A Kyiv love song

I watched this video last night and I loved it. Some of us have been speaking about a love letter to Kyiv, well, this was a love song to Kyiv, literally. It could have been 10 to 15 mins shorter, in my view, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Totally original and inspired.

It is about a bunch of street musicians and a composer and how the composer takes these different character’s musical sounds and puts them together for the ending, which is a song : the sound of Kyiv.

It is shot in winter in the war time but they don’t really talk about the war much. The main character, the hero of the story, the composer, is very likeable and cool. Kyiv is cool.

Really and truly different. Made quite an impression.

The problem with lionizing Navalny and snubbing Zelensky at Oscars

Putin’s eventual fall from power will not absolve the Russian people of these sins. But it may present a pivotal moment where the Russian people will be faced with the question of what kind of society they want to live in. Will they continue a centuries-long tradition of unbridled violence against their neighbors? And what role will Navalny and other Russian opposition members play in a post-Putin Russia, if at all?

https://kyivindependent.com/opinion/kate-tsurkan-the-problem-with-lionizing-Navalny-and-snubbing-Zelensky-at-Oscars

And the winner is …

I watched the Navalny documentary when it came out and was very impressed with the film making. As for Navalny, well, he is Russian and I don’t trust any of them. And if my memory serves me right Navalny was pretty supportive of the Russian invasion and take over of Crimea back in 2014.

The arts, the Olympics … what do these things have to do with war. Everything. If we don’t stand for something we will fall for anything, as the old saying goes. Something is not right here. That is what my spiritual sense is telling me. I wish I had the words to express what I am feeling … Banning Russians from the Olympics next year is the right decision if the free world, along with its ideals, is to remain credible in the midst of Russia’s genocidal war.

As one journalist put it : No, Mr. Zelensky, you can’t speak at the Oscars, that’s politics. But we’ll give an Oscar to “Navalny”, that’s not politics. And Navalny’s wife will speak, that’s also not politics. But she won’t mention her country’s invasion of Ukraine, because… Yeah, you got it.

Zelensky’s Lessons for Human Rights Advocacy

Having worked as a stage performer and actor for most of his career, the Ukrainian president’s communications skills have proven to be world class. He could teach us all.

What I do with three-hour PowerPoint presentations, Zelensky does it with three-minute videos. His experience as a comedian surely helps him tick all the boxes of advocacy. Eye contact, speech cadences and sonorities, and body language are essential to persuasion. But beyond this, Zelensky successfully deploys the advocacy toolkit …

These tools and tips help build strong advocacy. In themselves, however, they cannot guarantee success. To be fully effective, you need a vision and priorities.

Zelensky has managed to do this. He’s given people a sense of purpose.

https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/13714

#UkraineWillWin

I woke up around 4 am today. I did not sleep much last night. It was a year ago this morning that we were sitting in The Nest in a state of shock. The shock is still there, but so is the light. I was in Kyiv last year in September and soon we will be back there. We are counting down the days … Kyiv is a magical place.

As Jake Sullivan touches on in this short news clip “Ukraine is defending freedom everywhere”. I hope the message about the ammo in this news clip is correct. America is Ukraine’s biggest ally and everyone in Ukraine is grateful for their support and friendship.

Ukraine will win this war and Kyiv will become the hotspot of Europe in the near future. I am convinced that so many people will come and explore and they will be amazed.