“In 1998, Li became the governor of Henan, one of the most populous provinces in China, which was also one of the areas most devastated by HIV/AIDS. During his stint, there were criticisms related to an HIV/AIDS outbreak linked to local blood banks. State-run media attributed the disease’s spread to“illegal blood sales and contaminated blood […]
Read More →Author: tom
Ashura Mubarak!
The firewalking ritual occurs on the Day of Ashura, a Sh’ia celebration. The Sh’ia population in India is a minority group, with approximately 50 million followers and is a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussain Ibn Ali (credits to Wikipedia). Here are some images of Sh’ia Muslims marking the occasion around the world, the images […]
Read More →Drawing Comparisons
This essay draws connections from Blindness to a number of contemporary thinkers, trends and of course, works of literature. Including a small section that looks at both the Plague and Lord of the Flies comparisons that we made also in class. “The novel can also be interpreted and taught from a philosophical and existential standpoint. Some may want […]
Read More →Beauty and the Beast
Thomas Mann’s protagonist, Aschenbach, is a complex character with an obsessive, artistic nature. Aschenbach has a clearly defined view of beauty and his concept is fully represented by the beauty of the boy, Tadzio: “It was the face of Eros, with the yellow gaze of Parian marble, with delicate and serious brows, the temples and […]
Read More →I hate to be an alarmist but…
SARS has hit the Middle East: “Global health officials are closely following a new respiratory virus related to SARS that is believed to have killed at least one person in Saudi Arabia and left another person in critical condition in Britain… Health officials don’t know yet whether the virus could spread as rapidly as SARS did […]
Read More →Poetry and Delirium
I felt there was a neat connection between some of the poems found here and the Second Part to Arthur Mervyn, (shades of Arthur Mervyn and his being shot) “Doctors raving and disputing, death’s pale army still recruiting– What a pother One with t’other! Some a-writing, some a-shooting.” – Philip Freneau Philadelphia, 1793 however what is more revealing […]
Read More →Award Winning Short Film Based on Defoe’s “A Journal of a Plague Year”
The Periwig-Maker is an animated film, so it might spice ol’ Defoe up a little bit. It is directed by Steffen Schaeffler and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards in 2000. I can’t seem to embed it, so here is the link to the vimeo page. It also exists on […]
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