I just finished reading The Tawqacores (taqwa = piety) by Michael Muhammed Knight. The book is referred to The Catcher in the Rye for muslims. It was fascinating to read an ex-Catholic Muslim convert try and lay out his view of what Islam could be and use punk as a metaphor to do so. (The… Continue reading Piety & Punk
Two Ships Passing in the Night
I couldn’t help but notice two very different sides of the music industry this weekend. One side is run by sclerotic corporations who are completely removed from the realities of their business. Their latest move, according to the New York Times: petitioning governments to increase the license fees paid by bars/restaurants/night clubs to play music… Continue reading Two Ships Passing in the Night
The Wall
Yesterday I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I like to joke that I wanted to put the 3.1 back into 13.1 (it was my 31st birthday and a half-marathon is 13.1 miles). However, it was really because I wanted to complete the Grand Prix: the five half marathons that are run in each of New… Continue reading The Wall
iFun
Over the past few months, I’ve been trying a little experiment and it’s worked quite well. In my own truly nerdy way, I’ve been ranking almost every some I listen to on my iPhone/iPod and listening to each song until the very end. Why? Well, now I’ve got a list of my favourite, most listened-to… Continue reading iFun
You Know The Economy is in the Crapper when…
Ah, looks like my neighbourhood’s economy is not holding up too well in this recession. Evidence A: our billboards are being reduced to ads for dueling strip clubs: Evidence B: a local woman is offering to clean your apartment – in the near-buff: Looks like it might be a while to a recovery…