“Inside every human being, there is a loneliness greater than any storm. Some try to fill it with people, others with dreams. And a few, poor souls, only ever find the silence inside growing louder.” Sabahattin Ali, Kürk Mantolu Madonna (Madonna in a Fur Coat) Above: Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali Spring arrived this week, with… Continue reading The cheese transporter
Tag: psychology
The Ballad of the Whispering Swamp
Now gather ’round where the fireflies danceAnd the fog drapes low like a bridal trance,Where the trees lean in with a listening grace,And the swamp wears time on its wrinkled face. They say there’s a place by the Dnipro’s bendWhere the world forgets how the war must end—Where frogs sit still like philosopher kings,And counsel… Continue reading The Ballad of the Whispering Swamp
Floréal 1, Year 233
UNIVERSITY LECTURE HALL – DAYGeneva, Switzerland He walked resolutely from his dusty, book-lined office. Faint rays of afternoon sun sliced through motes in the air. PROFESSOR LINTON MARCH stood at the front of the lecture hall, the chalk in his hand a small but heavy weapon. He wrote “FRENCH REVOLUTION” across the blackboard, the squeak… Continue reading Floréal 1, Year 233
Bruggwald
Landschlacht, Switzerland Wednesday 23 April 2025 In the event of something happening to me,There is something I would like you all to see.It’s just a photograph of someone that I knew. Have you seen my wife, Mr Jones?Do you know what it’s like on the outside?Don’t go talking too loud, you’ll cause a landslide, Mr.… Continue reading Bruggwald
Candle in the wind
Friday 18 April 2025 (Good Friday) Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland On this day in the predominantly Christian nation of Switzerland there is little that anyone can do today. Above: Flag of Switzerland Shops and businesses and cinemas are all closed to commemorate the execution of Christ by crucifixion on Golgotha (Calvary) outside the walls of… Continue reading Candle in the wind
This mediocre adventure
Journal de Jules Renard February 28, 1895 “I think that if I had to choose a profession all over again, I would not be a writer. I would be a peasant. A peasant doesn’t need to please anyone but the land. The land does not flatter in return. Writers grow hunchbacked over paper, hungrily awaiting… Continue reading This mediocre adventure
Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Above: The logo of Swiss Federal Railways – the national railway company of Switzerland The train lurches with a sudden screeech, the hum of forward motion swallowed by the high eee of braking and the collective gasp of surprised passengers clutching at poles and seats. The train halts between Egnach and Arbon, a silent pause in motion.… Continue reading Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Circus
Sunday 6 April 2025 Kreuzlingen, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz “Damn everything but the circus! The average ‘painter’ ‘sculptor’ ‘poet’ ‘composer’ ‘playwright’ is a person who cannot leap through a hoop from the back of a galloping horse, make people laugh with a clown’s mouth, orchestrate twenty lions.“ e.e. cummings Above: American poet Edward Estlin Cummings (1894 – 1962) Kreuzlingen is a municipality in the… Continue reading Circus
Enemy at the gates
Above: The Scream, Edvard Munch (1893) Saturday 15 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye My friends have a new hobby: Adam baiting. They know that I don’t follow the news, except as an afterthought for my calendar day blog posting. So, they will ask my opinions about world events. Above: The Thinker, August Rodin (1904) And what,… Continue reading Enemy at the gates
What’s love got to do with it?
Thursday 14 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye Where does one find love? Perhaps Rome? Above: Roma (Rome), Italia The Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a minor basilican church in Rome, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Located in the rione (neighborhood) of Ripa and constructed first in the 6th century as a diaconia (deaconry) in an area of the city populated by Greek immigrants,… Continue reading What’s love got to do with it?