Category: Literature

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

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 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

Canada Slim and the Great Explorer

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 24 August 2017 Let me begin with an apology or two. Much time has gone by since I started this blog and I feel like a negligent parent towards this activity and the few folks who read this blog. Life has been busy and it has been complicated, but let´s try to recapture the muse… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Great Explorer

Canada Slim and the Forgotten

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 30 May 2017 Marriage ain’t easy. “My successful marriage is built on mistakes. It may be founded on love, trust and a shared sense of purpose, but it runs on cowardice, impatience, ill-advised remarks and low cunning. But also: apologies, belated expressions of gratitude and frequent appeals for calm. Every day is a… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Forgotten

Canada Slim and the Greatest Villain

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 26 May 2017 I read the news and I feel sometimes that all the media seems to report is bad news – news that angers or saddens me. To be fair, it’s not the media’s fault completely… Bad things happen in the world. It is a terrible thing to admit, but nothing encourages us to… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Greatest Villain