I was searching for Czech radio audio streams when I came across this site: Dobry-Den.com. I’d never heard of it before. It’s all in Czech, but it says it’s U.S.-based (Indianapolis!). This page has the audio streams I was looking for. Has anyone done business with these folks? [Dead now]
Twenty, Twenty-two, Thirty.
Comments
I’m playing around with a comments system. Technical difficulties may occur [Will occur. Continue to occur. Must be some change my host made to the PHP configuration. I can’t hide the problem because Blogger won’t load a new template file. Sorry for the mess!].
For a while they didn’t
For a while they didn’t but now they do: The Globe has a web site. So does their doppelganger, Ouky Douky.
The Globe, unbeknownst to us, moved in 2000. When we went looking for it this past June, we were astonished to find another bookstore/cafe in its place–Ouky Douky. This new establishment was eerily like The Globe in every way, except the language of choice had changed from English to Czech. A bizzaro Globe. We stopped and had lunch (great sandwiches), and thanks to the English-speaking bookstore attendant, we got the address of The Globe’s new location.
The new Globe’s cafe is much improved: more space, and a great new menu. And they’ve got good cheap internet access. But the bookstore section seemed less well-stocked. On previous visits The Globe was always my source for English translations of Czech fiction, but during this past visit that section seemed very limited. Luckily there’s always the Big Ben and Anagram bookstores.
Rooftop Rebellion
These days, a guy on a rooftop carrying an unwieldy metallic object probably isn’t interested in your chimney. More likely than not, he’s trying to connect to the nascent CZfree.net network, which aims to bring broadband to residential users.
An imperfectly-wired urban area like Prague seems like the perfect place for this kind of thing. For the same reason that mobile phones were poised to take off in a country with lousy telephone service, wireless internet service deserves to overtake wired internet service.
Two of the major changes I observed in Prague during my trip, compared to six years ago, were the sudden ubiquity of cell phones, and the proliferation of internet cafes. I don’t know if it’s because of all the tourists, or because in-home internet access is still not common. link via boing boing
Sad News
Okay, those following the news will already know–I pointed out the “bright spot” too soon: Gaston didn’t make it home. Here’s a related story from The Prague Pill: The Ark of Troja. I’m not cut out to be a newsblogger. The bad news just makes me not want to read any more news.
Prague.tv on the Prague Floods
Prague.tv is also posting a lot of news in English about the flooding.
The Prague Post Flood Updates
The Prague Post Flood Updates page seems like a good place to read the latest news. This item was a bright spot in the gloom:
The sea lion Gaston, missing from the Prague zoo, is tens of kilometers behind the German border and is being chased toward Prague by three boats.
Gaston has since been captured and declared in “good condition” by his German rescuers.
How to Help
The Prague Post has listed some organizations helping in the flood relief effort. The first item is The Prague Post’s own effort to provide funds to schools and libraries damaged by the floods. Scroll down to find information on contributing to other organizations, like The People In Need Foundation and the Red Cross of the Czech Republic.
If anyone has any other links related to relief efforts, or any recommendations on how those outside The Czech Republic can help out, please pass them on!
Flooding in Prague
Flooding in Prague. This is awful to hear about. The city of Prague has worked so hard to recover from years and years of neglect by the Communists, only to have this happen. I wish I could be there to help.