2006

I last had an entry with this title in 2004, so I thought I'd revisit the year a bit from my point of view.



Worldwide, Saddam Hussein was executed in dubious circumstances (again, The Rob does a good job of elucidating how potentially harmful and insufficient this process was).   Afghanistant continues to regress into chaos.  Iran continues to develop nukes.  Ivory Coast continues civil war, and huge swaths of central Africa struggle to find peace.  Sudan remains a genocidal disaster area.  Iraq seems to get worse and worse by the month, as more troops have now died than the number of people who perished in 9/11 - though to be honest, I'm not sure what significance there is to that number.  The Tamil Tigers continue to butt heads with the government in Sri Lanka. 



Whether The Rob is right about Iraq under Saddam vs. Iraq now remains to be seen.  Two years ago, I would have been more prone to agree with him.  Now, however, I'm not so sure.  Being from direct African descent, my parents are used to living under brutal dictatorships.  I have to say, at least when a strongman runs a country, you can probably visit and go about your life as long as you don't speak out against the government and mind your own business.  Even that aborted perversion of freedom is missing from Iraqi life today.  This is all very depressing, isn't it?  Let's move on.



The Democrats re-took Congress (or perhaps just one house, depending on the health of one Democratic senator recovering from a stroke).  America finally got fed up with the inevitable corruption of one-party rule lasting more than 8 years, and voted out the Republican majorities at the federal, state and local levels.   Power corrupts, and absolute power...you've heard it before.  New Orleans still has not yet recovered from Katrina, but their football team now gives thousands of residents something for us all to cheer about.  Mike Brown got villified, then somewhat forgiven for his failed FEMA leadership. 



In lighter news, music and TV culture continues to contradict itself - crappier and much better at the same time.  For every Hell Hath No Fury, there's a Kingdom Come.  For every great show, there is a "Flavor of Love" lurking around the corner.  Such is life.



I wasn't too sad to see 2005 go - in many respects, it wasn't the best year for me.  2006 was largely a year of recovery and renewal.  By no means was the outcome preordained - I had, and still have, many psychological scars from everything that went down in 2005.  But now, I don't have many complains.  I returned to gainful employment in my field, I rconnected with my major academically, I proved to myself that I belonged and chose my degree somewhat wisely, and I restored my geographical and physical independence.  I reclaimed a reasonably full social life in D.C. and combined the old with the new in a way that I can live with.  I got into a fantastic living situation with people that I actuallly enjoy spending time with.  I reconnected with old friends and acquaintances that I never thought I'd see again, and reconnected in person with almost all my close friends over the course of the year. 



At this time last year, I was coping with the sting of failure, the late stages of post-continental-moving trauma, a lack of career direction, a mild depression and a lot of self-doubt.  This New Year's Eve, I feel rejuvenated, grateful for my lot and empowered to pursue a horizon replete with opportunities.  I can practically be reached at BionicCabana@obsidianpotency.com at this point.   Yep - 2006 started off really tough...but faith, hope and love helped me to make sure it ended well.



Now, it's time to party hard.  Happy New Year to the Obsidian Potency crew and everyone else.  Just like always, let's try to make it better than the last. 

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