The passion for Gothic style that marked the entire 19th c. and the early 20th c. may well have culminated in some of the university buildings. In this picture you are looking at the interior of the Wills Memorial Building, the part of the University of Bristol that houses the School of Earth Sciences. It bears some familiar Gothic traits, like the fan vault. You may be surprised to learn, though, that this magnificent piece of masonry is just under a hundred years old. The building was erected between 1913 and 1925 by Charles and Harry Wills, the sons of Henry Wills, the first Chancellor of the University.
Month: March 2011
A Juliet Balcony on the English Facade
One thing I particularly loved about Bristol is its at times unexpected architectural “solutions”. I would describe these balconies as “italianised”: they certainly remind me of the balconies I saw on some photos of Verona and Venice. Here in Bristol they look plastered to a rather dull limestone edifice – as an afterthought to make a typical building look a bit like an Italian seaside villa.
Bristol: University and the Clock
This photo was taken on a very warm Saturday afternoon in April. I walked around the Cathedral, popped into the Library, then went all the way up the Clifton Hill, and then walked down to that part of the city where the University and Art Gallery are located. I went into the University building. It was solemn and almost empty inside, although there was a small stand informing the visitors that they should keep silence – exams were on.
Web Moves in Mysterious Ways
 |
| Credit: Pills Place blog |
And the biggest mystery is always this: who is there on the other end? Is it one person or a group of people? If there is a case of impersonation, then does the person impersonated knows about it? If yes, do they try to stop it, or let it go as long as the impersonator does not conjure a potentially illegal tale?
The question of identity on the Web has been raised and discussed many times, but it is only now probably that it will start being taken more and more seriously. Here is the reason.
Imagine me. Imagine knowing quite a few things about me: where I live, the plan of my house, my interests. Since I upload photos to the web, you know what I look like, and you can even use my photo. Then, if you spend enough time talking to me, you will know the words and expressions I use most often (like, “absolutely”). And then your imagination runs wilder and wilder. Before long “I” may even have a virtual relationship with someone, without me actually knowing about it. And when I find out I will be gobsmacked: things you are putting into my mouth do sound familiar, they do sound like something I could have written.The only reason I know they are not true is because I know what is really happening in my life. But people who perceive my virtual “self” may never know the difference.
Amazing. WTF.
Obviously, after we had had a Twitter application back in 2009 spitting out the witticisms of the long dead celebrities, it is absolutely no wonder that a living celebrity and just about anybody can be impersonated by someone who craves their share of limelight. Ask me, why? I dunno. Maybe they like me too much and try to step into my shoes, if only virtually. Or maybe they have a reason to hate me, or a reason to cause harm to me or people close to me. Imagine if you found a web profile of your other half that is managed by his ex, in which “he” tells about things that are not true? I guess if it was possible to get into the heads of people who impersonate others, we’d learn to prevent these fancies. Instead we have to deal with the fact that this is something that can happen, so one has to be vigilant if they want to have their freedom in either real or virtual space.
Moscow Churches: St Sophia At Dusk
The church of St Sophia the Holy Wisdom of God was first built around 1480 by the migrants from Novgorod the Great. The choice of the saint commemorated the famous cathedral of St Sophia in Novgorod. The present church that you can see in the photos is tucked between the Detsky Mir (Children’s World), a celebrated kids megastore, and the notorious KGB. Considering that Sophia means “wisdom” in Greek, to have such a church sitting behind the building of the Russian secret service is no small territorial coincidence for a big city. The present building of the church dates back to 1650. The bell tower was built in 1816.
Too Much Heaven on Their Minds
I think I’ve never yet told you that Jesus Christ Superstar was one of my all-time favourite rock operas. I first heard it in the 1990s on an audiotape; then I watched the film on the videotape; and in 1999 I went to the Mossovet Theatre in Moscow where the Russian version has been running for over 20 years now.
Jesus Christ Superstar was filmed in 1973 in Advat, the Dead Sea, and the Bell Caverns in Israel, and now and again I can’t stop marvelling at the gift of not only Andrew Lloyd Webber, but also Tim Rice. This Judas’s aria alone is a perfect example; and the interpretation by the late Carl Anderson is just inimitable and, in my opinion, is still unsurpassed.
“Too much heaven on their minds” is a genuine line, and it is in direct relation to Marx’s statement that proletarians “have nothing to lose but their chains”. Be it Heaven, figuratively speaking, or the bright future, the faith leads people to great achievements, including a revolution. These days we wonder how could someone possibly believe in this better life in Heaven or in the Communist future. The rub is here, to quote Paul Arden: you cannot have faith in what you can prove. If you can prove it, then you can’t have faith in it. Jesus himself had not had proof for his vision, and perhaps this is the reason his faith was so contagious. The same explanation underpins the Revolution in Russia where people had for years been living in poverty and slavery.
Last but not least, Judas’s aria also supports what I recently read somewhere: don’t think that someone may really want to stop you from doing your thing. Usually people are waiting for someone mad to start doing something so they can follow him. Be it Jesus or Marx, the world is really waiting for the visionaries, the odd, the mad.
Je Suis Marx, Pas Marxiste!!!
I had a wonderful lecturer in Philosophy in my first two years at the University. We only ever had seminars with him, partly I guess because he was very old. He celebrated his birthday on November 7, and in 1997, when we were in our first year, he turned 90. Ours and another group in his seminar had a thought and decided to present him a handwatch. We chipped in, bought it, and on the day, after the seminar, gave it to him. He kindly took it, looked at it, and said: “Ah, a watch? I have too many, anyway“.
That day it was snowing hard, so straight after that seminar I decided to catch a bus to the tube. When I went through the University gate, the bus was approaching the stop, so I had to run. I barely made it, got on the bus, and stood by the door. Next thing I was watching my 90-year-old philosopher running for the next bus that already stood at the stop!
The lecturer came from a noble family; he liked telling us about the occasion when he and his brother were walking, accompanied by their bonne, and met the Emperor Nikolai II. And in 1956 when he was in Hungary his driver refused to give him a lift somewhere, thus saving the philosopher from the wrath of Revolution.
I wanted to show you a few photos of Karl Marx’s monuments. In spite of the change of regime, some of his statues survive to this day. The one of the right actually stands right opposite the Bolshoi Theatre. Here Marx is a passionate prophet appealing to the proletarians of the world to unite. Another photo was taken by another user in the Russian city of Tver. The story has it that some parents still take their kids to this terrifying, severe philosopher. The facial expression of the Tver Marx goes well with the inscription: “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains“.
The reason I recalled my Philosophy lecturer is that he used to tell us that Marx said something along the lines: “I am Marx, not a Marxist!” (Je suis Marx, pas Marxiste). The lecturer always said this phrase in French. It is a great way to illustrate the conundrum in which some celebrated people find themselves. They are still “themselves”, but as far as the crowd is concerned, they are associated with their teaching.
Many years after Marx, it was the French historian Fernand Braudel who stressed the same point. When the Soviet scholars criticised him for “deserting” Marxism, he replied: “I criticise Marxism in order to remain a Marxist“. Indeed, as with just about any teaching, there is a set of core ideas, which may mutate into an ideology. And one has occasionally to step back and to regain the perspective, precisely in order not to fall into an even bigger fallacy of assuming that a new teaching is necessary.
Moscow: Through the Branches
I may be walking down Pokrovsky Boulevard again this week, and I will make a point of taking the photo of the same view.
Quotes: Paul Arden on Sin
Hindus don’t eat cows. Anglicans eat beef on Sundays. One man’s sin is another man’s roast dinner.
Paul Arden, God Explained in a Taxi Ride.
Moscow: Under-Your-Feet Advertising
I‘ve seen them doing the same thing in Manchester, although those were usually the arrows pointing to the next “just opened” vintage shop or fair. In Moscow, though, they use the pedestrian passages to advertise services. These range from a clairevoyant to the Thai boxing and yoga. I will be updating this post now and again, if I find something peculiar.
 |
| Thai boxing, Kung Fu, Yoga |