Classic Movie Review: Battle Royale (2000)

I understand I have it backwards. I watched The Hunger Games, which I thoroughly enjoyed, then decided to check out its Japanese predecessor, which many say Suzanne Collins’ novel takes from quite liberally. I must admit, for the longest time I thought Battle Royale, the movie, was based on the manga (of which I had
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An Afternoon with Joss Whedon

I felt like a bit of a fraud attending Joss Whedon‘s one-and-only “show” at the Sydney Opera House a few Sundays ago. After all, while I was in awe of the man’s undeniable talent and achievements (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible, and in 2012, The Avengers), I don’t consider myself a hardcore fan. To
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Indian Journey Part XII: The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World“, deserves a whole post to itself. For once, I actually agree with the guide books that say that pictures do not do the Taj Mahal justice. It’s just one of those things that you simply have to see in person to fully appreciate
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Favourite passages from Anne Lamott’s ‘Bird by Bird’

One of my favourite memories from the UK was reading Anne Lamott’s classic writing memoir, Bird by Bird, on a lazy afternoon in 2009 in the Borders bookstore in Cambridge. It was one of those books that writing courses love to use and extract from at every opportunity because it’s simple, instructional, insightful and poignant —
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