Americans.

The US is a huge country full of all types of people. Wal-Mart is the largest retail chain in the US and when you combine the freedom of the strange people and Wal-Mart, you get "People of Wal-Mart".

Եղիազար Այնթապցի

You would think there would have been better ways of neutralizing the dangers of Եղիազար Այնթապցի than to make him a figure head of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Nuclear Iran

Just as Russia announced this morning that the Bushehr nuclear station in Iran will not open by the end of this year due to "technical issues", Slate has a very good article explaining the poker game going on in the Middle East. If you squint your eyes and pull out a magnifying glass, you can see the same game going on around the South Caucasus (albeit on a much smaller scale with smaller stakes).

This has to be preserved.

The chairman of National Radio and Television Committee Grigor Amalian voting to deny A1+ TV station the chance to return to air. Photo circa 2002.

Eventually A1+ won a judgment from the European Court to return to broadcasting their programs. But the Armenian government has so far continued to defy the court order and A1+ is still off the air.

Free People.

As I was zooming past a well known university campus yesterday, I came across the student radio station. on the radio They were playing Arabic music and quite a nice one (a major surprise hearing ethnic music outside of major urban areas). You got a sense of liberty from it. The same kind of liberty that you get when listening to rock 'n' roll or rock in general. The singer was an Iraqi woman. The next song was a Palestinian man. It was constrained, sad and depressing.

The contrast between free people's music and chronically victimized people was striking.

The same can be said about Soviet era and post-Soviet Armenian music. We may complain about the lack of political freedoms under the banditocrats but the fact remains that Armenians are free people. And it is apparent from their music regardless of the genre.

FYI

Biased Aravot

Has anyone else noticed a pro-Araqelakan bias in the article mix of Aravot daily? Periodically they will print articles promoting the creationist views and advocating the replacement of evolution theory with creationist ideas in the school curricula. And sometimes they will run articles bashing the so called "sects", i.e. any other religion that is not Armenian Apostolic.

Sad Situation.

When following the Armenian media, English language blogs or the ghetto on LiveJournal, I can't help but feel extremely sad. It's time to take a week-long break from Armenianness.

20 Years Old - Happy Birthday.

I didn't realize it but HHSh is a 20 year old party today.

Happy Birthday.

Cute but major fail.

Imagine accidentally sitting on the armrest area of these benches.




‘Singing’ Bins and Benches (ArmeniaNow.com)
A small park in front of the State Conservatory in the center of Yerevan has been equipped with ‘lira’-benches and ‘treble clef” litter-bins: accompanied by hustles and whispers of falling red and orange leaves, the autumn syphony is in the air under the skillful direction of great Komitas.