Tag Archives: blog

pendulums.

In ‘Boat Story’, Samuel Wells laments his inability to escape the vice-grip that his greed has held him in after stealing money from the scene of a crime. Despite several near-successes, where he almost outwits the plans of the nefarious Tailor to survive with the money and his life, he finally reaches a state ofContinue reading “pendulums.”

scale of confession.

Charles Allan Gilbert’s ecclesiastical ‘All Is Vanity’ (1892) is not simply one of the most iconic memento mori illustrations, but is a window into perspective. We are often encouraged to view things from opposing sides or through numerous lenses, but All Is Vanity demonstrates that what we directly perceive and what we desire or knowContinue reading “scale of confession.”

marble.

In Jordan Peele’s 2019 psychological thriller ‘US’, Adelaide Thomas stumbles upon a dilapidated hall of mirrors and encounters her doppelgänger hidden away in the shadows. Familiar on the face of it, staring back at her reflection whilst recognising that there is something slightly amiss is an unsettling feeling because it is not the monster thatContinue reading “marble.”

jaded.

In between bouts of seasonal flus that have felt more potent than in winters gone by, I gained a greater appreciation for existing with the privilege of relatively full health. The preservation and function of our mind and body is a central pillar of our lives that is too often dismissed as the Ulysses pactContinue reading “jaded.”

jail tonight.

DONDA is here. After a number of delayed release dates and the typical circus theatrics that seem to accompany Kanye West at every step in recent times, the ecclesiastical, immersive project that he promised landed on streaming sites, honouring his late, great mother. Don’t get me wrong. The album is serially disjointed and has aContinue reading “jail tonight.”

the great puzzle.

Turning a year older has, while losing its superficial fanfare, allowed me to set aside time to realign myself. Goals and aspirations are relatively easy to establish and can be acted on during the routine of working life, but self-reflection tends to be that heavy fog you never quite want to peer through. I’ve foundContinue reading “the great puzzle.”

faceless killer.

I have been reading Arthur Schopenhauer’s, ‘On the Suffering of the World’, and have been quietly astounded as to how readily it has conjured up a fresh perception of the human condition. Even a serial optimist such as myself is carefully guided to connect the dots, revealing what is already quite evident; the futility of humanity’sContinue reading “faceless killer.”

moving train.

My initial reading through the broad strokes of Indian philosophy have concerned the art of refocusing perspective, which is more of a honed skill than an innate quality. This, of course, is tied closely with the practice of yoga, which is seen rather simplistically as a mode of relaxation or exercise in Western culture. ButContinue reading “moving train.”

ascending from the husk.

And so this year has settled into a gentle denouement, and yet for much of it, I was anticipating twelve months of crippling uncertainty. The downward spiral of the steepest learning curve to date taught me to not take anything for granted, and that nothing is ever really stable. I have learnt about our misguidedContinue reading “ascending from the husk.”

forstater and staunch beliefs.

A defining moment, I must say. The case of Maya Forstater reached its conclusion today, where the Central London Employment Tribunal upheld Fortstater’s sacking over a series of tweets questioning government plans to allow trans people to self-identify as another, which had caused distress to her co-workers. This might seem fairly unremarkable, but the outcomeContinue reading “forstater and staunch beliefs.”

the axe.

In the run-up to a generation-defining election in the U.K., there has been much pandering by politicians in the form of short, vague slogans. A gentle reminder that the preservation of self-interest runs deep into the foundations of the Palace of Westminster, and despite the wielding of power being less tyrannical compared to centuries goneContinue reading “the axe.”

on death.

One of the great human failings is our inability to handle grief. There are not many things I find more emotionally taxing than trying to process and reconcile the permanence of death, and this is a commonality between us all. It is strange that, despite its certainty, the concept of death doesn’t become any lessContinue reading “on death.”

what do they know?

In an age of abundance, where we are bombarded with information that leaks out of our pockets, it is no surprise that we are living in a period that has been dubbed by some as ‘The Age of Disinformation’. We see this most evidently in our politics, as actors existing in the extreme ends ofContinue reading “what do they know?”

santorini sunset.

24/08/2019 Appreciating the rare moments in which the majesty of the cosmos peeks behind the curtain of our monotonous exercises. There is so much to be grateful for, and yet I can’t help feeling suppressed at times. Mere escapism from routine is a distraction, and proves ineffective in re-aligning my perspective in times when IContinue reading “santorini sunset.”

single player.

It’s quite disheartening to realise that there’s a chance that all this hard work could amount to nothing, or that the door I’m desperate to burst through has closed shut before I’ve even reached for the handle. Coupled with the certainty that I am bound to make countless mistakes on the way, it seems theContinue reading “single player.”

isolation radar.

I recently watched this video, where members of the public could ask any question to a person from the incel community, short for ‘involuntarily celibate’. There are many aspects of the incel community’s core beliefs that I struggle to reconcile with my own, which includes the subservience of women as an apparent means to reachContinue reading “isolation radar.”