Aachen is downright awesome, historically and now. Here is where the coronation of Charlemagne was held on Christmas Day, 800 and 30+ kings after that. The chapel palace, pictured above, is Germany’s first World Heritage Site and is arguably the site where Europe first began to take shape. The present city retains its medieval feel […]

That’s about the only explanation I have for no posts in April (until now). Even now I shouldn’t be fiddling on the web while I have several chapters to read for my next class session. We’re reading Ian Condry’s book Hip-Hop Japan this week; had fun with it in class today as we talked about […]

At the Easter Vigil last Saturday, Safa, Henry, and Philip all were baptized in The Cathedral of the Incarnation. The two eldest also had Confirmation (Safa as Cecilia and Henry as Sebastian — yeah, I know, a virgin martyr and a famously gruesome death with various psycho-sexual overtones) and First Communion, so they are up-to-date […]

According to media critics cited in this NYTimes article, Obama is a Mac while Clinton is a PC. Besides the obvious age factor (Obama is young and hip; Clinton is sooooo 20th century), the candidates’ respective branding and web presence break along Mac/PC lines. Obama’s web site features soothing soft background space, and a relatively […]

We almost missed them. But after lunch at the cafe on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace, I glanced over the site map and couldn’t believe what I read: “Relics of St. John the Baptist” in the Treasury section of the museum where you can see huge gems and jeweled daggars from the Ottoman Empire. […]

The Basilica Cistern is haunting. Built in 532, it is a piece of engineering genius for its time. It served as a reservoir for Constantinople’s water, brought by aqueduct from the Belgrade Forest. 336 columns stand in darkness in a few feet of water. Many of the columns were salvaged from other ruins (yes, ruins […]

At our wedding our good friend Michael Bess led a champagne toast with this wonderful poem by Yeats:
The Lover Tells of The Rose In His Heart

ALL things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old,
The cry of a child by the roadway, the creak of a lumbering cart,
The heavy steps of the ploughman, splashing […]

A while back my mom sent one of those chain emails with jokes that I usually delete instantly because I don’t find them too funny. However, this one was actually amusing. It was a series of photos of interesting packaging. Being interested in and appreciative of clever ads and clever design — and having lived […]