Valdemaras' Thoughts

“Vilniaus Džiazas“ - the book by Ričardas Gavelis engrossed me completely until the moment I finished reading it. The novel is not only extremely captivating, but it is also interesting because it narrates about my city. Despite Vilnius being very different now, it is a good feeling to know the streets and the places where the action is taking place.

The narrative is built around the life of a physics student Tomas Kelertas and his friends. Briefly put, the book speaks of the search for identity during the times of communism oppression. It talks little about communism as a political regime, it instead analyses its impact on human mind.

The plot fluctuates with the rhythm of jazz, unnoticeably jumping from one character to another, immersing the reader into different emotions and perceptions. As you read on the plot becomes more and more surreal, with the visitors from the parallel worlds, characters suddenly gaining telepathic powers and talking to already dead philosophers or musicians.

Definitely a good read, especially for people who have had an opportunity to live in Vilnius.

For the first time in the history of the United States its people elected an African American President.

Barack Obama's charming personality and his fascinating presidential campaign made it possible. Not only his speeches were reasonable, but they were also very emotionally involving. People were crying listening to him. The way he spoke and what he told made people feel important, his speeches made people feel that they can change something, gave them hope and a feeling of pride in their nation.

Certainly, the speeches were prepared with the help from (if not by) public relations experts. But does it imply that all that he told was a lie and that all the emotions were simply faked? Apparently not, as it does not imply the opposite either.

Seeing the popular music videos created during the Obama's presidential campaign leaves no doubt about how extraordinary the elections were: Yes We Can, I Got a Crush...On Obama.