Oh, my! Am I getting older? Apparently I am. Just last week I celebrated my birthday (43rd, it was). I received two presents. One was from my wife (she knows I love presents). The other one was from the guy whom I had never seen before and will probably never see again. He was a … More Jorge Pesantez: Thank you for a great birthday present! by Alexander Mikhaylov 2009-08-24
Sometimes I grow frustrated with my pathological laziness. Consider this: to live in a Spanish speaking country for a year and never learn to speak Spanish properly – just how lazy can you be? I have gained knowledge of a number of words though. One of them is ‘ba’nos’ (spelled differently, of course). ‘Ban’os’ means … More Short trip to ban’os by Alexander Mikhaylov 2009-05-11
I started to write at the age of nine, which was not a rare activity for a kid of my age – many of my peers did the same thing. We were born in a culture where writing poetry and short stories were considered a normal pastime, a game that wore off after a few … More On being an artist by Alexander Mikhaylov 2009-01-06
It is yet another hot and dusty afternoon, full of laziness and dog shit, drying on pavement. Valerie and I are resting on a bench in the Prague Zoo’s picnic area, holding half empty beer cups, smoking and admiring the view. It is surprising, really – I never liked zoos before, never saw the point. … More Prague Zoo by Alexander Mikhaylov 2008-12-30
People underestimate the power of dreams. Of course, taken out of a context, the very word ‘dream’ might be a bit confusing. Merriam – Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary defines a dream as – ‘a series of thoughts, images or emotions, occurring during sleep’, ‘a visionary creation of imagination’, ‘a strongly desired goal or purpose.’ (Interesting … More On the power of dreams by Alexander Mikhaylov 2008-11-28
Surprise, surprise… Is it true or not? Notorious critic of the Soviet Invasion and Russia-hater Milan Kundera is a former Secret Police spy. Wow! I wonder how many people are gloating over this fact now. I am not sure if I feel like gloating myself although I must admit that Kundera’s political biases and his … More Embarrassment by Alexander Mikhaylov 2008-11-06
It is a quiet afternoon, maybe a bit too quiet for my likingOn the other hand, it is a perfect time toGo ahead and try to do some work,How about some work?Trudging upstairsEntering a terrace, seating myself at a tableNobody cares to come up here except meThere are only a few cats up here to … More Ecuador, me and all those cats by Alexander Mikhaylov 2008-10-14
When you travel extensively, or indeed live in various countries for years, you cannot avoid getting acquainted with different cultures. Personally, I always enjoy it, even though moving from place to place comes with a price, such as a culture shock, plain inconvenience, spontaneous anxiety and … oh yeah… an occasional taste of xenophobia and … More Foreigners, go away! by Alexander Mikhaylov 2008-08-12
The Ovi 