No Memati for a kid’s name…

Memati

A father wanted to rename his two sons after the famous characters in the TV serials Valley of the Wolves: Polat and Memati. A local court rejected one of the names: Memati. Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals confirmed the local court decision: Memati is an Arabic word that means “death” or “fatal” and thus not suitable for a kid’s name… Well, nobody knows what Memati means really. I did not know myself. So I am not sure if this is really a good decision. I would feel better for a name like “Ayetullah”. That was a friend’s name back in college. His father was an Islamist and he named him like that. That was a loaded name to carry along… …

In the mean time, Turkish police forbidden a MultiPlayerOnline Game to be played in Internet Cafes (I wonder if they really have the authority to do that): Metin 2. A popular game with too much violent stuff. The police thinks it is not good for the kids.

In Turkish Press, most mentioned columnist of the week:

source

Cem Yılmaz’s Western spoof gets İstanbul gala
Today’s Zaman
… the big screen Wednesday at a packed gala in İstanbul ahead of the film’s theatrical release today across Turkey and in a number of European cities

Neşeli Hayat

A Turkish Frank Capra movie about a mall Santa. Has some good performances (especially Büşra Pekin) and an interesting take on life in the malls, but ultimately, it left me somewhat ambivalent.

Turkish erotic movie posters from 1970s…

Turkey’s smoking ban changes habits, inspires innovations – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

Crossing Generations and Borders: Ajda Pekkan

Mavi Boncuk
Music Review Ajda Pekkan
Crossing Generations and Borders: A Turkish Pop Diva?s Musical Tour
By JON PARELES
Published: December 20, 2009 NYTimes

In Turkey the singer Ajda Pekkan is nicknamed Süperstar. Ms. Pekkan, now 63, got her start as a singing actress in the early 1960s, and she has had pop hits in Turkey ever since, selling millions of records through the decades. On Friday night at the Hammerstein Ballroom she gave a rare concert on this side of the Atlantic, and she had a multigenerational audience singing along, dancing, bringing her roses and waving the Turkish flag.

Berna Turam Speaking About Religion And Society In Turkey

The 15th annual 2009 Campagna-Kerven Lecture on Modern Turkey at Boston University was given by Dr. Berna Turam on November 4. To watch a video of Dr. Berna Turam?s lecture, click here.

Poverty Declined, Except In Rural Areas

from Kamil Pasha by Jenny White

Depressed Nation

A recent survey of 2,000 Turkish high school graduates concluded that:

? 25% strongly agreed that they lacked a sense of confidence in themselves.

A Family Tree Uprooted by a 60-Year-Old Secret

Fethiye Cetin, a human rights lawyer, believes a seminal moment has arrived in which Turkey and Armenia can finally confront the ghosts of history.