OK, I absolutely love Amy Winehouse's voice, but when will she grow up? She's wasting her amazing voice by getting wasted or high all the time. Just listen to this video of her performing at EMA. It's disgusting...
And now listen to this, where she sings with Charlotte Church. Church actually sounds better than Winehouse...sad...!
Monday, 12 November 2007
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Remembering 10 November 1938, 09:05
I can't hold my tears back as I watch original footage of Ataturk's ceremony. 69 years ago, the leader of the century closed his eyes and left the newly-founded Turkey on her own legs. Having been force-fed western values as the ultimate modern and best, I had forgotten how rich our heritage really is and how much of it we really should be proud of. Looking through the slideshow composed of pictures taken from the original ceremony, I can't help but feel like a traitor for leaving my country in pursuit of my personal gains and goals. I feel irresponsible and it makes me feel awful. This might be a foreign concept to a lot of people, and it might really be unique to countries that have formed out of nationalism at its peak, but it's something that I feel very strongly about: to contribute back to Turkey for what I've gained from my ancestors.
The one thing that makes me happy is that we, Turks, are now coming to our senses in terms of our identity. We don't accept ourselves as "third world" or "second-class" to the rest of the world anymore, which has been projected to us all the time we tried to make ourselves more modern. We are now at the brink of creating our kind of modern that lives hand-in-hand with our past. We are becoming independently modern. Looking at the pictures below, I almost feel like we're catching up with our past, which we had lost for some reason. It looks as if we were more modern back then than what we have become now. Regardless, I'm glad to hear half a million people visited Ataturk's mausoleum today in remembrance for all he started, lead, finished, and paved the way for.
The one thing that makes me happy is that we, Turks, are now coming to our senses in terms of our identity. We don't accept ourselves as "third world" or "second-class" to the rest of the world anymore, which has been projected to us all the time we tried to make ourselves more modern. We are now at the brink of creating our kind of modern that lives hand-in-hand with our past. We are becoming independently modern. Looking at the pictures below, I almost feel like we're catching up with our past, which we had lost for some reason. It looks as if we were more modern back then than what we have become now. Regardless, I'm glad to hear half a million people visited Ataturk's mausoleum today in remembrance for all he started, lead, finished, and paved the way for.
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?
...and then it was time for the scariest time of the year - Halloween! Having never celebrated Halloween before in my entire life, even though I've lived in the US for more than six years, I decided to make the most of my circumstances. I was in Chicago, it was Halloween, my sister was throwing a big Halloween party, I could invite my friends - what was I waiting for?!?
The inspiration struck me when my best friend in Chicago promptly reminded me of how much I look like Johnny Depp. ;) OK, she only said, with the right amount of make-up and some acting on my part, how convincing I would be as Jack Sparrow, but I took that to mean I'm as handsome as the Depp himself. It was on! I scouted all the seasonal Halloween stores in search of the costume and the wig/hat, and I could only find it an hour outside of Chicago.
After about a week and a half watching looped clips of Pirates of the Caribbean and studying the captain's make-up, I arrived at my sister's house a day before the party to start the preparations. My sister successfully completed the make-up and I was ready to flirt, get drunk and move my hands around like Jack while confusing others with my endless chatter.
...Friends... This is the day that you will ALWAYS remember as the day that you...
[backs up and trips over ledge]
If you want to see the complete set of pictures and an incredibly ridiculous video of me as Jack dancing to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," just go to the following online album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ysolmaz/HalloweenPartyChicagoOct2007
The inspiration struck me when my best friend in Chicago promptly reminded me of how much I look like Johnny Depp. ;) OK, she only said, with the right amount of make-up and some acting on my part, how convincing I would be as Jack Sparrow, but I took that to mean I'm as handsome as the Depp himself. It was on! I scouted all the seasonal Halloween stores in search of the costume and the wig/hat, and I could only find it an hour outside of Chicago.
After about a week and a half watching looped clips of Pirates of the Caribbean and studying the captain's make-up, I arrived at my sister's house a day before the party to start the preparations. My sister successfully completed the make-up and I was ready to flirt, get drunk and move my hands around like Jack while confusing others with my endless chatter.
...Friends... This is the day that you will ALWAYS remember as the day that you...
[backs up and trips over ledge]
If you want to see the complete set of pictures and an incredibly ridiculous video of me as Jack dancing to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," just go to the following online album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ysolmaz/HalloweenPartyChicagoOct2007
Sunday, 28 October 2007
So far Chicago
So, I've been back in the windy city for over three weeks now (good God, time flies by!) and I have been extra busy at work and off work. At work, I've been finalizing the training program my team will be going through along with holding the fort at my 'old' position. Off work, here's what I've been up to:
the Turkish 'gang'
As soon as I came back to Chicago, I found myself in the middle of a new Turkish 'gang.' This gang is so fun and outgoing that I've been out with them almost every single night. We end up hanging out at the same Turkish cafe, discussing politics, music, books, you name it! The recent tensions in Turkey is really worrying all of us so we end up talking about that for the majority of the time. To guide the smooth-flowing conversation, we get incredibly good Turkish food and bottomless wine until we leave the place. We usually stay there so late that the place is literally ours and ours only. We invite friends and all of a sudden, it's a spontaneous party! We can even close the place down- i.e. tomorrow we're throwing a pumpkin carving party at the cafe for us and our friends! I feel VIP, and I love it.
Films!!!!!
Approaching the Christmas and New Year's season, there are films galore in the cinemas, and I'm enjoying only paying $10 to see these film, instead of 10 pounds! I'm loving the dollar. So far, I've seen:
Thanks to my new work colleagues and the no-cover majority of Chicago entertainment spots, I've been to incredibly chic and trendy restaurants and bars. Thought-out decoration, tasty food, good wine and reasonable prices. I'm rediscovering Chicago! Below are pics from a few of the places I've been to.
the Turkish 'gang'
As soon as I came back to Chicago, I found myself in the middle of a new Turkish 'gang.' This gang is so fun and outgoing that I've been out with them almost every single night. We end up hanging out at the same Turkish cafe, discussing politics, music, books, you name it! The recent tensions in Turkey is really worrying all of us so we end up talking about that for the majority of the time. To guide the smooth-flowing conversation, we get incredibly good Turkish food and bottomless wine until we leave the place. We usually stay there so late that the place is literally ours and ours only. We invite friends and all of a sudden, it's a spontaneous party! We can even close the place down- i.e. tomorrow we're throwing a pumpkin carving party at the cafe for us and our friends! I feel VIP, and I love it.
Films!!!!!
Approaching the Christmas and New Year's season, there are films galore in the cinemas, and I'm enjoying only paying $10 to see these film, instead of 10 pounds! I'm loving the dollar. So far, I've seen:
- Lars and the Real Girl (highly recommended, really touching and ingenious)
- Dan in Real Life (feel good comedy starring Steve Carell)
- the Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson style awkwardly funny comedy)
- the Heartbrake Kid (horrendous film featuring Ben Stiller)
Thanks to my new work colleagues and the no-cover majority of Chicago entertainment spots, I've been to incredibly chic and trendy restaurants and bars. Thought-out decoration, tasty food, good wine and reasonable prices. I'm rediscovering Chicago! Below are pics from a few of the places I've been to.
De La Costa Restaurant
Carnivale
Japonais
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
A Weekend in the Italian Fashion Capital
I spent the last weekend in September in Milan, the fashion capital of Italy. I had to visit the Milan office for work the following Mon and Tue anyways, and considering I had a friend there, I decided to spend the weekend exploring Milan for the first time in my life.
To recap, I loved the food, the people, and the weather! I have always loved Italian food and believe me, I took advantage of my trip in that respect. And the people....oh, the people! They're so lovely, friendly, and hospitable. I remember fighting to pay for my meals during my trip as my hosts, friend or work colleage, would not let me pay for food at all. And finally, the weather! It was warm but not humid; in other words, I was there for the best fall weather to show off my best looking fall clothes.
Day 1:
- Checking into my boutique hotel on Via de Amicis near the Cadorna Stazione.
- Exploring the Duomo and the Castello di Milano
- Having some gelato (pistacchio and tiramisu flavours!)
- Meeting up with Maria in front of the Galleria
- Walking around with Maria towards the canals in the south of the city
- Having aperativo for 5 EUR each (all you can eat good Italian food including one cocktail...too good to believe, I know!)
- Having dinner with Maria's friends near the Centrale Stazione. Good, cheap food and the best lemon sorbet I've had in my life.
Day 2:
- Sleeping in until 11am; relaxing!
- Having a cafe macchiato and a brioche near the hotel
- Walking around towards the Brera district to visit some museums
- Having THE Italian lunch, including antipasto, primi, secondi, fruit, desert, coffee and wine. Most expensive lunch ever!
- Taking a long-needed nap at the hotel before meeting up with Maria for another aperativo session.
- Having some red wine and pretending to understand Italian while Maria's friends get into heated conversations at the local bar
The next two days were mostly spent at the office (very productive two days with the Italian team!) and eating out with the Italian team. I had the best mozzarella di bufala, pasta, pizza, fish and meat, along with great conversation and jokes. I'm considering moving to Italy! Seriously!
To recap, I loved the food, the people, and the weather! I have always loved Italian food and believe me, I took advantage of my trip in that respect. And the people....oh, the people! They're so lovely, friendly, and hospitable. I remember fighting to pay for my meals during my trip as my hosts, friend or work colleage, would not let me pay for food at all. And finally, the weather! It was warm but not humid; in other words, I was there for the best fall weather to show off my best looking fall clothes.
Day 1:
- Checking into my boutique hotel on Via de Amicis near the Cadorna Stazione.- Exploring the Duomo and the Castello di Milano
- Having some gelato (pistacchio and tiramisu flavours!)
- Meeting up with Maria in front of the Galleria
- Walking around with Maria towards the canals in the south of the city
- Having aperativo for 5 EUR each (all you can eat good Italian food including one cocktail...too good to believe, I know!)
- Having dinner with Maria's friends near the Centrale Stazione. Good, cheap food and the best lemon sorbet I've had in my life.
Day 2:
- Sleeping in until 11am; relaxing!
- Having a cafe macchiato and a brioche near the hotel
- Walking around towards the Brera district to visit some museums
- Having THE Italian lunch, including antipasto, primi, secondi, fruit, desert, coffee and wine. Most expensive lunch ever!
- Taking a long-needed nap at the hotel before meeting up with Maria for another aperativo session.
- Having some red wine and pretending to understand Italian while Maria's friends get into heated conversations at the local bar
The next two days were mostly spent at the office (very productive two days with the Italian team!) and eating out with the Italian team. I had the best mozzarella di bufala, pasta, pizza, fish and meat, along with great conversation and jokes. I'm considering moving to Italy! Seriously!
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