Future is Now

I will tell you about an everyday amazement. Sometimes I can be more naive than I think.

Yesterday I caught myself thinking about sitting in a shopping mall with a wireless internet connection and downloading something to my laptop. How stupidly wonderful that simple thing is? The laptop is physically connected to nothing at all, and all of a sudden this new program appears in it. It's almost like living in an everyday Matrix where you ask Tank to transfer you the knowledge to fly helicopters. The truth is not far away from it, if you like you can go to a webpage and learn how to fly helicopters.

Then there is the wonder of telephones. You can talk, in real time, with anybody from anywhere in the world (almost). Now I feel like a Renaissance man, beamed into 21st century.

But around a hundred years ago, many people thought there was nothing else to discover and science had come to an end. That was when there was no computers, internet, phones, electricity, cars, planes, recorded music etc. So, sitting in my 2009, I am already dazzled by what will we come up with in the future. The times when the skies will be filled with flying cars may not be so far away after all.

M.I.A - Jimmy

She is not new on the scene but I was oblivious to her until last few months. M.I.A first grabbed my attention with her relations with and stand for Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, her country of origin. Then I bought her album, Kala, and was ashamed of my oblivion.

If you have liked Madonna's take on ABBA a few years back, but was too cool to make it public, this is your thing. Ruthless retro takes a Sri Lankan twist in M.I.A's music. Below, you can find the video for Jimmy, from her Kala album. Nice, well-thought hand coreography is mixed with the feeling of amateur video making to make this a nice and somewhat personal dance hit.

Mia - Jimmy (clip)
by Jumbo

What's Next for Google?

Let's see. I am using Gmail, Blogger, Chrome, Analytics, Reader, Apps, Video, Search, Maps, Earth etc. There might be more, but Google things are such an integral part of my life that I don't notice using them anymore. It's like my penis when I go to pee: I know it's there.

With Chrome, the Google Browser, the company took a new approach to browsers. Lighter, faster and more user friendly. I am using it too and all I have is praise. Now they have taken this a step further. Google is coming up with its own operating system. I am not much of a computer geek but let me share you the slightest knowledge that I have, for those who are completely blank about the issue. Windows is an operating system. It lets you operate your computer. There are 3 major operating systems now. Windows, covering almost 90 percent of the market, Mac OS for Macs and Linux for the computer geeks. Now Google is going to have it its way by coming up with their own operating system. They believe that there is much to improve since all the operating ststems have been created before the internet era.

I have every belief in them, there must be many things to improve. But one asks: where is the line? A search site, an email service, a multifunctioning internet tool, a web browser, an operating system. Is the next step making computers? Washing machines? Microwaves? Breast implementation? What is in Google's interest area? I seriously can't tell. I would like to sit and watch their innovative ideas. This also is a step that brings my dreams of Googleland a step closer.

Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me & What's Going On? (Live)

Going to Europe is always a chance for me to buy the list of CDs I want but can't find in Turkey. When I went to Italy 2 weeks ago, it was again the case. Around half of the 20 albums I bought were new, the rest were the fillers in my classics collection. One was Michael Jackson's The Essentials, coincidentially few days before he passed away.

Another was Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Of course I knew him, but from his hits. And all those hits were from his loverboy era. For the last two weeks, I discovered a side of him that was totally unimaginable to me. What's Going On is an album questioning and trying to understand what is going on around him, sometimes on such political grounds that the record label, Motown, decided against releasing it at first.

Gaye's silky, funky and flowing music and honest, direct approach to lyrics makes the album an anthem for all the troubled times, past present and future. Below is a live performance for the two songs in the album. It should be like waking from the right side of the bed on a friday morning.

Marvin Gaye. Mercy Mercy Me / What's Going On [Live]
by capitainfunkk

...And today it is Pina Bausch

It was Michael Jackson last week, and today's unexpected death news is the renowned dancer Pina Bausch.

I haven't got to see her live at times when she came over to Turkey but I have her much about her. Also I remember her role in "Habla con Ella", a Pedro Almodovar movie. But still, unexpected news of some great talents leaves behind holes hard to cover.

Stranger By The Day - Google Sites are Off

A weekend on the beach in a small town turns into a trouble hairball when you come back to the city, and the real life. Just open the Google Reader and voila! Turkish authorities have decided to restrict entry to the Google Sites. As of now, there is no news about the reason yet.

Turkish websites are becoming a collection of blue screen restrictions. No this site, no that site. What do you expect from a country that gives thought to its restriction page and re-designs it to look better?

And slowly but surely, the prophecy of restricting all the Google pages are becoming a reality. First it was Groups, then Blogger and now Sites. We will see how long it will take them to close the Google Search site?

This is Sinan Kolat, still reporting under pressure from Turkey. Back to you Tayyip.

Michael Jackson - Bad

Michael Jackson - Bad (Long Version) sélectionné dans Rock / Pop et Clips

Last of the Moonwalkers

I felt creepy last night upon hearing the news that Michael Jackson was dead, not only because it was 2 am when Saportas called me, but also because I was reading about him for a few days now without any apparent reason.

Last week, while shopping for CDs, I came across "The Essentials" compilation of Michael Jackson. The Essentials series are doing a very good job compiling the work of musicians and my previously owned ones did not let me down. And MJ edition was always in my shopping list. So I said it was about time and I bought it.

The linear notes was talking about how many artists have created incredible hits and were forgotten in a year. How the stardom crushed them. And compares this to the inevitable legend status that MJ had for his successful musical career spanning at least 2 decades. All the while, I was listening to his music in the background and was taken back to my childhood. Every song was in there; some I know by heart, some I had completely forgotten about. Then I was stunned by how complex and successful his music was. The name of the pop music generates itself from the word "popular", but his work had given pop another context.

Now, as of today, I understand why I reached out for that CD and bought it. His very unexpected death, given that he was coming out of his half-a-decade recluse with a series of London concerts in summer, is hard to swallow.

Before ending, I would like to share a question that spring to my mind immediately upon hearing the news. MJ owned the commercial rights to the entire Beatles catalogue, what will happen to them? And what will happen to the commercial rights of his own catalogue?

Here is some reading for the sad news: NYT, Rolling Stone, NTVMSNBC, BBC Turkish, Reuters.

Religious Idol

I have never been fond of American Idol or the Turkish versions of that. But against my taste, this culture of competing live against celebrity juries is growing by the day. After the Popstar, the initial Turkish version very similar to American Idol, we had FolkStar, ChorusStar (where choirs compete) and many others I simply don't care and don't follow. But this new one I can't ignore: The Religious Idol.

According to Habertürk website, there will be a new competition where the religions will compete. Figures of Islam, Christianity, Jews and Buddhism will try to divert 10 non-believers to their religion during the course of the show. And the prize will be a visit to respective holy sites for the pilgrimage.

Althought I believe in God, I am slowly losing my faith in religions. On the big picture, religions should serve a good purpose, right? But ever since their induction into humanity (which is as old as human kind), they served as a mean to seperate some people from the others. There are countless examples of bloody wars, fought in the name of peaceful religions. Some even had religious ambitions behind them, like the Crusades of the Middle Ages or Jihad, the Islamic World Domination. When the guns were dropped, religion mingled with politics. Look at it now: I have neighbors voting for AKP because "AKP has good faith". Having good faith and being a good believer are not bad things, but they shouldn't be the voting criteria.

If politicians abusing religion to gain votes is not enough, now it is reduced to being a toy in the TV shows.

Maybe we should have second thoughts about what we believe and what we want to do with it. And our media culture needs a rude awakening, too.

Guns'N'Roses - November Rain

Axl Rose was not always working 16 years for an album and Slash was not touring with stupid bands to make money from music. These guys were actually making music 20 years ago. Music that sounded good.

80's, it feels like, was the last of the times when mainstream music was worth listening. After that there was grunge (which was somewhat incorporated into mainstream) and indie rock. But none of it was like the good old days of 80's.

I was never a big fan of Axl and co. So I can't tell you about my memories of how I tried to hit on girls by sharing the headphones of a walkman (walkmans!!!) that played November Rain. But how can somebody forget this video? First of all, it is 9 minutes and it was a hit in MTV. Try it now and see the reactions. The solo of Slash in front of the church. The rings that Axl and his wife exchanges at the wedding. And how can the bride die in the wedding party from the rain? How can a person die of rain? They marry in summer but die of November Rain!

This is a pure classic, it will make your day on this beautiful Friday.

Guns 'n Roses - November Rain
by lessvek