Let me introduce you to the lust filled dolphin Zafar, if you haven’t heard of him before. Zafar, a common bottlenose dolphin has been capturing the hearts of Bretons with his overly-friendly gestures, up until recently. Residents and tourists alike have both been delighted by his freestyle antics and acrobatics. He loves coming up to boats, …
Growing up? Do we ever achieve it in our lifetime? We often feel pressed to ask young children what they want to be when they grow up. I find children much more gifted in being able to answer than most adults. For children, the question rarely poses much contemplation. Most of them will only give it …
Growing Up; What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? Read More »
Paris is a wonderful polyglot of cultures. Little India forms an exotic splash of very colourful shops lining several streets in the northern part of the 10th arrondissement. Anytime I want to have the freshest of coconuts, the sweetest ripe mangoes, those strange looking vegetables, or Indian spices, I head that way. It is also …
One of the most debilitating mental illnesses is agoraphobia. Agora from Greek means “marketplace”, which is somewhat misleading as it more a phobia of being in any place, where people are congregated and other places as well! This is not the same as social phobia, which is entirely different. All agoraphobics have extremely high levels …
Paris has been baking hot this summer! This summer long heat wave hasn’t left yet! In the almost 20 years of living here, this has never happened! Paris is not equipped to handle this heat! I’m talking about summertime being consistently hot, which just doesn’t happen here! Sure, there are always a few really hot days …
The modern-day swindling of a 16-century château in Monflanquin and the financial extortion and ruin of an aristocratic family is one of the most unbelievably horrifying, yet psychologically fascinating, albeit tragic stories that I have ever read. The Védrine family, victims of the whole diabolical affair, were called the “reclus de Monflanquin” or reclusives of Monflanquin. …
Monflanquin, A True Twisted Machiavellian Plot That Swindled A Family’s Château Read More »
The father of modern surgery, Ambroise Paré, was an astonishing and awe-inspiring physician. He treated paupers as kings, yet was the surgeon of four kings of France. He challenged the medical community of his day and paved the way for surgeons to be finally recognized. He was born in 1510 to a family of modest …
As a sufferer of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, I always look forward to the summer solstice, because I invariably tend to feel better in the summer months. Seasonal variations of mood affect SAD but also Bipolar patients. For example, you can see more disturbance of mood in Bipolar patients in the spring and fall. Hypomania and …
I always enjoy going to Budapest, a two hour plus flight from Paris, for the foods and wines and other reasons. Last week, I wanted to go beyond to the pretty Lake Balaton area for an unusual thermal lake. Whereas my last two winter visits were so cold that the Danube had frozen into huge chunks …
Suicide, part II is a continuation of last week’s post that I divided to ensure greater ease of reading. Mental illness is a physical illness with psychiatric symptoms that affect thinking, feeling states, fears, coping strategies, energy levels, sleep, perception, concentration, libido, and general activities of daily living! Our brain has billions of nerve cells, …
This past week there have been two very high profile suicides in America that apparently caught everyone by surprise. Both of these very tragic persons lived a life of fame and fortune, earned through their individual efforts and talents that brought joy and happiness to others. One was Kate Spade, a New York-based handbag designer, who committed suicide …
Southern Portugal gave me exactly what I was looking for: a few days of warm sun, beautiful sea views and a magnificent colourful coastline. I can not ever get enough of the sea. The feelings evoked are indescribable in words that touch a primordial part of my psyche and soul. The sea draws me like an …