instability in the air

i was out last night, sitting at a street terrace with some friends, when another protest march passed by...  the protests are back, especially in kadiköy. but so was the police and gas.... later when the protestors had already passed and it seemed all peaceful, our throats started feeling weird, my eyes got watery...  it was gas from probably several blocks away. it just travels so well...  its all about the recent corruption and bribery charges within the ruling party. this mess with AKP is of course making me smile. people are already expecting them and the PM to crumble down and lose the next elections, but i am not so optimistic just yet...  its a long way there. the memory of the very same people who are now upset, is also short. maybe the shitstorm is not over yet, lets get popcorn and see...
Hurriyet: scandal hit Turkey risks to becoming another source of regional instability

a march passing the terrace of Ayi (Bear) bar.

i found this cool mashup song through miss R; Poetic by Isosine (link to soundcloud). it mixes rap and god knows what but its kind of addictive, i have to love it.

something i struggled with recently is explaining passive voice to a student. i can barely tell the difference myself, thanks to my poor knowledge of grammar. i understand the concept and in a case of "Barbie loves Ken" i can change it to passive, but from there on out...  its really confusing... :( english teaching forces me to learn (understand) stuff all the time. its nice, but sometimes puzzling...

i also have a translation im working on, but in my procrastination, and inspired by discussion with friends recently over moving flats, rent increases etc, i created this small calculator to determine if moving makes sense. moving overall is more expensive here than in finland, as so many costs fall on the tenant and rent deposits are rarely returned...

christmas came and went...  food wise a nice holiday. now we need to prepare for new years.