KZBlog is going down (2)
After some thought, I have decided not to renew KZBLog’s lease. As you may have noticed, I don’t do a lot of posting here anymore. I don’t have time to blog regularly. Thus I am taking the site down–it does generate some ad revenue but not as much as it costs to keep it up. […]
Culture
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - Apples, Sure. But THC is from Kazakhstan too?
2011-10-05 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
Resources
- Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Books for Kazakh Students
2011-11-06
- Oh, CNN
Politics
- Image
2011-07-28 - Sub Rosa Endorsement
2011-07-26 - The Naked Truth
2011-06-12
- Image
News
- KZBlog is going down
2013-09-10 - Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - Repentence
2012-07-15
- KZBlog is going down
Fun
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - House Hunters Bishkek
2011-12-02
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
Tourism
- Asian Games Torch
2011-01-12 - Wikitravel
2010-08-07 - ALZHIR, the Soviets and Democracy
2010-07-30
- Asian Games Torch
Life in KZ
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
2011-12-07 - Healthcare and the Private Sector
2011-11-30 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
Redbubble
Facebook U (Comments Off on Facebook U)
Technically this isn’t news about Kazakhstan, but it’s making big noise here where a Western education can land you a very good job and a high salary. Apparently the London School of Business and Finance is offering free MBAs online via Facebook. OK, not really. They are, however, putting up materials online including readings and lectures. To actually get the degree, you still need to enroll and take the examinations. The idea is to let potential students “try before you buy”. If you search for LSBF on Facebook, it should come right up.
Other ways of getting an MBA from a Western university include an online business degree from accredited schools and someday perhaps, attending our very own Nazarbayev University. Of course some who go the online business degree route, forget to make sure that the school is accredited and reputable and not just a diploma mill. Not that international students going to bricks and mortar universities aren’t also taken in by schools like Oxford Brooks, not quite as reputable as Oxford University.
UEFA Euro not World Cup qualif… (Comments Off on UEFA Euro not World Cup qualif…)
UEFA Euro not World Cup qualifiers. I’m American, what do you expect from me talking about football?
More Snow? (Comments Off on More Snow?)
Break out the electric blanket. After a sunny, Nauryz, the temperature has been hovering around freezing, which is warm in Astana. But now they’re calling for more snow and the high below 0C this week. If we get the usual April blizzard where snow sticks on the ground for a good week, I will seriously consider job offers in the Bahamas. On the other hand, we are up to about 12 hours of sunlight a day, which helps a lot.
Not Much Worse (Comments Off on Not Much Worse)
4-0. That was the final score of Germany vs. Kazakhstan Saturday. 3 in the first half, including one in the first four minutes and one in the last minute of the first half. In the second half, Germany relaxed and just tried to keep the Kazakhstan side scoreless, although Klose scored one more.
As Sports.kz points out in their article Class is class [RU], it’s not so much that Kazakhstan lost as Germany won. And 4-0 is not a bad showing for our boys:
“Experts” may draw conclusions and begin “attacks” on the head coach. Optimists will look to the absence of some players and lack of teamwork, as the reason for the defeat with a large score. The rest will wait for the next away team to come to Kazakhstan, an easier opponent than the three-time world cup winners.
3-0 at half time with a goal b… (Comments Off on 3-0 at half time with a goal b…)
3-0 at half time with a goal by Muller 1 minute before. Poor #kazakhstan
Live play-by-play of #kazakhst… (Comments Off on Live play-by-play of #kazakhst…)
Live play-by-play of #kazakhstan #germany match. 2-0 Germany at 40 minutes.
Fat People (Comments Off on Fat People)
One of the pernicious stereotypes about Americans in Kazakhstan is that we are all fat. Now I know there are obesity studies out there that show that being overweight is a problem in the US. I don’t deny that. However, I do wonder how many other countries have done similar studies. In other words, I haven’t seen any research on obesity in Kazakhstan, so I’m not sure what the comparison would be.
In any case, both the US and Kazakhstan have aspects of their eating habits that are horribly unhealthy.
For Kazakhstan, it’s the love of fat. It’s almost impossible to buy meat without chunks of fat attached. And if you are ever a guest of honor at a big Kazakh dinner, don’t be surprised to be served a giant slab of fat without any meat (and to be fair, most people understand if I take a polite bite and then profusely thank them while telling them I don’t really eat fat.)
Salt is another thing you will find overused in Kazakhstan. People put it on everything, especially any kind of salad, and they do it while they are cooking so you don’t have a chance to keep your own food unsalted. We once saw a cooking show (which I believe was from Russia) where a woman was showing how to fry up mushrooms. She said that she only put a little bit of salt in, although other people liked to salt it more. She then proceeded to put around 3 tablespoons of salt into the frying pan. To me, a little salt is a pinch.
Finally, while many Kazakhs are aware of the dangers of too much sugar (they call it white death, which in the US means salt), they do like their sweets. This might be the Russian influence more than traditional Kazakh cooking but many products that you wouldn’t expect are quite sweet, including crackers and some bread rolls (which may also be filled with frosting). Sweets aren’t usually pushed on you, but the table will be full of them so temptation is always near.
Enough Kazakhstan-bashing. Time for US bashing.
American food is full of fat as well, but it’s usually added on in the form of bacon or cheese. I am amazed when I go home how many restaurants serve food with bacon or cheese or both. And of course burgers and steaks and fries are often grilled in fat.
As is widely known in Kazakhstan, a lot of fast food is full of chemicals and preservatives that aren’t going to do much for your health. And while I do miss the convenience of frozen foods and prepared meals, a lot of those are also filled with preservatives and sweeteners and salt, although you can usually find more natural variants if you search for them.
While I doubt either population needs to go on oxyelite pro Side effects of eating too much fat, salt, sugar or chemicals are universal and both countries have health hazards to their diets.
Heavy Weighs the Crown on Miss Asian Games (3)
Kumis Bazarbayeva, who won the Miss Asian Winter Games pageant (a vital and important world event that I can’t believe I forgot to report on here), has a funky tiara on her head, designed by Aigul Kasimova. And there’s a contest
sponsored by Pantene, the winner of which gets the tiara. If you’re interested, it looks like they’re looking for people with a good story to tell about overcoming obstacles.
And now some more eye candy, just to raise the level of this blog a bit:
How and when did Nauryz/Nowruz… (Comments Off on How and when did Nauryz/Nowruz…)
How and when did Nauryz/Nowruz come to Kazakhstan? Via Islam? Via invasions? Did nomads always mark spring equinox?
December 86 a Rebellion? (2)
Some interesting news from RFE/RL: the movement Zheltoksan AkitatAkikat wants the government to investigate the December 86 protests and classify them as a rebellion. I assume this is a separate group from Zheltoksan 86, but I honestly don’t know what Akitat means in Kazakh (Zheltoksan means December). EDIT: Akikat, the actual name of the movement, means “truth”. Typo by RFE/RL repeated by men. (thanks, Bota)
The events of 1986 started as a protest against the appointing of an ethnic Russian, Kolbin, as head of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Many students, among others, protested in the central square of Almaty, and there was a violent suppression of the event by police. But Kolbin was replaced, and Nazarbayev appointed head shortly thereafter.
I’m not clear on what the goals of Zheltoksan AkitatAkikat are. I assume to redeem the names of those arrested and seek the men who gave orders to the police. However unlike, say the Tienanmen Square protests, the events of December 1986 are widely talked about in Kazakhstan and memorialized officially in a number of monuments. Many trace the beginnings of Kazakhstan’s independence from the Soviet Union to these events.
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