illumineerima

The BBC website has a photo essay called: The Seto people, A border people. It’s worth a look! (Thanks to reader Adrian Smith for sending.)

Kolm Maailma Nurka/Three Corners Of The World

David Rothenberg (USA)- klarnet, flöödid, loodushäälte töötlused

Petri Kuljuntausta (Soome)- elektroonika, helitöötlused, lint

Robert Jürjendal (Eesti)- kitarrid, looper.

1 Juni, 2007

21.00

Vanalinna Muusikamajas - Uus 16C

Tallinn, ESTONIA

tasuta! / free!

Another international gathering as part of Tallinn’s Old Town Days,

this multinational trio returns to the Muusikamaja for the first time

in four years.

Blending rhythmic loops, natural sounds, jazz and world music elements

with live electronic processing, their music spans reachs from Tallinn’s ancient

limestone Hanseatic roots to its high-tech Euro-visioned future.

Hear part of their previous concert at:

www.myspace.com/davidrothenbergs

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

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?

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.

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:

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.

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!).

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.

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.