nairi

Between all the honking, shouting, and clapping, all I heard was: "Hayer!" (Last night, after the game, that is.)

I found out yesterday that the Armenian national team's nickname is "Lernakanner" (Highlanders). I love it.

And Mashtots for Macintosh. Those early Grabar fonts might have inspired him, too.

More reason for the good seeds to move back and start taking over.

You know what's really sad? Talented and motivated Armenians draining out of Armenia. I say let the bad seeds emigrate from Armenia and the good seeds immigrate to Armenia. Who cares about our rep in America? Let's start worrying about the future of the only piece of land we can currently call our own.

It looks like abbreviated Classical Armenian. You should ask a priest or deacon.

Screaming from the diaspora is hardly helpful. Come here and contribute your bit, whatever it is. That's one way to be directly involved in the changes in this country, even if it's only a step at a time.

Ironically, I don't think the dolma at Dolmama is that good...

And yet, right now, I'd rather live here than anywhere else in the world. Yes, there's a lot of dirt, but there's also a lot of beauty. And for me, it's about attaching myself to the beauty and helping that grow, in the hope that one day the beauty will outgrow the dirt.

Can we talk about խաշլամա?

Hi Arpa! I'm looking for 23 kings. Want to be one of them? And, no, don't know Eduard Hakhverdian. Maybe he's a distant relative, but I don't know anything about it. We have other veradarts family from the 1940s/50s. They're not Hakhverdians, though. Hi Ashot! Nice to see you, too!

No such thing as mshtakan... I'll see where life takes me. For now I'm in Armenia. Been here for a little over a year now and not planning on leaving soon. But who knows what the future might bring..

That stuff is disgusting, not to mention the conditions it's produced under.. Then again, I'm not an oenophile, so what do I know?

I didn't return; I moved here. And I'm loving every minute.

Expand my empire.

Can I add Nairi to this one? I see that the republication of Adjarian includes Nairi. Also, I think we can add four more categories: mountains (Masis, Sipan), rivers and lakes (Arpa, Arax, Sevan), cities (Ani, Arpi), and countries (Biaina, Hayastan, Nairi).

I'm rooting for Ghana, all the way.

My apartment is pretty much in the middle of it all. By the way, in Jugha dialect, we call ourselves "jughtsi" and the adjective would be "jughtsu" (as in, jughtsu barbar).

I wasn't aware of this, to be honest. I know he's very much revered in Armenia, though mostly because of his linguistic prowess, because in the Soviet era, one could not praise content--especially critique, social and political--so instead critics tended to emphasize linguistic skills. The legacy today is people in Armenia saying things like: "He writes so well! The story is so well-written! The language he uses is so breathtaking!" (even when it's not that impressive). The few times I asked: "Do you know what he's writing about?" or "Do you realize that this story is about oppression, abortion, and rape?" I did not get an answer. Two of my childhood favorites by Toumanian are "Gikor" and "Pisiki Gangate" (which is more than just about a little kitten sitting in a corner and crying, if you read between the lines).

I want Cameroon to do something cool at some point..

Bakunts's house-museum (in Yerevan) is now a chic boutique... Sorry, sorry, but I really am super, super busy, which is a good thing! I do try to browse every now and again. Love your avatar, by the way. Suits you well.

Oh no! Okay, I give you free rein to post the best and worst passage...

In November, and I'm not planning on moving anywhere else yet.

Armenia - still lovin' it. I suggest you give it a try.