Istanbul insights...

The sounds of call to prayer (Farj, or pre-dawn) are echoing outside. There's a calm yet eerie quality to it, especially since it's still dark outside. I'm in Istanbul, and contrary to the title, this post has nothing to do with any insights I've gathered about Istanbul.

It's 6am in Istanbul and I'm jetlagged. I've just spent the last hour surfing the web, where I came up on a blog written by someone I met recently. Given my line of work, my philosophy on the internet has always been, if it's on there, it's free game. But reading through this particular blog felt strange somehow, like I was intruding on someone's privacy. It made me quickly peruse my own and try to imagine how I'd feel if some near-stranger that had just met me read through it.

I decided that I'd be ok with it...I mean, thoughts are thoughts, and in many senses, blogs are a cathartic way to share your thoughts without having to say them out loud, or to anyone in particular. We're so tied to media and information these days that we don't tell *people* things anymore. It's just easier to blog/tweet/facebook everything. The cool thing is that there's a time-stamped permanent record that allows you to go back and relive the good or the bad. The bad thing is that there's a time-stamped permanent record. Maybe it's our generation's way of coping with the slow disintegration of humanity. Or maybe people are just too lazy to pick up the phone and call, or pick up a pen and write. I guess the jury's still out on that.

As for me, I'm sleepless in Istanbul. Apparently that happens to me quite often.

And as for G: if you ever read this, I'm sorry I read your blog without you knowing. It all makes more sense now.