Dueling the Devil on a Ranard-Ek in Thailand
The tale of a possessed guitar player dueling with the devil to reclaim his soul is well known among American blues fans. …
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Mandala Snow Art
Burmese Days, George Orwell, 1934
Burma was the land of mystery in my youth. Daring men who fought in secret wars in dark green and …
Autumn Landscape, Hồ Xuân Hương, early 19th Century, Vietnam
Begining to think about a trip to South East Asia, including 12 days in Vietnam, I turned to a friend …
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh, Vietnam
Bao Ninh’s convention shattering novel of war, The Sorrow of War, (1991/1994) opens at war’s end. Kien is in the …
Cambodia: Through a Thief’s Eyes
The first I ever heard of Angkor Wat’s fabulous temple complex was reading Andre Malraux at a young age, probably …
The Life of Pi: To Believe or Not to Believe
I am trying to understand why I came out grumpy rather than enthused from Ang Lee’s spectacular CGI movie, The …
Girl By the Road at Night: Misery Writ Small
Girl By the Road at Night (2010) by David Rabe, a highly praised playwright and author of several other novels, …
Platoon: Americans In Vietnam
With a trip to Vietnam a few months ahead of me I’ve been running old movies and new books through …
Novel Without A Name: of Vietnam, A Man, A Country and A War
Beginning to prepare for a February trip to South East Asia I do what I always do — read. What …
Oblomov: The Greatest Russian Novel You’ve Never Heard Of
1842 to 1880: what a forty years for readers of literary masterworks! Beginning with Gogol’s Dead Souls and ending with …
Just and Unjust Wars: Just and Unjust Combatants: The Theory
Despite being an adult-long pacator I’ve never paid too much attention to Just War Theory. Being brought up by Roman Catholics I …