Language, international travel/tourism, writing, digital videography, the Macintosh computer, second-hand shopping, eating all I can at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, intense air conditioning, Near Eastern and South Asian culture and history, procrastination, saying I will move but not doing so, complaining about public transport, buying frozen food at the local supermarket and arranging it in my freezer like books on a bookshelf, researching my interests on the Internet.
In the digital realm, my favorite Web sites are probably best represented by my online links at http://del.icio.us/elyaqim . ¶ I have become embarrassingly addicted to Google products, and now I do almost anything I can online. I have almost completely replaced my beloved iCal with Google Calendar. I save most of my writing there or on Google Docs or on Blogger. I keep up-to-date with my favorite syndication feeds with Google Reader. I view and download many videos on YouTube, Google Video, and even other video sites with Google's video search. (I still use Yahoo! services for bookmarks [del.icio.us over Google Bookmarks] and image hosting <[i>flickr over Picasa], and I am using PBwiki until Google finally rolls out their wiki product. And MySpace and Facebook get most of my attention instead of Orkut despite the Turkish name.)
Music:
Near Eastern/South Asian music: Aïcha Tachinouite, Alabina, Alisha Chinoi, Allan Sherman, Apache Indian, Boaz Sharabi, Burak Kut, Ceylan, Chim Kothari, Daler Mehndi, Dana International, Dania, Diana Haddad, Djur Djura, Doron Mazar, Emel Sayin, Haim Moshe, Hande Yener, Hatice, Ila Arun, Izel, Jawaher, Klezmer Conservatory Band, Cheb Mami, Meir Levy, Muazzez Ersoy, Mustafa Sandal, Nadide Sultan, Nancy Ajram, Natacha Atlas, Nawal Al-Zoghbi, Najwa Karam, Nilüfer, Ofra Haza, Poornima, Ragga Oktay, Rita Kleinstein, Samira Saïd, Sawt el Atlas, Sertab Erener, Shanti Jackree, Sherine Wagdy, Tarkan, Yoel Sharabi, Yosefa, Zahava Ben
Old-time women singers: Ada Jones, Adriana Caselotti, Ajda Pekkan, Alice Faye, Alice Ghostley, Aliza Kashi, Anita Darian, Ann-Margret, Ann Miller, Anne Brown, Aretha Franklin, B.J. Baker, Barbara Harris, Barbra Streisand, the Barry Sisters, Beatrice Arthur, Beatrice Kay, Belle Barth, Bessie Smith, Bette Midler, Betty Hutton, Billie Holiday, Billie Jo Spears, Blossom Dearie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Carmen Amaya, Carmen Miranda, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Cass Daley, Caterina Valente, Celia Cruz, Charity Bailey, Charo, Cher, Chita Rivera, Christobel Weerasinghe, Connie Francis, Dalida, Della Reese, Diahann Carroll, Diana Ross, the Di Mara Sisters, Dinah Shore, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton, Dora Hall, Doris Day, Dorothy Loudon, Eartha Kitt, Edie Adams, Édith Piaf, Elaine Stritch, Ella Fitzgerald, Mrs. Elva Miller, Esther Nelson, Ethel Merman, Etta James, Eva Taylor, Eydie Gormé, Fairuz, Fanny Brice, Freda Payne, Gale Garnett, Geeta Dutt, Gertrude Niesen, Geula Gill, Gladys Knight, Gloria Gaynor, Grace Slick, Gracie Allen, Haleloke, Hanna Ahroni, Hanna Meron, Harriet Kane, Helen Kane, Hermione Gingold, Hilo Hattie, Jean Stapleton, Jennie Goldstein, Jo Anne Worley, Juanita Hall, Judy Canova, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Kate Smith, Kaye Ballard, Kim Carnes, Lainie Kazan, Lata Mangeshkar, Lena Horne, Leslie Uggams, Libby Holman, Linda Ronstadt, Liza Minnelli, Lola Flores, Loretta Lynn, Lulu, la Lupe, M.S. Subbalakshmi, Mae West, Mahalia Jackson, “Mama” Cass Elliot, Marlene Dietrich, Marlo Thomas, Martha & the Vandellas, Martha Raye, Mary Alice Brown, Mary Travers, Minnie Pearl, Miriam Makeba, Molly Picon, Nancy Walker, Nina Simone, Noor Jehan, Om Koultoum, Pat O'Day, Pat Suzuki, Patsy Cline, Patti LaBelle, Patti Page, Pearl Bailey, Peggy Lee, Priscilla Wright, Rakhel Hadass, Cheikha Remitti, Rita Moreno, Roberta Sherwood, Rocío Jurado, Ronnie Gilbert, Rosalind Russell, Rosemary Clooney, Ruth Rubin, S. Janaki, Safiye Ayla, Sarita Heredia, Shari Lewis, Shirley Bassey, Shoshana Damari, Shoshana Shoshan, Sophie Tucker, the Supremes, Tammy Wynette, Thory Bernhards, Tina Turner, Toni Basil, Warda, Xiomara Alfaro, Yaffa Yarkoni, Yma Sumac, Yoko Ono, Zarah Leander
The immortal (and yet ironically late) Al Jolson
Musicals: Bombay Dreams, Candide, Duplicate, Fiddler on the Roof, Free to Be…You and Me, Die Fledermaus, Flower Drum Song, Gypsy, Hair, Hairspray, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, Kiss Me, Kate, Mary Poppins, Mrs. Patterson, New Faces, Oklahoma!, The Producers, The Rocky Horror Show, Show Boat, The Sound of Music, That's Entertainment, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Till the Clouds Roll By
Songwriters: Abe Ellstein, Adolph Green, Al Dubin, Alan Jay Lerner, Betty Comden, Buddy G. DeSylva, Cole Porter, Frederick Lœwe, George Gershwin, George M. Cohan, Gus Kahn, Harry M. Woods, Harry Warren, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Irving Cæsar, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Lorenz Hart, Noel Coward, Ray Henderson, Richard Rodgers, R. Shalom Shabazi, Walter Donaldson
Most anything unusual, exotic or humorous
Television:
(View my “ favorite shows ” at TV.com .)
A la cama con Porcel, All in the Family, An American Family, America’s Investigative Reports , Antiques Roadshow , BBC World News , Batman (1966–68), Bewitched, Broadway: The American Musical , Broadway’s Lost Treasures, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Cage Without a Key (“You should’ve been lookin’ out for her instead of talkin’ to Mrs. Little!”), Cinderella (1957), Cornucopia Utopia, Crossroads Café, Dynasty, The Electric Company, The Facts of Life, Frasier, Frontline , Frontline/World , The Golden Girls, Good Times, Goodness Gracious Me, Great Performances , How Art Made the World , I Dream of Jeannie, I Love Lucy, Independent Lens , The Jeffersons, The Joan Rivers Show (1989–93), Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, The Journey of Man , Judge Judy, Judy Garland: By Myself , Keeping Up Appearances, Kiss Me, Kate (2003), Liza with a “Z , ” Lonely Planet, The Magic Garden, Maude, Mr. Merlin, La movida, Mythos, The Nanny, Nanny 911 , Nova , The Odd Couple, Oklahoma! (1999), Peter, Paul, and Mary: Carry It On—A Musical Legacy, Schoolhouse Rock! , Scientific American Frontiers , Sesame Street , The Simpsons , Solid Gold, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Star Trek, Super Friends, Taxi Dreams , Theater Talk, Wide Angle , Wonder Woman
