Happy New Year (Buddhist).

I am reliably told that today marks the Buddhist New Year. As the Buddhist said to the hot dog seller “Make me one with everything”.

Nature of suffering.

What is the nature of suffering? Is it, as Buddhists hold, due to selfishness? Are the Hindus on the right track with an “atman” or super soul? Christianity doesn’t seem to address the issue “suffering is one of God’s mysteries” as the Vatican told me half a century ago. Is human suffering more or less important than that of animals? Theodicy gives us the dark heart of God (Theology of Auschwitz). Would you concur that karma is a bitch?

Time for a G.K Chesterton quote “If animals could imagine the Devil he would look a lot like a human being”.

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“Mr Blue Sky”

Do you like the musical stylings of ELO? The sun is setting across the Northern Irish border and the lakes of County Fermanagh glisten and glint in the distance. I am told that there is a soccer match going on, but I am typing this instead of watching two dozen Sapphists kick a leather ball around.

The site stats are steadily declining, mostly Americans, some British and a lone Kazakhstani.

Not a sausage.

In all these months. Come on gang. Mum will be disappointed. Shortest blogge post ever.

“Captain Marvel”.

I don’t usually write “what I saw on TV last night” posts but indulge me, this once. ITV seem to be spoiling the BBC ratings, “Killing Eve” is overlong and I lasted five minutes before switching. The plot of Captain Marvel, and I use the word lightly, is an all American girl being given super-powers by aliens. There follows an hour of her throwing empty trains at various baddies, all CGI. The cat caught my eye. Brie Larson, the star, is allergic to felines, so her scenes with the cat are fake. I then wondered what will happen to Brie Larson, when her looks go? She has talent (Room) but Hollywood has no place for menopausal women, beautiful or not. What is it like to be Sylvia Sims? “Ice cold in Alex” she is the cynosure of male eyes, then came aging. I won’t shed too many tears for Brie Larson, she is wealthy and successful, but in a few decades time will she attend comic conventions and autograph photos?

“El Pais”

Is it only me or has anyone else noticed a dichotomy in recent war reporting? The Russo-Ukrainian conflict covered in anglophone media has gory articles on Kiev residents and the depredations of Putin’s army. Now, not for an instance am I going to state that bad things are not happening but look at “El Pais”, “Le Monde” and “La Repubblica”. Yes, coverage of the carnage but without graphic “granny gunned down by kitten eating Chechens”.

Bamber and I.

Sad to hear of the passing of Bamber Gascoine, I met him once in the reading room of the British Museum Library (G for Gascoine, G for Goggins, we had to queue up at the same window to collect.) I cheekily asked him for his autograph. The librarian was unamused.

Happy Hanukkah!

Or is it Chanukkah? The late Joe Slavko would have had an opinion. In this matter, an expert one. Shalom, Sala’am, baby, peace in the Holy Land. Is a two state solution a viable one?

Happy Diwali!

Wishing a happy Diwali to all Hindu and Sikh readers.

China and Taiwan

Is it really anyone else’s business if Peking wishes to go into its own backyard? Splitism is anathema to China and American tub thumping is not helping matters. Xie Xie.