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HIS HER STORY

Already one of Turkey's most popular male singers and actors, Bülent Ersoy gained international notoriety in 1981 for a sex change operation. In a further defiance of convention, Ersoy kept the traditionally male name of "Bülent." After the operation, Bülent found herself in opposition to the extremely homophobic and transphobic regime of Kenan Evren. In a crackdown on "social deviance," Ersoy's public performances were banned along with those of other transsexual and transgendered people.

This move actually went against a centuries-old tradition of tolerance for the transgendered in Turkish society, dating back to the days when the Ottoman sultans kept young male concubines, or celtikci, who were often dressed as women. Performances by male entertainers in drag are also a time-honored and cherished tradition in Turkish culture.

From Ersoy's standpoint, the ban should not have even applied to her, as she was an actual woman and not simply a man dressed as one. To circumvent the ban, she petitioned the Turkish courts to legally recognize her as a woman. The petition was rejected in January of 1982. Days later, Ersoy attempted suicide. In 1983 she left the entertainment industry in protest of the Evren regime's repressive policies. Later that same year, Evren left office and many of his policies were rescinded.

Finally, in 1988, the Turkish Civil Code was revised so that those who completed sex reassignment surgery could apply for a pink or blue (pink for female, blue for male) identity card by which they were legally recognized in their new sex. Ersoy soon returned to singing and, over the years, she became a symbol for the increased tolerance to LGBT figures in Turkish media. The fact that she is an extraordinarily talented singer with an unequaled control of her voice, such that she is considered a diva, distracted everyone from Ersoy's transsexual status. Now semi-retired, she continues to enjoy the adoration of her many fans.

Sources: 1, 2.

THROUGH THE YEARS







THE QUESTION

Now, keeping exceptions aside, and perhaps following the "because love is blind" logic - the big question is; Does the same apply to Michael Jackson's music and fans? Or George Micheal? Or (fill in the blank)?

EDIT: What about the way around? Can't think of an artist who underwent a sex change operation (from female to male) but in the latest video of Ciara, she dresses up and acts like a boy:

Creativity is really important here and having done my first mash-up video, I understand how hard it is to accomplish a sync between the video clips and the sound track. The creation of an AMV centers on using various video editing techniques to create a feeling of synchronization and unity. Several techniques are available to achieve this:

1. Editing: Using different clips from the video source and changing between them at specific times is the most important tool the AMV creator has. Often both the events in the video and the transitions between the clips are synchronized with events in the music. The following is "Falling Again" from one of my favorite bands - Lacuna Coil - made with clips from Samurai X.


2. Digital effects: Using video editing software the video source can be modified in various ways. Some effects are designed to be imperceptible (such as modifying a scene to stop a character's mouth from moving) whereas others are intended to increase synchronism with the audio, or possibly create a unique visual style for the video. The first video below is a hilarious one with some great comdians featured with anime clips followed by "With You" from Linkin Park to the video clips of Bleach.



3. Lip-sync: the synchronization of the lip movements of a character in the original video source to the lyrics of the audio, to make it appear as if the character were singing the song. Lip-syncing is also commonly used in parody AMVs. These are created to poke fun at the characters in the anime that is being used. One very popular song in such AMVs is "If You Were Gay" from the Broadway musical Avenue Q made with clips from Gravitation.


4. Dimensions: Some editors use original and manipulated animation, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, in AMV works. Such additions are often used for visual effect or to convey a story that is otherwise incommunicable using only the original video source. The following is a short video demonstrating how effects can be used to make simple clips look good together.


5. Keyframe manipulation and Dissolves: These are techniques in which the editor makes points in a video source on the timeline of the video editing program, that they can drag to different positions which makes the video either fade in or fade out. This can be to another video clip, or to a different color, most commonly solid black or solid white. Some of the best AMVs encompassing all these techniques can be found in this compilation video - which is about an hour long.


Many AMV editors submit their works to YouTube as it allows for straightforward uploading and viewing process. Due to the popularity and large user base of the site, YouTube is an option for an editor whose goal is heavy non-traditional AMV viewership and wide proliferation of their work. However, some creators have expressed an aversion to using the site to host their works due to the high level of video stream compression applied by YouTube. Also due to copyright laws, AMV's are no longer allowed on Youtube. As of December 1, 2007 all AMVs on YouTube will be deleted and any future uploads beyond December 1 will be rejected. So, watch them while you can!

QRIO is capable of voice and face recognition, making it able to remember people as well as their likes and dislikes. These robots can run at 23 cm/second, and is credited in Guinness World Records 2005 edition as being the first bipedal robot capable of running. See it in action:

David Lynch from USA Today says

"it would be easy to mock Chinese aspirations to climb the value ladder. But Americans of a certain age recall in the 1960s similar doubts about the label "Made in Japan." Considering the turmoil that enveloped China for most of the 20th century, the mystery isn't why Chinese factories are having some quality problems. China is in the midst of an enormous transformation from an isolated, centrally planned, mostly rural nation into a fiercely competitive economic dynamo. Since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, the country has overhauled thousands of laws and regulations to bring itself into conformance with the global economy's dictates."

Not sure if it is only me but I'm some how getting convinced that quality has improved over the last few years with Chinese products. Here is an example from my experience. The other day I was roaming around the shops looking for a good quality headphones and I don't mean good quality from its looks but actually sounds good. I was looking for one with higher frequency response than average. They "respond" better to audio, portraying even more subtle layers of sound. In other words, they are high fidelity, enhancing the sound towards perfection. Most are between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz which is bad because they don't have good bass (low notes), nor good treble (high notes) for that matter. Keep in mind though, some marketed claims of having frequency response lower than 20 Hz can be overstatements.


Outside a shop I saw a collection of American, Japanese, and of course, Chinese goods. The moment I entered the shop, I was instantly attracted to Sony's DJ headphones (in flashy packaging) which had a frequency between 14 Hz and 22,000Hz. I later find out that it is actually the most expensive piece in the shop with a price tag of a whooping $220 . After looking around for a good 15 minutes, I find this brand called "Snopy" in pretty simple packaging. "Another generic Chinese brand" I thought at first and looked at its specs having no hope of finding something that is reasonably priced. To my surprise, this one had even better frequency than Sony: 8 Hz to 22,000 Hz. Like I mentioned before, this might not be an impressive feat and the figures could be inflated. However, I was impressed when I heard its price: only $6!

I had nothing to lose so I bought it without thinking twice but I was curious to find out how it sounded and how long it would last me. When I arrived home and connected it to my computer, it was simply amazing. Seriously! It was so good that I'm going to review it in this post. It's called "Snopy SN-822" and guess what; it's Made in China. Good luck trying to find the official page by googling it because I couldn't. Only a handful of Turkish e-shops appeared in the results leading me to think that the brand was created on-the-spot exclusively for Turkey. In any case, I think it has a good logo albeit it's made to fool people as a Sony. Could it be about Snoopy like in Peanuts?

Apart from the sound quality, I also liked how this headphone was designed with functionality in mind. The large ear pieces, which covers all of my ears, can be folded to save space when not in use. The height adjustment for the head seems to be strong since when I adjust it, it stays there (unlike some previous experiences with loose ones). What's more is that the 3 meter cable connecting the headphone to an audio jack is like a shoe-lacy material so that it doesn't get all mixed up. It is really annoying when you get on a bus just to spend the entire journey fixing the cable instead of listening to music. Oh and it has built-in volume controller (which is really handy) and a microphone that I didn't notice until I saw that there were two jacks at the end of the cable. Good thing it doesn't disturb me at all.

Verdict: I'm quite happy with this Chinese product. It's really good quality when considering its price. Moreover, I feel "safer" using one of these especially when such small electronic devices are expected to fail, break down or steped on anytime now. Even then, it has a two year limited warranty and I'm not worried if I ever do something to it that voids it. I could still buy 36 more of these "Made in China" Snopy headphones with the money I saved by not buying one original Sony headphone.

A country has an absolute advantage economically over another in a particular good when it can produce that good at a lower cost. Trade might not be mutually beneficial, but it's pure economics. I believe in free trade. May the best win!