issue #21 may 2009 The Best English-Language Student Magazine in Poland ISSN: 1897-0680 p. 6 ? - naire Fred Widlak p.8 Why To Visit Kazakhstan p.11 Who Killed the Electric Car? p.12 Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum p.18 Couch Surfing Ampersand aims to bridge the gap between cultures to give students the opportunity to explore different worlds. It also hopes to bring together people speaking different tongues, through a language that is perhaps native to none, but common to all. Am- hello persand seeks to make a strong connection between students and the English lan- guage and helps them discover its beauty and importance in today’s world. & The Best English-Language Student Magazine in Poland Ampersand Team: Artem Dorokhov Marcin Fijak Jarosław Grzegorzek Iryna Isaieva Zarina Kalymova Aleksandra Kawecka Elizabeth Kociołek Szymon Korzeniowski Marcelina Korzeń Maria Novosad Anna Porowska Yulia Rybalova John Simon Kornelia Stefanik Kamil Ściana Inna Zaripova (Editor-In-Chief) Filip Zieliński Freelance Writers: Elena Akopyan Lena Dzięgiel Picture by Arek Uroda Address: Visit our web site: Advertising Department: Ampersand Magazine http://ampersand.wsb-nlu.edu.pl To learn how you can advertise in ul. Zielona 27 Ampersand magazine, kindly contact 33-300 Nowy Sącz or write to us at: Anna Porowska at Ampersand for more Poland [email protected] details. (phone: 0 512 359 405) In order to preserve the integrity of the material published in Ampersand, the articles in this magazine are subject to copyright and may not be altered or reproduced without prior knowledge of the Editor. You may only copy materials for your own private non-commercial purposes as well as educational purposes. Articles submitted for publication become the property of Ampersand magazine. We reserve the right to edit such articles for publication. In the case where an author requests that an article not be edited, the editorial committee will decide whether to include it for publication or not. Where opinion is expressed, it is that of the authors and does not necessarily represent that of the Ampersand Magazine, the publication sponsors, or WSB-NLU. All images used in the magazine come from royalty-free sources and are credited where necessary. 2 issue #21 may 2009 & hello & hello Editor’s 4 The Camera’s Eye: &-ers & school 6 ? - naire: Fred Widlak Garden 7 Wyższa Szkoła Biznes-snu 14 The Camera’s Eye: Another Day at WSB-NLU First of all I would like to thank Aleksandra Kawecka, Elizabeth Kociołek, Szy- mon Korzeniowski and Filip Zieliński, who were an incredible support this se- mester and are graduating this year. The Ampersand Team will miss you! & asian corner Usually the end of May, beginning of June is time for (finally) hard studying, copying all notes from your mate for the whole semester, and analyzing what 8 Why To Visit Kazakhstan important you have been doing this semester that there wasn’t time for study- 10 ChinaTrip2009 ing at all. I’m sure it sounds familiar to most of you. Tough time for students has come. The weather brings positive emotions every day and it feels like even nature is for having fun/partying/grilling, but not studying for sure. Plus, a big event is coming – Juwenalia, probably the most expected event of the year, and after that comes the exam session which automatically associates with & focus on majors stress and problems. 11 Who Killed the Electric Car? Nevertheless, one more year is heading to its end. It was one more year full of 12 Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum different emotions – from happiness to disappointment. I hope that you have 13 What Do You Really Know leant a lot this year, not only concerning school subjects, but also about your- About...? self. 16 Don’t STO(M)P the Music! Have you already started thinking about plans for the vacations? Will you go 17 Free Your Mind home to spend time with friends and family? Or find a job/practice abroad? And what about travelling? So many options and so little time. I suggest read- ing ChinaTrip2009 or Why to visit Kazakhstan articles – maybe these options will be attractive to you. Don’t forget to read Horoscopes – it might give you some helpful hints. You’ll also find Movie and Album Reviews, Who Killed the Electric & travel Car, and many more. 18 Couch Surfing The Ampersand team wishes You to successfully pass all exams, and have lots of fun this summer! Inna Zaripova & entertainment 20 Movie Review 22 Album Review 24 Horoscopes 26 Aphorisms: Success & Failure Join the Ampersand team! Contact us: [email protected] issue #21 may 2009 3 hello & The Camera’s Eye The &-ers Pictures by Arek Uroda 4 issue #21 may 2009 & hello issue #21 may 2009 5 Aleksandra Kawecka school & Picture courtesy of Frederic Widlak Frederic of courtesy Picture ? - naire: Fred Widlak The “? - naire” is based on the questions I most admire Abraham Lincoln, but it I buy more books than I am likely to have which Marcel Proust (the famous writer) would be presumptuous to say that I could time to read. answered twice when he was young. identify with him. Still at a lofty level, my With enthusiasm, he decided to con- model of a 20th Century leader is the 8) What is your favorite journey? centrate on his psyche and see what it American General and President Dwight reveals. Answers were written down in Eisenhower. Two favorites: (1) To Chicago to see my his friend’s confession album called “An friends and relatives there, and (2) To any- Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, 4) Which living person do you most ad- place I have never been before. etc.” This type of questionnaire was very mire? popular in France in the 19th century. 9) What do you consider the most over- This might change over time, but right rated virtue? Now, we present you answers made by now it is Barack Obama. Frederic Widlak, Professor in the De- Piety. partment of Management at WSB-NLU. 5) What is the trait you most deplore (disapprove of) in yourself? 10) What do you dislike most about 1) What is your idea of perfect happi- your appearance? ness? I take on more tasks than I can complete on time. Abdominal fat. Being with the person that I love. 6) What is the trait you most deplore in 11) Which living person do you most 2) What is your greatest fear? others? despise? Not being able to learn all the things I want Intellectual phoniness, in other words, pre- I don’t really despise anyone, but the per- to before I die. There are so many books tending to know something instead of ad- son that I am most concerned about is and so little time. mitting ignorance. Vladimir Putin. 3) Which historical figure do you most 7) What is your greatest extravagance? 12) Which words or phrases do you identify with? most overuse? 6 issue #21 may 2009 & Based on a word count of my e-mail mes- As a supervisor, I helped a worker turn her Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Ernest Heming- school sages: “Probably”, “Most likely”, “Eventually”, life around to a positive direction. way, and John Updike. It is a shame that “Substantially”, and “Productivity”. the last author died before he could win 18) If you were to die and come back as the Nobel Prize—he deserved it. 13) What is your greatest regret? a person or thing, what do you think it would be? 23) Who is your favorite hero of fiction? While I was young, I was not able to do much international traveling—and only to Above my grave, there will probably be Huckleberry Finn. Ontario, Canada—which wasn’t much dif- mushrooms. ferent from the United States. 24) What are your favorite names? 19) What do you regard as the lowest 14) What or who is the greatest love of depth of misery? It may appear conceited, but I like “Fred” your life? because it is a relatively rare given name Being locked in a library and unable to in both the U.S. and Poland. I was in fact There is a special lady in my life. read the books. named after Frederic Chopin, and I can’t understand why more Polish parents don’t 15) Which talent would you most like to 20) What is your most marked charac- name their sons after such a famous Pole. have? teristic? I like the name “Victor”, because it is a win- ner. To be able to sing like an opera star. Serene optimism. I’m usually calm, with a positive attitude. 25) What is it that you most dislike? 16) If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? 21) What do you most value in your Bureaucratic regulations that waste time friends? and money, and hamper productivity. Have them live closer to me. My parents (There’s that over-used word again.) have passed away, and my brothers’ fami- Trustworthiness. lies live in the U.S. 26) What is your motto? 22) Who are your favorite writers? 17) What do you consider your greatest “Mens sana in corpore sano.” (“A sound achievement? Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), William mind in a sound body.”) Anna Porowska Wyższa Szkoła Picture by Maciek Mika Maciek by Picture Biznes-snu Yet another end of the academic year ap- the right wing ZIM/ANG :P. I have to admit self. It wasn’t your first mistake, and not proaches. Everything now seems so slow that both this and last year were very hard, even the last one :).