In the film ‘Don’t Look Back’ (Ne Te Retourne Pas), Jeanne (played by Sophie Marceau) realises that small but definite changes seem to be taking place in her life in every aspect… from the arrangement of the furniture in her house, to the appearance of her family members. In fact, her own appearance begins to [...]

Bought a big box of biscuits… at a great price. Then it turned out… that the expiry date is really close. Can I finish them before they expire? Why should I imagine I can? Can I finish them before I expire? Why should I imagine I can? Surely, many die with unfinished biscuits, ‘biting’ off [...]

Daoni and company (my soft toy dogs) look different from different angles. They might look sad from one, but glad from another. But that’s just physical. People’s characters too, look different from different views. They might seem bad from one, but good from another. And they change too… more unpredictably than my dogs.

Watch the early morning sun Drip like blood from the day See the crazy people run So many games to play See the blue suburban dream Under the jet plane sky Sleep away and dream a dream Life is just a lullaby Ah Ah Ah And everything will flow Watch the day begin again Whispering [...]

A Tit for a Tat (63) Tit: What do you think of her? Tat: Oh! She IS a …… person! Tit: You seem very sure. Do you know her very well? Tat: That was from my experience a few years back. Tit: Maybe she has changed since? Tat: I guess it’s possible, but I wouldn’t [...]

I would like to share what I call the Chrysalis Effect… From everything ugly and even seemingly disgusting (e.g. a ‘worm’ in a chrysalis), something beautiful and even wonderful can emerge (e.g. a butterfly), through metamorphosis, that is not just physical but spiritual too. This is the power of change within this life, but there [...]

Something strange happened. I discovered that the ‘same’ nails are never always the same. Physical stuff change… slowly sometimes but surely. The day before yesterday, I checked my fingernails. They were on the verge of being too long, but still tolerable. I decided not to cut them. Yesterday, I scratched with my fingernails. They had [...]

There is no real solid ball. There is just a bundle of potential (elastic) energy, that binds itself inwards. Likewise, there is no real solid anything else. There are just bundles of energy, that interact with one another. And outward interaction is possible only when there is constant change (Anicca), only when there is no [...]

In the poignant but touching story of ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, a young girl realises that she was conceived specifically to save her older sister’s life. She decides to sue her parents for ‘medical emancipation’ – to reject any further bodily donations, so that she can live her life fully, in a carefree manner. Now that [...]

‘Funny People’ is largely a comedy, but it is also a serious movie with elements of tragedy too. Okay, a tragicomedy it is then, with a heavier slant on comedy. It’s about a seasoned comedian (George Simmons, played by Adam Sandler), who was diagnosed with a fatal sickness, who thereafter struggles to take it lightheartedly [...]

Used to wonder what’s so wonderful about the beach… Till I realised it is the meeting point of many things… Not just surfboards, Not just volleyballs, Not just deck chairs… Of the vast sky, Of the vast sea, Of the vast land… Of calm of waves, Of turmoil at times, Of paradoxes of life… Of [...]

Voted song of 2008 by Rolling Stone, The Killers’ ‘Human’ has an interesting line, that seems grammatically incorrect – ‘Are we human, or are we dancer?’ Wikipedia: ‘There remains confusion and debate over the line “Are we human, or are we dancer?” in the song’s chorus. Debate raged across the internet over whether the lyrics [...]

Anicca… is the truth of impermanence. From the perspective of time, nothing is unchanging, while Nirvana is timeless. Dukkha… is the truth of dissatisfaction. From the perspective of experience, nothing is truly fulfilling, while Nirvana is bliss. Anatta… is the truth of insubstantiality. From the perspective of space, nothing has self-nature, while Nirvana is true [...]

TV drama serials (or soap operas), creative as they can be in their story arcs, are at times predictable – in the sense that when, say, a many-membered family seems to be very happy, we know that something unhappy is going to happen to at least one of them, which gradually affects them all. At [...]

From yesterday’s news, a headline (and sub-heading) reads – ‘A star to the end: (Michael) Jackson mourners kept waiting as casket arrives late’. It finally arrived 90 minutes after the scheduled time. An interesting question came to mind. If it arrives even much later, will the mourners feel more sorrow or less sorrow? With no [...]