I'm a star, I'm a star

music

I just got tickets for Sana'a, Yemen.

Not Related

music

read about the agent here

Cara is a STAR!

music

Her novel was released today. I hear "it has everything", not just romance.
I'ma get me a copy. It's been too long since I read a book with such a pretty cover.
1, 2, 3, more

When I grow up

music

G. said he really loved swimming.
I thought if he stuck with me, in a few years I would get him a pool. He could swim all he wanted. In hot weather.
He didn't stick.

I don't swim, although I have taken lots of swimming classes. When I grow up I want to rule the world - you knew that; I also want to be a synchronized swimmer.

I'm going back into my little tub now. I took a break from my very hot bath to get some air.

First time in New England

music

Washington, District of Columbia
I saw my sisters (two of three) on Friday. Spent most of the time in K's bed...I'm so into those girls. We saw In Her Shoes together in a movie theater. Can you imagine how wonderful that felt?
Boston, Massachusetts
The wedding was very tastefully done. My very charming host, Sammy, showed me around Harvard. He also taught me to bundle up against the cold.
Now I'm tense/tired and yet to recover from all the travelling.

Liberty's scales

music

On the one hand, my pay has been CUT: my Moore-sponsored Poincaré fellowship expired days ago.
On the other hand, my face is in a better state than it's been in weeks; thanks, Mary Kay!

Mor's blog

music

My current obsession
Here is more

Work in Progress (Music)

music

I'm going to associate a song with each of my posts. I'll include the music too. Be patient.

List of posts and corresponding songs

226 - Agric Chic
Keresimesi - ?

225 - Bordello
Gbelo gbebo - D'Banj

224 - One great upper body
Party Hard - Andrew WK / Donae'o

223 - Full of book

222 - Fanning the flames

221 - Not Too Much Pepper

220 - Photography

219 - Fun this morning

218 - I missed it again

217 - Prosefully yours

216 - Flower Seller

215 - Brother Nielsen

214 - A Quick Review
Coco Jambo - Mr. President

213 - Discovering Nigerian blogs
All Star - Smash mouth

212 - Facebook blurbs
Grace Kelly - Mika

211 - From earlier today, the speech
Heartbeat - Nneka

210 - Heroes: Sadosky
Spice Up Your Life - Spice Girls

209 - Friends I just met
Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - Lauryn Hill

208 - More Arab Film Festival 2006
? - ?

207 - Aqua
Relator - Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson

206 - Vavoom
(none)

205 - Ram
Show us the ancient paths - Tom Inglis

204 - I'm hungry
Party Up (Up In Here) - DMX

203 - The Eko Festival, Lagos poem
Sekele - Pro Kid

202 - Rapping in Yoruba - DaGrin
(none)

201 - Declutter . Unclutter .
Kokonsa - Wanlov the Kubulor

200 - Visually Speaking
Wheel of Fortune - Ace of Base

199 - (GOOD) OVERLOAD
I'm Not Going Home - Faithless

198 - (CUTE) OVERLOAD
Peach Trees - Rufus Wainwright

197 - Poem: My Brother, The Jew
Hatin' on the Club - Rihanna

196 - Short Story: Assassin
Whoa - Black Rob

195 - Why gild the lily?
Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen

194 - What's good?
What What - Jay-Z

193 - Broke
Turn The Lights Down Low - The Fugees

192 - Poem: Ballroom Dance
Back To Life - Soul II Soul

191 - I'm No Superman
Belinda - Grady Harrell

190 - Things to buy
Dream - Mary J. Blige

189 - Tribute to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Paper Planes - M.I.A.

188 - Happy New Year
Are You That Somebody - Aaliyah

187 - Bookish Santa
Take Me Home - Lisa Lisa

186 - Especially Laziness
Kiss From A Rose - Seal

185 - Agassi Open
Nothing Compares To You - Sinead O'Connor

184 - Inspire Me!
La Isla Bonita - Madonna

183 - Writing a bit
If I Ever Fall In Love - Shai

182 - My mind is changing, changing...
Can't Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue

181 - Public Art
You Come and Go - Boy George

180 - Fiction: Honeymoon
Stop Pretending - Bez

179 - ARAB FILM FESTIVAL
La Trouhi - Joseph Attieh

178 - I didn't realize he was dead
Would I Lie To You - Charles and Eddie

177 - Happy September
Love is like a butterfly - Dolly Parton

176 - My new love
(none)

175 - African Reader's Library
When You Think Of Me - Eric Benet

174 - Instinct, Natasha
Dontcha - Pussycat Dolls

173 - Hustle or flow
People Everyday - Arrested Development

172 - Couldn't blog this month
My body, your body - LSG

171 - O'Bama
Sensitivity - Ralph Tresvant

170 - Birthday
Between Me and You - Ja Rule

169 - Aish baladee and Nutella
Danger - P-Square

168 - Cool research, outside the academy
Lorile - X-Project

167 - Big Rush
Carry Go - Styl Plus

166 - Cry
Ordinary World - Duran Duran

165 - Sana'a
Blaze - M.I.

164 - Them Egyptians
Lak, lak, lak - Amr Mustapha, soundtrack: Duniya / Kiss Me Not On The Eyes

163 - Woooooooo
Le Festin - Camille, soundtrack: Ratatouille

162 - Aw, Menn. It's fun being a fan.
Yes We Can Can - Pointer Sisters

161 - Popular Naija Music just for you.
(none)

160 - Metamorphosis
I don't wanna wait - Paula Cole

159 - Rufus is a funny man
In a Cosy Corner on the Upper Deck (We play games, many games on the ocean) - singer TBD in: Wedding in Paris

158 - Poem
Madonna - Rain

157 - Sappy
Your Love is King - Sade

156 - Quickies
I love you came too late - Joey McIntyre

155 - Greed is good
We Belong Together - Mariah Carey

154 - Lest I forget this funny bit
Crossroads - Bone, Thugs, n Harmony

153 - SMS Virgin
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

152 - I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep
To Love You More - Celine Dion

151 - Traveller
U Remind Me - Usher

150 - You know...
Forever - Chris Brown

149 - What will I tell my grandkids
Look At Us - Sarina Paris

148 - Speechless
Tubthumpin' - Chumbawamba

147 - When it's over
Ridiculous - P.O.D. and Eek-A-Mouse

146 - Down in Zimbabwe
Fucking in Heaven - Fatboy Slim

145 - Tennis news: Player Council has new reps
Always in my Heart - Tevin Campbell

144 - To BlackOut or not to BlackOut
Dreams - Gabrielle

143 - As Gentle As Silence
Petootie Pie - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan

142 - Going to miss Egypt
Beautiful Briny - Angela Lansbury and Dave Tomlinson, soundtrack: Bedknobs and Broomsticks

141 - Not retired, but burned out
Me Gustas Tu - Manu Chao

140 - Retired, not retiring
Aray Maine Tujhko Chaha - Mohammed Rafi, soundtrack: Dharam Veer

139 - Playing with fire
Osondi Owendi - Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe

138 - Lend me some sugar, I AM your neighbour
History repeating - Propellerheads and Shirley Bassey

137 - Birthday suit
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas

136 - Checking Stats
I Got Rhythm - Ella Fitzgerald

135 - Watching Al-Jazeera in Arabic
Horreya - Mounir

134 - Things I've learned in Egypt
El-3enab - Saad El-Soghayyar

133 - Before before, love bokun between men and women
(none)

132 - Am I missing something?
Mr. Man - Alicia Keys and Jimmy Cozier

131 - Admission
Go, or Go Ahead - Rufus Wainwright

130 - More Arab Film Festival
(draft)

129 - Potpourri
Orinoco Flow - Celtic Woman

128 - How many times have you walked across the Nile?
Ahwak - Abdel Halim Hafez

127 - The other side of Cairo
Bitter sweet symphony – The Verve, soundtrack: Cruel Intentions

126 - Holy Cow
Ocean Drive - Lighthouse Family

125 - Munchkin Land
We wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land - in: the Wizard of Oz

124 - As In Happy
A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action - Elvis Presley

123 - Tennis boys sing at Christmas: Jingle Bells
(none)

122 - Truth be told
Moving to the left - Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

121 - Premiering in the UK
Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy featuring Mase

120 - Advice
(none)

119 - Flattery from my friends
Fever - Peggy Lee

118 - Happy Thanksgiving
(none)

117 - Sociable? Test yourself.
Believe in the Beat - Carol Lynn Townes, soundtrack: Breakdance 2

116 - Al Gore, Panel on Climate Change, share Nobel Peace Prize
It's Getting Hot in Here - Nelly

115 - Pro Sport. Passionate Lifestyle.
(none)

114 - Who are you wearing?
Go Girl - Pitbull, with Young Boss and Trina

113 -There will never ever be another you
Possente Amor Mi Chiama - Luciano Pavarotti version, in: Rigoletto

112 - Djokovic's imitation of fellow tennis players
(none)

111 - Heading home Part 2
Go West - Pet Shop Boys

110 - ValleyWag is Good and Bad
Yard of Blonde Girls - Jeff Buckley

109 - Mo' Power to Mo'Nique...and that Mark tennis player guy
Girls - Beastie Boys

108 - The Art Teacher
(none)

107 - Couple of Cravings
What's Your Fantasy - Ludacris

106 - This woman is heading home
It's been a long, long, time - Harry James, Kitty Kallen

105 - Jean-Lou Chameau
Mer noire - Cirque du Soleil, soundtrack: O

104 - A Thousand Words
Tribute - Yanni

103 - A directory of wonderful things
Complainte de la butte - Rufus Wainwright version, soundtrack: Moulin Rouge

102 - Promiscuous
The Day - Babyface

101 - Release The Stars
(none)

100 - Arab Film Festival 2006
Senzeni Na? - Vusi Mahlasela & Harmonious Serenade Choir, in: Amandla!

99 - I hate _
Incredible - M-Beat and General Levy, soundtrack: Ali G in Da House

98 - Hermès, schmermès. Buy this scarf.
Don't Know Why - Norah Jones

97 - New magazine article on my friend Billy
E Strano/Ah, Fors'è lui/Follie/Sempre Libera - Maria Callas version, date unknown, in: La Traviata

96 - Look and listen :)
(none)

95 - Artistes
Girl in the Life Magazine - Boys II Men

94 - Surviving Picasso
Making Whoopee - Cyndi Lauper and Tony Bennett version

93 - Television
The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

92 - How I know that I'm evil
Mbube - Miriam Makeba

91 - Better Half
Fuji shuffle - Adewale Ayuba

90 - Do Believe The Hype
And I am Telling You - Jennifer Holliday

89 - Let the music play on
Redemption Song - Bob Marley

88 - iCall
Believe - Cher

87 - Who moved my cheese?
Rat Race - The Mandators

86 - Localized
This business of Love - Domino

85 - Still don't know
C'Mon Ride The Train - Quad City DJ

84 - A New York State of Mind?
Everybody Here Wants You - Jeff Buckley

83 - Beyond borders
The Lord's My Shepherd - Center for Church Music Choir version, traditional: Scottish Psalter

82 - Social intercourse
yaa mukaHal 3ayoonii - Fuad Al-Kibsi

81 - I had a soul-mate all along
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant

80 - Your money or your life
Under the Sea - Samuel E. Wright, soundtrack: Disney's The Little Mermaid

79 - Romance
Shall We Dance - Ella Fitzgerald

78 - Desire
Call Me Crazy - Linda Geleris

77 - Luc Leestemaker
Griet's Theme - Alexandre Desplat, soundtrack: Girl With A Pearl Earring

76 - Material Girl
Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer

75 - Araro̩mi
Let Me Blow Ya Mind - Eve and Gwen Stefani

74 - Stolen copper wires
Trapped - Colonel Abrams

73 - Feast for the eyes
Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh) - Lumidee

72 - summer of paper
Libiamo Ne'Lieti Calici - Alfredo Kraus and Maria Callas version, in: La Traviata

71- Bright lights
I Have Confidence - Julie Andrews, soundtrack: The Sound of Music

70 - Just another manic (May) monday
Baby - Martha Wainwright

69 - She gets it
Butterfly - Crazy Town

68 - Sugar Rays
Waiting - Sugar Ray

67 - Indecision
Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson version

66 - Whuman rights
White Flag - Dido

65 - Free speech
(none)

64 - More blogs. Bibliography
To Love You More - Celine Dion

63 - Big screen, little screen
Bal Dans Ma Rue - Edith Piaf

62 - Love Story
This Love Affair - Rufus Wainwright

61 - Everything happens to me
aah wa noss (habibi yalla) - Nancy Ajram

60 - Bigger picture
Enta Omri - Umm Kulthum

59 - Chat Room
She bangs - Ricky Martin

58 - Happy mood
The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice, soundtrack: Closer

57 - Crappy mood
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

56 - The Queen of Sheba lived here
For All Seasons - Yanni

55- We Three Kings of Orient Are
We Three Kings - Robert Shaw Chamber Singers version

54 - Al-Hamdilullah
Give thanks - Don Moen version

53 - Hell Is A Cold Place
Eko Ile - Fela Anikulapo Kuti

52 - I'm a star, I'm a star
I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly, soundtrack: Space Jam

51 - Not Related
The Boy Is Mine - Brandy and Monica

50 - Cara is a STAR!
I'll Fly With You (L'Amour Toujours) - Gigi D'Agostino

49 - When I Grow Up
Something More - Lisa Witty

48 - First Time in New England
Baby It's Cold Outside - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan version

47 - Liberty's Scales
Monkey Banana - Fela Anikulapo Kuti

46 - Mor's blog
Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes, remix

45 - Work in Progress
It's De-Lovely - Robbie Williams version, soundtrack: De-Lovely

44 - Three months of research
Bad girl - Madonna

43 - Three of the world's best minds
Why you wanna trip on me - Michael Jackson

42 - (post-)n feminism
Cherry Lips (Go baby go!) - Garbage

41 - "Irreconcilable differences" is so last year
The Wedding Song - Kenny G

40 - Para usted
La Bamba - version from Campos wedding album

39 - See Thibaut's pictures
Greek Song - Rufus Wainwirght

38 - The California Institute of Science
The Tower of Learning - Rufus Wainwright

37 - That special something
Teach me tonight - Dinah Washington version, soundtrack: Kissing Jessica Stein

36 - Soon
Soon - Natalie Cole version

35 - Of course I can't sleep
Experiment - Kevin Kline version, soundtrack: De-Lovely

34 - Baby
What is this thing called love - Lemar version, soundtrack: De-Lovely

33 - Happy Birthday Blog!
hornpipe and jigs - Teada

32 - The Establishment and the Environment
Love for Sale - Vivian Green version, soundtrack: De-Lovely

31 - Stairway to Paradise
I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise - Rufus Wainwright version, soundtrack: The Aviator

30 - Stairway to the stars
Stairway to the stars - Ella Fitzgerald version

29 - Elfriede Jelinek
Agnus Dei - Rufus Wainwright

28 - My baby just cares for me
My baby just cares for me - Natalie Cole version

27 - Tango
Objection(Tango) - Shakira

26 - Waiting to Exhale
Exhale(shoop, shoop) - Whitney Houston, soundtrack: Waiting to Exhale

25 - Crooning
Happy Feet - Paolo Conte

24 - My amazon.com wishlist
So many stars - Natalie Cole version

23 - Live to love
I'm glad there is you - Natalie Cole version

22 - Work to live or live to work?
Into each life some rain must fall - Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots version

21 - I'm so tired
Night and Day - 1. John Barrowman version, soundtrack: De-Lovely 2. Ella Fitzgerald version

20 - I'm still high
I'm Super - soundtrack: South Park

19 - It's a New Year
It's crazy - Natalie Cole version

18 - Publication: Reconfigurable Computing
I hate you then I love you - Celine Dion and Luciano Pavarotti version
or Lady (Fela)

17 - Alexander and the raj
Androgyny - Garbage

16 - Alexander
A Whole New World - soundtrack: Disney's Aladdin
or Love me like a man (Diana Krall's)

15 - Mrs. Smith
Chantilly lace - Roy Clark version

14 - laissez les bons temps rouler
Shoe Boogie - Paul Consentino and The Boilermaker Jazz Band

13 - Nothing to say, really
All that Jazz - soundtrack: Chicago

12 - "Monsoon wedding" rocks
monsoon wedding theme song - soundtrack: Monsoon Wedding
or "...a closed fist is worth millions" (Dharam Veer soundtrack)

11 - Olympiad
Milkshake (Kelis)
or Take it to the house - Trick Daddy

10 - Quoting Khalil Gibran
Morning Theft - Jeff Buckley

09 - Back in QC we had prep
Little Girls - Carol Burnett, soundtrack: Annie

08 - It's still July
Instant Pleasure - Rufus Wainwright, soundtrack: Big Daddy

07 - It's July
Olagbaja ma tun de o - Lagbaja

06 - Research Update
I don't know enough about you - Peggy Lee version, soundtrack: Kissing Jessica Stein

05 - Life is brief
Love - soundtrack: Disney's Robin Hood

04 - Achilles is a bull
Don't let me be misunderstood - Cyndi Lauper version

03 - HIV
I told you so - Natalie Cole version

02 - "Immortality."
Devil May Care - Diana Krall version, soundtrack: Kissing Jessica Stein

01 - As liberally as I'm able
She - Elvis Costello, soundtrack: Notting Hill

notes
i definitely want to use these later:
lose yourself (Eminem)
lady (Fela)
Black man's cry / Eko ile (Fela)

Two weeks later: only three songs to go - experiment, what is this thing called love, and love for sale. all three are performed on the soundtrack of "De-Lovely." about half the music came from my CD collection. i just pulled a half-nighter (slept maybe three hours) scouting for free downloads for the rest(not that easy, ended up with Kazaa, got almost everything I wanted, somewhat recursive process though). i, the non-techie, appreciate Kazaa so much right now that i'm leaving all these songs on it for a few days (then i'll remove it since the risk of adware/spyware is intolerable, and also because i'm not entirely sold on the free music revolution - i want artists/the music industry to get paid fairly for their work.)
Thanks to those who put their stuff on Kazaa, especially the old showtunes (from Annie, Robin Hood, ...) what would i ever have done without you?

Several hours later: I got the remaining songs, thanks to a fellow Kazaa user. Expect the end product in a week or two.

Two weeks later: Enjoy the music!

Three months of research

music

I still haven't sold my car yet, but with the new low low price I think it will be gone in days.
I haven't spring-cleaned my place either. I need to lose some paper, sell some books, move furniture.
I've hit rock-bottom with my crazy-mouse laptop. I love you baby but I'm gonna replace you.
Anyway, after cleaning up my life, I will have to work for about three months...I'm a researcher again.
Insha' Allah, this will rock; right after I'll do candidacy and go to the Middle East, probably Yemen, for a month or two.
Okey dokey. G'night.

Three of the world's best minds

music

Faiza Jarrar
"if launching a missile against an American war ship somewhere is a cowardice terrorist act, then what is the brave nationalist act? How do people express their rejection against the war on Iraq, or the occupation?"
Joy Behar
She wonders and I wonder why incompetence rules.
Rosie O'Donnell
Once said that you must not wait for people to give you your rights, you just take them.

(post-)n feminism

music

News from the United Kingdom
Don't get mad, get rich! "...there are now an estimated 360,000 women in Britain who are worth half a million pounds or more each...Over the past 30 years, the female employment rate has jumped from 42% to 70%, while almost a third of managers are now women [from] a mere 2%...In business you'll be successful regardless of gender if you have a good product and the right skills."
Personal assistants, hot chics, and Lolita. "They are still a rarity in the office, but, says Cath Janes, male PAs are here to stay and doing their bit to dispel the stereotypes..."
Now aint that sweet? "It is a similar story in the kitchen: cooking now takes modern mothers an average of 5.9 hours per week, compared with up to 13 hours in the 1950s. ...Men also appear to have changed over the last 50 years. More than a quarter of modern mothers said they would not be able to cope without their partner, and 76% said they felt "supported" by their other half." Even more on childcare trends here.
Finally, why he's a keeper. Warning: This last one is supposed to be funny.

"Irreconcilable differences" is so last year

music

Yes, "working" at a relationship is tiring, and after so many years, boring. It's better to quit amicably and avoid a bitter divorce. Breaking up may be hard to do, but at least it's doing something; it's not passive. I hear all this.
But folks should hang in there for the sake of together forever romance, and of mature unconditional love. I don't want Angelina and Brad, I want Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

Para usted

music

I made some guacamole tonight.
I got the recipe in mid May from a fellow grocery shopper at Ralphs, she said she wasn't a pro, she likes to add onions and tomatoes and the like to the finely chopped avocado, and oh, she said, it's very important to add lime, which prevents browning.
I make the limiest guacamole around. Fantastic avocadoes, slice very thinly and chop a bit, add a tomato (without the juice, mostly flesh) and squeeze in about half a lime per avocado.
Yum.

See Thibaut's pictures

music

here. Thanks, TiBo.

The California Institute of Science

music

I am despondent.
In the past years, I have observed - science, research, and the labours thereof. I have discovered no new science. I have built no new machine. I'm more than two-thirds of the way to my PhD.
However, I can now give an expert report on how scientists do what they do.
One difference between Caltech and that other institute of technology: MIT has OpenCourseWare, Caltech does not. Still, I believe that there's only one.caltech more than I believe in God.
I started re-reading Feynman's "The Meaning of it all" yesterday. A central theme of the little book is uncertainty, a core value in science. Science, then, precludes fundamentalism. (Science fundamentalists, for instance, should check their science.)
Some damaged people bombed London today. Their belief matters that much to them.

That special something

music

I just caught the last 10 minutes of Oprah, featuring Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Cute people.
They have that special something that tells you that they haven't "met" each other, and that they're too busy hugging and kissing to address this...
when the perfume fades, the shit will start to stink, and their loveydovey thing will be quite over.
Similarly, most to-be-married people make me nervous.
I don't think I'm jealous.
I do think I should mind my own business.

Soon

music

I'll sell my car
and rearrange my apartment...
then everything will be fine.

Of course I can't sleep

music

I've been obsessed with Money Talk, my new baby.
Coming soon: effort to get people writing (on wikipedia, for instance) about African Literature.
Still thinking about: wikis, blogs, forums, etc as tools for collaborative research.

...the apple on the top of the tree is never too high to achieve
so take an example from Eve - Experiment!
From the Cole Porter song

Baby

music

I've been somber and weepy since yesterday.
I don't know how long this will go on for.

Happy Birthday Blog!

music

(Two days late.)