Music Review

Well, thanx to my aunt, I now have the latest Sezen Aksu - Bahane, and the soundtrack album of the first-ever Turkish movie with a hispanic theme, Şans Kapıyı Kırınca.

The first one is sort of like the Işın Karaca album - the lyrics, the tune, back-vocals - only difference is a more mature, a little bit more husky (because of all that smoking, mind u?!) voice of the Turkish Pop Queen. As usual, an album you'll get to love more with each listening...

Now the soundtrack was a bit of a surprise - Opening track is with Sertab singing Dos Gardenias - Hello??! I know she has a strong voice, and she is very talented and perhaps I'm way too much used to the Buena Vista version of this; but damn it, I was disappointed with the performance. And then I thought, wait a minute here, if my ears are picking this, what's gonna happen when somebody, who knows his/her shit, listens to it? Anyway, not really my concern ;-) And I am probably exaggerating - it was very pleasant to listen to. The rest goes on again with equally satisfactory performances of Quisas Quisas, Chan Chan, and Besame Mucho. And the other tracks on the album are apparently all new - Candela te Quema, Ya-man, Yurdum Family, Una Nueva Historia - there was one disturbing thing - can't remember what is called but one song reminded me of Santana's Black Magic Woman - a part of this song is continously repeated in one of the tracks. There was no mention of the 'inspiration' on the cover however...

Ululate with me: LIFE IS GREAT!

Yo, whoever reading this blog!

I decided to celebrate life today - and every other day, so why don't you join me?!
Here is yet another anonymous forward that is worth sharing:

L I F E
Life isn't about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you're alone.
It isn't about who you're dating, who you used to date, how many people you've dated,
Or if you haven't been with anyone at all.
It isn't about who you have kissed,
It's not about sex.
It isn't about who your family is or how much money they have
Or what kind of car you drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on,
or what kind of music you listen to.
It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you're in or how good you are at "your" sport.
It's not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing who will "accept the written you.
LIFE JUST ISN'T.
But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why.
And who your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life
to touch or poison other people's hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected,
and those choices are what life's all about.


P.S.:
ululate \ULL-yuh-layt
verb : howl, wail
(Reference: Merriam-Webster Online)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, here is a little bit of history of today's most commercialized celebration of love!

I got this in the mail, and the truth of it is questionable - nevertheless, it was fun to read it. So enjoy and have a nice day with your loved ones!

The History

The origins of Valentine's Day trace back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Held on February 15, Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year's celebration.

While this pairing of couples set the tone for today's holiday, it wasn't called "Valentine's Day" until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.

After Valentine's death, he was named a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from February 15 to February 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's Day to honor Saint Valentine.

What's Cupid Got to Do with It?

According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Cupid was known to cause people to fall in love by shooting them with his magical arrows. But Cupid didn't just cause others to fall in love - he himself fell deeply in love.

As legend has it, Cupid fell in love with a mortal maiden named Psyche. Cupid married Psyche, but Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, forbade her daughter-in-law to look at Cupid. Psyche, of course, couldn't resist temptation and sneaked a peek at her handsome husband. As punishment, Venus demanded that she perform three hard tasks, the last of which caused Psyche's death.

Cupid brought Psyche back to life and the gods, moved by their love, granted Pysche immortality. Cupid thus represents the heart and Psyche the (struggles of the) human soul.