This is the amazing tale of the Turkish government handing over to Istanbul’s Armenian Patriarchate in the 1920’s some of the church effects looted during the Genocide.

A friend who recently returned from abroad conveyed that many Armenians in the Diaspora are frustrated and fed-up with the shenanigans of our government. They are tired of hearing about corruption, monopolies, poor governance, rigged elections and an overall lack of vision and policy.

For ten days, three environmental activists from our homeland were in the Los Angeles area to raise awareness levels about the severe problems we face.

It was a Sunday full of discoveries. My son Erik picked me up at 8 in the morning and we drove to the bank of the LA River in Glendale, to join a walking tour of the river. Yes, a real river runs through Glendale! It’s a river where you can swim and kayak, and I hadn’t even heard about it until recently.

Halloween, pumpkin patches, and fallen leaves are images that come to mind when I think of autumn. Festivals are other images associated with that time of the year. Among all Fall Festivals – from October Fest to Harvest Fest – there’s one that I don’t want to miss: that’s the Arpa International Film Festival.

This column is devoted to Serge Samoniantz, former English editor of Asbarez newspaper for 10 years, and current editor of The California Courier for the last 25 years.

Being sentimental is a way of life for me. I wish I was less temperamental and could place a significant amount of distance between my mental health and my actual life, but I realize this is never going to happen. While it means I wear my heart on my sleeve, I have finally made my peace with this personal characteristic because it also allows me to be open to the splendor of life.

A decade, that’s how long it’s been… Before I go on, let me give you fair warning. This is going to be one of those sappy, somewhat trite, self-centered, and ultimately, possibly the most boring piece I’ve ever written.

Fall 2013 will forever be imprinted in my mind with a melancholic pop song about our enigmatic obsession with the Homeland. In my mind’s eye these days, Arabo Ispiryan’s cinematic music video plays in repeat.

Awash in billions of petrodollars, but lacking a moral compass, Azerbaijan has been busy handing out loads of money to anyone who is willing to heed its propaganda.

This past weekend was celebratory in the country. The Armenian national football team beat Bulgaria on home turf, finally breaking a streak of losses at home. Young and old danced in the streets, strangers congratulated one another and the tricolor was draped on everything from people to cars.

Most people know Khachadoor Apovian primarily as the pioneer in using vernacular Armenian as a written language (for our eastern dialect). But he also climbed Mount Ararat, first on October 9, 1829 (September 27 on the Julian calendar), then two more times, which fewer people are conscious of. He was also first to summit Mt. Arakadz in July of 1843.

While there is frequent talk about the pursuit of Armenian claims against Turkey in the International Court of Justice (World Court), the possibility of taking legal action in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is rarely mentioned, despite its distinct advantages.

Developing complex models and postulating theories, writing academic papers, organizing high-level conferences and advancing policies to address some of the most pressing issues facing the Armenian nation is typically the method we employ. We discuss and analyze, argue incessantly, lose our composure in the melee of verbal and pseudo-intellectual traffic and usually end up nowhere.