The American Imperialists have sent potato beetle by clouds and air to our Republic. He May Be a Communist.
posted by Gratishades on Nov 22, 2009 - 23 comments

In response to an incest case in which a man imprisoned, raped and fathered two children with his own daughter, Poland's Lower House of Parliament has approved an amendment to their penal code which makes chemical castration of pedophiles mandatory in certain cases. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Sep 26, 2009 - 127 comments

The puppets Pat and Mat are beloved everywhere their Rube Goldbergian antics have been shown on TV. A couple of inventive handymen they consistently solve simple problems in outlandish fashion. Pat and Mat traveled far afield from their Czechoslovakian origins thanks to their short running time and silence, which made translation unnecessary. Considered ideologically impure by Czech authorities, creators Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek were allowed to make around 30 episodes by the Slovakian arm of the state television corporation. They continued making new episodes after Communist rule ended and production was kept going after they passed away. First, let me present my sentimental favorite, Wallpaper. Below the cut are all the episodes I could find online. [more inside]
posted by Kattullus on Sep 7, 2009 - 27 comments

Historical postcards from Opava, CZ
posted by yegga on Jul 26, 2009 - 6 comments

Scenes sculpted with nails by Czech photographer Vlad Artazov. (via)
posted by netbros on Jul 6, 2009 - 14 comments

Music in Czech lands in the 20th was tumultuous, to say the least. The artistic freedom of the early 20th century shifted during World War I under Nazi occupation, flourishing again after the war. With the rise of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, arts were "destined to play a great role in the socialist education of the masses," which meant artists were to portray "life as it should be according to Marxist theory." Some bands shifted to more politically acceptable performances, while others went underground. The Velvet Revolution lifted limitations, and artists who had performed illegal shows in private now shared their underground sounds and sights with the world. The Plastic People of the Universe (who some credit with bringing the Revolution) could be considered to embody the Communist repression of the 1970s and 1980s in their gloomy, despair-driven music, with Už Jsme Doma showing a different side of Czech music, representing the exuberance of liberation. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Apr 4, 2009 - 17 comments

The Czech Republic offers surgical castration as a "voluntary" option to sex offenders, whose rate of recidivism in some studies then drops precipitously. Officials at the Council of Europe are outraged, calling the punishment "invasive, irreversible and mutilating." Atul Gawande noted 10 years ago that, despite his reservations, castration works - at least against a subclass of offenders: the pedophiles and sadists.
posted by shivohum on Mar 14, 2009 - 86 comments

If americans are compensating by driving SUVs...then what the hell is up with these europeans?
posted by 445supermag on Oct 23, 2008 - 50 comments

The czech magazine Respekt, known for its investigative reporting, has published a story claiming prize winning author and anti-communist dissident Milan Kundera denounced a young exile who was back in Prague to the communist secret police. [more inside]
posted by lucia__is__dada on Oct 14, 2008 - 22 comments

How To Fake An Atomic Bomb Blast On Public Television. [ YouTube] This past June, the early-morning live weather report on Prague television station CT2 was being delivered on top of live panning sweeps of the beautiful Czech Republci countryside and a seemingly par-for-the-course summery day. But as NYT reported today, "Then came the nuclear blast." The immediate reaction by the viewing public? Somewhere between a semi-collective shrug and minimally raised eyebrow. Yet months later, CR art-prankster group ZTOHOVEN [Czech] are presently enjoying international attention and wide-spread accolades for this classic piece of culture-jamming. [more inside]
posted by humannaire on Jan 24, 2008 - 18 comments

The proposed new home of the National Library of the Czech Republic. The old one looks like this. The new one ... well ... is it an octopus? What the hell is this thing?
posted by pyramid termite on Dec 4, 2007 - 42 comments

The play R.U.R. (or Rossum's Universal Robots) and the novel The War with the Newts, both by the redoubtable Karel Čapek.
posted by Iridic on Jun 24, 2007 - 8 comments

The Black Light Theatre of Prague ("Černé Divadlo" or simply Black Theatre) is a Czech performance style characterised by the use of black box theatre augmented by black light trickery. Although this performance style can be found in many places around the world, nowhere is it more prolific or specialized than in Prague. Some sample images: 1 2 3 4. YouTube: 1 2 3.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Feb 8, 2007 - 13 comments

RONJA is an optical networking device that can be built by nearly everyone, using readily available components and using only free software.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Feb 7, 2007 - 23 comments

In the Czech Republic over the weekend a free and legal techno party was stormed by heavily-armed riot police. One person died and dozens of participants were injured. The unprecedented attack has been heavily condemned by the League of Human Rights and the Czech Shadow Minister claiming it was politically motivated. See also 1 and 2. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek (Social Democrats, CSSD) defended the action stating: The core of the techno enthusiasts is made up of "obsessed people with anarchist proclivities and international links," who "provoke massive violent demonstrations, fuelled by alcohol and drugs, against the peaceful society".

Videos: 1 2 3 4 and 5

Photos: 1.
posted by urbanwhaleshark on Aug 3, 2005 - 30 comments

Czech? Check. Tech? Check. Clothes? Not so much. [probably NSFW] via Gizmodo
posted by stonerose on Jan 27, 2005 - 32 comments

Czech book covers of the 1920s and '30s. Czechoslovakia was an amazingly creative place between the wars, and this Cooper-Hewitt exhibit showcases some of the book covers it produced. Here's an overview and descrption of styles; you can explore them here. I particularly like Sborník Literární skupiny, Jaroslavu Královi k padesátinám, Nejmenší dum, and the work of Karel Teige. (Via wood s lot.)
posted by languagehat on Dec 18, 2004 - 9 comments

The Story of a Czech SuperStar Contestant. The Czech version of Pop Idol (or American Idol, if you prefer) is finally starting to get good. But it may not be for the reasons the show's creators wanted. Anna, known also by her SuperStar number 3469 or better yet as "Dajdou," has become the most famous of all the contestants so far, precisely because she is what the Czechs refer to as an "antitalent." (via Living in Europe)
posted by Ljubljana on Mar 14, 2004 - 9 comments

So how will you spend Easter? Are your plans just a tad pedestrian? If egg hunts leave you cold, perhaps you need a bit more edge. For many, things begin this week. In Czechoslovakia, men carry woven willow sticks and whip girls on the legs, but in Taxco, Mexico, it's all about self-flagellation. In the U.S., many go theatrical with a living last supper; in the Philippines they favor more authenticity - every year about 20 people re-enact the crucifixion, nails & all. If that's too real, you could order supplies to build a backyard corpus shrine for next year. - more -
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 14, 2003 - 23 comments

Chasmosaurus, Giant Stag and Dire Wolf, Diatryma, Albertosaurus and an early Portuguese blogger--allow me to get a little Mesozoic, Creataceous and Pleistocene upon your ass with this cool archive of vintage Czechoslovakian prehistoric art: I found 11 pages of thumbnails for 258 large scan jpegs of Znedek Burian's work on the websites of the Petrs Hejna of Prague, the Czech Republic. Znedek Burian, as you will remember from my previous Vintage Dinosaur Art Archives thread, was state of the art in the 1950s. 258 scans of Znedek Burian is find enough to merit a post--But Wait! There's More! → → →
posted by y2karl on Feb 9, 2003 - 13 comments

Vaclav Havel is retiring as president of the Czech Republic this weekend. The former dissident and playwright-cum-politician is profiled in the Guardian, the Globe & Mail and Radio Prague's site; or you can browse the great man's website.
posted by plep on Jan 31, 2003 - 12 comments

Kashmir...Palestine...Sudetenland?? If you've been suspecting that old territorial squabbles never go away, you're probably right.
posted by gimonca on Jun 9, 2002 - 4 comments

The Ossuary in Sedlec in the Czech Republic is a chapel, built around 1511, decorated in 1870 by a local woodcutter. His material? Human bones.
posted by fidelity on Apr 19, 2002 - 13 comments