Kazakhstan

[Woebot]

Anyone been there? Slight possibility i might be going there for work for a fortnight. Wondering what to expect.

[sufi]

осом!!
hopefully not too much like this http://www.dissensus.com/showthread....276#post318276

[baboon2004]

I was meant to go to Almaty for work this year, but the trip's not yet materialised. However, I went to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan last year (and loved it), where I met a Kazakh colleague, so I know a bit about the country. Almaty looks beautifully situated in the mountains. Is it there you're going or Astana (which looks like one of the weirdest cities on earth) - I think they're wildly different kinds of places?

[john eden]

We tried to organise an Association of Autonomous Astronauts conference there in the 90s because apparently there was plenty of junked space hardware to be had.

Unfortunately it didn't happen... would love to go.

[Woebot]

thanks baboon and thanks john.

if i end up having to go it is to astana. slightly nervous about the proposition so your input was very gratefully received.

i reason that it's one of those places which i wouldn't naturally go to of my own volition - and therefore to have the opportunity would be a really excellent experience.

[baboon2004]

Woebot, did you end up going to Astana in the end? Would be interesting to hear how it went if so. I'm likely to be going to Almaty next month.

[Woebot]

Woebot, did you end up going to Astana in the end? Would be interesting to hear how it went if so. I'm likely to be going to Almaty next month.

heya baboon.

in the end no - i kinda swerved it actually. on the project i ended up concentrating on animating this giant eagle and these mongol horsemen which meant that i wasn't needed for the compositing and graphics work.

have a look here for a giggle

tbh was a little troubled at leaving my fam for such a long time.

interested in hearing your thoughts about it.

[baboon2004]

Sorry, never noticed your reply on this. Pity you never made it to Astana, but quite honestly I'm sure it would have been all about the bizarre novelty rather than an actually pleasant place to be.

That's a nice giant eagle. What exactly was the project...?

[Woebot]

Sorry, never noticed your reply on this. Pity you never made it to Astana, but quite honestly I'm sure it would have been all about the bizarre novelty rather than an actually pleasant place to be.

That's a nice giant eagle. What exactly was the project...?

yeah i reckon so. maybe one day.

it was for the president of kazakhstan! an expo style thing. the director is a really sweet lady - she did the gfx for the uk olympics and gets lots of this kind of a gig nowadays as a result.

[trza]

did anything crazy happen? like central asian type craziness?

[droid]

yeah i reckon so. maybe one day.

it was for the president of kazakhstan!.

He's a nice guy

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...nched-torture/

Eyewitnesses claimed that the detainees were kept incommunicado in overcrowded cells, that they had been stripped naked, beaten, kicked and doused with cold water. At least one man died as a result of the torture.

[trza]

what about turkmenistan?

[luka]

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...s-built-astana

https://vigilantcitizen.com/sinister...a-khazakhstan/

[luka]

https://vigilantcitizen.com/latestne...n-google-maps/