History agreed upon by mutual consent

That's how life goes on - protected by the silence that anesthetizes shame. Men who came back from the was with stories they could have told about the desperate failings of comrades at the point of death say only that they did it bravely. To the outside world, no soldier ever visited a brothel or acted like a savage or ran and hid from the enemy. Being over there was punishment enough. When wives have to hide the mortgage money or the kitchen knives from a husband who's lost the thread, they do it without a word, sometimes acknowledging it not even to themselves. 

- Page 166
The light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman

Yellow Brick Road AJS

Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down
Sweet Mary Jane, won't you lay me down?
Lost my heart in California, lost my mind
Shot me down with a revolver, got me high
Then a heart of gold came on the stereo, Mr. Young made me cry
Then all the colors of the rainbow fell in my eyes

I lost my mind long ago
Down that yellow brick road
I lost my mind long ago
Down that yellow brick road

Took a train to the river where I dove right in
That skinny dipping girl made the blue bird sing
Fell in love in California, she blew my mind
She shot me down with her revolver, she got me high
Then the weather man came on the radio, said there'll be sunshine
Then all the colors of the rainbow fell in my mind

I lost my mind long ago
Down that yellow brick road
I lost my mind long ago
Down that yellow brick road

shiny covers catch my attention

 "I loved Clark Kent right away. He was a timid, clumsy, honest, sweet, mild-mannered man. He was, in short, genuine. But every time he ripped open his street clothes and turned into superman, flying away out of a window to  presumably save the human race, I felt a kind of discomfort and distress. I couldn’t quite my finger on the reason why I disliked him so much, especially since he was such an admirable hero in appearance.  But I couldn’t help it. I was put off by the character who is ‘faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive’ and who can ‘change the course of mighty river and bend  iron with his bare hands.’ I didn’t see Clark Kent as a disguise for him, but the other way around. And I strongly resented Lois lane’s affection for Superman, and rejection of Kent.

Then it suddenly hit me one day, much, much later; this world (and women in it) doesn’t need manufactured men of steel. It needs real men.  Real men, yes: with all their clumsiness, timidity, flaws, slips and weak spots.  Real men who don’t have secret identities. Real men who don’t think they can see further than you, hear more accurately than you, run faster than you and worst of all, think better than you."

Superman is an Arab -Joumana Haddad. 2012

Unfortunately even thoughI loved the first 2 to 3 pages I've gotta say the remaining 171 pages were absolute rubbish. Poorly written literotica and forth-right insults at a nation. If you want people to change which I assume was the intention of the writer, maybe insults and aggression and redicule may not be the best way to get them to listen. Unless of course this was aimed at a different audience (non arabs) about arab men. Then I don't see how it could be calling for change. Just my opinion=)

Unimagined...Free of imagination

An aquiantance of mine has joined Amnesty International. He wants me to join, but this presents a dilemma for me Amnesty International does alot of good work, especially in God-forsaken, corupt countries where there is no concern for justice. But it also oposes the death penalty, and this is the issue I have with it. I can understand that Amnesty International believes in compassion and humanity for all human beings. But what about thsoe horrible IRA terrorists who have been bombing trains and public places in Engliand for as long as I can remember? I don't see how we are going to make the world a better place without being able to execute bad people.
Page 203 Yellow
Age 21; 1983-84

.....any residual humanity are abandoned when 2 days later , the Argies (Argentinians) manage to sink the HMS Sheffield with a French built Exocet missile. Now I even hear friends of mine talking about 'Nuking Argentina.'  This is a horible affair; it brings out the very worst in us.
Internally, my Britishness is under strain. Do I just cave in and jeer at the deaths of the Argies  to show how British I am, or do I express disquiet at the loss of 'enemy' human life and thus show myself to be a foreigner after all, not really commited to Britain? Mostly I say nothing...
Page 173 Scotland
Age 19; 1981-82

The subject of my PhD thesis is 'The Solvolysis of Acetals in Highly Ionizing Non-Nucleophilic Solvents.' which is riveting. I spend alot of time in the Sufi section of the university library, researching this subject,but apparently the Sufi's didn't now alot about it.
Pag 227 Warm
Age 23;1985-86

My favorite bits from the book; Unimagined, a Muslim Boy meets the West. by Imran Khan.
My opinion; Appropriate tittle as it had a very predictable course and ending. Full of cliches- maybe not evident to everyone else. Sort of like Waleed Aly's book, it fills a void. Book's like this are needed in the main stream, and if this writing fits the criteria I'll back it up=)

Sacred Silence

I'm feeling sad. You can make me mad. I'm lost in the silence.

When you see the light of the morning star, Then you feel my absence.

Miles away, miles away. I'm just happy for you. I'm just happy for you.

Edward Maya ft. Liviu Hodor & Tara

news

The Balkan Chronicle

No government incentive to get pregnant over there...

 


(This) photo again captures youth but underlines its inherent vulnerability as a more matronly, thicker woman leads a young girl wearing only her shirt with her rear exposed to the world. These careless and too-young women appear to be in an abortion mill. But that’s just “American-speak.” I look at them closely and feel glad neither of them are forced to be mothers at a young age. That’s “flip-side-of-the-coin American speak” and, if anything, it tells you how loaded these images are for nearly anyone in our country.
  (This one)communicates the carelessness and narcissism of one girl in the clinic: she slouches on a bed applying make-up to her admittedly beautiful face. Her dress is stylish. Just another day for her.

April 24, 2012

Loaded Images from a St. Petersburg Abortion Clinic

By Karen Hull