Harald of Norway with Halfdan the Black, from Flateyjarbok.
1,880 words
My recent adventure took me to the Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney. During my trip, I visited the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, the Bronze Age settlement of Jarlshof, and the Viking Age sites described in the Orkneyinga Saga. As I visited these locations, I was reminded of all the hours (more…)
The Chopin Museum in Warsaw.
3,952 words
September 24, 2018
Very cold, blustery morning. This is what you picture Warsaw to look like: grey skies, brisk wind, and Polish people bundled in their fur coats, scarves, and Russian hats. Might be time to bust out my Marmot puffer jacket. Thank God I stuffed that into the little side panel on my suitcase as an afterthought in August. I’m gonna need it.
Walking around now thinking about Ewelina, the woman I met at the Soho Factory. That was her name, with the “w” pronounced as a “v.” (more…)
4,542 words
September 21, 2018
Reading Breitbart News online this morning. Sometimes I get depressed and I don’t want to be on either side of these political fights. The Leftists are deranged, controlling, addicted to their power, and the Right appear to be without sympathy or empathy for anyone but themselves. And yet, it is the Right’s point of view that always feels right to me. (more…)
The Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM), Tallin, Estonia
1,615 words
When You Say
We Belong to the Light
We Belong to the Thunder
July–October 2019
First of all, the actual building and location of the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia has a great, youthful, Do-It-Yourself aesthetic. It’s informally known as the EKKM (cool). Its entrance is a dirt trail (keeps the art snobs away). It’s located in a small cluster of falling down Communist-era factory buildings (awesome). (more…)
Max Beckmann, The Night (Die Nacht), 1918-19.
1,689 words
I’ve been staying in some hostels on my recent trip to Europe. A situation that happens: I arrive late, enter a dark dorm room, crawl into one of the empty bunk beds, and wake up the next morning to find several young women asleep in the beds around me. Except for the thought, “Where are my pants?” it’s not a serious problem. But it does make you wonder why the girls don’t have a separate room. (more…)
