If there is any possibility of showing how human aliens can be and conversely, how completely alienated the human race can become, this is the movie that shows it.

District 9 - A little known, little budgeted, little touted movie from South Africa. The only recognisable name on the marquee - Peter Jackson. Not that the name played any part in persuading me to watch the movie in the first place.

How seamlessly the special effect-generated aliens blended into the scenes and how steadily, the alien"prawn" Christopher (yes, he was actually named Christopher) went from being threatening to sympathetic that somehow I ended up empathising with him more than the human, Wikus Van De Merwe. Poor Wikus who got infected with alien fuel and evolved into a prawn himself!

While District 9 has an alien "ET" who wanted to go home, it certainly is NOT a fuzzy child-friendly flick like Mr Spielberg's ET. District 9 raises questions about tolerance and the issue of human integrity. Perhaps because the heart of District 9 is in South Africa.

Having visited South Africa in the early 90s after the abolishment of apartheid; I can see a parallel between the way the aliens were ill-treated and how the the Africans were mistreated in the years of cruel racial segregation.

A racial struggle and intolerance that continues to be played out in many parts of the globe even in these so-called enlightened days. The crime of inhumanity continues to be perpetuated again and again as the human race alienates itself further and further...

The 19th Wife

Title : The 19th Wife
Author: David Ebershoff
Oublisher: Random House

Celestial marriage, plural marriage, polygamy...it is known by many names.

What is the truth? Or is there even a truth?

When men interpret the words of God and bend theology to suit their own purposes. When women succumb to their faith, swollowing their dignity and justifying a practice that is supported with intimidation, fearing their fate and salvation in the every lasting eternity.

Brigham Young, the 19th-century Mormon patriarch and Ann Eliza Young speak to us across time, recounting the exodus of the Mormon faithfuls and the sufferings of the plural wives.

In the end, it is not only about the trial of the 19th wife, it is about the countless children who have to bear with the consequences of their sins.

Hallelujah for Leonard Cohen!

I fell in love with an older man many years ago.

He is a man of beautiful prose with magical hands that pluck at heartstrings. A man who speaks and sings, of despair and comfort, of faith and belief, of man and spirits.

He is one of the most influential songwriters of our times. With works of depth that touched on many issues, raised questions, yet at the same time made social and civic observations and asked answers of their own.

It has been over forty years and he is truly deserving of the sobriquet of "The Tower of Song."