Wherever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self.

--Bhagavad Gita 6:26

So, yeah, I dropped ITT. I was gonna wax poetic about my reasons, but what it comes down to is that everything we were covering was old territory for me, stuff I've just picked up from reading and from attending hatha classes at other centers. It seemed unwise to pay a lot of money to not learn anything new.

So, for right now, yoga is a completely free and pure thing for me, unattached to any motive or desire other than "resting in the Self" and de-stressing from my suddenly busy life.

Friday night we watched an amazing PBS documentary on DVD called The 50 Years War, about the perpetual conflict in the Middle East. It actually was only disc one, from 1948 through 1982. A very effective and almost lyrical use of newsreel (and later, video) footage and interviews to tell the story of why nobody can just goddamn get along over there. The documentary is admirably even-handed--no one is vilified, but no one comes out smelling like a rose, either.

Finished Word Freak, which was wonderful but would probably have made a better magazine article than a book, and have started Love, Etc. which picks up where Talking it Over left off. It�s a bubbly read, one of JB�s interstitial �fun� books. I think we can expect his next one to be serious, if he adheres to his usual light/heavy/light/heavy schedule.

If Komar and Melamid polled people to find out what the �world�s most wanted� film is, I bet they�d come up with something very close to 8 Femmes: a musical French murder mystery set in the 50s featuring a cast of beautiful French women and lots of d�colletage. It�s pure entertainment, perfect for a gloomy, rainy weekend.

Big party out in Jersey yesterday for my nephew's 2nd birthday. Lots of screaming babies, antisocial toddlers and boring parents. People, don't make me say it again: no more weddings, no more kids!