A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. – Adolphe Adam – Simeon’s Moment by Ron Dicianni It’s that time of year again. While some folks claim there is a ‘war on Christmas’, it takes very little research to discover that this apocalyptic, deluded conspiracy theory holds…Continue reading A Thrill of Hope
Category: History
Remember with Purpose
You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. – Exodus 22:21 – Part of the problem in reading an ancient sacred text with modern minds is that there is a disconnect and dissonance in context, culture and thought. When reading the Bible, for…Continue reading Remember with Purpose
A Tribute to the Exiles Past and Present
“Exile is more than a geographical concept. You can be in an exile in your homeland, in your own house, in a room.” – Mahmoud Darwish I remember those in exile from my childhood days. They became outcasts because they protested when people were oppressed and marginalised because of the colour of their skin. They were…Continue reading A Tribute to the Exiles Past and Present
Idyllic Iceland – Part 4 (Finale)
“Adventure is worthwhile” – Aesop I was wrong! You know, this bit from Part 3: “But if you are after a fast, busy, techno holiday with smoke and bubbles – Iceland is not for you.” I wrote that after circumnavigating most of Iceland, but I hadn’t arrived in Reykjavik. And two thirds of Icelanders live in…Continue reading Idyllic Iceland – Part 4 (Finale)
A Tribute to Elie Wiesel
On Sunday, I woke up to several unpleasant realities: Australian politics was in chaos, Pauline Hanson had been returned to power, just like Voldemort, and the world has lost one of its most profound voices of conscience – Elie Wiesel. Eliezer Wiesel was born to Shlomo and Sara Wiesel, on the 30th September, 1928, in…Continue reading A Tribute to Elie Wiesel
Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
“The search for scapegoats is essentially an abnegation of responsibility: it indicates an inability to assess honestly and intelligently the true nature of the problems which lie at the root of social and economic difficulties and a lack of resolve in grappling with them.” – Aung San Suu Kyi – We find our Scapegoats at a young…Continue reading Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
I See You!
“ … for there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.” – Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Empathy. A word flung around in many contexts today. It…Continue reading I See You!
Those Fascinating Melbourne Lanes
The beautiful city of Melbourne is home to over four million people. It’s the ‘youngest’ of all the world cities. It is hard to imagine that this sprawling capital of Victoria, Australia’s second largest city, did not exist 180 years ago. In 1835, John Batman, an Australian grazier and entrepreneur from Van Diemen’s land…Continue reading Those Fascinating Melbourne Lanes
Victims of War: The Wolf Children of East Prussia
“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them that they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for the lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” Hermann Goering, Nuremberg Diaries…Continue reading Victims of War: The Wolf Children of East Prussia
Confessions of a Bibliophile
“There is no friend as loyal as a book” Ernest Hemingway I am an only child. From time to time people ask whether I missed having brothers or sisters. This is rather a peculiar question. It’s like asking someone who has never tasted eggs whether they miss quiche. In short, no. I did not miss…Continue reading Confessions of a Bibliophile