RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Affair (Miniseries); 2014-19. Season 1-5 (53 episodes) Some men justify their polyamorous activities by saying that it is the norm. They assert that monogamy is an artificial construct that society conjures to determine ownership, responsibility and financial commitments in exchange for pleasures and the encumbrances emanating. Society has constructed a cookbook recipe of how society should be lived - a monogamous one, sex within the confines of marriage and condemnation of fornication. In defence, Casanovas insist their actions be in sync with the demands of Nature. The male seedlings are produced in abundance with the sole purpose of choosing the best of the offspring. Hence, they are just helping Nature sow their seed far and wide, aiding the production of the best species to flourish. There must be a reason why oestrus cycles are glaringly absent in our species. With such effective health awareness, screening, treatment and contraception at their disposal, they look at unplanne...

This newspaper cutting has been making its rounds in many social media groups, especially amongst the senior section of our society. Understandably they embrace the silver hair stage of their lives with much trepidation. It is anybody’s guess what the future holds for each of us. We try, however, to patch up all possibilities and pave all roads for a smooth transition to the other side. As mischievous as it always is, Nature will inevitably come up with some loophole that we never expected and, thus, are ill-prepared. The generation before us, facing an uncertain future, seeing a world war and migrating for survival, saw education and wealth as a foolproof way to prosperity. Having hardly seen anyone pass their sixth decade of life, everything was done in a hurry. They needed to educate their kids, make a territory their legacy, and save for rainy days as they slowly rode into the sunset after having the pleasure of seeing their offsprings produce offspring. However, they should have c...

P rofessor Thomas Sowell, the 90-year-old veteran economist and social theorist from Hoover Institute of Stanford University, is still active on social media. He is quick to give his opinion, backed by statistics and historical events, to run down ongoing national policies. He is an opinionated person and at one time was drawn to the idea of communism. His rationalisation for gravitating toward the left is that it is just human nature. He wants to share when one has nothing; conversely, he does not share when he tends to lose his 'hard-earned' possession. Sowell hails from Harlem, working as a postal worker as a young man and pulling himself up by his bootstrap to his current stature. He often campaigns against affirmative action and minimum wage. He asserts that the Black American community had a better quality of life when the aforementioned policies were pinned upon them. Another recurrent theme in his rhetorics is the importance of the family unit in the upliftment of socie...

The Farewell (2019) I first heard this story as being narrated by Lulu Wang in the podcast 'American Life'. It tells Lulu's story of how her family dealt with the news of her paternal grandmother's diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. It describes how Lulu's parents, together with her uncle's (father's brother) family in Japan, gathered in China, where the grandmother lives, to bid her farewell. The twist is that the whole family decided not to tell the patient, Nai Nai as she is affectionately referred to. The family, from three countries, descended upon Nai Nai's house under the pretext of celebrating Lulu's Japanese cousin's wedding. Lulu's role is portrayed as an early 30s Chinese American student who goes to China in a soul-searching journey to rediscover her Chinese identity. She learns to appreciate the traditional family values. As their old values dictate that the happy mind would give a healthy body, the family thought that not...

Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri (Tamil, Bhuvana is a question mark; 1977) The question mark in this movie, starred by two powerhouses of the Tamil cinema, is whether a lady should stay chaste to one man even though he had wronged her willingly? The title suggests that Bhuvana would play a pivotal role in the story, surprisingly she only appears in the second half of the show. Rajnikanth acts in one of his first roles in the positive light as before this, he was usually cast as a villain. Sivakumar, for a change, assumes a negative role. This film must have interested directors to put Rajni as their hero after this film. His unique mannerism and stylish stunts must have started here. Rajnikanth (Sambath) and Sivakumar (Nagaraj) are street pedlars selling garments. Even though they are close friends, there are like different like night and day. Nagaraj is a sweet-talking businessman who works hard with a strong ambition for the future. He is also a womaniser who lives for...

Maybe I am becoming a grouchy old man looking at negativity rather than the brighter side of things. Perhaps I have a sour puss face face with a perpetual frown that turns people off. Could it be that I am a nag? Or maybe my appearance and demeanour do not warrant salutations. You do your transactions, you pay your bills and what do you get? Silence. You end up thanking them for fleecing you off your hard earned money. You pay them and thank them. How did it come to this? Whatever happened to mutual respect and social etiquette? You may wonder why do I keep on going to this same outlet in spite of their lethargic treatment of customers. I should just take their business elsewhere. It is not that their spread and splendour of their delicacies outweigh any shortcomings on their part. Neither am I performing a social experiment to determine the number of visits they need to reciprocate wishes. It is by mere convenience that I often land up grabbing a bite or two when I am on the go. T...