boomerang

Thursday, November 11, 2010
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BOOMERANG
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In my morning paper today, under a headline that reads, “Ambassador blasts Austria over treatment of Turks,” I read: “The Turkish ambassador accused Austria of treating his compatriots like a virus.” Further down he is quoted as having said to the Austrians: “You must learn to live together with other people. What's Austria's problem?”
Hear. hear!
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Everything that you do unto others, shall be done unto you.
In life nobody gets away with nothing!
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Are you easily offended by double-negatives.
I am not.
Greeks have been using double-negatives for millennia with no discernible ill effects.
For example: instead of saying “I have nothing,” (“Exo tipota”), they say “I don't have nothing” ("Then exo tipota").
Speaking for myself:
I prefer the Greek way. It may not make sense, but then in life, what does?
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Today is Remembrance Day – a day we remember the end of World War I and our heroes who died in defense of our country and freedom.
Today is also a day in which we are encouraged to forget that our heroes also did some serial killing of their own.
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Friday, November 12, 2010
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SITUATION / SHITUATION
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The shortest poem in the world?
“Adam
Had 'em.”
(Meaning, microbes.)
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The shortest proverb in the world?
“Kirk, krik.”
(Turkish for “Forty, broken” -- in reference to the fact that most health problems begin at forty, that is, at the threshold of old age.)
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One of my mother's favorite sayings was:
“Kimini chok chok,
Kimini hich yok.”
(Turkish for “Some folks have too much, other folks have nothing.”)
Karl Marx in a nutshell.
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Turks knew their onions, alright!
They conquered and ruled over many lands, and came into contact with many people and as many cultures; and because they were in a position to choose, they chose the very best – the most beautiful girls for their harems, the strongest boys as Janissaries, the most competent and gifted architects, artists, and musicians.
How much of Turkish culture is Turkish?
My guess is, no more than 1%.
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How much of Armenian culture is Armenian?
When I compare our contemporary music, architecture, and literature to that of our Golden Age (5th Century AD) and Silver Age (late 19th Century), my guess is less than 1%.
No one wants to admit it but the evidence is irrefutable on this point: we are a nation of rejects and mediocrities -- fornicators who sermonize on chastity, enemy agents who speechify on patriotism, and bloodsuckers who raise funds for the needy.
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It is not only Turks who are to blame, however. Before them the Byzantine Greeks did the same; and more recently the Soviets. Some of the greatest military and political leaders of the Byzantine Empire were not Greek but Armenian. Very much like Turks and Byzantine Greeks, the Soviets kept the best for themselves (Anastas Mikoyan and his brother Artem of MiG fame, Aram Khachaturian, among many others) and in successive purges systematically eliminated anyone and everyone who dared to be more Armenian and less Soviet.
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I say these things not because I am a cynic out to promote defeatism and despair but to point out the fact that our genocide in an ongoing process that began long before we surrendered our destiny into the hands of the Turks. Unless we understand this very obvious fact and we segregate the goats from the sheep, we are doomed.
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Saturday, November 13, 2010
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DEPROGRAMMING
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One of the hardest things in life
is convincing a dupe that he is a fool.
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If you don't understand yourself,
the chances are you will misunderstand everyone else.
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If a truth contradicts another truth,
both must be lies.
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A French thinker (may have been Voltaire) once said,
if it weren't for the miracles in the Bible,
there would be many more Christians.
Religion and magic are incompatible concepts.
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When two belief systems clash,
their adherents would be justified in saying:
“I believe, therefore I am wrong.”
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To those of my readers who are willing to share their wisdom with me,
may I be so bold as to suggest that
I am old enough to learn from my own mistakes,
thank you very much.
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I should like to see academic fields
on “Armenian anti-Armenianism” and
“the flora and fauna of the Armenian psyche.”
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If I were to write a history of our literature,
I would have to conclude it with the words:
“After surviving bloodthirsty sultans and murderous commissars,
Armenian literature expired under our bosses, bishops, and benefactors.”
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