Tag Archives: writing

For my Chinese readers

Writing a blog for an international audience is very complicated. People in California are never awake when I write in Europe. People in Australia and Argentina are reading it upside down. And in China, when you want to access my … Continue reading

Posted in China, Language | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Finding myself in Maugham

One and a half winters ago, on a cold day in Calgary, I found a treasure trove of books by the side of the road. I walked home, through ice and snow and wind, with three little gems by William … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Life, Travel | Tagged , | 5 Comments

You can now support my blog on Patreon

Let me send my sincerest regards to you, wherever you are in quarantine, under lockdown or in any other virus-fighting modality, as long as it’s not the one where you deny reality. The good thing about this time is that … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

My first Writing Job

When I was 13 years or so, I had a friend. That friend had a girlfriend, of sorts. I didn’t know her because she went to a different high school than us, and our high school was the limit of … Continue reading

Posted in Life, Love | Tagged | 13 Comments

The Writer’s Girlfriend

She only became interested in me after reading an article I had written about her hometown. Without that, she never would have met me, she admitted. And when I wrote a story about our date, she fell in love. “Ever … Continue reading

Posted in Love | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Film review: “Blue Mountains”

Maybe you have to be as old and wise as me to realize it, but movies made in the last century are really better than today’s animation/superhero/sequel/prequel crap. Actually, the difference is so stark that even Soviet films from the … Continue reading

Posted in Cinema, Economics, Georgia | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

An unexpected find

I am trying to get rid of most stuff and have been quite successful already. I have no car, only one hat, and I am even letting go of books. But one thing is piling up: notebooks, full of memories, … Continue reading

Posted in Georgia, Travel | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

A Lonely Walk in the Snow

Humans who are cold can’t really be beautiful. Nature can. It looks like the perfect day for a long walk, with the sun shining from above and being reflected by the snow on the ground. So much light, and so … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Economics, Life, Love, Philosophy, Photography, Time | Tagged , , , , , , | 47 Comments

What was I thinking?

Sometimes, buried deep in a pile of paper with other things I once deemed interesting or noteworthy, I find a sheet with my own handwriting. It usually has a crisp headline, underlined, followed by a first paragraph of what should … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Winston Churchill on New Year’s Resolutions

It’s mid-February. If you are like me, most of your new year’s resolutions have already dissipated, been forgotten or pushed to March or April. The smarter ones among you won’t have made any resolutions in the first place. But if … Continue reading

Posted in Books, History, Life, Military, Politics, Time, UK, World War II | Tagged , | 16 Comments