Wednesday, March 26, 2008

fikret kizilok

maybe some of you heard him on last year's "international sad hits" compilation.

cinema of paranoia

the eerily prescient ending to "three days of the condor".

Friday, March 21, 2008

the aluminum fowl

my friends james and brent shot this remarkable documentary, which was produced with a lot of help from harmony korine. I hope more people see this when it becomes available on dvd. also james just had a baby so he deserves a financial boost.

Friday, March 14, 2008

cem karaca

Born to an Azeri father and an Armenian mother, here is my personal favorite Turkish balladeer of the Anatolian explosion. Any translations would be greatly appreciated.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

volapuk


Many may be familiar with the intriguing legacy of Esperanto, but it was not in fact the world's first deliberately constructed language. That honor goes to Volapuk, the creation of German priest Johan Schleyer. As with other constructed languages, the inspiration for Volapuk came in the form of an idealistic vision for world peace and common human understanding through the use of a shared tongue. To be sure, the advantage of a constructed language such as Esperanto or Volapuk is that it sets the comprehension bar at an even albeit unnavigable level for all; a new form of babble is equally strange to every populace. Sadly, Volapuk didn't have the same public relations team behind it as Esperanto, yet there are still about twenty or thirty speakers of it. Which may be more than native Manx speakers or owners of Beta players. Who knows.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008