Mannar is a pretty big island off the island of Sri Lanka. No one really goes there and it’s been assumed that it sucks but it doesn’t suck. It is, in fact, awesome. The water is still and clear, the sunsets miraculous and the scenery fantabulous. Also, the place is largely undiscovered and you’ll encounter no one from the Lonely Planet or anything so gauche. That said, Mannar is quite hard to get to, has limited places to stay and – in this season – is hot as the boiling sun. Personally, I love it. It and Jaffna are my new favorite places. Perhaps that’s the novelty.

Sita Sings The Blues is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. It’s screening tonight at Barefoot (7:30), free. It’s a cartoon retelling of the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective (loosely). Moreso, it’s a personal experience of the Ramayana by a talented cartoonist (Nina Paley), using it to understand India, her own failed relationship and life and people in general. More to the point, the songs and humor are amazing and, at times, deeply moving. I highly recommended.

I went to the most awesome carnival in Mannar, sponsored by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen as part of his election campaign. They had motorbikes in a barrel, a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, music, food, everything. I think I kinda get the real-politicking now. I honestly feel inclined to vote for the man now. I was hungry and Bathiudeen gave me kottu, I was bored and he gave me a ferris wheel, why wouldn’t I give him my vote.

I won’t go into it into too much detail, but Mannar is a paradise. It’s the point of Sri Lanka closest to India, a little spit off the edge of the island. It’s a bit trouble to get to. We hammered my poor Toyota hatchback through the rape road through Wilpattu National Park (which by all accounts should be illegal) and then down an impressionistic patch of rubble and despair to Mannar. The town itself is a town, but surrounded on all sides by the sea and lagoon. Go another 40km into the island and you’re at the end of the world, as we know it. It’s stunning.

When I told my grandmother I was a Buddhist she asked me what color the flag was. I didn’t know. I thought it a silly question. Now I am not so sure. The dispute in the news was about statues. My first instinct is to dismiss it as irrelevant, as idol worship. However, I went to Kandy and worshiped both the Buddha’s tooth and an amazing statue at Lankatilake. For all the ritual and objects that have surrounded this faith, this has still preserved a rare form of Buddhism that has made a great difference in my life. So I wonder, what do I know?

I have stayed in some shitty hotels. There was that place in Aurangabad with the mewing kittens in the hall. Then that human shelving unit in Bangalore. And that place in Jaffna with the red light so you couldn’t see the dirt. I can’t do it anymore. I randomly got some cash for sitting on a pointless panel in Kandy. I spent most of it on a decent hotel room. I never understood why anyone paid more than $10 for a room. Now I do.

Ranil Wickremesinghe has dyed his hair black. It doesn’t look so good. Mahinda has been dying his hair and stache for years, but it hasn’t been a sudden change. Ranil normally has distinguished looking salt and pepper hair, and has for years. I think this is fine and grey hair is quite respectable and nice. This jump to black, however, is a bit shocking and macabre. It’s not an especially good dye job aesthetically, nor is it an especially good move politically. But judge for yourself.

This is another kettle of fish, but I have a great and abiding respect for Islam. I think the Koran is one of the most beautiful and illuminated books I’ve ever read (and not finished) and my Muslim friends live and practice a faith which is great and kind and a boon to mankind. She sent me this link in shock, to a Maldivian preacher describing heaven in shocking vulgarity and banality. It basically sounds like a nightclub except no one pees and the girls get revirginized. It’s disturbing.

This sounds weird. It is weird. Whenever I think Sri Lankan news has reached the pinnacle of oddity it goes one further. So, some people threw stones at a TV station for sponsoring an Akon concert. Among the many places Akon has objectified women dancing (not an issue in itself) they happened to appear for about 3 seconds near a Buddha statue. Hence, the violent response. I went to the press conference today and the Media Center For National Security (about as ominous as it sounds) is saying that it was a conflict and the TV employees were also throwing stones. From inside.

The common term for religious extremists is fundamentalist. This is a bit of a misnomer, seeing as following the fundamentals of any religion would tend to chill one out. But that’s not what I mean. There are more practitioners who latch on to one particular tenet or teaching (or appearance) and beat other people over the head with it. Homosexuality, eating pork, statue worship. These things are not in any way fundamental to the religion. They are in fact superficial. Yet, in this superficial media sphere, Superficialism get plenty of play.