Some things I don’t like about Taiwan…

There’re not many but here’s one: I went to our local park today, a park which has a very nice ornamental bridge and a large lake where people fish – but stuck in front of this lake at every vantage point were large signs that said (in translation): “If you have come here to commit suicide by drowning please call this number below. Life is good and worth living. Don’t do it! Call this number now!” Now of course no one wants anyone to commit suicide, certainly not in the lake, but suicides are a tiny, tiny minority – at . . . → Read More: Some things I don’t like about Taiwan…

Giving Up Smoking Part IV: When is a Cigarette Not a Cigarette or I Wish Paddy Chayefsky Was Still Around

Jesus Christ rose again from the dead; Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, the Eagles and the Marie Celeste all came back – but the Marie Celeste came back without her crew… Okay bad example. Let’s move on, the point for me was, Could I come back from mental oblivion? Being incapable of thought wasn’t all that bad. It gave me a warm sense of brotherhood with a large, hitherto alienated section of humanity. But I knew it also had its downside even if I couldn’t pin down precisely what that was and wouldn’t have been capable of expressing it in words. . . . → Read More: Giving Up Smoking Part IV: When is a Cigarette Not a Cigarette or I Wish Paddy Chayefsky Was Still Around