We Will Never Forget: 9/11

"What happens in Georgia affects the world, we are all connected, and international affairs as we all know often become domestic ones as well," said one of my friends here on myspace in connection with the war-torn Georgia and the recent albeit unresolved conflict. The tragic event that brought the world and its inhabitants closer to each other than we had ever been in recent years was undoubtedly 9/11. The devastating images and irreversible consequences of the tragedy will haunt us for many generations to come, and the lives of those who perished on that day will irreplaceably remain in the hearts of their families and friends.

There's not an anniversary of September 11th that goes by without us asking each other over and over again: "Where were you when 9/11 happened?" It has become more of a routine in that sense, and in fact, a historic reference in itself, for we were all a part of that historic tragedy in every corner of the world.

So much has been written, said and mainly speculated about 9/11 in the last 7 years, but one thing remains the same after all this time - the world will never be the same and that is on a global scale. It was an attack on humanity as a whole, not just the Americans, the Christians or the Jews, etc. but every single one of us living and co-existing on this planet.

9/11.... We will never forget... And we will never surrender.

Health, peace and blessings to you all today and every day..........

Surprise, Surprise

So seldom in life, you cross paths with someone you feel you have known all of your life - you instantly overcome the introductory phase and bond like true friends in a matter of minutes. You laugh about silly-nothings, share little stories and memories of years gone by, talk about what's meaningful one minute and the next second you're fooling around like teenagers in a toy store. All of this comes and goes within a scope of just a few hours. Doubtful? Trust me, it isn't.

Last night I met the person that I had literally spent days on end observing and, in my own special way "knowing" from the distance during my early teenage years and onwards. If there are symbolic memorabilia and souvenirs that we cherish from our brief but adventurous childhood, the image and memories I had associated over the years with this very person is undoubtedly one of those sweet reminders of the naïveté and carelessness of being a youngster.

People come and go, especially in a big city where we meet so many different people day in and day out - and very few of them impact us in any way, often not even in the most minuscule of ways, sadly. But on the other hand, so rarely we come across those who become special to us immediately and you don't quite know how or why.

A friendship that has been in the making for years can sometimes manifest itself into a real-life connection on a spontaneous note - and that's when it truly brings joy to us because it lacks a cold, calculated and preplanned factor of a mere "set up". Not being limited by the bureaucracy of an arranged meeting for a specific purpose or a pre-written goal can make all the difference. And quite frankly, our lives in today's manic world are governed and permanently run by such calculated deeds and encounters.

Only once in a while can we truly break away from what's often referred to as a routine and be human again - enjoying the simple pleasures of what is always just around the corner, after all, but we always fail to notice it because we're either too busy or too ignorant.

At some point it comes to an end (oh no, not the ending but just a pause until the next time!) and you realize that it's time to reintegrate into the real world that you had left behind for a brief moment or two... And the spiral is in full motion all over again!

And then you look back and wonder: "Life is funny and so full of unexpected surprises...."

A wonderful getaway from the madness in the very heart of the Big Apple... Without even leaving the city, you can rediscover what you've spent years ignoring on your way from one meeting to another and back to square one again. Beautiful, fun and so real.

You know who you are - thank you!

Exclusive Interview on Georgia

Some of you familiar with my previous blogs about the situation in my home country may still remember the reference that I made a couple of weeks ago to a potential interview with the Georgian Ambassador to the United Nations.

After a few attempts to "catch" Mr. Alasania in-between his meetings and Security Council discussions to do the interview while the issue is still very much in the headlines, I finally got a chance to sit down with him at the UN Radio HQ this morning for a tete-a-tete dialogue about the current situation and what's in hold for Georgia and its two breakaway regions.

Although the interview airs on PRN (the NY-based radio station where I do my weekly show broadcast from the UN) and UN Radio this week, you can catch my private upload streaming right here.....

Quite a different side of Tinatin, I suppose... minus the dance beat :-) Would really love to hear what you think, if you get a chance to have a quick listen!!

My Fourth Anniversary

Sure seems as though it was only yesterday when I arrived at JFK thinking that I'd only be here for a few months at the most... And guess what - I'm still here! A foreign country became my surrogate home, and although it was a nightmare at times, I wouldn't change a thing about the journey.

Initially, I thought about writing the entire blog about the big move, but then I realized it would take weeks and weeks to tell the story, and let's face it - you're here to hear the music, not read!

So for those of you interesting in the story of a Georgian "Russianette", I've launched a new blog which will be separate from everything to do with myspace, labels, managers, etc. - a personal blog, rather.

You can join the group right here or Subscribe to Welcome to My Cozy Corner - from Russia with Love by Email

But in the meantime, a great weekend to you all in NYC and beyond! :-)

Inside the Mind of a 9-Year-Old File-Sharer

This brief interview was posted on the Torrent Freak website, and quite frankly, it is rather eye-opening about how the youngsters - the real computer + file-sharing + fast internet service users and major "downloaders" perceive the phenomenon of "music piracy".

Fascinating at best, but scary at its worst... Because, let's face it, this is our reality TODAY - and tomorrow, all of this below is bound to multiply itself x100!

TF. Hi Hannah! How old are you?

- I’m 10 in 12 days

TF. What sort of music are you listening to right now?

Sean Kingstone, Shayne Ward and High School Musical 2

TF. Where did you first get into music?

- On the music channels, on MTV.

TF. When did you get a PC?

- People had computers but I couldn’t go on them but my Dad bought me one last year. I have internet.

TF. What do you do on the internet?

- MSN, talking to friends and cousins, games and dressing-up games [dolls]

TF. When did you first start using the internet to get music?

- My cousin showed me YouTube and then LimeWire and I was like “whoa cool!”

TF. What was cool about it?

- Because you can put anything in and it will come up and you don’t actually pay for it. Well you have to pay for the internet and LimeWire comes with the internet but you have to pay for that so LimeWire isn’t really free.

TF. Ok…I see….Do you get music from anywhere else?

- My cousin gets it from BEBO. She copies it from other people’s pages and puts it on her own.

TF. Do you think it’s ok to copy the music?

- Yes it’s ok because she only does it to make her page better.

TF. So you’re sure that it’s ok to copy it? What do you think about copying?

- I suppose it’s not ok to copy but people copied it off her site so she just copies theirs. It’s like, you’re copying my t-shirt so i’m copying you on shoes.

TF. Ok, so a bit like copying school work?….Hmm….ok, let’s talk about copying on the computer again. When you started using LimeWire, did anyone ever mention that if you did certain things you might be breaking some laws?

- Why would they put it [music] on the internet and invent mp3 players if it was against the law?

TF. Confusing isn’t it?….You mentioned you like Sean Kingstone - what if I told you that Sean Kingstone’s boss might send you a letter asking for money because you shared his album on LimeWire? What would you say to him?

- W.E! [whatever!]

TF. Come on, play along with me. What would you say if he did?

- I’d say “tooooo strict!” and anyway he can’t make me do anything. He’s not the boss of me, he’s the boss of Sean Kingstone.

TF. What do you think might happen if you didn’t pay him?

- Nothing. I’m too young to be charged by the government so he can’t charge me.

TF. Would you carry on using LimeWire after he sent the letter?

- Yeah!

TF. Why?

- Because you can get good albums off there. Duh!! My CD’s don’t work in my mp3 player so LimeWire is the only way to do it. I bought High School Musical 2 on CD but it won’t go on my mp3 [player]

TF. How would you make LimeWire better?

- To speak to the person sending the music to make sure they send the right one, sometimes they send stuff that doesn’t even play.

TF. Do you know what a pirate is?

- They have parrots [effects 'arrrrr']

TF. Do you think its legal or illegal to copy a CD or DVD?

- Some men right, they sell you a DVD at the market but when you get home it doesn’t play, that’s illegal.

TF. Why is it illegal?

- Duh!! Because they tell you it works and when you get it home it’s rubbish and jumps in the middle and its a waste of money!

TF. Do you think you should be paying for stuff off LimeWire? You have to buy CD’s from the shop…

- You have to pay for CD’s because they’re actually on a disc not on the computer. My cousin, right, she uses LimeWire when she doesn’t have any money for CDs.

TF. Did you ever download anything by anybody and then go to see them?

- I got stuff by Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe and then I went to see Blue. Why don’t you ask me what my favorite hobby is?

TF. Ok, what’s your favorite hobby?

- Dancing to music, it’s fun!!

Unplugged

One of the best things about NYC is the immense talent of locally based musicians - some more amazing than others - who make the music scene of New York so exciting and diverse.

I'm really proud to say that I've already had the opportunity to work with some of these great musicians - and though I know it's just the beginning of the journey and I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg in many ways, this has really been a huge treat for me.

Several months ago, I was introduced to Billy Jay Stein, who apparently is not only an amazing musician and an incredibly down-to-earth, warm person, but is also related to one of my heros - the magical force behind "Funny Girl", Jule Styne.

Billy and I met at Bluenote/EMI HQ in NY while I was preparing for my EMI performance, and from the day we first got together to jam at his studio, I was so hooked - literally didn't want to stop rehearsing, he was just so amazing and so comfortable to work with from day one!

A couple of months later, we also wrote a song together with Jeff Franzel (Billy is a really fabulous writer - great ideas and incredibly inspiring vibe, which is VERY rare) called "Beautiful", which I'm sure many of you have heard on myspace :-)

But here's a little something just for you.... Can't put it up on myspace as it really was recorded (in mono!) during our little rehearsal - it's not even a demo, just us two jamming! - so we can't share this, guys! But you can have a listen to our little duet... "What If It's You"

Before We Say Goodnight...

About to retire to bed and call it a day around 2a.m., I casually flipped through the foreign channels on the cable and came across a special report on the "Brand New Independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia" on one of the Russian owned English-language stations.

Wish I had turned it off right away and gone to sleep instead, for the level of utter misinformation and numerous biased opinions scrambled into a somewhat tastefully produced report was a little too much for my sleep-deprived mind.

There's been enough of futile "winners and losers" talks about the war and the endless arguments about "who started it", but openly misinforming the public and deliberately refusing to shed the light on both sides of the conflict whilst constantly referring to "Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia" (which in itself sounds ridiculous) is slowly turning into a tedious discussion, and also a bit of a cliché, too - let's be honest.

Peacekeepers or piece-keepers... Who knows... Sanctions or no sanctions... Hard to predict at this point, for the talks within the EU framework have been postponed - indefinitely? Depending when the Russian troops are fully withdrawn from Georgia, based on the EU-brokered six-point peace plan between Russia and Georgia.

You try to remain objective and open-minded about this whole issue, but at the end of the day, it's almost impossible to resist becoming somewhat biased, and ultimately taking sides.

Political wars... Diplomatic disputes... It's the 21st century, people, let's get it into perspective, finally!

Online Charts & Hush-Hush News...!

Hi everyone!

Having spent the last couple of weeks on the go and updating the myspace blogs via my little BlackBerry, I only just realized that both "Connected" and "Thinking of Someone Else" are back in the online charts on Ourstage. Or to be more precise, Connected is #4 and Thinking of Someone Else in climbing slowly but surely towards the Top 5 hotspot, currently at #7 in Dance/Club category.

And according to the very latest from London (still a bit hush-hush due to contracts, etc. so don't tell 'em I told ya!) you should definitely watch this space for a brand new upcoming remix of "Thinking of Someone Else" from one of the hottest club DJ's in the United Kingdom..... it won't be long.... In fact, due to hit the clubs much sooner than we suspected.... along with the Charmix currently storming the UK clubs and featured on more Dance/Club compilations in Canada to be released this month onwards........

Will keep you posted, as always! But for now - tara! (you, Brits, will get this one! :-)

DJ Jay Martin's London Mixshow!

London's very own DJ Jay Martin's Take It Out In Trade (Summer House Anthems '08) is now available for a free download, which includes Top 10 summer remixes such as Cyndi Lauper, Nerved ft. Anna Hanser, Tinatin, Rihanna....

Get your hands on a free copy now right here... And enjoy the party!

Cold War II?

Back when my family and I still lived in Georgia, the only association I had with the date of September 1st was the end of my summer holidays when I, along with my peers, ran back to school first thing in the morning and resumed my studies.

Years later, it is no longer just a date that symbolizes going back to school but something rather patriotic and all the more meaningful not only to an average young pupil but on a larger scale to every Georgian residing back home and abroad.

In other words, as of today, September 1 has been declared the day of Georgian Unity.

More than 1 million people across Georgia protested Russian military action and the Kremlin's backing for the country's two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Many waving the red-and-white Georgian flag, protesters linked arms in the capital, Tbilisi, in a human chain that snaked through the city under cloudy skies.

Flags flew from balconies and protesters chanted "Long Live Georgia!" and "Stop Russia!"

According to Reuters, countrywide, police said more than 1 million people took part in what authorities said was a show of unity after Russia last month crushed a Georgian bid to retake breakaway South Ossetia from pro-Moscow separatists.

By the end of the rally, the figure could not be independently confirmed by any one source, but it could arguably account for more than one-fifth of the country's 4.5 million + population.

"Today we can say Georgia is not alone because the whole world is standing beside us," President Mikheil Saakashvili told the crowd on Tbilisi's Freedom Square.

He said Monday's protest marked the largest gathering in Georgia since the country of split from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the meantime, earlier today the European Union held an emergency summit on Georgia. Collectively shying away from any particular sanctions, the leaders decided to postpone talks on a new EU-Russia partnership scheduled for later this month if Moscow has not withdrawn its troops to pre-conflict positions in Georgia by then.

Not many, including the Russian Federation, could have imagined the small Caucasian Republic of Georgia, often confused in the US with one of the American States, taking the center stage in one of the most talked-about international upheavals in the recent period.

In fact, the conflict that swiftly escalated into a war between nations a few weeks ago in the heart of the breakaway region of South Ossetia came very close to ignited a new Cold War between the US and Russia, let alone striking a serious diplomatic dispute between a large portion of the western world and the Kremlin in Moscow.

"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War," Russian President Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the ITAR-Tass news agency. "But we don't want it and in this situation everything depends on the position of our partners."

Is it over? Not quite..... But what's next - nobody knows. And that's the scary part.