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I want my audience to be informed, therefore pls see below...

For the Turkish-speaking crowd: Avrupa Komisyonu 'sekiz başlık' dedi

For the German-speaking people:
Acht Kapitel im «Gefrierschrank»

And for the rest of the world: EU seeks partial freeze in Turkey accession talks

38 hrs in London

My dearest friends,

I am terribly sorry for the radio silence but pls, pls do not take it personal: I just think London (…and school) has absorbed me these days and I have just found a little time slot to let you know what I have been up to recently. Too many things of course to tell them all, but the visit of my precious friend this weekend could have not made me happier. Given that she has family-member-status she definitely brought part of “home” with her, when she made a 38-hour stopover here in London.


We must have looked like crazy chicken when rushing through London. Extending a 24hrs day to 38 hrs we turned night into day. But most importantly, we made it to a bar Time Out London named Best Bar 2006 –The Lost Society. I am delighted to say that slowly but surely I’m finding out where London’s hotspots are. Not even the most hidden venue (and Lost Society was really not very easy to find) will be save from my presence. And all this just because I want to give those of you who are planning a visit some quality-time. God, am I not the most altruistic friend you have ever had?! (This is actually not a question, it is a statement..lol)

Anyhow, pls check out these pics, just in case you should have forgotten what I look like. And no…the person right next to me is not an angel, she is what I would call the sweetest devil on earth…!

Cheers,
Özlem

We got the Funk (2)

Thank goodness! I knew the slotting (note this is British English :-) of the last few days would somehow be rewarded. Last night was certainly a highlight and I could not have asked for more: The London premier of “Rock the Bells” as part of the 10th annual RESFEST was certainly a must-see. Please do yourself a favor and check out this great documentary on how concert promoter Cheng Weissberg successfully manages to reunite the legendary Wu Tang Clan.

The film was followed by what I would call the icing on the cake (Why on earth do I always need to revert to metaphors that imply edibles?? ☺) - That is, one of the coolest parties I have been to in London so far.
Blacktronica presented his finest and was accompanied by no other than DJ MK (Roots Manuva) and live trumpets and horns directly flown in from Chicago.
Needless to say that the crowd was just enchanting to say the least. Musicians, filmmakers & Co were all over the place! I am sorry, I wish I could give you a pictured idea – I promise to think of it next time.

FYI, RESFEST New York and Berlin are still tba –please make sure you catch it –no regrets, really!

Oz

From Baghdad to London

They not only did it in Iraq, they have been doing it at home too ...

Pls have a look at VD's latest:

Prison whistleblower lifts lid on 'regime of torture'

"Thanks for coming, shit(e)"

Isn’t it lovely when you are surrounded by people that make sure you make the most of London?! It is even more so on a dark and windy weekday when your correspondent (that would be me) had actually decided to be nerdy and disengage from any social obligations. But how could I ever resist my charming French roommate when he asked for my company? Exactly, I just couldn’t!

Now, you probably have heard of Cat Power. Shamefully, I hadn’t until that one night when CB took me to one of her very rare concerts in London’s famous Roundhouse.
Shy Cat welcomed her audience with a grateful: “Thanks for coming, shit(e)!”… and launched out beautifully southern-styled songs which were accompanied by the Memphis Rhythm Band.
I liked her rather modern, very abstract, yet at times balletesque dance moves, which at first looked somewhat lost. But it all made sense once I grasped the overall chaotic, fragmented framework of her show.

Summa summarum: A powerful voice you should definitely look out for!

Oh, this as a footnote: I am very close, so close to finding my next favorite hookah café. Clearly, New York’s “Maia” is pretty hard to beat given the special treat I got as an extremely frequent guest, but I feel I should give London a chance, maybe just to bridge the gap. What does New York think??

Love,
Özlem

PS. Talking about Maia: I just found these pics of just a few of the many beautiful nights we had there!

Isn't this the coolest mohawk you have ever seen? -So funky!