I am here ... that is Andel's master exhibit on model trains. Oh so much LOVE :D This and Karlovy ... this may be the best week ever!

Finally after many many planned trips that were cancelled or otherwise aborted--FINALLY! I am going to Karlovy :D Karlovy Vary is an interesting place, kind of taken over by the Russians during Communism and turned into a high end spa resort town for Communist Party elite and largely still is VERY Russian.

Or so I'm told, every time we plan a trip over to Karlovy one of my Czech friends gasps and warns me not to travel into that area "because there are Russians"

"So?" I ask.

"THERE ARE RUSSIANS!!!"

"And what's wrong with Russians?"

"They are .... not Czech?"

Well naturally XD

Although, to be fair this is really my older friends, my younger Czech friends are more like "*shrug* just don't bring back any stupid matryoshka ... and get the big bottle of Becherovka."

Always looking for ways to pad English teacher income ... it's really weird what jobs people post on expats.cz. Look at this one:

Looking for Promoters for Interactive Guerrilla Theater Production Killing Rick

CP Antics is currently hiring promoters to sell tickets for our interactive guerrilla theater production Killing Rick. This interactive cloak and dagger guerrilla theater production in English draws participants into a web of intrigue spun across Old Town. Unsuspecting guests in groups of 6 to 10 are directed to a secret location every half-hour from 9pm till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays in June. Beginning their adventure on what seems to be a corny ghost tour, guests soon find themselves on a mission to solve a murder that will take them by foot to shady locations. Throughout the journey, sketchy characters played by improv-trained actors, divulge secrets that adds twists and turns to the plot. Promoters will be paid 100kc for each ticket that they sell. For more information about this position please go to jobs.cpantics.com.

Sounds like a thankless job but, DAMN, I want to go to Guerrilla Theater!!! :D

http://www.psfk.com/2009/05/hyperlocal-journalism-the-newsroom-meets-the-cafe.html

The Czech Republic’s PPF Group is preparing to launch a series of “connected cafes” in several cities across the country next month in an attempt to link journalists both physically and digitally with their reading public. The joint ventures - part coffee shop and part newsroom - are the latest experiment in the growing field of hyperlocal journalism, a shift in thinking about newspapers that seeks to capture niche audiences through extremely specific and relevant reporting. This project aims to bring the idea of responsive coverage and community feedback into the realms of the real time.

From a Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/technology/internet/11iht-papers.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

“The position of the journalist is not just to be observing and writing something on the newspaper or on the Web, but also to help people have the tools to do something in their community.”

This is like those sweaters we wore as kids in the early 90ties that came down past the ass and had the absurd designs. Except the adult version and sparkly

Although this is kind of cool in a strange way.

But in either case you could never have a fashion show like this in Prague because people do walk around with hair like that @_@ Between the wanna-be-beatniks, the discovering-consumerism-Grannies, and the rebelling-children-of-capitalism SOMEONE would take this literally

It's always a weird thing when Prague institutions that you've seriously never heard of close down. (Well sort of)

....Seriously an actual non-slum looking rock club in Prague 1? Even Planet Hollywood in Prague looks like Soviet-Ameri-bar! And a quick walk-- Shit, this is the place next to the Louvre (that's a cafe for non-Bohemians, not the museum in Paris) isn't it? Oh well that neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone between the border of tourist trap and expat alley anyway.

It's sad, but more likely than not it will be like Roxy Music Club before it: government tries to shut it down because of noise violations but the coked out British sex tourists will not be denied! It all depends on the price of the beer. Marquis de Sade at 45kc a glass (!!!) was allowed to be shuttered because their core market were people who were three months away from realizing you can walk down the street and drink for half that.

Fair the well Rock Cafe ... I guess

The Caps/Pens series should be interesting to hockey fans all over the league for ONE reason: It's a battle between two clubs that the NHL has almost consistently tilted and promoted for the last four years. Which means the NHL must either decide which one of it's children it loves bestest ... or play Swiss and we might actually get a couple fairly called and well played hockey games.

Judging from game 1 things do not look promising. But still... I have hope XD Of course it's 1am here in the Gothic City so that may be sleep deprivation talking

I have bought the cute pair of white leather flats known to man. But they just will not fit comfortably! I mean the left one fits perfectly, the right one is too small.

Agh I can just tell that these are going to be the type of shoes that have a very long, very painful breaking in period. Like one where they draw blood.

Stanley Kubrick Burlesque you say? Get out! These guys ... errr girls were awesome!

It's funny how far streaming hockey has come, just two years ago you couldn't get anything in the Republic. Now I can sit in the comfort of my own apartment and watch the Caps/Pen stream.

Well COULD if I wasn't on my third beer at White Star :) The greatest sports bar in the world~ <3 <3