tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:58:39 +0000Originally from Holland but now living in Armenia, I write about my life, the country I now live in and anything else I have something to say about (or think I do).http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)Blogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-2257822086977477526Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:38:00 +00002009-06-28T21:33:12.773+05:00I gave in, finally...From now on you can follow me on Twitter as well at http://twitter.com/armenianodar. For a long time I didn't want to join Twitter, because I expected it to be another online addiction. In fact I still do, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, expect mainly bookish stuff, Armenian and Caucasus topics, and human rights and gender issues.Now I'm off to play...http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/uomyMr8i6h8/i-gave-in-finally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/uomyMr8i6h8" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-gave-in-finally.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-528196083099900742Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:24:00 +00002009-06-10T08:59:51.940+05:00Since late last year, I have been giving four short talks/interviews on national Dutch radio about life in Armenia. I am one of a network of some 150 Dutch people living all over the world who participate in Wereldnet, a daily fifteen minute program (or half an hour on weekends) in which two or three Dutch expats are telling about daily life and other topics that usually don't make the media http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/Tywv-J2JCr8/myrthe-on-radio.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/Tywv-J2JCr8" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/06/myrthe-on-radio.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-8498842213390868926Sun, 31 May 2009 09:27:00 +00002009-06-07T15:56:27.690+05:00As promised, here are some more pictures from Tbilisi.On the highway between Tbilisi and Gori, we passed several newly built settlements for the IDPs of last summer's war between Georgia and Russia. I took the picture from the moving bus, so it is not very clear. On the right you can see the white houses with their red roofs. There were long rows of these houses, with nothing else nearby, locatedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/6BFMqghYrTA/pictures-from-tbilisi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/6BFMqghYrTA" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/05/pictures-from-tbilisi.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-7615397520025381407Sun, 31 May 2009 09:22:00 +00002009-06-03T21:36:47.847+05:00A couple of weeks ago I spent a week in Tbilisi for a seminar plus some days off. These are some pictures of a day trip we made to Uplistsikhe, an archaeological site near the town of Gori.Gori is best-known as the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, but it was also the town that got heavily hit in the August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia. Of the latter not very much was visible while we drove http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/JH8tvMx-M44/georgia-gori-and-surroundings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/JH8tvMx-M44" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/05/georgia-gori-and-surroundings.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-5835493200945342676Fri, 29 May 2009 09:01:00 +00002009-05-29T14:20:13.067+05:00This is a fragment of a long and very readable piece on the situation in Iraq. I was struck by this particular quote and how it relates to the Caucasus region. I posted it as a note on my Facebook profile, but I figured I might just as well post it here.“When people aren't familiar with each other,” Captain Looney [a US Army officer serving in Iraq, MK] said, “they think the worst about each http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/bVdKzW939a0/on-importance-of-contact-between.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/bVdKzW939a0" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-importance-of-contact-between.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-8258773196146678159Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:02:00 +00002009-01-29T14:20:39.547+04:00Below I republish an open letter protesting intolerance against sexual minorities in Armenia, which unfortunately is still widespread. I have added my name. If you want to add yours, you can do so following this link. You can find more about the examples mentioned in the letter here, here and here.______________________________After the government in Armenia signed the UN declaration against http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/uYj5ede4hyY/open-letter-against-intolerance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/uYj5ede4hyY" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2009/01/open-letter-against-intolerance.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-4000306625694852896Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:54:00 +00002008-11-27T11:12:21.117+04:00Most of you probably don't know that for the last 2.5 years I have been working for Lycos Europe, at their Yerevan office. Well, that era will come to an end soon as yesterday it was announced that Lycos Europe is going to close its Yerevan office. It made headlines both in Armenia and abroad, as the closure of the Yerevan office is not the only change at the company.There is more here (thanks tohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/yQQ73nz8cMQ/unemployed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/yQQ73nz8cMQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/11/unemployed.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-3334329863386549187Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:22:00 +00002008-10-09T16:26:57.991+05:00On my bookblog I just posted a review of the book Ararat by Dutch writer and journalist Frank Westerman. This book has recently been translated into English and it might be interesting for some of you as well. It is a history of and a travelogue to Mount Ararat, but it is also a personal journey of the writer looking into the role religion plays in his life. The review is here.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/eMu6oeSTeqQ/review-of-ararat-by-frank-westerman.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/eMu6oeSTeqQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-of-ararat-by-frank-westerman.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-1960031975083943331Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:42:00 +00002008-10-06T11:05:12.237+05:00Over the weekend I was flipping through a Dutch glossy, when I came across this recipe for marinaded lamb kebab with yoghurt sauce. Sounds nice and tasty, but then I saw this (and you don't need to know Dutch for this):Can any reader from Holland please fill me in here? Since when is lavash so readily available in Holland that it gets included in recipes in magazines?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/W5HDtCUtDOc/lavash-going-dutch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/W5HDtCUtDOc" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/10/lavash-going-dutch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-1262357718056758824Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:16:00 +00002008-09-10T18:17:55.860+05:00I am a bit late at blogging about this, because I was mostly offline last week. This is too important, though, so I still want to mention it here.Over at Maw Books Blog, Natasha has pledged to blog the entire month of September to create awareness of the genocide that has been going on for years in Darfur. Not only that, she is raising funds as well that will go to helping the people of Darfur. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/HjGEUgaIFgY/blogging-for-darfur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/HjGEUgaIFgY" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/09/blogging-for-darfur.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-5187976817955277093Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:06:00 +00002008-08-12T10:32:58.389+05:00Last week I spent a couple of days in Spitak, mostly just relaxing and hanging out with friends, as usual. Wednesday, though, was more eventful. That day a group of ten cyclists from Holland made a stop in Spitak. They are doing a ten day cycling tour of Armenia. These cyclists did not stop in Spitak by accident, they had some things to take care of there.In Spitak I am involved in a NGO that washttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/KGarvRBL-r8/cycling-around-armenia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/KGarvRBL-r8" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/08/cycling-around-armenia.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-2072955220246360425Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:19:00 +00002008-07-30T17:32:30.023+05:00Remember this post about one of the bookbloggers whose blog I read? Natasha is raising awareness about genocide in general and about the one currently going on in Darfur in particular.She has now come up with another way to spread the word, a quiz (or bribery as she calls it):I’m not ashamed to use bribery to get people to read my posts. This giveway is an example of that. My last post was about http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/2oahxQxwnhA/one-way-to-raise-awareness-on-genocide.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/2oahxQxwnhA" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/07/one-way-to-raise-awareness-on-genocide.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-862619603561258813Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:31:00 +00002008-07-10T14:42:17.642+05:00One of my favorite bookbloggers, Lynne at Dovegreyreader Scribbles, reviewed My Grandmother: A memoir by Fethiye Cetin. Cetin is a Turkish human rights lawyer whose grandmother told her that was actually Armenian and that she survived the Genocide:As Fethiye recounts her grandmother's life, and in this beautiful translation by Maureen Freely, you realise that you are witnessing the struggles of ahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/SKdzRrqBX3g/my-grandmother-by-fethiye-cetin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/SKdzRrqBX3g" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-grandmother-by-fethiye-cetin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-5943982039787395310Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:59:00 +00002008-06-29T11:03:49.297+05:00About a month ago, Natasha, a bookblogger who blogs at Maw Books Blog, started a series of posts in which she explores genocide through book recommendations. I figured this might be of interest for some people who read this blog as well. This is how Natasha introduced her plan:Genocide.Don’t you just hate that word?Don’t you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders when you sound that wordhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/Y9H4_foCzTo/lots-of-books-on-genocide.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/Y9H4_foCzTo" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/06/lots-of-books-on-genocide.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-7400966597367625427Wed, 21 May 2008 05:04:00 +00002008-05-21T10:13:28.394+05:00I received the following announcement arrived by email today. It might be of interest for people who are in Holland at that time.Breaking the Silence Over Armenia An Impression of the Political Situation Through the Eyes of the Armenian Opposition Free entry Date: 18 June 2008Time: 19:00 – 21:00Location: De Balie in Amsterdam, Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10Language spoken: English http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/t29ddoEXc1g/breaking-silence-over-armenia-event-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/t29ddoEXc1g" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/05/breaking-silence-over-armenia-event-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-7428140895864466843Mon, 05 May 2008 05:32:00 +00002008-05-05T10:34:23.353+05:00On my litblog I just posted a review of the novel Penelope by Goar Markosyan-Kasper. As far as I know, this is one of the very few contemporary Armenian novels that have been translated into other languages. My review is here.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/etiy0sLffjQ/penelope-by-goar-markosyan-kasper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/etiy0sLffjQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/05/penelope-by-goar-markosyan-kasper.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-6964861704843737533Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:36:00 +00002008-04-26T11:38:23.570+05:00On the occasion of April 24, I posted a review of Peter Balakian's Black Dog of Fate on my litblog. You can read the review here.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/nbZY9W71D-8/black-dog-of-fate-by-peter-balakian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/nbZY9W71D-8" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/04/black-dog-of-fate-by-peter-balakian.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-3329308488591762294Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:54:00 +00002008-04-11T14:00:47.842+05:00This was the view from my window this morning at about 9am.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/qPr0Q7SX_fM/balloons-over-yerevan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/qPr0Q7SX_fM" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/04/balloons-over-yerevan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-3366751158345742455Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:42:00 +00002008-03-11T12:18:05.186+04:00Yes, I am still alive, doing okay, still not feeling like blogging about Armenia, but I do keep my litblog running. In fact, yesterday I put up a review of a book that might interest some people who visit here. It's Ali and Nino by Kurban Said, considered to be a classic and a must-read as an introduction to the Caucasus region. From my review:The book tells the love story of Nino, a Georgian http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/ejc268QyX3c/on-reading-and-some-ranting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)10<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/ejc268QyX3c" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-reading-and-some-ranting.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-7678468171983229950Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:16:00 +00002007-12-24T13:18:03.959+04:00I posted a review of the novel The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak on my litblog. The review is here. It is also crossposted at Internations Musings.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/SrXcwJTRM34/bastard-of-istanbul-by-elif-shafak.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/SrXcwJTRM34" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/12/bastard-of-istanbul-by-elif-shafak.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-3307755463045504057Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:31:00 +00002007-12-03T16:35:02.335+04:00Quietly the third anniversary of my move to Armenia passed by on Saturday. Won't bore you with contemplative blogging, because there is not much else to say than that, with all the good and the bad things, I can't imagine living anywhere else right now. I am where I want to be.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/Z6PN8HA4CO0/anniversary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)13<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/Z6PN8HA4CO0" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/12/anniversary.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-590527636522362118Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:31:00 +00002007-11-19T12:43:50.736+04:00Last week I read a collection of short stories by Turkish-Armenian writer Jaklin Celik. I posted a review on my litblog here.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/hf7T-5EZTaQ/stories-from-sandgate-by-jaklin-celik.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/hf7T-5EZTaQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/11/stories-from-sandgate-by-jaklin-celik.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-6534127142244382363Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:47:00 +00002007-11-05T11:51:41.147+04:00This is Archie, my latest companion. He is two months old and I got him last Friday. I spent the weeken laughing my head off about him, he is playing and exploring all the time.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/icM6tVYwoek/let-me-introduce-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/icM6tVYwoek" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/11/let-me-introduce-you.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-1322327393781073573Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:23:00 +00002007-11-05T11:47:29.468+04:00Remember I attended Sasha and Regina's engagement in the summer? Well, two weeks ago was the wedding. Yes, I know I am late in blogging about it, but hey! better late than never.I arrived at the bride's house a couple of hours before the groom and his family were to arrive. I found the house in a frenzy of women getting dressed, the living room being cleaned and put in order, mother just bringinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/xhwss5Wb-r0/sasha-and-reginas-wedding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)29<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/xhwss5Wb-r0" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/11/sasha-and-reginas-wedding.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18694017.post-6618832275727539348Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:20:00 +00002007-10-29T12:23:18.838+04:00I know I've been absent for quite some time. I can come up with lots of excuses, which are all true in a way, but the bottom line is that I have lost my blogging-groove. At least when it comes to blogging about Armenia. Right now there is not much blogworthy happening in my life and around me. I don't feel like blogging about politics, exciting as the political situation in Armenia is right now. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/armenianodar/~3/KRkF7hSy3vk/taking-break.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Myrthe)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/armenianodar/~4/KRkF7hSy3vk" height="1" width="1"/>http://armenianodar.blogspot.com/2007/10/taking-break.html