A Letter to the Editor of the FT

Ungursun buten sainii FT-iin dugaar deerees iim zahidal olov :P

From Mr Paul Surtees.

Sir, Your correspondent Dietmar Klein (Letters, October 24) commented on the necessity to take barrow-loads of banknotes to be weighed at pre-war German banks.

Only a few years ago, I had a similar experience when living in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Changing a few hundred pounds into the local currency, tugrik, I was astonished to be given two large plastic bags to contain the Mongolian currency. The bank only had notes of small denomination.

To make it the more disconcerting, these bags that I carried on to the street were transparent! On the other hand, the driver of a taxi that I hastily caught was very pleased to accept a single US dollar as the fare.

I see that a million tugrik are now worth about *425, so it seems that their inflation, sadly, continues apace.

Paul Surtees,
Hong Kong

Making a splash in Ulan Bator

Quote of The Day

Монголчууд бид өнгөрсөн түүхээ харсан ч, өнөөгийн амьдралаа бодсон ч өнгөтэй, өөдтэй бүхний маань эх ундрага ариун цэнгэг нэг л булаг дээр тулж очдог. Энэ бол монголчууд бид хамтрахаас өөр зам үгүйг ухаарах ухаарал, энэ ухаарлынхаа үндсэн нэгдэх, хамтрах, хамтарсан тэмүүллээр урагшлах чадвар хоёр юм [...]

Tиймээс хамтрах, нэгдэх энэ ухаан, энэ чадвараа ямар ч тохиолдолд хадгалж үлдэх нь амин чухал байнаа. Ээлж халаатай Ерөнхий сайд байхад, эвдэрч хазайдаггүй эвийн бат суурьтай үлдэх нь монгол төрийн оршихуйн үндэс мөнөөс мөн.

С.Баярын УИХ-ын чуулганы нэгдсэн хуралдаан дээр хэлсэн үг

Bayar bol Mongoliin uls turd garsan tsoo shine phenomenon bailaa. Daraa daraagiin yurunhii said nar tuuntey egnegt haritsuulagdah huvi tavilantay baih ni damjigguy. Uuhai, Bayar!

P.S: Some people might miss his green tie more than anything...

This and That

Цаг заваа үр бүтээлтэйгээр үрэхийг хүссэн хүмүүст:



Michael Sandel-iin Harvard-d zaadag aldart Justice hicheeliig PBS-iinhen uneguygeer online tavij baigaa yum baina. Neg talaaraa enehuu hicheeluud baruunii tom surguuliudad hicheel yaj ordogiig (yalanguya Socratic Method-iig herhen heregledgiig) taniltsuulah bol nuguu talaaraa Socrates-aas ehleed hun turulhtnii huvid munhiin asuudal baisaar irsen justice hemeeh uhagdahuuniig (Mongoloor shudraga yos gechihvel utga ni dutuu buugaad baih shig) iluu gunzgii oilgohod duhum uzuulne. Tovchhondoo bol ene hicheel alivaa yos zuin asuudald herhen zuv shiidver gargah, chingehed yamar yamar songoltuud baij bolohiig bidend taniulah yum - Justice: A Journey in Moral Reasoning with Michael Sandel

+ The Reith Lectures 2009: A New Citizenship + Ethics and Politics Podcast by Marianne Talbot from Oxford Faculty of Philosophy Podcasts

George Soros-iin CEU-d yag odoo (Oct 26-30) unshij bui tsuvral lektsuud. Yur ni nas neleed yavsanaas ch bolson uu ih setgeliihee ugaas yarisan mundag lektsuud baina. "Reflexivity", financial markets, open society, politics, economics, capitalism, ter baitugay Hyatadiin tsaashdiin delhiid ezleh bair suuri geed tuund yur ni hunduuguy chuhal sedev alga - Soros Lectures on Financial Times

Deehne Bill Gates-iin Cornell University-gees erhiig ni avsan Richard Feynman-ii lektsuud. Leuffi-giin heldgeer Feynman-ii physics-iig iim hyalbar, sonirholtoygoor tailbarlasnii daraa dund surguuliin bagshdaa uur ch hureh shig... Project Tuva: The Character of Physical Law lectures by Richard Feynman

Bas neg suuliin uyed zav zaigaaraa uzehiig oroldoj bui hicheel: The American Novel Since 1945 with Amy Hungerford. Uran zohioliig iluu gunzgii oilgohiig hussen humuusiin zaaval uzeh yostoy lekts! Yalanguya Pynchon, McCarthy, Kerouac-iin tuhai lektsuud bol jinhene Amerikiig oilgoh gaihamshigtay tulhuur.

This and That

What is considered normal for a person to feel in any place at any point is liable to be an abbreviated version of what is in fact normal, so that the experiences of fictional characters afford us a hugely expanded picture of human behavior, and thereby a confirmation of the essential normality of thoughts or feelings unmentioned in our immediate environment.

from Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life--a highly recommended book for those who want to uncover the pleasures--and sorrows--of the Proustian world.

Yur ni bolomj oldvol de Botton-ii nomuudiig zaaval olj unshaaray. Yalanguya Architecture of Happiness bol classic! Architecture-iin jinhene amtiig endees l avna (hervee sanaj baigaa bol ene nom 500 Days of Summer deer gol inspiration source boldog). Deer ni nemeed sayhan garsan The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work neleed sain review avsan. Daan ch nimgen turiivchtey minii bie nomiin delguurt heden huudsiig ni erguulj uzsenees tsaashguy. Hervee zavtay bol Monocle deer garsan video excerpt hiigeed de Botton-ii Tyler Brule-tey hiisen Q&A-iig uzeerey + an hour long podcast. Tegeed bur horhoi chini hurvel "philosophy of everyday life"-iin talaar bichigdsen busad nomuudiinh ni talaar website-aas ni olj unshina biz dee.

Current film: L'Heure d'été: Deer Larry Kasdan-ii lecture deer suuj baihad ene kinonii talaar yarij baisan. Haij yavsaar uchigdur shunu olj uzev. What a brilliant movie! Generation hoorondiin yalgaa, adil tal; yuruusuu amidral herhen uragshildag talaarh asar mundag ergetsuulel!

Current album(s): Ryan Adams-iin Ludwigshafen-d togloson concert-iin bichleg. Endees uneguy tataj avaaray (Magnolia Mountain!).
Stars - Heart: The album just spoke to me--and Life Effect as the culmination of the whole experience.

Addendum: Compare the abovementioned quote of de Botton to Nabokov's passage from Good Readers and Good Writers:

So what is the authentic instrument to be used by the reader? It is impersonal imagination and artistic delight. What should be established, I think, is an artistic harmonious balance between the reader’s mind and the author’s mind. We ought to remain a little aloof and take pleasure in this aloofness while at the same time we keenly enjoy—passionately enjoy, enjoy with tears and shivers—the inner weave of a given masterpiece. To be quite objective in these matters is of course impossible. Everything that is worthwhile is to some extent subjective. For instance, you sitting there may be merely my dream, and I may be your nightmare. But what I mean is that the reader must know when and where to curb his imagination and this he does by trying to get clear the specific world the author places at his disposal. We must see things and hear things, we must visualize the rooms, the clothes, the manners of an author’s people. The color of Fanny Price’s eyes in Mansfield Park and the furnishing of her cold little room are important.

Some Rarities

Нөхдүүдэд сонирхолтой байж магадгүй гээд энэ зун найзаасаа олж авсан ховор бичлэгүүдээс ганц хоёрыг нь тавихаар шийдлээ. Эхнийх нь Халимагийн Окна Цаhан Замын хайлсан Жангар тууль. Ер нь манай Баруун Монголын соёлын энэ том өвийг манайхан ердөө тууль чигээр нь авч үзээд цааш судлаж олны хүртээл болгодоггүй нь жаахан харамсалтай (хэрвээ Барууны Great Books маягийн хичээлд хамрагдаж үзсэн бол Илиад, Одиссэйг ямар их цаг, анхаарал зарцуулж уншдагийг мэднэ байх). Юутай ч миний мэдэхийн хүн зоноосоо хамаарч Жангарыг газар бүр өөр өөрөөр дуулдаг. Гэхдээ тэдгээрийн дундаас Цагаан Замын дуулсан хувилбар бол яах аргагүй хамгийн мундаг нь. Өөр илүү гарах--ялангуяа амьд--хувилбарыг нь сонсож үзсэн хүмүүс байвал өөрсдийнхөө сэтгэгдэлээс хуваалцаарай.

Харамсалтай нь энэ бичлэг ердөө нэгхэн цагийн урттай. Миний сонссоноор бүтэн эхийг нь хайлбал хэдэн өдөр болдог юм гэсэн. Мэдээж эхэлж сонсч байгаа мань мэтэд энэ ямар хамаа байхав. Хамгийн эхлээд ямаршуухан зүйл байдгийг нь мэдээд авах л чухал.

Хэрвээ Жангарын бүтэн эхийг нь сонирхож байвал эндээс уншаарай (Халимаг дээр, гэхдээ хичээх юм бол утга нь бүрэн ойлгогдоно; даан ч Цагаан Зам яг хаанаас нь эхлээд хаана дуусаад байгааг олж чадсангүй). Үүний дээр Монголын Радиогийн сэтгүүлч Д. Чулуунцэцэгийн Бээжингээс бэлтгэсэн "Жангар хийгээд жангарчид..." нэвтрүүлгийг сонсч үзэхийг зөвлөе (энэ дээр дарж сонсоорой). Энэ нэвтрүүлэгт Халимаг, Торгууд хоёр залуу Жангарыг хайлахаас гадна төгсгөлд нь Цагаан Замын дээр дурьдсан хувилбар явна. Сонирхож байвал бас энэ Шинжааны Ойрад Монголчуудын хувилбарыг сонсоорой.

Окна Цаhан Зам - Җанhр (энэ rapidshare линкийг хэн нэгэн нь mirror хийх боломж байна уу?)



Хоёр дахь нь Тувагийн алдарт хөөмийч Ойдупаа Владимир Ойуны урьд өмнө нь хаана ч тавигдаж байгаагүй хувийн бичлэг (Англиар бол Bootleg recording юм уу даа). Түүнтэй нөхөрлөж байсан андын маань хэлснээр бол мань эр жинхэнэ "Mensch" гэж байгаа :P Харин Хашаагийн тодорхойлсноор бол "Tувадаа Ж.Ф.Кеннеди, Майкл Жордан, Элвис Преслиг нийлүүлсэн дайтай лут эр" Конгар-ол Ондараас мундаг нөхөр :))

Энэ бичлэг дээр Ойдупаа яг юу хийгээд байгааг нь нарийн мэдэхгүй юм. Миний ойлгосноор бол хөгжмийнхөө утсан дээгүүр Америкийн bluesman-ууд шиг төмөр гулсуулаад байх шиг байгаа юм--өөр ямар ч хөгжимчин тэгдэггүй гэнэ.

Үүний дээр хэрвээ сонирхож байвал түүний Divine Music From a Jail цомгийг upload хийж болж байна (мөн түүнчлэн Hun-Huur-Tu, Chirgilchin, Gennadi Tumat, Igor Koshkendey, Kongor-ol Ondar, Kaigal-ol Kovalyg гэх мэт олон хөөмийчдийн цомгууд бий).

Ойдупаа Владимир Ойун - Bootleg recording

Addendum: Journeyman Pictures on Tuvan Throat Singers

Photo of the Day

Ерөнхийлөгч Ц.Элбэгдорж Томас Фрийдманыг хүлээн авч уулзлаа

Music of the Day: Haydn Concerto No.1 C Major - Slava's superb, but I think du Pré's version is unparalleled.

A Perfect Gift

A surprise gift from a very special person. It was one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I've ever seen. Thanks a lot!
(Been very very busy lately, and going back to school in a week)

Addendum: The Sartorialist + "Step-By-Step Guide To Getting Shot By The Sartorialist" + My personal favourite

Poem of the Day

From William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:

A dog starv'd at his Master's Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State.
A Horse misus'd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear.

Bishirmeer. 20-r zuunii tuuhiig Blake ter chigeer ni zugnuud harchihsan met--an augury?. Tovchhondoo bol:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

yum daa...

Blake-iig sonirhoj baigaa humuus baival Songs of Innocense and of Experience-ees ehelsen ni zuv baih (bolj ugvul Blake-iin uuriih ni engrave hiisen plate-tey edition-g olj avaaray). Tegeed hervee bur literary criticism ene terd horhoisdog bol Harold Bloom-iin commentary-g unshihiig zuvluyu--yalanguya Tyger deer hiisen tailbar ni lut.

Addendum: Harold Bloom's advice for college freshmen - Get Lost. In Books. (if you have time, read the entire series)

There is general agreement on the indispensable canon: Homer, Plato, the Bible, Virgil, Dante, Chaucer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Montaigne, Milton. From the 19th century until now, keeping only to English and American authors, a slightly more arbitrary selection might include Blake, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy, Yeats and Joyce in England and Ireland. Among the Americans would certainly be Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Hawthorne; and in the 20th century, Faulkner and the major poets: Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot, Hart Crane.

Photo of the Day

Дмитрий Анатольевич Монгол хүүхдүүдийг алаг үзэв :Д

Addendum: The reason why America didn't object Russia's effort to take control of Mongolian uranium mines:

Outside of Iran, the Russian business is supported by the United States as a productive use of Soviet legacy uranium enrichment plants in Russia. In Iran, the United States opposed the power plant’s construction but approved the Russian fuel shipments. By encouraging the commercial availability of Russian enrichment services, the United States deprives other countries of the rationale to have enrichment programs of their own.

Russian Power Company to Mine Uranium in Mongolia

Yaponii Shine Zamnal?

Yaponii shine yurunhii said Yukio Hatoyama-giin NYTimes-d hevluulsen mash sonirholtoy op-ed - A New Path for Japan. Hervee oiriin ireeduin Yaponiig yurunhii saidiinh ni helj bui shig barimjaalah yum bol neleed sonirholtoy dur zurag garch ireh ni. Uuntey uyaldaad manaih ch gesen gadaad bodlogodoo neleed uurchlult oruulah shaardlagatay boloh ni gartsaaguy.

On economy:

Our responsibility as politicians is to refocus our attention on those non-economic values that have been thrown aside by the march of globalism. We must work on policies that regenerate the ties that bring people together, that take greater account of nature and the environment, that rebuild welfare and medical systems, that provide better education and child-rearing support, and that address wealth disparities.

On Japan's new regional role:

[...] we must not forget our identity as a nation located in Asia. I believe that the East Asian region, which is showing increasing vitality, must be recognized as Japan’s basic sphere of being. So we must continue to build frameworks for stable economic cooperation and security across the region.

I believe that regional integration and collective security is the path we should follow toward realizing the principles of pacifism and multilateral cooperation advocated by the Japanese Constitution. It is also the appropriate path for protecting Japan’s political and economic independence and pursuing our interests in our position between the United States and China.

On new world order:

How should Japan maintain its political and economic independence and protect its national interest when caught between the United States, which is fighting to retain its position as the world’s dominant power, and China, which is seeking ways to become dominant?

This is a question of concern not only to Japan but also to the small and medium-sized nations in Asia. They want the military power of the U.S. to function effectively for the stability of the region but want to restrain U.S. political and economic excesses. They also want to reduce the military threat posed by our neighbor China while ensuring that China’s expanding economy develops in an orderly fashion. These are major factors accelerating regional integration.

The last passage reminds me of Baabar's latest article.

Tovchhondoo bol Hatoyama-giin Yapon neleed anti-capitalist handlagatay, bus nutgiin integration-g manlailahiig oroldson uls boloh ni. Harin uunii ur dagavar biden deer yaj tusah ve? Any opinions?

So Long, Teddy

Barag jil garangiin speculation-ii etsest Ted Kennedy urjigdar shunu nasan etseslev. Dan gants New England geltguy ulaan tsenher, har tsagaan Amerik dayaraa gashuudaj buig bodvol olon hunii amidrald ontsgoi nuluu uzuulsen hun baisan ni ilt. Gehdee ene olon tumnii hair tuund amarhan oldooguy. Uuriin aldaa hiigeed ger buliihniihee emgenelt huvi zayan deerees anhaaraltay suraltsaj asar ih tevcheer, hudulmuriin ur dun yum. Nuguu talaasaa bidend tuunii bolon ah nariinh ni shudraga yos, erh tegsh baidliin tuluuh tsutsashguy temtslees ni suraltsah hiigeed uuriimshuuleh zuils ih bii.

Since I was a boy, I have known the joy of sailing the waters off Cape Cod. And for all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.

Remarks of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy during Harvard honors convocation

And always remember:

The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.

JFK's favourite quote from Dante (Baabar uuniig neg heseg uuruu Divine Comedy unshij baigaad olson yum shig l baahan ishilsen)

Update: Michiko Kakutani's brilliant review of Ted Kennedy's new memoir

At the end of his deeply affecting memoir, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy writes about his grandson “Little Teddy” — the son of his son “Medium Teddy” who delivered such a heartbreaking eulogy at the senator’s funeral on Saturday — and his difficulties mastering the family tradition of sailing. The senator told the 10-year-old “we might not be the best,” but “we can work harder than anyone,” and Little Teddy stayed with it, grew eager to learn and started winning races. That, the senator writes, “is the greatest lesson anyone can learn”: that if you “stick with it,” that if, as the title of his book suggests, you keep a “true compass” and do your best, you will eventually “get there.”