"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The Founder

June 2, 2017

a.k.a. mind who you trust in business.

Well, it’s been out for a while and I’ve been wanting to this movie for a while, only I havent’t for a string of events that bear an irony I can’t get into, considering the subject of the movie.

Anyway.

As you might now if you now me, I’m quite the opposite of a McDonald’s fan. The only reason I get into one of those, every once in a while, is to use the toilet. I have never even had a glass of water there. I don’t even know if they serve coffee and, knowing me, that’s saying a lot about how little time I spend in those establishments.

What I am, though, is a Michael Keaton fan and this is pretty much all you need to enjoy this movie. It’s not a denounce (I wasn’t expecting it to be), it’s not a celebration (I was hoping it wouldn’t). It’s an unapologetic chronicle of the man who saw a revolutionary drive-in with no cars and wanted to “take part in it”, as he says it. Only he doesn’t take part: he takes over. The story is a nice drama about how a franchise works and how an empire is, still, built upon buying land. It’s also a story that gives a nice glimps on the social context for the rise of fast food. And you get a chance of seeing Michael Keaton sing a song on the piano. It’s really a story about dreams and ambitions, and what you need to have in order to be succesful in business. It doesn’t take genius and talent, as the motivational record says, but it also seems to have a little to do about persistence. It’s a lot about recognising good things and… well… apparently tricking people into giving them up. What’s really important in a succesful enterprise is, apparently, what seemed to matter less: not the system, not the kitchen, not the food. The most Shakespearian of things. The all-American name. And if you are ruthless enough you can even steal a name from the one who bears it.

Spooktober

Spooktober 2026 – That’s a wrap!

…and that’s a wrap! Eighteen classic stories, if my math is correct, 29 posts, and the candle’s waning. It’s almost time. Are you all set up? Who are you celebrating with, and what are you dressed up as? Whether it’s true crime or contemporary politicians

October 31, 2026 10:00 am

books and literature

Bulgakov’s The Fatal Eggs

Mikhail Bulgakov (Kyiv, 1891–1940) was a novelist, playwright, and former physician, whom I’m sure you know for The Master and Margarita, published posthumously. His work blends sharp satire, fantasy, grotesque comedy, and moral seriousness, often targeting Soviet bureaucracy and ideological hypocrisy, but I had no

October 31, 2026 9:00 am

Spooktober

Spooktober 30 – The Black Monk (5)

Conclusion Kovrin received a professorship at the University. The inaugural address was fixed for the second of December, and a notice to that effect was hung up in the corridor at the University. But on the day appointed he informed the students’ inspector, by telegram,

October 30, 2026 6:00 am