I have decided to commemorate April 24th by taking the day off from work and skipping the community activities in favor of quite reflection alone. Every year, I write a private account on what the day means to me and what is going in the the immediate Armenian community. It's sounds a little corny, but, I've kept this log for over 15 years and it is interesting taking a look back. When I was an undergrad, it was all about getting the Armenian Club at UMass Boston to present lectures at our school to non-Armenians. IN the 1990's, I wrote about attending the State House in Boston to commemorate the Genocide victims. One year, I did absolutely nothing. And so on. From Dadrian to Balakian to Bob Dole, the focus and attention on exactly where the hot point is continually has changed. I wonder what my private accounts will read in 15 more years.

Armenians have been the subject of plotlines in several high profile TV shows. There was the updated "Dragnet" show. But now, there is "The Shield", one of my favorite shows on TV. The Armenians are not cast in a pleasant light as they are depicted as money launderers, somewhat violent and perverse in the way they do business. The term "Armenian Mafia" has crept up througout the show. I really don't care too much about what the public's perception will be of Armos after these shows air, but, it is interesting to note that the image of Armenians has shifted from the hard working dutiful sort to savage killers and scoundrels over the last 5 years or so. Not living in LA, I wonder how and why this shift has occured in the minds of TV writers? Of all the groups out there, why have TV writers focused on the Armenians of LA? Again, I live in a completely different setting here in Boston so I have no real clue of the Armenian subculture in Glendale, etc.

A typical weekend... Friday night with the juniors, then a birthday party... Saturday night yet another Harout Barahantes (AYF's 71st Anniversary)... Sunday church (a new church in Glendale), then meeting in the evening. At the beginning of all of this, my room was clean... now, not so much. (random info)

So I know I shouldn't be commenting on people's comments.. but I read something interesting and I just HAAAAVE to comment on it. Someone had written this.. "For us as students of Europe and the West to come back to our homeland and bring with us ideas of what works in another parts of the world is quite risky". When I read this statement, I was somewhat confused. Confused because haven't Armenians (among a lot of other countries) been doing that for yearrsssssss? For example, didn't A LOT of our writers and intellectuals (mdavoragans) in the 1800's go to Europe and America to study and bring their ideas to Armenians back home? Isn't that how the ideas of revolution began? (tying it into my previous log about revolutionaries). I disagree with that statement, A LOT. Bringing the ideas to Armenia is not risky at all... in fact it is VERY healthy. What happens with those ideas? That's the important part.

Back to life.... Today I went to the new church that has opened in Glendale. There was a hokehankisd for the soldier who was murdered in Budapest. After church the UYA (United Young Armenians) had organized something in the hall where different people spoke about the massacre. It was kind of sad that there weren't a lot of people there, which made me wonder... did they all go home because it was too hot? are they not acquainted with the tragedy? do they not care? I mean, how could someone do such a thing? And what is being done about it.... what can WEEEEE do about it? .... ???.... I think there should be more activism about it.

...jumping topics...

The AYF's 71st Anniversary dinner dance was a huge success! I don't think the Pasadena Armenian Center has been THAT full in years! There was seating for 650 people, and imagine all those who just came and stood against the wall the whole evening. The night ended in the morning, at 5am! Now let's see how many of those people who sang "hoora hoora" will be there working on projects.... ???....

I also saw the Jesus movie today. I felt like I was the last person on earth who hadn't seen it. But I finally did. I don't know what to say... I think I needed to see the visual, and a lot of people needed to see it. What did it REALLY mean for Jesus to die for us... how did He pray for His persecutors when they were torturing and killing Him... His teachings... how did people feel when they realized in the end that they killed Christ.... Some things that I wondered... How come all of Jesus' followers didn't just come together, revolt, and free Him? How come people just stood there and watched? I really liked the importance of Mary in the movie. Mel Gibson REALLY shows us that what kept Jesus going was His mother! Everytime He was down, He would see her, and He would be able to go on again... I liked that. I had never thought about her importance in that way before. I also wonder about the relation with Mary Magdalene... so was she like one of the disciples? just a sister? My view on this is somewhat tainted, because as a senior in high school I read "The Last Temptation of Christ", in which the author portrays Mary Magdalene has Jesus' biggest temptation, and how they had a DIFFERENT relationship... Who knows! All I know is that this movie helped me realize how REAL all of that is. I think maybe that was Mel Gibson's point.

And about all the anti-semitism stuff... Mel Gibson only showed what REALLY happened. Did the Jews kill Jesus? YESSSSS.. Did the Jewish majority demand Jesus' death? YESSSSS .. Did they torture him? YESSSS .... So if I walk out of the movie thinking, "Mannnn, what barbarians those Jewish people were", I'm in my right. But that doesn't mean I'm going to call my Jewish neighbor-- Hey, "jesus-killer"! Come on.

Anyway, that's all now... the heat wave continuees in LA....

TSUH! :)~

I'm slow on updates, but here's last week's news. Last Saturday the AYF collected in my basement where we have been collecting donated computer equipment in order to prepare them for shipment to Armenia. The idea is to send these computers to villages where computers are not as accessible. Some have questioned whether this is worth all the effort. Since all the computers are free, we have minimal expenses otherwise, why not. I used to think sending computers to Armenia was a bit unnecessary, but it works in this case. So here are a couple photos from that project. The second is a shot of half of the equipment. We have packaged 11 computers to ship over. My basement is now a mess.



I finally saw The Passion of the Christ with the ACYOA folks who received a generous donation of tickets. I thought it was a great film, I'm horrified, would never take my children, have terrible images in my head that I can't get out, and I'm very happy I went to see it. We had an interesting discussion after the movie and I now know I have some brushing up to do.

Otherwise, the weather is spectacular. I had lunch on a swing in my backyard listening to the birds singing. Ah, spring has arrived!

Ya, I wasn't able to get System tickets for the 24th. But last I checked someone was selling great tickets on ebay... just a bit over my budget. The heat is still on in LA... what's really going on? I'm missing Hayasdan already... so I know what you're talkin about Arsineh. I'm must itching to go somewhere... haven't traveled in a while.

I just got back from AYF Seminar earlier this afternoon. The weekend went rather well. As a surprise, the director of the weekend was Karnig Sarkissian, which was cool cause the youth never really gets a chance to interact with him. (For those who don't know, Karnig is a singer who sings revolutionary songs.) This year seminar had some really great educationals. Raffi Hamparian was there on Saturday and gave us an interactive educational. The camp was split up into 5 groups, with 3 of them as political parties, one media group and a group of informed citizens. The point of the two hour long activity was for each political party to create their platform and campaign to have their president elected, and participate in a presidential candidate press conference sort of thing, where the media would ask them questions. It was quite interesting to see the different kinds of groups that were formed and the different issues people wanted to hear about... for example genocide recognition, crimes against humanity, the war in iraq, the role of the UN, etc. In the end, there was a merger of two parties, which caused them both to lose. Nice try though.

We also got to hear from one of our members who participated in the Socialist International (for youth) in Budapest. Something interesting he said, was that the conference took place a week after the killing of the Armenian soldier there and no one at the conference knew anything about it. So as part of their presentation, the Armenian participants brought about awareness of the tragic event. How could they not know what's happening in their own country? There was also a discussion about the ARF's World Congress meeting, and some of the decisions that pertain to the youth.

There was also a discussion about what is a "revolutionary" today... whether it is a person, idea, event, etc. The consensus was that today's revolutionary is, for example, someone who has a vision, no matter how outrageous it may seem, and works to the best of her/his abilities towards those goals. Sometimes these goals seem soooo farfetched, a lot of us give up, because we're really not seeing the fruits of our labor... but other times we able to make a difference... and that's what matters. Revolutionary is passing out flyers to people attending a high-class celebration of Turkish culture in Downtown LA. Revolutionary is having a hunger strike in front of the Museum of Tolerance in order to bring attention to the fact that a museum built to teach about ALL crimes against humanity, doesn't include the Armenian Genocide. In my opinion, every logger on the Repat section of this site is a revolutionary. They have packed up their stuff and done something that 99.9% of Armenians only speak of doing. They are out there everyday, living a life that's a BIT more challenging than if they stayed where they were. They're far from their families and friends, and everything that's "norm" in their lives. They have a vision of a BETTER Armenia, and they are working - against all odds, in their small/big ways, towards that vision. Major props! Bravo dghak!

There's really so much more to say about the discussion, but I think that is a good way to sum it all up. If only more Armenians were, in their own personal way, a bit more revolutionary.

TSUH! :)~

Well anticipation for the summer is growing. I know Shoosh is finding more youth disinterested in going to Armenia, but I find the opposite over here. So many people I run into are planning on going to Armenia and it seems like there aren't enough programs to recommend them to.

I just got great news from the Birthright Armenia folks that the program's success is looking promising. There are so many people looking for such an opportunity, and it seems there are so many people interested in making it happen. So I don't have to explain it, go to www.birthrightarmenia.org for more info. The idea is to get more young diasporans to go to Armenia by illiminating the financial obstacle. I can't say enough about it. There are some tremendous people behind it and it seems like all organizations are on board to participate. This is great news.

And on the East Coast end, I'm getting applications pouring in for a summer in DC. I'm just picturing myself in mid-July... banging my head against the door and shoving interns away from me. I can't wait! I realize now how much last years' interns inspired me, so bring on the little squirts!... and the warm weather please.

Systemania continues. Tickets for the System benefit concert sold out in 17 minutes. For those of you going, take a good look at the program booklet. ;)

Ooreesh, Armenia nostalgia is kicking in (as if it went anywhere). I am dying to see Armenian Navy Band in Armenia... or at all for that matter. Arto, when are you coming to DC??? No... let me come to Armenia... that would be better.

Last Saturday was a hoppin' AYF Dance... lots of young Armenians showed up out of no where. I also saw a lot of the people I grew up with who faded away for a while. All had a good time.

This Sunday, the ACYOA has reserved tickets to a showing of Passion of the Christ, so I will finally get to see this movie, and with Armenians no less. I'm just waiting to hear the duduk play Dileh Aman... with so many Armenians in the crowd, I expect to see many tears in the audience, including my own.

Preparations for April 24th are underway. More details later when I have them.

There's really not much going on out here, except for the sudden heat. (Ya I'm gonna talk about the weather). So, lately it's been crazy hot and everyone's wondering if it's just an early heat wave, or earthquake weather (although they tell us there's no such thing--ya right). Yesterday I had to drive out to the Valley at noon, and it was 82 where I live, and 93 in Encino.. craaaaazyyyy .. Khent Mard!

Today is St. Patrick's Day... everyone's sportin green (ya, including me). The past few weekends have been hectic. Juniors' Seminar, then getaway weekend at Lake Arrowhead, and now Seniors' Seminar this weekend. My parents tell me home is like a hotel for me... haha

Yesterday I did another presentation at an Armenian high school for the AYF Youth Corps Program this summer. It was sad to see that a lot of the students didn't even care. If students in Armenian schools don't care, what are we expecting from the others? Apsos. Some of the other schools were better... one senior class asked me so many questions, I ended up being there for 40 minutes... and no, it wasn't cause they didn't want to go to class - they didn't have class, they leave at noon. Anyway, after showing the video and talking a little about the basics of the program, I spoke mainly about how going to Armenia is really a life-altering experience for students their age. And I also offered different options (summer programs) to go to Armenia... not just our program. Anything to get them involved.

I've been contemplating a one week trip in April (during spring break), and Italy was looking good, until I realized I'd be flying all the way out there... sooooo close to Hayasdan... I thought, it's not worth it. How sad.

Well, that's pretty much it for right now... gotta get back to work. On the last Tuesday of the month, I'm going to Vahe Berberian's new show "Dagavin". Considering his last 2 were hilarious, this one shouldn't be any different.

TSUH! :)~

New Jersey was great. Here are a couple photos for fun. I love my digital camera!!!



I played nardi/tavloo and lost in the second round. :( But it was all in good fun. Most of the weekend was spent with my sister and cousin in the beautiful weather.

That's all for now.

There was some very good news in the New York Times yesterday. I usually do not post articles, but, I thought this was special. Meline is Armenian and is a freelance writer who has a deep knowledge of music. To my absolute surprise, she attended the same Armenian Camp (Camp Hayastan) as many of us back in the late 1980's. I think her piece in the NYT was fantastic and she should be commended.

Timely Hymns to a Timeless City
By MELINE TOUMANI
New York Times

Published: March 7, 2004

In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the transformation to a free
market can practically be measured in days. Thirteen years after the
end of the Soviet Union, high-end boutiques, fancy foreign restaurants
and Internet cafes are among the more obvious signs of change. But
these novelties are superficial. Just as the Soviet era failed to
homogenize Yerevan - which, at 2,700 years, is one of the oldest
cities on earth - the forces of the free market will have a tough time
remaking it.

For proof, listen to the music of Lilit Pipoyan, a Yerevan native and
one of the most beloved artists in Armenia today. A vocalist, pianist
and guitarist, Ms. Pipoyan sets ancient Armenian texts to original
music, sings elegant interpretations of coarse village songs and
writes new lyrics and music inspired by these traditions. Her voice -
heady in both the musical and the metaphorical sense - has the ringing
perfection and acrobatic flourish of opera and the warmth of a mother
singing a lullaby.

Ms. Pipoyan's album "One Day of the City" (available from
armenianmegastore.com) leans more modern than her previous work, but
modern in a way that reflects Armenia's consuming sense of its
antiquity. In this tiny country in the Caucasus, writers who have been
dead for centuries are discussed as though they came to dinner last
week, and conquests from the Byzantine era are mentioned almost as
current events. Yet Ms. Pipoyan's amalgam of traditional and
contemporary idioms also has an interpretive freedom that speaks
volumes about the newly unencumbered society in which it was created.

The album begins with three songs about a city in transition (Yerevan,
clearly). In "One Day," Eastern-tinged arpeggios on guitar are joined
by light, syncopated percussion, which gives energy and motion. Here
and in other songs, a flute's embellishments and a cello's plaint lend
the characteristic pathos of Armenian folk music.

Ms. Pipoyan maintains a consistent sound, distinguished above all by
her brilliant, ornate vocal interpretations. She saves her dreamiest,
most capacious compositions for early lyrics, as in "Far From You" and
"My Beloved," with texts from the 14th and 18th centuries. Her
interpretation of the village song "Cold Waters" is spirited and
graceful. Depending on the tune, Ms. Pipoyan can sound like an Eastern
answer to Edith Piaf or Joni Mitchell.

While Ms. Pipoyan's odes to Yerevan provide a thoughtful framework,
the real soul of the album is the traditional "Cilicia." The mournful,
patriotic lyrics embody a fantasy about returning to Cilicia, a patch
of land in modern-day Turkey in which Armenians took refuge in the
12th century. Since that resettlement at Cilicia is considered the
origin of the Armenian diaspora, the song evokes strong feelings for
far-flung Armenians, many of whom have never actually seen Cilicia or
Armenia itself.

Ms. Pipoyan's rendition may annoy purists, but others will love her
lilting way with the heavy words and her guitar picking, which has the
tinny staccato of a music box. They may never want to hear "Cilicia"
belted around a dinner table again.

Meline Toumani is a writer based in New York.

Well, the news is finally out. System of a Down is holding a benefit concert on April 24th to raise money for efforts in the Armenian genocide recognition. :D I'm furious I wont be able to go, as there will be a few events going on in DC on April 24th, so friends in LA, please enjoy the show for me!

Read the Rolling Stone article on-line: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19418
or Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000454665

On a local note, I am off to New Jersey this weekend to visit my sister and cousin. I can't wait, I haven't seen them for a while and when I do, it's always brief. So I'm VERY excited to spend time with them up in NYC. Not to mention, I will be driving up a group of... 20-25 (I forget the final count) for a basketball/tavloo/blot tournament. We are such Armenians. I myself will partake in the tavloo competition and embarrass everyone, particularly myself. HA!

But I must say, there is a growing community of young professionals/students in DC. I gotta admit, I'm enjoying the company. These people are characters on their own. Brought together, we make one entertaining disfunctional family. I feel the love... and it kept me sane through this week.

Hayastan most certainly is the best cure for my pains and soon enough it will do a number on me. There has never been and never will be a doubt in my mind that I'll be living in Armenia very soon. Until then, those of us less fortunate must make the best of what we have.

The great subject I forgot to raise in the last log is the fantastic article on Armenia that can be found in the March issue of The National Geographic Magazine. My favorite magazine covers my favorite subject.... Armenia.

I got the issue last week and finally read it. Nicely done. This time, the article focused on Armenia itself as a growing republic rebuilding after so much devastation in the early 1990s. In 1978, they had an article on Armenia, but a more historical perspective and much more focus on the diaspora... remember the "Kiss Me I'm Armenia" tshirt? I have the issue. :)

This time, the arial view of Yerevan was what floored me. With Ararat in clear view behind the city, it's monumental presence drew attention to the significance of the land beyond the boarder. The article also did our history some justice. I love that photo. Overall, a proud article.

On the more frustrating note, it seems this is the time of the year where we all get caught up in a million responsibilities going to so many different meetings during the week that coming home at 9 pm on a weeknight seems so early. Weekends fly by so quickly, I didn't even realize it was March 1st until the end of the day.

After a very sunny relaxing day yesterday (Sunday), walking through Georgetown, having a falafel on the Potomac River, today swirled me up into my overwhelming frustration of too many responsibilities that have fallen through the cracks lately. This is the guilt burning inside me saying, "Arsineh, you know you took on these responsibilities, you have no one to blame but yourself... and you also know these are the right things to do." But sometimes we need reminders of why we burn ourselves out like this. I know the end result is worth it, but I lost my ability to determine what is worth the sacrifie. I think it just got easier to say yes to everything that I forgot how to say no. I know it's for a good reason, but in the middle of multitasking, I just don't have time anymore to sit and think about what that reason is.

Any inspirational words out there for me and the many others who are in my shoes? I know you're out there.

Shooshig leaves for camp for the weekend and the logs get interesting comments... of course, while I'm gone. I didn't even have the patience to read all of them, and would like to comment on some stuff. First of all, I want to say that there reallyyyy IS a lot of barab stuff happening in America these days. People thousands of miles away are dealing with REAL LIFE problems, like... for example they live in Baghdad and they are 2 unmarried women, and don't have means of going to the market because they must be accompanied by a male. Here we are in our comfy homes that we try to pay for, for the rest of our lives, and we see a boob on tv and all havoc breaks loose. Excuse me? Do we stop and look at what our kids do when we're not there? I GUARANTEE you that their playstation games (with which most kids spend more time with than they do with their parents) are more harmful to them than a .8723 second view of Janet Jackson's boob. What about those 13 year olds who go home from high school and have orgies...and parents have NO idea because there is no supervision. Oh, don't forget about kids using the internet at the early ages of 10, and having UNLIMITED access to watch what's on the net, cause their parents don't know how to set up child proof programs. Amerigatsis... please, get a life!

Another... SOOOOOO what if Rosie O'Donnel marries her girlfriend. I'm sorry, but does this impact my life in ANY which way? Voch. If they didn't have a ceremony, and didn't receive that piece of paper that says they're married... would my life be any different? Probably not. Didn't some REALLY prophetic guy once tell us not to judge others? People have the right to choose their life pathes, and if I don't agree with it, that's ok... I am not the one to judge. There is someone above me whose department that falls under. Why shouldn't those people marry each other if they love one another. Hey, just cause I don't like chocolate cake, doesn't mean that NO ONE else in the world has the right to eat chocolate cake. I'll eat vanilla, they can have all the chocolate they want. :)

Also... the Hryas need to simmer down a little. Even though I haven't had a chance to go see this [apparently] life altering film, the whole antisemitism ordeal is sooooo barab pan. Look, that's how you read it in the Bible. That's how it happened. Let me give you THE BEST analogy. Remember in 1994 (or 95) this dude in Hayasdan, Ashod Bleyan, wanted to soften the story of the Genocide in Armenian history books in Armenia, cause he said that our children shouldn't be learning about "srdajmlik" (sad) things like that. Excuse me... did the genocide happen? Yes. Were women raped and little kids murdered? Yes. Were the best of our best lost in the massacre? Yes. Was there LOTS of blood? Of course. We've all heard these stories a thousand times, and yet when we see pictures of the Genocide or when we saw ARARAT, did we not feel that pain in our hearts...did we not shed tears...were we not hurt? Of course we did! Thennnnn we learn it the way it happened! You don't prettify history!!! This movie is the same! It is showing us...not just our own imagined view of what we read in the Bible, but a real live person...blood...terror...pain. It's right there in front of us. How could we NOT be moved? How could we NOT thank Jesus everyday for dying for us? Hey... the truth is sometimes not pretty. But I HIGHLY doubt anyone who sees this film will get out of the theatre and say, "Man, now I hate all hryas." This too, barab pan.

Something else... when we log here, we're just one example of life in the diaspora. Hey, I'm not saying that everyone thinks like me.... but who are YOU to say that I shouldn't express my ideas. We participate in this log to write what we think, and frankly... if you're THAT bothered by ideas here (no matter how extreme/liberal they may be) there's a little close button on the top right. Utilize it. If you enjoy it... please come again. :)

As for the Armenian military official's death in Budapest... I'll log soon - now I must sleep. Camp was great by the way! It began as a disaster with our bus not showing up and camp not having ANY electricity (so no heat), but the weekend got better... and the kids had a blast.

TSUH! :)~