I am too lazy to find pictures of all these pieces, but these are the names of works from the national gallery at Veletrizny palac. This was certainly one of my top 3 museums visited this semester. There was a huge variety of art styles represented in their collections, the building design was conducive to smooth exhibit flow, and even the special exhibit in the entrance (Propaganda posters from Vietnam) left me with a lot to think about.
Anyway, these are the names of the works that I was most struck by. I have pictures of most of them on my Picasa page:
"Spoons" by Tomas Medek
"All Souls Day" by Jakub Schikaneder
"Birch Trees" by Alois Kalvada
"Pilgrim" by Arnost Hofbauer
"I <3 Russian Modernism" by Petr Pisarik
"Village Green" by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Slavicek's impressionism
Also worth mentioning, if you're taking the time to look up these artists, were some of the contributors to the show at Bubec's gallery:
Lucie Linhova
Katerina Stenclova
Eliska Jiratova
Suddenly there were two days left until we were supposed to be going home. I took a long walk on my own through a park and the world expo building grounds. I went to the first few minutes of the NYU final club night, thinking I was going to get good food since they spent $2000 to have it catered at a club. What a waste! Where in past years that money has gone towards a nice dinner catered for students and staff so we could visit with our friends and professors in a quiet enviorment one last time before leaving, this year it was spent on an inadequate amount of food at a night club. The professors didn't come and I didn't blame them. After about 10 minutes, I went back to my apartment to write the last of my final papers. Yes, I am that lame.
One of my classes arranged independantly to get coffee with our professor, and I'm glad we had that opportunity to speak with her outside of class this one last time. I learned that NYU doesn't treat their abroad professors well. Since they are wage workers rather than contracted staff, they are not eligable for health benefits, tenure, or (the expats among them) the green card that allows them to start applying for Czech citizenship. And somehow NYU still insists that they turn in their research so that the school can put its stamp on it. Absolutely absurd.
Also absurd? I pulled an all-nighter so that in the morning of the last day Sam and I could watch the sunrise from Charles Bridge. It was snowing so there was no sun to rise.
That snow turned our journey home into quite an epic adventure. Our first flight got cancelled. Then our second flight. We spent a night in the airport hotel, and then our third flight got cancelled. They put us on a fourth, switched airlines (which meant different luggage restrictions so we shuffled bags a bit), flew us to Germany, and informed us as we landed that Frankfurt was closed. We were given a group ticket and told that we should skip check-in so that we wouldn't miss our next flight. We went through security, had a little trouble at border control because our visas were expired (which, according to Czech law, should not have been an issue...the guard obviously didn't know what he was talking about), had to sprint to the gate to catch our next plane... We just made it in time but weren't allowed to board because they had given our seats away when we didn't check in. We asked for help and were sent in circles...three times, four times...until we were finally put on a plane bound for Newark. So we texted our parents that we would be arriving at a different airport than planned a full day later than planned, and eight hours later we were home.
Monday, December 27, 2010
"Salty soup, chef in love" -proverb
My last three weeks in Prague are a blur. I ran around trying to finish exams, spend time with friends, see the last museums on my list, and pick up Christmas presents for my family.
I loved the Museum of Decorative Arts. The first gallery I saw had part 2 of the Decadence Now exhibit displayed. It still isn't my style, but I have to say that the Erwin Olaf "Fashion Victims" photography series caught my attention. I like the concept. My own contribution? Consider it a piece of performance art: at the suggestion of a friend, I visited the restroom on the same floor for the sole purpose of looking out the window and into the Jewish cemetery from that unusual angle. One of the reasons I decided to go to the museum in the first place.
The serious collection was farther upstairs. There were metal candlesticks shaped like sea-horses (not seahorses), a 4-season themed beaded centerpiece for a table, squares of delicate lace, wedding dresses from different periods in Czech history, sundial rings, pocket sundials with string instead of needles to create the shadow, and even a sundial shaped like a cup. There were all kinds of clocks, beautiful pieces of jewelery, photographs, vases, and old books that I longed to leaf through. This was certainly my kind of museum. Of course, I left really wanting to take a glass-blowing class.
My literature class took a field trip to the sculpture studio of artist Cestmir Suska. The journey into the suburbs to visit him was very snowy and cold, but the trip was well worth-while. Suska told us about his background, his different works, and his artist's cooperative--Bubec--which hosts "art safaris" in the ex-airplane-hanger that is now their shared studio space. He was very thoughtful and earnest, the kind of person I could easily listen to for hours. Because so many of his pieces were out for us to walk through, the changes in his style as he experimented with different media and concepts were easy to see. It felt like walking a timeline of his work, with him there to footnote and highlight as he saw fit. Personally, I fell in love with the rusty flower pieces. Maybe it's because they have flowers or patterns or math. Maybe it's because I want to learn about welding as much as I want to learn about glass-blowing.
All things in time, I suppose.
Another event that necessitated a snowy journey was the end-of-semester concert that the music students put together. I love when any of the art students showcase their works at the end of the semester, and since I had friends in this concert it was especially fun to hear their works. Unfortunately, the concert was very long and by the time we got out the snow had rendered the trams completely useless. This was the first and last time I took a taxi in Prague...but there was no other way to get home!
I went to an exhibit called PLAY at Manes Gallery on the river. It was supposed to be a school event, but it ended up being just me and Eva, one of the RAs. It was fun though. All of the pieces in the exhibit were interactive. We built with blocks, made noises with toilet plungers, played music with lights and shadows, and spun kalidescopes that looked out on the river. On the lower level there was a work about the 12 senses that Rudolf Steiner designed the Waldorf Education program around. I still have to translate the pamphlet from Czech into English, but a woman at the gallery explained each of the senses and the corresponding activities for me as I walked through. Overall I really enjoyed the exhibit and found it to be a welcome break from paper-writing.
That same day, I went in the evening to an event hosted by Firefly. The event was run by the woman who built the company and she explained how branding works, how she ended up in Prague, and what the process of a creative design team can involve. She had a few really cool exhibits where she took styles, materials, or objects from one of the countries that she has worked in and challenged artists from another of the countries to design a series of works with that theme in mind. For example, the windows were lined with glassworks by a Czech artist who designed a sake set for her. Very cool way to think.
In the rush to visit the last museums on my list before the end of this adventure, I found myself in Dox modern art gallery. I'd walked by the building numerous times during the semester because it's on the same block as one of the NYU dorms. However, it took looking up and catching sight of the giant skull currently on the roof to lure me inside. Overall, not my kind of gallery. There was a piece about the perils of the state education system that I found amusing because it seemed to be a visual representation of all the research I had been reading for one of my final papers. Two other exhibits that I found interesting were an outdoor-ish graffiti installation and an exploration of soviet-era depictions of space-travel/a sci-fi future.
Of course, I then went almost immediately after to the Mucha museum where Sam and I looked at pretty art nouveau posters, I searched for the flower design that I want a tatoo of (don't worry, I didn't find one), and I learned that Mucha did a series of HUGE oil paintings (not in his namesake style) called the Slav Epic. Totally different art, but very very cool.
So much going on! For the start of the holidays, my friends got together and made vegan Jewish food. Yay for applesauce and latkes! We also learned about St. Mikulas day. What my family has always celebrated as the feast of Saint Nicholas (for which one leaves shoes outside the bedroom door so that the saint can fill them with chocolate coins--geld--by morning) is a pretty big deal in the Czech Republic. People everywhere dress up as Saint Mikulas, an angel, or a devil. The trio walks around together, especially in Old Town Square at night. Children who want presents on Christmas have to approach Saint Mikulas and either sing a song or recite a poem. He then asks their parents whether the children have been good. If the parents say 'yes', the angel gives the child fruit or chocolate. These children get gifts on Christmas. If the parents say 'no', the devil wipes ash on the child's cheeks, rattles a chain perhaps and gives the child coal or potatoes. This is where things get a little strange: the Czechs say that on Christmas the devil will come with his sack, put the bad children in it and bring them back to hell with him. Yikes!
Of course, those who are of age can also celebrate the holiday with special "devil's beer" offered around the city. I think it's sweetened with wine; it's a bright red color and very good.
Personally, I spent Saint Mikulas day on a field trip. One of our wonderful RAs took a group on a trip to the suburb that he and his family are from. We walked through the panelak rows, through an Ikea, through a pet store that sold monkeys, and through a snowy park. Then we went back to Prague and talked in a teahouse for a while.
On December 8th, less than 10 days before our intended departure, my architecture class took a different kind of field trip. We visited the studio of CMC Architects. These are the people who revitalized the holesovice industrial district, which is where DOX and a few other very artsy buildings are now located. The architect who spoke to us showed us a slideshow of planned projects--none of which had been realized yet. Apparently, many of the company's urban designs got veto'd because the city insists there is "no space for experiments in Prague." Only two of the designs we saw had been actually built, and these were private projects commissioned for wealthy clients outside the historic part of the city. I hadn't realized that so much of the field of architecture is designing projects for proposals and competitions, knowing that most of the projects won't ever be built. This is a trend I've noticed in this class through the semester, and it makes me glad I decided not to become an architect afterall.
The next day, my IR professor gave us a list of films that he personally suggests for those craving a taste of Central European culture. Here's his list:
Skylarks on Strings by Menzel
Ucho by Kachyna
Katyn
Man of Marble
Man of Steel
It's better to be rich and healthy than poor and ill
Good Bye Lenin
Lives of Others
Kolya
Pouta
Since I'm on a link-posting spree, I might as well include this one. It's for the successful dessert that I brought to our last dorm potluck: Lamingtons
I loved the Museum of Decorative Arts. The first gallery I saw had part 2 of the Decadence Now exhibit displayed. It still isn't my style, but I have to say that the Erwin Olaf "Fashion Victims" photography series caught my attention. I like the concept. My own contribution? Consider it a piece of performance art: at the suggestion of a friend, I visited the restroom on the same floor for the sole purpose of looking out the window and into the Jewish cemetery from that unusual angle. One of the reasons I decided to go to the museum in the first place.
The serious collection was farther upstairs. There were metal candlesticks shaped like sea-horses (not seahorses), a 4-season themed beaded centerpiece for a table, squares of delicate lace, wedding dresses from different periods in Czech history, sundial rings, pocket sundials with string instead of needles to create the shadow, and even a sundial shaped like a cup. There were all kinds of clocks, beautiful pieces of jewelery, photographs, vases, and old books that I longed to leaf through. This was certainly my kind of museum. Of course, I left really wanting to take a glass-blowing class.
My literature class took a field trip to the sculpture studio of artist Cestmir Suska. The journey into the suburbs to visit him was very snowy and cold, but the trip was well worth-while. Suska told us about his background, his different works, and his artist's cooperative--Bubec--which hosts "art safaris" in the ex-airplane-hanger that is now their shared studio space. He was very thoughtful and earnest, the kind of person I could easily listen to for hours. Because so many of his pieces were out for us to walk through, the changes in his style as he experimented with different media and concepts were easy to see. It felt like walking a timeline of his work, with him there to footnote and highlight as he saw fit. Personally, I fell in love with the rusty flower pieces. Maybe it's because they have flowers or patterns or math. Maybe it's because I want to learn about welding as much as I want to learn about glass-blowing.
All things in time, I suppose.
Another event that necessitated a snowy journey was the end-of-semester concert that the music students put together. I love when any of the art students showcase their works at the end of the semester, and since I had friends in this concert it was especially fun to hear their works. Unfortunately, the concert was very long and by the time we got out the snow had rendered the trams completely useless. This was the first and last time I took a taxi in Prague...but there was no other way to get home!
I went to an exhibit called PLAY at Manes Gallery on the river. It was supposed to be a school event, but it ended up being just me and Eva, one of the RAs. It was fun though. All of the pieces in the exhibit were interactive. We built with blocks, made noises with toilet plungers, played music with lights and shadows, and spun kalidescopes that looked out on the river. On the lower level there was a work about the 12 senses that Rudolf Steiner designed the Waldorf Education program around. I still have to translate the pamphlet from Czech into English, but a woman at the gallery explained each of the senses and the corresponding activities for me as I walked through. Overall I really enjoyed the exhibit and found it to be a welcome break from paper-writing.
That same day, I went in the evening to an event hosted by Firefly. The event was run by the woman who built the company and she explained how branding works, how she ended up in Prague, and what the process of a creative design team can involve. She had a few really cool exhibits where she took styles, materials, or objects from one of the countries that she has worked in and challenged artists from another of the countries to design a series of works with that theme in mind. For example, the windows were lined with glassworks by a Czech artist who designed a sake set for her. Very cool way to think.
In the rush to visit the last museums on my list before the end of this adventure, I found myself in Dox modern art gallery. I'd walked by the building numerous times during the semester because it's on the same block as one of the NYU dorms. However, it took looking up and catching sight of the giant skull currently on the roof to lure me inside. Overall, not my kind of gallery. There was a piece about the perils of the state education system that I found amusing because it seemed to be a visual representation of all the research I had been reading for one of my final papers. Two other exhibits that I found interesting were an outdoor-ish graffiti installation and an exploration of soviet-era depictions of space-travel/a sci-fi future.
Of course, I then went almost immediately after to the Mucha museum where Sam and I looked at pretty art nouveau posters, I searched for the flower design that I want a tatoo of (don't worry, I didn't find one), and I learned that Mucha did a series of HUGE oil paintings (not in his namesake style) called the Slav Epic. Totally different art, but very very cool.
So much going on! For the start of the holidays, my friends got together and made vegan Jewish food. Yay for applesauce and latkes! We also learned about St. Mikulas day. What my family has always celebrated as the feast of Saint Nicholas (for which one leaves shoes outside the bedroom door so that the saint can fill them with chocolate coins--geld--by morning) is a pretty big deal in the Czech Republic. People everywhere dress up as Saint Mikulas, an angel, or a devil. The trio walks around together, especially in Old Town Square at night. Children who want presents on Christmas have to approach Saint Mikulas and either sing a song or recite a poem. He then asks their parents whether the children have been good. If the parents say 'yes', the angel gives the child fruit or chocolate. These children get gifts on Christmas. If the parents say 'no', the devil wipes ash on the child's cheeks, rattles a chain perhaps and gives the child coal or potatoes. This is where things get a little strange: the Czechs say that on Christmas the devil will come with his sack, put the bad children in it and bring them back to hell with him. Yikes!
Of course, those who are of age can also celebrate the holiday with special "devil's beer" offered around the city. I think it's sweetened with wine; it's a bright red color and very good.
Personally, I spent Saint Mikulas day on a field trip. One of our wonderful RAs took a group on a trip to the suburb that he and his family are from. We walked through the panelak rows, through an Ikea, through a pet store that sold monkeys, and through a snowy park. Then we went back to Prague and talked in a teahouse for a while.
On December 8th, less than 10 days before our intended departure, my architecture class took a different kind of field trip. We visited the studio of CMC Architects. These are the people who revitalized the holesovice industrial district, which is where DOX and a few other very artsy buildings are now located. The architect who spoke to us showed us a slideshow of planned projects--none of which had been realized yet. Apparently, many of the company's urban designs got veto'd because the city insists there is "no space for experiments in Prague." Only two of the designs we saw had been actually built, and these were private projects commissioned for wealthy clients outside the historic part of the city. I hadn't realized that so much of the field of architecture is designing projects for proposals and competitions, knowing that most of the projects won't ever be built. This is a trend I've noticed in this class through the semester, and it makes me glad I decided not to become an architect afterall.
The next day, my IR professor gave us a list of films that he personally suggests for those craving a taste of Central European culture. Here's his list:
Skylarks on Strings by Menzel
Ucho by Kachyna
Katyn
Man of Marble
Man of Steel
It's better to be rich and healthy than poor and ill
Good Bye Lenin
Lives of Others
Kolya
Pouta
Since I'm on a link-posting spree, I might as well include this one. It's for the successful dessert that I brought to our last dorm potluck: Lamingtons
Sunday, December 26, 2010
11/20 - 11/28 Welcome to my(?) city!
Picked Cass up from the airport and started a crazy week. We cooked together and with friends. We went to Palac Akropolis for a Reggae dj night and to Roxy for a free Monday rock/ska/techno night. He came to my classes all through the week, and now understands why I love my professors here. We ate Czech food at a place near my dorm that I frequented but still don't know the name of. We went to the Vysehrad and to the Osadni dorm. My architecture professor invited the class to his book release party at the Cubist Cafe, so we attended that. We ate at a few veg places, a super-secret vegan place, and a Middle Eastern place. The fabulous piano prodigy Michelle Lee had a concert through NYU so we went to that one night and met friends at a hookah bar after.
Then it was Wednesday and my family was arriving. They were too tired to walk around much so we went to a hockey game--something you should definitely do while in Prague--and then had an Italian dinner in Old Town before calling it a night. Cass and I had wanted to climb the metronome but it had mysteriously gone dark and still. Creepy! So we decided to wait. I think they enjoyed walking around over the next few days. I hadn't realized how much I had picked up from my architecture class. I also hadn't realized how much walking I do every day. They were pretty good sports though. My dad was really struck by the monument to the victims of the soviet occupation in minor town. We passed it en route to Petrin Tower, from which we saw Prague's spires all silhouetted and dotted with lights. It's such a beautiful view on cold crisp nights.
I wrote about Thanksgiving on my class blog, which I'll be linking to as soon as I copy it all over. Somehow we managed to keep our main traditions: 1. Having Godmother Sharon with us and 2. Eating at a restaurant. Pretty amazing.
The metronome still wasn't lit when Cass and I were heading back, but we decided to climb it anyway. What a view!
That next day, Friday, we spent the entire day in the castle. We crossed Charles Bridge and then took a tram up. We ate lunch at Strahov brewery before admiring the monastery library across the square. We also explored the cathedral, the old palace, and the Romanesque Basilica. We had dinner reservations for 6.30 and it was pretty cold out by the time we finished all the architecture-focused stuff at 4, so we took refuge in the Lobkowicz Museum. Which I had wanted to see anyway. There the family showcases the enormous collection of portraits, weapons, manuscripts, instruments, and other treasures that they had owned, lost to the Nazis, got back, lost to the Soviets, and finally have retrieved again. It's only one of their properties, but it's a beautiful building and a very well put together museum.
After dinner, I even convinced my dad that he, Godmother Sharon, and Emily (since they were the not-quite-sleepy ones) should come to Pivovarsky Klub to meet up with some of my friends. It was so much fun!
Friday was our off-beat day. We took a morning trip to the "baby tower," aka the Žižkov television tower, to get a different view of the city. We then took the metro to Minor Town and went inside St. Nicolas' cathedral, which was gorgeous and very baroque. We split up for a bit after that. My family went to the Carmelite church that houses the Infant of Prague since we had seen a replica at the Lobkowicz museum. They tried to get into Cafe Savoy for lunch. Cass and I went to an Afghan restaurant in Old Town before returning to Minor Town to hang our lovers lock, admire the Lennon wall and pose with Černý's baby sculptures. We were all supposed to meet back in Old Town Square for the opening of the Christmas Market there. I hadn't realized when planning this that the opening of the market included a tree lighting comprable to the lighting of the Rockefeller tree. I've never been caught in a mob before, but that's what this turned into. My dad texted that they were ok and near the edge of the crowd, but I'm pretty sure Cass is the only reason I got out without breaking any bones. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced.
The tree was lovely when the crowd finally cleared. We found my family and went to the much smaller and calmer market at Náměstí Míru. I'm actually glad we did. My family got to see the neo-gothic church there and see another neighborhood outside the Prague 1 tourist zone. They needed a break from meat so we went to Radost FX for dinner. I'm not sure if they liked the veg food but the decor made them laugh.
Everyone left on Sunday morning and immediately it began to snow.
Then it was Wednesday and my family was arriving. They were too tired to walk around much so we went to a hockey game--something you should definitely do while in Prague--and then had an Italian dinner in Old Town before calling it a night. Cass and I had wanted to climb the metronome but it had mysteriously gone dark and still. Creepy! So we decided to wait. I think they enjoyed walking around over the next few days. I hadn't realized how much I had picked up from my architecture class. I also hadn't realized how much walking I do every day. They were pretty good sports though. My dad was really struck by the monument to the victims of the soviet occupation in minor town. We passed it en route to Petrin Tower, from which we saw Prague's spires all silhouetted and dotted with lights. It's such a beautiful view on cold crisp nights.
I wrote about Thanksgiving on my class blog, which I'll be linking to as soon as I copy it all over. Somehow we managed to keep our main traditions: 1. Having Godmother Sharon with us and 2. Eating at a restaurant. Pretty amazing.
The metronome still wasn't lit when Cass and I were heading back, but we decided to climb it anyway. What a view!
That next day, Friday, we spent the entire day in the castle. We crossed Charles Bridge and then took a tram up. We ate lunch at Strahov brewery before admiring the monastery library across the square. We also explored the cathedral, the old palace, and the Romanesque Basilica. We had dinner reservations for 6.30 and it was pretty cold out by the time we finished all the architecture-focused stuff at 4, so we took refuge in the Lobkowicz Museum. Which I had wanted to see anyway. There the family showcases the enormous collection of portraits, weapons, manuscripts, instruments, and other treasures that they had owned, lost to the Nazis, got back, lost to the Soviets, and finally have retrieved again. It's only one of their properties, but it's a beautiful building and a very well put together museum.
After dinner, I even convinced my dad that he, Godmother Sharon, and Emily (since they were the not-quite-sleepy ones) should come to Pivovarsky Klub to meet up with some of my friends. It was so much fun!
Friday was our off-beat day. We took a morning trip to the "baby tower," aka the Žižkov television tower, to get a different view of the city. We then took the metro to Minor Town and went inside St. Nicolas' cathedral, which was gorgeous and very baroque. We split up for a bit after that. My family went to the Carmelite church that houses the Infant of Prague since we had seen a replica at the Lobkowicz museum. They tried to get into Cafe Savoy for lunch. Cass and I went to an Afghan restaurant in Old Town before returning to Minor Town to hang our lovers lock, admire the Lennon wall and pose with Černý's baby sculptures. We were all supposed to meet back in Old Town Square for the opening of the Christmas Market there. I hadn't realized when planning this that the opening of the market included a tree lighting comprable to the lighting of the Rockefeller tree. I've never been caught in a mob before, but that's what this turned into. My dad texted that they were ok and near the edge of the crowd, but I'm pretty sure Cass is the only reason I got out without breaking any bones. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced.
The tree was lovely when the crowd finally cleared. We found my family and went to the much smaller and calmer market at Náměstí Míru. I'm actually glad we did. My family got to see the neo-gothic church there and see another neighborhood outside the Prague 1 tourist zone. They needed a break from meat so we went to Radost FX for dinner. I'm not sure if they liked the veg food but the decor made them laugh.
Everyone left on Sunday morning and immediately it began to snow.
11/14 - 11/19 Catch up post
Yet another American movie that I saw for the first time in the Czech Republic: Blues Brothers.
I went to a lecture by Tania Le Moigne, the woman responsible for establishing Google in the Czech Republic. Seznam is the search engine/email provider that most Czechs use, and Le Moigne has a very interesting story about getting involved with google.cz. In her pre-Google days, she started a company that made board games for children. Her favorite is a manners-focused game called "Don't Pick Your Nose." She brought a copy of this game to one of her Google interviews and got the job, leading her to reflect that "It's good to do something different."
Some of her other interesting thoughts:
- "you don't have time for safe bets"
- "Google wanted to develop new programs for the Czech market; I told them that we needed to work on converting the programs we already had into Czech first. Why would I use a search engine that doesn't speak my language? That was first priority."
- "It's called an ecosystem. Interesting people know interesting people."
- "The weakness of Google is that it doesn't communicate with its users well. People don't know about all of the programs we offer."
Why was I at a business lecture? I'm not sure, but it was interesting.
These days have been filled with planning for my family's arrival, brainstorming and researching for my final projects, and keeping up with my homework. Somehow, though, I've found time for visiting breweries, making midnight brownies, and saw Harry Potter 7 (part 1).
So the experience of going to the movies in Prague...First thing to note is that seats are assigned. We picked a showing of HP7 in English with digital Czech subtitles and sat right up front. Not to give any spoilers (trying hard!) but the scenes with the ministry propaganda office, propaganda posters, and the constant uncertainty that comes with life during wartime impacted me much more that I think they would have if I had seen them before spending time in an ex-Soviet state. The movie had an intermission, which caught me off-guard. I still say Emma Watson is too beautiful to play Hermione, but oh well.
I'll leave off there to avoid real spoilers. Let it suffice to say that I definitely belong to that generation that grew up with the Harry Potter books on our bedside tables. Strange to think that it's all ending soon.
Suddenly it's the 19th and Cass is arriving tomorrow. Strange to think that all this will be ending soon too. Such strange seasons my life has.
I went to a lecture by Tania Le Moigne, the woman responsible for establishing Google in the Czech Republic. Seznam is the search engine/email provider that most Czechs use, and Le Moigne has a very interesting story about getting involved with google.cz. In her pre-Google days, she started a company that made board games for children. Her favorite is a manners-focused game called "Don't Pick Your Nose." She brought a copy of this game to one of her Google interviews and got the job, leading her to reflect that "It's good to do something different."
Some of her other interesting thoughts:
- "you don't have time for safe bets"
- "Google wanted to develop new programs for the Czech market; I told them that we needed to work on converting the programs we already had into Czech first. Why would I use a search engine that doesn't speak my language? That was first priority."
- "It's called an ecosystem. Interesting people know interesting people."
- "The weakness of Google is that it doesn't communicate with its users well. People don't know about all of the programs we offer."
Why was I at a business lecture? I'm not sure, but it was interesting.
These days have been filled with planning for my family's arrival, brainstorming and researching for my final projects, and keeping up with my homework. Somehow, though, I've found time for visiting breweries, making midnight brownies, and saw Harry Potter 7 (part 1).
So the experience of going to the movies in Prague...First thing to note is that seats are assigned. We picked a showing of HP7 in English with digital Czech subtitles and sat right up front. Not to give any spoilers (trying hard!) but the scenes with the ministry propaganda office, propaganda posters, and the constant uncertainty that comes with life during wartime impacted me much more that I think they would have if I had seen them before spending time in an ex-Soviet state. The movie had an intermission, which caught me off-guard. I still say Emma Watson is too beautiful to play Hermione, but oh well.
I'll leave off there to avoid real spoilers. Let it suffice to say that I definitely belong to that generation that grew up with the Harry Potter books on our bedside tables. Strange to think that it's all ending soon.
Suddenly it's the 19th and Cass is arriving tomorrow. Strange to think that all this will be ending soon too. Such strange seasons my life has.
Czech them out!
What a terrible pun.
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Czech Republic had a prolific, if short, cubist movement. Here are some Czech cubist/ cubist-inspired artists:
Antonin Prochazka
Emil Filla
Bohumil Kubista
Otoo Gutfreund
Vincenc Benes
Josef Capek
Josef Gocar
Vincenc Kramar
Frantisek Janak
Josef Plecnik
Also, one of my professors suggested a set of books for those interested in European politics. The author is Neil Kritz and the title is Transitional Justice. Interesting stuff.
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Czech Republic had a prolific, if short, cubist movement. Here are some Czech cubist/ cubist-inspired artists:
Antonin Prochazka
Emil Filla
Bohumil Kubista
Otoo Gutfreund
Vincenc Benes
Josef Capek
Josef Gocar
Vincenc Kramar
Frantisek Janak
Josef Plecnik
Also, one of my professors suggested a set of books for those interested in European politics. The author is Neil Kritz and the title is Transitional Justice. Interesting stuff.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A Pocket-Sized Sundial...
...and other adventures to be posted shortly.
I'm currently in the process of water-coloring/writing a 20 page book project, writing a 20 page policy paper on Central European university systems, researching a 10 pager about Waldorf education and a Manes gallery exhibit, and studying for a few tests. And soaking up every moment of these, my last 9 days in the Czech Republic.
In the handy notebook that lives in my school-bag are notes and sketches that will soon become post-dated blog posts. In the meantime, I'm living like Jigglypuff on adderall: trying to take in as much as I can, hoping these experiences become part of who I am, and being far too busy to sleep. Of course, my real life doesn't involve adderall because that stuff is scary. But you get the point.
Hold your thumbs (Czech for 'cross your fingers') that my exams go well, and I'll have more adventure stories--and probably a list of suggestions for anyone visiting Prague--very soon.
Na shledanou.
I'm currently in the process of water-coloring/writing a 20 page book project, writing a 20 page policy paper on Central European university systems, researching a 10 pager about Waldorf education and a Manes gallery exhibit, and studying for a few tests. And soaking up every moment of these, my last 9 days in the Czech Republic.
In the handy notebook that lives in my school-bag are notes and sketches that will soon become post-dated blog posts. In the meantime, I'm living like Jigglypuff on adderall: trying to take in as much as I can, hoping these experiences become part of who I am, and being far too busy to sleep. Of course, my real life doesn't involve adderall because that stuff is scary. But you get the point.
Hold your thumbs (Czech for 'cross your fingers') that my exams go well, and I'll have more adventure stories--and probably a list of suggestions for anyone visiting Prague--very soon.
Na shledanou.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)