more signs of modernity
Yesterday I attended a full scale fashion show with catwalk, beautiful models, bright lights, paparazzi, glamorous guests and all kinds of cocktails. It was great to see some of the up and coming fashion designers of Armenia. here is lots of talent which is expanding. The event was entitled "Pret a Porter"
Last night also, 2 of our good friends from Montreal who were here for almost 4 months left to go back however, 2 friends from Lebanon came for a week's visit. We went out to a Karaoke joint where the smoke was so little that we stayed till he wee hours of the night.
... I don't care what anonimous thinks about my social life - I choose who I want to hang out with and where I want to go with my friends! If you don't like my lifestyle, tough!
Last night also, 2 of our good friends from Montreal who were here for almost 4 months left to go back however, 2 friends from Lebanon came for a week's visit. We went out to a Karaoke joint where the smoke was so little that we stayed till he wee hours of the night.
... I don't care what anonimous thinks about my social life - I choose who I want to hang out with and where I want to go with my friends! If you don't like my lifestyle, tough!
posted by Raffi N at 10:26 AM
13 Comments:
This is re the last paragraph: It all depends on the purpose of your blogs and what they serve Raffi.
I was not going to write this but will since I have been moved/kicked out from blogging in your site a while ago. I am still not convinced that the reason of me being kicked out was not writting enough. Contrary, I believe it was because I was realistic about Armenian life; there are many bloggers who are still active but have not bloged for months and there are no remaining bloggers who write the reality.
If I was still there I would rather blog about the constitutional changes and the demonstrations. Those are very important days for Armenia.
Your bloggs are decieving.
P.S. I didnt bother to e-mail you, you will sure delete this when you read it.
Hello Haig, so finally we see who you are (though you still didn't sign your name), and that you've been hiding behind anonymity... rather sad. Now, let us review your case, since I think it's pathetic that I had to ask you AGAIN AND AGAIN to log, and you didn't, and then you say you were removed for your beliefs. It seems you have been telling the whole world such as well... SO EXPLAIN PLEASE WHY I ASKED YOU TO WRITE, MADE YOU PROMISE EVEN (WHICH YOU DID), AND YOU DIDN'T LOG, YET YOU DON'T BELIEVE THAT CENSORSHIP IS THE REASON WHY???? Yes, I really expect an explanation because here I am putting this to rest once and for all. It seems you're pretty bitter about something you brought onto yourself.
March 3, 2003 - you ask me to log.
March 4, 2003 - I reply: "Alright Haik, if you PROMISE to log at least once a week, I will give you a shot for a month. Sound fair? I want you to promise though!"
March 4, 2003 - You reply: "I will do my best to log at least once a week. As a person who takes promises very seriously i will add that it's not all fully dependent from me, I mean the internet connection and stuff, so far i am very satisfied with it, ( i guess it's due to my IE accelerator, and digital phone line), anyway... So basically, I promise."
March - for ONE MONTH - you logged regularly.
April - ZERO
May - 3
June - ZERO
July - ZERO
July 28, 2003 - I warn you I may remove you "since you just don't post..."
August - 3 logs.
September 5, 2003 - I wrote you: "When I saw your log, I was caught by surprise, because I had forgotten you log. The purpose of the logs is to follow peoples daily lives as well as possible, and I don't like this "voice from the dark" approach. If you cannot log once or twice a week, I will be removing you from the log, sorry.
September 12, 2003 - Exactly one week later, you still not having written, I removed you and wrote: "I have removed you from the logs, as I had warned that I would. I appreciate that you wanted to log, but I really need people who log more regularly. Anyway, hope to meet you soon."
So THAT is the whole history. THAT is what happened. If you don't like it, that's your problem, you should have kept logging and you would not have been booted. I also booted many of my good friends at that time for not logging (Aram, Ashod, Rhoda, Sebouh, Vartan) - as well as people I didn't know (Gayane, Rosita). Now I have changed my approach, especially with people who did log diligently for YEARS, not somebody who logged about a dozen times in over half a year despite his promise. And FINALLY, I went back and read some of your logs and can't even figure out what you think you wrote that could have been offensive. So just get over it and stop playing the freaking martyr here. You owe me an apology and an explanation, though I doubt I'll ever get either.
BTW - You are also wrong about which Raffi you are commenting on. Raffi N is not the same as Raffi. I am Raffi, you are commenting on Raffi Niziblians posts.
You are mistaken. I sign my name when I post other 1 or 2 exception where I hintted that who i am.
This time I did sign but I am not sure why it didnt appear.
So please dont relate me to the blogs of other people.
I didnt even bother to read your response other than the 1st and last two lines.
Raffi N. sorry for the mix up
I think my words are still valid and it was about the whole blog environment, there is nothing personal in this. Just please dont deceive people who make assumtions about the situation based on this page.
Bare in mind that tomorrow we might be loosing a democratic republic or whatever is left of it.
Haig
Haig, I hate to say this but I feel that you’re not a worthy cilicia friend. I remember how you totally overlooked all my requests to hang out and you never called me back when you stated you would. As I recall, that…was back in the early summer of 2003. Haig, you told me to phone you at work (at the UK embassy), and set something up but you gave me the total cold-shoulder by never grounding a location/time and you never did call me back. That wasn’t cool man, especially coming from a fellow Cilicia contributor. I mean, before moving to Yerevan that summer, you seemed so good-hearted and accepting. What happened? I was baffled by your actions, but hey it’s ok…..I ended up meeting the most magnificent people in the world that summer so thanks for the no-show.
Hi Hagop
How are you? At the time when you were in Armenia I was very busy with work - 24hr a day, it was a very crucial time for me.
I am not sure why I started visiting Cilicia, maybe with the hope to read abour Referendum. But I rather follow the news in other places.
If you want referendum coverage read the online newspapers. But read both the pro-establishment and the opposition outlets to get a better picture.
If you can read Eastern Armenian you will have far better news coverage than if you only read in English.
Bravo Raffi Kojian.
Exposing these frauds who complain on your blogs about censorship when they have nothing to say (literally) is telling and entertaining at once. Especially when you have the email history to back it up.
Haig - first of all it is again quite insulting that you say you won't even read my reply to your claims (not that I believe it). Whatever, you can never again play the part of the poor martyr on this site, and have lost any credibility you might have had.
Second, if you want coverage of news, YES, GO TO A NEWS SITE! This log is about whatever we feel like writing about, don't complain about what you do or don't find here. WE HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO YOU OR ANYONE! Do you understand this? Do you understand that just as you were busy 24 hours a day supposedly, we also have lives. We have our interests. We see different things, experience different things, and share different things. If you wanted so much to share you had the opportunity and refused to take it. Yes, I saw about 50 people this evening in the Opera Square, if I feel like writing about it I will, if not I won't.
Many of you anonymous complainers don't understand that because of you a number of people have stopped or reduced their logging. It is tedious, annoying, insulting and incomprehensible. I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you don't like it, then don't read it. If you want to ask about events going on in a normal way, if you want to make an interesting point, then go ahead, we are usually happy to discuss... but being judgemental about peoples lives when they are generously sharing them with you is just plain wrong.
Feel free not to read anything except the first and last word of this comment as well, angirt.
Thanks for the backup fellow loggers... z'zveli business, but hopefully this puts the whole thing to rest - at least for the general public. It doesn't appear that Haig is interested in the truth.
Hi I just want to tell you how much I enjoy LIFE in ARMENIA.
You guys doing a great job.I haven't been back for seven years.
It's gives me hope reading this site.Thank you.
Anahit.
You guys can go on complaining and winging if you wish but life is getting much better each month and country is being modernised. We should know WE live here.
Cheers!
Vartan
Don't try to build an evil image of me.
Firstly: In my original e-mail I did noted that officially I was moved/kicked out due to not posting much. I did not and do not deny it,-you just never could convince me that that was the only factor. Therefore there was no need to bring excerpts from our personal e-mails without getting my agreement. However I am not surprised since this was not the first attampt of tarnishing peoples reputation by publishing personal e-mails in a public domain.
Secondly: I don't act as a martyr so dont try to "kill" me and dont call me a liar based on your unfounded assumtions. On the other hand I understand that this is your site and it seems that you can do whatever you are pleased to do. however your site is part of the open INTERnet community.
Finally i would like to note that your bloggs are more than diary entries for many people. They are shaping opinions and perceptions about a country and her realities therefore I think you need to think about it.
It is hard to say what is modernization, right or wrong so if one of the purposes of your bloggs is to establish a public conversation than you need to guaranty a coverage of multiple if not all possible sides and thoughts.
Keeping people in a trance, in hope and in dream with the bright colours and haze makes them passive and romantic. As a group of people with the threat of extinction we can not afford that.
Please note that you have one strong PR tool here and you need to consider the term of its use, unless you already did.
Have a good day.
Don't try to build an evil image of you?!?!?! What the hell? YOU are the one making claims about ME. I simply defended myself after all these years.
Firstly: You needn't complain about me attempting to "tarnish peoples reputations" when it is you who admittedly without ANY proof at all, have promoted your fantasy that you can read my mind and claim that I removed you for your beliefs. THAT is trying to tarnish MY reputation. If you don't expect me to eventually react, too bad. As for "publishing personal emails", I published a 2 sentence email of yours in this case, the rest were my emails.
Secondly: You have been playing the "silenced martyr". You have no right to. You did not log, you were warned, you broke your promise, I removed you. Simple. It does impress me that you agree I can do what I please with my site - even if you qualify it with a however. But there is no qualifier, it is my site, and I can do whatever I fancy with it. It really is that simple.
Finally, I know that people read the blogs, I know who is writing, who is reading, what is being written. I am not so stupid as to not realize this. I also am happy to add new writers as it says on the right bar on the page. As you saw I added you without ever even meeting you, and tried to get you to write more often (not something I'd do if I was trying to shut you up, eh?).
Look, I've still never met you, I hear your not a bad guy, so try to put your conspiracy theories away, try not to be so judgemental of humans sharing THEIR observations and thoughts, and as I always say, if you really don't like what you see here, don't read it.
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