Canada Slim and the Promised Land

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 21 January 1858 “I am astonished more and more at the stupid extravagance… Fashion rules so absolutely… The people in the house would lend me any amount of flower garden bonnets if I would but go out in them. This is so like the Americans… They are generous and kind but… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Promised Land

Oil and Blood in the Heartland 2: Home and Native Land

Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Summer 1992 I embarrassed myself. West of Hamilton and surrounded for the most part by farmland, Brantford is known for several things: It lays claim to the invention of the telephone, the birthplace of “The Great One” hockey player Wayne Gretzky, entertainer Phil Hartman, Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris, and a… Continue reading Oil and Blood in the Heartland 2: Home and Native Land

Walking with the President

“Dear Mr. President Come take a walk with me. Let´s pretend we´re just two people and You´re no better than me.” (Pink, “Dear Mr. President”) Landschlacht, Switzerland, 30 May 2016 What if the unthinkable actually happened? What if Donald “Duck!” Trump became the President of the United States? New York City, New York, USA, 1… Continue reading Walking with the President

Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America

As a Canadian resident in Switzerland there are many things I miss about life in Canada: I miss old friends and family. I miss the magnificent splendour of my home and native land. And I miss small things too: Food like Habitant pea soup, poutine, tourtiere, Canadian breakfast, perogies, microwave dinners, beavertails… Comedians like Lorne… Continue reading Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America

Giving Thanks

For Canadians a typical aspect of what we label as “American” is the tendency to steal the credit for someone´s idea. So often Americans have the notion that if something is a great idea then it must have been America that came up with it. Now, there is no denying that the United States has… Continue reading Giving Thanks

American roulette

As one wanders the world one sees different games played by the locals. For example, the Swiss have the card game Jass (See The cards we’re dealt of this blog.), the Russians love a good game of chess and Americans have a version of gambling, a variation on Russian roulette, an addiction they can’t seem… Continue reading American roulette

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?

Through the looking glass

Everyday there are constant reminders of the difference between how we are perceived and how we perceive ouselves, between one´s reputation and one´s self-image. Yesterday I dropped into St. Gallen for a day of “Adam is good to himself today”. Chatted with Starbuck´s colleagues, had a meal and a movie with my good friend Adrian,… Continue reading Through the looking glass