A new uproar over The Da Vinci Code
Protests about the book and movie spread to the Muslim world, uniting disparate believers. Najiba Abdellaoui | Jan/Feb 2007 issue The controversial religious thriller The Da Vinci Code prompted a firestorm of debate across the Arab world. In Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan, the movie Read More...
The Golden Inferno
Ben Okri offers a message from the house that was a country. Ben Okri and Cynthia Jones| Jan/Feb 2007 issue That country was a house with a gutter of earth in front of it. And the shallow gutter was clogged with things that made the air foul and terrible to breathe. There was a dead cow upended Read More...
Healing the Africa within us
"Africa has been waiting to be discovered with the eyes of a lover." Ben Okri declares his love to Africa. Ben Okri | September 2004 issue Heart-shaped Africa is the feeling centre of the world. Continents are metaphors as much as they are places. And a people are spiritual states of humanity as Read More...
We are here
The success of self-help books has led to a supersaturated 'I'. It's time for the next spiritual step, a leap in human consciousness: the leap to we. In our modern society, we're all linked to one other. And the answer to our political, economic and spiritual challenges lies in co-operation, in a Read More...
Next stop, love
Therapy was supposed to bring us joy and love. But the language of the heart can be cut off by the cold analyses of the "expert." It's time rethink therapy and reembrace your lover, friends and family. Frank Furedi | December 2004 issue Every society expresses its beliefs about human nature in Read More...
Go with the slow
Life doesn't always have to be about rush, rush, rush. Many people are discovering slow as the answer to the superficial, fleeting nature of a hurried world. Not in an effort to swear off modern life, but in order to enjoy it more. Marco Visscher, Ode's youngest and most frenzied editor, explores Read More...
Get slow in 8 days!
The ultimate toolkit to get slow. Effective and fast! Marco Visscher and Jay Walljasper | July 2004 issue Leave your watch on the bedside table. Check your e-mail only two or three times a day. Take the scenic route. Light candles before you start cooking dinner. Make up rituals. Say a silent word Read More...
Let's go home
It may sound oxymoronic, taking a vacation at home, but it can be genuine fun. Ode's executive editor, Jay Walljasper, discovered the joy of staying home and offers you some great ideas for a cheap holiday.Jay Walljasper | July 2004 issue It may sound oxymoronic, taking a vacation at home, but it Read More...
Relaxed revelation
Fast knowledge is about solving problems, slow knowledge is about preventing them. Marco Visscher | July 2004 issue Knowledge is being applied faster and on a larger scale than ever before – with consequences that are sometimes disastrous. Farmers can use the latest chemical pesticides to protect Read More...
Don't be afraid
Every parent understands the fear that something terrible will happen to his or her child. But how realistic is it to be afraid of what ultimately rarely happens? A mother launched her own investigation. Sarah Scott | October 2004 issue Just imagine: terrorists are planting bombs in mailboxes near Read More...