My virtual museum…

Corto Maltese during the Russian-Japanese war, c.1904-1905. Corto was born in 1887 in Malta, of a Gipsy mother and a sailor from Cornwalls. A “gentleman of fortune” as he called himself, Corto Maltese was an adventurer whose first story was published in Italy in 1967. “The ballad of the salty sea.” The author was an…

“Sweet smoke just a poke”

“In a world of last teardropIn a world of last teardropYou know it sounds so goodSounds so good “Well, you know it sounds so goodYou hope it never stopsNever, never, never stopsNever, never, never, never, stops “If you hear sounds of bitter weepingTo be sure the God of Light is sleeping No time for mirthMuch…

Time Patrol: Germany 1980

1980. A while ago. We were living in Paris then. Decided to go Germany and visit friends. Took the train to… Mainz, maybe… or Koblenz? Honestly I can’t remember. From there we traveled by boat on the Rhine. To the North. Stayed in cute little towns along the river. I would say it is probably…

Carnaval com graça

“Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça Look, such a pretty thing, so full of grace. “É ela menina que vem que passa She’s that girl you see passing by “Num doce balanço, caminho do mar In a gentle sway, on her way to the sea “Moça do corpo dourado do sol de…

Pot-pourri 21-1

Mr. Simon Simba, Esq. Vincennes zoo, Paris, early 80’s. Kenya-born Minette, Paris, c.1972. My parents brought the cat back from Africa. They did not bring her BFF the dog back. We had words. “Silently a flower blooms.” Zenkei Shibayama. Tlalpan, Mexico city. 2020. A small Gothic church. Taverny, north of Paris. This church was finished…

Carnival of carnivals

“Is this legal? Maybe I should fine them all?” Paris, 1977. I was just out of the Army, 3 weeks away from Grad school. I set out on the streets of Paris with my faithful Asahi Pentax and a few rolls of Ilford film. May have been 400 “ASA”, my ammo of choice then. Would…

Rodin, part 2

Prayer, by Auguste Rodin. B&W photos are “argentic”, Ilford on Asahi-Pentax, 1981. Colour photos from 2016, after the Rodin Museum renovation. (Iphone, hehe!) As I digitalized my old B&W pix and compared them to the “new ones”, I was surprised I’d taken almost the exact same shots. “Young woman with a hat”. The same young…

Pot-pourri soixante-seven

Beach police? Seriously? The FBI wasn’t invented yet. But bureaucrats were alive and kicking. I wonder whether this beach is on the Potomac, in D.C. See the obelisk in the background? (Source unknown) Beers of the world series. Colombia, a while back. Loos of the world series. Tandoor restaurant, Mexico city. Last time we had…

An African* childhood, part 3

The magic house, Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, c.1962. I’m sitting on the table, pondering the day’s next play. Little Sis walks down the stairs with her cast on her arm. Keep a safe distance lest she clubs you. The house may be long gone, the African village at the back has been replaced by rows…