Taxim Square

Please don't worry. I'm fine.

There was a bombing (suicide) in Taxim (about a mile or so from where I live) early this morning. No one was killed. I ended up not going to church this morning, which I suppose may have been a very good thing (not that I say that very much).

I'm having a difficult time finding many news reports, but this seems to be the latest here, and here.

m.

Kariye Müzesi

Earlier this week, my Arts & Culture class went to the Kariye Müzei, or the Chora Church. It has the best mosaics in the city. I think it may also be one of the best examples that you don't need a large space to make an impact.

m.

Success!

I love this necklace by Moth House.

Which is good. You see the "win" and "giveaway" in the second image? Forget it, because, as of a few hours ago, I own it.

Chloe Scheffe, of itssymetrical.com, hosted a giveaway...and the loverly number generator decided it would be a good birthday present for me (it was the 27th Chloe's time when she drew).

Now I just need to figure out a way to get it halfway around the world.

m.

Check out more of Moth House's stuff here. Oh, and that beautiful photography? Yeah, that's Chloe too. Her blog is here, portfolio here, tumblr here, & flicker here.

Can you kind of tell I like this girl?

Drool-worthy shelves, even if I do look like an idiot.

There are a few downsides to living in a dorm room halfway across the country from your own room, let alone in one halfway around the world.

The biggest one, of course, being the lack of cohesion in my books.

My favorites went away with me to school, and then that collection was added to by way of gifts, textbooks, Half-Price Books, the occasional B&N gift card, and the sale of a deceased prof's entire 9,000 tome library.

Some books got shlepped home, and others got dragged out, eventually resulting in me needing more bookshelves no matter where I am.

And then I decided to study halfway around the world and brought with me only two books: a short novel entitled Stonehenge, but only because my mom had just bought it for me and it's sick and wrong to only take one book anywhere. The second was Les Miserables.

Thank goodness for iBooks, that's all I have to say.

I have an excessive attachment to print, though, so when I saw this particular room belonging to (yep) a Mr. Gaiman, I was instantly smitten. It's like the Powell's of home libraries

I want a room like this. Actually, I would like several rooms like this. I would also like this selection at this moment.

m.

see more photos at http://blog.shelfari.com/ronbrinkmann/2009/08/gaimans-bookshelf-details.html Which is also where I stole the ones you just looked at.

Photos, I understand. The language, I do not.

I found these fantastic photos on a blog* earlier today, and fell in love with them. They're from a small mountain village in Japan.

In particular, I'd like the one of the barn to hang on my wall when I own a house, preferably in a large size.

Alas, they were shot with a point-and-shoot digital, which means I'm limited in size.

*Me, being honest: Gretchen, the author of said blog, is a friend of mine. She's in Japan for the semester, and the blog is about that**.

**Shameless plug: see said blog here.

m.

Photos taken by Gretchen Sager, and are totally her property. I stole them from her blog, http://intothelandoftherisingsun.blogspot.com/

Don't worry,

I'm still alive.

Things are better (yay). My classes have finally settled down (for the most part--there are still a few details that need to be pinned down, but that's it). Thank goodness.

It looks like I'll be taking 5 classes:

Graphic Design

Arts & Culture in Istanbul

Disaster & House Design

Architectural & Urban Development in Istanbul

Design Studio

Last week, my Architectural & Urban class went to an exhibit about the development of Istanbul over the last 100 years. It was very well done, and my favorite part was a scale model of Istanbul from 1950 (I failed to get any sweeping overview photos).

This last photo was from the beginning of the modern period of Istanbul(Sedad Hakki Eldem, completed 1934). I didn't much care for the building, but it made me feel like a freshman again, studying Mies and Gaudi, and wondering how people survived living and working in and around them.

I also taught myself to make Turkish coffee (with some help from Google).

I may never be the same again. This is the strongest coffee I've ever had, and everything else, I fear, will taste like water when I get back.

Oh. Another thing I learned?

Don't drink the grounds. I speak from experience.

One, they're used to tell your fortune (apparently, I have a blob in my future). Two, they don't taste very good. You would think I would have known that, but clearly I didn't.

Let's see...other than that, there really isn't anything going on. It's been raining like crazy--the amount we've gotten in the last two weeks is normally what they get in two months. It's not terrible, although it makes everything slightly damp, which is my biggest complaint now.

Three cheers for improvements!

m.

Illumination

I really, really want one of these lamps.

I was at the Grand Bazaar again today, and it seemed like they were there, staring at me, simply begging me to take them home. Unfortunately, I have no place to hang one at the moment.

I guess it's just something else to add to the list of things to get at the end of my trip.

I think, when I get to design my own home, there will be a room where these are the only sources of light. I'll probably have to come back to get all of them, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow.

m.

A note: having years of experience, cries of "Lady" will not make me stop and look at the stall. However, for the first time, somebody called me "Angel" today. I was almost tempted to stop, but then realized how creepy it was.

Options

When our study abroad coordinator told us the important things about being gone for three or nine months, one of the things he mentioned was not bringing too much. I took this to heart...and brought too few clothes.

While any given item can be layered with almost any other, I find myself waking up each morning and thinking, "Dammit. Shouldn't have listened to John. Now what am I going to wear?"

That's why I have decided I should have Fernando Brizio's new dress(es).

When I first looked at it/them, I didn't think much of it/them. But the genius of it is that it's actually a white dress. You put colored markers, tip down, into the pocket, and let them bleed out. Let gravity do all the work for you! Then, when you get tired of the design, you can wash it and start all over again.

I have to wonder just how much of the ink would come out in the wash, even if you did use water-soluble ink. I think it's a great idea, but if I had to sit down with a bleach pen every time I wanted a new design, I would become notably less impressed.

However, I have decided this is probably one of the most impressive articles of clothing I've seen in quite a while. Not to mention versatile.

m.

All images courtesy of http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/26/view/3222/flexibility-renewable-clothing-by-fernando-brizio.html

New

You know what I love?

Set schedules.

Like when a professor tells you a class is going to be at this time, in this classroom, and then--egads!--it is.

However, seeing as though I can't find said set schedule online, I'll have to find something else to share today.

Glee.

Yes, I am one of those people. Come on, don't you just want to break out into song at inopportune/perfect moments in your life.

That's okay. I know you want to, you just don't want to admit it.

Glee is one of the two tv shows that I specifically take time out of my life to watch (the other is Big Bang Theory).

"Grilled Cheesus" was the title of last night's episode (last night for me, at least. I have to watch them the day after they come out, being in Turkey and all), which caused me to panic a bit. I'm a Christian, and while I will readily admit that God works in strange ways sometimes (like: "Really? Really? I trust You, God, but I don't think that would even fly on a soap opera"), I don't think He spends too much time trying to talk to us through sandwiches.

Which is more or less exactly what Emma said on the show.

All in all, I thought they handled it extremely well. I liked that they represented both sides (and subsets) of the argument, and that they didn't make any of the opinions just...stupid. I've seen that before, and it always makes me mad, even if they're against God. People who don't believe in Him aren't stupid, for the most part, and they have better arguments than "he wouldn't have let my cat die when I was 5."

Grow up, people who write dialogue like that. You shouldn't be writing theological arguments when you can't even write.

Okay. Done grandstanding.

We return you to your originally scheduled program, sans dancing.

What I love so much about the show is how they never cut anybody any slack. Every character has their good and bad parts.

Hey! That's just like real life!

There are plenty of parts that are over the top, but when you get rid of some of it, there are plenty of bits that sound like sound bites from a high schooler's life.

The other thing I really love about it is how they know that they're over the top, and they have fun with it. They don't try to delude themselves into thinking that it's a highbrow drama with lots of morals and life lessons.

For pete's sake, they did a Lady Gaga episode. I hold it's impossible to take yourself completely seriously when you're dressed in giant bubbles, or have Beanie Babies stapled to your jumper.

They also had an episode directed by Joss Whedon (who is king of American scifi). With Neil Patrick Harris. It's about time the guy got some props for his voice.

m.

And: Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, did the most fantastic rendition of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." I never thought that song could be done in ballad form.

Boy, was I wrong.

"Wheels" image courtesy of http://nymag.com

Lady Gaga episode still courtesy of http://bolahenksokak.blogspot.com/

Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison's rendition of "Dream On" poster-worthy image courtesy of http://www.nydailynews.com/

Final image courtesy of http://mjsbigblog.com/

Cherry

And, to top off the day, I found out that one of the flats above ours has been robbed.

Everyone's fine (although one of the girls did go into significant shock), but laptops, cameras, money, a passport, and just about anything else that would normally be lifted in a robbery was lifted (in about 15 minutes).

Although they did leave behind some impressive wall damage, from what I hear.

m.

I saw 44 pairs of Converse on the bus today.

And that was the best part of my day.

My architecture courses:

Tuesday, 14,00 (that's 2:00): Disaster & House Design

Wednesday, 12,00: Urban & Architectural Development of Istanbul

Wednesday, 15,00: Design Concept Research in Architecture

Friday, 13,00: Computer Aided Presentation Techniques

Plus a Studio course. Since I'm not a traditional architecture student, Elif (my advisor) decided it would be better for me to take a Level I, which she hadn't looked at (time/day).

I should also note that the official Kültür architecture website has totally different times. The ones listed are those that were on my handwritten schedule from Elif.

Tuesday.

Arrive at 9, because that's when the website says the class starts.

I spent 15 minutes looking for the room (materials lab, basement 2). The woman at the front desk (who speaks next to no English) didn't know, so she called the International office. They couldn't tell me either, and said I should come up to the office.

I did.

I got a map.

I went to the room. It had "mimarl1k" ("architecture") and "2" on the door.

I went in.

Twenty-five minutes after the class began, the professor walked in (there isn't any of that "20 minutes, no prof, no class" here). She took one look at me and said "You know this class isn't in English, right?"

One of the students helped me find the room where the English architecture course was happening. The lecture was starting. In Turkish. I was then told that the English course started at 13.

All fine. A bit irritating, but it was all my fault.

The prof tells us that there are Turkish students that want to take the English version, but they have class at 13, so we'll start at 11:30. (Not important now, but just wait).

Wednesday.

Arrive at 12. Professor shows up and explains that, even though the lecture is supposed to start at 12, no self-respecting Turkish person eats lunch at any time other than 12, and can we start at 12:40?

Well, after waiting 4 hours on Tuesday, 40 minutes was no big deal.

While waiting, I emailed Elif about my Studio course. I can't find it online, and, after some of the disasters I've experienced and heard about, I figure it would just be better if she told me when things were.

Our Development prof asks us if we can switch the class to Friday mornings. Not a problem.

There is one other international student, Henrietta, in the class, from Sweden. She's very sweet, and is also in the Computer Techniques class.

She tells me it's been moved to Tuesday.

At noon.

Right after Development, I head over to my Design class. I'm 10 minutes late, and there's...no one there.

People show up late to class all the time, but there is no sign of life in this room. Or the hallway.

I walk over to Elif's office to talk to her. The other women there tell me she didn't come in today, don't know where she is or when she'll be back, and can't tell me anything about the Design class I'm supposed to be late for, but apparently am not.

I gave up and came home, counting Converse.

Five to two classes in one day.

If the only thing were that the profs changed the days and times (to a day/time that worked for people, and they found out by, oh, I don't know, asking), that would be different.

But what really pisses me off is that they change it all before the course starts and just expect their students to know. But now, I can't take Computer Techniques, and I didn't get any input. And I don't know when my Design class is to have any input.

I know for some people, it's not as big of a deal. They're not working towards a degree; these are all fun classes. But I need my courses. "Need" as in: if I can't pull this off, or something that kind-of-sort-of-maybe-in-an-alternate-reality works, I don't think I can graduate on time. I'm sure it will all work out (not on its own, though. I think extreme dentistry my be required on my part), but this is beyond the bounds of sanity. I mean, this is an [expletive] university.

m.