Have just returned from Prague to read this amazingly ignorant quote from our outgoing SoS about the mess in Georgia:

 "This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed."

Was invited last minute with some friends to see Iron Maiden at Eden Stadion here in Prague.

Besides having the worst sound of any live stadium show I've ever seen, the concert was most excellent. A giant Pharoah's head split open to release evil-eyed Eddie over the band, shredding in all their elder statesmen glory. 35,000 people turned "Run to the Hills" into a mantra. The whole crowd wore their best, oldest Maiden shirt. Jeans. Long hair, short hair. Fireworks inside. Singing on the trams afterward, as if the whole world were for metal fans.

Radio silence over. Here are photos from the Brussel Dream exhibit put on here at the National Library in Prague:

The main sculpture of the Fair:

The legendary Xenakis Phillips Pavillion:

Czechoslovak consumer goods in the 1950s:

Text lifted from the fab website of New Amsterdam Records:

On Saturday, August 16th, the East River Music Project will present a full afternoon of genre-less musical excellence curated by New Amsterdam Records and Counterstream Radio, a wonderful new online radio station exclusively dedicated to the music of American composers.

Just landed in the CZ so won't be there, but am happy to have helped put together this show for the fabulous ERMP - go enjoy a beautiful day in the Lower East Side!