Stacks

the wolves were young:
running like me across the
great white tundra,
faster. the skies warmed up;
the sun in it’s pale orange
beauty lit up the frost and
it’s thousand-mirror glare.

and she sat there, in a tattered
sled, “warmth! this isn’t warmth!”
she cried, sullen. there is no
warmth. here,
was a shallow mist; and her eyes,
watery, spoke of nothing.

there are cards, out on the
ice. they lay solemn, straightward.
“the ice might break,” I say.
the world tilts its head, and the ice
floats against the brazen azure sky

and you lead me, again: down this
frozen crevice of a delightful hell.
in your shadow i follow,
with heavy footsteps that
burn the snow, and coax
out of winter nights blue-tipped
flames.

But to you, i
appear forsaken, another one of
god’s many creatures;
lipless and lifeless, with
one slip too many.

Major lulz

August 26, 2008

Fractious Coalition in Pakistan Breaks Apart

By JANE PERLEZ

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The five-month-old coalition government in Pakistan collapsed Monday when the head of the minority party, Nawaz Sharif, announced his members would leave the fractious alliance, citing broken promises by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the majority party.

“We have been forced to leave the coalition,” Mr. Sharif said in Islamabad. “We joined the coalition with full sincerity for the restoration of democracy. Unfortunately all the promises were not honored.”

The exit by Mr. Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, had been expected in the last few days, and was finally spurred by the decision of Mr. Zardari to run for president, in an electoral college vote set for Sept. 6. President Pervez Musharraf resigned last week under threat of impeachment.

The departure of Mr. Sharif, whose party sat uneasily with Mr. Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party, is unlikely to result in immediate elections. Mr. Sharif said his members would sit in the opposition in the Parliament and try to play a “constructive” role.

The Pakistan Peoples Party holds the most seats in the Parliament, but not a majority. Political analysts said they expected it would be able to cobble together a new parliamentary coalition with smaller parties.

Still, Pakistan faces continued political instability that may distract from serious governance and serious efforts to turn back the growing strength of the Taliban in the northwestern parts of the nation.

The main problem between Mr. Sharif and Mr. Zardari was a profound disagreement over the future of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who was fired by President Musharraf in March 2007, reinstated by the court in July, and placed under house arrest in November. He was finally freed in March of this year, but has yet to be restored to the bench.

Mr. Sharif has insisted that Mr. Chaudhry along with some 60 other judges, who were also fired in November, when Mr. Musharraf declared emergency rule, should be restored to the bench.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/world/asia/26pstan.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

All I can really say is, LULZ!

See, this is what Gillani’s “better to have a weak democracy than a dictatorship.” Although, I suppose now he should rephrase that to say “better to have a bastardized form of dynastic politics that mires itself in cuntish realpolitik with the same players who are out to fuck up the nation and play on people’s trust under the guise of democracy than a dictatorship.”

I’m all up for democracy, make no mistake, but can I just say that anyone who ever thought democracy with Zardari and Sharif as major players was going to work has to be a complete and utter fucknut. Despite the fact that I think Sharif got shafted here, and Zardari is at the moment (and perhaps perpetually) the bigger tool, I highly doubt Sharif would’ve wanted the judges reinstated so badly if it didn’t mean overturning the NRO and perhaps having a go at Zardari himself.

Zardari though, with his slicked back Andy Garcia hair is a tremendous bastard. He’s pissing off the whole nation and he knows it, YET he continues! Either he has cojones made of titanium, or he’s smarter than everyone in Pakistan combined, or he’s just ridiculously power hungry and wants to fill his pockets all over again.

What CAN I say to Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan?

Guitar!

So, after a long and arduous wait (LOLZXOR!), I finally got my new gear:

A Fender 1972 Custom Telecaser (MIM Reissue).

Vox Valvetronix AD15VT-XL.

peekchures (apologies for the shit quality, I have a shit old camera):

Up

I’m trying to figure out whether I’ve ever felt this way before or not.

I don’t think I have, and frankly, as much as it makes me seem ‘alive,’ I’m not completely certain I welcome it.

Out

her feet shuffle across the oceans,
and she sings through the air;
lucy,
the sky is filled with diamonds.
and you’re off to lands unhindered;
an oyster the size of the world, yours
to clam shut or open, with fingers
sublime and skinny.

Top 10 albums of 2008 so far

Due to a couple of unfotunate circumstances (lack of internet access, laziness), i’m a bit late in posting the albums of the year so far. Ideally, the best time to post the list is halfway through the year. August, however, isn’t half the year past. It’s a wee bit more.

Regardless, here’s the list that everyone’s been not dying for!

As always, in no significant order:

The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Husker Du meets Post Punk, drowned in classic rock. Fantastic band, shitloads of fun with great hooks and sharp lyricism.

Mount Eerie – Black Wooden Open Ceiling
Phil Elvrum is simply a genius. Moving away from the lo-fi of previous Mount Eerie albums (though not when it comes to production), this short little stunner is swirling with fuzz. Again, stellar lyrics and he’s nearly always in great form!

Nick Cave – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
It’s Nick Cave, for fucks sake. Though the album still has a couple of ‘misses’, it’s a magnificent return to form.

Russian Circles – Station
One of my favourite, favourite bands. Born out of the remains of Dakota/Dakota, they play fantastic instrumental rock (or post rock), except with a slightly ‘metal’ tinge. There’s fair amounts of frantic, tapped arpeggios here, but they never descend into sheer wankery. It’s always rhythm, or setting the tone for drummer Dave Turncrantz to go mental.

Shearwater – Rook
Jonathan Meiburg is a genius. He’s taken Shearwater from being a sideproject to a sensation in its own right. His brilliant falsetto is helped on this album by ‘grander’ orchestration, with steel lap pedal guitars, synths and strings swirling all over the place. The album’s definitely more expansive than previous efforts, which were more often then not steeped in singer/songwriter-dom.

A Silver Mount Zion – 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Features far more ‘rock’ instrumental, and less chamber music, but still a great album because it’s really rough and jarring.

Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams
Probably the best lyricist in indie. Returned to less grandiloquent roots and is all the better for it. The best and most focused album of his career, in my humble opinion.

James Blackshaw – Litany of Echoes
12 string guitar god. Borrowed from the likes of John Fahey on his debut The Cloud of Unknowing, but now is completely his own man. His guitar play is accentuated by his ability on the piano, throwing in rumbled keys when necessary.

M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Great album. Every song is a lesson on what a shoegaze meets electronica song must be. Despite some distinctly average lyrics, the soundscapes are just too gorgeous to ignore.

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
At times they sound like Fairport Convention, but no one can argue that these guys have lovely pipes. And why shouldn’t they be in love with them? This album has some of the best vocal work you’ll be likely to hear this year.

Upcoming releases I’m excited about:

Mogwai -The Hawk Is Howling

Mastodon -TBA

The Wrens – TBA

TV On The Radio – Dear Science (cannot, CANNOT wait. Should be album of the year if their previous releases are anything to go by)

Clockwork

like the skies,
that bellow
and burn,
to the autumnal
shower
that sings songs
from ages
gone

i’ll hold you,
with closed eyes
in my leaden
arms;
like a wisp
of sunlight,
forgotten;
amidst
the sounds
of trains
and planes.