Oh, Susanna, Don't You Cry For Me...

...for I come from Alabama, with my banjo on my knee!

Well, I don't have a banjo, but I definitely do come from Alabama, where I have been for the better part of this millennium. Crazy, no? Here all of you are, in France or California or somewhere else equally exciting and cultured, and here I am, in Alabama of all places, where the only history you can find is the battleground in someone's backyard where Andrew Jackson once fought Native Americans and where "Armenia" is as often confused with “Romania” as it is thought to be a Slavic third-world country whose citizens live in grass huts and ride donkeys to the marketplace.

Raffi was kind enough to let me contribute here, and I’d like to say thanks one more time. I have been reading pretty much everything you guys post and finally got the courage to ask if I can add something. Unfortunately, Alabama is very dilute as far as Armenians go. The Armenians that do live here are mostly centered around three major cities—Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile—but where I live, my family is pretty much it. There is diversity—it’s a university town, so there are students and professors from all corners of the earth. Just not from Armenia. There is no community, and the nearest Apostolic church is in Atlanta—almost two hours and a whole state border away. Overall, however, it’s a pretty nice town. Fitting for students of all sorts, and a good place to relax. "The prettiest village on the plains" is what it has been called for a few centuries now. (The same can’t be said of the same of the entire state, though.) The university itself is actually commended in many areas. Most of the local culture revolves around football, of which I’m afraid I will never be a fan.

Since the presence of the Armenian Diaspora is so weak, I personally grab onto the chance to connect with others (especially right at this moment, when I realize that the amount of academic work I have for the summer will keep me from going to Yerevan—every time I turn on the Armenia channel on satellite and see pictures or footage of the city, I feel like weeping my eyes out). I will be leaving Alabama—and probably the South—for college in a year, but I still try to bring some cultural awareness until then. As of now, I pride myself on having broadened the knowledge of some minds about Armenia beyond the scope of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Over the past few years, however, there have been a few brushes with our culture that seem worthy of mention, from the Egyptian marketing professor at the university here who sang (or rather bellowed) “Oh Siroun, Siroun” to my mother upon finding out that she is Armenian to the half-Turkish half-Armenian student here who has become a good friend of my family to the fact that Spivakov and the Russian Philharmonic gave a concert here one year ago and played an Aram Khachaturian composition as an encore. I'll go into detail about these semi-bizarre events only after earning approval from you guys (and finding out that I have not, in fact, bored you to tears by now). Being thus mostly devoid of anything to remind me of our culture (besides my relatives, who are the typical Armenian tyrants that replace your storybooks with Shirvanzade and Teryan and Sahyan when you are ten and constantly lecture you on the unforgivable sin of forgetting your language), I look to this website and all the blogs a haven of sorts. Being a part of it now is pretty nice.

And as a random note: How many of you have seen Yerevan Blues? You know the scene where Mikael Pogosyan comes to life in the tomb, covered in spiderwebs and sporting biker clothes? Well, listen to the dialogue carefully. When he looks around, his line is “Ara, es Alabamayi kayfere indz ur en berel?” It took me the longest time to stop laughing at this random oddity.

The Americana Arrives in Glendale!

TODAY IS THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE AMERICANA AT BRAND!

From the people who brought you The Grove, The Commons in Calabasas, The Marketplace in Encino, The Village in Moorpark, The Promenade in Westlake, The Lakes in Thousand Oaks & the Waterside in Marina Del Rey....comes the Americana at Brand!

Last night I accompanied a friend to the Gala Kick Off Event of the Americana. As someone who has been following the career of developer Rick Caruso I was excited to attend one of his events which I had heard are always top notch. It was a black tie event and people were decked out in tuxes and pageant gowns! There were three lanes of valet. The valet and all the servers were wearing white gloves. There was a full open bar and passed appetizers. 2000 people were in attendance including the who's who of Glendale public figures including mayors past (Zarian, Manoukian, Yousefian...etc) and mayor's present (don't know his name he's some random white guy).

After the cocktail hour guests were invited to the top of the parking structure for a 3 course dinner prepared by Wolfgang Puck. It didn’t feel like we were atop a parking structure the space had been transformed into an elegant ballroom. The entire floor was padded and carpeted. The periphery was draped with swagging and valances. There were swanky bungalows to chill in and the nicest trailer restroom with automatic faucets and private stalls. The tables were dressed with dark linens, tea lights and adorned with center piece arrangements of white hydrangeas and roses, we were surrounded by heat lamps, giant screens and chandeliers!

The guests and performers of the evening included Rick Caruso, Governor Schwarzenegger, Maria Schriver, Jay Leno, Natalie Cole, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and TONY BENNETT! It didn't stop there folks.... there were fireworks! I hope they thought to send a mailer to residents nearby to warn them since the fireworks came on so late and I'm sure children may have been startled, not to mention some adults who probably got flashbacks of the civil war in Lebanon!

Did I mention the gift bags full of swag? Kiehl's products, Calidora gift cards, movie passes, ya! The whole shebang!

The Americana includes a Tiffany & Co, H & M, Sur La Table, Frida, Pacific Theaters, Urban Outfitters, Coffee Bean, Kate Spade, Kiehl's, Armani Exchange, Guess, Anthropologie, Barney's Granville Cafe, Forever 21, Barnes & Noble, Lululemon, Michael Stars, Puma, Ed Hardy, Lucky, Free People, Juicy Couture, J. Crew, Lacoste, Marciano, Kitson etc etc... Seriously this place is The Grove on CRACK! No ones going to go into the rinky dink Glendale Galleria anymore so I totally don't blame them for attempting to sue Caruso to thwart his efforts.

I give Mr. Caruso credit for being so great at what he does. His developments are perfection with every detail having been tended to. I also applaud the fact that made the Americana a "mixed use" development by including apartments and condos. However as a kid who grew up galavanting in the very streets of Glendale which surround his development I took offense when during one of his speeches he referred to Glendale as “blighted. I was bussed to St. Mary’s Church on Central afterschool everyday, growing up I came to the Glendale Galleria and Glendale Public Library on Harvard on the weekends, I hung out in these very neighborhoods as a teenager before and after AYF meetings, I volunteered in the summers at the ANC and Asbarez offices, I visited my Grandparents who lived on Wilson for years and never not once did I consider Glendale “blighted”.

Caruso's next projects are at the Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia and in Playa Del Rey. I just wish this man would take his magic and spread it in REAL blighted areas in South LA! I respect him for he is a successful business man and real estate developer. However, I would respect him much more if he took his projects out of upper middle class communities like Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, Westlake, Encino, Calabassas etc etc and invested in areas that could really benefit from his projects because right now the way I see it… he’s only building where the money is to make his own pockets fatter! Is this what Glendale needed? Another capitalistic venture pushing consumerism on a society that didn't need any more of it? Well, at least it created some jobs so I guess there's our silver lining? But, seriously… Glendale? Blighted? Come on buddy have you seen the hilltop mansions with views of downtown and all the luxury cars?

Another point that I don’t think the City Officials who were probably seeing Sales Tax Revenue $$$ overlooked is how bad traffic was in the vicinity prior to this development going in. Especially during the Holidays with people trying to get in and out of the Galleria. I can only imagine how much more utterly hellish it is going to be because of "The Americana". Where were the transportation planners on this one?

Either way, what's done is done! The Americana is here so let's welcome it and just completely avoid Colorado, Central, Brand and Broadway! Especially during weekends and definitely around Holidays.