My balls and my word

I would like to express my utter shame in the fact that George W. Bush went to Albania before me & offered the Albanian citizens something much better than I could have.

I mean, who wants an art revolution when you can have an independent Kosovo?¿



This is completely embarrassing.

Upstaged again.

Today I went to drop off some pieces for a group exhibition in Dupont Circle that these wonderful people are including me into (full information very soon!!). As I'm driving up to the place, I see the ALBANIAN Embassy! I said Shqiiiiiiiip while I drove by very slowly, gawking at the red and black flag. I couldn't have asked for a better sign. I was very happy, and after wards took pictures of it:







I decided it was too early to go back home, so I started walking towards Connecticut Avenue to check out where I could drop some flyers for my on-going exhibition at El Tamarindo. As soon as I turn around to walk up the strip, I see Jack, my lovely Kenyan friend. He was on his way to work and we talked for a few minutes. "Stay away from those Albanians!" I love Jack.

I put flyers in 3 or 4 places, walked around for a good hour. The temperature sign said 96F (approx. 35C) but it didn't feel that hot even though I was walking around with my hair down. I think I've already conditioned myself for blazing Spanish temperatures. Heat and humidity don't bother me until I get in my car. This is actually the first Summer I've enjoyed being outside in the sun, I love it.

I walked into Aaron Gallery, which looked like it was empty. There were paintings up by Javier Cabada, whom I've never heard of before today, but very glad I stepped into that gallery. He's an abstract painter, born in 1931, and I'm guessing (ahem, hoping) he's Spanish and that his family left during or right before the Civil War. He's an abstract painter and I really loved one of three ladies dancing. There were no title cards, and as I mentioned, not a soul to be seen, so I grabbed a program and left after admiring the work. Aaron needs to learn how to appreciate his space better and to be hospitable, I think.

Coming soon: New drawing, new paintings, information on the group exhibition, and auction listings!

Found in a hole-in-the-wall bookstore
Waldorf, MD

Albanian Language Guide
Issued by the War Department
Washington, December 28, 1943



The following are the some of the inside pages,
including a stamp by the Department of the Interior,
illustrations and some of the translations.

( Pages of the Guide )

The stamp on the cover and title page reads Nov. 4 1946, U.S. DEPT. OF INTERIOR, DIV. OF GEOGRAPHY. On the contents page, near the crease, it says "Gift - War dept." pencil-written in cursive. It seems like a pocket guide, it's about 10.5cm x 13.5cm.

The way the translations are written in the book, it's pretty easy to speak remedial Albanian, although I'm almost sure I don't have the right accent down. The guide originally came with records, and there's no telling what I'd do to get my hands on those. Since it's written basically for "military personnel only," there isn't a huge variety of translations, but does contain over 500 words and phrases. The contents are as follows:

CONTENTS

How to Use the Records and Guide
Hints on Pronunciation
Special Points
Useful Words and Phrases
Greetings and General Phrases
Location
Directions
Numbers
What's This?
Asking for Things
Money
Time
Other Useful Phrases
Additional Expressions
Fill-in Sentences
Important Signs
Alphabetical word list

I looked up some information on the language itself. Albanian is an Indo-European language and originated in Greece. although there are no closely related modern languages. There are similaries between Albanian and the ancient languages of Dacian and Illyrian. Albanian isn't spoken by many people, unfortunately, because it seems like an extremely interesting language with an equally interesting history and culture. There are two principal dialects, Gheg and Tosk, geography mainly separates them by a river. Nouns in the language are changed to identify definite and indefinite: autobús (bus) and autobusi (the bus). The Albanian alphabet consists of 26 letters in Latin script. In some places, Albanian mixed with Latin, German and Italian. So interesting. Here are some links for further reading on the language:

Albanian Language Information
Online Albanian Lessons
Online Albanian Dictionaries
More Albanian Information
Lots of Albanian Language Links!



I was also curious on the actual booklet itself, because I've always been extremely interested in WWII history, but mainly focussed my studies on the Holocaust and German government policies especially against Roma, and never read much about Germany or Italian actions in the Balkans. But there's never anything like a pretty damned interesting find at a bookstore to get you researching. Albania's about the size of Maryland, and by the 40s there were over 1 million inhabitants. It was dominated by Turkey, declared independence in 1912, and finally after WWI could actually be considered independent until 1939 when the Italians took over. Afterwards, the Germans came in and then of course it taken over by communists. There are millions of reasons why American soldiers would be in need of a little Albanian durin the War. Here are some of the links I've found concerning Albania in the 40s and some general Albanian historical links:

Albania Country Study
Albania during WWII
WWII in Albania - Very brief
Post-War Albania
Albanian Historical Flags
Italy WWII Campaign
German Anti-Guerrilla Operations in the Balkans