mutek2012

better feature this before i forget. a pal o mine worked on this. it's rad.

inu

lady blues

for a warm day walking maltese streets. featuring our beautiful courtyard and my current favourite pants - linen trousers from tunisia, $0.50.  leather flats vvboutique -$4, mexican leather purse $8, gant glasses, nana's scarf! 

some favourite blue themed tunes!

 

i imħabba GĦANA

first let me start of by saying that there were no wednesday posts this week as i was away in a beautiful country called spain. i originally went to visit a dear friend from high school, graeme, but ended up staying a bit longer to check out the north eastern [catalonia] side of the country for myself.  maybe i will post about spain later, but for now, i am just too excited over being introduced to maltese  għana. [pronounced ahh-na] 

its a form of traditional maltese folk music that was usually associated with peasants and the working class: farmers, fishermen, seamstresses etc.  it has a basic rhyme scheme that follows an a-b-c-b structure and is usually accompanied by numerous guitars.


it is said that this form of song is something in between sicilian ballads and the 'rhythmic wail of an arabic tune', which makes complete sense as maltese [and the island itself] is basically a clashing of these two cultures.


needless to say its a rhythmically catchy and interesting form of song to listen to. there are apparently many types. the first i witnessed today [ as it popped up on sandra's ipod] is called: BOTTA U RISPOSTA :
the most popular type of ghana, when two or more men impromptu song-duel with insults. the crowd usually responds when one insult or rhyme is particularily well played out. it's basically the mediterranean form of a freestyle rap battle. but with better music. 

other forms encompass other types of rhyme schemes, are sung in high pitches, melancholic ballads, or simply single person tunes. 

enough with the chat. let's hear some music!




GĦANA FIL-GHOLI or La Bormliza [the high pitched kind]








some nice collaboration


luckily for me the ghanafest or malta folk-music festival is coming up within the next few weeks!!!!!

collage by eric amling, cover artist for hymns for a dark horse

spring has sprung

spring has sprung! the last photos i had before leaving for europe. there is nothing like halifax in the spring/summer. i am missing it, but this windy spell in malta currently is making me feel quite at home.

the leather bag is an old one rediscovered, same with the jeans..some old bongo ones from junior high. haha. zara blazer and vintage tie-front blouse. gant sunglasses - my first bought-new pair of designer sunglasses and currently my most favourite! and of course, that scarf, my favourite. my nana's scarf from turkey - which has been all over the world with me.

happy moments

the moment when you, without knowing any lyrics, finally find the song you've been searching for for 4 months. it is a miraculous feeling. the kind of feeling that makes you want to hop out of bed and do a little jig. and that is exactly what it made me do. along with a very loud "YESSSS!!!!!!" released from my voice-box. 

the loveliest of boleros, and the champion of all hide and seek games was: victor yturbe 'el piruli''s - 'mil besos'

..and now my speakers are making up for all the time lost these past 4 months... *hits repeat*

bird house

i am so sorry if you've seen this picture one million times. it just is perfectly suited to my new family here in lija. it all erupted from a drunken conversation one evening with the proud owner of two new finches, which ended up reproducing at an alarming rate. she was going to deliver them to a petstore, until we jumped in and said we would take them and because small cages are cruel, would build an aviary! it was a drunken idea taken beautifully, much too far. and so, me and sandy, and with the help of ed, built a mother freakin' aviary. and quite a fine one a that.

sandy and ed hand drilling the frame

to celebrate our new home, and the birdie's, we had a lovely party last night which to be quite honest, am still feeling the sideeffects of. we decked out our new project in some glowsticks which helped the aviary quickly adapt the name of the 'ravery'. 

ravery in the garden!

last night we introduced our new roomies [two of which are now dubbed frankie and gertrudis] to their new home. only two of them were able to fly. 

this morning i woke up to this scene. 

jesus has now become a permanent fixture of the aviary. she happily..or maybe not so happily, sits and watches not two, but all four of the birds flap their tiny wings around and fly across the entire length of the aviary! its amazing how only after a few hours they have all learned to fly! with such zeal it seems! i also have to mention the amazing squeaking sound they make. its a really pleasant squeak that i can actually hear from my bedroom and makes me smile every time! 

sandra's ipod

this just came on her ipod.
je veux te voir - yelle

dusty hats

i always loved this hat. it was actually taken from an abandoned secluded home in montserrat. good memories to go with a good hat. 

sorry about the weaksauce post! but i had a lovely and busy day painting and finishing the wahsroom here! and im off to a pal's birthday party! goodnight all!

oh, but first, here's a nice song.

him and her - really got a hold on me

sweet dreams

my beautiful new sleeping space in lija, malta

some nice songs about dream:

sleep talking - human highway


cubism dreams - local natives

sleep walking - modest mouse




flying dreams - elbow

on the road

the book was given to me by a dear friend named dax.  i never usually read the intros or authors note, until the end of the book, as often i fall into a groove where the tone and my image of it sets the tone for the rest of the book. i don't know why i decided to read this intro - maybe 'cause i thought i would get something important to the story line, have points of reference, or maybe i thought it would be important because it is a classic novel. whatever the case, i should have left it to the end as it set the beginning of the book off on a wrong note for me! it took me a while to get into it. but after a few chapters, i started getting into it and from that point on i don't think i put the book down!

the extremely enthusiastic, passionate and wild tales of young men in the beebop era have granted me a new appreciation for jazz music. and if i hadn't been planning that "all-american roadtrip" before, i sure as hell am now!

truly, a must read. and it inspired some pretty nice music afterwords no?

leavin' on a jet plane

well folks, i'm off! but not before a promised wednesday post!

no big move is complete without a little help from a good suitcase. found this at vv boutique for 7 dollars and couldn't resist - and its samsonite! my favourite part... the air canada luggage tags left from 15-20 years ago.

i need to get back to packing. or rather, unpacking. my dad thinks my suitcase will explode on the travels so i will take a few things out. wince. but better safe than sorry!

a few favourite travelin' songs
loving this song lately...and cute animation!