The bilateral effects of individuals on their environment
The past decade or so I’ve gotten into some real deep identity-, ethnicity-, and — more recently — genealogy-diving. I was extremely lucky in my search, the timing of it coinciding with the advent of the Internet as a true publicly accessible technology. I started with Poland but very quickly found myself in Germany, Israel, …
I am often asked why I’m so into family tree research, why I’m as deep into it as I am, why my research is so comprehensive and far-reaching as possible. Why not just plan for the future and let generations past stay buried where they are — what’s the point, anyway? Sometimes I’m asked rudely, …
A Patriotic Man (Isänmaallinen mies, 2013, 97m, 6.3) is a Finnish comedy-drama following one man’s journey in balancing morality with patriotism while complicit in a serious doping conspiracy, loosely based on a true true scandal. It centres on Finnish Nordic skiers’ doping strategy to come out on top after a few years of unsuccessful results …
I just received an invitation to watch a neat video from a friend I made while still active in our university Polish-Canadian cultural association during undergraduate years. I was initially wary of the lightsaber battle because that’s just been waaay overdone, but when I realized the metaphor behind it, it suddenly didn’t seem as bad. …
My Auberge Espagnole experience is rapidly coming to a close. This adventure has taken me through a big chunk of Europe and has taught me more than I ever thought possible. I’ve raved over this program before (as well as writing summary posts about many of our profs: Peter Schneider, Jean Côté, Anthony Watt, Martin …
Hm, where to begin. When I first finished Daniel Quinn’s philosophical novel, Ishmael (1992, 3.94, 4.2), as an older teen, I spent four days in agnostic turmoil. My faith in God shaken, I somehow found my way back in the end. However, my life certainly wasn’t the same, and I would often remember this novel …
I recently revisited CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce (1945, 4.27, 4.6), probably one of the founding blocks on which my moral values rest. I read it first close to a decade ago — I forget on what whim — but remember it filling a deep longing for moral truth I didn’t know I had. Studying …
People often ask me why I moved all the way to Europe for grad school (“But doesn’t Canada have any good programs?”) and my replies are never really sufficient, always boiling down to something of an, “I can’t possibly imagine myself doing anything else right now in the whole, wide world”… and no one likes …
Aaand another trip, this one to the lovely Isle up north. At the behest of a great friend I flew in to take part in the seventh annual Congress of Polish Student Societies in the UK. My main drive was to compare British Polonia to the Polish diaspora I had grown up with in my …
My plans of funding European grad school with Canadian employment continued this past Christmas season, where I returned home for 5 weeks to catch up financially and rest a bit before returning to school in Greece. My time in Canada was exceptionally busy: working three very intensive weeks in Vancouver and then spending the next …
One of the best things about living in Europe is the ease with which I can travel. Seriously, only $400 to fly from the bottom to right near the top of the continent, whaaa?! And that’s a return ticket?? Crazy. Europeans don’t know how good they have it. Last month a bunch of us from …
Wandering through my music, iTunes plucks Gordon Lightfoot from among the throng. Suddenly I am back on the bus from Burnaby to Ladner. If you’ve ever been, you know there’s something magical about the half-year when it doesn’t rain in Vancouver. The landscape whispers green and gold as everything exhales. It seems everyone is running …