Writing for the Russian Media

For almost a year now I have been writing for the respected Russian news media RIA Novosti.  I and about six others write weekly columns on various subjects. My column is called “Musings of a Russophile” and comes out each Friday. The subject may be a nostalgic epic, usually humorous, like how to take a hot wash down (I can’t call it a bath) when the city turns off the hot water for several weeks in the summer. Or they may be about thoughts on the poet and writer Boris Pasternak  (“Dr. Zhivago”) and my visit to his suburban home and what is story means today. There is even a report from the banya, the hot steam and massage experience. Whew!

 The columns of other writers are about a variety of things, all having to do with Russia, often critical and often cynically funny. Russians are good at laughing at themselves and particularly at their leaders.  I get good comments on my columns, particularly Russians who say I tell it like it is, but with respect and humor. Two of the favorites are “Moscow , a City of Dogs” and “St. Petersburg, a City of Cats.” Both Muscovites and Petersburgers love these, laugh, and say I got it right.

 You can find me at www.en.rian.ru.  Go to “Features and Opinions” then “Columnists.” Read the others, too.  All are good. My latest is http://www.en.rian.ru/columnists/20110812/165710036.html .

 And don’t forget “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman is Russia.”

What Is To Be Done?

What is to be done to move Russia into the 21^st century world? It always has been a very tough question, but more possible of success today than ever before. It will lift Russians who can accomplish so much more if they develop an environment of cooperation and mutual need and respect. But it’s not easy. While it does not require sleeping on a bed of nails, as the hero did in Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s famous novel What Is To Be Done to prove his dedication to his Markist ideals, it does require a clear and serious intent, dedication, perservance, and many other things.

In a land historically devoid of the predictability of law, the cement of Russian society is built on personal relationships. That interwoven matrix is complex. That is why one never makes commitments he cannot deliver. It is deeds, not words that count. Character is more important than contracts. Once that trust develops, I found the Russians reliable, resourceful, dedicated, and extremely hard-working. New leadership can develop out of that growing pool of forward-looking younger men and women. And contracts can be a result.

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Talking to our Future World Business Leaders

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I had the privilege of addressing the Executive MBA (EMBA) class at Colorado State University this week in preparation for their June trip to Russia. My book, “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia” is a textbook for this US/Russian MBA course, so they were well prepared and had good questions.

I covered what I call “the third side of the Russian coin” which really is the underlying thousand years of cultural influences on Russian thought, behavior, and therefore business. Much progress is being made, but there’s much more to be done.

We discussed particularly the present growing “Generation 3” as I call those who entered the great post-Soviet change fresh for the universities and institutes in the early 90s. And the present excitement and wonderment over the Skolkovo efforts to reinforce the great technology values in young Russia and bring it successfully and profitably onto the world market. The recent partnership with Silicon Valley is a cornerstone of that initiative.

To quote Alexis de Tocqueville on the subject of Russia and America: “Their starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same; yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe.”

 From my experience in Russia, I am so happy to see this sincere interest in Russia from a leading American MBA program. I am glad to see CSU playing a part in this destiny. I am confident there will be good results.

Learn more. Buy here “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

PRAGUE~ A very special city

From my global travels there is a short list of cities that remain as very special places to me, for many different reasons.  Prague, in the Czech Republic, is certainly one of them. I had a business there.

Prague has been a political, cultural and economic center of Europe and particularly central Europe for the over 1,100 years. The famous Charles Bridge, with parts dating to the year 885, crosses the Vltava River (aka Moldau) and takes you into the Old Town Square with its famous Astronomical Clock and ancient buildings including the Kafka Museum. Prague was one city that was largely spared of World War II destruction.

But, it is the culture that holds me. The Bohemian composers including Dvorak, Smetana, and Janacek, are among my favorites. The writer Franz Kafka is a legend. The poet Rilke and writer Kundera are special. One night I bought a ticket to see the opera “Don Giovanni” in the Estates Theater where Mozart conducted its premier in 1787. Mozart liked Prague and named his Symphony No. 38 after it.

I agree with Mozart.

Russian Economics

 “The economic system of Russia has undergone such rapid changes that it is impossible to obtain a precise and accurate account of it. Almost everything one can say about the country is true and false at the same time.”

                                                                                  John Maynard Keynes 1925

 The famous economist, John Maynard Keynes said the above, in 1925. It is true today.

 But the best account of Russian economics came from the tour guide on my first trip to Russia in 1991. Here it is:

“President Bush has one hundred bodyguards. One of them is an assassin and he doesn’t know which one. President Mitterand has one hundred mistresses. One of them has AIDS, and he doesn’t know which one. President Yeltsin has one hundred economic advisors. One of them is right, and he doesn’t know which one.”

 Keynes and the tour guide both got it right.

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

About Screenplays~”Dos Gringos” a film?

 A friend asked me, “Do you have a story?” When I said I did, she encouraged me to take a screen-writing course, which I did. That started my writing life. I took lots of film courses, but then met a woman who was a line-producer for John Malkovich. She advised me, “Never write a screenplay. A screenplay is never your own. Write a novel. The best films come from novels.” That changed my direction. She added that a novel is like a painting, no one can change it, even if they want to. The story is yours. The screen play can be constantly changed.  But that is only half of the story.

Because of my screenplay learning, my novels are often said to be “filmic.” Being so, I wanted to still learn more and I took a three-day course from Tom Schlesinger and learned so much

That is why my last published novel, “Dos Gringos” is said by all to be so visual, like you are really there, so “filmic,” that it moves, so entertaining, With all that support, I am reminded by my film friends that the main cause of death in Hollywood is “encouragement.”  But, still, “Dos Gringos” would be so much fun as a film.  I will not be deaf to such encouragement. In fact, the ball is already rolling.

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.

A Fragmented World?

 A few years ago I hired a guy to fix my Mac. He said he had to “defragment” the disk. So I learned about that. Then I got in my car to drive to LA and as usual KUSC (my favorite classical music station) was on the radio. A radio host asked a composer, “Why don’t modern composers write music we can hum?” I love music and thought that a very pertinent question. The composer answered “Because we live in a fragmented age.”

 Fragmentation has been going on for a long time according to the “big-bang” theorists. The concept of defragmentation, however, is relatively new, as any computer-literate person will tell you.  Personal mental defragmentation is required as surely as with the computer. The effects of the personal problem are often seen as excessive inattentiveness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity and have long medical names and suggested solutions. It is evidenced in lack of reading skills, disinterest in the values of art, music and the usual lessons of constructive life experience.

But, today’s communication technology also heralds positive change. And rather than be overwhelmed and intimidated by it, our challenge is to manage it constructively. We can turn this fear and confused human concept into productive and healing action in our lives. It is our choice. Take the time to read a good book and listen to good music.

Learning by Giving

I learn so much when I give a talk to groups about my books and my writing. The story I tell depends much on who it is told to. The audience determines my message, although sometimes there is still a surprise in there for me.

Recently, my talks and book signings are about my latest book “Dos Gringos,” the tale based on my immigrant Norwegian father’s escapades in the Mexican Revolution. Earlier it was, or still is, on my book “Walking on Ice – An American Businessman in Russia,” an account of my many years working and living in Russia. You can imagine the interests vary with the audience. But not always.

 Aside of the usual questions about the book, I often find interest in the writing process and how I personally evolved from a pure international business life to now writing novels based on my multicultural experiences in many lands. The audiences have expressed substantial satisfaction in the gatherings. In the process, I learn much, not only from the questions, but sometimes my own answers.

I enjoy the opportunity to interchange information with others. We all learn. Contact me via my Contact Page to discuss and schedule a talk in your area.

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.

El Paso ~ where “Dos Gringos” starts and ends! And another gringo discovers his home.

I have just returned from four days of book signing and speaking in El Paso, Texas, where my newest novel, “Dos Gringos,” starts and ends in an El Paso bar. This week was the local celebration of the centenary of the Mexican Revolution and there were exhibits and events all over. I was there to talk, but I learned so much. This is my home, El Paso. But as a teen, I learned little about the history of Mexico—it was all about Texas. This visit was an experience that the publishing of this story of my father’s experience in the Revolution has become the event that brings me back home—after over fifty years.

 The interest in my book was impressive. I spoke at the El Paso Museum of History, Barnes and Noble, The El Paso Central Library, and met interesting people, recognized historians, writers, and others. The response from audiences was enthusiastic, and lots of books were sold and signed. They loved the humor of the story, but also the historical setting and environment. The growing knowledge, on my part, of the larger picture of the revolution was of unexpected value.

I was so impressed with the cordiality, the helpfulness, the sincere interest of my sponsors and presenters. In fact I find the people of El Paso amongst the nicest I have met. “They are as warm as the desert they live in,” one said. I surely agree.

The story of the two mismatched foreigners loose in the midst of the Mexican Revolution totally hit home with so many as that period of time created so many unusual and unpredictable stories. It was a great experience for me and my “Dos Gringos.”  If you have any questions about El Paso, ask me and I will send you to one with the answers.

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.

“Dos Gringos” heads for El Paso (Uno Gringo, anyway,)

This week I will be in El Paso, Texas, my home town, to speak and sell and sign books at a number of places as part of the centenary of the Mexican Revolution there.  Talks are scheduled for the El Paso Museum of History, Barnes & Noble, and the Central Library. I hear all this is well advertised so I expect reasonably good audiences. I will be talking about the story behind my book, “Dos Gringos,” and about my father and grandfather’s part in all of that. I look forward to this as I have myself learned from giving the talks. I realize how much is into the story that comes from within. Underneath my father’s actual story, are known historical stories and some implied intuitive behavior. I am sometimes surprised at what is there, having come out from under the blankets of the past.

I will also be meeting old friends and making new ones. Coming “back home” after 50 years is a real experience. On my first trip back there three years ago I found so much had changed and so much was the same. This will be especially so in El Paso this time, rated the 2^nd safest city in America, and across the Rio Grande is Juarez, Mexico,  the most dangerous city in North America due to the drug cartels and the murders. So discussing the revolution of a hundred years ago within the present bloody atmosphere across the border will be interesting. I will have something for this space on that when I come back for sure.

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.