Once more, With feeling!

Its hard to believe this hasn't been updated since last October! I mean, Damn! There's a whole trip to Turkey (where else?!) that I haven't even wriiten about. Maybe it will be easier this time since I brought a laptop with me. We'll see how this goes.

CETUSSS

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on this video on You Tube



I was transfixed. The guitar riff and the sense of mayhem made me want to know more about this strange fellow known as Ceetus.

ChewingGum
Originally uploaded by Cetusss.
WOrking HarD & GoiNg CrAzYYYY
Originally uploaded by Cetusss.

I loved the ridiculous French accent and set out to find out more about him. He is a Swiss Artist working in different media. I am over the initial fascination, but still get a kick out of some of his stuff and hearing him talk.





Also, I don't know what it says about me, but I remember loving Tom Jones' version of "Spinning Wheel" The music sounded just like this, and no, I didnt listen to it wearing a pink dress!

Guilty Pleasures

The originally scheduled post for today was becoming too complicated so I decided to substitute this one. What are your guilty pleasures? You know, those movies or music that you think are soo bad or cheesy that you are embarrased to admit you enjoy. Here are some of my current GPs

• The Dreamers: Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

Ostensibly this 2003 stinker set in the tumultuous political landscape of Paris in 1968 is a tale about three young cineastes who are drawn together through their passion for film. Feh! I thought it was more of an upmarket Larry Clark film. Speaking of Larry Clark films, the Dreamers stars the dreadfully sulky Michael Pitt, who had a role in Clark's teen sex revenge romp Bully.

Why do I watch this movie whenever I see it showing on HBO if I hate it so much? NO, it is not the brother-sister incest that brings me back every time. For the record, I find that creepy and disgusting.

It is certainly not Michael Pitt and his luxuriously moistened pouty fish lips which bring me back.




It isn't Eva Green, but I do think she is quite good in her role.








What brings me back everytime is Louis Garrell. I can't take my eyes off him whenever he is on the screen.

• Ain't No Other Man: Christina Aguilera

What can I say it is funky, hip and fun in a delightfully retro way. The video is cool too. I find most of today's pop unlistenable, but i find my self listening to this song repeatedly.

RDD RETURNS

The only thing more embarrasing than the box office performance of the new Superman movie & George Michael caught having a go of it in the park with a scary old troll is my total failure to update this blog. I realized that trying to update a blog on vacation can almost be like work, especially without a laptop. A word to the wise: "Unless you want to spend hours in a smoky internet cafe, take a laptop with you when you travel!" It is my goal to try to update this blog at least once a week on Monday, which is my day off work. At that rate, maybe I will have at least posted all my pictures from the last trip before I embark on the next one.

İstanbul May 2006

İSTİKLAL CADDESI


The İstiklal is a center of nightlife, shopping, restaurants & Cinemas. There are also western franchises present: Starbucks, Burger King,Pizza Hut. It is usually the place to meet friends if you are going out. In a city the size of Istanbul that means that it gets pretty crowded with people meeting their friends and strolling the boulevard.

The street begins at Taksim Square and ends about a mile or so down near Tunel Square. The stretch near Taksim has the biggest crowds and the throngs thin out the closer you get to Tunel Square.

Turkish Commies Invade Istiklal

On the second day in İstanbul, I met friends at the Burger King. We sat on the roof terrace (The BK has 3 floors!) While we were there, there was a protest in the square by members of the TKP: Turkish Kommunist Party. I tried to take pictures but was shooed away by the manager. The protesters marched back to their hive a little later and proceeded to hand out flyers to uninterested consumers. I took some pictures of them there.

İstanbul May 2006

The flight.

The 6:30 AM Delta flight was somewhat full but I had an empty seat next to me so I didn't care. What I was dreading was the second leg of the trip from JFK to IST. When the time came to check in I saw a mass of people in front of the gate, a few tourists, but mostly turks. Apparently there was a holiday weekend and everyone was trying to get home for it. The gate agent made the announcement that the flight was oversold and asked for volunteers to give up their tickets. They offered a confirmed seat on the next flight out to Amsterdam and $399 travel voucher towards air travel on Delta. Oh, the seat from JFK to AMS was in Business class! Finally! I have been upgraded. As I was gettıng settled in, the stewardess asked whether I wanted Champagne or Orange Juıce? I said both! Mimosa time! Let me just say that it wıll be extremely diffıcult to travel ın Veal class ever again. I didn't take any pictures in the Business class because I thought it would have been too gauche. Oh Well. it was wonderful and makes a big difference towards how you feel the next morning on your arrival. I was actually rested and somewhat relaxed. This of course was greatly reduced for the 2 1/2 hour stretch ın Veal class for the flight from AMS to IST. Kerem met me at the Airport and we took a bus into the city.

İstanbul May 2006

Gettıng ready for the trip.
What can I say. The ususal, last minute run around. Ran out of time running around throwing things in my suitcases at the last minute. The shuttle came at 3:55 to take me to the airport. We left at 4:15. What i didn't throw in was enough clothing. Yes, after years of overpacking, I underpacked. It has been warmer than I expected here. So I am sweatıng through clothes like crazy. Never again will I make that mistake. The other forgotten item that I will miss is my tripod. That and my second camera. I couldn't find the charger so I just decided to leave it at home. We won't talk about the $60 worth of sundry items I bought from the Costco and left in the trunk of a rental car.