Category: History

Canada Slim and the Road to Reformation

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 11 November 2017 I have a man cold. I should have been at work yesterday, but, oh!, the agony, the suffering! My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? But with voice muted and a head full of unmentionables one shouldn´t mention, I find myself running between toilet and kitchen, bedroom and… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Road to Reformation

Canada Slim and the Borders

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 11 November 2017 As one travels around the world a person discovers that there are arbitrary lines drawn across landscapes and charts and maps that define what is Here and what is to be considered There, and there are arbitrary lines drawn between classes and positions in our everyday societies. Mankind has done… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Borders

Canada Slim and the Smarter Woman

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 November 2017 I generally have (a) few problems with women. I have had women bosses, some I have disagreed with. But not because they were female, but because of their behaviour towards me was unacceptable regardless of the gender exhibiting the behaviour. Have I, at times, deserved criticism? Absolutely. I am neither saint… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Smarter Woman

Canada Slim and the Sealed Train

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 4 November 2017 Three thoughts come to my mind when associated with the words “sealed train”: Easter Monday, 9 April 1917, when Lenin boarded a sealed train in Zürich bound for Petrograd (today´s St. Petersburg), which Winston Churchill described: “The Germans transported Lenin in a sealed train like a plague bacillus from Switzerland into… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Sealed Train

Canada Slim and the Paddington Arrival

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 30 October 2017 Yesterday evening I returned home after spending an intense week in London with my wife, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed. It is important that my wife is mentioned, for it must be admitted that travelling as a pair is significantly different than travelling by oneself. And if one of… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Paddington Arrival

Canada Slim and the Distant Bench

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 21 October 2017 There are two distinct types of citizens in many countries: those who are native-born and those who are not. As formerly the former and of late the last two decades the latter, this change of status as a Canadian living in Canada and then as a Canadian living in Asia and… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Distant Bench

Canada Slim and the Undiscovered Country

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 20 October 2017 Captain Spock: Nature abhors a vacuum.  I intend for you to replace me. Lt. Valerus: I could never replace you.  I could only succeed you. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) Above: Poster for Star Trek VI It is a legitimate question. When we are gone, who replaces us? I know… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Undiscovered Country

Canada Slim and the Coming of the Fall

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 13 October 2017 There are some things that I don´t enjoy about working at Starbucks: shift work, impolite customers, how horribly messy the customers can be, how terrible things can become when things get insanely busy, especially with the arrival of autumn and the annual St. Gallen OLMA fair on now. No job is perfect. As… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Coming of the Fall

Canada Slim and the Inappropriate Statues

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 11 October 2017 Watching American politics these days is like being witness to a horrific traffic accident: You want to look away but somehow…. You just can´t. So much every day exploding or threatening to explode in the overly Excited States of America. And yet it is this constant turmoil of emotion and endless,… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Inappropriate Statues