I have posted two new pages up at the top; one for American Muslim musicians and one for Bosnian Muslim musicians.  I plan to post an “Other Muslim musicians” page as well, but that will take me awhile to compose.  The musicians I have chosen base a significant amount of their material on Islamic themes; I have not included mainstream musicians that happen to be Muslim, although I like some of them too.  So check out the pages and let me know if you think I should add anyone, or if you have any new information about any of them.  I do reserve the right, however, to ultimately add or not add whomever I want.  Enjoy!

This is from a group called “Kewser.”  Evidently they are part of a women’s organization in Bosnia.  Sounds like they’re pretty active!  Here’s the English section of their website.

You ladies rock!

Hmm, I didn’t post for a month? Not too much going on right now. The grass has almost disappeared. There are beautiful roses everywhere. Getting ready for some mad parties in May.

I have, however, found some great videos on YouTube recently by some Bosnian nasheed artists, some of whom are also huffadh of the Qur’an (meaning they have memorized it). I’ve now gone into full-on armchair research mode, which is difficult since I don’t speak a word of Bosnian (Bosniak); I may need to get some help here (hint, hint). I love this song by Hfz. Aziz Alili, “Dosta mi je Allah moj” (God is enough for me). Plus I feel like I’m cool since I learned how to upload videos.

Here’s one by Hfz Burhan Saban. Also check out his and Aziz Alili’s Qur’an recitations; just search for them on YouTube.

This next group is called Hor Hazreti Hamza (”hor” means “choir”). From the little I know about them so far, they used to gather in a mosque in Sarajevo during the war to sing no matter what was going on outside. I’m trying to figure out how to get their CD’s. Evidently I just missed them in the US; they were on a tour that went through Atlanta. The really bad thing is that I found out AFTER the fact, so now I get to complain afterwards like a big loser instead of complaining about it before it happened! Enjoy:

Last but not least, check out this beautiful Naqshbandi song about Ramadan, posted up on Abdur Rahman’s Corner.   Also one up on Samaha’s blog complete with translation.

Found this via Black Iris. For some reason I found it incredibly funny, perhaps just because I hadn’t heard the Muppet song in awhile! They match up most of the presidential candidates with the muppets they resemble. Not all of them really look alike (and Oscar the Grouch isn’t even a muppet; how did he get in there?), but some of them are hilariously accurate. Check it out!

Go Kermit!

But, as you may have guessed by now, this is really my favorite muppet. Unfortunately, he’s not running for president. Guess you have to be born in the US for that, right?

I’ve found some really great recipes on food blogs.  Here are some I’ve tried and liked so far:

Two from Almost Turkish Recipes:  Bulgurlu Mercimek Corbasi (couldn’t figure out how to get the special characters in there, sorry) and Firinda Kabak Mucver.

From Eat Drink Live:   Cheese and Onion Pie.

And from Jumbo Empanadas:   Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies.

Looks like I have a lot more I need to try!  Especially:

G.O.O.P. 

Rose Jam Tartlettes with Cream Topping

Fish in Persian Sweet and Sour Sauce

Spicy Chicken Rice Flu Chaser Soup

Bittersweet Citrus Tart

Sahan Fatayer 

I wrote a long time ago about my geeky habit of translating the lyrics of songs I like in order to help me with the language.

Does anyone have ANY IDEA how hard it is to translate something from colloquial Arabic?!?  The dictionary is, of course, NO help at all.  Persian, I can manage, as we did learn some “Tehrani,” and anyways it’s not as far off the Modern Standard as Arabic, even Jordanian Arabic, is.  Plus, you don’t have to figure out the original root letters in Persian.  You just open up the dictionary (it’s in alphabetical order), and you might find something similar to what you’ve got on the page.  Here, I’m mentally translating from Ammiya (Shami and Egyptian) to FusHa, and then to English.

Anyways, does anyone know of any resources on colloquial Arabic online?  I know a bit, but I’m not familiar with all of the changes that go on.  I do have the Arabic texts of the songs, so I can tell whether something should actually be a glottal stop or if it’s supposed to be a “qaf” and all that.

I saw a blackbird outside my kitchen window yesterday. It is a beautiful bird, and has a beautiful voice. I found out that the males sing to mark their territory. I hope that means he will be staying!

The bird made me think of a famous blackbird in history. Ziryab was a genius of a musician, fashion designer, and gourmet. He was called Ziryab, which means “blackbird,” for his dark complexion and melodious singing voice.  Originally from Persia and Iraq, he traveled to Andalusia where he revolutionized their music, food, and fashion.  Check out this article about him:

Flight of the Blackbird

Written by Robert W. Lebling Jr.

If you eat asparagus, or if you start your meal with soup and end with dessert, or if you use toothpaste, or if you wear your hair in bangs, you owe a lot to one of the greatest musicians in history.

He was known as Ziryab, a colloquial Arabic term that translates as “blackbird.” He lived in medieval Spain more than a thousand years ago. He was a freed slave who made good, charming the royal court at Córdoba with his songs. He founded a music school whose fame survived more than 500 years after his death. Ibn Hayyan of Córdoba, one of Arab Spain’s greatest historians, says in his monumental Al-Muqtabas (The Citation) that Ziryab knew thousands of songs by heart and revolutionized the design of the musical instrument that became the lute. He spread a new musical style around the Mediterranean, influencing troubadours and minstrels and affecting the course of European music.  Read more…

I have a ladder that came with the apartment.  I was climbing it to change a light bulb and noticed it said “made in Jordan” all the way on the top, where it usually says “this is not a step.”  I wonder why it’s on the top.  They didn’t think I’d want that little tidbit of information BEFORE I made the big climb?

Usually, when the calendar changes over to February, I start salivating.  That’s because I know that Cadbury eggs will be in the stores soon.  I wasn’t sure I’d get them here, but I found some in Safeway yesterday.  Of course I picked up a bunch of them!  Lo and behold, when I got to the cash register, they said the bar code was incorrect and took them from me.  I didn’t even get to keep one of them!  Maybe I can get some later after they fix the bar codes.  That’s a lot of little bar codes.

A friend of mine with a new baby sent me this:

From this site:

A DREAM AT NIGHT

(Mei Yao Ch’en)

In broad daylight I dream I
Am with her. At night I dream
She is still at my side. She
Carries her kit of colored
Threads. I see her image bent
Over her bag of silks. She
Mends and alters my clothes and
Worries for fear I might look
Worn and ragged. Dead, she watches
Over my life. Her constant
Memory draws me towards death.

(Narihira)

I have always known
That at last I would
Take this road, but yesterday
I did not know that it would be today.

(Ki No Tsurayuki)

Out in the marsh reeds
A bird cries out in sorrow,
As though it had recalled
Something better forgotten.

(Yosano Akiko)

Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.

From this site:

(Lady Izumi Shikibu)

I picked an azalea
And brought it home.
Now when I contemplate it,
In its crimson dye
I see the color
Of my lover’s robe.