On Obama's Lack Of Moral Principles

Judge Vaughn Walker's moving opinion provided an occasion for Obama to embrace the extension of equal rights to gay people. Instead, he slunk mumbling in the other direction. How dismal that America's first black president will be remembered as shirking the last great civil-rights struggle.

- Jacob Weisberg writing in Newsweek

Alan Grayson For President

I look forward to a Labor Day where every worker has a job, every worker has a pension, every worker has paid vacations, and every worker has the health care to enjoy life.

...Representative Alan Grayson, D-Fla.

If a true progressive runs against Obama in 2012, there will be great gnashing of teeth in the Democratic Party!

Back From Vacation

Photo: The countryside in Greece in the outskirts of Athens

It's good to be home after our great romp through the Mediterraneran. Catching up at the house there is lots to do: unpacking, laundry, etc. We also bought a new wireless DSL modem/router which we hope will cure our broadband woes. Today it's get the cart inspected time (hopefully.)

Will He Be The One?

The little guy from yesterday found a home somewhere else. We're trying for this guy next.

Will This Kitty Join Our Family?

Burmese are not exactly easy to find, but this one might be headed our way. I'm a fatalist and so we'll see just how this one works out.

Goodbye Barcelona

Photo 1: Barcelona Aquarium

Photos 2-5: Casa Batllo by Gaudi


Friday afternoon we walked all the way to the new port area of Barcelona, along a modern bridge and into a highly populated seaside area of quays. All of this part of the town was only built since we were last in this great city, probably constructed before the Olympics took place here. Jim wanted to visit the Aquarium, which specialized in fish and other sea creatures from the Mediterranean. A few of our favorite small tanks included the beautiful and exotic sea horses and sea dragons (equally small), the sea lions (a poisonous fish) and the highly intelligent octopi. None of these animals are easily seen by divers or snorklers. There was also an enormous tank that surrounded visitors, full of large fish like sharks and tuna. We ate at a nice brasserie above the Cataluna Square.
Yesterday, September 4th, was our last day in the Catalunian capital. After having difficulty finding the Francesco Godia Museum (newly established in 1998) Dan enjoyed seeing paintings there by Sorolla and other painters, as well as some magnificent wooden altarpieces from the Barcelonan Romanesque and Gothic eras. Jim then found the section of the Paseo de Gracia famous for three magnificent Art Nouveau houses. The most famous is the Casa Batllo, a late masterpiece by Gaudi. We took the self-guided tour with headphones, which let us hear all about the master architect’s goals and how he used materials and symbols in his vibrant architecture. Gaudi’s use of stained glass for certain windows, stucco for ceiling decorations and tile mosaic for others, all created a house that seemed to pulse with life, a combination of the nearby sea with other organic forms. The arches in the attic under the roof are parabolas in shape, very innovative for the early 20th century. And on the roof Gaudi built a skyline resembling a dragon’s back, made of colored ceramic tiles and pots that shine vibrantly in the sun. Gaudi’s imagination was unlimited, and his patrons indulged his fantasies, luckily. He directed craftsman who worked in wood, tile, glass and cement, and combined all the elements into a stunning entity. Jim thought the tour of the house, and the fact one could take un-restricted photos, the best sight in the entire city. Truly, it was one remarkable way to end our stay in Barcelona. Another will be a performance at the famed Teatre Liceu, the city’s world-class opera house. Tonight we will see the season’s opening performance of Gluck’s 18th century work “Ifigenie en Tauride.” The production was choreographed for dancers by Germany’s Pina Bausch before her death this past year, and the lead will be sung by the fine Portugese soprano Elisabete Matos. This will be our last event in Barcelona before we fly home to Philadelphia tomorrow. So for now we say ‘adios’ to this colorful, remarkable city.
--Dan

Barcelona - Modernismo

Photos 1 & 2: Palau de la Musica, photos 3,4, & 5: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia


MODERNISMO

One of the strong impressions one takes away from Barcelona centers on the development of ‘modern architecture’ during the last years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. In the rest of Europe the style is often called ‘Art Nouveau’, but here in Catalonia it’s known as ‘Modernismo.’ The most famous practitioner was Antoni Gaudi, the man responsible for fantastic designs in cement, mosaic and pure exuberance. On previous trips we have visited his Casa Mila, a big apartment house with sentry-like warriors’ heads on the roof. The ‘warriors’ are actually chimneys. Also his Casa Battlo is famed for its dragon-back roof, made of bright green tiles. Dragons, symbolic of Catalonia’s devotion to St. George the dragon-slayer, also decorate slopes in the quirky Parque Guell. This trip we decided to re-visit his last masterpiece, the unfinished cathedral of the Sagrada Familia, or Holy Family. Jim had never seen the interior, and he was surprised at the unique organic columns and windows, all cast in flowing cement, rounded and elegant. Stone sculptures of the saints and wondrous plants decorate both outside and inside. A contemporary glass artist has fashioned marvelous multi-colored windows, flooding the insides with blue, green and red light. Like many of the ‘Modernismo’ architects, Gaudi was fascinated by light and natural forms. In the morning we visited, for the first time, the amazing Palau de la Musica Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music), a concert hall by one of Gaudi’s brilliant contemporaries, Domenech I Montaner. This master worked in ceramic, stucco and bright colored glass. Roses, other flowers, peacock feathers, knights and ladies jostled together in enormous profusion in the hall itself, though visitors are not allowed to take photographs. The outside, however, is similar, and there Jim was able to photograph some of its wonders. After World War I ‘Modernismo’ was mostly over, which is a pity. It is some of the most original of all modern architecture, and if it had developed further, it might have been a more dominant influence. Rich in fantasy, ecological awareness and invention, there is nothing to compare anywhere else. After enjoying such treats, we had a leisurely lunch at the Barcelonetta, a seaport part of the great city.
---Dan

Photo 1: Santa Maria del Mar, 2: Cathedral, 3: interior Santa Maria, 4 to 6: Cathedral interior and exterior and cloister with noisy geese.

After disembarking from the Celebrity Equinox we made our way into Barcelona, a city we last visited almost 20 years ago. Our hotel, Le Meridian, is located on the famous Ramblas, the long street teeming with tapas cafes, shops and people. Luckily, we have a quiet room in the back of our hotel. We spent the afternoon on our own walking tour of the Gothic quarter (Barrio Gotico) and La Ribera. We discovered many Gothic buildings we had not see on previous visits, such as the Placa del Rei. The church of Santa Maria del Mar in La Ribera is an impressive Gothic church, one of the most beautiful in Barcelona, with a simple interior, a tall nave and hundreds of lit, red glass candles throughout the building. Of course, a visit to the massive Barcelona cathedral is a must. It is full of magnificent and huge gilt altarpieces, containing religious statues and paintings. They range in time from the 14th through the 18th century. The simplicity of the late Medieval paintings contrasts powerfully to the ornate Baroque altars, with fervid saints and angels posed between twisting Salamanca columns. There is a lovely Gothic cloister in back of the cathedral, with side chapels surrounding a grassy area of palm trees, fountains and pools. There were noisy, big white geese honking and swimming alongside goldfish in the ponds, a bizarre and amusing addition to an urban cathedral. We were astonished at the beauty and scale of the cathedral’s massive interior, and delighted by its soft yellow lights that infused the building with a spiritual quality, despite the throng of tourists walking on its ancient floors. While Jim waited in the hotel lobby for the room, glued to his laptop, Dan explored some music shops on the Ramblas. He was lucky to find and buy some music scores for delightful Spanish zarzuelas. Zarzuelas are like operettas, with spoken dialogue and sung musical numbers, but are often more serious in subject matter. Today we will be on a reserved tour to the Palau del la Musica Catalana, with its ornate art nouveau interior. The hop-on-hop-off city tour bus also beckons.
--Jim and Dan

Our Return To Provence

The first three photos are Les Baux...the last two are Arles.







Yesterday the Celebrity Equinox docked in Marseilles, where we took an excursion to a couple of really interesting towns in Provence: Les Baux and Arles. Les Baux is a wonderful little medieval fortress town perched on top of a hard limestone plateau. The streets are too narrow for vehicles therefore access is by foot only. The town is full of quaint little shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our best luncheon in Les Baux at a fine restaurant. Lunch included a tomato pie atop tapenade, the black olive concoction so popular in the area. That was followed by a boeuf Bourgignon with rice and salad, then a delicious soft-centered chocolate cake, served with ice cream and a red currant sauce, full of the berries. (Since Jim is a vegetarian, he was given a huge plate of cod, and vegetables with a large portion of aoli, the garlicky mayo.) The food in Provence is some of the best in the world. After our visit to Les Baux our tour took us to Arles, famous as the place where Van Gogh spent time painting scenes of Provence. While there is no longer much remaining evidence of Van Gogh in Arles, the town has significant Roman ruins including a large amphitheater still in use, unfortunately in part for bullfighting, a barbaric spectacle that is hopefully on its way out. We toured the arena, a theater and the beautiful Romanesque church before heading back to our ship. In the evening we enjoyed our final dinner on board the Equinox. However, before dinner Dan made arrangements for us return to the Equinox next year for another Mediterranean itinerary. Today we begin our stay in Barcelona. Our last visit here was fifteen or twenty years ago, so we’re looking forward to an enjoyable return visit.

Orvieto in Umbria, Italy

The old fortress at Civitavecchia

The following are Orvieto












On Tuesday the Celebrity Equinox docked in Civitavecchia, an old port about an hour or so from Rome. Most of our fellow passengers who signed up for an excursion made their way into Rome. However, since we enjoyed a stay in Rome last year, we elected to take a somewhat longer excursion to the unique Umbrian hilltop town of Orvieto, about two hours away by motor coach. The weather for our trip was beautiful with clear skies and surprisingly cooler, less humid conditions. In Orvieto we met a local guide for a two hour tour of the town that culminated in a visit to the beautiful Gothic cathedral with its powerful frescos by Signorelli. The façade of the Orvieto Cathedral is one of the most colorful and magnificent in all of Italy, full of sculpture, tracery and mosaics. In the Brixio Chapel the Renaissance artist Signorelli depicted the Last Judgement in several scenes. He started by depicting the anti-Christ preaching while being prompted by a devil who whispers in his ear. The anti-Christ in Signorelli’s fresco is actually a portrait of the fanatical monk Savonarola, who temporarily brought down the Medici power in Florence at the end of the Fifteenth Century. Having lived through that terrible time, Signorelli was lucky to receive a commission from the Duomo in Orvieto. Signorelli, a handsome young man in black, with long blond hair, included his self-portrait in the same fresco. In his other great frescoes in the Chapel he showed the dead rising from the earth, talking with each other or skeletons, also freshly awakened. Then there is a wall showing the blessed received into Paradise, and finally a scene of the damned descending into Hell. His painted versions of all these scenes include amazing nudes, in all sorts of foreshortened poses. Signorelli was a predecessor of Michelangelo, and there are many splendid faces, bodies and touches of humor in his great masterpiece at Orvieto. After seeing the Duomo we enjoyed walking around the town. Then, after, a three course lunch in a local restaurant, we returned by bus to our ship. The green scenery near Orvieto, studded with hilltops topped by Medieval and Renaissance villages, looked like stills from films or pictures from story-books. Today we will dock in Marseilles, where we will take a tour to the nearby towns of Arles and Le Beaux. Our stop in Southern France today will be the next to the last on our cruise. Tomorrow we will disembark in Barcelona.
Jim and Dan