Eskişehir, Türkiye Friday 19 April 2024 “In the morning paper I come across two small events that together seem significant. The black singer Paul Robeson was supposed to give a recital in Peoria. At the last minute, the concert was cancelled on the pretext that Robeson is a Communist. The authorities insist that they didn’t… Continue reading Driven
Category: Literature
The Woman in Room 101
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 18 April 2024 (continued) “At each stage of his imprisonment Winston had known or seemed to know whereabouts he was in the windowless building. Possibly there were slight differences in the air pressure. This place was many metres underground, as deep down as it was possible to go. “You asked me once… Continue reading The Woman in Room 101
Child heroes
Thursday 18 April 2023 (continued) Eskişehir, Türkiye “With those children, Winston thought, that wretched woman (Mrs. Parsons) must lead a life of terror. Another year, two years, and they would be watching her night and day for symptoms of unorthodoxy. Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means… Continue reading Child heroes
The Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 18 April 2024 (continued) I get up in the evenin’And I ain’t got nothin’ to sayI come home in the mornin’I go to bed feelin’ the same wayI ain’t nothin’ but tiredMan, I’m just tired and bored with myselfHey there, baby, I could use just a little help You can’t start a… Continue reading The Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets
Middleton and other musings
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 18 April 2024 “It will be difficult to please everyone in the audience because everyone has come for different reasons: some for the wit, some for the costumes, some for comedy, some for passion, and some to arrange a lascivious meeting. But, despite this, I am confident that, as long as everyone… Continue reading Middleton and other musings
The Ministry of Story
Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, Scotland 17 April 1976 “I thought of the beautiful cool evening, how I long to be walking in it outside this cell. All of this took place while I sat in the semi-dark reading a book. The thoughts on freedom were only momentary but so powerful that they seem to tear my… Continue reading The Ministry of Story
Voices carry
Eskişehir, Türkiye Tuesday 16 April 2024 Above: A spectrogram (0-5000 Hz) of the sentence “It’s all Greek to me.” spoken by a female voice World Voice Day (WVD) is a worldwide annual event that takes place on 16 April devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice. The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of… Continue reading Voices carry
Rites of passage
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 4 April 2024 “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. From the table drawer he took out a penholder, a bottle of ink, and a thick, quarto-sized blank book with a red back and a marbled cover. It was a peculiarly beautiful book. Its smooth… Continue reading Rites of passage
Canada Slim and the Last Battle
Eskisehir, Switzerland, Sunday 19 September 2021 As the dates below will show, this blog (The Chronicles of Canada Slim) (one of two) has suffered from neglect. I offer only one explanation: I have been….distracted. The purpose of The Chronicles of Canada Slim is to capture in writing my adventures prior to the calendar year. Generally,… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Last Battle
Canada Slim and the Zürich Zealots
Landschlacht, Switzerland, Thursday 19 November 2020 A promise made is a debt unpaid. Since I began blogging (18 May 2015) I have begun a number of consecutive writing projects within these Chronicles of Canada Slim and its companion blog Building Everest. The select seven subjects that this blog has evolved into following are, accomplished in… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Zürich Zealots