Content advisory 18+ (Restricted content) Long ago I stood atop the Empire State Building and peered down at Manhattan far below. I don’t remember my feelings precisely, but I am sure that I was in awe of where I was — you know, the mere Fact of it (“Damn — this is really the top of the Empire State Building!”). I do recall that we were securely fenced … Read the rest
Tag: Moscow
The Wild Face of Patriotism
Content advisory 18+ In the last couple of days, Russian “patriotism” has had its finest hour. First, a famous painting was well-nigh destroyed by a vodka-swilling nationalistic fool at the Tretyakov gallery; and, second, a Russian journalist, well-known for his criticism of the Kremlin, was fatally shot in the back as he tried to enter his apartment in Kiev, where he had fled in fear of his life in Moscow.… Read the rest
Where Torches Burn
Content advisory 18+ The other day a friend of mine was trying to explain something during a lesson we were having on Skype. He is a 49-year-old Russian businessman who used to live in America. He is very pro-American, or, shall I say, pro-West, in terms of what he considers its more highly evolved way of life. BUT he is Russian at heart, which I can only explain (to myself … Read the rest
The Good Old Days
Content advisory 18+ What differences are there between friendships that are mostly face-to-face and those that are mostly online?”
So ran one of the questions in a student book that formed the basis of my Skype lesson this morning with a fellow named Roman, who has studied with me since 2009. He was Pre-Intermediate then, and now we have gone through five or six Advanced level books together. Most of … Read the rest
The Security Offered by Fools
Age restriction 18+ Way back in the day, when I lived in the redneck burgh of Jacksonville, Florida, there was an agency which hired day-laborers to supply the city’s many construction companies. These building sites were always short of reliable help, and basically, they just needed a few extra bodies to shovel the shit.
Such “immediate employment” offices were scattered here and there throughout Yahooville (I don’t mean the internet, … Read the rest
