William Morris Fan Club

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.....

William Morris Unbound

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:35:00 +0000

The incredible Morris scholar Tony Pinkney, author of the blog William Morris Unbound, has recently released a book William Morris: The Blog which brings together many of his essays written over the last few years. Unfailingly, Tony has shown us how William Morris remains relevant today, especially within the realms of politics and society. Tony, if we were in an English pub (no doubt quaint) I would raise a pint to your success, then ask what you thought Morris would say about the Occupy Movement spreading around the globe. I can't help but think he would be on the front lines.

Beach near Mandrem, Goa

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:25:00 +0000

These guys were so cool, looking completely bad-ass in their lifeguard kit that practically glowed in the late afternoon sun. Could they match their surroundings any better!? I'm sure they thought they had the best job in the world.

Form follows function -- all the tables and pillows/chairs arrayed in tiers facing west.

DIY tent house for the super handy

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:01:00 +0000

You may remember Al Moudira from last year --- the amazing hotel near the Valley of the Kings where nearly everything was crafted out of local materials or by local artisans (here and here). Elsewhere is a bit like that...the kind of place that makes you want to find your own little plot of paradise somewhere -- mountains, beach, lake, backyard -- and build your own love shack. Here are a few details to inspire you....

The tent has painted canvas walls that appear to be stretched on framing built with 2x4s. The four walls butt up against a poured/painted concrete pad that has a 5" rim (that you can see on right of pic above) and that continues outside to make the "patio". The tent top sits on the main column (three logs tied together) and is held in place with guylines. I imagine some people could make the tent roof (here stiff canvas lined with printed cotton) but I suspect you can buy these somewhere too. The bed has mosquito netting curtains that are attached with thin coated wire stretched between little eye hooks.

Curtain rods made from bamboo. When "closed" they are weighted down against breezes by rod across bottom. Lashed bamboos window "mullions".

Bamboo bathroom mirror with shower in background. Shower is made of two floor to ceiling finished planks of roughhewn wood with a shower head and two small taps.

Clay sconces similar to those at Al Moudira.

Shower has a small, hot water on demand tank that is tucked in corner behind plank. These are ubiquitous in India where showers seem to be the only fixture with hot water.

sink of rough hewn wood, matting, and stone.

A simple lounger -- nice touch are the 1x1" stiles set diamond-style on front and back.

Some more ideas here and here.

A weekend spent Elsewhere....

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 10:44:00 +0000

After a hot dusty week of work we headed to the beaches of north Goa for a little exploration and R&R. We stayed at a magical (and hidden) little resort on a spit of land near the town of Mandrem. (The clue is in the post title.) The food was as amazing as the place and if I told you what it cost the extra airfare to get to India might start to seem like a bargain.

The hotel "lobby"

dining al fresco

Our little slice of heaven on Otter Creek

On the other side, over the dunes, the Arabian Sea

Tomorrow, a walk up the beach.....

Evening walk, fishermen of Dona Paula

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:06:00 +0000

Putting the day's catch on ice. In the morning the fisherwomen will carry the baskets of fish door to door selling fish to the locals. It is mostly mackerel.

cricket on the beach

Velha "Old" Goa World Heritage Site

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Velha Goa was founded in the 15th century and till the 17th century was one of the largest most cosmopolitan cities in the world, larger than London or Paris. This Portuguese colonial city was also a beachhead for Catholicism in Asia. St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits, arrived in 1542 and proceeded to agressively proselytize over much of Asia. A year after he died in China his body was brought back to Goa where it now resides (next pic) in a silver casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. You can see the shriveled body through the gold encircled windows. Every few years the local archbishop brings him down to ground level for a while so the devoted, and curious, can get a closer look.

capiz shell shutters

some more nice wall painting that survived the whitewash

Where to start? Goa

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:38:00 +0000

It is very different and overwhelming. My son and I are living in a dusty town that, maybe, sees a few non-Indian/white people come through for the seaside view each day. Foreigners on extended stays in India must register with the government; for us, at the police station in nearby capital city, Panaji. The registration office is piled so high with paper in/on every cupboard, corner, counter and desktop that it seems like a movie set (can this be real?). Please fill out forms in triplicate and attach multiple copies of this, that, and the other. To stay at a hotel for one night next weekend we will need to provide multiple copies of passport, visas, and 4 passport photos each to the hotel staff for government purposes. India puts "red tape" into perspective....

Tomorrow...a world heritage site and the very famous person who is not buried in Goa.

Anjuna Beach, Goa, India

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:35:00 +0000

Ground zero for the trance music movement of the 90s....

Late morning coffee over the Arabian Sea

The path down to the beach.

View from Lilliputian Bar and Restaurant

beach cow hanging in the sun

The Corporate State

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:03:00 +0000

A friend sent me this youtube link that captures, more than anything else I've seen/read, what the Occupy Wall St movement is protesting against. The bit about the Berlin wall is very interesting.

As any card-carrying Morris fan knows, in the 1880s our William was one of the founding members of the British socialist movement. In the extract below from "How I Became a Socialist" Morris shares his views on the link between the welfare of the working class and the vitality of art.

"A last word or two. Perhaps some of our friends will say, what have we to do with these matters of history and art? We want by means of Social-Democracy to win a decent livelihood, we want in some sort to live, and that at once. Surely any one who professes to think that the question of art and cultivation must go before that of the knife and fork (and there are some who do propose that) does not understand what art means, or how that its roots must have a soil of a thriving and unanxious life. Yet it must be remembered that civilization has reduced the workman to such a skinny and pitiful existence, that he scarcely knows how to frame a desire for any life much better than that which he now endures perforce. It is the province of art to set the true ideal of a full and reasonable life before him, a life to which the perception and creation of beauty, the enjoyment of real pleasure that is, shall be felt to be as necessary to man as his daily bread, and that no man, and no set of men, can be deprived of this except by mere opposition, which should be resisted to the utmost."

You can read the entire essay here.

Quasicrystals Quite Unquadrate

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:27:00 +0000

(Image Eric Heller)

(Image J. W. Evans)

(image)

(Image Mark Grundland)

(Image Eric Weeks)

This week Dan Shechtman won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of quasicrystals, ordered but not periodic crystal mineral structures that lack traditional symmetry. Many people have since noted that Islamic tiles exhibit similar ordering. I took the last pic above at the Alhambra, built in the 14th century.

Here's a funny quote from Shechtman's wikipedia page. "(he) experienced several years of hostility toward his non-periodic interpretation (no less a figure than Linus Pauling said he was "talking nonsense" and "There is no such thing as quasicrystals, only quasi-scientists.")"

Occupy Wall St.

noreply@blogger.com (mo) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:54:00 +0000

....a Tea Party for the rest of us. The spirit of William Morris, tireless crusader for the working class, is in Zuccotti Park this month.

tried to fact-check this but couldn't find the data....

Jalani, 16 yr old with a 4.0 GPA, sleeps in park with his grandma (click here).