CROWN Croatian World Network Newsletter, June 13, 2007
http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9076/1/CROWN-Croatian-World-Network-Newsletter-June-13-2007.html
By Nenad N. Bach
Published on 06/13/2007
It is more then a month since I last wrote an editorial. My trip to Croatia was successful with promotion of the two new SACDs of Klapa Luka and Klapa Navalia, plus the official launch of the Croatian World Calendar, in its experimental phase. In this batch of news, read about Armin and its success at the Tribeca Film Festival. Read about the AMAC Mid-Atlantic Student Projects Fund that Mario Juric (the man who drew the map of the universe) is propelling. The Second Congress of Croatian Scientists from Homeland and Abroad happened in Trogir from May 7-10th. Those who attended said that there were some amazing lectures worth reading and seeing again. We hope to be able to obtain those and place it for others to see and comment, or better to say participate. Film Random Lunacy was at the Portland Underground Film Festival, Thursday June 7, 2007, with the great reviews. You'll be able to see those reviews very soon on CROWN. The new book "Eseji o glazbi" by Emil Čić was published. Heritage and genealogy of Croatia tour will be hosted by Robert Jerin, October 4 - 17, 2007. If interested, contact Robert directly.
The Magic of Međimurje Folk Songs. Međimurje folk songs from the NW of Croatia are a true jewel of our culture. It is estimated that there are about 6000 Međimurje folk songs, many of them of great musical value, exploited by composers of classical music and jazz musicians. Read an essay from prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić. Croatian indoor-soccer squad players Korab and Kujtim Morina established the first Indoor-soccer academy in Croatia in September last year. Voices from the Heart will leave for Croatia in July, where they hope to raise more money to help clear minefields. I happened to be part of their "Croatian Send-off Concert" on June 2nd in Porthsmouth, New Hampshire. The sound and enthusiasm of 200 women singing was overwhelming. Charitable heart of American people is something that I am aware since I landed in 1984. I was humbled and honored to be part of their concert and I wish them a great success on their tour of Croatia and Slovenia. At the concert they sang in Croatian Mala Moja, Plovi Barka and Kiša Pada, and after the concert they showed me how they sing Croatian Anthem. All of the above was moving and well performed under the batton of Joanne Connolly. You can read details inside of the previous letter - Related links - Voices from the Heart coming to Croatia . A film of the tour will be made by a talented filmmaker from Porthsmouth. Check Croatian World Calendar for final details about the Voices Abroad tour July 5 - 14, 2007. If you happen to be in Dubrovnik, Split, Rijeka and Pula, while they have their concerts do not miss this incredible opportunity and feel free to talk to them after the show. These women are not just singers, but highly intelligent people with intellectual curiosity about the world and, at the moment, especially about Croatia. They also collected enough money to demine two fields in Croatia. We are very thankful for this act of generosity to say the least .Talking about landmines, an interesting new way of detecting lands mines has been developed in Croatia. This the new method uses regular honeybees to search out dangerous land mines. And not to stop here, there is a serious problem with honeybees disappearing (pesticide is most likely the cause). Croatian artist Denis Licul is being featured at an exhibition featuring utilitarian dinnerware and objects at the Clay Art Center starting June 8 and going until June 16.
Presently the Croatian ambassador to Japan, but even more known for his poetry, Dr. Drago Štambuk, one of Croatia's best loved poets, is being featured with a poem translated in English and six poems translated in Spanish. Among others, look for the comments of famous Antonio Skarmeta (Il Postino) and Andrés Morales. An interview with Dr. Stanimir Vuk-Pavlovic and a Croatian School of Outward Bound whose mission is to inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages. Fantastic. Thank you from all of us who do understand the value of your work and accomplishments. The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive is the leading web site dealing with the History of Mathematics. It contains also biographies of three outstanding Croatian mathematicians: Ruđer Bošković, Marin Getaldić, and William Feller. In May 2007 the Mac Tutor included a link to a Croatian source dealing with Feller. That source is none other than our very own prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić. His website www.croatianhistory.net is a valuable web for all of us as a reference and a very credible source. Great success and respect gained once again, around the world. This page is more than 10 years old.
The School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, is seeking potential candidates for seasonal, part-time, intermittent, and/or full-time work as language instructors and other roles as detailed in the attached announcement. Take the opportunity if you have an interest. An Inconvenient Truth came out on DVD in Croatia. Undefeated Croatian Heavyweight Super - Mario Preskar wins over Carl Gathright with TKO at the very beginning of the fourth round in Katowica, Poland. There was a live broadcast over the MSG Cable. Mario boxed very well as he usually does. He is 23 and we are expecting him to be the champion of the world, sooner or later. He would be the fourth Croatian to become one. Jana Water is doing very well. It is being sold exclusively at Madison Square Garden, plus national distribution is expected to happen by the end of this year. Amazing. Another Tesla-like genius from Croatia called Marin Soljacic, the youngest professor at MIT, successfully made a 60 watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly - from a device 7 feet away - potentially heralding a future in which cell phones and other gadgets get their juice without having to be plugged in. Wow. Congratulations. Brilliant to say the least. It sounds unlikely, but there is certain gracefulness about homeless people, says Nela Borovina as a part of the Mini-Photo Exhibition by her husband Ivo Miche Borovina. A lot of great responses from all over the world. In today's society, we seem to be obsessed and addicted to materialistic nature of all the 'stuff' that we think we so desperately need and want..and maybe it is time to reverse the process. Maybe that is why it resonate with you. We might be ready to see the big picture.
JAVNO.com is a first-Croatian website in English that shows up daily on the Google search for news. Finally. We waited for this for the last 10 years. To give you more explanation, so far all the news about Croatia that ended up on top 100 of Google and Yahoo search have been articles written by everybody else but Croatians. Yes, you can read this sentence again and process it. In the other words, daily news has been distributed by major agencies which did not include anybody from Croatia. And then we wonder why it is like it is. So, now that that daily microphone has been made, let's use it. One reason CROWN exists is for the same need to express our views, concerns, visions and truthfully carry the message of who we really are and not what others want us to be. Good, bad or indifferent, support them. It is my fault that I didn't present it earlier, but if you didn't know, Croatian - American Dennis Kucinich is running for USA president in 2008. Radical on many topics, liberal by vocation, he is someone that is worth listening to regardless of your political orientation. Alka legend Andjelko Vuckovic died. Sacramento festival celebrates all things Croatian. The California USA festival, now held at the Croatian American Cultural Center, marked its 25th anniversary. More than 5,000 people attended from throughout the region and the Bay Area. Can you imagine 10,000 dogs at the same place. Imagine no more. In Zagreb, Croatia, more than 10,000 dogs from around the world participated on Saturday in this year's Euro Dog Show in several categories, including that for Europe's top beauty. You'd wish you were a dog if you saw how their owners treated them.
The National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA) completed a very successful 2007 Annual Assembly of Delegates held in Philadelphia at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel. One of the best programms ever included Rear Admiral J. Robert Lunney, who initiated and drove the process to locate the family of Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Peter Tomich. He presented the "saga" of his work that took over nine years to finally have the MOH presented to Tomich's next of kin in Croatia. Peter Tomich, an American hero of Croatian ethnicity, born in Prolog, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was posthumously awarded the Medal for his courage under fire during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Dr. Esther Gitman, born in Sarajevo and herself a holocaust survivor, presented deep and broad evidence on the many risks that Croatian people willingly took to rescue Jews from the Nazis during World War II. Dr. Gitman, with a PhD in Jewish History from City University of NY, is currently on a Fellowship at the U. S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, where she is making use of the museum's understudied archival collection from Croatia to shed new light on rescue issues and the fate of Croatian Jewry. Her presentation, titled "The Rescue of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941-1945", is a continuation of her PhD work which included research in Zagreb, where she went on a Fulbright Scholarship. The U. S. State Department was represented by Mr. Raffi Balian, the current Croatia Desk Officer & Regional Political/Military Affairs Officer for South Central Europe. Mr. Balian delivered a very clear and positive story on U. S. relations with The Republic of Croatia. The final guest speaker was Philadelphia Real Estate Developer Slavko S. Brkich who chose the NFCA Convention as the setting to go public with his announcement of creating a Croatia Art Center within a residential complex of 115 units he is developing in the Brewery Park section of Philadelphia. The Zora Art Center will have over 10,000 square feet of gallery space between two galleries, a 125-seat auditorium, a library with classroom, and a gift shop. "His dream," as Mr. Brkich refers to it, is currently planned to open in the Spring of 2008. Officers elected are: Edward A. Andrus (PA), President; Joseph M. Brigich (PA), Executive Vice President; John P. Kraljic (NY), Past President; Steve Rukavina (PA)...etc.
University of Zagreb Medical School announced enrollment in its 2007/2008 MD Program in English. Use the opportunity to educate your kids in Croatia. Tradition of higher education from 1669 is something to think about. If you wonder why all educated people who came from Croatia are highly successful, ask no more. Festival of Early Music, will be held from 15th to 24th of June in the mysterious town of Dvigrad in Istria, Croatia, abandoned in the 17th century due to the plague. The festival, organized by the Association Prosoli "Sacred Music" from Zagreb, will have international character (Croatia, Italy, France). Among the guests is a famous Ensemble Dialogos from Paris, directed by Katarina Livljanić, and Vrbanja singers from the island of Hvar. Soon on CROWN: Tanac Dances on the Island of Krk by Dr. sc. Tvrtko Zabec.
And last but not the least, I will take some semi-sabatical time off to persue my music passion. Due to many things in life, I have neglected my deepest desire to create music. I will work on my new album titled "Everything is forever" 'till the end of the year. In the meantime I ask all talented volunteers to step up for CROWN. I thank the CROWN's board of directors and ask for the new one to be assembled. Marko Puljic and Drako Zubrinic are already on the level and this is a perfect opportunity for me to thank them for their great attitude and willingness to help. Calendar needs help as well, but the good news is that we have more visitors then ever. Who can keep up and follow all the activities of this Hyper-Active nation. We at CROWN publish less than 1% of the received news, and this is what you have in front of you. Keep up the good work Croatians and dear Friends... and...slow down, you move to fast.
Svako dobro,
New York, June 13th 2007 na blagdan sv. Antona Padovanskog
p.s. There are cca 1000 letters that need to be published, but there is no time for few volunteers to accomplish all of this. With your support only, after we could employ one person to do it a full time job, then we will be able to fulfill the need that you are asking for.
 | And last but not the least, I will take some semi-sabatical time off to persue my music passion. Due to many things in life, I have neglected my deepest desire to create music. I will work on my new album titled "Everything is forever" 'till the end of the year. In the meantime I ask all talented volunteers to step up for CROWN. |
Editorial
.
C R O A T I A . O R G
CROWN Croatian World Network
photo by Risha
Dear All,
It is more then a month since I last wrote an editorial. My trip to Croatia was successful with promotion of the two new SACDs of Klapa Luka and Klapa Navalia, plus the official launch of the Croatian World Calendar, in its experimental phase. In this batch of news, read about Armin and its success at the Tribeca Film Festival. Read about the AMAC Mid-Atlantic Student Projects Fund that Mario Juric (the man who drew the map of the universe) is propelling. The Second Congress of Croatian Scientists from Homeland and Abroad happened in Trogir from May 7-10th. Those who attended said that there were some amazing lectures worth reading and seeing again. We hope to be able to obtain those and place it for others to see and comment, or better to say participate. Film Random Lunacy was at the Portland Underground Film Festival, Thursday June 7, 2007, with the great reviews. You'll be able to see those reviews very soon on CROWN. The new book "Eseji o glazbi" by Emil Čić was published. Heritage and genealogy of Croatia tour will be hosted by Robert Jerin, October 4 - 17, 2007. If interested, contact Robert directly.
The Magic of Međimurje Folk Songs. Međimurje folk songs from the NW of Croatia are a true jewel of our culture. It is estimated that there are about 6000 Međimurje folk songs, many of them of great musical value, exploited by composers of classical music and jazz musicians. Read an essay from prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić. Croatian indoor-soccer squad players Korab and Kujtim Morina established the first Indoor-soccer academy in Croatia in September last year. Voices from the Heart will leave for Croatia in July, where they hope to raise more money to help clear minefields. I happened to be part of their "Croatian Send-off Concert" on June 2nd in Porthsmouth, New Hampshire. The sound and enthusiasm of 200 women singing was overwhelming. Charitable heart of American people is something that I am aware since I landed in 1984. I was humbled and honored to be part of their concert and I wish them a great success on their tour of Croatia and Slovenia. At the concert they sang in Croatian Mala Moja, Plovi Barka and Kiša Pada, and after the concert they showed me how they sing Croatian Anthem. All of the above was moving and well performed under the batton of Joanne Connolly. You can read details inside of the previous letter - Related links - Voices from the Heart coming to Croatia . A film of the tour will be made by a talented filmmaker from Porthsmouth. Check Croatian World Calendar for final details about the Voices Abroad tour July 5 - 14, 2007. If you happen to be in Dubrovnik, Split, Rijeka and Pula, while they have their concerts do not miss this incredible opportunity and feel free to talk to them after the show. These women are not just singers, but highly intelligent people with intellectual curiosity about the world and, at the moment, especially about Croatia. They also collected enough money to demine two fields in Croatia. We are very thankful for this act of generosity to say the least .Talking about landmines, an interesting new way of detecting lands mines has been developed in Croatia. This the new method uses regular honeybees to search out dangerous land mines. And not to stop here, there is a serious problem with honeybees disappearing (pesticide is most likely the cause). Croatian artist Denis Licul is being featured at an exhibition featuring utilitarian dinnerware and objects at the Clay Art Center starting June 8 and going until June 16.
Presently the Croatian ambassador to Japan, but even more known for his poetry, Dr. Drago Štambuk, one of Croatia's best loved poets, is being featured with a poem translated in English and six poems translated in Spanish. Among others, look for the comments of famous Antonio Skarmeta (Il Postino) and Andrés Morales. An interview with Dr. Stanimir Vuk-Pavlovic and a Croatian School of Outward Bound whose mission is to inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages. Fantastic. Thank you from all of us who do understand the value of your work and accomplishments. The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive is the leading web site dealing with the History of Mathematics. It contains also biographies of three outstanding Croatian mathematicians: Ruđer Bošković, Marin Getaldić, and William Feller. In May 2007 the Mac Tutor included a link to a Croatian source dealing with Feller. That source is none other than our very own prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić. His website www.croatianhistory.net is a valuable web for all of us as a reference and a very credible source. Great success and respect gained once again, around the world. This page is more than 10 years old.
The School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, is seeking potential candidates for seasonal, part-time, intermittent, and/or full-time work as language instructors and other roles as detailed in the attached announcement. Take the opportunity if you have an interest. An Inconvenient Truth came out on DVD in Croatia. Undefeated Croatian Heavyweight Super - Mario Preskar wins over Carl Gathright with TKO at the very beginning of the fourth round in Katowica, Poland. There was a live broadcast over the MSG Cable. Mario boxed very well as he usually does. He is 23 and we are expecting him to be the champion of the world, sooner or later. He would be the fourth Croatian to become one. Jana Water is doing very well. It is being sold exclusively at Madison Square Garden, plus national distribution is expected to happen by the end of this year. Amazing. Another Tesla-like genius from Croatia called Marin Soljacic, the youngest professor at MIT, successfully made a 60 watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly - from a device 7 feet away - potentially heralding a future in which cell phones and other gadgets get their juice without having to be plugged in. Wow. Congratulations. Brilliant to say the least. It sounds unlikely, but there is certain gracefulness about homeless people, says Nela Borovina as a part of the Mini-Photo Exhibition by her husband Ivo Miche Borovina. A lot of great responses from all over the world. In today's society, we seem to be obsessed and addicted to materialistic nature of all the 'stuff' that we think we so desperately need and want..and maybe it is time to reverse the process. Maybe that is why it resonate with you. We might be ready to see the big picture.
JAVNO.com is a first-Croatian website in English that shows up daily on the Google search for news. Finally. We waited for this for the last 10 years. To give you more explanation, so far all the news about Croatia that ended up on top 100 of Google and Yahoo search have been articles written by everybody else but Croatians. Yes, you can read this sentence again and process it. In the other words, daily news has been distributed by major agencies which did not include anybody from Croatia. And then we wonder why it is like it is. So, now that that daily microphone has been made, let's use it. One reason CROWN exists is for the same need to express our views, concerns, visions and truthfully carry the message of who we really are and not what others want us to be. Good, bad or indifferent, support them. It is my fault that I didn't present it earlier, but if you didn't know, Croatian - American Dennis Kucinich is running for USA president in 2008. Radical on many topics, liberal by vocation, he is someone that is worth listening to regardless of your political orientation. Alka legend Andjelko Vuckovic died. Sacramento festival celebrates all things Croatian. The California USA festival, now held at the Croatian American Cultural Center, marked its 25th anniversary. More than 5,000 people attended from throughout the region and the Bay Area. Can you imagine 10,000 dogs at the same place. Imagine no more. In Zagreb, Croatia, more than 10,000 dogs from around the world participated on Saturday in this year's Euro Dog Show in several categories, including that for Europe's top beauty. You'd wish you were a dog if you saw how their owners treated them.
The National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA) completed a very successful 2007 Annual Assembly of Delegates held in Philadelphia at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel. One of the best programms ever included Rear Admiral J. Robert Lunney, who initiated and drove the process to locate the family of Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Peter Tomich. He presented the "saga" of his work that took over nine years to finally have the MOH presented to Tomich's next of kin in Croatia. Peter Tomich, an American hero of Croatian ethnicity, born in Prolog, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was posthumously awarded the Medal for his courage under fire during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Dr. Esther Gitman, born in Sarajevo and herself a holocaust survivor, presented deep and broad evidence on the many risks that Croatian people willingly took to rescue Jews from the Nazis during World War II. Dr. Gitman, with a PhD in Jewish History from City University of NY, is currently on a Fellowship at the U. S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, where she is making use of the museum's understudied archival collection from Croatia to shed new light on rescue issues and the fate of Croatian Jewry. Her presentation, titled "The Rescue of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941-1945", is a continuation of her PhD work which included research in Zagreb, where she went on a Fulbright Scholarship. The U. S. State Department was represented by Mr. Raffi Balian, the current Croatia Desk Officer & Regional Political/Military Affairs Officer for South Central Europe. Mr. Balian delivered a very clear and positive story on U. S. relations with The Republic of Croatia. The final guest speaker was Philadelphia Real Estate Developer Slavko S. Brkich who chose the NFCA Convention as the setting to go public with his announcement of creating a Croatia Art Center within a residential complex of 115 units he is developing in the Brewery Park section of Philadelphia. The Zora Art Center will have over 10,000 square feet of gallery space between two galleries, a 125-seat auditorium, a library with classroom, and a gift shop. "His dream," as Mr. Brkich refers to it, is currently planned to open in the Spring of 2008. Officers elected are: Edward A. Andrus (PA), President; Joseph M. Brigich (PA), Executive Vice President; John P. Kraljic (NY), Past President; Steve Rukavina (PA)...etc.
University of Zagreb Medical School announced enrollment in its 2007/2008 MD Program in English. Use the opportunity to educate your kids in Croatia. Tradition of higher education from 1669 is something to think about. If you wonder why all educated people who came from Croatia are highly successful, ask no more. Festival of Early Music, will be held from 15th to 24th of June in the mysterious town of Dvigrad in Istria, Croatia, abandoned in the 17th century due to the plague. The festival, organized by the Association Prosoli "Sacred Music" from Zagreb, will have international character (Croatia, Italy, France). Among the guests is a famous Ensemble Dialogos from Paris, directed by Katarina Livljanić, and Vrbanja singers from the island of Hvar. Soon on CROWN: Tanac Dances on the Island of Krk by Dr. sc. Tvrtko Zabec.
And last but not the least, I will take some semi-sabatical time off to persue my music passion. Due to many things in life, I have neglected my deepest desire to create music. I will work on my new album titled "Everything is forever" 'till the end of the year. In the meantime I ask all talented volunteers to step up for CROWN. I thank the CROWN's board of directors and ask for the new one to be assembled. Marko Puljic and Drako Zubrinic are already on the level and this is a perfect opportunity for me to thank them for their great attitude and willingness to help. Calendar needs help as well, but the good news is that we have more visitors then ever. Who can keep up and follow all the activities of this Hyper-Active nation. We at CROWN publish less than 1% of the received news, and this is what you have in front of you. Keep up the good work Croatians and dear Friends... and...slow down, you move to fast.
Svako dobro,
Nenad
New York, June 13th 2007 na blagdan sv. Antona Padovanskog
p.s. There are cca 1000 letters that need to be published, but there is no time for few volunteers to accomplish all of this. With your support only, after we could employ one person to do it a full time job, then we will be able to fulfill the need that you are asking for.
Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
Segment of the proposed flag in 1990, by Boris Ljubicic
Formated for CROWN by Nenad Bach
Distributed by www.Croatia.org This message is intended for Croatian Associations / Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions / articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! Or simply...enjoy and spread the word and good vibrations.