April 2007

Umberto Eco once said: “I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”

He makes a good point. A lot that passes as life doesn’t make sense and is rarely fair. We all have to face difficulties and make decisions that we don’t want to make. We somehow get by and face another day.

Life does not define you, it’s the way that you react to it that does.

Imagine, if you will, that you’re happily married with a son. Imagine that you’re hitting a career high. Imagine that you’ve been diagnosed with cancer and have six to twelve months to live. How would you react to that?

For me, that’s not something I have to face and I hope it’s something you never have to face.

I stumbled across Brian’s blog recently and have found it a bittersweet insight into how one copes with an awful and unavoidable truth. Less a depressing liturgy and more a philosophical awakening.

Read it and try to learn from Brian’s experiences.

“He who has a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Back in 1999 a little known Scottish group called Travis released their second album “The Man Who” (produced by Radiohead’s long term producer Nigel Godrich) and virtually changed the face of Indie music overnight.

I fell in love with the album’s clangy and bittersweet reflection and played it for months. It was such a landmark album that it inspired another fledgling band by the name of Coldplay. It turned Travis into a huge international success.

Their 2001 follow up album “The Invisible Band” was a change of direction. Their melancholy was replaced with bouncy pop and never hit the same high. 2003s “12 Memories” was a dark, politically driven hodgepodge of ideas and concepts which fell a little flat.

There were rumours of them splitting and I figured that was that.

I figured wrong. It’s been four years, but they’re most definitely back and they’re back with a handful of stunning songs with their album “The Boy With No Name”. The titular boy being Fran’s newly born son who he referred to as “The boy with no name” while he and partner Nora deliberated over his name.

Their first single “Closer” was released on Monday and it’s a true return to form. It’s more mature, more confident but it is of the same pedigree as “The Man Who”. Check out the video which features a cameo by long term friend of the band, Ben Stiller.

The album is out on the 7th May and I can’t wait.

I came across this via a topic Rikki posted on our company forums.

Kiva is a website that allows one to invest in companies located in developing parts of the world. In a nutshell, you offer an interest free micro-loan (from $25 upwards) to pre-vetted companies registered with the website. When the company has enough lenders, they are given the money with a view to paying it back.

Personally, I think this is a break-out idea that can have a real impact on poverty in developing countries. Small donations to large organizations can be frittered away and make little impact into helping the cause they support but loaning money directly to people trying to start up or expand their small businesses will really help.

Selfishly, it also makes one feel good knowing that you’ve helped a small business and you may even get your money back to withdraw or re-invest. So far Kiva has a 100% repayment rate although you should accept that you may not get your money back.

I’ve invested in a few business and you can see my profile here.

Registration is quick and easy. All payments are done via PayPal who have generously waived all fees so Kiva can pass on 100% of the loan.

Brilliant.

In no particular order:

Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean - from The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place by Explosions in the Sky.
Antichrist Television Blues - from Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
I Can’t Feel My Hand Any More, It’s Alright, Sleep Tight - from Finally We Are One by Múm
A Wolf At The Door - from Hail to the Thief by Radiohead
Brick - from Whatever and Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five
We Haven’t Turned Around - from Liquid Skin by Gomez
Section 17 (Suitcase Calling) - from Together We’re Heavy by The Polyphonic Spree
Andvari - from Takk… by Sigur Ros
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - from Funeral by The Arcade Fire
Ágætis byrjun - from Ágætis byrjun by Sigur Ros
Grace Under Pressure - from Cast Of Thousands by Elbow
Take Me Somewhere Nice - from Rock Action by Mogwai
Fjarskanistan - from Animamina - EP by Amina
In Church - from Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts by M83
Scattered Black And Whites - from Cast Of Thousands by Elbow