02-12-10 A Week In Paris: A View From Above

There is a long history of risky French architecture. For example, the Eiffel Tower was widely criticized when it was built. So, too, was the new entrance to the Louvre, which is what you are looking at in this photo. It was designed by the Chinese American architect I.M. Pei.

Both the Eiffel Tower and "the Pyramid" were considered incongruous monstrosities when they were constructed. But today they are iconic. I wonder if anyone thought the Notre Dame de Paris was a monstrosity when it was built? Was Watertown's clock tower considered "an incongruous monstrosity" when it was erected?

02-11-10 A Week In Paris: Notre Dame

There is much that is captivating about a Gothic cathedral like the famous Notre Dame of Paris. The beautiful stained glass and the lofty interior space must have been truly awe inspiring to the 12th century Parisian. They certainly are to me.

In this photo, you are looking at an innovation that allowed the soaring interior space and relatively thin walls. It's called "rib vaulting." It may look chaotic but it is in fact very carefully arranged. How did they figure this out? Mostly trial and error and amazing intuition. The medieval masons didn't have computer models or even sophisticated math.

Here's another tidbit about gothic cathedrals: they are held together by gravity, not the mortar between the blocks. The mortar is really just a spacer to keep the stories level. Ribbed vaulting like this would have been stacked on wooden supports until the top stones were put in place. Once complete, the support was removed and the ceiling stayed up on its own. Impressed?

02-10-10 A Week In Paris: Bonaparte!

Napoleon, who conquered much of Europe, died at age 51 on the tiny island of St. Helena, where he had been exiled. Even today St. Helena is one of the most isolated places on earth. (See it on a map.) He was buried by the British in a grave with no name, primarily because of a dispute over which name should go on the tomb. Some wanted his full name - Napoleon Bonaparte. Others wanted the single name "Napoleon." In France, kings went by a single name.

Almost 20 years later, Napoleon's remains were returned to Paris, where he was given a state funeral and buried under the dome of Les Invalides, a church near a hospital complex for French soldiers. Napolean, who stood 5'4" tall, is buried in a massive sarcophagus, the outer layer of which is made of porphyry marble. Inlaid marble lettering around his tomb commemorates his most famous victories. One battle not marked is Waterloo, which was his final defeat.

That's enough history!

02-09-10 A Week In Paris: Self Portrait In A Grocery Store

Yes, another self-indulgent photo! And you wouldn't know that this is Paris, would you? It could be our local Mini-Mart. But check out the the wine section of this petite store. Only in France would you see something like this.

That's my friend Scott P standing with an empty shopping basket. We are about to fill it with our favorites beverage, which isn't wine. On this occasion it was probably Kronenbourg 1664. And, yes, that was a very good year!

02-08-10 A Week In Paris - The Pyramid

I learned a couple weeks ago that a former student of mine, Erin H., is looking at the blog from time to time. Given that there are other former students who also see this blog, this might seem unremarkable. But it turns out that Erin is in Paris for a year, and there's something special to me about having someone there checking out my blog. :-)

Erin writes:

Living in Paris for the year, and being able to look at your blog is a great reminder of where I come from, and also how many places I have yet to visit. . . .

In honor of Erin, I am kicking off a series called "A Week In Paris." For a while, my blog becomes a reminder of where she is and where some of us would like to go some day.

Incidentally, Erin also has a blog of her own, with many great photos, and I suggest you take a peek: worldmoods.blogspot.com

02-07-10 An Ivy Covered Wall - Bruges, Belgium

You could just see this another wall with ivy growing on it. Or you could see it as a deeply symbolic photo representing the conflict of "man vs. Nature," and our attempt to impose structure and pattern on a universe that is as random as the ivy's vine creeping across a red brick wall.

What was I thinking when I took the photo? Frankly, I was probably thinking that I liked the yellow tint that seems to edge all of the leaves. More likely, I wasn't thinking at all. . . .

02-04-10 He Has Horns!

This is Michelangelo's "Moses," and it is housed in one of the most unassuming places any great work art resides - the Church of St. Peter in Chains in Rome. Michelangelo was commissioned to do Pope Julius II's tomb and Moses was to be one of 50 sculptures to decorate the tomb. Humility? I don't think so.

The Pope ran out of money and the tomb was scaled back. But we got "Moses" out of the deal. Why the horns? Well, one account I've read says that the horns come from a mistranslation of the Old Testament. The Hebrew should have read "rays of light," not "horns."

Whenever I see a Michelangelo sculpture, I am struck first by how amazingly life-like the cold stone is. But I am also in awe of the physical feat it must have been for Michelangelo to wrest the figures from the stubborn Carerra marble.

02-03-10 A Roman Park

This is an early morning shot of a back lit tree in the Borghese Gardens in Rome. There is something prehistoric-looking in these leaves. I don't know what kind of tree this is but it could be a relative of the locust, which grows in some places in South Dakota.

02-02-10 Another World

This is yet another photo from the Plitvice Lakes. I am standing on the shore shooting down. The clear, blue water is not fancy Photoshop work - it is the amazing work of Nature.

02-01-10 Running Water

This is one of the many waterfalls at the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. I had no tripod for the shots I took in this beautiful location so the water isn't quite as blurry as I'd like. The striking feature of the the Plitivice Lakes is the amazingly blue and clear water that flows through the park.

01-31-10 Aegean Sunset

Here's another "reflections" photo. It's Deb again, striking a pose on a cruise boat sailing the eastern Aegean Sea. I think that's the same sun that sets in South Dakota, though.

01-29-10 Reflections - Tropical Breeze

My wife doesn't really like it when I take her photo so instead I often take a photo of the reflections I see in her sunglasses. This is a palm tree in Mexico. But it's also a close-up Deb's head. She'll be thrilled.