… on April 3rd, my wife was hit by a van as she crossed the street to get to the bakery. She was dead before SAMU could reach the hospital. She was 9 months pregnant; our unborn son died shortly after she did, despite doctors’ best efforts. […]
Dear Rheta, you changed my life. How have we managed to live . . . two whole years . . . without you?
You were softness and sharpness, sweetness and the occasional bitterness . . and (how?) life and death too.
NASA’s “Space Rock” voting has been extended til at least May 8! Don’t miss your chance to vote for the song that will wake up the astronauts in space! The winning two tunes will be announced and played during the upcoming STS-134 space mission–the 134th and FINAL shuttle launch. All-original music! Listen to the entries and vote for your fav here.
So there I was in Harvard Law School’s Berkman sandbox in Second Life auditioning dances for my upcoming dance video (stay tuned here, don’t miss it, it’ll be here in a week or two!) to explain the creatively complex Creative Commons licensing system dancing to hot music from – where else? – the CC license music sharing site ccmixter . . .
. . . while at the same time shopping at Wicked Tattoos trying to make myself look as much as possible like the vid’s heroine who’s a Lisbeth Salander sorta girl . . .
I had a terrible dream last night, and I still can’t shake it. Radiation from Japan seeped into the world’s air and water and food. Those of us who survived could live only underground, and we never felt the sun, only caught brief glimpses through steel-reinforced windows in the ceiling. We all lived our lives in Second Life, which became our RL. Slowly, the real trees and air and hills became but distant memories of the old storytellers. Children gathered around gas-fed fires to hear the stories of people who walked free as rain fell on their faces, smelled spring flowers, and caught snowflakes on their tongues–then traded it all for more and more power for their computers. So in the end, that’s all they had and they lived their lives inside them.
Here I am “gone unicorn” with the Linden bear I bought to benefit the Japan relief fund, sitting next to the cherry tree that is blooming its heart out to send hope and love to all the Japanese. You can get your own Linden bear here. I was so moved by @Ambassador Roos’s tweet (April 2) that the cherry tree at the U.S. Embassy in Japan is blooming. What a symbol of hope and renewal.
Here’s my latest machinima, a tribute of love and admiration for the brave heroes who ushered in freedom for Egypt! Virtual Egypt and Modern Egypt sims in Second Life were packed to capacity with avatars celebrating the news Friday February 11, 2011, that Mubarak had stepped down. Sympathizers came to the Egypt sim every day of the revolution since January 25 in support of the real-life protestors in their fight for freedom. Congratulations, Egypt! I join you dancing in Tahrir Square.
Music credits
The song “Ezzai” [English translation: "How Come?"] was recorded in November 2010 and released on February 6, 2011. It immediately went viral over the Internet and became the song of the revolution, sung throughout the streets of Cairo.
Sung by Mohamed Mounir.
Composed and arranged by Ahmed Farahat.
Lyrics by Nasr Al Din Nagy.
HOW COME?
How can you accept for me, my love
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
I can’t find a motive to love you
or an excuse to love you so truly
How come I raise your head [make you proud]
And you bend my head [humiliate me].
How come?
I am the oldest street in you
And your hope against what happened to you
I am a child who got attached to you
Who you lost in the middle of the road
If your love was a choice
My heart would have changed.
I swear by your life I will keep changing
In you til you approve of me
How can you accept for me, my love
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more?
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
I can’t find a motive to love you
or an excuse to love you so truly
How come I raise your head [make you proud]
And you bend my head [humiliate me]?
How come?
How can you leave me in my weakness?
How come you are not standing on my side?
When I lived all my life
Just to not see fear in your eyes!
In your sea or your land
How can I protect your back
When my back at the end of the night
Sleeps bent and exposed?
I am the oldest street in you
And your hope in the harm that happened to you.
I am a child who got attached to you
Who you lost in the middle of the road.
If your love was a choice,
My heart would have changed.
I swear by your life I will keep changing
In you till you approve of me.
How can you accept for me, my love,
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more?
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
The song “Ezzai” [English translation: "How Come?"] was recorded in November 2010 and released on February 6, 2011. It immediately went viral over the Internet and became the song of the Egyptian revolution, sung throughout the streets of Cairo. Thanks to hopescalop on Overstream for the translation, See original “Ezzai” music video here.
Sung by Mohamed Mounir.
Composed and arranged by Ahmed Farahat.
Lyrics by Nasr Al Din Nagy.
HOW COME?
How can you accept for me, my love
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
I can’t find a motive to love you
or an excuse to love you so truly
How come I raise your head [make you proud]
And you bend my head [humiliate me].
How come?
I am the oldest street in you
And your hope against what happened to you
I am a child who got attached to you
Who you lost in the middle of the road
If your love was a choice
My heart would have changed.
I swear by your life I will keep changing
In you til you approve of me
How can you accept for me, my love
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more?
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
I can’t find a motive to love you
or an excuse to love you so truly
How come I raise your head [make you proud]
And you bend my head [humiliate me]?
How come?
How can you leave me in my weakness?
How come you are not standing on my side?
When I lived all my life
Just to not see fear in your eyes!
In your sea or your land
How can I protect your back
When my back at the end of the night
Sleeps bent and exposed?
I am the oldest street in you
And your hope in the harm that happened to you.
I am a child who got attached to you
Who you lost in the middle of the road.
If your love was a choice,
My heart would have changed.
I swear by your life I will keep changing
In you till you approve of me.
How can you accept for me, my love
That I adore your name
While you only confuse me more?
You do not feel my kindness.
How come?
