Monday, January 09, 2006

Things the Czech Media Wants Us to Know

This morning when I opened my internet browser, I learned that an “Australian woman paints with her own breasts” (Australanka maluje vlastními ňadry). While it doesn’t surprise me that someone, somewhere, would have thought of doing this, it was not really what I expected to see first thing in the morning. Admittedly, it was under the heading of Zábava, specifically under Drby, Celebrity (not under Erotika, which has a warning that it is only for adults), but since when is someone who paints with her breasts a celebrity? It’s not as though Quick.cz saw fit to show any examples of the work. Well, I guess so long as she uses “her own breasts” and not someone else’s, which is what seemed to be emphasized by the use of the word vlastními...
Quick.cz also announces a film on Rembrandt starring Klaus Maria Brandauer. The thought that comes to my mind seeing these two things juxtaposed on their home page is that Quick.cz thinks male artists make good film fodder while female artists can get in the news if they paint with their breasts.
In more serious news, Czech media and politicians are contemplating the benefits of limiting the number of casinos and herna bars in Prague, according to Czech radio. From the sounds of the article, the likelihood of this actually happening is rather small. A related article notes that toy slot machines were a hot seller here at Christmastime. As the article notes, the sound of them under the Christmas tree will probably remind many parents “that this year's Christmas shopping has left them deeper in debt than ever.”
Well, speaking of Czech personal debt, the Prague Post cites a December 27 article in Právo stating that “Czech consumers borrowed 7 billion Kč this Christmas, and that’s only counting bank loans.” Debt here is allegedly growing by 30% a year; in other words, everyone is anxious to take on the worst aspects of capitalism. I knew I should have photographed those signs encouraging people to borrow money for a richer Christmas.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goodness, Prague just wouldn't be the same without all those herna bars. And so few things are open "nonstop"--where would a person go when they need to satisfy that 3AM gambling urge?

January 10, 2006 11:55 AM  
Blogger Karla said...

Yep, I lie awake at night worrying about that. Worse yet, I don't know of any nonstop herna bars in my neighborhood, so if that 3am urge hit, I guess I'd have to wait for the night tram to get me to Výtoň or Palackého náměstí! The agony.

Hmm, not quite like living in the Vratislavova dorm across the street from the spiderweb herna bar. Although I don't think that was the place that had the occasional 2am fights.

I think it's time for a photo feature on herna bars. The one I found on the internet looks unnaturally tame.

January 10, 2006 7:40 PM  

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