25 November 2007

two things that freaked me out this week



the stencil art--that says "capitalism."

some pictures





from around my fair town.

Chalga Video of the week! Gergana!



This was actually the first Chalga vid I ever saw! Enjoy!

13 November 2007

Chalga Video of the week! Azis



From wikipedia:
Azis (born Vasil Troyanov Boyanov on 7 March 1978) is a Bulgarian Romani chalga (pop-folk) singer known for, among other things, his atypical gender expression and his flamboyant persona.
His discography includes: "Celuvai Me" (2003), "Na Golo" (2003), "Kraliat" (2004), "Together" with Desi Slava (2004), and "2005" (2005). Azis has recorded and performed many songs with some of the most popular Bulgarian pop-folk singers, like Gloriya, Malina, Sofi Marinova, Toni Storaro, the Serbian singer Marta Savi and also the rap performer Ustata.
Azis also performed alongside Mariana Popova in the Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song Let Me Cry. The song, however, did not qualify for the grand finale.
He began his political career in 2005 as a member of the Evroroma political party and ran in the general elections campaign in the summer of 2005, but didn't receive enough votes to become a member of Parliament.
In the 2006 TV programme Velikite Balgari (the Bulgarian version of the 2002 Greatest Britons from BBC), Azis was elected as the 21st greatest Bulgarian of all time (and was in fact the second ranking living person on the list, after football player Hristo Stoichkov, who was 12th).
On 01 October 2006, Azis married his husband Niki Kitaetsa. Their marriage is not legally recognized given the laws of Bulgaria.
Azis appeared on the VIP Brother 2 version of Big Brother Bulgaria alongside Niki Kitaetsa. Azis left the house voluntarily after nineteen days.
On 05 August 2007 Azis became a father. His newborn daughter is named Raya. Raya was conceived via artificial insemination; the baby's mother is Azis' life-long friend Gala.

Ok: so basically Azis is a true phenomena of Bulgarian culture. Here he is in an very homophobic country dressing as a woman, “marrying” a man, raising a child with his husband, and becoming one of the most popular folk-pop singers in Bulgaria. Enjoy!