Living in the Present

Is it just me or does along with the warmer weather and sunshine come children? All of a sudden all those little people adults have been hiding in the winter have appeared literally overnight strolling the city streets, and I can only wonder: who knew so many children live in such a small city?

But children are a comfort and speaking of another sort of comfort…

Sometimes there’s nothing like a big bowl of lentil soup to cure all ills. And though spring has arrived, today is somewhat of a gray day with little sunshine, so what better way to give your stomach a break post-Easter and your soul some comfort than with a bowl of lemony, vermicelli- and spinach-filled soup? I highly recommend it.

And though today is a quiet day to contemplate such things as the joy that is children and the comfort that is soup, pre-election season is upon us. Walking down the streets of central Yerevan, you’d be hard-pressed not to come across a single campaign poster for a party or a candidate, or a leaflet promoting said party or a candidate. Just the other day I saw young men and women (older teens, really) distributing Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) party leaflets that weren’t actually leaflets so much as a single piece of glossy, four-color paper stuck on a stick (ostensibly to fan yourself with on that unusually hot day). Ah, the fun (and the polluting of streets and minds) begins!

And just in case 2D representations of the elections isn’t enough for you, you can catch all the action on TV, on the Internet, and, of course, on social media. I found out from my friend Artur Papyan about a Facebook group where members can post the campaign videos of all parties participating in the May 6 parliamentary election.

It would be interesting to find out how much of a role social media will play in these elections (more so than past elections). I’m sure bloggers and media experts Samvel Martirosyan or Artur Papyan, among others, will have a few stats for us perhaps during, but also after the elections.

So I say, let the games begin!