By Richard Boughton There are a lot of frogs in Bali. It’s the next thing to a biblical plague. Not that I have anything against frogs, or any intention of casting insult upon their kind. I employ the biblical reference only to convey the idea of a great multitude, and also to suggest that they [...]

By Richard Boughton Concurrent with the worldwide outpouring of sober remembrance and renewed sympathy on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks on America came also some rather zany viewpoints from various corners of the globe. From Malaysia, for instance, comes the notion that the collapse of the two towers of the World Trade Center [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times One has been ambushed by some readers of this column, reproaching me for writing about other people whilst conveniently ignoring my own angst. Well, dear readers, here you have it” the oracle speaks of itself. He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. – [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times This is an appeal to all those who want to drape Bali, to cover her beauty and sensuality that is the very soul of her spirituality. Please don’t do it. Dear SP, You asked me on that fateful rain-swept night whether I was in love with Bali; here [...]

The Late Writers & Readers festival – Day Two By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times We are now into the second day of this lively festival of internationally renowned dead writers who have arrived in paradise wearing coats of many cultures and waxing eloquent on the frailties of life and the temptations of physiological [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times This is the first in a series of meetings with remarkable writers who are attending the festival. In this issue we discuss with D.H. Lawrence his controversial book Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Tell me a word That you’ve often heard, Yet it makes you squint When you see it [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times Where else, but from the industrialized world, did the suicide hijackers learn that huge explosions and death above a city skyline are a peculiar and effective form of communication? They have mastered the language. They understand that the use of disproportionate violence against innocents is a way to [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times This incident occurred last month. Names and places have been changed. Mama wipe the blood off my face I can’t see through it anymore I need someone to talk to and a new hiding place Feel like I’m looking at heaven’s door Mama I can hear the thunder [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times There is a prophecy from the First Nations of America that there will come a time when the earth will become sick, its waters polluted and the skies full of smoke and at that time there will rise up from all around the planet warriors and they would [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times Seize the day, pluck it and suck on the nectar of life – and be happy, one day at a time. Sitting at Devilicous on Jl. Gootama pondering the fate of the cigar industry if I gave up smoking, my thoughts were interrupted by a foot-tapping Creole song [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times A wacky friend from Oz told me that I was qualified to write on the following subject because I was a “brown skinned Indian” and therefore could not be mistaken for a racist. I told him that racism has been alive and well in India for thousands of [...]

By Mark Ulyseas For The Bali Times UBUD ~ Recently a dog was starved to death as part of an art installation. And presently an artist is looking for a dying person to be part of another – the artist’s depiction of “real death.” No canvasses, no oils, brushes or easels – just insensitivity to [...]