The mirror of these trusting, brown eyes Is like a reflection of gold from deep inside; From the bosom’s depths it seems to rise Where such gold on holy grief thrives. In the darkness of thine eyes I bury myself, It is thou who invites me, Unknowing Child— Thou wouldst have me ignite the fires… Continue reading The vicar and the vagabond
Song of the executioner
As I slowly walk across Canton Schaffhausen I come across a number of small hills that bear the name “Galgenbuck”(Gallows Hill). The cantonal capital Schaffhausen itself was a Reichstadt, an imperial free city, meaning it was directly subject to the Holy Roman Emperor and no other government. He granted it the privilege of being allowed… Continue reading Song of the executioner
Old dog, new tricks
I have, of recent days, acquired two new gurus: Blogging 101, a site that is helping me “grow” my blog to its ultimate potential, and Patrick Castaglia, my co-worker Nathalie’s brother who earns his “bread and butter” bringing buyers and sellers, people and products, ideas and innovation together. Both have been invaluable. Both have suggested… Continue reading Old dog, new tricks
History: Wash, rinse, repeat?
I picked up a copy of this week’s (17 July 2015) Newsweek at the local Kiosk in the St. Gallen Hauptbahnhof. Two articles caught my attention: “A 58-year-old Austrian man has been given a 10-month suspended sentence after appearing in a documentary that revealed his basement to be full of Nazi memorablia. He was found… Continue reading History: Wash, rinse, repeat?
The dark side of the red light
It is called the world’s oldest profession and it can be found everywhere in the world. It tends to be an industry of women serving male clients, but of course variations on this theme also exist – males servicing males, males servicing females, females catering to females. When one looks at sex in history, we… Continue reading The dark side of the red light
Rooster in the Henhouse
There are situations in life when you know you shouldn’t look, but you can’t help yourself. Scenes of disaster, like a car crash or a fire, find people gawking and staring, knowing they should either help or stop staring but the impulse to simply look is irresistible. A man is walking with his wife and… Continue reading Rooster in the Henhouse
Probus Scafusia: Timeless river, timely man
There is an old saying (so old that no one knows for sure who coined it) that “in business the three most important factors are: location, location, location”. Making the best of where one is remains a constant challenge, but as any resident of a metropolis like London, New York or Tokyo would attest where… Continue reading Probus Scafusia: Timeless river, timely man
Follow the money, Dennis
In the movie V.I. Warshawski, Kathleen Turner as Vicki Warshawski, explains that the first rule of detecting is to “follow the money” if you want to know what the reality of a situation was. In Schaffhausen, I had looked at where the money wasn’t… (See Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution.) So I then began to look… Continue reading Follow the money, Dennis
Oops! Did we do that?
At least seven people were killed on Monday when a warplane mistakenly dropped a bomb on a residential area in Baghdad. The Iraqi plane dropped the bomb on Ne’iriyah district in southeastern Baghdad, destroying six houses and damaging several nearby buildings and civilian cars. (Deccan Herald, 6 July 2015) The more things change, the more… Continue reading Oops! Did we do that?
Talkin’ about a revolution / whispers
“Don’t you know, they’re talkin ’bout a revolution. It sounds like a whisper. Don’t you know, they’re talkin ’bout a revolution. It sounds like a whisper. While they’re standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time, in the unemployment lines Sitting around, waiting for a promotion ‘Cause… Continue reading Talkin’ about a revolution / whispers