Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
return to normal.
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
Depressed, repressed, objectified: are men the new women?
So – although women hold only 17 per cent of parliamentary positions across the globe, despite there being only 10 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and ignoring the fact that it is still illegal for a woman to drive a car in Saudi Arabia – it seems that, sometimes, it is harder to be a man.
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
hot! hot! hot!
with the temperatures and the humidity here at their worst, i’ve been spending what little free time i have mostly indoors and by myself. over the past week or so, this has led me to watch three vastly different, yet equally good, movies.
first, batman: gotham knight — not really a traditional movie, to be honest, but a single story told in series of six episodes done in an anime style. this story is meant to serve as the connection between the last batman movie and the next one. i’ve never really watched any, but this was quite enjoyable.
second, in bruges — a madcap story about two hitmen taking cover in, say it with me, bruges. 
there are guns, canals, castles, swans, psychological disorders, cocaine, and even a dwarf. a must see. the city of bruges itself — with its medieval, fairytale atmosphere — plays a big role in the story. i’d say bruges is now on the long list of places i’d like to go, but never will.
third, ensemble, c’est tout — with the bizarre english title hunting & gathering. 
it’s a nice little story about four lonely people — a postcard-selling aristocrat, his grungy chef flatmate, the chef’s grandmama, and a cleaning lady with a gift for sketching. the characters are great, and the acting is too. i’d rather fancy being philo — the aristocrat — but, as it is, i think i’m sort of in between him and the chef.
[yes, i know, this post is made of the most horrendous html evar]
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
incontrivertible proof of cultural decline
From the director of Match Point??? Seriously ???? People are stupid. Full Stop.
Monday, May 26th, 2008
The Gift.
As the day of my departure for a dreaded family reunion/wedding approaches, I’m at a loss concerning what to give the couple as a gift. The groom is a first cousin of mine, but I haven’t seen, or even spoken, to him for a few years. And I’ve never met the bride. So, I can’t really know what they’d like or want. Suggestions? Should I give them money? That’s the SOP in Pakistan, isn’t it? If so, how much?
Monday, May 26th, 2008
Waltz With Bashir
Have you guys heard of this animated documentary? It’s about the Israeli director’s memories of the 1982 war against Lebanon. I’ll admit I heard about it because it premiered at Cannes, but it seems interesting nevertheless. Unfortunately, I don’t know where, or how, to get my hands on it. Will I have to wait for it to actually be released!?
Monday, May 26th, 2008
The Non-Flying Dutchman
I just came across this article in the Financial Times, from April 2006, on Dennis Bergkamp. He was the definitive footballer for me, along with Jürgen Klinsmann, in terms of what I wanted to do on a football pitch — barring his moments of wild anger, of course. Although I only had a few chances to see Klinsmann in action, I feel lucky to have witnessed each of these Bergkamp moments mentioned in the article:
There was his instant flick with back to the goal and then full-circle spin around Nikos Dabizas, of Newcastle United; the loblet that placed Fredrik Ljungberg alone in front of Juventus’s goal; or his outside-of-the-foot strike against Argentina.
For your delight, here is a video (along with some incongruous music) that displays these three moments — the Newcastle goal at 2:04, the Ljungberg assist at 3:26, and the Argentina goal at the end. Here is that last one again, previewed with a goal from Bergkamp’s legendary hat-trick against Leicester City in September 1997 to make the point that it was no fluke.
I think this also sort of explains why I’d sometimes burst into spontaneous laughter or applause while watching football on TV by myself.