Orhan Pamuk

this evening i went to a talk by Orhan Pamk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. it was pretty good and luckily in english (with translations in Romanian). its really really hard trying to make sense of what people are saying if its anything other than everyday situations.

having sat through his discussion, i want to read something of his. maybe not the Nobel book, cause that may be too important for my little brain. he discussed nationalism and its use as propaganda to incite those lacking in education to fully make sense of the issues and preying on their fear while providing them with nothing. he also made the distinction between what we expect nationalism to be and the political manifestation or people selling their vision under the heading of but usually being devoid of any of the positive and/or definitive aspects of the culture it supposedly is saving/preserving. or maybe am putting my words in his mouth.

before i went to the presentation, one of my turkish students stated that many people in turkey hate him because he wrote about the armenian genocide. That student also stated emphatically that he was a liar that it was really the Kurds who did that. a fine example of children restating, believing, and propagating what they hear and the unlikelihood of anything changing that viewpoint

Pamuk also explained that part of his contract is to vet book covers in the countries his books are translated and published in because of the prevalence of the desire to place a mosque on all covers. given how important he is (am assuming that he is well respected in the literature world given that Nobel prize) its a little surprising that the lowest common denominator and cliches win.

release your inner pollock

'kay, this one isnt really feeding the lizard brain but it is a bit fun and a bit giddy. i realize am a bit easy to amuse but . . . so go to this site to create your own pollock-ian masterpieces. its kinda fun and will help stimulate blah blahs (yes, thats a scientific word) in your brain which will actually increase your productivity in other stuff. theres a study or something to prove or maybe hint at this. or maybe not really.

life before death

is a photo exhibit by walter schels on life and death, involving photos of people before and after death. its not macbre. really touching are what people said about their impending deaths and their reactions. all part of the human condition. see it here

hooray for NATO!!!

now you might think this is going to be a high brow entry about security, interdependence, globalization, etc., but you might also be wrong.

all i can say is that at this point in time, i am seriously loving NATO and all the work they do. you may scratch your head and say, "dece (why)?"

this week, NATO is having a conference here in bucharest. this is a wonderful opportunity for Romania, reinforcing her participation in the EU, NATO, and being an important (really) actor on the world stage. but whatever. the mayor of the whole city (there are actually 7 in total) has, in order to ensure blah blah blah, has closed down major parts of the city.

since we're an international school and kids come from all over (mostly posh areas) they cannot get to school because of road closings. this means (sadly) school is closed for the rest of the week?

it's horrible i tell you, truly horrible!

earth hour

earth hour. i turned out the lights, computer, and lit candles.

the candle light was nice. did a bit of drawing. was difficult with no music. but did lose track of time and spent a more than an hour. but the computer (my umbilical chord tot he world) called.

chinese democray and dr. pepper

don't get excited, this is not gonna tax the brain cells with political stuff. but do get excited if you're a fan of Guns n Roses.

as you may or may not know, Guns n Roses has been working on the follow-up to use your illusion I & II for about 17 years now. plagued by Axl Rose being bat guano crazy, all the other band members leaving, scary new ones coming in (yeah that dude that wore a KFC bucket on his head) and leaving, the album just doesn't seem to be near completion. Axl promised the album would be released by the end of last year. but alas, breaking the heart of many, it never appeared. (if nothing else, gotta give this dude props for procrastination. even i have never been this late!)

Dr. Pepper, in effort to spur Axl into gear and celebrate with the rest of America should the album Chinese Democracy appear by the end of 2008, has promised every person in the US (except for guitarists Slash and Buckethead) a free can of Dr. Pepper. if it happens, i will be on the plane home (haven't had Dr. Pepper in years - am sure i have built it up in my head)

kudos to Dr. Pepper for doing its best to save the world. but i think at this point he should just say whatever and retire, and become a motivational speaker - he's kinda scary and could encourage people to do stuff. i mean can he ever hope to reach the heights of the use your illusion albums? NO!!! those albums are now classics and perfection. sigh . . .

under byen

under byen is a danish band that sings in danish. really, dont mock. i also listen to a danish band, Kashmir, that sings in english.

one of the great things is that i understand nothing, so the music just flows over and around. here's one of my favorite songs (of theirs). for this, they have an orchestra (they normally don't). watching it, it's like the singer wasn't even singing, though the performance was live. maybe it is the whole danish thing. enjoy.

happy spring, happy easter

yeah, spring is here! officially and otherwise. a few weeks ago it started here in earnest. but first we had to have a snow storm. now its absolutely freaking gorgeous. when i walk outside i feel all joyful (my lump of coal heart actually beats a time or two). the fruit trees are in bloom, everything is that new leaf green (my favorite), and the air smells lovely (flowers overwhelm the smell of exhaust). of course i take loads and loads of pics of flowers. as nauseating as that may be in retrospect, i can't help it.

today i went to easter service at the biserica italiana, a small church full of incense and with a more intimate feel. other than the anglican church, i know not of any place that does service in english, and in keeping with previous tradition of not understaning a thing, i went to one in italian (i was too late for the romanian and too early for the polish). i understood random words but not enough to mean anything. luckily all catholic easter services are essentially the same.

the alter girls were adorable, the priest looked old and fatherly (i find it disconcerting when the priest is young and hot), and the music was lovely. there was one of those old wood and brass organs so the music totally filled up the church. there was also a dude playing some stuff on guitar (half the service seemed to be music of some kind). because underneath it all am not that civilized, i had to restrain myself from clapping every time the guitarist finished a song (no junie, it is not a rock concert!). oh and there was a high nun per capita presence. one held the mike for the guitarist while he sang. i kept on waiting for her to rock out but um . . . i guess nuns dont do that. others hung out being all nun-like

then i broke my fast with some chinese food (egg fried rice) with a side of coke. funny how after 6+ weeks coke is not so tasty anymore (chemically buttocks). afterwards, i sat in a park area and read.

in a few weeks i will celebrate it again with orthodox easter. i hear the country really lets loose (in a celebratory religious way, of course).

lots of love (boy, does easter do funny things to my lump of coal heart!)

addendum A,C. Clarke

see this is why i have to think about these posts before i write them.

on second thought, i dont think it was the tv thing that made me unable to watch the movie of 2001: space odyssey cause i watched tv when i was a kid. it was the stanley kubrick angle. its because i am a pleb, but i dont get his auteur. every kubrick movie i've ever watched, including full metal jacket which i liked the most, has left me disturbed and eh? i took a film studies class in which the teacher was a freaking ginormous fan of Kubrick and we watched some of his movies and were encouraged to watch others. i just couldnt (still can't) appreciate his genius or obliqueness.

Its almost universally agreed that 2001:space odyssey is one of the greatest movies of all kind. but, i think i would have appreciated the movie more if there had been kung fu or something.

The Dallas of Romania

a couple of weekends ago (i've been composing this in my head ever since) i visited the Dallas of Romania, Ploiesti. Mention Dallas here, and everyone thinks of the TV show (am told it was one of the few programs they had during communism - like 10 minutes a nite). there is actually a mansion not too far from Bucharest which has been built in the likeness of the one from the tv show. since i never watched the show, i have no desire to go there or even understand the allure - my mom was more into Dynasty.

now when I was there, there was not one with the name Ewingnescu to be found. but i think the relationship is that that Ploiesti has been pumping and refining oil since the mid 1800's.

its a pretty town (the old part) and home of the world famous (in Romania) clock museum. i got two friends to go with me. funnily enough, one used to live in Ploiesti and had never heard of the museum. We also went to a biannual exhibit of printmaking with artists from all over the world. i
it was pretty good, though it isnt an art form that i know much about. it was a pretty cool day spent laughing and hanging out with fun people and just walking and enjoying the town. enjoy the pics below



in the park near the town center, the tables were crowed with men playing chess and backgammon. in some areas, where so many people, it was like a sporting event



















Famous church in ploiesti (okay romania is like a land of churches) this one was dedicated to some saint and the heroes of something or another - but not the revolution
























inside the world famous clock museum. it was actually pretty cool with lots of clocks from different time periods. some had nifty mechanical bits that created scenes as the time changed. we had to take this picture as the museum makes us pay about $2 per picture taken inside if there are no people in it. there went our chance to make money selling pics of clocks!


















Wallachia (this region of romania corresponding to Vlad's old principality) is famous (okay i know!) for the metal roofs. there's been lots of renovation recently on the old buildings, which can totally blind you on a sunny day