BTW, I took a look at your blog and really enjoyed some of the posts. I liked your comment about God never saying “This woman doesn’t listen. I’m never talking to her again!” (Or words to that effect.) Now if only I could be that patient myself.
I also have a mildly amusing World Vision story. (Saw your post about supporting a girl through them.) Years ago, I saw a World Vision special about Somalia and decided I wanted to go work there. So I sent them my resume. A few weeks later, I got a call to see if I would be willing to go work in a refugee camp in the Philippines. A few weeks after that, I found myself working in the Philippines.
It wasn’t until after I had been overseas a while that I realized the agency I was working for wasn’t the same one I’d seen on TV. I was working for World Relief, not World Vision. Turns out World Vision had forwarded my resume to World Relief, which was an entirely different organization. (I thought I’d just mis-remembered the name, not that they were two separate entities.) Anyway, it turned out all right.
Have a lovely day,
Twitchly from POL
She asked for a Bollywood dancerific song. Here’s exerpts from the top 10.
I was tagged -- twice! I was tagged by Laurie at Sonoma Scent and Elena at PerfumeShrine. My bad. I've just not been able to blog lately. I’m supposed to do the following six things: 1. Link to the person...
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If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love, I am a housekeeper — not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love, my children learn cleanliness — not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child,
then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart.
Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.
As a mother there is much I must teach my child,
but the greatest of all is love.
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Truthfully, I think atheists have a thing or two to teach people of faith. I think they teach us to not be so sure of ourselves and that’s a good thing.
Over the years, I’ve received a lot of e-mail from people who are sure of themselves. I’ve gotten e-mail from religious readers who, bless their hearts, have called me everything but a Child of God. Not too surprising, really.
But what does surprise me is the e-mails from self-described atheists or agnostics. These readers tell me they regularly avoid religious writing, but they often read my column.
Perhaps their endorsements boost the likelihood that I’ll be nominated next year, but I’d like to think these readers aren’t stereotypical atheists. These readers admit they are locked in a struggle with deeper questions. And I believe God will honor the sincerity of their struggle and will embrace those who continue to look for the answers to faith questions.
The problem I find in the hard line positions of some theists and some atheists is that they’ve become certain they now know all there is to know about God.
I’m not sure how they do that. Does one just get up in the morning and say, “I’ve researched the question of the universe and decided that I’m done now”?
How do you stop looking for the answers to spiritual questions such as: How did I get here? Not just in terms of molecules and genes, but in terms of how did I get into this moment? What does this moment mean for those I touch?
How does the hard-liner theist or the atheist exclaim with certitude the definitions of life and death so easily — especially questions that pertain to what happens after this life?
…we were able to struggle in a search for the holy.
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I’m happy to share this online interview with Jane Porter. She was gracious to spend some time with us. I think you’ll agree that she is a voice we’d like to hear more of.
Jane, I so much enjoyed your book Flirting with 40, and I’m really looking forward to it being a movie! Thanks so much for joining us today.
I understand you have options on another book(s)? I have a friend who has had options also. It’s quite exciting to see it come to fruition on screen. Did you write the script or have any say in the script?
Hi Karin, thanks for inviting me! It’s a pleasure to chat with you. I didn’t write the script. Sony contracted a scriptwriter for the job and she did it beautifully. I was lucky enough to get a peek at it while it was in progress and it was really cool to be included, even briefly, in the process.
The whole book-to-movie experience is great. I spent a week on the set in Hawaii and had a lot of fun. I got to be an extra in beach scenes on two different days, and then wear a headset and sit behind the director and listen in as they filmed. I have to say that it’s been a bit surreal having a movie made of my book, especially starring Heather Locklear.
Were you able to give any input into the casting?
I was asked for suggestions so I got my readers who hang out on my board to help me. We had lots of fun coming up with possibilities but in the end, it was really up to the studio. I n the end it was great that Heather could take the role as she’s a Lifetime viewer favorite.
How did you find yourself writing in the genre that you write in? How did you become an author?
I wrote my first story in pre-school. I was four or five and I’ve written stories ever since. My father was a professor and he wrote-and my mother loved literature and was already reading to us-so writing seemed natural to me. I thought all kids sat down and made up stories, and growing up my favorite books featured girls who wrote as well like Jo from Little Women or Laura from the Little House on the Prairie.
I chose to write stories that appeal to women – that are about women and real life because it’s a topic that fascinates me the most. I love women. I think we women have to be compassionate towards each other, but also ourselves and being a teacher, I just found it easy to write stories that encourage and support each other.
What is your favorite type of romance to read? Is it the same as what you write?
I love historical and paranormal romances! I was on a Mary Balogh binge for a few months, and because I go on binges I’ll read as much as I can by a particular author and then rotate authors to get a new style. Some of my favorite authors this past year include JR Ward, Loretta Chase, Mary Balogh, and Anna Campbell. Outside romance I read everything I can by Marian Keyes, although Watermelon is probably still my favorite. One of my favorite books I’ve read this year is Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer. It’s wonderful and I highly recommend it.
I notice that you have a book title contest. That’s fun! Have you done this before? I often wondered whether it was the author that titles a book or the printing house.
They are fun! I’ve done them before and it’s always interesting to see what titles everyone comes up with for the same story. Unfortunately as an author, I don’t really have much say in the title but the publisher asks for input and that’s my purpose for hosting the title contest. I want ideas and suggestions and I send them all to my editor once they come in and after that, it’s out of my hands. Marketing has the final say on titles because they know exactly what has better chances o selling the book.
How do you decide character names?
Sometimes the names just pop into my head as I think of the story and I know it’s the right one. Other times, it takes some time and inventive research to find the right name to fit the right character.
What advice do you have for others who are interested in writing?
As with anything, don’t give up. Don’t accept defeat. Keep learning, keep applying what you learn about the craft, about the world, about you to the story. Writing is a muscle and requires muscle. Learning to write well takes time. It’s like hitting the gym to build a bicep. You only get a better, stronger muscle by working it. Well, the same is true for writing. Of course good writers make it look easier than it is so don’t be discouraged if you have to write and rewrite.
What are some challenges in writing romance? Any particular genre of romance more difficult to pull off? What kind of research do you do, if any? Is there anything you wish you’ve seen in a romance novel — and are you writing it for us?
I love writing romance and find it very rewarding as love really does make the world go round. I don’t know if one genre is harder than another to pull off. I’m fascinated by them all and enjoy researching for my Harlequin Presents. I tend to read lots of historical accounts, biographies, travel logues, travel books, cook books, and magazine articles when outlining and planning a new book. I want to know as much as I can about a country and culture and the conflicts between men and women in that culture. Obviously a sheikh from Dubai will have a different way on interacting with women than an American or an Italian. The climate is different in every country, as are the foods and customs and I don’t just want to write a ‘romance’, I want to write a rich layered fantasy that seduces the reader and the senses.
I prefer personally to read a more emotional, intense romance. I love deep conflict and angst and sensual love scenes but those love scenes must come out of the character’s emotion and conflict, not just stuck on top. Great writers are writing these books and I’m just lucky I’m able to read them!
Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, how do you handle it? What do you find difficult, if anything, about writing? And what do you like the best?
I don’t believe in writer’s block. I see difficulties in writing related more to craft or knowledge, or sometimes physical fatigue. Sometimes I make a mistake writing a story which leads me to a dead-end. I won’t know I’ve taken a wrong turn until I can’t seem to move the story forward, or if I’ve begun to make a series of wrong decisions. Then I just end up in a muddle and I won’t write for awhile until I figure out where I went wrong.
The most difficult part of writing for me is the time alone, and also the wear and tear on the body from sitting in one place so long and typing like mad for hours. I have to be sure to get lots of exercise when I’m writing hard as the days tend to be long and it’s easy to get carpal tunnel like symptons in my wrist and elbow.
Was it difficult to get published? How did you find your agent?
It was hard. Lots of hard work – but totally worth it. It took me fifteen years to sell my first book. I had over twelve rejected manuscripts before I finally sold my first book in January 2000. I actually write for two publishers–very different stuff–and since January 2000 I have written and sold 30 novels. It’s been an a lot of work but I’m living my dream. I’m read around the world. I’m published in over twenty-five countries and nineteen languages. I even have Sony and Lifetime making a movie out of one of my books (Flirting with Forty). This is why I didn’t quit. I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to know I could achieve it. I wanted to prove that anything is possible.
Do you work on deadlines now? How long does it usually take you to write a book?
Yes. I think every writer’s life revolves around deadlines. We just have to develop a system to handle them as works best for us.
I try to plan in advance as much as possible and then block out time. If I know I’m on deadline for a book, the last 4-6 weeks will be grueling with 10-18 hour days at the computer so before and after I block out dedicated mom time, time where I don’t need the sitter over, and I plan a fun trip or weekend activity with the boys. Same thing for my social life. Once I’ve been freed from my deadline, I try to catch up with girl friends and have coffees and lunch as when I’m writing hardcore I literally only leave my house to take kids to school and sport events. When the pressure is on me, everything falls away but work and kids.
What about bedroom scenes? What makes a good one? (I know I’ve been turned away from books where it was crude.)
These can be tricky and I can read things I can’t write, but I’m writing fewer love scenes than I used to. I think we all know what sex is and in a book where there isn’t a lot of emotion a love scene reminds me of a game of Twister–right hand on yellow dot, left foot on blue–so for me, the love scene must not just be about physical desire and physical pleasure but the emotional, psychological and spiritual connection between the two.
How do you define love?
Love validates the self. Love makes one feel important and valued and real. Which is why I like to write about all kinds of love in my books–not just romance, but love between friends, sisters, parents and children. Love really does make the world go round.
What do you hope your readers will gain from your books?
As I touched on above , I write about women, for women. If we want the world different for our daughters we have to be the ones to demand change and although I have boys not girls, I want the world different for all the little girls coming after me. I want to be strong, powerful, courageous and encourage children to be the same. We should teach our girls to be brave and encourage them to face discrimination and talk about what makes us hurt and what makes us hope and make sure that we’re part of the decision making. It’s important girls understand that life’s hard, sometimes very hard, but it’s also gorgeous and fascinating, challenging, rewarding and complex and that there will be times life is going to smack you and hurt you and knock you to your knees but you can get up. Falling down won’t break you. Falling down is just part of getting stronger and smarter and more compassionate. Falling and failing happen to all of us. And this is why I write. I want women to know what it’s taken my forty years to figure out–that life is only as good as you give, and you have to fight hard for what you want, including fighting for happiness. We all deserve love, joy, freedom, peace and respect. We all deserve the good stuff but the good stuff doesn’t just fall into our laps. We’re going to have to work for it.
What do you do to relax and get away from writing? I’m sure you find ideas all around you! Is there something that really gets you away from it all?
When not writing, I read, and travel. Love to travel, be with my kids, love new places and new experiences. I am always looking for a new adventure!
What are your hopes for the future?
More books, more time with friends, more travel, and hopefully, one more baby.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us? When can we expect your next book?
I’m so glad you invited me to join you. This has been great fun. I always have lots of contests and conversations over on my website, www.janeporter.com, including info on my next book which is a July ‘09 release from 5 Spot. For the Harlequin fans, I’ll have another book out late in 2009 as well.
Thank you, Jane, for being here.
Jane has offered us a signed copy of Odd Mom Out, her September book which is the first of the two connected novels set in Bellevue. If you’d like to be included in this contest, leave a message here, and we will include you in this contest.
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This comes from a friend of mine who helped another friend celebrate her 102nd birthday! I asked her to tell me something about her friend. I think we tend to hear more of decrepitude than elders who are still going strong. I like to collect stories of folks living life well into their elder years. It counteracts what we hear way more of than we should for our own good.
Karin
My friend who is celebrating her 102nd birthday this week, is so inspiring to me. She stays up to date with news and current events and is always interesting to talk to. She knows what’s going on and often has a thoughtful comment to offer. She has friends of all ages. I know that each of her friends feel just as I do…..they visit her because they WANT to, not because they feel obligated. They enjoy talking to her and they enjoy being with her.
One day, when she was 98 years old, I took her to the bank because she had two c.d.’s that were coming due and she wasn’t sure what to do with them. I waited while she went in and talked to the bank officer. A few minutes later she came out of his office and with a little smile on her face, she told me that she had renewed the cd’s for another two years. We both kind of chuckled at her decision, but that was just another example of how she lives each moment of her life, always living in the here and now. I don’t know what she did with the cd’s when they came due again. She would have been 100 that year and I’d be willing to bet that she renewed them for another two years. (and if so, it’s now time to renew them again!) She lives each day with anticipation and appreciation.
About two years ago the apartment building which she had lived in for more than 25 years was being turned into condos and everyone had to leave unless they wanted to buy a unit. She knew she would have to leave, and after much help from several friends she moved from her spacious two bedroom apartment into a much smaller one-bedroom apartment a few blocks away. She could not fit all of her furniture into the one bedroom apartment, but instead of selling the furniture that she couldn’t use, she rented a storage unit and stored the excess furniture.. I saw that as one more example of her living for the moment. She seldom talks about the past unless she has an interesting story to tell you. She’s a real inspiration!
You asked me to include any comments that she might have made at her birthday party about life or birthdays, but she just simply thanked everyone for being there and for their kindness. She seems to take each birthday in stride without ever making a big deal about it . Amazing! Love, J.
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14) Work to Mature the Way Adoption is understood in Our Society
–Much of our inability to believe adoption corruption exists begins with our society’s simplistic, AP centered, and mythic understanding of adoption. Adoption is mythically considered an always and absolute good. When adoption is seen in more mature, realistic, and balanced ways, our society will start to realize that adoption, like almost everything else in life, can be used for good or ill (to help or to exploit and harm). Adoption is a good only when used and practiced responsibly with an understanding of what it is and what is it is not; the good that it can be, but also the real inherent losses that it causes.
–As in all things, educating yourself is first. Seek to understand adoption as an elephant surrounded by blind men. Our society believes and acts as if the only valid perspective on adoption comes from the blind man standing in the position of adoptive parent. That blind man is given a megaphone and all
others (very valid others who stand around the majority of the elephant) who have different perspectives are ignored, greeted with skepticism, and/or silenced. Learn to see adoption from the perspective of other blind men-adoptees, birth families, those hurt by adoption, the big picture, the
historical perspective, etc.
–join IAT :0) [and/or Discuss-IAT] and encourage others to join; listen and learn. Be willing to change and mature your perspective.
–read adoptee memoirs, blogs, and stories
–read books on adoption history and practice
–read criticisms of intercountry adoption including those that see intercountry adoption as a continuation of neocolonial practices and an outgrowth of the evils of globalism; seek to understand the racial aspects and the first world/third world power inequities of intercountry adoption.
–read first mother blogs, accounts, and stories
–seek out stories that show other sides of adoption
–from all of these form a more realistic understanding of adoption.
–Remember this: It is always easy to recognize the injustices of another time and place; the hard thing is to recognize the injustices of your own time and place. In every time and place where injustice has been condoned/ignored/allowed to thrive by society there has been a worldview and a simplistic uni-blind-man mythology that makes injustice look just, especially for those who benefit from it. It is easy to shift blame, make problems into non-problems, injustices into non-issues, and ignore massive problems. It is harder to take a stand against the zeitgeist and be a flea or a lion biting against injustice. Reform begins with understanding the view from somewhere other than society’s single approved blind man. It starts when people begin to recognize that there are other human beings involved — people as human as themselves. People who have the same emotions, the same hopes, and the same dreams — and who feel pain in the same way and for the same reasons as themselves — when we start to care about the way the world looks from the perspective of those other equally human beings. Not just the way WE think the world looks from their perspective (in our minds), but the way it IS from their experience and perspective. When we GIVE THEM VOICE and LISTEN TO THEM.
–Whenever you see adoption being portrayed in a simplistic, AP centered, uni-perspective, mythic sort of way, speak up and share a different perspective.
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6) Hold non-profit adoption agencies accountable for how donations and money for “humanitarian projects” are spent. Demand an accounting.
–Research sending country non-profit agencies’ financial statements on-line and understand where the money from fees and donations goes. Ask about anything that doesn’t make sense.
http://www.guidestar.org/
–”Donations” and money for “humanitarian projects” can represent sizeable amounts of money, especially after they are converted into foreign currency and understood in the context of the sending country. This money, when not used as reported can easily become the incentive for corrupt, fraudulant, and illegal adoption practices. (If you want to know how easily such donations are diverted and how no one is currently keeping track, watch the video, What Really Happened in Cambodia by US Special Agent Richard Cross: ) KNOW WHERE THE MONEY GOES. Hold agencies accountable.
–If agencies claim to have a “humanitarian project,” ask for an accounting of how funds are spent within that program. Ask specific questions until you understand how things work and where the money goes. If an agency has a “humanitarian feeding program” what does that mean? Does it mean that they hand out a dozen cupcakes to passersby on a deserted corner once a year or does it mean that they have an ongoing commitment to hand out 20 pound bags of vital protein like legumes to 100 impoverished and pre-qualified families on the first day of each month in such and such a village and they’ve been doing it for 10 years now? Who can verify that this is so? The label “humanitarian project,” should not be allowed to be a vague hiding place for the lack of accountability.
–Agencies have legitimate costs in doing business. Everyone understands this and no one should lose sight of that fact. However, agencies, as all businesses, must be held accountable for their handling of money. This is especially true in the international context where foreign exchange rates change large amounts of money into enormous fortunes and where the agency stands in the gap between enormous power and economic divides. Agencies MUST act responsibly.
–Refuse to cooperate with illegal practices. Refuse to accept obviously bogus explanations. Where something looks and smells fishy, it often is. For example, when we are told as AP’s that we must give a mandatory “voluntary” donations—come on, it’s an oxymoron and yet we as AP’s go along with such nonsense. When in doubt, go to the appropriate NGO’s or authorities and ask….does this seem a little
fishy to you too…?…
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13) During Adoption Crises, Avoid the Temptation to Undermine and Work Against Investigations, Enforcement, and Reforms.
– When the governments involved become convinced that there are illegal practices and slow or stop adoptions from a country, resist the temptation to push the governments to keep countries open to adoption.
–Instead, hold PAP’s hands and offer support that makes it clear that governments must be allowed to do what is necessary to stop corruption.
–Get involved in helping safeguard the immediate welfare of children caught up in these scandals.
–Receiving country governments are often forced to turn a blind eye and disregard blatant problems because AP’s push their governments so hard in order to keep the flow of children going. In turn, these
governments put pressure on foreign governments to keep children flowing freely. As a result, clean-ups are rarely followed through on. Everything is swept under the rug and the children keep coming no matter what.
–Governments have learned from past experience not to investigate adoption illegalities except in extreme cases where the embarrassment to not investigate exceeds the grumbling of the AP’s when they do investigate—which means hardly anything is investigated except in cases where AP’s lose money. This means that AP’s always ensure that it is open season for illegalities in adoption.
The real effects of adoption Ann Landers, or was it Dear Abby, had a column a number of years ago about parents who wished they'd never had children. The percentage was astonishingly high, I thought, and so did she. Mostly...
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–Don’t let PAP’s wander into danger with their rose-colored glasses on. Do your best to show them a more balanced, more mature view of adoption. Do your best to warn them of the problems in the country from which they intend to adopt. Warn them to avoid countries where corruption problems are rampant or those countries where problems are “coming to a head.”
–Commit yourself to PAP education more broadly. Be patient. Remember the goal. Be persistent and be kind. Remember yourself when you were a PAP.
Adoption Corruption 17) Tell the bad stories 17) Tell the bad stories. --If you have you have been a victim of adoption fraud or corruption, don't be silent. Tell your story. --If those further along on the path had told you, you...
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Adoption Corruption 8) For AP's--Join online groups... 8) For AP's--Join online groups like Adoption_Agency_Research and learn and participate. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Adoption_Agency_Research/ (The Adoption Agency Research Group was formed to help prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) in their research and selection of an international adoption agency....
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conversation bit yesterday with dd age 8.5 while talking about China parents.
“you really don’t feel like my real moms”
“I understand why you feel that way. It’s ok to feel what you feel.We want you to know that you do feel like our real daughter”
“You kind of feel like my vice-moms. You know, when the real president can’t do the job then the vice president steps in?”
“hmmm…..that fits…”
I’ve thought about this for a couple of days. the “vice mom” term really captures some complexity I think.
wanda
vice mom in charge of cookies and friday-night-family-dance-party
from IAT, with permission
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Karin, just sent a little something to you via email, for your blog. This morning I was thinking of my first trip to the desert in Nevada last year, so I was inspired to write about it.
I’m so sorry it took me so long…life has been hectic! Hope you enjoy,
Mary
Valley of Fire, A Memory
My eyes,
So accustomed to grass,
trees, water, green on blue.
Looked out
On earth the shade of ochre,
sagebrush and twisted life.
The smell
Of salt, rain and flowers,
The lush and damp of home.
The wind
Now carries the scent of
Rock, iron, pinon, sun.
I lift my head and thank
the Mother Goddess for
Her gift.
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10) Educate yourself on the adoption related laws and regulations of your own country
–As you educate yourself, take note of the way that the federal, the state (or regional) and the local laws interact.
–Note where your own country’s laws are weak; discuss these weaknesses with other AP’s. Lobby your government to strengthen these weaknesses, and energize other AP’s to care. Just make sure you
understand the broader repercussions of anything you push for before you push.
–When you see your government taking a stand for higher ethical standards in adoption, be sure to praise those officials for their principled stand; when your government fails to take a stand, make
sure they know you aren’t pleased. Above all make it clear to your government that adoptive parents and adoptees CARE about ethics in adoption—that the ends do NOT justify the means, that AP’s desire to parent does not trump the human rights of others.
–Seek to understand how the laws of your country intersect with the laws of the receiving countries you have decided to monitor.
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Aziza Mustafa Zadeh was born 19 December 1969 in Baku (Azerbaijan).
Education
Her father Vagif Mustafa Zadeh was one of the founders of the azeri jazz music and a founder of the new jazz trend, assembling both a traditional Azeri music and a classic American jazz. This trend is called jazz – mugam. He died just before he 10th birthday in 1979.
Aziza was born on 19 December 1969, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, into an immensely musical family: Her father, Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, an established Jazz legend throughout the former USSR, of whom BB. King said “people call me the king of the blues, but if I could play the piano like you do, I would call myself God,”** was a pioneer in as much as he was the first musician to incorporate the traditional music of his homeland, known as “mugam” into popular Western Jazz music. Mugam, itself a highly improvisational style, refers to a modal system of music of which there exist over 70 types, all defined by their specific pattern of intervals, range, as well as direction of melodic movement and rhythm. With her father as architect of the Azerbaijani Mugam Jazz Movement, and her mother Eliza Mustafa Zadeh (in Soviet times known as Eliza Khanom), herself a professional singer and one of the first women to sing in the new Mugam Jazz style, it was only a question of when and how Aziza would express her musical heritage, never an if…
Still, she came a long way from the headstrong child fascinated by any kind of art-form (be it music, dance or painting, but bored and annoyed by her early musical teachers, who demanded more commitment to her practicing) to the disciplined professional pianist/singer/composer. Not that she would have lost any of her self-determination. She always liked to have things her way, a philosophy that did not necessarily go down well with her teachers at Baku conservatory where she received classical piano training. While her all to obvious talent was never under dispute, her handling of musical icons was: neither Aziza’s trangressive “additions” to Beethoven Sonatas, nor her improvisations on Bach fugues were very much appreciated. “I’m sure Bach would have agreed with it,” she said with a smirk at an interview. It was in this same self-confident fashion that she would later on recruit Jazz celebrities such as Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke, Omar Hakim or Bill Evans as supporting guests on her CD Dance of Fire. The fact that they all came to play her music is not a small achievement for a then 25 year old, not exactly well-known musician. Asked whether she was in the least intimidated by the famous lot she replies: “No. Not at all. In fact, I think I intimidated them a little. It took a lot of time to record and the music was very different. We had to stay up long hours and even then we recorded for the best part of a month.”
Aziza started playing the piano when she was 3 years old, gave her first concerts with 14, and won her first international prizes with 17.”It would have been a sin not to use this god-given gift,” she muses. Next to God her parents are Aziza’s most important musical leaders, especially her father. He tragically died at the early age of 39 of a heart attack after a performance in Uzbekistan, an event both devastating and strangely motivating for the ten-year old girl: With Vagif’s death she not only lost her father but a source of inspiration and a gifted mentor for whose unceasing creativity Aziza continues to have the highest appreciation. “He was a genius. A true genius.” Vagif continued to influence his daughter beyond his death it seems. Commenting on his death she muses: “For me, my father has never died. He simply has left this earth. I still feel his energy surrounding me. Sometimes, it’s like his soul is flying around me, you know. There are times when I give concerts that I feel his presence so strongly, it’s almost tangible. It’s like I could reach out and touch him.” Little surprise that her father is omnipresent in Aziza’s work, be it in the form of one of his compositions or in a song dedicated to him.
She first recorded in Ludwigsburg for German Columbia, an eponymous solo album ‘91 of her own music except for her father’s ‘Quiet Alone’; Always ‘93 was a trio with Chick Corea sidemen John Patitucci and Dave Weckl, again all her own except for her father’s ‘Vagif’. She played at the Brecon Jazz Festival ‘95; Dance Of Fire ‘96 incl. Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke and others, and played solo at Queen Elizabeth Hall early ‘96. One critic described the album as ‘a supercharged Eastern-flavoured fusion’ and her solo playing as a ‘mixture of Bud Powell, Rachmaninoff and the Arabian Nights’; she sang somewhere between ‘Betty Carter and the top of a minaret’. Seventh Truth ‘96 featured photos of her exotic self half-naked; she multi-tracked herself singing harmony and playing congas on some tracks as well as piano, with percussionist Ramesh Shotam on three tracks and drummer Ludwig Jantzer on one. Some of the songs were based on Azeri classics and some had English lyrics by Aziza; there was Middle Eastern flavour in the vocal style, but the total effect smacked of New Age rather than Bud Powell, complete with dubbed sounds of surf and birds. Jazziza ‘97 showcased singing, incl. jazz standards plus her own ‘Sunny Rain’ and ‘Character’, with Toots Thielemans, Philip Catherine, Eduardo Contrera on percussion. Internet Edition compiled by Onno van Rijen
** Interestingly, one of the remarks left at youtube for Aziza said something like while we cannot see God, her music was like God sounds.
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We were happy to adopt these kids at ages 6 & 7. It never occurred to us that for them it was a funeral. For them it dashed every hope they ever had of returning to their bio family. Of course they didn’t tell us that then but they sure acted it out.
I wish I could somehow make people who are adopting understand this. Everyone thinks we are doing something wonderful and that the children will be happy. Often the kids even state they want to be adopted and seem happy at the time. I think the truth is these kids often harbor dreams and hopes to return to their bio families and feel a deep sense of loss as the reality of what adoption means settles in for them. I think for many kids adoption is just another loss and does not hold the meaning that it does for adults. with permission
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