Walking in Yangon

Yangon is what the old city of Rangoon is currently called. In 1989 the military junta changed its name, as well as the country's name from Burma to Myanmar. The name changes business gets tiresome, but I guess since we changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, we can't complain too much.   

At any rate, the walk is through some very busy main and side streets. There were a tremendous number of food stalls everywhere. In my post on eating in ancient Rome, it was stated that the Romans primarily ate street food because their apartments weren't really set up for cooking -- I wondered if that wasn't the case in this city?

The buildings were a bit run down looking, with burglar bars even on upper story windows which is never a good sign. However, the people were dressed in new looking clothes and there were nice cars parked about. I'm guessing it was a middle-class neighborhood.

 

William James Bennett

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William James Bennett (1787−1844) was born and trained in art in England. In 1816 he moved to the United States, where the bulk of his work was produced. He is best known for using a printing method called aquatint. That is a method where acid is used to etch the plate which results in broad tonal areas which resemble watercolor painting. 

Edited to add: these images are from the Meisterdrucke website. You can reproductions at it. There are more at the link.

Georgia On My Mind

Get ready for a peachy weekend with Andrzej Fenner.

 

One of my greatest fears is...

Monkeys. As a Floridian I can't begin to tell you the number of nights I've laid awake worrying about monkey hordes overrunning my fair State. We already have pythons, kudzus, and snowbirds; we don't need to add felonious little primates to the mix. 

I had planned on spending my Golden Years sitting on my porch sipping on mint julips, but increasingly I fear it will end up being a desperate defense of my homestead against vociferous monkey flocks. Racoons are bad enough, but these creatures with their little primate fingers and black hearts will terrorize any neighborhood they visit.

Why, oh why, do my retirement years have a simian Sword of Damocles hanging over them?

 

Paul Sérusier's paintings

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Paul Sérusier (1864-1927) was a French post-impressionist painter. In 1888 he joined an artist's colony and was closely associated with Paul Gaugan. I can't say that I am a fan of his color palette. He seems to have grayed-down his colors and some of his works look a bit muddy as a result. However. that may just be an artifact of the reproductions of his works.

Paul Sérusier by G Michelet

Listen to the World Spin

Get ready for a vertiginous weekend with Paper Wings.

 

A fool's errand

Stone Operation by Rembrandt van Rijn
(click image to enlarge)

A Daughter of Eve - Christina Rossetti

A fool I was to sleep at noon,
  And wake when night is chilly
Beneath the comfortless cold moon;
A fool to pluck my rose too soon,
  A fool to snap my lily.

My garden-plot I have not kept;
  Faded and all-forsaken,
I weep as I have never wept:
Oh it was summer when I slept,
  It's winter now I waken.

Talk what you please of future spring
  And sun-warm'd sweet to-morrow:—
Stripp'd bare of hope and everything,
No more to laugh, no more to sing,
  I sit alone with sorrow.