Giant Buddhas

"I am now convinced that the Buddhist statues were not demolished. They crumbled to pieces out of shame, because of the west's ignorance towards Afghanistan".

-Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Film Maker


In the spring of 2001, Taliban leader Mullah Omar in a fatwa, gave the order to destroy the two Buddha statues.

"Why did the Taliban resort to such measures?" "They felt that the world had cheated them" countered Taysir Alony. "They realised that nobody was interested in the disastrous consequences of the economic blockade. Internationally, the Taliban were completely isolated. I believe that with the destruction of this symbol of Buddhism they wanted to set a political agenda. And I also think the international appeals and protests regarding the Buddhas made the Taliban ruthless. The world showed little interest in the fact that hundreds, yes even thousands of children in Afghanistan suffered from malnutrition or were maimed as the result of mines. Now, because of two old stone figures, the world reacted with cries of horror."

- Taysir Alony, Al Jazeera Correspondent

Giant Buddhas: A Film By Christian Frei

Where is the path?

Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end there of, if we pursue the path that leads to it...

Lucie Rie

If one should ask me whether I believe to be a modern potter or a potter of tradition I would answer, I don't know and I don't care. Art alive is always modern, no matter how old or young. Art theories have no meaning for me, beauty has. This is all my philosophy. I do not attempt to be original or different. Something which to describe I am not clever enough, moves me to do what I do.

- Lucie Rie

Creature Comforts:

Street life with man's best friend. Check it out.

Purity of Clay

Pots. Ceramic vessels. Simple.

My face is a reflection of my mind.
Unclear. Both equally frustrate me.
Reality is a never ending cycle.
It doesn't seem to change much.

The form of pots.
It some how relieves the senses
from disappointment that occurs
frequently in reality.
Simple vessels. Clarity.

Fired for the test of time.

No Doubt

Gwen Stefani sighting at Lan Kwai Fong.

Hong Kong, What are you?

I've tried to imagine what Hong Kong must look like to an outside perspective. What do I look like to everyone else when I'm out walking the streets? I don't feel foreign, do I look foreign? Yes, I probably do. I also thought how I could put into words, what it's like to live in Hong Kong. I think what it comes down to is a cramped, jam packed city that is just way to busy. It's about business; commerce, every one is involved whether it's selling, buying, reselling, eating, sleeping. Not to mention all the walking, running, and waiting to get around this city with it's massive transportation system. Majority of motor vehicles consist of buses and taxis. The buses are layered to match this vertical city. You can't just glance out the window to tell if it's a sunny day or cloudy. You must press your face against the window and look way way up if you want to see blue sky. Hong Kong, can I really sum you up? Perhaps this quote will due, "In reality, cement, like the human body, is a highly multivariate nonlinear system whose properties are greater than the sum of all parts."

Cement, that is Hong Kong.

Judge Gomery's Understanding

On Judge Gomery's understanding, Paul Martin was the lone saint in the brothel, the unoccupied first mate on an otherwise very busy pirate ship.

Rex Murphy's View Point

On Paris

Paris is still like home in someways. It's my home when I'm in Europe.

When I fly into Paris, I feel like it's a nice place to come home to. When you can't come home-home, the next best thing is your closest thing. I love it there. It made me realize how Canadian I really am. But you know, they eat well, they drink well. It's quite a civilized kind of thing. They have a real sense of themselves. All of these things that I think Canada will be when we finally accumulate a thousand years of being Canadian. We'll have all those things too, and are well on our way.

-Hawksley Workman-

Hutt stood alone on stage and uttered his final line:

Let your indulgence set me free.

William Hutt takes final bow...

The Tao of Bill