The Zeitgeist

Moving House

2009-01-13T03:04:00.001+11:00

Hey everyone!

I have moved my blog to a new home in 2009 and, as a fresh start, have not migrated any of my content from this one.

Please go over to

my new blog

alexlobov.wordpress.com

and follow my exploits there.

I'll still be on nomadlife regularly and all that but will be updating my blog over there instead

Top 10 Books of 2008 - Second 5

2009-01-07T05:42:00.006+11:00

Tracy Chevalier - Girl With A Pearl Earring

An excellent novel by Tracy Chevalier, published in 2003 it became an instant bestseller and has since been remade into a movie and a play. Inspired by the Dutch Painter Vermeer's famous painting of the same name, Chevalier set out to fictionalise the circumstances under which the painting was created including the girl herself, the subject of the painting and protagonist of the novel.

The novel is short but moving, the prose careful and precise and the historical detail accurate, if not deep. It paints an interesting picture of late 17th century Dutch life including the cultural divisions between Catholic and Protestant, and rich and poor.

A short but excellent read.

Zadie Smith - White Teeth

The Whitbread Award winning debut novel that turned Zadie Smith into a powerful force in 21st century literature and showed her to be one of the UK's, and the literary world's, brightest new talents.

Smith has a knack for being able to capture the realities of the seemingly mundane characters portrayed in her books and turning them into characters we can identify with, relate to and sympathise with. Her use of the modern vernacular and the, once again, mundane but important details of every day life in British suburbian paints a realistic and very contemporary cultural picture of British life.

Her books are also pretty funny.

Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray

A modern classic and an amazing book, extremely easy to read and highly recommended to those that want to "get into" classics but haven't yet plucked up the courage or struggled with Dickens/Austen in high school. The book falls under the "gothic horror" genre and, yes, it's quite horrifying though not in the demons and ghosts way you would expect. I personally found it very unsettling, particularly the ending, and Wilde dealt well with building a sense of dread throughout the book. I'm not sure what exactly Wilde's overall moral is, given his life (and the repeated accusations of decadence) it would hardly make sense to write a moralistic cautionary tale about overindulgence...

Nick Hornby - High Fidelity

If we talk about books that have been influential on modern pop culture then surely High Fidelity must spring to mind. Published by Nick Hornby in 1995, the grunge revolution was waning and a new musical era was starting, the return of pop and R&B, plus the coming advent of electronic/techno music. With these cultural trends in mind, we can look at High Fidelity as a last gasp from the alternative/indie scene. We can also look at it as a book that was tremendously influential for the new wave of indie fanatics. I'm sure if followers of PitchforkMedia had to read a book in their twenties, this would be it.

Having spawned a film starring John Cusack and even a Broadway adaptation, the book is now the cornerstone of Nick Hornby's fame. And it is an excellent book, entertaining, witty, hilarious, human and one we can all relate to as it dissects popular music and relationships side-by-side. Hornby has a knack for creating sarcastic loser characters that are somehow irredeemably lovable. If you're looking for a light and breezy but fantastic novel to read this summer (Aussies!) read this.

Haruki Murakami - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Those of you that know me well will know that I am a "Murakami nut" or at least someone who loves the author enough to devour everything he's ever written (got the biography by Jay Rubin sitting on my shelf waiting for me now too) so it should come as no great surprise that this book appears in my top 10 list. I did also read another Murakami book this year, his last novel "After Dark" which didn't impress much as it didn't compare favourably to his previous work.

The memoir, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" on the other hand was excellent and a welcome departure from his usual fiction/non-fiction. Unsurprisingly, Murakami writes much like his usual protagonists think which just shows that the characters of his fiction are often at least partly autobiographical in nature. His prose is always light but detailed, dismissive of some things and yet obsessive about others, this duality is what, I believe, makes Murakami a great writers. His novels are easy to read and easy to relate to yet are profoundly deep and have many layers (often revealed further upon rereading).

The memoir itself is a short meditation on Murakami's long career of writing superimposed on top of his long pursuit of long-distance running as his main hobby. As Murakami himself says “most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day.” Murakami sees the two activities as inextricably linked, both are endurance activities that require a lot of commitment, mental stamina, preparation and hard work. The most interesting thing about this novel is the deep parallel Murakami draws between the two seemingly very different activities. In fact, if you really read it, the book tells you more about Murakami as a writer than it does as a runner.

---------------

So that concludes my Top 10 for the last year, any comments or any thoughts on the books I've reviewed if you have read them or any recommendations if you have them would be very welcome.

I may post another top-something as I dont think I'm quite done with 2008 yet, the loser that I am.

Top 10 Books of 2008 - First 5

2009-01-03T02:24:00.002+11:00

As I enjoyed doing this last year I'm going to do it again. Top *whatever* lists of 2008 are like the blogging thing you do. It's a good roundup of what happened in the previous year in the blog topic of your choice and also it's guaranteed content for the end of year when nothing much happens (well nothing much apart from Gaza, but then, what's new right?).

Firstly two disclaimers.
Disclaimer 1, I will not even attempt to put these in any sort of order. I have no idea which one was the best or my favourite or whatever, I enjoyed them all which is why I'm posting about them.

Disclaimer 2, The Holy Qur'an, though it was something I read over the last year, is not in contention. I don't consider holy books to be on the same level or in the same category as mere fiction/non-fiction. Reading The Qur'an was an amazing experience and for sure I learned a lot but I would not disrespect it by putting it alongside Nick Hornby (no offence Nick!) in a year-end list. It is quite simply in a category of its own.

I have no idea if anyone even still reads this thing considering how sporadic my content has been over the past year (though I guess it's always been a matter of fits and starts for me). I have resolved to blog more and write more in 2009 as one of my New Year's Resolutions (I have 10, as to whether I have the courage to post them is another matter... let's see...) but if you should happen to chance across this post, please do comment with any comments or opinions on these books, if you've also read any of them, or any others you care to share or recommend.

So without further ado.

Naguib Mahfouz - Adrift on the Nile

Adrift on the Nile, was lent to me by Marwa and was the first Mahfouz book that I had the pleasure of being able to read (and only so far, I hope to read more soon, I do have one sitting on my desk at home, also gifted by Marwa, I'm sorry I haven't read it yet) and it was fantastic. In a short novel, Mahfouz effortlessly evokes Nasser's new Egypt, a cast of characters all seemingly drowning in the apathy that took hold of the middle-class/intelligentsia of Egypt at this time.

The congregation meets regularly over the sharing of shisha with hashish in it as they cannot stand the hypocricy and lack of sophistication in the Government of Egypt and modern Egyptian life. They smoke to forget and their conversations prove to be as interesting as anything Tarantino ever wrote. An excellent book and there has also been a film made - Mahfouz in collaboration with the director Hussein Kamal, but it's not easy to get hold of (as it was banned when it was released, in the era of Sadat).

Alain de Botton - Essays in Love

This is not my first time reading de Botton and I became a fan of his when I read his Consolations of Philosophy last year. This book was just as accessible and also more substantial because, unlike Consolations, it wasn't attempting to deal with a million things at the same time. It was simply about love, and not just love in all its broad glory but specifically human romantic relationships. In the book, de Botton chronicles an (apparently) fictional relationship and all of its ups and downs, from first meeting to eventual end.

De Botton's analysis of all of the regular emotions that we normally go through in relationships is remarkable and many people will be able to deeply and easily relate to how De Botton thinks and writes. Once again, clever, accessible philosophy from Mr. De Botton. I am impressed.

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

McCarthy's The Road is a post-apocalyptic tale describing a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted years before by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed civilization and, apparently, most life on earth. The novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2006 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction.

I found the novel to be utterly gripping, one of those it's-freaking-me-out-but-i-cant-put-it-down page-turners. If we're talking about books in which you get lost and seemingly wake up from a dream with the room spinning around you when you close them, this is certainly one. McCarthy's prose is simple but beautiful and evocative. His post-apocalyptic landscape reeks of a now seemingly inevitable future for our doomed planet. Not for the faint of heart and certainly not a "light read" but utterly amazing. A film is now in production starring Viggo Mortensen.

Sa'adat Hasan Manto - Black Margins

Though he is very well known in his native Pakistan, along with the rest of the Indian Sub-Continent, Manto does not enjoy such prominence in the West, which is a real shame. Rashna introduced me to him, and Saba later gushed of his brilliance, and after having read the book, I do understand what all the fuss is about.

Manto is a short story writer, and although I have not traditionally been a fan of short stories, he's up there with Jhumpa Lahiri as my favourite short story writer. His shorts are powerful in that they do not beat around any sort of bushes. They go directly to the heart of the matter, and in Manto's case more often than not it's the heart of the bloodshed unleashed during the Partition of India in 1947. Partition was an event of such cataclysmic proportions that it has been written about and discussed countless times and in countless forms. Manto holds his own and has his own place in these after-the-fact discussions and he deserves respect because he does not gloss over the gory details. He does not fall victim to the Indian tendency to selectively forget certain things as it is best to not to bring them up again. The pain, the absurdity and the sheer misery of Partition is all here, fragmented and real.

Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance

Another fine lesser known author from the sub-continent, Rohinton Mistry did not achieve any kind of real fame in the West until this novel was featured on Oprah's Book Club. Despite this feature, and despite him being easily available at Borders in Austraila, his books arent exactly flying off the shelves which is a real shame.

This is because, A Fine Balance in particular, is exactly the sort of novel that Western audiences would love. It is soaked in the pain, love, life and humanity of India, and of Bombay. Considering how much readers have loved Shantaram, a similarly sprawling and dramatic, yet immensely accessible, picture of life in Bombay, this book should be a best seller.

What sets Mistry apart from his post-colonial dramatic contemporaries in the sub-continent is his amazing ability to get inside the heads of his protagonists. For example, A Fine Balance has a cast of characters which includes a pair of impoverished lower-caste tailors that hail from a small Indian village. I have never seen an author seemingly understand the impoverished masses of India and the way they think better than Mistry. Mistry humanises them, gives them a role far more prominent than that of porters and cab drivers in Shantaram, they are not merely side-pieces here to amuse the reader while he follows the adventures of the main character, they are real flesh and blood.

Although the novel is set in an unnamed 'city by the sea' it is quite clearly referring to Mistry's hometown of Bombay and is set specifically in the time of Indira Gandhi's National Emergency. The narrative is rich in the intricacies of Indian life, including that of the Parsi community, and is heavy in political undertones critical of the Emergency time period and its absurdities. Although many writers have successfully tackled the absurdity and beauty of life in an Indian megaopolis, none have done it quite this well and quite this accessibly. This book is an absolute must read.

2008-12-16T01:01:00.002+11:00

The situation in Mumbai last week has gathered a lot of press and understandably all eyes are on the government of India as to what sort of response they'll be able to come up with. India is a democracy that has a history of kicking out incumbent governments, understandably so most of the country has a skeptical attitude to its politicians but kicking out incumbents in favour of opponents that are just as compromised has never been an effective solution and so the struggle continues.

It would be silly to think that LK Advani's BJP would be any better at dealing with the terrorist threat than Singh & Gandhi's Congress Party. The BJP, if anything, has a history of fanning the flames of terrorism. LK Advani's presence and involvement in the destruction of the Babri mosque in Gujarat in 1992 and the parties hindutva (roughly translated as Hinduism, it is an ideology of Hindu Nationalism) politics is doing nothing to unite the country or to bring its sizeable muslim minority (120m) in from the cold. Let's be clear, although it has been claimed that the 10 gunmen that terrorised Mumbai were from Pakistan, let us not forget the spate of other bombings that has occurred in India this year. We're talking about Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Bangalore, etc... all the work of an local Indian group known as the Indian Mujahideen. This is home-grown terrorism of the worst order and the real danger for India lies not in what comes from across the border but in its own disaffected Muslim population. 120m malcontents with Indian passports is a recipe for a civil war and the BJP's hindutva (along with their allies like the Shiv Sena) is no solution to it.

On Pakistan, Manmohan Singh has opted for a policy of support for Asif Ali Zardari's democratically-elected government which is most certainly a better option than war. Singh knows that if he were to engage Zardari in a military conflict it would mean Pakistan pulls its troops out of the North-West Frontier Province and the border areas with Afghanistan, given that these are the number one terrorist hotbeds in India, it would not be a wise move for either Pakistan or India at this stage, nor would a costly cross-border war be a good idea in this economic climate. Singh also knows that weakening Zardari's government by undermining it diplomatically will also not do any good, Zardari may be weak but he's India's only real hope in Pakistan at the moment.

Zardari is showing promising signs, his government is finally shutting down the offices of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the so-called philanthropic front organisation for the outlawed Lakshar-e-Taiba, the latter being the terrorist outfit supposedly responsible for the Mumbai attacks. However it will take a lot more work to reverse decades of backing by Pakistan's largely independent and powerful military and intelligence services. The problem with Zardari, of course, is that like his compatriot Karzai in Afghanistan, though to a much lesser extent, he is only a civil servant with a position title... not really someone with real power in Pakistan.

India should not expect either that Zardari will agree to hand over Pakistani nationals, whatever they have been accused of, to India. That would be political suicide for Zardari. People in Pakistan are already skeptical of his incredibly friendly (on a historical basis at least) attitude to India, so he is treading a fine line as it is.

It will be interesting to see what the Obama administration will do bolster Zardari and to improve the political situation in Pakistan. Hopefully they will take on a less military approach than the Bush administration and work with the grassroots in the country, bombing the crap out of it will not solve anything. Only improving law & order and governance will. Obama has repeatedly stated that he is looking for an integrated, regional solution to the problem of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and depending on the way this would be implemented, it sounds like the way to go. Unfortunately it would not be easy as diplomatically relations between these countries are still strained.

But the focus for India should be at home, the Indian Mujahideen are proof of that and although their methods were not so sophisticated and not so brazen as those of Mumbai last week, and though the Government claims to have dismanteld their organisation... they represent the real danger for India. One would expect that there would be a breaking point for the multitudes of largely unedcuated, empoverished and isolated muslims in India... and that breaking point will not be pretty.

2008-12-16T00:48:00.003+11:00

The National covers the latest round of staggered voting in Kashmir and asks an interesting question. How do we reconcile the voter turnout in Kashmir against the peoples' repeated calls for azaadi (independence)? The National asks people at the polls with varying results but one man, Mr Bhat, a Patelbagh paddy farmer, hits the nail on the head:

“The mainstream politicians cheat people and among the separatists there are no good leaders,” he said. “[Politicians’] children are studying in another country, in the US, but look at ours — they have no education, no future. What kind of leadership is that?”

George Bush has also embarked on a farewell tour of Iraq, and has two shoes thrown at him by a man at a press conference.
The journalist sitting in the third row jumped up, shouting: “It is the farewell kiss, you dog,” and threw his shoes one after the other towards Mr Bush. Mr al Maliki made a protective gesture towards the US president, who was not hit.

The farewell kiss indeed, Bush is touring the country after the surge of around 30,000 troops last year seems to have provided a marked improvement in the security situation. Only time will tell, however, whether a conflict that has claimed the lives of over 4,000 US soldiers and tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis (depending on who's estimates you believe) will find a lasting peace any time soon.

The Horror of Paulo Coelho

2008-11-21T13:18:00.002+11:00

Can someone please explain to me why people still buy Coelho's books in droves when he comes up with this sort of drivel:

On the act of sex on a public footpath:

"the moment when Eve was reabsorbed into Adam's body and the two halves became Creation".

"At last, she could no longer control the world around her," Coelho continues, "her five senses seemed to break free and she wasn't strong enough to hold on to them. As if struck by a sacred bolt of lightning, she unleashed them, and the world, the seagulls, the taste of salt, the hard earth, the smell of the sea, the clouds, all disappeared, and in their place appeared a vast gold light, which grew and grew until it touched the most distant star in the galaxy."

I mean could the man be any more in love with himself and make any less sense? Do people who read this actually feel somehow inspired or uplifted? The only thing I feel uplifting is the food in my stomach rising through my oseophagus as if struck by a 'sacred bolt of' crap.

2008-11-08T23:54:00.002+11:00

Top 5 Songs of the Week:
1. Om Shanti Om - Ajab Si
2. Dus - Dus Bahaane
3. Ken Hirai - Aika
4. Бумбокс - Бета-Каротин
5. 周杰倫 - In THe Name of the Father

2008-11-03T02:48:00.002+11:00

Top 5 Songs of the Week:
1. Rufus Wainwright - Instant Pleasure
2. Salaam Namaste - Salaam Namaste
3. Fanaa - Chand Sifarsh
4. The Smiths - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
5. The Darjeeling Limited - Les Champs Elysees

2008-10-30T18:20:00.003+11:00

There is more Barack-fashion related talk on the blogosphere today as Obama's jeans come under scrutiny. Earlier spotted wearing what are known as "mom jeans" in the good ol' US of A, Barack has apparently upgraded to a trendier set of darker jeans after reporting "I got a hard time from all sorts of blogs who said I looked like Urkel." Urkel indeed. This blog prefers him in the not-so-trendy helmet/old bike/old jeans/old sneaks look... I guess it makes him look more personable and corny-dad-like.

Meanwhile there has been a ridiculous amount of merchandise released with the focus being the candidates, their VPs and pretty much anyone related to the campaign. Anyone. This website is keeping track of their sales and released products as a sort of pseudo-consumerist poll gauging consumer interest in the candidates. Needless to say Obama is streets ahead as consumers are gripped by Obamamania. Obama products account for almost 50% of weekly sales, McCain is sitting at just under 20% by comparison.

2008-10-27T00:38:00.003+11:00

Top 5 Songs of the Week:
1. Singh is Kinng - Bas Ek Kinng
2. Bachna Ae Haseeno - Bachna Ae Haseeno
3. Charlie Feathers - That Certain Female
4. Rufus Wainwright - A Bit of You
5. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Jiya Dhadak Dhadak

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis - The Blame Game

2008-10-20T21:51:00.004+11:00

It has come to my attention that this talking point has, of late, started to descend (or ascend?) into blame game shifting tactics.

Having read some stuff, here are my thoughts.

The Subprime mortgage crisis cannot be blamed on poor or minority homewoners. It cannot be blamed on Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. Poor or minority homeowners actually have far better default rates than rich white people. It cannot be entirely blamed on Fannie and Freddie. The CRA act, Fannie & Freddie, none of these things were directly responsible for things like "No Money Down Mortgages" or banks not verifying income or payment history of mortgage applicants. That is ridiculous. Read this and this.

Some theorists think that the bailout was always implicit, that Fannie & Freddie were always working under an implicit Government guarantee and that this is part of the problem. Maybe. But Fannie & Freddie certainly cannot be blamed for the whole fiasco.

Wondering where the blame should lie? Apart from all our collective stupid heads and the heads in the financial institutions how about this?

"Three officials, more than any others, have been responsible for preventing effective regulatory action over a period of years: Alan Greenspan, the oracular former Fed chairman; Phil Gramm, the heartless former chairman of the Senate banking committee; and Christopher Cox, the unapologetic chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blame Greenspan for making the case that the exploding trade in derivatives was a benign way of hedging against risk. Blame Gramm for making sure derivatives weren't covered by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, a bill he shepherded through Congress in 2000. Blame Cox for championing Bush's policy of "voluntary" regulation of investment banks at the SEC." [Slade]

Slade in fact does bring up an interesting point. Libertarians and economic rationalists are the ones that are running around playing the blame game with anything and anyone apart from the obvious. Deregulation and lack of oversight. No matter how much we pretend that markets are perfect without government intervention and that Adam Smith's invisible hand is strong enough to carry us all... it just ain't true people.

"The worst thing you can say about libertarians is that they are intellectually immature, frozen in the worldview many of them absorbed from reading Ayn Rand novels in high school. Like other ideologues, libertarians react to the world's failing to conform to their model by asking where the world went wrong. Their heroic view of capitalism makes it difficult for them to accept that markets can be irrational, misunderstand risk, and misallocate resources or that financial systems without vigorous government oversight and the capacity for pragmatic intervention constitute a recipe for disaster. They are bankrupt, and this time, there will be no bailout."[Slade]

2008-10-20T15:32:00.002+11:00

OK I have a lot of crap to get off my chest today.

Firstly, the disgraceful slandering of Dubai for the prosecution and possible imprisonment of Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors on Jumeirah Beach. For those that have heard already, these two were sort of having sex on the beach... ahh what fun. Then they sort of realised that the UAE had strict laws about that sort of thing and sort of found themselves arrested and charged. The whole world has kicked up a fuss, including several major newspapers and the blogosphere, about how: "oh its so unfair... oh oh *hand wringing* this is a clash of cultures... Dubai shouldn't tempt people to its shores with fun and then put them in jail for having it... oh oh" which is just bloody stupid as this Editorial from The National points out:
"They broke the law: it’s as simple as that. The behaviour of Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors on Jumeirah beach in Dubai would also have been against the law in London, Paris and New York. Not only that, it would have been against the law in the fleshpots of Las Vegas, Amsterdam and Bangkok. That is why they were arrested, that is why they were prosecuted, that is why they were found guilty and that is why, if their appeal fails, they will go to prison."

Bloody right, first rule of international travel states, know the law of the country you're in, respect it, and don't break it. We all know that British expats are not going to leave Dubai because they want a piece of that money pie as much as anyone else does but, for every British idiot who leaves... there will be more than enough expats from all over the world ready to pounce on his job (me included).

Read here another absolutely brilliant piece from Tony Karon, in the National, on the geopolitical after-effects of the global financial crisis. He rightly points out that most people blame poor stewardship on the part of the US for the crisis, that right now the US is nto taking any innovative steps in leading the world out of it and that this will strongly change the global financial, and geopolitical, landscape. Karon explores the aftermath of the bailout and its likely effects on several other pressing issues.

In US Elections related news... I very much am hoping that I can soon say that it's all over red rover for Mr. McCain. Not only has Obama just shredded all sorts of records with his $150m September donation figures (remember he rejected public funding!) and gathered a rally of over 100,000 people in Missouri but he has just landed the endorsement of Colin Powell! Colin Powell is not only a Republican and one of the earliest proponents of the war on Iraq, but he also happens to be one of the most popular politicians in the US (not to mention an accomplished rapper)... surely this is End Game.

Fashion/Design-wise, I came across this awesome looking stool. Yes it's actually a soft scuplted Hercules' head that this chap is sitting on. I want one! You want one too? Buy it here.

Also get a sneak peak at the new Converse Spring collection. I'm not a huge fan of what I've seen so far but new Converse is always an exciting thing. I find the platinum chucks on the left rather interesting but I don't think they're anything that I would wear.

And finally, Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has overtaken Brian Lara as the highest run-scorer in the history of test cricket. 12,000+ runs and counting. I, like many Aussies, am not impressed by the thorough shelacking that has been dished out to our team in the second test so far, and am growing rather worrisome about this series... but hats have to go off to the little master. It has been an amazing innings, still not out and still yet to see when and how he will hang up the pads - no doubt it will be a grand event.

2008-10-18T17:19:00.004+11:00

Some more cool stuff from the internets today. If anyone else is into stencil art, here is an absolutely amazing set from C215, a Pais-based stencil artist, set in Karol Bagh, India. He may be the first stencil artist to have stencilled the streets of India... but either way his work is absolutely awesome.

According to Anchorage Daily News,

"A legislative investigation has concluded that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in pushing for the firing of an Alaska state trooper who was once married to her sister, or by failing to prevent her husband Todd from doing so."

For those that are not so clued in on this story called Troopergate
"Branchflower was investigating Palin's involvement in an effort to get state trooper Mike Wooten fired. Wooten was involved in a nasty divorce from Palin's sister. Palin and her husband, Todd, have accused Wooten of threatening Palin's father."

A recent symposium called al-Qaeda 3.0 has established some worrying facts about the situation with al-Qaeda these days. The general consensus around the Washington establishment is that the Surge and the recent "successes" in the war on Iraq have weakened al-Qaeda but it seems that this is hardly the case.

Check this from the Wonk Room's Matt Duss:
"Because of the redirection of focus and resources to Iraq, Al Qaeda’s top leadership was allowed to escape to Pakistan, from where they continue to support insurgency in Afghanistan, and continue to plan attacks on the West. Also reiterated at today’s event was the extent to which the invasion and occupation of an Arab Muslim country has served to confirm bin Laden’s propaganda, which appeals to a sense of grievance among many young Muslims.

Another consequence of the Iraq war — one which has yet to be widely reported but which I think is going to become extremely important in the next few years as its effects become more apparent– is the phenomenon of fighters leaving Iraq, bringing their ideology and experience and establishing new fronts in other countries."

Considering that the Washington Establishment is so misguided about the impact of this War, or, at the very least, is so eloquently and elaborately continuing to try to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people (and the People of the World), what will it take to end this? Many of the people that started this war and continue to be proponents of it now serve as advisors on the McCain campaign. When will people wake up?

2008-10-14T18:26:00.002+11:00

Top 5 Songs of the Week:
1. Josh - Josh Naal (DJ Jitten Mix)
2. The Rosewood Thieves - Heavy Eyes
3. Rang de Basanti - Rang de Basanti
4. Jon Foreman - The Cure For Pain
5. White Rabbits - The Plot

2008-10-03T02:04:00.002+10:00

I love the Guardian. They somehow manage to make sarcasm cool again and not 'the lowest form of wit' as it has often been accused of being... I call bullshit on that one. Sarcasm is awesome. Here is an excellent blog entry written by Steven Wells that calls Sarah Palin out on the pop tragedy, tabloid fodder, shock politics that she bloody well is. Respect.

"The pop tragedy that has been Sarah Palin's gloriously entertaining fortnight in the limelight will no doubt be compared by lesser scribes to the crash'n'burn trajectories of Buddy Holly or Mama Cass. They do the story a disservice. It took Jesus Christ 33 years to be born in a blaze of media hype, have an entire nation hanging on his every word, and then be crucified in front of a jeering mob. It took Sarah Palin just two incredible weeks, making her not only more rock'n'roll than Jesus, but more rock'n'roll than rock'n'roll itself."

In fashion-related news we have a very rough critical appraisal of the Givenchy show at Paris Fashion Week, from Cathy Horin at NYT. Which is good, I never liked those bastards anyway. The fact that they are selling discount wallets for 50 Bahraini Dinars (ard $150) at shady looking outlets in forlorn corners of Seef Mall, hawked by Egyptian sales assistants that don't speak English, is proof in the pudding really... how far you have fallen, I predict Givenchy will be the next Pierre Cardin.

"I don’t think the explanation for last night’s rambling Givenchy show is that Riccardo Tisci just has too many ideas and doesn’t know how to “focus.” I’m beginning to wonder if he has any ideas at least that are original...
There was not much design value in the clothes, and some things showed surprisingly little finesse..."

I agree with the lack of finesse comment. I mean if you look at each of the pictures I've posted here, you can see what he's trying to do but I can see these clothes stretched onto 15 year old Marias at whatever shitholes they are passing off for clubs now at Crown Entertainment Centre. Granted, Givenchy will probably still appeal to the nouveau riche crowd, particularly loaded Russians that need to flaunt their recently liposuctioned legs and whatnot. And none of this is a good thing.

Robin Derrick is a creative director at British Vogue and is also a photographer. His latest work, dealing with cut flower arrangements is pretty cool. Although minimalist in a way, his combination of colourful, chaotic-yet-systematic flowers arranged over a black canvas, I personally find quite visually powerful.

According to Wallpaper* online:
"The post-production phase on each image took around 100 hours, and it shows. Up to 15 original transparencies were shot and then combined, in part, to elicit the sharpest elements for the final print."

and it shows.

2008-10-01T02:40:00.003+10:00

first from Milan Fashion Week...

notice the beautiful evening gown on the left with a slightly exaggerated bodice, I'm also rather a fan of the burgundy/reddish mini-dress with the shell embroidery, all from Mr. John Galliano.

According to the New York Times,

"The message was sexiness, luscious color mixed with neutrals, and lots and lots of leg. (Mr. Galliano had just two pants outfits, and they were black leggings.)"

I'm also a fan of the Balmain stuff, check out this pic. I've always been a fan of acid-wash jeans and that french military (i dunno if its really french but its def military) jacket is really very cool.

In the aftermath of the US Presidential Debate last week we have seen a lot of analysis in the papers and news media, mostly calling a stale-mate. But did people notice the ties? Oh my God, the ties. Obviously male US Presidential candidates (as they so far have always been) have no other way to really differentiate their outfits... though I am waiting for the day when someone rocks up in something cool like a tweed suit... so far they havent even broken into pinstripes yet.

Things have been interesting on the tie front though. Check out the pic: Obama has gone for a dark purplish/red tie, red being the traditional Republican colour and blue being Democrat, he seems to have gone somewhere in between... McCain has gone for a colourful stripy tie... woah.... I know he's a maverick but that thing is blinding!

Further on the politics front, the BBC has done a poll on how the War on Terror is going according to people in various important countries and it seems to be a resounding 'not great'.

"Some 29% of people said the “war on terror” launched by President George W Bush in 2001 had had no effect on the Islamist militant network.

According to 30% of those surveyed, US policies have strengthened al-Qaeda."

Furthermore:

"In Pakistan, where much of the battle against al-Qaeda is being fought, just 19% said they had a negative view of Osama Bin Laden’s organisation."

Ummm.... that's bad.

2008-09-30T02:45:00.005+10:00

I personally find the conversion of over-sized men's shirts to skirts for the ladies through some creative tailoring a pretty interesting concept. That's right girls, it's time to raid ya boy's old wardrobe and steal all those shirts that appear to have a decent colour and fabric... we don't mind... just one less for us to iron anyways. Thanks to Refinery29 Pipeline for this. First pic taken in Stockholm, second in Brooklyn.

And thanks to Pipeline again for digging out this little nugget:

"Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's style is exceptionally ordinary. Nothing about it connotes authority. No detail announces that she is in charge. And that's what makes it so powerful." — Pulitzer-Prize Winning Washington Post Fashion Editor Robin Givhan.

What exactly is Rob saying? Is this... a good thing? Is it... bad? Certainly it's probably better than the proletarian criticism of Laura Bushes $300,000 outfits... but surely having an exceptionally ordinary style is nothing to crow about... surely. Ahhh... I miss Keating and his Zegna suits

2008-09-29T03:29:00.005+10:00

I've been blogging a great deal about fashion and the US election so it's time to switch it up somewhat and blog about both... combined... in the same paragraph. I have seen the "Fuck Palin" t-shirt but this is something a little more subtle and not-so-partisan... I (well actually, the trouser makers Bonobos) present to you... the Obamas and the McCains!

Firstly the McCains:

"We respect mavericks, in all shapes and forms. We hope that you continue to be willing to swim against the current and lead with your best instinct rather than with the special interests that are destroying our nation.

The McCains are our first pair with a liner that doesn't show through the back: as conservative as we get. Navy outside, with a supersoaker liner. No contrast color cross-stitching on the belt loop, either. You asked for the clean cut, you got it. Check out the Obamas for more signature Bonobos flair."

And the Obamas:

"Barack - it's more of a love affair we have with you amigo. You are young, strong and thoughtful. You give us hope for a better America, one where our President is a global citizen.

The Obamas target our charismatic customers - the magnificent tile-style floral mosaic liner screams open-minded, well-traveled, gregarious. In contrast, the McCains offer this highly desired navy trouser with a quietly confident subtle finish."

Despite the fact that it's clear which President I vote for, I think I prefer the McCain trousers... does this mean I'm conservative?

In other news, it seems that Saudi Arabia is having a fashion show... a men's fashion show... it's first... and of course it's in that liberal bastion of the Red Sea, Jeddah. Oh how I'd love to go to Jeddah. Maybe one day, after I either convert to Islam or work for a big oil company, neither of which is very likely at this point but hey, you never know...

Anyone who's every been to Taiwan knows about betel nut girls. They're the chicks in skimpy clothing, specifically mini-skirts, and tops that look like they involved the deaths of many pink records or crylics (whatever they are) to make, that hawk the apparently addictive and possibly mildly hallucinogenic stimulant betel nut. Apparently there is a new art installation in NY by artist Annamarie Ho, which will recreate a betelnut booth with a hired actress. Her goal is to explore the class and gender dynamics of the betelnut girl phenomenon... no really. Here's the link to their site.

2008-09-26T12:47:00.002+10:00

The US presidential campaign appears to be heating up, McCain who has previously stumbled on the economy and conceded a lead in the polls to Obama over the issue (this might have something to do with the fact that he claimed that the US has a fundamentally strong economy a few days before the collapse) is back in the picture. His recent announcement that he is halting his campaign (including his debate appearance) in order to focus on solving the crisis may have been a master-stroke. As it stands, McCain is not backing down, not attending the debate, and the question on everyone's lips is will Obama be debating with himself in Mississippi?

[update]: There are still questions as to whether John McCain will participate in the first presidential debate, but Barack Obama's top advisers are heading to the event site. Jeff Zeleney, The Caucus, NYT.

Palin, on the other hand, continues to make me laugh. According to The New York Times' Sarah Wheaton, Palin has actually thrown more fuel on the hysterical fire brewing over her "I can see Russia from my house" remarks. She apparently complained to Katie Couric of CBS that she has been mocked for these comments and has proceeded to clarify them:
"It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state."

I mean... seriously?

Speaking of stupid Republicans, our all time fave went on national TV last night and decided to blame the financial crisis on foreign investors... I mean... is the American public that stupid? Well ok don't answer that...

And here's an excellent article from Think Progress' M. Duss, reminding us that the $700b suggested to bailout the US economy is in fact similar to the amount the US has spent in Iraq so far... it also quotes some interesting comments from Bin Laden way back in 2004 about the strategy of "bleeding the USA until bankruptcy". And I quote from Mr. BL

"And even more dangerous and bitter for America is that the Mujahedin recently forced Bush to resort to emergency funds to continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq which is evidence of the success of the bleed-until-bankruptcy plan with Allah’s permission… And it all shows that the real loser is… you. It’s the American people and their economy."

2008-09-25T17:20:00.002+10:00

A very interesting Danish designer I have just discovered (thanks to Refinery 29), called Eksempel, probably a Danish word and yes I have no idea what it means... they have a very interesting new website (linked above under their name) which is simple yet includes very nice runway pics of their outfits (for the ladies only unfortunately) and goes the bold step of also including the original designer sketches of them.

Thanks to coolhunting, Ive also discovered a new project by fashion designer Solomon Chase and visual artist David Toro - their new avant-jewelry project Face. Check out the pics of their bindi line. I think it looks bloody ridiculous but you just never know what these design/fashion people will think of next. I mean would you wear weird long white hairs stuck to a blue dot in the middle of your forehead. I think not.

2008-09-25T00:08:00.003+10:00

So it appears that one trend that has emerged out of London and New York Fashion Weeks is the blatant exposure of nipples. Upon some thorough analysis of several major designers thanks to Sharon Clott at New York Magazine's The Cut. Some personal favourites in this slide-show are sheer sweater and high-waist grey slacks combo (pic 6), Danielle Scutt's delightful Betty Boop tunic, paired with great glasses and head-piece (not a fan of the jeans paired with it though - pic 9), Ossie Clark's winning navy combination of sheer button-down and baggy structured short (pic 12) and Todd Lynn's svelte tailored jacket and pants with the sheer top... could go ok with a regular blouse perhaps (pic 23)?. Check out the final Vivienne Westwood piece, excellent gold shorts but errr... where's the rest of the outfit? (pic 25).

Abercrombie & Fitch is opening in Milan which is really a travesty. What next? The Gap? Starbucks? I'm crossing my fingers hoping this store shuts within 6 months but something tells me the massive capital behind it will cause it to endure... I just dont want to see Italy's style be reduced to A&F packing frat boys pissing on fences and high 5ing each other. Ugh.

2008-09-24T16:06:00.004+10:00

Excellent blog post from Washington Post's Chris Cillizza on whether Sarah Palin may have the 'teflon'-like quality of past presidents Reagan and Clinton, to whom negative stories rarely stuck.

"We wondered whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin might have the same quality. As most recent polls show, despite a wealth of stories critical of Palin and questioning John McCain's selection of her as a running mate, she remains generally popular across the country. Does this mean Palin has the Teflon quality? And if so, can she maintain it all the way through Election Day?"

I personally don't think you can compare the gun-toting, fish-loving (my dad loves to fish, aint nothin wrong with that) Alaskan Governess to Bill Clinton, she has all the charisma of a Barbie doll, as is underscored by her foreign policy credentials "I can see Russia from my house!"

Speaking of the Governess, apparently the Palins are in New York at the moment, as are the Sarkozys, The New York Observer's Irina Aleksander wonders whether they would meet... and how that meeting might go down...

"We’re picturing it like a scene from Wife Swap where the two sets of spouses are seated across from each other, having a civil discussion until someone inevitably loses their temper and storms off. And while Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy might be tall, beautiful, a singer, and, ahem, a former supermodel, Ms. Palin was a runner-up in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, eats moose burgers and, she can shoot guns!

Something tells us the husbands might take the back seat in our fantasy. "

Mr. Obama meanwhile is busy trying to fix this ridiculous bail-out "plan" that the Bush Administration has hastily cobbled together with... oh... $700 billion of taxpayers money. Here's my favourite part:

"It is wholly unreasonable to expect that American taxpayers would or should hand this Administration or any Administration a $700 billion blank check with absolutely no oversight or conditions when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess...The plan must include protections to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to further reward the bad behavior of irresponsible CEOs on Wall Street. There has been talk that some CEOs may refuse to cooperate with this plan if they have to forgo multi-million-dollar salaries. I cannot imagine a position more selfish and greedy at a time of national crisis. And I would like to speak directly to those CEOs right now: Do not make that mistake...This plan cannot be a welfare program for Wall Street executives."

While all the talk at the moment is that "the US is more communist than China" after nationalising a bunch of companies and bailing out a bunch of others with the above-mentioned tax plan, I think what's a bigger problem is the Bush Administration is going to throw taxpayer's money at an issue (more tax cuts! more defense spending! more war! less medical! less education!) and not even bother to delve deeper into the lack of regulation and oversight that created this mess in the first place. I think it's ironic that the sub-prime mortgage crisis started with a bunch of unscrupulous financial organisations giving loans to people who were never going to be able to pay them banking the entire time on the fact that the property bubble will never burst... and this is being "solved" by an unscrupulous Governing Administration giving a bunch of shady financial institutions a blank cheque (so that the CEOs can keep their multi-million dollar salaries) assuming that the share market bubble wont burst as long as we throw money at it. Ah do we ever learn from our mistakes?

2008-09-22T18:24:00.002+10:00

New York Times:

"Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last big independent investment banks on Wall Street, will transform themselves into bank holding companies subject to far greater regulation, the Federal Reserve said Sunday night, a move that fundamentally reshapes an era of high finance that defined the modern Gilded Age."

So this means no more US investment banks. The big 5 has turned into the big nothing! This is huge news. This means they will be conventional banks now with investing arms, but it also means greater regulation and disclosure, less risk and less of the high-flying lifestyle for Investment Bankers (boo?). Will this translate over to their branches overseas such as Australia? Will Macquarie and other home-grown investment banks follow suit? At least this will definitely save the market!

Gulf Daily News:

"PLANNERS are already mapping out possible rail routes from Bahrain and other GCC states to Europe, via Turkey, thanks to a proposal by His Majesty King Hamad.

A proposed GCC rail link to Turkey could become a reality "in the next five to six years", Turkish Ambassador Osman Haldun said yesterday.

It would ultimately lead to the Gulf region being connected to Europe by rail, he told the GDN."

This is pretty amazing news. I'm not sure if this will materialise but a rail link from the GCC to Europe would be such an amazing opportunity for financial investment, cross-cultural learning and sharing between the two regions and an important cultural bridge between Arabs, "Islam" and "The West". Immediate questions that spring to mind are... will anyone use it? Gulf Arabs generally prefer to travel in comfort, not on 20 hour train rides, and will Gulf women use it? Will this result in a further influx of European backpackers into the region? Will this even materialise, as many of the plans announced by GCC Governments never did... Wow... so cool to imagine though.

2008-09-22T17:15:00.002+10:00

Some excellent opinion pieces from The Age today:

Irfan Yusuf criticises the current Western attitude towards Islamic terrorism, in response to the recent Marriott Hotel bombing

"Pakistan's Aaj TV news network showed one flustered Pakistani politician facing fierce questioning about how such a heavily secured location in the heart of the capital could have been the subject of attack. "You are journalists. You seem to know it all. Why don't you tell me how we can stop these attacks?" he said.

Indeed, it is easy to pretend to know all the answers. In the West, too many self-styled terrorism "experts" want us to forget that this latest attack is yet another reminder that most victims of Islamist terror are themselves ordinary Muslims."

For Melburnians, Nicholas Low laments the mess that is Swanston St, its importance to our city and his recommendations for what should be done - some of them are pretty cool!

"IT'S TIME for Swanston Street to be properly planned to make it safe for people on bikes, and create more space for people on foot. This fine street is the central axis that in many ways defines Melbourne as a city. It has heritage buildings, it connects St Paul's Cathedral, the Town Hall, the State Library and two universities.

It houses two main transport hubs, it is a main retail and entertainment street, it leads to the arts precinct, Federation Square and the river, and it looks on to the Shrine of Remembrance. Yet, at present the street is a disgraceful mess. Last week it also proved to be a danger to life."

And Bruce Grant asserts Australia's supremacy over the US on matters of global politics and diplomacy. (Thank you Mr. Rudd)

"IT'S a strange feeling, while watching the elections in the United States, to realise that the US is trailing Australia in important respects. America has been for so long the fountain of all that is "new" that to think of it being behind the times, especially as set on this side of the Pacific, requires a wrench of the imagination.

But Australia is out of Iraq and has signed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, on both of which the US is still undecided. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The next president confronts a lengthy list of things to do to catch up with the contemporary world."

Review - Rose Garden

2008-09-21T04:34:00.003+10:00

The area along Elizabeth St, between La Trobe and Victoria Sts is a fairly seedy place. With such fine establishments as "Fluid Oz Bar" with its glowing blue, yellow and red neon sign "open 3am or later", and a branch of the hippy pothead institution Off Ya Tree which stocks bongs, Bob Marley posters and all things relevant to the magic 'erb shot of the 'erb itself. The area is usually frequented by random backpackers and the sleazy drunken bogans that I normally consider Australia's lowest common denominator (lots of 'em in Queensland and Adelaide). Here's a snippet of conversation I overheard from a guy talking on his phone:

"So what are you, ya dad and ya brother doin? Goin to the strippers?"

Charming...

The area does also have a growing population of international students which has spawned a number of cheap Asian eateries, many of which often hold a great deal of promise.

Rose Garden
435 Elizabeth St., Melbourne

One of these palces is Rose Garden, a Hong Kong style take-away/cheap eating house in the same vein as Dessert House, offering pan Asian offerings including Malaysian fried kway teow and Thai Red Curry, along with the ubiquitously white Beef with Black Bean Sauce (overheard some white guy getting it takeaway there in fact). Since returning to Melbourne I have heard a lot of good things about this joint so I decided to give it a try.

Immediately upon entering, several things stuck me, first and foremost how bloody packed the place was! Despite it being the fairly early time of 5.50pm, I still had to wait for 10 minutes to get a table for 1.

Other striking things about the place were the colourful menu promotions on the wall, the bright pink Hello Kitty aprons on the waitresses and the din. The place was not only packed but its acoustics amplified the conversations five-fold. Upon sitting down, the din, the waitress' general level of speed, stress and briskness and the dinstinct sound of young people yelling (talking?) at each other in Cantonese all served to remind me of Hong Kong and its distinct food cafe/dining hall culture.

I was immediately impressed by the free tea which was loose-leaf and in a proper teapot with Chinese teacups - not that watered down urine served in plastic cups at Dessert House, Shanghai Dumpling and their ilk. Since it was a Hong Kong place and I could see no roast meat in the window (empty hooks only) I decided to order a tried and tested Dessert House favourite - deep fried spicy chicken on rice. Besides, I saw several other people eating it while I was waiting.

Soon after I placed my order I was joined on my four-seater table by a white dad and his half-Asian son, they seemed to be either going to or coming from the footy. A table behind them freed up, they attempted a move and were promptly rejected... and exiled back to my table with sheepish expressions. the son asked for char siu (chinese-style BBQ pork) and was denied, they'd run out apparently (hence the empty hooks). They ordered some other stuff which I didn't catch...

My meal arrived and I proceeded to be thoroughly disappointed. It was garnished with useless broccoli, the rice was over-soyed, the chicken batter was bland and tasted vaguely like 3 week old onion rings, the chicken was stringy and even the chilli mix was not as refreshing and energetic as Dessert House. Yes, for this was the benchmark, ladies & gents, and Rose Garden failed. Upon enquiring about the quality of my meal, my table partners were told that it was not that good... They then informed me that apparently roast duck and pork is what people come here for - makes sense in a Hong Kong restaurant - but they were sold out unfortunately. I will give the place another try and return for its roast but for now it gets a definite fail from me. 10/20

(On my way out some roast ducks magically appeared in the window. Damn.)