Here I am, back in Chiang Mai, Thailand, after attempting to make a September '08 visa run to Malaysia, but due to the protests/strikes in Bgk I turned around & did a passport stamp run to Mae Sai at the Burma border instead, & then back here to Chiang Mai.

Fantasy: I'm busy planning a sailing cruise in a Beneteau 34, embarking from Penang, Malaysia, sail across the Indian Ocean, cruise up through the Red Sea into the Suez & out into the glorious Mediterranean. Then go island-hopping and visit one Hellenic ruin after another. Plus, I'd be setting out from my sun-drenched villa in the South Pacific. Nice fantasy, huh?

Back to reality: Continuing daily with wondrous yoga; plus of course, as ever, big on reading, writing articles, novel scenes, & blogging. My novel is about 85% finished - the first draft should be in the bag by the end of September. It's been a labor of love.

Contact me at: directed_by@yahoo.com

My passion is ...

Novels, bluewater sailing, movies, articles, and market trading

I know too much about ...

Friendly neighborhood dictators

My parents always told me ...

Set goals and work towards them

My childhood ambition ...

To make feature-length movies

My favorite memory ...

Cycling round Georgetown, Malaysia earlier this year!

Why I write ...

To give deliberate form to a series of thoughts and emotions

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Patrick O'Brian, Bernard Cornwell, David Gemmell, Ridley & Tony Scott, the Coen bros, The Secret, & much more

My first job ...

Slinging burgers at Stop21 in Southampton, Ontario

My best moment ...

Screening my first student movie, 'Nightmould Mare'

My inspiration ...

Rhoda Byrne, Michael Beckwith, Wallace Wattles, C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, Sergio Leone, Henry Miller

Society & Lifestyle > Economic Values Welfare: Help or hindrance?

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The question has changed from whether welfare is a help or hindrance, to how great a hindrance it has become in those nations that have implemented it most radically. Moreover, it appears that it has become far more than an economic question. For a clearer picture of 'welfare', we need to consider Europe's experience.Many observers in the West misapprehend the intensity of Europe's allegiance to the welfare state. To properly understand this curious social 'innovation' let us consider both its source and its effects.Set aside the absurdity that it was deliberately created to achieve any of ...

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