Mack

If you’re interested, I reviewed Mack Bar-B-Que in this week’s Baltic Times.

reviewing pärt

I mentioned a while back that I was planning on reviewing Arvo Pärt’s latest album (the one that won EPCC that Grammy earlier this year), but upon further thought, what’s the point when you have that many albums, have produced that much work, have that many fans, etc. The purpose of reviews is to sort out the wheat from the chaff, but we already know Arvo’s music is wheat because of the length and success of his career and the consistent quality of his work. And for those of you who aren’t die-hard Pärt fans, but rather people who simply like his music, doesn’t a lot of it sound the same after a while? So what difference does a review make to you?

And for you die-hards, you’re going to buy the album anyway (if you haven’t already) and you most likely have a favorite album or piece (for me it’s Miserere) that this new album can’t usurp. Because Pärt’s music isn’t just about his exploration of an idea or a sound, but about the listening experience he creates for his audience. And because that experience is subjective, I ask again, what’s the point of a review?

french connection

There’s another mini film festival at Sõprus this week: French Connection (French film “The American Way”). You can get the full info (in Estonian) at the Kino Sõprus and Pöff sites. Basically, each day of the festival a French film will be screened and then followed by a screening of the American remake. Here’s a listing of the films with links to their IMDB pages:

29 May:La Bête Humaine (1938)

Human Desire (1954)

30 May:

À bout de souffle (1960)

Breathless (1983)

31 May:

Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932)

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)

1 June:

La Femme Nikita (1990)

Point of No Return (1993)

Anyone interested in seeing the pre-1980s films? Give me a holler.

spaaremaa

I wrote a little piece on Saaremaa for The Baltic Times last week: ‘Spaaremaa’: Estonia’s Island Getaway

For some reason they don’t include photos with the online version, so here ya go:

KUMU ÖÖ vol.2

From FBI.ee:

There’s quite a concert taking place tonight at Kumu. It will feature the following bands:

Jah Wobble & the English Roots Band(UK)
Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu (FIN)
Mira Calix (UK, Warp records)
Clark (UK, Warp records)
Islaja (FIN, Fonal records)
Bersarin Quartett (GER)
Lubomyr Melnyk (Ukraina)
Vaiko Eplik & Eliit (EST)
Broken Time Orchestra (EST)
Miss Katrin & Kautechre (EST)
Aivar Tõnso
Siim Nestor

Plus, a video program.

events

A few events worth noting:

The rescheduled An Evening With Arvo Pärt concert finally takes place tonight at 19.00 at Niguliste. Later in the evening, you can find Stella at Mutant Disco. And, unless you’re nursing a hangover on Saturday, you can check out the last day of the Baltic Book Fair, taking place at Saku Suurhall from 11-19 (and entrance is free, but bring cash to buy some books!).

graduate programs

Well, I’m looking at graduate programs again. I could easily become one of those people with a zillion degrees since I’m looking at doctoral programs (History, Literature, Jewish Studies, and Book Studies) and Master’s programs (media studies, book art, publishing), cause apparently a BA and one MA ain’t enough.

These are the media studies programs that have piqued my interest: Interactive Media and Knowledge Environments at Tallinn University, Communication Management at the Baltic Film and Media School (Tallinn University), and Urban Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. And though I’m not ready to return to the U.S., this program’s been on my mind for a long time: MA in Digital Humanities at the University of Virginia (my alma mater).

There are a good number of other programs in Estonia that interest me, both in Tallinn and Tartu. It’s surprising how much this little country has to offer.

sing it: “living in estonia”

I’ve received a question in response to my emails to friends and family about the riots, and I’ve decided to answer it here: No, I am not making plans to return to the U.S. Things would have to get much, much worse for me to consider that.

Which is not to say I’m happy about the current situation. There are two issues (for me) that have been brought to the fore.

One: Americans don’t give a damn. Their media coverage of the situation is pathetic. After I sent out emails saying the riots where over, I received responses from people saying they were relieved everything had settled down. Just because the riots are over doesn’t mean things have settled down, people. Things have just been taken to a different level, with the government of one country trying to interfere in the operations of another government. As someone with an MA in Eastern European History and a European mother, perhaps I’m more sensitive to the world stage, but I cannot comprehend why people don’t make an effort to keep themselves informed.
Two: Russia hasn’t changed. And maybe it won’t ever change. Maybe it can’t change. The various political systems it has tried out are stymied by an underlying stream of cruelty (whether aimed at its own people or the peoples of other nations).

I suppose there’s a third issue, too: That there isn’t much I can do about it.

this thursday: green fairytales

Green Fairytales:

The British Council in co-operation with the Estonian Green Movement and the daily Eesti Päevaleht have explored the issue of urban sprawl since January 2007, when we started our Green Fairytales event programme with a roundtable of specialists discussing the topic.On four Thursdays in May, the same partners organise bike rides to the most interesting urban sprawl areas around Tallinn. We work together with experts of urban sprawl and of local parishes to explore the burning issues of climate change, new communities, logistics and built environment.

We invite anybody concerned about Tallinn urban sprawl to join us on 3 May afternoon for the first bike ride to Harku region. We will cycle through old and new city development areas to Rannamõisa kindergarten. There you’ll have a chance for a snack and a discussion about the architectural ups and downs of the area by an architect and an architecture researcher.

the life of birds

Sir David Attenborough’s “The Life of Birds” is being screened at Kumu today, Wednesday (May 2), at 18:00.