World View

Strangers in Arms

Connection is our default. If you are an avid reader of social media comments like me, it is tempting to give up on humans for their sheer pettiness. For example, recently, a woman waiting at a red light posted a video of a negligent driver causing an accident. People chided her for filming and not […]

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A LITTLE STAR IS BORN

Some stars are born despite black holes.      Last week, I watched the Malayalam blockbuster film RDX on Netflix. It lives up to the hype of a kickass out-and-out action movie. Even the film’s villains are receiving public adulation, a rare occurrence among a lead-obsessed audience, and this film has three of them. The film works

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WHAT’S IN MY BAG?

In an early writing exercise in her book, “The Way of a Fearless Writer,” Beth Kempton asks you to empty your bag and write about its contents. I decided to write about the “god pouch” I have carried in my bag for over a decade, although its contents have doubled. My god pouch is my

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Déjà vu

History repeats itself; just watch the dogs.  Seeing dogs in the NYC streets always gives me a sense of déjà vu. Are we at the cusp of the dogs’ civil rights movement? A non-violent uprising that will see them achieve equality with their masters. You see, it always starts with the indignity of performing one’s

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PLEASE ADJUST

Effective persuasion is passive-aggressive.   “Please adjust” is India’s infallible persuasion mantra. In a country of over a billion people, scarcity is a way of life, and you must give and take to keep things on an even keel. Please adjust is a polite request to someone to make some space; wait a little longer or

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KISS AND TELL

Please kiss but don’t tell. Mary Oliver’s blisteringly beautiful poem, “Someone I know,” ticked me off. Please read the poem before I explain why.     I know someone who kisses the way a flower opens but more rapidly. Flowers are sweet. They have short, beatific lives. They offer much pleasure. There is nothing in the world

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