Author: Ojars
One of the ironies of globalization (the natural phenomenon, not the ideology) is that many who seemingly oppose it are themselves inadvertently furthering it. Since the advent of…
(Contemplations on content and context) Kindle and Spotify are my best friends. They are my favorite digital apps because they bring me two of my favorite things in…
Globalism vs Nationalism? Not necessarily. We each define these terms as we see fit, but in my worldview they can be complimentary concepts rather than conflicting ones. I…
Why deviants of the world will never unite Frank Zappa once said that the world cannot progress without deviation. That’s why deviants are so necessary. One can quibble…
Unlike the weather, everybody not only talks about war, but many actually do something about it. Some start them, others try to end them, and over the centuries…
Americans will soon celebrate Thanksgivings Day, but for Latvians it comes today, November 18th, the 97th anniversary of the declaration of Latvia’s independence. Yes, 50 of those years…
When I first visited Soviet-occupied Latvia in 1978 as a tourist, I was told it was best not to go near “The Monument.†There it was, this massive,…
A few years back when nation branding expert Simon Anholt was interviewing civic leaders in Latvia he began each conversation with a simple question, “What is Latvia for?” Anholt usually poses this question to help governments…
A cursory look at Latvia’s National Development Plan 2014-2020 would suggest that foreign policy seems to play a very small role in Latvia’s future. The Foreign Ministry is…
You probably don’t have a ‘policy’ toward foreigners. Most people don’t.  We just deal with ‘em as we meet them. If you live in a city like London…
Back in 2008 I edited the revised and expanded translation of Uldis Germanis’ legendary history of Latvia, “The Latvian Sagaâ€. Since Germanis had written the book in 1959…
In Latvia, we celebrate the anniversary of our independence by laying flowers at the foot of our biggest dreams. We pay homage to a past that seems larger…
A STRAIGHT FROM THE L.I.P.S. REPORT “WORLD HUMOR CRISIS DECLARED!†“Scientists agree…humanity’s greatest natural resource is drying up, shortage anticipated.†“Bad laughing habits, media gag guzzlers and wasteful…
I have concluded that Latvia is the best place in the world to chop wood. I can’t prove it, but that doesn’t diminish my intense passion, conviction, and…
The one thing you can’t say about voters in Latvia is that they lack for information. As we approach election day on October 2nd, Latvia’s 1,514,936 eligible voters…
Back in 1992, Bill Clinton won the U.S. presidential election because his top campaign advisor James Carville made everyone in the Clinton campaign repeat one sentence every morning…
That’s right gang. America’s smallest circulation newspaper is growing by leaps and bounds. Not only have we gone nationwide (with readers from New York to California) but our…
Look, up in the sky! That’s it, stare as hard as you can. Bet you can’t see them. And yet, they’re there. Millions of them. And they’re comin’…
Want to buy in on some more life? You know, pick up a few extra months here, stash an extra year or two there…maybe even get ringside seats…
Most people don’t know that Latvia has mountains and even fewer know that they are blue. Actually, Latvia has several “Blue Mountains†on its landscape and even a…
A few years ago the Latvian Tourism Development Agency ran a promotional campaign called “You Won’t Believe it Until You See It!â€, which talked about such things as…
Each year, toward the end of June, the sun stands still in Latvia. Actually, it stands still everywhere in the world because that’s what solstice means in Latin…
Here’s a word of advice to any tourist toying with the thought of visiting Latvia. All the really great experiences you can have in this country are best…
During Latvia’s boom years, our exports never exceeded imports. Last year, during the peak of the economic crisis, they did. What gives? A look at some of our…
The Times Online ran an editorial on their comment page on March 4 where they encouraged fellow Brits to welcome the new wave of Latvian economic migrants with…
Twenty years ago on May 4, 1990, 138 deputies in the Supreme Council of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Latvia passed a declaration that made the Latvian SSR…
When I was lobbying for Latvia’s independence in the late 1980’s, I used to tell Washington politicians that the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Latvia were just a…
On January 7, 2010 in a quiet neighborhood on the northwest side of Washington, D.C. the Latvian government sold a small piece of land that once had a…
In 1989, there was a Wall and a Way. One came down and the other rose up. The wall was named after the city of Berlin, and it…
This was written for a German TV station (ARTE) web page marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. For most Balts, the process of…
I’ve always liked the way words sound together, especially when accompanied by music. I can thank Bob Dylan for this because despite the valiant efforts of my high…
We raise a glass to friendship and drink it to the last we make a toast and a dozens boasts about our noble pasts about our noble pasts…
The returning (I used a metaphor from my Glaciers article to develop this copy for the program that was used at the Gala Concert, attended by NATO heads…
They talked about their yesterdays and a homeland far away, They huddled in the barracks and had nothing good to say. They thought about the days gone by…
I get the globalisation blues When I read the globalisation news Don’t know which globalisation to choose So many globalisation shoes In Europe they follow the laws that…
The sky descends in darkness as clouds block out the sun The end he always feared appears to have at last begun. The hope he found is nearly…
I drove forever and a day and I saw no one; I sailed the river from its source in search of life; I climbed the hillocks up and…
In 2008, the Latvian government created a web page to mark its 90th anniversary. It contained daily news about events as well as background information, history, interesting stories…
Let me make your mind up for you. Why think for yourself when there is someone clever like me to do it for you? Why waste time and…
Don’t expect Riga to be completed if it becomes a European Capital of Culture in 2014. According to legend, Riga can never be ‘finished’, or it will sink…
I recently met a Swiss artist who wants to become a Latvian. Being an artist, however, he wants to do more than just become a Latvian. He wants…
(I was asked to write something to welcome participants to the Golden Hammer Awards ceremonies in Riga. This appeared in the welcoming newspaper. ) The Livs created a…
(I wrote this for the in-flight magazine Baltic Outlook rather quickly, because I wasn’t sure how long it would be true. ) I really didn’t want to write…
Of course I can be happy too, I’ll do it if it pleases you I’ll turn the darkness into light and bring a brightness to your night I’ll…
If you check Wikipedia you will find that at least 58 important things have happened on May 9, dating back to 1457 BC. They include a solar eclipse…
The date of March 16 didn’t become controversial in Latvia until the early 1990’s, when several Latvian organisations chose this day to honour Latvian soldiers who fought and…
Last summer during Latvia’s 90th anniversary, the Latvian Institute asked young people in Latvia to tell us what kind of Latvia they wanted to see in 10 years. …
Desegregating the Latvian school system ends a divisive Soviet legacy. Although Latvia has made great strides in rebuilding a fair and democratic society since restoring independence in 1991,…
Latvia awaits the longest day of the year in what seems to many like the longest year in their lives. Especially if you are trying to balance a…
Give me the stuff of life, give me the morning light give me a chance to sing, give me a diamond ring give me all you got, I…
This was written as a forward to a book about Latvian bread. Latvians won’t serve a meal without it, the Clintons ate it in the White House, and…
#8Â Â Is Latvia old? Now that Latvia has reached its 90th birthday, one wonders…is that a lot or not? Believe it or not, by global standards, we are…
The following piece was translated and adapted from an article published in DIENA, Feb 11, 2003. And if there is a war? Just like everyone else, I’m worried…
LIPS answers 7 of the world’s least frequently asked questions. 1. If Rasputin played baseball, what position would he have played? LIPS: None. He would have worked in…
#13Â Â The day the sun stands still Each year, toward the end of June, the sun stands still in Latvia. Actually, it stands still everywhere in the world,…
Let’s sing of the rivers that run to the sea of the things that have been of the things that must be Let’s glide with the tide and…
time takes its turn again turn again, turn again time takes its turn and the sun takes its time time takes its turn again turn again, turn again…
The most “Latvian” songs in all recorded history are sung around bonfires on the nights of JÄņi and LÄ«go during the Midsummer Solstice. They cannot be translated, for…
Flower people (Article published in the AirBaltic in-flight magazine, ‘Baltic Outlook’. Latvians are obsessed with flowers. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that anyone with at…
Telling Latvia’s Story Although I was born in a refugee camp in Munich in 1949, and never actually lived in Latvia until recently, I have been hearing and…
‘God’s Horses’                                               Wild about the Latvian coast (This appeared in BALTIC OUTLOOK, in-flight magazine of AirBaltic, 2006) Each summer, a small group of young Latvians go back in…
Latvia’s Glaciers (This was written online in 2000 in response to a blog by journalist Juris Kaza.) I was not in Latvia 10,000 years ago when the glaciers…
A Viking looks at Latvia today (Based on a speech delivered to a regional Scandinavian Rotary Club meeting in Riga, Latvia) Serious historians will tell you that the…
The awesome entirety has got me the endless all has got me in its spell the thing of things and all their rings and all the wonder wonder…
I am a man of principles I am a man of my word Come gather round and listen to the things you’ve never heard Come look at all…
I’m grateful to the gods that be for being somewhere near to me I thank the heavens for the time they waste on this mere mortal I count…
LIPS presents America’s first NO NEWS NEWSPAPER! THE TABULA RASA Enclosed is your complimentary copy of America’s most innovative, easy to read, universally appealing newspaper. THE TABULA RASA…
The American School of Apathy Presents The False Gods and Pagan Idols Lecture Series Sponsored by the Institute of Interdisciplinary Indifference PART 1 – Creation of the World…
Its time to go to battle, the trumpets have been sounded unsheath your sword, adjust your shield and march march into the face of those that doubt you…
The bankers and the businessmen are rushing to their cars with bodyguards and drivers they head out for the bars The ministers and mistresses are waiting for them…
In 2005 a European magazine called ‘Parliament’ contacted the Latvian Institute and requested an article on Latvian culture for a special issue they were creating. I wrote them…
In an academically earnest review of an album of Latvian beer songs (‘Alus Dziesmas’ 2001) that appeared in www.latviansonline.com , the reviewer was offended by the fact that…
If you’ve read the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME magazine, Rolling Stone or Atlantic magazine during the last 20 years, you’ve already seen one of MÄris BiÅ¡ofs’…
Auld Clootie at OSCO DRUG, INC. I circulated this memo somewhere around 1976 Â in the offices of Osco Drug, Inc. OSCO DRUG, INC, Executive Offices 1818 Swift Drive,…
On the edge of the forest, at the foot of the hill where the river runs down to the sea A horse and its rider have taken their…
We live our lives in the now and then, We choose the rules for the how and when. Things are the same as they’ve always been We do…
you can take it all away you can take away my day you can trample on my pride you can make me run and hide you can penetrate…
This city once had walls and cannons that fired balls and every city tower would signal by the hour if children had to fear that enemies were near…
# 17  The land that sings (and dances) Latvia’s Song and Dance Celebration is upon us, and everyone in Latvia who isn’t singing and dancing on a stage…
This rather lengthy piece on Riga was written in 2001 for a magazine called Hanseatic Business. It coincided with Riga’s 800th anniversary. RIGAÂ Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â An unfinished symphony on…
Each year, since 1998, veterans of the World War II Latvian Legion and their family members, have gone to memorial services in churches and cemeteries in Latvia on…
#21Â Â Mr. Ambassador In 1937 a 26-year old Latvian diplomat named Anatols Dinbergs went to New York to serve as Vice Consul. When the Soviets occupied Latvia in…
The Latvian Institute in its second year The Latvian Institute (LI) was created in 1998 in order provide Latvia with a public information agency that would help promote…
Written for the July 2002 NATO Candidate’s Summit in Riga. Since restoring independence in 1991 Latvia has had three parliamentary elections and nine governments, all of whom have…
#24Â Â Reaching milestones Although Latvia this year is marking the 90th year of its birth, another anniversary worth noting is 17. This marks the 17th year since Latvia…
The soldiers of misfortune (Ode to the Latvian Legion) Somewhere in the lonely night an angry trumpet sounds the smoke that filled the meeting rooms heads for the…
#28Â Â The land that sings about singing Just as every country has a flag, every country in the world has a national anthem. Citizens usually sing their national…
#31Â Â Brains, birches and song. Over the summer the Latvian Institute asked the young people of Latvia to tell us what kind of Latvia they want to see…
Latvia experienced many nights of terror during the Soviet occupation, when the KGB came to apartments and arrested entire families, loaded them on cattle cars and shipped them…
We planted our seed near the great Northern Sea sending roots deep below in a land that was free We took strength from the oak, we stood tall…
God is this God is that God is that which is under your hat God is good God is strong God is never, ever wrong God is big…
It’s Time to Rename Artificial Intelligence
It’s time to rename Artifical Intelligence Although AI is now a common part of our high tech lexicon, I have a problem with its semantical origins. As the…