Apr 8THYMOTIC DESIRESI enjoy scanning the news headlines each morning that pop into my email inbox, one of which is The Morning, a daily newsletter of articles from the New York Times. This morning I came across a rather intriguing new term contained in David Brooks’s Opinion Piece “Globalization Is Over. …Foreign Affairs3 min read
Mar 1YOU KNOW YOU MISCALCULATED WHEN…Day 5 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth day, it is very clear by now that with few exceptions the world has galvanized against Putin’s gamble. Had Russian truly rolled into Ukraine and toppled the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy within…Russia3 min read
Feb 28AND A MADMANDay 4 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit There has never been a shortage of madmen in the world who have climbed (often over dead bodies) to the top of their country’s power rankings. Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gadafi, Pol Pot, are merely ones at the top of the charts. …Ukraine3 min read
Feb 25OF WARDay 3 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit War is ugly. What we are witnessing in Ukraine following a large scale Russian military invasion this week is ugly. Seeing elderly bloodied after a missile hits their apartment is ugly. Seeing thousands of elderly, women, children taking shelter in underground…Ukraine3 min read
Feb 25THE FOGDay 2 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit Growing up on the Canadian prairies one did not encounter fog very often. But then when you join the Navy, you get used to fog like it is just another day. Today, I had to drive to Halifax from my home…Halifax3 min read
Feb 23DISTRACTIONDay 1 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit Time to start over on my 21 days to develop a writing habit. And the day of 22.02.2022, or 22 February 2022, a palindromic date is a good day to do it. Wait. What is a palindromic date? Of course it…Palindrome3 min read
Feb 18I WAS BOREDDay 5 of 21 Days to a Writing Habit Have I mentioned I am building a boat? Not just any old, dinky boat. No way José, not me. Why would someone like me, with no previous boat-building experience, start with something small to hone my skills on? Nope. I am…Boredom3 min read
Feb 17THE COUNTRY OF MY SOULDay 4 of 21 Days to Forming A Writing Habit Everyone has a soul country. Don’t they? I don’t mean your home country, the country of your birth. I mean a foreign country that your soul becomes connected to. Perhaps the catalyst was an initial visit to that country and…Italy3 min read
Feb 16CRACKS IN WESTERN DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATIONSDay 3 of 21 Days to Forming A Writing Habit Cracks are forming in the foundations of Western democratic institutions, as an ever-growing chasm across the left-right political spectrum is becoming more and more hostile. …Canada3 min read
Feb 15DON’T DELAY, BEGIN TODAYIt is never the perfect time to begin. Now is not the right time to… How many times have you said this to yourself as justification to put off beginning something? …Procrastination3 min read