Getting Back Up to Speed

I spent much of last week wallowing in fever -- too delerious to read much. However, yesterday I was able to wolf down one from mom's collection: Nonviolent Solder of Islam, Badshah Kahn, A Man to Match His Mountains, by Eknath Easwaran (1999 soft cover edition, Nilgiri Press).

I imagine few in the USA today have a clue about this episode: a Gandhian revolution against British imperialism and local custom, which glorified revenge killings, led by a devout Muslim from the north west frontier. Ghaffar blew everyone's stereotypes at the time (a superhero incredible!). The Klingons discover satyagraha. Gandhi considered him a great spiritual leader, as he practiced nonviolence coming from strength, not fear -- always the ideal.

Before I could read, I played comedy channels through the iTunes internet radio. One comic really tore into those RVs. My cybervan idea runs into these same negative PR problems. Matt always signals his disgust when I float this little fantasy.

I'm glad to see Japan is hosting another Expo, complete with signature themes (people movers, corporate pavilions). Maybe Wired'll do a write-up (Gibson likes to visit Japan). Have we seen it on the network news? I might've missed it.

Followup: this article in The Guardian has become something of a classic amidst a growing literature chronicling the rise of a new gulag centered in Afghanistan.