Sorry-ology

A Wedding and Some thoughts R and H got married last Saturday in a small church in Surrey. The ceremony and the banquet were well-tuned by several readings from the Bible, a reading of sonnet 18 of Shakespeare, and several moving speeches. H the groom talked about his appreciation of his new wife and about the un - conpromised happiness that their match has created. He said R has brought him plentiful of joy and has offered him unlimited care. He put the beauty of R's virtue thus in words, '... R. forgives and forgets ...'. The entire speech was footnoted with the speaker's good sense of humor and punctuated by intervals of burst of laughter. It helped us to envision their firm mutual commitment and projected an image of a future life of felicity that they are going to work on with their original families. The two words, 'forgiving' and 'forgetting', lingered in the air, and I started musing on the relation between these two acts. The alliteration betwe...

Time in York A number of clocks stand on several corners in the city of York, providing, presumably, references to time. Most of the time, however, these clocks seem to forget their duty especially when they forget time themselves or when they tell the wrong time. The rather slow life pace of this medieval town, however, does not seem to reflect the need of these time controllers. Compelling people to walk faster? or to slow down? or just to present themselves as nice companions? I haven't found any massive digital clock here, fortunately. Watching and hearing clocks ticking away time are such a 'luxurious' and 'expensive' habit, I have to admit, but I really enjoy it. Colors of these clocks are important. They are obviously the primary feature that drew my attention to these circular signs of modern life. The bareness of time. Green time for food and grocery. Telling time before the house of God is very daring! Brick red time invites me to a cup of tea. This blue ...

An additional finding to my collection of cats in my search for animals in the city of York . These two cats were spotted near King's Arm before Ouse Bridge.

Chicago, Kalamazoo (MI), and New York City: 09-17/May/2007 Intersection of sacred and secular spaces Perhaps I really need more time so as to appreciate the beauty and the character of New York, one of the most legendary cities in the world. Before my trip, almost everybody I talked to told me that 'it's an amazing city', 'everything is happening in that city', or 'you will definitely love it'. Yes, it is amazing, and indeed everything seems to be possible there, but, it is impressive in a very imposing way, at least, to me. Perhaps I have been too relaxed in the Old York, so that New York is too fast, too loud , and too busy. The rapid rhythm and loud melody of New York City is driving every passenger forward, and further forward, mercilessly. However, this ever-faster movement from one block to another, from one street to another, from one metro station to another, is curiously slowed down every now and then by parish churches or cathedrals which are res...

Print: Richard Fozard's 'Five Geese a' Cackling' An Afternoon Detour to York Art Gallery After a reading group meeting 'again' 'accidentally' taking place on a Bank Holiday Monday, I stepped in York Art Gallery. I was drawn to an exhibition, 'Richard Fozard: Printmaker' , by this image of geese on its recent brochure. Richard Fozard was a prinkmaker in Leeds, his works were inspired by the natural environment of Yorkshire Dale and were meant to represent the beauty that he had enjoyed. 'Five Geese a' Cackling' is a print from a woodcut. The rough and vibrant lines of shadow and light present a very dynamic composition. I breathed the air of solidarity that the ink and the lines create upon the paper, thinking the texture of paper, wood, and ink. The show room was small, the size of the exhibition was mini, the other works were not entirely impressive, but this afternoon break in the company of these geese was pleasant enough for me t...

Cloud, Sky, and Houses, on the way home I was remembering some proto-images of landscape that I used to draw when I was small. They were about my imaginations of home. Always, there were white and marshmallow-like clouds, blue sky, red brick houses, triangular roofs, square windows, plus trees as fence. Poetic sky filmed in the neighborhood.

Chicago, Kalamazoo (MI), and New York City: 09-17/May/2007 One more reason to love Chicago! Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor , an Indian artist based in London, rests in Millennium Park in Chicago city. I missed it last year owing to bad weather on the day that we planned to pay our visit. It was not mentioned in my guidebook (it seemed) as it was just dedicated to the city sometime right after my trip (May 2006) even though its completion is noted to be sometime much earlier, in 2004. At first I wondered what it was when I saw this 'Bean', its nickname, everywhere on postcards. It is such an impressive and fascinating artwork that fully engaged my attention and stimulated every fiber of my body when I stood right in front of it this year, 2007. Snatching some 15 minutes before my train to Kalamazoo from Chicago, I did visit this giant 'bean'. The sight stimulated tremendous visual enjoyment and amazement and drew a smiling curve on my lips! What a clever idea of Anish Ka...