Golden free times

After a mild autumn, a cold but sunny winter is entering, “invigorating” but the bright sun is softening it !

Younger, I used to see this period with a very cynic and ironic eye, as commercially poisoned, untrue, and all the obvious defects of these too-much-organised celebrations. Then one year I get touched by the pleasures given by the authentic good moments offered by those celebrations (yes, even hidden they really exist!), so I changed my mind and became more tolerant. Enjoying those times is much more easy now ! This year I’m all the most delighted because of my personal situation that offers double ration of those pleasures. The last days of job were last week, and the approaching of my leaving brought many various colleagues to get closer to me. I don’t think I could have met such different people out of the work so it was nice to know them, and I’ll probably stay in touch with some. There again, I’ve expected indifference, not much attention from them, but shame on me I was wrong. And believe me: seeing that in spite of all the sh… people can do each other in this world, a warm sort of human brotherhood can’t help but showing itself, is something really cheering about human’s fate. Now I’m simply enjoying a precious time of liberty between 2 jobs, and it’s GREAT : I only have pleasant activities scheduled :o)
Conclusion : if possible, changing job is recommended! :o)

On the Armenian side, I haven’t followed much, but this month UGAB – sorry AGBU in English – celebrated its 100th anniversary in Paris during a whole week end, many events planned where many Armenians from all the world were reunited in the arounds of the very chic Intercontinental Hotel near the Opera at Paris. Lovely international citizenship of our diaspora.
The hypocrites’ diplomatic ballet between Turkey and EU has been going on about “freezing” some points of the entry negociations. Irritating to see what freezes or not our Europeans politics, the hell of them !

The coming events are more satisfactorying :
A interesting exhibition has just begun at La Conciergerie, “the 12 capitals of Armenia” which will stay until march. Showing architectural heritage of those important historic capitals, from 9th century before JC's Van , until today’s Erevan, and also some elements of Erevan’s National History Museum that will light Armenian traditions.

Fethiye Cetin’s book has recently been translated in Armenian and – special scoop for you - she’ll be here in January with the translator Salpy Kasparian (from Alep, Syria) also accompanied by Pr. Hayr Levon Zekiyan (from Venice Italy) to present the book in Paris. FC is a Turkish lawyer who discovered her grandmother was Armenian and made a book of this story. All the echoes heard about it sound good, looks like it’s a very touching book, we can easily imagine how. It has already been translated in French this year I think, but to have it in Armenian is specifically relevant.

On those nice perspectives, wishing you happy holidays/celebrations!
Bonnes Fêtes !

Seasons' Greetings!

Parev parev sireliner,

So, my last exam was over yesterday, and I am now a stay-at-home student bum for the holidays...feels good! Besides the fact that I dreamed last night that I had received an L on my last exam (which I assume is the grade much, much lower than an F), exam season went by pretty well, and the holiday season will be spent with friends and family, as well as a lot of (non-legal) reading... I may even give writing a shot, as there are a few ideas burgeoning in my head. And of course, the hunt for a summer job shall already begin. I initially had plans to return to Armenia this summer for another internship somewhere else, but that has been put on hold for now, as I will seemingly be leaving on exchange to Groningen (Netherlands) in September for a semester, and raising money this summer seems like a good idea. I'll hopefully find something human rights-ian to get involved in.

Bon, enough of Vrouyr life stories. What's happening in Montreal? Weather is abnormally mild (I went out with a sweater and no jacket today), and there is no snow. Kinda freaky 5 days before Christmas. Of course, as good Armenians, we do not celebrate Christmas (except maybe a dinner with cousins), and do the traditional gift exchange on New Year's. I find it important for (non-Catholic) Armenians to maintain this tradition, and the money saved on gifts (woo for Boxing day!) is an added incentive.

Robert Fisk was in town last night to give a speech at McGill, invited by the university's ASA I believe. I did not attend because, frankly, a lecture is not what I felt like doing after my last exam. In any event, I hope that those in attendance who were not aware of him and his work enjoyed it. He's definitely done a lot for us Armenians, and for justice in general, over his career. Adgé zad, all sorts of Armenian Christmas/Santa Claus parties are popping up, and I think Sourp Hagop has this mega-night with Armenchik and a whole bunch of other singers coming to town on Christmas eve.

There is also a fundraiser going on for the building of a new church in Laval. While I know that it will only replace the really crummy small church of Laval, this once again highlights our community's ineffective management of its ressources. The greater Montreal area, with its total population of max 35 000 Armenians, has, to my knowledge, at least 7 churches. There is the Apostolic Church in Montreal, the "other" Apostolic Church in Montreal, the Apostolic Church in Laval, the "other" Apostolic Church in Laval, the Protestant Church in Montreal, the Protestant Church in Laval and the Catholic Church in Laval (you can choose which one of Echmiadznagan, Antliasagan qualifies as the "other" one).
For those of you unaware of Montreal's geography, you can get from Montreal to Laval in about 10-15 minutes, so there is no real necessity for all these churches, which remain mostly empty for most of the year. Are these mushrooming churches a sign of devotion to our faith, or just a grandiose waste of money? I'd vote for the latter. Trying to understand how our adenabeds find it wiser to invest in building more walls (pun very intended) instead of developing adequate and necessary programs for the preservation-of-culture/participation-of-youth is an intellectual luxury that neither sensitive nor logical souls can afford. Inch vor e, perhaps with the next generation... (please, no comments about "why don't you DO something instead of yapping about it".. I do all I can with what I have)

New Year's will be spent with family and friends at AGBU, and will probably continue with other friends at Sourp Hagop, and end in a cheap diner at 7am. Nothing like kef with a whole lot of Armenians!

Shnorhavor Nor Dari yev Sourp Dznoont Polorin. May the new year bring health and success to you all, to all our communities worldwide, and to our Republic!


(I'll try to post some pictures once I figure out how that works)

Online Armenian Vendor

For those of us who want to get Armenian gifts for friends and family, I would like to recommend a new website that has popped up. The owners happen to be neighbors and close friends of mine. Instead of give 5 to 10 places to recommend, www.armenianvendor.com has it all in one spot. As far as I know, this website is the only one to carry the Harvest Song brand fruit preserve, which are products of Armenia.

For YerazArt, our new website is being worked on, as well as a promotional DVD which will incorporate interviews with Ara Gevorkian, Aram Gharabekian, and the kids who perform on the violin, duduk, etc. Our goal is to have an integrated marketing and media concept in time for our 2007 tours in the Spring and Fall. We are currently looking into non-traditional Armenian communities for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 dates. Cities such as Seattle, Portland, OR, Miami, FL, etc would be places we would be interested in presenting these shows. Please feel free to contact me with inquiries.

Only One Week 'Till the Gift Exchange we Call Christmas!!

It was the weekend before Christmas and the Glendale Mall was in a flurry. Armenian shoppers were chatting it up on their cell phones as they ran from store to store in quest for the perfect gift. But, wait, what is the perfect gift? Is it sentimental value, or is it in a designer name?

I don’t know how I get the privilege of hearing snippets of the most random comments people make as I march past them but some things our Armenian gift givers were saying as they shopped were SO off the wall I feel like I want to talk about this holiday a bit.

There is clearly some twisted gift buying strategy that people are ok with and I’m sure it goes way beyond Armenians. I’m really curious as to why we feel obligated to buy people something (when we would rather not), evaluate the worth of what we give and get, and get blind sighted by designer stuff because of a label. I know why. But. WHYYYY?

I don’t want you to misunderstand. I’m not some kind of hippie anti big business type of person. I have my share of designer goods but I guess what I’m talking more about is the approach to this stuff, the value we put on it, and the responsibility we take for what behavior we are encouraging. Christmas is the best time of year. Twinkle lights flickering, holiday grabs over lamb chops and red wine, concerts and the chill in the air just pulls it all together. But, I take issue with this buying frenzy more and more. What the *(&(*# are people doing? The AWFUL local news only exacerbates the situation with their calendars “only 7 more days to go to the mall”, “merchandise is running out”, “don’t get left out in the cold.” Cry me a freakin’ river!!

This isn’t a revolutionary subject but I guess when my 17 year old cousin and her friends who will be of credit card age next year were discussing how they want anything Coach elevated my blood pressure I felt I needed to do some damage control. I resorted to think of alternatives to at least be able to challenge their idea of “nice stuff” and try to inspire their artistic wit to distinguish between commercialized crap that builds its brand on a supposed image and then what really beautiful design can look like. I’m not sure how I am going to do this yet, but do you think it might work? They are after all Armenian and see their friends with the black Beamers and Juicy Couture every day.

I’ll be honest though, part of the issue that I take cause with is the damaging effect globalization and outsourcing is having on our economy. Ask any “expert” and they will tell you that we are doing GREAT and creating lots of jobs – what those guys won’t tell you is that the bulk of jobs we are creating are all in the service sector. We are outsourcing, literally, EVERYTHING to countries that are in a race with each other as to who can produce it cheaper. We are getting down to the pennies people which means that the college grads of tomorrow AND YESTERDAY can say hello to Walmart. Don’t believe me? Open your eyes to the types of people working at book stores, Target, in the mall. The landscape is changing pretty quick and immigration issues are not helping one bit. Anyway, I digress with this but like to throw it out there so we get a little more discerning about how and where we spend our $$ - at least to the extent we can.

True to form I will tell you my strategy since I am asking for yours. To me, appreciation, validation, and sentimental affection are the elements that make a gift “perfect” – to give and get. I happen to be a crafty person so have the ability to conceptualize and create unique hand made gifts for people throughout the year whether it’s for their birthday or just because. I like it because time is the most valuable asset I have, so to spend it to concept something unique for someone is probably the most valuable thing I can give. But, when Christmas creeps up on me and I'm not prepared I turn to support independent artists and designers with whatever they are offering. A lot of these people leave the big names in the dust. I like knowing that not only am I giving someone a really cool gift that is unique and personalized, but I also am taking an opportunity to support the dream of a truly talented artist – and if they are Armenian, all the better. I'll also gift someone something that challenges that status quo - I happen to have an usual number of lawyers as friends and LOVE seeing their reaction when I give them a gift certificate to the Ceramics Studio on Beverly for unlimited monthly use and classes. They have the notion that they can just buy whatever they want so it's so fun to see them trying to use the other half of their brain (trying is usually the operative word, unfortunately). haha I get that i'm in the minority with this, especially among Armenians, since the line at the Apple store was, like, reallllllly long.

My commentary is a bit late in the game since according to the polls your shopping is 73.89% done but in the future take a second to think about what you are doing and if it's really what speaks to your own spirit of giving. If it is, that's cool. If it is'nt, there are alternatives if you think outside the box a bit. And for the love of GOD, don't give someone something just because you feel obligated.

PS. Unfortunately I don't know any Armenian crafters or the like off the top of my head but I promise to look around for them and tell you my favorites if you promise to give them a chance. Deal? Deal.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!!

That's it. Bye:)

The Feeling Begins

Although I haven't been blogging as often as I would like to, behind the scenes a lot is taking place in my "Armenian world". After the Iakovos Kolanian tour ended in the first week of November 2006, it was time to completely focus on our YerazArt Young Musicians from Armenia Tour Spring 2007. The concept is fairly simple. Our panel of Advisory Board Members in Armenia work with our Armenia Country Director in selecting 8 eligible students who will tour with us. From Boston, I am in constant contact with our Country Director whose office is in Yerevan. Yesterday, we made our final selection of talent and will announcing the winners shortly. Our U.S. tour is aimed at non-Armenian audiences in cities and venues that have not usually seen or heard music from Armenia. For example, we were able to get the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico to host our concert for April 29. We also have two shows scheduled in Santa Fe on April 27 and 28 at the College of Santa Fe. We have Austin, Texas also interested through the Armenian Community there. Those folks in Austin know how to present an Armenian show as I have worked with them in the past.

I thought it would be interesting to convey how we got these shows. I picked up the phone and called a non-profit organization called Albuquerque Arts and asked to be put in touch with an Armenian contact. The woman there said to try a lady who has been sick of late, but, is the matriarch of the community. I called the woman and on the other line was a very informative and lucid 89 year old who moved to New Mexico from Watertown, MA with her husband "after the war". Well, we are talking about World War 2. We chatted for an hour and I was utterly amazed at how in tune this person was. When I explained our mission of YerazArt and the fact that we wanted to bring the show to her city, within a day she emailed me (yes, email!) a short list of 7 Armenian Americans who would be willing to help out. Sure enough, they have helped out tremendously.

One of the Armenian Americans works for the Mayor's Office of Albuquerque and has secured a tremendous theater for us in the city at no cost to YerazArt. He pledged citywide support to get the word out about the show. Next, I called a piano rental company to inquire about getting a 9 foot Steinway Grand Piano, B Class and after hearing what the program would be decided to donate the rental for the evening. The next day I called the College of Santa Fe (about 55 miles from Albuquerque) and inquired if we could rent their recital hall and immediately after hearing what the show was about, invited our musicians to perform two concerts at the school hosted by them. They are interested in the fact that we will be bringing a duduk player, kanon player, and pure folk singer.

With only a handful of Armenian Americans not affiliated with any organization or group, we have been able to set up three shows with City and University backing in New Mexico. Otherwise, I am trying to work with Armenian organizations for other cities who are worried about losing a few hundred bucks on the show. When pressed, I ask if their mission is to profit, or to present music from Armenia from the countries youngest and brightest. Of course, the answer is always convoluted. To be fair, the smaller Armenian communities have showed great interest, little red tape, and a thirst for Armenian culture.

In other news, I am close to signing another Pomegranate artist. I met them at a classical guitar convention recently and was surprised they hadn't signed on with anyone. They have each recorded for classical music giant Naxos, but, liked what we did with the Iakovos Kolanian stuff. The ensemble is fairly well known and I am really happy to have them sign on with Pomegranate. It marks a new benchmark for our label. Check out their site and stay tuned for a recording in 2007 from SoloDuo. They are from Italy and would be the first non-Armenain artists signed to my record label. Click HERE for their website. In the meantime, hear what the Washington Post said about them several months ago. "Extraordinarily sensitive, with effortless command and an almost unbearable delicacy of touch, the duo's playing was nothing less than rapturous -- profound and unforgettable musicianship of the highest order."Stephen Brookes - The Washington Post, July 25, 2006

I Heart the AGBU Generation Next Mentorship!

I heart the AGBU and the Generation Next Mentorship is one of my favorite programs. I think they do a great job to proactively and assertively reach out to At-Risk Armenian Youth in the Glendale Unified School District. They are in need of mentors who can positively impact the life of students that need guidance. Can that be you?

I was a mentor for three years and know that the time requirement is fairly significant but it will turn out to be very fulfilling. You will be part of a program with some very cool adults that the program attracts and also make a positive impact in the life of a student who will teach you as much as you are teaching them. The program pairs one student with one adult for the course of the school year and you will spend one-on-one time with them as well as be part of a number of group activities.

There is an upcoming informational session you can attend at the AGBU Pasadena Alex Manoogian Center to find out more:

INFORMATIVE SESSION
Thursday, December 14, 2006
7:00PM Opening Reception (refreshments)
7:30PM Orientation begins promptly

AGBU Alex Manoogian Pasadena Center, Boyajian Hall
2495 E. Mountain St.Pasadena, CA 91104

Ara Arzumanian, Director
Armenian General Benevolent Union
Generation Next Mentorship Program
626.794.7942 office
818.395.2252 cell

Check them out online: www.agbugennext.org

:)

$1, "comedy", SCREAMERS, and Tebi Yergir...

The dollars keep rolling in for my DOLLARTHON campaign! I'm very excited about all the things I'll be able to get for the Annual Christmas party at the Mangadoon, and I'll probably have enough to give out to other underprivelaged children in more rural areas (outside Yerevan).

Lately everyone's been talking about BORAT, and how there is an Armenian man in it who speaks Armenian in the movie. Mostly, I hear older Armenians complaining that it is a disgusting depiction of an Armenian. I, personally, haven't seen the movie (nor do I plan to see it, unless I happen to rent it in Armenia for $1)... but I don't get what the fuss is about. There are worse depictions of Armenians, for example...the Armenian Comedian. Not only is he the stereotypical bald, fat, ugly, hairy Armenian man with a horrible accent... he makes no sense, and is not in the LEAST bit funny. (And I'm not just saying that cause I'm Armenian... he is TRULY not funny.. not even "stupid funny"). Thank goodness we have Armenians who invented the MRI, pioneered color movies, patented the green dye in the dollar bill, went to the moon, composed Saber Dances, designed a plane, invented Gatorade, etc.....

SCREAMERS opens this Friday... be sure to see it, not only cause it would be great to support an Armenian film maker (a female one at that), but because I really believe this movie is worth your 90 minutes. The movie REALLY does inspire viewers to become "screamers"... a difficult task in today's America.

Lately an article written by Armen Aivazyan is going around on the internet (and was also in Nor Gyank) regarding Armenia and Diaspora. In it, he says... "Homeland, with all of its problems and shortcomings as well as many successes is the most effective pivot, and in many aspects the only one, around which the Diasporan life and identity could be built and cultivated." This one sentence sums up almost everything I feel about Hayasdan. The article talks about the various ways Diaspora helps Armenia, whether it be through aid, lobbying or politics, but Mr. Aivazyan is getting down to the BOTTOM LINE, folks. TEBI YERGIR!

It also talks about the different ways Armenia and Diaspora should be working together in order to not only help the growth of our nation, but also the best way to keep the Diaspora away from the dangers of assimilation. The best suggestion in his article is to have the Diaspora connected to Armenia, in a more "hands-on" way... engagement in the homeland life. Again, I hate making this comparison, but seriously -- look at Israel... enough said. Programs like Birthright Armenia are starting to do this exact thing... bringing us to the very important stage of preparing our Armenia, not just socially-but also with specific legislation, for Diasporan Armenians returning to the homeland.

There is so much to say about this article... I thought I'd put it out there ... with my $.02 attached of course. :)

TSUH! :)~
p.s. - 13 days left...

Chene 2006 and other considerations

Last week was the Chene’s annual events period at the Mkhitarian Samuel Moorat Varjaran of Sèvres, in Paris’ direct neighbourhood, on the edges of Seine…

This Armenian historic building could deserve a story itself but to summarize, let’s just say that it is one of the oldest, most appreciated and famous Armenian school in Paris (since 1928), directed by the Mkhitarist congregation (the same that has an exceptional historic data base in San Lazzaro, Venice).

Because of the major reduction of pupils, and consequently financial fund reduction, now there only remain courses one or 2 days a week. Even if this is a common problem of Armenian education in France, this is rather sad given the value of the teaching (each ex-students of this school that you’ll meet keep excellent memories of this school, the French deputy Patrick Devedjian was one of them) and the special value of the building. All this united was for sure a big prestige for Armenians !

The building is from the 18th century, and has been registered in the list of historic buildings (that is to say protected) by the French Ministry for the Culture. Now its maintenance is a serious problem, as its frontage already shows, unfortunately…
The fact that Chene organises its braderie there, appears then like an important reason why their actions are appreciable. So, I went to the exposure and the braderie and took some pictures of the beautiful objects presented, which largely contributed to the nice moments offered to the numerous visitors… To discover here !

As usual, lots of people came last week end, and it is generally known that there’s more choice on Saturday morning (opening of the braderie) than Sunday afternoon, proof of success ! :o)
In fact, it’s not so easy to find such refined Armenian stuff around Paris (traditional Armenian objects, mostly from Erevan’s Vernissage : decorative pomegranates, alphabets, dolls (nourig), musical instruments, various wood, ceramic or silver creations, little sculptures, embroideries, books, …). This is what explains the success of the braderie.

Without transition, here’s a rough first thought I had while reading Leonid’s post, our new logging companion - by the way welcome Baron! It’s always nice to read other countries echoes!
He explained that he didn’t identify himself very much to Germany, which was surprising for me. I really can’t say the same about France where I live and mainly grew up. Of course that is not to say that France is the perfect country or that I know perfectly all of it (far from all that), but I simply have a deep attachment to it because it’s my place, my habits, the main part of my mixed culture, also a main cause of my present way of thinking, and well, simply my familiar environment that I can’t deal without… and I like it like that !

So reading Leonid made me realise how various can be the felt of each of us in our respective adoptive countries. How hard it can be to imagine the way of living in other countries when we don’t share the same obvious bases.
One colleague sent me this link of an interesting article about Christian minorities in Turkey.
Those minorities have to deal with anormal restrictions just because they’re Christians (it’s a usual thing for them), on a daily and ordinary basis. As I was telling her some family anecdotes, all of it was truly a hardly conceivable way of life for the standard french woman that she is.
It’s the same unawareness that was in action when I read Leonid.
It depends on the countries, the places, and each one’s history, but trying to find the reasons of those differences is a rich subject of study. Imagine how we – as diasporans – can contribute to it by confronting our experiences ! Imagine all that is to be discovered about our world in general, just thanks to our situation of diasporan Armenians…

Barevner from Germany!

Hi everyone, I’m Leonid from good old Germany. From now on I’ll be blogging here on the internet’s biggest Armenian blog, what an honour this is! And how come I was given this honour? It was because I asked Raffi K. to write something on this blog to contribute to the Armenian Cause, which he refused in this case, but actually told me to do it myself, so here I am. Thank you Raffi for giving me this opportunity, I really appreciate it….

So a little bit about myself:

I’m a student of Political-Science and Sociology and very interested in “All Things Armenian”, especially Armenian history and politics. I’m also a very active member of the Armenian community here in Germany. I should mention that I have a wonderful girlfriend, who at the moment studies in Yerevan. She originally comes from Iran, but moved to Armenia a few years ago. So in order to see my darling love, I fly to Armenia twice a year. I actually do not identify myself that much with Germany, I consider Armenia my country and my homeland and in my opinion it’s the duty of every single Armenian to help the homeland in any way possible. I’m not a businessman who could invest in Armenia’s economy, but I have certain skills that I will be able to offer Armenia. Armenia is facing a heavy brain-drain at the moment and we all know how much the quality of education has suffered during the last 15 years of independence. Armenia needs (western educated) specialists and we in the Diaspora have the ability to reverse this brain-drain. If we really want to help the homeland, many of us need to move there in order to personally contribute to the nation-building process and strengthening of the country. And by moving to Armenia, we Diasporan-Armenians would give the locals the hope that there will be a brighter future. We should never underestimate the positive psychological effects of a massive repatriation on the people of Armenia, which would certainly reduce the emigration! And to be honest, I don’t particularly like the life in the Diaspora. I therefore hope to finally move to Armenia after I have finished my education. My dream job would be to work for the Armenian Foreign Ministry as a policy adviser, but this is not going to happen in the near future, so it will remain a dream for now. I do have some other dream jobs as well, but I will most probably end up working for an international organization at the beginning, which seems more realistic at the moment…

And since you won’t find much information on the internet about Germany’s Armenian community and it’s activities, I will provide you with some info:

Around 40.000 Armenians live in Germany with the majority originally coming from Turkey and many newcomers having arrived from Armenia. The rest of the Armenians mostly come from the Middle East. Unfortunately the majority of our community is not centered in a certain city, like for example in the case of Beirut, Paris or Los Angeles. Armenians live all over Germany without having a centre anywhere and this is a huge obstacle for many things and raises the danger of assimilation. We do have a number of cultural and educational organizations, which are mostly members of the German-Armenian Central Council , the representative body of our community. Due to the united efforts of the Council and the Armenian Church we succeeded in getting the Armenian Genocide recognized by the German parliament in 2005. But until recently we didn’t have any organization that would primarily deal with political issues. So last year, because of the lack of political activities and the lack of a political consciousness especially within the German-Armenian youth, we, a group of Armenian university students, officially established Germany’s first Armenian political youth group (http://www.norserunt.de/). Our aim is to initiate a strong Armenian grassroots movement in the country and by doing that to influence the shaping of an united Armenian grassroots movement in Europe. The Armenian community of Europe is not as organized and politically active as the Armenian community of the US or Lebanon. If we Armenians want to achieve anything in Europe we need to work together and speak with one voice, that’s for sure. So the final goal is to develop an effective European-wide network of devoted Armenian political organizations and activists that are in direct contact with each other and work strongly together. To achieve this goal we are concentrating on the youth, because this is the new generation, where the leaders of tomorrow will emerge from. Therefore we will be organizing a conference in May 2007 in the city of Karlsruhe, where dozens of Armenian students from all over Europe will come to participate. The title of the conference is: European Armenian Youth Conference – Shaping an Armenian Grassroots Movement in Europe. I will provide you with more information very soon.

So this has actually become quite a long post, but I hope it’s acceptable for a first time post. After all, I had to introduce myself and my community…

Hajoghutyun