« Home | Previous Post »
The Garden Party
There was a request for photos from a recent celebration I attended. I couldn't really think of much to say, so I'm just putting up some small versions. The party was in celebration of the United States, kindly supported by a wide array of corporate sponsors. 
The photo was blurred to protect the innocent.
Of course, I don't want to imply that I rejected the sponsors. In fact, there was a smorgasbord of delicious food, provided by the best hotels in Prague. I was told that the food was one of the best reasons to go to this party - my informants hadn't lied.
My personal interest was the music. Where, I wondered, would they get a full military band? It turns out that there are enough people in Plzeň who still remember fondly the American liberation of that city that they still send a Czech military/pensioner band to celebrate every year. They were pretty good except for horridly out-of-tune clarinets. The more out of tune they became, the happier the conductor looked. I assume he was taking advantage of the free beer provided by the Herold brewery (even though it wasn't Pilsener Urquell).
The highlight of the party (at least for me and the people I was hanging out with) was the chance to meet Václav Havel. I am still kicking myself for not asking to get a personal photo with him. Oh well, live and learn. You will have to settle for this paparazzi shot instead.
Let it be said that I've never had much of a talent for garden parties. And this was no exception - I talked with people I knew and had a few mixed drinks (hey, they were free). But I can be drawn in by a bit of pomp and circumstance (more here). I suppose I should go on about something more substantive, but I'm not sure that I have the words at the moment. At least nothing that wouldn't end up in a confused mess and a lot of academic jargon which I'm trying to avoid at the moment. I was just trying to imagine what it would have been like if it really had been an absurdist drama (one of Havel's first successful plays was called The Garden Party), but that would've just been, well, absurd.
So, while I collect my thoughts, "Go Germany . . . and Portugal!"
The photo was blurred to protect the innocent. Of course, I don't want to imply that I rejected the sponsors. In fact, there was a smorgasbord of delicious food, provided by the best hotels in Prague. I was told that the food was one of the best reasons to go to this party - my informants hadn't lied.
My personal interest was the music. Where, I wondered, would they get a full military band? It turns out that there are enough people in Plzeň who still remember fondly the American liberation of that city that they still send a Czech military/pensioner band to celebrate every year. They were pretty good except for horridly out-of-tune clarinets. The more out of tune they became, the happier the conductor looked. I assume he was taking advantage of the free beer provided by the Herold brewery (even though it wasn't Pilsener Urquell). The highlight of the party (at least for me and the people I was hanging out with) was the chance to meet Václav Havel. I am still kicking myself for not asking to get a personal photo with him. Oh well, live and learn. You will have to settle for this paparazzi shot instead.
Let it be said that I've never had much of a talent for garden parties. And this was no exception - I talked with people I knew and had a few mixed drinks (hey, they were free). But I can be drawn in by a bit of pomp and circumstance (more here). I suppose I should go on about something more substantive, but I'm not sure that I have the words at the moment. At least nothing that wouldn't end up in a confused mess and a lot of academic jargon which I'm trying to avoid at the moment. I was just trying to imagine what it would have been like if it really had been an absurdist drama (one of Havel's first successful plays was called The Garden Party), but that would've just been, well, absurd.
So, while I collect my thoughts, "Go Germany . . . and Portugal!"
Posted 04 July 2006 at 19:14.
A graduate student in music and anthropology writing a dissertation about music in Moravia, the eastern third of the Czech Republic. At some point, the Czech Republic's "second city" (that would be Brno) captured my attention, and I've since been blogging about events, arts, music, and other stuff—basically whatever interests me in and around the cityscape. I'm not living in Brno now, but I keep up with the cultural pulse from afar as best I can.
Comments:
» Post a Comment