A Refugee’s Thoughts On Birds

From tiny to very large,
slow to fast,
observations taught me a lot
about birds,
about the space-time where
they gracefully fly.

Different birds fly uniquely;
behave distinctively.
Some use their knowledge to
glide through the air,
while larger ones employ air currents
to ascend skyward.

Lee van Cleef: The Best of The Bad!

 

The actor Lee Van Cleef was first known to me from one of his Italian Western films, 'Sabata.' However, before that, he achieved stardom through Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, including the famous one, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' with Clint Eastwood. I watched that film during one of its re-runs in Jaffna. For me, 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' was his best film. All the actors in the film brilliantly performed. It's an iconic film featuring Clint Eastwood (The Good), Lee Van Cleef (The Bad), and Eli Wallach (The Ugly). The director Sergio Leone did a fantastic job, including the music composed by Ennio Morricone and the cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli. 'The Good' still has survived. It's amazing to see that he's still acting in his late nineties.

When the Italian director Sergio Leone made Western films, they were initially ridiculed as Spaghetti Westerns, but they turned out to be good Western films. Now, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is considered one of the best Western films.

Let me know your answer, Kannamma! (Kannamma poem 4)

Kannamma, our space-time exists
inside the cone, a wave-cone!
Yes! An electromagnetic wave cone.
Inside the cone, we dance with dreams.
We dance with plans.
We dance with thoughts.
We dance with feelings.
The reality outside the cone,
that is unknown to us, Kannamma!
Is it similar to our space-time or not?
Have you ever thought about this, Kannamma?
Tell me, Kannamma.
Happiness is derived from
thinking about and beyond that border
or barrier, Kannamma!

Ursula Andress in Undress! A movie ad I never forget!

I never forget the movie 'Dr. No.' It was the first Bond film featuring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, who was the first Bond girl and a famous sex symbol at that time. However, it wasn't the first Bond film I watched. The first one was 'You Only Live Twice,' which I watched with my dad at Sri Murugan Theatre in Vavuniya, a small town located between Jaffna and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

I was in my childhood, and there was a scene in the movie where Bond was ripping her clothes on her back. Her bare back was exposed on the full screen. I felt shy watching that scene with my dad, so I wanted him to believe I wasn't watching it. Quickly, my childhood mind found a way. I wanted my dad to think I was sleeping when that scene was shown on the screen. I asked my dad, 'Dad, sorry, I fell asleep. What just happened in the movie?' hoping he would believe I hadn't seen the scene. I forgot his response, but after that, I always thought about how naive or stupid I was.

Apt Pupil' is a symbolic novella that explores both the positive and negative aspects of human life!

 -This was written in the nineties for my English 2 credit course, where I was introduced to the writer Stephen King and his works by our English teacher. The novella is included in Stephen King's book 'Different Seasons,' which is a collection of his novellas. 'Apt Pupil' also became a movie directed by Bryan Singer. -

In 'Apt Pupil,' Stephen King depicts a symbolic narrative involving American society, Nazis' atrocities, and human existence. 'Life is a tiger you have to grab by the tail, and if you don't know the nature of the beast, it will eat you up,' says Dick Bowden, Todd's father. This sentiment holds true in the novella, where King illustrates how Todd Bowden loses his grip on the tiger and transforms into a nightmare for American society. The author analyzes the ups and downs of American society, the profound human tragedy of the 20th century, and human existence through the symbolic characters Todd Bowden, Kurt Dussander, and Morris Heisel.

Yul Brynner as an Android in 'Westworld!

I watched many English Hollywood movies during my teen years while I was in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.One of the films I watched, which is still fresh in my mind, is Michael Crichton's 'Westworld,' an American science fiction-thriller. Michael Crichton wrote the story and directed the film as well. The story is about an amusement park where anyone can play with  androids from different periods, such as the Roman period and medieval period. You can select a period and play with  androids belonging to that period. This is the way I still remember the movie.

THE BLIND AND AN ELEPHANT

Said he, one of my friends,
'He is one of the unmentioned persons.'
I replied, 'You asked for an explanation
from the blind who were investigating an elephant.
The confusion arose from that.'

'Confusion? What confusion?'
My friend put his hand on his head, wondering.