Cool!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/wham-bam-drawing-on-islam-20111230-1pffk.html 

"The scriptwriters, who have also written for Batman, Star Wars and Ben 10, are incredibly talented, Mutawa says."

I like all of those!

My folks are here guys!

Yay

RIP Christopher Hitchens

An oldie.

Here's a man who could write. Who else but Hitchens can work in "dispiriting tampon surrogate" so effortlessly?

And one more on the great P.G.Wodehouse.

"As it is, one so often bumps into lost souls who claim to have "tried" Wodehouse and not got the joke. These are the unfortunates who in early and impressionable youth were handed a duff anthology by a well-meaning but mirthless aunt (or, admittedly, uncle)."

There are still Wodehouse votaries in this generation (Thanks in some part to Stephen Fry and Hugh Lawry) though they seem to be dying lot. I, for one, must be grateful to Dad for introducing Wodehouse to me. How often do you read an entire book with a silly grin on your face.

The hardest part

Miranda, my housemate, just left for the US. Shira left a few weeks ago and Frankie about a week ago. I am now sitting in my bed with a copy of 'Speaker for the dead' and 'Ok computer' on Spotify in a lonely apartment. It's lonely for miles. Everyone is gone.

Good news is that Frankie will be back in early Jan along with all the other friends who have left for Christmas. Bad news is that Miranda and Shira will not be.

Over breakfast, I got myself quite depressed thinking about the middle of the year when all these people will be leaving for good. There will a vacuum created by their sudden departure. All together. All at once. Making friends is easy but making good friends is extremely difficult. Will I have the strength to make friends again knowing they'd also be leaving or will I resign to watching TV episodes and finishing the Ender's Game series? 

This lack of continuity has to be the toughest part of this job. Meaningful, lasting relationships are near impossible and all friendships seem transitory.

Luckily, my folks arrive tomorrow night! We have a packed itinerary full of treks and safaris which will keep me distracted till next year.

The GOP Horse race

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2011/10/horse_race_politics_an_animation_of_the_2012_republican_campaign.html

US politics from a distance

I love election season. And by elections, I mean US elections. What else? Even with Obama running for a second term, there is no shortage of drama. As an Australian, I have the luxury of taking it all in as I would a season of 'The Wire' - a pervert, a raging homophobe, an ignorant christian theocracy advocate, a defensive mormon and a messianic incumbent president. Oh... and now you have Newt! You can't make up this shit!

Most of the articles I come across show Republicans to be absurd and disconnected with the average person. Though looking at poll results, I am starting to question what the average American looks like. I guess I have only met the ones that either travel or live in major metropolitan cities and both of these demographics tend to be quite liberal.

To be honest, I am not fundamentally opposed to certain republican policies such as libertarianism, smaller government and less taxation but they lose me with their fanaticism on religion (prayer at school), gay and lesbian rights (or lack there of) and abortion. You remove these and I might actually be willing to listen to the republican nominee on foreign policy, economic reform and possibly even healthcare reform. Instead I am forced to disassociate myself from the right and am left little choice but to look to the left. All I see there are dashed hopes and disappointment. Every article like this must be a devastating blow to every liberal's dream of a gutsy government making decisions based on research and rationality. 

Objective number 1 for the Obama right now seems to be to alienate as few demographics as possible so he can win a second term. Maybe things will be better once he wins the next term.

Geez... I'm starting to sound like I actually care about this more than for an occasional laugh. I don't. It's hilarious... and as Michael J. Smith said in his blog:

Me, I'm hoping for the looniest Republican of the pack, whoever that might be -- somebody who will be for the American presidency what Elagabalus was for the Severans.

Africa you don't hear about

PR for Africa has been poor. The impression most people have is of one massive failed state (Yes state. This is another thing that really gets me riled up. I remember being at this fundraiser and the 1st prize was a holiday for two to Africa) riddled with war, disease and strife even though evidence for a few years now has been to the contrary. Economies of at least a dozen countries in Africa have expanded by more than 6% a year for six or more years. Ethiopia will grow by 7.5% this year, without a drop of oil to export (economist).

My first impression of Uganda with it's cinemas and bowling alleys was how far ahead it was economically to Ghana. I was not comparing apples to apples. It has been almost 3 years since I left Ghana. Ghana had an incredible GDP growth of 7.3% in 2008 and has seen steady growth around 4 to 5% since. A new mall with cinema was due to be opened the month after I left.

It's far from perfect. There are many issues still to be resolved from kleptocratic governments to poor incentives for new businesses but it's not the doom and gloom story of a decade ago. With comparative peace and advancements towards democracy, the future is brighter than ever.

Today, I came across a great article in the New Yorker which collates the "10 biggest positive africa stories of 2011". Everyone should read these and talk about it. Let's dispel the antiquated myth of "the hopeless continent".

And for god's sake, if you hear someone refer to the continent as a country, hit them over the head with the hardest thing you can get your hands on.

Maharajah Sayyaji Rao III

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16051168

Who doesn't like insolence in the face of tyranny? But just as I started giving mental hi-fives to this guy...

even though he wrote a letter of apology soon afterwards which said that if he had not seemed to conform to the ritual, it was due to "nervousness and confusion in the presence of Their Majesties".

Oh well.

And very interesting:

"It is not recognised much now because nationalists campaigning for Indian independence at the time and in later years did not want to be associated with princely rulers," Prof Farooqi said. "Their perceived decadence was a source of some embarrassment.
"They wanted that part of the independence struggle to be be deleted from history because maharajahs were seen as too closely associated with the worst excesses of the Raj.
"That is why today in India so few schoolchildren know about the rulers of princely states. Princely India simply does not exist in the textbooks".

I for one know very little about princely India. It might be something to add to my reading list.

Life in America through Jay Z's eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpA2r0yVFTE

I don't know what to think. Would love to sit in on of the classes though.

HIV sucks

While at Baylor for a UNITAID logistics meeting, Evan pointed out of the window at a young boy of about 10 being helped up the stairs.

"That's a child not on ARVs".

His muscles had degenerated to such an extent that he could not walk up the stairs. His knees buckled at every step as he was assisted up by, who I presume was, his mother . His gaunt face with those spaced, sunken eyes was frightening to look at. A surge of guilt made me look away. The imbalance of me staring at him through a one way mirror from a distance filled me with shame.

Full-fledged AIDS is a terrible sight to behold. AIDS is children is just devastating. It's just not fair.

Game Theory anyone?

Just signed up for this course: http://www.game-theory-class.org/

Super excited!