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It’s May

I had planned this issue to go out last Sunday before I went off to Beijing. I had even started two paragraphs on a subject inspired by Harry, on the panopticon theory. It didn’t work out. I made my second attempt on First of May, or May Day, or Labour Day, or whatever you may…

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Hit me again, Sam

While flipping channels hoping to find something interesting or exciting, I came across Larry King talking to Michael J Fox. Fox had just published his sort of autobiography, Lucky Man: A Memoir. During the interview, Fox said convincingly that he found himself to be a happier and better man after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s…

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Health and Happiness

BBC is to be congratulated for a good programme on the special relationship between J K Rowling and Harry Porter aired here last night on channel television. To be fair to BBC, they have produced quite a few quality programmes over the years. Rowling confessed in the documentary that she was never good at handling…

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From Nash to Ahmes

By now, everyone knows who got what Oscars last week. There are therefore no prizes for knowing that A Beautiful Mind got Best Picture and other awards, and that the leading actor Crowe portraying John Forbes Nash, Jr. didn’t get Best Actor. I like watching the Oscars, but this time, I missed all the TV…

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April Fool

It’s April Fools’ Day. Traditions dated two centuries had it that on this day, certain people regarded as intellectually challenged would be sent on fools’ errands from place to place with a letter in which it was written, “On the first day of April, hunt the gowk another mile.” A gowk is a cuckoo and…

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It’s Easter again

It’s Easter again. For most of us, it means four days holidays, and if your schedule permits, you can take the three days off next week so that you would have close to a ten-day holiday, which is what I almost did. Around the middle of the week, Rosita decided to visit her father in…

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World’s Greatest Sevens

Experienced Rotarians in Hong Kong used to warn against the District organizing major events such as the District Conference on a weekend in March that would clash with the Sevens. The reasons are obvious. Over the years such advice has generally been well taken. One cannot expect however the practice to be extended beyond the…