violachic

Feb. 9th, 2007

So now I'm getting in the habit of receiving in my email every Friday a copy of

sultansfavorite Middle Eastern pop radio program. One hour of amazing Middle Eastern/Arabic music, for my iTunes!

whereisjoy and I also agreed that the opening song is the same song Omar Othman uses in his Yalla Nikhi Arabi (Lets Speak Arabic!) tapes- albeit some sort of techno-remix. I was proud of myself for recognizing it.

There is always one word I can always recognize in these songs- habibi. It wouldn't be Arabic pop without this term of endearment! I have always been interested in the fact that music that comes out of a culture where arranged marriages are often still the norm is so obsessed with love. I wonder if anyone can explain that to me.

I need to start listening to my Arabic recordings again.

From the altfriday5:

1. Tell us about the last time you went to an art exhibition, installation, or museum. How often do you go to see art? Do you seek it out, or have it forced upon you?

I've only ever once gone to an independant art exhibition, but its something I'd love to do more often. I used to spend a LOT of time at the Art Institute- there's so much there, you can never see it in one trip. I'm totally open to it, its just not something I've had the time or opportunity to do in a long time- you certainly don't have to force it on me.

2. Which periods or styles of art do you particularly like? Why?

I don't know enough about art to say anything in detail, but at the AIC the last few years I've been gravitating towards the post-Impressionist section- I've become a huge fan of Kandinsky, Chagall, stuff like that.

3. Which periods or styles of art do you particularly dislike? Why?

As much as I recognize what a genius and pioneer Monet was, I am thoroughly sick of the fucking water lillies.

4. Do you make art yourself? Which kinds of art?

I have absolutely no talent for visual art. None. Zip. Zero. Nada.

5. What role does art play in your life in general?

A great deal, one way or another. I live with people who make visual art of many varieties. Plus, my understanding of music history is tightly tied in with similar movements in religious, literature, and art history. I'm a big fan of encouraging people to let themselves express themselves artistically. I think the most stunning commentary about things like Palestine comes through in the art that is created by people who live there and have to deal with the bullshit on a regular basis. I've also been enjoying (if that's really a word that can and should be applied here) reading

moomin13's political cartoons. I could go on and on, but I won't :-)

The Questioner says: Don't forget your links!

*sigh*

I wasn't going to admit this to the general public, but since I have already slipped up a couple times, I'll just come out of the Dork Closet and confess.

I have made myself a whole new journal for my Sims 2 obsession. I figure its easier than dealing with putting sims-only journals on this friends list, and I figure the vast, vast majority of y'all could care less about Sims stuff than anything I could ever post here.

But if you get a comment response from

howawesim, it is still me. I thought it would be easy enough to keep track, and it is hardly such.

Anyway, I'm going to go slink into a corner from embarassment now.