The nun with the baking tray covered in aluminium foil came over to the stop where we waiting to catch the bus from Catania to Taormina in Sicily. A teenage girl instantly stood up and offered the nun a seat, which was gratefully accepted. In return, the nun offered the girl the tray, […]
Last Night at the Ship Inn
“We loved Vancouver,” said Angela, “especially its location with the sea and the mountains.” One of the wardens at the Blaxhall youth hostel, Angela, along with her husband Steve, had visited Vancouver in 2002 as part of their world-tour. “We only spent six weeks in Western Canada, visiting Banff, Jasper, and all the usual places,” she […]
A book review
As if the Stern Report wasn’t enough to highlight the potentially cataclysmic nature of global warming, the UN has published its own book “Tore and the town on thin ice” for children. Tore, the protagonist, lives in an arctic village and enters a sled race. During the race he rides over thin ice, which breaks […]
The patients of a saint
A staff member of the biology department at Dumlupınar University, located in Turkey‘s province of Kühtaya, has been indicted along with his wife for allegations of blasphemy-namely, posing as a saint to bilk money from pious locals in the search of divine healing. The trial against Dr. Osman Nuri BenlioÄŸlu and his wife Hatice Kübra […]
Paranoid Jerk
Fabian inched his size 10 shoes closer to the curb. The black shoes, purchased at K-Mart, were scuffed and dirty. Fabian noticed this and thought to himself that he would shine them when he got back to his apartment. Whether out of spite or forgetfulness, he had still not opened the Kiwi Shoe […]
Taoist Beatles Propaganda
I have been following the Paul McCartney-Heather Mills breakup quite closely. (I recognize this is morally wrong, however.) Yesterday, Sir Paul locked her out of their London townhouse. When Heather’s bodyguard climbed to the second floor to enter the window, McCartney had him arrested. I was surprised to learn that Paul is now worth $1.5 […]