Feature Story |
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ART SHOW REACHES BEYOND THIS WORLDLAN KWAI FONG, Hong Kong -- Artist Lamma-Gung, who launched a solo exhibition in one of Hong Kong’s trendiest neighborhoods on August 15, has visualized the fascinating landscape of distant planets. Looking nearer to home, he also depicts colors and shapes, the markers of dynamic personalities, as they swirl around humans in some highly unusual portraits. Alien landscapes (sometimes aliens too), extra-sensory images of people and near-magical transformations of ordinary objects highlight the exhibition, titled Wonder, Whimsy, Weirdness -- 25 Years of Digital Figments of Imagination, scheduled for August 15-31. The exhibition fills the Sarasen Gallery, 5A, 5/F, Winner Building, 27-37 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong. Lamma-Gung invites everyone, including art collectors, the media, friends and the curious. |
Editorial |
Letters to the Editor |
Funding Cuts Put |
White Cloak Descends |
Guest Comments by Lori Lancaster The writer represents the East Coast Music Association (www.ecma.com) which promotes regional music from the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. ATLANTIC CANADA – At the East Coast Music Association (ECMA), we denounce the federal government’s recent decision to cut the ProMart (Arts Promotion) program administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and the Trade Routes Program run by the Department of Canadian Heritage. These programs helped to support Canadian musicians, music-export companies and organizations. The announced cuts deal a devastating blow to the ECMA and to Atlantic Canada’s music industry. The ECMA recruits dozens of international delegates to attend our awards weekend. This is crucial to provide export chances to regional musicians, and we rely heavily on these funding programs. |
A little snow has fallen in New Zealand. To us, it seems like a lot. Drivers spun their cars around, and some vehicles simply were “lost in the snow”. My Mum and Dad came off a road in the snow a few years back. According to Mum, age 81, there was a lot more snow over the Arthur’s Pass recently. It’s a great ski season this year. Lily Bond, Thailand |
Fiction |
Book Review |
RIDING IN A SOFT SEAT |
Rage Therapy |
By Jay Scott Kanes A glance at the window showed blue sky above fluffy clouds. Wearily, Peter wondered when the ordeal would end. On cue, his seatback video-screen showed an answer. Time to Destination: 2 hours, 44 minutes. All this to visit a few business suppliers, Frank thought. Forty-three years old and with receding blonde hair, he considered himself a go-getter, nearly a workaholic. Jamming an index finger into the loop of his necktie, he again loosened its knot. Then he leaned forward, using both hands to massage his aching calves. His buttocks felt numb, his legs stiff and his mind dull. The people up front in first-class enjoyed vastly more space for their elbows and knees, Peter knew. They rode in cushy seats, the lucky bastards! |
So begins Daniel Kalla’s who-done-it thriller, Rage Therapy (2006, Forge Books, New York, 309 pages). Then the murder of another psychiatrist, Kolberg’s partner, complicates matters for Dr Joel Ashman, the narrator, who helps the Seattle police to investigate despite a big personal stake. Ashman once worked with the dead men. Soon someone menaces him too. Darkness breeding in human minds and the evil actions spawned by unsavory compulsions threaten to dominate. Sometimes this book isn't for the faint of heart. |
