Against any backdrop

there will always be

the music

\m/

Gawd I wish I were still in London sometimes.

Not just because of missing my friends

Not just because of missing drunken bike and beer crawls

Not just because there are two Underworld shows at Brixton academy this month

But because there is stuff like this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7675484.stm

ALL

THE

FUCKING

TIME

Wow, what an amazing place. It's like all the books you ever read at once.

Book meme
* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"The Seljuks gave way to the Timurids, the royal house of Timur the Lame, known to Europe as Tamerlane, renowned for his sumptuous court at Samarkand."

"The Dust of Empire", Karl E. Meyer

I have a bad stomach and I have to go talk to about 500 people on a subject that I do not know very well.

A bunch of bombs went off in crowded markets in Delhi today. There were two more that were defused. Besides obviously feeling sad for the people who died, I am not sure what I feel about it. It's still a bit remote and mostly I feel a mixture of resignation and anger. But for the people killed and caught up in it, its monstrous that being in the wrong place at the wrong time, going shopping, can cut a life short and deliver tragedy.

I went and looked at a car today. I actually test drove it. My first driving in India and there were no injuries reported. Its a fairly big, boxy utilitarian jeep thing called a Mahindra Bolero. Nice growly diesel and vaguely military land rover feel, but with aircon and an ok stereo. Above all it has a nice high driving position and it is fuck off huge and size is everything here.* Its a seven seater: two up front, three across the middle, and then in the back "cargo area" are two little sideways facing jumpseats. Looking at them I commented that there were no seat belts. The salesman said those were for the kids(!)*

Later we started talking optional accessories (or fitments as they are called). One of them that really charmed me was an "Incense stand and temple". I love that, srsly., I may get two. I am getting a cow catcher up front too. Unlike my Norte Americano counterparts I expect to actually catch some cows with mine. Or goats, camels, sheep and elephants.



*To my tree hugging friends, yes I am appalled at myself too But I thought of riding my bike and then chose life..

**As an aside, I often see Dad taking his three kids to school on a scooter, one in front, two behind. Four heads and inevitably only one helmet: yup, Dad's.