William Saroyan in "The Bucket List"

Yes, this is one of my "Armenian pride" posts, you know the kind: you hear an Armenian name mentioned in a movie, an Armenian name in its credits, or anything Armenian in the most unexpected of places. Well, in watching the new film The Bucket List, which I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, there is just such a mention!

You see, the movie is about two unlikely pals who are terminally ill but decide to live life to the fullest anyway. In this setting, William Saroyan's play,The Time of Your Life, is briefly mentioned. It turns out parts of the play were also used in Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End!

How great is that?

The Armenian Short Bus

Original source here.

It looks like the Armenians have a version of the Short Bus, too!

Of all the possible colors for that van-like thing, they had to choose yellow. Yellow! How could I resist making such an offensive post? For one, I enjoy reading hate mail; for another, it's yellow.

Armenia's Roads to be Upgraded

The only thing worse than the corruption in Armenia is the roads, which is small wonder why people pay top dollar there to buy vehicles with four wheel drive and a large ride height!

The Minister said that Armenian roads should be equipped in line with advanced international standards and give comfort to drivers. Manukian reported that the new road marking will be made with reflecting paints to lighten the traffic under the conditions of bad visibility.

Oh, and all of this is supposed to be done in the next four years and cost 5.5 billion AMD, or a little over $18 million with today's exchange rate. Call me cynical, but unless there is a fair bidding system for contractors, better yet separated by region, then this would serve as just another means of channeling funds to preferred businessmen.

Source: Arka

Video: Levon Ter Petrosyan Mocks Robert Kocharian

In this undated video, Levon Ter Petrosyan suggest that Robert Kocharyan is not Armenian, an obvious jab at Kocharyan's ancestry. Fast forward a few years and Kocharyan is the one in power while Ter Petrosyan is attempting to wrangle it away from him. That's politics for you!

Edit: I stand corrected. I did not read the Armenian caption and completely misconstrued the message. Thank you all for pointing it out!

Breeding Hamsters: The Business of Our Ancestors!

Most everyone knows that Armenians are a very business-oriented people and there is a certain level of pride associated with that, but now we can take that to an even higher level! You see, the following advertisement is from the June 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics. Seeeing as how there are many Armenians currently living in North Hollywood, California, it only makes sense to assume that Mr. Akopian (Hakopyan) was among the original businessmen in the area!

Still, the notion of raising these awesome creatures just to fulfill a "big laboratory demand" seems, at best, troublesome.

Stealing Armenia's Gold, Again

Ah, gold. What self-respecting Armenian doesn't have at least a few pounds of it stashed somewhere? As of this very moment, the price of Gold stands at $833.20, having made a mad rush to that position in the last few years, no thanks to the present economic uncertainties. So where does Armenia fit in all of this, you ask?

In the town of Ararat - about an hour's drive south of Yerevan, Armenia's capital - investors from Russia have moved in to take control of what is believed to be one of the biggest gold-mining operations in the country.

But there's more to it than that.

Azerbaijan says a considerable amount of the Zod mine is in its territory, at present occupied by the Armenian military.

And let's not forget the previous owners:

In 2002, AGRC was taken over by a company controlled by the family of Indian mining billionaire Aneel Agarwal. But its operations were closed down after the Armenian authorities accused the company of reneging on various licensing agreements. The company was charged with tax fraud and environmental violations and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Besides the laughable notion of the Armenian government charging anyone with tax fraud, this is yet another nail in the coffin that is Armenia's economic future. We've given away nearly everything in the name of short term profits, but what of the future?

Critics will contend that some of the assets are actually on a long-term lease, but this isn't the case with all of them. Besides, how absurd is it that to revitalize the economy and move it forward means giving control of important assets to foreigners? We only have so much left!

Source: BBC News

Yoga Arrives in Armenia

It seems yoga and pilates are no longer trends associated with the United States and European countries alone. That's right: Armenians now have their own refuge called Shunch or Breath, dedicated to yoga, pilates, and the ever-popular spa. The studio is located in Yerevan and inescapably their entire website is in English.

So not only are Armenians quickly becoming wealthier, more democratic, and definitely less Armenian, but they are also embracing ancient Hindu traditions and giant round balls. Wowee!

Here's more information: Shoonch Website

Build Your Own Armenian Church!

Ever wake up in the morning with an urge to build something. Hmmm, radio telescope? The neighbors might complain. A house for your doggy? Let him embrace the elements! How about an Armenian Church? Yes!

Well, now anyone can do just that, albeit big enough for ants and other critters, with wooden blocks! Apparently "your Wizard" will happily send you boxes of wooden blocks for a small fee.

Seriously, didn't your day just get better?