Expat living in Holland? Tulip Expats Services is your one-stop shop! Tulip can help with visa and permit application services; financial planning; relocation services; housing; mortgages and Dutch tax filing services.
Help preserve miles of mountainous coastline, beautiful sandy beaches and ancient redwood forests with the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre project.
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Mixed messages, Bungamati, Nepal. No matter where one travels in the world, mixed messages abound.
Himalayan Valley, Nepal.
Bhaktapur, Nepal. A temple money changer?
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Faded flyers, Bungamati, Nepal.
Madaba, Jordan.
Aqaba, Jordan.
Amman, Jordan.
Amman.
Barcelona, Spain.
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sidewalk declaration, French Quarter, New Orleans.
Farmer's Market, New Orleans.
Gulfport, Mississippi.
Wherever you look in Antoni Gaudi's architecture, you'll find curves. Tiny Juliet balconies resembling eye masks and egg-shaped window encasements at Casa Batlo in Barcelona are typical of his style.
Carved - and curved - oak frames enhance stained glass windows looking out onto Passeig de Gracia.
Curved stairs leading to the roof at Casa Batlo.
Similar curves are found in this stairwell at la Sagrada de Familia, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A curved oak staircase at Casa Batlo.
An Art Nouveau pewter tea set and mirrored and marble-topped oak dresser at La Pedrera, Barcelona.
Even this vertical design at la Sagrada de Familia features pillowy curves. It is similar to the wall of stained glass windows (below).
Note the curved exterior design and rooftop of this residence, next door to Casa Batlo. Its exterior bears influences like La Pedrera (a miniature model below).
Of course, la Sagrada de Familia - after more than a century, still under construction - is interwoven with sinuous lines and curves. Its exterior also features curving lines.
The day's menu, Barcelona.
On the weekend's agenda: visiting the city's stellar department stores, all dressed up for the holidays (while my daughter shops, I'll photograph window displays); digging through the cave (wine cellar) to find a particular piece of luggage; sorting out clothes and camera gear and tending to last minute details for next week's trip to Jordan. I'll also be trying to find time for walks and catching up with email and blogs.
What's filling your weekend diary? I'll send a Paris flea market find to the reader reporting the most unusual weekend activity or experience. Leave a comment, with a brief description of your weekend plans. Merci et bon weekend!
Update: Judging from the interesting responses already, I can see it will be impossible to choose "the most unusual" weekend activity. So on Monday morning, Jordana will draw a commenter's name from a hat.
Bas-relief sculpture, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain.
The Washington Post is the latest newspaper to cow to conservative and/or corporate critics, firing the excellent columnist Dan Froomkin. Glenn Greenwald has written an insightful article about the abysmal state of the establishment media in the US.
Is it any wonder newspapers around the country are dropping like flies? A newspaper's job is to investigate, discover, question and report; to call the government, as well as corporations and citizens alike to task. A newspaper is NOT supposed to publish bland press releases that suit corporate advertisers' sensibilities. Nor is it the reporter's job to throw up smokescreens or implement spin on a story - that's public relations; not journalism. Just the facts, please!
From Dan Froomkin's statement on his dismissal at the Washington Post:
"...I think that the future success of our business depends on journalists enthusiastically pursuing accountability and calling it like they see it. That’s what I tried to do every day. Now I guess I'll have to try to do it someplace else."
Somehow the drudgery of everyday chores looks more appealing in this setting, doesn't it? All photographs taken at Antoni Gaudi's La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain.
Stacks of ironed linens.
Children's clothing ready to wear.
Washbasin and maid's uniform.
Travel trunk.
Tara Bradford is traveling. In her absence, timed posts should appear.
A series of arched entranceways, Cathedral de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Today I am hoping for calm, peace, safety and justice and reason. Please spare a few moments for Fatima's story and view her extraordinary photographs.
Follow the leader, courtyard, Cathedral de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Breaking news 1 p.m.: The peace conference has been called off, due to South Africa blocking the Dalai Lama from attending, BBC News reports.
Both South Africa and Tibet have suffered for decades at the hands of brutal oppressors. So it is with considerable dismay that the world witnesses a defiant South Africa choosing commerce over human rights, much like its government during the dark decades of apartheid. During that time, South Africa suffered organised boycotts and was ostracised by the international community.
The current South African government is apparently willing to accept its new indentured servitude - this time, to China. The government's action certainly doesn't bode well for it hosting the 2010 World Cup.
South Africa is bowing to Chinese demands to refuse entry to the Dalai Lama for a peace conference beginning Friday, March 27th. Both Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African President F.W. de Klerk have announced they will boycott the event, if the Dalai Lama is forbidden from attending.
Yet the South African government persists in its unprincipled stance, while the Chinese government freely admits it pressured South Africa to exclude the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Further, the Chinese government has announced it will oppose any nation's overtures to meet with the Dalai Lama.
They've forgotten their history,
this ignorant new government
struck blind by greed.
Unaccustomed to power
after decades of none,
they close their eyes
to the consequences
and agree to all terms
and conditions spelled out
by the lenders and investors.
This fledgling government,
still unused to the ways of politics,
stifles any thought of the oppressed
and risks its reputation
for a brand new bank and ongoing servitude
to a demanding Chinese host
who exports injustice, along with investment,
denying human rights to one nation,
while insisting others do the same,
lest the coffers slam shut.
Dollhouse, La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain. Isn't this late 19th-century dollhouse at Casa Mila exquisite - complete with its own chapel? Such elegance and attention to detail! As always, click photos to enlarge.
Furniture miniatures in the Art Nouveau style, early 20th-century. The pieces are a fitting accompaniment to Antoni Gaudi's Art Nouveau architecture and furniture at La Pedrera on Passeig de Gracia, as well as other innovative buildings in Barcelona. La Pedrera, or Casa Mila, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Early 20th-century games in the children's playroom at La Pedrera.
More games, a train and model car.
A Guignol puppet theatre and a porcelain doll in a Bentwood rocker. She looks a little shell-shocked, doesn't she?
Flowers in an Art Nouveau vase at La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain.
This week I've been preoccupied with an uncomfortable inflammation of my left eye, writing deadlines and planning a trip West. Haven't been spending much time at the computer, due to the eye problem (on Wednesday, the opthamalogist prescribed eyedrops, rest and more sleep). But I can't resist comment about certain news events:
Iraqi jailed for Bush shoe attack
Three years??!! Isn't that a bit excessive, considering the crime? Particularly in a lawless place like Iraq, where murderers walk around free.
Now here's a guy that has caused real problems; yet remains defiant about his reckless disregard for the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment. I'd like to know why UC-Berkeley gave this calculating charlatan tenure.
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is finally sent to jail to await sentencing for fraud, perjury and money-laundering.
The Mississippi legislature honors an event hosted by a white supremecist. I am reminded of President Obama's words, "The world has changed and we must change with it."
An off-duty New York cop is part of a racist attack on a Long Island black man.
Seattle's best newspaper joins the list of city stalwarts forced to fold.
And BBC reporter James Reynolds writes of the whisper of a single monk in Tibet.
Creations by Spanish artist Jaime Hayon at the Musée des Arts décoratifs shop, 107 rue de Rivoli, Paris.
This is my favourite small museum in Paris. In addition to the beautiful furniture and objets d' art ranging from the Middle Ages through today, the museum offers special exhibitions throughout the year. An exhibition of Sonia Rykiel's designs is on through April 19th.
The museum is complemented by a well-stocked design library, with books about every period of style and design, no matter how obscure. Original artists' creations sold in its boutique include jewelry, handbags, porcelain and stationery.
Early 20th-century children's toys, La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain.
I have been outside playing in the sunshine: trying out a new Carl Zeiss wide-angle zoom lens, while taking photos of the Pyramid at the Louvre. I also stopped off at WH Smith to buy a copy of the last issue of Country Home magazine, which is folding after 31 years. Strange that their website hasn't been updated to reflect the sad reality.
Along the way, I passed legions of tourists and locals, out for a Saturday stroll. Rue de Rivoli was filled with nouveau riche Russians, with the women wearing their blonde hair in ponytails; too much makeup; their jeans and sweaters (with fur collars) skin-tight and high-heeled boots. Their companions typically had bad haircuts and ill-fitting clothes. At Angelina's, there was a line literally out the door of people waiting to sample their famous hot chocolate. As usual, Gucci-clad Japanese tourists were snapping away with their pocket-sized cameras or filming video in the Jardin des Tuileries.
My husband is in Brazil for a speaking engagement, so I have a few days all to myself. On Tuesday my friend Di Mackey is arriving from Antwerp. I expect we'll have a photo safari of sorts around Paris. Maybe I can persuade her to explain some of the fancy bells and whistles on my camera.
Thank you all for the kind comments and messages this week. Just today I had email entitled "Hello from the Hindu Kush" and "The cry of the Dead Sea." I realise I am lucky, lucky, lucky to have so many good friends scattered around the globe. I'm happy to report that after much angst, the family situation has been resolved, more or less. So I'm feeling more hopeful and light-hearted. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, wherever you may be in the world!
P.S. Results from today's photo session soon.
Sometimes what seems simple and straightforward - like this iron gate on the design workshop at Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona - can become unhinged. It's easy enough to take a fact, twist it a certain angle, polish it this way or that and manipulate it into something else entirely, i.e. the kaleidoscope below.
Please remember that when you're reading or watching the news these days, particularly the stories coming out of Washington, D.C. Rarely have I seen such abysmal excuses for journalism as the mainstream media's second-guess coverage of the first three weeks of the Obama presidency. Seems they expect miracles or at the very least, instant solutions to long-entrenched problems either created or worsened by the previous administration. The doom-and-gloom speculation and posturing is unbelievably pathetic; much of it is false and/or misleading. Meanwhile, the Republicans - all but three - sit back and do nothing but spout nonsense. What are they doing to help solve the country's critical woes? Indeed, one has to wonder why they're even being paid salaries, in light of their complete inertia.
For the record, I don't believe in manipulating photos, unless it's for an art project, poster or special effect, i.e. Shepard Fairey's iconic images of President Obama. The only thing I do to my photos is brighten the color, if needed. Usually cropping an image isn't necessary, as I frame the shot when I snap it.
What's your take on manipulation: press, photo or otherwise? Do tell!
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On a happier note, this just in: could Emily and Sophie possibly be any more adorable? My globe-trotting friend and his young Russian partner are lucky, lucky, lucky to have these gorgeous cherubs!
Yes, all you excellent purveyors of baby clothes, diapers, formula, toys, etc., the twins might be available for advertising campaigns. Serious queries only, please. :)
Iron window sculpture and graffiti, Barcelona, Spain.
As much of today's news is too awful to contemplate, let's not go there. Here's an excerpt about recording history from the late Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski's fascinating book Travels with Herodotus:
"...Sometimes, when the offices emptied in the evening and the hallways grew quiet and I wanted a respite from telegrams about the strikes and armed conflicts, the coups and explosions convulsing countries I did not know, I reached for The Histories of Herodotus..."
"Herodotus begins his book with a statement explaining why he set out to write it...: 'Here are presented the results of the enquiry carried out by Herodotus of Halicarnassus. The purpose is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements produced by both Greeks and non-Greeks; among the matters covered is, in particular,the cause of the hostilities between Greeks and non-Greeks."
"This passage is the key to the entire book. ...Herodotus informs us that he carried out some sort of 'enquiry.' ...Today we know that he devoted his entire life to this - and it was, for its time, a long life indeed. Why did he do it? Why, still in his youth, did he make such a decision? Did someone encourage him to conduct these investigations?
"...Or maybe he did everything on his own initiative, possessed by a passion for knowledge, driven by a restless and unfocused compulsion? Perhaps he had a naturally inquiring mind, a mind that continuously generated a thousand questions giving him no peace, keeping him up at nights?...
"Herodotus admits that he was obsessed with memory, fearful on its behalf. He felt that memory is something defective, fragile, impermanent - illusory, even. That whatever it contains, whatever it is storing can evaporate, simply vanish without a trace. His whole generation, everyone living on earth at the time, was possessed by that same fear.
"Without memory one cannot live, for it is what elevates man above beasts, determines the contours of the human soul and yet it is at the same time so unreliable, elusive, treacherous. It is precisely what makes man so unsure of himself... We do not know and stretching beyond that 'we do not know' is the vast realm of ignorance... of nonexistence.
"Man does not obsess about memory today as he once did because he lives surrounded by stockpiles of it. Everything is at his fingertips - encyclopedias, textbooks, dictionaries, compendia, search engines. Libraries and museums, antiquarian bookshops and archives. Audio and video recordings. Infinite supplies of preserved words, sounds, images...
"Of course, none of these techniques existed in Herodotus's time. Man knew as much and only as much as his mind managed to preserve. A few privileged individuals started to learn to write on rolls of papyrus and on clay tablets. But the rest? Culture was always an aristocratic enterprise...
"In the world of Herodotus, the only real repository of memory is the individual. In order to find out that which has been remembered, one must reach this person. If he lives far away, one has to go to him; to set out on a journey. And after finally encountering him, one must sit down and listen to what he has to say - to listen, remember; perhaps write it down. That is how reportage begins; of such circumstances it is born.
"So Herodotus wanders the world, meets people, listens to what they tell him. They speak of who they are; they recount their history. But how do they know who they are and where they came from? Ah, they answer, they have it on the word of others - first and foremost, from their ancestors. It is they who transmitted their knowledge to this generation, just as this one is now transmitting it to others. The knowledge takes the form of various tales. People sit around the fire and tell stories. Later these will be called legends and myths, but in the instant when they are first being related and heard, the tellers and the listeners believe in them as the holiest of truths, absolute reality."
Photo of graffiti on a doorway in Barcelona.
Ancient wood and iron decorative shutters over a shopfront, Barcelona, Spain..
Today I was out buying things for my camera (and the new Bruce Springsteen CD Working on a Dream). I've been busy cataloguing photos - copying nearly 4,000 images onto CDs, so I can delete them from my laptop. And before you ask, yes, I'm getting an external hard drive to house the full-resolution photos.
Recently, I've had a few requests and had to hunt for ages to find particular photos - only to discover I'd deleted some of them! So this week I'm making a concerted effort to organise my images - both on an external drive and filing backup copies of CDs - so I can find them in a hurry. How do you manage to keep track of your photos? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My very wise friend Vanessa Valencia wrote this today:
"...It was a very sad person who invented the idea of being too old for this or that. Of being too skinny, too tall, too short, too fat, for this or that. It was a very sad person, who blurted out mindless thoughts, that too many people listened to. Thoughts that set boundaries for centuries. Thoughts that had no meaning. No bearing. Just mindless thoughts of one negative person, that took off like wildfire. And because for some reason, it is easier to buy into negativity, we did. But, we don't have to. We never did..."
And I think her words definitely apply to these situations:
Joan Walsh's Salon article Some things just don't change
To favor due process is to favor "terrorists'" rights:
An excerpt from Glenn Greenwald's brilliant article in Salon:
"...As it turned out, of course, hundreds of the detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo when that 2004 Op-Ed was published -- ones which most of the country was calling "Terrorists" -- weren't "Terrorists" at all. They were guilty of absolutely nothing. In fact, the Bush administration subsequently acknowledged as much by eventually releasing hundreds of them -- after they had been put in cages for years with no trial of any kind. There still continues to be grave doubts about the guilt of many of the remaining detainees, including ones that have been there for years and are probably irrevocably broken as human beings.
"In fact, just two months ago, a right-wing, Bush-43-appointed federal Judge ordered five detainees released on the ground that there was never any "credible evidence" to justify their detention. Despite that, they had been imprisoned in Guantanamo for six years and were subjected to barbaric treatment that drove several of them close to insanity. They were released only after this judicial exoneration as part of a habeas corpus hearing in a federal court -- exactly the kind of hearing which the 2006 U.S. Congress, when it enacted the Military Commissions Act (with the support of most of the Washington Establishment), voted to abolish (an act that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in its 2008 Boumediene decision, which restored habeas rights). Advocates of the Military Commissions Act, and those who now want to deny normal due process to accused Terrorists, argued then and still argue now the AP/Yoo line: Terrorists have no rights."
The newest fear-mongering campaign from the right and the media
Reading these three articles makes me shake my head in wonder at the biased reporting of the Associated Press (once a bastion of respected journalism) and other newspaper and television media. It's no wonder the mainstream media is faltering, when objective, ethical reporting is too often abandoned for television ratings and/or placating conservative advertisers.
Then there are the shrill one-note refrains of the Bush administration cheerleaders - who persist in making the same false claims, over and over, like a broken record. Instead of working together with Democrats to solve problems, all they do is try to spread fear and innuendo. Enough, already! The American public is not stupid and won't fall for the "shock and awe" spin and illusions anymore. Ca suffit!
Today President Obama discussed this genuine threat on which we all should focus some attention.
Leather-bound journals and fountain pens to record your journeys - real or imagined - along with binoculars and globes, Barcelona, Spain.
Today's armchair travel destination: Morocco!
The books: Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson. You may remember Johnson as author of "Le Divorce," on which the movie starring Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson was based. Johnson's latest book is a fanciful tale of double standards and double agents.
A House in Fez by photojournalist Suzanna Clarke, is the story of Clarke's family restoring a riad in Fez to "its original splendor, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials." Haven't read it yet, nor had I seen her blog until today. Visit The View from Fez here.
The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah. This is the lively story of a family buying Dar Khalifa, an estate in Casablanca and the trials and tribulations involved in the renovation. It is excellent; I read the entire book on Eurostar during my last trip to London. An excerpt:
"...There was an official-looking Arabic document on the desk. The lawyer ordered me to read it through.
"I don't know Arabic," I said.
"Then you'd better just sign it," he replied, glancing at the Rolex on his wrist. He handed me a Mont Blanc. I signed the paper as instructed.
The lawyer stood up and slid a hefty iron key across the desk. "You are a very brave man," he said.
I pause for a moment to look him in the eye. He didn't flinch. I lifted the key. As I did so, I was knocked to the floor by the force of a violent explosion. The windows blew inwards, shattering with spectacular energy, sending a hailstorm of glass through the office. Deafened, covered in broken glass and confused, I struggled to my feet. My legs were shaking so badly that I had trouble standing. The impeccably dressed legal man was crouched beneath his desk, as if he had previous experience of some kind. He rose silently, dusted the glass from his shoulders, straightened his silk tie and opened the door for me to leave."
Read the book! You won't be disappointed. I'm looking forward to reading Tahir Shah's next book Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams (due in March).
Then there's the food. This recipe for "John & Katie's (not too) Spicy Chicken Couscous is scrumptious! It's from the popular London restaurant "Leon," and is featured in their new cookbook "Leon: Ingredients & Recipes" by Allegra McEvedy. Last night, the chef whipped it up in no time. Here's the recipe, which serves six:
4 chicken breasts, skin off, cut into big chunks
2 teaspoons dried chili flakes
a few hefty pinches of ground cinnamon
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
About 8 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons good curry powder
About 8 handfuls of couscous, or around 300g
2 heaping tablespoons butter
2 handfuls of raisins or sultanas
500 ml chicken stock
salt
pine nuts, mint leaves, coriander and lemon, to serve
Garlicky tomatoes:
6 ripe plum tomatoes, cut in halves
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
"Put the chicken pieces into an overproof dish. Mix the chili, cinnamon, garlic, salt, half the olive oil and curry powder together, coat the chicken with it and leave for 20 minutes or so.
"Preheat the oven to 220 celsius/430 Fahreinheit/gas mark 7. Mix the garlic and oil for the tomatoes together. Lay the tomato halves on a thick-bottomed tray and annoint with the garlic/oil mix. Season liberally.
"Meanwhile, put the couscous and sultanas into a bowl and stir with the remaining oil, so that the grains are well-coated. Cover with chicken stock. Lay a tea towel over it and leave for five minutes are so.
"Mix the couscous well into the chicken, pushing the sultanas below the surface (they can burn), dot the tob with knobs of butter and cook on the upper shelf for 25 minutes, putting the tomatoes in beneath them.
"Toast the pine nuts to scatter on the top with chopped mint, coriander and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with the roasted tomatoes."
The films: Couscous. This touching film is about a laid-off shipyard worker who opens a restaurant and the family upheavals that result. Couscous received numerous awards, including 4 Cesars for Best Film and Best Director and a Special Jury Prize for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Caramel won recognition at the Cannes, London and Toronto film festivals for its wonderful, intertwining storyline about five women, three of whom work together in a beauty salon. It is delicious and I urge you to rent the DVD. Enjoy!
For tales of an American family's adventures in building a guesthouse, Peacock Pavilions, visit Maryam at My Marrakesh.
Go here to toss your name into the hat for a celebratory giveaway.
Tissue sculpture, Passeig de Gracia, October, 2008, Barcelona, Spain. An artist created this paper "sculpure" billowing over a subway grate.
Am off to the Antiquites Brocante at Place des Vins de France in search of the quirky and unusual. Will report back later, with photos.
Stone sculptures with sorrowful faces, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain.
"And now, I am not I
and the house is not my home."
"Murdered and unknown. No forgetfulness gathers them
and no remembrance scatters them...they're forgotten
in winter's grass on the public highway
between two long stories about heroism and suffering.
"I am the victim." "No. I alone am the victim."
They didn't tell the author: "No victim kills another.
There is in the story a victim and a killer."
They were young, picking the snow off Christ's cypress
and playing with cherubs...
They were young, playing and making a story
for the red rose beneath the snow
behind two long stories about heroism and suffering
and they were running away with cherubs toward a clear sky."
- Mahmoud Darwish, from the book The Butterfly's Burden
As of today, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 seriously injured during the Israeli assault on Gaza. Nearly all of the dead and injured are civilians. Three Israeli soldiers have died as a result of friendly fire and ten Israelis have died from Hamas rockets or from fighting in Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas continue to ignore a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The borders remain sealed, preventing Palestinian civilians - even those critically wounded - from crossing to Egypt. The Israelis are allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Electricity has been cut and food, water and medical supplies are in short supply. While UNRWA is maintaining nine shelters in Gaza, they cannot accommodate the thousands of families made homeless by Israeli missles and bombs. The people of Gaza are trapped with no way out, while the international community tries to negotiate a ceasefire agreement.
Frontispiece with vintage baby carriage over an antiques store, Barcelona, Spain.
I'm trying to get warm, after spending the day in the freezing cold with two friends at Marche aux Puces at Clignacourt. Yes, we found treasures. More about those later. In accordance with my "one thing comes in, another goes out philosophy," items will be moving on next week, sold either by an antiques dealer or via eBay France.
If you're in Paris this month, the annual Antiquites Brocante at Bercy Village begins Thursday, Jan. 15 and continues from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Jan. 25th. Take Metro line 14 to Cour Saint-Emilion or Bus line 24 or 62 to Bercy. It's worth the trip just to see the old Place des Vins de France, or wine warehouses hosting the event. Happy hunting!
Museum exhibition poster, Barcelona, Spain.
The Night There
"The night there is pitch black...and roses are fewer.
The road will fork even more than before. The valley will split open
and the slope will collapse on us. The wound opens wide. Relatives flee.
Victims kill each other to erase their victims' sight and find relief.
We'll know more than we knew before. One abyss will lead to another.
When we embrace an idea worshipped by tribes and branded on their vanishing bodies,
we'll witness emperors engraving their names on grains of wheat to show their power.
Aren't we changed? Men follow the teachings of the sword
and spill blood. Let the sand pile up..."
Poem from the book Unfortunately, It Was Paradise, by Mahmoud Darwish.
News updates:
Tens of thousands in London protest Gaza offensive
Bush denounces Hamas terror (but gives the Israelis a free pass).
Israel says ground invasion of Gaza is underway
Israeli ground forces push into Gaza
Attacking civilians is a war crime
Israel begins Gaza ground offensive
Scroll down the page for a second post today.
Madonna and Child, Cathedral de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
"For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6
Sculptural relief of Joseph, Mary and the Baby Jesus traveling by donkey, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona.
Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noël. Feliz Navidad.
Statue of the Virgin Mary, Prayer Chapel, Cathedral de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
"Whatever else be lost among the years, let us keep Christmas still a shining thing: Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears, let us hold close one day, remembering its poignant meaning for the hearts of men. Let us get back our childlike faith again." - Grace Noll Crowell
"...where we can see heaven much better." Remember The Supremes song Up the Ladder to the Roof? Rooftop view of the city from Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain.
A close-up of the tiled dome atop Casa Batllo.
The dome viewed from the opposite direction (taken via telephoto lens from across the street).
The tiled "dragon's back" of Gaudi's organic design.
A mosaic-tiled arch with a view.
Dancing pebbles on a rooftop terrace.
Top of the dome. For more photos of Casa Batllo go here and here.
Series of arches in corridor, Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Spain.
This is the last day to enter my giveaway for Colette Copeland's beautiful collage. Go here to toss your hat into the ring.
Here's a courageous and inspiring story that should make us appreciate the blessings we often take for granted.
Have you seen Andrew Zuckerman's fantastic uplifting video? If not, go here.
The Sagrada de Familia's nave, designed by Antoni Gaudi. A pyramid of light is in the background, amidst the scaffolding. Work on the Barcelona church is not expected to be finished until at least 2026.
Mid-afternoon sunlight and shadows at play among the sunbursts and flowers.
Arches and curves, along with a wire sculpture in one section of the Sagrada.
In the church's nave, a mini-construction site.
A curving stairwell along one wall, still under construction. I shot this photo through a hole in a hanging screen designed to block dust and debris.
Four towers of the Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain. The towers are capped with geometrically-shaped cross-like tops reminiscent of Cubism, built around 1930. A gold sculpture of the Risen Christ sits on a bridge linking the spires. Words such as "Hosanna," "Excelsis" and "Sanctus" adorn the towers, while the doors of the Passion façade are covered with Biblical words in Catalan and other languages.
Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) worked on the project for over 40 years. In the last 15 years of his life, he abandoned all other projects to concentrate on the Sagrada de Familia. After Gaudí's death, work continued under Domènech Sugranyes's direction, but was halted in 1936 by the Spanish Civil War.
Catalan anarchists destroyed parts of the unfinished church, along with Gaudí's models and workshop. The present design is based on reconstructed versions of the original plans. Since 1940, architects Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, Lluís Bonet i Gari and Francesc Cardoner have worked on the project. The current director Jordi Bonet i Armengol introduced computers into the design and construction process. He strengthened the church foundations, built walls of the aisles and erected the branch-like columns of the Central Nave, using the traditional Catalan method of leaves of overlapping tile. Beginning in 1986, Josep Maria Subirachs carved nearly one hundred figures on the facade of the Passion.
Check back this weekend for more photos - exterior and interior - of the Sagrada de Familia.
Central spires, Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain. Doves of peace flock around a Tree of Life at the center. Click photos to enlarge and view detail.
Central sculpture depicting Christ the King.
Leaded glass in a spire in the older part of the church suggests Spain's Moorish influence, next to Antoni Gaudi's more modern contributions. Construction on the building began in 1883 and continues today.
Angels blowing trumpets announcing Jesus Christ's birth near the Nativity scene. Note the detail of ribbon spiraling from one of the bronze trumpets, in the Art Nouveau style, so popular early in the 20th-century.
Entranceway leading to a courtyard and the city beyond.
Detail of the Birth facade, created under the direction of Antoni Gaudi. The sculpture depicts episodes from the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ. The Annunciation is in the alcove above.
Check back later for more photos of Sagrada de Familia. Am unable to load more than six photos in one post, due to an ongoing Typepad issue.
A view of the spires of Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain. The magnificent structure has been under construction since 1893, guided by innovative architects including Antoni Gaudi. Check back later for more images from Sagrada de Familia. At the moment, a Typepad error is preventing multiple photos from being uploaded. Click photos to view detail.
The cathedral's front entrance.
Sunlight and shadows, Antoni Gaudi's spectacular Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain. Click photos to view detail.
"And God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness.And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night..." - Genesis I, The Holy Bible.
Chandeliers, Casa Batllo, Barcelona.
Directional light, Casa Batllo.
20th-century curves, Casa Batllo.
Decorative torchlight, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona.
Chandelier, La Pedrera, Barcelona.
Wrought-iron chandelier, Cathedral de Barcelona.
Torch light, Cathedral de Barcelona,
Diagonal of candles, Cathedral de Barcelona.
19th-century gilt and opalescent glass overhead fixture, Castle Museum, York, England.
Five-foot chandelier lowered to ground level for cleaning, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.
Dollface(s), Thursday outdoor market, Cathedral Plaza, Barcelona, Spain.
Bride, groom and baby(ies).
Handmade lace-trimmed garments.
Spanish senoritas.
An "Ideal" typewriter and old pharmacy bottles.
Vintage typeface letters.
An assortment of medals and medallions. And the winner of the L'abeille sign giveaway is "Missy from the bayou." Congrats to Missy! And thanks to all who participated in the giveaway. Check back this weekend to enter a Thanksgiving giveaway.
For some terrific post-election political cartoons, visit Bob Geiger.
And go here for President-Elect Obama's new website.
Since President-Elect Barack Obama's victory, I've been thinking about what an amazing moment it is when we, as a nation, celebrate our wonderful diversity. The United States of America is a unique melting pot of immigrants from all over the world. Yet even in 2008, too many people fear deviation from the status quo.
In the Obama victory celebrations Tuesday night, across the country, the huge crowds were of every age and hue, representing America at its best. If you looked at the McCain campaign gathering in Arizona, it was hard to spot a non-white face. The Republican party needs to do some soul-searching, as it has become nearly unrecognisable. By pandering to a narrow, right-wing base of social conservatives, the party has lost its bearings.
Growing up during desegregation
I grew up in a state where for 28 years Governor Orval Faubus (1910-1994) fueled the twin flames of racism and segregation. I grew up hearing stories about Faubus's 1957 refusal to desegregate Little Rock public schools. The governor defied a unanimous US Supreme Court decision by ordering the Arkansas National Guard to stop African-American students (back then they were called blacks and still are, in much of the South) students from attending Central High School. Faubus's drastic actions led President Dwight Eisenhower to federalize the state's National Guard. Eisenhower ordered the guard to return to their armories, then sent members of the 101st Airborne Division to protect black students and enforce the court order. In retaliation, Faubus shut down Little Rock high schools for the 1958-1959 school year, prompting a flurry of lawsuits.
Harry Ashmore of the (now-defunct) Arkansas Gazette won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing about the crisis. Ashmore said Faubus used the Guard to block blacks from Central High School because he was frustrated by the success of his political opponents, who were using segregationist rhetoric to incite white voters.
In June 1963, two black students tried to enroll at the University of Alabama. Governor George Wallace tried to block the court-ordered desegregation. Like Eisenhower before him, President John F. Kennedy federalized the state’s National Guard, forcing Wallace's compliance. Kennedy then went on television to address the nation:
" Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety...In a time of domestic crisis, men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics...This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution."
Pensive, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada de Familia, Barcelona, Spain.
In 1992, in the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis - on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was shot - I saw exhibits about Faubus and the "Lost Year" in Little Rock. I also heard the recording of Kennedy's confrontational phone conversation with George Wallace. Later in life, both Wallace and Faubus began to soften their segregationist stance. In 1962, Faubus broke with the White Citizens' Councils and other extremist groups. He even endorsed Jesse Jackson in the 1984 Democratic presidential primaries. But Faubus - once one of the ten most admired men in America - could not shake his reputation as a racist.
Fulbright, McClellan, Mills and Clinton
Ironically, during the same period Arkansas had three of the most brilliant and respected Democratic leaders serving in Washington. Senator J. William Fulbright (1905-1995) was the longtime chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the only senator to vote against an appropriation for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1954, chaired by the Communist-fearing Senator Joseph McCarthy. Fulbright began his distinguished career in public office as a socially-conservative populist and didn't embrace civil rights legislation until 1964.
John L. McClellan (1896-1977) was the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations committee. Representative Wilbur D. Mills (1909-1992) served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. And of course, former President Bill Clinton was another Arkansas politician who made a difference. I am proud to say that I met all four of these men and was influenced by their collective passion for righting wrongs.
Indignities suffered
As a child, I witnessed blacks suffering terrible indignities; having separate waiting rooms at doctor's offices and hotels and working hard at menial jobs, the women mostly as maids or cooks or taking in ironing; the men as laborers and picking crops from the fields. Out of these hardships, a musical genre known as the blues was born. So many men and women suffered indignity after indignity, yet bore them all quietly, with dignity. Without cars, in small towns without public transportation, many African-Americans were forced to walk long distances to and from their modest homes on the edge of town.
When I was 11 or 12, we moved from a house in the country to a house in town. A former pecan orchard had been converted into residential property for about nine middle-class homes, all built at different times. Just a few meters down the same street - and down a hill - the road was paved, but the houses were little more than wooden shacks in various stages of disrepair.
One woman who lived in such a house was Emma. She must have been in her '70s and not in the best of health. Yet she walked several blocks nearly every day to the home of an elderly white man, where she cleaned his house and prepared his meals. My dad - who passed the man's house on his way to work - asked Emma to ride with him. A proud woman, she didn't want to take charity. So she returned my dad's kindness by occasionally baking delicious homemade rolls and chicken pot pies for our family. We didn't know much of Emma's story; she guarded her privacy. Sometimes she was sick and probably didn't have the money to see a doctor. We didn't know Emma more than a couple of years, before she died. But she made a lasting impression.
And if Emma were white and of a certain age, we never would have called her by her first name. She would have been "Mrs. So-and-So." The familiar use of first names stems from pre-Civil War days, when blacks were called sometimes not even by their names, but by their gender, "Boy" or "Girl." Even old men were sometimes referred to as "Boy" by their white slavemasters.
Integration of schools
When public schools were ordered to integrate, a group of parents banded together to incorporate a small private school, so that their children didn't have to rub shoulders with black children. The wife of a prominent Methodist physician sent her daughter - one of my best friends - to a private Catholic school in Little Rock. Our next-door neighbors moved to a small town in the Northern part of the state that had few black residents.
It wasn't the children who had a problem with blacks; we got along fine. It was the adults. Many Southerners had been raised by bigots and simply couldn't imagine viewing the world in any way, other than in black and white. They were fearful of interaction, other than in the employer/employee mode.
We all heard horror stories about the Ku Klux Klan and their dark and nefarious deeds. We read newspaper coverage of their murder trials. Civil rights lawyer and activist Morris Dees was - and still is - my hero. He helped implement the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dees and lawyer Joe Levin later founded the Southern Poverty Law Center,to teach tolerance, fight for racial equality and help monitor hate groups.
In college, I won an Associated Press Collegiate Journalism award for my story about community racism against a non-denominational campus choir. Later, as a reporter I covered federal court trials of members of white supremacist groups including "The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord" and "The Order," the neo-Nazi group that robbed a bank in Ukiah, California to help finance the murder of Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg.
"Consider a person's actions, not the color of their skin."
Martin Luther King made that plea. All these years later, it's gratifying that the majority of Americans looked past race and considered character when electing Barack Obama as president. Gen. Colin Powell was right when he said we've elected a good man, who just happens to be black.
But the majority of Southern states seem locked in a conservative mindset. As a nation, we still have a long road of tolerance and understanding to travel.
Ralph Nader is a perfect example. If Fox "News" - FOX! - chides him for an outrageous statement, it must be bad. First in a radio interview, then in a television interview, Nader said he wondered if Barack Obama would be "Uncle Tom for the giant corporations." "Uncle Tom" is a reference to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. "Uncle Tom" has been used as a derogative term for black Americans accused of selling out to whites.
Nader - the son of a Lebanese immigrant - once was a respected consumer advocate, who founded the Public Interest Research Group. Every four years he "rears his head," - as Sarah Palin would say - and runs for president. It's all about his ego. If Nader actually cared about good government, he would do something constructive in between his disruptive presidential campaigns.
As Americans, we need to remember that the ideals and beliefs that unite us are stronger than the fears that divide us.
Update: Gen. Wesley Clark (also from Arkansas) reports about Election night in Chicago: "As I walked onto the field in Grant Park -- there were thousands of us around the podium -- a couple of reporters asked me what I thought of this. "Transformational," I said, "but, ask Ernest Green, right here, who was one of the original young people at Central High who broke segregation in the South. Ask him!"
"It was a humbling and deeply moving experience to be there with Ernest and with former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, Amb. Sam Brown and his wife and so many others who have shared our passion to set this country on the right course. And to see the faces of all around us, representing all the diversity that Barack cited in his remarks..."
Cross-posted at Open Salon and Red Room.
City skyline glimpsed through lace curtains, Antoni Gaudi's La Pedrera, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain.
"One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind. To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. I've only touched it, just touched it." - Dorothea Lange 1895-1965.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” - Saint Augustine, 354-430.
"Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Broad wholesomeness and charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one tiny corner of the globe." - Mark Twain, 1835-1910.
This marks 1,501 posts for Paris Parfait. Thank you for reading. Merci bien. Muchas gracias.
Election Protection reports emerging voting issues in over 80,000 calls to their 1-866-OUR-VOTE HOTLINE.
Update 7 p.m. Paris time:
On Sunday, Election Protection's hotline received over 8,000 calls from across the country.
Some key issues:
Katrina displacement: People who moved out of their damaged homes after hurricane Katrina are reporting confusion about their registration status and voting precinct to Election Protection's 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. Voting rights experts are working to resolve these questions to ensure all eligible voters from the New Orleans area can exercise their right to vote in this historic election.
Absentee voting problems are being widely reported, with particularly high rates in Virginia, Ohio and Florida. In one example, a caller from Florida had requested absentee ballots for herself and her husband, a stroke survivor unable to go to the polls. Neither ballot has arrived and if they don’t, she will be unable to vote. as she is unable to leave her husband’s side to go to the polls.
Polling place problems – such as extremely long lines – are of great concern to voters in Florida and Georgia, particularly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida and Fulton County, Georgia.
Long lines: Callers have reported six-hour wait times in Richmond, VA. A caller from Palm Beach County, FL reported waiting in line for three hours, only to be told the machines were broken. Some Georgia voters have waited up to ten hours to cast an early ballot.
Disability issues: Reports of difficulty obtaining information or voting at polling places are being received from across the country, with concentrations in Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania. For example, a caller from Michigan - whose husband is paralyzed by multiple sclerosis - reported difficulty in obtaining concrete information on how to ensure her husband’s vote was counted.
Registration concerns still top the list of concerns of callers from battleground states.
Election day meltdown?
Record registration and long lines for early voting are causing a ripple of anxiety across the country, particularly in battleground states like Virginia. Local newspapers are warning voters to watch for things that could go wrong on Election Day. Watchdog groups are gearing up for potential legal battles.
Document your voting experience
Be prepared for long lines; along with your identification, bring a bottle of water and maybe a snack. If you're willing to document your voting experience, bring your digital camera and/or your video camera. If you see voters being turned away from the polls, talk to them and ask what happened. Report any unusual occurrences, such as vote flipping on touchscreen machines, to election officials and bipartisan election observers. Recording what happens at your local polling station helps provide evidence necessary for nationwide election reform. Submit your information to Election Protection and/or Video the Vote.
Know your rights. If a voting machine doesn't work properly, you have the right to vote via paper ballot. If the polling place is out of paper ballots, you must be allowed to vote via provisional ballot. If you are standing in line before the polling place's official hours end, you can vote. If you experience any problems when attempting to vote, telephone Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). Depending upon your location, you may find bipartisan election observers or lawyers on hand to assist you.
Visitors standing in line to see Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain. Alas, waiting in line is a universal dilemma.
Long lines for early voting
Long lines are THE story of early voting in many states. In Pima County, Arizona, 300 voters were turned away Friday, after a computer glitch shut down an early voting site. Luckily, states are taking action. Ohio has redistributed voting machines to ease lines on Election Day. Some counties in Georgia have extended their Nov. 4 voting hours to accommodate voters.
Follow election updates here and here. To search Election Protection’s voter database, go here.
More newspapers endorse Obama
For the latest newspaper endorsements for Sen. Barack Obama as president, go here.
Hard to believe Sarah Palin was so thoroughly taken in by a Canadian radio personality's prank phone call; more evidence she doesn't have a clue about the wider world. The questions are outrageous in their bravado, yet Palin just laughs - all the while, believing the president of France is speaking.
The Canadian press weighs in on Palin's cluelessness. Guess Palin's staff should have done a better job in vetting her phone callers!
Still no medical records
Two days before the election, Palin still hasn't released her medical records or any information whatsoever about her health. Two weeks ago, she told NBC's Brian Williams she would release her medical records. The campaign promised Kate Snow of ABC News's it would release the records early last week. Snow has repeatedly requested the records, only to be told they're "working on" the request.
Palin, 44, insists she's had no health problems. How difficult can it be to gather her medical records? What is she trying to hide?
Photo of "punked" door knocker, Barcelona, Spain.
Stained-glass window at Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain, for the All Saints holiday.
Carnivale mask-like Juliet balconies, Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Spain.
Oh, no! Not the robots!
Bush + McCain = More of the same. Now THAT'S scary!
Scroll down the page for two other posts today.
Something about this doll - the dazed look or maybe the excessive blush - reminded me of Sarah Palin's extreme makeover at the hands of her highly-paid Hollywood makeup artist. The New York Daily News says Palin's sheer ineptitude shines through the window-dressing. You can come along on an interactive shopping expedition. Notice her would-be nemesis Vladimir Putin peeking in the window? Hmmm, do we really need a shotgun to go shopping? And what about that flute!!??
My uncle sent this link to Roseanne Cash's witty article in The Nation. Cash writes about why she'd make a better vice-presidential pick than Palin.
On a serious note, Palin continues lying about Obama's statements. But ABC News calls her out, point by point.
Bob Cesca writes in the Huffington Post about The Mandatory Rejection of Sarah Palin. "...There are a lot of things to ridicule about Sarah Palin's incomprehensible speaking style, her pathological dishonesty and her backwards, simplistic views on the issues. But it's her politics of fear and division that must be wholly rejected on Tuesday because it's too terrible to imagine waking up one week from today in an America that rewards the awfulness and fear which she and her subterranean allies require in order to politically exist.
"So before we arrive at the end of the Bush dark ride, let's make sure the Sarah Palin dark ride comes to a complete stop on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, John McCain is criticizing Obama's ties to a respectable Palestinian-American professor - the same professor whose work McCain himself helped fund, to the tune of nearly a million dollars. Read more here.
The early 20th-century porcelain doll pictured is in the playroom at La Pedrera, one of Antoni Gaudi's architectural wonders in Barcelona, Spain.
Javier van Velthoven plays his guitar near the Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. His haunting melodies linger in the stone-walled alleys and passageways surrounding the cathedral. I was so impressed with Javier's guitar skills, I bought a CD. It contains Javier's beautiful interpretations of Francisco Tarrega, Fernando Sor, Antonio Rubira, Issac Albeniz and Manuel de Falla, among others. His version of Albeniz's Asturias is magnificent! I could listen to Javier for hours.
8.G, a group of young musicians in Barcelona, has a Latin/Carribean sound not unlike the Buena Vista Social Club. I also bought their CD, containing music both danceable and romantic that makes me wish I were still in Spain.
Meanwhile, an American artist is set to create an enormous portrait of Sen. Barack Obama on the beach at Barcelona.
Feeling blue about the nasty antics of the American presidential campaign? Unless you're in Barcelona, Spain, you won't be able to take advantage of special "happy pills" (above and below). But you can go to Bob Geiger's website for hard-hitting political cartoons.
On a more serious note, David Sirota at Truthdig writes about McCain banking on a confederacy of dunces, with his ridiculous talk of socialism. And a group of communication scholars has called on John McCain to stop his negative campaigning. “The purposeful dissemination of messages that a communicator knows to be false and inflammatory is unethical. It is that simple,” the statement says. Think the McCain camp will pay any attention? That's about as likely as Palin saying she's not wearing the $150,000 wardrobe paid for by the Republican National Committee. Oh wait, she already said that! Even though her boss defended the purchases, saying "she needed clothes."
Well the important thing to remember is it's not what someone else pays for us to wear, it's what's inside that counts. And Palin's to-the-right-of-Cheney political philosophy is much scarier than her wardrobes, both designer and Wal-Mart. Some racist supporters who attend McCain-Palin rallies are pretty scary too.
And Palin hasn't a clue about the importance of fruit fly research. But Biochemicalsoul sets her straight. Richard Wolffe of Newsweek chimes in, "This is the most mindless, ignorant, uninformed comment that we have seen from Governor Palin so far and there's been a lot of competition for that prize."
Scroll down the page for two more posts today.
"Stress" sign on building, Barcelona, Spain.
I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait until this election is over. Even Joe McCain, John McCain's brother is getting cranky, calling 911 emergency twice, just because he was stuck in traffic. These stories are unbelievable; sadly, they're all true.
Chilling: "Another wink and nod from Sarah Palin."
Palin's makeup artist was paid $22,000 for the first two weeks of October!
Desperate Republicans send a private investigator to try to intimidate New Mexico voters.
The Independent: The Picture that Shames Italy.
This is a charming, feel-good short advertisement that contains a little history of England.
And if you haven't read those brazen firecrackers Margaret and Helen, I urge you to drop everything and visit them NOW!
Much ado about nothing. But the McCain campaign fueled the fire.
Rooftop chimneys, Casa Batllo, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain. For more photos of Gaudi's architectural gems, check back this weekend.
Curved chimneys and ventilation ducts on the rooftop terrace at Casa Batllo.
Four chimneys, decorated in glazed ceramic tile.
