Scholarly Coffee – Literary Grounds

A well-read morning pick-me-up!

Have a wonderful day!

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Thanks to the Caffeina Festival Facebook page.

Thanks also to the lovely and talented Francesca Charlotte Ventresca, one of my most adorable relatives.

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Leadbeater’s Possum

Sorry I’ve not been around as regularly as I usually am. I just finished editing my first novel, and am a month away from finishing and editing my second novel,  volumes one and two in “The Great Dead North” series. Hopefully, they’ll be published soon and will be available as e-books and publish on demand (for those who love paperbacks). I thought I’d post a photo of this little guy from Australia… A Leadbeater’s Possum (aka Fairy Possum). Too cute for words. A friend of mine told me, “ In Arkansas, this thing would be in a stew so fast, it’d make yer head spin!” I miss The South. I’ll be back, inflicting my random scribblings on an unsuspecting public as soon as I can.

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My 400th Post!!

This is my 400th blog post here at Kosher Samurai!

My first post was on May 18, 2011.

I’ve been having a great time ever since writing and putting up my thoughts, ideas, musings, etc.

Check out my ‘sister blog,’ Vampyre Fangs!

And here is a shameless plug for my Twitter experiment, a journal entry style post apocalyptic novel, The Great Dead North.

I hope you enjoy reading my stuff as much as I love writing it.

Until my next post, thank you for reading my blog.

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Why I’m Glad I Grew Up in an English Speaking Country

English is not an easy language.

Having said that, while English is not my first language (Italian is), I am glad I was born and raised in an English speaking country.

I would hate to have to learn English coming from another country and language.

My mother did it and I really admire her for it. Well done, Ma!

My daughter teaches English in Israel, and manages the Netanya learning centre for Wall Street English. I don’t know how her students master English and not go crazy.

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You Had Me At…. (Part 3)

There, Their, They’re…

Why is this so hard, people!?

I mean really!

But use them properly… and I just melt!

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You Had Me At…. (Part 1)

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My 300th Kosher Samurai post!

According to the benevolent overlords at WordPress, this is my 300th posting.

Hard as it may be to believe, folks, 300 Kosher Samurai articles and counting!

I’m having a blast posting on this blog and I hope that you are enjoying yourselves.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for your kind comments and encouragement.

More to come!

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2nd Year Anniversary!!

Two years ago today, May 18, 2011, I wrote my first article for this blog, the Kosher Samurai.

Here it is!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I prefer to spell it bl*g or bl*gging.

I have some strange aversion to the way the word is usually spelled. Not sure why. I just do.

I’m sure that, in time, I will succumb and use the full un-asterixed version. But for now, this is my bl*g.

I’ve been inspired (or provoked, depending on one’s point of view) to start up this site by a dear friend of mine.

Shameless plug for dear friend of mine:  XUP

Her writing is quite good. If you haven’t done so already, check it out. Quality stuff, I assure you.

A few details about yours truly…

I’m Jewish and I have a fondness for Japan, Japanese food and Japanese culture.

(Hence the name for this site:  Kosher Samurai)

I am a criminal defence lawyer. Divorced

Two kids:

Exhibit One: 21 yr old daughter

Exhibit Two: 19 yr old son.

That’s all for now, I think. I’m new to this so I need to get past my “green as Gumby” stage and start writing.

Bye for now

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I never thought that two years later, I would still enjoy providing you little geeks and nerdlings out there with my own two cents on life.

I enjoy writing articles for this blog, mixed with some recipes and, of course, lots of stories on movies, science, bugs and bats.

Thanks for reading.

Here’s to another year. And yes, that is a threat.

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Fashionate Encounter at Café

I was at one of my favourite cafés the other day, tapping les mots juste into my Blackberry Playbook when I noticed a charming if somewhat intense young lady at the table next to me.

She appeared to be doing much the same thing (i.e. writing), only with a bit more… oomph!

She frowned. She scowled. She grinned. She sat back, glaring at her laptop monitor. I found it hard to keep my eyes off of her.

As she was packing up and getting ready to leave, some of her stuff… a paperback novel, I believe, and her iPhone… slipped off of her table and into my bag which had until now been sitting patiently by my feet, minding its own business.

She apologized. I said it was nothing and retrieved her book and iPhone for her, showing manly restraint in not checking out what it was she was reading.

I mentioned that I had noticed her getting wrapped up in her writing. She blushed and admitted she often did that, even in public.

I asked what was it that got her so passionate. “I’m writing a blog article… review… about a fashion show I was at last night,” she replied, smiling again.

Passionate about Fashion. In a word, Fashionate!

“Ah,” I said, the proverbial penny dropping. “That explains it. You’re ‘fashionate’ and wrote accordingly.”

She chuckled and said, “Yeah, I guess I am!” She sat back down at her table and we spoke for about 10 minutes.

She said she was a writer and theatrical director. I said I was for 12 years in professional theatre as a lighting designer and stage manager.

We exchanged our two cents on the differences between the theatrical world and the world of fashion.

One of the things upon which we both immediately agreed – while many in the theatre are bitchy and catty, there is nowhere near the sheer viciousness that is regularly and openly displayed in the fashion industry. Even the movie business didn’t compare.

It was so nice to connect with a perfect stranger on such an unusual subject in which we both shared an interest.

She stood up to leave. We shook hands wishing we could spend more time together discussing the topic and how maddening it could be.

“Are you in the neighbourhood often?” she asked. I nodded. “Oh well, then I am sure we’ll run into each other again.”

“It was fun. I hope we can get upset about it again some time soon.”

“I’d like that. But there’s no sense getting all worked up about it, though,” she said, moving a strand of hair from her face. “After all…

“It’s only fashion!” I said, finishing the sentence for her.

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The Great Dead North – First Anniversary

One year ago today, April 25, 2012, I started writing The Great Dead North.

It is a post apocalyptic journal entry novel on Twitter.

When I blogged about it last year, I called it My Twitter Experiment.

Each entry is no more than 140 characters… the maximum allowed per tweet.

I post daily journal entries from the second year in aftermath of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Only a relative handful of people have survived the first year. Food, vehicles, gasoline, medicine and supplies were relatively abundant during the first year. By the second year, gasoline (a highly refined product) has ‘gone bad’ and vehicles no longer run on it. Most of the ‘easy picking’ supplies have been exhausted. Specialized ‘city folk’ are now forced to exist in a hostile environment. Our world, at best, has been plunged back into the Dark Ages. For some survivors, they have been thrown back to the Stone Age.

Please check it out on Twitter and Follow it, if  you like it.

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