Yep, you guessed it, that's a statue of Aram Khachaturian. This world-renowned classical composer is considered one of the most famous Armenians - even more famous than Kim Kardashian.
The flat is owned by an incredibly hospitable mother and son, who kindly rented it out (fully furnished - with extensive Russian book collection!) for the next three months. It took a couple scalding showers to learn that one need only pre-heat the water tank for about an hour before showering. Talk about spoiled -- it puts into perspective all those times I typically "jump in the shower" back in the States; such things were an overlookable luxury, until now.
The view from my window. San Francisco has made me soft.
These recent pictures from Homes for Sudan were too good to not post. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to visit in either late 2010 or early 2011. I'd like to maximize my usefulness while there, so hopefully there'll be some bags that need filling.
I didn't sample it, but the response was overwhelmingly positive. These were taken a week or so ago in SF, using our fireplace for the last time. Next up -- photos from Yerevan!
I learned of Homes For Sudan a few years ago through a friend of mine, Paul Graham. It's an exciting nonprofit that another pal, Kate Courteau, is a part of. The architectural innovation is cheap, sustainable, and durable; the plan is to spread this knowledge everywhere, empowering Sudanese people to rebuild their homes and their lives. I'm still coordinating a trip there, but in the meantime, their founder Marie has been sending along some great updates via email, that she's allowed me to share with you. Read more on their blog.
If you haven't watched any SMBC Theater shorts yet, you have my sympathies. I've been begging Zach (doodles a little comic you might know called Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) to be in one of these episodes for a while now. And with my imminent departure to Armenia for my 3 month kiva fellowship, there wasn't any time to waste. I can't tell you much about the skit, other than it involves D&D, time-travel, and a middle-part in my hair. I'll post when it goes up!
These are some of the awesome people who are turning the generous contributions of redditors into real relief for Haitians. Join in the Ask DirectRelief Anything interview on reddit!
The TED volunteer translation project is a remarkable endeavor. And along with getting to see beautiful Arabic subtitles on my TED Talk, two super volunteers, Wolf Ruschke and Jens Heyer, did the German translation. Admittedly, Mister Splashy Pants is a bit hard to translate, but what they came up with is rather amusing: Mister Splashy Pants ( = wet/splashy/dirty underpants)