by Emil Rem | Jul 17, 2025 | Analects
“How did you get from mistakenly entering Canada Immigration in London to sitting here in front of me in Calgary?” By now, the lunch-hour crowd had thinned at La Petite Pâtisserie. My time was also running out. Mike shrugged apologetically. “These days, it’s hard to...
by Emil Rem | Jul 10, 2025 | Analects
La Petite Patisserie was not one of my favourites. Restaurants or cafés, I preferred “mum and dad” businesses, where you were instantly recognised and welcomed as family. Upon entering, you would feel as though you’d arrived home. You’d exchange banter. Not so with La...
by Emil Rem | Jul 3, 2025 | Analects
The phone rang. “Hi! This is Mike, a neighbour of yours. I read the blurb you posted about your writing in the mailroom. Can I buy you a coffee?” Without thinking, I agreed. Did I make a mistake? Mike was so ordinary. If you gazed into his face for an hour, you’d...
by Emil Rem | Jun 26, 2025 | Analects
“The mandala – the Buddhist Wheel of Life – revolves through six realms. The inhabitants of the Hungry Ghost Realm are depicted as creatures with scrawny necks, small mouths, emaciated limbs and large, bloated, empty bellies. This is the domain of addiction, where we...
by Emil Rem | Jun 19, 2025 | Analects
8 December 1996. The whole world was mesmerised by a penny stock company based in Alberta, now worth US $6 billion — from nothing. Anecdotes abounded in small towns and villages across the province of burgeoning millionaires on every street, thanks to stock they’d...