On the Road

Will be leaving for Bangalore tomorrow evening. 

Expect crazy photos upon return. 

Adios, amigo. 

Milan's Curtain and the Edge of the World

The reason for the lack of update is this:

I have been reading Milan Kundera's The Curtain and I just can't put it down.

As someone who writes for his daily bread, it is inevitable that I harvest some kind of fantasy about writing a novel or prose or simply longish-length drama. And this is an amicable companion to the journey, albeit not without plenty of insights that open my eyes to other possibilities of the form.

This book is a celebration of the novel par excellent.

Reading this also brought me back to Prague. And in between the lines, I returned to the edge of the Rudolfinum, where the Vltava snakes out, and where I caught a glimpse of the castle and basked in that fleeting spell.

The exact same feeling as when I took the above picture.

Ahoj, Pan Kundera! Děkuji!

Why Rafael Nadal Should be World No.1

(Photo: Stolen from the BBC Sport website.) 

Rafael Nadal may not have Roger Federer's touch. He moves like a 4x4 with a two-hand backhand, as opposed to Fed's more "gracious", ballet-like one-hand backhand. Nadal likes to tuck at his supertight shorts, while Fed doesn't.

But the world number 2 has the drive, audacity, intensity and is constantly improving.

Something that Federer never has - at least in this French Open final. Or maybe he has past his best?

Or perhaps it's the Mediterranean blood.

6-1, 6-3, 6-0. I am as disappointed as you are.

For a Fed fan (like me), I will just have to say, borrowing from a friend: "Wait until Fed smells the grass at Wimbledon."

Even then, I'm sure we'll see dethronement - if Fed hasn't changed his attitude.

Fabien Baron's Interview

Interview Magazine, started by Andy Warhol in 1969, now has Fabien Baron at its helm.

Nice.

Not that I am into celebrity culture disclaimer. But I really like the new content of it - not least the interview with a handful of filmmakers in the issue - notably the very sicksicksick John Waters and the staggering genius in Harmony Korine. And an interview with Jakob Dylan.

Not much in the design has changed though. But the attitude did - maybe because of the new ownership?

Bryan Adams did the cover photo shoot of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Yes, that Bryan Adams. Aw... ful.

A Lacanian Joke

A Freudian, a Jungian, and a Lacanian walk into a bar.

The Freudian orders a cigar.

The Jungian orders an Etruscan mask to conceal his face.

"You cretins!" says the Lacanian. He then orders a beer, which, however, he does not desire.

As found on McSweeny's.