Friday, January 29

Saw a friend's show last night that didn't have much to recommend it, but who knows what it might have been under different circumstances?

I am listening to Where Men Win Glory on CD these days. Came to it because of my interest in the Tillman family, as Pat's younger cousin was a student of mine (and one of my dearest) a few years ago. I heard a lot about the events from her, even right as they were grappling with testimony and so on.

And actually I am finding it quite compelling--much better written than Into the Wild, and hats off, Krakauer, for that, and so far a skillful telling of a profound and far-reaching story. And what do you know, G, G, and S is kind of paying off as I feel more up to speed on world geography than before.

Am now at the part--6 chapters in, I guess--where Krakauer describes the founding of the Taliban. I never really thought about what the Taliban replaced: reprehensible and consciousless warlords. "No one ever talks about all the good things the Taliban does!"

Other than that, I'm not reading much, just working countless hours. Not watching much TV either, although we've squeezed in a few more hours of Lost and might be caught up in time for the new season.

And I have been trying to get up to speed on my Kindle. It's not hard, really, but there's learning the controls and then loading up some books and then actually reading, and with my schedule I'm still on Step 1.