Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ERIC BOGOSIAN RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS IN SHOW, BOOK

The Associated Press
October 2, 2013 Wednesday 01:01 PM GMT

By MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK

Eric Bogosian has been looking back on his old angry work lately
and laughing.

The former monologist who used to speak about substance abuse and
dangerous sex has been sifting through two decades of work for
an upcoming book “100 Monologues” and a new one-man show, “100
(Monologues),” at the Labyrinth Theater Company.

“Man, I talk about drugs, A LOT. I talk about sex, A LOT. That was
what my life was about, which it isn’t now,” he says. “I don’t think a
monologue show about being a dad is as interesting as being a guy being
on the edge of some sex, drugs and rock `n’ roll kind of lifestyle.”

Both the book and the show, which runs through Oct. 19, pull pieces
from Bogosian’s six solo shows between 1980 and 2000 including
“Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead” and “Wake up and Smell
the Coffee” for which he received three Obie Awards.

“I didn’t know what I was doing. And there was something good
about that,” he says of the monologue style that he now calls a
“shoot-from-the-hip, intuitive, crazy thing.”

The new show and collection of his monologues correspond with a
special project involving many of his actor-friends, including Liev
Schreiber, Bobby Cannavale, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jessica Hecht and
Jeremy Sisto. All will help record 100 of Bogosian’s monologues for
online posting starting this winter.

Bogosian is perhaps best known for his 1987 play, “Talk Radio,” in
which he starred as a shock jock both onstage and in a film version
directed by Oliver Stone. TV fans likely know him as a police captain
on NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

He’s written a number of full-length plays his “subUrbia” was made
into a film and appeared in several movies, including Robert Altman’s
“The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” and “Under Siege 2” opposite Steven
Seagal. Bogosian also has written several books, as well as the
upcoming “Nemesis,” about a group of Armenian assassins who went
after Turkish leaders after World War I.

Bogosian, 60, took a break from rehearsal to talk about the show,
the fate of the monologue, how an angry young man became a cop on TV,
and an odd fantasy that involves a vampire.

AP: Why 100 monologues?

Bogosian: One day I was just curious as to how many monologues there
were. I counted them up and it was like 99. If I threw in the guy from
`Talk Radio,’ then I had 100 monologues. So I called up my publishers
and I said, `You know, there are a hundred of `em. Why don’t we put
out a book?’

AP: You left the monologue around 2000. Why?

Bogosian: It’s all about real shotgun attitude stuff. Monologues
put out one idea really hard and fast. I sort of moved into other
realms where I could explore something different, like a novel or a
history book.

AP: Is it weird seeing others perform your work?

Bogosian: They bring something else. In fact, they do things and I’m
like, `Oh, I didn’t know you could do that with that line.’ Or they
find a beat somewhere I didn’t know about. I wrote it and I didn’t
realize you could do it.

AP: What happened to the monologue as an art form?

Bogosian: It was at its best when all the monologues worked in one big
theme. But eventually that started to fall by the wayside. Monologue
shows started to become a showcase for talent, or because of Spalding
Gray’s influence, people thought that the minutia of their personal
lives was fascinating, not being the artist that Spalding was.

AP: Will it ever disappear?

Bogosian: I don’t think it’s something that will ever die because
it’s very cheap to produce. When you’re a starving artist, it’s a
great way to get started. But I think when it’s used as a stepping
stone to other things, then it does have a capacity to get lost.

AP: How did a counterculture icon end up a police captain on a “Law &
Order” franchise?

Bogosian: I totally accept the idea that a person’s ideas can change
over their life. But I never said anything against cops, I never said
anything against soldiers, in my work. I come from a blue-collar town
and grew up with guys who were cops and carpenters and soldiers. So
I have a great deal of respect for those guys.

AP: What appealed to you about doing the show?

Bogosian: I wanted to do that kind of show because I felt that those
shows are very similar to the style of the old Elia Kazan dramas,
where nobody ever smiles and everything’s very intense. I wanted to be
able to do something where I never smiled and was grumpy all the time.

AP: Where do you want your career to go?

Bogosian: Who knows where my little journey’s going to go as an actor
because I’m not out there all the time. Honestly, I’ve got one thing
left to do: I want to play a vampire in something and then my entire
card will have been filled. I got to play an intense drama. I got to
be the villain in an action movie. I got to be on `Law & Order.’

AP: A vampire, really?

Bogosian: Yes. I want to be an old vampire. I want to be the leader
of all the other vampires.

Online:

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: ARMENIA IS READY TO INITIAL THE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH THE EU DURING THE EAP SUMMIT IN VILNIUS

by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Wednesday, October 2, 15:43

Armenia is ready to initial the Association Agreement with the
European Union during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at PACE on Wednesday.

“From the very first days of the negotiations we made it clear that
we were not going to deepen our cooperation at the expense of our
relations with partners. We hoped that the Association Agreement
would complement the other directions and we still hope that we will
be able to sign it without the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
Agreement,” Sargsyan said.

He said that most of the Armenians support the decision to sign the
Association Agreement and to join the Customs Union. “Our decisions
come from the interests and wishes of our people. So, I don’t think
that we need a referendum,” Sargsyan said.

POSTANJYAN INQUIRED ABOUT 70 M EURO FROM SERZH SARGSYAN

Member of Parliament Zaruhi Postanjyan, Heritage parliamentary group,
asked Serzh Sargsyan a question during the PACE session in Strasbourg.

First, she said she does not think that Serzh Sargsyan represents
the Armenia people because he came into his office through bloodshed.

Postanjyan asked to confirm whether Sargsyan has gambled away 70
million euro in one of the European casinos.

Serzh Sargsyan answered that he represents with pride the Armenian
people and state to the entire world. As to the casino, he said he
did not visit a casino and he does not have 70 million euro.

15:57 02/10/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

ERHAN TUNCEL TO BE PRESENTED TO JUSTICE

16:45, 2 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Erhan Tuncel, the suspect of the
murder of the editor-in-chief of the Armenian newspaper Agos Hrant
Dink, is preparing for the judicial protection, after which he will
be presented to the justice voluntarily. As reported by Armenpress,
quoting the Turkish Demokrathaber.net, this was stated by Erdoðan
Soruklu, the lawyer of Erhan Tuncel.

Erdoðan Soruklu noted that his defendant did not contact to anyone
after the court’s decision on the arrest of Tuncel. “Erhan Tuncel
is in Turkey. He has not fled to anywhere. He will be presented to
justice soon. Tuncel does not want to meet anyone at this moment. He
is currently preparing for his evidences. When he finishes with it,
Tuncel will decide when to be presented”, – said the lawyer.

Earlier it was reported that in the framework of the trial on Hrant
Dink’s murder case, the prosecutor informed that in July Erhan Tuncel
was called to give evidences but the representatives of the security
services could not find him.

On September 17 the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court began a review
of the trial of the 2007 killing of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
and made a decision to arrest Erhan Tuncel again for the participation
in the assassination. Suspect Hacý Sarýoðlu and Yasin Hayal, who was
convicted to life imprisonment, were present at the court hearings.

The Court hearing has been canceled till December 3, 2013. Previously,
the Dink family protested the judiciary system and said it would not
attend the hearings. A written statement sent to press by the Dink
family said the family will no longer attend the hearings to avoid
being part of the “games played by the state mechanisms.” Before the
launch of the court hearings Hrant Dink’s friends organized a protest
action in front of the Court’s building.

Hrant Dink was born on September 15, 1954. He was a Turkish-Armenian
editor, journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, Dink was a prominent member of the
Armenian minority in Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in
Turkey; he was often critical of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide. Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007,
by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. This was shortly
after the premiere of the genocide documentary Screamers, in which
he is interviewed about Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide of
1915 and the case against him under Article 301. While Samast has
since been taken into custody, photographs of the assassin flanked by
smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer side
by side in front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos
created a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations
and the removal from office of those involved. At his funeral, two
hundred thousand mourners marched in protest of the assassination,
chanting “We are all Armenians” and “We are all Hrant Dink”. Criticism
of Article 301 became increasingly vocal after his death, leading to
parliamentary proposals for repeal. The 2007-2008 academic year at
the College of Europe was named in his honor.

SYRIAN ARMENIANS RISK A WINTER WITHOUT FOOD, SHELTER IN ARMENIA

18:14, 2 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Thousands of previously middle-class
Syrians now stranded in Armenia are rapidly running out of resources
and could soon have no shelter, food or medicine, as Arpenpress
reports referring to Catholic News Service, an international aid
group official said.

“There is a big need on the humanitarian side: food, shelter, medical
needs,” said Walter Hajek, head of international disaster management
for Austria’s Red Cross.

“The highest influx (of Syrian Armenians) was in early summer of last
year, and those were mostly of middle-class status, and they came here
thinking it would be temporary, and that was obviously not the case,”
he said.

Hajek said the Armenian government was helping Syrian Armenians with
work permits and Armenian passports, free medical care at government
hospitals and clinics, free schooling at government-run schools, and
free space at several government shelters, but this aid was not enough.

“If you go to the hospital, they treat you for free, but (buying)
medication afterward is a problem for them,” he told Catholic News
Service Sept. 28. He said he had seen urgent cases of asthma, diabetes,
high blood pressure and heart conditions, medication for which was
too expensive for many of the Syrians to buy.

Hajek estimated that at least 40 percent of the Syrian Armenians now
in Armenia were children, and that many of them were in need of baby
food and baby carriages, as well as pens, paper and other school
supplies because their parents had run out of money.

“Most of the (Armenian Syrians) we met are living in apartments and
say they have no savings left, and it will be crucial to support
them,” added Hajek, who was to return to Austria Sept. 29 to present
his findings and push to get funding for a project he said he hoped
would include paying the Syrians’ rents and utility bills.

Hajek said his organization was already working with other
international aid agencies, including the Catholic charity Caritas,
to provide basic services to the Syrian Armenians. For instance, they
were pay for classes in the local Armenian dialect, legal advice,
and some materials needed to start small businesses.

The Armenians coming from Syria “want to work. They are not used to
receiving (charity) and they want to earn their own money. We provide
them equipment, such as ovens (and) kitchen utensils, tools they
need to start their own businesses,” Hajek said, adding that several
Syrians had already opened small bakeries in Yerevan, and that at
least one had a rented a farm and intended to grow and sell produce.

Armenia is currently sheltering 8,000-10,000 Armenian Syrians. They
are the descendants of Armenians who, nearly a century ago, fled mass
killings at the hands of Ottomans in what is now Turkey, then went
on to flourish in Syria.

WORCESTER STATE UNIVERSITY TO HOST ARMENIAN FILM FESTIVAL

16:03 02.10.2013

Worcester State University (WSU) will host the first Worcester Armenian
Film Festival on Nov. 9, the Armenian Weekly reports.

The festival will feature Eric Nazarian’s “Bolis,” Bared Maronian’s
“Orphans of the Genocide,” and Talin Avakian’s “Demi Pointe” and
“Remembering Our Past, Building Our Future.” The filmmakers will be
present for a discussion following the screenings.

The event is sponsored by the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of
Central Massachusetts, the ARS Worcester “Knar” Chapter, ARF Worcester
“Aram”Gomideh, AYF Worcester “Aram” Chapter, and the WSU Philosophy
Department and its PH 263: Film and Philosophy courses.

“We are excited to make these important films available to the
Worcester community. They exemplify the breadth of creativity by
Armenian filmmakers,” said George Aghjayan, chair of the ARF Worcester
Gomideh. “Worcester State has been a wonderful partner in offering
Armenian educational and cultural programs over the years, and we are
pleased to be hosting the film festival at the university,” he added.

“Bolis” won the Best Short Film Award at the Arpa (AFFMA) International
Film Festival in LA. “Orphans of the Genocide” won a Telly Award
and is a Regional Emmy Award Nominee, as well as a New York City
Filmmakers Festival Official Selection. “Demi Pointe” won the Indie
Soul Best Picture Award in the Boston International Film Festival.

The screenings will be held at the Ghosh Auditorium, the Science and
Technology Building 102, at Worcester State University, from 12:30-5
p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

SERZH SARGSYAN INVITES FRANCOIS HOLLANDE TO PAY A STATE VISIT TO ARMENIA

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Wednesday, October 2, 13:21

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to
France, had a meeting with President Francois Hollande on 1 October,
the press-service of the Armenian President told ArmInfo.

Sargsyan welcomed the Armenian-French interstate-relations based
on the close historical ties have been constantly developing for
the last twenty years due to high-level political dialogue, close
parliamentary cooperation, cultural, education and scientific ties.

Touching upon the trade and economic relations, Serzh Sargsyan
welcomed the cooperation in the field and outlined such the French
companies operating in Armenia as Carrefour, Pernod Ricard, Orange,
Credit Agricole, Alcatel, Veolia.

The president made a point of the assistant projects of the French
Development Agency that have been launched in the current year. He
touched upon the successfully developing decentralized cooperation
– close partnerships with over 30 government structures of Armenia
and France. In this light, the president of France welcomed the 3rd
Congress of Decentralized Cooperation in Valance on 15-17 October.

The two presidents discussed also the Karabakh issues and came out
for peaceful resolution of the conflict within OSCE Misnk Group.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia attaches special importance to the
personal involvement of the French President in the process.

The parties spoke in detail about the prospects of Armenia-EU
cooperation. They agreed that maximum efforts should be made to
continue the process of reformation in Armenia. President Sargsyan
reiterated Armenia’s commitment to carry on. President Francois
Hollande assured that France – as Armenia’s friend and one of the
leaders of the European Union and major international player – will
continue to assist Armenia in moving forward her European agenda.

At the meeting, the President of Armenia once again expressed gratitude
for France’s significant contribution to the international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide.

To ensure the continuation of the high-level political dialogue
established between the two countries, Serzh Sargsyan reiterated the
invitation extended to the President of France to conduct a state
visit to the Republic of Armenia.

ZHOGHOVURD: ARMENIA’S MIGRATION SERVICE SPENDS $123,000 ON REFUGEE PROJECT

11:06 02.10.13

Armenia’s State Migration service has spent an equivalent of $123,000
since January for the elaboration and exchange of information
concerning refugees, the paper has learned,

Citing documents addressing the deal, it says that the money has been
given to the state run company Computer Service, which is expected
to handle data collection, procession and insertion procedires

Considering the project a money laundering tool, the paper notes that
the Service last year spent less money – 14 million Armenian Drams
($34,538) – on a refugee hostel renovation initiative.

“The allocated sums for refugee data collection thus turn out to
be 3.5 more than the money spent on meeting refugees’ needs. That’s
really a ridicule,” the paper comments.

Armenian News – Tert.am

RENDELL, PALLONE, MEEHAN, LEACH TO HEADLINE SEVENTH ANNUAL ANCA EASTERN REGION BANQUET

13:10 02.10.2013

The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA ER)
Banquet to be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, will be well attended
this year by members of the state and federal political arenas.

Former Pennsylvania Governor and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, Rep.

Patrick Meehan (R-PA-7), Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6) and Pennsylvania
State Senator Daylin Leach will all be welcomed as special guests to
the banquet, which is being held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
in Philadelphia.

“We’re honored to have so many of our friends from Congress and the
state of Pennsylvania join us this year for our annual banquet. It’s
a privilege to be in their company and thank them for their hard
work advocating for Armenian American issues year in and year out,”
said Jim Kzirian, ANCA Eastern Region Banquet Chairperson.

Rendell served 34 years in public service, including 24 years as an
elected official.

“I am happy to join the effort to celebrate the 7th annual ANCA Eastern
Region banquet, which has, for so many years, been the single most
important fundraising event in the Eastern U.S. for Armenian issues,”
the former governor stated.

Rep. Meehan recently signed on as a cosponsor for House Resolution 227,
the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution, and met with ANC
of Pennsylvania in August this year.

As co-chairman of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Rep. Pallone has
been a staunch advocate of Armenian American concerns and a longtime
friend to Armenians in New Jersey and across the U.S. He has been
outspoken on Armenian Genocide reaffirmation and a stalwart supporter
of Karabakh independence, routinely signing on to legislation and
Congressional letters advancing a broad range of community priorities.

He also has attended the ANCA ER Banquet many times in the past.

The ANCA recently endorsed State Sen. Leach in his primary bid to
succeed Rep. Allyson Schwartz in Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional
district.

“Senator Leach has been an outspoken supporter of U.S. reaffirmation
of the Armenian Genocide, spearheading successive Pennsylvania House
and Senate resolutions raising awareness of the need to recognize
and condemn this crime,” stated Nora Kzirian, ANCA Eastern Region
Chairwoman.

This year’s ANCA Freedom Award recipient is best-selling author Chris
Bohjalian, and the Vahan Cardashian Award winner is Zohrab Tazian,
a steadfast supporter of Hai Tahd for many years.

SERZH SARGSYAN CONGRATULATES CHINESE PRESIDENT

13:43, 1 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS: The President of the Republic of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent today a congratulatory message to the
President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping on the occasion
of the 64th anniversary of the Republic. As Armenpress was reported
by the Department for Mass Media and Public Relations of the Armenia
President’s Staff, the message of Serzh Sargsyan says in particular:

“Your Excellency,

I cordially congratulate you and the friendly people of China on
the occasion of your national holiday – the 64th anniversary of the
creation of the People’s Republic of China.

I am confident that under your leadership, China will continue its
steadfast progression towards greater international prestige, social
advancement, economic and cultural development.

The Armenian-Chinese traditionally friendly relations have they origin
in ancient past. After the establishment of diplomatic relations,
Armenia and China took up to form interstate relations based on
equality, mutual respect and trust, which in recent years continue
to expand and strengthen.

I am ready to work with you, Distinguished Mr. President, for the
preservation and enhancement of the recently registered steep rise
in the cooperation between Armenia and China in every area and to
make efforts for elevating the existing friendly relations and active
cooperation between our countries and peoples to a new level for the
benefit for our countries and people.

I wish you, Your Excellency, great health and success, and happiness
and prosperity to the friendly people of China”.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am