The Czech Who Invented Stylized Special Effects

What do Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, Wes Anderson, and the Brothers Quay all have in common? The answer is stylized special effects. Stylized special effects tell their story through the use of exaggerated or simplified shapes, motions, and colors. The story is represented in a non-naturalistic conventional form as opposed to a realistic...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

October 20, 2022

The Life and Work of Ludvík Kuba

Ludvík Kuba was a Czech landscape painter, musician, writer, and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He was known for collecting folk traditions. He was also known as the artist of two centuries. In his painting, he was strongly influenced by both Impressionism and Art Nouveau. Ludvík Kuba studied to play the organ and...

Art and Design, Bohemians, CULTURE

October 17, 2022

Czech Contributions to American Sciences

Today’s post is from my friend Mila Rechcígl, Jr. It is actually entitled “Czech Contributions to American Scientific and Technological Thought” and it appears as a chapter in his book, Czechs and Slovaks in America. I never cease to be amazed at the vast amount of Czech contribution to the world. I always get a...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

October 16, 2022

The Legend of the Golem of Prague

Today we are revisiting the Golem of Prague. We’ve written about this before in our post The Legend of The Golem but our friend Barbara S. Weitz shared the following information which we’ve decided to share here with you because it’s so interesting. We hope you enjoy it. Who is the Golem? The Golem is...

Books, History, Movies

October 14, 2022

Broth with Egg Drop Dumplings

This is a very simple recipe for broth with egg drop dumplings. Traditionally, it’s made using beef broth, but you can use chicken or vegetable broth as well, and you can make your own or use the boxed kind. In Czech, it’s called “Hovězí vývar s krupicí a vejcem” which literally translates to “Beef broth...

Food, Recipes

October 11, 2022

Czech Settlement at Slavia, Florida

Today we are looking at the Slovak and Czech settlement at Slavia, Florida. It was mostly Slovak, but a few Czechs were there, too. In the early 1900s, the American Slovak slogan was Spat ku gazdovstvu, or “Back to the farm.” A number of immigrants from Slovakia felt uncomfortable in their occupations as workers in...

History, NOSTALGIA

October 6, 2022

The Czech New Wave

There are many so-called “new waves” in film history, from the French nouvelle vague (1959 through the middle 1960s) to the present day. While such monikers serve many purposes, including facilitating international marketing , they do identify those regions where, for any number of reasons, particularly fertile and original bodies of creative work have emerged....

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

October 5, 2022

Early Czech California Pioneers

Like many others, early Czech California pioneers went West in search of gold and opportunities. During the mid-1800’s California was a land still steeped in romantic reminders of the first Spanish population and the prospect of sudden wealth. A life of adventure beckoned there, at least from an American point of view. What adventures would...

Bohemians, History

October 4, 2022

Czech Fairytale – The Bird of Happiness

Today we are looking at an old Czech fairytale – The Bird of Happiness, or in Czech, Pták štěstí. It is an old Chod tale. I will first present actual scans of the book, then the text of the story, and finally, at the very end, a link to a pdf file which you may...

Childrens Books, ENTERTAINMENT

September 30, 2022

Sour Lentils or Čočka na kyselo

Sour Lentils or Čočka na kyselo is one of the simpler dishes of Czech cuisine. Sour lentils are usually served with fried eggs (sunny side up), pickles, and roasted sausage, klobasa, or thick-sliced ham. The ingredients for sour lentils are minimal—cooked green (or brown) lentils with bay leaves, mixed with a simple roux, and seasoned...

Food, Recipes

September 24, 2022

We Will Remain Faithful – Věrni zůstaneme

Věrni zůstaneme is the motto of the Czech Republic Army. It means “We Shall Remain Faithful”, “We Will Remain Faithful”, or “We Remain Faithful”. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Germany demanded the “return” of the ethnic German population of Czechoslovakia—and the land on which it lived—to the German Reich. In the late...

History

September 18, 2022

Architecture: Lutheran Churches in Slovakia

Today I am sharing a few pages from a lovely book I received from Reverend Thomas J. Drobena. Thomas John was born on August 23, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Thomas and Suzanne (Durec) Drobena. His heart and soul are in Moravia. Ordained to ministry Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, 1962. Grantee...

Architecture, Books, ENTERTAINMENT, History

September 15, 2022

Perfect Horse – Lipizzaner Rescue from Hostau

I just finished reading The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts. Not only was this rescue a humanitarian act involving saving horses with a pedigree and lineage dating back hundreds of years but this rescue was also one bright moment in the war...

LIFESTYLE

September 13, 2022

The Pop-up Books of Lucy Seifert

Czech pop-up books are famous around the world. The most known creator of these is Vojtěch Kubašta, a world pioneer in pop-up books. Makers of pop-up books still use Kubašta’s structures and the principles he invented and used in his work. Less known is a wonderful illustrator named Lucy Seifert (Lucie Seifertova). You may not...

Books, Childrens Books, ENTERTAINMENT

September 12, 2022

Czech Pub Classic – Utopenci (Pickled Sausages)

If searching through old Czech cookbooks, you most likely won’t find a recipe for utopence, although it is a popular Czech pub delicacy with a long tradition. They are basically chubby sausages loaded with pickles and onions in vinegar. In the Czech Republic, everyone makes utopenec themselves, according to their own recipe, usually inherited from...

Food, Recipes

September 11, 2022

Czech Connection to September 11, 2001

Today’s post is about the Czech connection to September 11, 2001. There are several Czech connections to the tragic events that happened that day we all remember. The truth is that nobody who still has a memory can fail to forget where they were the first time they heard about the attack on the World...

Bohemians, History