Beyond Samarkand

There was a time, back in the early 80's that I thought that while disagreeing with the Republican party, I could respect them. Back before I really understood what Reagan was doing and such. And even if I didn't like the Iran-Contra business, and didn't vote for them, I could at least respect them. G arrison Keilor's latest , sums up the transformation that has happened that makes that not possible anymore: "The Republican Party used to specialize in gimlet-eyed, steel-rim, crepe-soled common sense and then it was taken over by crooked preachers who demand we trust them because they're packing a Bible and God sent them on a mission to enact lower taxes, less government. Except when things crash, and then government has to pick up the pieces."

Acidic Posing Originally uploaded by Kevin.Haroun I'm home getting things in order before I go. One more day and I'm on my way! To see Ash, visit Colorado and get married. I have the day off from work, they told us about this a couple weeks ago. Long after we had all bought tickets. If they had told us sooner, I could have taken another two days back home. Ah well, that's life here. As it is, I get two extra days off that I didn't expect. So, I'm grateful and will leave it at that. Last weekend I managed to break my home computer while dusting it out. Not really sure how or why, but it became a chance to put it in a new, much lighter, case and get an upgrade to the power supply. Bringing home, I had various problems, only too discover the problems resulted from the graphics card not being plugged in. A long story short, I ended up reverting back to Windows XP. I reskinned it, and that simple feature makes me like it as much as Vista. Go figure. So, today I

One of the fun parts of the wedding planning is what music to have. The convocation, the processional the recessional and first dance. My fiance suggested this as the first dance and it is the hands down winner. No waltzing! Barso Re from the Bollywood film "Guru":

The other artist who's music is influential on my mental map of the world is Sinead O'Connor. I've never seen her live, and likely never will, though I'm hoping with living in Europe if I keep my ear to the ground I can catch her on a local show in Dublin. One can hope. Her final album has some really powerful music. The best by far, for me, was this - Hold Back the Night:

The music "fasting" lasted four days - four days of no music but what I heard incidentally during the day. Which amounted to going to and from work and a very bad case of Steely Dan. My more day to day music, indeed my "wake up" music is Peter Gabriel. He would have been my first choice for music that has had the most impact, but because I listen to him so often some of that impact is dulled. His stuff is a background level stuff. Here's the finale from his Secret World Tour back in the 90's. As a single musical event, that concert probably was the most powerfully present music I have ever witnessed. The song is, of course, "In Your Eyes", THE love song for the 80's scene.

I've been "fasting" on music as well, or off music. That's got me thinking of what music has most effected my life. What music has the most impact on my psyche. After some thought, the most influential music for me is Meat Loaf, something that's been a background thread for almost my entire life. His albums coming out around times that my own life was in some kind of turmoil, and if not providing direction, providing outlet for the emotions I was feeling. Here's a cut from his last album: Lyrics

Ramadan Ride Originally uploaded by Kevin.Haroun I got out for a morning ride yesterday, all the more surprising as I didn't get to bed until about three am. Since it's Ramadan, I'm not able to have my usual scrambled eggs & hash browns (doused in green Tobasco sauce). It was nice to get out. I took turns and roads I hadn't taken before, heading first south toward Shafa, then ending up completely turned around and getting back on the highway near Hada. I had to pass through a police check point, the one there in Hada is inclined to stop me. The reason? I'm on a motorcycle and they don't know what to think of that. This time I followed close behind a water truck. The truck blocked their view since they weren't actually manning the checkpoint properly - it's Ramadan and no one does their job properly in acknowledgment of fasting. I was through the check point and I heard them honk their horn to get my attention, but as they were behind me and

Until the end of Ramadan. Today has been a long day of fasting as I actually woke up at a decent hour. Well, as long as a work day at any rate, but no afternoon nap. Forty minutes to go and I can eat. Whoo! I went and reread one the entries in my old blog, before it was ever a blog. I reviewed my arrival in Bishkek. Sitting on the plane listening to the woman who'd been kicked out of Kazakhstan for being a missionary. Odd how the world turns. My opinion now versus then is pretty much the same - they had it coming. On the up side, I think she and her husband knew that as well. They seemed reasonably prepared to be kicked out and made a new plan that involved going to another Central Asian country for whatever unmemorable work her husband did while they lived life as "Believers". Any wonder we have the problems we do? Anyway, wasn't my intention to write about the annoyance of fundoos, whether they be Christian, Muslim or Hindu. I'm just trying exercise my fingers a

more animals

more animals

And they're off! Originally uploaded by Kevin.Haroun Finally, racing camels! We got out there on a Monday afternoon and were able to take some really great shots. As well as just enjoy the festive atmosphere. Lots of Saudis and Sudanese men there, almost no women, well none except for the carload invited by Al Jauhara. After the race, there was an award ceremony. Amusingly, the people receiving awards were all Saudis in their white thobes. Not one of the jockeys was given an award!