William Morris Fan Club

Resentin....drink up!

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:18:00 +0000

During my past week in Urbino, Italy, every supper typically began around nine and finished around midnight. Each meal ends with grappa and lemoncello, the traditional after-dinner drinks of Italy. An espresso is also de rigueur and a true Italian will pour a small amount of grappa into his almost empty espresso cup, swirl it around, then down it in one swig. This espresso-infused grappa called resentin or "little rinser".

Cliff walk, Cape of Good Hope

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:11:00 +0000

An appropriate place, on a beautiful evening, to end the expedition....

Jackass Penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:29:00 +0000

awww....so cute...they are monogamous and can live for 25 years or more.

The African Penguin, or Jackass Penguin as it is known as because it brays like a donkey, lives an endangered life on the southern coastline of Africa. This colony lives in Simon's Town on the Cape of Good Hope and appear unperturbed by people (as one might surmise given that they are often seen walking down the sidewalk). The whales were just off-shore (kelp in foreground).

Fairy Circles. Who ya gonna call?

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:52:00 +0000

Midsummer Eve (1908) by pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Robert Hughes

A scientist! A mystery is afoot, quite literally. You may have read about it in the New York Times Science section recently – Namibian “Fairy Circles,” From Start to Finish. Biologist Walter Tschinkel of Florida State University recently wrote a fascinating paper about the “life cycle” of strange spots that appear and eventually disappear on the surface of the Namibian desert. He offers no explanation for the formation of these fairy circles but does debunk a few prior hypotheses including hydrocarbon seeps, termite colonies, or self-organized landscape features.

Namibian fairy circle (photo by Walter Tschinkel)

Namibian fairy circles photographed from the air by Michael Fay.

Tschinkel's paper did not consider the possibility that these circles could be caused by fungi, the cause of fairy rings seen elsewhere in the world (pic below)….maybe you’ve been lucky enough to see one? A really nice history of fairy rings, and how they can kill local vegetation, can be found on Wikipedia.

Fairy ring on a suburban lawn

However, the mystery deepens with the “heuweltjies”, or “little hills”, of South Africa, located just south of Namibia. We would drive for hours in South Africa through the polka-dotted landscape of the heuweltjies but, unlike further to the north, they are not flat but are mounds. The accepted wisdom is that these are fossil termite mounds but I am skeptical, especially after reading Tschinkel’s study. However, I also can’t imagine how fungi could build such large mounds. I sampled sediment in and outside of the heuweltjies but when I realized I couldn't bring soil samples back to the U.S. I left the bags with a Cape Town graduate student, Eugene, in hopes that he'd be inspired to investigate further. Mystery beckons, scientific glory awaits!

Heuweltjies north of Cape Town

More heuweltjies (look in middle distance)

Hanging out in Strip Mines in South Africa....

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:35:00 +0000

Dear friends, family, and followers,

I know some of you have noticed I haven't been blogging for awhile and quite of few of you have been poking me with the figurative stick in hopes I'll start up again. Here's hoping! I miss it too and want to get back to it. I'm trying to find a new equilibrium with a busier job in an endlessly distracting city. I'm going to make it a bit more personal....hopefully avoiding saccharine quicksands of self-indulgence.

So, I'll continue with a few blog posts from South Africa, where I recently went on a geological field expedition in search of ancient shorelines from past warm climates. We first headed north (not quite to the Skeleton Coast of Namibia) to a down-on-its-luck mining town called Hondeklip. The De Beers mining company has very effectively stripped off the surface of the land in its quest for buried diamonds. The landscape is quite ravaged and ugly but it does make for some easily accomplished field geology.....nice exposures!

We stayed a few nights at the Honnehok (or Kennels) Chalets in Hondeklip having home-cooked dinners at The Red Spider (no menu, just let proprietress know in the morning you're coming). I love the use of shells on the chain fence....the sign above the shell bucket says "Leave your cares here".

It never ceases to surprise me that even in the remotest places on Earth art has a way of inserting itself.

Shell and kelp garlands gussy up the place....

Shipwreck covered with seabirds. Shortly after this picture was taken four of us had a debate about whether or not we saw a green flash. My view is that if you are debating it, it probably didn't happen -- my lifelong quest continues.....

Heading down into one of the strip mines....

Sea level! Fossil barnacles on fossil oysters on a not so ancient beach rock.....at 30 meters elevation.

Beach walk bonanza, a shell chandelier

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:17:00 +0000

A new book, Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century, documents the household habits of a representative group of middle class Americans and reveals what we long suspected -- we have way too much shit in our houses. In fact we have so much crap it stresses us out and makes us unhappy. Needless to say, Morris would be appalled.....he lived by the dictum "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". Seen above are the handmade, beautiful and useful dining room chandeliers of The Farmhouse Hotel, a lovely hotel in Langebaan near the West Coast National Park in South Africa. The local beaches are littered with shells, limpets in particular, and here they are used to spectacular effect. The shells are hung from two concentric metal hoops. I'm saving up my shells to make my own chandelier someday.

Here is an entertaining Boston Globe article about the book. Here is the book:

THON 2012, The Amazing Face of Penn State

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:59:00 +0000

The big reveal....Over 10 million!

The exhausted and happy captains after the crowds have departed.

With the grim news about the "responsible adults" at Penn State this week I couldn't help but think back to a magical weekend in February when more than 15,000 Penn State students capped a year of fund-raising for pediatric cancer with THON, a 30 hour dance marathon held at the Bryce Jordan Center. Over 700 students dance on the Bryce floor while their teams, filling every seat in the auditorium to the rafters, also stand (yes, if you're in the auditorium you must be standing). The THON organization set a new record this year, raising over 10 million dollars "For the Kids". The whole weekend was joyful, adrenaline-filled and, at times, heart-breaking. THON not only donates money to support cancer researchers and labs at the Hershey Medical Center, including the money used to build the new Pediatric Cancer Pavilion, they also provide outreach, support, fun activities, and smiles for every kid dealing with cancer.

The entire year's operations are organized solely by students -- I kid you not, they had one faculty liaison. Fifteen "captains" are responsible for 15 different aspects of the endeavor: public relations, rules and regulations, technology, alumni and donor relations, supply logistics, finance, morale, etc. They each hire large teams that work under them all year (nobody gets paid) and a new set of captains, mostly seniors, is hired each summer. Overseeing 15,000 "employees" and $10,000,000 in "assets", I would hire any of these graduates in a New York minute. These kids are truly the amazing faces of Penn State.

National Archeological Museum of Athens

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Here are a few of my favorite pieces in the National Archeological Museum in Athens. When I checked into the lovely Athens Gate Hotel in the shadow of the Acropolis, I found two randy (okay, arty) pictures, almost identical to above, over my bed. The next day who did I happen upon in the museum but the two lovers, life-size, in the marble. I'd recognize those abs anywhere!

Love this statue of Aphrodite fending Pan's advances off with her sandal! On my last day in Athens there was yet another protest march --- by the poets and artists of Athens. Apparently all their signs were in poetic form. A poetry slam! I wonder what the busloads of police in full riot gear thought of this group? Next stop, Venice....

Protests in Greece...

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:54:00 +0000

This evening in front of the Arch of Hadrian.

In Athens, at a meeting at the National & Kopodistrian University of Athens, one of the oldest "modern" institutes of learning in Greece. We meet daily in the main building which dates to the early 19th century. Its front plaza, the propylaeum, has been the historical center of social protest for decades (centuries?). Graffiti is all over Athens, angry graffiti....on historical buildings, statues, stores, houses.....the city is suffering. And yes, the venal Goldman Sachs had something to do with it (here).

Please follow this link...Morris I know you are listening. Yiannis Billris, your photographs are amazing.

"Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country's already bloated deficit."

Attention, crossword aficionados....

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Here is the s-t-o-a in the a-g-o-r-a! One of the world's oldest strip malls, two stories, in the ancient marketplace of Athens. A little museum shop keeps the commercial tradition alive. By coincidence, one-across in today's Intl. Herald Tribune crossword puzzle (aka the NYTimes puzzle) was very greek :-).

The Parthenon, Athens

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:29:00 +0000

The original lego construction?

blocks waiting to go in....

The Erechteion, with the six Caryatids, women holding up under pressure....

Fountain of Heavenly Bliss, King Humayun's tomb

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:48:00 +0000

The four streams of water, wine, milk and honey come together at the Fountain of Heavenly Bliss....

"Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is still underway." ----from wikipedia

Wedding Lane, Old Dehli

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:51:00 +0000

Peace on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 07:43:00 +0000

Taj Mahal, Christmas dawn

Our Lady of Ransom Church, Kanyakumari

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:58:00 +0000

The century old Our Lady of Ransom Church in Kanyakumari, the multicultural town at the very southernmost tip of India. In addition to the lights, accompanying music was blaring from loudspeakers all over town. As we were walking away from celebration the entire town was suddenly plunged into darkness that lasted for about an hour. The electrical load of the rocking Tamil Nadu Jesus was too much for the local grid!

Car window pics, Tamil Nadu

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:44:00 +0000

A walk to work in Goa

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Don hat and sunglasses against 90 degree heat....say good-bye to cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, and chickens at house....

walk up hill...

pass daily dozens of supplicants standing outside wall of minister's house hoping for audience....withstand inevitable stares at two odd white people walking by....

acknowledge neighborhood street pig...commiserate about her piglet that was run over the day before....

walk by candy shack....

say hi to my hindi-speaking friend (my destination in the background)...

avoid traffic!....

pass mysterious egg tree....

note "Fuller" brush man has set up in town today.....

almost to work...one last hill, the one where you finally break into an open sweat....

An Indian Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:15:00 +0000

I've been thinking a lot about personal space and William Morris lately. I painted many a rental apartment/house in my youth (cheap labor for the landlord) and have had a burning desire to hire painters since arriving here in Goa. I forgot how soul-sapping it can be to live in an "ugly" environment, the sine qua non of William Morris's genius. So my drab apartment will do till late January when our time in India is up. I will appreciate all the more my lovely, personalized space when I return home, space that will be even more beautiful with the addition of Indian fabrics.

My son and I are living in a high-rent-district, an upper class neighborhood in the Indian equivalent of a mansion---in fact, it is called Peter's Mansion. But this country is changing fast; it is seemingly in a time warp between the past and the future. On tv, nearly all the commercials depict an India that seems to have no connection with our everyday experience here in Goa---the commercials look like people living lives in Europe or the US. I can't even imagine how weird that must be for young Indians coming of age. This country is making the leap from developing world to first world, seemingly in a generation.

The front of our house with my laundry (washed in bucket) hanging on line. Could be art deco Miami, right? We live on first floor.

And here is our kitchen. Note the green plastic two-stage water filter and super-charged Coleman stove for cooking. The sink has two taps, only one of which works, with water that cannot be drunk without boiling. I sterilize dishes in the bucket in sink.

Here is the bathroom that gives new meaning to the term indoor plumbing (note sink drain and drain in floor. When you wash your hands your feet get wet!). Below is "suicide shower" with a taped electrical element heating the water in the showerhead.

So, it is probably obvious if you've been following the Indian posts that on weekends we often escape to beach "bubbles" of loveliness. Next post, my daily walk to work.....

Goa Beach Mandala

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:25:00 +0000

Last weekend, on an early morning beach walk at low tide, I came across this sand mandala. It's kind of spooky as there are no obvious footprints, however, the sand was very hard. How was it made? Is this the tropic's answer to crop circles?

Cannonball tree outside my office

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:52:00 +0000

I was not surprised to discover the common name of this wacky and beautiful tree --- and you don't want to be under it when one of these nuts lets loose. They are larger than a coconut and much heavier.

Apparently the force of impact causes the fruit to burst open scattering the seeds inside.

Steve Jobs, the William Morris of our time

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:07:00 +0000

In Calcutta's The Telegraph, an article written by Mukul Kesavan argues that Steve Jobs was the William Morris of our time. It is a fascinating read...it would appear that the only thing that stood between WM and total world domination was his conscience with regards to worker's rights. And if you want to know more about that, or are an Apple devotee of any sort, I highly recommend the play "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs".

"Comparisons across great spans of time and space are always absurd but if you are going to look for an earlier incarnation of Jobsness, you could do worse than William Morris. In this silly season for over-the-top obituaries, I’m saying that Jobs was a latter-day William Morris and that Apple is the lineal descendant of the Kelmscott Press."

read the rest...

Yab Yum Dome Home

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:14:00 +0000

A perfect color purple. The bathroom floor is painted navy with "waves" up to white on sides. A ceiling fan at top of dome keeps it cool.

A Visit to the Shire, Yab Yum

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 07:48:00 +0000

William Morris fans know that WM is credited with inventing the modern fantasy fiction genre and, further, that J.R.R. Tolkien credited Morris with the inspiration for The Lord of the Rings. In Goa, I have found The Shire, also known as YabYum Resort, where creativity, fantasy, and DIY is the order of the day! Below is our hobbit house, with pics of a few other of the domes scattered around the palm tree glade just off the beach. From the outside it is hard to imagine these abodes being anything other than dark and confining --- instead, next post, they are too cute for school.

Yoga is big in Goa and twice daily classes are given in the Yoga "studio" near the beach. Breakfast included and served to your door at time of your choice. $50/night for this slice of goofy paradise.....

Fishing at Dusk, Ashwem Beach, Goa

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Grace

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:23:00 +0000

thanks for sharing anne....happy thanksgiving all.....