Czech Update

Czech crooners (dead and alive) on YouTube

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:37:28 -0400

Karel Hála, a star of Czech big band pop music since the 1950s just died as reported by Lidové Noviny. Here's a cliop of him and another stallwart of Czech pop Karel Gott. read more »

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

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:55:19 -0400

"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 »

Veselé Velikonoce - Happy Easter (2008)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:07:23 -0400

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

Fables and Understories: Čapek on the Web

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:46:17 -0500

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 »

New resource for Czech exile literature online

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:08:47 -0500

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 02:49:06 -0500

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 »

Šťastný Nový rok 2008 na Bohemica.com

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:22:34 -0500

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 15:01:27 -0500

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 10:55:26 -0500

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 09:43:31 -0500

18 years since Velvet Revolution on 17 November

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:57:39 -0500

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 18:43:00 -0500

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 17:04:10 -0500

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 »

Sokol in New York still going strong after 140 years

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:54:06 -0400

Czech 'uzeniny' in branding battles

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:23:48 -0400

Uzeniny is a great Czech word covering all kinds of saussage-like products and uzenář is the purveyor or producer of such meat products (you will often see 'maso a uzeniny' on Czech butchers' store fronts or supermarket sections). read more »

Čechomor - Czech You Tube Pick of the Week

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:59:52 -0400

Song Velické zvony by a folklore rock group called Čechomor. You can get both the lyrics (sorry Czech only) and the guitar chords at Akordy.sk. The song is about a funeral for a man poisoned by his lover who is now crying for him. read more »

Another Czech painting sold for record sum

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:23:57 -0400

Yet another Czech (mostly) pre-war artist's painting was sold this week for a record sum. This time it was the abstract artist and cubist František Kupka. read more »

EU causes Czech pig crisis

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:18:24 -0400

I don't know what's more interesting about the story: that there is a crisis in pork production in the CR or that there is a publication called PigProgress.net? read more »

Budvar World's best lager

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:28:42 -0400

Well, what do you know. Czech pivo (which is really more than just beer) really is best in the world. Budvar (aka the real Budweiser - as in actually made in Budweis and actually being beer) beat hundreds of other lagers from all over the world to win the prize. Bohemica.com is not surprised! read more »

Bramboráky a houby in Chicago

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:28:42 -0400

What could be more fitting to celebrate Czech traditions than Houby Day on Čermák Road. This is the season of mushroom picking in the Czech Republic and many of the mushrooms (houby) will end up in pancakes (bramboráky), even though even more will be made into a meal with scrambled eggs (smaženice). read more »

Kafka in Czech complete

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:27:05 -0400

Was he or wasn't he? read more »

Good Czech beer recommended

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:35:40 -0400

An expat beer expert living in the Czech Republic has some useful recommendations to make about Czech beer.
read more »

Josef Čapek's painting brings in record sum

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:33:04 -0400

Czech art doesn't often make the news but this one's certainly worth noticing.

Czech Josef Capek's painting auctioned for record 12 million read more »

Czech wine given a chance

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:30:11 -0400

In this interview, Czech wine is given its proper place. It turns out that it's not all bad. The author interviews a wine expert Bohuslav Uher who has some useful recommendations to make. read more »

How have Czech values changed?

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:55:17 -0400

If you're wondering about what Czech views on this or that are, you could do worse than going to the excellent World Values Survey and use their read more »

Burčák came early this year

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:02:13 -0400

Burčák the young wine (stum) popular in the Czech lands in the early autumn came earlier this year appearing in early August. Burčák sales in Prague kiosks around September and October is one of the joys of the Czech 'babí léto' and reminds Bohemians to remember how good it is to have Moravians part of the nation.
read more »

Czech autumn full of jazz (festivals)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:26:14 -0400

Czech jazz has long and proud tradition. This article on Travel Video Television News has the scoop on where to travel for jazz in the Czech lands. Watch the two YouTube videos below to see what's in store (two foremost Czech jazzmen Viklický and Stivín each play a variation on a folk tune). read more »

Czech opera on YouTube

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 06:20:02 -0400

YouTube is known mostly for funny little clips or stolen content. But it is also a great resource for music. One thing I came across by accident are a number of clips from Czech opera. This one is a famous and beautiful aria from Dvořák's Rusalka. It is sung in Czech by the American soprano Renée Fleming. read more »

The Prague Post Online: Tempo: Czechs on film

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:59:11 -0400

The Prague Post Online: Tempo: Czechs on film: Among Hollywood's outstanding directors were and still are Gustav Machatý, Miloš Forman and Ivan Passer. Jan Tříska, Herbert Lom, Karel Roden and Jan Rubeš rank among the more prominent current Czech film actors, while other names such as Francis Lederer, Hugo Haas and Vera Hruba-Ralston lurk in the past. Erich Korngold towers among film composers and Miroslav Ondříček among cameramen, while a plethora of little-known but no less capable Czech stuntmen helped make movies such as Titanic and Gladiator into classics. read more »

Is vepřoknedlozélo in danger?

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:23:26 -0500

Pig Progress | News | Page content | Pig breeding down in Czech Republic
Pig breeders are annually winding down activities in the Czech Republic. In the last five years, pig stocks have decreased by 600,000 to 2,840,000, says the Czech Statistical Office (CSU). read more »

The Masopust season: Pork killing and eating time

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 05:30:39 -0500

MF DNES Praha - Pravé zabijačkové hody, ale hlavně karnevalové masky a spousta zábavy. Tak vypadal čtvrtý ročník Karlínského masopustu, který odstartoval v sobotu v jednu hodinu po poledni.

The time of Masopust, or the pre-lent carnival, (literally, the meat fast, a translation of the carni-val) has come upon us which means a lot of pig slaughtering festivities (zabijačky [lit. killing times]). Of course, the atheist Czechs will go on eating meat all the way through Lent. The Czech Wikipedia lists some of the foods you might take away (výslužka) from a killing time: read more »

It's a Czech's funeral

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 08:55:53 -0500

Potoky "druhých slzí" - www.lidovky.cz
PRAHA 4. února 2007 | 13:45 V Česku se prý moc slavnostně nepohřbívá. Čas od času proběhnou médii zprávy o tom, že velká část pohřbů proběhne bez obřadu, v některých oblastech to je snad až šedesát procent. Je hodně pozůstalých, kteří si do pohřebního ústavu zapomenou přijít pro urnu, když uplyne lhůta, popel se vysype... někam.

Karel Svoboda, a well-known composer died recently, apparently committing suicide leading to a great amount of attention from the media and the public. This led Lidové Noviny to publish an article that has some interesting information about Czech funereal practices. Apparently, these happen typically with a minimum of pomp. As many as 60% of all funerals happen without a ceremony (I know of several families where that is a tradition) and supposedly quite a few urns with ashes are not collected from funeral homes. This is undoubtedly connected with the high level of atheism - up to 60% - which means that many Czechs don't have an easy access to a ritualized and institutionalized expression of grief and mourning. read more »

Nohejbal - A Czech sporting invention

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 04:57:44 -0500

MF DNES Příští sobotu se ve sportovní hale v objektu 1. základní školy ve Staré Boleslavi uskuteční první ročník nohejbalového turnaje trojic o putovní pohár starosty města – Ondřeje Přenosila. read more »

Vysvědčení dnes - School reports today

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:24:29 -0500

MF DNES Praha - Téměř osmdesát tisíc dětí ze základních škol a více než sedmdesát tisíc středoškoláků si dnes odnese domů pololetní vysvědčení. „V letošním školním roce máme v Praze evidováno 75 566 žáků základních škol, 4047 žáků speciálních tříd a 70 440 studentů středních škol,“ vypočítává vedoucí oddělení školského rejstříku a výkaznictví pražského magistrátu Karel Krupka.

Today is the day of so called "pololetní vysvědčení" - or the end of term ('pololetí') school report. read more »

Take the Czech quiz!

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:53:51 -0500

Tiscali Europa It's not all beer and the Vltava you know... Ten countries in Central Europe and the Mediterranean joined the European Union in 2004 - how well do you know them? Can you tell a Becherovka from a Jan Huss? Or a Škoda from a Schroeder? Try your luck with our great photo quizzes... but make a mistake and you get sent back to the beginning!

Tiscali Europe has provided this fun quiz on what is important to know about the Czech Republic. They hit many of the major points (although they read more »

Doomsday 2010 Prague Short Story Wins BCSA Prize

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:33:35 -0500

Mayor Šulc’s Astounding 2010 Directive is the title of a short story that has just won a prize of £300 in a writing competition run by the British Czech & Slovak Association. The author is Adam Daniel Mezei.

The story set in a Prague in 2010, which secedes from a Czechia which is controlled by a Communist revisionist government, and which in turn is part of an imperial Euro superstate. It explores the extraordinary consequences of political changes in the far from distant future – where Language Police patrol restaurants, and where Prague (Mayor Šulc’s ‘Inner District’) resorts to a helicopter airlift to take passengers to the airport to avoid the random searches and hefty tolls imposed by the Communist authorities. It’s one of several stories Adam submitted to the competition that tackle rather different, often unsettling subjects. (From BCSA Press Release) read more »

Cultural differences land Czech in English jail

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:34:50 -0500

Wigan news - Wigan Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More Miroslav Macheček, a teacher from Prague in the Czech Republic, spent five months in prison and endured a living hell after being accused of indecently touching the 10-year-old as she stood holding her mother's hand in the delicatessen queue at a Wigan supermarket. ... "I did a joke with the child and touched her on the right shoulder. The mother looked toward her daughter and saw my hand there, I did not do anything wrong. " ... "In my country you can do a joke with a child, but here you can get in very serious trouble." read more »

Czech sporting heros honored

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:28:28 -0500

Neumannová named Czech athlete of the year - International Herald Tribune PRAGUE, Czech Republic: Kateřina Neumannová, who won the women's 30-kilometer cross-country race at the Turin Olympics, was chosen as the Czech Republic's athlete of the year for 2006 on Sunday in a poll of sports journalists.

New York Rangers forward Jaromír Jágr, who won the award in 2005, was second. Lukáš Bauer, who took silver in the 15-kilometer cross-country race in Turin, was third.

Martina Navratilová, who defected from her Czech homeland in 1975 and became a U.S. citizen in 1981, was named a Czech sports legend on Sunday. read more »

'Rybička' makes it into Bond flick

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:38:04 -0500

"Four seconds of fame" for Czech knife in Bond movie - 12-01-2007 - Radio Prague What do James Bond and the Czech hobby of mushroom picking have in common? I won't keep you guessing - it is a knife - more precisely knives produced by the Czech company Mikov. Their products are good enough for 007 as well as the peaceful Czech family hobby of mushroom picking.

The title is a subtle pun since the 'rybička' refers to a very famous Czech flick knife with a fish-shaped handle whose maker's product was prominently displayed in the latest Bond film. This is what the company's director had to say about it (and with justification): read more »

Czechs lead in divorce race

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:05:19 -0500

Češi: rozvodoví rekordmani - Žena.cz Pevný manželský svazek vydrží v České republice jen zhruba třetině párů. Na každých 100 sňatků připadá celkem 67 rozvodových řízení. Češi jsou tak spolu s Belgičany a Estonci s přehledem "šampiony" v rozvodech v rámci celé Evropské unie.

Given the low religiosity of Czechs, it should perhaps not be surprising that the divorce rate is rather high. Two in three marriages end in divorce (67 divorces per 100 weddings - the EU average is 40). Czechs are bested only by Estonians and Belgians . read more »

Translating the Czech Golden Age

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 10:42:13 -0500

The Prague Post Online: Tempo: Translating the Czech Golden Age
"The years of the First Republic, 1918-1938, were the golden years of Czech culture, particularly in literature," translator Mark Corner says over coffee at the French Institute's café. "It's the Čapek Age, though many of the writers were never translated for English audiences. The double blow of the Nazis and the communists saw to that."

There are many names associated with this period from Čapek to Seifert (one of two Czechs to have received the Nobel prize). read more »

Czech succumb to charm of massage as 'wellness' comes to fore

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 10:32:19 -0500

Češi propadají kouzlu masáží - www.lidovky.cz
Masážní studia hlásí plné stavy. S rostoucí životní úrovní si totiž Češi dopřávají kvalitní péči o tělo a masáž vnímají jako druh relaxace po náročném pracovním dnu.

The Czech massage business is booming. This comes on the heals of changing attitudes toward the idea of getting a massage. Until very recently, it just wasn't a part of the Czech concept of things to do outside medicine and sport. This read more »

European Jews satisfied with situation of Czech Jewish community

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 10:29:28 -0500

European Jews satisfied with situation of Czech Jewish community - Prague Daily Monitor Prague, Jan 10 (CTK) - The president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) Pierre Besnainou is satisfied with the situation of the local Jewish community and attitudes of other citizens, especially politicians, towards it, he said during a meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus today, Tomas Kraus told CTK.

After mostly negative stories o read more »

More women politicians in Prague (and rest o CR)

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:15:04 -0500

Političek v Praze přibývá - www.lidovky.cz PRAHA 10. ledna 2007 | 14:54 Karlovy Vary, Zlín, Havířov, Chomutov. Tam všude sedí v primátorském křesle ženy. Praha zatím nikdy svou primátorku neměla. Podle stoupajícího počtu žen v zastupitelstvu i podle přání veřejnosti se ale možná hlavní město v nedaleké budoucnosti své ženy v čele dočká.

Four important Czech municipalities (two in Bohemia and two in Moravia) are headed by a woman holding the post of primátor (mayor) or in their case primátorka. And there is a good chance that in the future Prague could join them. read more »

Cultural impact of change in Czech TV news schedule

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:32:31 -0500

Change in Czech TV main news time benefits Nova - 10-01-2007 - Radio Prague Many Czechs catch their television news in the early evening, between 7 and 8 o'clock. But which particular news programmes they choose to watch has changed somewhat since the New Year, when Czech Television brought its main evening news forward by 15 minutes. The change also affects hundreds of thousands of Czech children, as a popular animated programme also starts earlier.

It is interesting, if not surprising, how important TV schedules are for the cultural patterns of a nation. For Czech, culturally particularly important time is between 7 and 8 pm which is a transition between children's time and adult time. Children watch their 10-minute evening story - Večerníček, and then adults watch the news (boring for children) and than at 8 pm the main adult (as in not for children, not pornographic) programming starts when children go to bed. So a change of even as little as 15 minutes can have quite an impact on individuals' lives. Particularly when it comes down to the institution of Večerníček (so important it even has its own Wikipedia entry): read more »

Czechs take the bus abroad to spend 13000 on holidays

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:32:53 -0500

Average Czech spends CZK 13,395 on holidays abroad in 2006-ACCKA - Prague Daily Monitor
Prague, Jan 9 (CTK) - The average Czech spent CZK 13,395 on holidays abroad last year, five percent more than a year ago, Czech travel agencies association ACCKA spokesman Tomio Okamura has told CTK.

Given that that is slightly more than the half the average monthly salary, that's not a small sum. But given that it is only 500 EUR, it isn't that much (of course the figure includes all individuals including those who don't travel - I think). read more »

Czechs most like Slovaks, least Romanies

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 09:02:31 -0500

Czechs most like Slovaks, least Romanies-poll - Prague Daily Monitor
Prague, Jan 8 (CTK) - Czechs consider themselves the most likeable of all ethnic groups living in the Czech Republic, according to a poll by the CVVM centre carried out last December and released today.

Out of foreigners, Czech most like Slovaks and they also like Poles and Germans very much, while they harbour the least sympathy to Romanies and people from the Balkan countries are not very popular among Czechs, according to the poll. read more »

More than half of Czechs willing to move for work

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 08:24:33 -0500

Téměř polovina Čechů je ochotna odejít za prací - iDNES.cz
Češi jsou již ochotnější stěhovat se za prací. Z výzkumu, který provedla Hypoteční banka, vyplývá, že téměř každý druhý v tom nevidí velký problém. Lidí, které by výhodná pracovní nabídka přiměla sbalit kufry a odstěhovat se, je dokonce více než těch, kteří si to nedovedou představit.

"Je lepší dvakrát vyhořet než se jednou stěhovat" (It is better to have your house burn down twice than to have to move once.) goes a Czech saying. read more »

Sex scandal and gender equality for Czech third church

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:58:16 -0500

Czech Hussites rocked by sexual scandal - press
"New patriarch Tomas Butta, Bishop Stepan Klasek, Petr Sandera and I have asked Bican to consider his resignation," Bishop Jana Šilerová from Olomouc, North Moravia, told the paper. ... MfD writes that the Hussite church is the third most populous church in the Czech Republic and now it is celebrating 87 years since its establishment.

What can we learn form this story? Gay priests having affairs? Nothing new or surprising here. However, a female bishop? Certainly a point of interest. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church not only allows women priests, they number almost half of the total 300 clergy. It should also be noted that the most populous church by far is the Catholic from which the Hussites split during the early years of the Czech Republic over ordination of women and other issues. The Hussites are not really a protestant denomination of the Lutheran tradition (they're closer to Anglicans) and having Jan Hus in their title is more a matter of national pride than ideology. They're one of the more tolerant churches out there but they were also one of the more willing to do the communist regime's bidding (although that has to be taken in the context of its time). read more »

Czechs say no to drugs

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:44:33 -0500

Every fourth Czech tried drug - poll in press - Prague Daily Monitor Prague, Jan 6 (CTK) - About 22 percent of Czechs have tried a drug at least once in their hitherto life, the share being 40 percent in the 18 to 24 years age category, according to a poll carried out by the Health Information and Statistics Institute. ... The poll at the same time revealed that Czechs are not tolerant of drugs, and a mere 17 percent of them would agree with marijuana´s legalisation. read more »