Events

“Thug Rose”: Lithuanian America’s Ultimate Fighter. A Film Review

Sandy Baksys. Just as we might expect of a biopic about a female champion in the sport of “ultimate” fighting, the new documentary, “Thug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist,” by veteran Lithuanian-American filmmaker Marius Markevičius, can be described as the ultimate sports psychology film. Whereas Markevičius’ Lithuanian basketball documentary, “The Other …

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A War Unknown No More

Victor Nakas. Once upon a time, thousands of people, mostly men, decamped deep into Lithuania’s forests. They established underground bunkers from which they would emerge to battle Soviet troops tasked with occupying and pacifying the country. Initially, these “forest brothers” (miško broliai) succeeded in making large areas of the countryside …

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How Art Transformed a City: MaLonNY 2022

Laima Vincė. Ten years ago, two couples met in Jamaica to spend their vacation together. New York-based Lithuanian-born artist Ray Bartkus and his wife, Ina, a fashion designer, flew from New York to Jamaica, while Algirdas Kumža, signatory of Lithuania’s Declaration of Independence, and his wife, Toma, and their two …

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Pains and Rewards along the Path to Freedom

Victor Nakas. In a verdant village grew three sons Three sons – solid oaks Off they went to defend us against the enemy Sacrificing bravely for our homeland One died at Radviliškis, a second at Širvintos A third on the amber seashore. This is an excerpt from a mournful Lithuanian …

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Thirty Years Ago, Lithuania Faced Its Moment of Truth

Victor Nakas. Imagine a world in which your local university offers a course in modern Lithuanian history. Of course you’ve enrolled and now it’s time for your final exam.  Your first essay question reads “What were the five most important milestones in 20th century Lithuanian history? Why?” How would you …

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WHEN THE MOUSE REALLY ROARED. Remembering the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the end of the USSR

Victor Nakas. Walk to the White House As we approached the northwest gate of the White House, we expected that our Lincoln sedan would just drive through. Instead, the guards told us to get out and walk through the pedestrian entrance. There they checked our IDs and riffled through the …

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Lithuanian women stitch for refugees

Residents of Lithuania’s second city, Kaunas, have been busy stitching. Over 100 residents responded to an invitation by a local arts group Fluxus Labas! to participate in a global craft project called “25 Million Stitches.” Their artistically stitched panels will soon be traveling to California to take their place among …

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Woods? What Woods? Are Lithuania’s Forests in Jeopardy?

As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change and preserve wildlife and, ultimately, humanity, trees appear to hold a significant part of the answer. Yet, deforestation continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of mature standing trees for short-term gains. Of course, Lithuania’s tiny landmass is trivial compared to …

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Lithuania Robbed of the Quarterfinals at the 2019 FIBA World Cup

By Neal Maloney. On September 7 of this year, at Nanjing Youth Olympic Park Gymnasium, in the second group stage of the FIBA (International Federation of Basketball) World Cup, the score of the Lithuania-France game was 76:74 in favor of France with 31 seconds left. The next thirty seconds were …

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Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival hits Chicago

Vida Kuprys. Chicago recently hosted the best of Lithuanian documentary films. Running from April 24 to May 4, the Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival (LDFF ) was organized by Audra Januškienė, a film connoisseur who also happens to run a successful catering service. Initially, she intended to show only several films …

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