Just kidding. I don't think it's a bad word, either. In fact, I like it, I think it's friendly and cozy.
members.xoom.com
This is a link from this article. And... guess what! It's not Letterman or Leno yet, but ... it's CNN:
salonmagazine.com
Here is that article, with some links:
More Mahir mania
The Net's favorite Turkish accordion
player says he just wants peace -- but
parodies of his "I Kiss You!!!!" site
persist.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Janelle Brown
Nov. 8, 1999 | Last week, I wrote a little
article mulling over the sudden popularity
of a mysterious Turkish accordion player
named Mahir, whose Web site was being
distributed far and wide. That story
inspired hundreds of e-mails, forwarded
correspondences with the Turk himself
(most enthusiastically signed
"Kissessssssssss and Hugsssssssssss"),
inspirational URLs and musings about just
why Mahir was so giggle-worthy. I even
talked with the man himself.
Here's what I learned:
Mahir is actually Mahir Cagri, a resident
of Izmir (just as his Web site says). His
famous Web page, according to a Turkish
newspaper (where, incidentally, Mahir's
picture was plastered on the front page),
was actually designed as a joke by an
anonymous friend. No one seems to know
who began forwarding the URL around
the Web, but a surprised Mahir was
suddenly flooded with e-mails and phone
calls about two weeks ago. The
newspaper reports say that Mahir has been
feeling overwhelmed with the calls, and is
a bit embarrassed that everyone thinks he
is obsessed with sex -- at least, according
to those Turkish readers who kindly
translated for me.
I called Mahir at his home on Friday
night, and spoke with him and his friend
-- a rather difficult conversation, as they
didn't speak much English, and I didn't
speak any Turkish. But Mahir did explain
that he has received "many many
telephone, many many e-mail. I lost
count." He said that he is hoping to come
to America next month, adding that CNN
and several other TV shows have invited
him to visit. And he has "invitated" even
more new friends to stop by his place in
Turkey -- although he didn't explain how
he'll be able to fit them all.
As Mahir's (nameless) friend, who
grabbed the phone to talk to me,
enthusiastically explained, "We made this
page for fun to people to make love, and
secondly we wanted all the people must
be happy, live in peace. Our real target is
that!" The Web site, this friend says, will
also be redesigned in a few days.
(Apparently, there are two Mahir sites --
one, the original, has his phone numbers
and e-mail; the other, a mirror, made off
with lots of Mahir traffic before being
taken down. Total page views for the two
pages? Well into the millions.)
Meanwhile, the homages to Mahir keep
appearing. Besides the Turkish Stud
animation, there are the girls who love
Mahir, and the Mahir Fan Club on Yahoo
(44 members and counting!). And, not
surprisingly, there are the parody pages:
The "I Kiss You!!!!" Clinton page, with
the American president ("My profession
presdint, I sexolgy doctora") in the role of
Mahir; as well as personal pages
mimicking Mahir's style. And, to top it all
off, there's a spoof "exposing" Mahir as an
international drug trafficker.
But perhaps the most fitting homage of
them all is one that combines the two
most bizarre Web crazes of the last year
(Mahir and the Hampster Dance) into one
perfect HTML package: The MahirDance.
It was bound to happen.
salon.com | Nov. 8, 1999
- - - - - - - - - - - - |
