sigh..

I have been phenomenally delinquent in updating this thing, haven’t I. Well, loyal reader (there’s maybe one of you), fear not.. I’m updating! My life itself has been fairly routine now that most of the hassles/trials of moving into a new place are over with. I like my place a lot, and my sparse approach to furnishing it has worked out well

The title of the post relates however to something else. Namely, I’ve been reading reviews of Bob Woodward’s new book, “State of Denial”. Suffice to say, what it reveals is above all, profoundly depressing. I might have to read the whole book when it actually comes out, but by god some of its purported insights (fart jokes?) would all be very funny if it weren’t so sad. Maybe this book and it’s revelations, and attendant publicity, will finally shake people out of their complacency and recognize what a disaster recent foreign policy adventures have been for the United States. Maybe. I shan’t write anymore on the subject, lest I bore you.

Life settles into a routine, it seems, regardless of one’s efforts, and regardless of one’s place or location. Even while traveling a routine (albeit less situated in places) seems to emerge pretty quickly. That being said, there have been interesting things happening here (restaurants, music festivals, tourist traps); and the routine’s pretty engaging in and of itself. As for interesting things at the end of this weekend, I’m looking forward to listening to Rach 3 live later today, and perhaps finally dropping by the bookstore and get going on that hypothetical ‘reading list’ of mine. Till next time,

 

the comfortable life?

There has been pressure applied from certain quarters (ahem) to produce a second post that measures up to the first one in this blog. I was (and am) pleasantly surprised that my previous post attracted the attention and kind comments of other members of the blog world, and for that I am grateful. I do not anticipate being able to offer much of particular interest in my posts from now on; they will often be boring and mundane, but I’ll try my best.

Starting out as I am in the real world (as opposed to the academic one) I cannot help but recognize and realize that I am, through circumstance and effort, afforded the ability to live a pretty comfortable life. I feel no sense of guilt per se over this, as I’m just starting out, and my parents and I have had to make my share of sacrifices ‘to the system’ to arrive at this point. And now more than ever, people the world over are on average able to live more comfortable, less unstable lives (I’m deliberately being fast and loose with a proper definition for this to get to the main point of this post). Generally speaking more people are now able to live comfortably and without worry of hunger and instability than in decades and centuries past. I’m referring here to the notion of Human Security and the remarkable Human Security Report which argues forcefully that in the past decade, there has been a striking and unprecedented decrease in the number of conflicts, wars and genocides and loss of life due to such forms of political instability and violence.