Brâncuşi’s Gate of the Kiss – A Metaphor of Romanian Spirit

This is one of the personalities who put Romania on the world-map, bringing this country’s creative talent worldwide recognition.

The doodle features seven of the sculptor’s works: Prometheus (1911), Leda, The New Born (1915), Sleeping Muse (1908), Mademoiselle Pogany (1913), Bird in Space (1919), and The Kiss (1908).

Brancusi was born in the village of Hobiţa, Gorj, near Târgu Jiu, close to Romania’s Carpathian Mountains. If you travel to Romania and you like abstract art, don’t miss the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuşi atTârgu Jiu – a homage to the Romanian heroes of the First World War, and one of the greatest works of 20th century outdoor sculpture. Note that although Brâncuşi lived almost all his life in Paris, France (after leaving Romania in 1903), he has always considered this country his home, and gave it the greatest gift: The Column of the Infinite (Coloana infinitului). This is the centerpiece at the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuşi at Târgu Jiu, alongside the Table of Silence, and the Gate of the Kiss.

The Column of the Infinite (Coloana infinitului) - courtesy CameliaTWU

The other two pieces of the ensemble are as significant for Romania’s traditions, culture and legacy. They are inspired from the daily life of the Romanian villages – there are still homes where people traditionally dine at round tables, that almost lay on the ground. The chairs are still round and short, just like the twelve imagined by Constantin Brâncuşi to accompany the Table of Silence.

The Table of Silence, by Constantin Brâncuşi, part of the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuşi at Târgu Jiu - photo courtesy, by CameliaTWU

Even the famous Gate of the Kiss (Poarta Sarutului) has Romanian folkloric elements, and a theme that obsessed the sculptor his entire life. You’ll find the “Kiss” in many other works, yet the Gate and the Kiss featured in Google’s doodle are among the most popular.

The Gate of Kiss, part of the Sculptural Ensemble in Târgu Jiu, 1938 - courtesy CameliaTWU

Brâncuşi’s dreamed of sculpting through all the subsequent significations to their fundamental core. The capacity was in his blood and articulated the lonely, exultant years he spent as a youthful shepherd as well as the isolated latter part of his life. But if, in some Modernist project, he could strip down matter until it revealed its form beyond the trappings of technology, it was because his fellow peasants were doing it just that same way for thousands of years. – fragment from “The Romanian: Story of an Obsession”, a memoir by Bruce Benderson.

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Food prices hit new record highs

Global food prices have hit record highs, and could rise even further, according to the United Nations. The UN's Food Price Index rose 2.2% in February to the highest level since the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) began monitoring prices in 1990.It also warned that spikes in the oil price could make the "already precarious" situation in the food market even worse.Apart from sugar, the FAO said all commodity groups had risen in price.

Oil prices recently hit two-and-a-half year highs due to political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.The FAO said the volatility in the oil markets was adding to an already difficult and uncertain situation. "This adds even more uncertainty concerning the price outlook just as plantings for crops in some of the major growing regions are about to start," said the FAO's David Hallam. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was "extremely concerned" about the situation. IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson pointed to the "impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in the low-income countries, but not only there".

The prices of cereals, such as wheat, rice and maize, have risen by 70% in the past year. This is largely due to droughts in eastern Europe and floods in Australia - both major crop producers. The FAO said it expected world cereal production to have declined overall last year. In addition, it is also forecasting higher demand for agricultural products for food, animal feed and fuel production. These conflicting pressures could push prices higher. The FAO, however, said there were positive early signs that agricultural areas in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan had begun to recover from last year's droughts and wildfires.

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The top 10 most popular athletes on Twitter

The biggest athlete in professional sports is also the biggest athlete on Twitter.

NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has the most followers of any athlete on the social media site, with over 3.5 million users reading his tweets. Brazilian soccer star Kaka is second on the list, more than 500,000 followers behind.

Though athletic success is a good yardstick in determining which men and women have the most followers, it's not as reliable an indicator as you'd think. For instance, Tiger Woods isn't in the top 10 but Chad Ochocinco is. (Tiger actually has fewer followers than fellow golfers Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter.) LeBron James cracks the list but comes in behind Reggie Bush. And of all the baseball players with accounts, one-time All-Star Nick Swisher is the most popular. (It doesn't hurt that he's on the New York Yankees.)

Here's the list of the top-10 athletes on Twitter, along with a sample tweet and a summary of their favorite subjects:

1. Shaquille O'Neal -- @THE_REAL_SHAQ -- 3,564,335 followers -- 51 tweets (in the month of February)

2. Kaka -- @kaka -- 2,934,112 followers -- 57 tweets

3. Serena Williams -- @serenawilliams -- 1,931,286 followers -- 412 tweets

4. Cristiano Ronaldo -- @Cristiano -- 1,914,172 followers -- 88 tweets

5. Dwight Howard -- @DwightHoward -- 1,874,255 followers -- 22 tweets

6. Paul Pierce -- @paulpierce34 -- 1,745,039 followers -- 69 tweets

7. Chad Ochocinco -- @ochocinco -- 1,741,178 followers -- 630 tweets

8. Reggie Bush -- @reggie_bush -- 1,555,080 followers -- 61 tweets

9. LeBron James -- @kingjames -- 1,492,952 followers -- 46 tweets

10. Nick Swisher -- @nickswisher -- 1,273,939 followers -- 64 tweets

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2 killed in Germany airport shooting, police say

Two people were shot and killed Wednesday in an incident involving a U.S. military bus at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, a police spokesman said.

Another person is severely wounded, Juergen Linker told CNN, and one person is in custody.

A U.S. military official said initial reports were that two people had been killed, including the driver of the bus.
It is not clear if the driver was German or American, or military or civilian.

Two others are wounded, said the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the incident.

The troops killed and injured are U.S. Air Force airmen from Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom, the U.S. official said, emphasizing that the information was only preliminary.

They were security forces on their way to a deployment, the source said, without saying specifically where they were heading.

They were flying commercial, not on a military plane, according to the source.

It's believed the German police have a young Kosovo national in custody, the U.S. official said.

The U.S. military base at Ramstein in Germany regularly runs shuttles to Frankfurt for commercial flights.

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