Not much to say, work has consumed much of my time, and the rest has been spent having inane conversations, staring blankly at my (recently purchased) 40" LCD flatscreen television, or attending social events where I drink too much.

I did watch both seasons of Rome recently, probably a must-see for anyone who reads Aqoul. Only thing I really disliked was the portrayal of Ptolemaic Egypt, oddly reduced to a ridiculous Eurotrash orgy with bad wigs and sloppy eye makeup. Cleopatra was particularly disappointing for me because I've always been fascinated by her (not the seductress part, more the political/intellectual aspects).

Anyway, must sleep.

It began with an odd compulsion to throw out almost all my existing furniture one night around 3AM. Not necessarily a bad thing - my friends have long joked about my spartan, Flight Club-esque decorating sense (yes, a lot of Ikea stuff left over from college days). Once the place was emptied out, they began to remark on the echo as a perfect accompaniment to my impoverished fridge (which contains a bottle of ketchup, a box of baking soda and a tub of margarine dating back to the Middle Kingdom).

Eventually, I grew tired of the vampire jokes.

Also, I received a bit of fan mail and some interesting questions...probably worthwhile to post my answers here shortly.

Drugs called anthracyclines are a breast chemo staple despite a well-known risk: They weaken some women's hearts. What's new is research suggesting the drugs work no better than safer alternatives for most women.

Anyone who has read a lot of journal articles on cancer will note this interesting shift in focus. Many cancers can now be successfully treated (i.e. complete response obtained with low rate of recurrence) and as a result the long-term toxic properties of chemotherapy drugs actually have time to manifest.

Otherwise, work continues to infringe on my personal life but I'm hoping to finish off that Infidel review tonight.

By the way, we hit our two year anniversary in early July.

I've just updated the Newsroom per Lounsbury's feedback. Random blogosphere glurge (automatically pulled from Google Blogsearch using a long query) has been relegated to the third column where it will undoubtedly be less offensive. Also planning to build Ibn Kafka's new home this weekend, but not sure what the domain should be: ibnkafka.aqoul.com or obiterdicta.aqoul.com?

Most of the entries so far are predictably tiresome. Unsurprisingly, blogosphere chatter about MENA and Islam is largely boring "counter-jihad" material, often recycling tired old myths and misconceptions (as opposed to focused criticism sans gross generalization/hysterics). There are also some extremely well-organized activist sites with call-to-action newsletters, blogs and formal mandates.

Feels a bit like I just woke up and found myself in V for Vendetta.

Turkey is more than a little beyond Kitten's comfort zone (North America, Western Europe) but she's a good sport and feels safe going with me. Of course, I'd just as soon go by myself, but she seemed quite insistent about the two of us vacationing together. She was somewhat concerned about appropriate clothing in a predominantly Muslim country, until I told her that Mavi (makers of impressively low-rise, ass-flattering jeans) is based in Turkey. I'm also pretty sure the beach resort in Antalya will be full of topless German grannies in thong bikinis, so Kitten really has nothing to worry about.

Work is my main time sink right now, and there isn't anything terribly entertaining to report on that front. Last week I had a few 11-hour workdays, which mostly involved attending emergency meetings with people I disliked, followed by 5-6 hour war room sessions with another analyst (thankfully, one of my dearest friends). On Thursday, we went to a pub after work and got completely sloshed after only two drinks. On Friday, management rewarded us with a few rounds at an office party and we got sloshed again. On Saturday, I went to a friend's place for a dinner party and got sloshed on Vespers.

Nasty little habit I'm developing.

Anyway, more later. I'm reading a number of interesting books (see sidebar) and still have to write some promised entries.

Yes, I know you'd all prefer I blogged about Iran's economy but dating dynamics are fascinating and I find it helpful to document my observations for further analysis and consultation with a bunch of intellectual degenerates online.

Onward, then.