Czech Update

Czech president sulky over same sex unions

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:19:27 +0100

For an atheist and reasonably liberal country, same-sex unions are having a tough time in the Czech Republic. Finally, a new laws gives some rights to same-sex couples but it sent the president Václav Klaus into a tizzy. The president, as always happy to bolster his typical opportunistic populism with inherent homophobia, decided to signal his opposition by not signing the bill. read more »

Czech animation reviving rich history

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:12:05 +0100

Czechs have always been on the cutting edge of animation (even helping with some of the Tom and Jerry cartoons in the 1950s and 1960s) and now it seems, things are looking up again, as this short article in Variety suggests. The name from the past to take note of is Jan Švankmajer who's cited as an influence on Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. read more »

Czech Worldmusic via Čankišou on YouTube

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:02:08 +0100

Czech folklore music often counts as World Music but this is Czech musicians having fun with what they perceive to be the music of the world. I found out about this video via an American friend who saw it on a World Music channel. read more »

First Czech gay pride parade to take place in Brno

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:18:54 +0100

Another step towards greater prominence of gay rights in the Czech Republic that also highlights the latent homophobia still present in some Czech circles. read more »

Masaryk's name not for sale

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:45:12 +0100

Here's an interesting example of how history can be important to the present.

To have a glass of Masaryk? In ČR not possible - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz Czechs are so proud of their first democratic president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk that they will not let anyone use his surname as a trade mark.
read more »

Irglová: Czech singer and actress reaps fame rewards after Oscar win

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:55:19 +0100

"Co Čech to muzikant" (Scratch a Czech, find a musician) goes an old Czech saying (going back to 1800s at least) that used to be known around the musical world. And now it is again! read more »

How and where Czechs travel on holiday?

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:47:10 +0100

How Czechs travel seems to be impacting on where. The most popular destination for vacationing Czechs has been and still is Croatia. However, a recent Croat ban on importing certain kinds of foods has caused almost 10% of the 900 thosand Czechs planning a trip to cancel their holiday there (in favor of Italy or some other place). Why? read more »

Mašín brothers, history, present

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:08:00 +0100

The International Herald Tribune offers a very good write up of a rather small event in the history of early communist rule in Czechoslovakia that has caused much controversy in more recent times. read more »

Amnesty finds little improvement in Roma discrimination

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 31 May 2008 02:43:13 +0100

Unfortunately, a new report from Amnesty International found the situation of the Roma minority as dire as in the past from unequal treatment by the police, through limited access to social services, to negative attitudes by non-Roma Czechs. read more »

Veselé Velikonoce - Happy Easter (2008)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:07:23 +0000

Veselé Velikonoce roku 2008. You can read a bit more about Czech Easter in this post from last year or in one of the two comprehensive articles below.

The Czech Republic’s Easter traditions are colourful both in appearance and name. The journeys of Captain Oddsocks: Czech Easter traditions

Easter Monday practices, involving boys pouring water over girls and lightly whipping them with braided branches, are the most controversial of Easter traditions. Global Voices Online » Czech Republic, Slovakia: Whipping Girls and Other Easter Traditions

Czech Republic experiencing biggest Baby Boom in 25 years

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:10:10 +0000

More than 10,000 more people were born in the Czech Republic than died which is the most since 1983. The 114 thousand newly borns take the total number of inhabitants to 10 million 381 thouthsand. This upward trend has been going on for the last 5 years. read more »

Czechs no longer shrink shy

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:41:51 +0000

According to new stats, the number of Czechs seeking the services of a shrink has grown by almost a third since 2000. Experts claim that one of the reasons for that is more information about psych treatments. Supposedly almost half a million Czechs ended up on the couch in 2006 including 17500 hospitalisations due to mental illness. read more »

Fables and Understories: Čapek on the Web

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:46:17 +0000

Andrew Malcovsky, the self-described 'Slavicist on spec' (I wonder if this is a conscious bilingual pun for špek) found a great new way to exploit the medium of the blog. For translating Karel Čapek's famous whimsical short pieces Bajky a podpovídky (as Fables and understories). It's certainly a great services to the student of Czech culture. read more »

Czechs under stress

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:28:13 +0000

Turns out Czechs are just as susceptible to stress at work as people in other industrialized nations. What a surprise! read more »

Karel Gott, the never-aging pop star, marries in Las Vegas

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:08:39 +0000

He's been a fixture on the Czech, German and general East European music scene since at least he mid-1960s. Started off with Rock'n'Roll and descended into broad pop in the 70s. Sold millions and millions of records and is the subject of adoration and derision in equal measure. Most Czechs and their parents have grown up listening to him and watching him win music contests. read more »

New resource for Czech exile literature online

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:08:47 +0000

A complete text (all in Czech) of a book survey of Czech exile literature between 1971 and 1989 was made available by the author on the University of Glasgow's Slavonic Studies Department website. read more »

Czech film boom predicted for 2008

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:49:06 +0000

Perhaps not the "new" Czech New Wave but certainly a hopeful sign for the Czech film industry.

Czech film boom - Prague Daily Monitor read more »

Half of Czechs are proud to be Czechs

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:45:26 +0000

One of those glass half-full half-empty surveys.

Proud to be Czech, but leave the politics aside - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz read more »

Šťastný Nový rok 2008 na Bohemica.com

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:22:34 +0000

Bohemica.com a Dominik Lukeš vám spolu přejí Veselý nový rok 2008. PFko najdete na DominikLukes.net/2008. read more »

Velvet Revolution in video (YouTube weekly)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:01:27 +0000

YouTube is a great source of video to illustrate historical events and the Velvet Revolution is no exception. Here are a few clips.

Montage of moments from the days of and after 17 November: read more »

Talking about the Velvet Revolution

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:55:26 +0000

Listen to what it was like to be a Velvet Revolutionary in this discussion between Bohemica's Dominik Lukeš and Eamonn Burgess on Future Radio 96.9FM. This discussion was part of the Community Chest programme guest-hosted by Dominik on 16 November 2007.

Play Czech geography game on Facebook and win PDF of Czech grammar

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:43:31 +0000

18 years since Velvet Revolution on 17 November

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:57:39 +0000

For the 18th time since 1989, Czechs are celebrating the end of "communism" and the beginning of "democracy". The country has seen many changes since that time but many feel nostalgia for the 'bad' old times and the communist party still has 15% representation in parliament. But the chances of going back to what it was are very small. read more »

Czechs bought 350 000 bicycles in 2006 for Sport not Commute

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:43:00 +0000

Lots of cycling stories in the Czech press this last week. Czechs seem to be buying lots of cycles but don't like to think of them as a commuting device but rather one for getting some exercise in. Prague is becoming a bit more cycle-commute friendly but it's still more the exception than the rule. read more »

What is it with Czechs and javelin?

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:04:10 +0000

Another Czech javelin star is born. Barbora Špotáková who won the world javelin title this year has been named Czech Athlete of the Year. Why are Czechs good at javelin? No idea. read more »