I was asked for my opinion on Wiki Leaks and the scandals erupting in cyberspace, where top secret documents suddenly appear to embarrass high•ranking military officials, bureaucrats and corporate barons. Are we justified in having this stuff floating around in the public domain, I was quizzed? Or should we let it all hang out and […]
Too much information Read More »
Having had many careers, all of which eventually ended, I contemplated the evolution of careers and our helpless gravitation towards them. From the days of Ancient Egypt to the middle of the last century it was fashionable for men to take up careers as soldiers. Some of my ancestors were soldiers. Some career soldiers even
I wrote a Christmas story about the Magi a few years ago, which was published this year, and in which I portrayed these three men (before they attained wisdom) fighting a perennial war among themselves somewhere in ancient Persia, until, exhausted with the effort, they see a star in the west (east, for us) and
War and Peace – the eternal cycle Read More »
I have been at this gig now well into my third year and I need to pause and take stock of what I have learned from blogging. There are a lot of pros to this endeavour, I have discovered, as much as there are pitfalls. Here is a list of both for those of you
My Lessons from Blogging Read More »
Writing gurus advise us not to despair when the rejection slips pile up, they urge us to keep going back to the well and digging deeper until a real gem pops out, for after all, “a good story must be told”. After a while, this sounds like another feel•good•ism to sooth the battered writer toiling
A good story will be told – ultimately! Read More »
It is (municipal) election time in my part of the world and the campaigns (including the mud•slinging ones) are out in force. To play the straight guy is to risk losing these days. So go out and smear your opponents with the smelliest shit is the mantra it seems. And while you are at it,
Positioning – or lying to win votes. Are we falling for it? Read More »
I get sent “interesting” videos by friends, fans and strangers, but a couple I received recently turned my stomach. One was of a raid by soldiers on a village in a country that will remain unnamed; the soldiers—for they were uniformed—arrived in this dusty main street of the village on a busy market day, disembarked
The Savage within us Read More »
When I think of the dead ends I have followed over the years and the amount of time I spent on walking those futile pathways, I must have wasted much of my life. Let me itemize a few of these duds that would not offend friends or family (the rest, you will have to imagine!):
The Dead-ends in Life Read More »
I think we are becoming a bunch of depressed people, unwittingly. I mean, look at that piece of converted tree pulp we call a newspaper that we reach for each morning before sipping our wake•me•up coffee. And you computer geeks, you who reach for your laptop or Blackberry instead, you are not absolved either —you
A jolt of bad news with your morning java Read More »
Once upon a time, a man (or woman) entered a job, worked his entire life, and retired not seeing the light of day in another company, not knowing the travails of unemployment unless his own company went bankrupt, remaining naive and loyal, and at retirement receiving a pin, a handshake and a pension. These symbols
The World of the Pieceworker Read More »