Recently, I sat in my office preparing a lecture. New slide, copy, paste, insert text. Powerpoint transformed the lives of art historians when it was introduced at colleges and universities circa 2000. It was revolutionary, life-changing, for that discipline in ways unknown to scholars in other fields. Some older art historians even retired earlier than… Continue reading Vanishing Social Spaces
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Wondering About Wu
Around 10 p.m., the doorman rang to ask if he should allow a Chinese gentleman up, and a few minutes later, Professor Wu rang my tenth-floor doorbell. Professor Wu spoke little English, and I had trouble understanding why such a well-dressed (he always wore a suit and tie) Chinese bureaucrat would need to crash with a stranger…
Remembering Christo
The Arc de Triomphe Wrapped offered an inspirational aesthetic experience, a wrinkle in time, that offered a glimpse into an imaginable world of beauty, creativity, harmony, and solidarity….
The Well-Traveled $8K
Before I left for Europe in late February 2020 for what I assumed would be a six-month visit that, due to pandemic circumstances, morphed into an eighteen-month stay, I went to a Fifth Third (my bank) branch in Cleveland and asked it to wire $8,000 to my euro account in Germany. When they told me the wire fee had escalated to some amount exceeding $100, I requested cash…
Hammocks
Freed from the leaden tug of gravity that keeps me, thankfully, attached to the earth most of the time, I float and rock in my little nest, with maple leaves, blue skies, and the occasional bird occupying my field of vision…
Aristocratic Bibliophiles
Jim’s count boyfriend, Pascal, gave him permission to invite me for a long weekend in Brittany that includes a reunion of nobility on Sunday. I’m excited. Although I have friends descended from noble families—des and de las, vons and vans —I’ve never attended a more-or-less artistos-only event….
NYC Homeless
I rarely interact with the homeless, unless it’s to offer money or food…
Greifswald on Sunday
If, on a Sunday morning between 9:30 and 10 a.m. you sit in the leafy park of majestic linden trees beside the Nikolai Dom, the cathedral, you will be treated to a symphony of bells…
Bregenz
If attending a performance of the Bregenzer Festspiele is not on your Bucket List, it should be, opera fan or not. It is always a magical spectacle, the likes of which you will not see anywhere else…
Friendship
For me, the real joy of travel is less seeing marvelous sights, although I like that a lot, but rather spending time—sharing bits of my life and doing normal, everyday activities—with those whom I’ve chosen to inhabit my world…