We are just inventory?

Asteroid City (2023)

Director: Wes Anderson

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296207471307

This film received mixed reviews. One either loved it or hated it. The trouble is that it needed to be viewed more than once to grasp the essence of the story it attempts to tell. Even most film critics conceded to watching the film multiple times before putting pen to paper to share their two cents' worth.

Wes Anderson films have cult followings. As with all Wes Anderson movies, the most striking aspect is the deliberate choice of comforting light colours, which evoke specific emotions and imbue the story with a nostalgic feel. The images presented on screen are symmetrical; the colours selected come from a particular spectrum; the characters are quirky; and the scenes are interspersed with moments of awkward silence.

This time around, the film centres on two concurrent sets. One, presented in black and white, is a play as narrated by the screenplay and director. The second is set in the present (i.e. 1950s), where nuclear tests are taking place in a remote desert town, Asteroid City. Meanwhile, a stage announcer is seen, seemingly breaking the fourth wall, and perhaps the actors do the same. The actors move between sets, as if everything is merely a continuum, blending the past and the future. This leaves viewers wondering about its true meaning. One must make one's own judgment about the narration. 

The present set features a fictional town in the desert, with its landmark icon being an asteroid allegedly left behind by an alien, hence its name, Asteroid City. It serves as a stopover point for science enthusiasts eager to view a particular constellation in the sky. Coincidentally, a junior astronomy award presentation is also taking place there. 

Angus Steenbeck, a recently widowed war photographer, arrives with his prodigy son, Woodrow, and his three young daughters in Asteroid City. Woodrow is to receive an award. Their car breaks down, forcing all five to stay behind. Although their mother passed away three months prior, Angus has not yet told his children the bad news. Their neighbours at the chalet are Midge Campbell, a weary star, and her teenage daughter, Dinah. Dinah is also to be honoured at a grand ceremony, which will be attended by renowned scientists and high-ranking military officials.

During the event, something strange occurs. An alien spacecraft hovers over the town, and an alien descends to collect the asteroid before disappearing into the night’s darkness. A quarantine is imposed, and a media blackout is enforced, treating the city as a danger zone.

Nestled within this narration is the 'black and white' stage play, where the director recounts the story.

At the end of the day, the key lessons from this film include managing grief, the uncertainty of life, how people often dictate to others how life should be lived, perhaps the question of what is truly presented to us, and likely the question of divinity. We convince ourselves that life ought to be lived in a certain way, as if we possess that knowledge. As if someone has crossed to the other side and returned to tell the tale. What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that nobody truly knows anything. The loudest and most charismatic among us lead, while the rest simply follow. Sometimes, the truth is suppressed to further their personal agendas. The person who controls the news controls the world. No matter how much the truth is buried, it has a way of resurfacing.

Lest remains the unanswered, burning question: Why are we here? What is the plan? Are we merely to create the inventory?

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History rhymes?

https://www.dailynews.com/2023/08/28/fentanyl-addiction-fuels-u
nderground-shoplifting-economy-in-las-macarthur-park/

If one lives long enough, one will realise that history has an unmistakable tendency to repeat itself. Occasionally, the roles are reversed, with the initial victims now taking on the role of the aggressor. At times, history also rhymes, featuring different players in somewhat altered contexts.

The latest thing that caught my eye is how the USA is raising such a hue and cry over the fentanyl problem that has hit the country. They are creating quite a scene on the international stage, squarely blaming the issue on China. The raw material, allegedly synthesised in China, has found its way into America through agents in Mexico and Canada. Recently, India was also called upon to assist, as it serves as a stopover for the merchandise, or perhaps some of its components are manufactured in India, the capital of pharmaceuticals.

The amusing thing is that it is primarily the USA that is so severely affected by the recreational use of fentanyl. Other Western countries are not as impacted. Interestingly, the potency of fentanyl has increased substantially over the years, leading to even accidental deaths of American paramedics attending to overdosed patients through mere inhalation or skin contact. The US (the West) is crying foul.

Interestingly, over two hundred years ago, such a fiasco dealt a significant blow to one of the two wealthiest nations in the world, China, which took over a hundred years to recover from the consequences.

The Western imperial powers believed they were providing a valuable service by introducing cannabis to China. The East India Company (EIC) viewed the business in which the Portuguese were engaged as notably profitable. The British were willing to spend excessive amounts on Chinese silk, porcelain (which they affectionately referred to as "china"), and tea. As a result, Britain was losing a considerable amount of silver to China, depleting the national coffers.

https://images.app.goo.gl/4LBwmSgZZa4yB9vZ7

Opium was widely available in India, and by the end of the 18th century, the country was under the control of the EIC. It began cultivating opium on an industrial scale. Many farmers were coerced, lacking choices or under compulsion, to grow this highly prized commodity destined for China. Numerous local traders and middlemen benefited from this arrangement. Even the Mughals became involved by cultivating opium in the fields they owned.

 

In China, the limited access imposed on foreigners confined their business dealings to Guangzhou (Canton), Xiamen (Amoy), and Zhoushan. From these ports, smuggled opium was transported to the mainland. Over time, this transformed the once-mighty Middle Kingdom into a land of addicts. At its peak, there were between 10 and 12 million addicts in China.

It culminated in two opium wars, treaties, territorial losses for China, legislation regulating the opium trade, the rights of foreigners to engage in trade, and the permission for Christian missionaries to traverse China. Subsequently, the Qing Dynasty fell. It took nearly a century, marked by numerous coups, upheavals, and shifts in political systems, for normalcy to be restored. That is how long it took for a generation to recover and for the nation to reclaim its dignity.

 

So, the last time a country fell into the clutches of addiction, what did the rest of the world do, and what did the opportunists within the country do? They reaped the benefits that arose from other people's miseries. Nobody truly helped; they simply asked, "What's it for me?"

British faux pas. Pinning poppy flowers at the Hong Kong handover ceremony
in 1997. Reminding the former owners of the real reason why they lost
 Hong Kong in the first place. Or is it their way of giving the middle finger?

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Hope lies buried in eternity!

Most prayers we offer to a higher being invariably end with 'Peace on Earth' or 'Happiness for All'. Prayers like 'Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha 'and 'Om Shanti'  assume that everyone can have things their way at one given time, creating a win-win situation. Such a situation can only exist in our imagination.

https://borderlessjournal.com/2025/06/16/hope-lies-buried-in-eternity/

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Fliers taken for a ride?

oneworldvirtual.org/fleet/models/malaysia-airlines-boeing-737-8h6wl

Fliers in Malaysia are treated like flies. They are taken for granted, akin to how flies are viewed in the wet market—an accepted but necessary annoyance. Since the emergence of low-cost carriers and the widespread use of the internet for bookings, travelling has never been easier. 

Once the enticement concludes with super saver offers and the fabricated excitement that seats are selling out quickly, and once the transactions are finalised, the ball will be in the airlines' court. They have the freedom to postpone, cancel, and reschedule any trip to meet their business requirements, ensuring maximum returns. Multiple flights can be consolidated into a single journey if there are few passengers on a specific route. They do not owe their customers any explanation. In fact, contacting them is made nearly impossible. If customers persist, they can be redirected to chatbots, but only after verifying that the customers are indeed human. Humans must also pass the Turing test. The irony is that now machines are confirming humans to be humans!

Airlines may conceal behind the pretext of technical reasons, which can vary from a pilot failing to arrive for duty to a missing jet engine. 

It was a long weekend filled with wedding invitations, one or two at a time, back to back. Amidst this, a dear friend succumbed to a heart attack, making the weekend resemble a scene from 'Four Weddings and A Funeral', though with less masala.

I had booked a flight to Johor Bahru for 2:40 pm on a Friday. I thought there would be just enough time to finish off work and rush to the airport.

 

A few days before the flight, an email arrived informing me that the flight would be delayed by an hour, to 3:40 pm. This was fine, as the wedding was scheduled to start at 7 pm. It provided ample time to settle in and join the merriment. 

Once again, a day before the journey, there is another announcement. The plane now takes off an hour later, at 4:35 pm. How convenient. Of course, they offered a refund if the change was unacceptable, but one can only imagine the inconveniences and extra costs incurred if a new order is placed relatively close to the departure date. The airline can obscure their responsibilities under the often unread contract that customers must agree to before purchasing their tickets - it is the prerogative of the airline to delay, postpone, or even cancel the flight. 

Anyway, I made the trip in time for the function.

 

My return flight was scheduled for the following morning, the first one out at 6:30 am. If leaving early and rushing to the airport at an unearthly hour to arrive before the stipulated time was not enough, imagine how frustrating it is when the flight is delayed. Why was there a delay when the airport was clear, the weather was fine, and the plane was just starting its journey for the day? It's anybody's guess—no announcement and, obviously, no apologies. 

The reason people prefer air travel over driving in Malaysia, which boasts an extensive highway network admired globally, is the convenience it offers. The unpredictability of traffic conditions makes driving burdensome, especially for short trips. Although the travel time is comparable in both scenarios, the freshness factor becomes a significant consideration. The time needed to reach the airport, check in two hours before departure, and wait will be similar if one were to drive to the equivalent destination on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia.

 

It appears that Malaysians are being taken for fools. They find themselves at the mercy of these operators, be they local budget carriers or regular airlines. There may be a need for assertive customers with a mob mentality, rather than the compliant, submissive ones they typically encounter here.

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Give a miss!

Thug Life (2025)
Director: Mani Ratnam

https://www.justwatch.com/za/movie/thug-life-2025

Following the release of this film, one realises the extent to which external forces are harnessing the power of social media to sway public opinion on various matters. Furthermore, films act as platforms for disseminating the ideologies of political parties.

Even before the film's release in Karnataka, during his promotional tours, Kamal Haasan, the central star of the movie, inadvertently – or perhaps not – provoked a diplomatic row between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In his speech, he stated that the Kannada language is an offshoot of the Tamil language. This was not taken lightly by loyalists and politicians alike, who spoke the Kannada language. 

It is no secret that Kamal Hassan's political party is currently allied with the DMK, the ruling party of Tamil Nadu. The DMK practises divisive politics based on language, ethnicity, and anti-Hindu sentiments. Kamal Hassan is merely announcing his resurgence in Tamil Nadu politics. The State of Karnataka was a latecomer, having been carved out of the Mysore Presidency in 1956 on linguistic grounds, and has faced conflicts with Tamil Nadu over the flow of water from the River Cauvery, the worst of which occurred in 1991. This was when anti-Tamil looting and the burning of vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu number plates escalated after a Tribunal ordered the release of Cauvery water into Tamil Nadu. Although Hassan's statements were not incorrect, the Kannadian fundamentalists are unlikely to accept any of this. It is irrelevant that Tamil is an older language with evidence from ancient tablets, or that both languages may have arisen from a common ancestor, the Proto-Dravidian language.

The row has taken on monumental proportions, with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce collaborating with politicians to ban its screening in the state of Karnataka.

The film itself was not groundbreaking. Movie enthusiasts have encountered numerous films with similar storylines. In fact, Nayagan, which the director made in 1987 with the same star, featured a son avenging his father's death, just as this one does. Narratives of betrayal and rebellion among gangsters are nothing new. Netizens were quick to point out several glaring plot holes. There is an awkward moment when an adopted daughter might have married her brother. In another instance, both father and son could be vying for the same woman in intimate relationships. The characterisation is superficial, and there are far too many characters who do not contribute significantly to the story.

 

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people
/thuggees-002145

I was more interested in the origin of the word 'thug'. It has Indian origins. It was during the time of the British Raj, and the colonisers were eyeing the mineral-rich interior lands, which were home to a tribal group that prayed to a form of Kaali named Thugee. The Thugees naturally wanted to defend their land. Just as the Mau Mau people of Kenya were vilified by the British to create stories of them being cannibals and baby snatchers, the Thugees were described as deadly assassins who moved in groups to identify their prey. Their weapon of choice was a bandana, with which they would strangle their victims and kill them. The Thugs were feared so intensely that they entered the English lexicon.

There is another connection between thugs and the origin of the word 'assassin'. Not all thugs are Hindus; some are Muslims. The Muslim influence can be traced back to the mid-1200s in Persia. There was a group of mercenaries who were compensated with hashish; hence, they were called 'Hashshashins'. The Hashshashins became known as assassins in the English language. They moved about, fighting for and against the Muslim kingdom while opposing the Crusaders. They battled the Mongols quite disastrously, who chased them away to India, where they lived among tribal communities. They mingled with the Thugee worshippers and collaborated with them. The Hashshashins revered Kali but did not worship Her. Of course, all this could merely be a figment of the British Raj's imagination, conjuring a bogeyman out of the Indians.

 

(P.S. A film that is not worth discussing. There are already far too many YouTube channels offering brutal rundowns on this movie.)

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Just another year?

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

Documentary - 8 episodes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14544732/

1971 could have been merely a non-discrete year, but the creators of this docu-series believed it marked a watershed moment. They considered it the year when the carefree values of the 1960s began to shift. It represented the onset of revolutions. The generation born in the post-war years, once content, has aged, and their offspring now find themselves in a world rife with turmoil and uncertainty. 

In the late 1960s, America witnessed its sons returning in body bags from defending a country that did not wish to be defended. The Americans saw no reason to uphold the free world against a perceived communist threat. 

The hippie movement created a new cocoon for disillusioned youths to escape into weed, and rock and roll. In relation to that, the cult killing by the Manson family took centre stage. 

The hierarchical and patriarchal order of society was shifting. The introduction of oral contraceptive pills provided women, for the first time in their lives, an opportunity to control their fertility and potentially their sexuality as well. This was particularly significant, as they gained more self-confidence after emerging en masse to support the economy when men went off to fight in World War II. 

1971 must have seemed meaningless. With the Beatles breaking up, Lennon and Yoko engaging in their eccentric activities, and the great musicians Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix having passed away, the youth must have felt that music was dead. A new wave of performers emerged, bringing fresh messages and revolutionary ideas. 

Marvin Gaye belted out protest songs with 'What's Going On?'. Aretha Franklin joined the movement of Black Consciousness, and Tina Turner became an icon of female empowerment following her publicised abusive relationship with Ike. The Rolling Stones attempted to fill the gap left by the Beatles, but were often busy rolling dope in the South of France. David Bowie was making his mark on the scene with his androgynous appearance, dressed in a full gown. 

The Black Power movement was in full swing. Angela Davis, a UCLA professor and an unapologetic, card-carrying member of the US Communist Party, was in the spotlight. The gun she had acquired was used in the courtroom killing of a judge. Numerous musicians rallied behind her. James Brown's soul music empowered Black men and women. 

1971 was also when the world realised that our minds can be fickle and suggestible. The Stanford Experiment taught us an invaluable lesson that remains relevant today—anonymity caused people to behave in a despicable manner. The Charles Manson trials revealed how impressionable, naive young minds can be manipulated into committing outrageous acts. The US Army massacre at My Lai in Vietnam demonstrated that the Americans were no different from the Germans in Auschwitz and the Japanese in Nanking.

It was a time of political awareness, social change, and musical experimentation. It was also the birthplace of many fantastic singer-songwriters, such as Carole King and Joni Mitchell. Music was explored using electronic devices, such as synthesisers, as exemplified by the band The Who.

1971 witnessed the UK's longest obscenity trial, which involved a 1960s counterculture publication, Oz. In one of its editions, schoolchildren were invited to edit the Schoolkids' Issue, which included pasting a cartoon mascot from the Daily Express into a sex strip illustration. The editors received jail sentences. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who were themselves embroiled in controversy over nude album covers, came to their defence by organising protest marches and dedicating a song to this cause.

Logically, not everything changes in a year. Many of the things mentioned evolve over time.

 

1971 could be merely a random year. Every year contributes slightly to the transformation of our life on Earth. 1971 might serve as just a talking point, much like the story of how the Hardy-Ramanujan number came about. When visiting mathematician Ramanujan in the hospital, Professor Hardy, unsure of how to break the ice, mentioned that he took a taxi with the number 1729, which he considered dull. Ramanujan responded by stating that the number was interesting because it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. [1729 can be expressed as 1³ + 12³ = 10³ + 9³]

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Acceptance or Tolerance?

https://www.ndtv.com/feature/video-indian-woman
-eats-rice-with-bare-hands-on-london-tube-divides-internet-8530127

One of the most pressing dilemmas currently facing Londoners is whether it is acceptable to eat on the London Underground trains. This issue arose when a video surfaced of an Indian-origin woman eating curry and rice with her hands aboard a London Tube. While she was eating with her hands, she was also talking loudly on her phone. This has sparked a fierce online debate about cultural differences and public etiquette, eliciting a wide range of reactions.

About thirty years ago, during my maiden trip to the UK, as I was travelling on the Tube, I noticed a seemingly mildly spastic young person making himself a sandwich on the go, putting his meat, salad, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and the rest on his bread. His tremors and poorly coordinated hand movements were obvious. Bits of crumbs and other contents, along with juice, seemed to smear the whole area—the seat and the floor. Fellow curious passengers were observing from the corners of their eyes but said nothing. In my mind, his act was a public nuisance; dirtying the place and making it inconvenient for the next person to occupy it. It was also my first lesson in personal space and liberty. It only became a problem when my space invaded yours. For that, we have rules and laws to sort it out.

I also thought that eating on public transport was forbidden. Or it is a Malaysian thing, not wanting to bring non-halal food into the public sphere. According to London.gov.uk and tfl.gov.uk, food and drink are currently permitted on the London Underground. However, it is mindful to ensure that food does not emit a pungent odour that would inconvenience fellow commuters.

Then there is the matter of preserving public peace. Perhaps due to tradition or the unavailability of a clear telephone connection, Asians have a peculiar habit of shouting on the phone, as if we are still using STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) calls. For people in the UK, seeing a person savouring her finger-licking good Dhall and rice while yelling instructions at the top of her voice to her subordinates was too much to stomach. Hence, there is a call for some kind of social etiquette for train travellers.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, but beggars cannot be choosers either.

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