Canada Slim and the Quest for George Clooney

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 28 September 2017 Celebrities ARE different. They get more public attention and media exposure than we do. They usually have far more wealth than we do. Some achieve celebrity status through their successful careers in sports or entertainment or politics. Some become famous due to media attention on their lifestyle, wealth or controversial actions,… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Quest for George Clooney

Canada Slim and Our Lady of St. Petersburg

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 23 September 2017 It has been a hard year for my heart in my dual roles of teacher and barista. In the former role, I have been disappointed that my preferred profession of choice, teaching, has sadly not been as busy lately as I might have hoped. In the latter, I have been saddened by the… Continue reading Canada Slim and Our Lady of St. Petersburg

Canada Slim and the Road into the Open

Cadenabbia di Griante, Italia, Monday 7 September 1840 “We leave Cadenabbia in a day or two.  I go unwillingly. Above: Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851) The calm weather invites my stay, by dispelling my fears. The heat is great in the middle of the day and I read a great deal to beguile the time….… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Road into the Open

Canada Slim and the Dawn of a Revolution

20 September 2017, Landschlacht, Switzerland Let´s be blunt. Things are truly horrible in many countries on the planet these days. Especially in America. And there are some folks who suggest that a second US Civil War is coming. Which raises two important questions…. Could it happen? Should it happen? In political philosophy, the right of revolution… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Dawn of a Revolution

Canada Slim and the Apostle of Violence

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 14 September 2017 “History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind.” (Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) Above: Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794) “I believe that are monsters born in the world to human parents. Some you can see. And… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Apostle of Violence

Canada Slim and the Forces of Darkness

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 10 September 2017 Sometimes you have to borrow from the best, to raise yourself up from the shoulders of the great. Being the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, with much focus paid on this event and Swiss connections to it, I have found too much too interesting to ignore. What follows is a… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Forces of Darkness

Canada Slim and the Evil Road

9 September 2017, Landschlacht, Switzerland I am determined to not write myself into too predictable a rut. There have been a number of themes running through the posts of this blog since I started it back on 18 May 2015. I have written of many things: my travels in Switzerland and abroad, topics currently relevant at the time… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Evil Road

Canada Slim and the Zimmerwald Movement

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 September 2017 “I have come not to praise Caesar but to bury him.” (William Shakespeare) “One hundred years after the Revolution took Russia by storm, it might be the right time to re-examine why it happened, how it developed and why its lessons can still shape our vision and understanding of the world… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Zimmerwald Movement

Canada Slim and the Lure of Italian Journeys

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 4 September 2017 It´s not that Switzerland isn´t inspirational. It is. It has inspired Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac and Albert Cohen’s Her Lover. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein here and Lord Byron The Prisoner of Chillon. From Julius Caesar to Jean Jacques Rousseau, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and John Le Carré, Hermann Hesse and Patricia Highsmith… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Lure of Italian Journeys