Quick post to inform you guys that the lyrics for Armenia’s Eurovision entry have been released, and I’m quite dissappointed that no one has even checked the grammar before this song goes onto a world stage:
CHORUS:
What I say, what I hide
Without your love?
What I have in my mind
Without your love?

Leaving out the word “will” makes the sentences senseless. Nevertheless, lets hope the music makes up for this. Find out more HERE.

The Armenian Navy band won second place in their category in the BBC’s world music awards today. The winners have just been announced. Although they are also nominated for the audience choice award, not released until April.

Hi everyone. After numerous computer issues and no internet connection i’ve managed to get online from here in Sweden and I’m going to try and give you guys an update of whats been happening in the world of Armenian showbiz lately…

So it looks like we’re definitely in the Eurovision song contest this year..and Andre ( who was voted best male singer of 2005 ) will be representing us with a song called “Without Your Love” sung in English, and written by Armen Martirosian - a well known composer and conductor of Jazz orchestra if I’m not mistaken.

This is a huge step for Armenia, as not only has it’s tv network fulfilled broadcasting rules implied by the EBU , it has also, along with Georgia, redefined the broadcasting area of “Europe” which used to exclude Armenia and Georgia, classing them as Asia. Now they are European, or so it seems! The EBU says it has no further plans for expansion, so , we did good!

The song is premiered on H1 on the 15th of March. The world is talking about it too here.

H1 also has an official website. HERE

In other news: I complained a few months ago about a lack of the commercial talent shows in Armenia..Well it seems Shant TV company has surprised everyone again and bought rights to the to the british show “Pop Idol” and renamed it “Hay Superstar”. The producer is Erik Antaranyan, who used to host Armenia’s first ever music show “Rubikon” with Iza in 1999, obviously he’s got a bit more cash now….He claims it wont be corrupt and all will be fair..but doenst everyone.

I’m hoping it’ll also be shown on the public tv h1 via satellite, as last time Shant bought “Millionaire” H1 also used to show it. I’ll update when I’ve had confirmation from the TV.

This past month has also seen a trend in artists throwing “launch parties” for their new CD’s. Arsen Safaryan, and Hasmik Karapetian(a greatest hits cd) both had them this week, sponsored by a newly formed “Armenian Music Centre” which is specialising in producing high quality CD’s which are really nice to own. This may not sound like a big deal, but until now, CD’s produced in Armenia were very amateur in terms of packaging and design etc. According to a friend who was at Hasmik’s party, lots of “stars” had turned up, she was giving out free posters, but the fans were mainly 15-16 year old girls.

Thats all for now! I really hope to be up and running again when I return to London. For those of you who are waiting for the report from the music awards: rest assured its ready, and has been for a while, I will probably link to it rather than post on here.

Via Bloomberg:

Turkey Prosecutes More Writers, Jeopardizing EU Membership Bid
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — Five of Turkey’s best-known columnists go on trial at an Istanbul court today, in a freedom- of-speech case that threatens to derail the country’s bid to join the European Union.

Hasan Cemal of the Milliyet newspaper and Ismet Berkan, Murat Belge, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katircioglu of the daily Radikal face up to 10 years in prison. They criticized a judge for halting a September conference to discuss Armenian claims of genocide by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

“These curbs are unacceptable if Turkey wants to prove that it’s democratic,'’ said Oktay Eksi, head of the Turkish Press Council, in an interview on Feb. 2. “We will continue to fight these restrictions until we, or the EU, persuade the government to abolish them.'’

European Union officials say Turkey must conform to Western norms of free expression so as not to jeopardize membership talks that started on Oct. 3. Turkey last month dropped charges against prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, who had questioned Turkey’s role in the killing of more than 1 million Armenians nine decades ago.

The following article appeared in The Washington Post today.

From Hosting Mice to People, With Help From Marriott

Monday, February 6, 2006; Page D02

In the cold, dark winter of 1993, checking into the Hotel Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia, was an exercise in fortitude. The country had barely any fuel, and word was that mice, seeking a source of heat in freezing hotel rooms, would snuggle up against the warm bodies of sleeping guests.

The squeamish contrived to share a room, figuring they had a 50-50 chance that the mice would head to the other bed. Bundled in their coats, guests found their beds by flashlight — the city had electricity only two hours a day. A daily splash of perfume took the place of a shower.

You may think this is yet another insensitive, stupid little article written by an ugly American… It’s actually a praise for the Hotel Armenia Marriott.

By 1997, the hulking Hotel Armenia was offered for sale, chock full of Soviet baggage — often resentful service, lumpy twin beds in every room, bathrooms with gaping and scary holes. (Where did they lead? What might they harbor?)

A group of Armenian Americans, called A&K Development Corp., stepped in, buying an 80 percent stake in the hotel from the government for $10 million and planning an ambitious transformation.

The Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. government agency, provided an $18 million loan. The International Finance Corp., an arm of the World Bank, invested $4.9 million. And Marriott International Inc. of Bethesda took over management, training employees and supervising the renovation, which began in 2001. The name Marriott only went on the hotel in 2004, when all was complete — and the mice had found new lodgings.

This may be acclaimed as the weirdest item to be posted on Blogrel, but here it comes, through RIA-Novosti:

The Jackson Five to set foot in Armenia

YEREVAN, February 6 (RIA Novosti) - One of the biggest American phenomena in pop music during the early 1970s, The Jackson Five, is planning to build an entertainment center in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, the group’s bass player said Monday. Jermaine Jackson, an older brother of “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, said the center would consist of a hotel, a restaurant or cafe and the Jackson 5 television company.

The musician, who is currently visiting Armenia, did not reveal the estimated cost of the project, but added that after the center was completed, the rest of the band would probably come to Yerevan to hold a concert.
Grigor Seropyan, an American businessman and the organizer of Jackson’s visit to Armenia, said the main goal of the new entertainment center was to attract foreign musicians, so that they would tell the world about Armenia and its culture.

Pop sensation The Jackson Five - brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael - was formed by their father Joe in 1966 in Gary, Indiana. Michael Jackson, the youngest in the band, was the lead singer who propelled the group to the peak of popularity in 1972 during a tour in Britain.

Note to all Armenian parents: this means curfew for your kids!

I love my new birthday bunny Nabo.

ArmeniaNow has a great interview with the Armenian creator of the Nabaztag.

Generally I don’t cover every article that comes up about an NK settlement, but C.J. Chivers at the New York Times has written an excellent summary of the situation and prospects for the Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting next weekend in France.

Highlights:

- All this week OSCE reps are meeting with leaders in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- “several diplomats said there was potential for agreement.”
- “Several people familiar with the talks, however, said a document summarizing the core issues has become the basis for proposing a two-stage process: first an agreement in principle, then work on details.”
- www.hetq.am was cited by the New York Times! Yay!

It is tough for me to think about a solution right now, as I am writing a paper on the legal issues surrounding a settlement. Thinking about things actually starting to get settled is really strange when all I’ve been doing lately is reading reports about stumbling blocks. As such, I’m not going to get my hopes up, but it does sound like things have been pretty positive as of late. We can only hope for the best and that both sides are ready to talk, compromise and negotiate.

Vazgen Manukian, the perennial Presidential candidate and opposition patriarch, made an announcement today that would raise the boycott to new levels. His party may boycott the upcoming elections (what a terrible threat…)

According to RFE/RL report,

Vazgen Manukian, a prominent opposition politician, warned on Tuesday that he and his party will have to boycott the next parliamentary elections if Armenian politics continues to degenerate into infighting among various government factions. “If it is possible to introduce changes in Armenia which would ensure that political struggle makes sense, we will take part [in the 2007 elections], in a bloc or separately,” he said, referring to his National Democratic Union (AZhM). “If such changes do not take place, I will conclude that it is meaningless to contest those elections, regardless of our chances.”

Question is, why remain in active politics at all?