Sorry folks for not having written in a while...I have a close friend in town visiting from Boston, so I have neglected some things. Anyway, among the many topics I'd like to write about a bit, one is live music. In addition to chess (a realm I love here in Armenia), the music talent level is phenomenal and scene is quite active. Through Jason (the head of the volunteer corps), a few months back I met Gor, a rock guitarist from Vanadzor who hangs in Yerevan pretty often. He played a couple of gigs at a new blues bar in the Rycom region of Yerevan (above Komitas). We had a great time listening to (and participating?!?!) renditions of the band's Armenian folk-turned-rock songs, as well as a smattering of American classic rock tunes. Beer is great and cheap (50 cents!) and a fine evening was had by all. A week later, Gor turned 28 and we celebrated in a scaled-down version at the same bar. On a different note (no pun intended) a bunch of us went tonite to a reception at the Hotel Armenia supporting Habitat for Humanity, an NGO from the states that has been registered here for about 6 months...Hover, an astounding choir comprised largely of music conservatory students here in Yerevan, sang a couple of songs and wowed the crowd. They are an incredible group and I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, if you like music, Armenia is a great place to kick back and open your ears. And I haven't even mentioned local blues, Armenian traditional, jazz, liturgical music, classical etc etc etc...