Dan Djurdjevic

The most enduring memories I have of my trip to Taiwan are of the locals we met, in particular one or 2 very remarkable individuals. The calligraphy master was one of these. My good friend, photographer Lucia Ondrusova , had asked whether I would be interested in accompanying her to the master's house/shop. Almost everyone in Kaohsiung lives and works in the same space, and their shops generally stay open till late in the faint hope of extra custom. One of my Chen Pan-Ling martial arts "sisters", Karen Jensen had apparently seen the shop open during the day, and told Lucia, her room mate at our hotel. Having experienced a calligraphy lesson at a Buddhist monastery the day before, Lucia was quite enthusiastic - and I must say that my own interest had been piqued (you can read about the monastery experience here ). As we walked along the ramshackle streets searching for the address it occurred to me that, ostensibly, I not only fulfilled the function of a protective esc...

While I'm on the subject of love and friendship ... In my experience there are 2 kinds of friendship: those that exist principally in a comfortable social environment and those that can exist independent of this. I have been privileged to experience just a few of the latter in my life. What characterizes them is not any kind of emotional dependence, exchange of favors or enjoyment of common interests; these might occur but they might just as easily not. In fact, often such friendships seem utterly without logical basis to the outside observer. Yet they work - in fact, they go to the "pit of your stomach" as I said in my previous post "The capacity to love" . In my view what characterizes such friendships is a mutual understanding; you "get" each other. There is no "mystery" between you. That is not to say that you know every fact relating to your friend; you might know comparatively little. But you intuitively understand his or her mot...

Those who read my other blogs will know that I was recently in Taiwan for almost 2 weeks to train with my martial arts shifu (teacher/father) Master Chen Yun-Ching. During that time I (amongst others) was adopted as a "bai shi" - an inner circle student or "martial son" of Master Chen. It is one of the highest honours I have ever received in my life, and also ranks with some of the most emotional experiences I've had. During the trip I not only experienced the joy of being adopted into Master Chen's extended family, but I also formed some very close bonds with other members of our group. These bonds transcend the normal/everyday friendships one might have at work or sports etc; I'm talking about friendships that go to the pit of your stomach. That I should have made such friendships is possibly not an accident; Master Chen and his adopted brother James Sumarac had clearly hand-picked people from around the world who are of a like mind, character and ...

Come raining down on me: I'm dressed for overkill. A book with pages glued floats in my living room, the wallpaper is peeling back the years. My portrait underfoot is already just a blur; the colours have bled to grey. Let it pour down on me, my stained fingers need the rain. Let it pour down on me and wash all my memories again. I'll be standing here, watching the picture fade away. The mp3 of the song can be downloaded here . Copyright © 2003 Dejan Djurdjevic

You're such a great Jedi knight, teaching others how to fight; you make them practise day and night to defeat the empire. They say that you're a workaholic; though you're not a chocaholic you may become an alchoholic if you work on weekends. Yoda, you've gotta take it easy. I know that you can fight and maim and kill, but Yoda, take a major chill pill. Check your cholesterol, your BP and, most of all, your liver function for the toll of your stressful lifestyle. Someone's got to pay the rent, but if all your life is spent not taking off a moment, you'll get sick and cranky. When all is said and done, a war on evil can't be won. You won't be wishing for your gun at your retirement village. Yoda, you've gotta take it easy. I know that you can fight and maim and kill, but Yoda, take a major chill pill. Try watching Kill Bill, buy a new wardrobe, try shave an earlobe, call up the Fab Five, go on a long drive, take a vacation with a relation, go to Niagar...

My jumbled world of limbless dolls, of summer heat and mistletoe, is always just the same. My garden is a universe where all my dreams are made of floppy hats and ballet shoes, a spotted dog and rhyming tunes ("Tommy says hello"), and it seems for all the world just like an ordinary day. "All aboard!" the station whistleman has spoken to us all; and I know it's hard to fight against his will. My sister comes from playing school and Daddy brings the afternoon, it's always just the same; we take the dog down to the fields and let him loose to run amongst the hay. The evening's full of dinner smells, with silver bells and cockle shells... Why do things have to change, when it seems for all the world just like an ordinary day? The mp3 of the song can be downloaded here . Copyright © 2003 Dejan Djurdjevic

He's always around, sitting here, just talking; and after a while I realize that he can't be. When I ask him how it's possible, he laughs like I already know, and I try to forget that I jinxed the moment. So it's as if he never left, only I get older every time I see my face in the mirror; he stays the same. I was a thousand miles away when it happened: I remember the telephone ringing in a dream, I remember pinching myself in the darkness, and my mother's cracking voice. Now I'm only awake when I'm dreaming. He's in the hallway closet now, under sweaters in a wooden box, with the date he started living in my dreams. The mp3 of the song can be downloaded here . Copyright © 2004 Dejan Djurdjevic