№ 187. Deathly Sunday Thoughts

"De Beauvoir anticipates Sartre's death. She knows he is dying, but she cannot tell him. Existentialism's acceptance of death does not console her." --- A Farewell to Sartre


 

"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." -William Wallace, Braveheart

Nobody really wants to think about their own mortality, but the cold truth is that sooner or later, it’s going to happen. Now, your personal beliefs on whether or not you will ascend to Heaven, reincarnate, or simply just be dead don’t really matter; you’re going to leave a body behind when you go. It has now become a custom to either pump dead bodies full of formaldehyde and seal them into a steel and concrete vault or be cremated and have the ashes just sit in an urn.

№ 186. Instagram: The Shrink Wrap

Impatience is a virtue, I think.

An offshoot of this virtue is that business finishes quite early. Too early for dinner and, well, too late for an afternoon snack. That late afternoon in August carried dry winds with the weak sun. Quite unusual for the tropical ghost month.

I have time to kill then.

№ 185. New York State of Mind

"Tanong: 

Nakalatag kung gabi, kung araw ay nakatabi.

Kung gabi ay dahon, kung araw ay bumbong.

Kung nakatindig ay kawayan, kung nakabuka'y karagatan.

Sagot: Banig" (Bugtong Pilipino)

Whenever
I hear this song, I
imagine

№ 184. Venice Through Square Lenses (2)

2 August 2014

Pictures for now, coherent narrative to follow. But in my defense, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is worth at least about 5,000, then.

---oOo---

5 August 2014

Ok, here are the random, arguably, still incoherent narratives to go with the photos.

If there's one thing near omnipresent in Venice, it is the sea. The air is redolent with the faint, cool smell of salt. The briny scent accents the insular feel of the mazes of canals, alleys, dead ends, pocket parks, Churches, courtyards, private gardens and quays. To be sure, Venice's maritime roots and history are expressed indelibly in its surrounding moats and waters. Perhaps because of the city's affinity with the Adriatic, its people also draw near the shores and congregate just about anywhere near the sea--- where the view is unfailing and grand.

If one tires of the crowds, as I often did, it's not difficult to lose them. Go away from the shores and head inland, into the sanctuary of the old structures. One really need only to stray from the tourist vortices by the sea such as the Rialto, St. Mark's Square, the grand passage facing the Lido on the San Marco's south side and the sidewalks along the Grand Canal.

There are more than enough unexplored and often deserted alleys and Churches that offer quiet breaks from the horde.

№ 183. Friday Find: 50 Shades in the Dark

"No man can surpass his own time, for the spirit of his time is also his own spirit." --- Georg Hegel

Cheap Venetian masks redefine kinky
especially if dipped in dark shades of thick chocolate.

Ok, so there was this soft-porn book. And now, there's the upcoming movie made by Hollywood. I remember the type---Red Shoe Diary variety.