a dancing star!

I tried to explain to my buddy what had just happened, what we, in various states of anxiety and anticipation, had just witnessed: the magnitude of the event, its world-historical importance; the significance of their achievement, both for themselves as well as for the institution.
It finally hit me. I knew what to say.
Bacchus, it is [...]

We’ve been friends since we met in University some twenty years ago. We keep in touch as best we can, which, given we live in opposite sides of the world, means we do the “weddings, births, wakes” circuit. In all this time, Simon has been very possessive and protective about only one thing - his [...]

Susan Henderson, over at her site, is conducting a pop quiz of sorts. I’ve been amazed at the quality of visitors to her site. Here are just some of the many different, quirky and beautiful sites that I’ve come to enjoy, thanks to her efforts.

Writing and surviving in the Netherlands

Write Livelihood: Because [...]

McSweeney’s is at it again. Here are the “7 Habits of Highly Successful People”, according to Brendon Lloyd:

1. Skiing
2. Yachting
3. Snorkeling
4. Golf
5. Polo
6. Dinner parties
7. Shopping
Go on, go there.
Here is my contribution: “Key phrases highlighted in recent negotiation seminar”:

1. Difficult conversations
2. conflict management
3. win-win
4. worsen their alternatives
5. position of strength
6. Getting to “yes”

The Atlantic Monthly site is accessible, but The Believer is not. Yes, granted it could be that the latter’s moniker is taken to heart and makes it deserving of being blocked on religious grounds, but the NYRB is open for all, yet The London Review of Books is blocked. I sense a conspiracy, a conspiracy [...]

The most peculiar things happen when one’s inalienable right to internet access is denied, as mine was for the past days while in (whisper it) Tehran. Not only did someone comment on a post here, thereby dispelling fears that this site’s commenting system was ill-installed, but that someone happens to be a someone who is [...]

If you still can’t understand why, then just participate in this unordinary surf movie. The cinematography is unbelievable; it’s as if you’re on the waves. (15-xii-04)

We are easily programmed to forget. It’s 20 years since the Ethiopian famine and Band Aid. The BBC screened a compelling retrospective this weekend, narrated by Michael Buerk, whose initial reportage brought dying onto our screens and the temporary retreat of cynicism.

Something sedate to wrap up the week: “Max”, the fictional, “what if” recounting of Adolf’s failed apprenticeship. Some have taken the producers to task for tackling the subject; similarly, an installation art piece in Stockholm was vandalised by the Israeli Ambassador. There is a deeply disturbing theological underpinning within this hostile response which denies the [...]