I hear Sri Lankan ingenuity marvelled at a lot these days. It comes up when discussing the various complex supply “arrangements” relatives, friends, friends of relatives, and relatives of friends have organised. Through such arrangements, we get Thambili plucked, beds in ICUs, leaks fixed, curfew passes, rubbish collected, vaccinated, and applications processed through government departments. … Continue reading Sri Lanka’s ...
Elections in Sri Lanka are the ritual of the looted appointing the next set of looters. If tradition has its ways, it’s the previous set of looters with a few new faces sprinkled about. I’ve never been able to shake that perception. The core fact is that irrespective of the person on the throne, the … Continue reading Sri Lanka’s Election Brutalities →
I took up David Blacker’s prompt to create AI images of armoured trishaws. It turned out to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Multiple Generative AI (GenAI) platforms had a hard time creating an image that matched the armoured trishaw I look I had in mind. The first GenAI I tried was mid-journey (last year). It … Continue reading AI visualised ...
Armoured Trishaws are the defining image of the Sri Lankan wars. Culminating is the central feature on the national flag of the People’s Republic of Dehiwala. The Sri Lankan wars, in general, and the siege of Colombo, in particular, saw a profusion of models and variants. This post contains a small sample of the most … Continue reading Armoured Trishaws ...
Trying to give up painting is one of my many failures. Writing this is the formal admission of defeat – my signature on the unconditional surrender document. Renouncing painting meant avoiding seeing other works of art and thoughts about it. Doing something else. Take a stab at spectating. Then, I see a slab of morning … Continue reading Giving in to painting →
I started this 17 years ago today. I’m aiming to avoid making my 18th the quietest yet. The idea of using AI to spew words for me is silly. What you see here will always be what I typed. The writing now is not bloggable anymore. It’s practical, logistical and personal for the exhibitionism required. The … Continue reading 17 years of blogging →
This is not going to be polite. It’s the sort of comment that start brawls at dinner dances and weddings. Leading to bleeding cricket uncles, Machans, and oceans of precious single malts in the carpet. I would be unrepentant when hauled away. However, unlike cricket, I have an explanation and you are reading it. It … Continue reading Spectator sport ...
Since 11th December 2021, I’ve been “curating” things I’ve written. These consist of plain text files linked to each other. The image below is a map of how they are linked. Unsurprising (or shocking), a bulk of my notes are about work-related planning. The rest cover other projects, reading and thinking about areas that interest … Continue reading Photo of ...
Sri Lankans worship obedience. Obedience is dressed up as respect (for the unrespectable). We are conditioned to make it the default reaction to authority. It’s an instinctive conditioning in any hierarchical society. Realising the stupidity of that mindset is critical to success in Sri Lankan society. The sooner you realise it, the better placed you … Continue reading Obedience trap ...
Each Sri Lankan new year strains my tolerance for auspicious times. It’s an idiotic practice. Symbolising the madness infecting the island and its culture of the last 40 years. If doing something at an auspicious time is a powerful factor in the outcome of anything, we Sri Lankans should be the most successful people on … Continue reading Are you auspicious now? →
What follows is a direct copy paste (not the American spelling) of the Chat GPT out of the question “Explains why Entrepreneurship is not valued in Sri Lankan culture”. It does a nice job of summing up things I’ve heard people rant about for years. Not bad no? But no good as well.
I started this 16 years ago today. Here’s the traditional link to that first fart. It’s not a bumper year for posts. By the number of posts since this started is at an all-time low. Or so the stats tell me. The number of posts rather than visitors/views is what I watch. Ironic since my … Continue reading 16 years of blogging →
My generation grew up with the wrong idea of freedom. Freedom meant fulfilling desires. The desire to watch porn instead of studying for mind-numbing exams. Escaping the tedious, stupid rules of Sri Lankan boys’ schools. Having the pleasure of beating up the helpless – or the kick watching your cronies do it. It’s the freedom … Continue reading Freedom from desire →
Nonverbal is the top dog of communication. Posture and facial expression are its power tools. Together they insert the outcomes you want into the minds of your audience. Then it’s easier for them to accept what you wish to and impossible to ignore. The look is about looking people in the eye and always getting … Continue reading 5 easy ...
I’ve been suspicious of rituals that permeate Sri Lankan life. It stems from a powerful lifelong inner conviction I’ve had since I was a child. The rituals around me – from dinner dances to school assemblies to pujas – were false, contrived, and manipulative. Deep down, I wanted nothing to do with them. So there … Continue reading Suspicious rituals →
It’s feeling comfortable with not giving fuck about tribal affiliations and associated displays. It’s accepting that I’m an introvert who prefers not to socialise as a detached fact – not a value judgment. I can play the extrovert for survival (which is what the job requires). Yet even at my chattiest, the inner introvert is … Continue reading Gift COVID ...
In the last 711 days, I’ve written 268628 words. The quota is a minimum of 106 words a day. It started in December 2019. Despite gaps, the writing activity is one of the few anchors to my routine. I never expected to create such a word pile. Little of that output is for public consumption. … Continue reading The first 268628 Words →
What you read says a lot of unsaid things about you. So I tend to snoop on people’s bookshelves. This post covers some of the critical points. That was pre-COVID. Now I have to rely on Zoom backgrounds. It’s distracting in a meeting. Not the fake Zoom backgrounds – the real thing behind the person. The … Continue reading Books in the background →
July is a miserable month. It continues to be in new, unexpected ways. I’ve given up processing Sri Lanka’s history or the current historical. Eight years ago, my father called Sri Lanka a “god forsaken country“. I’m glad he’s not alive to see his prophesies become historical face. Generations of privilege insulates most people I know … Continue reading Processing July ...
First time I’ve written a post with tears in my eyes. Me out of all people. A calm, cool, responsible adult during an economic depression. A vegetarian who dislikes animals. Except he’s not an animal. He’s family. The most simple guileless, loving soul I’ve encountered in my life. Referred to as “the third child” – … Continue reading Dog injured ...