Oh you should definitely use your opportunity. It's a world full of fun and edification. Although it has to be said that China Radio International seem to be making a bid to rule every frequency lately.

There are estimated to be 1,000,000 stray dogs in and around Bucharest, you know.

As many as all that? Well I never.

All of that information, and more, can be yours at the flick of a switch.

Czech radio are exploring the worsening 'social exclusion' of the Romany minority. Someone has completed a study of 80,000 Romanies are living in 310 'ghettoised' shanty villages. "About 80 percent of the settlements have appeared in the past 10 years. The larger the enclave is, the more it is 'soaking' people from its surroundings."

A very helpful lady on Romanian Radio is currently explaining the culinary delights of the eggplant, complete with recipes.

I had lamb with eggplant sauce last night! Excellent!

After eggplant salad, my interest started to wane, so I'm scanning again. I've got some sort of live (possibly North African) folk music on at the moment.

(I don't think I've ever eaten eggplant)

(edit: oh, yes I have. We call it 'aubergine')

Eggplants great. Especially Indian food with eggplant.

Latest update on that Swedish election: the hot topics at the moment are school grades and the cost of health services.

I'm totally getting the SW radio out of the garage tomorrow. I'll say thanks in advance to the people of this thread, especially Hip Priest, who has really sold it to me.

At the risk of either cementing your resolve or destroying it, I might point out that Radio Sweden have shut up about the election and started playing Abba.

Abba? In Sweden? Who'd've thunk it?

Yeah, I know. It's like the Beatles and Liverpool isn't it? A casual visitor would be forgiven for assuming that nothing of note has happened in the intervening years.

Anyway, radio Sweden are gone for the night so I've got the Omnipresent Ruler of the Shortwave, Radio China International, on at the moment.

Glice: here's a very stylish axample of what you've been missing, just broadcast by Radio Prague*:

..Not too long ago the best anyone was likely to come up with on a rainy day at the cottage was a mouldy edition of "Clovece, nezlob se" - Man, Don't Be Angry, the Czech version of the children's game Ludo, where you try and get your pawns to home base while bumping your opponents off the track! Not a scintillating experience unless you're about eight years old. On the other hand, in the early 1990s there was at least a decent parody of the game developed by comic Czech singer and songwriter Ivan Mladek. His game "Soudruhu, nezlob se" - Comrade, Don't be Angry! made far better use of the original game's simple but ruthless principles in a way that was funny and wonderfully dark.

The idea was to roll-and-move your pawn along a track, gradually collecting cash and cards that either helped or hurt your rise in the echelons of communist power. One card that I remember well read something like "Drunk in the pub, you declare Havel will one day be president. Go straight to psychiatric ward for treatment." In its way, the game perfectly captured the euphoric mood of the 90s following communism's demise. In the very last stage you traded your hard-earned Czechoslovak crowns for West German marks so you could make a final cynical dash over the border to the West. A final roll of the die determined whether you successfully made it past the machine guns, minefields, and electric fence. Like I said, the humour was black...

*Radio Praha, if you prefer.

There's some kind of major religious conference going on in Bucharest, or so I'm told by the people at Radio Romania International. Knowing that it would be of great interest to all, I checked out their website.

THE FIRST EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS IN ROMANIA

Mircea Eliade’s research in the history of religions as well as Ioan Petru Culianu’s studies on gnosticism are well-known to the scholarly and academic world. Both researchers left Romania, as they wanted to develop and refine their research work in the West, where they eventually gained a well-deserved fame. However, Romania’s claim in the field does not go beyond that. The communist regime deliberately downplayed interest in the history of religions, and after December 1989 it took Romania quite a long time to place itself in line with the specialised research from Europe and the US. Romania’s synchronisation in the field has eventually become full-fledged , and a living proof of that is the fact that the European Association for the Study of Religions has chosen Bucharest as the venue for the 6th European Congress of the History of religions.

This is the first time Romania’s capital has been chosen to host to such an event that brings together 250 researchers from 30 countries. Organised by the Romanian Association for the History of Religions, the congress also has the support of the Government and the Presidency. The opening ceremony was held at the Romanian Athenaeum, in the presence of Romanian president Traian Basescu. The event is meant to promote Romanian research in the history of religions, as well as to prove Romania is no longer a “ blank spot on the map of religion research” as Andrei Oisteanu, the President of the Romanian Association for the History of Religions, put it. The driving force of this recognition process is a group of young historians clustered around the ‘”Archaeus” and “Studia Asiatica” specialised magazines. Speaking now is Andrei Oisteanu.

“I should like to begin by mentioning the names of some of the researchers that make up the group: Eugen Ciurtin - the Secretary of the Romanian Association for the history of Religions, Mihaela Timus, Mihail Neamtu, Gabriela Cursaru, Bogdan Tataru-Cazaban, and many others (…)Scientific solidarity became possible first of all due to these young and dedicated people as well as to the support given by a more mature generation. Together we’ve managed to make contemporary Romanian research as well as the history of the history of religions in Romania conspicuous. Saying this I have in mind great names such as Mircea Eliade and Ioan Petru Culianu, but also Moses Gaster, Arion Rosu, Sergiu Al-George, and many others.”

The European Congress of the History of Religions, an event organised for the first time ever in Bucharest, can thus be seen both as a catalyst of academic exchange as well as a fresh impetus for the establishment of a series of university departments and a specialised research institute.

Fascinating Hipster! Romania seems to be a blossoming little republic, vibrant and foward looking. Judging from your broadcast reports anyway, of course stations will always bulk it up a bit.

Last night I had an fun listen to China Radio International, and other random stations I heard while scanning. I'm not sure where the other stations were coming from, one was in Spanish, and another in an Asian dialect, Thai maybe? Anyway, do you ever listen to CRI's program Voices From Other Lands? They were talking to a South African business man that is working in Beijing. I'm a big fan of this program.

I encourage you to send a reception report to one of these stations Hip Priest! I've just got a QSL Card from Brazil! I need to scan these to show them off!

I should do, really, considering how often I listen and how much I enjoy it. I should start emailing them aswell. I might do that tonight, then get some reception reports sent off.

Radio Romania International do a good job. I generally prefer the Eastern European broadcasts, as they take the whole thing very seriously.

I sometimes like to stop and listen to broadcasts in foreign languages, even though I don't understand them. And some of the music programmes are excellent, either folk or trad jazz. Ever since I was a child, it's struck me how much trad jazz is broadcast on shortwave.

AS I've mentioned before, CRI seems to omnipressent nowadays - they're always broadcasting something (often multiple things) on different frequencies - so I tend to skip past them and listen when I can't find anything else. They do try to maintain a high quality though.

On Voice of Russia today, right after 'Moscow Mailbag', there was a programme offering a very nice introduction to the work of Dmitri Shostakovich. If, like myself, you're not too familiar with him then it's worth a listen. Straight after that one, there's now a programme about Russia's maritime activity which sounds like a good listen.

By the end of 2007 there will be a new oil platform in Russia's Pacific area, which will allow Siberian Oil reserves to be further exploited.

Russia seems determined to become oil rich. With that Turkish pipeline going up, and the one through Central Asia, not to mention Kazakhstan making a bid to be opened up to the world through its oil reserves, they must feel left out/paranoid. Interesting situation.

Dmitri Shostakovich is intriguing. I'm not familiar with him, but with some research I what a prominent Russian he was! One thing can be said about the Soviet Union, they sure sure did honor their outstanding citizens, even the bizarre ones. I wonder how widely available his material is. Perhaps a call to my Muscovite cousin is in the works.

If you ever do send a QSL Report to a station, let me know which station, Passport has addresses for all stations, right down to the person you should address it to. It also lets you know how frequently they reply, and what it is they just might send you in return.

oh man shostakovich was an amazing composer. he did some symphonies for stalin but he also did some very "anxious" string quartets on the private side that some people agree are more like it felt living under that monster.

i remember once upon a time i was in some friends apartment smoking a very social joint & they had shostakovich on & i got the most frightful paranoia. but sober is quite fucking amazing.

yes yes, check out the string quartets.

I read this cd review in the Telegraph's Saturday magazine this week that mentions that this is the Shostakovich centenary year (he was born in 1906), so that might explain the interest in him:

Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No 1; Violin Sonata
Ruth Palmer (violin), Alexei Grynyuk (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra, cond Benjamin Wallfisch; Quartz QTZ 2045 (CD+DVD), £13·99

One has to admire the entrepreneurial spirit of violinist Ruth Palmer. For most young musicians, a recital disc will suffice for a debut recording, but she has gone out and found the sponsorship to hire the Philharmonia and even the money to make a documentary about the music (on an accompanying DVD). And she has not chosen Mendelssohn or Bruch, but that signature work of the Shostakovich centenary year, his First Violin Concerto.

As such, Palmer immediately sets herself up against the likes of Sarah Chang (EMI), Leila Josefowicz and Daniel Hope (both Warner), all of whom have released recordings of it in recent months. But Palmer’s playing throughout is strongly characterised and, apart from a tendency to gabble in the bravura writing of the scherzo and finale, is technically accomplished.
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It does not quite have the emotional desperation of Hope’s account (my favourite among the three above), but, in collaboration with the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Benjamin Wallfisch, Palmer demonstrates commitment and assurance. As a coupling, there is also a highly wrought account of the Violin Sonata with pianist Alexei Grynyuk. Matthew Rye

On a diffferent note, the Swedish electorate have indeed made a shift to the right and deposed the socialist government. Network Europe are examining what this might mean for the Swedish welfare state.

I went to the record store to buy something from Comrade Shostakovich but all they had were expensive box sets of all of his work. I just don't have the cash for that at the time. I looked online and found the exact same results. Ah, I'll look again.

Maybe Soulseek has something to offer.

I had the same situation. I'm going to search the charity shops!

It's all happening in Bucharest. First a religious summit and now this:

Events and political meetings have already started in Bucharest on the eve of the 11th Francophony Summit, the biggest event of its kind ever held in Romania. The capital is prepared to host delegations representing the 710 million inhabitants of Francophone countries on 5 continents.

With the meeting of the Standing Council of Francophony, the series of events as part of the 11th Francophony Summit got under way in Romania's capital city, Bucharest, on Monday. The Summit, between September the 28th and the 29th, is this year held for the first time in a European capital other than Paris. The 63 delegations, representing 53 member states and 10 observer states, will be joined by 180 representatives of Francophone towns who on Tuesday and Wednesday will attend the General Assembly of the Francophone Mayors' Association and by a large number of delegates from important international organisations.

17,000 Romanians have been involved in the preparations for this event of an unprecedented extent here in Romania and at the same time the costliest ever: 9 million euros, plus external funding from France, Canada and Switzerland. The guests, among whom over 30 heads of State or Government, will be accommodated in Bucharest's 4 and 5 star hotels. Thousands of policemen will watch over their security and hundreds of doctors in seven hospitals will be on call. The Otopeni International Airport will see a 20% rise in flights.

To ensure the security of the official motorcades, a special lane has been created along the main thoroughfares linking the airport to the Parliament Palace which hosts the events. To help ease the traffic, school pupils and students as well as the employees in the public sector have been given three days off. Bucharest's Mayor General, Adriean Videanu, says that the city is prepared for this event both logistically and in terms of a rich Francophone cultural offer, so that the summitteers may appreciate Romania's efforts and become its friends.

“It is no easy thing to host 63 delegations, at the level of heads of state and members of the International Association of Francophone Mayors. There will be cultural events, meant to highlight both the Francophone values and the relationship between Romania and the Francophone world. At the same time, Bucharest provides a big business opportunity at present”.

The Francophony Summit will confirm, Among other things, the continuity of the Francophone tradition in Romania, thus instilling a feeling of pride in Romanians. To Bucharest Mayor Adriean Videanu, the event is also a special challenge:

“This is a challenge because the Francophony Summit is, apart from the size and importance of the event, part of the spirit of the Romanian people”.

I'm looking forward to giving a listen tonight, after dinner.

I'm just listening to the start of a VOice of Turkey broadcast. This is exciting because I haven't picked them up for a couple of months. Their broadcasts have this very dour, low key piano tune at the start. Weird, and a bit spooky sounding, but an old friend nonetheless.

Never pick up Voice of Turkey. South American stations have be coming in like crazy lately, Brazil has dozens of stations as it turns out. There is one on about 7995 that plays music all day long.

The fall is the best time for reception in these parts, excited about that.

I've had a Brasillian station, but only once, and with poor reception.

There are lots of French and German-language stations but they rarely if ever broadcast in English. My main listening is East European, as you'll have gathered, but there is quite a lot of other stuff aswel.

I haven't heard Radio Tirana (Albania) for ages. I might try and find out what they're up to.

I'd love to pick up stations from Eastern Europe, but it seems rare for me. Radio Croatia I've heard once or twice, very short reports. This was during the World Cup, they had a lot of talk about that, there is also a Russian station that comes in frequently.

Odd really, I'll be able to pick up a far off broadcast like Radio Tashkent International on a regular, but not a lot of European stations, the exception being the major German one, and Radio Netherlands (which is excellent). Radio Espana comes in often, but with terrible reception.

i have some shostakovich cds. would be happy to share but unfortunately my internet still sucks. you can score them however out of those cd "clubs" like bmg? get your 10 "free" cds and then opt out. he heh.

Share it when you can!

I doubt BMG has any Shostakovich. I always wanted to join those! Of course my parents would say "no! it's a scam!". I remember when they'd advertise in magazines and they'd have little stamps with the covers of the CD's you wished to order. What ever happened to those?

Oh wait, the internet.

re Shostakovich:

This site looks fascinating (lots of documents etc): http://www.siue.edu/~aho/musov/dmitri.html

You can listen to a couple of things here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/profiles/shostakovich.shtml

ihm.. they have three:

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/browse/artist.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY?pa rtyId=21549

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/product/cd_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY ?productId=38399

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/product/cd_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY ?productId=35773

the search is weird, try the alphabetical as the search box doesn't work well


it's not a scam if you cancel right away. you pay like $3 each per shipping.

go ahead! score! take the money and RUN.

---
ps or stick around for this "members only" item:

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/prod...roductId=60608

Thank you.

From the ever-laudable Bulgaria International:

Dark cloud in the sky

Even a single dark cloud in the sky would be enough to trigger a torrent of Bulgarian folk beliefs. If we add some rain, hails and thunderstorms, lightning and fog, a whole new mythological world will emerge to our fascination.

Bulgarian folk meteorology classifies clouds as summer and winter ones. Summer clouds herald rain and hails. Winter clouds bring snow, freezing cold and ice. The patrons of the two kinds of clouds are two saints from the Bulgarian Christianized pagan mythology. Bulgarian ancient myths recount the story of the primary division of the world between two brother saints. St. Elijah took control of summer clouds, thunder and lighting. That is why he flies above the bright skies and gathers fog and clouds to lock them into the Black Sea. Only he can decide when to unlock them to send dew or summer rainfalls to the earth. In turn winter clouds, ice and snow were controlled by the Winter saint Atanasius.

In folklore clouds are also divided into dark and bright ones. When a bright, clear cloud appeared in the sky, peasants rejoiced. They knew that such clouds would bring a penetrating rain and fertility. In folk beliefs bright clouds were inhabited by angels and by God. Unlike them dark clouds triggered fears, as they were known to bring torrential rains, floods and hails. In the contours of the dark cloud peasants saw a horrible dragon with huge wings and sword-like thick tail. When a dragon cloud overtook the village, villagers peered into the sky hoping to see an imperial eagle emerging there. They believed that the mighty bird with a cross on its back, could banish the dragon cloud away form the fields.

Folk songs are the scene of mythical battles with the dark clouds bringing the nature’s elements. The most down-to-earth version of this tale involves a dragon cloud and a village youth. The guy is brave indeed, but his valor has been fuelled by a handsome quantity of red wine. No one dares challenge him. However, a dark cloud heard about the hero and descended above the village bringing a thunderstorm and saying: “Come out good hero, for a battle.” The duel went on for three weeks. Finally, the dark cloud prevailed and dragged the young hero away. Then the youth cried for mercy and promised to pay a hefty ransom. The hero counted on support from his mother who reined over three cities. The son asked her to pledge her three cities to ransom his life. But the mother refused to give her three cities away to the dragon.

In a similar song the mother pledged her three cities to ransom her son’s life. In this version of the tale however, the son is a young dragon. This is probably a more ancient tale preceding the one centered on the human hero. More ancient layers of Bulgarian mythology exhibit the idea that winged dragons are guardians of the fields and the harvest. So, dragons would come out to fight evil dark clouds threatening to ruin the crops. Later these archetypal images of the nature’s elements were Christianized. At that point the tale transformed. The duel now involved the Christian saint Elijah and the mythical dragon. The battle ended up with the dragon’s victory. While Elijah was in his captivity, a severe draught seized the earth. It went on for three years. Then all saints gathered and read in their books how to free the saint patron of fecund rain. So they summoned the stonemasons. The masons broke the stone in which St. Elijah was being held captive. When they released him, the fine, penetrating rain began to fall, bringing rich crops of grain, pears and walnuts. The harvest would then feed new human heroes of tremendous strength – just like the hero who dared confront the dark cloud.

Natural elements have also penetrated some folk songs based on triviality. In one such song ground frost fell in early autumn and destroyed two wheat fields. The landlord was in despair, but the fields did not trouble his daughter. She felt miserable because her sweetheart had been engaged to someone else. In another song fog blanketed the peak of Karluk in the southern Bulgarian mountain Rhodope. A blond girl and a young dark-eyed shepherd were the only ones caught in the fog. They were unhappy because they were not allowed to marry. In this way the man-nature relationship finds diverse poetic expressions in Bulgarian folklore.

At the moment I'm listening to Radio Canada International's Canada Today programme with near-perfect reception. Sleep deprivation, cycle lanes and more are on the aganda. And ice hockey, of course.

It's been a long time since I've caught RCI, so it's quite nice to listen in.

I know, you know, Hipster, that RCI is my most favorite station.

Ideas and The Arts Tonight are the two stand out programs on RCI. Also, Between the Covers, a programs about books, perfection.

Radio Sweden came in crystan clear last night for the first time ever.

They had a humorous 'Battle of the Swedish Bond Girls" program. Nice little station there, with terrific reception. So terrific that I'm sending them a reception report.



Which Swedish Bond girl is your favorite?

I couldn't find the accursed SW radio. I have a feeling it got thrown out at the same time as some other junk. Unless it's in the loft. You know, I might have a look in the loft tomorrow. Not right now, of course, I'm in my nightgown.

Thats a shame.

Still, which Swedish Bond girl!?

Sorry, where are my manners?

The one on the left. Although the one on the right came close.

Yes, the one on the left is wonderful.