Not much to say today

I think the cartoon pretty much summarizes it. I've got nothing to say. Really, not much going on in my head right now. I'm watching a show where the guests are discussing Rupert Murdoch's testimony on the "News of the World" phone hacking scandal. There was nothing much on before that.

You see, I'm on a business trip and since I did not bring my guitar and I am not in my familiar surroundings, I'm pretty much thoughtless. We spent the day working then going to dinner and after all of that, I went back to my room. I really have nothing to write about.

On that note, I'm going to bed. Good night.

Reading

I enjoy reading. It has been a long time, I must admit, since I have read an entire book. It took me months to read the "Vanishing Face of Gaia" by James Lovelock. My friend gave it to me and even though it was a fairly easy read because it is a scientific book, it still took me a long time to finish it. These days I always find excuses not to read (too tired, have to get this and that done, forgot to bring the book on the plane, etc.). I am making a pledge to get back to reading and it is starting today.

Movies are enjoyable because they depict somebody's imagination. It is somebody else's imagination, not yours. Books, on the other hand, force you to invoke your own imagination. All books are just words on paper yet by reading those words, life awakes in front of your eyes. People's faces appear, you can see them smile, cry, witness their concern, feel their pain. Landscapes are displayed in your mind with trees, hills, rivers, birds, grass, stone, and so on. Eloquent words can describe a place or a setting in such a way that you feel like you are there, seeing it with your own eyes, touching it with your hands, feeling it with your skin, and hearing it with your ears. That is why books are so great - they stimulate your imagination.

I used to read all kinds of books when I was younger but as I grew older my taste has focused on two kinds of books, scientific and books based on real events. Fiction was my favorite when I was a kid and a teenager. I used to read the great Yugoslavian World War II stories written by Branko Copic. Oh, I enjoyed these because they had so much humor in them yet they dealt with a very serious issues of German occupation of Yugoslavia in WWII and with the battle for freedom. During the same time I use to read lots of UFO, mystery books, books that dealt with the paranormal because they were thought provoking and fascinating. Of course, I also read lots of fairy tales as a kid. Lately though I prefer books based on real events such as the D-Day (Stephen E. Ambrose). I guess simple fiction does not interest me as much any more unless it is somehow related to actual events or if it is exceptionally well written. I do read books which focus on scientific issues such as "The China Study" or "Vanishing Face of Gaia". Most of all though, the books that have captured my attention over the last few years are books about or from Bosnia.

My favorite book is "My War Gone By, I Miss It So" by Anthony Loyd. My friend Brendan suggested this book to me when I was visiting him in Canada (if I remember correctly). He read it and said that I might like it since majority of "action" happens in Bosnia. Wow. I was blown away while I was reading it and it enters my mind any time someone is talking about books. The book is essentially Anthony's life from 1992-1995 which he mostly spent in Bosnia, England and Chechnya. It is his life, not some fictional character and made up feelings. The stories that he tells are real, people are real, events are real. Please, please read this book if you haven't yet. It will grip you and will not let you go. You will feel every minute of Anthony's life and you will understand the horrors of war like you have never before.

Another book I would like to suggest is "Blood and Vengeance: One Family's Story of the War in Bosnia" by Chuck Sudetic. If you want to know the root of the conflict in the Balkans, this book will explain it to you, backed by historical research. On top of that, it is a tragic story of one Bosnian family which the author follows throughout the book. Again, it is a factual book, documenting real events happening to real people, as well as describing the history of the area known as Bosnia.

I'm off to bed now and will read a few pages of a book by a Bosnian author Mesa Selimovic. My mother bought me this book awhile back and even though it is in English, it is very well translated. I hope this post gets some of you to start reading again without finding stupid excuses. And read "My War Gone By, I Miss It So"!

Do you want to know what makes me cry?

I don't cry much. I am not a baby any more so I won't cry when I get hurt or when I'm hungry. There is no special reason for me to cry these days. I'm happy and there is nothing in my life that warrants sadness to the point where I would cry regularly.

But if there is one thing that consistently made me cry since I was 14, that would be anything reminding me of my country. Maybe to put it better, what makes me cry is anything reminding me of the good old days and the events that caused many of my countrymen and I to move out of Bosnia, not to mention the deaths of many people because of a horrible war. Watching a Bosnian movie that relates to the war or listening to a song from the old days would almost certainly bring tears to my eyes. It is difficult to hold the tears when a scene like above comes on. Actually, it is almost impossible.

The scene above is from a Bosnian movie "Remake". It was made in 2003 and it is a moving story not only because it encapsulates the war in Bosnia but also because how the story is told. In the scene, a young Bosnian man is asked to sing a song in front of the Bosnian Serb soldiers. He chooses to sing a song called "Il' Je Vedro Il' Oblacno". This song is an old Bosnian traditional song called "sevdalinka" or "sevdah". These songs were written long time ago and tell various stories, mostly about lost love. Some sevdah's are faster and comical but mostly are slow and emotional. If I listen to a particularly emotional sevdalinka, I will try very hard not to cry.

Today is consequently the Bosnian Day of Mourning. The Bosnian government decided that 11. of July will remind the people of the genocide in Srebrenica. I guess I could not find a better way to express my feelings than to let you listen to this song.

By the way, the full version of the song was recorded by a band "Kultur Shock". I like this version so here is the link: Kultur Shock - Il' Je Vedro Il' Oblacno.