The Gun in London, by Ed Lau

Every Wednesday, I share five interesting blog posts from around the Internet. Let’s see what’s going on this week.

While there has been some discussion as to the semantics of the term, I still largely bill myself as a freelance writer. This is also true for Tris Hussey, but he feels there is a more accurate term for the kind of work he does. He feels that he is better described as a mercenary writer instead. He’s “a person who comes in, does the job (explosions optional), gets paid, and then moves on. Your problem is solved and the mercenary has been well compensated.”

See that delicious slow-cooked lamb and creamy polenta at the top of this post? That comes courtesy of Ed Lau, who recently returned from his journeys traveling through Europe. That dish in particular was consumed at The Gun in London, proving that British cuisine has definitely elevated itself above the stereotype of boiled vegetables and dry roast beef. He’ll be posting more restaurant reviews from his trip in the coming weeks, so definitely stay tuned for that.

Continuing on the topic of food and European travel, we visit with Melody Fury who has discovered what she believes to be the best croissant in Paris. That’s a pretty huge claim, considering just how great the boulangeries there are in general. If nothing else, reading her post reminds me of my time in Paris, making me yearn for more foie gras, more crepes and more pain au chocolat.

I was actually quite surprised with how well my high school French was able to hold up when I was traveling through France, but I did fall back on English from time to time. Scott H. Young is taking an entirely different approach as he embarks on a year without speaking English. He’s starting out in Spain, where he thinks he is doing quite well. Later on, Scott will be traveling to Taiwan and Korea, where the language barrier could be more of a challenge.

One of the reasons why I got into writing in the first place was because of Joseph Planta. While he doesn’t write too many articles anymore, the “On the Line” interview segment on The Commentary remains very active and thought-provoking. He recently reflected on the year that was with his ninth anniversary show, highlighting such past guests as Conrad Black, Mo Twister and Deepa Mehta.