Progress on the Novel

As you may know, I am writing a novel (in English), by the preliminary and rather misleading title of “The Potboiler”. I gave up my PhD studies in Philosophy – I had only the dissertation to go – and started writing an adventure novel! Sounds crazy, what? But (fiction) writing was something I had wanted to …

I want to do Peter Says

 A little update to my Simon Says Peter Says entry. When Amie wants to play the game now, she says: “I want to do Peter Says”. Then she does what Peter says, yells “No!” and undoes it. “I want to do Peter Says” is a strange way of asking for the game, isn’t it, because she …

Peter says, Simon says

A couple of weeks ago  We had a long wait at the pizza place and Mama had forgotten to bring her bag of tricks – a folder with coloring sheets, crayons, puzzles, a couple of thin books, and a Manush (playmobil man). Amie became restless – no patience whatsoever. “I want pizza! I want pizza!” and then …

No One Local Summer meal this week – and why

DH is away to give a talk and I’m alone with Amie, who caught a stomach bug on Thursday and is still not recovered – the hot and humid weather isn’t helping much. When she’s not sleeping she is glued to me, so I haven’t managed and probably won’t manage to prepare a OLS meal …

iPhone vs. Moleskine, Da Vinci Code vs. Umberto Eco

Two conversations. The Future: Star Trek or Middle Ages? We were noting all those people cueing up in front of the stores to get their hands on an iPhone. – “Idiotic,” I judged, “an irrelevant piece of junk”. – “Sacrilege!” DH countered – he’s not wanting to get an iPhone, he was just defending what …

Summer Noise: A Rant Against Leaf Blowers

Ah, summer, you break my heart. After long months of snow and frost, a long stretch of grey, rainy weather, summer’s arrival is very welcome. The warmth, the sunlight on your skin, the summer hat, the smell of sunscreen… People smile, say hi, drivers find more courtesy and patience, kids come out to play. But …

Making Children Cry

I don’t know what to think of these (scroll down on the page to the 3 YouTube videos).  They are trailers for a program on Belgian television called “Blocks,” a popular trivia and tretris combination game for adults. The message at the end translates to: “Life without blocks is not worth living”. The channel they were made …

Americans are Bad at Setting an Example

Oops! That’s quite a statement! Let me explain. “You’re setting a bad example.” Years ago, on a visit to Belgium, we went for a stroll in the city (Antwerp) with my mom and dad. At a corner, the walk sign was red, but there were no cars, so after stopping to make sure, I stepped …