A runner's reflection on the Boston Marathon tragedy

“And for so many of us who take to the roads, paths and trails, the essence of running is freedom; our freedom to step outside, stretch our legs and fly along the ground wherever we choose for as long as we please. It is a celebration of human ability and excellence. It is a struggle. It is a triumph. And this was an attack on all of that….”

“I know as sure as I breathe that in all the depressing, bewildering hours since the attacks, that this has been the answer from runners all across our land.

They have strapped on their shoes, stepped outside and in silent tribute they have run. They have run in defiance of those who would presume upon our freedom. They have run in respect for those who died or who were hurt cheering on this silly sport we love. They have run as we’ve always run, to test the limits of human possibility; not to defeat others, but to improve ourselves.

They have run as I will run…for Boston.”

10 centuries of music in 4 minutes of a-capella combining Beethoven, the Beatles, and the Black Eyed Peas… So seamless.

via explore-blog

Defeat? I do not recognise the meaning of the word.
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Bertrand Russell (via explore-blog)

Song discovery of the month: “Lessons Learned” by Cary Brothers ft. Rachael Yamagata (original by Matt & Kim)

The Next Superpower

On the much-publicised full moon
festive youths and families gorge

on overpriced moon-cakes
to celebrate mid-autumn. How

very poetic. Not all that far away
the plants’ wastes flow

to choke the Yangtze. I can’t
appreciate the taste of the cakes,

their severe sweetness. The Chinese
cherish the stuff. This, they say,

is a beloved tradition. I can’t
remember ever loving anything

resembling one. You can’t finish
yours, and stroll onto the balcony

to view the fireworks. I’m worried
about the colossal dam cracking

and the River devouring this stuffy,
miasmic city. Will nature

ever know what to do with
humans? Will humans surpass words

like “nature”, “river” and “moon”?
The cake, I’ve been told, grows

every year in price. China swells
every year in wealth and power. I’m

frankly terrified of an ecological
armageddon. You seem bored with

the festivities and utterly finished
with the West. We left Australia

for an ancient culture. How
perturbed we are to discern

this country’s gargantuan
industrialisation. I leer at the remnants

of the pungent cake. The West
has traded its soul for a few dollars. Will

China remember the Opium War or
keep eating the impossibly rich

sweets? Am I being simply
disrespectful? What

of it? Glaciers melt and, yes,
this autumn is hotter than summer. So

Capitalism won; the cadres swapped
their gray Mao-esque suits

for the latest Armani. Indeed
your ennui and my disenchantment

match. We’re in love, two ex-pats
struggling to finish our moon-cakes

in the furnace of “the next Shanghai”. 
.

Ali Alizadeh
from Eyes in Times of War