Powerful political flashmob in Paris

Soon my Iranian grandmere will be here in Athens. Last year she brought me some gifts including 2 carpets of my very own. I hope she'll bring me some gifts this year too. In the meantime, here is a video that I think you, my friends & fans will enjoy:

This video shows a flash mob in Paris that quietly but powerfully takes a stand against oppression in Iran and read the of it on You tube.

Nostalgia

The July 21, 2006 entry presents my curriculum vita. There you will learn that I graduated from Pawtropolis.

What you may not know is that I took a summer session at Oxford University, Jesus College.

Now, as the weather begins to cool, I think of that brilliant Oxford summer: the intellectual stimulation, the fascinating history of the town & of Jesus College, the diversity of experiences, and yes, the ever changing, always lovely weather. Trips to London, to the Cotswolds villages, to heritage sites, and more. How I long to walk again the nooks & crannies, to find the unexpected used book store or charity shop. How I value the small mementos with which I returned.

I have visited England several times and accompanied Mama to Paris & Versailles. But it is that summer at Jesus College that remains a cornerstone of the best times of my life.

I can wish nothing better for you, my loyal friends & fans, the opportunity to visit England and, if possible, to study in Oxford.

Papa['s] Plants

Every other day Papa endures the early morning humidity to water the dogwoods [beautiful name] he has planted this year & last. Which would be fine were it not for the fact that he imposes on me as a sort of jobbing gardener. Don't get me wrong. I love well-tended gardens. The parks of Paris, the home gardens in England including the famous, beautiful garden at Blenheim Palace, the manicured walkways in Williamsburg. But as for tending them myself! As Mama would say, "I don't think so." Here I include 2 pictures of Papa's dogwoods (there are 4 in all), planted & lovingly (by Papa if not by me) attended, for your pleasure.

[& please follow the links above for more information/pictures of Paris parks, English gardens, Blenheim Palace & colonial Williamsburg.]



And, by the way, a 75-year old heat record was broken in Athens, GA yesterday when the thermometer topped 102-degrees [F]/ 38.888 Celsius. That combined with the high humidity-- can anyone blame me for rejecting yard work in toto?

The art & biography of cities

[Note: links for this entry in either blue or purple]

The picture above illustrates one of my utmost pleasures: reading in bed. For example, bed is where I pursue my interest in the art & architecture of urban environments & how they function as evidence of social & cultural history. This blog entry outlines that interest & provides some resources, both written & visual, for those of you also attracted to the subject.

Works of Scholarship & Analysis.

Donald J. Olsen, the author of The City as a Work of Art: London, Paris, Vienna.

Olsen argues that a city's art & archetecture provide access to social & cultural history, offering insights into class differences, family and social organization, among other categories. As a Library Journal reviewer observes [quoted on Amazon] "the city is interpreted... as a vessel of civilization itself, a theater of historicist consciousness."


London: The Biography, by Peter Ackroyd.

Just get it & read it. Brilliant & now available in paper, but worth spending extra for the cloth edition.

New York Rises, photos by Eugene de Salignac, essays by Michael Lorenziniand Kevin Moore.

"From 1906 to 1934, Eugene de Salignac shot over 20,000 stunning 8x10-inch glass-plate negatives of New York City...." [see Amazon for brief review]

New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City, by Julia Solis.

This book explores New York City's subterranean-scape, i.e. story of a city through its sewars. Pictures & text offer a fascinating & unlikely tour. [Amazon, although on backorder]

Urban geography through Mystery.

See entries: October 23, 27-29, 2006 for British social & cultural biography-through-geography from 1929 through the present.

October 21 entry for the cultural geography of Southern California, 1950s-late 1970s.

Visual Arts.

Galleries of the Museum of Modern Art [MoMA]

Ah, Paris!

As you already know, I trace my origins to France & maintain a close relationship with those of my relatives lucky enough to live in the City of Light.

Every morning as Papa drives to the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, I shout "au revoir Papa."

I read books about Paris, for example:

Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik, or

Paris: Capital of the World, by Patrice Higonnet

Sometimes I dip into tomes by French authors.

Three of my favorites:

Georges Simenon's Maigret books or the recently published in English, The 13 Culprits or

A Barthes Reader, introduction by Susan Sontag, or

Georges Bataille, Histoire de l'oeil

I urge that at least once before the grim reaper snatches you from terrestrial existence, you too explore the city I call my second home, recoognized as the most beautiful city in the world, with the assurance that you'll return fulfilled & content that you did not miss one of earth's greatest treasures.

A votre sante, M²

[Oh, la la, I can't find the accents on Mama's keyboard]

[Pictures of Paris courtesy of Parler Paris]