Landschlacht, Switzerland, 19 August 2018 It has been ages since I have written about Turkey, but those who know me are aware that there are both many things I adore about this bridge between Asia and Europe and many things I abhor. Of the little exploration I have done in this great republic (the Turquoise… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Museum of Innocence
Category: History
Canada Slim and the Family of Mann
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 12 August 2018 Perhaps I should have been recovering from yesterday’s Street Parade in Zürich, at present the most attended techno-parade in the world. Officially it is a demonstration for freedom, love and tolerance attended by up to one million people. In reality it has all the character of a popular festival, despite… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Family of Mann
Canada Slim and the Battlefield Brotherhood
Landschlacht, Switzerland, Sunday, 8 July 2018 Sometimes it is difficult not to believe in fate. It strikes me as curious how my life, without planning it at times, seems to lend my writing its directions. My wife and I live only a stone´s throw away from Arenenberg (a chateau famous for being the final domicile… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Battlefield Brotherhood
Canada Slim and the Breviary of Bartholomew
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 30 June 2018 “Writing a blog about everything that happens to you will honestly help here.” (Therapist) “Nothing happens to me.”(John Watson, MD) (“A Study in Pink“, Sherlock) Two months ago (30 April) I began this post. Four days later I was involved in an accident resulting in both arms broken. After 3… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Breviary of Bartholomew
Canada Slim and the Lakeside Pilgrimage
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 24 April 2018 For quite some time in this, what has become my travel blog, I have written about my adventures and discoveries retracing the paths and the life story of Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwengli (between accounts of travels in London, Italy and Serbia). Above: Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531) Using Marcel and… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Lakeside Pilgrimage
Canada Slim and the Land of Confusion
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 12 April 2018 Of the problems that plague me, one of the biggest is persistence: The ability to keep on keeping on. I have to constantly remind and encourage myself that “a professional writer is simply an amateur who didn´t quit”. (Richard Bachman) With my two blogs – this one and Building Everest… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Land of Confusion
Canada Slim and the Privileged Place
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 26 January 2018 This morning I feel somewhat like Punxsawtawney Phil, the groundhog of the film Groundhog Day, chattering away furiously, while Bill Murray holds me firmly as he drives a car over a cliff sardonically telling me: Don´t drive angry. Perhaps this might be extended to encompass writing as well. Don´t write… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Privileged Place
Canada Slim and the Island of Anywhere
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 14 January 2018 “This could be Rotterdam or anywhere, Liverpool or Rome. ´Cause Rotterdam is anywhere. Anywhere alone. Anywhere alone.” (The Beautiful South, “Rotterdam (or Anywhere)”, Blue is the Colour) There are a couple of songs that I enjoy listening to from this group: “Don´t Marry Her” – purely for its shock value.… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Island of Anywhere
Canada Slim and the Uncertainty Principle
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 10 January 2018 Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I am reminded of this more and more these days as I watch events unfold again and again around the globe that suggest the politicization of society remains an ongoing clear and present danger. Politicization is, at least to… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Uncertainty Principle
Canada Slim and the Monks of the Dark Forest
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 8 January 2018 The Common Era year 2017 ended a week ago, which means the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation also ended. 1 January 2018 was the 534th anniversary of the birth of Huldrych Zwingli, the Swiss German-speaking Reformer, whose life I have been retracing on foot through the advice of Marcel and… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Monks of the Dark Forest