I am losing my respect for Wim Wenders fast, but I continue to admire Emin Alper. I remember Emin from our college days as a nice, calm person. Here’s what happened at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale 2026): The Context: Wim Wenders’ Controversy German filmmaker Wim Wenders, serving as jury president of the … Read more
The Beşiktaş District Governor’s Office banned the shows on public morals and public order grounds after an Islamist-led smear campaign, framing the bands as “satanic” and “against societal values.” Official reason The Beşiktaş District Governorate issued a decision canceling the Slaughter To Prevail (10 Feb) and Behemoth (11 Feb) concerts at Zorlu PSM, stating that … Read more
Two elder statesmen of thrash metal, whom I have listened to since I was 13, released new albums. While Megadeth sounds like a dignified goodbye, Kreator feels very much alive. It is always nice to listen to old-school thrash, and I have asked Perplexity below to find and collect major reviews. Megadeth is listenable, but … Read more
As impunity continues, Bursaspor fans eagerly add new insults to Kurdish citizens. In the past, Beşiktaş fans regularly clashed with Bursa fans, as their aggressive attitudes were not limited to Kurdish citizens. But their racist nationalism has a particular hate against Kurds. Here are some of the major incidents I collected with Perplexity’s help: … Read more
I want to resume my active Beşiktaş fandom, but it is so hard to focus on the game itself amid these scandals. Türkiye is currently facing a major football betting scandal, with over 1,000 professional players under investigation and suspended by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for alleged involvement in illegal sports betting activities. The … Read more
The movie “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has ignited widespread emotional and critical reactions, especially following its premiere at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, where it received a record-breaking 23-minute standing ovation. Critics and audiences alike describe the film as a devastating, deeply moving, and essential portrayal of one child’s tragic fate amid the Gaza … Read more
Just listened to their third album, “Revenge at All Costs” (2022) It has a strong traditional thrash sound, but the band is classified as a groove/nu metal band originally from Tehran, Iran, now based in Oslo, Norway, best known for being imprisoned by Iranian authorities due to their anti-religious and anti-government lyrics. The band was … Read more
I finally won in the highest difficulty level today! I spent 407.7 hours since I bought it this year, and I finally reached deity status. In the God mode, your rivals are consistently producing more Science. Whatever I did, I could not beat them, but this did not prevent me from winning in the Science … Read more
As I reached episode 79 in the original series, here is the final installment of ChatGPT’s in-depth research results on fan communities. Fan literature has never been as prevalent as in the US, and its nature may differ, but there is still something to discover. In the 70ish episodes of the series, “Illuminati” was introduced … Read more
It is hard to find a good thrash metal sound nowadays. Sodom’s latest album works well in this respect. A few songs are notable, but as usual, the whole album sounds like something I am more interested in. Reactions to Sodom’s “The Arsonist” (2025) Critical Reception Consistent and Ferocious Thrash: Critics widely agree that The … Read more
Kneecap, and then Bob Vylan made many people angry. I thought punk was really integrated into the system, but seemingly not… Kneecap and Bob Vylan are both making headlines due to their highly controversial performances at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival, which have sparked political, legal, and media backlash in both the UK and internationally. Kneecap: … Read more
As summer begins and my workload lessens, here’s how we spend our evenings nowadays. I play Civ 7 – a post about it to come – the legendary Valley of the Wolves plays in the background. (The series is on Youtube) I had never watched the series before, and in principle, I had stayed distanced … Read more
With an increasingly busy schedule (May will be overwhelming) and CIV 7 playing, I could not find much time to unbox for a while. There is also the problem of storage. Where will I put the boxes? I am redesigning my office space and also our apartment. In the meantime, here are some findings: 1988 … Read more
I came across a video that substantively summarizes the history of Turkish rap to the present. When stuck in Istanbul’s traffic, you find new stuff on YouTube that you would not normally look at. Now, I’ve made a list of albums to listen to without compromising my metalhead identity. Here is a summary of the … Read more
An anthropologist plunges into the world of Patagonian heavy metal music in Argentina to explore how the genre relates to language and cultural revitalization. Read the rest here: How Heavy Metal Fuels Indigenous Revival in Patagonia