All is forgiven. The trouble I find with US rap is that I’m able to kinda follow what’s being said, so when I try to I get horribly lost and mishear things. Same trouble with arias and such things in a language I understand. I try to hear the words instead of listening to the whole piece. Any rap in another language would be indecipherable if spoken as fast as I’d expect it to be, so there’s no issue there of actually trying to comprehend it as opposed to just existing in its general vicinity.
I see I have made a rather interesting parallel here…
Did I say French Rap? Nooooo. I said francophone rap. MC Solaar, e.g. Damn good stuff, e.g. La concubine de L’hémogolbine: http://www.paroles.net/chansons/13224.htm
Check out “Guallando,” the first song on “El Hombre Más Famoso de la Tierra.” Great way to wake up in the morning; I play it a lot while commuting. And if you know enough Spanish and appreciate a little man-bashing, there’s a hilarious cut about lying, cheating scumbags and how to treat them on “Americanizao,” which got quite a bit of play on Latin stations last summer, but the exact title escapes me at the moment.
And you’re slacking, Colloounsbury. What, you didn’t get any phone numbers from the security guys for me? I do so love a Chechen in uniform. But if you really want to hear hilarious rap, check out the Russian stuff. Pushkin would roll over in his grave.
Oh, and I might add that IME you were wise not to antagonize the security folks; the last thing anyone needs or wants is a heavily armed, pissed-off Chechen. There’s quite a North Caucasian warrior tradition. If you read any of the following (especially the Gammer), you will see why one should not piss off a Chechen or Dagestani:
Allen, W.E.D., and Muratoff, Paul. Caucasian Battlefields: A History of the Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border, 1828-1921. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England, 1953.
Broxup, Marie Bennigsen (ed.) The North Caucasus Barrier: The Russian Advance towards the Muslim World. Hurst & Company: London, 1992.
Gammer, Moshe. Muslim Resistance to the Tsar: Shamil and the Conquest of Chechnia and Dagestan. Frank Cass c/o International Specialized Book Services, Inc.: Portland, Oregon, 1994.
I’m also quite fond of Yo’av Karny’s Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory; really gives one a flavor of North Caucasian culture, and as Karny is a journalist rather than a historian, it’s a quick and enjoyable read.
The western media seems to like her (humanitarian work, and all that). Or does that have something to do with it? Is she seen as too westernized or something?
The correct response is Slim Whitman, played at high volume at 4am. Hell, it worked in Mars Attacks!
Just be sure to warn your other neighbors.
Oh, and find some kind of weed killer/pesticide thing, the kind that you attach to your hose. Make sure it’s the kind that ruins car paint. Then insist on spraying that section of the lawn every time he parks there.
From my experince the fact that he owns a car with a single digit license plate means he is either a minister or a general or perhaps goven C.s possible location maybe a prince of some description.
The way I’d handle it would be to complain to the man personally about the bodyguards in a way that does not lay the blame on the VIP (infact I’d usually try to go over the head of the man if he was really bothering me but I doubt this is an option in this case).
Okay, I probably should have spelled his name closer to Nur Ad-Diin. Nour Al-Deen maybe? Live and learn.
I’m probably showing my ignorance by assuming that someone that high up in the Arab League would plop down in Amman for a few months, but oh well. Is it at least someone from the League?
