Attractions: football, cinema, music

Michael Jackson Tribute in Taksim Square and more to watch; a video selection

by

A different look at Foucault’s History of Sexuality:

Read more

How a gang invades the Beşiktaş stadium

by

There are two security camera videos that show how the invasion happened in the last game. Gang memners known as Karagümrük with Red-black shirts in an organized form attacks Beşiktaş fans. The attack happens in Istanbul, in a major stadium with tens of cameras and hundreds of policemen….The attackers are known. The leader is known. … Read more

Two universities, two perspectives

by

Two promotional video spreading in the web, mostly in Facebook. The first one is about Bilgi University, particularly Visual Communication Design program. The second one promotes the library at Koç University. The latter is hosted at the library site and a kitsch product officially owned. The former is a viral one, not officially hosted or … Read more

News for the bookworms, Nobel and Man Booker winners announced

by

herta mueller

Mueller, whose mother was sent to a Soviet work camp for five years and who herself was harassed by the Romanian Securitate secret police after refusing to be an informer, made her debut in 1982 with a collection of short stories.

Romanian-born writer wins Nobel literature prize

Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller, who charted the hardships and humiliations of Nicolae Ceausescu’s brutal regime, has won the 2009 Nobel literature prize.

Mueller wins Nobel literary prize

Romanian-born German author Herta Mueller is announced as the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel

Mantel named UK fiction prize winner

Author Hilary Mantel is named this year’s winner of the UK’s Man Booker Prize for her historical novel Wolf Hall.
And some goodies around the web. Enjoy your Friday! I have work to do until the evening departmental meeting:)

Yıldırım Demirören, the worst Beşiktaş president ever!

by
Bodyguards defending Mr. Demirören after the game. Source: Lig TV

Last night’s game proved that Beşiktaş as we know is dead as long as Mr. Demirören keeps the throne.  During the game thousands of fans got in fistfights. The fans were divided between pro-Demirören and anti-Demirören. In fact, most of the fans were anti-D but gang-like pro-D attacked them. They attempted to stop anti-D chanting and threatened other fans.

Read more

Conan the Barbarian

by

post-service settlement -Part I Conan the Barbarian was the most fascinating comics for me when I was a kid.  When I was serving, one day I thought to read all Conan series I can find when I am free again. (I could not read most of it when I was a kid) (The other comics … Read more

Kasparov vs. Karpov- once again

by

Oh boy, once I was obsessed with chess and I had spent a good deal of time studying Kasparov vs. Karpov games… The pair have played nearly 200 times Checkmate Why does chess throw up such great rivalries? After the first day: So two down, ten to go, but at the moment, it looks ominous … Read more

New video from Slayer

by

last days as a civilian..

by

I am doing my best to finish up my to do list before my civilian life ends on Sunday.  One of the final tasks is to finish up writing an essay on Internet and Youth in Turkey. I am doing my best… Prison Break  As a reward to a day of hard work, I doze … Read more

Joy and pain in Beşiktaş

by

While I had a rare moment of bliss when I was drinking with my friends back in Beşiktaş square, marching Beşiktaş fans clashed with police. When we arrived the stadium, we were exposed to the last fragment of tear gas police threw. Probably drunk fans were the cause of riot but surely our police force … Read more

Hutan Hejazi: On the Spanish representation of Turkey

by

I was exchanging emails with my dear friend Hutan Hejazi from Spain before the national game between Spain and Turkey. I, Hutan and Eric Baum were the three amigos that started the Rice Anthro phd program in 2001-2 academic year.

Upon my request, Hutan produced an essay on Turkey’s repsentation in the pre-game period. Thanks Hutan!

Read more

New ads for the Turkish national football team while Turkey warms up for the game against Spain…

by

  I guess Mr. Terim preferred to talk in Turkish this time but check out these videos where he speaks in English: this is funnier:     FATIH TERIM: "IF WE LOSE ,IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD" Turkish National team is in Spain. Fatih Terim and his boys landed in Madrid Yesterday … Read more

One laughs, one cries as GS loses…

by

As Hamburg beats Galatasaray 3-2 in UEFA Cup many GS fans fell into shame and depression while their arch-rival Fenerbahçe fans were laughing their a**es off.  Many football fans believed that GS would play the UEFA final at their rival’s stadium. My dear friend, Çetin fan had already become stressed because of this future development. … Read more

Fabian Ernst gives us peace

by

 Fabian Ernst joined Besiktas in the beginning of February. Nobody expected much from him but this defensive midfielder gives us confidence. From the outset, he empowered BJK’s midfield; we are just too happy. I haven’t been following Beşiktaş as much as I used to, but now more than ever I feel more peace in our … Read more

Friday afternoon-early evening roundup at the canteen- "New hope for alignment of civilian-military relations in Turkey…..

by
I do not have particularly productive days and I hope to give an account of these stressed days soon. After my morning lecture, I met with Can at noon and went back to Mecidiyeköy to take care of some credit card issues. Then we came back to the campus, took a strategic table in the second floor of So Cafe and began to do some work. On our way back to the campus, Can was exposed to songs from two violent albums: Obzen by Meshuggah and Fabulous Disaster by Exodus…It is dark now, Friday evening starts with us sitting in the campus cafe, doing some sort of work, feeling like a loser. 
Demonstrators protest against the Scientific and Technological ...

Demonstrators protest against the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in Middle East Technical University in Ankara March 13, 2009. Demonstrators protested against the exclusion of articles and cover page commemorating Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday from a scientific journal published by TUBITAK, Turkey’s key scientific research body. Hundreds of university teachers and students stand on the first letter of Turkish word "Devrim" which means "Revolution" to form the Turkish word "evrim" which means "evolution" painted on the stands of the university’s stadium. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

 

A roundup on Turkish politics follows: 

Read more