title, what title?

Radikal'den Ismet Berkan az önce Anayasa Mahkemesi tarafindan kabul edilen iddanameyi okuduktan sonra aklimdan gecen dusunceleri cok guzel özetlemis: Bir de şunu unutmayın: AKP'ye açılan davanın özü laiklik değildir, ifade özgürlüğünün sınırlarıdır. Daha önce yazdım, bireyler için söylenmesi suç oluşturmayan sözlerin bir partinin mensupları tarafından söylenmesi o parti için kapatmaya yeter bir gerekçe midir, değil midir? Kapatmaya yeter bir gerekçe olmalı mıdır, olmamalı mıdır? Yazinin tamami burada .

Idiomag is the best thing I found on the net after Google and Last.fm . If you are not familiar with Last.fm, it is a service that tracks the mp3s that you listen on your computer -and ipod, my new mp3 player doesn’t unfortunately support it- and gives you recommendations on music, events you might like, and lets you meet people of the same music taste. Idiomag basically gets this information and prepares you a daily online journal from news about your favorite music artists. I admit this kills the inherent treasure hunt feeling associated with listening to music, but it is a very helpful service. I came across this song that Bright Eyes did 3 years ago when George W. Bush was the most “evil” person in the media, which is one of the sharpest protest songs that I listened to so far. It coincided with The Economist’s briefing this week on the possible -or impossible- changes in US foreign policy. Summarized, don’t expect the winds to change direction, America has a tradition of bi-part...

Last year I was fortunate to watch Dylan live in London. This year Leonard Cohen goes on tour after 15 years. On 30th of August, I will watch him with my sister in Berlin. His tour includes 2 nights in Istanbul too. To all who are thinking about going to the concerts, I recommend they see the great documentary/performance/interview movie Leonard Cohen: I Am Your Man . A collage of intimate interviews with the man himself, and performances by names like Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainwright, and Anthony of the Anthony and the Johnsons, this movie lets the audience put the songs of Cohen in the context of his Weltanschauung. Here is my favorite part of the movie, Anthony covering If It Be Your Will , which coincides with his time in LA Zen Buddhist monastery.

Gecen sene ortasinda secimlerle baslayan, Abdullah Gül’ün Cumhurbaskani secilmesi ile suren, bir ara yeni anayasa tartsimalarinda kimlik bulan, MHP’nin cikarci atagi sonucunda turban yasagi eksenine giren, ve en son olarak AK Parti hakkinda acilan kapatilma davasinda iyiden iyiye bir catismaya donen politik savasimi “Turkiye’nin gecikmis kuvvet paylasimi sorunu” olarak biraz daha genis bir perspektifde yorumlamaya calismadan once, laiklik ve dinin topumdaki yeri hakkindaki kendi goruslerimi kisaca hatirlatmakta fayda goruyorum. Hangisi olursa olsun, bir yerden sonra bilincli olarak mantik ve aklin “inanc” adina feda edilmesini -Danimarkali yenilikci din adami Kierkegaard‘in terimi olan inanc atlamasi, leap of faith ’den bahsediyorum- gerektiren Din kavraminin toplumu duzenlemek icin kullanilmasini dogru bulmuyorum. Burada duzenlemeyi yapan ucuncu bir organ oldugu, ve bu organin demokratik sureclerle secilmis bir devlet oldugunu varsaydigimi vurgulamam gerek. Din su veya bu sekilde ...

minha torcida minha besiktas, minha querida minha galera... my fellow football fans, my besiktas, my darling, my fellow comrades...

Less than a month to go. BSG Season 4 premieres on 4th of April, I missed you Kara...

I found a new CBS show, which revolves around 2 nerds, and their hot neighbor. I know it all sounds very cliché, but the very fact that a network is doing a show oriented at jut nerds, i mean not just sci-fi fans, but those who are interested in string theory too, is amazing. Until I finish downloading the episodes, I am watching youtube clips, and this one just rocked me off my chair from laughing: This conversation is my favorite: Girl: I am a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know... Nerd: Yes, it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion, that the sun's apparent position relative to some arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality! By the way I cannot keep myself being a nerd and share this idea that I have been entertaining for a while. Can there be a link ,and a Darwinian explanation to this link, between behavioral patterns and the seasons of birth, which may be interpreted a...

Sigur Ros' documentary about their 2007 free Iceland tour, whey they gave free and un-advertised concerts across Iceland can be watched on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr4s7KeCbV8 I had seen it here in Berlin, and loved it so much that I bought a DVD of it. I believe those who like Sigur Ros will do the same.

Lou Reed did not mention which day his perfect day was. I always thought it was a Sunday, maybe because from time to time Sundays give me the joy worth a month. These Sundays are usually during the F1 season, so this last Sunday was somewhat an exception. I started the day watching Besiktas basketball team beating the basketball giants Efes Pilsen for the second time in the season, clinching the leadership in the normal season and securing a 1-0 start to a possible play-off match up. We have shown that we can beat any team in our good das with our supporters. Next week we have an important game with Galatasaray, who lost to a low placed team this week, and have to win away in order to start a play-off match-up 0-0. They will have the supporter advantage, I hope we’ll repeat the game we played last week against Hapoel Jerusalem, which we won by 20 points. Here is a video of our players chanting with our supporters after the game: Then I went on watching the football derby a...

Believe in it boys, believe in it, We will see beautiful days, sunny days, We will beat Galatasaray in Inonu Stadium, We will sing songs of championship!