Every country has its character cliché. Hot Latin temperaments, Asian industriousness, Brazilian sexiness; the list goes on and on. Russia conjures up a ponderous, intellectual penumbra. Okay, maybe for ME that's what it is. Endless days thumbing through Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky isn't conducive to dancing a jig, unless it's as a survival mechanism. The music of Moussourgsky and Shostakovich is not a romp in the park. Don't get me wrong, I think these guys are GREAT.  Maybe that's because there's a streak of that old Slavic Doom in my DNA. So if you feel like wallowing in a murky mood, may I suggest you grab a bottle of vodka, pull down the shades, turn out the lights and seek out the video "Belaya Noch" by DDT playing as an interstitial this week. Let it carry your spirit along its alleys, canals, museums, and graveyards. Drink in the waxworks, funerary effigies and angels. Ponder the vanity of history. Then open the window, take a deep breath and have a nice Thanksgiving.

I'm so excited to tell you that we just received a big shipment of programs about Central Asian music through the Aga Khan Foundation. Although the geostrategic importance of Central Asia is rising by the minute, it has not been spotlighted in the mainstream media very much, although here at Link TV we've been showing music videos from Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan for years. Now, we have even more to bring you from this fascinating area. It is indeed one of the last bastions of an ancient and rich culture that was shaped by the Silk Route. These programs take you into the day-to-day and spiritual lives of the inhabitants, while opening a door to places we should all know more about. Stay tuned for these remarkable programs...and as we head into our crucial pledge week, I hope you'll take some time to make a donation to Link TV.

The controversial Olympics in Beijing are about to launch, and it's no coincidence that Link TV has rolled out several eye (and ear) opening  programs for this week. China is an endlessly fascinating subject, and our programming department has chosen some compelling stuff for you. Mosuo Song Journey is a loving look at a remote part of China that is trying to adapt to an influx of tourism. The area is known for its matriarchal culture and its passionate songs, but "progress" is taking its toll. For a look to the past, Yang Ban Xi resurrects the Maoist years with some pure propaganda that took the form of highly entertaining musicals. Moving from music into the movies, we present an encore presentation from our first season of Cinemondo, with a harrowing tale of betrayal in Beijing in the film Stolen Life – a recent Tribeca Film Festival winner for Best Narrative Feature. And while I'm touting our cultural programming, don't forget our series Chinese Restaurants which is a tasty look at how Chinese culture survives in diaspora, through the lens of one of its most well known aspects: food.