“In Hebrew, “Davka” is a gruff, one-word response to someone in authority. So in Hebrew you might ask an Israeli teenager “Why are you doing that?” and get the answer “Davka” – Because I chose to, because I want to do it this way rather than any other. Just because. Davka is about expressing determination,… Continue reading Saying “Davka” to Power
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All you need is cafuné
Earlier today I mentioned that everyone has, or ought to have, a list of ten books they would rescue from their burning building. I have already named two: Ronald Gross’ The Independent Scholar’s Handbook and Richard N. Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute?. (See Hope for the Hopeless: Brave New World and Underdog University of… Continue reading All you need is cafuné
Wrestling with the Republic
If one reads the Rough Guide to Switzerland one suspects that it is not the greatest fan of Geneva: “Geneva is an anomaly, the nearest thing the world has to a truly international city, and yet with nothing of the pizzazz such a description might suggest.” Yes, it is a special city, though certainly not… Continue reading Wrestling with the Republic
How to convert this barbarian
Everybody’s talking at me I don’t hear a word they’re saying Only the echoes of my mind People stopping, staring I can’t see their faces Only the shadows of their eyes I’m going where the sun keeps shining Through the pouring rain Going where the weather suits my clothes Banking off of the northeast winds… Continue reading How to convert this barbarian
Pieces of flair
I was asked the other day by Roger, a Starbucks partner and shift manager, what was my favourite film, and I must confess the suddenness of the question had caught me off-guard, especially as it is so difficult to narrow down just one title from the many movies I have seen and enjoyed and in… Continue reading Pieces of flair
Questions of character
The human mind is a strange thing. This is a truism I have noticed since I first became aware of the world outside myself. This is a truism I still encounter on a daily basis whenever I find myself amongst other people. Two conflicting trains of thought converge and clamour for dominance in my mind… Continue reading Questions of character
The wonderful world of work
On three different occasions I have witnessed a co-worker cry. Many times I hear co-workers complain about their jobs. I recall a beloved co-worker Vanessa, of Macedonia, (a country in the throes of civil unrest on a scale not far removed from Syria’s problems), who remarked to me that the job was not at all… Continue reading The wonderful world of work
Along the Comedy Circuit
A few weeks ago, soon after our (I and She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed) Sardinian adventures, the wife and I went a-walkin’ one weekend along a trail called the Witzweg (Joke Trail), a three-hour walk from one small Swiss hamlet, Walzenhausen, to another Swiss hamlet, Heiden. Not a bad experience, really. You get yourself to the Lake of Constance… Continue reading Along the Comedy Circuit
The sounds of silence
First thoughts upon first awakening are sometimes strange and wonderful things…. (After all, there must be something positive about getting up at 0400 in the morning to be ready to do a 0630 shift at Starbucks St. Gallen, an hour’s distance from my home.) I remember snatches of dreams that have somehow drifted over from… Continue reading The sounds of silence
Only a cup of coffee?
“Not that many consumers care to dwell on where their fruit has come from, much less where their shirts were made or who fashioned the rings which connect their shower hose to the basin. The origins and travels of our purchases remain matters of indifference…. Why, then, endowed as they are with both practical importance… Continue reading Only a cup of coffee?