The heat wave has no doubt caused us all to slow down. I was listening to Bright Eyes earlier, I associate it a lot with revising and programming my dissertation; it felt weird having so much direction, purpose and focus at that time. And now everything is so much more open, its like i've been swimming down a river for the last few months and now its opened up to a bay.
I read a really moving book yesterday, My Father's Rifle by Hiner Saleem. Its about a young Kurd growing up in Kurdistan (what became Iraq) in the early 1970s. Many people speak about how evil Saddam Hussein was, but do they really know why? There was so much before the horrific chemical attacks in 1987. I feel people are ignorant to how his regine effected the every day person and the history behind the division of the land and Saddams rise to power. Its very heart-breaking throughout as the Kurds have everything taken away from them and were forced to fight, thinking that America and Europe would be right behind them. And yet the Ba'ath party had a pretense of uniting the Arab nation.
My friend (and AutoDisko drummer) Ben has started a blog, recommended reading simply because there's a photo of me on it! (click for vanity)