientele, for whom Aida has achieved near-cult status. Business hours are from early in the morning until the early evening; the shops are open every day of the year with the exception of Christmas Day.
Ten Aida shops had been established before the Second World War, but they were all destroyed during the air raids on Vienna. After the war, Felix Prousek (1918-2003) took over the management and started rebuilding and expanding. His innovative approach to coffeehouse culture resulted in an alternative to the sheer Gemütlichkeit of the traditional Viennese café. Prousek was also one of the first to introduce Italian-style espresso machines in Austria.
However, for decades now, Aida has been resistent to change of any kind. This is first and foremost true of their interior design, very similar for all shops and reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s. Their trademark colours are pink and dark brown. Most of the furniture is made of plastic, and there is only seating without upholstery.
Aida has also been reluctant to adapt to changing tastes and to compete with new arrivals in Vienna such as Starbucks, for example by refusing to add flavoured coffee to their list of beverages. When the opening of a smoke-free Aida shop led to a sharp decline in regular customers the idea was quickly shelved again. In each shop there are a few tables near the counter where the pastries are on display where smoking is prohibited.
Felix Prousek's son Michael, who had collaborated with his father since the 1980s, is now Aida's managing director. Their headquarters and central bakery are located in Floridsdorf. (Wikipedia)
Ten Aida shops had been established before the Second World War, but they were all destroyed during the air raids on Vienna. After the war, Felix Prousek (1918-2003) took over the management and started rebuilding and expanding. His innovative approach to coffeehouse culture resulted in an alternative to the sheer Gemütlichkeit of the traditional Viennese café. Prousek was also one of the first to introduce Italian-style espresso machines in Austria.
However, for decades now, Aida has been resistent to change of any kind. This is first and foremost true of their interior design, very similar for all shops and reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s. Their trademark colours are pink and dark brown. Most of the furniture is made of plastic, and there is only seating without upholstery.
Aida has also been reluctant to adapt to changing tastes and to compete with new arrivals in Vienna such as Starbucks, for example by refusing to add flavoured coffee to their list of beverages. When the opening of a smoke-free Aida shop led to a sharp decline in regular customers the idea was quickly shelved again. In each shop there are a few tables near the counter where the pastries are on display where smoking is prohibited.
Felix Prousek's son Michael, who had collaborated with his father since the 1980s, is now Aida's managing director. Their headquarters and central bakery are located in Floridsdorf. (Wikipedia)
... AND THE BEST OF ALL ...
8) Aida the Goddess! Aida-Wedo is the Yoruban (western African) and Vodou goddess of water, snakes, and the rainbow, represented by the rainbow python, a snake whose scales are iridescent. The rainbow serpent is the symbol of integration in many parts of the world, including Africa, Australia and America, and represents that which links heaven and earth, and encircles the world to unite her disparate elements.
In the Vodou tradition, Aida-Wedo (and Her husband Damballah) belong to the Rada Lwa, or spirits who come out of the rites of the old kingdom of Dahomey (present Nigeria, Benin and Togo), generally considered to be benevolent and sweet (dous).
She represents continuity and strength, integration and wholeness, as the rainbow contains all the colors, split from white light. Integrity, whether physical (structural), or moral, is the natural result of integration--weaving together elements that are very different. Her message is one of healing and strength for the whole of the world.
Offerings to Aida-Wedo include white foods such as milk, rice, and eggs.
Alternate names: Ayida Wedo, Dan Ayido Hwedo (This is courtesy of the Thalia-Took Galery)
In the Vodou tradition, Aida-Wedo (and Her husband Damballah) belong to the Rada Lwa, or spirits who come out of the rites of the old kingdom of Dahomey (present Nigeria, Benin and Togo), generally considered to be benevolent and sweet (dous).
She represents continuity and strength, integration and wholeness, as the rainbow contains all the colors, split from white light. Integrity, whether physical (structural), or moral, is the natural result of integration--weaving together elements that are very different. Her message is one of healing and strength for the whole of the world.
Offerings to Aida-Wedo include white foods such as milk, rice, and eggs.
Alternate names: Ayida Wedo, Dan Ayido Hwedo (This is courtesy of the Thalia-Took Galery)
There's more. Aida (英田町; -cho) was a town located in Aida District, Okayama, Japan. On March 31, 2005, it merged with other municipalities to form the city of Mimasaka.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,625 and a density of 57.17 persons per km². The total area was 63.41 km². (Wikipedia).
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,625 and a density of 57.17 persons per km². The total area was 63.41 km². (Wikipedia).
So there you have it. I should probably ask my mom whether it was her or my father who gave me my name. Hard to believe I used to hate my name at one point in my life and remember asking my father if I could change it. Hmm ... lucky there is a law restricting that here. It's all so fascinating of what you can come across on the Internet. They (the English word dictionary inserter people) should really consider including "Googled" as a legit word, meaning searched. Before I sign off, I urge all of you to Google on, mates!
green leaf ;
