On Easter Sunday the mall was closed. I went there with the wife for some shopping, and all the shops were gated. But the entrance to the mall itself was unlocked. People wandered up and down the lane, looking into the inaccessible shops, as if hoping one of the stores would be open. There were …
Monastery life
I think I could be happy being a monk/scholar/priest, whatever you want to call it. A person who leaves behind 'life' in order to devote themselves to the world of the mind/spirit. If I could spend every waking hour studying, reading, learning, teaching, etc, I think I could give up material possessions and all the …
Mind games
I've started reading 'The Glass Bead Game' by Herman Hesse, mainly because the title made me think of go. The story features a fictional game that is very abstract and deals with concepts and ideas as the 'pieces'. The players are intellectual elites who use pieces of knowledge or pieces of culture to play their games. The …
The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood
This novel tells a story parallel to Oryx and Crake, and although it was well written and enjoyable, I'm not quite sure what the point of it was. For anyone who has read Oryx and Crake, there is very little new info. It is stuff you already knew, seen through the eyes of new characters. …
Continue reading "The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood"
Painting with words
I imagine sometimes that writing descriptively must be like painting, though I've not done much painting in my life. You get an idea in your head, and you choose the right colors, the right palate, the right style, to get the image you want across. Is finding the right word like finding the right color …

