I had kind of a bad day yesterday, as sometimes happens when I have one of my "one-day weekends" (the result of working Saturdays). I don't know why that makes me particularly blue, but it does. I didn't accomplish any of the things on the "to do" list. I read some books, surfed the internet, watched part of a movie (and didn't like it enough to even finish it). I took a long walk.
I was listening to NPR (streaming KCRW of Santa Monica) and I heard a reporter talking about working in Somalia. Explaining that it was MUCH more dangerous than Iraq, because in Iraq, there's an occupying army trying to control things, and offering places to take refuge from the danger. No such refuges in Somalia. Lack of functioning government, and all that.
I didn't catch his name, and I can't confirm what he said. But it was terribly funny, in a gallows sort of way. He offered an anecdote about landing at the Mogadishu airport, where he was given an "entry form" or something like that to fill out. The form only had a few questions: Name? Date of Birth? Nationality? Caliber of Weapon?
Hahaha. "Caliber of weapon?" It reads like something straight out of a vaguely Heinleinian future-libertarian utopia. But we all know that Somalia is not particularly utopian. I grow more cynical about the possible advantages of libertarianism as I get older.