Taming the black dog

Today is the Ides of September and clearly it is an excuse of a day to make some changes. Of late, I have been plunged into a state of gloom. A heavy black cloud has descended without warning, for no particular reason, and illogically and irrationally I have been unable to see my way out.… Continue reading Taming the black dog

Love thine enemy?

On 6 February 1998, Season 4, Episode 3, (Hearts and Minds), of the TV show The Outer Limits, was broadcast. “In order to survive, a soldier must fight many battles, physical as well as mental. But in the heat of the struggle, reality can sometimes fade, like memory, until only one thing remains certain…the first… Continue reading Love thine enemy?

Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” This was the catchphrase for the 1930s US radio show, “The Shadow“, as well for the 1994 film of the same name, starring Alec Baldwin and Penelope Ann Miller. I was reminded of this phrase when driving back to Landschlacht yesterday after… Continue reading Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East

Under the skin

Oh, narrow, dark and humid streets rising like crevices to an unforgiving sky. I long for a Cathedral, a fine old pagan stone fortress, just for its refreshing cold atmosphere. I would even settle for a baroque, homely, altar in a corner hole in the wall, just to squat in the corner and enjoy the… Continue reading Under the skin

Why we walk backwards

Female deities with inscrutable smiles, the Stele di Nora (a stone tablet showing in Phoenician characters the first recorded occurrence of the name “Sardinia”), and spindly, highly stylish, innovative and quirky bronze statuettes of varying sizes are just some of the things possible for viewing at Cagliari’s Museo Archeologico. This is Sardinia’s premier archaeological museum… Continue reading Why we walk backwards