Puglia: Italy’s Secret Coast
In the seaport town of Trani, Italy, a dozen or so scraggly fishermen have lined the water’s edge with cardboard tables laden with today’s impressive catch. The seafood is fresh-from-the deep, caught not long ago in the surrounding crystal-clear waters. As I observe from my perch on a window’s edge at Hotel San Paolo al […]
Akira (1988)
To many, the recent Fukushima nuclear crisis was a harrowing ordeal, one which most people sat through with bated breath, wondering whether Japan and its neighbouring countries would be left in radioactive ruins. But to some, this would seem a familiar and almost favourable future. Otakus (obsessive Japanese fanboys) no doubt ran rampant on internet […]
These Mean Streets
You’re racing down the wet-market streets of Wan Chai, semi-automatic on the passenger seat, police cars to the left, triad vehicles to the right. The crowded roads are hard to manoeuvre, and a pedestrian walks across your path – you swerve, the car flips, crashes and burns. You crawl out of the fiery wreck, gun […]
Puglia: Down the Heel
Pavan Shamdasani ventures to Italy’s south-eastern tip, where the once-ignored region of Puglia is finally basking in its place in the sun. It’s 8pm on a quiet summer evening, and in the small seaport town of Trani in Italy, the sky’s as bright as mid-afternoon, the gorgeous Adriatic coastline marked by a line of historical […]
Psycho (1960)
In these technologically advanced days when internet geeks obsessively dissect movies on message boards, it’s hard to imagine the audience reaction to Psycho on its initial release. The shocker that everybody remembers – Janet Leigh dying in the first act in that bloody, brutal shower sequence – came during a time when the public’s only […]
The Cook’s Nooks
Where do chefs go to grab a bite when they’re not at work? Pavan Shamdasani asks five to name their favourite haunts. It’s Friday night and you and the significant other are stuck with the weekly dinner dilemma: settle for the same old SoHo staple, or try somewhere new? With an estimated 13,000 to 18,000 restaurants […]
Singapore: Old-School Decadence
For all that one might lambast Singapore for being a nanny state, you can’t deny its sense of preservation. While Hong Kong happily tears down centuries-old structures to forge a gleaming metropolis, Singapore is searching for an ideal balance: towering skyscrapers alongside quaint examples of its culture. The Sultan is a prime example of the […]
eXistenZ (1999)
Technology is a theme overrepresented in modern cinema. From action-studded adventures such as The Matrix to overly convoluted visual feasts such as the recent Tron Legacy, many use the subject to awe rather than inspire, and few actually question technology’s role in society. eXistenZ, from shock artist David Cronenberg, is thankfully one such film. Initially […]
The Ethics of Food Blogging
You can be certain that everything in this food and wine section is accurate and original. With dozens of reporters, editors, sub-editors, and proofreaders combing each article, a major metropolitan daily newspaper has to be precise, lest it face legal action The same, however, can’t be said for new media. The advent of the internet […]
Regal Stays
Throughout the world, but mainly in Europe and parts of Asia, numerous palaces, castles and chateaus have been carefully converted into deluxe lodgings — rich in history and, understandably, often in cost. Some of the finest include the newly opened Four Seasons Lion Palace in St. Petersburg and the recently renovated Gritti Palace in Venice […]