April 24 in DC

Many photos of the last three days have been uploaded to my website and there are still some to go. I have done all but the Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide Observance which will be up soon. Included so far are photos from the protest on the 24th, Serj and John's meetings with Congressmen, the screening of the "Screamers" documentary, and Serj and John's interviews with the Press.

Coming soon is a VERY special suprise, one that blew my mind. Something happened yesterday that convinced me I was dreaming. Never in a million years could I have imagined this would happen, and the chances are one in a billion. Sorry for the suspense, but I need to wait before releasing the info on this one... I have to wait until the official Press Release is distributed, but once it's out there, I will share photos and the full story.

Once again, my photo website is: www.digitalrailroad.net/arsineh

DC April 24 Demo with SOAD

Sneak peak of photos from today's April 24 Demonstration in DC infront of the Turkish Embassy, as well as the Turkish counter-protesters.



Serj Tankian speaking with a reporter from the LA Times.



John Dolmayan upfront at the protest.







Turkish and Azerbaijani counter-protesters.

There's MUCH more to see later.

Flags, Inc.

What's that saying about pictures meaning more than words? Well, it doesn't exactly hold true for the picture below (I have many many words). While I was driving home from giving educationals to the HMEM Scouts Genocide Seminar, I saw hundreds of cars ..... decked out in red-blue-orange. Now, at first I decided that it was somewhat funny... as SOME drivers had really put a lot of thought into how to add the trio on their vehicles. Some of them had gotten the actual flag altered, so that it draped from the celing of the car, all the way down the trunk - with the rectangle of the license plate opened up so they wouldn't receive tickets (sorry I couldn't take my phone out fast enough to catch that one). Some had made special stickers that went on the side mirrors - just a yerakuyn stripe. Some actually stuck the flag on the pole out their sunroofs. And so on... and so forth....

It seems, that there are MANY mixed feelings about the parade of flags around Glendale/Hollywood/Burbank. Some people say it's great how proud these people are of their heritage, and are remembering/commemorating the Genocide in their own way. Others are VERY annoyed by this display of "nationalism", and feel parading around in cars with yerakuyns does nothing to further the Armenian cause, let alone Recognition.

I used to whole-heartedly believe in the 2nd school of thought. As the years pass, I've come to realize... perhaps the display of national pride is after all, quite fitting for the occasion. Aren't we proud to still be around? Aren't we proud to even have a flag, which represents a nation (that we shouldn't have had, according to the organizers of the Genocide)? Aren't we proud of today's youth (majority) who are proud of their heritage? After all.... aren't the teenagers in the above vehicle one notch above those who use their day-off on April 24, to go to Six Flags, or Palm Springs??? Sure, I'm concerned that this sense of national pride comes only once a year... Maybe it is the responsibility of others to empower the flag-bearing-youth with knowledge and opportunity to do MORE???

Everyone deals with things in different ways. But can Armenians afford to have the "to each his own" mentality?

TSUH! :)~

Andre, PBS, and Armenia

Before I start my YerazArt tour blog from March 24-April 10, a few random notes to empty out my mental drawer.

Andre and his Eurovision song entry on behalf of Armenia- Ever since news hit that Andre's song "Without Your Love" is the official entry into the 2006 Eurovision contest, the Armenian blogshere has been lit up with various remarks about the contest, the song, and the artist. I haven't read most of them, instead wanting to review the song without any bias. My knowledge of Andre begins and ends with his performance I caught in Stepanakert on September 1, 2004 along with Alla Levonyan. He's a Karabaghsi, very popular in Armenia, and has a decent voice. However, what about this Eurovision entry?

I've heard the following lines from people "He's Armenia's Ricky Martin", or "The Armenian Michael Jackson", etc. Lines like that show how either people are really dated in their pop music knowledge (who can blame them), or just plain bandwagon jumpers. Jackson hasen't been relevant in 20 years, and Ricky Martin is already washed up. Harmless in both cases, but, definately missing the mark in terms of a comparison. More to the point, Andre's "Without Your Love" has predictably dumb English lyrics that are just filler for the actual music. I am happy to report that Andre and his arrangers take the Turkish Tarkan approach with snappy orchestration, tight vocals, and a hint of acoustic guitar. There are straight up rip offs of Tarkan's vocal arrangements in the phrase "tell me what I have to do". You can look it up if you want to. But, that's OK since Turkish artists have been ripping us off for centuries. What counts is that Andre effectively uses a killer break in the song to impliment a zourna and duduk sequence that ultimately saves the song. His vocals are strong, convincing, and overall it's a hoot to listen to his English. Andre suffers from the Shakira/Bebel Gilberto/Gor Mkhtiarian syndrome of asking their audience if it is better to sing in English with an accent, or just let it rip in their native tongue where artists seem to convey more confidence. "Without Your Love" is a short, under 3 minute diddy, that should get people off their seats in Athens, Greece at the Eurovision contest and dancing. That's all that matters. If for nothing, the video is even better that the song...Overall, a 2.5 star (out of 4 effort).

The Armenian Genocide by Andrew Goldberg- The much ballyhooed documentary by Andrew Goldberg finally airs on PBS this week and is available on DVD. I've seen it a few times as I Tivo'd it. Overall, this is a very strong documentary on our Genocide. The use of Natalie Portman, Ed Harris, and Julliana Marguilles narrating the piece was a nice touch. Ron Suny, Tamer Ackam, Halil Bertkay, Vahakn Dadrian, and Peter Balakian star as the scholarly voices. What can I say, it is a very competant and skillfully made work that non-Armenian and Armenians can learn from. (3.5 out of 4 stars).

I will be in Armenia during the very middle of June for 10 days. The reason for my trip is a very close friend is getting married in Armenia. He was one of my co-best men at my wedding and I am thrilled he is finally getting hitched. As such, my Haitian American wife Natacha will be joining me to attend my friends wedding. This is also around our own 2 year wedding anniversary and we have chosen Armenia to celebrate. It will be her first time there and I am really happy to show her the place that has been something that has been a part of our relationship for over 10 years. We have chosen a beautiful boutique hotel in Yerevan to stay at for our 10 days trip. I stayed there for one night in 2004 as part of a commission to produce an album for the Tufenkian Foundation. For my 6th trip , this will be the first time I will have stayed at a hotel for more than a few night as I've always crashed with friends. This time, it's time to go a different route and enjoy our Anniversary and the wedding of one of our closest friends.

YerazArt next time...

The YerazArt Tour

I have recently returned back to normalcy after an 18 day tour with the YerazArt Young Musicians from Armenia. Ranging in age from 12 to 16, plus an adult chaperone, this group dazzled audiences all around. However, there were some bumps in the road with regard to attendance and overall committment from our Diaspora in supporting these young musicians. I will blog like I have in the past, serializing the experience. I thought I had seen it all in this profession and with our own Armenian community. However, wait until you hear my story.

Armenians and the Left

As you all know, the Armenians and the Left conference will be happening in New York/Boston this weekend. In all, 20 of us from Toronto rented a bus and came down to New York to attend. We just checked into our hotel right now and are going to go downtown soon for some sightseeing...The conference begins tonight at 7:00....Hopefully everything will go well! I will keep you posted.....


Check out the website: www.armeniansandtheleft.com

April FoolsDay - Lirpa Sloofyad

Hi. A bit over the top, as intended regarding my April Fools abduction story by Mr. Lirpa Sloofyad. I am safe and sound here in NYC with the YerazArt Young Musicians from Armenia. Much to tell later. Of course, if you haven't figured it out by now, Mr. Lirpa Sloofyad spelled backwards is April FoolsDay. Or some variation thereof.