Wow! What a lot of suggestions, much appreciated. However, I realize on reading them that I have more ‘splaining to do. Thus, this post. (1) I originally thought of course I’d use a photo of the monument on the cover. … Continue reading →
The left is apparently chortling with vengeful glee (the two can coexist) at Trump’s mugshot. However, Trump knows its value and is using it this way: https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023 No doubt much money … Continue reading →
…there’s this: …[T]he Taliban are now selling tickets to visit the ancient monuments that they demolished in 2001, in an attempt to boost Afghanistan’s flagging economy. The Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s tourist plan includes a pair of 1,400-year-old giant … Continue reading →
Heather Mac Donald describes the latest art-world insanity, this time at the Met. You may have to concentrate very very hard to follow it: Why Born Enslaved! has been understood since its creation as an antislavery work. The Met, however, … Continue reading →
I’m still out west, staying in an airbnb. Last night I was trying to relax – fat chance! – and watched some TV I thought might be soothing. It was the first episode in the Netflix series “Our Planet.” What … Continue reading →
The perfect statue for our times. Is it “a big old dong“? Is it a turd, or the portion of the anatomy from which a turd might emanate? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it’s hard to … Continue reading →
Some years ago – perhaps ten? – I pretty much stopped going to art museums. Most of the exhibits were no longer of art I wanted to see, and even the ones that seemed promising turned out to be an … Continue reading →
The title of this post is taken from the title of a book of photographs by Roman Vishniac, of Jewish life in Eastern Europe in the 1930s. Here is the story of how the photos were taken: …[B]etween 1934 and … Continue reading →
With a camera, taking photos at the border. And those photos got the horses fired because, as Jim Treacher writes, “The Biden administration cares more about how things look than how things are.” Actually, they don’t care about either, but … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I noticed that last night commenter “Zaphod” brought up Jane Morris towards the end of the open thread (see this as well as this). I thought I’d respond by putting up a link to an ealier post of mine … Continue reading →
I find this wondrous: Reconstructions of the original grease lamps produce a circle of light about 10 feet in diameter, which is not much larger than many images in the cave. Geneste believes that early artists used this small area … Continue reading →
Do photographs tell the truth? Not really, and even old photographs were often touched up. Here’s a description, with illustrations. I have cued it up to show what I consider the most interesting part: Speaking of which, I have a … Continue reading →