Complex ideas are built upon simple ones.

Invent a holiday! Explain how and why everyone should celebrate. Have you already tasted this creamy, sweet, caramelized delicacy? Known by many different names, it has Latin roots but a worldly reach. Crème caramel renversé (France) and Pudim Flan (Portugal) are just a few of the names in use. Pudim de Leite (Brazil) or Milk…

What are your favorite websites? I have dozens, if not hundreds, of favorite websites. My list for this post was getting quite big. So, I decided to take a different approach and to focus all of them around one single topic. So here goes a list of my favorite websites focused on van Gogh. Museums…

Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live? For me there’s no looking back. I don’t think I would ever want to re-live the past, and I’m going to try to explain why. We should set up some ground rules for this experience. There are at least two possible scenarios. Immutable…

What historical event fascinates you the most? I visited Salem a few weeks ago. At once, the good energy and fun that the city exuded infected me. At every corner people were partying in costumes and having a good time. Groups gathered together to go on haunted walking tours. Long queues formed at the entrance…

What’s something you believe everyone should know. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi had this inscription for everyone who entered it to read: “Know Thyself.” The implication seems to be clear: if we don’t know ourselves, how can we know anything else? A statement so simple as this has been quoted and discussed for millennia,…

What does it mean to be a kid at heart? It is so cool that yesterday I asked this as part of my magic genie wishes. “I wish I will always be young at heart.” For me, it is the same as letting my inner child run free. I better work out what it means.…

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for? Me yesterday, after reading the prompt, and before going to bed: “Well, let me sleep on it, and I will get your answer in the morning.” Me this morning: “I should really think this through, if I choose well, I could get whatever I…

Describe a family member. Family seems to be that kind of thing that everyone knows exactly what it is, but doesn’t know very well how to define it. Understanding of what it is has differed from culture to culture and from time to time. This is evidenced by the sheer number of adjectives that we…

How much would you pay to go to the moon? Five hundred years ago we were circumnavigating the globe for the first time. Only fifty-five years ago, going to the Moon meant for humanity the crossing of another huge new frontier. And we did cross it (or did we?). “One small step for man, one…

What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in? I have a confession to make… I started this blog for several reasons, but mainly because I wanted to launch a career in writing mystery novels. I wanted to use this platform to develop my skills. I aimed to express my opinions and grow…