Sanjay Subrahmanyam on Naipaul

Sanjay Subrahmanyam has some very interesting insights into Naipaul and his views in his review of Naipaul's latest book of essays in the London Review of Books here.

The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans

An interesting review of Jean Pfaelzer's book at the NYT.

“Driven Out” cites records of more than 100 roundups, pogroms, expulsions and ethnic cleansings (to use Pfaelzer’s various terms for these actions) in which white Westerners united to drive the Chinese out of their communities from 1850 to 1906. They used warnings, arson, boycotts and violence to achieve their goal. In many circumstances, labor organizations led the campaigns, casting the Chinese as competitors for jobs and depressors of wages. But middle-class civic leaders often acted in alliance with workers.

IZ

Tintin's Problematic Past

I loved the Tintin comics when I was a young lad, and they still hold a place of affection in my heart. Recently controversy seems to be swirling around the publication of 'Tintin in the Congo', one of the two early Tintin works that had never been previously printed in English (along with 'Tintin in the Land of the Soviets'). The author/illustrator of the comics, Herge himself had distanced himself from these early works before his death in 1983.

The works were problematic firstly because they were written as propaganda pieces - the one meant to educate Belgian youth about the evils of communism; the other meant to illustrate the benefits of Belgian colonialism. It is the second that has drawn opprobrium, with the Commission for Racial Equality in England insisting that it is not suitable for sale to children due to its use of offensive racial stereotypes. The other reason they are problematic, was because they were created as a comic strip for a far right Belgian newspaper that became the mouthpiece of the Belgian fascist party in the 1930s, and whose leading lights were collaborators with the Nazi occupation in World War 2. (For an interesting discussion of Herge, Tintin and his changing relationship with fascism, check out this informative article in the Guardian.)

For a taste of Tintin in the Congo, check out this excerpt. Interestingly enough, this is from the revised version from which Herge removed even more objectionable sequences such as when Tintin educates the natives about their motherland - Belgium. (This brings to mind the Algerian-French movie Indigienes (Days of Glory) in which North African troops sign up to fight to liberate the 'fatherland' from the Germans in World War 2). Despite these changes, Herge was happy for the titles to drop into obscurity, calling them "sins of my youth".

Herge often revised many of his works. The Land of Black Gold originally had a storyline set in Mandate Palestine with a three way war between the Zionist Irgun, Arabs and the British. The story was dropped, incomplete, because Herge considered it impolitic to continue the story under Nazi rule. After the end of WW2 he went back and rewrote the story, setting it in a fictional Arab country and leaving out the Irgun. In Tintin and the Shooting Star, anti-semitic scenes of Jews celebrating the impending end of the world because they will not have to repay their debts were cut, and the evil New York Jewish millionaire Blumenstein was changed to a banker named Bohlwinkel from fictional Sao Rico.

The condemnation of Tintin in Congo and the move by some bookshops to remove it from the children's section and stock it in the adult graphic novels section has been condemned with histrionic cries of censorship and 'political correctness gone insane' as well as 'left Nazism' etc.

But personally I think its the right thing to do. While the gentler racism of some of the later Tintin works can grate, there is much in the books to recommend them for kids, particularly Tintin's insistence on support for the underdogs and the oppressed, and a growing awareness of some of the issues of race in some of the books (attributed to Herge's friendship with the real life Chang Chong-Chen). As the Guardian article puts it:

It was a meeting, a friendship, which was to change Hergé’s life. All of a sudden, Tintin appeared to grow up. In China, in the story called Blue Lotus, he begins by defending a rickshaw driver who has had an accident with a westerner, who beats him, shouting, "Dirty little Chinaman! To barge into a white man!" Later, the white man complains to his friends, "What’s the world coming to? Can’t we even teach that yellow rabble to mind their manners now? It’s up to us to civilise the savages!"

But Tintin in Congo is a different kettle of fish - an outright propaganda piece written to promote the civilising mission of Belgian rule in Congo. Anyone who has read Adam Hochschild's book, 'King Leopold's Ghost' about the horrors of Belgian rule in the Congo would be as disgusted with Tintin in Congo as they would by a comic that promoted Nazi rule and its mission to promote 'racial purity'. The genocides perpetuated by both regimes were, after all, similar in scale. (6 million by the Nazis, 8 million by the Belgians.)

Personally I think its right to keep it in the adult comic books section rather than the kiddie section of the bookstore. Parents are free to buy it for their children, but at least they will be aware that there is problematic content in it of which they should be aware.

What's interesting is reading all the angry posts online railing against PC-ness. Many go on to say things like there is nothing racist about the book, or assert that colonialism was such a wonderful thing and look what a mess the Africans are in without our benevolent hands guiding their lives etc.

Sad.

Here's an excellent blog article on the affair.

IZ

William Dalrymple [and Tipu Sultan]

I came across William Dalrymple's website while browsing. Dalrymple is of course the author of the excellent travel/history books 'City of Djinns' and 'From the Holy Mountain', as well as the author of a collection of articles about South Asia 'The Age of Kali' and the excellent history book 'White Mughals' (about Europeans who married Indians and joined the courts of Indian princes in the eighteenth century).

His website also links to a number of his articles and book reviews. Of particular interest are this one VS Naipaul and his dodgy understanding of history and this one on Tipu Sultan and the propaganda war launched to justify an invasion of Mysore:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a politician in search of a war is not over-scrupulous with matters of fact. Until recently, the British propaganda offensive against Tipu has determined the way that we - and many Indians - remember him. But, as with more recent dossiers produced to justify pre-emptive military action against mineral-rich Muslim states, the evidence reveals far more about the desires of the attacker than it does about the reality of the attacked.

Recent work by scholars has succeeded in reconstructing a very different Tipu to the one-dimensional fanatic invented by Wellesley. Tipu, it is now clear, was one of the most innovative and far-sighted rulers of the pre-colonial period.

Dalrymple goes on to remind us of why the East India Company felt the war was necessary:

Tipu also tried to import industrial technology through French engineers, and experimented with harnessing water-power to drive his machinery. He sent envoys to southern China to bring back silkworm eggs and established sericulture in Mysore - an innovation that still enriches the region today. More remarkably, he created what amounted to a state trading company with its own ships and factories dotted across the Gulf. British propaganda might portray Tipu as a savage barbarian, but he was something of a connoisseur, with a library of about 2,000 volumes in several languages.

Both are interesting articles and are worth reading.

IZ

The people at 'A Tiny Revolution' came up with this amusing parody of the TV show 'Intervention'. The man undergoing the intervention is none other than a Mr. George W. Bush.



IZ

God is Not Great

A great review of Christopher Hitchens' new book 'God is Not Great' here. This digested "summary" of the book in the Guardian is worth a look in as well.

Its absurd that this man is taken so seriously. Its setting the level of discussion of these issues to caveman standards.

IZ

Saqia Aur Pila

These days I'm completely caught up listening to the Sabri Brothers. Specifically 'Saqia aur pila' which is available on their album 'Ya Habib'.

The version on the album is the real deal, kicking in at 27 minutes length. A truncated version, with not terribly great sound quality is available on youtube here. And a gentleman has taken up the task of translating the lyrics to English (and providing some commentary here).

The title translates to 'Cupbearer, pour me more.'

Saqi is the word for a cupbearer. Its often translated as 'bartender' in traditional English translations. But a cupbearer was more than just a bartender in Sufi literature. The position was in many ways analogous to a muse in western literature and the wine that the cupbearer was asked to bring symbolised more than just a drink.

The longer length version is split into three parts. In the first part the drunkard is begging for more to drink, and expounds on his thirst, asking not to be put off with excuses and expressing impatience, arguing that he must have more drink now. He fends off arguements that drink is bad for him and forbidden. i particularly like this verse (not in the shortened version):

To Sari dunya ko bhoolnay kay leye
Talkhir mai say pyar kar ta hoon (???)
Log Logon ka khoon peetay hain
Mai to phir bhi Sharab peeta hoon

Not sure about the second line, but from what I can make out, the drunkard justifies his addiction by saying that to forget the world, he loves from the the bottom of his cup, and while he just drinks wine, there are people in the world who drink the blood of their fellow men.

Alas, all too true.

The second part of the poem comes when the cup-bearer has a dialogue with the drunkard, asking him what kind of wine he wants. Does he want the wine that Mansoor drank which led him to mount the cross? Mansoor was a Sufi poet who was crucified in the 9th century after he exclamations of "Truth is me!" and "I am God!" while in an ecstatic trance. Mansoor epitomises the quest for God - something that can only be achieved by shedding of the self, which is what Mansoor did - first by shedding his ego and then his material existence. The drunkard however, replies that this isn't the wine he wants.

The dialogue continues in a similar vein, the cup-bearer giving examples of various key figures in Sufi traditions including Tabriz, Moses, Jesus and Job, each time, asking if the wine the drunkard wants is the one they drank of. The drunkard replies in the negative and in the end asks for the wine drunk by Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet at Karbala.

The third section of the poem then follows with a traditional praise of the Prophet's grandson, and a dialogue between Shimr, who was said to be the general of Yazid at Karbala, and Hussain. Shimr repeatedly boasts of his worldly power - his army, his post, his wealth, his ample supply of water (at Karbala, Hussain and his companions and family had no access to water and were besieged in the desert) etc. In each of his replies, Hussain displays his faith, patience, fortitude and all the other such praiseworthy qualities and refuses to bow to Shimr's tyranny. Finally when Shimr warns Hussain that his body will be given no shroud to rest in, Hussain replies that he will be garbed in a raiment made in Heaven.

Karbala ends with the beheading of Hussain. The Sufi interpretation of these events see this as symbolic of Hussain's final detachment from his ego, removing the final barrier between himself and God. The sequence of events at Karbala and Hussain's rejection of all the trappings of worldly desires one by one mark him coming closer to this final goal.

IZ

Strictly For Fans of Michael Jackson's Thriller

Okay, so first have a look at this. Just watch the first minute so you get an idea of what its all about. Then, please direct yourself to this clip, which is essentially the same video except that some guy has decided to add a 'translation' based on the closest English words that approximate the lyrics.

I know, I know, call me juvenille but I almost had a fit while laughing. An 80s Indian version of Thriller is funny enough, but the English 'lyrics' just allow it to transcend to a higher artistic plane.

IZ

The Hathor Legacy

Came across an interesting site: 'The Hathor Legacy'. Its essentially posting on books, film and some general cultural issues from a feminist perspective. What's interesting is the authors' interest in science fiction/fantasy genre fiction. Reading through a few of the posts, (and the comments) such as this one on the "legacy" of Octavia Butler proved illuminating and so up it goes on my blog roll.

And now I have a new book to look out for: 'Zahrah the Windseeker' by Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbachu. Looks interesting.

IZ

On Libraries

Now here are some interesting and telling statistics. Who knew that they are more public libraries in the United States than there are MacDonalds'? Or that on average Americans go to libraries more than twice as often as they go to the movies in a year?

All this and Federal spending on libraries is 54 cents per person per year.

Does Karachi have more public libraries than MacDonalds? I'm not sure. Some digging around turns up this list of libraries which hearteningly enough, is more than the 13 outlets I seem to recall MacDonald's having in Karachi. But a few of the public libraries I've seen are to a proper public library as a bun-kabab stand is to a MacDonald's. Frere Hall, which is one of the better ones, alas has seen better days.

IZ

Going Green

So, any thoughts on the new template? Any adjustments to be made? Or should I dump the whole thing? Comments please!

IZ

Neat Photography - Grace Weston & David Alesworth

Check out Grace Weston's website.

Some amazing photography, mostly using children's toys, like this:


I found this on Neatorama. Some interesting stuff on there.

Grace Weston's work kind of reminded me of some of the photography of a former colleague of mine, David Alesworth. Unfortunately I can't find much in terms of his work on line except for this picture that was titled 'Snow White and Bubble Boy':


Its one in a series of fabulous photographs of second hand toys found at Itwar Bazaar. I've tried fishing around on the internet but alas can't find much of David's work at all. He has a website, which does not seem to have been tended much apart from the main page and there is a section on him here at the website of the Vasl international artist's collective, but little else apart from that.

That's a real pity because David really has a keen aesthetic sense and a real eye for possibilities and incongruities that make him a stand-out photographer. He's a sculptor by training but his sculpture has never resonated with me in the way his photography has. I don't pretend to have seen a great deal of his work, but some of his photographs have to be amongst the most interesting visual art that's come out of Pakistan in the last decade and a half.

IZ

Rumi at the Caravansary

Hey, look what I found. And its like so close to me. I must check this out soon, and I'm so there at the Sufi music concert. If only I had known about this earlier! There's no way I would have missed the drumming workshop in the park!

IZ

Edit: Also, this is an interesting article about women scholars in the classical Islamic age. I like this quote:

Akram’s entry for someone like Umm al-Darda, a prominent jurist in seventh-century Damascus, is startling. As a young woman, Umm al-Darda used to sit with male scholars in the mosque, talking shop. “I’ve tried to worship Allah in every way,” she wrote, “but I’ve never found a better one than sitting around, debating other scholars.”

t2f: The Second Floor

Hmmm. A bookshop/coffeeshop in Karachi? With its own blog team? And, to top it off, one which claims to be "a platform for opinion, outrage, and graphic agitation"?

Interesting.

IZ

Edit: I originally posted this in my other blog. Then sanity returned and I realised it belonged here.

Things Look Like Things

Well this is a pretty extraordinary blog. Basically they put up images and photographs of various things that bear some kind of uncanny resemblance to completely different things.

Simple, but often visually stunning. Its going up on my blogroll.

IZ

More xkcd

Unsatisfied

I find that I am unsatisfied with the fonts, colours and general design of this blog. I find that to do something about this I will have to dig deep into the guts of Blogger and mess around with things until it improves.

But that sounds like a great deal too much work. At least for now. Perhaps later I shall fiddle around and see what happens. So, please don't be surprised if over the next few days things start to fluctuate on this blog. Oh, and do drop in your thoughts on any changes.

IZ

Sorted Books and xkcd

Thanks to madgraceflint for the link on her blog to this site and the Sorted Books Project.

She also linked to this comic on the xkcd web-comic site, which is one of the best web-comics out there in my opinion, but which, for some reason, I haven't yet linked to on this blog.

To make up for this error I bring you one of my favourite xkcd comics (click on it to see a bigger version):



IZ

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised!

You can now watch the excellent documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" for free online at this website. It makes for compulsive viewing - better than any Hollywood thriller I've seen in years.

Here's the blurb from the website:

This behind the scenes documentary focuses on the media's role in the 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace on April 11, 2002, when Hugo Chavez was forcibly removed from office. They were also present 48 hours later when, remarkably, he returned to power amid cheering aides. Their film records what was probably history's shortest-lived coup d'état.

You can read more about the coup here at Wikipedia and about American involvement in the coup (all that oil needs a steady hand to regulate) at the Guardian here. Interesting that once again Elliot Abrams was in the forefront of channelling U.S. support to overthrow democratically elected leaders.

I seem to recall reading an article in the newspaper a few years ago about how some OPEC leaders had been tipped off in advance about the coup by American government officials, but I can't find it on the web at the moment so maybe I was just imagining things.

Go watch the documentary!

IZ

Blair at War

Last week we took the opportunity to visit the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square. Alas, we went a day too late to catch the sight of the square covered in grass. From the look of this photo from the bbc website it would have been a sight worth seeing.


Still we got to see the statue of one of my favourite imperialist wannabe-conquerors, Charles Napier (I'll try and explain why I like him so much in another post - possibly on my other blog). It was alas a dreary, rainy day. Here's a photograph I took of the National Gallery:


But the topic of this post is an exhibition we chanced upon at the National Portrait Gallery - a photo-essay called Blair at War. In the run up to the Iraq war, photojournalist Nick Danziger and Times correspondant Peter Stothard were given access to the PM and his cabinet. This exhibition showcases some of Danziger's photographs and its really an extraordinary insight into those times.

Much has been made of one photograph in particular, which was taken in the ante-chamber of the PM's office in Downing Street. In an article where he talks about this and another photograph, Stothard tells us:

It is 7.55am on March 20. The Americans have dropped their “shock and awe” on Baghdad somewhat earlier than their best ally had been expecting. Before the first War Cabinet meets its members are musing on how they heard the news: Gordon Brown from the BBC World Service, Jack Straw from a policeman pummelling at his door, David Blunkett from Radio Five Live.

And to make matters worse:

The current Prime Minister is on this occasion out of shot. Tony Blair, no slouch now at war leadership himself, is behind the closed door to the right – with his chief of staff and security chiefs, in the meeting which ministers suspect is “the real meeting”.

Here's the photo:


So that's how the British cabinet came to learn they were at war. Read the full article here, its quite interesting. Stothard has also blogged about it here. Zoe Williams in a piece for the Guardian also points out:

The woman on the right, looking like the "don't" photo in a dos and don'ts of how to mingle at a party, is Joan Hammell, special adviser to John Prescott. Subsequent photo-reporting will show her to be at the very core of Prescott's entourage.... Here, she is being actively excluded by these grim-faced men.

And then ends with this ringing endorsement of the Blair cabinet:

Before you even consider that they are on the wrong side of the door anyway (which, furthermore, is locked), these are still the last people you would want to be in charge of anything. You wouldn't let them babysit.

Not only did the cabinet have no clue that the war had been launched, but they were excluded from direct briefings about the course of the war by the military and intelligence chiefs. Stothard quotes a member of the cabinet as saying he was expecting explanations, but rarely received any.

The socialist worker also has a good article about the exhibition, as well as images of a couple more of the photographs. There's a very good one of Jacques Chirac lecturing Blair, having "waved away his aides and interpreters to give Blair his direct opinion on events". Chirac, you will recall was the most vocal global leader to oppose the war.

To round up I've leave you with this image of Bush and Blair with assorted aides at Camp David soon after the war had begun (from the National Gallery site). Nick Dazinger called it the 'Reservoir Dogs shot' because it mirrors the image of the opening scene of the Tarentino movie Reservoir Dogs. Heres the photo side by side with a still from the movie (taken from filmreference.com):



Reservoir Dogs is a movie about an attempted heist that goes spectacularly wrong and ends in a tragic bloodbath. Sound familiar?

IZ

"War is the American Way to Teach Geography!"

That quote from the play 'Fallujah' which is playing in London these days. Astute observation I'd say.

IZ

It's About Time - Part II

It's so true!

IZ

Humanitarian Intervention 101

The question that has most plagued the minds of all those people who have a conscience and a deep desire to see justice and the fruits of liberty for all the oppressed peoples of the world is: what is the most effective form of humanitarian intervention? How does one go about freeing the globe's dispossessed of the inequities under which they must labour?

Here is an interesting and informative video, consisting mostly of highlights from a feature-length film which will be out later this year, which delves deeply into these questions. As you can see it contrasts two alternative views of humanitarian intervention. One is patently ineffective , crippled by outmoded and unrealistic ideologies and therefore bound to play into the hands of the very people who benefit from the oppression and exploitation of the weak. The other approach clearly seems to be a far more effective and efficient form of interventionism, based on a pragmatic appraisal of matters and a serious engagement with all the parties involved.

The video also engages with the heart-rending and difficult process of deciding whether to pursue interventionist as opposed to isolationist policies. Clearly and succinctly, the point is made that as tempting as isolationism may be in an increasingly disordered and chaotic world, those values and principles that we hold most dear compel us to intervene to improve matters as best we can.

A poignant and informative look at where the west is today, as well as a powerful vision of the way forward. As the padre in the video prays "it is in giving we receive."


IZ

The Order of the Stick!

A most amusing web-comic, based on an AD&D dungeon crawl. It maintains a story-line throughout, making it most addictive.

IZ

Hell, its About Time!

Ah... its been a long time coming. But now its finally on its way.
IZ











P.S. User-Friendly is another amusing web-comic.

DM of the Rings!

This is one of the funniest web-comics I've ever come across. Its a hilarious look at Lord of the Rings, as if it were an AD&D campaign that today's players were playing through.

Particularly funny if you have at any point in time played AD&D. Even funnier if you have been a DM in an AD&D game.

Here's a taste:
Now go to the site and read it from the beginning

IZ

A New Way to Say Hooray! (For April)

Firstly, I'm not sure why I titled this entry as 'A New Way to Say Hooray!' other than because its the title of a song by Shpongle that I listen to off and on...

Now I thought I was being all hoity toity by upgrading my 65 book challenge to a 75 book challenge, when I came across this dude! He's already read 100 books by the end of April... and in 7 different languages! Bah!

Anyhoo, I have come to the realisation that I am never going to actually get around to posting up reviews of all the books that I've read here. So, I thought I'd just post up lists of stuff that I've read - like a round up for each month.

So here's what I read in April:

1. Storm Front - Jim Butcher
2. The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury (re-read)
3. Every Man for Himself - Beryl Bainbridge
4. Letters From Atlantis - Robert Silverberg
5. Hybrids - Robert J. Sawyer
6. The Briar King - Greg Keyes
7. The Charnel Prince - Greg Keyes
8. Floating Worlds - Cecelia Holland
9. Temeraire - Naomi Novik

Hybrids was a very bland and rather disappointing finale to the Neanderthal Parallax series. The Briar King and The Charnel Prince were a fine pair of books to kick off the epic fantasy series: The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. Storm Front is the first in the now super famous (and made into TV show) Dresden Files series of books that blends noir and urban fantasy elements. It was okay: nothing special but I wouldn't rule out reading more by the author. Letters from Atlantis was a fine novella by Silverberg. I'm beginning to realise that he was a pretty good writer after all, after having given up on him when I read 3 of his books with exactly the same plot back in the 90s. The Illustrated Man is a classic short story collection and should be read and re-read by every man, woman and child on God's green Earth (or anywhere else).

Every Man For Himself is an elegant book set during the voyage of the Titanic - I've now read two outstanding books by Beryl Bainbridge and if her other books are as good she may well establish herself as one of my favourite authors. Floating Worlds was a lovely surprise - a thumping big space opera with an outstanding main character and filled to the brim with a feminist and anarchist sensibility, a la Le Guin. Its been a long, long time since I've read anything like it. Lastly there was Temeraire - fantasy bubble-gum that combines Master & Commander-like antics with dragons set in Napoleonic times. Fun, warm, and I must say I'm looking forward to see what it will turn out like when Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame) brings it to the big screen.

So I have finally reviewed (sort off) the stuff I read last month. Hooray!

IZ

Hometown Baghdad

Somehow or the other I missed the Reality TV revolution. I've never actually watched an episode of any reality TV show, other than maybe a few seconds in between switching channels - nothing ever caught my eye.

Well except now. Hometown Baghdad makes for very interesting watching. Three twenty-something Baghdadis chronicle their lives. Each episode is a few minutes long and is distributed on the web. Its sometimes funny, sometimes sad... mostly sad I guess, but always moving. I would go on about it but its easier just to link to their webpage. I'd recommend watching the episodes in order. Some are better than others, but, as a whole, they are really give you an insight to some of what's happening in Baghdad outside of the news accounts and war stories.

IZ

Qawwali

One of the many ways I've been busy procrastinating from studying for my exams is by listening to/watching qawwalis on youtube. Aziz Mian Qawwal seems to have made a major impression. My current favourite is 'Teri Soorat Nigahon' which isn't a hard-core qawwali as such, but its one of his more famous ones. Here's the video, in which the late Mr. Aziz Mian is looking particularly scary: [now lets see if I've figured out how to embed videos properly yet!]:



Of course every qawwali session should start with a proper invocation, and 'Man Kunto Maulla' fits the bill. This is a super-charged, high-octane version from Aziz Mian's earlier days. Alas the sound quality leaves a little to be desired, but when it really gets going, one can't help but be swept along:



My wife prefers this somewhat more sedate version by Farid Ayaz and Abu Muhammad Qawwal (the sons of Munshi Raziuddin who was a truly awesome qawwal). This performance appears to have taken place outdoors in Lahore before some very stoned-looking diplomats and has an introduction by ex-PCB chief Shehryar Khan in English. Even the qawwals look cold.



Later in that same performance came this version of 'Merey Baney Ki Baat Na Poocho' (unfortunately incomplete in this video). The qawwals seemed to have warmed up somewhat, having shed their sherwani coats, and are in fine form. I particularly enjoy some of the poetry they interject here as well.



We were fortunate enough to see them perform these live after my brother's wedding at his in-laws' place. Witnessing a qawwali live is very different from seeing a recording. I don't think anyone has quiet mastered the art of really capturing the sheer expansive range of sound, though as recording technology develops in the music industry in Pakistan, I'm sure matters will improve. Some of the best existing recordings of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are still those that he made in a studio for French Radio in the late 70s.

And for those who like to mix a little jazz with their qawwali I came across this video of a jazzy rendition of 'Dum Must Qalandar' played in a Brooklyn club. Funny. Compare it to the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan version its based on (again poor sound recording, but some nice tabla work).

IZ

Very Short Stories

What with exams and things, I haven't really been able to cultivate this blog as carefully as I should. Mea culpa. To make up for it I shall post up a short story I wrote:

The blog stagnates. No one cares.

Hmm. To clarify matters, I should mentioned that it is a very very short story, limited to six words. Like these that Wired magazine asked science fiction writers to write.

IZ

The Book Challenge

Those who are wont to notice such things may well have noticed that the Zokuto metre has now been set to reflect a target of 75 books. Setting myself a challenge of reading 65 books in the year was looking to be far too easy so I have upgraded to... THE 75 BOOK CHALLENGE!!!

Its still a bit of a cop out though as I'm still waaaay ahead of the required book-read-rate! If I was not such a wuss I would go for the 100 book challenge....

Hmm. Let me get done with my exams and we'll see.

IZ

Ancient Computers and More on Banksy

Here's a lengthy piece on Banksy in the New Yorker. Interesting.
Also in the New Yorker is an article on what some archaeologists believe may have been the first computer in the world, discovered on a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea. Also Interesting.

IZ

Book: The Devil's Game

Now here is a book to look out for. It chronicles the American campaign to promote Islamic fundamentalism in the middle east since the 50s, wanting to use it as an ideological weapon against 'godless communism'. I think I'll get right on to amazon and order it today.

IZ

Kryptonite Discovered!

So a new mineral has been discovered that matches the fictional chemical make-up of kryptonite. Only its not green. And it will probably be called Jaderite since it was discovered deep underground in a Serbian mine at a place called Jader.

Its effects on superman is unknown.

IZ

Fatima Kazmi

Here is a link to the online art gallery of Fatima Kazmi. A lot of her work is on wood, where she works with the natural grains of the wood, letting them shape her paintings. Unfortunately the full visual impact of this is lost to a certain extent when viewed as photographs online. It still makes for interesting viewing though.

IZ

Edit: Oh, and in the interests of full disclosure: Fatima is married to my cousin, Ali

Alastair Reynolds Lives! Kurt Vonnegut, Alas, Does Not.

Came across a random article on the physicist turned sci-fi novelist, Alastair Reynolds. I've read 4 of his books and can see why he's been one of the key components of the British "space opera renaissance" of the last few years (other contributors include Neal Asher, Charles Stross, Peter Hamilton and of course the grand masters Iain Banks and Ken MacLeod).

I'm looking forward to reading his new book 'The Prefect', though I don't imagine it will be any time soon, what with work and a huge backlog of stuff to read.

On another note, the brilliant satirist and novelist Kurt Vonnegut has passed away. To learn more about him you can follow the link to his obituary on bbc.com. I thought I'd just put down a comment of two about some of his stuff that I've read.

The first book of his that I read was 'Breakfast of Champions' back when I was doing my A Levels in Karachi. I remember picking it up at a friend's house, just meaning to browse and then getting caught up. Its very elegantly written, like all of his best stuff. At the same time I was amazed. I didn't know it was possible to write like this! Breaking all the conventions of plot and characterisation and narrative, and yet, still write something so interesting. I remember when I finished the book I was crying. At the time I found the book unremittingly bleak, though a recent rereading of it found it less so.

My favourite Vonnegut book has to be 'Slaughter House 5'. It is based on Vonnegut's own experience in the Second World War. In the introduction, Vonnegut describes how he was a prisoner of war in 1945, and was held at Dresden where he and other prisoners were housed in a Meat processing plant which had been converted to hold prisoners because there was no meat to be found at this late stage of the war in Germany. He describes how Dresden was fire-bombed (many now hold the fire-bombing of Dresden as a war crime because it was not a military target and led to the deaths of between 20,000 - 60,000 civilians, with some estimates going as high as 160,000) which he survived because the slaughter-house in which he and his fellow prisoners were in was untouched while the next building over which housed nuns who were war refugees was completely destroyed. After the bombing he and the other prisoners were put to work pulling out bodies from the wreckage. There is one horrific detail (out of the many) which sticks in my mind, which is his description of another POW - a Maori from New Zealand retching till he choked to death at the sight of the carnage. Vonnegut builds on these and other experiences to write about fate, free will and human nature. The climax of the novel comes not with the fire-bombing, but in the aftermath with the hanging of a man for looting in the ruins of the city, a rather senseless tragedy in the face of everything that has come before and that is to follow.

As Vonnegut says 'So it goes'.

IZ

Banksy!!!

To be honest I'd never heard of Banksy before I stumbled across a reference to the artist on a random website. Intrigued I went to his website. For those who may not of heard of him, Banksy is an artist who specializes in what has variously been called "terrorist art", "guerilla art" or plain old "graffiti art". He came to worldwide fame through his penchant of walking into museums and putting up his own works - often the museum authorities only learn about it after Banksy announces it on his website. As this article describes, these escapades include setting up a fake display of a rock with a cave painting of a prehistoric hunter with a shopping trolley in the British Museum, as well as a fake stuffed rat dressed like a rapper in the Natural History Museum.

But Banksy's best work has been his graffiti art (of which there are splendid examples on his website). In particular his culture jamming approach often has a strong political slant. Several of his works appeared on the Palestinian side of the controversial West Bank barrier that was built by Israel despite the protests of Palestinians who were cut off from their workplaces, and fields. More recently a life-size replica of a Guantanomo Bay detainee, complete with hood and orange jump-suit was left inside a Disney-Land roller-coaster ride, a reminder of the plight of those being held there without recourse to due judicial process.

I've always found the culture-jamming approach to art interesting and provocative, and its political engagement exciting. Alas, the approach is now all too often appropriated by marketing campaigns for the very brand-labels it often seeks to undermine (Banksy was reportedly offered a huge contract by Nike which he declined).

On the topic of culture-jamming, if you went to Asma's site, you may have noticed some of her earlier work has some of the elements of protest against mass consumerism - the ominous armies of Ronald MacDonalds swarming over Karachi's landmarks are quiet chilling. Great stuff!

IZ

Internet Radio

Here is a link to a bbc article about the new royalty fees that are to be imposed on internet radio stations.

IZ

Asma Ahmed Shikoh

Here is a link to the website of Asma Ahmed Shikoh, a pakistani-american artist now living in New York, and a friend and former colleague from my early teaching days.

IZ

Independent Internet Radio Stations under Threat

I don't know a great deal about internet radio and its only recently that I have started listening in. SomaFM has a number of stations, and it often forms nice background music when I'm studying. Anyway, apparently due to new legislation that targets internet radio for huge payments to recording companies, most small independent internet radio stations are under threat of closure.

Not really having a congressional representative, I don't think I am in a position to join in the campaign to save internet radio. But those of you who are, please do go ahead and do so. Its in a good cause.

IZ

On Not Keeping Up With the Joneses

Well when I started this blog I was hoping that I would jot down a few notes about each book I read... as it turns out things haven't really worked out that way. I would like to think that the tremendous rate at which I devour books leaves me little time for the difficult task of blogging about them, but the little itty bitty part of me that occasionally pricks my conscience into speaking the truth would have us believe that I have been seriously remiss in my duties and not a little lazy about this.

mea culpa.

On the up side a quick glance at the Zokuto meter in the margin of my blog tells me that I've now read 27 books this year already (making that 41% of my pledged reading total) while a mere 107 days (just under 30% of the year) have passed, so I am well on the way of achieving my targets.

Hmm... maybe my targets are not ambitious enough. Maybe I should shoot for... oh, say 75 books (36% done) or even... heaven forfend... 100 books!!! No, that would be a little too ambitious. I'll have a ponder over the 75 mark. In the meanwhile I'll try and get more written about the books I'm reading.

Book Shelves as Art!

I came across a link to this article on a LibraryThing forum. I always thought there was something aesthetically pleasing about book shelves but I must say this work of art looks rather nice. Apparently there actually are some people who shelve their books by colour!

As for me, I first need to get more shelf space before I can get really creative with my shelving policy!

IZ

The Motherlode of Books!

Its not quiet heaven... but its close!

It's a picture of an Amazon warehouse... :-)

IZ

Art that takes on the 300!

Interestingly enough, artists of Persian descent who are not impressed with the way 300 depicts Persians have set up an online gallery with their own depictions of Persia and Persians. There are some nice paintings here and some nice photographs too. Here's an article about the site that includes an interview with its creator.

Whats interesting is that they are hoping to 'google-bomb' 300, trying to get enough people to link to the site so that people who search for 300 end up at this site, and, hopefully, get a slightly different view of history!

IZ

Origami!!!

Some really really cool origami creations on this site. Wow!

IZ

300

With a $70 million launch, the movie 300 is being heralded as the first blockbuster of the season. And what better movie could there be to attain such an accolade? Its an... ahem... creative re-imagining of the battle of Thermopylae in which a variety of ancient peoples fought each other on two sides that have loosely been termed 'Greeks' and 'Persians'. Here is Slate's review which i must say, I whole heartedly agree with.

Of course a quick read of the real history of the battle of Thermopylae would lead one to expect that a slightly more historically accurate movie might also have been named 300+700+5000+1000 since the battle was fought on the Greek side not just by 300 Spartans but also 700 Thespians, 5000 Greek allies and 1000 Helots - who were slaves of the Spartans. Now the story of the Helots is particularly interesting. It was death for a Helot to touch a weapon according to Spartan law but Leonidas, the Greek king armed them for battle and promised them freedom after the war. Throughout the war, Helots were armed and fought alongside the Spartans. When the war was over, the Spartans held a ceremony in Sparta where all the Helots who had fought in the war had a parade and then were massacred to a man. That was Sparta and I think those people who watch this movie and get all excited about the Spartan warriors saving civilization should keep it in mind.

Obviously the movie, like the graphic novel, is written very consciously with the Spartans identified with America, the other Greeks with other European nations and the Persians with non-westerners (post 9-11, read: Muslims). Sadly, and rather frighteningly, this attempt to shove history into a shoebox and identify with and glorify the militaristic ethos of classical civilization smacks all too much of fascism.

IZ

Edit: Yes, and just in case anyone who reads this thinks I'm too much of an alarmist and always nattering on about fascism etc. Well, here is a quote from a response to the review on Slate that I linked above:

This critic seems to miss the FACT that throughout history, this is the way mankind, specifically MEN are. Only in the last 40 years have those with a different sexual orientation emerged as leaders (sure it happened in real history in the past..as those civilizations fell..look it up!). Here is why. In times of reletive peace, many changes in society occur. During those times the weak tend to prosper for obvious reasons. Once they get power and start running things by their warped views, the strong tend to wake up and give the weak a literal bloodbath...and they strong will always win in this sort of contest. So it is today with the emergence of liberals (anti-war, anti-gun, anti-American, anti-free speech (except their own)), one day I assume they will get power and start an oppressive regime the likes of which America has NEVER seen. The strong will wake up and crush these limp wristed maggots easily at that time...its rather humorous to think these folks can see it coming. they are after all...the weak.

Yeah, all the fascists are gathering to defend the historical accuracy and artistic expression of 300...

IZ

The Zokutou Word Meter!

This is a pretty cool little thingamajig. Its a counter that you can place into your posts/projects etc. It was originally designed to display the proportion of words you have written for a project but is currently being popularly used by LibraryThingers to count off books they have read in a year vs. how much they are aiming to read. This has been combined with the "50 book challenge": the challenge to read 50 books in a calender year (or 75, or 100 etc.)

In 2004 I read 25 books (cover to cover). In 2005 I read 58. In 2006 I read 87 (86 of which were fiction!) which is kind of an excessive amount. So what should I aim for this year? I reckon about 50-odd fiction books and say around 10-odd non-fiction books, so let's say 65 books this year as a tough but reachable target.

Of course the reason this is difficult is that I'm doing a lot of reading for courses/research etc. which is not cover to cover and which takes up a good deal of reading time and mental energy. In that light 65 seems kind of ambitious, but oh well. Lets see what happens.

So far I have read 18 books in 2007. My Zokuto meter is as follows:

18 / 65 (27.7%)

Hmm. I wonder what other use we can put this meter to? Well if 66 days of the year have passed. Maybe we can make another meter that will allow us to show how much of my time to do the reading in has passed? The Zokuto meter would look like this:

66 / 365 (18.1%)

Aha! This would suggest that I am ahead in terms of my reading goals! Cool!

I am such a nerd!

IZ

Edit: Obviously there seems to be an issue that Zokuto is having with Blogger. The meter isn't displaying properly on my post even though it looks fine in the composing window. Hmm... how odd. In order to console myself, I have added the meters to the margin on the left, below my books stuff.

Book: Humans

Humans turns out to be a somewhat tepid follow-up to the fascinating Hominids. The story picks up where it left off in the previous book and revolves around the growing relationship between the Neanderthal Ponter and the human Mary (technically Neanderthals are also human, but for brevity’s sake I'm using the term to stand for Homo Sapiens). Mary travels with Ponter to her world as the portal between the two alternate Earths is opened up for trade. There we get a closer look at Neanderthal society as Mary tries to adjust to its norms. Ponter also finds that he has to come to term with how his time on our Earth and his love for Mary has changed him.

In terms of plot structure and inventiveness, Humans is inferior to its predecessor. Ponter and Mary aside, the other supporting characters don’t develop at all and seem to recede into the background. None of the new characters take on three dimensions. We don’t see much of Neanderthal society that we haven’t already seen before. Even the social and political ramifications of the establishment of links between the two worlds is avoided altogether. The only plot threads with any weight are those of the love between Ponter and Mary and Ponter’s growing ambiguity about religion – a concept he had initially dismissed as illogical and even detrimental to the functioning of a well-adjusted society. These are interesting themes but neither are handled well enough to give the book the kind of depth and pull of Hominids.

This is not to say that Humans is a poor read. Sawyer’s prose is as fluid and easy on the eye as ever, and our interest in this interweaving of the two Earths carries over from the first book. The urge to discover what happens next provides a powerful incentive to keep reading. All in all, it’s a decent read and forms a bridge to the third book that is sufficiently entertaining, for the reader to want to complete the journey.

IZ

Three Cups of Tea

This seems rather interesting. In 1993 an American gentleman by the name of Greg Mortenson went to Pakistan to attempt to climb K-2 (the second highest mountain in the world). He failed, and on his way down the mountain got lost and fell ill, ending up in a poor village. The villagers nursed him back to health, and when he found that the village was so poor that it had to share a teacher with the next village over, he vowed to return and fund a school.

What ensues is Mortenson's struggle to build first one school, then to expand the program to other villages in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan, founding the charity CAI on the way. Mortenson, never a wealthy man, at one point lives in his car while trying to save money for his dream. Thrown in are thoughts and conversations about 9-11, about the Taliban, the Iraq War, the 2005 Earthquake, and how best to fight the war on terror. (Hint: the book quotes a Pakistani Brigadier-General: "The enemy is ignorance.")

Apparently this book has been making waves over the last year or so in the states. (Mr. Mortenson's daughter also sang a song that was composed in order to help raise money for the charity.)

I haven't read this yet but my interest in certainly piqued and I'll be on the look out for it.

IZ

1000 and Counting!

Ladies and gentlemen, I bid you all doff your caps to commemorate a most auspicious event - the acquisition of my 1000th (that's right, one thousandth) fiction book.

And the book that has the fortune of being the millennial work of (prose) fiction in my library is 'Whit' by Iain Banks. Needless to say, I shall dive into reading it as soon as possible and then post up my thoughts on it here. I'm quiet looking forward to it - it seems like a most interesting read.

I now have 1009 works of fiction in my library.

My recorded non-fiction library currently stands at 474. And for those of you who are simply dying to know, the 474th book is Cloak and Gown, Robin W. Winks' historical study of the connection between scholars from Yale and the OSS (which would later become the CIA) from 1939 to 1961.

I have the original hardback which has a different cover, but this one looks kind of cool too, so there you go.

IZ

Book: Hominids

The first in a trilogy called “The Neanderthal Parallax” Hominids is a book that uses various debates and discussions in paleo-anthropology, evolutionary psychology and socio-biology to posit a world in which Neanderthals rather than Sapiens are the highest evolved intelligent life form (more on that later). Through an accident that occurs while working on a quantum computer, a Neanderthal physicist is dropped into our (parallel universe) world – where Neanderthals died out tens of thousands of years ago (or according to another theory were bred out of existence) and homo sapiens became the dominant species. The Neanderthal spends the next few days learning about and debating various features of our social world with various humans. Like Voltaire’s Candide, or Usbek in The Persian Letters he is an outsider who reveals the flaws, follies and contradictions that are part and parcel of our world, including sexual mores, the institution of the family, notions of privacy and liberty, ecological destruction, religion, racial discrimination and capitalism.

What first drew me (and I suspect will draw many others) to this book was the fact that it won the Hugo Award for best Science Fiction Novel in 2003. Despite the Hugo Award having been awarded to some real clunkers in the recent past (Forever Peace anyone?) this is why I decided to give the book a chance, though I thought I would read it before forking out any cash on any of the rest of the trilogy. My qualms were due, to a large extent, to the many negative reader reviews I came across on amazon.com, accusing the book of being too didactic in tone, or too thin on plot, or even playing too fast and loose with science, or, predictably enough, too harsh on the finest achievements of human civilization. After reading the book through its only the accusation of dodgy science that seems to have merit.

Hominids is a throw back to the golden age social science fiction of the 50s and early 60s. Many of its tropes are similar, many of its themes have already been explored in one way or another by several stalwarts of the sf canon. Despite this, it stands on its own feet as a exemplar of the genre and a fine synthesis of these themes with modern scientific ideas. The science is subordinated to the needs of the story and Sawyer’s deft, uncomplicated prose makes for a smooth read. If you’re like me, and not overly credulous of many of the claims made by either evolutionary psychology or socio-biology, you may raise an eyebrow at how Sawyer believes the biological differences between homo sapiens and homo neanderthalis would have been the basis of a radically different society, but this is a minor point and doesn't have any bearing on the enjoyment of the book. As an example he posits that the Neanderthals' heavy reliance on a meat diet and significantly greater musculature would have meant that they would not take to agriculture or domesticate animals for labour which would have set lower limits to how much their population could grow, which in turn would affect the ecological impact of their society. At the same time, Sawyer posits that their impressive tool making abilities and the fact that their brains were 12% larger than that of homo sapiens would have meant that they would have been able to develop technologically. Also particularly interesting is how he feels gender relationships would develop differently based on the Neanderthals highly developed sense of smell.

This is all fair enough, but there is some dodgy use of science later in the book, where Sawyer tries to marry concepts of quantum entanglement, the notion of parallel universes and the rise of human consciousness. God as a unified network of human consciousness is not a new idea (the anime Serial Experiment Lain touched on this idea), and the notion of a "divine" observer that pegs each quantum event one to another in a chain that essentially creates reality (or verifies one reality over all possible others) has also been explored before in fiction (Dan Simmons’ The Hollow Man was one example). Both are intriguing concepts in their own ways. My problem is that the theory put forward by one of Sawyer’s characters puts Man, i.e. human beings (whether homo sapiens or homo neanderthalis), very much at the centre of the universe. The idea is far too anthropocentric, even for a non-gaian like me. And claiming that consciousness exists only in humans, and that too in humans only from 40,000 years ago (when we have the first significant evidence of art, religion and “sophisticated” tool making) seems to be tough to swallow.

Still, be that as it may, the science in the book never eclipses the narrative and I for one, unlike some readers, never felt that it was being rammed down my throat. Some fans of hard-sf are very exacting in their demands of the science of a sf book, but like I had said earlier, this is primarily a work of social science fiction and not hard sf. The science is necessitated by the narrative and not the other way round. The book’s greatest asset is that it is well written, has engaging characters, a swift-flowing narrative and much food for thought. Its these elements that drew me into the book, so much so that before I was finished, I had gone out and bought the next two in the series, Humans and Hybrds.

IZ

Books: Bones of the Earth

I just finished reading Michael Swanwick's Bones of the Earth. Yes, I know, I know, I was reading Freedom & Necessity, well I got distracted by this. I've been wanting to read more stuff by Michael Swanwick ever since I read The Iron Dragon's Daughter which was a phenomenal book, so when I came across this I simply had to snap it up. Originally I was a little sceptical about the dinosaurs all over the cover, and some of the blurbs seem to make this sound like it was a rehash of Jurassic Park, but it was Michael Swanwick after all so I gave it a go.

So here's my mini-review (and then I'm going back to Freedom & Necessity).

The premise of Bones of the Earth is an interesting one. Inhabitants of Earth’s distant future have established a system of time travel and have made it available for use to palaeontologists of the 21^st century to study the Mesozoic era. In return, they are expected to use the system responsibly and avoid the creation of paradoxes that may tamper with time. It seems like a godsend to the scientific community, but this gift threatens to become a dangerous tool in the hands of mavericks looking to bolster their own reputations, and to fanatical ideologues looking to destroy ‘Darwinian heresy’ and prove creationism. And there are a few who wonder just why their ‘benefactors’ from the future have established this system in the first place.

In terms of narrative structure, characterisation and quality of prose, Swanwick displays once again his inventiveness and literary ability. Bones of the Earth starts off well, with a pacey narrative and interesting characters. The structure of this tale of time travel is also interesting, with plot twists and surprising developments unfolding swiftly one after the other. Michael Swanwick juggles the complexities of cause and effect and time-travel paradoxes gracefully and intelligently, building an intriguing mystery and making for a compelling storyline. With different narrative threads featuring different characters at different times to follow, one might think that there is a danger of the author getting tangled in a cat’s cradle of narratives, but this never happens.

The book does however, seem to somewhat lose focus towards the end, when the author chooses a narrative thread to follow which, while having its high points, doesn’t quiet satisfy in terms of providing explanations in the most satisfying manner. Indeed it feels as if what should be the main climax of the story is brushed over quickly in order to move to the denouement.

That said, Bones of the Earth is a compelling and well written novel. Any fears that a book that features dinosaurs so prominently on the cover will be “sci-fi lite” are unfounded. This is first and foremost a work of speculative fiction, rooted firmly in the great science fiction themes of time travel and evolution, with dinosaurs being a secondary (though also provocatively handled) feature. More generally, the book is also an impassioned defence of scientific endeavour, and on this level is succeeds most admirably.

IZ

And Now: Rehabilitating Kofi Annan?

An interesting book review on Kofi Annan and the UN. Annan is almost universally panned. On the one hand by Western politicians as an inept member of an inept bureaucracy compromised by the influence of dictatorships and on the other by third world commentators as an inept patsy of a fawning bureaucracy compromised by the influence of post-colonial imperialists. Where does the truth lie?

IZ

Rehabilitating Ralph Nader

Remember Ralph Nader? Scourged by the whip of democrat scorn and anger after Gore's loss of the 2000 elections, he seems to have faded into obscurity. Some democrats have even heaped all the ills of American domestic and foreign policy from 2000 onwards on his shoulders.

I'm not sure that's fair. As long as the the mainstay of Democrat election campaigns will remain "we are not Republican", even as candidates inch ever closer to the right, I don't think American foreign policy (or even domestic policy to a great degree) is going to be necessarily very different from Republican policy. Many of the Democrat winners of the 2006 elections could easily pass for Republicans in terms of their ideas and policies save one: public criticism of Bush. Now that 2006 is in the past even that dividing line isn't as thick as it used to be.

Here's an article on a documentary on Ralph Nader. I would be very interested in seeing it and if it reminds people that there was more to him than the sucking away of votes from Gore in 2000, so much the better.

IZ

New addiction

I can't help it. LibraryThing is more addictive than crack! Throw in a bibliophile and compulsive book collector like me and its a marriage made in heaven.

On the subject of my book collection, I've been thinking about how I'm going to store and organise my books once I'm back home. Randomly came across this article on storing books on andre norton's website. It has some useful tips, though obviously its more useful to hardcore collectors out to preserve 'precious' old editions etc. which isn't exactly my thing. So many of my books have come from dusty bookstalls at Itwar Bazaar, to call them 'used' would be a major understatement. Still, I would like to do something to keep out some of the humidity and dust that starts pitting and yellowing even new books very quickly.

IZ

My Library!

LibraryThing has proven to be very very addictive. I have started constructing my library (of books I have here in the UK) on it. If you have a look at the left column of this blog, I have added widgets that allow you to search my library (its still under construction) and have a look at a random smattering of my books.

Koko-ei! (As they say in the anime)

IZ

P.S. Here is a link to my profile on LibraryThing

LibraryThing Thingie...

More ways to waste time on the internet! This LibraryThing thingie looks pretty cool. You can create an online catalogue of your books and have them all sorted by tags, have the covers linked from amazon etc. and even link it to your blog. I'm tempted to give it a go except that there is one major drawback that I can see: it has a limit of 200 books! If you want to add more then you have to pay! What joke this is? I have waaaaay more books than that. Maybe I can create one for just the books I have here in the UK? Hmm...

IZ

Edit: I've made myself an account and started messing around with it... it's kind of addictive!

Books, Books Everywhere and Only One Brain to Read With!

In recent years my rate of accumulation of books has far outstripped the rate at which I can read them. I own more books I have not read than books I actually have! Some of my latest acquisitions are particularly delectable: Jeff Vandermeer's Veniss Underground, Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel, Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. Hal Duncan's Ink, Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and Michael Moorcock's Byzantium Endures. I'm desperate to read them as soon as I can, but alas, I possess only one brain to read with...

pfft!

And I probably spend too much time on the internet. In fact I think I shall tear myself away from the computer and get back to reading Freedom and Necessity (which I'm still enjoying immensely).

IZ

Iraq Documentaries

Two of the pictures up for the best documentary Oscar are about Iraq. Both seem pretty interesting and I think I would like to see them. So far, I haven't seen anything really special about the Iraq war. Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 911' didn't seem well put together or thought out, though it was powerful in bits. 'Control Room' which was an inside look at Al Jazeera was very interesting and very well done, however it wasn't about Iraq as such. I confess I actually never finished watching 'The Iraq War Uncovered' - it was far too dry, and really didn't present anything anyone who had been following the news in those days wouldn't already know (unless maybe all they watched was Fox or something).

So, 'Iraq in Fragments' and 'My Country, My Country' both sound particularly interesting, especially since they are about Iraqis and about life after the invasion.

IZ

Robin Hood and his Merry Insurgents

Call it a sign of the times. With all that's happening in Iraq and with the resurgence in Imperial nostalgia its inevitable that tales of rag-tag bands of men fighting the rich and mighty may not get as welcome a reception as they once did. Here's an article on a film named 'Nottingham' that will be gracing the silver screen soon enough. The courageous and wise Sherrif of Nottingham (to be played by Russell Crowe) embarks on an investigation of murders of rich men somewhere in the vicinity of Sherwood Forest. He falls in love with the Maid Marian, and uncovers the vile plot of the villain Robin Hood and his band of terrorists.

Russell Crowe obviously enjoys playing the mailed fist of Militaristic, Imperialist hegemonies... err... I mean, the cuddly, lovable generalissimo of enlightened proto-democratic communities to whom we are indebted for all the wonders of modernity (see 'Master and Commander' and 'Gladiator'). So he should do a great job here once again.

I thought the article's sarcastic reference to a follow-up movie about the tragic, villainous destruction of the death star was great!

IZ

Lefty F&SF

China Mieville posted up a list of 50 Fantasy & Science Fiction books that he thought would be of particular interest to those of a leftist persuasion. Its an interesting list, and to it I would humbly add China Mieville's own 'New Crobuzon' novels: Perdido Street Station, Scar and Iron Council.

IZ

Currently Reading: Freedom and Necessity

I've started reading Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Its been slow going, partly because I'm taking my time savouring the prose, but mostly because I've been very busy with reading for classes and sundry other things.

Still, its a delightful read so far. Its an epistolary novel set in 1849 and mixes a good dose of radical politics, history, Victorian manners, philosophy and (so far some hints of) gothic mystery. It sounds a promising blend but one that is surely difficult to stew into palatable reading. So far its succeeding wonderfully. Will probably post more on this when I'm finished reading.

IZ

Blog the Second!

Seeing as my first blog has transmogrified into a rather darkly toned rant/commentary on various matters political and historical, I thought that perhaps a separate blog would be more suitable for matters artistic and cultural.

Artistic and Cultural should also be read as fanboyish and geeky of course.

Anyway, so here it is! A blog dedicated to musings, reactions, comments and various sundry ramblings about books, movies, music, games, so on and so forth. I hope my ambition has not outstripped my capabilities and that I manage to keep this blog interesting and active.

Wish me luck! ;-)

IZ