Here's another beautiful poem from Annina:

wenn du fährst:

ausdemfensterblick
lenker, geschickt der
oberschenkel am
gangschalthebel deine hand
ist warm auf meiner seite
vor uns land und
windschutzscheibe
wenn du fährst:
stillsitzenbleiben
im gurt, wach lehnt
mein nacken im haar
dreht der player das lied
noch einmal drückt mein knie
in das hartplastikfach summt
im stadtlicht der motor
die abendandacht.

Loose Translation:

when you drive:

outofthewindowlook
handlebar, nifty the
thigh to the
shifter your hand
is warm on my side
land ahead and
front shield
when you drive:
remainseated
and buckled up neck leans
into the hair
spins the player the song
once again presses my knee
against the glove compartment hums
in city lights the motor
evensong.

Any critic of communism has come across the standard left wing answer, which is:

"But real communism has never been implemented anywhere!"

It's true, communist China, Russia, Cuba, Cambodia etc., none of these actually ever reached the utopian state of true communism where everyone is equal, no one cares about money or possessions.

It never happened. Much in the same way as Thomas More's Utopia never happened.

What did happen was anywhere between 85 to 100 million people have been killed as a direct or indirect result of communism, or in the name of it.

Read more »

Understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict is challenging because every historical account you read will be coloured by the author's own views.

History is about facts, but it always depends on what light and language those facts are presented in and of course which facts are ommitted.

Sandy Tolan has tried to give a balanced view of this infinitely complex topic in his book "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East" and he has managed to walk the tightrope of presenting the two sides from their equally passioned points of view.

Read more »

"So what are you working on"? I ask her.

"Computer viruses as art."

"Ooooh." Oh No. "Isn't that kind of illegal?"

"Well; no. I design them, then I paint the HTML onto canvas, then I have a show. I don't actually put into circulation."

A quote from "The Time Traveller's Wife".

Can you spot the error? Computer geeks will. It's kinda cute in a pedantic sort of way.

This little niggle aside, the book is wonderful. A testament to love and fate.

Wow, that sounded cheesy. But it's true, it moves you and leaves you thinking, remembering and hoping.

Read it.

Another song from K's Choice:

... when she said it'll move you, make you laugh and cry ...

The Time Traveller's Wife is a captivating story of a man who accidentally time travels and his friend / girlfriend / wife, whom he meets for the first time when he's 36 and she's 6.

Then again when he's 28 and she's 20 - 32/16, 25/12 etc.

Messes with your head, doesn't it?

But it's also a beautiful story about love, fate, self determination ... and I've only read about a third of the book.

Can't wait to see what happens next or before?

Song of the day

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars