A Booksmith Journal

I get f***ing afraid of everything. That's it, I said it. It was about time.And even though I highly doubt that this confession will help me to get over it, at least it's public now. When I was a kid I was not much afraid of darkness. Worse than that, what I could not see was what scared me so much. So there I was in bed, lights on, staring at the door of my bedroom, frightened by the infinite possible things that could come from that door. Not a serial killer or a monster, all the serial killers and monsters together. I didn't have a closet in my bedroom, though. And that was a very simple but accurate reflection of our fears. Everyone said it already, we don`t fear what we know, we fear what we don`t know. Those very real monsters of our childhood are a simple analogy of modern grown-up-man fears. To loose a job (by quitting or getting fired), a breakup, to loose someone, to move from our city or from our current situation. It is not only the fact, it`s what happ...

Shortly after I turned twenty, booze stopped being the nectar I used to get ridiculous. Still happens once in a while, but it's a byproduct rather than a goal. Once in Canada, working in hospitality bussiness and my personal preferences put a lot of information and experience in front of me. And still, I know nothing. My favourites drinks are Beer, Wine and Whisky. Not necessarily in that order.  These are some things I learned over the past time. 1. Drink and taste are two different things. I doesn't mean that both aren't enjoyable, just there's a time a place for each one. Taste involves a sensorial appreciation of what you are imbibing. You are trying to understand something while you enjoy your time, with friends if possible. Finished working on the yard? Get a couple of light refreshing lagers. Having a special dinner? Perhaps is time to try that trappist belgium beer you bought (right picture) . For the sake of my notes, I'm talking here mostly about t...

Inspirado por el taller en el que participé el año pasado y con el deseo de escribir, hace un mes empezamos con una amiga un taller de expresión literaria . A distancia, dado que ella vive en Buenos Aires y yo sigo en Winnipeg. Pero con la intención de reforzar no tanto la técnica literaria (para lo cual nos consideramos ineptos correctores) sino para generar el hermoso hábito de escribir .  Todos tuvimos ganas de escribir en algún momento de nuestras vidas. Pero muy a menudos nos encontramos con cuadernos apenas empezados, diarios de viaje (o diarios nomás) con sólo ocho entradas. Blogs abandonados con menos de tres publicaciones, etc. Y no es que la idea sea pésima. Hay una razonable porción que lo son, pero el problema reside en que -como todo nueva actividad que empezamos- cuesta generar un autodisciplinamiento . Es un síndrome que se repite en esa ingenua idea que es empezar a ir a un gimnasio. Se podría pagar la deuda externa de un país pequeño con el dinero recaudado por ...