Compact archive November 7, 2008

The legendary music group The Residents return to Palace Akropolis. The group became famous not only by their experimenting, but also by their innovator approach on their unique albums. Their album Freak Show was the first sophisticated CD-rom for instance.

The group completely hides their identity. They use the unique image of huge eye bulbs with a cylinder put one their heads. There were no ‘exposed’ pictures, so we still don’t know who the members are.

During the whole time of their existence, they have never made a single compromise towards the commercial scene, yet they are one of the most recognised formations on the scene.

Their style varies among music and visual perception, performation of classical music, avant garde and modern theatre art.

The Residents present their new album The Bunny Boy in Prague, Palac Akropolis, Kubelikova 27, Praha 3, Thursday 20/11/2008 from 19:30 Tickets at Ticketstream, at the place 80o czk.

The Czech nuclear power plants are a theme for debates of many Austrians. The most hated is the Temelin power plant, which was build partly by Russian, partly by American technology and Austrians do not hesitate to demonstrate against it loud.

What is in the movie? Explosion of Dukovany power plant. Thousands of Austrians run to the shelters, firemen trying to help the exposed to radiation… drama First Day was viewed on the Austrian television ORF 2. The director Andreas Prochaska gained world primacy – it has never happened a real power plant would explode in a film.

Even when they defend they only wanted to make a partly documentary movie, it only adds fuel to the flames of the general assumption Czechs are not able to run their power plants. Which is of course a nonsense, what’s more Dukovany belong to long-term among the most securely operating nuclear power stations in the world.

Because Klaus has been voted the president again, there are another 4 years of reign for him. What is he going to do? Talking negatively about things people want, talking positively about himself, this will never change. When was the ex-president of the US Bill Clinton asked in 1998 about his Lewinska affair he answered on question why he did that very directly – “because I could”. That is what Klaus could say now as the reason for boycotting of the Lisbon treaty in the parliament – because he can … or does he like to be in the centre of attention? Why he goes against one of the long-term goal of the Czech government? Until now, there is only one valid reason – to kick into him despised government and its Prime Minister. What is this attitude going to bring us during the EU Chairmanship I am afraid to think of. This event is a huge chance to show the world we are not a stupid slow island, that we have learned many since the 1989 and that we are able sit by the round table with the others. And now, imagine Klaus attacking everything by his comments, risking a failure of the whole country. Why would he do that? Because he can….

Similarly like San Francisco, Prague has its Asian district too. The huge marketplace SAPA, so called little Hanoi, is a city in a city. The repairs will take a while, though. Most of the 25 hectares of he area burned away. The firefighters fight for sixteen hours.

Most of the main market hall (entrance was only with trade licence) burned down, exhausting clouds of black smoke over half of the metropolis. We can only guess, how much of ‘branded goods’ burned, the hall was big like two football fields on each other.

How many Asians move at the the market is unknown, the City Hall doesn’t have any numbers. There is even a little Buddhist shrine, Asian branch of the health insurance company, bars, gambling houses, big restaurants for 600 and 1000 people, two newspaper-publishing houses.

In the well known Czech movie Samotari is this quote: “…weed is not a tradition in the Czech Republic”. Well, that time is gone. A few years since the film was made and Czechs score high in marijuana consumption among the European states; according to the 2008 Annual report of EMCDDA, we are right behind Spain.

The most smokers are in Denmark with their 36% who admitted to have smoked weed, though Czech Republic has many regular, dedicated and young smokers, about 9%, who admitted to have smoked in this year. In the category we are second, the first is Spain.

On the other hand, Czech republic is among the countries where only 5/million people die a year from hard drugs overdose, compared to 73/million in Estonia. So the report result can be read as positive – Narcotics grow out of fashion. But we Czechs shouldn’t feel too accomplished – there is still a massive number of kids smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

The Greens are, once again, going to present their decriminalization proposal this month. It probably won’t be passed in the parliament, as the parties are afraid of losing votes of more conservative citizens, however, the numbers speak clearly – to decriminalize marijuana in the CR will bring only a ‘paper’ change, as the numbers are already on ‘decriminalized’ level.