Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Ireland Idyll

I woke up this morning to the sound of noisy bird twitter and wondered where in Ireland I was — Dublin, Galway, Cliffden, Connemara, Mohill, perhaps Sligo. It took a few seconds to realize that I was back home and the Irish experience was now but a memory. Ireland casts a spell on visitors. It’s…

June 22, 2015
Dragon’s Blood and Other Botanicals

It’s hard to remember all the names of plants and trees that one encounters in foreign lands. But with a name like “Dragon’s Blood” tree [Dracaena Draco] who can forget? I saw this specimen near the Sydney Botanic Gardens – it’s not a native, originating from the Canary Islands. This particular one had toppled over…

April 23, 2015
Australian Gallery

April 21, 2015
An Evening with Aida

While we were wandering the streets of Sydney in early April, we noticed many banners flapping in the breeze advertising Verdi’s opera, Aida. This production staged on Sydney Harbor promised to be a real spectacle. “Let’s see if we can get tickets” we decided. The concierge at our centrally located hotel, helped to make our…

April 20, 2015
Wedding Down Under

From the very moment I saw the wedding invitation, I knew it would be an extraordinary event. Lovingly hand-drawn and then scanned, the card featured all the places the bride had visited with the man she would marry on March 28, 2015. Their adventures had taken them to France, Spain, New Zealand, Italy and the…

April 9, 2015
Got any Zygos? [or The Fragrance of Orchids]

I have always thought that orchids had no fragrance whatsoever, until recently. This past weekend, starved for color we decided to visit the yearly orchid show at Michigan State University. We found many like-minded people there and ran into several friends ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over these colorful beauties. Coming from Singapore, a country that is…

March 6, 2015
Exit

We all have a creative area in the brain that speaks to us when we are moved or troubled or just full of great ideas waiting to be expressed. My creative time often happens very early in the morning when I’m half asleep. My thoughts tumble out in sentences almost, meant for a written page.…

February 1, 2015
Gator Gal

If you’re an unlucky photographer like I was at southwest Florida’s Myakka River State Park, this is what happens: dozens and dozens of alligators suddenly appear – basking on the shores and slithering in the waters around you, but you’re trapped in an airboat in the third seat from the side of the vessel –…

January 18, 2015
Sarasota Story

We have always heard so much about Sarasota from friends and family and finally made it to this culture-rich and elegant city on the southwest coast of Florida this frigid January. Many people are attracted by the beaches in the area, and indeed Siesta Key with its dazzling fine white sand [almost like powdered sugar]…

January 14, 2015

Got any book recommendations?