For those who have not already done so, I hope you will consider signing this open letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.

 http://www.petitiononline.com/12June/petition.html Read full post »

Honestly, the things people will post when stuck in an internet cafe waiting for a text.... !

Conservatives Warn Quick Sex Change Only Barrier Between Gays, Marriage

Then again, if humor weren't based in truth, it wouldn't be funny... Read full post »

This began as a comment to Jodi Kasten’s post, “Equal Rights for Men,” but it got too long to be a comment, and I realized I wanted to frame the discussion differently.

I first want to say that I appreciated Jodi’s post; not because I think it was a be-all, end-all… Read full post »

Why the Canadians are so completely over this:

There are different kind of gardeners in the world. I don't mean vegetable vs. flowers, or bog vs. xeriscaping, those are different kinds of gardens. What  I'm talking about is the first consideration in planning, planting and maintaining a garden. There are designer gardeners… Read full post »

 ...but it's an interesting tizzy, most notably for the support he's getting from so many sides.

Without a doubt, the last decade has been one characterized by many challenges for Turkey. Starting with more openness concerning ethnic minorities and especially the Kurds, one by one su… Read full post »

fingers brush, then lips

meet, and sheepishly admit

what we’ve always known Read full post »

Summer has arrived in Istanbul. It arrived exactly three days ago. It’s always this way – it stays cold for months, then gradually gets a bit warmer, then colder, teases you with a bit of sun, then rains for five days and the temperature shifts around the 50s. And… Read full post »

Rezil is an Arabic word that has gotten into several languages including Turkish. The dictionary definition is "disgrace," or "humiliation" but that's a bit weak. This is most likely the reason that other languages - which surely must have had a word for "disgrace" of their own, adopted rezil as well/… Read full post »

There's a famous story in Turkey of a restaurant owner who wanted to put up a "Rotisserie Chicken" advertisement. In Turkish, that's "Piliç Çevirme." Çevirme literally means "to turn over." But the language reforms that began in the 20s dictated that the many Arabic and Persian w… Read full post »

This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but here goes: 

I was once paid 25 dollars to eat a live caterpillar.

I first tried cigarettes when I was three years old.

My mother had lunch with Elvis Presley. Read full post »

This is an older article that I wrote several years ago but have revised. The pictures are from the 2009 service at the same church, which was not quite so crowded this time. More pictures and 2 short videos are available here. 

There are some things… Read full post »

Though I've been living in Istanbul for nine years now, my feelings for it, its people and the country of which it is the cultural capitol, not to mention the "homeland" I observe from here (the US), change daily. Sometimes several times a day. Being the grandson of a Greek emigrant… Read full post »

 Why Istanbul?