haha, I just realized that I actually said "continental USA", as if Alaska is an island or something
that was a decent documentary. Made this place look pretty fucked up, though. I like how they talked about alcohol like it's a drug (which it is of course), because that shit just makes some people absolutely psychotic. I guess there's a pretty big hard drug subculture here, although I didn't really recognize it before I moved to where I live now. My roommate used to be a speed addict and was pretty heavily involved with the local methamphetamine trade. Another one of my friend's roommate is a heroin junkie, although he holds down a job and is a functioning addict. Hard drugs are surprisingly really accessible here, just as much as anywhere in the continental USA I've been. Ultimately I wouldn't say the drug problem here is any worse than a ton of other places in the US and elsewhere in the world, though.
well, this was depressing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX1qTCRQ81M
No, the farthest east I got in Europe was Budapest. I would've liked to have gone to Romania or Bulgaria, though, if I had more time.
when you came to europe, did you go to either bucharest or sofia?
I haven't been reading that much lately. The last book I read was "Five Families", an epic tome about the Mafia. An easy read but very long. I tried thinking of older books that I read but couldn't come up with much...have you read "Memoirs of an Italian Terrorist"? That's a good one. It's about an Italian communist militant-turned-hitman in the early 70's. That's all I can think of at the moment...
got a little money to spare and i always enjoy your book recommendations, got any good shouts?
i'm not a fan of irish republicanism but i don't really have any particular insights on it, just your standard opposition to national liberation struggles. but yeah, i'm from an irish background with a long history of involvement with irish republicanism, going back as early as the united irishmen according to my grand father. that's part of the reason i find the american fascination with it so odd. and i agree totally re: maoism being unattractive, but i find reading about it - particularly in the "first world" pretty entertaining, just because it's so nuts and it seems to have the best gossip of any tendency -- like, reading about foucault's involvement with maoism in france or whatever, makes me laugh.
BTW, what's your opinion of Irish republicanism? You're originally from Ireland, right? I could probably guess what your opinion on it is, judging from what I understand your political views are, but maybe you have some insights into it that I don't know.
The Cultural Revolution really was fascinating, though. That was some crazy Machiavellian shit on Mao's part...say what you want about him otherwise, but that dude was a master of political intrigue.
