Saturday, November 15, 2003

Next week is Japan Week at Insead!  Here is an abridged list of the scheduled events: Speaker: Hiroshi Nonomiya, Managing Director, Ripplewood Japan Japanese Brunch Films! Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki) Hanabi (Takeshi Kitano) Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa) Akira (Otomo) (one of Lucky's favorite films of all time.  Go see it.  Now.) Spirited Away (Miyazaki) (Also one of Lucky's favorite films of all time) Sake tasting Kendo demonstration Sushi dinner Looks like another great national week coming up!  How very sad it will be to be back in the real world, where the best of each nation's cultures will not be brought forth for consumption on a silver platter... how bland it will all seem to be... 10:24:03 PM    comment []

Lucky just finished reading José Saramago's masterpiece Blindness.  It is a novel with a simple premise: examine what happens to society when a contagious blindness appears out of the blue.  Much like Lord of the Flies, it describes the unspeakable horrors to which man reverts when familiar social constructs disappear. It is quite heavy, describing the terrifying experiences through which the protagonists live.  You may feel emotionally exhausted halfway through, but press on; the epic tale continues and you will be richly rewarded at the end. An aside: Saramago writes the longest sentences ever seen in a modern novel; you will regularly see full-page blocks of text with nary a period in sight.  Don't let this frighten you.  The prose is easy, the insights bright; a work of art. 10:04:57 PM    comment []