Fighting Terrorism.

Since I'm not running for office and am not required to parrot any bullshit jingoistic nonsense about victory in the Middle East, I will simply say (again) what seems perfectly obvious.  

We are losing the "War on Terror."  

(I must have repeated this sometime in the recent past...because I remember getting jumped all over when I said it during a game of Circle of Death (?) at a party, and because I also remember recounting that.)

In any case, I think in any (or every) single way to view this struggle, "They" are winning. More of them are killing.   More people are being killed.  People are more afraid.  The number of attacks has increased.  The number of locations across the world where attacks have taken place has grown exponentially.  The number of surfacing terrorist cells has increased.  The legitimacy of democracy has been tarnished by it's retard-shit-child invocation over the past 5 years.  The effect of attacks has been massively destabilizing in Pakistan, the heartland.  The Taliban has re-emerged in Pakistan.   The only thing we seem to be doing is killing a bunch of people that are and have been easily replaced, if not multiplied.  (I would seriously like someone to tell me what I'm missing.  I'm not being snide or a dick here.  I mean it.  What am I not seeing?  If whatever progress we've made in Iraq is your starting point, I need more.)

I don't know why I'm talking about this again or why I should care...I think it might be because of where I am right now.   I find being in India during this time to be a little bit jarring.  I don't know what it was about the Delhi and Ahmedebad blasts that had such an effect on the Indian psyche, but terrorism and terrorism news is splashed over the front page of every single newspaper and news show every single day.  Not only that, in the past week there have been several annoyances:  Discovery of several bombs and kerosene tanks placed around a road and bridge in Dharwad (Karnataka- the state I'm currently in), a few days ago a shootout in Delhi killing some alleged bombers, today another blast in Delhi.  In addition, there have been 2 major hoaxes requiring security lockdowns of train stations in Bombay and Goa.  Personally, I'm not that worried about anything happening to me...though I am quite on edge because I know my mother is constantly freaked out as long as I'm in this country.  I am just sick of this nonsense.  When is the CIA going to create super herpes triggered by excessive religious feeling?  It's time fellas.

Oh, and I wanted to post this snippet about the Delhi bombing's only victim...because it's sorta heartbreaking:

The police told television reporters that two men on a black motorcycle left a package stuffed with explosives in a narrow lane lined with electronics shops on the southern edge of New Delhi. A 9-year-old boy was killed as he grabbed the package and ran after the men. His brother, a rickshaw driver named Bambam Kumar, said he had sent the boy to fetch eggs after school.

Life Without Internet.

Is pretty awesome when it's not being not-cool.

Currently I'm sweating my ass off in Southern "Better" India in an internet cafe after an arduous, difficult day. Check this shit out...I had to get up at 9:30 and eat banana pancakes. Boo. Then, I had to get on this huge houseboat in the Keralan backwaters and lay on a mattress and laze around for 7 HOURS. Suck. I mean, it was gorgeous, peaceful, and absolutely fulfilling. Balls. And then, the cook made a 7 course Keralan meal. Ass. AND THEN? Fried bananas and tea as we chugged our way home. FUCK. SO ROUGH.

Anyhowm, as you can guess, my ability to find internet has suffered the further I dig myself into India. Since leaving Bombay, we've ended up in small family run heritage houses in Panaji Goa, Cochin Kerala, and Alleppey Kerala...and there's barely hot water, let alone internet. My only report is to say that things are awesome, I love being back in India, and I am totally stoked about returning to Bangalore next week. For those of you who are familiar with India...next stop is Ooty in the Western Ghats, followed by a stop off in Mysore for the Dasara Festival (biggest in India), followed by 10 days in Bangalore. Sweet.

Oh, and I finished Atlas Shrugged and am now reading The Glass Palace (Amitav Ghosh)...I am not impressed.

I'm BAAAACK!!

I'm back in India! Whooo haaa!!

It's like coming home. Except with brown people.

Thanksgiving is Over!

In other words, I'm out of Turkey and now I'm wearing shorts in Zurich (for a badly planned one night layover), where it is currently ass cold. Here are some random pics now that I have some netwebbery (mostly beach fun).
These are the inhabitants of Oludeniz...what appear to be British rednecks by our sociological ponderings. Fat, burnt, dirty, and crass. And fat. Did I say fat? (These are the skinny ones.)

These are the gorgeous turquoise shores of South Turkey sans FatBrits.

This is me absolutely satisfied. (We caught zero fish.)


FRUIT TARRRRTT!

So what I'm really thinking about right now is returning to Bangalore (now Bengaluuru). In a strange way, I really feel like I'm going home. Clearly India is not my home, and clearly I'm not Indian, but something about setting foot in India makes me feel like I'm returning to a place that makes me feel spectacularly happy and alive. Actually let me revise that. Fuck North India and the Cow Belt: Gimme some good ol' southern hospitality and then I feel at home.

More specifically though, I'm wondering what it is going to be like to see the children again. The last time I saw them was two years ago, and I don't have the slightest idea what it's going to be like this time. Last time I arrived at the center, walked up to the threshhold of the children's ward and saw almost all of them standing crowded around their doorway smiling and just staring at me. My reaction was to stare back at them and smile. About 15 seconds passed before the awkwardness broke and I was ushered back into the room and ridiculousness and playing commenced. That was one year after spending one year with them and talking on the phone monthly.

This time 2 years have passed and things have changed. Communications have been limited to emails with the eldest child and the director of the center; two years have passed in the lives of children and adolescents (god only knows what effect that has); and it appears that half of the children have been scattered about to different homes and orphanages so only 11 of them are remaining. Turns out they may have even moved locations after being kicked out of their old location. So yes, I'm nervous. Wish me luck.

Sigh.

Yet another bombing in India...this time in a place that I know very well in Delhi...sorta like a Times Square analog.  I have nerves about this whole thing myself, since the chaos of India makes it extraordinarily easy to bomb crowded areas...but I'm mostly concerned because I know my mother is very concerned and that she is going to spend the next month fretting about this stuff.  Sucks.

Anyway, I don't really have much else to report from my vacation except that I've been spending my time in Istanbul (total of about 10 days), in the ocean, sun, and scooters of Fetiyeh and Oludeniz on the south side of the country, and a couple of days in the second largest city in the country, Antalya.   I normally would have long introspective travel diaries...but I don't really think I have that much to reflect on at this point.  I think the main reason is that most of my travels generally involve extensive interaction with locals in one language or another (English and Kannada in India, Chinese in China, and English in many other places) ...while this trip really has been primarily comprised of interactions with my friends and the places we visit.  Turns out surprising few people speak English here...so it's really hard to just avoid feeling like an outsider and a tourist.

In other less interesting news (right?), I have managed to read several books, all of which I enjoyed:

Run - Ann Patchett

The Great Gatsby    

Slam - Nick Hornby

And currently I'm reading Atlas Shrugged...which I'm not going to comment on because I've been informed that my opinions on the novel will change as I get further into the book (400+ pages so far).  Let me say only this:  Boy can she suck the life out of sex.

As a final note, I'm letting Margaret attempt to cut my hair.  Chances are I will return with a shaved head.

Disconnect.

I'm coming to terms with what has been making me so upset recently with politics (aside from a cascade of problems in my personal relationships, my treatment of others, and figuring out what to do with my life.)

Namely, I am very upset that I feel so distant, so utterly disconnected from such a large swath of humanity and the way they see the world. I admit that this may be because my own views may be far off the mark, but I consider myself a fairly reasonable person, and am utterly shocked by the things that people believe. As an easy example, I simply do not understand how any reasonable person can currently support the Republican party unless they are one of many things: actively cynical about their own tax dollars, blindly ideological, engaging in identity politics, blindly devoted to wedge issues, or most importantly - not paying attention.

What seems to be happening is that I will identify an issue. Maybe I will notice the issue in a news story, or maybe it will come up in casual discussion, or maybe it will be something I encounter in normal life. Gathering all of the facts that I can reasonably gather, I will then set about looking for a reasonable solution: What are the causes of the problem? How do these causes lead to the current consequences? Who are the players? Why do they behave they do? How do we make this problem less severe without creating problems for other people? What are the obstacles? In short, I take a pragmatic tack and try to preserve human dignity. (I am not interested in debating what comprises human dignity.)

So then I look around, and almost half of the people in our country support what seems to me to be the exact wrong idea - one that forcefully violates the answer to every question I pose, almost everything I consider rational, or decent, or reasonable, or human. And the reasons and arguments supporting these positions are always so absurd that I would laugh except that I actually feel like crying. And then find myself seething in irrepressible anger. And I simply cannot connect myself with what other people are thinking. And then I feel utterly powerless - useless...and then very alone.

Any solutions for this? I know that politics do not define souls, but I often have a hard time seeing past it unless I have multiple or prior interactions with the individual. I'm having a hard time not simply deciding that there is an entire "type" of mind that I can never understand and realizing there is no point in even trying to contribute (in a broad sense) to a better future, and giving up.

I realize this is all very juvenile...but my sense of frustration is so intense I almost feel the urge to disconnect with individuals because it seems utterly futile...so I figured I'd see if you had any ideas.

(PS. Riding scooters in Turkey is sweet...especially along the cliffs on winding roads flanked by mountains and steep rocky drop offs to the ocean unprotected by guardrails. This is a shot of us looking over the edge of the road/cliff as we took a break. And, brand new! A video!)

First Major Life Decision.

As I may have mentioned, I wanted to take some time during this trip and make some major life decisions. I have reached the first:

I will not purchase a motorcycle.

Instead, I have will purchase a motorcycle and sidecar.
Jay 1, Universe 0

OHHH YEAH!!

We start with the food.

Spinach Bread (Paratha-ish), Lamb Dish, Dolmas
Just Call Me Edmund Pevensie: Turkish Delight! (traditional and chocolate pistachio)

Last night? Beer, Mint Tea, Hookah, and Scrabble. Results?

More importantly, I bought myself a fishing rod, and caught myself a fish on the second cast.
SUCK THAT WORLD! I OWN YOU. (Yes, the fish is small, but all of the fish pulled up from the Bosphorus in this area are ALL this size. So I caught a normal sized fish)

Result?

Triumphant Beer! My buddy was unwise enough to wager a free drink against my angling skills. I pray you do not make the same mistake.

The Photos Continue.

There's really nothing that interesting...but I figured I'd start posting my food diaries, and a few small pictures from my travels (maybe). There's not all that much I want to say...except that I want to go fishing.

Sweet-Ass Fish Sandwich. (Or, Sweet Ass-Fish Sandwich)
Pickled Cabbage and Cucumbers (with Fish Sandwich)

Half kg of Unidentified Turkish Sweets/Pastries
4 pm.

Fishing!
Tourism.

Istanbul!

In Order: Food. Fishing. Friends (in the Blue Mosque).