A Year of Soviet Studies

      Teaching at North Park University has a lot of benefits. I love being in the classroom. Being around young people keep me young at heart and gives me a wonderful perspective on what young folks are really like. I really enjoy the schedule that provides for lots of free time. I am free to improve my courses, do research, and to write. I am also “free” to squander that time. It has been a lifelong and constant struggle to use this free time productively.
     This year, I have been using said free time to read and watch some film. I did not start out with this in mind, but the theme has been the Soviet Union. I have read two books and watched the HBO miniseries on Chernobyl. This experience provided an insight on an aspect of the dysfunction of the Soviet system that I had not been truly aware of: the push for productivity to the point where corners and quality were cut to give the illusion of achieving goals.
     Secondly, I watched a wickedly delicious and dark comic film, The Death of Stalin, which provided another perspective on Beria, Khrushchev, Molotov, and Zhukov in the passing of Stalin and ascension of Khrushchev. I also watched the very well-done Steven Spielberg film, Bridge of Spies, that documented the story of about the exchange of Soviet Spy Rudolf Abel for Francis Gary Powers the US U2 pilot.
     I was not planning on reading more on the Soviet Union during this winter break between terms. I planned on reading a few books but had not queued up any titles. I saw a book, Stalin’s Children by Owen Matthews, on one of our bookshelves and started reading it. It was a book that my wife actually picked up thinking it might contain an Armenian connection. I assumed it was about Stalin’s actual children Svetlana and Vasily which is why I started to read it. I was definitely wrong and there were very few Armenian references in the book.
     The subtitle of the Stalin’s Children is: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival. The book is a telling of the Bibikov family saga starting with the author’s grandfather Boris. Boris Bibikov was too young to have participate in the Bolshevik revolution but certainly was swept up by the fervor in the 1920s. From the book:

I don’t believe that my grandfather was a hero, but he lived in heroic times and such times brought out greatness in people large and small. The slogans of the Bolshevik Revolution were Peace, Love, and Bread; and at the time this message must, to ambitious and idealistic men, must have seemed fresh, vibrant and couched in the language of prophesy.

     Boris was young and ambitious to took to the Bolshevik slogan. He became a party member in the Ukraine and rose quickly in the ranks. By the early 1930s he was a central figure in building the giant Kharkov Tractor Factory that was one of the great achievements of the first Five Year Plan.
     Boris married and had two daughters Lenina and Lyudmilla. The family was doing well and living the Soviet dream, if there was such a thing. As it seems that most happiness in the Soviet Union was temporal, it didn’t last. Boris was swept up in the Stalin’s purges and was killed or died in prison. His wife was banished to Central Asia to a gulag and the daughters, stayed together, but were bounced around in the Soviet orphanage system where they were considered Stalin’s Children.
     Lyudmila was to become the authors mother. His father, Mervyn Matthews, hailed from a coal mining town in Wales. Mervyn raised himself out of his humble beginnings, developing an interest in all things Russian and being educated at Manchester University and Oxford. Circumstances and career moves took him to Moscow where he worked at the British Embassy. This is where Mervyn met the equally well-educated Lyudmila who was working at Institute of Marxism and Leninism. They fell in madly in love and decided to marry. During this same time, the KGB tried to recruit Mervyn. He turned them down and as a

result their application to marry was rejected and he was summarily deported. The remainder of the book is how Mervyn spent five years trying to get reunited with Lyudmila. He worked every angle of PR and subterfuge to achieve the goal. He ventured, illegally, to the Soviet Union a few times to see her and was lucky that he was only arrested and not jailed. Finally, he prevailed in an exchange akin to another great movie of the era, The Bridge of Spies, involving the same East German lawyer from the movie, Wolgang Vogel.
     When finally, together, Mervyn and Lyudmila settled into a life where the passion and desires when separated were never equaled in married life. I was kind of hoping what we all hoped would happen if Lara and Zhivago had ever reunited. But that would have been more Hollywood and this true story was definitely more Russian.
     I am not sure if my Russian studies will continue in 2020 or if I will gravitate to a new subject of study. Rest assured, I will blog about it.

Christmas 2019

Our Home - Ready for Christmas Eve

     I like to write a Christmas letter each year. When I can, I prefer to start when it is still dark out and there is that “not a creature is stirring” kind of quiet. It is a time for reflection and thinking about family and friends that I will see later today but more so, those I will not being seeing today and those that have passed.
     For today’s edition, there is not quite that pre-dawn ambiance. Our Christmas Eve celebrations were wonderful and ran later than usual. As a result, I awoke after dawn. I have texted Christmas greetings to folks hither and yon including a bantering exchange with the inimitable Ara Topouzian. I am on my second cup of coffee and it is a rather late 9:05 am here in Chicago.
     This later hour, in the daylight, has me in a less reflective mood than normal. Maybe, this is just the result of already having texted or called many folks I would otherwise be thinking of right now. It could also be that in previous Christmas letters, I have already expressed what I would want to express now… again. Last year’s letter sums it all up better than this meandering attempt.
     Yet, I am still sitting in front of the keyboard typing whatever this is. I might have even started this later or perhaps not even gotten to it all but for a text from a friend: “I am assuming you are writing or have written your article. Have a wonderful Christmas.” Well, that got me to pour that second cup of coffee and to fire up the computer!
     Christmas and this season, the twelve days of Christmas, that begins with the Christmas most celebrate on December 25th and ends with Armenian Christmas on January 6th. In between, there is New Year’s Day which for some is a time to reflect on the past year and resolve what to do and how to behave in the new year. This year, 2019, we are closing out the second decade of this century. I really wasn’t paying much attention to this until I started reading a few retrospectives of which more are sure to follow in the next week.
     The past few years, I have lost two close friends. RK Jones passed in 2015 and Angel de la Puente at the end of 2018. Flat out, I miss these fellows. They were great friends who influenced my thinking and world view. I assumed it would last forever. Of course, the sentiment, love, and friendship never goes away. But the seeing and talking to them did come to an abrupt halt. I miss the latter. I miss them both but feel blessed to have known them and they are forever on my mind as are my sister Laura, my dad, my father in-law, our grandparents, uncles, and aunts.
     The beauty of life is while we lose family and friends, we meet and embrace new friends and family. First and foremost, in this case, are my grandchildren: Aris, Vaughn, Lara, Sasoun, and Haig. As they live in DC and LA, we do not see them nearly enough but thank FaceTime and WhatsApp for being to see and speak with them as often as we like. They are a joy that is immeasurable.
     Also, for some reason, Chirstmas time and the New Year make me reflect on

Service Award at North Park with
President Surridge and my North Park
mentor Leona Mirza

my work colleagues more than I might normally. I see them often appreciate them regularly at least in thought. This letter always seems like the time and place to do so more formally. I used to write a Christmas morning email to my colleagues in Latin America when I was at Colgate-Palmolive. Today, I am thinking of and valuing my friends and colleagues at North Park University and the wonderful folks I have performed music with this past year in the University of Chicago Middle Eastern Music Ensemble and the various Armenian groups I play with. Making new acquaintances at North Park with both students and colleagues has been a true blessing. The students keep me young, well, young at heart at least. And my musician colleagues? There is no description for nailing a performance with good and valued friends. Along with family, you all enrich my life.
     The closing to this letter has become standard. I see no reason to change it this year.

I know I will not see most of you this year. I am not sure if this is an Armenian or American tradition, but consider this my making the rounds, knocking on your door, wishing you the best of the season, and you inviting me in to meet you and yours over a cup of Christmas cheer. If I could do that in Detroit, Los Angeles, Boston, San Jose, New York, Wilton, Caracas, Mexico City, Yerevan, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Guatemala City, Panama City, or Ocala, that would be something. Heck, it would be something if I could do that with everyone I know in Chicagoland!

I close this letter the same way I did last several years. The sentiment is exactly the same with only the year updated. I am delighted to reach out this very quiet moment to friends and family all over the United States and all over the world to convey our warm Christmas wishes to you and yours. Even more so, I hope that 2020 is a year of health, happiness, and prosperity for you and yours.

Fatbergs?

     As I noted in my previous posting, The Problem with Mental Notes, there are plenty of topics around me to write about. All that is required is to pay attention, be alert, and write down the topic idea when they bubble to the surface.  Shortly after I posted that, a topic just fell in my lap.

     I learned about a consequence of our overpopulation and throwaway society: The Fatberg.
     What the heck is a fatberg?

At their core, fatbergs are the accumulation of oil and grease that's been poured down the drain, congealing around flushed nonbiological waste like tampons, condoms and—the biggest fatberg component of all—baby wipes. When fat sticks to the side of sewage pipes, the wipes and other detritus get stuck, accumulating layer upon layer of gunk in a sort of slimy snowball effect. Newsweek 3-14-19

     These things, these fatbergs, when they accumulate can weigh tons (or tonnes if the occur in the UK). They cause sewer backups and are costly to dislodge.

Fatbergs are placing an increasing financial burden in cities throughout the world. Clearing "grease backups" costs New York City more than $4.65 million a year. The U.K. spends about $130 million annually clearing roughly 300,000 fatbergs from city sewers. Even a smaller city like Fort Wayne, Indiana, shells out $500,000 annually to get grease deposits out of sewers. And the cost is usually passed along to customers through their water bills. Newsweek 3-14-19

     The pressure makes these fatbergs dense as stones. They emit all kinds of noxious gases when removing and are laden with bacteria that includes listeria and e-coli. Workers need to be in the sewers in hazmat suits to work on them.
     London, with an old and overwhelmed sewer system, is the most susceptible to this modern phenomenon. The largest fatberg recorded there was in 2017, it got its own name, Fatty McFatberg, and weighed an incredible 130 tons. In this country, Baltimore had one the size of a city block while Detroit had one six feet in height and a hundred feet long.
     There is a bit of bright side. Fatbergs can be converted to biodiesel. It is not clear how cost effective this is but it seems to be a relatively clean way to dispose of these disgusting masses. Researchers are looking at developing bacteria that prevent these fatbergs from forming. It is not clear when or if there will be a solution in this regard. One of the promising methods was reported in 2018:

[University of British Columbia]… scientists heated their experimental fatbergs to between 194 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit before adding peroxide to force the organic matter to break up. Bacteria then turned the fatberg remnants into methane. The process is less costly than the alternative—excavating the sludge before converting it to fuel. Newsweek 8-23-18

     The best solution is for restaurants to stop disposing of grease down the drain and for people to stop flushing wipes away. This will require a massive marketing and advertising campaign to influence behavior. Such campaigns have started in the UK but I have not seen any evidence of such in the US. Furthermore, we have to get away from our disposable habits. Disposing gets trash and biowastes out of sight and out of mind quickly and easily. But, where does these massive amounts of trash and wastes go and how do we deal with them. It is apparent that our growing population have overwhelmed our sewers, waterways, landfills, air, and planet. 

     The question is do we have the governmental and individual wherewithal to make effect such changes. A related question is if we really have a choice?

The Problem with Mental Notes

https://www.totally-tiffany.com/tip-4-from-goc-3-write-a-mental-note/

     People often ask me where I get the topics I write about. The answer is simple, actually. The topics are all about me. There are countless topics in the news. There are topics in the people I interact with and all the various behaviors they exhibit. There are topics I see with my colleagues and students. And… there are topics in my head, many of them, which are often lacking focus and definition. 
      There are the times when I have to pick, choose, and prioritize what I want to write about. No being paid for any of this, I basically pick and choose what I feel like writing about. Though I do not get paid, I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment for doing this. All payment, all reward, is not necessarily monetary. 
     There are other times, like the past few weeks, where the topics don’t come so easily or frequently. Sometimes, it is just because. I liken it to drought of topics or maybe a batting slump which I think I this case would be better called writer’s block. Other times, it is because my day job gets takes precedence. It is, after all, the end of the semester which is a busy time with final exams, final projects, and grading. 
     The other day, in the course of my long teaching day, I had a topic. It was a middle of the road kind of topic and nothing very special. I was looking forward to expounding on the topic later that evening. When I finally got home and grabbed my computer, I had no idea what the topic was. I started laughing at myself. I should have written it down. I know that. I didn’t. I relied on my memory having made a mental note. My mental notes? They are post-its that no longer stick very well. I am sure the cellar of my mind is littered with countless numbers of these mental notes. I know better. If it is something important, I need to jot it in my notebook that is never far from hand. I did not do that, and I am still unaware what the heck the topic was. 
     At my age, I do pay some attention to the frequency of such forgetfulness. As far as I can tell, this has been a lifelong occurrence in which the frequency has been relatively stable. This last incident reminded of a similar event in 1983. I wrote a poem, tucked it away somewhere, and promptly forgot where I put the scrap of paper. I was kind of proud of the poem and thought it be one of my better ones. I hoped it would turn up. Months later, it did. I open a textbook and it fell out. I felt relieved to have found it and read it right away. Immediately, I was disappointed at how much I had inflated the quality of the ditty. But, I did write another poem about it, which I am happy to present here.
     Who knows, I might actually remember what the forgotten topic was and blog about it tomorrow.

The Lost Poem Poem

It was a paragon
In its natural state
All scribbled,
Erased and scratched:
Pure symmetry in rough draft.

Now its gone without a trace
And I've got egg upon my face
For instead of typing up excellence
I'm reduced to this:
Lyrical nonsense.

It' the fish that got away,
Seventy-four miles per gallon,
The check that's in the eternal mail
And all those sex act lies.

Yet, this poem was different.
It had class.
It coulda been a contentda...
It coulda been champeen...

Really though, it's basking,
In the glow of lost poem heaven.
Waiting patiently until
Its resurrection in some nook,
Some crevice overlooked.

Upon finding it, 
I praised my serendipity,
It harmonized: mediocrity.

September 1983

Thanksgiving in Germany

     For the first time, I am not home or with family for Thanksgiving. I am in Germany at the Applied Science University in Aschaffenburg participating weeklong graduate student seminar in international business.  
     So, I am here on Thanksgiving in this friendly university in Bavaria. It is, of course, just another day here. It is a working day for me but truly I use the word “working” very lightly. It is much more a touristic adventure with some teaching as part of it.  
     I have never spent this much time in Germany. The other three times I have been here, once in the 1980s with Rockwell and the remainder in the 1990s with Colgate, were quick trips and exclusively for business. There was little sight-seeing involved. I do not even remember the restaurants we went to with one exception. When we arrived at the factory for the Rockwell trip, the management had lunch prepared for us. All I remember is that there were like six or seven of us and there were plates overflowing with various kinds of sausages and wursts that could have fed thirty people. On this trip, I have not seen a repeat of that fare anywhere we have gone thus far.  
     I like the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a wonderful time to gather with family socialize. While there is turkey and stuffing, pilaf and sarma, I actually look forward to the pumpkin pie. It is Christmas without the gifts and some NFL games. In Detroit, there was the Hudson’s Thanksgiving Parade and made the holiday the gateway to winter and the Christmas season.  
     I also like the Friday after Thanksgiving as well. It is not the Black Friday part that has become so much a part of the culture in recent years but more so the day off. It always seemed like a bonus day off and appreciated all the more for that. Certainly, I have always had the week between Christmas and New Years off but those were days I always expected to have off and thus never had the “bonus” feel about them.

Outside the oldest restaurant
in Germany.  Might have been a
good choice fo
Thanksgiving Dinner

 
     Beyond missing being with family, I will miss the Michigan – Ohio State game which is the Saturday after the holiday. The game is in Ann Arbor and I have already sold my tickets. If I were home, I would have most definitely attended. I will probably be following or watching the game on my phone from the Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight. In case we upset them which seems more likely now than it did back in September after losing to Wisconsin, I have taped the game. The team is surging and has been playing very well since the horrible first half versus Penn State. I am optimistic, but cautiously so. It is the 60th Anniversary of Michigan upsetting an undefeated Ohio State team in Bo Schembechlers first year.  
     That 1969 was similar to this. Michigan started slow. They lost to Missouri in game 2 and then to Michigan State in game 5. After the 23-12 loss to MSU, the Wolverines began to trounce their opponents. The 1969 Ohio State team was touted as the team of the century and were preordained to be the National Champions. Michigan upset them and back in those days only one Big Ten could go to a bowl, the Rose Bowl, which Michigan went to and lost to Southern California. After the loss, Ohio State stayed home.  
     I would love to see history kinda sorta repeat itself. It would make for a very happy Thanksgiving indeed.

MEME: Talking with Lama and Taylan

Lama

     The Turkish concert of Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (MEME) of the University of Chicago is coming up this weekend: Saturday, November 23rd. As per usual, our Maestro Wanees Zarour has prepared and arranged wonderful selections. We have been practicing for seven weeks in preparation and are ready to go. The Turkish Concert, the first of the 2019 – 2020 season. In late winter, we have the Persian Concert and then the Arab Concert in the Spring. The orchestra is 40+ members strong we seem to get better with each performance. It is a real pleasure to be part of this ensemble of talented and warm-hearted people.
     For the fourth time I am writing about my fellow musicians. For this go around, I had a chance to sit and chat with one of talented violinists, Lama A. Kabir, and our versatile percussionist, Taylan Orhon.

How did you get into this music? Tell me your story. Was the music all around you when you grew up. Did you start off with middle eastern music or western music?

Taylan: When I was a kid in Turkey, I knew I was going to play the drums. I was exposed to some great bands playing at weddings and events. This was well before the digital keyboard era. I even knew if the band has a drummer or they use rhythm machine before I saw the band. When there was a real drummer, I would always going back behind the stage and watch the drummer with intense fascination. In fact, I still do this when I am at an event and there is a drummer playing on a stage.

Taylan and his mother, Tulay, at
a MEME Practice

When I was in high school, my brother and I wanted to play in a rock band. He was playing bass guitar and I was going to play the drums. The problem was I had no drum set. I bagged my mom to buy me a one. Back in Turkey in 80’s it was not easy to find a drum set. She could not say no; she knew that it was a crazy idea. However, she always supporting us especially when it came to music and eventually she let me buy the drum set. We had so many fun concerts in our town.

Even thought I started with Western music, we grew up with all kinds of Turkish music as a part of the culture. I learned more about the Turkish Classical music when my mom joined Classic Turkish Music Ensemble to play oud and sing in the choir. She was trying to teach me everything she learned but I was not paying too much attention at that time. But, I still took a usül (rhythm) lessons to learn how to play kudüm (drum) which is one of the fundamental Mevlevi music rhythm instruments.

Now it amazes me when I figure out all the different maqams and usüls. If you look at the technique, there are 9 microtones in between the notes which is called comma. This is what makes this music unique. The rhythm is also very important. There are wide variety of rhythms from 2/4 to 124/4 in Turkish music. If you listen to Ferahnak Pesrev by Tanburi Zeki Mehmet Aga, the rhythm is 120/4 “zencir usulü” which is combination of 5 different rhythms.

Lama: I’m a classically trained Arabic violinist and have been playing the violin for over twenty years. I grew up in a small town in Michigan where my love of all things classical began. As a kid, I felt like nothing could match the perfection of Vivaldi and Bach Violin Concertos. During those days, my parents always played traditional Arabic music at home and in the car, which I honestly was not too fond of. They would play the music of Fairuz and Um Kulthoum wherever we went, and I would try so hard to understand how they found beauty in a language so complex and tones that are so unfamiliar to the western ear.

Lama and part of the string section at a MEME Practice

Growing up, we often visited Syria and stayed with our relatives there for months at a time. We spent those days getting to know our extended family, exploring cities, and learning about our beautiful culture which ultimately had a profound impact on who I am today. While in Syria, I became increasingly captivated by Arabic culture and started taking Arabic violin, language, and music theory lessons as a result. It was then that I started understanding and appreciating the beauty and complexity of the Arabic language and maqamat which previously sounded so strange and unfamiliar to me! On our last trip to Syria, I was thrilled to attend live Sabah Fakhri and Ziad Rahbani Concerts, which further fueled my passion in Arabic music.

After returning to the US, I continued my passion in learning and performing Middle Eastern music everywhere I lived from Detroit, Michigan to San Francisco, California. Back in undergrad, I was an Arabic violinist in the Michigan Arab Orchestra, during dental school I played in the University of Chicago Middle East Music Ensemble, and in residency I had an incredible experience performing with the Aswat Ensemble in the San Francisco Bay Area. The director, Nabila Mango, had a very special influence on me. She inspired me to always have a deep sense of purpose behind every note that I play on my violin - to connect with my audience and build bridges to everyone’s hearts I perform for

Which of the three MEME concerts is your favorite (Turkish, Persian, or Arab)? How do you relate to the concerts that aren't part of your heritage?

Lama: Everyone who knows me can probably tell you, my personal favorite is the Arab concert because it reflects my heritage and it is such a precious opportunity to share my culture with the community. I also enjoy opening my mind and heart up to different cultures. Earlier this year my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the incredible city of Istanbul, Turkey and it made me fall in love with the beautiful Turkish culture, art, and music. Practicing for this upcoming Turkish Concert takes me back to my time there where I spent hours admiring the rich art and history of its people. I am excited to share it with the audience through music!

Taylan: I love them all. I can’t say one is more fun than another. Even they are all Middle Eastern music, they have all different nuances and unique style.  Obviously, I am much more familiar with the Turkish classical and folk music. MEME has allowed be to explore and learn more about each of these musical tranditions. When I play in Persian concert, I realized how deep and harmonic the Persian music is.

What is it like to be part of MEME?

Taylan: To me MEME is not just a music ensemble. It is a great social group in every way. Music is a most wonderful way to connect with people. I do not see the rehearsals as a practices. It is like social therapy. Imagine you are here with all the amazing people who want to make music. During the rehearsal, I absolutely disconnect from the world and focus on music.

Taylan having some fun with
the timpani... before practice

Certainly part of it because working with Wanees. He sets the tone both socially and musically. He is an incredible musician with a lot of music knowledge. He understands both Western and Eastern music and successfully stitches them together. It is not easy to bring the two different sides and expect them to play Saba maqam together. In Western classical music, it is what you see and what you play in the sheet music. When you perform Middle Eastern music, you kind of follow the sheet music but also play with ear simultaneously.

Lama: When I first joined MEME back in 2014, I remember being nervous about what to expect, but with each year that I have played with MEME I have found nothing but the warmest sense of belonging where everyone treats you like family! I learn so much about music and cultures, and always look forward to ensemble rehearsals every single week. It is the evening where I can forget all the stresses of life, connect with people from every walk of life, and continue to do what I love. Wanees has always been so passionate about MEME, from the countless hours of he spends writing musical arrangements, programs, patiently teaching us about music theory behind the pieces, putting up with the challenges of getting so many people together in one place to share a love of Arabic, Turkish, and Persian music -he has been an amazing and dedicated director from the start! 

Tell us a bit about your day job and other hobbies. 

Lama: You would probably never guess it but during the day, I am a dentist! I help bring beautiful smiles to people’s faces for a living and I love every bit of it. There are many similarities between the manual dexterity of a dentist’s intricate work and the meticulous technique and hand-eye coordination of playing the violin. Every day, I translate the manual dexterity skills that I have been developing on the violin for the last twenty years into a career that allows me to replace pain with bright smiles in the people that I meet- just like playing the violin does with my audience!

I love the arts whether it be oil painting, interior decorating, learning to play qanun and cello, taking salsa dance classes with my husband, getting lost in art museums, or attending concerts - I always try to do something creative and purposeful with my time!

Taylan: I am the lead store design manager at Ulta Beauty headquarters. I love this work which is another amazing way to express my creativity.

I do not see music as a hobby. It is part of my life and that is what we try to give our daughter. My other passion is photography. It is great feeling to see the world through my lens. It reflects how I see the world. I love taking street and portrait photography to reveal scenes that most people don’t see. 

     I greatly appreciate Lama and Taylan taking the time to speak with me. It was amazing to read how they both related to our practices as being a temporary respite from whatever else is going on in our lives. It is indeed a time to focus on music and the camaraderie of playing in this wonderful ensemble. As much as this is true for the practices, the concert is even a step beyond that simply by adding an audience, which adds more energy to the experience. Come to a concert and get a taste of what Taylan and Lama have graciously expressed about the MEME here.