ANGELINE KEK WRITES — One of the scariest moments of a child’s life takes shape with the realization that our parents are mortal beings no further from death than a wilting flower or a gray-whiskered cat. They have no friendly contract with the grim reaper. With the fleeting time, we…
Month: January 2023
BOOK REVIEW: THE INTERPRETER’S DAUGHTER (2022) — A FAMILY’S STORY OF FILIAL DUTY, FEMINIST PRINCIPLES, AND ENDLESS ENDURANCE
GABY RUSLI WRITES — In our unremarkable and mundane daily routines, we often forget that we are all the living instigators of history. Singaporean-born Fanny Law has always been aware of this profound and undeniable truth. Though she was dutiful in upholding the Confucian cultural practices carried across international waters from…
JAPAN AND ELSEWHERE: OH BABY! THAT’S SUCH A CUTE AND UNUSUAL NAME!
THU-HUONG HA OF THE JAPAN TIMES WRITES – Japanese social media loves to hate on kira-kira names. These unusual or unpronounceable names, so called for their flashiness, like 心人 (Haato, Heart), or 今鹿, (Naushika), as in the heroine of Ghibli film “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” are fun…
JAPAN: AMID US-CHINA TENSIONS, JAPAN MUST CHOOSE DEFT DIPLOMACY, NOT TOP GUN TOMFOOLERY, TO ENSURE PEACE
This column originally appeared in the South China Morning Post on January 4, 2023. CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES – Is it conceivable that the risk-taking pilot of the Chinese Navy J-11 fighter that flew within metres of a US Air Force RC-135 over the South China Sea two weeks ago…
MOVIE REVIEW: THE MANY COLORS OF YOUTH IN 20TH CENTURY GIRL (2022) – GROWING PAINS
SARAH LOHMANN WRITES – Romance and coming-of-age stories are comforting for many. Their familiar storylines are a space for viewers to revisit the excitements and struggles of youth with a healthy degree of separation, a safety cushion. For this reason, such films can risk being devoid of complexity. However, Korean…
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL’S FUTURE: WHY REPORTS OF ITS DEMISE ARE PREMATURE
Fergal Mythen, Ireland’s envoy to the United Nations, represented his country in the Security Council for the last six months of its two-year term, ending Dec. 31. He concludes his role, explaining that despite the Council’s brittle divisions, it “remains much too soon to write an obituary of the body.”…