How burning out feels.

Sorry for the lack of posts.  Work is really heavy at the moment.

Und Die Welt Steht Still.

The Atlantic Monthly recently removed it’s subscription wall; allowing the public to read its prescient and informed articles for free. See the following for a excerpt about remapping the Middle East:

Omar was a Sunni Arab from a village outside Mosul; he was a short and weedy man, roughly 30 years old, who radiated a pure animal anger. He was also a relentless jabberer; he did not shut up from the moment we were introduced. I met him in an unventilated interrogation room that smelled of bleach and paint. He was handcuffed, and he cursed steadily, making appalling accusations about the sexual practices of the interrogator’s mother. He cursed the Kurds, in general, as pig-eaters, blasphemers, and American lackeys. As Omar ranted, the interrogator smiled. “I told you the Arabs don’t like the Kurds,” he said. I’ve known the interrogator for a while, and this is his perpetual theme: close proximity to Arabs has sabotaged Kurdish happiness.

Omar, the Kurds claim, was once an inconsequential deputy to the now-deceased terrorist chieftain Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Omar disputed this characterization. By his own telling, he accomplished prodigies of terror against the pro-American Kurdish forces in the northern provinces of Iraq. “You are worse than the Americans,” he told his Kurdish interrogator. “You are the enemy of the Muslim nation. You are enemies of God.” The interrogator—I will not name him here, for reasons that will become apparent in a moment—sat sturdily opposite Omar, absorbing his invective for several minutes, absentmindedly paging through a copy of the Koran.

More can be found here.

You Are A Sailor.

Last night was the first proper night out I’ve had in a while. I went with some friends to see my friend Chris Chambers and his band play at Slainte in downtown Hamilton. All in all, it was a good night out and was a good opportunity to have a couple beers and listen to his blues/rock/funk music. It was a well-needed escape from the current monotony of my busy work schedule.

On another note, I haven’t posted much music lately, so I thought I should oblige with something I’ve been listening to today. „These Are Birds“ by Ruby Suns is a spacey indie rock song that shares some similarities with the Fiery Furnaces. It’s a good song for a miserably cold February day.

Ruby Suns – These Are Birds

Safe Inside The Day

Another work related delay is responsible for the lack of posting.  The blog shall resume when I have some semblance of free time.