Tidbits from the Roman Forum.

Flowers on the mound.

 I've been putting off my blogging. I was going to get "serious" and write about my writing process.

But I wasn't ready to leave Italy behind! Back to Rome for an exploration of death and rebirth.

The mound to the right is the altar of the Temple of Caesar. Augustus began construction of the temple in 42 BC after Julius was assassinated. All that remains is the mound above.

Below is the entrance to the Umbilicus Urbis (Navel of the City). I found myself fascinated by the small, unassuming structure. It had been used as a reference point for center point of the city and was considered an entrance to the Underworld.

The sign at the Umbilicus Urbis.

Augustus Caesar as the Pontifex Maximus.

The remains of a colossus of Constantine.

The Roman emphasis on realism in their portraiture proves that you don't need to be a big, brawny guy to rule the world.

The statue from the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, originally built around 509 BC. Wow!

Author Speed Dating!

Sponsored by the Library Foundation of Hillsboro!

Ever wanted to just sit and chat with an author? Find out where all those ideas come from; maybe even find out how to bring your own zany stories to life? Well, come on down to the library on Wednesday, Oct 30th and you’ll get your chance to learn more about how the magic happens with a whole room full of Pacific Northwest authors! Light refreshment will be served. Learn more about NIWA at www.niwawriters.com.

Photo Blast of Rome

How can I describe the massive experience that is Rome? I can't. So here are a bunch of photographs.

The impossibly blue sky over the Colosseum.

Umbrella Pines at the Imperial Palace

The Boxer of Quirinal, a bronze of 330 BC.

A sarcophagus. Check that crazy detail!

The center of Rome, in the Forum.

Trajan's column.

The Pantheon. Appropriately a busker was playing Stairway to Heaven in the courtyard!

The enormity of the Colosseum.

Athena will mess you up!

Augustus as the Pontifex Maximus.

The head and hand of Constantine.

Reclining Dionysus.

A dramatic corner of the Baths of Caracalla.

The only photograph of Florence you will ever need.

You cannot go to Florence without seeing Michelangelo's David. 

It's hard to describe how truly epic this sculpture is. No photograph can truly capture it's emotion and passion.

Except, maybe this one:

From the Women's Restroom at the Accademia.

More Florence

While we were in Florence, we also visited the Piazza del Duomo. Wikipedia says this is one of the most visited places in Europe, and boy, I can believe it. 

Exterior shot, including the lines to get in.

The whole thing is flipping gorgeous!

I did the best I could with my little iPhone.

Magnificent! 

On the way to the altar.

A beautiful, peace side chapel.

You get the altar, then look up, and Wow!

God and Jesus being awe-inspiring.

The Bapististery, with the famous Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti. MAGNIFICENT!

Welcome to Florence, Italy!

Have some stairs.

Yes, it is true, Italy is full of stairs. Tall stairs, endless stairs, curving stairs, and marble stairs.

Fortunately, the views are worth all the stairs!

Our first stop in Florence was the Pallazo Medici Riccardi.

Euripedes.

Caracalla. You can really get a feel for how brutal he was.

This one was labeled Sovrano Ellenistico.

I really loved the expression on this guy. He is the Atleta Riccardi.

Meeting rooms with massive frescoes.

The world's coolest ostrich painting.

Florence, Italy.

The most handsome man in Florence.

The four of us (me, The Charming Man, The Flaming Chef, Dr. Snickerdoodle) arrived in Florence, Italy, after 27 hours of traveling.

No, it didn't need to be that long.

Yes, we were exhausted.

But! We were in Florence, bitches!!

Home of the Renaissance! Home of fashion, home of the de Medici, home of truly excellent gelato.

Here are some random pictures:

The view from our hotel room.

Truly excellent modern art to go with the history.

Florence is also the home of Pinocchio!

Viva Italy!

For the last two weeks, The Charming Man, the Flaming Chef, his husband Dr. Snickerdoodle, and I have been on vacation in...*drum roll*

Italy!

The Pantheon in Rome.

And it was cooler than even my deepest imagination.


We visited Florence, Rome, and Pompeii.

And over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the amazing photos we took there.

Like this one:

Fashion in Rome!

And this one, too.

Mosaics saved from the Baths of Caracalla

Let's go exploring the pleasures of this magical land!

Learning who you are.

I have had the honor and the pleasure of modeling with Michael Baxter, the genius of belly dance photography.

I never knew I had mystery inside.

Michael was gracious enough to experiment with me. The images he coaxed from me and his equipment showed me aspects of myself that I never knew existed.

If you asked me to describe myself, I would always say I was a little funny looking. I'm far from petite or graceful and - let's not mince words - overweight.

But Michael showed me a part of myself that was strong, passionate, and, yes, beautiful.  I learned a valuable lesson that day:

I no longer could justify my self-loathing.  

I wish everyone could have the experience of working with a gifted and empathic photographer. I wish you could discover the parts of yourself that you do not see.

Question of the Ages.

Today's topic:

Men's underwear.

The Seducer, by Gregg Homme

What is the sexiest to you?

Art, Emotion, And Muses

A repost from October 2009

Michael and I

I got to participate in one of the coolest things ever.

I got to experience a photo shoot with the hugely talented and visionary Michael Baxter. Internationally known as the premier belly-dance photographer in the world, he was willing to meet with me and work on some portrait and retro-style pinup photographs.

Michael is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. He's generous, kind, and the very definition of artist. In between shots, we talked about what makes a photo or a paragraph or music into art, something transcendental.

Not to get all Aristotelian on everyone's asses, but we kept coming back to the idea that art evokes emotion. For example, tragedy arouses fear and pity, then creates a catharsis for those emotions. All art forms revolve around emotion- the arousal, examination, and release thereof.

Aristotle, author of the Poetics.

The visual arts can suggest a story in a single image. The written arts can suggest actions and meanings that re-create or imitate the world.

Thank you, Michael, for being a Muse for me.

Blast from the past.

Here's a  post from December 2009. Yeah, I've been here a while now!

***

Gilgamesh and Enkidu

The most powerful myths are about extremity. They force us to go beyond our experience. There are moments when we all, in one way or another, have to go to place we have never seen, and do what we have never done before. (p. 3)

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne

[Myth] enables us to place our lives in a larger setting that reveals an underlying pattern and gives us a sense that against all the depressive and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value.

A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong.