Reflections

The phrase "come to your senses" is usually offered as a call to reason. But Charles Bukowski's line—"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead"—suggests another...

From the Underworld to the Louvre: A Soliloquy on Pleasure

Aesthetic gluttony may as well be a cardinal sin. The Louvre, like an all-you-can-eat buffet, is simply indigestible in mass quantities. When visiting such places, it helps to have a...

The Painter and the Emperor — Centaurs of History

If there’s such a thing as a Cubist painting in words, it must be Gertrude Stein’s 1923 poem “If I Told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso.” In it, she...

Shattered Mirrors and Syncopated Truths

Have you ever had foie gras de canard on toast with a bit of fig jam? It’s an unctuous pâté with a deep, savory richness — a dish of ultimate...

The Sphinx Puzzle — Eroticism and Death

Some mysteries exist undeniably, yet defy full explanation: gravity, consciousness... and eroticism — that magnetic force, at once elusive and unpredictable. Like death, you never quite know when it’ll catch...

On Versailles, Kidney Stones, and Dissonance

I never cared much for the Palace of Versailles — all that suffocating excess topped with swarms of tourists. It’s like hot chocolate drowned in whipped cream: rich, cloying, and...

A Journey Through the Visible and Invisible Conciergeries

With caffeine still buzzing in my veins, I was about to enter a place where history lingers not for hours but for centuries...

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death — Coffee Houses and Revolution

Parisians may protest — I don’t care — but Rome has better coffee. The downside (or upside, depending on your temperament) of Italian cafés? They’re noisy, and you definitely can’t...

The Night Before Paris

Half-packed for Paris, dreaming of cobblestones and café au laits, I couldn’t sleep. It was one of those nights when you stare into the dark abyss — above and within:...