tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40644282011-12-14T04:53:02.884+01:00Somewhat less experimental than it was at the end of 2002, this blog still draws its inspiration from the participants of SHWI (soc.history.what-if Usenet newsgroup) who had introduced me to this new phenomenon. The blog is still in search of its definite shape, style and general theme of posts. However, if someone insists on short definitions, I must admit that the shortest way to define it is something to do with its location – Split, Croatia.Dragannoreply@blogger.comBlogger14341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1114335187336679092005-04-24T11:30:00.000+02:002005-04-24T11:33:07.340+02:00

Not all archives are available, but the rest of this blog is available here. Please update your bookmarks and blogrolls. If you have any difficulties or problems with new blog and some of its features, don’t hesitate to E-mail me. Draxblog Movie Reviews is going to remain on its current address.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1114198636352740152005-04-22T21:36:00.000+02:002005-04-22T21:37:16.353+02:00

Faute de mieux added to blogroll. This is going to be one of the last blogroll additions, at least on this blog. In a couple of days, hopefully, I will finish the switch. You are going to be duly noted about and asked to reset your bookmarks.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1114105278015364402005-04-21T19:39:00.000+02:002005-04-21T19:41:18.023+02:00

In today’s edition of Globus, columnist Jelena Lovrić (Jelena Lovric) claims that Ivo Sanader has reached the beginning of his political end. She might be over-dramatic but the current position of Croatian prime minister represents a stark contrast to his the image of pro-European reformer, modernist and confident leader who brought his party from the abyss and brought it back to power.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1114000283173046712005-04-20T14:30:00.000+02:002005-04-20T14:31:23.173+02:00

Today Slobodna Dalmacija for the very first time had regular weekly supplement dedicated to computer technology. One of the articles they dealt with the blogging phenomenon and mentioned one Croatian blog service. It wasn’t blog.hr. It was their arch-rival www.mojblog.hr.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113929547558109042005-04-19T18:51:00.000+02:002005-04-20T14:32:40.906+02:00

I was right. Short work by Ratzinger's conservatives. At least, there will be very little surprises coming from Vatican.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113927908120000582005-04-19T18:23:00.000+02:002005-04-19T18:25:08.120+02:00

He is elected faster than anyone has expected. My guess is that it was a short work – either by Ratzinger's conservatives or those who can't stand him. In any case, we'll see in couple of minutes.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113835565168757292005-04-18T16:45:00.000+02:002005-04-18T16:46:05.170+02:00

One of the founders of blog.hr – first Croatian blog hosting service – has recently posted an article in which he described it as “teenagers’ community blog portal” – or, in his words, “Croatian equivalent of Livejournal”. He seems to be slightly disappointed with this phenomenon, and also concerned, because having teenagers as majority of its clients brings additional responsibility.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113667381467458842005-04-16T18:02:00.000+02:002005-04-16T18:03:01.473+02:00

Vesna Škare-Ožbolt (Vesna Skare-Ozbolt) a.k.a. Vesna “Let Them Walk Free”, Croatian justice minister, has announced that she would reconsider certain changes in Croatian criminal law. In other words, public outrage over ridiculously light prison sentences and dramatic deterioration of public safety might hurt her DC party at the upcoming local elections. So, she hinted at possibility that the

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113579168945143552005-04-15T17:32:00.000+02:002005-04-15T17:33:23.060+02:00

I don’t have much time for blogging these days. But I still think that I should provide a brief update of what is supposed to be the biggest story of Croatian politics these days. In short, there is big buzz about Sanader ditching his minor league partners and creating new, more stable majority with HSP, far right party which is supposed to be reinvigorated after local elections.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113424992474793752005-04-13T22:42:00.000+02:002005-04-13T22:43:12.480+02:00

To be quite frank, I’m not FC Liverpool fan. But I couldn’t help rooting for them in tonight’s Championship League quarterfinal game against Juventus. Rare are the occasions when the end of a scoreless game brings huge grin on my face.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113412346659663382005-04-13T19:12:00.000+02:002005-04-14T06:06:00.986+02:00

Last night, around 23:30, citizens of Split heard large detonation. Cause of such detonation was and still is matter of intense speculation and all kinds of weird theories. Police in its official communiqué says that its patrols didn’t find anything. If I have to guess, I would say the detonation was caused by a meteor.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113412163894530932005-04-13T19:08:00.000+02:002005-04-13T19:09:23.896+02:00

On the surface, presidential bid looked like a win-win proposition for Jadranka Kosor. If she won, she would become President. If she lost, she would merely return to her ministerial post, even being praised by her opponent Stipe Mesić (Stope Mesic) and perceived as Sanader’s heir apparent. Unfortunately, presidential elections, like any elections, feature this nasty category called “

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113340095230869702005-04-12T23:07:00.000+02:002005-04-12T23:08:15.233+02:00

It seems that Serbia-Montenegro has just increased its chances to join EU. It is nevertheless going to be a very slow process with plenty of unexpected complications. But I doubt that Croatian media are going to pay much attention to this story. On the surface, this shows that Croatian chances of joining EU are very good –it is assumed that Croatia always had, still has and always will

Dragannoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113253157564741072005-04-11T22:58:00.000+02:002005-04-11T22:59:17.566+02:00

Although I haven’t finally decided to move this blog, I’ve already begun work on moving archives. It is much harder and more time-consuming that I ever imagined. Blogging is going to be light, as you might imagine.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113168396253193672005-04-10T23:26:00.000+02:002005-04-10T23:26:36.253+02:00

Test.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113164974455352022005-04-10T22:13:00.000+02:002005-04-10T22:29:34.456+02:00

Coalition between HDZ and SDP – great unfulfilled dream of every born-again Croatian Europhile – is going to become reality, although not in Sabor or any other place where it actually matters. Place where this historic event occurred is Plaški (Plaski), small mountain municipality in Gorski Kotar where ethnic Serbs just happen to have majority and where such majority reflected in SDSS,

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1113068979560694752005-04-09T19:48:00.000+02:002005-04-09T19:49:39.563+02:00

RTL Televizija lived to its “infotainment” principles by airing British royal wedding live. It also lived to its reputation of the cash box for T-Com, Croatian main phone operator. They produced two numbers for televoting and offered two options for the viewers –they had to choose between Prince Charles or Prince William as a person more suitable to succeed Queen Elizabeth at British throne

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112970337675612472005-04-08T16:25:00.000+02:002005-04-08T16:25:37.676+02:00

I guess I’m not the only one who had these problems. So, you probably won’t be very surprised when I tell you that I’m seriously considering transferring this blog to another host. So far, the only argument against that decision is the sheer size of the blog. So many posts have gathered in last two years and copying all those posts and archives (and even when comments are discarded) is

Dragannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112970063014370622005-04-08T16:20:00.000+02:002005-04-08T16:21:03.023+02:00

Pope-related media hysteria has reached annoying levels in Croatia. Two major dailies, trying to make a quick buck on the phenomenon, have offered their own Pope-related books at discount prices – although the “discount” price in those particular case happens to be 25 % higher than Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Others, like Globus weekly, gave pink rosary as a free gift to any reader –

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112874507176107682005-04-07T13:46:00.000+02:002005-04-07T13:48:27.190+02:00

As expected, Sanader’s government has called local and regional elections for May 15th 2005. Although Croatia happens to be very centralised country and, therefore, local and regional governments, especially those in impoverished and war-ravaged areas like Slavonia, Lika and Dalmatia, don’t amount to much, the elections are going to be very important for two reasons. First, no

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112790999435560572005-04-06T14:35:00.000+02:002005-04-06T14:36:39.436+02:00

Tim Gueguen added to blogroll. Few links to various Croatian media added.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112790103171154022005-04-06T14:21:00.000+02:002005-04-06T14:21:43.173+02:00

At last week’s Croatian box-office, that is. These are the results (number of tickets sold): 1) Der Untergang (5437) 2) Robots (4992) 3) Million Dollar Baby (4473) 4) Hitch (1975) 5) Mi nismo andjeli 2 (1797) 6) Meet the Fockers (1273) 7) Be Cool (1223) 8) Assault on Precint 13 (1223) 9) Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events (1057) 10) Saw (853)

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112724264887490992005-04-05T20:03:00.000+02:002005-04-05T20:04:24.890+02:00

We live in really interesting times when Croatian daily newspapers reports about new polls showing 51 % of Croatians supporting Croatian entry to EU as a wonderful news. However, even if such triumphalism clearly shows pro-EU bias of Croatian media establishment, it also shows how desperate things look to average Europhile. Any, even the slightest, reversal of anti-EU trends is hailed

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112647604922875782005-04-04T22:45:00.000+02:002005-04-04T22:46:44.926+02:00

Last weekend Jutarnji list and Večernji list (Vecernji list) published results of two surveys about Croatian reading habits. Both newspapers claimed to be the most read among Croatians. I tend to believe the survey giving the top spot to Jutarnji list, and for a simple reason. It is more likely that Jutarnji list is going to have bigger circulation because it is both the “serious” daily

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112556569378884532005-04-03T21:28:00.000+02:002005-04-03T21:29:29.383+02:00

I've decided not to have a post titled "RIP John Paul II (1920-2005)" because it is pointless. Everybody knows that Pope died and everyone who has read this blog regularly probably knows that I disagreed with the late pontiff on many issues. That doesn't mean that I'm not saddened by his death and unmoved by the global eruption of emotions created by that event. But I'm also

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112466428087746852005-04-02T20:27:00.000+02:002005-04-02T20:42:28.130+02:00

Soviet Union isn't the only empire outlived by Pope John Paul II. This week Croatian media also reported about the death of an institution which was widely perceived as undestructible only few years ago. And that institution also had distinctively Split flavour. It all began half a decade ago when Sabor finally passed legislation legalising sports betting and allow private

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112460493621887352005-04-02T18:47:00.000+02:002005-04-02T18:51:24.383+02:00

While Croatian media is totally preoccupied with events in Vatican, ordinary life in Croatia still goes on. But yesterday something extraordinary happened in Sabor. Thankfully for Sanader, few people in Croatia are going to notice it. Croatia is about to have local and regional elections – most probably on May 15th. According to good Croatian custom, ruling party or coalitions are

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112438298607578452005-04-02T12:37:00.000+02:002005-04-02T18:49:19.246+02:00

I just hope this was an April Fools joke.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112383624510600402005-04-01T21:25:00.000+02:002005-04-02T12:38:42.426+02:00

Some Croatian bloggers are already having entries titled "RIP John Paul II (1920 – 2005)". I won't have such blog entry, at least not yet, but I nevertheless think that this is appropriate time to say at least one good thing about Roman pontiff. In Autumn 1994 he visited Croatia, at the time still at war and partially occupied by Serb paramilitaries. That didn't prevent him from

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112304775589411782005-03-31T23:31:00.000+02:002005-03-31T23:32:55.593+02:00

Jadranka Kosor, minister of veterans' affairs in Sanader's government and failed presidential candidate, is the last person whose side I would take in a debate. But when the debate is between her and justice minister Vesna Škare-Ožbolt (Vesna Skare Ozbolt) a.k.a. "Arm of Justice" a.k.a. "Keep Them on the Streets", than it is isn't surprising that I feel more sympathies towards embattled

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112302836358070392005-03-31T22:59:00.000+02:002005-03-31T23:00:36.363+02:00

Few years ago I couldn't fail noticing Croatian Tourist Board clips airing on CNN and the slogan "Mediterranean As It Once Was". Today Croatian media are full of stories about people who apparently took their slogan to heart and tried very hard to make Croatia living up to that reputation. Few days ago, Opatija, coastal resort town near Rijeka, which has been popular vacationing

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112220371257930792005-03-31T00:05:00.000+02:002005-03-31T00:06:11.260+02:00

In the last hours before E-Day fiasco, state media has pushing the official line about Ivo Sanader's last-ditch lobbying efforts producing some results and that the number of EU countries willing to greenlight Croatian accession negotiations was constantly increasing. There were rumours and speculations about actual number – some claimed that there were five countries, some mentioned seven,

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112131604970002862005-03-29T23:26:00.000+02:002005-04-23T21:19:54.316+02:00

Today Split building called Palace of Justice witnessed another historic event. For the first time since Croatian independence a person was sentenced to more than 20 years of prison. The story started on March 3rd 2002 when Andjela Bešlić (Andjela Beslic), 16-year old high school student, failed to return from a rock concert in nearby Sinj.On April 5th 2002, a neighbour found her

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112093869789594072005-03-29T12:56:00.000+02:002005-03-29T13:20:20.193+02:00

Sometimes I worry that the natural process of becoming conservative and right-wing with age went too far in my case. Then I read piece like this and I realise that there aren’t any reasons for such worries. At least not yet. I’m not going to be on the same wavelength with those people, at least when Hollywood movies are the issue. Somehow, I find hard to accept the whole idea of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1112033846783592852005-03-28T20:16:00.000+02:002005-03-28T20:59:20.093+02:00

By macabre set of coincidence, another South Asian tsunami is occurring roughly on the same day when another Croatian WW2 monument got blown up by right-wing extremists. This time the target was in Murter, small tourist town on the Adriatic Coast. The monument, marking the memory of some 134 townspeople killed during WW2, either as Partisans or civilian victims of Nazis and their

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111948317026138922005-03-27T20:27:00.000+02:002005-03-27T20:31:57.036+02:00

I would very much like to have something of an opinion in Terri Schiavo, but, in all fairness, I simply can’t make my mind whose side I would prefer in that debate. But I can’t fail noticing the strange absence of strong opinions on this side of Big Pond, especially in Croatia. Somehow, all those commentators who enjoy America-bashing as their favourite sport and use every aspect of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111849323639904072005-03-26T16:01:00.000+01:002005-03-26T16:02:03.656+01:00

Wars in this part of the world tend to defy the natural state of affairs. Logic, statistics and biology tell us that the number of veterans should decrease with the passage of years. In Croatia, however, this trend is quite opposite. As time goes by, number of veterans is steadily increasing, especially before the elections. Jadranka Kosor, Sanader’s minister in charge of welfare and

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111784587692998732005-03-25T21:58:00.000+01:002005-03-25T22:03:07.696+01:00

A day after Petrinja massacre, Croatian public was disturbed by somewhat similar sort of crime that had happened on the streets of Zagreb. 36-year old male - who is currently known only as “Dragan Č.” – has confronted 36-year old Danijela Petelinc and tried to talk her into starting romantic relationship again. When she snubbed him, he reacted by following example of Vlastimir Kihalić (

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111702207928187602005-03-24T23:09:00.000+01:002005-03-24T23:10:07.933+01:00

State of public safety of Croatia, which has been steadily improving for years after the end of war, is again deteriorating. Crime statistics, as usual, might be telling various and often contradictory stories, but these days Croatians are noticing increasing number of media reports about serial rapes, abductions, home invasions, spectacular armed robberies, heroin pandemic among country’s

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111617123389972912005-03-23T23:29:00.000+01:002005-03-23T23:32:03.390+01:00

He is the first one to mention Draxblog in dead-tree medium (Zarez magazine), and I haven't blogrolled him yet?

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111526214501519482005-03-22T22:15:00.000+01:002005-03-22T22:16:54.506+01:00

HRT, Croatian state-run television, has instituted new practice. While the successful American TV shows are being aired weekly, those deemed less successful – in other words, those cancelled in the middle of their first season – are aired every weekday, usually in time slots reserved for Latin American, German or Italian soap operas. So, Croatian viewers had to be very quick and very careful in

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111525286131694052005-03-22T21:59:00.000+01:002005-03-22T22:01:26.143+01:00

Under normal circumstances, this story would have been all over Croatian media, giving our esteemed intellectuals and commentators another opportunity to take jabs at violent and decadent America and express pride for Croatia belonging to peace-loving European civilisation where such incidents don't happen. But, by a macabre coincidence, yesterday city of Petrinja saw a very similar

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111446574309323832005-03-22T00:08:00.000+01:002005-03-22T00:09:34.313+01:00

I finally caught enough time to watch first four episodes of Lost, American drama series which is currently being aired on Nova TV. Whole concept – air crash survivors on remote island faced with some strange phenomena – is both promising and risky. The very mystery that keeps audience intrigued for weeks and months could become a show's doom once it is resolved, usually in the most

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111425310384999542005-03-21T18:13:00.000+01:002005-03-21T18:15:10.406+01:00

Last Saturday was for citizens of Zagreb in many ways similar to the experience felt by New Yorkers on September 11th 2001. The incomprehensible thing happened and one of city’s symbols fell crashing down. Dinamo Zagreb, which, until recently, was seen as the top Croatia’s soccer club and one of national institutions, failed to reach 6th place at the end of the first stage of this

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111327818183442062005-03-20T15:09:00.000+01:002005-03-20T15:10:18.190+01:00

Local elections campaign has started and leaders of top Croatian parties are going to increase their public presence, especially in Zagreb which, due to having 4 times more BDP than national average, remains the top prize of that contest. Zagreb remains the top stronghold of HNS (recently renamed into Croatian Peoples’ Party – Liberal Democrats), but its leader Vesna Pusić (Vesna Pusic)

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111326868362790962005-03-20T14:52:00.000+01:002005-03-20T14:56:43.446+01:00

We are currently enjoying one of the more interesting days in the history of Croatian television. For the very first time a TV station is being temporarily taken off the air for violating decency standards or, in other words, airing images of un-simulated sexual activities between two consenting adults during its late-night show programme. This was breech of decency standards worthy of such

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111260011425472612005-03-19T20:19:00.000+01:002005-03-19T20:20:11.430+01:00

While commentators of state-run HRT television station claim that 47 % of "yes" respondents in the latest PULS poll isn't sign of "dramatic increase of Euroscepticism", Metro Ventura poll conducted for Večernji list (Vecernji list) is putting the number of pro-European Croatians to 44 % which represents the record low. While Sanader continues to push the optimistic line and some of his

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111176639685959652005-03-18T21:09:00.000+01:002005-03-18T21:13:46.423+01:00

I must say that I’m little bit disappointed with the first episode of CSI: NY. I like Gary Sinise and it is quite refreshing to see him in non-villain role for a change. But his presence alone wasn’t enough to compensate for the heavy-handed sentimentality and over-the-top villain that belonged to exploitation horror films rather than what was supposed to be reality-based drama show. I

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111093333162077302005-03-17T22:01:00.000+01:002005-03-18T20:41:53.376+01:00

Nothing important happened today. Heaven didn’t fall. Day was beautiful. Yet Sanader didn’t leave anything to chance. He came to Sabor today and made as speech looking as confident as 48 hours ago when he had claimed the negotiations would start on March 17th. Of course, today claimed that EU actually didn’t postpone the negotiations and that what happened yesterday shouldn’t be treated

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111012614718572242005-03-16T23:36:00.000+01:002005-03-17T09:23:21.726+01:00

Until the very last moment Ivo Sanader claimed that the EU accession negotiations will begin on March 17th. Today, after it became apparent that his last-ditch lobbying efforts were in vain, he came on Croatian state television and, obviously believing to be in some kind of alternative time line, declared that “negotiations weren’t postponed”. It is hard to tell how Croatia will react

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1111010383275620632005-03-16T22:59:00.000+01:002005-03-17T09:45:48.350+01:00

Dubravko Novak, deputy chief of Zagreb Police District, is removed from his post today following the reports of the breakdown of security during Sunday’s handball festivities. However, Novak's removal is also motivated with another example how Croatian police understands its mission these days. Few days ago in Zagreb 21-year old Tihana V. accepted invitation for a drink with her ex

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110987358332867702005-03-16T16:35:00.000+01:002005-03-16T16:38:14.496+01:00

I noticed that I don’t blog about city of Split as much I would like to. Perhaps this is due to some of local issues being too petty or - which is more likely – too depressing to think about. Recently, a lot of controversy was created by Split city authorities decision to start ambitious project of urban renewal that would include Riva, one of Split’s most recognisable landmarks. The

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110916678102619912005-03-15T20:57:00.000+01:002005-03-15T20:59:11.820+01:00

Today I learned that Željko Peratović (Zeljko Peratovic), Croatian journalist whose involved in Gotovina Affair, has his own blog. This should be required reading for all those needing some sort of inside information about EU accession negotiations, Gotovina, Croatian intelligence services, journalist being under illegal surveillance etc. Peratović also has a Croatian blog called 45 Lines.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110915186024854682005-03-15T20:32:00.000+01:002005-03-15T20:33:06.036+01:00

Cast and crew of Zabranjena ljubav, RTL Televizija show heavily promoted as the “first Croatian soap opera has recently celebrated the making of 100th episode. The mere fact that the show managed to survive that long is a reason enough to celebrate. Its ratings are abysmally poor, which led RTL Televizija to take some desperate measures. Following the heavily promoted photo shoot of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110834411914870852005-03-14T22:06:00.000+01:002005-03-14T22:06:51.930+01:00

Yesterday Anja Paerson nearly allowed herself to lose World Ski Cup to Janica Kostelić (Janica Kostelic) in the final event. Today good citizens of Split were, for the first time this year, able to watch some of the ladies walking in miny-skirts. All this means that the winter is coming to an end and that spring is coming. While poets like spring, people in this part of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110726773211833192005-03-13T16:07:00.000+01:002005-03-13T16:12:53.216+01:00

The reasons for the dramatic rise of Euroscepticism among Croatians can be found, among other things, is the lack of proper arguments among the most enthusiastic representatives of pro-EU camp. In other words, Europhiles for years claimed that no amount of blood, sweat and tears is price too high for Croatia to enter European Union, but they simply forgot to tell why European Union represents

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110651877400485902005-03-12T19:23:00.000+01:002005-03-12T19:24:37.403+01:00

Phil Edwards has joined the ranks of SHWI bloggers with his Actually Existing blog.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110576938953662662005-03-11T22:34:00.000+01:002005-04-23T18:27:37.140+02:00

I don’t think I could add anything to this. Except that he was immensely popular in this part of the world. I loved his jokes and sketches, even those that used to mock some things I still had to hear of, like Bionic Woman, show never aired in former Yugoslavia.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110574875240271542005-03-11T22:00:00.000+01:002005-03-11T22:01:15.246+01:00

Today 24 sata published an article about the results of a poll conducted among 100 female high school students in 10 largest Croatian cities. They asked a simple question – "Would you, for a decent fee, agree to star in pornographic film". According to the poll, some 43 % answered positively which led article author, Sanja Petrović (Sanja Petrovic), to lament over moral decline of Croatia.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110571817826355872005-03-11T21:09:00.000+01:002005-03-11T21:10:17.830+01:00

Globus decided to make some sort of tradition with its choice of 100 Sexiest Croatian Women. This time, however, instead of “Sexiest” they used more “politically correct” phrase “Most Beautiful”.And, slightly less so than in the last year, I'm amazed by the criteria used. Compared with 2004 list, there are 17 new names. I must admit that those who dropped from the list are, in my humble opinion,

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110470607753395512005-03-10T17:02:00.000+01:002005-03-10T17:03:27.760+01:00

The investigation might reveal some interesting details, but I think I made my mind on the whole controversy created by the tragic events in Baghdad. My opinion is based on historic experience with the similar incidents in the past, especially the natural reactions that try to find some sort of order in chaos of unexplainable tragedy. In short, whenever I have to choose between

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110398845035475822005-03-09T21:06:00.000+01:002005-03-09T23:00:38.853+01:00

We live in really interesting times. Less than a year after the start of L’Affaire Severina, Croatian pop diva’s “work of art” has apparently spawned some sort of unofficial contest between former republics of ex-Yugoslavia. Each country apparently has legions of former, current or would-be celebrities willing to record some of the most intimate details of their lives on camera and

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110397474361786852005-03-09T20:43:00.000+01:002005-03-09T20:44:34.370+01:00

Judging by the reactions in Croatian blogosphere, few people greeted 24 sata with much enthusiasm. Many are disappointed with the unapologetically tabloid nature of new daily newspaper and many are predicting 24 sata to last no more than few weeks or months. However, in its first week, some very important people took more serious view of 24 sata. The most important of them is Split

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110322195491093222005-03-08T23:48:00.000+01:002005-03-08T23:59:46.610+01:00

Contrary what Doug Muir predicted few months ago, Kosovo prime minister Ramuz Haradinaj is going to contribute to ethnic diversity and multiculturalism in a little piece of Holland. Russian forces have killed Aslan Maskhadov, former president of Chechnya and moderate leader of Chechen rebels, thus putting the peaceful solution of Chechnyan conflict firmly in the realms of theoretical

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110320451406024412005-03-08T23:20:00.000+01:002005-03-08T23:20:51.406+01:00

To all my female readers I wish all the best for March 8th, International Women's Day.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110235748578320922005-03-07T23:48:00.000+01:002005-03-09T00:11:54.453+01:00

Unlike many other European nations, Croatia is enjoying enviable head start in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It is likelier that a Croatian representative will win this than anyone else. This is for a very simple reason. Croatia is going to have two representatives in the contest. The first one is Boris Novković (Boris Novkovic), winner of Dora contest held in Zagreb few days

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110207558266091352005-03-07T15:58:00.000+01:002005-03-07T23:54:39.293+01:00

According to Večernji list (Vecernji list), Domagoj Šeks (Domagoj Seks), 25-year old son of Vladimir Šeks (Vladimir Seks), speaker of Croatian Sabor (who happens to be one of the most powerful men in the country) was murdered in Goa, India. Unlike his father, who was in politics for most of his life, first as a human rights activist and dissident in former Yugoslavia, than as one of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110146622315853422005-03-06T23:02:00.000+01:002005-03-06T23:03:42.326+01:00

When the most infamous and the most pathetic representatives of Tudjman’s regime beat you on your talk show, it is time to think about changing career. I guess this is the advice most of Croatians would give to Aleksandar Stanković (Aleksandar Stankovic) after today’s Nedjeljom u 2 show (on state-run HRT) in which he hosted Nenad Ivanković (Nenad Ivankovic). Nenad Ivanković is today

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110114472559044452005-03-06T14:07:00.000+01:002005-03-06T14:07:52.580+01:00

Opinion poll showing less than 50 % Croatians supporting Croatian entry into EU has recently created shock among Croatian political establishment. According to various polls, in a year support for EU – something which used to be opposed only by lunatic right-wing fringe – has slipped for 25 %. Those who oppose EU might be lunatics and right-wing, but they aren’t fringe any more.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1110053645543717402005-03-05T21:13:00.000+01:002005-03-05T21:14:05.546+01:00

The first major scoop of 24 sata was the story related to Dora, HRT song competition whose winner also becomes Croatian finalist for Eurovision Song Contest. The newspaper alleged that the contest was fixed. Needless to say, this was one extra reason to watch tonight’s Dora final. However, I still treasure my mental health too much and every now and then I had to switch channels. On

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109972556489196142005-03-04T22:41:00.000+01:002005-03-04T22:42:36.493+01:00

Croatia has Severina Vučković (Severina Vuckovic). Serbia has Suzana Mančić (Suzana Mancic). Ironically, Slovenia, the most prosperous, the most progressive and the most liberal of all ex-Yugoslav countries was for some strange reason deprived of this latest expression of celebrity culture. But things are likely to change with the scandal provided by Slovenian beauty queen Ines Juranovič (

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109962377706247152005-03-04T19:51:00.000+01:002005-03-04T20:03:05.636+01:00

Miomir Žužul (Miomir Zuzul) was regarded as one of the best and the most effective of all Croatian diplomats, even by those who never forgave him privatisation shenanigans and (for most of Croatians) unacceptably pro-American and pro-Israeli views. But, once his stature was reduced from the second most powerful man in Croatia to mere Sabor representative, he ceased to see any benefit in using

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109851986907520072005-03-03T13:09:00.000+01:002005-03-03T13:13:06.910+01:00

You live, you learn. Today, I added the word heteronormative to my vocabulary. What I didn’t learn today is the sad fact that regardless of how hard you try not to be bigoted, un-diplomatic or insensitive, someone never fails to find good reason to be mortally offended by your words and actions. That I learned long time ago.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109792926353091622005-03-02T20:47:00.000+01:002005-03-02T20:48:46.363+01:00

Today is another important day in history of Croatian media. 24 sata is a daily newspaper that appeared on newsstands for the first time. Its editor-in-chief Matija Babić (Matija Babic) has already made history by breaking the news of Severina Vučković (Severina Vuckovic) sex tape and thus convincing the last die-hard sceptics of the power of Internet. This time the history is made through

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109718133742422682005-03-02T00:01:00.000+01:002005-03-02T00:02:13.746+01:00

First one is Steve Gabster and his Kodachrome Quixote blog. Second one is EU-oriented England Expects. Last, but not least, is Jacqueline Passey, whose blog I had found via Gene Expression.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109716662031086502005-03-01T23:36:00.000+01:002005-03-01T23:37:42.040+01:00

According to meteorological data, this morning was one of the coldest in Croatian history. Split had -6 degrees Celsius, which is record unsurpassed since 1963. Nearby island of Hvar, renowned for its mild winters, also had temperatures not recorded since 1949. Interestingly enough, all this unprecedented cold wasn’t accompanied with the sights usually associated with winter

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109620809740337162005-02-28T20:59:00.000+01:002005-02-28T21:00:09.743+01:00

I don’t read Andrew Reeves’ blog as much as I would like to. Here is one of his posts that could serve as nice argument against all those who complain about too much violence in popular culture and their harmful effects on global youth.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109597829454143632005-02-28T14:36:00.000+01:002005-02-28T14:37:09.460+01:00

I must say that I’m not particularly disappointed with what many critics – especially those more snobbish - are likely to call “another Oscar disgrace”. So, Martin Scorsese failed again to win “Oscar” and his status of one of the greatest American filmmakers isn’t confirmed with a golden statue. I think that Scorsese indeed deserved “Oscar”, but not for The Aviator. The most

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109507884630983042005-02-27T13:37:00.000+01:002005-02-27T13:38:04.653+01:00

Last few weeks were quite bad for Ivo Sanader’s government. Despite relentless lobbying efforts – Sanader even bothered to visit ailing Pope John Paul II in order to get support – EU still sends mixed signals over March 17th as the coveted starting day for EU accession negotiations. And if Croatia doesn’t get green light on March 17th, Sanader’s party is going to get clobbered at the local

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109439389475690042005-02-26T18:35:00.000+01:002005-02-26T18:53:52.300+01:00

Despite Internet, despite relatively large number of radio stations and despite the presence of four local TV stations (TV Jadran, STV, TV Dalmacija and Kanal 5) and despite the decades-long hegemony of Slobodna Dalmacija over local media markets, someone decided to invest into another Split weekly newspaper. Today appeared the first issue of Splitske Novine. First impressions are

Dragannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109357829306607622005-02-25T19:54:00.000+01:002005-02-25T19:58:56.620+01:00

What some Croatian media called “Trial of the Century” has ended in Zagreb today. Group of people was sentenced for their role in the kidnapping of Tomislav Zagorac, son of General Vladimir Zagorac. Among people sentenced was Hrvoje Petrač (Hrvoje Petrac), controversial businessman currently on the run, and his son Novica Petrač, who is going to spend next two and half years behind bars -

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109356633389736162005-02-25T19:35:00.000+01:002005-02-25T19:42:33.910+01:00

As time goes by, I, just like so many people, tend to replace youthful radicalism with pragmatic conservatism that comes with age. So, I have less and less sympathies to all those who think that the revolution represents a recipe for some or all of the social problems and that the world could be a better place with certain set of characters being introduced to the nearest wall or a lamppost.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109238213388097492005-02-24T10:42:00.000+01:002005-02-24T10:43:33.393+01:00

There is first time for everything. According to some media reports, another thing happened in Croatia for the first time. Producers of Villa Maria, Croatia’s first television soap opera, have decided to increase realism and “relevance” of their show by having some of the scenes shot on real locations. One of them is Saloon Club in Zagreb, where they added to the realism by having Boris

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109114003818288972005-02-23T00:10:00.000+01:002005-02-23T00:13:23.820+01:00

"People, is this possible? What is this? Madhouse!" These immortal words are forever associated with one of the most dramatic moment in the history of sports in former Yugoslavia. More than two decades ago Yugoslav and Bulgarian team were playing European Soccer Championship qualification game at Poljud Stadium in Split. In the very last moment of the game Yugoslavia has scored a goal

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1109021115282221362005-02-21T22:21:00.000+01:002005-02-21T22:25:15.286+01:00

No, I’m not referring to something as obvious as Gibson’s Braveheart, Bruckheimmer’s King Arthur or plans to cast Hale Berry as Nefertiti. I recently watched Phantom of the Opera, Joel Schumacher’s version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular stage musical. I’ll try not to spoil you anything. Let’s just say that one small, almost unnoticeable detail ruined the whole experience to anyone

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108933660022996622005-02-20T22:06:00.000+01:002005-02-20T22:07:40.030+01:00

Today’s instalment of Nedjeljom u 2, talk show on HRT, represented 60 minutes that should enter into future textbooks of Croatian television history. Yet those 60 minutes were incredibly entertaining and profoundly disturbing at the same time. In past few years Aleksandar Stanković (Aleksandar Stankovic), show’s host, developed quite a reputation for his hostile but also a very

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108896448645494502005-02-20T11:47:00.000+01:002005-02-20T11:47:28.660+01:00

It seems that the controversial law banning shops from working on Sundays was just a test for Catholic Church. Apparent failure of the law – it was struck down by Constitutional Court few months after being passed in Sabor – didn’t discourage Church officials from pushing for even more ambitious legislation. Few weeks ago Church officials in Croatia open the first salvo in their PR

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108834002608257592005-02-19T18:25:00.000+01:002005-02-19T18:28:59.516+01:00

Those who attribute success of Janica Kostelić (Janica Kostelic) to some kind of her extraterrestrial qualities are probably going too far. Her victories on the ski slopes could be explained with good old things like hard work and strength of character. But there is something definitely alien when it comes to her handling of fame, at least when compared with the rest of Croatian jet set.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108768704130097862005-02-19T00:18:00.000+01:002005-02-19T00:49:12.820+01:00

He had many wonderful roles in his long career, but for me he will always be Old Man in Robocop.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108767461015368622005-02-18T23:55:00.000+01:002005-02-18T23:57:41.026+01:00

According to Croatian magazine Arena, Severina Vučković (Severina Vuckovic) is on a way to become a “proper” movie star. After Lordan Zafranović (Lordan Zafranovic), Ahmed Švrakić (Ahmed Svrakic) is another filmmaker to offer her a role in prestigious movie project. The movie titled Duhovi Sarajeva (Ghosts of Sarajevo) is supposed to have cast made of “anyone who means something in Sarajevo”.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108747875293918892005-02-18T18:30:00.000+01:002005-02-18T18:31:15.296+01:00

The blogging might be very light due to certain technical issues I have to deal with over the weekend.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108687071882633972005-02-18T01:36:00.000+01:002005-02-18T01:37:51.896+01:00

Last year was very bad for Nova TV. After being serious competition for state-run HRT and leaving RTL Televizija far behind, this station has lost its lofty position on Croatian TV market in couple of months. They changed the owner, most of its stars have defected to other two stations and the programme which once had almost all the best American and British TV shows is now only the shadow of

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108594222475678642005-02-16T23:47:00.000+01:002005-02-16T23:50:22.486+01:00

One of biggest problems for Ivo Sanader is in very limited personnel base from which he can recruit ministers. HDZ has many members willing to get posts in his cabinet, but very few are loyal enough for Sanader. Another problem is apparent unwillingness of HDZ cadre to get posts which could bring immediate public disdain. Health ministry under Andrija Hebrang was apparently in such bad shape that

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108501742836520922005-02-15T22:07:00.000+01:002005-02-15T22:09:02.846+01:00

More than two years ago I blogged about Dr. Ivo Banac and wrote that his take-over of LS leadership was a bad idea. Qualities that make someone a great scholar and respected Feral Tribune columnist aren’t exactly qualities that guarantee success in the world of Croatian politics. His taking over Ministry of Urbanism and Environmental Protection during the last months of Ivica Račan’s (

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108498752583806302005-02-15T21:17:00.000+01:002005-02-15T21:19:12.593+01:00

February seems to be very bad month for Ivo Sanader. Last year, his government launched tens millions of taxpayer’s kunas worth of PR campaign which was supposed to make those very taxpayers more aware of the ways they can contact with the government. In practicality this awareness was achieved through posters and ads describing all kinds of wonderful things that happened since Sanader

Dragannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108483541093787352005-02-15T17:04:00.000+01:002005-02-15T17:05:41.240+01:00

There are so many stories unfolding in Croatia today, and so little time to blog about them. One of them began on Saturday night in one apartment building in Zagreb. From one of the apartments came the strange noise and a neighbour came to complain about it. There he saw two university students - 23-year old Dragan Jung from Labin and 21-year old Masimo Kršulj (Masimo Krsulj) from Rabac –

Dragannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108474365180356752005-02-15T14:32:00.000+01:002005-02-15T14:36:06.820+01:00

The snow melted rather quickly, but not quickly enough for me to miss this sight – one which is very rare on the streets of Split.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108473905810076222005-02-15T14:25:00.000+01:002005-02-15T14:31:25.913+01:00

For the second time this year, good citizens of Split experienced snow. Between 5-7 cm of snow created series of traffic accidents, paralysed many businesses and made a lot of children happy. As you might see, Kozjak is unlikely to serve as movie location today.

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108415728560047192005-02-14T22:12:00.000+01:002005-02-14T22:15:28.570+01:00

Today was cloudy in Split with occasional drops of rain. In the afternoon rain became heavy and accompanied with strong wind. In short, it wasn’t particularly beautiful day. It was hard to imagine this day as anything special. All that despite the media relentlessly trying to tie it with the most intimate parts of individuals’ life for commercial purposes. Today we also saw that

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064428.post-1108313333965823562005-02-13T17:43:00.000+01:002005-02-13T17:48:53.976+01:00

Judging by the way 60th anniversary of Dresden bombing is marked in Croatian blogosphere, it seems that all those 60th anniversaries are following similar and, to a certain degree, disturbing pattern – historical truth and objective data are again discarded for the sake of contemporary politics and fashionable trends. Just like the Auschwitz anniversary was good excuse to mention

Dragannoreply@blogger.com0