The show is over and everyone died/I didn't understand it but I tried.

Ah The Emmy Awards. Awards shows always make me wistful and wishful. They make me wish I was living and working in L.A. But it's only when I watch them, otherwise I'm okay with where I am. Watching them makes me go down the dangerous path of, "What if..."

Maybe someday. But for now, I cheer for Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family who fervently thanked the writers for, "Giving [him] the words."

On a different note: sometimes I wish fervently I could be at these shows because some actors/actresses definitely need new stylists and I'd be up for that job. Some of these looks are just awful. I love you Christina Hendricks but we get it, you have large breasts. There are better colors and styles to flatter them.






But there are some excellent choices as well, thank God.

Et Voila! The answer to all our problems.

Jellyfish have apparently evolved to the point of immortality.

From The Eagle:

Researchers have documented the first immortal animal, a jellyfish species called Turritopsis nutricula. The species has been seen to reverse its aging and revert to its its earlier polyp stage, periodically restarting its lifecycle. The rejuvenation relies on transdifferation, the transformation of one mature (non-stem, or “differentiated”) cell type into another. All evidence suggests that Turritopsis can repeat this process indefinitely, meaning that it will never die as a consequence of aging, ever. Researchers suggested that studying the Turritopsis could lead to breakthroughs in reversing the human aging process.

“Senescence” is the scientific term for aging, and the cellular degradation that accompanies it. Most biologists attribute senescence in humans and other animals to “telomeres”, which are tiny caps on the ends of each chromosome. Telomeres protect DNA from being corrupted, but during every repetition of the cell cycle, they become incrementally shorter. Eventually the telomeres become so short that cells cannot divide at all, a point known as the Hayflick Limit.

The term “negligible senescence” describes organisms that do not show signs of age related degradation, and includes animals such as the sturgeon, lobster and giant tortoise.

With the goal of emulating such natural longevity, English transhumanist Aubrey De Grey founded the S.E.N.S, or “Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence” in 2002 to research medical strategies for elongating the human lifespan. You may be able to guess that they haven’t quite got it down yet.


Well! Time to integrate jellyfish DNA with mine, be right back.

It's (Almost) My Party...

My birthday is coming up so I decided to indulge myself and get a couple presents. These were from me to me though, haha. My aunt and various other family members usually give me money and I spend a little of it and deposit the rest but that's a on-the-day-of tradition I follow. I usually set off on the day and get myself something and then call them and thank them for my gift! This happens when I'm in the States and they're not with me though. This year, I'll have my parents and sister here the week before and my boyfriend the weekend and day of but I'm sure at some point during the day, I'll uphold the tradition. For now, this is my birthday gifted items.

Forever 21 isn't really somewhere I shop a lot because we don't have one in Boston and I tend to want to see the things I buy beforehand. But, I've browsed the website on occasion and have found cute, cheap dresses. This one is in the same cut and style as another one I have but I loved the colors and pattern.



Wedges have been really in style lately and I never was a big fan of them but constant viewings and watching how others pull them off have made me start to love them. These are higher heels than I normally ever wear (I'm a strictly no-heel kind of girl with my Converse, Iron Maiden Vans, or any kind of boots staple footwear) but I've been eyeing a similar pair in a store by my house and after seeing them on a couple more websites (Forever 21, ugh but they didn't have it) I figured I'd just go for it and get a pair of wedges that would last unlike the crap H & M makes. Jeffrey Campbell tends to rip off everyone under the sun but these were exactly the shape I wanted; not too boxy and with a clear line between the shoe and the heel/platform.



I always try not to excited about my birthday, I mean it's not like I did much except stubbornly refuse to come out on the given day and waited until Friday the 13th, but the anticipation just creeps up. And then I have a shitty day and get all sad especially when a certain cousin doesn't call (two years straight, let's see if we can make it three). But eh, I shouldn't complain. I have my health (ish), I have friends and a lot of family either near-by or willing to be, and it should be a nice day. Not WHOA AMAZING, but nice. I appreciate nice.

Borderline

It's been a little past 7 months since I started this blog and I thought it might be a good idea to go back and see how far I've come on the project. The completed tasks are preceded with a (X).

(X) Task 1: Plan out the project.
(X) Task 2: Have a Madonna dress-up day and get this thing going.
(X) Task 3: The "sex" talk. Because no Madonna project is complete without some racy stuff.
( ) Task 4: Audition for something, anything.
( ) Task 5: Get the fashion blog aspect of the blog going (I have started integrating fashion stuff but need to do the daily outfits posts that are so popular on blogs. Because I can definitely match them).
(X) Task 6: Beliefs, faith, "God," talk. "Like a prayer, I'll take you there."
( ) Task 7: Write my book.
( ) Task 8: Design my t-shirt.
(X) Task 9: Conquer Egglet and her claws. I did, kind of.
( ) Task 10: Teach myself Hindi.
(X) Task 11: Get into a healthy exercise program.
(X) Task 12: Go back to India.
( ) Task 13: Learn to tie a sari.
( ) Task 14: Watch 8 Miles High, the life of Uschi Obermaier (another inspirational, amazing woman)
( ) Task 15: Have a "mod," day.
( ) Task 16: Karaoke timez. Ugh.
(X) Task 17: Do something with Borusan Kultur and Sanat. The program may not have worked out but I did contribute music to another event and maybe something will come of it when I get back.
(X) Task 18: Horsey times. May not have ridden it but did spend time with my daddy and Lulu his other baby.
( ) Task 19: Write a new script.
( ) Task 20: Edit existing scripts.
(X) Task 21: Write a series of kids books about Egglet. I started her blog (Like A Mews) and I will continue that and eventually turn it into a book.
(X) Task 22: Get involved with helping others.
(X) Task 23: Embrace my joy of dancing. Belly dancing classes start September 15.
(X) Task 24: Dressed up night on the town. Did it one better; went to a movie premiere.
( ) Task 25: Go to a gay bar!
(X) Task 26: Warhol print/Madonna artwork for my new place.
(1/2 X ) Task 27: Read Anna Karenina and various other classics.
(X) Task 28: Learn to drive.
(X) Task 29: DIY my metal shirts. Finish vest and get going on the new one.
(X) Task 30: Watch Drowned World and various other Madonna concert films. Just Sticky & Sweet left.
( ) Task 31-100 - Adopt air of Madonna; go confidently forward and find out what my life is supposed to be.

Hmm. It's the big tasks, the writing ones, that I need to really get going on. That's a little disappointing. I invented this project to motivate me to do those things first and foremost. I don't consider this a waste of 7 months but I do hope to have made more than a dent in the remaining tasks by January, when this project is a year old.

That's my deadline. By the end of January, I want to be mostly done with this project, especially the writing tasks. That gives me a little over five months. I started this blog on January 15 but I'll set the date for the 31st. It's going to be hard, five months is not a long time to take on writing projects but I've always worked fast and well and on a different level than other people so I can probably do it.

I'll be turning 25 on September 13th. I would like to have materials worth submitting to Gersh by January, one year after I started working for them. I have high hopes for my 25th year, I hope I won't let me down.

Looking back though, I can remember exactly when and how I started this project. How lost and sad I was and how silly me thought 100 tasks in 100 days was poetic enough to do because I was dumb and didn't realize my tasks were not all things able to be accomplished in a day (write a freakin' book!). It's been a long time since the beginning of the year and yet, it went by really fast. So far, 2010 has been all right, barring a few glaring events, and I hope the universe will help me and all of us push it to be the best it can for the rest of the year. This is where I knock on wood and say a quick prayer wishing health and happiness to all my loved ones.

Task 26: Hung Up

I was thinking about how I should get back on the Like a Muse Project and I realized, I kind of had! I've just moved into a new apartment and as soon as I charge my camera and the rain stops making everywhere look dark and grey, I'll post pictures. One of the great things about the new place is that I now have a sort of walk-in closet. It's quite small and I still need a dresser with drawers for all my t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, and other non-hanging tops, but it fits all my other clothes and isn't too cluttered. The bedroom has another closet too which I've given over to the boyfriend except he's not here so all his stuff is still packed up and away until he gets back from Austin, Texas in mid-September. Anyway, my mom got me and my sister each a Madonna 2009 calendar and I've saved it because I didn't want to throw it out even though I didn't really know what to do with it. So I picked out the four pictures I liked most and hung them up in my closet as a personal little Madonna corner. This way, it's just something small that I can see to start off my day (hopefully) all inspired and badass and my boyfriend won't have to put up with an extremely girly decorated apartment because God knows, there's enough femininity everywhere else. Hey, he needs to come hang up his own pictures and actually be here when I'm moving and decorating if he wants to have a say. Luckily, I'm not too girly; the living room will have mostly heavy metal posters, Turkish/Iranian artwork, and vintage posters of Indian/international movies but in Turkish. They're really cool actually, I already had two but I found a few more online and they're all different kinds of films (an old Godzilla, some martial arts weirdness, etc.) and a couple Indian ones but the title is in Turkish and the artwork is hand-drawn. One has an elephant charging and a leopard flying through the air with the title, "Filler Benim Arkadaşım," (elephants are my friends) starring Rajesh Khanna. Here is an example of what I'm taking about, it's not one I got though, mine are way better.


So one of my tasks was to make a Warhol-esque print of pop-art Madonna but instead, I have this. Later, I'm going to get them framed and properly hung up. I have my chameleon Madonna in pictures that aren't very famous in a place that's for my eyes only. Included are my two favorite looks of hers; "Ray of Light," and "Like a Prayer, " as well as two that I just like a lot because they're so different from her usual photos. Much better than the same image in tacky colors pretending that I know "art." I really do have to get used to using my camera though, Blackberry you're just not cutting it.

Heh, how can you tell it's my closet? Ohh maybe the Indian tunics, leopard print, and lace kind of give it away.

Muse Update

Miu Miu, other than being my dad's nickname for my cat, is the "younger" line from Miuccia Prada and apparently the A/W 2010 campaign film was directed by Madonna. Miu Miu is usually too cutesy for me but any time anything involves Madonna, I have to take a look so here it is.


miu miu Fall 2010 Campaign Movie
Uploaded by FBK1976. - Arts and animation videos.

She really should give up acting for good because she is more than a decent director. She directed the 2008 indie film Filth and Wisdom and despite having the typical indie pretentions, I really enjoyed it. Plus it starred Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello and I love him.


Filth And Wisdom Trailer A Film By Madonnna
Uploaded by hotterbich. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

He also collaborated with her on the Sticky and Sweet Tour version of, "La Isla Bonita (Lela Pala Tute)," which I have been listening to for two years, even before it was officially released.


Madonna - La Isla Bonita (Live Earth 2007)
Uploaded by Schutzengerl1205. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

She's currently directing a film about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and I'm looking forward to seeing it because the subject itself is pretty interesting and the project is all hers. As you may have noticed, I wholly support all her projects!

There are also rumors that Madonna has been offered a Las Vegas stint much like Celine Dion and Elton John; an exclusive contract to perfom a certain number of times for five years at a residence there. She'd be getting a billion dollars making her one of the third highest paid women in the world. I don't know how true this is but if does happen, I do believe it's time to re-visit Las Vegas. Heh, and this time I'm of age and legally allowed to drink, gamble, and go to strip clubs. Because we all know how much I love to do all three of those things.

I still have yet to see her clothing line in stores, only select Macy's department stores are carrying it, but the pieces I've seen just seem like Hot Topic lite for younger girls, except more tasteful. There have been complaints that the line, "sexualizes young girls," but I call bullshit. If you want your kids to remain kids get them off the internet. Don't allow them to have Facebook pages and Myspace accounts because that's what sexualizing them. It honestly disgusts me that elementary school and middle school kids spend so much time on the internet sharing every minute detail of their lives. Sure, I do to but I know the limit. This might make me sound old but Facebook came out when I was in college and was for college kids only. It made sense. Now every psycho and their inappropriately mannered mother is on it and it's a fucking waste. I've had to block someone because they kept trying to convince me they knew me yet I had no idea who they were. And all my information is private. Getting back on the subject, I'd rather a kid of mine (KNOCK ON WOOD, YUCK CHILDREN) wear this stuff than some of the other things I've seen out in the real world.



Other than that and turning 52, Madonna world is rather quiet right now. I need to get back to the project though...

The Big C

I have a new show that I love. I am, as of this moment, an episode and a half into the series and it's great. It was on after Weeds last week (another favorite, mainly because it's so messed up. Though, I'm really not happy with the first two episode. Since it's Showtime it won't have more than 12 episodes in the season so right now 1/6 of the season has been mediocre and that's not good) and it's a new show called The Big C starring Laura Linney and Oliver Platt. It's about Cathy who discovers she has cancer and doesn't really have that much long to live and starts doing some stuff a little differently. See, it's not that original an idea or concept but it's done so well. She is such a character. And so are her husband, son, doctor, brother, neighbor, and student. They are people we haven't seen on the screen yet and they're believable and that's why I love Showtime and HBO. Take away the graphic sex and violence and drugs and all the other things they're allowed to put in their shows, you still get quality television. Well-written, bizarrely funny, witty, and with razor-sharp intelligence. If I could marry TV channels, I would marry Showtime and HBO so hard. I would have a modern, kind of French, threesome marriage of lust and mutual respect.

It might not be a new thing to watch a woman go crazy on-screen but this show (as well as every other show on the aforementioned channels) not only humanizes the character of Cathy through real emotions such as fear of death and leaving her son behind, but manages to make it funny like when she asks her doctor to quit seeing her as another body and tell her what he thinks. He compliments her rack. It's the little quirks that make these shows stand out. What it comes down to is portraying people in extreme situations and just showing how everyone has a little insanity in them and that's what makes them human. Like Dexter which is about a serial killer who ends up with a family and kids, trying to figure out if being "normal" is his alter ego or not. Cathy hasn't told anyone why she's started acting so differently so it's really cool watching and understanding the way she's behaving while everyone is beyond confused and bewildered. Like when she tells her son he can't go to soccer camp (because she wants to spend time with him) and he just thinks she's being a bitch and still goes and she holds up the bus with a paintball gun and makes him get off.

"Cathy? I know you're here. The car's in the driveway and the smell of cruelty is in the air."

We Could Be The Same

I couldn't sleep the other night so I watched a Golden Girls marathon on TV. All the ladies in my family basically love this show because of the characters and the fact that it's just a fun show about four very different, older women. Rose reminds is all of my grandmother because they both have the same sweet, kind of naive air. Anyway, the episodes I watched, for some reason, kept dealing with death and not being able to live life because the fear of death hovered too close for comfort.

Oi.

Dorothy said something about missing her mother already even though she was lying right there (Sophia was having gall bladder problems but they didn't know what was wrong with her and the paramedics couldn't get there so they were all sitting with her hoping she wasn't dying. Oi, again). It got me thinking about how truly short life is. Ten years might seem like a lot but in ten years I'll be 35, my sister will be 28, my mom will be 61, my grandmother will be in her 80s. It's not that far away and of course these thoughts made my throat close up and I sat there half laughing half crying because Golden Girls made me have a panic attack,

Living in Boston and in Istanbul is a curse and a blessing. I'm too far away from my family, the most important people in my life, and I'm so afraid of missing things I can't enjoy my time here, where work and friends are better options. Of course then I try to get to everything and end up missing the most important events. I missed my grandfather's documentary's premiere night which was really unfair. I'm not sure how unfair it really was but in my head it stands to reason and a corner of my mind will not let that go. I recently missed my cousin's birthday. Everyone surprised her with a special dinner and though I had to be here for the KISS show and seeing my Elliot and getting my apartment packed up, it still smarts a little.

Fearing death is just the bigger picture of all these little worries and regrets. I recently started re-reading Lamb. Christopher Moore is one of my favorite authors because he writes in such a funny, sarcastic, and weird tone. He creates bizarre characters as well as ones that are easy to identify with and always has an element of the supernatural, even spiritual, in his books. I hope to write a book much like his one day. Lamb is about the life of Jesus but through the eyes of his best friend Biff. Biff is never mentioned in the Bible so God brings him back to write a new Gospel, to fill in the blank years up until Jesus turned 30. In the story, they travel to Afghanistan and India and seek out the three wise men who teach both different spiritual beliefs in order to prepare Jesus (know as Joshua, Josh in the story) to become the Messiah and Biff to stand by him and help. It's so very fictional and yet, I'd like to believe it's real. One of the wise men tells Josh that all fear comes from the unknown, if you knew what was coming you wouldn't be afraid and that's true. So the biggest unknown is death and thus, my biggest fear. The book isn't preachy or overtly Christian or any other religion in the slightest. It's underlying message is basically, love everyone and it really humanizes a figure most have to remember that, in the end, was just another lost person who didn't know what was expected of him.

It's kind of a comfort to read it again, now and then.

I just wrote a piece about metal music and the metal scene in Turkey. We don't have much but we have the enthusiasm but I'm sure it'll be ripped to shreds once it comes out. Oh the internet. I wish the movers would get here. I've been waiting for the past 2 hours. I just want everything moved, set up, and settled with my pictures hanging up so I can breathe and maybe even sleep again.

I got two new owl rings. They wink at me from my fingers.

Lucky Star

My friend just reminded me that it's Madonna's 52nd birthday today! Well this calls for blasting, "Like a Prayer," and looking up old photos. Happy birthday Madame Ciccone, your life has made mine that much more joyous.
This one is for you.


41 - Madonna - I'll Remember
Uploaded by Paadre. - See the latest featured music videos.

Thunder just started rolling outside my window right now. Yep, even the universe growls for her.


Madonna - Rain [Video]
Uploaded by WBRNewMedia. - See the latest featured music videos.



















At her birthday party.

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go (BISMILLAH NO WE WILL NOT LET YOU GO)

I have been packing and taking things up and down for the past 48 hours straight. Today, a cleaning service is cleaning (no kidding?) the new place and in the afternoon the second floor is getting buffed. Then tomorrow I'm packing the last minute stuff like kitchen and bathroom stuff and Wednesday the movers are taking all the heavy stuff down. Today I just have the books and DVDs and other odds and ends like the record player and printer to pack up. I've actually budgeted myself well in terms of buying new stuff and hiring people to help me out since my friends all work during the day and Elliot and my family aren't here to share the work. The new place is quite a bit bigger than my current apartment so I had to get another coffee table and couch, bed and bedside tables for the "guest" room (aka Mina and my parents' and probably Defne my cousin's room), dining room furniture, and various stuff for the three, yes you heard me, three bathrooms. I still need to get the bathroom stuff, and kitchen things because our plates and pots and pans are all wretchedly old and crappy but I'll take care of that after all the moving is done.

So everything gets moved on Wednesday, new furniture arrives Thursday and Friday, and cable and internet get connected on Thursday as well. I hope to have most everything done by Friday. Saturday I'll be taking a break to finally go to a book club meeting (I've been a member for so long and have been to maybe 2 meetings) and see some friends and hopefully next week I'll be getting pictures framed and up on the walls. That's always the most important thing for me, bare walls make me anxious. When all my artwork and posters are up, I immediately feel like I live there. All the furniture I got is pretty classic, it's the rugs and artwork that add all the color and make it more, "me." I hope I can make this new place as homey as my apartment. This apartment has been my favorite home in Boston. It always made me happy to come back to it and I'm kind of nervous that the new place is so big it won't have the same charm. I was going to leave all the decorating stuff until the end but I picked up a few pieces as I ran across them.

My current rug I love. I got another one because the new living room is huge.


This is for the second floor. It's not a floor so much as a loft space with a couple storage rooms and a bathroom. It would make a good "office" and rugs make empty spaces work.


Bedding for the guest bedroom. I always secretly loved this pattern but didn't really want it for myself so an extra bedroom provided the excuse.


This is for my room since my old duvet cover is really old and needs to be replaced. It's constellations and the reverse side is grey with white stars. I'm a nerd yes.


Nothing makes me calmer than lots of light. New Buddha lamp for my bedroom since I never had a bedside lamp in the old place.


Generally, I don't like bean bag chairs. But the splashes of color made this one kind of stand out. Plus, more sitting places are always welcome since we like to gather all our friends when we hang out with them.



I've also applied for three more jobs and am waiting to hear from them. Of course, in our non-responsive age I haven't received anything back but I'm giving it until Wednesday before I do any follow-up emails. One of the jobs was a part-time Marketing Assistant for a "spiritual" books publishing house and though it's a different job than I've applied to in the past, it sounds like it could be fun and a good experience so I'm really hoping to hear from them, as well as a pretty big name publishing house my friend tipped me off that had an opening for an editorial assistant. Augh, I'm intelligent, capable, and can do everything these jobs require (be organized? I make lists of my lists for crying out loud) but I just need them to crack open the door so I can wedge myself in.

Tomorrow, the new Iron Maiden record comes out but I got to listen to it a week ago and review it. It's Iron Maiden Sucks! day on MetalSucks tomorrow so all Maiden articles and reviews, all day. I contributed another piece about possible artwork Iron Maiden should use (the current one is their mascot, Eddie, in space. The artist is a different one than usual so it looks a little odd and there's been quite a lot of controversy over it. My ideas? Well, Sultan Eddie and Maharaja Eddie are among the many.

100(,000)

Hooray this is my 100th post! 100 different times I've sat down and wrote about 100 (or more) different thoughts and events. The title comes from a KISS song so what better to celebrate a milestone on my music-inspired (Madonna? Hello? Keep up.) blog than writing about music?

I wanted to to have a separate entry about the KISS show because it was such a fun and wonderful time. My Elliot came up from Austin to accompany me to it and more than just fulfilling his boyfriendly duties, it was a an extremely fun time with my best friend. When the show started with the flames and explosions he pulled me into a hug and said he secretly had always wanted to see KISS. Which is when I exclaimed that I had to. We both like some KISS songs here and there and though Detroit Rock City is my favorite moie, it's more because of all the other music in it and the theme of the plot that I love it, not becaue it involves KISS. But seeing them live is definitely a bucket list thing to do. The pure show of it all was breath-taking. It's obvious how well rehearsed they are but they make it look so spontaneous and fun. Sure Paul Stanley's strutting and cat-calling is nothing new, and everyone expects Gene to spit blood and spit fire but when they did do all those things, the crowd, including us, went crazy. They know what they have to do and they don't spare any energy or enthusiasm in delivering it.

And the flying! There was so much flying. Gene flew up above the stage into the rafters by the lights to perform a song while glaring, Paul flew out into the audience to sing a song from among us, and the Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, though not as big stars, had plenty of gravity-defying movements happening underneath them. The second guitarist and drummer were raised up and down on-stage so they could have their moments too and the backdrop and screens flashed the entire time with occasional glimpses of past KISS shows. I seriously jumped every time there was an explosion. Okay, not every time but several times.

During the encores Paul Stanley, the singer, paused to commend all the families there. There truly were so many parents with their kids and the kids were legitimately happy to be there. One girl behind me corrected her dad on a KISS song and a little boy in front of my stood on his chair, clapped, screamed, sang, and raised the devil horns all throughout the show. When the young KISS Army was applauded on-stage, the boy's dad lifted him up so everyone could cheer. That kid will probably never, ever forget that night. He's a KISS fan for life. Haha, what little boy wouldn't be? All those explosions and BOOMS and fire and other pyrotechnics.

There was a small presentation during the encores as well. One dollar from every ticket sold was donated to a fund that helped men and women coming home from duty to get back on their feet. Of course, when there's a group of Americans and the slightest mention of country the chanting of, "USA, USA, USA," will undoubtedly ensue (rolls eyes). But, I have to say this wasn't just another instance of blowing steam up the military's ass. They made a good point about the people who came back broken physically and spiritually and how they were greeted by a government that didn't know how to treat them. That's a cause I can support. I'm glad I could help, in a tiny way, this fund and they raised over $90,000 that night.

I don't think I would've had as much fun at this show with anyone else. Well, my little sister and cousins are a blast to to go to concerts with too but they weren't here. My boyfriend is a music dork just like me and we get goosebumps and awed just being in the same area as one of our bands. I went to Judas Priest, Van Halen, and AC/DC with him as well as Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper and we'll probably always go to shows and in the immortal words of KISS, "rock 'n' roll all niiii-iiight," together. Even when we're 85 and deaf and can barely move, we'll be out there croaking out the words. Pending all our bands are alive.

Blackberry camera is so terrible compared to my Turkish Nokia.








EDIT: Happy birthday to my beautiful kuzen Beril!