In the Ether-cool tidebits

Current mood: cheerful
Category: Life

Springy day. Walked around Cambridge shopping, drinking a mochafreddo, and talking on my cell phone.

Thinking of doing a combined Easter/Bday celebration next week...

Frank suggested a leg of lamb. And I say bring on the egg hunt! Horns, hounds, and foxes! Ring in!!

NYC Part Deux:

After the sessions, we chilled. Bought some gr8 shoes on St.Mark's Place at Trash and Vaudeville. Ate a lemon sqaure and tasty cappuccino crunch gelato at Sugar.

We went to CvBspace to see the Warhol tribute show. Saw real pix of Andy as taken by Billy Name. Saw some funky stuff, like video of Candy Darling, who was the most convincing drag queen I've ever seen, even though the trannies at Jacque's are pretty dang convincing.

It is forseeable that I could meet Christian Aaron Paffgen after all.

We stayed Wednesday night with Cynthia at Fort Hill Castle. Staten Island is very pretty. So many sprawling parks. And the weather was to die for, which admittedly colors my perception of everything, even today.

Anyway, the new castle is very cool. More Spanish than Victorian. I like both. Beautiful colors and detail. We stayed in a tower, in a circular room. Tony said it was like waking up in heaven in there...You can see pix of the place in this week's TimeOutNYC. http://www.timeoutny.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/600/house_home/house_call_animal_kingdom.xml

Cynthia made it very romantic for us. She gave me a candy bra, hee hee. And chocolate mice:)

Cynthia now has a dog ~ Poodley ~ in addition to the many cats and doves. Poodley is like a live stuffed animal, and is smaller than all of the cats. Her little Happy Dance is *the* cutest thing ever. Animals! It was good to hear the doves gently cooing again. I missed their nighttime lullaby when we lived on Ashford St.

Had my MRI for the prolactinoma last night, and my forearm is sore from the contrast injection. It was a very nice crew - IV nurse/technician, etc.

Hung out with Dan and Carrie last night. Dan gave me a bag of Lapsang Souchong. Now my purse smells like woodsmoke, which is OK. Carrie took some pix with her cool camera. We talked about music, i.e. the JAMC reunion/Coachella. I read some interesting passages from Saudi Aramco World, which is really cool for any Middle Eastern enthusiasts out there. The passages were from articles about folkloric music and Arabic-English etymology. One of the articles provided a good way to describe instruments to people unfamiliar to them:

Ud ~ unfretted lute
Kanun ~ lap-plucked zither
Nay - reed flute

It puts the lotion on the back.

Currently listening : Silence Is Sexy By Einsturzende Neubauten Release date: By 03 April, 2000

NYC in Spring

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Current mood: tired Category: Travel and Places In NYC, staying on the Lower East Side. Listening to my new Primal Scream Dirty Hits discs...freshly purchased from Other Music. Later now: Just returned from walking around the city all day. Tired. Hung out with Cynthia tonight. Saw the space and the Warhol show. With art by real genuine stars of the factory. Damian met up with us too for a drink, and told us about the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, about which he made a film. We walked all over this town back and forth and back again... SoHo, NoHo, Little Italy (where I had the *most* amazing croissant I have ever had in my life, and a lovely iced hazelnut capuccino, which Tony Claims is very un-Italian, but I loved nonetheless). Greenwich Village, Lower East side (where we're staying)... At lunch, I went in to use the restroom, at the restaurant, and someone had dropped some cocaine by the sink... Earlier, we were looking a little street market by Other Music, and there was a little shop/stall where a very friendly Peruvian dude asked me if I was "Gothic", or rather, "Got-ik". That was the funniest thing, and it made me smile all day. Tony bought me some cool religious bracelets there, with saints and Virgins etc. Checked out the Taschen store in SoHo. Love them! The weather could not have been more perfect. We sat in Washington Square Park for a while enjoying it. The 2 days of tracking vocals for the album went well. Now that we're in vocals phase Martin is producing much more - making great suggestions. Last night, we went to see a friend of Tony's play jazz in Greenwich Village. The ensemble was called Sveti. His friend Marko is an awesome drummer. The kind of musician who melds with the instrument to where it becomes part of their body. Anyway, beforehand we met up with Bliss at a Turkish restaurant in Park Slope - same one we had visited back in September with her brother. It's called Zilli, and they used zaatar, which I didn't previously think was used in Turkish food, but... On the way to the gig, we were just walking down the street and who do I see walking towards us, but Nick Cooper. Hadn't seen him in like 9 years or so. Anyway, he was a sport and came along with us to the Village Ma to see Marko. Nick told me he had just made a film about Anarchist Group Therapy in Sao Paolo, and lo'and behold, he's showing it in Boston on Monday at Harvard. Nick does art too, and he gave all of us photocopies of his paintings. The one I chose has a man with a whip and a very sad looking elephant with big eyes. There are lots of nice people everywhere - even the sushi chef at dinner smiled and bowed very politely...he looked like Musashi... Capuccino crunch gelato for dessert at a little cafe called Sugar. Very Ajda. MMmm. Slave to sugar. My birthday is coming and all I want is fancy cakes with my name on them!!! I will resurrect the myspace pic with last year's cake very soon.

It's Only Springtime

Business first 'cause I'm that kind of lady~

I have updated my website a bit with musical news, etc.

Highlights include:
-Spiritualized cover
-Interview on Gothtronic
-Soundtrack News
-Upcoming gigs with Black Fortress of Opium

http://ajdatheturkishqueen.com to get the full scoop!

Meanwhile, back to NYC this weekend to do vox for THE RECORD. The roughs are sounding great with my little mando nice and up front!
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Personal Stuff~

Spring is here, but there is still much snow on the ground. But I can feel the changing season in my skin.

The world continues to turn.

Special little springtime treats abound. Scott Roi's mom sent me a bag of Cadbury Mini-Eggs in the mail along with a lovely card. So nice of her to remember the time a few years ago when we visited her and she gave us some, which got us through our first recording session. Chocolate nourishment. WARNING: This candy is highly-addictive and can be habit-forming! I think they put heroin in it or something...

Soon everyone will be wearing sandals and espadrilles...tank tops and shorts and the living will be light and easy. And dining al fresco.

Looking forward to going to NYC next week. I have 2 days of grueling vocal recording to do, but after that I get to chill with my main man for a day and a half or so. We hope to catch up with friends, see some art, and have some fun in the City.

I also usually look forward to making it out west this time of year, but things with Turkish affairs are too unsettled, so I'll have to catch up with West coast buddies a little later in the year.

Checked out Josh Hager's new studio last night. Is very cool - like a cross between an ice bar and a spaceship. The vibe/lighting make me wanna record and get creative all night. I modeled the ultracool Garvy J deployment jacket, and pix may be online soon...

The band did a cover of Magnetic Fields's Born on a Train for the soundtrack I've been working on, and Joel made literally 20 mixes. Must...sort...through...I hope to be able to post online, but due to legal issues, not sure if I will be able to...

Ides of March Blog

Ides of March Blog
Current mood: content
Category: Life

Beware the Ides of March are upon us!!!!!

No but really, I'm feeling quite up right now.

Yes, there has been much silence on this space...I admit, it's true.

I like to blog when I'm feeling positive, so I have held off. Many ups and downs have rolled by on my coaster, but today I feel pretty happy.

I have inherited Tony's laugh. It's so jolly and jovial. It feels good to laugh like this. It starts in my belly, or soul, then works its way up into a smile.

We watched Harold & Maude and Scarface recently. Thumbs up on both. Ah, the 70s.

Actually I find something depressing about 70s era things. 80s too.

We went to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum on Tuesday. 'Twas so nice. I could easily imagine living like that;)

I love speaking in chordish with my boyfriend...he's more fluent in jazz, though! I only speak it conversationally...

Things are moving along with the band nicely. We recorded a Magnetic Fields song for a soundtrack. I also recently completed recording and mixing of the film's main theme. I think I may put some of the tracks on my solo myspace page ~ http://myspace.com/ajdathetq. It's piano music. Danny Gold of Polystar fame produced and mixed it. He is awesome and helpful.

More offers for collaboration, from friends that had been out of touch for awhile. Brian Carpenter called to offer me condolences and chat about music. We had a lovely conversation about composing, and recording with Martin, etc.

The band got asked to play at the Abbey on April 14th and I canna wait. We're gonna do a supercooltopsecret cover that'll rock everyone's pants off.

Had a guitar lesson last night. I was disappointed in myself. I had really been practicing a lot before my mom died - remembering inversions and playing assignments, but now I'm out of practice and frankly it's a miracle I haven't just slept the past few days. Dealing with her affairs + mourning = Koyaanisqatsi. It has so fucked up my life. Time to get real about a lotta shit.

After Daylight Savings Time went into effect Sunday, I felt more energy. I rode my trusty bike around town Monday. The day felt long and full of possiibility. The additional light and warmer weather led to an intense feeling of release of tension in my mind and body. But I'm like a spring, you see, and it doesn't take much for me to tighten again. Coil. Recoil.

It's harder on sunny days. Yesterday my dad sent me a lot of documents - their marriage certificate, her passports, naturalization certificate, on and on. I lay there on my bed looking at all of it - dozens of sheets of paper, mostly in Turkish. And the late afternoon light streamed in, outlining the lack. It's harder on sunny days because that's when you can feel the potential for happiness, and the loss and the absence that much more apparent. Rainy days like today don't bother me at all that way.

Anyway, seeing the marriage certificate was a crushing reminder that for my father, through no choice of his own, his marriage was ended. Death did them part, just like the vow says. And knowing the value I place on romantic love ~ well, it's devastating. It's gotta be.

You know, people used to tell me I looked like my mom, and I didn't think so so much. But seeing some of her ID pix from like 20 years ago, it was like looking in a mirror. Haunting. What will become of me? It is a comfort that she looked genuinely happy in all of the pictures.

I survive and carry on. Another day to live, love and make song.

Currently reading : The Victim (Penguin Classics) By Saul Bellow Release date: By 01 March, 1996