http://ocolly.com/2008/02/07/breath-of-fresh-air-from-vampire-weekend/
Breath of fresh air from Vampire Weekend
By Lisa LewisEntertainment Reporter
Don’t let this New York foursome’s looks fool you. The whiter-than-white Columbia University kids who make up Vampire Weekend know how to take musical influences from all over the world and from several different time periods and turn it into something that actually works.
Ezra Koenig (vocals/guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards/vocals), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums) met while studying at the university. The group has toured with The Shins in Europe and is on an international tour in promotion of its first album.
The band’s name came from a movie Koenig and his friends made about a country being taken over by vampires, he said in an interview with http://www.bwog.com.
The band’s self-titled album, released Jan. 29 on XL Recordings, is a combination of tribal or battle-march style percussion, poppy keyboards, repetitive plucky guitars and occasional classical instrumental paired with poetic, often nonsensical lyrics.
Koenig’s vocals transition between sounding like Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Ziggy Marley, a younger Sting or a more upbeat Thom Yorke from Radiohead, and sometimes miraculously all four at once.
Vampire Weekend’s fusion of multiple different types of music ultimately defies a true genre placement. However, if the band’s music had to be categorized, it would create something that I might describe as progrexperindieggae (a combination of progressive and experimental rock, indie music and reggae, for those who are confused) with interwoven hints of tribal, classical and ska influences throughout. Maybe the group’s description of “Upper West Side Soweto” is more fitting.
The end result is something you might expect to hear from a band playing to a sparse crowd in the middle of a park, where people can dance like no one is watching.
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” the first single from the album, references to Congolese soukous (African rumba) music and was No. 67 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Songs of 2007. The repetitive guitar chorus comes off as a bit annoying at first but the song gives way to a sublime hand-drum interlude and one is struck with a nearly-irresistible urge to move around when hearing it.
“M79,” the standout track on the album, channels a hopped-up Mozart instrumental with its harpsichord and sweeping string accompaniment, as well as containing a subdued tribal-sounding backing chorus.
The topic in “Campus” is probably one many students can identify with – having a crush on a professor, with the possibility of that crush going awry. “Then I see you/ You’re walking cross the campus/ Cruel professor/ Studying romances/ How am I supposed to pretend/ I never want to see you again?” Koenig states amid a simplified-but-building soundscape of drum beats, guitar plucks, keyboards, cymbals and string accompaniment.
Though mystifying lyrics abound throughout the songs such as the “Pollination yellow cab” and “Coronation rickshaw grab” from “M79” Koenig occasionally waxes profoundly understandable (“All your diction dripping with disdain/ Through the pain/ I always tell the truth” from “Oxford Comma”).
Track No. 8, “Bryn,” is the obligatory love-professing tune (“Oh Bryn! You see in the dark/ Right past the fireflies that sleep in my heart”) set to a background of romantic Spanish-sounding instrumentals.
“One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” breaks into an ambient, electronica-infused tone with West Coast guitar strums and with the other band members once again adding a tribal accompaniment backing to Koenig’s wailing chorus.
The powerful, pounding piano intro and interlude make “Walcott” another catchy and noteworthy song.
The album ends on a mellow, deep, decidedly Caribbean-sounding note with “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance,” which channels Bob Marley’s “One Love.” However, it also sneaks in harpsichord and string instrumentals and melodic guitar breaks and even a woodwind accompaniment.
Warning: this album isn’t for those who love their tired, overexposed mainstream cookie-cutter style of music. It’s for open-minded music lovers looking for something completely different.
Vampire Weekend’s firstborn may not be mind-blowing or world-changing, but it’s at least fairly groundbreaking as far as music styles go. After an initial reaction of “What the …?” it’ll put a beat in your head and a smile on your face. Give it a listen. Your ears will thank you.
The Verdict:
Vampire Weekend’s self-titled album is a bongo hit of fresh air.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
an article about vampires.
http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2008/03/26/Features/Vampire.Weekend.Features.World.Influences-3283972.shtml
Vampire Weekend features world influences
By: Ryan Kathman
Posted: 3/26/08People who caught musical guest Vampire Weekend perform on Saturday Night Live on March 8 may have noticed some discrepancies between what they saw and what they heard. The band's featured songs blended African rhythms with college rock lyrics, supported by the classical touch of a string quartet. But the 20-something musicians creating this world-music sound looked like the kind of white, East Coast yuppies who might play the bad guys in a 1980s frat movie. The lead singer even sported a preppy wool sweater.It was as incongruous as if guest host Amy Adams had stepped in for Fred Armisen to play Barack Obama in the show's opening sketch.But Vampire Weekend is in fact a New York-based foursome of college buddies who gained a rabid Internet following last year and whose eponymous debut album - released in January on XL Recordings - is even making non-bloggers take notice. Filled with up-tempo but laid-back pop-rock numbers, the record feels like a fun summer release that's sure to warm up anyone still trying to wish away the long winter.In the grand tradition of white-bread troubadours like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and the Talking Heads' David Byrne, Vampire Weekend's lead singer Ezra Koenig transcends his Caucasian heritage by setting his egghead deep thoughts and clever observations to an Afro-pop beat and island-tinged melodies. Gabriel is even name-dropped in of the band's popular singles, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," a title that fittingly blends its East Coast and African inspirations.But Weekend's tunes don't share Gabriel's love for epic production and scale. Although their songs employ everything from harpsichords to flutes to fully orchestrated string arrangements, the album maintains a stripped-down garage band feel that evokes The White Stripes for simplicity if not rawness.The band met at Columbia University and it shows its Ivy League roots in songs like "Oxford Comma," which seems to berate grammatical pretentiousness and "Campus," about unrequited professor/student love. Another song, "Walcott", details the plot of a short film the band made about bloodsucking creatures attacking Cape Cod - it's also where they filched their name.The two best tunes on the record also happen to be the ones premiered on SNL earlier this month. The zippy "A-Punk" - which is up to 30 and #91 on Billboard's rock and pop charts, respectively - sounds like a forgotten The Clash song if Joe Strummer had decided to experiment with a calliope. "M79," a jaunty hodgepodge of strings, shout choruses and colorful rhymes - "Pollination yellow cab," "Coronation rickshaw grab" - epitomizes the group's refreshingly original sound while serving as a fitting tribute to its influences.The band may not look like the guys you'd expect to bring world music into the mainstream, but Vampire Weekend is a perfect alternative to alternative music fans who think the genre has gotten just a little too American.ryankathman@dailynebraskan.com
© Copyright 2008 Daily Nebraskan
Vampire Weekend features world influences
By: Ryan Kathman
Posted: 3/26/08People who caught musical guest Vampire Weekend perform on Saturday Night Live on March 8 may have noticed some discrepancies between what they saw and what they heard. The band's featured songs blended African rhythms with college rock lyrics, supported by the classical touch of a string quartet. But the 20-something musicians creating this world-music sound looked like the kind of white, East Coast yuppies who might play the bad guys in a 1980s frat movie. The lead singer even sported a preppy wool sweater.It was as incongruous as if guest host Amy Adams had stepped in for Fred Armisen to play Barack Obama in the show's opening sketch.But Vampire Weekend is in fact a New York-based foursome of college buddies who gained a rabid Internet following last year and whose eponymous debut album - released in January on XL Recordings - is even making non-bloggers take notice. Filled with up-tempo but laid-back pop-rock numbers, the record feels like a fun summer release that's sure to warm up anyone still trying to wish away the long winter.In the grand tradition of white-bread troubadours like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and the Talking Heads' David Byrne, Vampire Weekend's lead singer Ezra Koenig transcends his Caucasian heritage by setting his egghead deep thoughts and clever observations to an Afro-pop beat and island-tinged melodies. Gabriel is even name-dropped in of the band's popular singles, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," a title that fittingly blends its East Coast and African inspirations.But Weekend's tunes don't share Gabriel's love for epic production and scale. Although their songs employ everything from harpsichords to flutes to fully orchestrated string arrangements, the album maintains a stripped-down garage band feel that evokes The White Stripes for simplicity if not rawness.The band met at Columbia University and it shows its Ivy League roots in songs like "Oxford Comma," which seems to berate grammatical pretentiousness and "Campus," about unrequited professor/student love. Another song, "Walcott", details the plot of a short film the band made about bloodsucking creatures attacking Cape Cod - it's also where they filched their name.The two best tunes on the record also happen to be the ones premiered on SNL earlier this month. The zippy "A-Punk" - which is up to 30 and #91 on Billboard's rock and pop charts, respectively - sounds like a forgotten The Clash song if Joe Strummer had decided to experiment with a calliope. "M79," a jaunty hodgepodge of strings, shout choruses and colorful rhymes - "Pollination yellow cab," "Coronation rickshaw grab" - epitomizes the group's refreshingly original sound while serving as a fitting tribute to its influences.The band may not look like the guys you'd expect to bring world music into the mainstream, but Vampire Weekend is a perfect alternative to alternative music fans who think the genre has gotten just a little too American.ryankathman@dailynebraskan.com
© Copyright 2008 Daily Nebraskan
http://www.fictionpress.com/u/492407/
this guy has written several short stories and i think he is gay.
this one is written by someone different and i think i like it a little more.
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2544191/2/Samson
this guy has written several short stories and i think he is gay.
this one is written by someone different and i think i like it a little more.
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2544191/2/Samson
dirty air, dirty feet, dirty hair.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080719/ap_on_re_as/china_the_shutdown;_ylt=AurzUqg21a04a4Pthlb1OvwDW7oF
Beijing begins massive Olympic shutdown
By STEPHEN WADE, AP Sports Writer Sat Jul 19, 6:35 AM ET
BEIJING - Beijing's Olympic shutdown begins Sunday, a drastic plan to lift the Chinese capital's gray shroud of pollution just three weeks ahead of the games.
Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and many polluting factories will be shuttered. Chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 percent — and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be halted.
In a highly stage-managed Olympics aimed at showing off the rising power of the 21st century, no challenge is greater than producing crystalline air for 10,500 of the world's greatest athletes.
"Pea-soup air at the opening ceremony would be their worst nightmare," said Victor Cha, director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.
Striking venues and $40 billion spent to improve infrastructure cannot mask Beijing's dirty air. A World Bank study found China is home to 16 of the 20 worst cities for air quality. Three-quarters of the water flowing through urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has repeatedly warned that outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if the air quality is poor.
Under the two-month plan, vehicles will be allowed on the roads every other day depending on even-odd registration numbers. In addition, 300,000 heavy polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which operate only at night — were banned beginning July 1.
Five days after Sunday's traffic ban goes into effect, special Olympic traffic lanes will begin operating until Sept. 25, a plan that has been used in previous games. Beijing is setting aside 165 miles of roadway on which certified Olympic vehicles will be allowed to move from hotels, Olympic venues and Athletes Village.
To further ease congestion, employers are being asked to stagger work schedules. Public institutions will open an hour later than normal and two new subway lines scheduled to open Sunday should also bring relief.
The plan to clean the gray air seems to match the high-security tone of the games, which will be policed by 100,000 officials.
Razor-wire barriers and soldiers standing at attention guard the outskirts of the Olympic Green area and the Chinese have even installed ground-to-air missiles near one Olympic venue to protect it from possible attacks.
Security, tight visa rules and inflated hotel prices seem to be keeping foreigners away. Many nightspots near Olympic venue are being closed by security officials, who say the games are under threat from Muslim extremists in China's western Xinjiang region.
Beijing organizers are also in a protracted showdown with TV broadcasters, who are seeking free movement and reporting during the games. China's communist government seems to fear being embarrassed during the games by pro-Tibet activists, local dissidents or critics of China's human rights policies.
The gigantic experiment to curb pollution could still go wrong.
Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said unpredictable winds could blow pollution into Beijing despite factory shutdowns in the city and five surrounding provinces.
Ramanathan is leading a multinational research project in tracking Beijing's pollution before, during and after the Olympics.
"Reducing the local emissions is going to reduce the local pollution, but is that sufficient to help the athletes breath cleaner air? This is going to depend on the winds," he said.
Beijing begins massive Olympic shutdown
By STEPHEN WADE, AP Sports Writer Sat Jul 19, 6:35 AM ET
BEIJING - Beijing's Olympic shutdown begins Sunday, a drastic plan to lift the Chinese capital's gray shroud of pollution just three weeks ahead of the games.
Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and many polluting factories will be shuttered. Chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 percent — and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be halted.
In a highly stage-managed Olympics aimed at showing off the rising power of the 21st century, no challenge is greater than producing crystalline air for 10,500 of the world's greatest athletes.
"Pea-soup air at the opening ceremony would be their worst nightmare," said Victor Cha, director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.
Striking venues and $40 billion spent to improve infrastructure cannot mask Beijing's dirty air. A World Bank study found China is home to 16 of the 20 worst cities for air quality. Three-quarters of the water flowing through urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has repeatedly warned that outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if the air quality is poor.
Under the two-month plan, vehicles will be allowed on the roads every other day depending on even-odd registration numbers. In addition, 300,000 heavy polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which operate only at night — were banned beginning July 1.
Five days after Sunday's traffic ban goes into effect, special Olympic traffic lanes will begin operating until Sept. 25, a plan that has been used in previous games. Beijing is setting aside 165 miles of roadway on which certified Olympic vehicles will be allowed to move from hotels, Olympic venues and Athletes Village.
To further ease congestion, employers are being asked to stagger work schedules. Public institutions will open an hour later than normal and two new subway lines scheduled to open Sunday should also bring relief.
The plan to clean the gray air seems to match the high-security tone of the games, which will be policed by 100,000 officials.
Razor-wire barriers and soldiers standing at attention guard the outskirts of the Olympic Green area and the Chinese have even installed ground-to-air missiles near one Olympic venue to protect it from possible attacks.
Security, tight visa rules and inflated hotel prices seem to be keeping foreigners away. Many nightspots near Olympic venue are being closed by security officials, who say the games are under threat from Muslim extremists in China's western Xinjiang region.
Beijing organizers are also in a protracted showdown with TV broadcasters, who are seeking free movement and reporting during the games. China's communist government seems to fear being embarrassed during the games by pro-Tibet activists, local dissidents or critics of China's human rights policies.
The gigantic experiment to curb pollution could still go wrong.
Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said unpredictable winds could blow pollution into Beijing despite factory shutdowns in the city and five surrounding provinces.
Ramanathan is leading a multinational research project in tracking Beijing's pollution before, during and after the Olympics.
"Reducing the local emissions is going to reduce the local pollution, but is that sufficient to help the athletes breath cleaner air? This is going to depend on the winds," he said.
another sports article.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/New-ticket-plan-aims-to-keep-Dallas-fans-out-of-?urn=nfl,94980
Monday, Jul 21, 2008 10:52 am EDT
New ticket plan aims to keep Dallas fans out of Cards' stadium
The Arizona Cardinals are trying to "protect the nest." This means they'd like University of Phoenix Stadium to continue to sell out, and to do so with as few opposing fans as possible.
In the past two seasons, there was little concern about this since the team sold out every home game. But with ticket sales a bit slower as the third season approaches, the Cardinals are requiring fans who want to buy tickets to the Dallas game on Oct. 12 to also buy tickets for the Aug. 7 exhibition opener vs. New Orleans. Cardinals fans have "created a decisive home-field advantage" the past two years, and the team wants to keep it that way by discouraging single-game ticket sales to Dallas Cowboys fans, team spokesman Mark Dalton said.
"Our goal is to have as many Cardinal fans in the stadium as possible," Dalton said.
In terms of overall ticket sales, "We're a little slower than we were at this point" last year, Dalton said, citing the slowing economy. Dalton estimated about 58,000 season tickets have been sold. Ideally, the Cardinals would like to sell about 60,000 season tickets and hold back 3,000 or so to sell for individual games.
"If we don't get to that threshold, then there will be a few more individual single-game tickets available," Dalton said.
Source: East Valley Tribune
Monday, Jul 21, 2008 10:52 am EDT
New ticket plan aims to keep Dallas fans out of Cards' stadium
The Arizona Cardinals are trying to "protect the nest." This means they'd like University of Phoenix Stadium to continue to sell out, and to do so with as few opposing fans as possible.
In the past two seasons, there was little concern about this since the team sold out every home game. But with ticket sales a bit slower as the third season approaches, the Cardinals are requiring fans who want to buy tickets to the Dallas game on Oct. 12 to also buy tickets for the Aug. 7 exhibition opener vs. New Orleans. Cardinals fans have "created a decisive home-field advantage" the past two years, and the team wants to keep it that way by discouraging single-game ticket sales to Dallas Cowboys fans, team spokesman Mark Dalton said.
"Our goal is to have as many Cardinal fans in the stadium as possible," Dalton said.
In terms of overall ticket sales, "We're a little slower than we were at this point" last year, Dalton said, citing the slowing economy. Dalton estimated about 58,000 season tickets have been sold. Ideally, the Cardinals would like to sell about 60,000 season tickets and hold back 3,000 or so to sell for individual games.
"If we don't get to that threshold, then there will be a few more individual single-game tickets available," Dalton said.
Source: East Valley Tribune
Friday, July 18, 2008
i am going to drink some orange juice after this.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_re_mi_ea/dubai_indecent_behavior
Dubai detains 79 for indecent behavior on beaches
By BARBARA SURK, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 14, 9:11 PM ET
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Westerners were getting too racy on the beaches of this Persian Gulf tourist haven, and a police crackdown on topless sunbathing, nudity and other indecent behavior has resulted in 79 arrests in recent days.
Undercover officers are strolling the sand while others stand guard in new watchtowers to enforce the social mores of this Muslim city-state, which is a booming business center that is attracting growing hordes of foreign tourists.
Authorities said they began the decency campaign after police detained a British man and a woman who were allegedly having sex on one of Dubai's sprawling beaches earlier this month.
Over the past two weeks, police have detained a total of 79 people whose behavior was "disturbing families enjoying the beach," Zuhair Haroun, a spokesman for Dubai's Criminal Investigation Department, said Monday.
First-time offenders may be issued a warning, but if caught twice, tourists could be referred to the public prosecutor for possible criminal charges, authorities said.
Thousands of European and Asian expatriates live and work in Dubai, where native Emiratis make up only about 20 percent of the estimated 1.2 million residents. Shopping malls and fast food restaurants have replaced traditional Arab houses, and English has overtaken Arabic as the emirate's lingua franca.
Many Emiratis and Arabs visiting from other Persian Gulf countries increasingly feel Dubai's ambition to become a cosmopolitan metropolis and tourist destination is overrunning their own traditions and contradict what they feel is culturally acceptable.
Unlike elsewhere in the conservative Persian Gulf, tourists in Dubai are often seen wearing skimpy bikinis on public beaches and walk the city's streets in shorts. Alcohol is freely available in hotel bars and restaurants in this regional businesses and entertainment hub.
While pursuing the police crackdown, Dubai has embarked on a public awareness campaign to remind its Western visitors and foreign residents that the city may have flashy hotels and glitzy skyscrapers but it also is a Muslim country with traditionally conservative values.
The city is installing signs warning tourists in Arabic, English and several other languages not to sunbathe topless or change clothes in public, said Abdullah Mohammed Rafia, an official with the Dubai Municipality whose office is overseeing the public awareness campaign.
Authorities are "taking action in response to numerous complaints" filed by people who visit the city's beaches, Rafia said. Complaints have ranged from families "offended by displays of nudity" to women sunbathers who say groups of men stare at them while at the beach.
The police campaign also will target people who harass beachgoers with acts "deemed offensive, immoral or disrespectful," including loitering and voyeurism, said Dubai's acting police chief, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina.
Some tourists who were enjoying Dubai's simmering sun Monday said the new campaign left them confused about what is considered appropriate in Dubai.
"I understand that I have to respect the rules of the country," said John MacLean, a British tourist on holiday with his girlfriend. But, he added, "I am not sure if I can kiss her or touch her in public."
Dubai detains 79 for indecent behavior on beaches
By BARBARA SURK, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 14, 9:11 PM ET
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Westerners were getting too racy on the beaches of this Persian Gulf tourist haven, and a police crackdown on topless sunbathing, nudity and other indecent behavior has resulted in 79 arrests in recent days.
Undercover officers are strolling the sand while others stand guard in new watchtowers to enforce the social mores of this Muslim city-state, which is a booming business center that is attracting growing hordes of foreign tourists.
Authorities said they began the decency campaign after police detained a British man and a woman who were allegedly having sex on one of Dubai's sprawling beaches earlier this month.
Over the past two weeks, police have detained a total of 79 people whose behavior was "disturbing families enjoying the beach," Zuhair Haroun, a spokesman for Dubai's Criminal Investigation Department, said Monday.
First-time offenders may be issued a warning, but if caught twice, tourists could be referred to the public prosecutor for possible criminal charges, authorities said.
Thousands of European and Asian expatriates live and work in Dubai, where native Emiratis make up only about 20 percent of the estimated 1.2 million residents. Shopping malls and fast food restaurants have replaced traditional Arab houses, and English has overtaken Arabic as the emirate's lingua franca.
Many Emiratis and Arabs visiting from other Persian Gulf countries increasingly feel Dubai's ambition to become a cosmopolitan metropolis and tourist destination is overrunning their own traditions and contradict what they feel is culturally acceptable.
Unlike elsewhere in the conservative Persian Gulf, tourists in Dubai are often seen wearing skimpy bikinis on public beaches and walk the city's streets in shorts. Alcohol is freely available in hotel bars and restaurants in this regional businesses and entertainment hub.
While pursuing the police crackdown, Dubai has embarked on a public awareness campaign to remind its Western visitors and foreign residents that the city may have flashy hotels and glitzy skyscrapers but it also is a Muslim country with traditionally conservative values.
The city is installing signs warning tourists in Arabic, English and several other languages not to sunbathe topless or change clothes in public, said Abdullah Mohammed Rafia, an official with the Dubai Municipality whose office is overseeing the public awareness campaign.
Authorities are "taking action in response to numerous complaints" filed by people who visit the city's beaches, Rafia said. Complaints have ranged from families "offended by displays of nudity" to women sunbathers who say groups of men stare at them while at the beach.
The police campaign also will target people who harass beachgoers with acts "deemed offensive, immoral or disrespectful," including loitering and voyeurism, said Dubai's acting police chief, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina.
Some tourists who were enjoying Dubai's simmering sun Monday said the new campaign left them confused about what is considered appropriate in Dubai.
"I understand that I have to respect the rules of the country," said John MacLean, a British tourist on holiday with his girlfriend. But, he added, "I am not sure if I can kiss her or touch her in public."
my brother moved back in with me.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/11/holocaust.reunion/index.html
updated 9:55 a.m. EDT, Fri July 11, 2008
Holocaust siblings meet after 66 years.
By Matthew ChanceCNN
DONETSK, Ukraine (CNN) -- A frail Irene Famulak clutched her brother on the airport tarmac, her arm wrapped around him in a tight embrace, tears streaming down their faces. It was the first time since 1942 they had seen each other, when she was 17 and he was just 7.
Siblings Wssewolod Galezkij and Irene Famulak were separated in 1942 when Nazis took her to a labor camp.
That was the night the invading Nazis came to take her away from her Ukrainian home.
"I remember it well because I kissed him good-bye, and he pushed me away," she said of her brother. "I asked, 'Why did you do that?' And he said that he doesn't like kisses."
"The Nazis told my mother that I was being taken to work in a German labor camp for six months. But it was, of course, much longer. I was there for years."
Both siblings survived the Holocaust and grew up on different sides of the Iron Curtain, not knowing the fate of the other.
But after 66 years apart, Famulak, 83, was reunited with her long lost 73-year-old brother, Wssewolod Galezkij. They held each other close this time, cherishing the moment.
"I don't believe anyone has ever known such happiness. Now, I truly believe I can die satisfied," Galezkij said.
Famulak made the long journey to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after being contacted by the American Red Cross. The organization told her they had located her only surviving sibling.
Famulak said she spent World War II in a labor camp in Munich, Germany, working in the kitchens. She had been taken to the camp with her older sister. When it was liberated in 1945, Famulak stayed in Germany for several years, eventually emigrating to the United States in 1956.
She never saw her parents again after that day in 1942 when Nazis separated her from her family. She and her brother still have no idea what happened to their mother and father. Some of their siblings lived through the war, but later died; others, they never heard from again after being separated.
But her younger brother never gave up hope of tracking his sister down. He, too, was sent to a German labor camp, but after the war, he moved back to Ukraine, then a republic of the Soviet Union.
Under Soviet leader Josef Stalin, information on lost relatives was kept sealed, and Galezkij said it wasn't until reforms in the late 1980s, followed by the Soviet collapse, that he started making progress in finding his sister.
Even then, it took him more than 17 years to locate her in the United States. He broke down in tears as he spoke of his overwhelming happiness at finding her.
"When the Red Cross told me they had found her in America, it was such a joy," he said, sobbing.
In fact, he had to be taken to the hospital because he was so overcome when he first learned she was alive. At this week's reunion, there was a doctor on hand at the airport as a precaution.
Back in the United States, there were tears, too.
Linda Klein, the director of the American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, said the volunteer who helped the siblings find each other got caught up in the emotion herself.
"When I showed her the picture, she stood there and wept," Klein said. "She was beside herself."
Klein's group has reunited 1,500 families since it began work in 1990. She said the former Soviet Union released records in 1989 of concentration camps it liberated, greatly helping organizers find information on Holocaust victims.
The organization has 100 volunteers -- a third of them Holocaust survivors, Klein said. The group also helps families find information about their loved ones who died during the Holocaust. They have brought together more than 50 families this year. All of their work is free. She says it's often like "looking for a needle in a haystack."
"We're playing beat the clock right now," she said, adding, "It's about families that one day they were together and then they were apart."
"When a connection is made, there are just smiles all around."
That was the case for this family in Ukraine. Years of trauma, of separation, of not knowing what happened to loved ones, have been replaced by celebration.
In a picturesque orchard overlooking rolling fields, Galezkij, his wife and their neighbors laid out a feast for his American sister. As the vodka flowed, he told her how he had survived for a lifetime without her.
"He says he always thought he'd see me someday. He dreamt lots about me," Famulak said, as she sat next to her brother.
"And he wrote a song for me. When he went to sleep, he sang every night and cried."
With that, Galezkij, weakened by illness and age, burst into song. But this time, he sang the words with pure joy.
CNN's Michael Sefanov and Wayne Drash contributed to this report
updated 9:55 a.m. EDT, Fri July 11, 2008
Holocaust siblings meet after 66 years.
By Matthew ChanceCNN
DONETSK, Ukraine (CNN) -- A frail Irene Famulak clutched her brother on the airport tarmac, her arm wrapped around him in a tight embrace, tears streaming down their faces. It was the first time since 1942 they had seen each other, when she was 17 and he was just 7.
Siblings Wssewolod Galezkij and Irene Famulak were separated in 1942 when Nazis took her to a labor camp.
That was the night the invading Nazis came to take her away from her Ukrainian home.
"I remember it well because I kissed him good-bye, and he pushed me away," she said of her brother. "I asked, 'Why did you do that?' And he said that he doesn't like kisses."
"The Nazis told my mother that I was being taken to work in a German labor camp for six months. But it was, of course, much longer. I was there for years."
Both siblings survived the Holocaust and grew up on different sides of the Iron Curtain, not knowing the fate of the other.
But after 66 years apart, Famulak, 83, was reunited with her long lost 73-year-old brother, Wssewolod Galezkij. They held each other close this time, cherishing the moment.
"I don't believe anyone has ever known such happiness. Now, I truly believe I can die satisfied," Galezkij said.
Famulak made the long journey to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after being contacted by the American Red Cross. The organization told her they had located her only surviving sibling.
Famulak said she spent World War II in a labor camp in Munich, Germany, working in the kitchens. She had been taken to the camp with her older sister. When it was liberated in 1945, Famulak stayed in Germany for several years, eventually emigrating to the United States in 1956.
She never saw her parents again after that day in 1942 when Nazis separated her from her family. She and her brother still have no idea what happened to their mother and father. Some of their siblings lived through the war, but later died; others, they never heard from again after being separated.
But her younger brother never gave up hope of tracking his sister down. He, too, was sent to a German labor camp, but after the war, he moved back to Ukraine, then a republic of the Soviet Union.
Under Soviet leader Josef Stalin, information on lost relatives was kept sealed, and Galezkij said it wasn't until reforms in the late 1980s, followed by the Soviet collapse, that he started making progress in finding his sister.
Even then, it took him more than 17 years to locate her in the United States. He broke down in tears as he spoke of his overwhelming happiness at finding her.
"When the Red Cross told me they had found her in America, it was such a joy," he said, sobbing.
In fact, he had to be taken to the hospital because he was so overcome when he first learned she was alive. At this week's reunion, there was a doctor on hand at the airport as a precaution.
Back in the United States, there were tears, too.
Linda Klein, the director of the American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, said the volunteer who helped the siblings find each other got caught up in the emotion herself.
"When I showed her the picture, she stood there and wept," Klein said. "She was beside herself."
Klein's group has reunited 1,500 families since it began work in 1990. She said the former Soviet Union released records in 1989 of concentration camps it liberated, greatly helping organizers find information on Holocaust victims.
The organization has 100 volunteers -- a third of them Holocaust survivors, Klein said. The group also helps families find information about their loved ones who died during the Holocaust. They have brought together more than 50 families this year. All of their work is free. She says it's often like "looking for a needle in a haystack."
"We're playing beat the clock right now," she said, adding, "It's about families that one day they were together and then they were apart."
"When a connection is made, there are just smiles all around."
That was the case for this family in Ukraine. Years of trauma, of separation, of not knowing what happened to loved ones, have been replaced by celebration.
In a picturesque orchard overlooking rolling fields, Galezkij, his wife and their neighbors laid out a feast for his American sister. As the vodka flowed, he told her how he had survived for a lifetime without her.
"He says he always thought he'd see me someday. He dreamt lots about me," Famulak said, as she sat next to her brother.
"And he wrote a song for me. When he went to sleep, he sang every night and cried."
With that, Galezkij, weakened by illness and age, burst into song. But this time, he sang the words with pure joy.
CNN's Michael Sefanov and Wayne Drash contributed to this report
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