I started this writing project, This Side of Fifty, in February of
2002.It began as a monthly e-letter
that I sent to a list of family and friends.In 2009, I moved it all over to this blog and began posting more often
than just once a month.This, is the
second post of the Volume XXIII.I have
never published a book, but I have enough posts over the years for a book or
three.As noted in previous Anniversary e-letters
and blog posts, this has been a most worthwhile and rewarding project.I am also both amazed and very proud that I
have stuck with it for so long.
There were only 40 posts in Volume XXII.That is the least number of posts since
2017.What was the cause of that drop in
productivity?I wrote about it a twice
last year in One
A Day and A
Lethargic July.The lower
productivity was due to a lethargy which I can attribute to my two knee
replacements, the left one in January and then the right one in June.The surgeries, which could be viewed as ‘routine,’
took some of the veritable wind out of my blogging sails.I feel good and feel somewhat back to normal.But at my age, any loss in concentration is a
wee bit worrisome.
While my blogging numbers sagged, I wrote 55 poems during the same
time period.That was the most poems I have
ever written in a year.Oddly, it took me
about the same amount of time to write a poem as it takes to write a blog post.I am not sure I have a great explanation for
this beyond it being the impact of two anesthesias somehow slowed down the
prose part of the brain whilst unshackling the poetic lobe.I do lament for not having more posts here,
but I am pretty happy with my poetry blog:Mark Gavoor’s Poetry.
While I have no issue with putting my thoughts out there for all to
read on this blog.I am much shier about
doing the same with my poetry.Before,
creating This Side of Fifty, I worried a bit about ‘putting myself out there.’It was an unnecessary worry and I got over
quickly.When it comes to poetry, my
lack of confidence has lasted decades longer.Poetry is less popular and basically the domain of English professors
around which I feel like a poetic poser.Correction, I used to feel that way.No more.
Part of writing is to find one’s voice and then embrace and refine
it.I believe, I have a poetic voice and
have refined it over the years.I
comfortable with it.Heck, I am now happy,
proud of it, and, indeed, embracing it.I
care about how others react to it.But
that is their right.If I can learn from
their criticism and refine it that is good.Otherwise, in my current state of mind, it doesn’t matter to me.
There is a saying that ‘when one door closes, another opens.’In this case it seems to be more like, ‘when one
door closes a wee bit, another is blown wide open.’In this case, it is a very good thing.
you texted a very simple thought "it's life you know" i started to type and backspace and type and delete again and once more
then... i just stopped just sat there with nothing nothing to say nothing clever no insight no whimsy certainly nothing deep or profound nothing at all to convey
i just sat there the sound of one mind doing nothing idling, stalled on the bay of eerie tranquility
"it's life you know" i guess i do maybe the best poem i ever read
During this year’s Armenian Heritage Cruise (AHC), a restored silent film premiered on Jan. 11, accompanied by a newly composed soundtrack.
The Melody of Armenia
tells the story of Mrs. Ghazarian, a genocide survivor living in France
in the 1920s. She had six children, five of whom perished during the
genocide. Her surviving son lives with her, and together, they attempt
to rebuild their lives in exile. Like many survivors, Mrs. Ghazarian is
haunted by the horrors she lived through and is deeply despondent over
the loss of her family and the fate of the Armenian people. To her, the
future appears bleak.
Her son tried to comfort her by
pointing to the resilience of Armenians in the diaspora, offering
examples of what they have built for themselves in France. He speaks of
young Armenians thriving, carrying a long and proud cultural heritage,
and urges his mother to take hope in the eternal Armenian spirit.
Avetis Aharonian (left) and Alexander Khatisian (right)
While this lovely and inspiring
narrative frames the film, it is not the real gist of it. Rather, the
story of the mother and son serves as a vehicle to show rare historical
film footage of real events. As the film opens, scenes of the burning of
Smyrna accompany the mother’s painful memories. When the son speaks of
Armenian renewal in France, the audience sees images of Armenian
schools, scouting organizations and community life.
There is precious film footage of Armenian luminaries such as Alexander Khatisian, who held several posts in the First Armenian Republic, including prime minister, and Avetis Aharonian,
the famed writer and chairman of the Parliament of the First Republic
of Armenia. While the footage from Smyrna is certainly harrowing, the
scenes depicting Armenian life in France during the 1920s are true
treasure troves. It would be wonderful if similar films existed
documenting Armenian life in Beirut, New York, Fresno, Boston and
Detroit of that era.
This historical footage is the bulk of The Melody of Armenia and
is what makes the film so special, valuable, endearing and a ‘must see’
for all of us. Visually, the film remains remarkably strong, despite
being so old. The newly composed soundtrack is spectacular and really
helps bring the silent images to life for modern audiences.
Not only did I have a chance to
preview the film before its premiere, I also had the wonderful
opportunity to talk with the two people responsible for restoring and
reviving it. First and foremost is George Aghjayan, who found the movie
in the Hairenik
archives and led the restoration effort. George then recruited Mher
Mnatsakanyan, who created the new soundtrack in collaboration with the
gifted composer Martin Ulikhanyan.
HMEM Scouts
Aghjayan graduated with honors from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in
actuarial mathematics and became a fellow of the Society of Actuaries in
1996. After a career in insurance and structured finance, he retired in
2014 to concentrate on Armenian research and cultural projects. His
primary area of focus is the demographics and geography of Western Armenia,
with a keen interest in the hidden Armenians living there today. He has
also written and lectured extensively on Armenian genealogy and
genocide denial and served on the Central Committee of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) — Eastern United States, as well as the
national board of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Mnatsakanyan is a renowned Armenian
musician and performer. He began his musical training at the Alexander
Spendiaryan Music School and later earned a master’s degree in music
performance from the Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory. Widely
recognized as a master of the duduk, Armenia’s national instrument, he
is also a skilled multi-instrumentalist who performs on the zurna and
clarinet, blending traditional Armenian sounds with a refined modern
sensibility. Based in Los Angeles, he travels frequently to perform at
cultural festivals and community events.
Below is a summary of my conversations with George Aghjayan and Mher Mnatsakanyan.
Mark Gavoor (M.G.): Where and how did you come across this film?
George Aghjayan (G.A.): In
early 2017, the ARF Bureau approached me to see if I was willing to take
on the role of director of the ARF Archives. I agreed, as I had a
strong interest in the archives and in making them more accessible to
researchers. At the time, there was not much of a handoff of knowledge,
though I had the benefit of Unger Tatul Sonentz Papazian and his
infinite wealth of information about the archives’ history.
The first year or so, I focused on
creating space for researchers to work, as that had not existed. In the
summer of 2018, while moving boxes in the vault, I attempted to move a
metal container that boxes had been stacked on with my foot. I thought
it was empty, but it had significant weight to it. So, I moved the boxes
to find a Western Union shipping container. There was a label on it,
indicating it was being shipped from N. Porigian, 108 1/2 Main St.
Binghamton NY to ARF Committee c/o B. Kavafian, 504 W. 178 St., New
York, NY. A bit of genealogy research indicated that Nshan Porigian
lived at that address in Binghamton from 1930 to 1932, so that supplied a
timeline.
M.G.: What is it about? What is the name of the film?
G.A.: Inside the container, I found six reels of the film ԵրգնՀայաստանի / Les Melodies de l’Arménie, or The Melody of Armenia.
At the time, I had no ability to view
the film. I had brought it to a company I had previously used for
digitization purposes, but I received a call late on a Friday night
telling me I had to pick it up immediately. The owner had noticed the
film and realized their office was at risk. Until then, I had not
realized the risks involved.
Avetis Aharonian
M.G.: What is the backstory of the film? How did you learn about it?
G.A.: I researched the film as best I could and found articles in a number of newspapers, including the Hairenik Daily. The film stated it was an Historical Documentary Film by Cinema Armenia and directed by N. Gorkanian/Corganian.
One of the actors, Shahan Saryan, was
a well-known actor in the Middle East in the 1920s. The other actor was
simply named Knarig, no surname. A 2002 article in Haratch mentions the film in the context of Atam Egoyan’s Ararat film and Turkish censorship, suggesting that Knarig was Charles Aznavor’s mother — a claim I found likely not to be true.
In any event, the first mention I find of the film is in an advertisement in the Dec. 14, 1930 issue of Haratch.
The film was being shown on Dec. 26, possibly its premiere. There were
additional ads in January 1931 for showings in Paris and Marseilles. The
first article describing the content of the film I was able to find was
the Feb. 21, 1931 issue of the Hairenik Daily, which announced the film would be shown around the U.S. The Feb. 6, 1932 issue of the Hairenik Daily announces
the showing of the film in Franklin Union Hall, 41 Berkeley Street,
Boston on Feb. 14. It could be this copy of the film that remained at
the Hairenik Building after the showing.
M.G.: Who made it — director, producer, actors — and where and why was it made? Was it commissioned?
G.A.: There is a very informative article in the Arev
newspaper of Cairo dated Aug. 25, 1931, written by the director, N,
Gorkanian. He states that the film had been submitted to the censors of
France and successfully received a license number (40049).
They demanded the film be reviewed a second time and, after that review, demanded the following changes: 1. Change the name of the film 2. Remove the last scene that includes the Armenian flag, Etchmiadzin and Mount Ararat.
M.G.: Clearly, you decided to do something with this film. What was your initial vision, and how has that evolved?
G.A.: From the beginning, my
objective was to digitize the film for preservation. I also hoped to
show the film around the world. Not only was the film historically
important and unique, but screenings could be used to bring awareness to
the rich history of the ARF archives and funds raised to create an
endowment for the archives. But to show the film required a score, which
did not exist.
Mother and Son
s
M.G.: What shape was the film in when you found it? Did it need restoration?
G.A.: I forget the exact
timeline, but I was in Washington — either lobbying or lecturing ANCA
interns — and stopped by the Library of Congress (LOC) to visit with the
Armenian-area specialist at the time, Levon Avdoyan. I brought up the
film, and he put me in touch with people at the LOC who handle similar
films. They, in turn, put me in touch with a company in Maryland that
digitizes nitrate film for the LOC. My wife and I personally drove the
film down, to remove any risk of shipping the sole copy of the film
known to exist. In July 2019, I received the digitized version. The
physical film is still with the company, until such time as the ARF
Archives gifts it to the LOC, as they are better suited to store the
film long-term.
M.G.: As a silent film, was there any documentation or score for the piano?
G.A.: There was no score that I
am aware of, though I feel like, at some point, I found reference to
songs that may have been played during showings of the film. Regardless,
as the film has actual footage of the burning of Smyrna, my initial
hope had been to have the film completed in time for the 100th
anniversary of that tragedy. However, for various reasons, my attempts
at getting a soundtrack fell through. And time kept passing, much to my
frustration.
M.G.: The film includes title
frames. What languages are used, and what languages do you plan to
include in your re-issuing of the film?
G.A.: The original film has
title frames in both Armenian and French. I am replacing the French text
with other languages so that the film can be shown in any country. The
Armenian text will remain as in the original. Currently, the text for
the English and Arabic versions has been done, and those versions of the
film will be created. Greek is another priority language, given the
significance for the community there. Last summer, I met with a museum
in Athens that is interested in sponsoring a showing of the film.
M.G. How did you, wisely, choose Mher to be the musical director/composer for the soundtrack?
G.A.: One year ago, while we
were both on the Armenian Heritage Cruise, I approached Mher about the
film and the concept. I still remember us on the top deck of the ship as
I played the film for him. Mher’s response and passion for the project
moved me, and I knew he was the right person to make this happen. As I
am not a musician or musical in any way, my concepts were crude. It was
Mher and the team he put together who took my initial thoughts, expanded
on them and turned them into something special. From the time last
year’s cruise ended, they worked tirelessly and the final score was
completed at the end of August. Since then, I have been working on
translations and final edits.
M.G.: When and where will the film premiere?
G.A.: It seemed natural that
the premiere of the film would be on the 2026 Armenian Heritage Cruise.
Once it has premiered there, we will work on showings in the U.S. and
around the world.
Avetis Aharonian at his desk
M.G.: Mher, what was your reaction when George called you?
Mher Mnatsakanyan (M.M.):
George and I first met during the last 44 days of the Artsakh war, while
protesting with the Armenian community in Worcester, Massachusetts.
During that time, he invited me to be part of this project. That idea
was reaffirmed on the Armenian Heritage Cruise in January 2025, when we
met again on the ship. My initial reaction was one of excitement and
responsibility; I wanted to make sure I could give my very best to this
wonderful project, and I truly believe it led to an incredible final
result.
M.G.: How did you approach composing the music? Have you ever done work like this before?
M.M.: It took about a month to
craft the complete musical agenda and select the ensemble of musicians
who would participate in this fabulous project. I reached out to my
childhood friend, film composer Martin Ulikhanyan in Armenia, and
together we began brainstorming ideas for the film’s musical language.
Our approach was to create improvisational fragments based on a variety
of renowned Armenian melodies that best capture the film’s narrative and
each of its episodes, as well as some original pieces. My prior
experience performing for film projects, especially during my years
working at Disney World, proved invaluable.
M.G.: Who else was involved?
M.M.: It took some careful
thought to decide who I wanted to invite into this project. After many
back-and-forth discussions with my friend Martin, we arrived at what I
believe is the best possible ensemble: myself as the soloist on duduk,
clarinet and shevi; the Ulikhanyan sisters, Vika and Lyana, on violin
and cello; and Lilit Zakaryan on piano.
M.G.: Was the music newly composed or based on existing works?
M.M.: Yes, the film features beautifully crafted fragments of beloved Armenian music, including pieces such as Krunk,
traditional war dances and sacred liturgical melodies. Each of these
was thoughtfully and specifically arranged to enhance the emotional arc
of the story and to illuminate the film’s key scenes and episodes.
M.G.: How challenging — and rewarding — has this process been?
M.M.: Bringing this project to
life required countless days and sleepless nights filled with
discussions, phone calls, recording sessions and editing work with sound
engineers, both here and in Armenia. Coordinating across time zones
often made the process extremely challenging, but step by step,
everything came together. In total, it took us nine months to complete,
and it stands as one of the greatest highlights of my musical career —
something I truly could not be more proud of.
M.G.: Will there be occasions to perform the soundtrack live?
M.M.: The premiere of the film
will take place on the Armenian Heritage Cruise on Jan. 11, 2026, the
very same AHC where George and I first agreed to bring this artistic
vision to life. On that day, we will also release a CD in Armenia, and
the music will be available on all major digital platforms, making it
accessible to listeners around the world. We also plan to perform the
film live as a fundraising event in support of the ARF Archives. I am
truly excited to share this phenomenal work with a wider audience.
Looking ahead to July 2026, through
my connections in Armenia, we are also exploring the opportunity to
present a live performance of the film in Armenia, within the framework
of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival.
= = =
I urge everyone to see this amazing
film when it comes to your city. It was a labor of love for both George
and Mher and I, for one, thank them deeply for their efforts. Until you
have the opportunity to see the film, the soundtrack album is available on a variety of platforms.
I am between semesters.During
this so called ‘free’ time, I have to prepare the classes I will be teaching in
the upcoming Spring Term which begins on January 12.Normally, I would just update what I have
been using for several years.I would
adjust the dates to reflect the start and due dates for the course and all
assignments.If necessary, I would tweak
the assignments that themselves to keep them fresh with current readings and
examples.
For many years, I have gotten into a groove of assigning two papers
and weekly discussions in my two semester long courses:Operations & Supply Chain Management and
Principles of Microeconomics.For
further homework and assessments, I use the following in these two courses.
Operations:The course is structured around the Council
for Supply Chain Management Professional’s (CSCMP) SCPro Certification
program.The final exam in this course
is the first of eight certification exams in the series:Supply Chain Management Principles.
In
this first overview course, we cover demand planning, procurement, inventory
management, warehousing, transportation, manufacturing/service operations,
customer service, and customer service.
To
supplement the management principles, there are 5 worksheets that involve the
formulae and calculations involved in forecasting, make vs buy decisions,
metrics, Little’s Law, and project management.
Microeconomics:This course is structured around the OpenStax
open source Principles of Microeconomics textbook.Hawkes Learning has built an excellent
programmed learning structure on this text.My course used their Chapter Learning (reading and learning for each
section of the chapters we cover) and Chapter Quizzes.
There
are unlimited tries for the Learning category
But
only two attempts for the Chapter Quizzes.
These formats were added during the COVID shutdown for Microeconomics
in the Spring of 2020 and around the same time frame for Operations.
I am contemplating make some drastic changes. There are a few reasons for this:
AI:Students are using it pretty freely (maybe
wantonly?) in writing paper and in their weekly discussion posts.The can easily use it to solve numerical
problems on graded worksheets and online quizzes and tests.While I don’t have direct evidence on this,
there is a convergence to a certain sameness in terms and flow used in papers
that was not there before AI.
Obsession
with Points/Grades:Students are focusing
primarily on their point totals and not on the primary objective (which is
learning something).In my years in
Quality Management and Process Design and Improvement, I have learned that obsession
on one single metric that is not 100% correlated to the real objective will
deliver a suboptimal results. AI enables students maximize the metric with
minimal learning.As a result, students
can ace a course and without actually learning very much.
I believe that we, a large number of professors, have gotten into the habits of
having way too many assignments with differing amounts of points.These assignments, their frequency, and their
due dates that tend to follow a weekly drumbeat, force a structure on the
students to keep them ‘on track’ and active in the course.I liken this to spoon feeding pablum to babies.Because of this, students have not really had
full opportunity to develop and master their own method for time and task
management.Also, very few do anything,
that isn’t assigned.If there are no
points, there is little likelihood the vast majority of students would read
anything for the sole sake of learning a bit more about a topic.
Attention
in Class:Students generally don’t take notes during
class.Some don’t even bring anything to
class to write on or write with.This
past term I gave a few non-graded quizzes on terms and concepts from the
previous few classes.The results were
not encouraging.
I remember my math classes from my undergraduate days some 50+ years
ago.There was a mid-term exam worth 40%
of the grade and a final exam worth 60%.Each day, the professor would lecture and assign a handful of homework
problems to be done for the next class.The professor never collected or graded the homework; he would simply
ask in the next class if anyone had any questions about the homework.If students asked questions, he would do the problems
they had questions about.If there were
no questions, he would proceed with the lecture for that day assuming the
students were good.Doing the problems
or not doing the homework was all on the students.It was not the professors’ job to police
such.As first semester freshmen, only
about half the students would do the homework.The midterm exam was a day of reckoning for those that didn’t when they
inevitably got a D or E on the exam.The
students learned that the motivation to do the work and learn the material was
on them (intrinsic motivation) versus what they were used to in high school
where the motivation was mostly coming from parents and teachers (extrinsic
motivation).Also, in those ‘analog’
days, the exams were all done in blue books.
My goal is to get to move toward the midterm/final exam model starting
with this next term.Here is what I am
thinking about doing:
Reintroducing
in-class exams:Midterm and final exams will
be given in class.They will be done in
bluebooks with nothing else on the desk except a pencil, an eraser, and a
calculator with no internet connection.At
least half of the points in the class will be from these exams.In Operations, half of the final will be the CSCMP
certification exam.
Discussions:We will keep assigning readings/video based discussions
as usual but they will not be graded.Doing
them or not doing them will be up to the student.There will be questions on the readings/video
on the midterm and final exams.
Papers:I will still assign two papers.The major change here is that the students must
use AI and include all the prompts and AI answers in appendices of the paper.The main paper need only be 700-1200 words with
2000-4000 words of AI content attached.Grading
will mainly be participation.The midterm
final exams will have short answer questions on the paper topics to verify they
learning something from these assignments.
Online
Materials:The Operations Class will continue to use the
CSCMP Materials but for less points than now given.The same for the Hawkes Learning part of Microeconomics.
I have spent
a considerable amount of time thinking about this and have been feeling a wee
bit proud of myself for this scheme to use AI productively and to assess
students with midterms and finals devoid of AI.But I know I am not that uniquely clever.So, I queried Gemini AI with the following:“Have the sales of bluebooks increased?”Per the output below, I am very accurate in
my assessment that ‘I am not that uniquely clever.’
=== Gemini AI output ===
Yes, sales of physical blue
books—the staple-bound booklets used for college examinations—have seen a
significant and unexpected increase as of 2025–2026. This resurgence is
primarily driven by academic institutions returning to in-class, handwritten
exams to combat AI-assisted cheating.
Recent Sales Trends (2024–2025)
Data from various universities and industry trackers show a
sharp rise in demand:
Widespread Growth: Nationwide, blue book sales
nearly tripled between 2022 and October 2025,
exceeding $300,000 in the first 10 months of 2025 alone.
University-Specific Surges:
UC Berkeley: Reported an 80% increase in sales over the two academic
years leading into late 2025.
University of Florida: Sales rose by nearly 50% in the 2024–2025 school year.
Texas A&M University: Experienced a 30% increase in campus bookstore sales.
Manufacturing Impact: Roaring Spring Paper Products, a
major Pennsylvania-based supplier, reported a notable upswing in production to
meet this new demand.
Primary Drivers
Combating AI Cheating: With the rise of advanced generative AI
(like ChatGPT), professors are increasingly replacing take-home essays and
digital tests with in-person, proctored exams that require students to
demonstrate knowledge in real-time.
Low-Tech Security: Handwritten exams provide a
straightforward way to ensure students are producing original work without
digital assistance.
