An Interview With Mongolian Folk’s “Royal Blood”

Written by B.Narandelger Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Altan Urag’s B.Bolortungalag chats with the UB Post:

Q: Could you please introduce the members of Ultan Urag to our readers and tell us a bit about the band?
A: The Altan Urag folk rock band was established in 2004, and there are seven members in the band. I am the drummer and I play the Dulcimer, B.Erdenebat is the lead singer, B.Burentsogt plays the Morin Khuur (“horse head fiddle”), Ts.Gangaa is our large fiddle player, M.Chimedtogtokh Khoomii plays the read, and E.Erdenetsetseg is our Long Song singer.

Q: Why was the folk rock genre chosen for the band?
A: We wanted to create a new musical crossover in the Mongolian musical universe. There are many groups that play folk musical instruments, but we didn’t want to be just like the other bands. We try to be innovative and use the instruments in a different way to create a different rock sound.

Q: How did all the members meet?
A: We have all known each other for 20 years, and took a national music class at the Music and Dance College together when we were quite young. We decided to establish the band after we graduated college.

Q: Why did you decide to call the band Ultan Urag?
A: We talked about a band name for a long time, and we all decided we liked Ultan Urag (meaning, “Royal Blood”) very much. In ancient time, Chingis Khaan’s ‘royal blood’ conquered half of the world in strength and tried to protect the national land. We deemed that we are continuing that royal blood through our music.

Q: What does the band hope to relay in its music?
We think that Mongolian national folk is wonderful, and the Morin Khuur and Khoomii instruments are becoming known around the world. We think that Mongolian youth need to learn about national folk music and songs.

Q: How many CDs have been produced since the band was established?
A: We made seven CDs. The first was titled Unaga Torov and it was followed by Made In Altan Urag , Ertee uridiin Tsagt (“Once Upon a Time”), and Tsus Blood, ( kind of folk rock), as well as others. Most of them were kind of chill with a folk rock and ethnic sound. Each of the albums has nine songs.

Q: How many concerts has the band had since its establishment?
A: We had our fist big concert in Mongolia on July 8 and our first CD came out in 2004. We have organized many concerts in Mongolia’s nine universities and six secondary schools for students in the last year. We prefer quality concert as opposed to quantity. In other words, the numbers aren’t as important as how people enjoy the shows.
Q: How many international shows have you had?
A: We have traveled to many countries such as the United States, Russia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Switzerland, Norway, France, and Japan. Traveling concerts are one of the most important parts of our lives and we’re glad that people outside of Mongolia have received us so well.
Q: How did international audiences react to the music?
A: All of the people of these countries received us with a lot of friendliness. They are surprised to listen to our sound, and most of them say that it is wonderful and very real. Some people said that they didn’t even know there were bands in Mongolia. We liked the countries. People were so outgoing and very wonderful. Particularly, we liked the crowds in Japan, Russia and Switzerland.

Q: Does the band plan to play live in the near future?
A: We are planning a concert for our new CD on Aug. 12 in Mongolia and we attended the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan from July 22-26. We are also planning to go to Korea in September.

Q: Has the band ever collaborated on other media projects?
A: We made songs for the movie Khadag and we did the soundtrack for the blockbuster movie Mongol, which had been nominated for an Oscar.

Q: Could you please explain the significance of Ultan Urag’s “Blood Song” and the Inder Mongon Khuur (Monster Head Fiddle)?
A: The Blood Song was the song of warriors from Khalkh Gol River. Many brave warriors fought for Mongolia and we wanted to praise the warriors for their efforts. Their blood is so important. As for Inder Mongon Khuur, there is a legend of an awful monster that was afraid of people because our forefathers fashioned a small head of the monster to hang over the doors to scare it. That’s why we made the monster fiddle for the band.

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Giant panda gives birth to fifth cub at the San Diego Zoo

(CNN) -- A giant panda at the San Diego Zoo gave birth to a cub the size of a stick of butter on Wednesday, her fifth cub born in the zoo since 1999.

The sex of the mostly hairless, pink newborn, which was born around 5 a.m., is not known yet, said Dr. Ron Swaisgood of the zoo's Institute of Conservation Research.

It will take about one month for the iconic black-and-white coloration of the giant panda to become visible, Swaisgood said.

Its mother, Bai Yun, will care for the newborn by herself until she starts leaving the den regularly, at which time members of the zoo's giant panda team will step in briefly to check on the cub, he said.

"She is a very experienced mother. She raised all of her other cubs until about 1.5 years, the natural age for separation," Swaisgood told CNN Radio. "She's a real pro."

Weighing in around 300 pounds, Bai Yun is about 1,000 times the size of her cub, who weighs around 4 ounces., the typical size of a baby panda, Swaisgood said.

"Pandas give birth to what's called very 'altricial' cubs. That means they are very small and fragile. This cub would probably weigh about 4 ounces. It would be pink and hairless and completely dependent on the mother," he said.

The birth is considered a success for the zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, which works with research and breeding centers around the world to boost the endangered panda population

Herself a model of that effort, Bai Yun was the first panda to be born and survive at the breeding center of the China Center for Research and Conservation of the Giant Panda in the Wolong Nature Reserve in 1991.

She has given birth to four other cubs since arriving at the San Diego Zoo in 1996 from China. Two of them have since been returned to China, Swaisgood said.

The newborn's father, Gao Gao, is a wild-born giant panda that arrived at the San Diego Zoo in 2003 from the Wolong Nature Reserve. He will not be involved in raising the cub.

The cub will remain in the den with its mother for a few months and gradually start to come out as soon as it is able to walk, Swaisgood said.

In four to five months, the cub will be ready for the public, Swaisgood said. Until then, the public can view live video of the cub and its mother on the zoo's Web site.

"This highly endangered species still requires a lot of attention and assistance, but there is hope for the future," he said.

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Sumo Champ D.Byambadorj Donates Defibrillators

UB Post - Friday, July 31, 2009

Shortly after arriving home from the Nagoya Sumo Championships, Mongolian sumo wrestler Ozeki Harumafuji D.Byambadorj departed again.

The champion wrestler is on his way to Gobi-Altai, along with several cardiovascular doctors, to help treat children with cardiovascular diseases in the area. Byambadorj is bearing the total cost of treatments and for the doctors.

It is the ninth time doctors have visited Mongolia to help children with cardiovascular ailments. In total, doctors have examined 800 children and treated 150.

D.Byambadorj donated six Nihon Koden Company defibrillator machines for the Health Center of Songinokhairkhan District, the Gymnasium and Sport’s Office, the Mongolian National Wrestler’s Union, and the hospitals of Arkhangai, Ovorkhangai, and Gobi-Altai provinces.

The machines were presented to the Minister of Health S.Lambaa on July 29.

“Children are our future and I wish each Mongolian child health, so I wanted to hold this event,” said D.Byambadorj. “I want to give the first apparatus to my parents’ homeland (Gobi-Altai).”

D.Byambadorj will return to his home in Japan next Monday.

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Texas man brings hope to 'forgotten' disabled Iraqi kids

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Brad Blauser lives in war-torn Baghdad, where he doesn't earn a paycheck and is thousands of miles from his family. But he has no intention of leaving anytime soon.

For the past four years, the Dallas, Texas, native has been providing hope to hundreds of disabled Iraqi children and their families through the distribution of pediatric wheelchairs.

"Disabled children -- they're really the forgotten ones in this war," said Blauser, 43. "They are often not seen in society."

Blauser arrived in Iraq as a civilian contractor in 2004, but quit that job last year to devote himself full time to his program, without compensation.

"There's no paycheck. It's not really safe here. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said.

An estimated one in seven Iraqi children ages 2 to 14 lives with a disability, according to UNICEF. Illnesses such as Spina bifida, palsy and polio leave them unable to walk.

Some parents carry their children every day. For these children and their families, limited access to health care has taken a toll.

"A number of families don't know what's wrong with their kid. There's not a doctor available for help [and] there's no pediatric wheelchair source in this country," Blauser said.

Blauser first learned about this situation in 2005 through Maj. David Brown, a battalion surgeon. His friend shared heartbreaking accounts of helpless children pulling themselves along the ground, or living motionless in back rooms, too big to be moved long distances very often.

"So I asked him, 'What do you need?' " Blauser recalled. "And he surprised me by his answer: 'I need children's wheelchairs.' "

Blauser began researching and campaigning for help from friends and family in the United States. In 30 days, 31 pediatric and small adult wheelchairs arrived in Mosul for distribution to children in need.Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids was born.

"The experience for me in the first distribution was awesome," said Blauser. "To see the smile come across their face and [to] look over at the mothers and fathers -- they've definitely been changed." Do you know someone who should be a CNN Hero? Nominations are open at CNN.com/Heroes

That's the case for 3-year-old Ali Khaled Ibrahim and his family. At 8 months old, Ali was struck by a mysterious fever that left him partially paralyzed. He cannot speak and experiences increasingly frequent and violent convulsions.

"Ali's handicap affected the family a lot," said his father.

His mother said she couldn't carry out her daily chores and her "psychological state worsened."

"When I heard the news of the distribution of these advanced wheelchairs, I was very happy deep down," she said. "I thought maybe that will ease my work as a mother in the way I deal with my son."

Today, Ali smiles at home as he sits in his new wheelchair. His siblings giggle and sprinkle his face with kisses. The toddler's parents are thankful for the relief it has brought not only to Ali, but their entire family.

The boy is among hundreds of disabled Iraqi children to benefit from Blauser's generosity. Since 2005, Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids has distributed nearly 650 pediatric wheelchairs.

To obtain the specialized chairs, Blauser partnered with Reach Out and Care Wheels, a nonprofit pediatric wheelchair organization in Montana. The organization provides wheelchairs designed for rough terrains in developing nations, making the devices "perfect for this environment," said Blauser.

Through sponsor donations, his group purchases the chairs from ROC Wheels for about $200 apiece, and USAID donates shipping. Members of the the U.S. and Iraqi armies, Iraqi police and border patrol work together to carry out the distributions.

Blauser and his group help adjust the children into their wheelchairs, which fit their bodies as they grow.

For Blauser, who provides part-time security consulting in exchange for room and board, an initial plan to stay for one year has become a dream to get wheelchairs to every Iraqi child who wants one. And he's determined to see it through.

"By providing what they need, I'm hoping to start a movement to change the way people think about disabled children," said Blauser. "They are not a curse, they are a blessing and they deserve to have their needs met."

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America's Best Little Beach Towns #5 of 11 Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz, CA

Thrill-seekers flock to the Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Beach Boardwalk amusement park, but Santa Cruz has a surfeit of other attractions: Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, surfers at Pleasure Point (and the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum), and frolicsome seals at Natural Bridges State Beach.

Stay: At the Casablanca Inn, most rooms have ocean views (and a handful have fireplaces, for when those NoCal nights get chilly). The restaurant looks out on the awesome expanse of the Pacific.

Eat: Center Street Grill is the go-to restaurant for salads, pastas, homemade hollandaise sauce, ahi tuna, and freshly squeezed lemonade and orange juice on the outdoor patio.

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