I’ve only made it to northern Italy…after over two weeks of traveling abroad, starting in Amsterdam, so I’m one to talk, but I’m wondering if after my grand tour of Europe I might just keep going, on to another continent, rather than back to the … Continue readingDare I Round the World?
When you think about it, it’s rather odd that this blog is written in English rather than Portuguese. And I’m not saying that because I have Portuguese heritage, but rather because the first truly global sea routes were pioneered by Portugal, whose princes, explorers, and … Continue readingLinguae Francae: Some What-Ifs
Needless to say I’m really enjoying Liechtenstein, one of the world’s smallest countries, but a case where small really is beautiful; spectacular landscapes, fine people, and even some great wines are to be found in the principality, in addition to the famous financial riches. So … Continue readingOf Principalities That Are, and Nations That Never Were…
Well…I should have known that I’d end up like this: almost midnight and I’m typing up a blog post listening to “Swiss jazz” in a hotel room located in the Principality of Liechtenstein, a balcony giving me a spectacular nocturnal view of the Alps. Yes, … Continue readingA Virgin No More
I think I was onto something when I hit upon restoring my childhood appearance: namely, tan and blond. And, putting my images through Facetune for the first time…it seems the look really elevates me! So much so I’m pretty much decided to go for it. … Continue readingThe New Me: Tan, Blonde, Fun
In the course of doing some worldbuilding for my latest novel “Children of the Storm” (which is now up to 88,000 words, by far my longest work of fiction), it hit me that passenger riverboat traffic in the Mississippi River and tributaries would explode compared … Continue readingRiverboat Futurism, à la Nouvelle-Orléans?
A little bit of an update on my incipient effort to discover if I have Italian citizenship and, if I do, to have it officially recognized. I’ve been in the process of moving, and, fool that I am, I had the family books packed up … Continue readingLike Great-Grandfather, Like…
I have my American citizenship, with the passport to prove it: I was born in the United States to two parents who were American citizens. But might I also be an Italian citizen and not know it? My great-grandfather emigrated from Italy to the United … Continue readingYou Have More than One Birthright…
In this post, after a long break (thanks, real life, for nothing, says the writer part of me) I return to my roots here: sharing the thoughts I have that are just too long to fit in a tweet, in a format that’s just more…permanent. … Continue readingCinematic Universe?
It honestly just hit me: in the story I’m writing, which has crested 43,000 words as of yesterday, the city of Nashville is where so many of the characters live originally, yet by the end of it about the only ones left there are…the Slovenian … Continue readingWhy Don’t You Stay?