Material Mistake?

A quick note:
Having recently channeled the Material Girl (see photo session below) I feel I must comment Madonna’s slight misstep with the whole comparing McCain to Hitler on her tour bru-haha. I appreciate what Madonna is doing; trying to incorporate politics into performance (is there a distinction, really?) and wield the influence that comes part and parcel with her star power. Art is the best vehicle for social change, is it not? But perhaps she didn’t think this one all the way through. While I’m no McCain fan, I do believe that creating a photo montage that aligns present day politicians with prominent historical figures who have come to epitomize peace and love (Gandhi) and destruction and evil (Hitler) mirrors the “you’re either with us or against us” thinking that makes most remarks by my current president universally cringe worthy. I see where she was going with it, and I’d like to think her intentions were pure. Perhaps spectators were meant to take it has hyperbole; a worst-case-scenario (former POW turned dictator) that was to shock us out of complacency. But whether its Bush’s axis of evil or Madonna’s champions of change, to reduce nations, political parties, or individuals to opposite ends of the moral spectrum is ignore the shades of gray between. A nation divided by blunt superficiality that lacks the nuances of complexities and critical opinions looks like, well, the one my current administration has created. The one Madonna, myself, and many others are so adamantly opposed to and so desperately trying to change. So Madge, its only because I love you that I tell you the truth. Tough love, after all. But who knows? Maybe you just wanted to get us talking. Maybe you just wanted to get a point across. Maybe if I had the money, power, and attitude to do something so controversial and ballsy, I would do it to.

*See postings for “The Slut Vote” in feministing for more info.
**Ariana Huffington or someone else I’d like to be has probably already said the same thing, only better.

I'm with the Band

I’ve always wanted to say that.
And for the first time, while accompanying my street musician friends to their concert last Sunday morning, I could legitimately claim band affiliation. So maybe I was more of a half-ass groupie (I don’t own an album and I haven’t followed them on tour) than a bonafide musician, but either way I got to ride in the back of the car sandwiched between a Spanish cajon and a Turkish ud (instruments, not people).

I’d always imagined “with the band” to be more of the alternative rock variety. You know, skinny guys in 70’s aviator sunglasses and fading ironic t-shirts, like something with the word hero and a sub sandwich underneath. Maybe they’d even wear trucker hats a la Justin Timberlake copying Ashton Kutcher. All the way from New Kids on the Block to Paolo Nutini (with a young Bruce Springstein, Eddie Vedder, and Enrique Iglesias sandwiched somewhere in between), I’ve wanted to be the girl shaking the tambourine. Okay, none of these people had a girl shaking a tambourine (except maybe Bruce), and to be completely honest I’d rather be the lead singer of my own band. I’ve always had a thing for musicians, or rather, they’ve had a thing for me. The closest I came was having a boyfriend who was the lead singer of a band called “The Dads,” which seemed pretty cool at the time.

Instead, I was with two Turks, teachers by day and musicians by..Sunday morning. They’d recently returned from a street music tour of the Aegean coast, stopping in cities along the way before being chased out by police (no street music without a permit. Pretty hard core if you ask me.

There was no steep cover charge (free in fact), no exclusive club (a few park benches) and no hype (the concert was attended by lots of old people and little kids. Their music is part world beats, part political, part a vehicle for social change. I kind of sort of felt transported back to my college days when I really felt like I could make a difference. I tried to decipher the lyrics as best I could. They made us clap and sing along, so I did, although I had no idea what I was saying. I reveled in the universal language of music, and thought about how you never know which fantasies will come true, even in a small unexpected way.

A Tribute to Madonna

'Life is a mystery/everyone must stand alone/I hear you call my name/and it feels like...home."

I love Madonna. I always have. With every new incarnation, I love her more.
I love that she crosses the line, takes risks that would sabotage most careers but somehow put her back on top, and yes, I even love her music.

'This is who I am/you can like it or not/ you can love me or leave me/aint' never gonna stop.'

But what I really love about Madonna is that she does not buy in to the myth of the self. She knows that we are all in constant flux, and the only way to be ones true self is to acknowledge that a static true self does not exist. She is not afraid to fully invest in an image, a persona, a worldview - and then change. She lets herself shatter only to rebuild a new, stronger and perhaps contradictory self a few years later. She fully commits and does not waver. She understands that the self is totalizing, and that what we often think of as our core, essence or foundation is about as eternal and lasting as sandcastles in a tsunami.

Or so I would think she thinks.


`Don't go for second best baby, put your love to the test.'



'There are no shortcuts to being Madonna.'






I don't know if Madge wears a pink bathrobe, but I don't have a kimono, leotard or boxing costume.

My Life in Pictures (and suitcases)

(yes this is my underwear)


I am not quite ready for another transatlantic flight.

The jet lag, the neck cramps, the awkward conversation with a stranger for ten hours. After two intercontinental round trips and a few domestic flights, I'm so over it.

Oh, boo hoo. I can't complain. I sound like a spoiled jet setter with matching Louis Vuitton luggage.

But really. I just unpacked and now I have to repack again. Examine these photos carefully. Is it really necessary to bring instant miso soup and taco seasoning back to Istanbul?

Absolutely.

In my unpacking and repackaging, I've learned a few tricks of the trade:

1) Ziplocks are your friends

Inevitably, something will spill, most likely all over your favorite new dress. Anything that is liquid, lotion, cream, gel, or simply not solid should be wrapped in plastic. Try saran or bubble wrap if you get desperate.


2) Nest like a set of Russian dolls
Put your socks in your shoes, jewelry in your pockets, bras in your sweaters. It saves tons of space.



3) Pack light
I never do this, but you should. Do you really need two pair of black heels? That raincoat or pair of boots just in case? You always recycle the same two outfits anyway. You know those signs at Midway airport with the silhouette of a slender traveler with a compact little rolling suitcase? That should be you!Well, actually, its really nice to have lots of options when you travel. There's nothing wrong with carrying an entire pharmacy in your purse. I am negating #3 and adding



*Always close your umbrella before you pack it.
** I also stocked up on chocolate chip cookies. You can't find a decent one in all of Europe.

4)Rules are for suckers.


Sometimes I wish I were a turtle so that my home would follow me wherever I roam. At the end of the day, no matter where in the world I am, I just want to crawl in my shell and hide. I've unsuccessfully tried to grow a hard shell, but I am still very exposed. For now this polka dot umbrella will have to suffice.